A flurry of sharp ice crystals blew across Lily's face as she plodded through the ankle-high snow, the whirling white mist glittering in the hazy orange light of the setting sun as it got caught in her green fur. The slugcat's thick pelt could only do so much against the bone-chilling cold, however, as her breath froze the moment it left her muzzle, her lips and lungs aching with every inhale, and her feet were numb from the endless slog across the icy, windswept wastes.

Fortunately, the blizzard hadn't gotten any worse yet. The winds were harsh but manageable, and a sole lantern in her stomach provided just enough heat to keep her moving while she searched for shelter in the fading light of day. Unfortunately, the calm weather also coaxed the frigid wasteland's predators out of their hiding, as the silhouettes of vultures swirled above the snowy lands in the distance, and the metallic clattering of their even deadlier siblings sent horrifying shivers down her spine.

At least, the flying scissor birds were huge and noisy, easy to spot unlike the countless other clawed and armored monstrosities that roamed the area, some of them hiding in plain sight and ready to strike before she had any time to react. Lizards, centipedes, dropwigs, and even giant furred spiders with an excruciating poison had ambushed her before, over and over again, and it had taken countless cycles until she had found a path that was safe from these predators. Even if that very path led her across open terrain and pools of freezing water, left her exposed to the vultures and elements, the fewer crevices there were for nasty creatures to hide in, the better her chances of getting beyond these wastes.

Right now, though, the furred slugcat had to find shelter before the cold claimed her, but navigating the snow-covered plains was easier said than done. The paths she had walked before and the ways she had never tried blurred together in the blinding white, and it didn't help that she was growing tired and hungry from the grueling trek. The point to turn around and try again on the next cycle had long passed, too.

Not that Lily could return to where she came from anyway. There was no way she would go through that icy hell ever again, especially since her destination was clearly in sight. Two colossal constructs of dark gray and glossy black loomed on the horizon, tempting her, calling her cycle after cycle, and she wouldn't stop until she reached them.

Unfortunately, the towering buildings were still miles away, and after the sun had set, they were shrouded in an impenetrable, suffocating wall of dark clouds. Within minutes, the winds picked up as well, and the whizzing blur of snowflakes thickened to turn her green coat a pale white until she struggled to see even just the ground below her feet. Not even regurgitating her lantern helped. The dim light of her only source of warmth hardly pierced through the tumultuous darkness while the dropping temperatures sapped all heat from her body. This wasn't merely a biting cold anymore, but a deadly chill that gnawed at her toes and fingers, her limbs and tail stiffening up until pure stubbornness alone carried her forward in jerky, steps.

Minutes before the forlorn slugcat succumbed to the elements, a large, blurry silhouette emerged from the tumultuous storm, kindling the flicker of determination in her chest. Whatever this was, if it contained a shelter — or even just an enclosed, wind-protected nook — it would finally end an ordeal that had lasted so many cycles she had lost count. 

Step by step, ever closer, Lily already stretched out an arm, reaching for the shaded construct with trembling fingers only to trip over her own frozen feet. Her senses were so dulled by now that she barely even registered the fall, and where her legs refused to get her back up, she continued to crawl for as long as she could.

A few feet perhaps, she didn't get much further before not even her sheer desperation could keep her moving, every breath an agonizing struggle. Worse still, something moved in the corners of her eyes, and if it wasn't the cold that claimed her, it would be whatever waited for her in the shadows. Resigning to her fate, she closed her eyes and breathed out for the last time this cycle.

Just a second later, a radiant shine supplanted the abyssal, icy darkness, swaddling Lily in an unreal but comforting warmth as if large, invisible paws were embracing and lifting her up. As she rose from the frozen soil, she was soon immersed in an ocean of silhouettes, some of them closer and others farther away but all of them moving alongside her. A few shapes resembled slugcats, just like her, glowing white raindrops swimming through a vast nothingness, whereas others were formed like lizards or scavengers, elongated or spherical. From the smallest critters to the largest nightmares, they all ascended beside her.

Was their destination the same? Looking around, the furred slugcat was interrupted by the thumping of a distant drum. The primal sound soon grew into more, unfurling into a melody of unknown instruments that blended in dissonant harmonies and an ethereal, unending song that guided her motions and thoughts to the radiant light above. Its source, however, wasn't just a featureless disk like the sun, but a wheel with four spokes, a radiant cross that burnt itself into her eyes like an exploding flashbang.

Eventually, the dazzling light faded, but the ringing afterglow remained even as Lily's mind dropped back into the darkness. The strange symbol still permeated her defenseless subconsciousness, and the sensation even persisted when she eventually awoke from her involuntary rest, the imprint of the golden wheel lingering on her retinas for another few minutes.

Instead of pointing the way to the two gargantuan constructs on the horizon, the marking revealed something much closer and much more alive for once as Lily gazed at the horned, silver-rimmed mask of a tall gray scavenger, a necklace of pearls blinking around his neck.

The scavenger returned the slugcat's gaze from inquisitive golden eyes, and if she hadn't been weakened from her troubled rest, she would've jumped up and dashed away, but instead, she only flinched and huddled back against the wall, whispering shakily, "Who are you? Why are you in my shelter?"

"Your shelter? What shelter are you talking about, fluffy green droplet? You're in my cabin," the male asked in a gentle voice, gesturing at the space around him, then at himself "Or rather, in my tribe's homestead. Also, I am Seven Deft Hands, Glittering Puddle, but call me Yamiri."

Lily blinked in confusion, but she couldn't help but notice that the interior was more spacious than any shelter she had been in, large enough to host a dozen slugcats. The massive concrete walls were adorned with colorful, intricately interwoven tapestries of sturdy thread, and thanks to the countless lanterns on the walls and ceiling, the room was doused in warm, honeyed light. It was comfortably warm, too, as an enclosed fire in the back spread a radiant heat. Moreover, she was surrounded by crude shelves and make-shift cabinets crammed with food, loose and threaded pearls, pieces of sharpened rebar, and dried plant matter, indicating that this was a merchant's den.

