A little battered, a little singed, and reeking of ash and smoke from their first trip into the earthen furnace, Vashti returned to the surface. They always meant to find some place more suited to their nature where they could rest and recover once the delving was done, but somehow it never happened. There were too many unexplored rooms, too many uninvestigated corners, too many places Vashti hadn’t yet poked their nose into. How could they even think about setting up a house when there was all that to do?

So it was that Vashti’s “homecoming” was to the home of their family, which was a sprawling series of log walls built out from a stone ruin on the surface. It was also problematic, for Vashti at least, because their dam didn’t approve of dungeon delving. In fact, she’d done all she could to scare her foals off it, and for the older two it had worked. For Vashti, not so much.

“Vashti’s back!” The young courser outside the dwelling called as they saw the white speckled black coat emerge from the trees. This prompted a small stampede as youngsters from yearling foal through to sub adult all call Vashti’s name and rushing about.

Someone tugged at the buckles on Vashti’s harness and the equipment fell away for them to step out of. “Did you bring me anything?” on of the littlest demanded. This was the part of the surface Vashti loved, the reason they returned rather than just disappearing underground.

“Alright, you lot. Settle down.” The imposing white masked figure of Vanish, the oldest of the three siblings, emerged from inside. He shouldered one of the half grown youngsters aside and flicked the demanding foal with his tail “Where are your manners, little one?” Vanish demanded gruffly. “Let Vashti in, they’ll tell you all about it later. In great detail I expect.” A flick of his left ear made it clear to Vashti that Vanish disapproved, but the older courser turned and led the way back indoors. “Vixie’s trying out a recipe she found for those mushrooms you brought back last time. They seem to have dried well.” He sounded neutral and conversational in front of his offspring and Vixie’s.

That meant a family meal, small talk, stories under the stars for the little ones afterwards, and the disapproval of their siblings for telling stories of the dungeon. “A meal would be welcome. Only let me see to my gear and wash up a bit first.” Vashti scooped their harness off the ground and flicked it over their back. They could smell mushrooms roasting with vegetables and herbs as they passed by the cooking area. Vixie liked to cook and she excelled at it, Vashti liked to bring her ingredients from underground to see what she’d make of them. It satisfied a childish urge toward mischief, and provided a tasty meal at once.

Vashti quietly closed the door on their family for a few moments, Their room wasn’t much, they weren’t in it often, hooks for their various gear on the wall, a shelf of books, and a pile of blankets they liked to bed down in when they were home. Vashti liked blankets. In fact it would be so nice to spread them out and fold down on them, pull one over their back, but if they did that, they’d be asleep before they knew it. Better get cleaned up and face the horde again before making a blanket nest.