:KF: RP - A Whispering Flame.

The sewers were dank like always, but the steady dripping of a nearby pipe was comforting to the little fox who was curled up in a tight corner. Her ears twitched suddenly as she began to stir, awaking from her slumber and she mumbled to herself under her breath. She tried to get comfortable again, but after a while she realized it was futile and eventually she got up shakily to her feet.
Observing her surroundings carefully, she scurried through the tunnel, trying to find something to do.

Moa lay watching from a broken pipe, which looked out onto a larger tunnel beneath him. The water that was soaking his coat was a little uncomfortable, but he'd rather be wet than dead. He stared to his left, trying to make out any figure in the dark, but saw nothing. Strange, he could have sworn he heard someone coming near...

Näyl padded along, still muttering to herself, her own voice keeping her company. Her eyes were mainly averted to the ground, watching where she was stepping. For whatever reason, she glanced up and froze in place at the sight of another fox above her. The fur on her tail stood on end defensively and she backed up a couple feet, unsure if he was a friend or foe.

He had been right. He had hear something or rather someone.
He looked right into the pair of orange eyes that stared up at him, quivering a little. The other fox had taken on an aggressive stance, so this couldn't be good. Mao immediately adopted a submissive posture, as good as the tight space he was in allowed, knowing it would enhance his chances of not being attacked. He also hid his snout into his paws, hoping that, if he didn't see the other fox, it would pass along.

Seeing that this other fox didn't seem to be interested in attacking her, Näyl's fur flattened back down. She was still a little suspicious of him, but she felt she was safer now after observing his posture. There was a moment of silence and though she hadn't wanted to talk, she didn't want it to be too quiet either. Ultimately she decided to take the lesser of (what she would consider) two evils.
"Um...h-hello." Her voice was quiet and timid. Näyl wouldn't meet the eyes of the other fox though, focusing again on her paws.

The other fox was speaking to him. Not sure of what to do, he decided to take a peek through his front paws. He was a little surprised to see the fox's hostile stance gone and that it had now settled for staring to it's paws.

So it wasn't an enemy. Than was it a friend? He or she didn't seem to strong, still a infant, judging the fact it had only one tail. If it turned out to be hostile after all, he could probably escape without getting severely hurt. So it wouldn't be too risky to approach, wouldn't it...

Wait, hadn't he or she just said something. A greeting of some sorts or had he misheard? It would be better for him to answer would it? Yeah, it was. Not answering would seem impolite.

"U-uhm. Hay? ...." Well, that didn't come out too good. If foxes could blush, Mao would be blushing as hell right now. Not entirely comfortable, he kept glancing between the little fox and the wall behind it, waiting for it to say something next.

She glanced back up at him shyly, ears perking up a little to catch his words better. Näyl wasn't entirely sure what to say next--she had heard other foxes have conversations before, but she didn't know if she had that much to comment about. So she thought if she questioned this stranger, perhaps a topic would come up or something. Her nose twitched at the thought of socializing, something she had never been very good at so far in her short life.

"So...what's your name?" she asked finally, after trying to figure out what to ask.

Okay, the other fox had started up some sort of conversation.
That was a start. Mao alone could never have done that. He didn't quite have the skills to interact properly with strangers. He would usually blush, stammer or hide. Not quite the most interesting things when you were a fox seeking for a friend. They'd just ignore him and walk away. This fox however didn't. It was even asking his name. "Mao."

The answer left his mouth without his minds consent, a fact that shocked him a little. Since when did he speak so freely? He shifted around in the pipe a little, the situation making him feel embarrassed. What should he do next? He took another glance at the fox beneath him, deciding to ask just the same thing. That would be okay, wouldn't it. "W-whats yours?"

Well this was something, she supposed. If she really wanted to, she could communicate with others. This would be good practice.

"Näyl..." she replied, shifting her feet a bit. She began whispering to herself anxiously while glancing up at the other fox as she tried to come with something else to say. "...Why are you up in that pipe? Aren't you getting all wet?" She was proud that she had been able to come up with two questions in a row and looked expectantly up for his answers.

Oh, no! Why did she ask that? Did she think he was crazy or something? He ducked his ears down a little, wincing at the question. He had to explain.

"I-I... Eh... it's just..." He glanced back at her again, not sure if she still was planning on staying. She was still there, but if he didn't stop stuttering quickly, that wouldn't last for long.

"I, well, I was in this tunnel and I heard this noise and I'm not that strong you know, I mean, there are some huge polluted rats in here and this pipe, it was just there and it's narrow, so I thought... well, I thought if it was a big one, it couldn't get in a place this small, so I'm safe, you know? So I climbed up here and hid. It wasn't that simple either, I mean, I had to jump on those pipe over there and I almost missed when I tried to reach here, but I made it, so now it's okay, I guess."

He panted a little from the huge stumble of words. Well, that's was a new one. Mao cursed his fate a little, normally he couldn't get a word trough, but now he did, it was if he couldn't stop them from coming out. He was rambling.

