A rebuked attack earlier and both coursers stumbling bleeding into the same odd puddle, had seemingly caused some sort of reaction. They had rested, and laughed, and... well, then something had shook itself out of the puddle. A foal,, to be precise. A foal who looked suspiciously a lot like if you smashed Shield and Triomphe's genetics together.

Oh. Hm.

Discussions clearly had to be had.

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

This was how Shield had ended up trudging his way back through the furnace, leading - or sometimes carrying - the wobbly, scruffy foal with him. He had slipped off to scout ahead, and now... had to deal with this. Despite the foal's existence not coming from "the old fashioned way" there was an odd flutter of guilt in Shield's chest - odder still, considering he decidedly was not dating or married to anyone at all. Yet, he felt as if he would rather crawl into the lava and die then tell Litany of this.

He was going to have to, though. They had settled between them on 'Spellsword Triumphant', but that was a mouthful, so largely Shield had been calling the large eyed infant 'Spell.' He backtracked with more care, aware of the fragility of his... ward? offspring?, compared to his own resilience.

Currently, Spell was draped over Shield's back, Shield's shield positioned so it was likely to stop the foal from sliding about or off. When needed, he felt small teeth grip his mane to keep hold.

"...What am I going to do with you... I can't backtrack to the surface now, it's not safe. We first need to find a way to loop around whoever they've sent for Litany..." Shield said, largely to himself, though the presence on his back replied with a soft sound.

Unfortunately, half in though, Shield wasn't paying attention as closely as he should have.

His hoof crossed the wrong cobblestone, and there was a Hsssshhhh - vents obscured by decades of soot and ashfall suddenly spouting flames intermittently. He stepped back with a jolt, and then watched the flames - trying to track the pattern. He had to get past, and he didn't have anyone here able to figure out how to disarm such a thing. He backed up. Spell gave a sound of displeasure, at all the jostling and the heat.

"...I know, I know. We've got to get past, though - so hold on tight now." Shield murmured gently - preparing himself before galloping towards the obstacles just as the first spurt of flame in the pattern repeated.