Patlin was tickled by the wolf's generosity. There was something so delicious about showing up and being invited to take. They trotted happily down a furrow in the foliage that may have once been a winding path, pausing here and there to sniff the garden's offerings. Duskorna had many things, accomplished herbalists among them, but Patlin would be the first to admit that they didn't have much variety in the way of gardens. A small black beetle trundled across their path. With a few quick, gauging glances between the gardener and the insect, they ducked to snap it up, momentarily adding a chorus of crunches to their stroll. "I'll confess," Patlin said, delicately flipping a leaf with the back of one paw to inspect the underside, "I'm not much of a...connoisseur when it comes to, ah, vegetation." They looked up at the wolf. "If I were to take one thing from here, what would you recommend?"

Quietly he slipped beneath the ice, sleek body parting the few schools of minnows sluggish from the winter chill as he fought his way up against the current. His explorations had led him to many strange waters, but it was only his most recent which seemed to promise more than just the prospect of fresh fish. Just the entrance to the underwater caverns he’d found were enough to send him darting back into the shallows, but despite his terror, he'd found himself returning. Again and again. Gazing into its inky depths reminded the little cat of distant tales his mother had once told him, of brave adventurers who'd braved Tsillah's trials and dove even deeper. To what they'd found varied on the day she told the tales, but she always said that it was something wonderful. Delta certainly was no brave adventurer, but in that moment, a face had flashed in his memory. Loch had mentioned liking treasure; could such a thing be found here? It was certainly stranger than any other underwater caves he’d seen before—from his whiskers he’d felt the pull of currents fighting through narrow, twisting tunnels that seemed to wind endlessly amongst themselves, certainly impossible for any land creature to navigate. Delta had the advantage of gills, but certainly wasn’t brave enough to dive down to see what laid beneath the strange, sunken surface.  At least, not alone. Maybe there was treasure, maybe there wasn’t. Delta was certainly curious of the place itself. Perhaps he moreso missed the finned wolf he’d met at the cove, and hoped that he’d find interest and wish to join him in spelunking the eerie depths. It wasn’t like there was much else to do with the surface frozen. Alright, Delta was getting a bit stir crazy. And lonely. He hadn’t seen much of anyone this past winter, and one could only swim the same streams so many times before boredom drove you mad. Mad enough to consider diving into an underwater maze by yourself in a harebrained search for…whatever, really. Delta tasted the water, whiskers flaring to feel the current and any minuscule changes in the sediment. The riverbed was growing muddier, a sign that he was approaching the two factions—one of which where Loch resided. The little cat gave a few experimental scratches at the ice ceiling, but it was far to thick for him to disturb. Close enough, he hoped, pinning his ears tight against his head and sucking a deep breath of cold water through his gills. The shriek he released was shrill and haunting, suited more for long distance calls across the ocean rather than rivers and lakes. It felt raspy in his throat, long disused for its proper purpose and nearly sending him into a sputtering fit by its end He managed at least a simple message in his call, taking a moment to cough and clear his throat before repeating it again. Slowly he fell back into the familiar rhythm, broadcasting the sonar in repeating waves just in case his initial had been missed. “LOCH. COME? TUNNELS, WATER, FOUND. DELTA.” With his message out, the little cat lowered himself onto the riverbed and tucked his paws cozily beneath him, hoping that the wolf had heard.

