An Unexpected Visitor.

Outside of the mouth of the cave, the tundra blizzard was raging as fierce as ever. Perhaps a little too fierce today, for travel.. Thus being, most beings who could withstand this harsh climate were inside their homes, be they ice homes or caves, or the Slab. Of course.. Some weren't that lucky, always. Qannik would be apart of this 'some', and it was by sheer luck that she'd managed to stumble upon this cave in question.

Stumbling quite literally in fact, she nearly trips over her own numbed feet upon entering the cave, using a shoddy carved spear to catch herself before receiving a face full of half-frozen dirt and pebbles. Knowing she needed to warm up a bit, she proceeded further into the dark cavern toward the back, not knowing she was gradually going down an incline. Warm, fur-covered hides of various beasts were wrapped around her torso as a vest, and equally, a thin loincloth-fashioned piece hung down past her hips. Stringy stone-grey hair hung down in her face, tied at the side and back of her head very loosely, to the point where it was almost pointless to have it tied in the first place.

Though she couldn't see where she was going, those faint golden eyes flit about curiously still, thin lips pursing anxiously over needle-like teeth. This cave was unfamiliar, to be sure - She had no real need to enter it before, though she'd passed it once or twice.. And being unfamiliar with it as she is, it's no wonder she doesn't notice the sudden drop before her, and the underground portion of the cavern echoes with a sharp, feminine shriek as she tumbles down, landing flat on her face with her legs hanging up above her head, before she slowly tips forward and flops on her back, quite dazed.



"..Uhh... Ghh.."

Not but a slim moment had passed before something stirred deeper within the corridor. The tunnel took a sharp left turn some twenty feet beyond where the female lay. From around that corner, a low yellow glow then a glimmer of firelight, but small like a candles'. Carrying the source, a carved horn oil lamp, was a being not unlike Qannik in size. His shuffling steps were inaudible with the din of blizzard howling outside, except for the periodic peck of a walking stick hitting the stone floor.

The weathered, gray bearded face of Plim's was well lit, held just behind and above the lamp. Two amber eyes narrowed at Qannik over the flame, ceasing to take a short glance at the wall behind her. Handholds and footholds had been carved into the steep bank of the cave entryway. His head inclined further as he peered up at the dim white light filtering in from above. For a better look at the intruder, Plim shuffled a few steps further. He raised the lantern to take the glare of flame from his eyes and peered down at the messy pile of wanderer.



"Gather yourself up."

By the time he'd actually made it over to her after his careful investigation from a distance, Qannik was making an attempt to sit up, despite the fact that the room hadn't yet stopped spinning. Slender fingers held her face, and her tail inevitably ended up curling up between her legs, around her waist. It wasn't until a moment after that when she finally took notice of the light, and not a moment after that when the male spoke.

Skittish, of course, she hastily scrambled up to her feet, golden eyes searching about for her spear - And she found it was closer to he, than it was she. Worse yet, her compass was tied right onto the end of it. A scowl was given toward the man, although not intentionally - Her voice was much softer than the stink eye she was giving him.

"Who are you?" She pressed with the haste of youth, "What happened? Did you hit me?"

The elder leered and shook his head. "Is that some sort of joke? You fell, stupid." he hoarsely shouted, swinging his cane up and down at the wall behind her, tracing the trajectory he thought she had followed down. His amber eyes rolled and his head led the rest of him as he turned away from her. The lamplight suddenly haloed his silhouette.

"Follow me, if you want to live." Jokes aside, he said that nothing like Arnold. He stated it plainly as an order, followed by a justifying fact. He didn't wait for her, or didn't seem to. The shuffling steps carried him slowly back into the tunnel where he came. Slowly and surely his tail would finally disappear around the corner of the tunnel, dragging lazily with age.

A touch of red reaches her cheeks at that - She'd slid back skittishly as he raised his cane, expecting some sort of attack.. But rather, she notes how he's motioning toward something, and she turns, peering up at the hand and foot holds carved into the stone.

Qannik blinks several times, and her tail drops against the ground. "..Oh." Well.. That was embarrassing. Before she knows it, he's ordering her to follow and he's shuffling off - And.. Well, let's face it. She is not going back out in that blizzard. She steps forward, picking up her spear, at which point she hops forward to follow closely behind.

"I am sorry. But who are you?"

His shuffling continued on ahead of her. He almost turned his head to look at her, but did not. A sniff echoed through the chamber as he cleared his cold nostrils.

"Don't apologize. You've no reason to know me. I am called Plim. I just live here, and you're lucky enough that I didn't dispose of you before you became awares."

Ahead, the rocky walls gave way to an old, wooden archway. Furs and skins were hastily lashed together with no more than two layers in any given part, then hung across the entryway, reaching the floor easily. With a slender hand, he pushed the 'door' aside, and scooted closer to the wall himself. Within, a fire burned, and the crude furnishings of his home could be seen.

Unlike he not paying much attention to her, Qannik stared holes into the back of his head as they went along. His gait, the way his tail moved--or lacked movement--and occasionally the walls she watched, holding her spear close to her hide-covered chest, tail perking up vividly behind her with every pebble or bump of the cave floor it touched.


And then, coming through the old looking arch with a makeshift door, Qannik blinked several times and passed through after him, mumbling something quietly about 'busy hunting' in regards to the door.

"I am Qannik," She replied quietly whilst looking toward Plim, "I thank you for that. It was not my wish to intrude on another's home, but I had no choice. The Blizzard outside is simply too great."