Even the floor was covered in rugs, and the slugcat herself was wrapped in several layers of thick, silky textile, her head resting on a plush pillow. "H-how did I get here? This never happened before," she stammered, only to start wiggling out of her precious bed. "Anyway, I didn't mean to intrude on your home. I'll be leaving right away…"

"No, it's fine. You're not intruding, and I would know because I brought you here."

"W-wait, you brought me here? From where? Why? How?"

Yamiri raised his hands and chuckled, "One thing at a time, droplet. I found you out in the snow, next to the foundations of this building. The blizzard was already pretty bad, but I decided to climb down and check on you. Luckily you were still breathing a little, so I picked you up and moved you here."

Lily nodded slowly and rubbed her shaking arms. So she had survived? That would explain her miserable state, as her current body was still suffering from a whole cycle of struggling. Yet, the certainty that she had finally crossed a large section of the icy wastelands brought a smile to her muzzle. "But why did you save me?"

"Because I've heard about you from the others, traveler. They've told tales of a mysterious benefactor who roamed the lands beyond the desolate fields and blessed the tribes with pearls, and you fit their description to a T, so you must be them, right?" the scavenger wondered, looking at her with curious eyes.

The slugcat returned the gaze in a mix of surprise and budding indignation. All this time, the scavengers had taken her pearls but never bothered to mention that they knew of a path across the wastes? Then again, she had never asked them because she never dared to stay near any of these deadly, terrifyingly coordinated creatures for longer than absolutely necessary, meaning that the scavenger sitting cross-legged in front of her was closer to her than any before him. Finally nodding at him, she replied, "Yes, that's me, but you can call me Lily. I'm very thankful that you saved me, but if you expect a pearl as compensation, I unfortunately cannot give one to you. I have nothing on me but my paws and fur."

"I know, and that's fine. I do not expect any compensation at all," Yamiri chuckled, pointing at the glittering riches on his neck and spread across the cabin. "No, the honor to rescue and host you is compensation enough, fluffy benefactor Lily, and I wouldn't be surprised if a fair share of my pearls have come from you. Besides, helping you means even more pearls in the future." Rubbing his hands, he got up and moved over to the crude oven, picking up a dented can to pour scalding hot water into a pair of cups. Sprinkling them with a handful of dried leaves, he raised one with a smile, "That said, would you like some tea?"

"Tea?"

"Hot water with delicious leaves to keep your belly warm and happy. There's no better cure against the cold," he explained, offering the steaming cup to Lily.

The slugcat accepted the tea with a raised brow, but her reservations melted away the moment she took a whiff of the curious brew. Its rich herbal scent convinced her to give it a try, but she regretted the decision immediately, hissing as she dipped her tongue into the hot liquid.

"Please, mind the heat! Don't burn yourself," Yamiri laughed and put his own cup onto a three-legged stool, letting it cool while he reached for a piece of textile on the floor. Two rusty needles were stuck in the tubular cloth, a string running down from them to a whole bundle of thread, and unlike the tapestries, its purpose left Lily stumped, even more so when he took the needles and began to stick them in and out of the fabric with rhythmic clicks.

After watching the scavenger for a mesmerized minutes, Lily finally blurted out, "What are you doing there? What is that?"

"This? Oh, I'm just knitting an overcoat for our scout," the male muttered, occupied with weaving the strands of colorful yarn.

"Knitting? I've never seen a scavenger do anything like that. Where did you learn it?"

"I learned it from my mother, and she learned it from her father. We've been doing this for generations, and it's a great way to pass the time while the others are out and about."

When the merchant mentioned the rest of his tribe, the slugcat suddenly shivered. Staying close to one of these tall, furred beings was fine now that she had gotten to know him a little, but she wasn't ready nor willing to share the cabin with a whole dozen or more of them, especially since the others sounded like the rougher, more dangerous variety. "Are they going to come back soon?"

"Oh, no. They left about an hour ago when the sun rose and they likely won't be back until the blizzard kicks up again."

"I see," Lily muttered and stared at her steaming cup of tea. With a cautious flick of her tongue, she confirmed that it had reached a drinkable temperature, but it was still warm enough that every gulp filled her with the heat of a dozen lanterns, and she savored the reinvigorating warmth with a deep sigh as it banished the remaining cold from her limbs. "Ah, you're right. This tea is amazing."

"I told you, there's nothing better to warm you up in the cold," the scavenger nodded, only to look up and tilt his head in confusion as the slugcat slipped out of her bedroll and headed right toward the exit. "Hold up, where are you going?"

Lily paused her step. "Out. You said that the cycle has just begun, so I better get going to make the most of it."

"But… but are you sure you want to carry on already? Don't you think you should rest for a little while longer?"

Glancing back at the comfy nest of pillows and blankets, the slugcat briefly humored the suggestion, but the moment she imagined a dozen big, inconsiderate scavengers crowding this room, she grimaced and shook her head. "No, I need to move on while I'm warm and the weather is nice."

"Where are you even going?"

"I- I don't really know. Somewhere over to those two big buildings on the horizon."

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

Lily blankly stared at the wall, the golden, four-spoked wheel still in the back of her head. "Something is calling me here, dreams upon dreams guiding me forward. I'm not sure why they are happening, but I won't find any rest until I find out. I can't," she admitted, earning an even more perplexed look from Yamiri.

"Dreams? Dreams have led you through the frozen wastes?"

"Yes, and I think I'm finally getting closer to unraveling this, so I really got to go now. Farewell and thank you so much for the tea and everything, Yamiri," the slugcat took her leave with a final wave.

"I… uhh… I see… Farewell then, green droplet Lily, and take care…" Yamiri stammered, returning the wave as Lily slipped into the narrow entrance, making her way back into the frozen, snowy cold with replenished energy and a belly full of hot tea.

———————————————————————————————————————

With the vast frozen wastes conquered, Lily was closer to her destination than ever, but the last stretch proved to be the toughest by far. Not even the narrow chasms and crumbling ruins she had encountered on her way had harbored such a great number and variety of wildlife, as the region ahead was teeming with hungry lizards, bouncing yeeks, and skittering arthropods that stubbornly defied the biting cold. In some places, even the ground itself was alive, covered in red and black patches of wormy, wriggling grass that grasped for her with mindless, insatiable hunger.

