“I guess you’re right,” the young chicken said with a smile. As much as Gamehr wanted to know what his place was, Romeo’s words were more reassuring. He was only a chick, after all, and it seemed like he had plenty of time to figure things out. Besides, he wanted to have some fun along the way, if that was the case.

He felt much better now. He gave a light cheep of happiness and looked around the cave. Was it just him, or had it actually gotten more beautiful? It might have just been his good mood, but it was just really nice in here. Romeo had mentioned that there were more caves aside from this one. What were they like? Did they have crystals hanging from the ceiling too, or were they completely different?

“Want to go do something fun?" he asked, smiling broadly. He didn't exactly know what he wanted to do, but that was part of the fun, really. He could do whatever he wanted, and he was okay with that.

@Romeo

Nodding quickly, Romeo was pleased that Gamehr seemed to agree, and felt a small swell of pride that he'd been able to give the right words to soothe it over. Inwardly though, he thought it an interesting concept and stored it away in the back of his mind. Perhaps one day it would be fun to turn his passion into something more. Or even just to find some sort of an end goal to it all.

But for now, Romeo couldn't be locked down; he felt it more fun to be free.

Romeo was distracted by a small cheep from the little chick, and returned his attention to them. The little cheeping noise they made was high-pitched and sweet. Another new voice. Well, not new-new, but... pleasing to the ears all the same. Romeo wondered if he could make sounds like that; his voice could do some fascinating things. He practiced with it as he ventured on his own.

"Of course!" As mature as he pretended to be the fuzzy cub could never resist the idea of fun. There was so much to do in this world, voices couldn't be the only thing keeping him entertained. As he hoisted the big wooden instrument onto his back, Romeo couldn't help but run through all the ideas of games in his head. "Whatcha wanna do?"

His tail wagged softly and excitedly, rounded ears pricked up. "We could play tag, or race, or... I dunno, do you have any ideas?"

He looked expectantly at Gamehr, violet eyes gleaming. His game ideas were largely unoriginal, but what could one expect from a creature mainly entertained by his own voice?

@Gamehr

The happy little raccoon-dog seemed a little more cheerful than usual. Almost excited, even. Gamehr couldn’t blame him for being so. An offer of fun was hard to beat, after all. The cheerful little chick was feeling good, too. He had a friend now, and he was eager to spend some time with him before they went their separate ways to do…well, whatever it was they do.

What sort of fun to have, though? There were so many options. Race, tag, flying…could he fly? He wasn’t certain...and he was sure there were plenty of other ways to have a good time. He probably couldn’t win a race against Romeo, even when his new friend had the noise-maker on his back. Compared to Romeo, Gamehr was a tiny ball of fluff. On the other hand, something the raccoon-dog had said previously had given him a bit of inspiration. It wasn’t exactly race or tag, but he was certain they could get some fun out of it.

“Why don’t we go exploring?” he suggested. Romeo’s talk about exploring the caves had got him interested. There had to be some incredible mysteries and sights to be seen in this cave, and maybe in the other caves.

@Romeo

((OOC: sorry about the late reply, I didn't get the tag! >.< ))

The little one took a while to consider his question. Not a bad thing, but Romeo wasn't known for his love of silence. Quite the opposite in fact. He'd never played properly before either, despite being so young himself. He was about to suggest a race, when he realized the noisemaker on his back would likely be... A hindrance.

Tag? Same thing.

He wouldn't be able to run very fast with such a weight and even if he could, he'd worry about breaking it. It wouldn't be as much fun with a big lump of wood on his back. But was he about to drop it anytime soon? Negative. Nada. Nein. In other words; hell no! Romeo was completely adamant about that.

"Exploring, huh?"

Romeo had done more than his fair share of exploring, but if there was one thing he knew, it was that there was still a lot to see. Plus, he'd done a lot of it on his own. He'd never considered exploring alongside someone before, but now he was. And he liked that thought. Voices always made the world a better place.

"Sure, let's go for it!"

@Gamehr

Ah, the ever-important question of where to go exploring. This was a big cave, after all. They could probably go anywhere they liked, within reason. Gamehr fluffed his feathers up happily and gave a thought as to where they could go. Right now, the cave was the most immediate place, and the only one he knew. It made sense to start exploring in here, among the glittering, beautiful crystals. They were still very nice to look at.

“Why don’t we start in this cave?” he suggested. “This place seems nice enough.” He took a few steps forward on his stalky chicken legs, heading towards a much larger crystal than the one he’d come out of, poking it gently with a wing. It was cold and smooth. Gamehr smiled at it, thinking about the crystal’s shape and size. How lucky he must have been to have hatched here, of all places.

