Room 2 - Miu's Den

[Chiyako]

This place. It is off.

As someone used to surviving in the wilderness Miu was more than capable of understanding just how far she'd traveled, even without the assistance of landmarks. This structure that she had entered was too big. The floor was hard. Cold. Clean and devoid of any life. It was all very unnatural. She had been in buildings before. That she remembered. None had ever come close to the size of this one. There were too many doorways, and so far every single one appeared to be locked. She had checked each as she passed.

After what felt like an hour the scent on her key led her to a specific doorway. It appeared to look like every other one, the only difference being the number. Such a thing was foreign to her, and yet for some reason she understood it. It meant two and, more importantly, was made of the same material her key was made of. After sniffing the key she leaned in closer to the door, sniffing along the seams. It matched. She tried the door and found it locked. After a few moments of considering a way in she raised the key and set it into a hole located just above the knob. A slow turn led to a click near the door knob. When she tried it again Miu discovered that it was open.

Key. It is called a key.

Fur rose along the length of her tail and body tensed as the door swung inwards to reveal something which should not have been here: a cave. Not some filthy damp thing devoid of any signs of life, rather it was something which felt familiar. Warm. Soft dirt floors covered with various prey hides, enough that a person could comfortably walk around without ever having to step foot upon the natural floor. Looted crates and barrels were stacked on one side near a flattened block of stone. A preparation station for food. On the other side sat a crackling fire set partially into the ground, around which were situated wood and hide seats. The room itself was lit by torches stuck into crevices. Despite the multiple fires there appeared not to be any lingering smoke, at least not enough that it choked the throat.

This shouldn't be here. What is this place?

She turned towards the door expecting to see an exit to the cave, only to find the other side of the doorway covered with a stone much like that found within the walls and ceiling, the only difference being a silver doorknob and a key hole. After shutting the door she returned her gaze inwards and ventured deeper past the room and into a thinner passage, one which looped around in a cresant shape. Here the torches became more sporadic, softly glowing shrooms trailing along the bottom edges of the tunnel in order to light up the darker regions. While she moved through it cautiously it would have taken only a few seconds to pass through if she weren't on guard.

The next chamber was even larger. There were more crates and barrels, even a chest and a pilfered desk with a small mirror. In the center of the room was a massive circular bed. Stone kept it elevated off the ground. On that was a bed of straw, then feathers, and then finally a stitched together hide covering which was tied into notches made in the stone. This kept everything contained and offered more comfort. Atop this were thrown multiple hides and furs for extra warmth, or just a more comfortable surfaces during the warmer seasons. For winter there were slots cut into the bottom of the stone platform, and in these slots small fires were set in order to heat the stone. Like the previous room much of the floor was covered in an array of animal hides.

Bed. Stuff. My stuff?

As she made her way over to check out the contents of a barrel Miu found her attention stolen away by a painting on the wall. It had been made using someone's fingers and what she had guessed were the juices of some sort of plant, perhaps a berry, mixed with ash. She peered in closer at the face upon the wall, only to recoil in terror when a more vivid picture of the face flashed within her mind. They were in pain. Wounded. Dying, even. And they were smiling.

Who?!? What?

Miu stepped away and closed her eyes, hands moving up to rub against her face. It was something she should have remembered, and yet she couldn't. Perhaps she didn't want to. Thankfully as she moved her hands away and opened her eyes again the little wolf spotted another passageway. There was more to explore. That would keep her mind off painful things, and so she made her way forth through yet another passage. This one was far shorter and instead of curving in a cresant shape it was more akin to a snake's winding body. There was no dirt floor, only hard clean stone. Before she reached the next chamber she understood what it was.

Bath! Water!

Steam and heat washed over her as she continued forward into the bathing chamber. While a couple of torches sat near the entrance to the chamber the rest of it was lit up by a rounded wall and ceiling covered by softly glowing blue-green moss and vibrant glowing pink mushrooms. The moss continued into the large open springs itself, lighting up the interior. Flatter rocks along the edges acted as seats, with longer moss covered slabs of stone offering something closer to a sofa or a bench, and higher stone slabs useful for setting out clothes. The pool itself was large enough that a series of small boulders offered a smaller more private section.

Making her way over, Miu settled down on hands and knees, sniffing at the water. A hand dipped in to scoop some out, and after another sniff test she took a sip. It was clean, probably thanks to the moss. She couldn't exactly hunt here but she could at least bathe and, if need be, drink from the springs. Of course one could simply relax here too, something she was actually quite familiar with.

This home is not bad. My home.

Standing to her feet Miu shook her hands and then rubbed them upon her tunic, hoping to dry them off as best she could. As much as she'd like to stay and take a dip Miu understood that scouting out her surroundings was always important. She could return here when she so desired. After adding her key onto the necklace of bones she returned to the first chamber and exited from her den, making certain to lock it behind herself.