It was raining--a light drizzle that he imagined would not be very pleasant for the kitten. At least he was warm beneath her; but Cetus was never warm, on the best of days, and there was a chill in the air that suggested that this misty haze was quite close to becoming a murderous, snowy frost.

He quickened his pace, the mud beneath his paws icy, and spoke--trying to both keep his mind on their goal, and to keep the little one occupied.

"Bright-Eyes," he woofed, addressing the kitten with her bright pink eyes. "Have you seen anything the creature might wish? A treasure, or food? Perhaps I can make it many of the fruits which I can summon, if not," he pondered.

It was difficult to see very far, but he knew his way well enough--knew where the Heart was, at least. One had to just plod toward deeper water until it threatened to engulf them, really.

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@Wilder

The cat that sat on the great dog's back was not happy and it was blatently obvious. Even with the rain being oh so ever gentle, she was clearly not a fan of getting wet. Her ears were flat against her head and her tail sticking straight out. Some of her fur was bushed against the cold and she grumbled - not the gargling sound she made when talking about magic, but simply an unhappy murmur.

She had wanted to see Aquarian, yes, and Black had told her it was misty, but she didn't expect anywhere to be so cold. And it was so ugly here, with all the trees and mud and filthy water. She liked Polaris better! It was clean and clear and open and there was the Sp-

Well, anyways, at Black Dog's request, she lifted her head half-heatedly and looked around. The area around them was empty. "We could...stop and search for food?" She tried to sniff the air but it was way too damp and she wasn't used to hunting just yet. She frowned. "I don't know how to, though."

@Black

Black was still fairly certain that cats must eat nuts.

They were long, and had climbing-limbs and climbing-tails like monkeys or squirrels; and they very clearly had tiny heads, unsuited for biting prey. They had no hands with which to unwrap fruits (for he assumed that all fruits, like bananas, must be "unwrapped"), though he had to admit that Wilder had done well enough with that one. Still, they did have to find an offering for Aquarian.

"I do not know if what we can find would be enough. But we can perhaps try. Hunting means killing, however." He was unsure if this would bother the little one.

It occurred to him, though, that he might use his magic instead--to find something worthwhile to the great beast. Perhaps if he used his magic to see the past, he could find out where something valuable had been left. He'd need to find something first, though--no use using it on the mud.

He padded on through the swamp, pondering, looking about him as he went--watching for a glint of metal or a bleached bone, and scenting for the odors of prey.

Cetus, however, seemed... spectacularly empty. There was no odor, not that he could scent; there was no sign of anything but the interminable mist, the cold mud underfood, the bitter drizzle. He-...

Black paused. He had come upon something in the muck, and lowered his nose to sniff at it. Immediately he drew back, tensing.

He looked around him, sniffing, pendulous ears pricking up; he lifted one paw into the air.

He had found his own pawprints. How long have I gone in circles..? Where have I taken us?

Uhoh.

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@Wilder

Her whiskers twitched at the mention of killing. She associated the word with 'death', which Black Dog had taught her in her first few moments. She would have to make something...not alive to present it to Aquarian?

Without really thinking about it, Wilder unlatched her claws and slid off his back. She immediately regreted it, though, when her paws touched the soft, wet ground. She mewled with disgust and tried to jump back but only found herself in more mud. She hated that feeling of the wetness seeping into the fur of her paws, weighing her down and making her feel filthy and cold. Her ears were pulled back and her tail was low but she was determined to find a gift for Aquarian. "S-s-s-so...how do we f-f-f-find things to g-give?"

If she started moving maybe she would warm up a bit so she started doing her best to pad her way through the swamp. It wasn't easy, though - she was very small and the mud was very heavy. It was probably futile to keep going - at this rate she was going to cover up any sign of prey or chase away whatever was close by.

@Black

Black let out a startled "woof" as the kitten plopped down into the mud, and immediately swivelled to peer down with wrinkle-faced concern. But she seemed well enough, and she was asking questions, and both of these were good things. He turned forward, padding alongside her, slowing himself so as not to outpace her.

"Speak if you wish to make your way atop my back," he informed her, in a dignified rumble. "To find things, we must seek them." This slightly overly common-sense answer was then apparently deemed insufficient.

"Magic, perhaps--or scent. I do not know." He put his nose to the ground, as he walked--and then to the air, into the mist. He listened, with pendulous ears, and he paused now and then to look around. But still, he saw nothing--nothing but the fog, the darkness, the mud and the trees.

"I have seen nothing thus far," he announced at last.

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@Wilder

Despite her shivering from the cold, which she probably would have been doing atop of Black anyways, the kitten was perfectly fine and plodded forward beside him. Her nose was raised in the air as she tried to sniff out anything she could find, but there wasn't much here. Or, at least, not much that she could track by scent alone. This cave had all sorts of new smells that she could't place. It was so unfamiliar and foreign that it totally distracted her from any kind of hunting for prey. Her tail twitched irritably as they continued walking into the mist.

The mention of magic went mostly unnoticed by her. After all, she didn't think she had any kind of magic that would work for tracking. Perhaps being so far from the Spire made it easier for her to push back any kind of trance she might have had. She tried searching as well, she tried tracking, but she simply failed. She wasn't getting the hang of this at all.

@Black

The dog paused, then veered off to a tree, though he glanced back to watch the kitten and ensure she did not go too far.

"I will search for those who have passed this place. Perhaps they have left something behind." He reared up, abruptly, his bulk shifting heavily upward as he planted his massive paws upon the rough, wet bark.

He pressed his nose to it, then, and closed his eyes. Did this tree have any history that could allow him to find something to offer to Aquarian? It was a long shot, but... maybe. It couldn't hurt to try.

Unless the spell backfired, of course, and gave him another crippling bout of intense pain. That could also happen.
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The kitten watched the dog move off and realized that he was using magic. The shift came very quickly. Her eyes dulled and the strange noise came from her chest. Her head swiveled around, as if she were looking for something and stepped up next to her own tree. But she realized a moment later what was going on and fought back. She stood there, as still as stone, trying to stay awake. The noise stopped and her eyes closed for a moment.

She didn't want to keep falling in these stupid trances or seizures or whatever they were. She wanted to be in control, like Black Dog! He was always in control! So she took back control and blinked awake. In her haste to stop herself, she also stopped herself from casting magic so she ended up just standing there, looking very useless.

Black hears a muffled voice, like that of one underwater, that says: "...like trying to smell with your eyes. You know?" An image fights to manifest through the void. There is a shadowed scene of two figures standing at the base of the tree, and one is holding an item; the scene is like looking through a veil of darkness, with wavy objects overshadowed by black fog. "What? No," bubbles the other figure's voice. It turns to crouch, and the dark image fades.

@Black @Wilder

Black stared off into the middle distance, trying to figure out what the hell could possibly be meant by, "smell with your eyes." At length, he began to speak in a slow and thoughtful rumble.

"I see two figures here. I do not know how long ago. One holds a thing. It says, it is like trying to smell with your eyes. What does that mean?" He lowered his head, peering first at Wilder, then at the base of the tree. He had no idea how to smell with his eyes--maybe his mind?--and began to smell with his actual nose. He could not, however, find a trace of anything but the stench of mucky swamp.

He concentrated, for a moment, and stared at the tree, doing the only thing he knew of that could possibly be related to his vision. The swamp bloomed to life with the flow of magicka, brighter and easier to see. He shrugged off his confusion, and began to dig at the base of the tree, hoping to find... something.

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@Wilder