Yet, the furred slugcat wouldn't let up, especially because her dreams had become even more vivid since she arrived in this area. A strange, palpable energy vibrated in the air and a polyphonic thrumming rang in her ears whenever she slipped out of her resting spot. Someone was calling for her, and she was almost able to make out individual words in the distance. If it weren't for the countless creatures and natural traps on the way, she would've already reached the origin of the sounds. Instead, she had to dodge gnashing teeth and deadly claws, as seemingly no one cared about the distracting sounds, not even the roaming groups of scavengers picking up on the ethereal signal.

But with a clear goal in mind, it was only a matter of time and determination until Lily located the call's mysterious source. Ultimately, her quest led her to the entrance of a half-decayed drainage tower amid an array of wormgrass, and as she approached it, the ever-present whirling flurry of snow suddenly calmed. The area around her, usually teeming with infighting lizards, noisy squidcadas, and noodleflies, had become empty and peaceful, and not even a lone vulture lost itself among the innumerable black brick pillars protruding from the swaying, gluttonous vegetation. The whistling winds faded into a remote whisper, and even the vast swaths of wormgrass succumbed to an incomprehensible daze, grazing her thighs and tail in an almost affectionate caress as she dashed through it.

It was almost as if unrelenting nature finally rewarded the traveler's persistence, granting her a moment of peace as she was about to face the origin of all her dreams and nightmares. The final stretch of her journey led her up a tight, narrow tube to the top of the tower, and even before she reached its end, the same melody that pervaded her slumber echoed in her ears, glittering golden flakes enveloping her like Yamiri's warm, soft blankets to relieve her from the harrowing cold.

Upon reaching the exit, Lily was greeted by a strange orb floating in the soft, velvety darkness, a vast, misshapen shadow rather than a being of flesh and blood. Long, flat ribbons emerged from its core, fluttering and swaying in the air like a jellyfish's tentacles in calm water, each paneled with glittering gold leaves that dazzled her with the reflections of an unseen sun. Amidst the drifting ornaments, a tapered cone suddenly turned toward her as she peeked her head out of the tunnel, gazing at her from a hundred golden, unblinking diamonds with an expression of boundless longing and unfathomable despair. 

With no mouth or muzzle, the air around the little green slugcat itself began to vibrate as the otherworldly being addressed her in a voice of a dozen grafted instruments, a cacophony of bells, chimes, horns, and strings merging into a whisper quieter, yet more powerful than the wind.

Why is it?
This long forgotten place beckons me, drawn by a certain presence…
The fields here are not as I remember. Too much has changed.
But, by forfeiting familiarities, perhaps something new is gained?
Despite all, this site still has not revealed the entirety of its secrets.
Perhaps that is the reason for my continued imprisonment.

Musing about a world long gone, talking to itself with seemingly little regard to its visitor, its words resonated with Lily nevertheless, reverberating in her mind like a powerful tremor to shake off the dust and dirt from memories yet unthought. In its meandering serenade, the echo shared its secrets from a world long gone, instilling its longing in the slugcat until her heart twisted at the thought of never experiencing the Farm Arrays as they once had been, warm and gentle, unlike its desolate husk. And where she couldn't relive her life as A Bell, Eighteen Amber Beads, its desire for the unknown, unexperienced secrets of this dilapidated, frost-ridden world still gripped her at her very core.

Perched on the ground before the shadowy idol, the slugcat kept listening for what felt like the rest of time itself. Hours passed, if not entire cycles as the being ensnared her in its tales, leaving her unable to break away as there was no end or beginning to any of it, just an endlessly meandering string of thought that only ceased when she grew too exhausted to keep on thinking, drifting off to sleep without noticing.

When the slugcat woke up again, she did notice that she wasn't on top of the pillar anymore, but inside a narrow, clammy shelter barely large enough to house her. However, instead of facing the physical burden of another failed cycle, every last fiber of her fur brimmed with fresh energy, a faint golden shine tinging the green of her fur in the light. Moreover, the echo had blessed her with a night without nightmares and an almost imperceptible thread toward two of its brethren, the promise of more secrets and knowledge to satisfy her boosted curiosity.

Emboldened by the encounter, Lily shuffled out of the shelter and confidently set foot on the soft, powdery snow, embarking on her way toward the closest of the other two echoes. The path would doubtlessly be as treacherous as the one that had led her to A Bell, Eighteen Amber Beads, littered with more pitfalls and predators. However, now that she not only knew where to go, but also what to expect, neither giant venomous spiders nor frosty winds could break her spirit. Peering into the distance with one paw above her eyes, a hopeful smile rested on her muzzle for the second time since Yamiri had rescued her.

Her mirth wasn't meant to last, however, as a bone-chilling cry froze her smile like the nightly blizzard. It sounded like a scavenger in trouble, and the voice was awfully familiar, conjuring the image of a dainty, silver-banded mask and lustrous golden eyes into her mind. Was she hearing Yamiri? What was he doing out here, so far from his cabin? Whirling around without another thought, the slugcat dashed toward the distress call, and she soon reached the ledge of a chasm between two of the snow-buried, derelict buildings that seamed the rim of the Desolate Fields. 

Using her long tongue to swing across frozen, rusty steel girders jutting from the walls, the slugcat eventually spotted the scavenger at the dead end of a wide corridor, and it was indeed her savior Yamiri. Backed against the cold, withered concrete, his yellow eyes wide in horror, he was clutching a single piece of sharpened rebar in his trembling throwing hand and a brick in the other while three yellow lizards slowly encroached upon his position. Two on the ground, the other on the ceiling above, they hissed and snarled at him with bared teeth and slavering muzzles.

Yamiri managed to stun his attackers with a panicked throw at the largest of them, chipping off a piece from the alpha's armored head, but with that, his last proper weapon was gone and the reptiles still had him cornered, the chance of him escaping the predicament deteriorating rapidly. Lily had to intervene now even though she had no weapons either. But while she wasn't strong enough to toss a spear like a scavenger, there was just enough space in this corridor to make use of her tongue. She just mustn't make any mistake. 

