Complete Private Eastern Brisshal One Old Expedition

[Crimson Ruby]

Stepping deeper into the Eastern Brisshal, it didn't take long for the beastfolk sisters to approach what it seemed to be a large, stone-y gate. Its surface was carved with glowing cyan runes, that contrasted with its wine colored tint that covered it.

Ruby's tails swayed in a mix of excitement and nostalgia. That was the place where she had met Kyra for the first time, and now it would be the place where she would give her sister her first 'expedition'. Or at least something that would resemble one. There were risks involved, one that perhaps would be the thing that could sparkle a bit more of sense of urgence to Doggo, but unlike the last time Ruby had come to this place, she was prepared to deal with it.

Turning to look at Doggo, a small smile crossed her lips. "Bao, we are going to start our expedition now... Did you bring everything?" She asked, looking at her sister for a moment, and waiting patiently for her to show what she had before she slipped a hand into her cloak and pulled one glowing rune from it.

"Listen to me carefully. I will be with you all the time in this expedition, but if anything bad happens, you must squeeze this rune until it breaks into dust, is that okay?" She said, looking at her sister.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

The whole trip had her blended in anxiety and elation. At times her feet wiggling their way ahead of Ruby's, only to slow down back to a crawl pace right next to her sister. She wasn't paying that much attention ahead of them, knowing her sister's eyes probably were better than hers, but she made her impatience show, accidetanlly or not, with how she waved her tail from side to side, and apparently she wasn't the only one ready either considering Ruby's. She smiled as she let a deep breath in.

This was it. An adventure with Yuhan. Despite having begun time ago, just now she processed it. It couldn't get any better than this, but somehow she knew it would the moment the senior explorer turned back towards her.

Her ears perked up, and Doggo quickly saluted her with ah and against her forehead.

Yes!

But she didn't let that be all as she pushed her inventory open and begun to fidget around to check on every item's description, the list had grown quite considerably compared to her usual. But of course, the food was set among the first slots, juust to be sure she couldn't miss 'em.

Torches, animal fat, two sets of rope, two sets of clothing- Food of course, a lot of ink aaand a few empty maps. Oh and the map we worked on. And I think that's all... What you think I should bring along?

Everything would fit in her satchel for the most, maybe it would clog up a little, but it's not like it would be a problem for her in the first place. Aside of an incomplete bestiary and her personal 'diary' to draw on, she didn't keep many things on herself.

Her ears tucked against her head once her eyes set sight on the rune, conflicted about the idea, as she knew exactly what Yuhan meant with that. Things could get ugly, but...

Don't jinx us! -Nothing- bad will happen. We keep our chin up, Jiejie.

Doggo huffed, grabbing the rune with both hands and storing it in her pocket. Her heart turned to stone, weighing her down for a second as a part of her wanted to simply... Lie. But that would be a decision for if things DO get ugly, not now.

Now, Doggo had her confidence at it's peak with a powerful smile and an even more powerful stride towards the big red door.

Let's GO!

She slammed both hands against the entrance and begun to push with all her strength. Her legs begun to wheel against the floor as the doors didn't move an inch, groaning and adjusting her stance to now use her right shoulder instead.

It's... Nothing Jiejie, I'll... Nnngh!

With her back against the door, Doggo finally let go of it and sighed, sitting down to catch her breath. She almost couldn't hold back a 'dammit!' from her lips, courtesy of a certain monkey.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

A nod after another came from Ruby as she carefully watched Doggo bringing out every bit of item and equipment she had planned to have with her. "I think bringing everything should be fine. The extra clothes can also be used for first aid, if for whatever reason we don't have magic available... Never take anything for granted." She adviced, twitching her ears.

Ruby chuckled faintly at Doggo's words, "I am not jinxing it, Bao. But we need to be cautious regardless." She said, ruffling her sister's hair fondly, though pursing her lips when seeing that she was already sneaking an item into her UI, which forced Ruby to intervene.

"If I were you, I'd leave anything you need outside of your inventory." Ruby said, turning to look at the gate, and managing to keep a straight face despite her sister's attempt to open a large stone door with raw strength. "Because inside of that dungeon, the UI doesn't work, for some strange reason. We still didn't figure out why, but I want to find out..." She paused, then warming up her smile. "I want us to find out." Ruby explained, slowly approaching the gate, gesturing at the runes that resembled a maze.

