After spending so much time cooped up in the den, Sio was enjoying her newfound freedom. With the advent of her one year birthday passing her father had finally seemed to let out the breath he had been holding other the past few months. Despite developing "affliction," she'd survived to semi-adulthood. Independence felt good. There was some discussion about where the pack might be headed in the coming season and so she wanted to take advantage of their current position in the west. There was still so much to explore! Secretly she hoped they would return home, but it felt childish to admit it out loud.

Her travels today took her to the very depths of Glowshroom Cavern. She'd heard whispers of it for a long time - so much so that she occasionally had incredibly vivid dreams about a place she'd never seen. Glowing fungus sounded fascinating and the perfect thing to add to her painting repertoire. Its pull was irresistible. The mouth of the cavern was unassuming - mossy, a bit damp, but not unusual. No obvious clues to what might within. The deeper she went, the darker it got. Eventually all light seemed to snuff out and she was left alone in the darkness with her thoughts. "Hmmm..." Clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth, she ventured just a little bit further until the barest hint of light could be seen at the end of the tunnel. With her interest renewed she trotted deeper and deeper until everything around her was bathed in a gentle blue light. 

"Wow," she gasped. Shroom caps of all sizes and shapes were growing from the damp crevices in the rock. Her eyes grew wide in amazement. These were perfect. Taking care to be as gentle as possible, she started to harvest a few different sizes and shapes of the mushroom caps.

Lachlan was taking full advantage of being able to go past the borders of Lirim’s territory. The freedom was impeccable though he promised his father every day that he would be careful out here. The volcano wasn’t as dangerous, the would hopefully be able to return soon. He would have to decide what rank he wanted from his father.

The boy tried not to think about the extra responsibilities that came with his freedom, but he did feel that when he saw his delicate sister venture out that he should likely stay close by. His pale form followed after her as she went into the cave. ”Sio!” He called out to her but she didn’t hear him. Still he continued down into the depths, finding himself in awe as the mushrooms began to fill the cavern with light. Crystal blue eyes took in the scene with his jaws agape as he finally caught up with his sibling.

Silently he lowered himself to his haunches, his presence had been made obvious by the sound of his paws shuffling over the stone floor.

She was used to being followed at this point. Siobhan knew Lachlan had been tailing her, but she had pretended to ignore him for as long as possible. They had been very close as puppies, but her condition had made her feel like a stranger to herself, much less her siblings. It felt impossible to explain so it was easier to just try and disappear. Once she had gathered plenty of mushrooms, she finally turned to address him. "You followed me," she pouted. It was half accusation, half tease. Sio felt more safe by herself than she did with others lately. They had become so overbearing. "I'm just looking for new painting supplies," she added, gesturing to the softly glowing mushrooms. The fungus was dimmer now that it had severed from its growing place but still glimmered with a glorious light.

"I've never been here before, have you?" The question was breathless. This place was very exciting. The cave went even deeper than she'd imagined and she could still hear water trickling from some faraway place, hidden in the depths. Perhaps it went all the way to the center of the earth. Probably (definitely) not, but the idea was entertaining and Siobhan had begun to enjoy living in fantasy. Mosses softened the noise of their footsteps and voices. Most caves echoed, but this one seemed to just devour all the sounds it heard.

Lachlan had worried about his sister during the struggle with her ailment, but he hadn’t changed his habits. He tried to sleep beside her, and whenever possible he was beside her. He wanted to be there for her, yes. Despite his stoic demeanor and quiet nature Lachlan was a very sensitive soul. Had he realized his sister was trying to avoid him, or ignored him, he would be incredibly hurt.

”I always follow you.” He offered matter of factly after she finally talked to him. She explained about her painting supplies. ”Oh, can you imagine the den ceiling in the glowing paint?” He asked with the most excitement his voice ever got. This place really was incredible, Lachlan enjoyed caves and caverns and this one was no different. It was unique though the texture was different and he’d never seen the glowing mushrooms before. ”No, I like it though.” He replied to her question as he looked around curiously again. He liked exploring with his sister. Especially this quiet place, other than the minute visual stimuli it seemed like the perfect place for his sibling.

