Complete Private Lands from Above

[Crimson Ruby]

As soon as Ruby could spot Fina, the crimson cat hastened her pace, and to the question of the silvery-haired girl, Ruby just wrapped her in a tight hug, letting out a relieved sigh when feeling their warmth being shared.

"I am alright..." She gave one last squeeze before vaguely letting the hug go, looking at Fina with a smile. "... Because you saved me. Thank you." Ruby said, giving the girl a gentle kiss on her cheek before leaning away. "And you? Are you fine?" She asked, letting her go for a moment.

"That giant undead was really dangerous... But it seems like the fight had mostly calmed down by now." She said, looking around to see the cats that were in a tactical retreat a few moments ago, yet now were marching forward and surveying the area and the fallen enemies, also having the feline duo on their careful and wary sights.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

Being wrapped up in a hug this suddenly sure did wake Fina up from her little trance, and also almost toppled her over and down from the giant skeletal corpse as it started falling apart even further. "Wha- whh--" Catching her footing on the last moment, she let out a faint sigh of relief. Only to then be bewildered once more as a kiss landed on her cheek, followed by a flare of rosy red.

"I-I'm fine! I really just whacked it a few times, so..." It didn't feel like anything special, but then again, her fighting style wasn't anything special. Especially when she wasn't trying to be fancy with sword dancing or something similar. "So, um... I guess it's too late to retreat..." Looking at the small cat folk, it was hard to say what the best course of action would be right now.

It seemed that once this strange tribe ensured that all the undead were brought to their final rest, their attention turned to the feline duo in the full. Fina would slowly slide down the side of the skull, landing on the grass-covered ground only to be quickly stopped by several of the cats pointing their wooden spears in her general direction. A gesture to which the pale felis responded by partly raising her hands as if she was trying to surrender.

One of the natives then moved forward.

"Yip yip yappa!"​

"Uh-huh..."

"Yeho yip yaroo!"​

"Perfectly understandable."

"M-m, yapo. Yeyo."​

The kitty then gestured a bit and turned around, waddling off while the ones with spears lowered their weapons also gestured. Fina just turned toward Ruby. "I didn't understand a single thing, but I guess they want us to follow them..?"

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby breathed a quiet laugh when noticing the expressions and reactions from Fina, something that made the crimson cat's tails to sway mischievously and excitedly, looking at the silver cat with a devilish smirk.

Before she could say anything, however, the approaching natives caught her attention. Ruby frowned, tilting her head and swaying her tails as she looked puzzled at their 'words'.

"Yip yip... yappo?" Ruby blinked, looking at Fina even more confused as the other was nodding along and responding to them.

Did Ruby miss something at some point? What were they saying?

When Fina finished talking to them, Ruby looked at her with expectations-- but the reveal only brought a frown to the crimson cat's face. "So you didn't understand them at all!" She retorted, slapping Fina's thighs softly with her tails and shaking her head in a playful disapproval.

"In this case, let's go with them. If they show us something rather than telling us, maybe we will understand what is going on." She said, taking Fina's hand and squeezing it softly while urging them to move and follow the natives.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

Fina couldn't help but grin a little when she witnessed Ruby's reaction to the fact that she merely played pretend with the tiny cat people. But it clearly worked, considering the result. "When you don't know, just improvise! Better than them attacking us again. Maybe if we follow them, we'll finally figure out where we are and what is going on here." They were still horribly lost, after all. Taking charge, for now, Fina gently squeezed Ruby's hand and, with a nod, started following the feline entourage.

While there was still some obvious tension, especially given the language barrier, nothing of note happened during the entire walk. The large wooden doors opened up, allowing the two Felis girls to enter the area and see whatever lay beyond... and what that was? A large village built into the thick forest!

Catheim Village
Central square

Along with their yips, yaps, and even an occasional meow, many different robed cats would dash out of their homes and guard towers to take a peek at the two humanoids that have entered their sacred village. The world was reflected in their large black eyes, along with doubt and worry. It was clear that they were not used to visitors like these.

The village itself was surprisingly large, as the walk took at least a few minutes before they stopped at what appeared to be a central house of some sort. Perhaps a town center? It was built around a large tree that provided plenty of support for many different floors, making the building tower over the rest. Not too soon, the door swung open, and more of the cat folk ran out, spears at the ready. Behind them, one last emerged, much slower.

It was old, walking with a cane and bent forward at all times. Though it was hard to see below the robes, a sharp eye could easily catch a glimpse of white and silver fur. When the cat person stopped some distance away from the Felis duo, a white eye peered from the shadow of the hood, scanning them both. The figure was shaking even as it stood still as if even the act of standing was too much on its old bones.

"Mmm... yippa... welcome."

