"Sometimes I’m glad I cut you down from that vine,” Cairn said.

“Sometimes?!” Polaris’ indignant reply came with a well-aimed flick of his tail over Cairn’s ear. “How many times have I saved your sorry hide down here?”

Cairn’s body rumbled in a chuckle. The two had travelled together on and off for several weeks now. It felt natural, and it was a relief when they ran into each other in the caverns. They’d taken to setting markers for each other to find, and it had become something of a game between the two to track each other after Cairn’s ventures to the surface or Polaris’ diversions into the more dangerous caverns that Cairn wasn’t yet willing to follow. There was an ease between the two that they hadn’t found in other companions.

Sometimes they came across other travellers on their own, and relished telling each other of the escapades they’d had when separated. Most recently, Cairn had paired with a big grey Courser and fought a pitcher plant; it had gone alright, but Polaris had howled with laughter as Cairn recounted getting drenched in foul-smelling, half-digested guts and gore from the inside of the plant and the subsequent wandering through the caverns in search of a bathing pool. He’d stunk for days after that, and his hawk, Freja, had avoided landing on him until he’d rolled in a patch of pungent pink flowers to rid himself of the stench. He’d parted ways with the grey Courser, hoping the next time they’d meet wouldn’t involve so much gunk.

If he was being honest, even aboveground Cairn hadn’t always been the most eager to share his resources; too many times he’d cared just a bit too much about someone who hadn’t reciprocated, and ended up with too little for himself. When it came to Polaris, he found it easy. They shared generously between them- it had been one of the first things Cairn had appreciated about their friendship. Their dynamic had changed; Polaris, highly trained before he ever stepped foot in the dungeon, had taught him basic combat and survival skills. Cairn, at first the apprentice, had quickly caught on to life below ground. He took fewer and fewer trips to the surface; when sunlight called, or he longed to feel the moorland winds again, he’d take a few days and traipse back up. More often than not, though, he found himself enjoying his new lifestyle.

Now, he and Polaris walked shoulder to shoulder through one of the high-ceilinged marble halls in the Earthen Furnace. They’d found that while Polaris certainly had the edge in combat, Cairn’s natural agility, combined with his smaller frame and light movement, made him a formidable fighter. Plus, when Polaris had struggled somewhat with the complex puzzles that popped up in the Overgrown Caverns, Cairn had offered a couple of ideas that had ultimately solved them. They made a good team.