He shifted a little in the water that was soaking his coat to the point it was stealing his body warmth, while remembering the second part to the question. Not sure if she still wanted to listen after that little waterfall of words earlier, he decided to take his chances and settle with a short answer. "A-and yes, i-t's really wet."

As his jumble of words continued, the fox's large ears continued to perk up until eventually they were completely upright for once, a position not normal for them to be in, but she enjoyed listening to different sounds and his rambling intrigued her. Staying silent for a moment, Näyl realized she had been focusing more on the sound of his voice instead of the words he had actually spoken and she twitched violently, trying to recall anything of his little speech. Ears sinking to their habitual position as she thought, she looked up at the pipe he had retreated into.

"But couldn't one of those rat things just reach in and grab you?" she finally spoke up again and tilted her head slightly at him. To her fearful mind, there was never a simple way to escape.

Näyl was really confusing him. Her posture kept changing and he couldn't pinpoint her reactions. Reading the body language was normally his strong point. He had picked up on it by always watching others, but this fox... he couldn't read her.
Realizing he had been staring, he turned his head away, thinking about the question he just got. She had a point, but.. "T-the pipe is pretty deep, I-I could just get to the back... or something like that..."

He looked back to the fox girl beneath him, wondering how her posture would change this time. Even though he wouldn't admit it, her reactions had caught his interest.

She didn't answer immediately, instead formulating different scenarios to quiz him on. As she thought, her ears fluctuated in height, illustrating the rise and fall of a multitude of ideas she was coming up with. "...What if it was a baby rat thing that was small enough to fit in there? Then you'd be backing yourself in a corner. Probably." Näyl actually wasn't entirely sure what the chances of that were, considering there was a labyrinth of pipes weaving in and out the length of the sewers they inhabited. But she always thought of the worst scenario first in order to prepare for it, in the unfortunate instance that it might actually occur.

However, the actual thought of that happening was beginning to make her anxious and she looked around her quickly to make sure no creature was trying to sneak up on her. After a moment dedicated to listening for any potentially dangerous sounds, she huddled close to the tunnel wall closest to Mao, feeling exposed in the middle of such an open space.

This fox was scaring the hell out of him, coming up with scenarios he just tried NOT to think about. Thinking quickly how to solve this problem, he answered with the first thing that came to mind. "I'd light the entrance, if fire blocks it, they can't get it."

The lack of stuttering could be blamed on the amount of thinking he had to do. If his mind was preoccupied, he'd forget about other things. He looked back down, but noticed Näyl wasn't there. Where did she go? Being little bolder than he actually felt, he ventured sticking his head over the edge over the pipe. A good move, since he spotted the girl fox backed up against the wall beneath him. "What's wrong. D-did you hear something?" He asked, perking up his ears to listen closely. He didn't hear a thing.

The young vixen's attention was again grabbed by Mao and she blinked at him. "...Fire?" She had heard of this precarious-sounding substance before, but, only being born recently, had never actually witnessed it for herself. But his next comment distracted her from that thought as he peered over the edge of the pipe at her.

Checking again with one large ear, Näyl shook her head slowly. "...No. Not yet." The girl fox had paused for a second to think of an explanation for her anticipatory actions, but could come up with no logical explanation aside from simple instinct. Instead, she decided to continue on her original topic. "So, um...Mao. Can you use...fire?"

The little fox sighted in relief when she confirmed nothing was wrong. He considered coming down now, since the water was making him feel cold. These hiding places were good for moment, but any longer up here would give him a cold. His inner debate on hiding places however was put on a hold, as she asked about one of his most important things.

Immediately forgetting about anything else, he didn't waste another moment in getting down - which didn't go as well as he planned.

"Ooumpff." He made a funny noise, while landing on the floor and toppling over so he was lying on his back. He smiled at her, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Continuing that gesture, he scrambled to his feet and nodded vigorously. "Yes, I do. Wanna see?!" He asked, forgetting any shyness in his excitement. Without awaiting further answer he enlightened about five of his red will-o-wisps, the little flames illuminating the dark tunnel.

Backing up a little to give him room as he came down, she cocked her head to one side and studied his expression with subdued interest. She had witnessed other foxes smiling at each other before, but the expression had never been directed at her. So seeing it come from Mao was quite curious to her and she wondered if it had to do with what she had asked about. A second later, her hypothesis was presumably proved as the other aeniama jumped to his feet with evident enthusiasm.

"Sure--" Näyl barely managed to get out before five tiny bits of fire crackled into existence. She jumped a bit from seeing them appear so unexpectedly and for a second was afraid of them. But seeing that Mao was so comfortable around the wisps of fire, she decided to trust him and cautiously approached the flames, sticking her nose a little too close in order to sniff them.

"Cool, huh?" He asked, while he watched the vixen approach the will-o-wisps and, much to his merriment, sniff them. "They're not hot right now, because that would cost more energy, but I can make them both hot and cold, so I can burn any rats that might attack me." He smiled even wider and send one of the little dots further into the tunnel before extinguishing it, keeping the rest on. "They're pretty handy too when you want to take a look in a very dark tunnel."

He smile lessened a bit while he watched the other fox carefully, studying her appearance in the light of his wisps. She had some kind of item in her neck and he wondered what it was. A weapon of some kind?

