Bayo had definitely just... went for it when he'd finally conquered his fear and decided to explore. Not just Orion, no, but here! Eridanus, the cave of lush greenery and a constant muggy atmosphere that made even a creature such as Bayo pant. Made for heat, but for dry heat, not this humidity.

The coyote trotted along with his bandana around his shoulders and his small bag around his neck, the small drawstring uncomfortable after a while as it dug into his skin, the weight of the mandible inside dragging it down. He stopped to rest on a path worn down by jungle deer as they made their way to and from water, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he caught his breath.

Moving on, he came upon a stream, the first one he'd ever seen. Curious, he drank from it, guzzling greedily from the water that was clearer than what was in Canis. That water had collected minerals from the rock all around it, giving it a sort of taste. He didn't mind of course, but this water was definitely better.

Continuing onward, he bounded up and down worn trails, his tail wagging as he leapt over logs and fallen branches and urns- wait. Urns?

Bayo skid to a stop and turned around slowly, realizing he'd accidentally pranced right into a camp of some kind. Strange structures encircled it and the smell of smoke came from a pit in the center. He approached it slowly, sniffing at it, eyes narrowed. What... was this-

With a great big yelp he lunged away, squealing and crying out in pain as he pawed at his burned nose, having touched a still-hot coal to try and see what it was. He was lucky he hadn't tried to eat it, or else his whole mouth would be burned.

”Ow ow ow ow-”, he whimpered, his poor nose injured yet again. He really couldn't catch a break!

@Attikias

Attikias had been well and truly involved with his work, but he was a little exhausted after his ascension- and an ascension it was, huh? He put it to the back of his mind by doing what he did best- making little carvings, this time of the little creature he'd tried to save from Emuh's maze. Who knew if they were false or not? Were they made specifically for that?

The caves were rather cruel, he'd concluded, with his head on his left bicep and his right hand twisting around the figurine in the light. Maybe he should paint this one..?

A yelp cut through his thoughts, and Attikias jumped, figuring someone'd fallen to one of their sibling's pranks or tripped or something. But- oh, dear, a stranger, rubbing at their nose-- had they touched the fire? Alertness swelled in Attikias, his tiredness wholly forgotten as he swept forward, gathering up a bundle of moss that'd grown nearby. It was quickly dunked in some stale water from a jar- jungle temperature, but anything would be good.

"Hold still!" He carried the sopping plant in both hands and rushed to Bayo's side, landing on his knees and kneeling before the coyena. "Here- are you okay? Wash your nose- it might not be cold, but it's better than the fire," he offered with both words and moss, putting the plant between the two of them. Worriedly, he watched the stranger, tail flicking fast behind him.

"I'm sorry about the fire. It um- it's hot."

Nice work, captain obvious.

@Bayo

Bayo whirled around to face Attikias, stunned as he looked up at him. He'd never seen a creature like him, furless and standing on two legs, though the Collector had stood on two legs, Bayo couldn't see his features beneath his cloak. So Attikias was strange. In a good way!

”O-oh, um... thanks!”, he said, pressing his nose into the moss, ”It is hot, I know that now. I didn't really know what it was, I should've been more careful.”

He looked sheepish as he averted his eyes, tail low to the ground, ”I'm Bayo, by the way... I jus' left Canis for the first time so I'm tryin' t' figure out how the other caves work.”

He'd have to watch out for fire from now on, that was for sure.

After a moment he realized his bag was gone, its weight no longer around his neck. He gasped and whipped around, searching the camp frantically. He spotted it near the forest and darted forward, snatching it up and whining as he saw that the string had snapped. It was much too flimsy to carry weight, especially when he was running. Dang it!

”Wait, you have uh... long toes, right?”, he asked, ”Can you tie knots and things? This string broke on me and I can't tie knots myself.”

@Attikias

Attikias held the moss steady as Bayo pressed his nose in. There- that would be better. Attikias snorted with humor at the acknowledgement that it was hot. "It's fire. Some people can make it with their magic," he explained gently, settling down on the ground. "But, it's okay that you didn't know what it was. And it's not really in many places unless people're are around, anyways."

He settled back and laid the moss down when Bayo introduced himself. "Canis, huh? That's a long way! I'm Attikias Elenya- two words, but Attik is okay, if that's easier." He hummed as he smiled, placing his hands on his knees. "This is Eridanus. Pisces is nearby- it's the room with waterfalls, if you were gonna keep exploring." Would Bayo want to go home after this expedition, or would he be going everywhere? "Cetus is nearby too-" he began as Bayo looked around- "it's a bit of a swamp? You can get a lot of bug bites there."

He was quiet, though, as Bayo searched. Did he lose something..? His eyes trailed after the coyena, and he drew his arms closer when he turned back around to the elf. "Ahh-" He scooted forward, walking on his knees with his hand out to take the bag- if it was offered back. "Fingers! Yeah. I can fix that, but-- it might break again... Do you want me to put a stronger strap on it, maybe..?"

He had some buckles he'd got from Dip, at least, but it might be hard for Bayo to adjust them with just paws. It'd be good to put one on the strap, though, in case he'd need adjustments later... Attikias made a small note of consideration as he looked at the edges of the full bag.

Yeah, he could work with this.

@Bayo

Bayo blinked at the descriptions of the other caves, ”Woah... the caves are a lot bigger than I thought!”

Suddenly this task of exploring everything was looking a lot more daunting. Could he even explore everything like he wanted to? Maybe he ought to find a friend or something to travel with, it sounded awfully lonely just walking through every cave hoping to find something exciting.

