Otherworldly

The walls of the sound rose up, higher, and higher than Pyxis could climb, that was for sure. He took a moment to chew his lip before he started poking about between the stones. It wasn't that he was trying to find a way out, he just wanted a moment to get away from his siblings and figure out what was what. The den was plenty comfy but... ehh, he was a growing kid, right?

White smeared nose snuffling through the tumbled stones, he tried to parse out the scents. Cold stone, lichen and petrichor, the smellscape to his life so far, nothing interesting in that. He paused momentarily to chew on some short grass, vibrant violet eyes considering the walls that protected them from the worst of the driving winter wind.

There wouldn't be much to see out in the water, or well, not much that would be of use to him. As his eyes slid over the cliffs again, his brows pinched down. There. Had that slash in the stone always been there? White marked toes carried him in short order closer to the cliff face. It smelled... like bat poop and stagnant water in there. He wasn't sure he wanted to go in, but there wasn't much more worth seeing out here, was there? Inhaling deeply while he still had access to clear air, he poked his head into the cave, ears turning to take in squeaking of bats, the scuttling of beetles and other beasties as he continued his exploration.

He needed a moment to let his eyes adjust to the dark, had to duck around a bend in the tunnel to block out the vibrant slash of afternoon sun at his back. He though the glowing dot was just a drifting sparkle at first, so he closed his eyes again and counted to three... but there were more of them now?

Creeping closer, he pressed his nose into the damp cave wall, eyes crossing as he tried to get a closer look at what on the wall was glowing. The worm wiggled down, perching on his muzzle and creeping closer to between his eyes until it followed the white stripe up his nose and crawled right up onto the top of his head. For a moment, he considered shaking it off, but then thought better of it. There were plenty of bugs he could check out. The more he looked, the more became obvious to him.

Some seemed to glow brighter than others. His brow scrunched as he strolled deeper into the cave. It was damp in here, musty. There almost seemed to be... webs on the walls? He watched as the twinkling sparkle caught the attention of a small moth. It fluttered towards the light and got stuck. Pyxis stepped back from the wall, expecting a spider to come skittering out of the darkness to wrap up its dinner but it was a glow worm that inched towards the helpless moth. Well... that was vaguely concerning as he considered his wriggly little hitchhiker. Maybe he would try and shake it off...

Nah, it wouldn't eat much, surely?

Pyxis continued to venture deeper into the cave, the glow worms providing a transcendental light that danced along the damp stone walls. The further he went, the more the cave seemed to open up, the tunnel widening into a cavernous space that echoed his every movement. His white-tipped tail flicked back and forth, betraying a mix of curiosity and caution. The glow worms were everywhere now, their soft blue-green luminescence transforming the cave into a starry night sky.

He paused to sniff at a particularly large cluster of glow worms, their lights pulsing gently as if in rhythm with some unseen force. The air was cooler here, the dampness settling into his fur, but Pyxis found it invigorating. The scent of bat guano was stronger, and he could hear the distant flapping of wings. There were more sounds now too—the steady drip of water, the occasional skitter of tiny feet, and the almost imperceptible hum of the glow worms, more a feeling than a perceptible sound.

As Pyxis moved further into the cave, he noticed the ground beginning to slope downward. The air grew colder and the glow worms more numerous, mesmerizing, almost hypnotic. He stepped carefully, his paws slipping occasionally on the wet stone. He found himself in a large chamber, the ceiling high above, festooned with thousands of glowing points of light. It was as if he had walked into a dream. It was like the night sky he loved so dearly... but it was inside.

In the center of the chamber, a small pool of water reflected the glow worm lights. Pyxis approached the pool cautiously, his reflection staring back at him with wide, violet eyes. He leaned down to lap at the water, the cool liquid refreshing his dry throat. The glow worm on his head remained perched contentedly, seemingly unbothered by the movement. It was a rather stylish accessory, wasn't it?

Suddenly, a noise echoed through the chamber—a low, rumbling growl that made the deep purple fur on Pyxis's neck stand on end. He froze, ears straining to pinpoint the source of the sound. It seemed to come from deeper within the cave. His heart pounded as he debated whether to investigate or retreat. Just a moment more and the scratch of nails on stone had the boy beating a hasty retreat, back up the tunnel and into the open air, where the stars were just beginning to wink into existence overhead.

"speech"