It took him a couple to realize he was staring and he quickly turned his head away, ashamed of his lack off manners and their now close proximity. "S-so...?" He said, dragging his paws over the ground nervously. "W-what's your affinity?"

She was silent as the little flame flickered down the tunnel, its light bouncing off the walls brilliantly for a moment until it was put out, the light fizzling to nothing when it disappeared. But she had been listening to Mao closely as he spoke.

"...Those are pretty helpful," she said, nodding with him in agreement. As her gaze returned to him, she saw him staring at her for a second before quickly looking away. Näyl only now realized just how close the two of them were and took a nervous step back, sitting down on her hindquarters. She typically avoided everyone, so being so close to someone made her a little uncomfortable.

"I, uh, that is...my affinity is sound." As if to emphasize this statement, she began scratching the fur right underneath her tuning fork with a hind paw, the sound of her nails hitting the rusted metal reverberating a little through the air.

Mirroring her movements and sitting down as well, he looked curiously at the object in her neck. "Sound?" He mouthed silently after her.

"W-what do you do with it?" he asked, before looking back at the object as it made a sound when she touched it. "And what is that?"

"Well...I still can't use it very well, but sometimes I can make sounds. But not, like, normal ones. Though I can make those too!" she clarified quickly, finding explaining to be a little difficult. "It's more like...really high pitched sounds. Sometimes they hurt to listen to."

She looked down to her "collar" and thought about his second question. "Um, I'm not sure exactly what the word for it is...but it makes sounds if you hit it."

"Ow." He looked at her before smiling. "I'd rather not have you demonstrating it then. I don't like pain that much." He chuckled, finding amusement in his own words.

"Sooo..." He looked around the tunnel, before glancing back at her. "You know these tunnels?" It would come in handy to know someone who was familiar with this part of the sewers.

She was glad he didn't want a demonstration; her sensitive ears weren't particularly fond of her affinity themselves. Pain was not something she pursued to experience.

"I spend a lot of time in them, yes..." Näyl replied. She actually had never strayed that far from where she had been born and, being familiar with this part of the sewer, had never felt the need to go out and explore. "Have you never been here before?"

He shook his head. "I'm was born in another part. I didn't like it there, there was no one around..."

Deciding it would be a good idea to entrust someone with his plans, he looked around before dropping his voice conspiratorially. "I'm searching for the safe room." He whispered to the other fox.

Perking up her ears to make sure to catch Mao's words, her initial reaction was just to simply blink at him.

"Safe...room...?" she repeated. She hadn't heard of it, but from how he had said it, she assumed it must be something secret and difficult to find. Is that why he had asked about her familiarity with this part of the sewer?

Mao nodded his head hard enough to make him dizzy. "Yeah, it's supposed to be a room where all foxes gather, if we found it, we would be safe."

He stared off to the end of the tunnel dreamingly. "Wouldn't that be great?" He asked, more to himself than the young vixen next to him. "We wouldn't have to hide. We wouldn't have to fight. There'd be others like us. The friends we could make. We would be safe."

He was silent for a moment and a silent tear slid from the foxes snout onto the ground, while he whispered. "We wouldn't be alone anymore..."

Again, Näyl stayed silent, observing his expressions very carefully while he spoke. She had never shared Mao's feelings of loneliness and couldn't quite comprehend them either; she had yet to bond with any of the other foxes and therefore had never felt the need to be around any. The thought of being surrounded by so many of them simultaneously...Näyl wasn't sure how she felt about that. However, not having to run away or fight did sound appealing. "Yes...I guess that sounds good."

The appearance of his sole tear was fascinating to her though and she quickly became distracted. She thought Mao's affinity was fire, so why was he producing water instead? The vixen was perplexed by this and boldly approached him, putting her nose to his muzzle and curiously touching the place where the tear had fallen. Mao's voice had grown soft as he spoke and some unknown intuition told her he was unhappy. Näyl was unsure of what to do about this, once again searching for something to say. "...So...this safe room place...do you know where to find it?"

Mao startled a bit from the sudden contact and jumped a little.
Quickly registering it was only Näyl, he quickly relaxed again.
"S-sorry!" he said, giving her a goofy grin. "I was drifting off for a moment there. If I know where it is?" His smile faltered a bit and he shook his head. "No, if I knew that, we wouldn't be here."

He looked at the ground for a second, before smiling again and looking up. "But we'll get there. We've been searching for so long. I know we're coming closer!" Suddenly his eyes grew wider and his mouth formed a little 'o', having been stricken by a new idea.

It would be a marvelous plan, but would the other Aeniama like it?
A little nervously he dragged his paws against the ground,
glancing off to the side. If he hadn't been pitch black, Mao would have been sure his blush could be seen from three tunnels away.
"Would you..."

He turned his head back to the young vixen and offered her a small smile. "Would you like to come with us?"

