The caves were open. The caves were open to explore.

James burst out of the tunnel on rainbow wings, touching down and galloping off like a horse let out to pasture for the spring. He bucked, kicked, jumped, letting out a whinny of excitement as he grabbed bits of sweet, delicious grass between spurts of sudden energy. He took flight and soared into the air, free free FREE!!

No one could bring him down!!

The smell of the place... the trees, the grass, the flowers... it was so wonderful, so amazingly wonderful!

He landed and dropped down, rolling all over to get the smell on his hide, careful not to crush the flowers. He flapped his wings wildly and took off again with a kick, taking off once again. He very nearly forgot that he had a daughter with him, but at this point he was just too happy and lost in the moment to care.

By the time he was dripping with sweat, he was laying in the grass again, grazing on the greens, gorging himself, barely even able to breathe between bites. He was going to get fat off of this stuff, and he didn't give a care. Not one bother was given.

@Comet

Comet eagerly followed James to Pegasus. The air there was fresh, untainted, pure. As her ocean blue eyes gazed out across the land, she saw that they were one of the first ones here, perhaps the first ones to set hoof, or paw here. Breathe in, and out. This was what adventure felt like. Here was a cave full of endless possibilities, and they were one of the first ones to explore it. Who knew what they might find?

She followed James, mirroring his excitement. She pranced about, doing somersaults and getting her nose into every nook and cranny of the place. Sprinting full speed, Comet followed him to the meadow and leaped into the grass, did several barrel rolls, and bumped next to him. Her tongue lolled out of her mouth as she laid on her back gasping for air. This was great! Now, it was a question of what to explore first.

@James

James continued to eat greedily, before finally lifting his head and picking an orange flower, placing it in Comet's fur just behind her ear. He smiled and brushed the feathers of his wings along her fur.

"This is... wonderful," he said softly, looking around at the view, "I-I... I think this would be a lovely home. For you and me and your sibling. Kaimana and Levi..."

He sighed softly and flopped his head on Comet's back, "Ugh... I ate too fast."

The grass was just... so good...

"I can't wait for them to hatch," James said, "I'm just... I'm so excited!!"

@Comet

Comet gave a happy whine when James placed the flower behind her ear. It complimented her feather quite nicely, and she gave him a lick. They were so happy here, she was starting to let go of her sadness from leaving Aristotle and Sun, and seeing this as a new part of her life. They could be happy here, together, and soon her sibling would be coming. And so would Kaimana and Levi!

"Yes it would. It has forest, and river, and everything!" to state the truth, this place was much better than Orion or Eridanus. This was a place she would not regret living in. Comet felt a good comforting warmth when James laid his head on her back. "Haha, even I like the grass and I eat meat!" she chomped up a mouthful of it.

"Yeah! I wonder what they will be like, or look like! Maybe they will be a horse too!" So many exciting things were happening at the moment. There were new caves to discover, her sibling will be hatching, and they can move here sometime!

"Let's do some looking around this place. Maybe we will find some good dens or cool things!" decided Comet.

@James

"You'd better not get sick," he tutted, nipping at Comet's ear gently, "I don't want to hear you whining about a sore stomach again."

James pushed himself to stand and stretched out his wings, flapping them a few times before folding them up and preening them gently. He positioned them not unlike a dad looking at a freshly cut lawn with his hands on his hips, sighing happily.

"I wonder what we should do first," he said, "Perhaps explore the meadow? I'm certain there has to be wildlife here that has been trapped in these caves."

He nosed another orange flower and gestured to it, "Pick this for me? We can match and both have flowers."

He laughed softly and bent his head down for Comet to reach, a smile on his face.

@Comet

"I won't." promised the pup, even though she could already feel her stomach start to complain a bit. "Yes! And if it's a monster I'll do this!" she stamped a particularly ugly looking weed to pieces. "I wonder if the prey tastes different?"

"Okay, renny." Comet reached down and daintily plucked the flower out of the ground, being careful not to ruin its beautiful sunset petals. She reached up and tucked it into his mane, securing it to make sure it wouldn't fall out. "Matching flowers!" If anyone looked at them afar, they would have known immediately that this was father and daughter, even if one were a horse and the other was a wolf.

Comet ran out in front of the horse, ready to do some adventuring. The river looked nice too, perhaps there would be cool fish? Either way, she was excited for what they would be looking for next. "Whoa look at this renny!" An emerald green bug, that sort of looked like a Fairyfly flitted among the flowers.

@James

James smiled gently and followed Comet, looking around at everything, feeling as if he were walking in some kind of enchanted magical land. Not far off, but still.

He bent his head to peer at the bug, sniffing at it gently, "It's beautiful. I don't think I've seen one before."

Lifting his head again, he watched a flock of tiny birds flutter overhead, chirping, sounding like chiming crystals clinging together, but more musical.

"... If I didn't have to go and get your siblings, I'd never leave," he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

James took off at a trot through the grass, making his way towards the river. He bent his head and drank from it, pleased to find it clear and pure, his eyes falling shut in bliss.

@Comet

Comet watched the Greenwing flit around a bit before reaching down to eat another mouthful of grass. But what she got was something else. She had unknowingly also got in her mouth a Sparkbug, and Comet felt the small zaps from the critter inside her mouth. "Gah!" The pup spit it out of her mouth and caught up with James. "No more grass for me!"

"Yeah, I could live here forever." Everything here was just so... perfect. A land of adventure and opportunities. This place harbored all there was to explore, there was no need to go to other caves. As soon as the chrysalis hatched, the whole family should move here, and stay forever.

The pup followed James to the river, and greedily gulped up the water, cleansing her mouth of the weird feeling she got from the Sparkbug. But then, she felt the sudden urge to just jump into the river. And Comet obeyed, she jumped right into the river and felt the cool water sink into her fur. It was so refreshing and nice. "Come in renny! It's super cool."

A den by the river would be nice, a good water source, and the meadow nearby too.

@James

James gasped as he was suddenly splashed, rearing and cantering away, tossing his head in alarm before turning back and bursting out laughing. He galloped into the water and purposefully splashed Comet, giggling happily.

"I got you back!", he snickered, immediately galloping away across the bank, starting up a new game of chase.

A wolf wasn't as fast as a horse, not by a long shot, but James slowed down so she had a chance. He was still competitive, though.

"Come on!", he called back, feeling like a child again.

@Comet

Comet laughed as the horse jumped into the river and soaked the rest of her fur. "I'll get you!" she clambered onto the bank and chased after James, allowing her legs to open wide as she chased after him. There was no way she would be able to overtake him if he tried, but luckily he purposely galloped slower than usual. But Comet didn't know that.

She gained speed the more she ran, her momentum carrying her forwards. It had been some time now since she had been away from Aristotle and Sun. And to be truthful, she had already started growing away from them, sometimes going entire days without thinking of them. It had been a long time since she had been welcomed into their family. And in that time, she had grown from a small pup to a large dog sized juvenile. It was funny how time seemed to pass.

Soon Comet ran out of energy, and her steps slowed into a steady trot. She had not been able to catch up to James, but she had always been a couple meters behind. Her tongue out and lolling, she went to the river and drank up some mouthfuls of water. Having been running along it the whole time, it was easily accessible. Wait-- what was that? At the end of the river? She pricked her ears towards it.

It was in fact, the end of the river. And was that a rock wall?

@James