A tiny gembound that looked more like a smaller than average lizard than a future large creature like an alligator observed the little ponds pooled on the floor and the small fish swimming within.

Of course, to Lior the water collected on the ground and these fish were the perfect size.

They tilted their head, gaze now intently following a specific fish from Lior's place beside one of the ponds. "You sure do look tasty. You're not able to talk, are you?" Their squeaky voice contemplated aloud. Fish usually were. They didn't expect a response, but was listening just in case. If a tree could be a parent to Wicker and talk, then surely a fish might well be able to do so as well.

"I won't eat you if you can talk," They reassured the fish. "Even if you do look tasty." So focused on talking to their hopefully future meal, they forgot to remain aware of their surroundings.

@Relic

It had been ages since the adventure in Fornax, and in its wake Relic’s life had been left in a state of confused mediocrity. Bayo was missing, they hadn’t seen him since they went spelunking. It was only now that they wondered if he had left by choice, if they had misjudged his character so soon. They doubted it, but whether the doubt came from their brain or a half-formed sense of attachment was unclear. While part of them wanted to sit like a patient little pup, they had some sense that they’d need to take care of themselves if they wanted to be alive when he returned. If he returned.

Easier said than done. Their limbs had lengthened it felt, the awkwardness of their locomotion pronounced. Some old instinct stuttered, as if something was wrong. It all felt too soon, but what did Relic know? Not much honestly.

Well, when your lost in life, return to what you know. At least, that’s what Relic had tried to do, but instead she had gotten herself physically lost as well. Looking for hares in these caves was easier said than done. At least here was cool, wherever here was. Still wet though.

Their ears swiveled as they heard squeaking, which they only registered as words when they focused hard enough. A little lizard, having a chat with something in the pool. A morbid thought drifted across their mind, but they waved it away quickly. Besides, rabbits would taste better, right? Or fish, this area seemed a tad too wet for mammals. Maybe including them, but they were quirky and different, clearly. ”Hiya,” they called from some distance away, not wanting to scare their company. ”Seen any rabbits?”

@Lior

The tiny hatchling swiveled to face the voice greeting them. As the other continued to speak, Lior noted that the gembound had sharp teeth. Not quite as sharp or plentiful as their own, but still. Their curiosity was definitely piqued.

“Hi!” Lior chirped out their own greeting. “No rabbits, just fish,” They informed the other. “‘Least, that’s all I’ve seen. But fish are plenty tasty! Are rabbits tasty? I've never eaten a rabbit before- they're pretty big.” At least, they were big compared to the hatchling.

Now, to try and find answers for their own questions. “You wouldn’t happen to be an alligator by any chance, would you?” The reptile inquired hopefully. “I’m an alligator,” They added.

“My name’s Lior! What’s yours?”

@Relic

The lizard returned the greeting, friendly and unbothered for such a small creature. Maybe this lizard had only seen fish, but surely they wouldn't be able to cover much ground to find such quarry. There was still hope, surely. "Rabbits are the best thing I've eaten." They said with certainty, having not eaten much. Without Bayo the most they could scavenge were bugs and small mammals and... Maybe the odd reptile or two.

"No, I'm a hyena.", they replied to the strange query. To be fair, unless they had been previously informed, they might've just went along with it and called themselves and alligator. Proper nouns had been a thing that came to them slowly. They blinked at the alligator, trying to figure out whether this scrap of scales suited the title. Having nothing to judge against, Relic accepted it pretty easily.

"I'm Relic," She had found her name in her solitude. It had been a quiet, almost mediocre moment, something of quiet reflection rather than earth shattering epiphany. She had always known her name she felt, she just couldn't put the words to it until then. "D'you wanna hunt for rabbits with me?"

@Lior

The idea of rabbits being the best thing ever eaten by this other larger gembound was intriguing. Still- “But have you ever eaten fish?” Lior interrogated, certain that fish was surely tastier than rabbit. If the other had never had fish, perhaps she didn’t know that fish was super tasty.

Then again, the same could be said with Lior and eating rabbit.

“What’s a hyena?” Lior inquired, curiosity shining through. Then, in case they weren’t specific enough. “I know horses have hooves and alligators have lots of sharp teeth- what do hyenas have?” It was interesting, all the distinguishing features that gembounds could have.

“Relic,” Lior repeated with their squeaky voice, before bobbing their head a bit in acknowledgement of the name.

