It wasn't sure why it was here.

Something drew it back here. Maybe that's what it meant when it had said it needed to think. That wasn't what it had thought it had meant, though.

After everything, the tunnel was the same- just empty. The same rocks and rubble at the Canis entrance, the same wind that twisted through the tunnel, the wind that had felt so indominable when it was younger was now more akin to a comforting embrace. Even the heat that threatened to sap the moisture from it's flesh has a strange sense of nostalgia to it.

It moved slowly, carefully taking in its surroundings for what may be the final time it'd be here. What reason did it have to be here, after all? Why would it take such a long trip to such a meaningless tunnel?

It found itself drifting towards The Warren. It wondered what it would see in there- maybe a family of lessers now roosted in there, claiming it as their own. Maybe it was as empty as the day they had left.

It wondered which would be worst.

The faint scent of Orthoclase-Alpha might have lingered here--a place where it'd remained for some time a few cycles back. Bar that, or perhaps because of that, the little den remained quite empty.

The wind that swept down through the tunnel from Canis was particularly dry today, and the air from Hydra very hot, so that little storms tore clouds of red dust from the tunnel floor in pluming, blinding clouds.

For the most part, the tunnel seemed lifeless, empty of all but the taste of dust on the tongue and the churn of air before one's eyes. There was, however, something a little farther down the tunnel. It wasn't anything magnificent, but at first glance it might have been baffling purely due to its color: the same rich reddish hue of the tunnel itself. It was only about the height of a large dog, whatever it was, but it had four hooved legs, and then another two smaller, twisted legs jutting off its body in random directions. Upon closer inspection, it would prove to be a Woolly Deer--its stunted antlers turning this way and that as it tried and failed to find its way.

Its thick, woolly hide had become matted with the dust, and no wonder: these were normally creatures of Pisces and of Ursa, of snow and bitter cold and ice. How had one ended up so lost-? And what would happen to it now?

It might prove to be a rather pointless ally for one so magically able and inclined; or it might make for a very fine meal.

@V-Labradorite-One

Alpha.

The smell of it's parent former overseer mother filled it's nostrils, and it snorted to rid it's nose of that scent. It was an answer, though, to a question not even Alpha itself had been able to answer. This is where it had been. How ironic it was that they had gravitated towards the same place. Like parent like child?

It hoped not.

It moved slowly- about as carefully as a 1-ton swamp beast could. It could feel dust sticking to the oil that covered it's hide. It should find somewhere to clean off before it returned to the forge, unless it wanted everyone to know where it had been. It absolutely did not want that, so it planned to stop for a swim in Leo. Or maybe it would just take the underwater route back to Pegasus.

It was well aware this train of thought was pointedly avoiding what it REALLY needed to think about. It was about to let this idle thought loop onto itself when it saw that deer.

What was a wooly deer doing here? Well, what was The Labradorite doing here?

It'd hang back for a while, quietly observing that deer. And it- it felt ridiculous, because it felt something for that deer, pity or empathy or some other soft and watery emotion. And it shouldn't feel ANYTHING for some random misplaced lesser. It should just END it, bring it back as a modest meal for someone in the forge. So why was it carefully reaching inside itself for a spark of Something? And why was it reaching towards the deer with that spark?

And why did it feel so bad when that spark fizzled and died?

What was it doing?

The woolly deer continued as though it hadn't noticed The Labradorite- and maybe it hadn't. Maybe this particular lesser was even more stupid than a normal lesser. That would explain why it was here of all places, and why it didn't seem to care about the massive predator staring it down. It really should just kill it. It'd be a waste of good meat otherwise.

But it didn't. The idea of bones crunching in it's jaws made it internally cringe, and it sighed at the notion that it LIKED this thing, that it wanted to keep it- as what, a pet? It wouldn't even be a good scout, like a bird could be. It would just be THERE. It'd get in the way, if anything.

So like the idiot it was, it tried again. Reached for the same spark, and then for the deer, as if doing the exact same thing would somehow work, when before it hadn't.

It nearly jolted in surprise when it felt something connect.

It had worked. And it felt such hate and joy that it had worked, because it meant it was now bonded to this thing, and it would have to keep an eye on it, make sure the other forge members didn't mistake it for food. And it would be a little less alone.

It regarded the woolly deer, shakily sending a wordless question though that newly established link. How had it gotten here? Why was it so far away from home? Why was it in a tunnel so inhospitable to it?

As it did so, it'd scan the thing for a glint of gemstone. It'd need a name, after all.

The link flickered and then solidified into place, and suddenly V-Labradorite-One would have two sets of sensations and emotions.

Sensations were simple enough to ignore, since they were similar to Labradorite's, if doubled--a hide whipped by wind and sand (if protected by heavy wool). Emotions were less simple: suddenly there was the perception of a prey beast strong in Labradorite's mind. It had picked up Labradorite's scent, and was puzzled, nervous--and now the deer seemed to peer at it along the new link. It was, Labradorite would find, a strangely adventurous sort of creature: perhaps this was how it had wound up so far from home. It was also a little... strange. It was looking for food, but it would eat anything it could find--with a preference for the blue berries that grew on the thorned bushes in warmer caves, and oddly, for carrion that it stumbled across, perhaps for the nutrients it could provide. While very lost, the deer was more wandering than terrified, searching for the things its natural home could not provide. Indeed, it was surprisingly unafraid, all told. The rest, Labradorite would need to get to know the deer to learn.

The Woolly Deer, upon closer inspection, had a diamond stone laced around its nostrils, forming the bulk of what should have been a velveteen nose.

@V-Labradorite-One