"Oh. Right, I guess if you knew where it was, you wouldn't be searching…" Näyl trailed off quietly, feeling foolish. She removed her nose from his muzzle and sat down as Mao spoke again. "…'We'?" she repeated to herself quietly. Was Mao traveling with others? She had assumed since he was alone now, that he had been alone this whole time. Evidently, she was wrong.
Näyl was just wondering what his traveling companions must look like when he began to act strangely. Her ears perked up at the sound his paws made against the ground and she was focused on it quite intently when he asked his question.

"Come…with you?" The fox met his gaze, looking unsure. She had expected he would ask after questioning her about her knowledge of the tunnels, but at the time she hadn't realized he wasn't alone… "Hmm…" Her ears swiveled around as she thought, as if trying to hear whoever else was traveling with him. But Mao had been…pleasant so far. Perhaps his…friends…would be too? Her toes flexed anxiously and she began to whisper under her breath, appearing to be discussing it with herself. "I…I suppose…That is to say…I guess I could. At least for a while," she added quickly, though her expression hadn't changed.

Though the little vixen didn't show it, he could sense her hesitation. It was a gift he had picked when watching the other foxes. A gift that tended to not work very well when he was nervous, but a usable gift non the less.

"Y-you don't have t-t-to! I mean, it's just... It would have been nice to have a friend... "He trailed off a little. "I guess it would be boring for you with just me and Toko."

The fox's ears had dipped miserably. Just as he thought someone liked him and had worked enough to ask them along, his hopes were kicked down again.

"We'll be going now, sorry for taking up your time." He whispered, barely keeping back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes.

A friend?
Näyl twitched her nose at this. Was she…his friend? She watched as his mood dampened once again, realizing that it was her words this time that had caused the dip in his expression. It fascinated her how quickly it could change and she perked up again as Mao's eyes watered once more. She felt compelled to find out why exactly that happened and that mystery seemed to motivate her to think over his proposal some more.

"…I didn't say no." The fox waited to see if Mao's expression would change. But…there was still one thing that kept her hesitating. "Who's…Toko?"

"I didn't say no."

Mao's ears perked up slightly after hearing those words and he momentarily stopped retreating. "No?" He asked, eyes still watering. Maybe she would go with him after all.

But then there was hesitance once again. Mao ears dropped back down, like some kind of thermometer, only to rise again with the mentioning of his Toko.

"Toko?" He sniffled confusedly. "He's my totem." He dropped his pouch to the ground and quickly started digging in it. When he pulled bag he had a red (slightly beaten up) fox plushie in his muzzle. Carefully he placed the little thing to the ground.

"This is Toko. "He smiled at the plushie fondly and brought his head closer to his totem. "Isn't he great?" He asked, nuzzling the head and the ears of the thing tenderly.

"…Your totem…?" she repeated, narrowing her eyes slightly with patient curiosity as Mao revealed to her the contents of the tiny pouch that hung around his neck. The vixen watched in subtle suspense as he reached in and took out a soft-looking red thing, shaped to mimic the anatomy and markings of a fox. Not expecting this at all, Näyl tilted her head to one side and then lowered it slowly, sniffing at this "Toko" creature cautiously.

"So…this is your only other companion?" After she felt sure enough that the little plush wouldn't suddenly reach out and grab her, she nudged it gently with her nose. Sitting up again, she felt a bit of relief. Now that she knew Toko was nothing to be afraid of, Näyl felt that she could adequately survive with Mao on his journey to the safe room.

"Yes." Mao watched carefully as Näyl sniffed his little treasure.
"He's my only friend, unless..." He turned his head away and before venturing: "unless you'd want to be..."

Her eyes never left the plushie, but her ears swiveled around, the only proof she had listened to his words. Before saying anything, she batted at Toko gently, just to put to rest any other lingering paranoid thoughts revolving around the stuffed toy. Then with a satisfied huff she turned back to Mao. Näyl stared at him in contemplation until she finally spoke.

"…I guess I could be," she shrugged. "I've never been one though. So I might not be very good at it."

The little fox let out a undignified 'hey!' as the vixen batted his totem and it fell to to the side. He quickly pulled his precious Toko away from her and started licking the spot she had hit, only looking up when she answered affirmatively.

"Sure, you can be," he encouraged. "Everybody can learn to be a friend!" 'which includes not hitting Toko." He added for himself, deciding to keep on the safe side and store Toko back in his pouch.

"So... what would you like to do first?"

"Oh. Sorry." Seems she was already failing at this whole friend thing. It seemed silly to her that he was licking Toko's "wound", but she decided to keep quiet, instead observing how gentle Mao was with the toy when he replaced him in the pouch.

His next question was sort of baffling. Näyl had only now been nominated to Friend status and he was already wanting her to make decisions? She looked around the tunnel they were in, wondering what she wanted to do. The fox rarely wanted to do anything much more than keep her mind busy, so it was a challenge to come up with anything.

"Maybe we should…look for that room you were talking about?" she suggested hesitantly, since she could think of nothing else.

"Great idea!" Mao smiled at her and got up. "I now it's not that way. " He nodded towards the part of the sewers he came from. "So maybe we should head that way." He nodded towards the sewer tunnels up ahead. "But they're pretty big and I don't like the big sewer parts... They're scary and full of big rats." He shuddered and looked at Näyl, tilting his head to the side. "Do you know the save routes through this part?"

