It is a bit of surprise to find another so far deep in the caverns. I really shouldn't be startled - it was much warmer here with a steady temperature year round. The perfect place for one to hide if one was not a prey animal. I imagine that deer avoided such places like this knowing that wolves and bears and other manner of creatures took to the dark and warmth with eagerness. I should really be more careful, I decide as I look over Ame. He has interesting colors that are striking, along with his blue eyes. No set scent clings to him like me which is unsettling. I find comfort in the scents of packs, of knowing where one can be placed and knowing that I was placed somewhere. At least my parents had not left me in the wild lands; they had raised me with the sound of sea beating shore and gulls crying in tandem. So very different from the weighty, pregnant silence in this cavern.

Kindness is bred deep within me; normally I am a skittish creature but I had begun to learn, step by step, a bit more about bravery. It was a plus that Ame did not turn on me with snarls and threats so when his tail wags mine follows in a calm manner. My head tilts slowly to the side, right curled ear at the highest point, and I listen intently. His manner of speaking is odd and unfamiliar to me. It makes me curious but also his words and his knowledge of what I seek without asking me.

"Certainly," I say softly, offering a very small, shy smile at his offer. "My name is Samia," I reply. "Might I ask... why it is your speech is so different, Ame?" My question is gentle and not probing; it will allow him to spurn such a question if he desires without any worry of disdain from me. Secretly I am thrilled with even being able to ask such a question and not fearing being rejected. Time had taught me much and I had trained hard for even a modicum of courage.