A horse cough echoed down the tunnels. Rough stones were neatly carved through and the debries of the tunnels slid down the path. Making room for Prince to continue his route. Harsh stones that stubbed his beasts forms talons soon felt a relief with a sudden, unfamiliar softness under them. The Prince wrinkled his snout and sniffed at the new soft earth. It wasn't as dense as to what he was used to digging in and the fresh sent smelled so alive. His throat rumbled, a sound that's not quite a growl, gently rumbled through his slender neck. His beats forms jaw twisted up into a grin, the sent was so refreshing and slightly damp to the touch.
Digging would usually feel like a choir, tunneling through the rocks by chipping away at them. With this newer and softer earth, tunneling felt like swimming the further up he went. The dirt crumbling away to make his path so effortlessly. Tunnels that used to take an eternity to dig through was done in a matter of seconds. "Low effort? Moving up here could actually be promising" Eoviet thought to himself, letting out his screech and straining his ear like horns to see how the tunnel was going. "Went up further than I ment to" he chuckled softly to himself, the steeper angle showing to be a bit of a drop than he intended.
"It'll be fine" the Prince thought again, he just needed to see if food can be found in this softer patch. "If there is, or even water, I may have found the perfect stop for this search that my father is looking for-" the Prince stopped dead in his tracks. He had been slashing at the earth faster than he realised and the softer layers above him collapsed. His heart pounded in fear, he was going to be flatterned! Once the cave in cleared, it had only been able to cover his ankles, "that should've killed me" he thought with a huffy sniff. Cautiously he lifted his beast forms head, assuming he had broken into a large cave but a shock of harsh winds stabbed at his skin.
With a hiss, Eoviet sniffed again, "a breeze!? How!? The only thing that could cause an air flow would be our flame!". Eoviet could smell life, natural senses overwhelmed his nostrils and the smell of fur could be scented all over! In a confusion, the Prince slowly emerged from his hole, making another screech that vibrated from his throat. Straining his ears he could make out the shapes of many, many! Objects. Similar but individual shapes dotted the soft ground, small and large creatures slumbered within the area. But most importantly, the Prince jolted when he sensed the form of other beings!
Three of them! Right infront of him! All four stood frozen. "Who is that!? Surly the council can't be anywhere near here!? What do I do!? I didn't know there was more than my kingdom!" Eoviet paniced internally, his mind racing when on the outside he looked like a hellish beast that sat quietly. One of the beings stood forward, the Prince snarled as he approached on shaky knees. None spoke but the being that stood forward poked the Prince in the jaw. A sting of a sharp blade slashed his chin and with a paniced, screeching roar Eoviet breathed out a plume of his fire. Feeling the flame sacks in his cheeks burn up and expell the gas as his tongue sparked on his teeth.
Breathing out he controlled the flame in a paniced daze. The being screamed in agony and the other two dashed to his aid. "Get out of here! You demon!" One of the beings road out to the trembling Prince, stabbing his tail with all the might the being had. Eoviet gave in to his instincts, soring up as fast as he could, flying as low as he could. Experience had taught the Prince to try and mind the caves celling but he could not sense one now. No, all the Prince could feel is the stabbing pain of bitter winds flying at the Prince as he glided toward it. With a hiss the Prince screeched, straining his ears until he sensed a formation that winded like a slithering trial of a slug.
"There! If I can land and shift down to hide! Maybe I can make my way out of here!" Eoviet thought in a panic. He sored until he felt his talons scrape on the soft earth again, there he landed and tensed his back. A numbing sensation pulsed through the Prince before his beastly body shrunk and condensed back into his mortal form. Dazed and out of breath, Eoviet scanned the area. No cave had ever looked like this! It was dark but far brighter than he had ever encountered naturally. The celling of the cave looked endless, gorgeous little twinkles scattered as far as he could see. By his level was green, green and more green!
"Where am I?" Eoviet whispered in a panic, his voice cracked and his terror painted his eyes. He had never seen so many colours before! It was usually all grey! But now, now! It was green, all kinds of shades of green and a beautiful deep blue for a ceiling. Scanning the area, Eoviet allowed his legs to buckle. He was alone and underneath was such soft and welcoming earth. Gentle blades met his nude skin, the only clothing that could shift with him was his robe. He had tied it around the base of his neck before shifting so when he shifted back he could have at least something to clothe him.
The Prince shivered with the breeze, cold air hitting his back as he rushed to cover himself. The robe being made of the only fabric he had available, the silk from the large silk moths. It was always soft and warm whenever he shifted back and with the comforting material, the Prince could control his breathing. Calming his shallow breaths and relaxing his tense shoulders as he looked around once more. "This... this is nothing like home" Eoviet muttered, tying the robe around his waist as he leaned his back on the rough stem of a whole new plant.
