She stared unblinking through the swirling mist, eyes locked helplessly on the rotten mess in front of them. The shallow stone cavern where she had napped had attracted him as well, and it had become his tomb. Her heart beat erratically; he used to be one of them. That body could have been hers. The reality of her narrow escape began to weigh very heavily on her. She could feel it in the droop of her tail, in the shallowing of breaths as panic bore down on her...
Malina’s voice broke into her tunnel vision and the world spread out again. Her body jerked, chest expanded, as she took a real breath. Stiffly, she turned her wide eyes to meet the concerned gaze of her companion. Much more of this will make me crazy, she mused. Maybe I should go outside. She could still be useful there. Fathom nodded dutifully, leaving Malina to investigate nearest the corpse.
Once outside the cavern, the fresher air cleared her head and she could relax somewhat. She gave her fluffy coat a shake, sniffed the air, then put her head to the stone at her feet. She took a sniff from the ground, moved her head, took another sniff. Yep. Definitely. Just as she’d suspected. She looked up to see Malina reappear. “Smells like rock,” she grunted, chuffed by her lackluster findings.
Before she could apologize for her unhelpful attitude, their duo became a trio. The new voice rang out, echoing into the shallow cave behind them, and she stared over her shoulder at the stranger. Certain that she had never met their newest addition, she looked back to Malina to gauge her reaction. Fathom chose to ignore their interruption for the moment, though she did turn to face the new female.
“Do you, uh, know this person?” she asked under her breath.
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