Yellow stumbled through the opening of tunnel B, nearly tripping over the loops in the scarlet banner wrapped around them. Even folded in half, it was as wide as they were long (excluding their tail), and one and a half times their length. This was probably the twelfth time they'd stumbled over it today.

Still, it seemed to be doing a pretty good job at keeping them warm so far. Or maybe that was the exertion of dragging it all this way? Yellow winced at the thought of how much grimy cave floor had touched the trailing fabric. They'd have to wash it again when they got back, and they doubted it'd be much more fun the second time around.

To their dismay, they'd dropped over half of the berries they'd carried with them on the way to Ursa. It turned out that little round things really weren't the best shape to hold in the fabric's folds. Yellow popped the remaining forlorn handful into their mouth, but they were still hungry. Maybe magic would help?

Remembering a yellow (Yellow! perfect!) fruit their brother'd shown them once, Yellow envisioned one grasped in their slender black fingers really hard and--there it was! For a sifaka their size, it could probably count as a full meal. Yellow dragged it and their 'blanket' some distance further into Ursa, then sat down to nibble at it while they watched the auroras in the 'sky'.

It was windy today (maybe it always was here), and they were glad they'd brought the red-gold banner with them. They could pull it around them to act as a sort of barrier from the wind and cold. And though the weather wasn't perfectly clear, and the wind sometimes threw flurries of snow into the sky, they thought that it kind of made a nice accent to the swirling rainbows. All in all, not a bad place for a field trip.

@Pallas

Pallas did not often go out this far. The tunnels may have been extensive, but they rested in their own places, had their own exits- so, perhaps it was lucky that he'd ended up closer to this tunnel as he wandered about Ursa. Alone, notably- he did not have his Praetor behind him, not this far out in the open. 'Perhaps I should bring back something for it,' he'd pondered in his mind halfway through his walk, getting himself acquainted, still, with Ursa's expansive twists and turns.

He always brought something back. That was just part of his nature- feed Mother, and feed his family, and maintain the secrecy.

It seemed no other beings had sought them out after the failed attack- and how failed it was, destroyed by their own Chaos. Fitting. Pallas had been around there after everything had been cleared out to check the tracks, watching and waiting to see if anybody would return, but he figured they had a small window of safety, for now. They wouldn't try anything again, not so soon- and not with Mother at the helm of potential... relations.

Dark eyes took in the entrance as he approached, his tan coat standing out in the white snow. He was cold- he was always cold- but there was warmth to look forward in the ice tunnels. White fungus over his body clearly proclaimed his loyalties, and yet he did not cower and hide- he had a duty to perform.

A red fluttering in the distance caught his eye. He gave pause to that- why would someone wander through Ursa so blatantly, if they weren't some form of child? It seemed not too big, and he'd angled himself towards the item as it moved along, matching pace with whatever holding it before it sat.

Who was this? Approaching closer, Pallas made no move to hide himself, looking over the sifaka. There would be some time between visual contact and audible contact- not with this wind, but he still rose his head to shout out a small "Hello!" into the wind.

His body language was perfected, and perhaps his movements were stilted- each step was mirrored by the next until he came into speaking range, looking up at Yellow. "What brings you to Ursa, today?" He put forth his best effort to seem kind and polite, holding the tone of a hotel clerk rather than a spiteful little linsang. They were not seeking others to bring into their family, not too much anymore- but it would be good to establish good relations, would it not?

@Yellow

Yellow scrambled into a more alert posture as a figure appeared over the snowdrifts. Someone approaching? The silhouette didn't seem very big; in fact, Yellow thought maybe the stranger was around their size. Friend-shaped, they decided, unless they have magic. They dropped back to a sitting position, ensconced within the warmth of their blanket. Standing up and being cold really was no fun.

"Hey there!" they called, their voice amplified by magic so that it would carry over the wind, but realized that maybe they should wait until they could hear a response to talk more. "I'm Yellow, and I'm stargazing!" they informed Pallas when he was closer. The sifaka pointed at the swirling auroras with a sparkling black finger. "Like in Orion, but wider and with colors!"

They smiled, beckoning to Pallas. "Want to come watch with me? It's warmer under here."

@Pallas

Stargazing? Pallas's steps halted for a moment, but he continued on, standing nearly next to Yellow. "I'm Pallas. Stargazing's a good past-time," he spoke with a faint smile. His voice creaked with disuse at every word, but it certainly wasn't unintelligible. He was about to mention Orion, but- ah, they said it before him. Instead, he nodded, looking back up to the auroras as the cold breeze swept over his fur.

He paused at the offer, considering. Getting closer could risk Mother's touch, and while that wasn't inherently bad, it still hung in the back of his mind. But, the- blanket?- looked warm enough, and certainly big enough for the two of them. While he wasn't one to get close to people he hadn't yet met, it was paramount to establish good relations, after all, and he soon found himself sidling closer. "Might as well- it's always cold here, I'll admit." He shuddered as the cold set in, a cloud of breath escaping his muzzle.

Sneaking in under the blanket, Mother's fungus caught at the edges and flaked off as he nestled in, not much smaller than Yellow themselves. He turned a little in a circle, making himself comfortable, before curling up and staring out of the opening Yellow had made to stargaze. His eyes turned to watch the sifaka, and he made a small noise of consideration, looking back out to the ceiling.

"It is warmer here," he said after a moment, curling his long tail about himself. Would they come closer and get Mother's spores in them? Would they ask, would they even notice..? Pallas's ears turned back for a moment, but he elected to put that out of his mind for the moment, focused on simply allowing himself to remain a pleasant host of this cave.

They reminded him, a little, of the members of his family back in Cetus. Were they doing okay, he wondered..?

