Fault and fracture

Temporarily distracted by digging, Kaija got to work at the spike she landed at, paws somewhat frantically trying to unearth something that would give them some idea what was going on here. But there was nothing, just dirt all the way down. It was nothing she hadn't seen before, soft and loamy, giving way easily beneath her paws.

She all but ignored the way Wenna's breath caught in her throat, if she heard it at all. It was hard to focus on any sounds other than the clearest of speech with the way the wind was wailing though, echoing like it was trapped between these impossibly tall pillars.

"I did," she clarified quickly. She'd only had time to think down there, once she gave up on trying to climb the walls or dig an exit out. Way too much time. She'd thought about more than just Wenna, of course, but her mind kept coming back to her. "It's fine, no hard feelings or anything. No one knew where I was," she reasoned with herself. If they had, would they have cared enough to come looking for her? Kaija really didn't know, but thinking of the what ifs felt foolish, the older she got.

For a moment she noticed the emotion welling up on her friend's face, but she chose to ignore it, brow furrowing as he went around the other side of the spike and kept on digging, to no avail. This dirt wasn't going to tell them anything, was it? She suspected she'd get just as far blathering on about her feelings for too long. Even if they were reciprocated, did it matter? No one stayed, anyway. They always left- nothing was permanent except herself. Now that was a dark hole she didn't need to go down right now, not so soon after she'd just escaped it.

"Well hey, I'm here now." What that meant she wasn't sure, but it was something. "And you're here, and alive," she observed quietly. Maybe not in one piece, but alive was better than nothing. Kaija tried to offer her a reassuring smile. "If the whole world doesn't keep going to shit, maybe we could go on a little adventure sometime?" And just like that, she was a pleading pup again, begging a cute girl to go on a trip with her. History sure had a way of repeating itself.