"Get back here with that loot, you no-good, thieving, Courser scum!" the cry sounded from behind Polaris and his legs pumped faster. He tried to ignore the taste of the beast's severed tentacle in his mouth as he took massive snorting breaths.

"You'll never catch me!" he called back, somewhat muffled by the tentacle. He regretted it immediately as he heard the hoofbeats behind him quicken and felt the gentle smack of Solstice's painted wooden blade on his rump. He slowed to a canter, then a trot, sides heaving with exertion and excitement.

"That was a good one, Rhys!" Solstice said, bumping his nose with hers. "You chase me this time!"

"Let's take a break first," Polaris said, spitting the tentacle out. "That thing tastes nasty."

"Yuck!" A giggle escaped his sister as she sniffed at it. "Let's play Dungeon next!"

"Okay," Polaris replied with a shake of his mane. "You're the beast!"

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"You're old enough now to try it on your own," Mistral said. "This is for you. It was mine."

Solstice's eyes widened as their father presented her with the blade. "Thank you- I'll take good care of it."

"I know you will." Mistral's eyes crinkled at the edges. "Will you go tomorrow?"

Solstice shot a sideways glance at Polaris. "No, I'm going to wait for Rhys." Polaris felt a wave of warmth towards his sister. They'd dreamed about starting their first dive together, but he hadn't been sure she'd come through on the promise she'd made him years ago. *No way I'm leaving you behind,* she'd said. *We start together, or not at all.*

"He won't be ready for weeks yet," Mistral said, surprised. "He's yet to finish combat training, and his survival skills need proper testing before he goes solo."

"Then I'll wait," Solstice said firmly. "We go together."

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They gathered at the crack of dawn outside the entrance northwest of the ancient dwellings. Mistral, accompanied with several elders who'd been responsible for Polaris' and Solstice's training, had come to bid them goodbye. The siblings touched noses with each of the older Coursers, then turned towards the entrance.

Solstice, her silvery mane glowing orange in the dawn light, paused at the mouth of the cave. They'd been here before, pressed up as close as they could get without going in, trying to take in every scent and sound they could hear. The hours they'd spent here fuelled days of play and fantasies, each buzz of an insect wing or rustle of jungle brush pushing their imaginations further.

"Go, Sol," Polaris said. "You've waited this long. You take the first step."

Solstice glanced back at him. Polaris realised she wasn't waiting for him on purpose; she was nervous.

"Come on, we've trained for this. Let's go together." He stepped up next to her and nudged her forward. Together, they stepped into the cavern, neither looking back at the others gathered outside. That was not the way.

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"Alright, Rhys, this is it," Solstice said. "I'm going this way."

Polaris bumped his muzzle against her shoulder affectionately. "I'll see you back on the surface."

"See you back on the surface." With a friendly flick of her tail over his rump, she trotted off into the left cavern.

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Weeks passed, and though Polaris had returned to the surface multiple times, there was no sign of his sister. He waited, as she had for him. When he could bear it no longer, he begged Mistral to send a search party for her; surely she was just lost? There had to be a chance she was alive. Mistral refused. This was not the way.

Cursing his father, Polaris had gathered his own supplies and plunged into the caverns once more. But no matter how many times he accosted the dungeon, he found no sign of Solstice.

Eventually, he had to accept she was likely dead. Grief washed over him like a tide, pounding him relentlessly with waves of anger and loss. He went deeper into the caverns. There was nothing left for him on the surface.