I always follow you. Sio laughed softly and shrugged her shoulders. He was right. They were quite the pair and she was rather glad to be reunited with him after learning to cope with her condition. "Hmm... I'd need more than just the mushrooms to make the paint. And I'd probably have to come back pretty often to keep it working," she mused aloud, pacing the damp floor of the cave as she thought. Paint usually required herbs or other ingredients to give it color and then some kind of medium for the liquid. Water didn't work that well - it was runny, but good for layering. Maybe some kind of oil? Or something else sticky. "We could try honey," she brainstormed, "or maybe animal fat." This place was pretty cool. Siobhan stopped to inspect the moss that lined the lower part of the cave walls. It was earthy and wet but didn't glow like the mushrooms. Boring.

"It's close by enough that I could probably return frequently to keep the den painted. Let's gather plenty!" She'd have to do a few trial runs to get the final mixture right. Sio set about plucking stems and caps from all the places she could reach, a determined light in her eyes. It would be a good experiment and she hoped her father would approve of the way she decided to use her time.

Lachlan was a little slow, and was much more in tune with his puppyhood than his siblings. Basically he was immature for his age. Sio on the other hand was forced to deal with her medical condition and grow up faster than her brother. The innocent boy would follow her and agree with whatever she said. He really didn’t know any better. His blue eyes watched the mushrooms as his sister contemplated what she would do to extend the life of their paints. Would honey work? ”Then when we’re hungry we can lick the ceiling.” He chuckled, not meaning that the honey was a bad idea.

”What about eggs?” Both of her suggestions would likely work, but if they were talking about food items.. He knew that after a while the eggs dried up and stayed in place for forever, maybe it would make a good paint base. Lachlan brushed past his sister as he continued to explore the cavern. It was much different than anything he’d seen on the island. But Emerald island had been a small area too. He couldn’t describe how happy he was to have access to the mainland and all it had to offer.

”How far do you think it goes?” He asked curiously as his blue eyes continued to take in the dimness of the cave. He wanted to keep exploring, but he’d also be content finding his sister more mushrooms.

"Oooh, eggs!" She shouted. The word echoed deeper into the cavern: eggs, eggs, eggs... Sio giggled and looked down into the cave. It did seem to go on forever. Once she'd gathered a sizable pile of fungi, she turned to address Lachlan's question. "Well... we could find out," she said, peering into the cave's darkness. "Maybe we'll find some funny eggs." Were all eggs the same? Snake eggs, bird eggs, lizard eggs... she hadn't gotten to eat them all or experiment with them all. It would require further investigation. Sio took a long look at the mushrooms on the ground before she stomped on a pawful of them and made kind of a gross, wet pile. She swiped her paw through it and then wiped that on the wall, leaving a streak of luminous glow. "Ok, now our place is marked! Let's explore!" she chirped, turning to venture deeper into the cave. "C'mon, you lead!" Truthfully, she was a little wary. One good fright might set her off - then she'd be a gross pile, just like the stomped on mushrooms. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. If Lachlan was in front, she could be brave.

Oddly enough she seemed to agree with his idea, excitedly her voice bounced of the walls of the caverns and returned to them. His bright gaze wasn’t lifted from the cavern but he did join in her giggles. Maybe they would find some eggs, but Lachlan wasn’t quite so optimistic. Sio smashed up a bit of the mushroom and marked the wall with the goo. Lachlan watched wide eyed as she decided the two of them needed to explore.

Lachlan gave a firm nod as he scampered to the lead and carefully forged the way into the unknown. This was where he most loved to be, exploring. ”Alright. Come on then.” He’d take the lead and protect his fragile sister. He’d protect her from anything that might threaten her consciousness. He was here for her, so the young red marked boy led them deeper into the tunnel. Thankfully mushrooms continued to line the wall and the two of them could easily make their way. He continually turned to the right if they were offered a fork, and at the first one he’d wait for Sio to mark the way before he cntinued.