Calista took one last look at the night sky above as she descended into the mouth of the cave. Tall grasses gave way to a deep crater that housed the heat-emitting grotto. The painted hues of her body wove between the rocks, bearing the grace of her mother and the battle prowess of her father, she held the memories of her kin dear to her heart and everything she did was to make those memories proud. While she still didn’t have an exact location in mind, she had already decided within herself to stray away from the main territory of the herd to find new friends and discover the secrets that Helovia held. From the moment she spotted the Heart Caves, the woman knew she had to explore their depths. Passing through a wave of warmth,  she slipped through the entrance and into the tunnel. Soft, slow breaths escaped her as her eyes traced the stone walls which shielded her body from a boiling pit of flames, rolling down every glowing tendril of moss, sifting down the underpass and the many rooms lined up before her. Triangular formations hung from the ceiling like jagged teeth. True beauty and mystery resided among this underground world, but beauty wasn’t enough for Calista. She had a thirst for knowledge that needed quenching. All was silent except for the roar of the churning heat, so the unicorn thought herself to be alone. It was dusk, after all - not exactly the ideal time for a horse to be out and about. She was actually surprised that the plants hadn’t wilted and that everything looked so alive despite fire's lack of respect for nature and its relentless temperatures that threatened to devour anything any everything in their wake. All her thoughts had been quite cheerful as of late, since she has decided to stay in the World's Edge. And even here among the roaring belly of lava, she felt oddly at ease. Perhaps it was because she no longer had to wander, she no longer had to try and pretend to be satisfied with that life, try and convince herself she liked being in exile, not that she had done a very great job of that in the first place. No, today wasn’t meant for bitterness, it was another silent farewell to the loneliness she would never see again, as had been every day since she found her calling. As she moved, an echo resonated in the dark, and caught her attention. Calista turned toward where she swore the sound came from, her eyes narrowing curiously as she continued forward. The voice was followed by silence. Moving along in the dark, Calista picked her way down the hall at a slow pace, peering into each room. Her eyes could hardly make out anything in the chambers, so she continued walking. Swallowed by pitch-black, the only source of light around her was the soft orange light of magma and the bluish glow of mushrooms. "H-hello? Is anyone there?" a whisper left her tongue, bouncing off the stony surfaces that engulfed her and was carried further into the caves.

@Chernobyl