The barren branches rattled, winter wind carrying their urgencies as a round form scuttled up the branches of a naked, ancient oak. They listened intently, bright gaze unfocused and clouded as the sour scent of sick met their twitching nose and a distant rumbling echoed through perked ears. At once their eyes sharpened and snapped down to the icy river, flicking furiously about the snow before catching the sight of blue and brown met along the bank. Intruder, the wind heaved, nearly casting the scrawny fox from their perch as they curled their talons tight into the branches. Anticipation fluttered in their lungs, and they cast their muzzle upwards as their feathers tussled wildly with Ohr's message. A low whistle carried down across the territories from their breath, sharpening to a shrill warning not only to Verdantis guards, but for whoever trespassed upon their kingdom's land. With its end, Linnaeus snapped their wings outwards and at once felt themself caught and airborne, tumbling wildly through the swirling valley wind as they allowed it to deliver them down down down towards whitewater's call. At worst they expected another of Dusknora--they'd not made a move since their Queen's intrusion and Shifty's treason, but they were greedy, and would have to again soon. Tsillah would never let them not. It was a relief then to see that at least their king was already there to greet them, and there seemed not yet to be any blood spilled across the snow. Linnaeus slowed their descent and spun in a strange, floaty tailspin as if swimming on the wind, alighting gingerly on the bough of a snow laden willow which hung hauntingly over the blue interloper. Closer now, they could see that he was some sort of cat, and no stench of Tsillah clung to the impressive set of wings hung against his sides. One of the wind, they thought with approval, eyes glittering curiously as their gaze bounced from the cat to the strange cart he hauled behind him. The scent of sick seemed only at bay from the cart's closed lid, and Linnaeus wondered them, having missed the first section of their conversation, if it was a coffin. "In need or if battered or sore, one can find peace in the Kingdom of Ohr!" They grinned down at the pleading cat, a strange amusement glittering in their gaze as a snicker escaped them. Not for his (and hers?) plight, no, but for his cluelessness of who he was speaking to. Their eyes did not leave the stranger as they tightened their grip on the branch and fell sideways, spinning easily so that they hung upside down from the bough and snapping their wing out with a flourish towards Gabriel. "Now, the leader you seek, you're in luck--take a peek! just follow my wing to meet Verdantis's King."

Delta rolled the dice.

---

Character Diceroll 1: Fail Diceroll must be above 500 to be successful. 0 was added for Dexterity. 491 was added for Level 3. 0 was added for A. No Enchantment. 9 was deducted for C. Vagrant Penalty.

It was impressive how quickly the tigress adapted to moving underwater, laughing and catching the seagrass as Delta circled beneath her with a small smile curling the edges of his muzzle. He himself wasn't sure of what game they were playing, only following the hazy memories of what he'd done with his littermates when they were small. Except back then they'd had to keep low and quiet, careful to avoid attracting the attention of any predators. It was strange seeing Saira move without such fear, sending sprays of bubbles and vibrations through the water as she dove down towards him again.  A momentary fear flashed through him as the massive tigress lunged her muzzle forward, but there were no teeth bared or threat of biting as she giggled and swung the kelp about. It took him a second to even register that she'd missed, and he too let out a tiny chuff of laughter as he flapped his fins and bounced backwards across the lakebed. Her second strike hit him square, a yelp of surprise escaping Delta as Saira's huge nose squished into his own. He shook his head and snorted, but instead of annoyance or fear, a fresh playfulness glittered in his gaze as he snapped his jaws around the kelp. He gave Saira a few seconds of head start before pumping his fins and bounding after her, alternating between gliding and propelling himself with his tail as he chased her through the water. Smaller fish scattered as they sped past, but for once Delta paid them no mind--he was playing, how wonderful was that? He twisted his long body and pressed his limbs flat beneath him like a torpedo as he dove under stones and twisting plant life, hoping to hide himself as he chased Saira so he could catch her by surprise. He took a sharp turn and nearly collided with the submerged trunk of a fallen tree, whiskers flaring to alert him as he veered sharply upwards and kicked off the lakebed with a cloud of sand. The ancient bark was soft and rubbery, perfect to sink his claws into for extra propulsion as he burst out from the debris and aimed to collide with Saira with the kelp fluttering from his muzzle like a banner. -- DICE ROLL: Dexterity Success: Delta lands square on Saira's finned tail and bats at her with sheathed paws, letting go of the kelp and aiming to dive down again. Failure: Delta misses, twisting through the water and batting at open water.