Shade lay helplessly in his den, stretched out as best he could with his back left leg lying awkwardly off to the side. His ankle was twisted, possibly broken, and he’d spent the last day trying not to move it too much. He was absolutely miserable. If he didn’t move, his ankle didn’t hurt all that badly, but he was starving. He couldn’t hunt at all; he’d already tried, which is what made his ankle worse than it already had been. If only he hadn’t tried to climb that stupid wall he could be feasting on cave lizard or rat right now. Instead he was laying down in this cold stone “cave” (a space between a broken wall leaning against another wall, creating a triangular opening). He felt stupid and depressed. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but his growling stomach kept him awake…

@Winter

At this point, Winter didn't even know what she was doing. She had gone from room to room, tunnel to tunnel ever since her hatch. She didn't know if it was restlessness, the need to explore, or just lack of satisfaction with the caves she had already visited. Maybe it was all three. She didn't know. And, honestly, she didn't care much either. She was staying healthy and she was staying entertained.

Now she had made it to Orion. She had heard that it was the most beautiful room in the caves. Unfortunately, she couldn't see much without the lights on. She was just able to make out the quartz and crystals growing from all the walls and she imagined how it would look once the lights were shining again. The whole room would glow and twinkle. She sighed at the thought. She would need to visit this room again once she could see it properly.

As she slid through the cave, avoiding large rocks and crystals, she flicked her tongue out every so often, wary of any large gembounds that might think she were prey. Even with the lights out, her white scales would pop out. Then again, with all the white quartz, she could maybe pass for a streak on the ground.

But none of that concerned her as she caught a scent. She stopped moving and tasted the air again. There was a gembound nearby and, from what she could tell, it wasn't happy. Curious, she turned towards the scent and got closer. Her senses lead her to a small triangular opening under two broken walls. And underneath was a creature that sort of looked like Azar, but different. It didn't look very comfortable and it kept shifting, as if it were in pain.

She wanted to help it. But her instincts screamed against it - this was definitely a predator and, if it weren't friendly, could easily swallow her. But, then again, she had her fangs. If it attacked, she wouldn't be sitting around, waiting for it to eat her.

So, against her better judgement, she got closer.

Nervous and anxious, she stopped around the edge of the opening and her body coiled up behind her. She opened her mouth to speak, but then the words didn't come out. She tried again, nothing. So she took a deep breath and counted down...3...2...1...

"Excuse me, are you okay?" Her voice was small and scared, but hopefully it was loud enough for the other gembound to hear.

When I speak.

When I think.

@Shade

Shade lifted his head as he heard something enter his den. His eyes squinted as they got used to the dark again. Yeah, he had night vision, but since his eyes had just been closed, they had to readjust. He saw… a white snake sliding across the ground towards him. He tried to sit upright, afraid that in his condition, it could harm him, but his ankle hurt when he tried to move, so he just lay there, breathing hard. He was about to yell at it to go away, hoping to scare it off, but then it sat up and spoke to him.

Oh… thank the Gods… it was a Greater Gembound, not a lesser creature. Good. It asked if he was okay. “Not really,” he admitted truthfully. “I twisted my ankle.” He gestured with his head over his shoulder towards the leg that was laying at an odd angle. “See? So now I… I can’t hunt and I’m starving.” He felt like he wanted to cry again, but held it in, not wanting to cry in front of anyone else.

@Winter

Winter glanced at the gembound's ankle. It certainly looked funny and it was holding it at a weird angle. Yeah, if she had legs, she didn't think she would be moving anytime soon. When it spoke about its hunger, she flicked her tongue out to confirm. There was no scent of recent prey on it. It had probably hurt itself trying to hunt.

She remembered Xin and how she had hunted for him. Maybe she could do the same with this creature. Hunting wasn't too hard, as long as she get her venom to herself. When she had first arrived in Orion, she had tasted lots of prey so finding it wouldn't be too hard.

She nodded at the cat. "Wait here I'll be right back."

She turned and slid off, her senses alert for any trails of prey. There were lots of them, but some were either too far or stale, as if it had been a few days since they had passed by. After a few minutes of searching, she stopped, disappointed by her lack of results.

When I speak.

When I think.

