Stumbling around in the dark wasn't fun. Sure my eyes started to adjust slightly to the dark but being jump scared every so often by a glowing creature was terrifying.

Luckily most weren't hostile, but running into two other salagators (fuck off my names are accurate)didn't help ease my nerves. But at least I got more shiny rocks from them. Now in blue and green.

The wildlife here was just as fascinating as it was confusing.

Early on I had changed out my dress shoes for my boots. There was no way I was going to bust an ankle because I wasn't wearing proper shoes.

It had been almost 3 hours before I found what looked like a carved tunnel. It was also in this time that I found my hearing was also getting stronger.

Perhaps it was because of the darkness but hearing my own heartbeat was starting to make me anxious.

'Maybe I should head back to the room I was in before, it may send me back.' I thought anxiously, but my mind supplied a counter to this before I could turn myself around.

'I've always walked down this tunnel for a bit and it's only getting more and more developed. It's being maintained. I just need to keep going.'

A metal clang echoing in the distance snapped me out of my thoughts. My first instinct was to rush to the sound but I stopped myself before I could get too far.

Metal, a product of intelligence and hard work.

But this is uncharted territory, there's no guarantee that they'll be friendly, or human for that matter.

I crumbled that thought immediately, Intelligent life is intelligent life, and there's a decent chance that they'll help me. But just in case I'll go at this with fae rules in mind.

I spotted lantern lights in the distance and jogged forward. Hand on the hilts of my blades.

The clashing continued and the sound of a yelp could be heard.

'I hope I'm not too late.' Rushing forward into the more open cavern the tunnel lead to.

I made eye contact with what looked like a ferret and a toddler combined, light reddish brown in color with a crossbow across their back and a knife in their hand..paw?

Not the time, they were being attacked by three salagators.

My brain quickly made these deductions.

The ferret person was barely reaching my waist height wise.

Three salagators would be difficult for me to handle.

The thought alone made me growl.

'Since when can I do that?'

No further thought needed. I lunged forward towards the nearest enemy.

Pinning its snout and stabbing it in the neck.

I held it till it stopped squirming.

I turned around just in time to see one jump at my new ally.

Instinctively spreading a wing, sending it into a wall.

The ferret dispatched the other in time to be ready for the final beast.

It was still dazed from being thrown into the wall so the ferret had no problems killing it.

Now that all was said and done, the ferret turned to me.. Anxiously? Their ears still pinned back and they weren't making direct eye contact.

Were they afraid of me?

They're behavior reminded me of a stray cat for some reason.

I don't want them to be afraid of me.

Out of muscle memory with the shelter cats, I slow binked at the ferret person.

Luckily for me before I could start beating myself up for treating them like a stray kitten they relaxed considerably. Ears swiveling towards me, eyes alert and observing me.

'Fair, I was doing the same earlier.' Once they were satisfied they started collecting the stones from the salagators. For some reason they didn't touch the one I had killed so I went ahead and collected the stones from it.

I was just going to keep the stones cause they're pretty but if they'd get that close to something that almost killed them then they're probably valuable.

I had finished collecting the stones when I heard it.

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It was just a squeak but it sounded so painful.

I whipped around, startling the ferret person a bit but I didn't care.

They're ears were once again pinned back but this time in pain not fear.

I rushed over and knelt in front of the little person.

They flinched as I guided them into a seated position.

It was much easier to see in the light of the lantern.

In the leg armor of my new ally was a large tooth, it was coming loose from the armor allowing blood to leak through.

'The salagator that lunged at them must have been faster than I thought.' Feeling a bit guilty for allowing them to get hurt.

'This is bad, the tooth isn't plugging the wound.' I thought as I snatched my bag from my back and tried to stay calm.

Suddenly I'm glad I kept my habit of keeping a first aid kit. Normally kept for my accident prone self but now was being put to good use.

I made quick work of removing the padded leather leg piece.

It didn't look too wide but it was deep, there was also evidence of crushing damage.

Swiftly taking out gauze I applied pressure carefully.

Another whine came from the ferret along with some words in a language that sounded oddly like a mix of Arabic and welsh. I felt paws on my shoulders but they made no move to stop me.

