Wilder trotted through Canis, every so often glancing back at the tunnel she'd just left behind. A lot of creatures had disappeared into it and for a moment she wondered how many she would ever see again. Thothaga, Eythan, Skeena, Shango...for a moment she thought she saw a familiar feline figure disappearing into the hot cave and her stomach dropped. Indelia?!

She was staring straight at the cave for a moment before she shook her head and walked away. Hopefully they'd see sense and leave, just as she did. Although she didn't know how many of them knew the same spells she did. Could they look into their futures too?

She didn't want to die. And she knew that, if she went in, it wouldn't just be bad for her - Squick was still in her stomach. If she died, she wouldn't be the only one to go down. She doubted that if her body was damaged enough, Squick would just be able to hop right out and find a new host. It would probably be too late then.

She closed her eyes and sighed, turning away from the tunnel. She was starting to feel sick. A lot of activity in the last few days, what with her whole travelling to fornax, collecting rocks, and now everything just felt really really hot. She guessed it was from the tunnel that had opened up. The heat it had blown right in her face didn't seem to go away and it made her feel like she had a fever.

She stumbled over the bones to a pool that she knew was nearby but by the time she got there, to her dismay, the little hollow where the water had once been had dried up. It was all still wet, but the water was gone. She frowned. How many other pools throughout Canis had dried up? Resigning herself to another search, she trudged through the bone room, slowly and lethargically, exhausted and thirsty.

@Mandrake

Mandrake lumbered, malcontented, its motions slow and lethargic, its bones showing through thick and shaggy fur. In the past cycle it had eaten, and eaten, chowing down on all the stunted shrubbery and few prickly grasses that Canis had to offer. But it was nearly 5ft tall now, a little bit taller than the average grizzly bear, and quickly growing. But with size, came a rampant appetite. It sniffed the air with great snorting breaths, three eyes flicking wildly, anxiety apparrent as its hunger pangs grew worse by the day.

It stood out like a sore thumb in these cold, bony lands.

A malcontented groan grew in its throat as it searched. Moving slowly, yet heavily, it trudged right by the little cat, not paying her any heed. Its three eyes didn't even glance her way, not even looking out for a reaction to the strange and monstrous beast.


"When I speak."

When I think.

As the creature lumbered by, Wilder had half a mind to ignore it, in her state of exhaustion. But the opportunity was too good to miss. Wilder could not, ever, just walk by someone without at least saying hello. Maybe getting a new friend too. She looked up and back at the hulking beast, but made no comment on its strange, strange shape. She had, unfortunately, forgotten about the pearl that Squick had left here, so it did not occur to her that this might possibly be it.

She scampered up besides it, pushing past her lethargy and thirst and bringing a smile to her face. "Hello! I'm Wilder!" She glanced over it, wondering if she should lie and say it was pretty or give it a different compliment. Because in her mind, a compliment was necessary to start a good friendship! Or at least some kind of comment or something other then 'Hello, I'm Wilder.'

But, for the first time, she could think of absolutely nothing to say about the appearance of this creature. It was absolutely disgusting, but Wilder wasn't going to say that out loud so she ended up lamely bursting out with "I like your red stripe!"

@Mandrake

The hulking creature tensed, ears twitching, coming to a gradual halt. Slowly its head turned, peering towards her with all three eyes. It was as though it had just noticed she was there. Its nostrils flared as it struggled to understand. It hadn't had much contact with other creatures since the day of its emergence, and it showed. But, something stirred in it at the words. It didn't understand them, not wholly at least, but her tone was friendly.

Slowly, step by step, it turned, its eyes hollow, hungry, and sad. It spoke the only words it had ever really used, its voice deep and rumbling despite its youth. "Fruit," it said, pitifully. "I want fruit."

This creature was, clearly, not meant to be here. Its shaggy, mosslike hide whispered of luscious forests and greenery.

There was something strange about it. But the cold bones of Canis were all it had ever known.


"When I speak."

When I think.

