The young female had been wandering the lands surrounding Fiori more than usual these last few days, looking for something to occupy her mind from current events going on around her. The silence with her sisters, barely even seeing them since they had arrived at the pack's borders who knows how long ago. Was Ritselli and Sorya even here still? Ellisa bit her lip and shook her head, trying to make those thoughts go away. No, they wouldn't just leave her after they had reunited. No way! They were just... busy is all. Rit was probably just doing the tasks given from the pack leader, yeah, that's it.

Enough time had been spent on the thought, and it was something she did not want to think anymore about. So she had decided to head towards the mountains inland, strolling along the bottom, keeping beside it up until she spotted something. A tunnel. Cautiously she side stepped and came to stand just a few feet from the entrance, head low and eyes squinting as she tried to look into the darkness to see how far back it went.

"Speech"

It was rare that he ever ventured beyond the borders, though on this particular day he had felt the urge to do so. The need to briefly escape reality was too great for his mind to handle, so he set out at a reasonable time of the day by crossing the river that separated the plains from the rogue territories. His most recent dream about his father burned deeply in his thoughts, like as if the memory was carved into stone. Although his parents wouldn't be returning any time soon, there was always hope to find his brothers who he prayed were still alive. It was the matter of looking for them that stumped him. It would be silly for him to travel across the whole continent in search for them, though he would venture out to a different region when he had a spare moment just to scout the area. Would he ever find them? Realistically, it was highly unlikely, however, both of them had resided in the pack long enough for them to have developed a sense of understanding of where it was. Perhaps they would find their own way back, if anything in their minds ever convinced them of doing so.

A gaping entrance to a tunnel, and potentially a connection of caves caught his eye, pausing his trek to inspect the sight. The darkest places he had ever explored were his own den and the night itself, though he was always out in the open and preferred it that way. The smaller girl that stood close by with perhaps similar intentions of examining the attraction also piqued his interest, as he had never encountered outsiders other than participants in pack-orientated events. "Do you know where this tunnel leads?" he inquired curiously to the female, tilting his head and continuing to observe.

A figure appearing in the corner of her vision was enough to make Ellisa jump, head swinging around and amber eyes locking onto whatever it was. Paws quickly pulled her back and to the side so that she could face whatever it was, ears folding back but quickly taking a deep breath when she realized it was another wolf. Calming her nerves, the young female lifted her head and slid her ears forward, flashing a nervous but friendly smile to the... boy. Ever since she started wandering from home it seemed like every wolf she has been meeting was a guy. Why was that? ”So-sorry.” She stammered, crossing a foreleg over the other and looking to the ground. ”You came out of nowhere.” Clearing her throat Ellisa would look back over at the boy, ears perking up as he spoke, asking if she knew where the tunnel she had been staring at lead to. ”Um...” Looking back to the tunnel she would thinking for a moment before looking back to him and shrugging her shoulders. ”I'm not sure, I just got here before you and haven't gone inside.” She admitted, looking back to the tunnel and up the mountain.”Maybe underground?”

"Speech"

His voice and sudden appearance seemed to startle the girl, making her jump and pull her ears back - what a great way to make a first impression. He wasn't anything to be frightened of, though by the way he approached her it was understandable that she would have felt a little frightened. She stammered a stuttering apology of which he soon reassured her. "I should be saying sorry," he gently told her with a friendly smile. "I didn't mean to scare you like that."

So the tunnel lead underground? Oh, he knew that, judging by the thick darkness that filled the depths of the tunnel. It appeared they were both clueless with the sight, having only just arrived. It still perked his interest, however, as he hadn't ever explored in underground caverns but yearned to nonetheless. Yet he also wanted to converse with the girl, though hopefully he could combine the two together. "My name's Tinaro," he introduced whilst ruffling the dust from his chestnut coat. "What's yours?"