"Do you see it? It is a maze with four entrances and four exits." Ruby said, looking at it.

"Honestly, it took me a bit longer than I wanted to find out, but this kind of puzzle you can only conclude with the help of at least one other person... Because you must trace a path from an entrance to an exit, without taking your hand away from it." Ruby traced her finger on the runes, leaving a red glowing trail, that as soon as she removed her finger from it, it grayed out and faded away.

"Since we have two hands, we can finish two paths each, and then the gate will open..." She explained, the mechanism. Usually, she would let her sister meddle with it for a bit first, but she didn't wish to take too long with something so frivolous.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

E-everything?!

She tried (and failed) not to be flabbergasted about it, little hands quickly picking everything up and pushing it in her satchel, the weight piling up a little, but Yuhan had taught her well enough how to maximize the space in her satchel and avoid cluttering everything in a way it became intrusive while exploring.

We'll be fineee.

And this time, it wouldn't be just because she says so. Sure, it's true Ruby is far more experienced, but four eyes work better than two. Or four ears in their case. Plus, she's still a good support to her sister's swordsmanship.

Her hopes wouldn't carry her through everything however, and it became evident to her between her panting that she would need more than brute force to succeed. Suddently all clicked once Yuhan made mention of their UI being locked, eliciting a yelp of surprise, and once the runes were pointed out, LIL' DOGGO rushed to her feet and turned back to look at them.

Woah... Something can lock the UI? Is that normal? What if you want to log out?

It only made her want to explore even harder now. Between a very cool demonstration of how the gate was to be opened and the prospect of an adventure not even Ruby had gone through, that means something had to await inside, and as her fingers played around with the pattern on the runes, taking a few seconds before getting down to business and tracing over the remaining two entrances and exits, her eyes darted back to Yuhan.

So what you are saying is that you never actually explored this place. Not enough to get to the bottom of it's secrets... But still doesn't explain how it can interfere with the game.

Once the gates begun to open, DOGGO pulled up her UI to retire one last item: A simple book of brown cover and simple runes, which she used as a catalyst. A recent addition to her arsenal.

My trump card: Mr Book. And of course...

Dramatic pause, as roots begun to spread from out of Doggo's clothes, right across her back, all until the vines slithered out and the sunflower of before jumped up, wiggling it's leaves to the duo as it dropped onto the ground, having 'upgraded' itself with it's root like seven 'legs'.

Crimsonleaf!

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

"What if you want log out?" Ruby muttered the question, slowly looking at Doggo before slipping it truthfully and blunt: "You don't, of course." She said, turning to look at her sister, shaking her head while her hands swiftly played around with the puzzle, showing a certain experience to deal with the same gate over and over.

"No, I've come here with someone else before. Which is how I know about this whole thing." Ruby corrected, peeking a few times at Doggo's tracing on her part of the puzzle, and smiling at how she was progressing with it. "As for... How it works, we really don't know what it is. It is complicated... But this game has some strange things going on it and I will explain you a bit better after we go through this." Of course, she had to at least show the dangers of the game to her sister if she intended to keep going.

As the gates opened, Ruby swayed her tail looking at Doggo, tilting her head as she anaylized her sister's book, leaning in confusion before vines suddenly grew and made Ruby perk up at the small flower that appeared.

"Oh, it is that Sunflower... It... Changed?" Her ears twitched.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

She squinted her eyes and hummed outloud like a racing car as the answer turned out to be so simple: You can't. Her attention didn't remain much longer on Ruby's words and moreso to the way her fingers traced onto the puzzle in her attempts to mimic it. It all solved on its own once Ruby admitted to also have been here in the past with someone.

Should have called that other someone, maybe the gate would be open by now!

DOGGO teased for a moment, lolling her tongue out at her sister once she promised answers, because of course, they always would come AFTER doing strange questionable stuff in a strange, questionable dungeon. They could go in and be grave robbing and she wouldn't know until the deed is done, how baffling!

Yeah sure the game's super complicated, but you know what never fails? Splish splash to the face. All monsters feel it the same, except water monsters!

A yelp escaped from her once the runes were all fully traced upon, a smile growing wider once everything begun to click together just like Yuhan had said it would: all they had to do was some finger tracing and ta-da, door opens!

