"Uhhh......Grapes," Polaris said.

"Salmon," Cairn replied.

"Net," Polaris swung his head round to look at Cairn. "This is too easy." Eight days into their dive, they were passing time on their long trek through the Furnace with word games.

"Salamander!" Cairn said suddenly, his ears pricking.

"I win," Polaris said, gloating a little. "Salamander doesn't start with T. You were the one who came up with the 'final letter of the last word' rule- how did you manage to lose?"

"No, idiot," Cairn replied. "A salamander, look!"

Polaris spun in his tracks. Salamanders were a rare sighting and fairly valuable; it would be in their interest to catch it. They could sell it- or maybe use it in their own potion-making later down the line. There were plenty of beings who would pay a fine sum for a salamander.

Cairn's head was low. nostrils flared, as he studied the black rock in front of him. A tiny red salamander lay just inches from his nose. There had to be something wrong - the little creatures were usually skittering away from them whenever they crossed paths; it was difficult enough to catch sight of them, let alone get near it.

Polaris looked closer. The reptile's skin, usually a vibrant red with glowing orange spots and stripes, was uncommonly dull. It lay with its tail curled, and its body trembled; Polaris wasn't sure if it was in fear or from the relative coolness of the hardened rock underfoot. The salamanders rarely strayed from the magma pools- it was evident this one had come a little too far, and it was suffering because of it.

As he neared, its gaze shifted from Cairn to him, but its head stayed still. Polaris realised it must not be able to move- he'd read somewhere that the lava-loving salamanders' skin would harden if they spent too long away from the magma they called home. It would have been easy to scoop it up; after all, they were hard to catch in their natural environment. Magma and Coursers weren't particularly compatible.

Freja screeched, and the salamander's eyes widened. Polaris could have sworn there were tears forming on the little creature's face.

"Cairn-" Polaris started, but Cairn was already flicking a warning ear at Freja. This particular lizard was not food.

"We've got to put it back," Cairn said, and Polaris agreed readily. Even if they'd needed a salamander, catching one like this somehow felt...unsporting.

Cairn blew a cloud of warm breath over the salamander and lifted it gingerly by the tail with his lips, realising too late that it would stop him speaking. He gestured for Polaris to come closer, and gently deposited the critter onto his face.

"Wha-" Polaris was startled. "Okay, I guess this is how we're going to travel." He was starting to go a little cross-eyed looking at the salamander.

"I'll lead," Cairn said, and Polaris was glad.

--------------------------

A few minutes later, they'd made it to the edge of a small pool of magma. The molten rock bubbled like a slow-moving stew, and Polaris was loathe to stay long. There had been too many close calls with flying magma droplets, and he wasn't keen to get burnt.

He dropped his head, and the salamander released its grip, sliding to the ground. It landed a couple inches from a patch of cooling magma, seeming to perk up almost immediately. Its skin began to glow with a familiar light, and Polaris was relieved; the little creature would survive.

The salamander began to scurry towards the larger magma pool, its tiny legs moving in a blur. It looked back at the two Coursers for a moment, its tail flicking, and Polaris chose to take that as a thank-you.

"Let's go," he said to Cairn.