”Huh?”, he asked, having accidentally gotten lost in his thoughts, ”A strap? What's a strap?”

He looked down at the bag and then up at Attikias, clueless, ”Is that like a string?”

His ears perked up and his tail started to wag excitedly, ”Oh can you show me? I don't have hands but I do have eyes so maaaybe I can watch or somethin'!”

@Attikias

The elf hummed out with a laugh as he nodded to Bayo. "They're even bigger than that, if you'd believe it." His tone was low and near conspiratorial as he leaned in. There was a lot, but, "I bet you could find out all about them, though. And then you can tell everyone else what it was like, huh?" He drew back with a wink and a chuckle, planting his palms on his thighs.

"The string was a strap," he'd instructed, pointing down to its loose ends. "A strap is anything you use to hold it up- a string isn't a really good one if it's really thin and a bag's heavy." He rocked up to his feet and stepped closer to his workbench, rummaging for a few leather strips made of scraps of other projects.

He dipped his head back. "Of course you can watch. Here, get on the stool-" and he'd reached under the table to pull out his own stool, large enough for Bayo to sit on. "It's easier to have something elevated, so you don't hurt your back. Or- I guess it wouldn't hurt, if you laid down, but you can't move your arms very well." He'd stepped around the table as he spoke, taking a few tools in hand. A small strip would be needed- "Do you want to let this hang off your shoulders, or do you want a harness- a uh, something to go across your chest, so you can put things there?" One hand lifted up to his own shirt and tugged at the edge in example, nodding with the question. "I can make it so you can hook the bag on, I think, and I've already made one before for someone your shape, so it shouldn't be so hard."

Actually- he'd probably make one even if he didn't ask. He liked making harnesses. Something Bayo could slip on and off, maybe, so it'd have to be loose- no buckles. He gave a careful glance over the coyena as he pulled a few thicker strips closer, his sewing needle at the ready for Bayo's answer.

@Bayo (it didn't tag :( )

Bayo grinned and wagged his tail, suddenly excited, ”Oh man- my momma Giggle's gonna be so happy to hear all the stories I'mma be able t' tell 'er! She's back in Canis, she's super cool and gives bone readin's. You ever had your bones read? It's awesome!”

He hopped up onto the stool and carefully sat down, his tail wagging back and forth, ”So... strings are straps, but straps aren't strings?”

That... sort of made sense. A little bit.

”Careful of my gem,” he said, waving a paw over it, ”It's pointy an' I don' want you hurt or nothin'. But uh... sure! 'Round the chest sounds pretty swell! This bag's got my bone in it, I'm makin' a collection so that I can be a Seer like my momma! Do you have any bones?”

Weird questions, sure, but he was too excited to care. He just really really wanted to get going on the whole Bone Seer thing.

”What's all this here stuff for? Like all 'round us.”, he asked, head tilting to one side, his ears flopping over.

@Attikias

Giggle's name struck a chord in the back of Attikias's mind- did he know her? She must've been at the Mother invasion. Huh. He stowed that information away, recognizing the hyena in him a bit. Meanwhile- "I haven't had my bones read," he said, shaking his head. "Is that like-- what do they tell you?" He leaned over, tilting his head in curiousity. Maybe he had to stop by sometime.

He drummed his hands against the table as Bayo asked his question. "Essentially, yeah. They can be okay straps if the bag's lighter, or anything." He leaned in a little more, resting his elbows on the table. He twisted down a little to look over the table at where Bayo gestured, though, pinpointing that in his mind. "Nah, I'll be fine," he said after a second. "I'll make it so you can slip it on and off."

He tucked in his arms and straightened back up, reaching for his bone sewing needle and the straps, eyeing out a loop for Bayo's neck. Something like that? He stretched out the strap in place and measured it by eye, frowning. "I gather stuff to make things with, and the rest of my family lives here. Probably have some bones you could have?" He nodded to the coyena, his mind elsewhere. He couldn't get it like this. Making his way around the table, Attikias looked to Bayo, thinking- "Can I come around and meas-"

And he slid on a slick leaf, smashing his face into the table. There was a loud SMACK! as his forehead hit, splitting open and letting out red blood. "Shit--" He hissed in, pulling back up and touching his head. "Guh. I'm fine." He blinked hard, and shook his head, looking down at Bayo.

"Right. Do you mind if I measure you a little, to make sure it'll be comfortable?" He held up the strap with one hand, the other stopping the blood. "Or-- after I fix up this." He chuckled, pulling away his hand and looking at the blood. Yeah, that'll sting later.

@Bayo

Bayo's tail started to wag, ”They can tell a bit of your future! Mama says that th' future can change, though, so I don't think a readin' set in stone or anythin'.”

He watched curiously as Attikias started gathering materials, his tail flopping all over as he leaned forward, trying to see better.

”I think I might collect bones from all th' places I go!”, he said, ”Maybe from th' people I meet too. That way I have a variety an' I can have bones from all over that have different experiences 'n' such.”

He yelped as Attikias slipped, reaching forward only for the stool to tip backwards and set him falling too, hitting the stool painfully on the way down. He scrambled off of it and shook himself out, wheezing softly as he looked up at Attikias.

”Are you okay?!”, he asked, ”You're bleedin'! Man I always bust my nose- mama says head wounds bleed alot, so uh... you got magic to fix that o-or somethin' to put on it?”

Bayo searched around for something resembling a bandage or whatnot, but nothing was particularly familiar in the camp so he ended up floundering instead. Finally he just presented his scarf, holding it out to Attikas in offering.

@Attikias