Plink. Plink. Plink. Chilled water dripped from the stalactites that hung dangerously low from the ceiling. Down along ruins and bones of unknown creatures. Down along hidden pathways in the rocks. Down, down, down into little craters filled with icy water. Plink. Plink. Plink. For a long period of time that was all that could clearly be heard other than the occasional scampering of a cave rat dashing across a mound of bones. An eerie silence clung into the air.

Bones rustled as suddenly one such cave rat dashed away. It had been curiously exploring a strange glittering mound of dull yellow when the mound has shifted a little. Startled, the rodent quickly fled the area causing some of the small bounds surrounding the area to scatter and clink down the pile towards the pools below. Another shift of the stone occurred. Then again, more quickly this time.

Crack, the sound erupted in the previous stillness. Smaller cracks began to form along the pyrite’s surface. The fissures elongated as bits of black fur and ivory teeth poked past. Whatever was inside was impatient to escape. Frustrated whimpers could be heard from deep within.

With a low growl, a last effort was made. The pyrite shattered into smaller pieces leaving a mound of black fur sitting on top of a small stack of strange bones and gems. It gave an enthusiastic growl of triumph, snorting at the remains of the stone egg that had previously bound them. For now, he was free to do with as he pleased.

Which, at the present moment, was to simply look around and ponder where he was. More importantly, what was everything that shimmered so prettily to his one ruby colored eye? His one eye blinked, taking in the shards of pyrite around him that glistened. There were also a few tiny gems in the pile. Curious about the smaller gems the black creature edge closer and nosed at the pile to free one said piece. It was embedded deep into what appeared to be a scapula of some unknown creature. The stone had previously been bigger, it appeared, but had snapped at some point. No matter. The black creature plopped down and chewed on the bone, eyeing the gem intently. One thought came to mind then.

“Mine.”

The small tanuki was satisfied for a while to simply chew on the bone. It was a satisfying action similar to a baby sucking on a pacifier. His eye focused on the pale blue gemstone that clung to the scapula. It shimmered in the light caused by the subtle movements of teeth grinding the bone. He was quite pleased with his find.

But there were other bones and oddities around him that begged for his attention. While the bone he had was nice, perhaps there were other nice bones as well? With shiny stones on them too? Yes yes, it was decided that he had to find out for himself.

The black creature stood up wobbly on all four legs. It was difficult to balance on the pile at first. Tiny bones fell off the pile. Soon he found his center of balance. Now to decide which way to go. With little insight, he picked a direction and delicately tried to make his way down. The way was difficult as the surface he travelled shifted under his paw. Not to mention he hadn’t let go of his first treasure yet which probably came from one of the cave deer that plagued the area. Gingerly he made his way further down the pile.

Now to figure out what other kinds of treasures existed here.

Once off the bone pile the pup took a moment to rebalance himself. As he had only just hatched, all of his life so far had been on shaky ground. Having paws rest on a solid surface was a new experience for him. He quickly realized that this was much preferable to walking down the bone pile. Already the young tanuki was learning much about the world.

Not that he cared much at the moment. Satisfied that his balance was acceptable, he looked around. Much of the cavern looked the same as it did from his higher vantage point; piles of bones, dust and tiny stones, strange strings of lights hanging along the walls that flickered ever so slightly, and small pools of shallow water. All of the cavern appeared dry and long dead. It was a wonder that any creature in the Origin cave system, be they lesser or greater gembound, came to this area. Though all around there was evidence that, at least at one point, they did.

The black pup knew that there was more to this area than what meets the eye. He was carrying such a proof in his maw. If there was one pretty stone, there had to be more! And he was determined to find them!

Though …. He glanced back at the top of the bone pile he had came from. Shards from the chrysalis could still be seen sparkling. He didn’t want to travel too far away from there. Partly because he didn’t know the way around this cavern. But also, because he didn’t want to lose what treasure he had already found.

At last the tanuki stepped forwards in a random direction. He trusted his nose to bring him back, though he wasn’t sure how he knew that. It didn’t really matter though. He was a very determined pup and already tunnel vision had settled in. He could only imagine what treasures he would find. Already his tail gave a bit of a wag.