Told you I had two ropes. Crimsonleaf is the other one!

She pointed over to the sunflower as it begun to wiggle wiggle with it's vine-y body.

He's the best companion out there. Well, second to Crimson Ruby of course.

Three sages nods later, both hands rested over her catalyst, the unassuming book having only a paw depicted over the front of it's cover, albeit of a simplistic and childish design, but stylish being the third -ish to describe it.

You don't mind if he tags along, right? He's like the last member of our party, and he doesn't talk so!

She just had to list a hundred reasons why Crimsonleaf was the best, like a child telling her parents all the benefits of a pet.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

"She isn't really around anymore." Ruby said, then giggled at her sister's words. "Splish splashing on the monsters? It always work, yeah." She slipped another giggle, somehow those words tickled her a lot.

While the gate took its time shifting its ancient mechanisms, turning and clicking and followed by stone rumbling sounds, Ruby's gaze fell on the sunflower, and a small smile tugged on her lips. "You are treating it really nicely, Bao. Maybe you are the type of teen that can have pets after all." She nodded, rubbing her chin.

"I do hope you treat and take care of my sister well, Crimsonleaf." Ruby crouched down, tracing a finger on its petals in a gentle touch, allowing her flowing harmonic magic ruffle the rest of the petals.

"Of course I don't mind." Ruby said, standing back and peeking into the entrance of the dungeon, stepping in while gesturing Doggo to follow with her tails.

"Besides, plants love music. So he will probably enjoy his time following us."

The entrance began rather cramped, being a long downstairs that seemed to have no end at first, if it wasn't for the fact there was a faint glow right at the end of it, also hinting it was a straight down stairs.

At some point, any UI feature would flicker and falter. The feeling of being auto-assisted or having anything numb would disappear, giving an instinctive feeling that they were fully immersed.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

Her ears lowered, sadness pinched her a little to know Ruby had lost a friend... Well, not quite literally, but still one less person to play with. But that didn't seem to matter much, in contrast to splish splashing their foes away, giggling alongside, even if it wasn't THAT funny.

Contagious giggle, as usual.

This door's taking AGES!

She groaned, her irritation over this super slow mechanism falling off once an unsuspecting compliment came her way, her head turning back towards Ruby, puzzled at first.

I never felt like having one, but I know how to take care of pets. It's easy! Not sure if I would call Crimsonleaf a pet, though. It's smarter than we think.

With how versatile he turned out to be, that was no joke, but the little plant couldn't take offense over being called a 'pet'. All was forgiven once harmonics slithered across it's petals, wiggling in tune with the magic itself as if it set a rhythm for it to follow.

NICE! You heard her Crimsonleaf, don't let us down!

With her sister's 'blessing', the flower had finally been baptized as one of the group! DOGGO followed once beckoned to, with Crimsonleaf clinging on her back to not fall behind, like a second backpack.

So you are a flower charmer then? I mean, Jiejie has a pretty voice. Flower or human, anyone would have a blast hearing you sing.

Plants just were widely known to love music... Like people-- Were they much different at this point?

Something about their descent made her grow serious. The ominous red lights, or the spiraling staircase going downwards, eitherway it made DOGGO wary of her surroundings. There was a certain freedom gained once the system begun to power itself off.

...What's with this place, Jiejie... Is the inventory and stuff finally turned off?

It was her first experience without the game holding her hand through it, and she clenched harder against her spellbook, her one sword and shield aside of Ruby.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby simply huffed a laugh through her nostrils at her sister's impatience, swaying her tail and glancing over her, twitching her ears at the opinion regarding pets, something that she could simply nod in agreement. "They are generally much more intelligent than we expect, yes. But I couldn't have any pet yet, and back at home we didn't have either, so yeah." She shrugged, unsure if anything had changed in all the years she was away from home.

When her sister asked if she was a flower charmer, Ruby's ears twitched in curiosity, and she couldn't help but flush a bit and let out a soft sigh at the compliment. "Aw, Bao..." She wrapped an arm around her little sister, hugging her gently. "Thank you, but well... Flowers just loves songs in general. I'm sure you could sing to Crimsonleaf and it would like your voice." She explained.

The increasing anxiety of her sister, however, caught Ruby's attention, and she quickly aided her, even if only with words.

