Challenging Myself (Closed)

[Meesh]

Shadow blinked, "deputy? Captain? Those sound a bit like ranks in our pack- it's odd, how our groups are completely unrelated,yet they seem to work- politically, at least- in the same manner. I guess everyone has the same basic needs, no matter the area of living. It's the names that make the most difference" he considered this a bit, tail swishing from side to side in a manner that wasn't quite feline and wasn't quite canine.

At River's speculations about the underground pathway, Shadow grinned in excitement, picking up his pace somewhat, though being sure to stay close enough to River so that his tail brushed her shoulder. Best not to get separated in this slowly growing darkness, not when it was so easy to get lost

[Deleted]

“As groups form, hierarchies become a necessity,” she agreed. “You need a creature to be leader, who knows what to do in any given situation and keeps everyone calm. Then you need creatures just under the leader to make the decisions and give the orders when the leader can’t, for whatever reason. Then there’s the workers who are good at particular tasks…and it gets more complicated as more members join. At least, that’s what I’m assuming.” The tribe only had the three members, after all.

She kept close to the mix, not wanting to be separated. More out of worry for him than her, as she was certainly big enough to handle anything in this cave. Anything that popped out at them had to be smaller than her. Probably even smaller than Shadow, now that she thought of it…unless the cave got bigger deeper in, but she wouldn’t think about that until she saw it. “I wonder if anyone else has ever been down here…”

[Meesh]

Shadow shivered happily, glancing around the darkness. Realizing that site didn't do him much good here, he closed his eyes, trying to navigate my smell and touch, making sure to count his pawsteps so he could make his way back, later. "I don't think so. It's kind of eery, knowing you've been in a place no other creature has set paw in before." he paused ear flicking as he heard the skitter of tiny pawsteps. "Well, I guess that the lesser native species claim most of the first explorer rights" he amended with a chuckle.
A thought occurred to him and he turned in the general direction of where River was, slowing his pace so he was closer. "River? What's to stop you from evolving right now? I mean, if you were underground and you became an Absconding, what would happen?"

[Deleted]

“Eerie, perhaps, but exciting as well,” River responded as they walked. “Lesser species may have been around first, but I tend not to count their achievements. I can’t hold a conversation with them, vocally or otherwise, and many of them are prey. I wonder – if any – how many are even capable of complex thought, as we are.”

She stopped when he slowed his pace and blinked at his question. She thought for a moment, and then shrugged. “I suppose nothing is stopping me, but I’m not worried. Surely there are instincts in place for such a situation. Perhaps the evolution would wait for me to get to a more ideal place, or it would teleport me as soon as I gained that ability.”

[Meesh]

Shadow nodded "Yes, exciting" he repeated, stumbling as his nose almost hit a wall. "Erp- watch out here, the tunnel seems to end" carefully, he took a step, then another, until he was about a foot away from River, sticking his nose out in either direction to test for walls. The tunnel seemed to slope sharply to the right, which accounted for Shadow not noticing the turn until earlier. Carefully, Shadow inched back to where River was until he could brush her shoulder lightly with his tail again. "Over here, I think I found a turn"

He nodded at her words "I see. That makes sense. Are you thinking about evolving sometime soon? I mean, do you want to?"

[Deleted]

She nodded and stood still, trusting him to find the way again. She’d be helping, but the space around her was such that she couldn’t move ahead without risking stepping on a paw or tail. Given the size difference, that could lead to all sorts of problems for them both, and she didn’t want to injure him, regardless.

Eventually, he found a way forward, and she continued padding behind him, using his tail as a guide. She blinked when he asked his question, and then shrugged. “I’m of two minds on that. Of course I want to evolve as soon as possible. My tribe mates are both abscondings, and being the only lesser evolved member is a bit..discouraging…” She sighed. “On the other hand, I may miss out on seeing some things once I do evolve. It’s a hard choice.”

[Meesh]

Shadow was quiet a moment as he padded over, considering her words. "It sounds to me" he said thoughtfully. "Like you're considering evolution to be automatically 'better'. But not being evolved doesn't make you lesser than your pack members, it's mainly just a matter of size, which isn't a huge deal. I mean, canines are bigger than felines, right? Doesn't mean they're better" he shrugged, belatedly realizing she wouldn't be able to see the gesture. "But maybe it's just me being overly imaginative" his tail flicked slightly as he remembered the conversation he and Seraphi had during Seraphi's first night in the den. "I'm not overly eager to evolve, but my sister wants to do it, so I may try to evolve, if only to make her feel better" the protectiveness he had felt towards the slightly younger mix hadn't faded since they first had met, and if Seraphi wanted to evolve Shadow decided he would as well, no matter his inhibitions.

A tiny glimmer of light began to appear at the edge of the tunnel which was now steadily sloping downwards

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“But with evolutions come powers,” River explained. “When I met Silva..well…Ebony was there, too. She demonstrated her teleportation and it had a bit of an effect on us both. I suppose my main thing is disappointment…” She sighed. “Ebony and I are the same age, we met each other as soon as we were born and have never been apart for more than a few days. I had hoped we’d both discover everything – including evolutions – together. That’s not possible, now, and our lives have taken on different directions even though we still live together. Just something I have to get used to, I suppose, but I do still want to catch up to him and our leader. Maybe there’s other things we can discover together.” She shook her head at the comparison between canines and felines, remembering Kayalee and Nixen and their conversation about canines. It…wasn’t favorable, and not something she wished to bring up.