The boy apologized, at least that is how Ellisa was seeing it when he spoke. Smiling and explaining that he didn't mean to scare her when he approached. It kind of made her feel a bit silly, getting frightened over something so silly when all he did was walk up and speak. She'd shake her head gently from side to side, embarrassed that this wasn't the first time she had become uneasy suddenly from somebody announcing their presence. "It's f-fine." She spoke quietly, forgiving him with a small dip of her skull before turning to look back at the tunnel entrance. His name was Tinaro, and asked for hers. The girl would clear her throat, looking down nervously. "Ellisa." It was still a new thing for her, talking to people not part of her family, boys especially so she would be a bit awkward around him during their encounter. "W-would you want to... look inside?" She asked quietly, lifting her head and motioning towards the hole that could easily fit both of them side by side. Both of them were curious, and she wasn't doing anything to exploring something new was something she didn't mind doing, even if it was with a stranger.

"Speech"

Like the sandy-hued female, he too felt slightly embarrassed for approaching her so suddenly though she appeared to be fine, accepting his apology which brought his mind back to a relaxed state. Once that topic was out of the way, she introduced herself as Ellisa, and following the exchange of her name he spoke politely with a friendly dip of his head. "That's a nice name; a pleasure to meet you."

It seemed she was also interested with the gaping entrance before them, his own curiosity climbing the longer he examined the shadows lurking within the cavern. Though the girl beside him was a newly acquainted stranger, he didn't see how her proposition couldn't be as enjoyable as exploring by himself or with his own friends. "Sure!" he exclaimed with an excited wag of his tail, though after a quick thought popped into his head, he quickly lowered his crown in a gesturing movement. "Oh," This gentlemanly stuff was difficult to remember, however that didn't waver him from his perseverance. "Ladies first." Despite trying to act solemn and serious in the matter, he couldn't help the amused grin that crept to his boyish features.

Ellisa made a small dip of her head at the boy's compliment, looking to him with a small smile. Usually she made compliments when nervous, but he seemed to look perfectly fine, so she took it as he was a sweet guy. Smile quickly turned into a grin, accepting her offer to go into the tunnel and explore what was hidden in the darkness. The thought of a small adventure was enough to get her tail swinging, ears perked up as she looked towards the entrance ten back to Tinaro. She grew confused when his head lowered, head tilting, beginning to wonder if he suddenly changed his mind and didn't want to go inside after all. ”Ladies first.” Oh, so that'd what he was doing. With the amused grin that crossed his features the girl couldn't help but giggle, dipping her head and crossed a leg over the other in a sort of bow. "Why thank you kind sir." With that she turned away and padded up to the entrance, taking a moment to swuint her eyes and let her eyes adjust to the lighting. Head leaned forward, nostrils flaring to gather any scents. Earth, stone, moisture. "In we gooo." Voice trailed off while she headed inside. Right away the girl would notice something about this tunnel, the ground was dipping and found herself having to lean backwards with her weight. "Be careful, the ground is sloped." She warned over her soulder, amber eyes squinting to see if the boy was right behind her or a little ways back. Turning back ahead Ellisa grunted, paw scraping over a sharp rock she hadn't noticed. "Sharp rocks too." She shook her head in small annoyance but it wasn't enough to change her mood, tail held out and wagging slightly until they were on level ground.

"Speech"

Kind sir? Oh, he hadn't ever been called that. Many names had befallen to entitle his being, though the particular one the girl used to address caused his heart to briefly flutter and cheeks to flush. After demonstrating what appeared to be a feminine curtsy, the female approached the entrance before being swallowed by the merciless darkness with her voice fading away in audacity. Seemingly, she held her posture with confidence, her expression reflecting no doubt or hesitation if there were such emotions dwelling in her mind. If only he could carry himself like that, which became obvious as he faltered before the cave's opening. Panic slightly gripped him for a brief second, though he vanquished the silly feeling with a shake of his chestnut head. Come on, he had been eager to explore - where was it now? Was it the darkness he was afraid of; the fear of finding himself helplessly lost, separated from the recent-stranger he had begun to trust? Unfortunately, he didn't have much time to make a decision, if he could decide at all. Her steps grew softer with every passing moment, and he didn't want her to think he had ditched her. Without a second thought, he plunged his muscular form into the shadows.