She looked towards where he indicated and got to her paws, the tip of her thin tail flicking. The young fox thought back to the tunnels that she knew, shuffling her feet as she did so.

"…There are a few of those glyph-marked places…" she said after awhile. "Those are supposed to be safe, right? And since those tunnels are made for us, wouldn't it make sense for the safe room to be connected to them somehow?" Näyl deduced. Ah, but as she plotted out in her mind which one was closest, she realized there was one problem… "I think though…we'd have to cross some open area to get there. It's not a lot though…" Her eyes met his for a second before darting away as she awaited his decision.

"Wow, you're smart!" Mao blurted out. "I never even thought of that." He felt a little stupid right now. He kept both ears perked to the other fox as she came to directions. He was a little disappointed to hear they had to cross an open area.

"I guess that's alright." He said, trying to be optimistic, "After all there's to of us right. Nothing to worry about, huh." He laughed nervously and nodded. "Right. Lead the way!"

Smart?
She had never thought of herself as particularly intelligent, though, she realized, she had never really thought about it at all. Neither had she ever been complimented by another fox. Näyl once again wasn't sure how to react in this situation, but was quietly pleased with his words. In the meantime, she waited patiently for Mao's ultimate decision.

When he had, she nodded and headed through to the tunnels ahead. The little fox's pawsteps were light and carefully placed as she padded to the mouth of the tunnel. Once there, she paused, cautiously peeping around the corner, ears erect for any sounds of danger.

"Everything okay?" Mao whispered, as Näyl peaked around the corner. He kept his voice dimmed in case of danger being near. He wouldn't want to be the reason he and more importantly his new friend got in danger.

A tense moment went by in a hushed silence, but finally the female curtly nodded. "It's clear," she announced and headed out in the open tunnel. The hairs along her spine stood rigid as the creeping anxiety of being exposed imposed itself upon her, but she tried to fight it back and kept to the walls in an attempt to feel more secure. She had never actually seen one of the mutated rats, but she had heard them--scratching, scurrying, sniffing, their angled claws scraping hard across the solid surface of the sewer. It was one of the few sounds that actually unnerved her.
But for now, she heard nothing. Though that didn't necessarily mean there wasn't something there…

Mao let out a relieved sigh, when she answered in the negative.
It wasn't so that he was a coward, but why search danger when you can avoid it?

As they moved forward, he noticed the vixen keeping close to the wall, her hairs standing up. 'Fear', he concluded for himself. He frowned slightly. Was she really that scared? Not that he wasn't on edge, actually it was quite the opposite, but still not as close as Näyl seemingly was.

Gaining bravery out of his new formed friendship and the urge to protect and comfort so called friend, he decided to walk direct next to her. Keeping close and positioning himself as some kind of live barrier for the vixen. He hoped it would help.

She looked up when Mao suddenly came closer to her. It was…strange. She wasn't alone anymore. Again she was caught with mixed feelings, not entirely sure how to react to this new presence called "friendship". To her, it was new and different. But…in a way, also comforting. His closeness, along with her proximity to the wall, made her feel more protected and she felt her fur relax.

The tunnel they were in ended abruptly, soon opening up into a wide clearing, the dark, stagnant water standing undisturbed. The walkway straight ahead of them continued off into the gloomy dark, but instead of heading that way, Näyl stopped at the edge of the filthy water.

"One of those glyph-places is across this water," she explained. Her voice was quiet, but the open chamber still amplified it, carrying it off deeper into the tunnels. Näyl nodded to a build up of sediment nearby, packed by so many years of decomposing materials that it had turned rock-hard and seemed solid enough to hold their tiny body weight.

Mao stopped dead as soon as Näyl did, listening to her every word carefully as she spoke. He nodded. "So... what do we do?" He asked, unsure about what to do next. Mao looked at the other fox for instructions. He didn't know this place after all.

Gingerly, the little fox approached the sediment. Though it seemed solid, the compacted material still lay a centimeter or two beneath the water's surface. Näyl dipped a hesitant paw in the liquid, resting it on the sediment. Shifting her body weight to test it, she turned back to Mao.

"I think it's stable enough… I've actually never gone this exact way before" she admitted, her attention still on him. "But I think we can use it as a bridge to get to the other side."

As she spoke, she began to walk across it, though the grimy water felt unpleasant to her paws. The vixen was just beginning to nod to Mao invitingly when the bridge beneath her gave way, crumbling away into gravel as she lost her balance, tumbling head first into the murky water below. As her body became submerged, the little fox immediately began to panic, splashing and thrashing about until finally her head reached the surface again. Näyl reached out towards the makeshift bridge with her paws, but it still wasn't as stable as she had thought, and once again it began to collapse beneath her weight. She called out to Mao in desperation, hoping he'd somehow be able to help.

"Näyl!" Mao cried out as the bridge gave away under her.
He quickly ran to the edge of the surface and watched in horror as his new friend disappeared under water.

'What to do! What to do! What to do!'
He screeched panicked in his head. Any real thought process ha left his head as soon as the sediment had crumbled.

