A delicious smell had led Arcturus to this spot. At some point in their wandering of Pegasus, they'd caught a whiff of something sweet and floral. Different then the other flowers that dotted the meadows across the cave's expanse. No, it was stronger and more delightful, but much fainter. They'd followed their nose as far as they could, but now...uh....

There was a wall. The cave wall. Arcturus was pretty sure rocks shouldn't smell like flowers.

But then, investigation. They sniffed here and there, everywhere, too curious to let this go, and then suddenly, as they were padding along the wall, they noticed that a part of it looked different. Like...a piece was cut out and put back almost perfectly. Glowing eyes narrowed and they reached forward, gently pawing at the space, and then it was moving. Opening. A door - perhaps another cave beyond?

Excited and curious, they padded through the entrance and they forgot anything else in their mind but what was right in front of them. Their jaw dropped open and a small "woah." escaped their throat. It wasn't just a little cave but an entire meadow! As beautiful, no wait, more beautiful then Pegasus. Smaller, of course, but the atmosphere of this space was wildly different.

It wasn't like Pegasus, or any other cave in particular (save for places such as Canis) had a particularly evil vibe, but it was like the air was neutral. Open. A mix of good and bad creatures passed here and there, with intentions to both hurt and help. But as soon as Arcturus had stepped foot into this hidden refuge, they only felt goodness. Protection. Sanctuary. This was special - an oasis among what evil wandered the rest of the caves.

Arcturus padded forward, stopping at the edge of the water, and sitting down, taking a moment just to bask in the sweetness of this sanctuary, feeling more safe then they had in a long time. Breathing slow and deep, feeling the tension in their muscles drifting away, before the curiosity still tugging and pulling at their brain had them back at attention.

"Is...anyone here?" They called into the refuge as loudly as they dared - it was so quiet here, right now, they didn't want to start making a huge racket.

A new friend-?

A shimmer of teal and gold heralded her arrival: a long-bodied, wide-eyed creature of soft fur and butterfly wings, her gemstone a perfect halo above her head. Stars seemed flecked throughout her fur, like soft dust, and no part of Meissa was intimidating or hostile. She fluttered in, bounded soft across the grass, and regarded Arcturus with fascination.

He was larger, star-shot like her and covered in reds and flaming golds. Ooooh. He was like... an echo of her, but different! She might have been afraid, if her dad hadn't promised her (in his own murmured, grunting, wordless way) that this place could house only the good-at-heart.

"I'm here!" she offered, scurrying a little closer. Her build was snakelike--some thirteen feet long, but only two or so high, leaving her relatively dwarfed by Arcturus. "I'm Meissa! And--that's my dad. I think he's sleeping," she added, in a near-whisper and with a nod to the pond.

It might not have been immediately obvious what she meant: the white lotus flower that seemed to bloom at the water's center looked like only that: a flower.

Closer inspection would reveal the coiled, white-scaled form below, curled beneath the pristine water, sleeping there.

@Arcturus

He saw her immediately, all blue and sparkling, bouncing over, fluttering wings behind her, a graceful, delightful beauty that stole Arcturus's breath away. Glowing eyes widened as she approached, a step taken back out of surprise at her sudden appearance, instead of any fear of her. There was nothing in her stance or her face to be afraid of - nothing here at all, in fact, that warranted fear.

There was a moment in which they were both silent, looking at each other, seeing each other mirrored in the other - sparkling and star-flecked, winged and beautiful - before they both moved, Arcturus a step back forward as a joyous smile split his face as she moved closer. "Hello!" he chimed back, the lights twinkling brightly in his mane, overjoyed at finding a fellow friendly spirit in this wonderful place. "I'm Arcturus, it's nice to meet you! You can call me Arc, if it's too long. I didn't think I'd find anyone here, it's like a secret cave!"

He looked over in the direction she was looking at, taking a moment to figure out what she meant. Did she mean...the flower? The flower was her dad? Well, that would make sense...kind of. She was so cute and delightful, maybe she was a flower child!

But then, after a moment of looking, he saw the creature bellow and his jaw dropped. That was what she meant - the huge creature coiled beneath the water. "Woah," he shouted-whispered, mirroring her volume change. "He's huge! That's really your dad? Is this his home? Like, did he make it all hidden and stuff?"

"Arcturus isn't too long!" she assured their newest guest, watching him cheerfully. "I think you're the first other person I've met with sparkles," she added. This little admission was given very softly, wide-eyed, as though it were a secret.