He had to scamper in order to catch up with her, however his reckless bounding caused him to miss her cautious alert, as he abraded his ebony paws upon the unnoticed sharp rocks. With the momentum created from his earlier dashing, he tripped and stumbled to find his body mere centimetres from colliding with hers. Another great impression. "Thanks for the warning," he muttered breathlessly with gritted teeth, ruffling his coat before continuing with the trek like falling over on dangerous rocks was the usual. In a way, that statement was correct, for he was quite a clumsy youth. This time he had shown his klutzy nature in front of a girl - what bad timing.

Ears faced forward atop the girls skull, controlling her breathing so they came out quiet, allowing for her to listen closely to how her claws clicked against the ground and the echoes bounced off the walls. It was kind of neat. The corners of her lips tugging in a smile as she found herself stretching her neck to hear just how far they went till she could no longer hear it.

When the echo was gone it was then that Ellisa realized it was a bit too quiet in the tunnel she was moving through, brows coming together and face scrunching in confusion. Was that boy not behind her? Head turned to the side and amber eyes strained in the dark to find an outline that stood out, holding her breath to make sure it wasn't interfering. She heard nothing though. A pang of annoyance crossed the girls heart, chest puffing out and tail curling into the air. If he didn't want to come with then he could have said so, not lead her on just to abandon her after she went into a dark and creepy tunnel.

About to turn around and continue exploring on her own, the girl would suddenly stop mid-step at the sudden drumming coming from behind her. Quickly her head whipped back around, body in the process of joints bending and ready to charge down the tunnel if she must. Bursting from the darkness Tinaro came stumbling towards her, surprising Ellisa and causing her to leap forward to avoid him dragging her down with him.

She lifted a paw to cover her mouth, cheeks puffing out, containing the laughter that wanted to jump from her throat. It was pretty embarrassing and she didn't want to make it worse for the boy by laughing at him, so she held it back, taking a moment to breathe before coming up to him and smiling. "No problem, lets take it slowly though." She placed a paw gently over his with a nod of her head before turning back and around.

It wasn't pitch dark where the two had come into a small cave, light from the tunnel entrance crawling through just barely. Nostrils flared and the girl would took in a deep breath, exhaling with a faint hum. "It smells nice here." She commented, looking over at Tinaro with the smile still there before turning back and motioning with a paw. "There is a puddle with water coming from the wall. You think there could be a river down here?" She asked curiously.

After steadying himself upon his paws, knowing she had stopped within her tracks to see the commotion, he inwardly winced, expecting laughter or giggles to erupt from the girl's throat. Sure, the accident had to have been hilarious. To her, it may have seemed funny and perhaps it truly was though it was difficult for him to relate to it as such. However, no humorous noises or sneering remarks were made, and instead she brought comfort to his embarrassed thoughts. In the gloom, his eyes widened at the sight of her paw upon his, though as she continued their trek, he shook the thought away and kept his focus on walking. Slow walking.

Even though it wasn't completely dark when the two passed through a small cave, the boy was still wary and cautious with where he placed his feet. At her statement of the pleasantly-scented air, he took a few sniffs, inhaling the satisfying aroma whilst nodding in agreement. Although, he forgot all about the smells when she indicated towards a trickling puddle that seemed to have emerged from the wall. Underground water? He hadn't ever heard of such an anomaly let alone seen one with his own eyes. The fact that there was only one lonely puddle of water in the entire network of caves seemed illogical and disappointing to the male; there had to be other bodies of water somewhere. "Let's find out," he grinned mischievously, gesturing for her to continue their exploration. Once they began walking, he passed by another yet another puddle, though it sounded like it was trickling down the same tunnel. It wasn't wide enough to be considered a river, a thin stream perhaps. Not realising this as of yet, he accidentally stepped into the shallow water, creating an echoing splash. "Sorry!" he whispered, flattening his ears and feeling his cheeks flush. At least he had found a potential source of water, which he hoped opened up to something larger. "It uh, sounds like it goes all the way down."

