Avery hung his head low as they passed into yet another chamber of the cavern. Him and his lovely hired help, Crispin, had been navigating a particularly unwelcoming area of the first floor. Not many Coursers went through here, experienced or new. There seemed to just be nothing of value in the area. To Avery, that meant more potential for hidden valuables. To Crispin, that meant more potential for uncharted dangers.

     “Hold,” Crispin said, making Avery stop almost immediately. The dun grumbled in annoyance, lifting his head to look at the other, making it clear he was both tired and not interested in whatever it was he had to say. Crispin shot him a look with furrowed brows, then motioned to the rest of the room. “Look around you. Have you ever seen a tree in the Dungeon before?”

    Avery blinked, then kind of perked up at that. A tree? He lifted his head to see a lone tree sitting in the middle of the cavern. Strong roots, with branches and leaves that towered far above them. “Well, shit. Maybe we’ve hit closer to the surface than we thought,” he remarked.

     Crispin shook his head. “I doubt it, too far into the cavern,” he said. He inhaled softly in thought, then glanced back towards the entrance of the room. “I’ve seen many things in the Dungeon. Trees, rarely. Rare things usually indicate a trap,” he pointed out. It seemed that the warning did no good for Avery. When Crispin looked back, the red dun was already trotting up to the tree. He let out a very miffed snort, his hoof kind of scraping the ground. “What are you doing!”

    “Exploring, that’s the whole reason you’re supposed to be with me, right? Lookout for new things. This,” Avery stopped where he was, pointing towards the tree with an outstretched hoof, “is a new thing.” He didn’t wait for a response before continuing his trot to the tree. It only grew larger the closer he was, his head having to bend more and more to see it. The leaves were a bright and bold green, the wood sturdy and brutish. Avery had never seen a tree like this, it seemed to exude power.

     A faint rustling in the leaves caught Avery’s attention. He stepped to the side to eye it better. It was coming from one of the lower-end branches, leaves falling and branches creaking. The Courser stared for what felt like eternity, chest tight, breath held. Flashes of gold shown through the leaves, along with faint noises. Whines.

     “There’s a hound in the tree!” Avery called loudly, looking back towards Crispin. The white Courser looked alarmed, then confused, then perplexed. He cantered over, looking up into the tree just as Avery had.

     “I’ll be damned. There’s a hound in the tree,” he confirmed with a nod. “How do you plan to get it out, explorer?”

     Avery rolled his eyes at the remark, glancing back up at the tree. He hurried under the branches where the dog was struggling to hold, slipping little by little. It took no time until the hound fell, crashing right onto Avery’s back and then bouncing off onto the floor. A loud grunt left Avery and he had to do a soft trot to get the pain out of his back, circling back around to meet the dog. Crispin did the same, now just two nosey horses sniffing at the hound.

     The dog jumped up with a loud bark, wildly lapping at Avery’s face. Both horses jumped back with a loud snort, Crispin laughing as Avery backed away, hooves spread out. “Easy, bud! You literally just fell out of a tree! Though it seems nothing is broken… How in the world did you end up in a tree?” he frowned.

     There wasn’t really expected to be an answer, the hound just sat and wagged its tail, ruffing happily at Avery. “I think it likes you,” Crispin hummed, walking past the two and towards the entrance of the cavern.

     Avery watched him, then looked back at the hound. “...Cool. I guess. I have a dog now?” he wondered aloud, pinning his ears back. “Guess you need a name. Uhhhmmmm.. September. Yeah. Sure. Come on, September.” He turned to trot after the other Courser, his ears angled back as he heard the hound following. Riley would love a new dog.