Landing at the entrance, the furred slugcat grabbed a sharp rock and yelled at the top of her lungs, "Hey! Look at me!" before she launched herself at the lizard on the ceiling, tossing it right at the hindpaws.

A powerful quiver rippled through the yellow reptile as the object connected and knocked it off balance. With a perplexed snarl, it lost grip and toppled down, landing right on the smaller of its companions. Dazed by the sudden impact, it whirled around only to entangle itself with the other lizard in a struggling, thrashing ball of limbs and hisses.

The leader of the group barely batted an eye at the disruption, however, reprimanding the quarreling lizards with a harsh growl while it kept all of its attention focused on the shaking scavenger. Step by step, it crawled closer with its gaze glued to the brick in Yamiri's hand, the last obstacle between it and a delicious meal. But if it refused to acknowledge Lily's presence, she just had to force it to respond to her. With another flick of her long, prehensile tongue, she swung herself across the squabbling reptiles to drop right onto their alpha, slapping the back of its armored head with both paws.

The limber green slugcat was too weak to actually harm the massive, sturdy predator, but it didn't know that yet, so it instinctively reared up to throw her off. Anticipating that reaction, Lily beat the lizard to it and launched herself into the air. She then latched onto the ceiling with her tongue once more to dangle herself right above the hungry creature, so when it finally turned around to check on its attacker, it only got to see her hanging above it like a juicy, delicious treat. Almost instantly, the fear and anger in its eyes made way for a ravenous sparkle, and it greedily lunged into the air, biting at her tail with a blood-curdling snap.

The trick was to stay low enough that the yellow lizard kept thinking it could get her, but while Lily managed to suspend herself at just the right height, she soon had more than just one hungry muzzle to deal with. Antennae raised and trembling, the alpha informed its companions of the delicious morsel, which disentangled them in no time, and before long, she was surrounded by all three of them, saving Yamiri by putting herself into his predicament. At least, the predators were now distracted from the defenseless scavenger, so if there would ever be an opening, it was now.

"Yamiwi! Wun!" the slugcat screamed as best she could with her tongue wrapped up in the situation.

Frozen in horror, the scavenger stared at her and the lizards with huge eyes, his fingers clenched into fists he watched the hungry predators getting closer and closer to her, their teeth already grazing her pelt.

"You hawe wu wun!" Lily wasn't sure if Yamiri understood her as she talked with her tongue out, but the sheer desperation in her voice finally shook him out of his daze. Hastily, he threw his brick at the lizards and lunged forward, seizing the momentary distraction to jump over one of their tails and scramble to the exit of the corridor. A muffled thud reached Lily's ears as he presumably jumped off the edge and hopefully into a pile of soft snow below, but her relief over his escape was limited as one of the yellow beasts realized that it might be more effective to snap at her tongue instead of trying to get a hold of her in the air.

The furred slugcat only barely managed to retract her prehensile muscle in time, accidentally smacking herself across the face when she inevitably plummeted onto the alpha right below her. Fortunately, it wasn't prepared to catch her as she dropped right onto its closed muzzle, its teeth briefly grazing her side when it fell over with a stunned grunt. Its slip-up granted her just enough time to get up and stumble off of its body, flopping onto the ground before its pack mate could snatch her, and with a desperate leap forward, she narrowly escaped a whizzing swipe of its claw before she stumbled after the scavenger's tracks toward the edge, hurtling into the chasm without looking back.

By the time Lily caught up with Yamiri on the other end of the buildings, the adrenaline was still pumping in her veins. "That was way too close," she gasped, bracing herself against the wall as she cast a quick glance around. At least for now, she didn't spot a hint of yellow or any other color among the snow and rubble. The reptiles hadn't bothered to give chase to them. "I already felt their teeth on my tail."

The scavenger sat perched beside her with one hand on his pounding heart, the other fidgeting with his pearl necklace. Speaking no word, he just peered at her with his big golden eyes, lost between awe and shock. A small eternity passed before he regained his voice, still a shaky, feeble whisper, "Y-you saved me, green droplet Lily. T-thank you, if it hadn't been for you…"

"Oh, don't mention it, Yamiri. I'm always happy to cheat those yellow criminals out of a meal, and besides, it's only fair after you saved me from the cold," the slugcat chuckled, smiling at the cowering scavenger. "Although, what are you even doing here all on your own? It's quite a trip to your home from here, isn't it?"

"Well…" Yamiri smacked his lips, abashedly pawing at the snow as he averted his gaze from Lily. Hemming and hawing for a few seconds, he finally admitted, "When I watched you leave, so determined and fearless, whenever I heard the others of my tribe talk about you in the last few cycles, exploring these lands all on your own, I thought to myself… if someone so small and… delicate can do this, maybe I'll be able to take a quick trip around as well. Just a short foray to replenish my reserves with some frozen berries and perhaps find a stray pearl or two…"

Small and delicate? Frail and vulnerable. He certainly wasn't wrong with his assessment, though. "And what brought you here?"

"The blizzard came early yesterday. It hit me while I was still out and about, and when I finally made it to a shelter, I was completely lost. I've been walking around all day, trying to find the way back or at least spot a scout of my tribe, but instead, I just ended up meeting those three yellow lizards," the scavenger murmured with a heavy sigh before he looked at Lily with a wry grin. "At least I now know why you were so confident. I didn't know that you were this nimble, dancing circles around those beasts with that… long thing. What even was that?"

"Oh, you mean this?" With a smirk, the green slugcat parted her muzzle and darted out her tongue, launching it at a branch of frozen blue berries that hung from a crack in the wall.

"Is… is that…"

Breaking off the branch with a crack, Lily reeled her tongue back in and grabbed her catch. "My tongue? Yes, that's my tongue, and it's a pretty nifty tool," she chirped, taking off one of the fruit to offer it to the scavenger. "Here."

Still staring at the slugcat, Yamiri took the berry and whispered, "Impressive. You've got a tongue like a white lizard."

