Aurelle was a simple woman.

She tended her home, carefully removing chunks of rock out of the shelter in Orion in the morning-- feeling the walls, or using her magic to see which parts of the building had crumbled and needed clearing out. Her and Lichen had initially picked the place because it was both unoccupied and didn't need as much TLC as other buildings, but it was still a great task that had taken them some weeks so far. In the afternoon she'd stop, and go foraging for food and water to bring back and eat in the comfort of home. In the evening, she'd hang out with Lichen until they fell asleep and repeated the routine the next day.

A simple life, and one Aurelle quite enjoyed.

She'd spent an hour or two today trying to clear out the jagged rocks on the smooth floor of the residence, finding it hurt her feet often to pad through. Once it felt smoother underfoot, Aurelle went scavenging like usual. And today, she found something quite interesting.

A town. A market, with things for sale, though it seemed as though she needed coin to acqurie any of it. She didn't mind: she wasn't very materialistic-- but her final find did make her mind. There was a tavern with food and drink. She couldn't get any of it, but that was okay. She didn't want to eat without Lichen, anyway. And surely, two heads were better at making money than one anyway.

So, here came Aurelle, quickly bouncing through Orion. She'd never quite gone so fast before (it was not very fast at all), and found herself holding her breath as she tried to connect with her magic. She felt the spark right in her face-- like stepping out into cold air from a warm home.

There were teeny-tiny living things all around her, she could sense suddenly: but they gave her a good idea of where everything was. Where they sloped up into the walls of buildings, and where the path dipped and bent for her to follow. It wasn't long until she came loping into her home.

"Lichen!" She called, chanting with each bounce of her step. "Lichen, Lichen, Lichen. I found something!"

@Lichen

Life was simpler with company. A lesson that had taken Lichen far too long to learn, something she hadn't had the luxury to enjoy since she was no bigger than some of the rats that scurried through Orion. The novelty hadn't yet worn away either. She could get up any time she pleased and find Aurelle, either by following the sounds of rubble being moved or — like today — Aurelle would find her by calling her.

Admittedly, she was much lazier than her friend. Most of her days were spent coiled in their shared dwelling, enjoying the comforts of a shared home. Rocky beds had long since become a learned comfort to her. However, Aurelle, with her softer parts, wasn't so comfortable. So, on days when she could muster the energy, on warmer ones when the heat seeped into her bones and made her feel exceptionally lively; she'd push rubble from their shared dwelling. Sometimes, she'd hunt or forage, being cold-blooded meant she didn't need to eat as much as her warm-blooded friend; so she could leave it out for Aurelle.

Occasionally the thought wormed its way into her head that she should do more to aid her friend, that this friendship thing had a learning curve she wasn't quite at the bell curve of yet. It was on a day such as today that it had. She'd been attempting to nap it off when the voice called...

An unassuming lump within the building began to shift. Dust shifted off the dark pile as it rose and once awakened, gave off a soft light. Lichen grumbles, sleep clogging her senses. "Wh..?" Lichen shifted some more until she finally stood on all four legs, shaking off the remains of the dust.

She padded towards the sounds of Aurelle's voice, the chanting making it easy to locate her. Lichen had always been grateful to live with someone equal to her in the vision department. Lichen bumped her nose on an old door frame before her feelers, sluggish with sleep, coiled from her nose and allowed her to find the rest of the way unharmed.

"What is it?" Lichen asks, her voice heavy from slumber; feelers and tongue work in tandem to sniff and feel out Aurelle, tippy-tappying as they do, betraying her excitement through her tiredness.

@Aurelle

The spell was fading, but Aurelle could hear and smell Lichen nearby. She turned and extended her arms until she felt the dragon's pointed nose and-- so that she didn't have her hands in Lichen's face --scooted down to wrap an arm around her neck in a half-hug.

"I found a new place," the elf announced proudly. "Okay-- it's not far, it's just down one of the tunnels, I think the one that leads to Polaris." Polaris was always easy to find: something about the place made her feel tingly and energetic. She felt that way right now, incidentally, but that was only because she was excited.