The wound didn't stop bleeding but it had slowed. There's not much more I can do without knowing more about their biology so I added more gauze and wrapped it before analyzing their reactions.

Their ears weren't as pinned but they didn't seem as alert.

That in itself scarred me.

If I were to scale up the wound to be what it would be on my body it could possibly be lethal if left untreated.

The bleeding was sluggish for me but what if they were actually bleeding out?

Quickly packing everything back up and slinging it back over my wings, I lifted the little person.

They seemed startled by the sudden change in orientation and struggled for a second.

" I'm not going to drop you, I promise." I said softly , knowing they probably wouldn't understand.

There was another tunnel on the other end of the room.

I wasted no time sprinting through it while trying not to jostle the little fella.

Soon we came to a fork in the tunnel. And I stopped.

Breathing heavily, I tried to gauge which direction to go.

I didn't need to for long as a paw was raised in the direction of one of the tunnels.

And off I went again.

Wooden beams and lanterns became more prevalent.

I knew we had to be close to the exit.

It had been about 5 minutes of sprinting before a set of stairs were visible.

I wasted no time rushing up them.

By the time I got to the top my legs were burning. But I had to keep going.

A wider, taller tunnel was at the top of the stairs.

I could smell fresh air.

I just need to keep going.

Running as fast as my legs could carry me, I almost didn't notice the other armored.. beings in the tunnel collecting .. something.

But that didn't matter right now someone is actively bleeding in my arms.

It didn't matter that they wiped their heads around as I ran by.

As soon as I saw natural light I made a beeline for it.

My wings made small beats to try and speed up more.

My heart pounded but my mind kept me grounded, prioritizing the injured.

Surprised shouts could be heard as I made it outside with hands full of injured ferret.

What would a medic look like here?

Would there be any parallels between our cultures to identify them?

The light was disorienting,I couldn't see .

The toddler sized ferret spoke, I couldn't understand but someone nearby did.

I flinched as a hand was placed on my forearm and one on my back leading me forward.

Adrinalen was still running haywire, I hurriedly followed whoever was leading me forward.

Soon the light level became more tolerable.

We must have entered a building.

More voices could be heard as people approached.

I was guided to what felt like a gurney so I set the little person down on it.

As soon as I did it was lifted and carried away. The hand that was on my arm continued to lead me onward.

My eyes slowly began to adjust. I could see the outline of desks and I could see that I was being led to a set of swinging doors.

I lifted a hand to rub my eyes only for someone to grab my hand as it reached my eyes.

I could make out the shape of a snout and tusks but not much else.

They didn't seem hostile and their grip was gentle.

This new person continued to lead me forward and into a moderately lit room . They gestured to a backless chair at a table. Sitting felt heavenly after hours in that cavern.

It was easier to see this new person now that my eyes weren't being scorched.

They were almost hog like in appearance except bipedal, almost 6 foot tall and very fluffy.. Based on their experience I can probably assume that the person in front of me is male, right? He would have been more intimidating if he didn't look so huggable.

Oh they were speaking to me, It sounded like the same language as the ferret but slower, more intentional.

Wait I need to respond with something, it's rude not to.

"Sorry I can't understand you..." maybe that would get the point across.

To his credit he did stop and call out into the hallway for something before turning back to me.

I continued to observe him. The hog person seemed to be wearing some kind of uniform, they were probably some form of emergency services based on how calm and collected everyone was. He had a dark fur coloration with tan going down his chin to his chest.

A few seconds of silence went by before what looked to be an elf stumbled into the room. Sweating and looking out of breath.

She looked like some form of medical personnel but I couldn't be too sure. I tilted my head in curiosity.

She approached the table and set some kind of slab on the table.

It had intricate, circular carvings and runes that looked so foreign , soon she started pricking her thumb with a needle and placed it in a circle on her side.

They both looked at me expectantly as the hogman handed me the needle.

There was a chance that this was dangerous, hell

'Fuck it, while in Rome.'

And pricked my thumb as well, mimicking the actions of the elf.

I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't for her to start chanting and the runes to start glistening.