They hadn't uncovered much in Boreas - or maybe they hadn't tried enough. Kat wasn't sure. Either way, he trudged back towards Auster, feeling rubbed raw by his failures. He couldn't help the spiraling thoughts: if he'd tried harder, dug further, looked more closely, maybe things would have turned out differently. But they hadn't, and he headed back towards home beneath the red sun feeling sorry for himself.
He was edging around the coast of Auster when he felt the ground shake again. Softer, this time, nothing like the tremors of the original quake that had unearthed those spires. Although he was caught in his feelings, he generally felt more confident on his home turf and didn't waste time in heading towards the shouts and sounds that beckoned further inland. After he left the shore behind, he could see what was drawing such a commotion: great chasms had opened in the ground, surrounded by furrows and disturbed soil that weren't quite like anything he'd ever seen. Katsurō blew out a long breath and simply stared at the chaos.
Lia felt as if she was travelling all over the lands, searching for answers to the sudden mysteries. The violent earthquake, the blood red son. The new land that had appeared seemingly from nowhere. And now… tunnels, appearing beneath a land she had walked before. Unexpected events ranging far and wide…
She wasn’t far from home when she felt the earth tremble beneath her paws again. She froze, spreading out her weight with side eyes as she waited for the danger to pass. Once it did, she found herself trotting a little closer to the shimmering shore. There seemed to be some commotion going on, and she trotted up to a white and flame wolf, tilting her head as she looked at the chasms that had opened up. “Any idea what's going on?” she asked softly. Not really expecting him to know. Did anyone?
It didn't take any time at all for a stranger to hustle to his side. Katsurō glanced at her, surprised to find that she might fit right in with his family by color and build, but he'd never seen her before. He cough as a plume of dust rose as the cave in finally settled and address her uncertainly: "I'm not sure, I only just arrived. This area is familiar to me and I've never seen anything like it." Kat didn't want to admit it scared him, especially not in front of an elder.
He squared his shoulders and lowered his head closer to the ground, tilting it from side to side as he tried to peer into the depths without falling in himself. Down in the darkness, he heard a pathetic squalling. It was a bird, of sorts, but it had a grating sort of cry almost made him flatten his ears. Was that a noise of pain, or did it usually sound like that? The dim light didn't offer him any further answers. "I am Hattori Katsurō of Tojo Kai, and I intend to investigate that noise," he said, trying to add some flare to his words that made him sound braver than he felt. Carefully, Kat lowered himself into the tunnel and began to track the sound of the bird amidst the settling dust and rubble.
Knight
![[Image: 2f7uv49.png]](https://i.imgur.com/2f7uv49.png)