'What to do! What to-" His was snapped out of it when Näyl's head emerged from the water again and screamed his name. This was his friend clawing at the crumbling bridge for her dear life. His friend that was calling his name is desperation.

And he was not going to let her go.

"Näyl, you got to swim! Act like your running! That way you'll stay up! I'll find a way out!" He screamed while looking around frantically, his mind racing to find a way to get the other fox out.

It was then that she realized she had made it through her short life without ever being completely in the water. And, she decided hastily, she did not like it. She frantically took his advice, trying to "run" in place while keeping her head above the grimy water, keeping close to the build up for support so she could kick off it when she started to sink again. The tuning fork around her neck wasn't helping in that department, its metallic weight combining with her already wet fur to further pull her down.

"Hurry!" rasped Näyl as she struggled. Kicking off at an odd angle, she drifted a little closer to Mao, but in exchange wound up dipping down in the water again as she panicked, having nothing else to steady her.

Mao growled in frustration at himself, when he saw Näyl dipping under again. Seeing she was too far away to reach out to, the only solution to this problem lay with the bridge. It had to become vaster in order to support the vixen. His eyes widened a little in realization he knew a way to do that. It was dangerous though.

"Hurry" The little black fox started when Näyl screamed again and stood up in determination. He'd do it. Seeing the other fox drown was not an option.

He saw the vixen drift a little closer to him. 'Good' he thought 'That will make it easier.'

"Näyl! Get back from the surface a little, I'm going to try something!" He screamed as he activated his affinity. When practicing his powers, he had experimented on different things. Leaves, branches, the occasional rat, but also pebbles. He had learned he could light them, but they didn't burn up like other stuff. They only got harder. He never would have thought he would have to use that ability. It wasn't practical after all and because his fire had to be really hot, it took a great deal of energy as well.

He sighed and looked at Näyl, smiling weakly.

"Please take care of me when you're out" And with that he lit the surface on fire, quickly feeling the strength leave him. He continued pouring every amount of energy he had, into his fire, even when he felt blackness closing in on him. It was only when he finally collapsed to the ground, his mind drifting off to nothingness, that the flames died on their path. Somewhere in his foggy mind, before his eyes closed completely, he hoped it would be enough.

Näyl gasped as flame erupted from her friend, fire spreading across the built-up sediment. Though she was panicking, she attempted to take his advice and flailed about wildly in the water, trying to put some distance between herself and the fire.

Though it hadn't been that long since she had witnessed Mao's affinity, the vixen had no idea he was capable of this. Despite the coolness of the water around her, she could still feel the intense heat of the flames as they licked at the makeshift bridge, hardening it as they eventually died down. As they did, she saw Mao collapse before her and her anxiety rose even higher. Never had Näyl seen another being lose consciousness and it distressed her.

Paddling haphazardly toward the bridge, which now stood steaming, the little fox would lurch onto it with all her strength--only to make her jump, flinching in pain. The hardened material was still hot from the fire. Alarmed, she galloped across it, trying to keep her sensitive paw-pads off the hot surface as much as possible. Skidding to a halt once she had made it to the other side, Näyl licked her paws urgently and shook the water from her fur before approaching the little black fox.

He had asked her to take care of him, a request she couldn't refuse, seeing as he'd put himself in such a state for her own wellbeing. She sniffed at him warily, shuffling her paws as she tried to think of what to do next. But she had never "taken care" of anyone before, so what was there to do? Mao was breathing at least, which she figured must be a good sign, so maybe he just needed to rest?

...Rest. She blinked, her body suddenly letting her know how weary it was from the panic of nearly drowning and everything else that had happened. Perking her ears up for any signs of danger, the fox carefully laid down next to him, deciding on taking just a cat nap, trying to focus what energy she had left on listening. It almost surprised her how warm Mao was next to her, having never felt the body heat of anyone else before. It was nice; comforting. Unbeknownst to herself, she snuggled up next to him, his warmth aiding her cold, damp fur. Against her wishes of staying vigilant, soon Näyl found herself drifting off to sleep next to her new friend, the two little aeniama tuckered out from their adventurous day.

Mao blinked, slowly rising again from fainting-induced sleep.
'Where am I?' He thought groggily, trying to stretch his legs.
"Ah!" That freaking hurt. Why did it hurt? Last time he hurt this much was after going overboard with his affinity. That was it, he had done that again. Why? He shook his head a little, trying to remember, wincing as it pained him. Someone had needed his help. Someone important. His friend. He tried opening his eyes, only half succeeding. Yes, his friend. He called out weekly: "N-näyl."

The female was still beside him, sleeping harder than she had originally meant to. Upon hearing her name however, her ears shot straight up and her eyes opened wide. Suddenly remembering all that had happened, a panic went through her and instantly she thought something was wrong, that while she had dozed off they were in danger. Her body became tense, ready for anything, when she saw Mao beside her, now conscious.

"Oh," she breathed, giving out a huge sigh of relief. Näyl had expected to be looking down the snout of a mutated rat, one of the dangers she had only been told stories about by the elders. "Are...are you okay?" she whispered, ears drooping. At least he was still alive.