Wilder blinked. Fruit? Was its name fruit? It wasn't a mystery for very long, though, and her ears twitched in understanding. "Ohh, are you hungry?" She flipped a paw over and stretched it out forward, as if to offer something to the creature, but there was nothing there. But then, suddenly there was something there. A banana. A very very sparkly banana. It was kind of small and it'd probably need more, but it was a start.

"Are you hot too? Is it making you hungry?" Of course, that wasn't at all how heat worked - hot made you thirsty, not hungry, but it was really the only thing that Wilder could connect to its hunger problem and why it couldn't get food itself. Or maybe it was looking for food. Maybe it was just a really bad hunter. Or it didn't hunt at all. It didn't matter, though - if she could eat these bananas, anyone could.

@Mandrake

Mandrake lumbered a little closer as the creature answered, turning in a slow circle before plodding back, though remaining at a fair distance whilst examining her studiously. At her question, it bowed its head, ears twitching, and it advanced another couple of steps, peering at her intently. And then, as she performed her spell, the creature's eyes opened wide in amazement. It covered the last few metres between them with slow eagerness.

It was a fruit!

A real fruit.

Mandrake had never seen one before. Its mouth filled with saliva. It bent down, reaching desperately for the fruit and opening grotesque mouth wide. The banana was gone in an instant, peel and all. The beast chewed and swallowed, but the meal only made it hungrier, barely scraping the edge from its hunger pangs. It looked towards the cat expectantly for more, blowing out warm air from flaring nostrils.


"When I speak."

When I think.

@Wilder

Wilder flinched a little bit as its massive jaws opened up and scooped up the banana right out of her pad. It occurred to her that if it wanted to eat her, then it could do so without a problem. She was very, very small. It was this sudden nervousness that perhaps impacted her next spell so the banana that appeared wasn't much bigger then the last, but she held it up to the beast anyways.

But she was being stupid. It was friendly. If it wanted to eat it, it would have done so already, considering that she'd only conjured up a tiny banana. So the tension in her bones faded and she was left a smiling cat once again. "Sorry, I'll make bigger ones for you. But here's another. I can make as many as you need!"

@Mandrake

The large creature's eyes opened wide at the appearance of another banana. Not a moment's hesitation later, it had plucked the banana from her paw and chomped it down. The fruit was the best thing it had ever tasted, bar none; up until now, it had not known what a fruit even was; all it knew was that it wanted some.

The mouthful helped a little more, but such tiny bananas were doing little to satiate the gaping void in Mandrake's stomach. It salivated, rumbling impatiently, eagerly.

It didn't notice that its shaggy fur had begun to glisten and shimmer like diamonds, too intensely fixated on the little cat.

"When I speak."

When I think.

@Wilder

Wilder didn't flinch this time when the beast grabbed the fruit from her. Obviously, it was greatly enjoying the food she was supplying and didn't have an intent on stopping. So, as quickly as it ate the last one, she conjured another one and held it out. This time, the banana was much bigger and it toppled out of her small paw on the ground between them.

She just simply stepped back a bit and pushed the banana forward. "Do you have a name?" she asked casually as she watched it feast.

@Mandrake

With a rumble of pleasure growing in its chest, Mandrake gratefully accepted the next banana. These yellow things were far tastier than the stunted shrubs and thorny twigs that it had been feeding on for the last cycle of its life, and it felt better already, but so long as the cat kept on providing, it had no intention of stopping.

At her question, its ears twitched. It blinked slowly, first its middle eye, and then its ordinary ones. It chewed and swallowed, blowing out a warm and banana-scented breath. It had never been asked for a name before. It had never considered the question, really, although it knew, subconsciously, that there was already something there. The word came to its tongue, unbidden, its voice a low and throaty rumble, like the throb of an engine.

"Mandrake," it said. It did not ask of hers; to it, that much was already obvious. She was small, and she came bearing fruit when it had nothing. She was Fruit-Bringer. As far as Mandrake was concerned, that was what she was here for.

It opened its mouth for more bananas.


"When I speak."

When I think.

@Wilder