She squeezed her softly in the hug she had on her, giving a rub on her shoulders. "Don't worry, I am here if things go wrong... But yes, by now, you should be locked away from your UI. You can try it, if you want." Ruby encouraged, opening and closing her fist several times, showing that nothing happened.

She didn't stop to think much, however, soon reaching for the end of the stairscase, and revealing a wide room that had about ten entrances they could take, already showing it would be a bizarre maze they would need to deal with.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

Doggo hummed, trying to recall information that soon after Ruby gave away to confirm, meeting her shrugs with a quick shook from her head.

Not really. I never asked for a pet though. I didn't have the time for it. But there was this one time I gave some food to a rat!

Her one experience with a 'pet' that she still treasured, if only because rats were a bit cute on their own!

Just when the door was about to open, her sister threw an arm around her for a hug, her little arms wrapping around to reciprocate it as she giggled. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

D'uh! Of course I can.

DOGGO gave a glance back down to the stairway, making sure her step was steady and that she could ignore the path just for a second to hit Yuhan with a-

Cuz' I'm your sister. If you can, I can.

Her cool took a strike when faced with the crisis of the unknown. A flame was struck from behind her, as Crimsonleaf took one of the torches and ignited it all by itself, holding it up with one root arm at a fair distance from the pair.

Bao's shoulders slumped down. Still a little tense, but Yu's words helped to get put herself steady, and the light from the torch gave her a little more confidence now that she could see better ahead of them.

I'm fine... Just a bit spooked, that's all. It feels so different without the game's systems.

She went ahead and did as her sister did so. Closing her fist over and over again only to have no UI to pop-up and help her. Which also meant so many useful features she relied on were discarded. Thinking of them as training wheels helped a little, but now they were put at the very beginnings of a Maze.

Each entrance seemed as ominous as the next. Every arc a copy of the last, and what exactly was the tell here?

...Do I just pick one? Eehhh, any but the seventh one?

She scratched her head, with Crimsonflower wiggling it's petals before doing the closest a plant could to a shrug with it's viney body.

Does it matter which, Jiejie? I don't think I see anything to help us here.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby's ear twitched in slight concern at the fact somehow her sister ended up having to feed a rat... Which thankfully didn't bite her or had rabis, otherwise, she wouldn't be there to play with her anymore. What the hell her parents were doing letting her sister go wild with animals around?

"I am sure it was happy for the food you gave it." Ruby said, smiling and covering her real thoughts about it.

A faint, and reassuring expression crossed Ruby's face as she heard Doggo admitting the reason behind her hesitation. Giving a gentle pat on her back, Ruby perked up, encouraging- "There are a lot of situations in this game where you can't rely on your UI, especially when exploring locations no one else knows... So really, it is a good practice for you." She explained, then peering at one of the many exits, swaying her tails.

"When your eyes don't show you an immediate answer, you need to use your ears, your nose and your touch... Try to feel if one of those entrances have a different smell, or something promising... The sound of water, sound of life, or sound of... Anything." Ruby said, turning to Doggo and raising a finger. "Everything has an essence, even what it seems to be a void at first."

With this small hint, Ruby retreated, letting Doggo to make her choice. Regardless of what it was, Ruby was going to support her sister through it.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

Bàba wasn't. Hope Chitters made it out though! He's a lucky rat so I'm sure of it.

She couldn't say her father reacted okay at all, but it was her fault in the first place, so... At least Yuhan didn't reprimend her at first opportunity. Not like it would change what happened either.

Her insecurities came with a pat to expell them all out of her body, her tail wagging from side to side as she glanced up to her sister. This was the time for instructions, and she couldn't go amiss with how confident Ruby seemed despite this being cut out of the game's system and having as many entrances as they have fingers on their hands.

W-wait, no UI means I don't get assistance with my spells..?

So far they've been talking about directions and the inventory, but never about that one aspect. Auto-assist, was it called? It was on as far as she's concerned.

DOGGO took a shaky step forward, couping her hands together and closing her eyes to follow Ruby's hints. All her senses but that one...

All but sight...

she took two steps to the left, following the nearest sound from the furthest entrance in that direction, with her hands propped forward to avoid stumbling onto something, until the stone arc of this path's walls reached her fingertips.

