Clever One had a satisfied look on his face as the trio left the forest the next day. Small One imagined it had something to do with the fact that he'd had his first proper meal in years. As for Small One and Bold One, they were considerably less pleased. They had managed to catch a small, green-furred thing with hooves, which didn't amount to much when split between the two of them. Small One was still thinking about the one-horn's advice even as she flew aimlessly in a random direction. Rocky, scrubby land spread out below her, and she spotted a small pack of green pack hunters running along on the ground. They were too small and lean to bother with, but seeing them was a good enough sign that life was at least pretending to return to normal in this place.

The one-horn had offered three distinct options of where to go next. He'd said there was an almost pristine realm across the sea, assuming they could fly that far without falling into the water and drowning. Plus, they would have to know where exactly they needed to leave from in order to reach this supposed verdant land. Small One wrote that one off in her mind. She didn't fancy her chances of figuring out where to go, and she didn't have enough wing strength to have the luxury of guessing. The next choice the one-horn had offered was to go to the frozen north, where it was so cold that even the death-prey hadn't bothered to set up nests there. Small One hadn't really had much experience with cold before, but she remembered from so very long ago, when she was only a few days old and she met Cold One. The chill he had exuded pierced her scales and went all the way down to the bone. Just thinking about it sent a tremble down her spine. If the frozen north was anything like that, she didn't want anything to do with it. And she knew that Bold One and Clever One didn't either.

That just left finding a volcano as a final option. Volcanoes were unpredictable, apparently. She'd never seen one, but Furious One had told her about them before. He said they were so powerful that no living thing could possibly stand against them. They were also quite hot, apparently. She knew Bold One would be all for it, and so long as there was no blazing sun to sear at her scales, she felt she would probably be alright too. But Clever One wasn't likely to be on board with it. He had just barely managed life in the desert. He hated fire, and his smooth, reflective skin burned easily. Still, she had to try to convince him.

She stalled in the air and rounded on Bold One and Clever One, the other two drawing up to hover in front of her. With slow, clear chitters, Small One declared her intention to seek out a volcano and make it her home. Just as she expected, Bold One instantly crooned an agreement, but Clever One squawked and whipped his tongue at the air. Wincing, Small One tried to explain to Clever One why the other two choices of where to go wouldn't work, but he wasn't having any of it. He waved his tongue about and hissed about how the one-horn didn't know everything, and how he didn't think he could take any more heat. Small One glared at him, trying her absolute best to impose her will on him, but he held firm, meeting her gaze. Bold One seemed a little too lost in her own excitement to be of any help, excitedly meowing about what tiny fragments she remembered of her own neonatehood near a distant magma flow.

No amount of wheedling or explanations could get Clever One to budge. In the end, they reached an impasse. Small One and Bold One refused to go anywhere but the volcano, while Clever One refused to go anywhere near a volcano. Small One was about to try and bargain with him, when Bold One said something that caught her attention. Cheerfully oblivious to the battle of wills happening right next to her, she rather unhelpfully declared that she remembered seeing all kinds of fire monsters during the brief time she spent in her original home before the death-prey stole her away. After all, all fire monsters had their ancestral homes in places where magma flowed. Small One's mind raced. It was a bit of a stretch, but she had seen Furious One breathing fire. If all fire monsters made their homes in volcanoes, then maybe that was where she should be looking to find an adult of her kind.

Now there was no other choice. They were going to the volcano, with or without Clever One. Snarling, Small One told him as much. He pointed both of his eyes straight at her for a moment, before chirping and turning around. Small One felt her heart sink. There really was no way to convince him, and he'd clearly decided they were going without him. She gave one last feeble croon at him, but he simply looked back at her and chirped her a fond farewell, hoping to see her again some time in the future. With that last remark, he flapped away, back towards the forest where they met the one-horn. Small One hung in the air for a while, and Bold One stopped her chattering to watch Clever One's silhouette grow smaller and harder to make out, until Small One couldn't see him anymore.

She kept hovering in place for another long while, somehow hoping that he would turn around and come back to say he had decided to come with them after all. But he never did. Despondently, Small One huffed and wheeled in the air, pointing herself towards the hazy mountain range. They'd made their decisions and now they had to live with them. Bold One followed her at a sober pace, neither exchanging the usual friendly nips or light aerial play. They had made decent progress towards the mountains by the time the sun began to set, so Small One landed on an earthy riverbank, lapping at the clean water and resting her wings.

It was only when Small One was curling up next to and shoving her snout into Bold One's fluffy mane to sleep that she realised a crucial part of the plan that she hadn't put enough thought into. Namely, where was the nearest volcano? Resolving to ask Bold One if she remembered, she let herself drift away to sleep, thoughts consumed by visions of what might have been, if she'd only managed to bring Clever One around.


Where does Small One decide to go? (1 = across the sea, 2 = tundra, 3 = volcano)

Small One rolls a 3. Volcano.

Does Small One convince Clever One to come along? (Intelligence = 12)

Clever One's weakness to heat affects Small One's roll (-7)

Small One rolls a 13 - 7 = 6 (required 8). Failure.

Clever One leaves the party.

Ahh awful rolls everywhere. Alas, poor Clever One, the dice dice-ided (heh) that we don't get to keep him. Sorry for the shortness again, I have a really bad headache and it made looking at the screen to write kind of difficult.

Xeno, let me know if you get GU, I'd be happy to play with you. That goes for any other readers, too. If you want my friend code or discord tag to play with me, you just have to ask. Just be aware that I'm a college student and I'm also in the GMT timezone, so I'm not always available.