@Yellow

'It's always cold here.' Yellow tilted their head at Pallas, giving him a quizzical look. "You live here? Why?" Pallas didn't seem like someone adapted to the cold. They would have thought another cave might have suited him more: maybe Eridanus; lots of things did well there.

The flakes of fungus looked like snow at first, until one of the white pieces stuck to the contrasting red fabric of the blanket. It was met with feelings of sympathy, rather than disgust. Pallas was clean and well-groomed apart from those flakes, and Yellow felt bad that there were no friends or family to pick out the dander from his fur. At least, that was what they were assuming.

"Do you get visitors often?" they wondered, absentmindedly reaching out a hand to brush any remaining 'dander' from Pallas' fur. "It seems kind of lonely here."

@Pallas

Pallas glanced back up when Yellow asked, shuffling in place as he loafed. "My family is here," he offered as a simple explanation. A gentle nod, and he started waving snow off of his feet with his tail, like some sort of brush.

He stiffened to the touch. His spine shuddered, his back tensed, and he glanced back up to Yellow. 'It's fine. This is fine,' his mind said to itself, but he could still feel discomfort rising. He let out a small breath- he did nothing to betray how he'd felt to her other than this. No, he focused on the conversation, shaking his coat slightly.

"Not often, no," he affirmed, tucking himself in tighter and staring out into the snow, a faint glassy look to his eyes as he dissociated his mind from his body. He needed to ignore the touching. It would be fine.

Breathe in, breathe out. He had half of a mind to tell them to wash their hands, but the other told himself that he needed to spread Mother's goodwill, and the two ideas clashed together. His breathing stuttered. Turn it on them. "Do you have family?" he decided to settle on, half-turning his head back to Yellow. Yes, that was good. Take the focus off of his conflicted mind.

@Yellow

A small, confused frown made its way onto Yellow's face. The white flakes did not fall to the ground when they combed at Pallas' fur, which seemed… unusual, in their experience. But it was gone half a second later, with a vague mental shrug. It probably wasn't important, and anyway Pallas looked a little uncomfortable, so maybe pointing out recent acquaintances' dander wasn't really best practice.

'My family is here,' Pallas said, and ah, everything made sense now! They'd certainly follow their brothers anywhere, if only they had any idea of where Rift or Sebastian were.

Oh, and their family? Yellow wasn't quite sure how to answer that question. "Uh- yes?" they tried. "But they're not really - around. Sleeping?" Again, that barest of frowns creased their face, and they worried at one of the banner's loops. It had been an awfully long time, but then again they'd taken a while to wake up the first time too.

"He's a black cat, with ruby on his shoulder and fire magic. Have you seen him, maybe?" Yellow asked hopefully, hating how they shivered a little at the word fire. That wasn't FAIR; it was their brother's magic too.

@Pallas

Pallas calmed marginally over time as he got used to the touch, but his back still twitched when- and if- their fingers went through his fur rather than over. He hummed out- sleeping. Pallas knew of hibernation, but he had yet to experience it, only knowing the worry one might feel from it. "I hope they awake soon." His ears flicked back for a moment, debating, one paw curling back to his side. He could feel the fungus that had taken root there- but, should he offer? He shouldn't lie to them, if they were to join, after all.

He looked back to Yellow when they gave their relative's description. "The only cat with fire magic I know of had an amber, and I haven't seen him in over a year, either." He huffed out, nostrils flaring as he dropped his head into the snow.

He debated. "You could stay with my family, for a time, if you'd like. It's through this fungus," and he wrapped his left arm under his other armpit, tapping at the fungus at his side. "Ingest it, or breathe it in, and you can join- but if you don't find it pleasant, it can be removed through fungal magic or simple chrysalizing." They didn't seem to know of Mother, and weren't worried of the fungus he held, so perhaps they wouldn't have the mind to run away screaming at the offer.

He was silent for a moment, before lifting his head and looking to Yellow. "Of course, it's only if you'd want to. We can help find your family, too, if you'd like." His head tilted just slightly as his round, dark eyes set upon Yellow's, exuding nothing but the warmth of his offer in the freezing cold of Ursa.

@Yellow

Yellow's face wrinkled with visible confusion as Pallas gestured to his… armpit hair??? No, it was a fungus. Though maybe that was just as weird? Pallas was explaining, but they didn't get it. Was that just them, or??? did that not make sense at all???

They peered at it despite themselves, with an odd sense of fascination. "It grows on you? Is that… hygienic?" they wondered, glancing over Pallas' fur again. The linsang wasn't dirty or anything, and Rift had grown plants on himself, but wasn't fungus a little different? And how was any of this related to his family?

"Does your family just - uh - really like fungus or something?" they questioned, utterly mystified. "Does it taste good? I had another brother who liked plants, but I didn't have to eat anything to join... well, I guess I already ate plants."

More family was always good, though. And they did like Pallas. If only it wasn't all so confusing.

@Pallas

Pallas tilted his head as he hovered his paw over the side of his chest, blinking- ah, he deflated a little at the possible confusion. "It's hygienic. It's uh- I will admit, it doesn't taste good, though." He snapped off a small growth from just below his ribs and placed it between them- for Yellow to choose on their own.

As he spoke, he rolled over and mirrored the break on the other side, bringing reflection to his form. There, that was better, and he let out a relieved breath. How could he phrase this..? "It's not entirely required, but the cleaners get uncomfortable around those who don't have our Mother's touch, and you won't be able to come home. And it's not too unpleasant once it's in you, at least. It's a link to our Mother, to keep our siblings in contact."

He turned in place, tucking himself back together. "That way, if any of us would see the rest of your family, we could tell you right then and there. I promise that I'll help find them, too- you have my word." One paw reached out to pat Yellow's hand, a determined nod given to them.

After all, he would do anything for his siblings, current or future ones.

@Yellow