The tunnel from Polaris seemed to take forever. The tunnel was particularly long, splitting off part ways to go towards Orion while the travelers kept to the fork going towards Eridanus. It didn’t help that Enka was unable (or at least unwilling) to go her normal bouncy pace. Instead, she walked as slowly and steadily as she could, checking her hoof placement before placing it down. She wanted to go quicker. The springbok calf couldn’t wait to make it to Eridanus. She had so much to show her new friend there! But the pace had to be steady so as to not cause any risk to said friend. The tentacle snake laid cradled between her shoulder blades. With no arms or claws to hang onto, Enka took extra precautions with her. In truth, she was perhaps a little too precarious. But both party members seemed agreeable to the pace.

Slowly, the tunnel exit began to loom in front of them. “We’re almost there!” Enka said with tangible ripple of excitement, her rump twitching and her tail giving a flick.

And indeed, they were soon there. The tunnel opened up into an underground rainforest. Greenery of all types filled their vision. Large rocks scattered the cave floor, covered with lichen and moss of all sorts. In the distance a nearby stream could be heard traveling along. And plants of all sorts appeared to flood the area. Some plants here tiny, barely noticeable. Other plants rose higher than Enka could easily see. It was a strange cornucopia of life.

“Welcome to Eridanus, Khes,” Enka said with a smile, turning her head around as best as possible to look over at her friend to catch her reaction. She hoped that the tentacle snake would enjoy the place as much as she did. Eridanus was home for Enka, a place of both wonder and comfort, mysterious and yet familiar.

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Thoughts

Tags: @Khes
Notes:

Khes said that they were almost there, and that was indeed the case. As she wasn't really moving that much, Khes had the time to look around at their surroundings on their journey to Eridanus. So much to see! She'd have to go back someday.

Enka announced their arrival in Eridanus. And Khes could now see what she meant! So many plants, of all different sizes and shapes!

She sent a strange snake smile at her friend. "It's pretty!" she announced, confirming out loud what the springbok had told her before. Carefully, she slithered down Enka's leg. Hopefully she didn't mind!

Khes looked around. Almost all of the plants were bigger than her. The ones that were tall for Enka were gigantic for the small snake. She figured that climbing some of these would be completely impossible for her. But her investigating wasn't done yet. She slithered around, staying close to her antelope friend at all times-- the little snake could easily get lost in this place.

"This your home, yes?" she asked, wanting to confirm that she had been paying attention.

@Enka

Enka was greatly pleased when Khes confirmed that the cave was pretty. She knew that she thought so. And Rift thought it was pretty too, though she’s not sure he’s really used that term before. But she did hope that her new friend would think that it was pretty as well. Other than Rift, this was her first real friend. So, Enka wanted to share with her and show her everything that was pretty or cool or new.

It was a strange feeling having the snake slither down her leg but she (just barely) kept from jumping back until Khes was safely on the ground. Then dark brown eyes watched as the snake slithered around to explore the various plants nearby. Her tail flicked happily as her friend wandered. At times she almost lost sight of her in the vast undergrowth but Khes always managed to come back into view before too long. That was very reassuring to the young springbok. It became clear now how easy it would be to lose her in this cavern.

“Yes yes, this is my home. Well, further into the caves. There’s a great big tree that I stay at with Rift while he’s teaching me. There’s so much here he’s been showing me! Different ways to use magic and different plants and berries and things! Oh, I was telling you about bananas earlier! Here, try it!”

With that, Enka fiercely closed her eyes and concentrated. It made no difference to the young calf how greatly she was moving from tangential topic to topic. She was excited and wanted to share, and that was all that was important to her at the moment. So, Enka closed her eyes and focused really hard on the banana she had tried once. Her stone horn began to glow, the green veins of the gem becoming more vibrate against the creamy coloring.

Suddenly, puff, a banana appeared between the two of them. It was short for a banana and still slightly green. But a banana it was. Enka opened her eyes and gave a soft cheer in delight. “Yes, it worked!” she cried out with a happy flick of her ears and tail.

“This is a banana,” the springbok announced to Khes in case it wasn’t obvious. She motioned with her head towards the fruit. "I think berries taste better, but that would take a bit of hunting to find."

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Tags: @Khes
Notes:

Khes watched her eager, excited friend talk about her home, and the magic, and the berries and bananas. She was able to keep up with the conversation mentally, but only barely. She would just process something and, before she knew it, the topic had changed. Not that she minded.

She watched Enka create the banana. Her gem was glowing, and then there was just... a fruit there. It wasn't, then it was. How odd! The concept was a bit strange to the little snake.

Khes approached the oddly-shaped fruit to get a good look at it. It wasn't what she ate, but it was definitely interesting. Her tongue flicked out to test the air surrounding it. Enka, and smaller life forms around her that did smell tasty. The banana smelled like nothing, really.

Not wanting to disappoint her friend, she needed an explanation as to why she couldn't eat it. First, there seemed to be something encasing it, and it seemed inedible. Khes hadn't even tried to eat it and she knew that much about this strange fruit. "Can't open," she started. The snake hesitated before adding; "Can't eat fruit," she added sadly. She would if she could! But she didn't think that she was capable of doing so.

@Enka

Enka watched with glee as her friend came closer to the banana she was able to create. The springbok was nearly quivering with excitement at showing something new to her friend. Then confusion overcame the calf. Khes wasn’t eating the fruit. She didn’t even seem to be incredibly interested in it. Why was this?

“Oh,” she thought silently as Khes explained that she couldn’t get past the peel. Before she had a chance to open it for her, the tentacle snake further explained that she can’t eat through. That was a strange concept! The idea that someone couldn’t eat fruit was an almost inane idea at first. The concern didn’t even register as something to consider. Enka had only really known herself and a feline whom, through the power of magic, was able to eat berries and stuff. She had not even considered that there were other creatures that didn’t eat the same things she did.

“Oh…,” Enka replied out loud. She looked down at the banana and Khes in wonderment for a moment.

“Can I eat the banana then?” Barely waiting for a reply, the springbok dipped her head down and began to chew on the banana, peel and all. The peel wasn’t as tasty, it was starchy and firm. But it was worth it for the squishy insides.

“What do you eat?” the springbok inquired curiously after chewing for a bit and giving a large gulp. She did reached down to bite more of the banana, seemingly unaware that her coat started to give off a faint glimmer at this point.

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Speech
Thoughts

Tags: @Khes
Notes:

Khes felt a bit guilty, even though it wasn't exactly her fault that she couldn't eat fruit.

"You can eat," Khes confirmed, even as her friend bent over to eat the banana. It was cool, though! The springbok had summoned a fruit! Wait was... was Enka glittering? That's definitely odd. She hadn't seen any other magic do such a thing before. Did it happen sometimes when using magic? Was it only with this spell? She pushed it out of her mind. Answer questions first!

"Fish..." Khes said, quietly. "Pretty sure," she added, since all she had was a vague feeling on what she ate. How did she know what a fish was? She just... did. But other things she didn't know! Why was this? The snake had to keep her mind from straying, which was proving more and more difficult. So many questions!

@Enka