The tough bark was nothing like the mushrooms he was used to seeing, it's leaves rustling in the wind. Roaring with each, continuous breeze. The sound so unsettling for the sheltered Prince, who trembled in a looming fear of not knowing how to return back home but also in an exhaustion. He didn't fly for long but his arms still ached from the sudden get away, the strain on his shoulders hurt to even carry the robe he was wearing. His breathing soon settled and with that he could hear howls in the distance, a hushed screech just below him and too much rustling for one night.
The consistent sounds of this new land switched on every other panic and fear trigger within the small Prince. Eoviet felt his lip quiver as he sniffled, collapsing back to the soft earth with the only comfort he had. Shaking he hugged his knees to his chest, his mind spinning too rapidly for him to think of a plan. The light the sky projected to the ground hurt his eyes and the sounds all around him were too unfamiliar. His own mind began to whisper of all the worst situations he could think of. Worst of all, he could of have an ally, those people back by his tunnel opening could've been reasoned with. He had recognised their language, even if it was rarely used in his kingdom, Eogoi had used it with her lover before he past. Eoviet had spent any free time to learn it as a way to try and comfort the grieving mother.
Eoviet still remembers the servants grateful response, the first smile the girl had ever shown since her lover had past. With that language he could've seeked refuge with those people but instead he shot his flames at one in a paniced daze. His own nerves causing him act without thinking and now he was truly alone whilst lost in this foren land. Tears flowed down to his quivering lip, sniffling as he tried to make the lest amount of noise as possible. He looked around whilst trying to find something to help, his vision obscured by his own tears.
With a deep breath, the Prince rose from his spot on the ground. He looked into the mouth of darkness that the forest shaded and began to roam. With no clear direction, Eogoi tried his best to keep moving forward and search for food at least. If he is able to find food in this alien land, he could build strength to dig down, make a new tunnel back home. Eoviet had built his tunnel up so home has to be down, that would be his last resort. "Yeah, find food, find strength, find my tunnel if not I can always find home by going down... right?" Eoviet tried to convince himself.
It was hard to stay cool when every sound was new and nerve-wracking, when every sight was so different from home. Despite not having his tail in this smaller form, he could still feel the pain of being stabbed. "Wait- stabbed!? Do they gave blades?! Swords!?" Eoviet holted, looking around to find no sign of any soul. "If they have weapons, I could be in a lot of trouble" he realised, his knees beginning to shake again. Each step feeling heavy, sharp stones making walking a pain. The Prince tried to avoid the stones but would then end up stepping on or walikg into thorns that scratched his skin until he began to bleed.
More tears watered at the corners of his eyes, the pain mixed with his fear began to take a toll on his emotions. Not that he had any control over them to begin with, this whole place sent shivers down his spine. As much as the dense stones back at his home had starved him, it never physically hurt him before! But yet the soft green plants can draw blood!? Eoviet couldn't stand this place. He wanted to go home, to curled up infront of the flame again, bask in the comforting warmth. But he had no way of getting there, he was lost in this strange land, stumbling through the dense vegetation. All in the hopes he could find the tunnel he had abandoned.
With another glance around, Eoviet could see a much clearer path up ahead. Where he was right now felt almost impossible to walk through, vines and tangles snagged in his robe. Scuffing up the comfortable material. With a quick dash, Eoviet made it to even softer ground with less vegetation, here he slowly made his was down the path. He was tired and his stomach cramped from not having any food for far longer than he was comfortable with. Each step down felt exhausting, his legs ached, beginning to feel nauseous. It didn't help that his eyes stung as the deep blue sky very slowly began to turn brighter. Brighter lights began to take over the sky and those beautiful bright dots slowly vanished away.
"What's happening?" Eoviet thought to himself with a slight panic. "How is the... cave celling? Can I even call this that? But how is it changing!?" He shivered but with another breath he kept moving down the path. As he kept moving forward, he began to see something in the far distance, something large and grey. It reminded him of the Palace only open and not carved into the rocks. From the distance he was at, he could only see the large walls that formed a box over this thing.
Many other grey like buildings surrounded it, it looked to stretch for miles. "Another kingdom? Maybe? Is that even possible?" Eoviet asked himself but in his exhaustion he moved to a large rock, sitting himself down for a while to try and make a plan. He had little ideas on what to do or even how to get back to his own Kingdom. But what Eoviet did know, is that he could potentially find other people and potentially find a better life for his people.