Mao's brows furrowed as he thought about it. He ached all over but..."Yeah, I'm alright," He rasped weakly. His throat was sore and he'd have to drink water soon to ease it. His prior concern at the moment however was his friend. "Are you alright?" He asked looking the female up and down for injuries. He made to stand, in which he succeeded, be it a little unsteady and stiffly.

She replied with a curt nod, watching as her companion stood up on unsteady legs. After stretching out a paw, she felt that her paw pads were still a bit sensitive, but otherwise fine. Sleeping had done her some good, though her body was a bit sore from all the excitement of trying not to drown.

"But your affinity..." Näyl muttered, getting up herself. "That was amazing." Her voice was quiet as she stared at him a bit in awe as she recalled his elaborate blaze of fire that had wound up saving her. "I didn't think anyone at our level could do something like that."

Mao barked out an awkward laugh, which ended in a painful fit of coughs "Yeah...I wouldn't try it, if I were you," He stated, once he recovered. "We aren't supposed to. What I did..." He shook is head in unease. "I could have died. It uses to much of our energy, so much it brings us close to dead." How close he didn't say, but if death was another fox, he didn't just brush noses, no he had a damn dance with it. An intimate one even.

Her expression faltered as she realized the danger he had put himself in for her sake. Näyl's ears went flat. She had never depended on another fox before, but this time, she was grateful she had, though she felt guilty for the consequences.

"S-sorry..." she mumbled. Looking over at watery deathtrap and beyond to the other side, the fox frowned before returning her gaze back to Mao. "Well I won't be trying that again." She sat on her haunches in thought for a while. "Perhaps we should just go the long way to the Safe Room?"

Mao looked as her ears drooped. Not a reaction he liked. He smiled softly. "It's not your fault. I'm glad I was with you. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you." He didn't want to think of what would have happened if he hadn't done what he did. Gah, he really didn't want to. He shook his head to get rid of the horrid images, but only managed to get himself a headache. "So... were do we go now?"

The vixen looked over at him apologetically, though she was glad he wasn't angry with her. But, at the very least, they were both alive and well, and that's what counted.

"Well, we were heading to the Safe Room...but perhaps we should head a different way," she suggested, grimacing at the water. She had gotten a bit too intimate with death to want to even consider going that way again. Näyl looked around, trying to think of a better way to go. One that preferably did not include water.

Mao nodded. "Okay, so... should we just try another tunnel instead of euhm... crossing water?" He looked to the right. "It doesn't seem that bad right there. And since we already..." He looked to his left, figuring Näyl would understand.

The fox nodded quickly, glad he understood that she would rather not try again across the precarious bridge.
"I think that way would work," she confirmed, heading towards it. At the mouth of the tunnel, she paused, leering into the darkness with her ears on alert before continuing forward cautiously. "...Seems okay," Näyl muttered under her breath. It was a long one, though the two foxes soon came to a fork. Pausing, the vixen took a moment to think before nodding in one direction. "...I think it's this way," she said.

Nodding, he followed Näyl, tensing a little when she tipped her ears alerted. He relaxed again when she stated it seemed okay. "I wished I had such good ears as you," He commented. She seemed to have a better hearing than him. Maybe because her ears were bigger? They continued on and came to a fork. Chuck, where were they going to go now? Life always had to be difficult, hadn't it?


"I think it's this way."

Mao stared at the vixen, his eyes large in awe. "You can feel which way it is?" He asked, highly impressed. That was amazing! 'Maybe she can learn me how to do that,' he though.

"Hm?" she turned towards him, large ears fanning out. "Well, I guess since sound is my affinity... I don't know, it's just easier for sounds to reach my ears." The vixen stayed quiet for a moment. Her hearing was quite good, but sometimes it was too good. You never really realize how many tiny noises there are in the world unless you stop to listen. And those noises aren't always pleasant.

Näyl was a bit surprised at his sudden awe and seemed flustered by it. "Uh, n-no... it's just, well, it's kind of hard to explain..." She paused. "But, when someplace is hollow...the sound carries a certain way...like, this tunnel," she gestured towards it with her muzzle, "the sound of our paw steps carries in the air for a distance." The fox paused once again, sighing. "I can't really explain...but the sound bounces off things and back to me. And though I'm not completely sure, it feels like there's something up ahead." Näyl shrugged, knowing that was probably difficult to understand, especially for one with a different affinity.

Mao kept staring, trying to follow everything she said. He hung to her every word, but in the end he didn't fully understand. He shook his head a little, again managing to get himself dizzy. "Wow. That's really impressive." He sent her a smile. "Well, I'll follow you then. You've my complete trust!" As if to affirm his statement, he sat himself next to her, but let her be one head ahead.

Once again Mao surprised the little fox. No one had ever put their trust in her either and suddenly she felt a responsibility to successfully get them to their destination. Näyl started off again down the new tunnel, staying quiet so her hearing wouldn't be hindered. The way was long and tedious, this route about as plain and dull as every other tunnel they had ever been in. But after a while of walking, something just...felt different. Looking up at the wall, a large glyph was glowing ominously at their approach.

