pleasantsurprise | gently introductory spelunking

"I have found," Kanim announces to the small princesses (although they are getting taller) at their next group lesson with him, "a cave that I think even Carinna will like. It has not the least bit of hazard or inconvenience anywhere in it. It's very small, we'll probably be able to see all of it this afternoon, and it doesn't have a name yet as far as I can see, so we can pick something to call it while we're there."

"What is in it? Caves always have hazards and inconveniences," says Carinna warily.

"Harmless plants and creatures," Kanim says, "two springs, attractive crystal formations, a small maze, things like that - I will leave the specifics to be discovered, it's more fun that way, don't you think?"

"I think so," agrees Kiawen. "As long as you're sure Carinna won't be bothered!"

"Quite sure," says Kanim, "and if she is bothered we can always nip her out of there, it doesn't distort space or anything tricky like that."

"Okay," says Carinna decisively, "then I guess we can go to it."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Glow glow whmmmmmmm.

Kanim doesn't make any other relevant discoveries on this trip.

The next time, he has a look at the springs. Not their surroundings - their water.

The blueberry water tastes like blueberry, and the cucumber water tastes like cucumber.

But there's a little bit of extra magic to both of them. Magic that seems to interact somehow with being drunk from.

He drinks some blueberry water thoughtfully.

It tastes like blueberry! It is pleasant and refreshing.

He puts a dish of blueberry water in the middle of the cave, away from the spring's usual location, and also a dish of ordinary, unflavored water.

Over the course of a few minutes, several creatures come up to him. Some of them want cuddles. Some of them drink from the blueberry dish.

A single piano bear sticks its nose in the unflavoured-water dish, tastes the water, meeps, and then goes and drinks from the other one instead.

Hmm.

The next time he is at the cave, he brings some lemon and some lime flavored water from rivers of these flavors.

A few creatures drink from those, but not very much - they seem to enjoy the flavour, but need water from the local springs to properly quench their thirst.

Hmmmmm.

He puts a bowl of blueberry water outside the cave exit, and waits.

After about an hour, a foxball with a glowing, whmmming poof sitting on its head trundles out of the cave. The foxball drinks from the bowl. The poof drops off its head and has some too. Then the foxball fishes the poof out of the bowl and trundles back into the cave.

Interesting.

He moves the bowl about a foot father away. He sits outside the cave and waits.

A troop of three poofs ventures past the edge of the cave, bumping into each other as they navigate the unfamiliar terrain. They have to use each other as stepping-stones to hop into the bowl and drink, but when the first two have had enough, they roll out and let the last one hop up onto them to get in.

Kanim keeps the bowl full, and keeps moving it farther and farther away from the cave entrance.

By the time it's a good ten feet away, most of the creatures have stopped coming...

...but that first foxball, with its friend the poof still sitting on its head, trundles out to the original location and sniffs around, then goes right up to the bowl and has a drink.

Innnnnteresting.

He stops moving it. He wants to see if anything will be lured to stay out of the cave.

The next time that foxball comes out, it has two more poofs riding on its back. All four creatures drink from the bowl.

Kanim is kind of impressed by the foxball's carrying capacity.

He adds a cucumber bowl, farther from the blueberry one.

The next time the foxball comes out, it's back to its original number of friends.

It drinks from both bowls, then plops its head onto Kanim's foot and goes to sleep. Either it or the poof sitting on its head accompanies this activity with a snuffly little snore.

It is welcome to stay there till Kanim has to make refills.

It naps for a little while, then wakes up and attempts to snuggle his shoe.

His shoe isn't very snuggly.

It is not! The foxball gives up and snuggles its poofy friend instead.

With this and further informed observations, Kanim concludes that the water is the only special cave thing the Gentle Creatures require, and determines that it will be quite possible for the girls to keep Gentle Pets if they routinely fetch both kinds of water or just produce it at home. A divided spring which will do each kind costs a pentagon.

Tanalin would like to go and get a fluffbat immediately!

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