“I’m interested,” he continued. “What’s the best sight in this cave?” He figured Romeo, seeming like a travelled sort, probably knew the answer to his question.


@Romeo

Romeo gave a nod. He'd been in this cave long enough to know his way around but he knew there was a lot he still had left to find. This was the cave he'd found his noise-maker in, and he knew there'd still be thousands of treasures just waiting to be found beneath all the rubble. "Of course," Romeo said with a nod, following Gamehr's steps with a couple of heavy plods of his own. "I've been here quite some time."

The little one went over to a big cluster of crystal looming out of the earth and poked at it. Romeo followed the chick over and watched, a little gleam of curiosity in his eyes.

"Well," he began, thinking deeply. He noticed that the area around them was fairly sparse, with just a few stony clusters here and there. They could even have passed for being natural if you were unfamiliar with Orion. "There's a lot of strange structures and places where the rocks have been put on top of each other to make things. I dunno what they're for, but they make for quite the sight. I think... These structures are where all the treasure comes from."

Romeo motioned to his noise-maker.

@Gamehr

The little chick grew more excited as Romeo explained some of the more interesting sights of Orion. He was very interested in the idea of rocks being put together to make something, and that some great treasures like his friend’s noise-maker came from there. Yes, the idea of treasure hidden somewhere in the cave was a bit of a lure for him, but he was more interested in simply seeing the sights the cave had to offer. He was sure they were just as incredible and awe-inspiring as the giant crystal clusters.

“Well then, why don’t we go and find some?” he cheeped, scanning the room they were currently in for any sign of these mysterious structures. Unfortunately, there didn’t seem to be any in this room, except for the crystals that he had become so enamoured with. Maybe there were even more impressive crystals in the other parts of Orion. If there were, he couldn’t wait to find out. Maybe treasure hunting was his calling in life. The idea certainly made him excited.

“Lead the way, friend,” he said with a smile. It was probably best to follow Romeo, since he was older and probably knew the caves better than he did.

@Romeo

The young raccoon dog smiled a little, the side of his mouth twitching as he beheld the excitement of the little chick. "Of course! he grinned smoothly, an edge of excitement creeping into the tone which he himself struggled to keep calm and suave. "It isn't far to the structures... See, there's a couple of loose rocks around here, even!" Funny little piles that might have in fact been inconspicuous crumbled walls were nearby, but perhaps they were just ordinary rocks that Romeo tried to dramatize.

The raccoon dog grinned and nodded as the little one motioned him to lead the way. He took a deep breath, hauled the noise-maker onto his back and plodded on, out of the small and enclosed area they'd been in and into a more open area. Already structures loomed around him, and it was here that the raccoon dog stopped to wait for the little chicken. "See? Look at all these."

Crumbled ruins. Not exactly fantastic anymore, but still fascinating to Romeo, who found they clearly stood apart fro the natural formations in the rest of the cave. "Cool, right?

@Gamehr

The small fluffy chicken followed behind Romeo, keeping pace despite having much smaller legs. Even as the raccoon-dog tried to keep his cool, Gamehr could sense an excitement creeping into his voice. Perhaps Romeo’s excitement was contagious, since he was excited to see everything as well. All the amazing wonders of the caves were waiting for him. How could he not be excited? This was like…he wasn’t even sure what it was like!

When they finally reached the next room, Gamehr’s beak fell open. The crumbling structures of things that once were stood tall, waiting for him. It was an incredible site. These ruins must have been very old. What purpose they served, he didn’t know. Still, he was interested in finding out.

And then it hit him. What if this was his calling in life? He did seem to be uniquely interested in the structures, and the cave system in general. Maybe he could study it for a while.

“Amazing,” he cheeped. “I love it!” With that exclamation, he made his best attempt to hug Romeo. It was a little bit awkward, being as small as he was, but it was affectionate at least. “Thanks for bringing me here.”

@Romeo

Seeing that the small bird had caught up to him, Romeo moved to plod onwards, though he glanced about to see if there was anything interesting in the near vicinity. His tail twitched slightly from side to side and his rounded ears were perked forward, attentively.

"I wonder if there are any treasures to be- Huh?" he began, only to stop and tip his head to one side in confusion as the little chicken suddenly hugged him. It was an unfamiliar gesture but... a somewhat pleasant one, as he was held by a little blob of warmth against his chest.

"Well, uh, I'm glad to hear it!" he said with a nod, a chuckle, and a strange feeling in his chest. What... was this? The raccoon dog kept smiling, although a little bit of fear showed in his eyes. Strange, unfamiliar fear in response to an otherwise pleasant feeling. "You're welcome... I'm glad you like it here!" he said, truthfully.

@Gamehr