Stylianos Crypt -- Navigation -- 12 Days of Christmas Event {Day 7} [Double Points]

Pegasus was with her, and Philomena was grateful for the male’s companion in these colder temperatures. Frosty breath was expelled from her breath as she walked along, paws crunching the snow beneath them. The thick white stuff was still falling… and Philly wondered if it might head as far as getting to the lake. As much as she was sure her little ones would be excited to see snow she didn’t want them to be there without her when it began falling. Snow could be a dangerous element if you didn’t watch yourself in it. Philomena would be damned if she lost one of her children to the elements… even if that meant being extra protective over them.

“It feels like the temperature is dropping even more…” The female remarked as she pushed on through the trees. Her ears twitched every so often, searching for sounds outside of their own pawsteps. Blue gaze narrowed though as Philly noticed something outside the ordinary… an opening in the earth. Massive.

“Hey Pegasus… take a look at this… looks like an opening somewhere, yeah?” Philomena said as she approached it. Cold air seeped out of the opening making the woman shiver. “What do you suppose it is?”

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Lately Pegasus had been sharing his knowledge from his home land, in particular reading and writing with Philomena, he had shown her one particular craft; making vellum from animal hides and had slowly been teaching her how to hold charcoal with her paws. It seemed he carried a roll of vellum with him everywhere now and a stick of charcoal in case she wanted to stop and try her hand at writing something, but today it seemed today there might be a much better reason to carry those supplies with him. He lowered his head to sniff at the entrance then wrinkled his nose and sneezed. “Smells like dust and old meat.” He muttered, rubbing his nose with his wrist as he did. “Think we should check it out? It could be dangerous” He asked with a small, almost mischievous grin, already knowing what the woman’s answer would be. speaking Thinking  you

Philomena had discovered that spending time with Pegasus was quite enjoyable… though his teachings were a bit confusing. Learning to read and write was becoming quite the adventure… though Philly was genuinely interested in the concept. Sure she got frustrated sometimes… but Philomena found herself coming back to it again and again. It was something she wanted Pegasus to teach her children as well, should he be willing. She hadn’t asked him just yet, not wanting to overwhelm him with more pupils, but she felt confident that he wouldn’t mind. The ways of the land he hailed from were different… and Philomena wanted to learn even more about them. Who knew? Perhaps they’d bring such concepts to The Deliverance.

The female let her gaze linger on the male beside her. At his conclusion she nodded, glancing back at the entrance. “It does. Something, or a great deal of things, may have died down there.” The female mused. “The smell is like a mass grave… something where things weren’t buried properly.” The female took a step forward, peering into the dark. “Dangerous? Ha, I laugh in the face of danger, Pegasus! Hahaha!” The female winked at him before plunging deeper into the depths of the crypt.

Her claws clicked upon the smooth surface of the floor and, as expected, it was even colder in here than it was outside. Philly fluffed up her coat and looked around curiously, able to make out some shapes in the dark. Containers… made of wood in various shapes and sizes against the walls. Philomena walked in even deeper, a breath of air expelled. “Looks like it branches off in a couple directions.” The female noted as her eyes adjusted to the light.

“Do you think we should try and make some sort of note of which way leads where?”

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Pegasus seemed unphased by Phili’s light flirtations, but had come to venerate her adventurous spirit and smiled despite the smell as he followed her inside. He pawed at the boxes scattered about the strange cave, tilting his head as the insect eaten wood broke away with the barest of touches. He found it odd that they appeared to be empty, whatever had been in them may have disintegrated with time or been eaten away but he supposed also they could have never been filled in the first place. “Do you think we should try and make some sort of note of which way leads where?” He broke from his investigations then to smile knowingly at her; “Even better." He grinned. He unfurled the vellum and straightened out between them, then took his stick of charcoal and held it between his two toes. With a practiced paw he quickly etched the tree they had passed on their way in, then the branching entrances before them. He looked up then, measuring the distance they had crossed from the entrance to the tunnels and drew three dashes between the two sketched figures. “This is called a map. Every ten paces we leave a dash and draw what we see, that way the next time someone comes here they’ll be able to use it to navigate.” He explained, his chest swelling slightly as he explained what was considered a useful craft in his homeland. speaking Thinking  you