Something dark and foul slithered out of the darkness ahead, and Valeska knew it to be her child. Amaya's acrid stench heralded her arrival well before she herself appeared; it was unmistakable, and remained a point of contention for the much tidier she-wolf. How unfortunate the girl had inherited Amaranth's aversion to water - and taken it to a far greater extreme.

The pitch-furred adolescent croaked out a protest, thoughtfully drawing her mother's attention to her own presence in the cursed hole-in-the-ground. Her nose wrinkled.

I am your mother, she said matter-of-factly, And I am on an holy mission to divine the purpose of these caves.

Shifting her gaze out toward the expansive lake, Valeska frowned.

The Five call for us to reach the other side.

She looked back toward her daughter. Amaya blinked back at her, eyes oddly out of sync as they seemed to operate independently of each other, one eyelid closing at a time. It was almost lizard-like.

The way back is closed, Valeska continued. Are you prepared to do what must be done?

Would this be it? Would this be the day? Would her child at last touch liquid that was not from a stinking tar pit?

Far removed from this plane of existence, somewhere out amongst the vast starry skies drifting beyond galaxies immeasurable, Houtu shuddered.