Gesturing for them to continue, the girl dipped her skull and pushed forward. Paws moved silently over the ground, angling just right with each step so claws would not scrape along and echo off the walls. Head was brought down, leveling with shoulders while her ears remained up and angled outward. She wanted to catch any noises around them, focus on the trickling water and hope to hear a larger source raging somewhere within the maze-like tunnels.

Another puddle, same as the other, moving down the tunnel but wasn’t quite big enough to be considered anything bigger than a thin stream. Then there was an echoing splash, not incredibly loud but it was enough and sudden to a point where Ellisa actually jumped. Head spun over her shoulder to look at Tinaro with wide eyes, surprised at first but quickly turned mischievous as he apologised. “You’re gonna get it!” She said in hushed tones, playful of course. You don’t just frighten a girl like that! Of course she understood it was an accident but hey, this was all in good fun.

The boy thought the stream went all the way down the tunnel, so she would turn back and look into the darkness, eyes squinting. "Looks like it...let's find out!" Getting a bit too excited and not realizing how loud she had gotten, the girl's voice bounced off the tunnel walls. She quickly padded forward, not even giving her eyes a chance to adjust to the darker area, paws thumping along. "Sounds like it is getting louder!" She called over the shoulder, the trickling indeed growing the further she moved down.

At this rate, he didn't seem he was going to get anything. Clumsiness wasn't a common trait of his, especially at a time like this. Around the pack, fine, he could trip over as many times as he liked. Well, not really. If anything, it was better if his pack-mates and leader didn't seem him fumbling all over the territory, for he surely wouldn't receive any promotions. With a shake of his head, he shoved the thoughts further back into his mind. Just watch where you're going, his inner voice reminded as he trudged deeper down the tunnel.

The increase of her voice's volume didn't bother the boy one bit, for she hadn't seemed annoyed with his previous "accidents" so he decided it would be respectful to model the same. Her pace unexpectedly picked up, which surprised him though he momentarily caught up with an equally excited demeanour. The water was indeed growing louder, until it sounded like it was directly in front of them. Realisation soon hit him, and a glimpse of the path ahead was all he needed. "Watch out!" he urgently hissed, hoping the girl would follow his warning and not fly off the edge. He couldn't see much ahead, but he could tell that the tunnel opened to large cavern that they happened to be approaching from its base. The water, however, flowed into a quiet lake while the path abruptly halted in front of it - a potential danger if the water went unnoticed.

Sence of excitement quickly morphed into danger and fear when the boy warned her. Her head would whip to the side and cast a glance towards him in that moment, confused up till she felt her front paws hit air. With a gasp she would turn her head back around, swinging down at the sudden shift in her weight. Paws smacked the vertical side of the edge, trying to push herself back while her back legs dug into the cold ground to keep fromsliding forward and tail swinging madly behind her. "Tinaro!" She barked, breathing fast and whmpering lightly as she tried to keep herself from falling forward but despite her hardest attempts she was slippingAmber eyes went wide when they adjusted to the darkness, jerking her head back as she realized they were high above the water and she could fall and possibly get really hurt.

He couldn't see where the girl was placing her paws, though her cry informed him that she had been late receiving his message - maybe it was his fault for not noticing sooner. Assumptions told him that the drop had to be long - not good, not good at all. His heart began to palpitate with panic, trying not to imagine the female slipping over the edge. No, he wouldn't allow that to happen. Instinctively, he lunged forward in such a way that he couldn't bump her closer to the ledge, not that she wasn't already close. Jaws firmly grabbed ahold of her scruff, hoping to be gentle at the same time. Trying not to slip upon the stone surface, of which he couldn't grip properly, he pulled her body back further into the tunnel, panting heavily with the mouthful of her fur. When they were several metres away from the ledge - a safe distance - he released his grasp, unable to take his eyes away from her form. "Are you alright? he demanded softly with a concerned tone and worried green gaze wide.