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby smiled at Fina's reciprocating the hand squeeze and taking the guided path calmly. "Yeah, maybe that will also give us an answer about what this place is, and where we truly are." She said, letting out a sigh and shaking her head. "... And our picnic only keeps getting delayed with all of this." Ruby added.

As the path passed on, structures on trees began appearing one by one, slowly welcoming a big agglomeration of such structures, bringing surprise to Ruby who had never seen it before in Terrasphere, even though she was part of the Explorers League, the faction that held the most information regarding tribes, cities and even monsters of all kinds.

However, there wasn't much time to lament the suspicious gaze of the guards, because soon they got to meet a fellow who had a distinguished appearance, that finally spoke something remotely similar to their language.

"Oh, hello there... Yippa? I'm Crimson Ruby. How about yours?" She asked. bending in..

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

The picnic had, for better or worse, felt like a distant dream at this point. After the situation rapidly escalated with undead rising from the ground, it was almost difficult to imagine having such a peaceful time, ostensibly threatened by the possibility of a decaying skeletal hand popping out and stealing the tastiest pie they had.

And doubly so now that they had found civilization! The moment Ruby tried to speak and introduce herself, she would be stopped by the elder cat suddenly raising one of his paws up as if to shush her. The figure was trembling non-stop under its cloak, not to mention how slowly it moved, safe for that one gesture. But it spoke no longer. Instead, it seemed as if it was waiting for something. Fina, too, was rather curious as to what was going on and awaited the next thing with bathed breath...

Finally, a different cat humanoid, or perhaps catoid, arrived with a small wooden mug of water. "I guess he does look a little dried up under all that..." Fina whispered half-jokingly to her Felis companion as she watched the elder take a few sips, only to start choking and spitting out a hairball back into the mug, then handing it back and clearing its throat.

"Mm... welcome, I will you here-! Intruders from another land... been so long. But intruders, the forces of damned ᚦᛖ᛫ᛖᚡᛁᛚ᛫ᛟᚾᛖ have smashed! Intruders... good?"

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby reserved her words when the elder cat rose his paws, raising an eyebrow at the constant trembles, which was probably a sign that the old cat was as fragile as a Jenga tower with a single piece on its base.

She leaned closer to Fina when she joked a bit, and Ruby chuckled lightly, slapping her tails playfully on Fina's legs before leaning away. "He sure does." She muttered, watching the elder 'recover', finally speaking something, but making Ruby tilt her head upon being called an 'intruder'. It didn't sound like the most friendly way to refer to someone, but she did understand where he was coming from.

"Exactly, we are good." Ruby rested a hand on her chest, and the other on Fina's shoulder, nodding. "We are both good, we are just unsure of where we are... Exactly..." She looked around, still feeling like the place was a bit alien, despite being somewhat similar to the fantasy world expected from Terrasphere.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

The elder fell silent for a brief moment yet again before suddenly striking a bit of a pose.

"Catheim! Us be Catheim. Rulers of the land. ᚠᛚᛟᚨᛏᛜ᛫ᛁᛋᛚᛖᛋ!!"

Even Fina scratched the back of her head on that one. "I think that's supposed to be the name of this place? A bit hard to pronounce... but if they have their own language, then I guess we are pretty far from Falderen. Maybe rather than asking where we are, it'd be better to ask if the cats, or... Catheim know how we can return? The tablet did kinda not travel with us..."

The Felis did not make much effort to speak quietly, so the elder heard everything and nodded a few times.

"Scouts... our scouts sees you. When arriving they did. The gate through... without key? Mm... the key."

Suddenly turning, the elder did more yippas and yeppas at his fellow cats before one of them waddled over and handed Ruby something.

Magical Item
Catheim tablet
[ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ]

​

"T-that's the same thing I used to activate the warp gate to this place! But it looks completely new." So that probably meant they had a way back if they wanted to get off of this place, wherever it actually was.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby turned to face Fina, with her tails swaying as she considered the silvery-haired cat's words before her ears perked up in surprise, at the sudden offer of the elder. She wasn't expecting a key to be received with such an ease, but she certainly wouldn't complain either.

"For free? Really?" She asked, looking at the small elder, and suppressing the urge to just pat its head. "Thank you so much, elder. I won't forget this gift." Ruby nodded, casting a glance at Fina, before turning toward her completely.

"That... Kinda leaves us with the possibility of leaving any time, I'd guess..." She looked at the key another time, before facing Fina once again.

"Do you want to go back? We didn't really have our picnic yet, but we did spend a lot of time in here already. Plenty, even." Ruby smiled slightly, still a bit stunned about everything that had happened so far.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

Ruby was certainly correct in that this gift was quite generous. So much so that it made Fina side-glance the elder and see something in his hunched-over figure. After a moment of silence when she left Ruby hanging, she finally spoke. "You're... hoping we will not leave for good, right? That we will return and help you with this, uh... ᚦᛖ᛫ᛖᚡᛁᛚ᛫ᛟᚾᛖ? Whoever it is that's summoned the undead."