Aurelle continued, "There's like, a... a place where people are giving things out. And! There's a big place where they give out hot food and water for free!" She was practically vibrating against Lichen's shoulder, shimmying and swaying the dragon around in the half-hug. "But they want, ahh-- coins? For it. So I thought we could go together and ask how to get coins so that we can eat lots of food for free."

It should be noted that Aurelle did not entirely have the same concept of 'free' that your average person does. Free did not mean 'for nothing' to her-- it simply meant 'without effort.' Her foraging, Lichen's hunting, was significant effort on both of their parts. If they could do something smaller and receive several meals-worth in return, without worrying about rot or resources vanishing? Yes, that was absolute freedom to her.

"It'll be fun," she assured Lichen, now gently pat-slapping her neck like the roof of a car. "And it's warm."

@Lichen

Lichen didn't so much as blink as hands touched her face. Perhaps once she'd had the instinct to blink to protect her eyes, but that had been unlearnt slowly with time; it had to be, it was much more uncomfortable to blink when your eyes were gems. The feelers followed Aurelle, tapping gently against her hands until they were out of reach by her neck. The things seemed to have a mind of their own as the dragon stood there like a statue, they reached out for Aurelle but gently swayed away once she was out of their reach.

"Free food? And water?" Lichen echoed, turning her head slightly towards the Aurelle's voice. She had her doubts, it sounded like a trap, for others to lure them out and eat them. Yet, she'd be lying if she said Aurelle's excitement wasn't infectious. She swayed with Aurelle, more and more drawn in by the idea the more the elf spoke of it.

A warm place of free food and water, in exchange for coins. It absolutely sounded like a trap. A very cushy and cosy trap. A toasty, delicious trap that made her stomach growl at the mere idea of. "And you've already been to this place?" Lichen ventured, if Aurelle had survived this obvious trap alone, then the two of them together would easily uncover their warm goods.

Curse Aurelle and her excitement, her outright whimsy, because she was leaning into Aurelle slightly and practically putty in her half-hug. "Well, I suppose we could at least have a look..."

@Aurelle

Aurelle nodded, confirming-- not that Lichen could see, but luckily Aurelle had long mastered the ability to speak and gesture at the same time. Revoluntionary. "Yes, for free. We just need to get some of the coins," she said (still unaware of the oxymoron). "Apparently, if you bring them stuff, they'll just give you coins. And then you give them some coins whenever you want to eat, and they make food and water.

As ever, she didn't have any of the trepidations that Lichen had. In fact, she was thinking with her belly more than usual-- but exchanging some garbage for a hot meal after years of eating raw mushrooms and fruits would do that to anyone. "I had a little sniff around," she nodded. "Everyone is really nice. And it's warm," she added, because this was an important selling point.

When Lichen conceded, she let out a very low, excited squeal that resonated in her throat, giving Lichen another firm, affectionate shake. "We'll go!" She said excitedly-- she shed her shawl and affixed it around the dragon's shoulders (she was genuinely concerned it might still be a little cold for her, even though the caves were heating up now), then felt up her neck towards her face until her hand brushed against a feeler.

Her hand extended, offering for Lichen to fold a whisker around her wrist. "It's not far," she promised.

@Lichen

Mentally, Lichen cursed Aurelle. Damned persuasive Aurelle. As if Lichen hadn't almost caved the second she'd heard there was food, and it was warm. "Well, bringing them stuff isn't too hard.." She conceded further, the metaphorical hole she was digging herself into already deeper than anything within the caves. "And if they're nice.."

When Aurelle had squealed in her excitement, Lichen had to resist the urge to gently close her eyes and surrender to the irritating feeling of just how far gone she was; that she would find this warm-food-place herself all by herself, just for a chance to hear her friend so delighted once again.

She'd become oh-so-soft in recent cycles, it seems.

Bundled in Aurelle's shawl, that more so just hung around her shoulders like a limp noodle with her wings in the way, Lichen was ready to go. Even if she had her own trepidations about the place, the tendril coiled around Aurelle's hand without prompting. Traitor. She thought at the feeler, as it seemed to not share her concerns about following her and her friend into a trap.