"What's that....?" she whispered, as if being too loud would affect the mysterious symbol.

Mao was bored. Their walk was too silent. Neither of them said a word. It wasn't an awkward silence - it was merely as to keep the rats away - , so he wouldn't have had a problem, if the road hadn't been so freaking plain. There wasn't even one interesting pebble on it!

Mao sighed, while continue to stare at the ground. He was currently following Nâyl solely on sound, having been trying to count his steps. It wasn't going that great and he was seriously considering humming anyway. Dying from a rat was probably a more interesting way to go, than dying from boredom.

"What's that....?"

Mao blinked as the vixen stopped in front of him. He looked up to see what had made her stop. His eyes went wide. "D-don't know..." He gulped. The thing in front of them had something alluring to it, but it looked so strange... It gave him a nervous feeling. He inched a little closer to Nâyl, looking at her in question, hoping she'd answer it without actually being asked. What do we do now?

The two young foxes shared a look, seeming to be silently wondering the same thing. Folding her ears back, Näyl cautiously brought her nose forward and sniffed the glyph, which continued to glow unchanged.

"I wonder what it's for," she said aloud, her voice still hushed. The vixen turned back to Mao to speak, her large ears perking up again. As they moved forward, one ear barely grazed the wall's surface and the glyph's light shone brighter. Flinching out of reflex from the sudden change in brightness, Näyl forgot what she was going to say and stared with wide eyes as the wall beneath the glyph began to shimmer faintly and become transparent. Thinking that at first she was just seeing things, the fox blinked a few times. "But...how...?"

It seemed the glyph was being used as camouflage, imitating the walls around it and making it appear solid. But the both of them could see through the disguise and into the darkness of yet another tunnel, this one dimly lit by more mysterious symbols on its walls. Näyl wasn't sure what this sudden appearance meant or why it had appeared before them, but for whatever reason this new tunnel seemed to draw her in. But her natural paranoia made her hesitate and she looked to Mao for guidance.

Mao jumped back a little as the thing seemed to glow brighter. He watched in awe when the tunnel was revealed to them. "What.." He whispered softly and took a step forward, the tunnel seeming to call for them.

He gulped when Näyl looked at him. He caught her eye before looking back to the tunnel, taking yet another step forward and sniffing, lightly touching it with his nose.

Watching as Mao crept forward, Näyl inched her way forward as well. Surprisingly, despite her innate fear of everything, something about the tunnel made her feel steadily more secure and, for the moment, nothing dangerous appeared to be living within the tunnel itself. Nor was there any scent of one.
"Should we go in...?" she asked in a hushed voice. "There's...something about this place." Safety was not really a concept she fully understood, but she had a feeling that this is what it felt like and suddenly found herself stepping deeper into the tunnel of her own accord.

"I think so. It seems.." He trailed off in order to follow the vixen inside the tunnel. It felt so calm inside. He looked back to the entrance, suddenly feeling giddy. "Hahaha!" He laughed, suddenly having the urge to run around. He sprinted a little further, before turning sharply and running back to Näyl. He skidded to a stop next to her.

"This feels great!" He stated, grinning brightly.

Her ears fanned out widely at Mao's sudden laughter as she continued her steady pace forward. Näyl watched as the other fox returned and gave him a rare smile, albeit a small one.
"Yes..." she murmured her agreement. "I wonder why Ainu doesn't just let us live in these tunnels," Näyl added quietly. "I mean, they feel so...secure." An ear twitched as she had a thought. "But what's at the end of them?"

Mao noticed her small smile, feeling happy she felt happy enough to venture one. She didn't really seem like the type to smile a lot. His ears tipped forward at her question. Well, I guess we could stick to them, but we wouldn't really get stronger then, would we..." He looked further into the tunnel. "I'd like to get stronger. If we get all our tails, we'll be free."

He nudged Näyl softly, before venturing further into the tunnel. "Let's find out, shall we?" He said, taking the lead. He couldn't help, but keep smiling. He had a great feeling about this.

“Oh,” she said quietly. “I guess it makes sense that we wouldn’t really progress without putting ourselves in danger…” Näyl grew hesitant at the thought of more danger – these old tunnels were frightening enough as they were without having to fight anything. But she looked up at Mao as he nudged her, growing a bit more confident with him beside her. She nodded and let him lead as they ventured farther into the tunnel.

For a while, there was no change in scenery at all for the two foxes. Näyl was just beginning to think that maybe this was a hopeless cause after all when, without warning, they stepped out into a vast room, one of the largest ones she had ever seen. She let out an audible gasp at its appearance, the floor covered in moss and the room itself lit up from various sources, both magic and natural lights aiding to illuminate the entire place.

“What is this place…?” she murmured.

Mao continued on, never loosing hope. He had been searching for so long, if he were to loose it, he would have so long ago.

His eyes grew wide when the tunnel ended up into a large room. Different foxes were scattered around the room. Playing, drinking, napping. Mao gulped, looking at Näyl. His eyes were shining from the water collecting there. "I... I think this the saferoom Ainu was talking about," He whispered. "I think we found it, Näyl..."