“If you don’t think you can catch fish, we can hunt rabbits,” Lior proposed, a spark of challenge to their pale yellow gaze.

@Relic

Relic sniffed, lightly offended by this line of questioning. "No." They didn't need to they thought, rabbit meat was clearly superior even to the uninitiated. It was simply the best option, even in a galaxy of opportunity. their opinion would not be swayed, not by anyone and certainly not this hatchling.

"A mane, I s'ppose." She didn't quite understand what it was that made a hyena a hyena, or how she had even earned such a designation. Four limbs, a tail, and a sick hairstyle. Was that really all it took?

They snorted at the challenge apparent in the alligator's voice. This cub was one of the first explorers of Lacerta, what was one slimy little water dweller to them? They moved toward the puddle Lior had observed, catch the shimmering mosaic of scales just beneath the water. With a quick, confident snap of their jaws toward water, they sought to catch a few in their teeth. Alas, they were too small for the cub, wriggling though the gaps in their jaw. They spat out one on the cavern floor, crushed and mutilated by teeth almost its size.

"These ones are too small." They complained, chalking the failed hunt up to anyone's failure except their own. "If we're gonna catch anything, it better be big, big enough to bother with." They rose to all four paws, looking down at the little lizard. "Wanna find something worth our time?" They countered, an ambitious and confident smirk creeping on their lips (despite previous failure).

Clearly, this hyena did not know what she was missing with regards to fish, Lior was certain. They would have to show her the superiority of fish. It was the right thing to do, they couldn’t let her go on believing fish were inferior to rabbits.

A mane made a hyena, hooves made a horse, and teeth made an alligator. Lior was learning so much! …Though, hadn’t Wicker had a mane too? But not all the hooved critters Lior had seen had hooves, so maybe that was why. All horses must have hooves, but not all horses have other features in common! The same must go for hyenas with manes and teeth for alligators!

Lior felt very smart.

A squeak of a laugh left them as the hyena failed to catch the fish. Then Relic was offering her own challenge, and Lior’s eyes brightened with enthusiasm. “Let’s do it. But it has to be a fish, unless you think you can’t catch even a bigger fish?”

“I’ve defeated a monster before, with help from a friend,” Lior told her proudly. “I bet we can catch a big fish if we work together. I think there’s bigger fish in some of the water over there?” They gesture to said water with their head.

"Do you have any magic?" Lior wondered, trying to figure out what skills the two had between them.

@Relic

They huffed in response to Luke’s shrill squeak of amusement at their expense, black maw dripping wet with cave water. Relic didn’t quite care about names and labels as the alligator seemed to, content to let things just be. However, they were pretty sure one label could apply to this little reptile.

‘Annoying.’

A challenge was a challenge though, regardless of the character of who initiated. “Finee.” She relented, with all the enthusiasm a stubborn child can muster. “But we catch rabbits after.”

Relic regarded Lior’s claim with hidden skepticism, but their priority was finding that big fish the alligator had promised. “I do have magic, sometimes. I can hear heartbeats if I focus real hard.” They reached for it now, knowing how unruly it could be. They stared into the second pool, hoping to catch the telltale flicker of movement.

The magic came to them easier now, the familiar thumping rhythms echoing in their ear drums. Eyes slid closed, their face inched closer to the pool. “Gotcha.” They whispered triumphantly.

Now was the hard part. They opened their eyes again, moving back from the target as they tensed. A second of silence, interrupted as they lunged forward a second time, black jaws opening in a flash of pale teeth.

Fangs sunk into flesh, their bone-breaking maw holding the fish tightly as it thrashed. They pushed with their front paws, heading breaking free of the water, scattering both droplets from the pool and blood from fish. They had caught a strange, purple creature, one that struggled weakly against their hold as it weakened. They’d move back to the alligator, and drop the dying thing in front of them, pride and arrogance clear on their face.

@Lior

Lior was about to start thinking of a plan, when the hyena simply went for catching the fish. And succeeded this time, but that wasn't the point. "We were supposed to work together!" Lior protested, upset at this breaking of the rules.

"It's no fun if you just go off on your own," The little alligator complained. If Lior could've pouted, they would have.

"Why do you want company hunting rabbits if you don't want to actually hunt together?" They questioned, still rather unhappy. "Why don't you just hunt rabbits on your own? I don't think there even are rabbits in this cave," Lior sullenly added.

"Eat the fish, but if you won't work as a team with me, I don't want to hunt with you," Lior stated, bright with defiance.

@Relic