Ever since she'd discovered the luminous mushrooms deep in the cave with her brother, Sio had taken to exploring anywhere that looked like it led underground. What other wonders would await her? She'd strayed a bit far from home this time, but she'd passed some incredible sights. The young wolf had skirted the battlefield, which she'd only heard tales of, and headed along the base of the mountain. Mountains always had caves, right? Her intrepid exploration was rewarded when she spotted the yawning maw of the mines. Pricking her ears, Siobhan headed straight into the cave without a worry. She'd managed to recapture some of her optimism and bravery as of late and it felt good to be so bold. The cave smelled earthy in a way that the mushroom cave had not. Strange metals and wood littered the ground, mostly degraded to the point where she could no longer tell their original purpose; but the cave on the whole was much wider and taller than any she'd ever been in. Almost as if some giant creature had thoughtfully carved it. The walls were jagged in places, as if the stone had been shorn off. What kind of being had that power? Strange. Her curiosity piqued, she ventured deeper into the darkness.

Tsunami had grown so used to the cool of the northern lands they'd been taken to that she'd nearly forgotten what it was like further south. She hadn't even gotten too far, she simply was so used to the endless snow of the icefield the pack was gathered on she had to do a double-take when she realized that she was walking on muddy, uncovered ground. She wasn't quite certain how to feel about that. She'd spent a decent portion of her puppyhood in Abaven't much warmer packlands, more so than the lands her father had once claimed but she'd also done much to try and block those memories from her mind. The young woman suppressed a growl, feeling her own discomfort rising. Tsunami spotted a cave a little bit off and despite her wariness of the surrounding areas she couldn't help but feel her curiosity piqued. She slowly approached, picking up the scent of another wolf who'd clearly had the same idea she'd had, young, close to her age and from a pack who's scent she couldn't recognize. A smirk tugged at her lips as she approached and could see the other young wolf just inside the mouth of the cave. Tsunami dropped into her best stealthy crouch and moved towards the stranger. She'd try to skirt the base of the mountain, approaching the mouth of the opening from the side. She paused outside the mouth of the cave, listening for any sign she'd been detected. Then Tsunami would slide into the mouth of the cave, lifting her voice so it'd echo off the rough walls. "Boo!" It was childish, maybe even a bit cruel but the young woman couldn't help but find it amusing, and frankly, she'd been forced to become grown up in a way that didn't allow for petty games like this so maybe that's what drew her to acting so childish. Speech Think Action

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Sio had most of her condition under control. If she could have seen Tsunami before the boo! echoed all around her, maybe she would have been more mentally prepared. At least, that's what she frantically told herself when all of her limbs froze up and she collapsed towards the ground. Her chin scraped along an exposed piece of metal on the ground and began to sting. Even without seeing it, she knew that she was bleeding. Sio's heart beat in her ears for what felt like an eternity but was actually about two minutes. Groaning as her limbs unlocked, the young female finally teetered to her feet. Siobhan gasped and leaned against the damp wall of the cave, trying to get her bearings. "Hello?" she said sharply. It echoed deeper into the cave. Hello, hello hell... The muddy, earthy smell of the cave was suddenly a little overwhelming. She looked over her shoulder and spotted a murky shape lurking behind her. "You! That was... very rude," she grumbled.

Tsunami had to bite back a bark of laughter, of all the reactions she'd expected watching the other girl to collapse.  That was all she could make out from where she was, as she trotted into the cave she could start to make out more. Her joke would have been significantly funnier if she hadn't started bleeding from her fall. Though Tsunami was certainly harsher than many wolves she wasn't exactly the kind to wish harm on other for no reason. Sure she was pretty petty so reasons didn't need to be good but she couldn't help but feel at least a little bad for causing the other girl injury. "Hey, sorry I just could help myself." She couldn't keep a lopsided grin from her face as she approached still. Though as she glanced at the wound on the other's chin her smile dropped some. "Never meant for that to happen though. Anything I can do to help?" Speech Think Action

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"Well... not really," Sio grumbled. She was feeling a little snippy after the episode. It wasn't like she could have helped it. Better to let this other wolf think that she'd just startled her very badly. Possibly the worst thing that she could think of was having her condition used against her. The scrape was minor and would probably stop bleeding shortly. Sio glanced around and wiped it off on a patch of moss growing on the wall. There, that was fine. "But you can help me look for materials. If you spot anything interesting, let me know," she called over her shoulder, heading a bit deeper into the cave. She'd grown used to the company of her siblings, but she wasn't sure yet how she felt about exploring with a stranger. Maybe she could just keep her at a distance for now.

The other girl seemed a bit upset, which didn't really bother Tsunami. She shrugged as she was told to look for materials, any other scenario where she didn't feel she kinda owed it to the stranger to make up for injuring her a bit and Tsunami would have been pretty resistant to being told what to do, especially this rudely. And yeah she was pretty irritated but she did her best not to let that show. "What kinda materials you lookin' for?" She asked as she trotted after the other yearling. She knew that all sorts of things could be made with all sorts of materials, she'd witnessed her own brother making spears, so maybe sharp rocks was what this girl was looking for? "Name's Tsunami by the way." She shouted a bit as she spoke, she'd stopped to sniff at a jutting part of the wall and still wanted to make sure she was being heard. Tsunami figured one of them ought to introduce themselves, even if this other girl was being kinda rude in her estimation. Speech Think Action

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Sio suddenly felt a bit guilty for being snippy. It wasn't usually in her nature, but Tsunami's attitude rankled her. Plus, she was always moody after an episode had been triggered. It made her feel crazy and out of control. Trying to sound a bit more cheerful, she offered her name: "Siobhan." And what exactly was she looking for? That was a good question. "Mmm, like... interesting looking plants. Maybe some metal in an interesting shape... or any wide, flat pieces of wood." Those were all pretty good options. She could use a flat piece of wood as a canvas or a place to mix paints and plants were important ingredients for making colors. The metal, well, that would just be a bonus. "Where're you from?" she asked, trying to be a bit more conversational. Maybe they could push past their awkward first encounter.

Well at least she got a name out of the other girl, a name for the face. Siobhan started listing off things she felt Tsunami should be looking for. Tsunami was pretty sure she wouldn't find any flat pieces of wood in the middle of a cave but metal or maybe some kind of subterranean plants she could at least see being a possibility. Siobhan asked where she was from and Tsunami chuckled. "A pack near here, a little further north called Winterfell." She wandered away from the jutting wall and off towards a part of the wall that was gleaming dimly. She narrowed her eyes, trying to decide if the speck was just an extra shiny part of the rock or something actually worth bringing up. "What about you?" The other girl certainly wasn't from Winterfell but she had a pack scent to her. Speech Think Action

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