Ásvor was alone with her thoughts today. Fireside had been uncharacteristically quiet for a long while now and her son's departure only made it seem even more vacant. The elder Finnvi wasn't the type to really miss people, not really; sometimes she had dreams of her family coming together again and she awoke feeling painfully nostalgic, but she couldn't deny that her son leaving had left a vacant hole in her heart. For so long now raising Ulfr had been at the forefront of her mind and now that she was gone she was left feeling strangely restless. She had long since come to terms with settling down; well-aware that the majority of her life was behind her, but this? This change felt different, and she had trouble putting aside the maternal instincts that welled up inside her.

For now she found solace in the near-darkness. It had a way of stifling her thoughts in a way nothing else could. Perhaps she could find comfort in mind-altering substances but she had little interest today, instead choosing to travel through the tunnels in the mountainside until she came across this strange chamber. Even Jörmungandr found comfort in the dark, uncoiling from her leg and slithering across the cool stone floor to circle the room, no doubt sensing prey of his own here. Quickly her viper disappeared from sight, and as she took a few more steps into the darkness she found herself engulfed completely, only the faintest sliver of light behind her giving her any sense of direction.

After his last trip north, into the small mountain range that backed the volcano, he wondered if it was all that safe for him to be wandering around in the dark like that. However, curiosity outweighed self preservation in most instances. One of those instances was today's venture into another cave, though he was not armed with a bulky lantern or a big bag of supplies. Instead, he was relying on his own senses and skills to make it back out in one piece. The entrance to the caverns he'd caught wind of was supposedly a tight squeeze for large wolves, but someone of his stature and minimal bulk should have an easier time crawling through. Which he did, after doffing his mask and pushing it ahead with his forepaws through the tunnel, he emerged on the other side. Or.. he supposed he did. The cool stone pressing against his shoulders and hips fell away, but the pitch black shadow didn't lighten in the least. The faintest circle of dim light illuminated the tunnel he had just emerged from, once he stepped away. He self consciously fumbled for his mask, and slipped the sturdy muntjac skull over his face. Tall auds flickered warily, picking up sounds of movement all around. He wasn't used to the hard substrate catching and reflecting every tiny sound, from the rats' claws skittering about to the dripping of water from above his head. The stone walls did allow him to pick up the sounds of a much larger animal echoing from further in, and his nose told him there was another wolf nearby. Irritable bats chirped discouragingly overhead when he started to slowly pick his way across the cavern, bumping into a few stalagmites here and there, and stubbing his toe only once before he figured out the trick to keep his nails from being torn off. Pick up the paw, curl inward, let the wrist bump into stuff. It was slow going, but he did find some mushrooms that he wanted to investigate. A few gentle taps with the pad of his forepaw, and the resounding, hollow thwack signalled it was healthy and perfect for harvesting. He'd swing back to this later. He thought that perhaps he could hear breathing nearby, and the wolf that was sharing the space might be closer than he thought. "Any chance ya know a thing or two about mushrooms?" he drawled quietly, knowing fully well that even a whisper would carry across the cavernous room. "speech" thinking "others"

The silence was deafening, though comfortably so. It had a way of dampening her senses and quieting her mind. The sudden arrival of someone else in her world was almost alarming, despite her senses being acute - she was alone and wanted to stay that way, but all at once she became aware of the sound of someone approaching. It was easily distinguishable from the eerie sounds of the subterranean world that echoed around her, the clear sound of canine paws against the stone floor of this ancient underground structure. She felt some annoyance flare up in her chest at the prospect of company, but in her older age she found herself much slower to anger than she once had been. She cared about few other than her own family and, to some extent, her packmates - with little energy left for anything else she rarely found herself reacting in the extremes she may have once channeled - so she was quiet and still as she waited for the stranger to continue along, whether toward her or away.

The greeting, which really was hardly a greeting at all, earned an dry snort from Ásvor. "Depends who's asking," she responded without hesitating for longer than it took for her to open her mouth. Faintly, hardly visible at all, she could see a figure up ahead - was that the gleaming white of his skull she could see, or was her vision finally beginning to fail her after all these years? Her movements were slow as she took a few steps closer to him, maintaining a careful distance still. "Why do you ask? Find something of interest, perhaps?" Mushrooms of some kinds definitely piqued her interest but she wasn't sure it was for the same reason this kid might be interested in them. At least he sounded young, though most wolves were young in her eyes, at least relatively speaking.

A soft huff of amusement, followed by a rough yet feminine voice replying, "Depends who's asking," and the sound of claws on stone betraying the slow movement of another wolf closer to him. In the painfully dim light from the entrance behind him, he thought he picked up pale colouring- but maybe that was just his eyes desperately trying to paint a picture amongst the eerie black backdrop. "Why do you ask? Find something of interest, perhaps?" she questioned, and he shrugged mutely before realizing she certainly wouldn't have seen that. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he said "Maybe? Don't know much about cave mushrooms, s'why I was askin'." he stooped to get a better view of the thing in the low light, a frown creasing his brows under the mask he wore. There was no telling what colour it was, really. Could have been grey, yellow, maybe even pure white. Lighting wasn't good enough for anything concrete- maybe he ought to just pluck it and examine his findings outside later. "Oh, I'm Bog by the way. Forgot to mention that." he suddenly said, straightening up again. Verdant eyes searched the encroaching darkness for anything that might stand out, but found nothing. He got a sense this was going to be a rather uneventful exploration, aside from possibly shattering a claw against an unexpected stone in his path. "I can leave ya alone if ya like, just came by to check the place out." the young healer drawled, since he had barged in earlier asking questions and making noise with little regard for others- as was typical of the chaotic, bone collecting swamp-dweller. "speech" thinking "others"

Slowly, painstakingly slowly, her eyes began to adjust to the darkness. His answer, brutally honest, earned a low chuckle from her. Truthfully she didn't know much about cave mushrooms in particular but mushrooms definitely interested her. Though she was half-tempted to go back and forth with him for a bit longer she decided to go out on a limb an answer him a more more honestly - as fun as it might be to give him the run around. She couldn't quite tell yet how naive he was. "Gotta be careful with mushrooms. Eat the wrong one and it'll kill you," she answered plainly. Death was always spoken of honestly when it came to her. She didn't personally care if he died but she figured he might have something against it, and spending a few moments teaching was always enjoyable to her, no matter her student.

"Ásvor Finnvi," she introduced herself in turn. A few more steps toward him made him just slightly more discernible in the darkness; his coat was dark and mottled, difficult to see in the dim light but his features were present, though vague. "You're no bother. Not like I'll find any better company in here," Ásvor admitted with another laugh. She was swore she'd heard some kind of rodent scuttle by her earlier - a wolf was definitely better company, at least most of the time. "You find a mushroom or something then? Mind if I see it?" Not that she could see much of it in this cavern, but she could try. "There's a few good ways to tell if it's probably safe to eat. Can't be certain, but..." She trailed off. "If the gills under the cap are brown it's probably fine. If they're white, stay away. If any of the mushroom is red at all, those will probably kill you too." Okay, maybe not all of them. Plenty would just make you sick. But she liked the dramatic effect and wondered if he'd react to her little guide at all.