"Kind of, but my tongue is even better than that because those lizards can't really do this," Lily giggled and shot out her tongue again, this time latching it onto what was left of the branch to pull herself up into the air. Hovering in front of the scavenger, the smile on her muzzle grew even wider as she had never really been able to show off this skill. His praise and awed reaction was exciting, and it got even better when she swung herself from side to side, his jaw dropping with an audible gasp while she demonstrated everything her tongue could do.

"Wow. This is incredible," Yamiri replied, shuffling closer before he cautiously raised his hand and reached for her tongue, his fingers moving within an inch of the slender pink strip.

His curiosity was just as apparent as his amazement, and without thinking twice, Lily let go of the branch and coiled her prehensile tongue around the scavenger's fingers instead. "How's that?"

"I-it's pretty slippery and not very warm. C-can… can you taste me right now?" he wondered, carefully curling and stretching his hand in her tongue's embrace.

The slugcat gave the scavenger's hand another playful tug, then she let go and shook her head. "No, I can't taste much of anything with the tip. In fact, most of my tongue is pretty insensitive and tough, and it grows back too if necessary," she explained before she stuffed one of the frozen berries into her mouth, stowing it in her cheek to let it thaw. "I just taste with the rest of my mouth instead."

"Uh-huh," Yamiri muttered, only to stagger as a fierce gust of icy wind almost blew him over. "Oh dear, it's getting late and uncomfortable. I think I should keep going and find a shelter before the blizzard returns. Thank you again, Lily, for saving me from my own… stupidity."

"You're welcome, Yamiri. Now, lead the way," Lily replied, expectantly tilting her head.

"Wait, you want to tag along? But… but your dreams, don't you need to move on?" the scavenger stammered.

Throwing a glance into the hazy, icy distance, toward the echoes ahead, the slugcat shrugged and shook her head. They would still be there on the next cycle, sleeplessly waiting for her, but it took only a single ambush to spell Yamiri's demise, and she didn't want to have saved him from the jaws of death for nothing. "Honestly, those dreams can wait. Right now, I think it's best if we team up because we both need to find food and a hibernation shelter, and two sets of eyes are better than one around these parts."

Yamiri sheepishly scratched his mask, then he nodded. "S-sure, that sounds reasonable. Let's go, then."

Unsurprisingly, Lily couldn't maintain her usual pace now that the scavenger was following her, and she spent more than a few moments perched upon a stake or ledge, but the slowdown wasn't entirely unwelcome. Watching over Yamiri, not unlike a vulture over its prey, she not only got to spot threats and hazards before they could become dangerous to them, evading another group of four hungry yellow lizards before they could lock on, but the moments of pause also helped her develop a strange appreciation for the desolate landscape, blanketed by glittering snow and ice. With towering constructs of a civilization long gone surrounding them, she couldn't help but wonder what secrets they held. What had the ancients been doing here that required such monumental efforts? The glimpses she had caught from A Bell, Eighteen Amber Beads's stream of memories only stoked her curiosity further. Was this why she was here? Called to learn from those long gone?

Idly gazing at the two largest buildings in the distance, the scavenger's voice snapped her out of her pondering. "Here." Standing on the ground below her, the furred male held out a pair of blue fruit. "Have these, I found some more on the way."

"Thanks. Anything else you found?" she asked, dropping down next to Yamiri to take his offer and pop both into her muzzle, barely even chewing on them before she gulped them down,

"No, unfortunately not, and I fear it's not going to get better anytime soon. The skies are getting cloudier, I think a blizzard is coming."

"Hmm, and here I was hoping we would've spotted any of your tribe in the meantime. Maybe we should have a look from up there?" the slugcat suggested, gesturing at the hollow husk of a tower protruding from the frozen rubble ahead. "Before it gets too windy and snowy to see your own paws."

"Good idea. Lead the way, Lily," Yamiri replied, hastily tapping her on the shoulder as he tossed an anxious look around. "We mustn't dawdle."

The scavenger's premonition proved right as the winds swiftly grew stronger during their ascent, and even though Lily squeezed her way across a shaft in the tower's guts, whistling howls pierced her ears and the temperatures plummeted as the nightly snowstorm was closing in. By the time she reached the top, the sky was already overcast enough to shroud the lands in blurry twilight, the gusts stirring up the snow into whirling, opaque clouds, but while she waited for Yamiri to catch up once again, she noticed dull orange dots spangled across the frozen fields, a darker cloud of smoke rising in the distance.

When her companion arrived at the platform, the slugcat pointed at the light and smoke, "Look."

Heaving and panting from the arduous climb, the scavenger leaned against the wall for a moment before he followed Lily's pointer. Squinting, his exhausted frown lit up into a smile, "Is that…? That's my cabin, isn't it?"

"I think so, too. At least we now know where we need to go tomorrow," the furred slugcat nodded.

"And I know where we can go right now," Yamiri replied, pointing at the access shaft he had just left. "I took a little detour and found a few uninhabited nooks. They're not particularly big, but they should be protected enough to be safe from the storm."

"Yes, that will do. I don't think we'll find anything better before it gets really ugly out here," Lily agreed, glancing at the horizon until it vanished completely behind a wall of white. Turning around to the scavenger, she accompanied him back into the tower's interior, writhing her way through cramped shafts and vents until she ended up in a spacious corridor within its top. With sizable cracks and holes on each end, a draft of icy air swept through the passage, but one of its walls was studded with narrow entrances to the hideouts Yamiri had mentioned, lit by the dim orange glow of a hardy mold that interspersed the concrete channel.

As the scavenger disappeared into the wall, Lily wasted no time pursuing him, only to swiftly realize that the hideout was even smaller than she had anticipated, leaving barely enough space to fit the two of them. In fact, she could hardly even turn around as she ended up sandwiched between his furry side and the coarse concrete wall, and Yamiri noticed just the same. "Oh dear, this is a much tighter fit than I expected. Maybe… one of us should take another one of these? We just need to figure out how to get out of this backward."

