Grow New Roots

All of the reassurances that he had given to Cyprian before he parted ways with the gentle giant were echoing in his head now as he took shelter in one of the gorge's seemingly numerous caves and alcoves. It would have been easy enough to stick close to the former gladiator after the larger male had managed to take him with him after he won his freedom, but Valens couldn't get past the nagging guilt that he had made things more difficult on Cyprian and that he had already asked for so much from him. It had been the first time he had asked anyone for anything more than the basic necessities to live and it had been a substantial ask at that. No, he couldn't keep relying on Cyprian. He had to find his own way now that they were well away from their former captors and now in relative safety.

What he hadn't really considered when he made this decision was the lingering chill of this continent and the heavy amounts of rainfall that he had trudged through so far. His fur was already fairly thin as it was on his bony frame so having the cold rain constantly pelting down on his back was like being hit with pins and needles. He hadn't made much progress and could only travel for short periods of time before he had to stop. He shook out his coat as best as he could before sitting back on his haunches with a sigh while trying to ignore how his stomach rumbled. Glancing back at the cave that stretched out behind him he began to wonder if he might get lucky and find some kind of small rodent or other such prey in these caves, but he had a feeling that with his luck he'd be more likely to run into a bear or get lost in the twists and turns of the catacombs.

"Valens"