Splatterpunk was tall, gangly, and leggy now - their hoof steps a bit less precise, and more prone to wobble, not entirely familiar with the locomotion of recently lengthened limbs. They'd outgrown their harness - tucked away at home, where they kept things of great importance.

Moritz stood somewhere ahead as they picked their way to them across a particularly rocky patch of the Furnace, peering at a map. Mina, the floating eye appeared then, rushing to Moritz' head and making a series of alarming sounds just as Splatterpunk reached them.

"Hm." Moritz said, thoughtfully. The floating eye gave a sort of horrific small screech of a sound, and Splatterpunk flinched a moment, then wandered over to bump it- Mina - with their snout.

"Loves to be loud."

"Yes. Only when they are concerned, however." Moritz replied in kind, and Splatterpunk looked back to the floating Mina as if they could decipher what it meant as well as their parent.

"...Moderate dangers ahead. Fire elementals and imps are having a scuffle, likely." Moritz said, after peering between their map and the hovering, fretful floating eye.

"Oh." Splatterpunk glanced behind them, where they'd came. Most often, when Mina gave an alarm when Splatter was there, Moritz would immediately backtrack with them - unless there was no other option. Today's expedition was likely over.

"...We'll see how it is, and then head home, 'Punk." Moritz spoke, nuzzling the top of their head. Splatter's eyes shifted back, and a buzz of excitement made them trot in place a moment - before they made themselves settle enough to reply.

"Alright." Home was nice, too, though. They'd have the safety of home after.

They bore onwards, and it wasn't long before they came across the disturbance, which seemed to be winding to a close largely - it was as Moritz had predicted, a clash of fire elementals and imps, hurling attacks at eachother as they tangled across a vast obsidian bridge.

Moritz clucked to themselves, then without warning to Splatterpunk, charged the remaining group on the bridge, swinging a blue, cold-seeping torch in their jaw, shouting - and Mina followed, shrieking up a horrific bout of sound.

The remaining beasts began to scatter in all directions - so Splatterpunk trotted up behind, watching Moritz chase the last of them off.

There was a soft squeak, then a 'fluse' of puffed hot air - Splatter glanced down. A small, likely young fire elemental's "Tail" of flame was caught under a rock, likely hurled by the imps. It looked at them, and gave dejected, low sounds. Moritz must have missed it.

... How did a fire elemental get stuck under a rock, anyway...?

Irregardless, Splatterpunk rolled the rock with a hoof, leaned down to examine the little thing - who didn't flee, and instead darted little circles around their hoof.

Moritz trotted up, their shadow falling over Splatter.

"...Well. We'll take your friend home, too."

Home was here, and it was there, on the surface, really - Splatterpunk had felt the call in their bones early, as was expected from their lineage. Did their brother ever think of the surface home fondly, too? Or just the depths?