The slugcat looked at the scavenger reluctantly, then she shook her head and cautiously wrapped her arms around his body. Reminded of the warmth of his blankets and the otherworldly heat when she had met the echo, leaving his warm, fuzzy side in favor of a cold, empty shelter seemed like a terrible trade right now. "Or we simply stay in the same one so we can warm each other."

Yamiri returned Lily's hug with a soft gasp, peering at her in surprise before he coyly nodded. "T-that's also a good idea. I just wasn't sure… if you'd be comfortable with this. After all, you couldn't wait to leave when you were in my cabin."

Lily gently patted the scavenger's fluffy gray pelt and slipped toward his head, nuzzling his masked face with a smile. "I just left because I had to follow my dreams," she said, omitting that she also definitely hadn't been comfortable in the cabin. Not because of him, though. "Besides, you still saved me, so I trust you."

"I trust you, too, fluffy green droplet. Thank you for helping me with those lizards," Yamiri responded, gingerly wrapping an arm around the slugcat's back to hold her against him. "If it hadn't been for you…" His yellow eyes went out of focus, a shiver racing through his body as he choked on his voice. "I- I was so stupid."

"It's fine, Yamiri. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't have been here either," the green slugcat whispered, although the consequences weren't nearly the same for them. A setback to her, the end to him, she tightened the hug to comfort the larger scavenger as his trembling refused to fade, stroking his fur until his pounding heart calmed. "But that's all in the past. We're fine now."

"Yes. Yes, you're right," Yamiri sighed and closed his eyes. "Everything is alright."

It would take another half hour for him to finally find sleep, though, the slugcat noted as he shifted and shuffled with restless groans, no doubt kept as awake by the memories of the fading cycle as she was. Although it hadn't been as terrible of an experience for her, the straining rescue kept her mind as occupied as the realization of how much she hated the thought of losing the scavenger. He was the first of his kind to actually help her, treating her with a kindness that went beyond the mere respect a few pearls could buy, and it was perfectly in line with this cruel world to try and take him from her while she was there to witness it.

Yet, she had managed to defy that fate, and a single tear soaked her cheek as she kept the slumbering scavenger against her. In hindsight, she regretted leaving the cabin so early to pursue her dreams, and she dreaded their return. The echoes were waiting, soon possibly calling to her again. Would she leave once more to pursue the ancient secrets of these lands? The mere notion made her hug Yamiri harder, burying her face into his chest to take a deep whiff of the same scent that had filled his cabin and the many scavenger posts and dens she had visited. A pungent, slightly earthy musk that usually made her turn tail and search for a detour now calmed her heart and put her mind at ease.

No, Lily decided she wasn't ready to carry on yet. Finally having located the source of her strange dreams, she deserved a break from her arduous journey, especially with an ally by her side who was so much stronger and larger than her. For once, a scavenger's throwing arm wasn't as much a hazard to her slender, fragile existence as a complement to her agility, and the promise of a few cycles of rest finally made her follow Yamiri's example and slip off into a deep sleep.

Fortunately, that night the slugcat was still spared from dazzling golden lights, thumping harmonies, and that four-spoked wheel that had driven her halfway across the world, and when she eventually woke up, only a much gentler rhythm caught her drowsy attention. The scavenger's heartbeat sounded in her ear as she lay nestled against his tall frame, but there was something more to it as the same rhythm affected her belly too.

Slightly perplexed, Lily shifted backward to investigate, and when she finally looked down, the outline of something big and pulsing greeted her in the dusky twilight. Larger than the equipment of any fellow slugcat, Yamiri's dark, swollen penis had emerged from his sheath, and while she had seen various scavengers' endowments before, even watched some mating from afar, she had never been this close to it. Not tapered, frilled, or otherwise adorned, it had the same imposing thickness from its shaft to its blunt tip with a bulging ring in between, and it exuded a thick, potent musk that made her head spin with oddly titillating thoughts, a tingling heat blossoming inside her loins. His member must have been in that state for a while as well since the fur on her belly glistened with streaks and drops of his sticky pre, and she wondered what had gotten him this hard. Was this just his body's natural behavior? Or was he having a wet dream?

"…mmmmhff… Lily…"

Of her? The slugcat gasped softly as the scavenger wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back against his hot, fluffy chest. She was only stunned for a minute, though, before her curiosity kicked in and she squirmed her way to his face, gently tapping his shoulder to rouse him from his slumber.

Yamiri's breath grew unsteady as Lily patted him, his body shifting and his eyelids fluttering before he finally opened his eyes, looking at her in sleepy confusion, "O-oh? Lily!?" Just a moment later, his perplexity flipped into shock and he jolted up, trying to move away from her, but he didn't get far in the cramped chamber. "Lily, I… uhhh, this is…"

The guilt and embarrassment on the scavenger's face spoke volumes, twisting the slugcat's heart into a painful knot. To leave or stay, the question carried even more weight than yesterday, as Yamiri — or at least part of him — apparently wanted her as more than just an ally. She wasn't sure if she was ready for it, though, after being on her own for so long. Alone. However, she didn't want to leave either, for his sake and her own, and she feared that she had to decide now before he did it for her.

The prospect of his kindness and affection, a rarity in this hostile world, finally convinced Lily to stay, and she moved toward the nervous scavenger, closing the gap between their bodies to pull him back into a hug. Besides, after enduring hundreds of cycles without another being's loving words or caress, her body longed for it as much as her mind.

"This? This is perfectly fine, Yamiri," the slugcat reassured him, and with their faces just an inch apart, she tilted her head and pressed her lips onto his, which were unexpectedly soft and warm under his tough, hard mask. "Let's stick together for now."

The scavenger's initial surprise at Lily's kiss was palpable, audible in a stunned gasp as he flinched at it, but just a few heartbeats later, he shakily returned the hug, wrapping his arms around her to press her against his chest. "Uh-huh," he muttered, moving a hand to her head to stroke her silky green fur and ear while she indulged him in another kiss. Parting her lips a sliver, she slipped her tongue into his muzzle, twirling it around his in a nimble dance, and where her paws firmly clasped his back, she moved her feet toward his engorged shaft and pressed her soft, supple soles against its hot, pre-soaked skin.