...I hear a snore over there..? Nah, there can't be something living in here...

She had to shrug that one off, opening her eyes and heading to the next, if only to lean a little bit further this time and sniff around, kneeling down to tap over the ground a little, only to stand back up.

I can't tell anything about this one. I don't like it. It smells like rotten eggs.

Doggo went quiet afterwards, figuring Ruby wouldn't help her out right now-- But that was fine, this was training. She went over each of the entrances, trying to not recoil a little on each of them, but the eight one in particular had her scramble away as soon as she could, left behind in favour of number nine, and finally the tenth, and with the knowledge of every path, Doggo jogged back to her sister, standing right infront of her with her hands over her waist.

Three and five smell like summer. Six and nine have a breeze coming from them and I think people been through five, but nine is colder. Four smells like the ocean, so... Salt water maybe?

Let's go with the number ten though! There's a few mushrooms over there so I think that place has life growing in it.

She pointed out to these same mushrooms she mentioned, yet something in particular stood up from these: They had ashes poured on them, and they glowed green too. Bioluminescence at it's finest.

Weird mushrooms though. They look yummy.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby rolled her eyes at the reminder of her father, making her sigh. "He was always a violent one..." She shrugged, unsure of what else to think of him.

"Exactly." Ruby nodded, swaying her tails. "I'm not sure if you used to play this game without pain limiter, but..." Leaning in, Ruby gave a soft pinch on Doggo's cheek, not enough to actually hurt, but to prickle enough to cause a mild discomfort.

As Doggo went on to analyze each entrance, Ruby crossed her arms, swaying her tails a couple times and twitching her ears at every commentary her sister had. She remained patient, and she was happy to see that she had pretty much got the hang of it. Eventually, the path was chosen, and Ruby approached with a hand resting on the pommel of her blade, and the other hand offering for Doggo to hold after she handed the torch to one of her tails. "Let's go then? I will tell you which mushrooms you can eat."

Going deeper into the path, crawling and creeping fungi covered most of the walls and vaguely spread across the flooring. Glowing mushrooms lit up the path with a dim light, one that gave an illusion of the tunnel to be of the most varied cool colors, until the warmth of the torch approached to reveal its true hue, that was mostly brown and coral.

Eventually, the path grew wider, and the flooring that was stable and clear artifically made was overtaken by what seemed to be a cave, that opened into an gargantuan space, filled with an humid and swampy ground, and mushrooms that were so tall that it resembled a rainforest.

Fungal 'vines' dangled from above, overly loud croakings could be heard, and even the flames of the torch seemed to falter.

"Watch your steps. This kind of ground can be dangerous, it is one hole hidden by mud and you are suddenly ten meters under the ground." She said, glancing around and then pointing at a mushroom that grew as an appendage for another 'giant mushroom'. "That one is also edible, a bit squishier than the others too." Ruby pointed out, for her sister.

Whenever they approached, however, something would seem to creep out from behind the tall mushroom, trying to reach for the same edible fungi Doggo and Ruby attempted to snatch.

Spoiler: Fungi

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

Doggo kept quiet instead. One side of her wanted to agree with Yuhan, but in the end he was still their father. Was it right to talk about family like that..? Perhaps she would find out one day.

The important right now is that the pain-limiter's off, her eyes widening once a set of fingers went down to pinch her cheek, getting a squeak out of her as her hands rised helplessly onto the air, only to realize it didn't hurt a second after overreacting.

This sucks...

"Let's go then? I will tell you which mushrooms you can eat."

The promise of edibles after a choice of path made her eyes bright like gems...

Oh this isn't so bad!

.
.
.

Five minutes later...​

This SUUCKS A LOT!

It turned out to be all the opposite of what she imagined: It was a gigantic cavernous space. At first it had been a good guess, but her first attempt at this had too much luck and it started to run out past the beauty and safety of a cramped tunnel with glowing fungi as their guides. The ground felt stable but always 'spongy' for some reason. It was like stepping on-
A swamp. Just that. Even if she wasn't familiar with the experience, it was how she imagined it would be.

It's okay! I can freeze the floor if we need to surf away! When it comes to water though you could say I'm...

'Cool'

But her stomach called, moreso than her fascination for the beauty of an underground world did. There was beauty in admiring the scenery, as much as it was on getting a meal out of it, specially given the taste of the last two which was nothing out of glorious, if only a bit meaty for some reason? Probably her taste buds going haywire.

