Silkie POV

I look around the cave system while gasping in awe. I immediately run ahead of Claws in excitement.

"Wait, uh, Silkie, don't run too fast!" He said as he tried to catch up to me. "Ooo what does this do?? And what's that?? Wait, what's this glowing liquid thing?"

I leaned over to something in a cauldron. But before I could touch it, Claws grabbed me and pulled me away.

"Are you trying to get yourself burnt?! That's molten gold!" He scolded me. "Molten gold? It looks so cool!!" I squealed.

"I wanna see all the other cool things in this place!" I tried to walk away but Claws held me tight.

"Absolutely not! The other areas are too dangerous! One wrong step and you can fall into molten gold or iron!" Claws exclaimed.

"But Atcutlet said you would show me around!"

"Yes but you're acting too careless! It's like you don't even know about the danger of heat!"

But I ignored him and gaze at more odd things: spikes hanging from the ceiling, really big carts full of gold, and blue glowing crystals.

"You and I will stay somewhere less hazardous." Claws gestured for me to follow him. I pouted but I walked after him anyway.

After a while, we walked into a tunnel that seemed to have openings to multiple caves. "Claws, where do those lead?" I asked the Eclipsor.

"Those? Oh, they're just sleeping quarters or places where we can rest." Claws answered. "In fact, we're going to one of them right now."

He walked through one of the darker cave openings. I nervously followed him. The dark tunnel soon became lit with a few lanterns as we went further.

When there was enough light for me to see, I saw that Claws and I were in a medium-sized room with 3 beds, tables, and chairs.

"Well, this is my room, Silkie." Claws said with a smile as I took a look around. "I share it with 2 other Eclipsors."

"2 others?" I questioned. "Yes, but they're out scouting and hunting for a bit. They might be back in an hour." Claws told me.

Once I finished poking my head into every corner of the room, I sat down on one of the chairs as Claws prepared some water for me to drink.

All the while, I pay attention to his broken right wing that lay limp to his side while his other intact wing stayed folded behind him.

"What happened to your wing?" I said as Claws gave me a glass of water. "Hm, oh, my wing? It got injured from an accident not so long ago, back when I was still a soldier of Chaos." He replied.

"Whoa! You were a soldier?"

"Most of us Eclipsors here were soldiers before Atcutlet offered to let us stay in this abandonded mine system once he saw that we were tired of all the war and violence."

"But how exactly did your wing... end up as it is now?" I took a sip of water from my glass while keeping an eye on Claws.

Claws sighed. "Well, in one of our battles, a Magikill created an explosion and I happened to be in the area.

"I tried to shield myself using my wings but it only caused a really bad burn on my right wing." Claws lifted his broken wing to show me its scars and burns.

"Then I fell from the air and I woke up in the infirmary. But the Marrowkai there told me I could never fly again." Claws lowered his head with a sad face.

"Oh, I- Im sorry, I shouldn't have asked." I apologized quickly. "Its quite alright. You were just curious." Claws looked at me, trying to smile. "Like me when I was a kid."

He then changed the subject and we started talking about our childhoods. I told Claws about how my mom raised me in a tree for almost 10 years.

I also found out that Claws was the youngest of 3 siblings, with the 2 others living here as well and were the roommates he was talking about earlier.

"There's Serra, my older sister and Rouse, my older brother." Claws explained. "Serra decided to come with me when Atcutlet invited me to this place.

"Rouse also wanted to come since he was tired of always being mocked and harrassed by the other Eclipsors just for being born blind."

"Rouse was born blind?"

"Yes, but he can do things like a normal person. His other senses are significantly more enhanced than anyone I know."

"Wow! Your siblings sound so cool! I wish I could meet them." I said with a yawn. "What if I waited for them to come back?"

But Claws shook his head. "You look awfully tired. Its been a long day for you. I think you should sleep and nap for a bit." He said.

"Aww but I want to meet Serra and Rouse." I whined. "If you sleep now, by the time you wake up, they'll be here and you can say hi." Claws smiled.

"Fine." I responded. "I guess I am a bit exhausted."

"You can sleep in my bed. I don't sleep too often so you can have your nap there."

I walked over to Claws' bed and made myself comfortable on the soft and warm sheets. I then yawned and closed my eyes.

Sometimes I really wish mom was still here. She would stay close to me to keep me warm when its cold and sing songs or tell stories before I slept.

But I decided to just pretend she's here with me. After all, she once told me that no matter what happens, we would always be together.

"Good night Claws, even if I don't know if its night or day." I called out to the Eclipsor who was cleaning the glass I used.

"Rest well, Silkie." He said in a warm and happy voice. I glanced at him and saw him smile as I yawned once again.

I felt myself drift off to a peaceful sleep while thinking of the stories that Claws told me about him and his siblings.