The scavenger arched up with a shaky groan as the slugcat caressed his cock with tender strokes, wet smacks filling the tight chamber as he lubricated her slender feetpaws with fresh pre. Breaking the kiss, she nuzzled his facemask and cooed, "Also, what were you dreaming about?"

"Y-your tongue, fluffy Lily. I- I just couldn't stop thinking about it ever since you showed me those tricks, and I ended up… dreaming of you using y-your tongue to…" Yamiri's voice faltered and he closed his eyes as his embarrassment returned with a vengeance.

"Then why don't I show you?" the slugcat smiled with a wink and darted out her tongue, coiling it around his wrist as she had done before. "If you show me what yours can do." Using the scavenger's arm as leverage, she pulled herself around until she straddled him upside-down, lifting her large, tapered tail aside to flash her bits at him while she turned her attention toward his male treasures.

Retracting her tongue again, Lily savored the sight of Yamiri's body for a moment, admiring his thick, swollen shaft and plump pair of balls, each orb as big as her entire paw. Breathing in deeply, she also sampled another whiff of his heavy musk, salivating at the smell of his potent maleness before she closed the gap between her lips and his cock, planting a tender kiss onto the flat, pulsing tip. A soft smack, followed by a wet slurp, she sucked up a drop of pre right from the source, swishing it around in her muzzle to savor the strong, salty aroma before she gulped it down with a happy purr.

The furred green slugcat could hardly remember the last time she had been this aroused, and her mind grew foggy from the smell and flavors while her whole body heated up with lust. Wrapping both paws around the scavenger's colossal member, she held it steady with one and glided the other along the slick, throbbing length, moving it from his blunt glans to his thick, leathery sheath and back to feel it pulsing against her palm.

Lily's ministrations elicited another squirt of pre from Yamiri's cock, and she parted her lips to catch it in her muzzle before she cleaned the rest of his glans with broad swipes, following up on her promise to show him what her tongue was capable of. Starting at his leaking urethra, she diligently rubbed the flat tip of her slender muscle against the fluttering opening, lapping up his sticky nectar with hungry moans while she loosened the tight hole a little more with each stroke.

The scavenger rewarded Lily's efforts with a throaty groan, his chest shaking as his hot breath washed over her exposed backside. However, her affection wasn't the only thing that occupied Yamiri's mind. "L-lily, is that a dick?" he gasped, staring at her pussy as her mounting arousal had inflated the inconspicuous slit between her thighs into a plump, swollen mound. The entrance to her pussy was tucked away between a pair of thick, engorged folds that merged just below it into a pulsing, tapered pink clit. Her female length was adorned with the same soft frills as its male counterpart, and from a narrow hole at the tip, she even leaked droplets of clear, sticky pre onto Yamiri's furred chest while the rest of her pussy had become so sopping wet, it squelched and smacked at her every movement.

"No, that's just my clit," she chuckled.

"B-but, it's so big! And it's dripping so much!"

"It's not as big as your dick, though," the slugcat replied, giving the scavenger's rod a playful pat. "It also doesn't produce any cum. This won't be an issue, though, right?"

"N-no, I just… I didn't expect anything like that. I didn't know slugcats were so different down there," Yamiri stammered, cautiously bending over her pussy to sample a whiff. Smirking, Lily took the opportunity to bend back her swollen clit to rub it against the scavenger's chin, soaking his fur with her juices before he pulled away with a stunned squeak. "Wait, you can move it?"

"Yes, just like my tail or tongue. It's not quite as long, though," Lily chirped, waving her prehensile taper at him as she continued to lick him. Sliding her tongue around his penis, she wrapped it in a tight embrace from tip to base before she began to constrict her muscle, squeezing his long, sensitive length with forceful undulations while she wrapped her paws around his fuzzy balls, kneading and massaging them to draw out even more of his delicious pre and moans. 

With her lips pressed flush against the scavenger's flat cock head, the slugcat eagerly drank every drop of his salty delight, and she moaned out in blissful pleasure when he finally overcame his initial daze and returned the favor, greeting her slit with a big, lavish lick. Dragging his shorter, but much wider, thicker muscle across her plump folds to the tip of her clit, he savored her tangy nectar with a hearty gulp before he coiled his taster back around her sensitive taper, tempting it into a slippery, passionate dance.

"Ah, that feels amazing," Lily whimpered, wrapping her thighs around the back of the scavenger's head to pull him even closer against her. "Keep going, Yamiri. More."

The slugcat needn't say another word, as Yamiri unceremoniously deepened the kiss. Wrapping his lips around her clit, he took it to the hilt in a single slurp until he was left gagging on her flexing, squirming length. The wonderful tightness of his maw overwhelmed her with stimulation, and no more words escaped her muzzle as she burst into an incomprehensible cry, her paws and feet curling up around him as she instinctively bucked her hips into the snug embrace, trying to fuck his face with her feminine cock while she squirted her juices all over his mask.

The slugcat didn't get far, though, as Yamiri put an abrupt end to her needy humping, tightly gripping her waist as he pulled away from her swollen taper with a wet pop. Squirming and thrashing around as if possessed, it immediately tried to get back inside his muzzle, coaxing a chuckle from the scavenger. "Wow, I didn't expect you to be this horny."

"Try going hundreds of cycles without any relief, and you'll understand," Lily groaned before she returned her lips to his cock, wrapping them around the thick, pulsing glans. He was bigger than any slugcat she had ever taken, but his size didn't deter her in the slightest as she swallowed inch after inch with insatiable determination, taking advantage of her body's natural elasticity and missing gag reflex. Initially just bulging her cheeks, his girth soon stretched her neck and formed a palpable outline on her chest as it slid deep enough to penetrate her storage stomach.

Yamiri's subsequent growl of pleasure was just as exhilarating as the sensation of his tip right beside her pounding heart, and his intoxicating flavor kept smothering her taste buds while her tongue continued its exploration with a mind of its own. As her lips kissed the rim of his sheath, her slender, slippery muscle slithered onward to his swollen nuts, entangling his heavy breeding orbs just as tightly and thoroughly as his rod while the tip of her tongue moved even further still. Brushing across his perineum, it soon reached the rim of his snug rosy sphincter where it eagerly continued its dance.