@Shade

She was starting to get a little frustrated. The one time she actually needed to find prey was when she couldn't find anything. Her tongue was flicking erratically, trying to find something, anything, that she could bring back for the starving cat. But there was nothing. She hissed in annoyance and slid off to another area to try one more time.

When I speak.

When I think.

Angry and frustrated, Winter moved through Orion, dodging crystals and rocks while trying to sniff out prey. Finally, after all that searching, she caught just the slightest hint of a scent. Relieved and ecstatic, she followed it and found a rat scratching at the ground. Idiot. You're not going to find anything.

But it was good luck that she had found a dumb rat. She coiled the rest of her body and her tail as she picked a good position to strike. However, just as she was going to lash out, the rat glanced up and caught sight of her. It immediately turned to run, but she was too fast. She struck out, her teeth burying in its body as it squealed loudly. She was careful to keep her venom from traveling through her teeth, though it was mildly challenging to keep the bite dry, especially with the rat trashing in her grip.

It took a little bit to get it secure enough to change her bite, but she eventually let go before sinking her teeth into its neck. Within seconds, it stilled.

Proud and happy that she had finally found prey, she headed back to where the cat was resting. She dropped the rat in front of it. "Sorry about the wait,
but I caught this for you." She moved back a little to give the cat space to eat.

When I speak.

When I think.

@Shade

Shade, in his current state, was finding it hard to stay awake after the snake left. Since she hadn’t told him that she was hunting for him, he had no idea why she had gone away, and now, some long minutes later, his eyes were closing of their own accord. Soon, he was snoring softly…

He awoke with a jolt when she came back, dropping a dead rat down in front of him. “Oh, man,” he said, his mouth salivating. “You’re a life-saver! Literally!” And with that, he tore hungrily into the rodent, swallowing chunks of meat nearly whole, so hungry he was barely chewing. Soon, the rat was gone. It wasn’t enough to really satisfy him, but his hunger had abated enough for now to give some peace of mind. Still… What would happen when he got hungry again?

Worriedly, he began a conversation with the snake, “Thanks for the food,” he began. “My name’s Shade. Uhh… What’s your name? Do you live around here?” He wanted to ask if she could stick around for a while to hunt for him when he needed her, but he didn’t want to demand such a thing. He had to go about this the right way. Being rude would just make her outright refuse.

@Winter

Winter smiled at the cat. It was nice to know that she had helped someone, especially when they so desperately needed it. "You're welcome! It was no problem, really."

She watched the cat tear into the rodent with ravenous hunger. She wished she was able to bring back something bigger or more, but she hadn't found much and she wasn't really big enough yet to bring anything else. But it would do for now. The cat was already looking better, even with the meager pickings.

"It's nice to meet you, Shade. My name's Winter. I don't really live anywhere, I just kind of wander. I've never been to Orion before, but I can tell its beautiful.
I would love to be here when the lights turn on."

When I speak.

When I think.

@Shade

Shade halfway hated that he was indebted to this snake. He didn’t like the idea that he owed somebody a favor in the future. Especially since his ankle was still busted and he’d have to somehow keep her around for a time, or he’d starve to death. Small talk wasn’t really something he enjoyed so he listened to her, but didn’t know what to say when she was done. “Mm,” was all he could think of, at least to acknowledge that he’d heard her. “It is nice here,” he said then. “I guess I like it here.” He paused. “Hey, uh… do you think… do you think you could stick around Orion for a bit?” He cringed, hating having to ask this of her. “I mean… my ankle’s still all twisted and it hurts so bad I can’t stand on it… I don’t… really have any friends or anyone else who could… hunt for me… so…” He stared at her, begging with his eyes. If she didn’t agree, he was screwed.

@Winter

Winter chuckled a little internally. She thought that the question would come up. This cat wouldn't be able to fend for itself for a while. She could tell from his expression that he resented asking her, but was desperate enough to have to beg.

So, would she accept? It wasn't like she had anywhere else to go or anything else to do. She didn't think she would mind hanging around Shade for the time being. Besides, Orion was a pretty okay place (better then Polaris and Eridanus, at least).

"Yeah,
sure, I don't have a problem with that. It would probably be good for me to stay in one place for a while after all."

When I speak.

When I think.

@Shade