"We'll go. What is so nice about food being hot anyway?" She had no qualms with their measly diet of raw, bland, food. But, perhaps Aurelle could convince her further as they walked and she could dig her hole even deeper..

@Aurelle

Aurelle held the feeler gently. She didn't want to pull or squeeze on it for obvious reasons; so she walked forward while very gently leading Lichen along out the familiar path surrounded by buildings. "Well, hot food will feel hot in your tummy," she said. "Which will feel really nice, right?" It really was that simple.

When they came out into the more open area of Orion, Aurelle's steps faltered for just a moment as she held her breath. She touched out for her magic again, and she felt the familiar pull of microbial life around her, sprawling out into a loose map of the next few feet in front of her.

"I think it's this way..." she murmured half to herself as she wandered forward with dragon in tow. "And of course it'll be easy. How hard can it be to get some stuff together? And it'll be even easier because there's two of us." She nodded to herself, already convinced.

Her free hand reached out to trace the wall of a ruined building as they walked, feeling out her way and sniffing the air carefully for the scent of tunnel N's moss. "Why do you think they might not be nice?" She asked casually over her shoulder.

@Lichen

Lichen followed in tow, already having this down to a decently practiced art. Her spare feeler remains freely swaying slightly ahead and out to the side of her other side, together they might notice any obstacle before they walk full-bodied into them. Hopefully.

She guessed that it may be nice to have something warm in her tummy. It was nice to have any sort of food in your tummy, warm or cold. So, she simply made a noncommittal noise of agreement, a low rumble that suggested she agreed. Lichen's tongue flicks out ahead, smelling the air as she walks, pausing between sentences to continue the old habit.

"Some people just aren't nice. They play tricks or..." Another pause to sniff, she uses the time to gather more thoughts. "I don't know what they gain from making food for others. They're giving away their food." She finally admits, the reluctance clear in her voice.

It was true. It was hard to imagine what someone would gain from gathering food for strangers. With Aurelle it was for both of them, for safety and comfortable-ish living. But, what would a stranger stand to gain from it? She didn't understand...

@Aurelle

"Well, no one is awful just to be awful, either," Aurelle reasoned, her voice gentle. Her magic was already fading, but she managed to notice a rock in front of her feet before it did, and she gently kicked it aside so that Lichen wouldn't trip over it. "Maybe they like to feed others, or maybe the coins mean something to them, and they want a lot of them. Maybe they... look nice." She faltered just a little on that last part; uncertain, and half-wondering if they should keep a few coins just for the aesthetics, even if neither of them could appreciate something like prettiness.

Lichen's reluctance was finally beginning to crack through Aurelle's whimsy, though. She slowed a little to a stop, turning her head a little towards Lichen, even though she couldn't see Lichen, and Lichen couldn't see the gesture. "We don't have to go if you don't want to," she said gently, trying her best to keep a tone of disappointment out of her voice. Lichen's comfort was important to her, after all-- if Lichen didn't want to go, maybe they could figure out some kind of compromise. "It's okay if you want to stay," she further assured.

She didn't want Lichen to stay-- she wanted to go together, but checking in was definitely a good thing right now, she thought.

@Lichen

Lichen swivelled a little as Aurelle slowed to a stop. Her claws itched, digging into the dirt at her feet. She didn't want Aurelle to not have a nice time, but she didn't want Aurelle to be hurt either. Yet, the little voice began to reason, isn't that what you're doing now? Hurting? Aurelle would take it well, she knew that in her heart, but Lichen would never forgive herself for setting that little seed if disappointment in there. Of an itch unscratched.

Lichen inhales a big breath before speaking again, doing her best to keep her voice level. "We'll go. And if they're not nice, we'll.. leave. It'll be easy." Though that last part was tacked on for her own sake rather than Aurelle's. If they got there, and it wasn't good, they could simply leave, surely.

"And, perhaps someone will tell us if these coins look nice. Maybe we can keep some and make a display." Lichen added, her voice much lighter than it was before. There was something sweet about putting a nice thing on display, even if they couldn't see it. To make that little ruin feel more like a permeant nest. A home.

@Aurelle