Hearing that, the elder perked up once more. "Mm... war eternal for us, Catheim... outside force... turn the tide might." So there was that. A bit of a plea for help, essentially. Thankfully, Fina was quite interested in this whole place and was sure to return. Turning back to Ruby, she let out a brief sigh. "Well, I guess that's that. As much as I want to help, I don't think there is much we can do right now. If the gate becomes operation from both ends, we could just return here whenever, anyway."

Not to mention that they could potentially bring reinforcements if that became necessary. The threat of this place was still largely unknown, after all. "Yeah, I think we've had enough cat adventures for now..."

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby rose an eyebrow at Fina, impressed that she could actually muster speaking that nearly alien word that the cat-people had spoken. Perhaps it was a feline connection that Ruby hadn't developed just yet, but for now, she would simply brush it off. "She is right, if you ever need help, we will try to come and give you a hand, especially against those weird undead things." She said, crossing her arms.

Her gaze then slightly turned to Fina, noticing her lack of motivation on continuing to venture through the strange plane. Which was okay, that would be a hell of a trip anyway.

"Then I guess we will return, and leave the picnic for whenever." Ruby shrugged, casting a glance at the little cat elder.

"Take care, Elder." She smiled, holding onto the key gently before casting a quick glance at Fina, and gesturing with her chin toward the place they had come from, so they would try and leave back to the 'real virtual world'.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

With everything resolved, the small kitty people had no issues letting the two girls through. There might have been quite a language barrier, but at the very least, it did seem like they had quickly made new allies in this strange new place. Something that was always better than making new enemies.

Fina was the one leading the party of two this time until they reached the landing where they had arrived earlier in the day, just the same as it was back then. "I, uh... guess the process is the same as it was on the other side? We just insert the item into the stone structure to form a portal back to where we came from?"

The feline didn't exactly sound sure of herself, probably because she was anything but that. Though she doubted that this was some kind of elaborate trap meant to hurt them. "They gave you the tablet. Want to do the honors, or should I be the one risking my fingers and hands?" A bit of a joke to lighten the mood, hopefully not accomplishing the exact opposite.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Following Fina's lead, they soon found themselves nearing the same place they first appeared into this strange world. It was a strange time they had spent in it, but at least they got to see cute cat-people, with a combat against an undead horde being a bonus.

Her gaze shifted to Fina, tilting her head as she asked if Ruby wanted to do the honors.

The beastfolk looked at the tablet, then back at Fina before briefly chuckling. "Why don't both of us do the honors?" She asked, taking a hand of Fina and gesturing her to pick the tablet along with her, so they could both go and insert the 'key' into the stone structure at the same time.

"Both of us worked hard for it, after all." She pointed out, swaying her tail as she waited the other cat girl to follow up with the 'unlocking' back to the 'real' virtual world.

@Fina Drago

 

[Fina Drago]

It was almost a cliché, wasn't it? That didn't particularly matter, however. Fina was happy to nod along with Ruby's idea, taking hold of the tablet along with her fellow feline as they walked toward the one small stone pillar in front of them, a clear open slot in it showing where this magical key needed to go. "Yeah. I, um... also realize that this might have been a bit intense, throwing ourselves into the unknown like this..."

There was a small hint of regret in Fina's voice, even if everything ended well in the end. "But I hope you'd be interested in exploring this place some more with me in the future I mean, it looks like there is a whole lot to still see?" Exploring the unknown was the essence of adventuring, after all, wasn't it?

With those words, though, the two girls would insert the tablet into the slot, and the entire platform they were standing on lit up with radiant blue light. After a few moments, particles of the same hue and brightness started flowing through the air before they began gathering at the center of the platform, only to cause a tiny magical explosion that left behind a gateway - the exact same one they used to get to this place.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

The hint of guilt in Fina's voice only made Ruby squeeze her hand softly, smiling in a reassuring way before shaking her head in rejection to the idea she would be mad or angry about everything they went through in this unexpected adventure.

"Sometimes we just need a bit of risk to make life a bit more interesting." Ruby reassured, not really minding that things went far more dangerous and action-ish than she intended. Granted, she had to admit she wished she had some of the picnic she had intended, with all the food she brought probably going to become travelling rations.

Well, they could always do it another day.

"Interesting on exploring somewhere with you?" Ruby asked rhetorically, just to emphasize her following response.

"You can bet I will. Like always." Ruby smiled to Fina, before both of them were engulfed by the brightness that brought them back home.

@Fina Drago