Then she was airborne, lithely graceful and shimmering blue. "It is a secret cave!" and she laughed, delighted, childlike. "It's Dad's, yeah! Did you get surprised when you fell through the rock?" she added, glancing back with sly humor in her eyes.

Everyone always got surprised when they fell through the wall. If they did. Because--"He made it so only nice strangers can come in. So--that means you're nice!"

Meissa beamed.

"I could show you around, if you like?" She hesitated, happy but--again her voice dropped to offer a confession: "We don't get many visitors here. It's nice to see someone new!"

@Arcturus

Arcturus mirrored Meissa's wide-eyes, ears flicking up. "Oh, really? I've seen a few sparkles. We're not very common though!" There was a twinge of pride in his voice, perhaps a little vanity, at being something unique, something that wasn't particularly common around the caves. His eyes followed her as she leaped into the air, laughing with her and spreading his own wings, joining her above the ground. Smoke trailed behind him, lights glittering as they danced above the water.

Arcturus went wide-eyed again, huffing loudly. "It did, but I didn't fall through! I've never heard of fake rocks before, but I could smell the garden and I touched the rock and my paw went through! It was really strange!" Her dad must be a powerful spellcaster to be able to put up such a strong illusion, even when he was sleeping!

He smiled wide at the compliment, fluttering a little higher. "Oh, I'm glad! I try to be nice! I like making people happy and having fun and stuff so I guess that'd make me nice, huh?" Well, at least he hadn't done anything bad like hurt anyone. But that made sense, then, that this place seemed so safe. There was actual magic keeping it safe. He felt honored to be allowed past its barriers.

At Meissa's offer, he nodded, fervently. "I'd love to see! It must be lonely without visitors so I'm glad I found this place! It's so pretty!"

Arcturus's description of his paw passing through rock had Meissa lighting up with mischievous cheer. She loved to hear those stories: the awe and wonder of someone finding her beloved home for the very first time!

"You seem nice!" she agreed, and rose up a little higher, as if inviting her fellow flying creature to follow.

She began, then, to give him the grand tour. The meadow shimmered in the light. It was large, not enormous, but Meissa cherished every corner of it, every flower her father had nurtured here. She fluttered, butterfly-like, from one cluster of bright life to the next, chattering happily all the while. And she looked to Arcturus, bright-eyed, now and then--as if hoping he enjoyed it as much as she did.

"These are from Eridanus! They're white and they have a very sweet smell to them. They look like little bells," and Meissa was very proud to know what a bell was.

"Oh, these make you sneeze! They have pollen, and it's golden and very pretty in the air but every time I breathe it in I keep sneezing. Even Dad sneezes," she confided, eyes glittering, after zipping a little closer so that she could lower her voice.

"There's mice under these rocks! They're very small, and red, and if you aren't careful with pretty things they'll steal them and hide them away! They like to collect things."

...and so on. It was so nice to have someone to show around, here!

@Arcturus

Arcturus smiled wider, as wide as their feline-esque face could. "Thank you!!" It was good that they seemed nice - they didn't think that they were anything intimidating to look at, but they'd made a good first impression and probably gave good impressions on others too! That was a relief, actually. As soon as Meissa lifted higher into the air, Arcturus followed, wings beating harder to lift them further up and after her.

He followed, listening intently as Meissa showed him flowers and herbs and bushes and other beautiful life that had his eyes sparkling with wonder at how much had been grown and cultivated here. Of course, he'd seen Eridanus and Pegasus, but there was something different about knowing what all of these were, and listening to someone that so deeply cared for them talk about everything in front of him. Meissa was happy and enjoying herself and so Arcturus enjoyed himself as well, giving a "Mm-hmm" and "Ooooh!" and "Oh wow!" when appropriate, cherishing each and every thing Meissa showed him.

He sniffed the white bells, he sneezed at the golden flowers, and listened for the mice, just barely picking up the sound of tiny feet. He was as interested in everything Meissa showed him as she was to share. At one point, while looking at a patch of beautiful star lilies, he piped up, "These are from Cetus, aren't they? Did you get them yourself?"

She dropped to the mossy earth and, in a couple bounds (with a grace almost half-fox, half-serpentine) she leapt to the flowers in question. And there she paused, studying them, thinking. "I don't remember," she admitted, and then--glancing up with bright eyes--clarified. "Where they're from, I mean. Or if they started here, even. Dad brings them, mostly! -You like flowers, Arc?" she added, blinking.

Some Gembound seemed to; most were pretty oblivious, but this one--he'd taken notice?

She smiled, a little, at that.

"Does Cetus have many flowers?" she asked--she didn't tend to leave Pegasus all that much.

@Arcturus