Yummies, here I go.

When her hand stretched out, a different one came from the other side as if there were a mirror placed infront of her. Only this one was paler, and once Doggo's eyes adapted to the dark well enough, it became obvious it wasn't her hand at all.

J-jiejie..? T-there is someone over there-

Doggo froze on spot, only to back off one single step, her hand slowly retracting back to her side afterwards. But her instincts went from concern about herself, to this strange fungi person instead. Naivety took hold of her at that moment on, which would be remarkably better than her usual shyness towards strangers.

H-hey! Are you okay? We are explorers!

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

"It sucks, right?" Ruby giggled, swaying her tails and continuing to march, albeit frowning slightly at her sister's joke, rolling her eyes in a jestful way and keeping her eyes focused on each element ahead, twitching her ears as she heard something approaching.

The truth was that the crimson cat had already anticipated that creature appearing, having noticing it with her enhanced hearing and sight just a minute ago. She figured, however, that the encounter would be beneficial.

"ᛅᛅᛅ! ᛁ×ᛘ ᛋᚬᚱᚱᛁ!"

It recoiled, with eyes wide open, shifting between Doggo and Ruby.

"ᛒᛚᛅᛋᛁ ᛏᚬᚾ×ᛏ ᚼᚢᚱᛏ ᛘᛁ!"

The small creature spoke unintelligible words, stumbling backwards and falling on its butt, squeaking and retreating with a horrified expression locking on the two explorers before it. Scooting away, its back eventually met a dead end on the base of a giant mushroom, and it held onto it, closing its eyes and averting its face, as if it couldn't see the two girls, they wouldn't see it.

Ruby remained calm at the reaction, keeping protective about her sister just in case, but soon confirming that the creature was just scared about their presence. "It is very scared, I think." Her eyes rolled around, scanning the area.

Just the words mustered by Ruby were enough for the mushroom to whimper, curling further into the space that kept it vulnerable, but was as much protection and comfort as it could get. Ruby's fingers fidgeted on her pommel, and her gaze fell on Doggo, as if waiting for her sister to decide what she wanted to do.

"It is your expedition, Bao." She spoke.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

It turned out a little too late to complain once they were deep into these swampy mushroom lands. Moreso when they had met their first local. The language slipped past her ears though, something about what it said didn't make sense in the slightest to her, but she didn't want to let that show while they approached.

Wait! Ugh.

Doggo sighed off once she watched the girl turn tail and flee, but she didn't wait a second to lose her momentum, her hand lowering to pick up the mushroom they had both aimed to take at that moment and chasing after.

It's fine, I think I know how to solve that!

Doggo said after hearing Yuhan's little bit of wisdom. She turned her sight back to Ruby once given full command of their little adventure, her free hand giving a little smack over to the crimson cat's hand as they neared the pommel of her Jian.

No-oh. I got an idea.

She muttered, before turning back towards the girl, stretching her hand holding the mushroom of earlier and making slow, steady steps towards her, only to stop at about arm's reach.

Yummy! Yummy

She swirled a hand over her stomach, gestures being her last option here to communicate, while holding out the meal. Would this make her want to talk more..? She wished, but the language barrier might be an issue here.

It was at that moment that she remembered who she was carrying on her back in the first place, despite being a little bit sleepy. The lack of sunlight probably made Crimsonleaf want to take a few naps until it came back, but the flower soon rose it's head high enough to get a better glance of it's surroundings, and to the fungi girl infront of the pair.

But the sunflower didn't seem to gather much interest here, as opposed to the other two.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

The smack on her hand surprised Ruby, that perked her ears up and looked at her sister, showing a small smile and shrugging. "It is your call." She said, waiting patiently behind, with her tails swaying as she waited for the outcome of ther sister's decisions, in which she hoped that would be as good as it could be-- Or at least she hoped so.

Regardless of the situation, Ruby remained mostly wary, ready for if anything occurred... And more importantly, wary about the surroundings, which seemed that her sister had completely forgotten about- Something that Ruby couldn't blame her when there was something else she wanted to take care of.

It remained still, only truly turning to look at Doggo when it seemed like nothing had changed, no matter how long it waited.

