Stuck with you

This land was one of the most unforgiving she'd been to, full of bubbling black, foul-smelling goo. The remains of recent unfortunates still trapped on the surface showed the danger in letting your guard down, and made her wonder how many more creatures were entombed beneath the roiling surface of the tar. It had only been the desire to know more of the lands surrounding Celestial and her closest ally, Lirim, that had led her this far. Gwen had made the trek over the desert lands with the intention of exploring Lirim's neighboring lands when she had been considering siege scenarios, and the possibility of being called upon to aid their ally in the event of a siege on them. Knowing Lirim's lands, in that case, would allow them to hopefully make the journey to their aid much swifter, allowing them to assist in time.

But she hadn't expected someplace like this, and curiosity had brought her deeper and deeper into the dangerous terrain. She was staring with morbid interest at the rotting corpse of a deer partly preserved in one of the smaller pools when a soft mewing caught her attention.

She raised her head, listening intently. The mewing sounded like a young creature in distress, and the sound tugged at Gwen's soft heart. She followed it still deeper into the maze of tar pits, until her gaze fell on the source.

A tiny kitten, hardly more than a pale ball of fluff with auburn markings and pink nose, was crying piteously beside one of the tar pits.

The reason for the kitten's distress was immediately obvious - trapped in the confines of the pool was the limp body of an older female cat with long, silky fur in the same colors as the kitten. She had clearly succumbed to the pit only recently, not long enough ago to leave the kitten weakened by hunger without anyone to hunt for it.

Seeing Gwen, the kitten stopped mewing and warily huddled as close to the tar pit as it could without touching it, as if seeking its deceased mother's protection. The way it held one forepaw close to its chest showed it to be injured - Gwen suspected that it had tried to touch the bubbling tar and burned itself.

"Hey sweety, it's ok," she whispered coaxingly, getting down on her belly to put her head on a level with the kitten. "I'm not going to bite. Is your paw hurt?"

The kitten hesitated, but the natural trusting nature of many younglings had her slowly creeping back closer to Gwen and cautiously extending her injured paw. Sure enough, an angry red burn covered the paw pad, black tar sticking in the formerly white fur between the pads. Gwen's heart melted at the pitiful tears swimming in the kitten's blue eyes, and she had to keep from rushing over and hugging the little fluff ball. It would undoubtedly scare the poor thing half to death.

"Do you want to come with me to find someone who can help with your hurt?" she asked gently.

The kitten seemed to consider this a moment, then nodded, moving up to press against Gwen's forelegs. Carefully, Gwen bent to grasp the kitten's scruff and pick her up off the ground. She seemed to weigh hardly more than a little mouse. Carrying the curled up kitten, she trotted off through the tar pits towards more populated lands, hoping to find another explorer with healing knowledge. For all the time she'd spent with Lanse as he struggled with his disease, she herself had never learned to heal. But she had learned stubbornness, and she was determined to see this young orphan healed and fed.