There are rumors abound of a much sought after atelier lying squalid and abandoned in the heart of an intractable swamp. Its decrepit halls and wings are thought to be teeming with priceless artefacts, puzzling oddities, and magical texts! Nobody can quite say what happened to its original occupant or what the events precipitating its abandonment were, but treasure hunters tend to be a short sighted bunch, and only have eyes for personal gain. And so every year-- during the dry season--adventurers of all shapes and sizes try their hand at reaching this derelict study and plundering its myriad spoils! Thus far it remains undiscovered. Or rather, if it HAS been discovered nobody has returned to say as much.

The most recent pair of these adventurers is...a little different from the rest, both in appearance and method. Tuli'k and Bruvelighe (Vernid and Warpjaw, respectively) team up and set off, beginning their trek to find the atelier in question. Bruve in particular is adamant he knows its location, claiming he can "see" where it is and insists that the both of them won't get lost or turned around. Tully's not quite that confident, however. The Vernid consistently remarks on how...under-provisioned the both of them seem, making note of the absence of supplies and food.

Tully huffed and increased his pace, aiming to catch up with the Bruve as he strode onward determinedly. His concerns increase in volume as he matches pace with the Warpjaw. "Bru.. we don't have any tools, or supplies, we can't even defend ourselves! How are we supposed to find this artefact? Besides all that.. I'm getting kind of hungry, should we stop and try to hunt for something? We could maybe fashion some sort of weapon out of... something?"

Taking a casual glance over his shoulder, Bruve idly waves his paw and says "Ah don't worry about all that, I've got us covered. I'll provide whatever, whenever. Now hurry up! We're wasting daylight!"

While Tully may have known Bruve for a fair bit of time, he was only loosely familiar with the Warpjaw's titular ability...and it wasn't until the two stopped for the evening that he gained a new perspective on said ability's extent! Pulling foodstuff after foodstuff from his maw, Bruve deftly arrays a wide spread of cuisine for the both of them on a large stump. While some of the fare seems familiar most of it's completely alien, especially to the bewildered Vernid! Tully looks down skeptically at the colorful smorgasbord, balking at some of the more "non-comestible" morsels.

"This--this is food, right? You can eat this? Who would even consider this edible?! What IS that anyway?! U-um, I think this is enough for the both of us now....you can probably stop."

"Gbhahd?" <"What?">

After some cajoling and no small amount of reassurance, Tully finally overcame his trepidation--and the pair of adventurers tucked into their food in earnest! It wasn't until the crumbs were cleared and the bones discarded that they settled down to rest for the evening, preparing themselves for the next day's travels. But as the two began to doze amidst the reeds and whine of insects, the Vernid flicks his ears, cracks an eyelid and murmurs...

"So...got any dessert?"
___

This full Illustration is once again by the lovely  hisseefit! Would be awfully handy to be a living vending machine on some days....

Art ©
Tuli'k belongs to
Bruvelighe belongs to

Vernid species belong to lilaira!
Original here.