Its face finally revealed itself, as it turned to look directly at Doggo, and it stood, fidgeting and hesitating, looking between Doggo's eyes and the mushroom.

"ᛅᚼ? ᛅᚱᛁ ᛁᚬᚢ..."

It questioned, still trembling even if it had mustered some courage.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

Doggo nodded back to her sister, giving her a confident wink. It was her call. Her expedition, and she had to make the decisions here.

It was hard for her to pay attention to anything happening nearby, despite how Crimsonleaf itself was far more aware than usual. It's petals were all spread, it's 'head' turning to face Ruby for a moment, then it's attention switched back to the mushroom girl once she begun to 'talk'.

It disconcerted her that not a single word out of that girl made a lick of sense, yet she held her smile and stare all the same, as opposed to give any frowns least she scared her off with expressions alone. When standing still didn't work, Doggo crouched as slowly as she could to not make any sudden movements and placed the mushroom on the ground before taking a step backwards.

Cr-crimsonleaf? Now's the time to show us a new trick...

She muttered, placing her hopes on her little companion who stretched itself to be visible enough to the fungi girl, and what followed was a noise so difficult to catch it almost felt incomprehensible and mute even for both beastfolks, but most importantly was the message the girl received through feeling alone. A message through Primal Aura alone.

ᛅᚢ ᚠᚱᛁᛁᚾᛏ.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby watched Doggo's actions attentively, also keeping an eye at the movements of the mushroom creature. Her hand was no longer on the pommel, though it was mostly to reassure her sister that she didn't intend to hurt the fungi- However, Ruby could draw her blade quickly in any case, only delayed by a fraction of second due to not be previously holding it.

Such quickness would be an overkill for a low level creature like the one they were dealing with.

Her ears perked up at the mention of a trick, and her eyebrows rose even more as she felt the aura tingling, and a smile crossing her lips as she figured what her sister was doing. 'Smart girl.' She hummed, swaying her tails proudly.

"ᛁᚼ?"

It looked at the mushroom on the ground, then at Ruby, then at Doggo, then at the flower and back at the mushroom again, cautiously approaching.

"ᚠᚬᚱ ᛘᛁ..?" It sniffed, holding the mushroom and fidgeting its appendages on it, closing its eyes and resting the mushroom against its cheek, rubbing it softly and opening its eyes to look at Doggo again.

Then, it smiled, holding the mushroom closely with both of its hands.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

While she couldn't tell exactly what this girl was saying, it was up to her ace under her sleeve, Crimsonleaf, to translate the messages. With just a glance back to her flowery friend, a primal message came through and gave her a sort of idea of what exactly did the girl say.

Still, a smile said plenty, and the way she held onto that mushroom was enough reward for Doggo's attempts, even if she had to keep all that to herself in order to not scare the poor fungus with her excitement.

Hehe, tell her 'Yes' and that we are leaving now.

She gave a nod back to Crimsonleaf, who once again focused it's 'gaze' onto the fungi girl.

"ᛁᛁᛋ." There was a short pause to give a little 'goodbye' wave as per requested, if only because the concept wouldn't make much sense eitherway if it put it in words.

Bye bye Mushroom-Girl!

Doggo added, waving just like Crimsonleaf did, albeit with more wrist motion here given she has arms and hands and not just roots or vines, before turning back to Ruby and, without much of a word, stepped closer to her and crossed her arms.

She knows we are friendly now. But let's not bother her anymore, we still got a lot of cool mushrooms to check.

Dropping a few inches as she stopped being at the tip of her toes, Doggo traced back a few steps to put them back on track, with much more confidence on her stride compared to earlier, at least until her foot sunk into the jelly like surface of a not-so-stable floor. In fact, it looked way too different to the rest of the ground, comparatively.

Wha- Jiejie, I got stuck!

While she helplessly pulled from her ankle, that green substance grew a set of glowing eyes that peered right through Doggo, a scared yelp escaping her lips before the slimey monster revealed itself as a... Slime!

ᚲᛟᚾᛊᚢᛗᛖ!

And this one looked less friendly than the last creature they encountered...

JIEJIEEEE!

Fear made her decide pulling from her ankle was a better idea than to cast a spell or something on the ever-growing mass of slime. Fear, and the stinging burns from that slime's touch.

@Crimson Ruby