Before long, his search was rewarded. He had nearly darted past the glittering object in the pool of water. Luckily at the last second, he spotted the shimmer and stopped dead in his tracks. He trotted to the edge of the pound and peered in. He wasn’t sure what he thought of water yet. But he knew he liked what shimmered below. A tiny speck could be seen under a cake of mud. He put a tentative paw into the water and began to paw at it.

The easy part was done. A new treasure was found. Now he just needed to retrieve it, bring both treasures back to his bone pile, and then figure out a place to store his bounty. That should be easy enough, he thought with a grin.

Before long, his front paws became soak with water splashing up his legs. Claws were digging frantically at the harder parts of the dirt which acted like clay. At some point the tanuki lowered the scapula to pant at the effort. Bit by bit, more of the gem was shining through. The waters of the pool helped wash away the loose dirt. Finally, the object was released from it’s earthly grip.

It was a large skull of some sort preserved well by the mud. Most remarkable was a shimmering stone of creamy silver that glimmered of various different colors that crowned the forehead region of the skull. He pulled it out of the water and simply stared at it for a while. As the lights of Canis flickered, tiny rainbows formed along the short spiraling horn. It was remarkable to say the least. His one ruby colored eye was mesmerized by it.

After a while, the pup decided it was time to return to his hatching place to gather up what fragments he could. That would be quite a feat, though. His maw was too small to carry both the shoulder blade from earlier and his newly found skull. Yet he couldn’t bear with the idea of parting from either treasure. He had to come up with something!

He poked at the skull with his nose, turning it onto it’s side. With a bit of maneuvering the pup managed to secure the skull awkwardly over his head. The skull was clearly not tanuki pup sized, however, and the eyes were more towards the side than the front. It was also quite heavy for such a young pup. But he was also a very determined pup.

Settled well enough, he turned to pick up the scapula. Then he started to make his way back to the bone pile triumphantly.

The trip back to the bone pile was a difficult one. It was hard to see through the eye and nose holes of the skull. The extra weight from the two bones was also rather cumbersome. At times the pup nearly toppled over. It wasn’t long before he was panting, struggling to keep up the pace he had set for himself. He didn’t want to stop, though. He couldn’t give up. He had most of his treasure. He just needed to return where the rest of it was and then figure out how to travel with it all. It sounded simple enough in his newly hatched brain so his flimsy logic told him that must be so.

After a time, his nose brought him back to the specific bone pile he had hatched from. Hindquarters propped to the ground as he wondered how he would climb up there. It was difficult enough to climb down it with just the scapula. It would be nearly impossible while carrying the skull as well. But the idea of leaving the larger chunks of pyrite was unacceptable. No, he simply had to do so.

Against better judgement, he shook the skull off his head to rest by the pile. The shoulder bone with its sapphire gem soon followed. He was only leaving them for a few minutes. Surely, they would be safe for that sort of a period of time. He lingered with a hesitative glaze at his two treasures though. Then he turned to the bone pile.

Paws spread wide. Small pup claws gripped to what spaces he could. Luck was on his side as he easily scaled the pile and reached the top. Most of his chrysalis was already shattered into pieces too small to worry about. There was, however, a particularly large shard. That would be his treasure. He gingerly gripped it in his jaws and proceeded back down the pile.

Relief washed over the pup as he saw that his prizes were still where he had left them. He placed the shard next to the two bones to rest and relish in his good fortune. Only just hatched and he already had three lovely prizes. And how lovely they were! All three shimmered in the flickering lights. It was hard to pick a favorite! Of course, the pyrite shard was special since it came from his hatching egg. The scapula was particularly nice to chew on. The skull though! So many wonderful treasures!

Once rested, he returned the skull to his head. It took some work but he managed to fit both the bone and shard just barely in his puppy-sized mouth. Content, he randomly picked a direction and went off in search of a good place to call home for himself and his prizes. For any onlookers, it was most likely an amusing or at least bemusing sight to see the tiny tanuki pup wandering off as he did.

Notes: Vladis existed thread