stand up and look into the light

It's mostly quiet down here, save for the steady running of water. Everything was muffled, the rest of the world insulated and tucked away. Björn finds it peaceful, in its own right. He'd never been one for peace, but at least it's helpful while he's trying to think. Taking in the scent of wet earth, the herbs, the damp.... it's not the worst. Yeah, a fine place to rest while he waited for the heat of the daytime to dissipate. This place didn't seem as impacted as the other underground hideaways, or at least, the ones Björn had investigated.

The voice, that's enough to make that antlered head snap up. Immediately to attention, gaze sweeping up the stony walls. Curiosity, more than anything else, draws Björn to take a step forward. Focusing on the source of the sound, a small girl curled up within a narrow opening. Not the voice of a child, though Björn was certain he'd seen pups far larger.

Ah, but she'd asked him a question. "Fucken hate the heat, is all." His tone is easy, less on edge than typical, these days. "How do you mean, it hurts you?" Curiosity without malice, the rot prince is... interested. Carefully studying the pale girl where she rests on her perch, studying the way the rocks come together to form a reasonably comfortable spot. For a boy raised to the mountains, the ravine strikes him as the same, but different.

"Björn"