“It seems natural for creatures to wish for evolution,” River said when he brought up his sister. “Who doesn’t want to be able to do things they normally couldn’t? Still…we don’t get to choose if or when we evolve. I’m not entirely sure what triggers it, to be honest.”

She blinked as she spotted the light. “I wonder where we’ve ended up…”

[Meesh]

Shadow flicked an ear "Well, if evolution is so random, like you said, then I'm sure it wasn't Ebony's intention to evolve first. I mean, in the end, an Aboriginal is no different from an Absonding, in my eyes." Shadow shook his head in the darkness, not for the first time wondering what was the appeal people saw in evolution. "I guess it's a matter of opinion" he finally commented halfheartedly.
The light brightened as the two continued on, brightening to almost daylight as the cave ended in a large cavern. Shadow's eyes widened as the mix looked around. The lightly lit cavern shone a faint blueish green, and a deep and wide pool of water lay a few feet below the two illuminated by the light. The entire cavern had an eery feel to it

[Deleted]

“I know, I know.” Her own ears flicked and her tail swished a few times. She had been over that before, many times…usually arguing with herself. She didn’t like that she felt that way, but she had a hard time changing that aspect of her. She wasn’t born a sweet, innocent, good-hearted thing like most creatures she met. She had to work at it, and only partly succeeded even on her best days.

She looked around as they entered the cavern, and it hit her how cramped she had felt wandering through the tunnel. She stretched, glad to have the room to perform any action other than walking. “This place isn’t half bad. A bit creepy, but—“ She blinked as an image of a small, splotchy and striped form vaguely similar to Shadow appeared before her, staring intently into the water. After a moment, the creature vanished, and the two were alone again. How strange…

[Meesh]

Shadow glanced at her, realizing her dilema, and shook his head quickly. "It doesn't matter, really, just stating an opinion" he said diplomatically, dipping his head in apology. The glow of the water caught his attention again and the mix carefully made his way down the slippery path until he was at the edge of the water, bending down to sniff it lightly, then take a tentative sip. "It's good!" Shadow called, surprised. "Pure and sweet, but it's got this...odd, other taste to it" he lapped at the water again, surprised, "You should try some!" pausing as he realized his mistake and looking apologetically back at River "Oh wait. Occult don't like water, right?"

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She was brought out of her thoughts by the mix’s voice, and she watched as he drank from the water. She stared into the water as he described its taste and urged her to try some. Should she? It could be dangerous.

But…since when did she fear danger?

River padded to the water and lapped up a few tonguefuls, wincing at the taste. It wasn’t…bad, per say, but it was certainly different from what she was used to, and not entirely in a good way. “What is this stuff?” and what was with the vision she had just had? Was it a telling of the future, or past? Should she mention it? Did she dare?

[Meesh]

Shadow was surprised when River relented and padded over to the water, impressed by her determination. "I think its the minerals int he cave" he replied in answer to her question, motioning with his tail at the strange rocks covering the inside of the cave. "Anyway, I think it's safe enough to drink- I haven't keeled over yet" Shadow grinned slightly to show he was joking before straightening back up, thirst quenched. "Shall we head back or keep on exploring?"

Shadow was about to pad back up towards the entrance when he took a moment to glance at the feline. River seemed distracted, and Shadow flicked an ear to the side, confused "Something wrong?"

[Deleted]

She nodded as Shadow spoke. “Perhaps…” Stuff in and around the water could influence the taste, so it wasn’t a stretch to assume there were minerals in the water that were absent in the river and streams she had visited before. She shook her head at his joke, but gave him a small purr before he asked if they should head back or continue. That…was a good question. She was eager to explore more of this land, but they both had groups that would miss them if they were gone too long.

Before she could answer, he asked if something was wrong She shook her head. “Nothing…it’s just…” Should she say what she had seen? …Yes. It didn’t matter if the mix thought she was insane. “For a moment there, it looked like there were three of us instead of two. I’m not sure if I glimpsed at the past or future or if it was just the eeriness of the cave playing tricks with my mind.”

[Meesh]

Shadow blinked in confusion at River's words, staring at at the water intently, tail swishing back and forth in its usual not canine but not feline way. "Well, you're an Occult, right? So I'd assume it's just a kind of vision then. My parents have 'em all the time" he gave her a reassuring grin, going into explanation mode "My mom- Silva- has them about locations, mainly, and my dad, Antares, has them that tell him what herb does what- maybe your visions have to do with who's been where. Or will be where. I guess" he gave a shrug "Who was the third person?

The taste of poolwater was still in his mouth, and Shadow took a moment to appreciate the strange earthy gleam if the entire cave. Briefly, he wondered how the cave was formed and what created this pool of water, wondering if he'd ever figure it out and excited at the prospect of learning something new