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"I have found," Kanim announces to the small princesses (although they are getting taller) at their next group lesson with him, "a cave that I think even Carinna will like. It has not the least bit of hazard or inconvenience anywhere in it. It's very small, we'll probably be able to see all of it this afternoon, and it doesn't have a name yet as far as I can see, so we can pick something to call it while we're there."
"What is in it? Caves always have hazards and inconveniences," says Carinna warily.
"Harmless plants and creatures," Kanim says, "two springs, attractive crystal formations, a small maze, things like that - I will leave the specifics to be discovered, it's more fun that way, don't you think?"
"I think so," agrees Kiawen. "As long as you're sure Carinna won't be bothered!"
"Quite sure," says Kanim, "and if she is bothered we can always nip her out of there, it doesn't distort space or anything tricky like that."
"Okay," says Carinna decisively, "then I guess we can go to it."
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Kiawen claps her hands. "How are we getting there? Walking or flying or teleporting or something else?"
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"It would be too far to walk," agrees Kanim. "We can fly, though, if that would be more fun than teleporting; what do you think?"
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Kanim snaps his fingers as a sort of signal that teleportation is about to happen, and - here they are, in a cave that looks more like an illustration than anything, covered in interesting lichens and populated by small creatures and bedecked across the ceiling with glowing crystals in all sorts of colors. A spring burbles from one wall, and another can be heard farther back around a corner.
The creatures are many and varied in kind, but most of them are small and most of them are fluffy and most of them are roundish.
A particularly small and round and fluffy creature rolls up to Kanim's feet: it is perfectly spherical, about the size of a large apple, and covered in soft-looking purple fur. It has no discernible features, but the fur moves in a way that suggests there might be a tiny mouth under it as the creature emits a tiny, tiny squeak.
A particularly small and round and fluffy creature rolls up to Kanim's feet: it is perfectly spherical, about the size of a large apple, and covered in soft-looking purple fur. It has no discernible features, but the fur moves in a way that suggests there might be a tiny mouth under it as the creature emits a tiny, tiny squeak.
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Carinna gets on all fours to have a closer look at this creature. "Can I pick it up?" she asks.
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"They're all completely harmless, go ahead," laughs Kanim.
It squeaks its tiny squeak again, rocks back and forth, rolls in a circle around her cupped hands, and then settles into the bottom of the hand-bowl and starts emitting a soft purple glow and a sound like 'whmmmmmm'.
There are a few black-and-white creatures with round ears, round bellies, and round little paws over there by the burbling spring. One of them is nibbling on what seems to be a tiny blue flower; the other two are cuddling.
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Well, she'd hate to interrupt either activity. She goes and tastes the springs, first. "This one's blueberry and the other is sparkling cucumber," she announces, when this has been done, and she checks in on the black-and-whites to see if any of them could be less disruptively picked up at this time.
The one with the flower is sitting up and looking at her, with its little head tipped all the way back so it can see way up high.
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Kiawen picks it up, and pets it gently, and then sits it on her shoulder so she can go look at all the crystals.
The little creature nestles up against her neck and licks her earlobe with its tiny tickly tongue. (It can't reach any higher.)
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"I think Cricket would probably terrorize them, and also, the fact that none of them have left the cave on their own suggests that they need to be here," says Kanim. "But you can come here and visit them whenever you like."
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Tanalin is by this time sitting on the cave floor with three of the round fluffy glowy ones - blue, pink, and yellow - bouncing happily on the trampoline made by her skirt as it stretches across her knees.
"I want to come back here a lot," she announces.
"I want to come back here a lot," she announces.
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"Me, too," says Carinna. "This is the best cave." She rubs her puffball-critter on her cheek.
Her puffball-critter whmmmms contentedly.
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"What should we name it?" asks Kiawen, doubling back from an excursion into the crystal maze in the back. "The cave I mean."
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"I don't know. The Cave of Small Fluffy Things seems like a silly name for a cave."