"F-fuck, did you just swallow it all? This is so hot," the scavenger burst out, rearing up with an even wetter cry as the slugcat slipped her taster inside his ass. "A-ah, Lily, your tongue, your throat… you're amazing!"

Lily smiled at Yamiri's praise, delighting in his vigorous squirms and cries as she mashed her tongue against his pleasure button, treating it with the full force of a muscle that could suspend her whole weight. But as fun as it was to toy with him, her own body yearned for more, her pussy clenching and her tapered clit squirming and writhing as his hot breath washed across it. With her muzzle full, she had to catch the male's attention in other ways, so she shakily patted her own butt, wagging it at him while she wrapped her tail around his neck, pulling him even closer.

The slugcat's encouragement fell on fertile ground, as the scavenger buried his face back in her butt without further hesitation, greeting her prehensile clit with a kiss and a lick before he devoted the rest of his love to her quivering orifice. He dragged his tongue around her plump, pulsing folds in big, lavish circles, savoring her juices with lusty grunts before he plunged it deep inside her, vigorously stretching and loosening her channel as far as he could reach.

A mighty rush of pleasure welled up in Lily as Yamiri unleashed his fervor on her. Suspended in a wonderful moment of speechless, mindless bliss, reality eventually claimed her back through a growing urge to breathe, and with a muffled groan, she pulled back her head. Extracting inch after inch of his cock from her tight, hot gullet, she took a deep whiff of his musky scent, replenishing her lungs with a few more gasps before she plunged back down, swallowing his girth to the hilt, again and again, all the while her tongue and paws continued its work on the rest of him, massaging every inch of his heavy nuts and sensitive insides while their bodies squirmed against one another in raw, unfiltered delight.

Yamiri's groans grew ever louder and noisier as the slugcat sucked him off, his breathing becoming noticeably strained, shaky, heavy as an orgasm was forming inside him, his muscles tensing up and his cock flexing and pulsing harder and harder, oozing a steady stream of hot, sticky pre down her throat. Driven by his mounting lust, his licks grew more frantic as well, a flurry of tongue strokes and lashes across and inside Lily's tight cunt, and when he finally returned to her engorged clit, taking the whole taper down his muzzle, the hundreds of cycles of unaddressed, pent-up arousal neared their conclusion. Yanking her head off the scavenger's cock, she took a deep gasp and whimpered, "Yamiri, I'm about to cum!"

"Ah, Lily, me too! I don't think I can…" Before the scavenger could finish his thought, she slammed his rod back down her throat, taking him to the sheath one last time. His words deteriorated into a cry of bliss, his body arching up as an orgasm claimed him like a stormy gust of wind, but the result was a lot warmer, wetter, and much more delicious. Thrashing within her tight gullet, his colossal girth released a huge wave of his thick, hot cum, and he came so violently, she was sure she could hear the virile torrent as it churned in his flexing nuts and rushed up his pulsing member.

Not a second later, Lily finally followed Yamiri's example, and where her throat was too full to voice her joy, the rest of her body exploded all the harder. Wresting his head against her crotch, her convulsing pussy showered his face with squirts and splashes of her clear, sticky juices, dousing his mask with her scent as her twitching, fanned clit coated the rest of him with ropes of stringy, gooey white, a liquid resembling semen in all but virility. The scavenger didn't stop her as she painted the fur above his pounding heart with her goo, though, as he was too busy wrapping his lips around her plump folds, delving his tongue deep inside her to gorge himself on her tangy nectar while he fed her spurt after spurt of his own essence.

Lily's high seemingly never ended, leaving her embroiled in relentless sensations like the blustering waves of the raging sea. Seconds, minutes, eons, she couldn't have told them apart while the nerve ends in her loins and stomach lit up her mind, and the state of otherworldly bliss lasted until her tongue had milked every last drop of seed from the scavenger's nuts. Only then, when his output ultimately subsided, her rush followed suit and she returned from the celestial heights to the familiar need to breathe. 

Still clenching around his tongue, the slugcat sluggishly pulled Yamiri's cock out of her muzzle and disentangled her tongue with his bits. Licking his leftover semen from her chops, she turned around to face him with a beatific smile, "Ah, I've not had a cycle begin like this in ages. I almost forgot how fun this was, especially with someone as big and productive as you."

"L-likewise," Yamiri stammered, returning her gaze with a shaky grin as he dipped a finger into the puddle of her jizz on his chest. "I didn't expect you to make that much of a mess." Licking the mess off his digits, he returned to her puffy pussy for another swift kiss before he pulled away and slumped back with a contented sigh. "And you weren't wrong. Your tongue is even better than I imagined in my wildest dreams, not to mention everything else."

Lily playfully stuck out her tongue before she cleaned up his tip with a big slurp, savoring the thick, potent aroma of his cum with a hearty sigh before she closed her eyes and curled up on his belly, basking in the afterglow for as long as it lasted. And once the last tingles had ebbed, she sluggishly got up and wiggled her way across Yamiri's legs and toward the exit of their little resting nook. "Alright, nap time is over, let's get moving because I'm sure the others of your tribe are busy waiting."

Yamiri returned her announcement with a lazy groan, but halfway out, she heard him shifting and shuffling as he turned around to follow her, and not long after she dropped into the larger, windy corridor, he was back at her side, still rubbing and patting at the damp spot she had left on his chest. "O-okay, I'm ready."

Lily nodded and grinned at the slender scavenger before she reached for his hand, interlocking his fingers with hers to pull him along, down the tower and back into the snowy, windswept outdoors. Their destination was set and on the horizon, and although there was a stretch of predator-ridden terrain and an entire tribe of scavengers ahead of her, having him by her side dispersed any worries she had about it. And with his cabin as her base of operations, knowing that she now had an ally to count on and fall back on, she couldn't wait to visit the echoes and unravel the secrets of this place and those strange, collapsed towers on the horizon.