best day of my life > open

The thing is with living underground is that there tends to be debris. Nothing really bad that Earthinites can't survive, but the sort like tiny rocks and gravel.

The thing is with tiny rocks and gravel is that they cling.

The thing is with clinging gravel is that it accumulates.

So there's Halaoui, at a nearby hill just out the tunnel distastefully licking the detritus from his sore paws, head bowed to lesser have to look into the sun. His ears prick at the sound of someone leaving the mine; a lioness Earthinite he's seen around before. Halaoui's head tips the side a little in acknowledgement.

"Nice day out."

So, apparently, a girl of few words. No matter; coming from experience, he's the type to be able to converse with a rock.

Halaoui makes a little 'hmm' sound, interested eyes lingering on the withdrawn lioness. It's not as if it's exactly something commonplace, talking to a big cat. "Pleasant to breathe fresh air for once, don't you think?" Here, he inserts a humored hum. "Oh, not that I'm complaining. It's smart to refrain from having too much of a good thing to keep you from getting bored of it."

Halaoui watches the generally wordless exchange sideways between the lioness and other cat with a tiny but noticeable laughing twitch of the tail. He supplies his own pleasant, "Afternoon," and otherwise does not add much else, merely absorbing their subtle body language.

As the tabby leaves, though, he lifts his head and sunnily calls after him, "For future reference, licking it well tends to keep it down." Just from one long-haired cat to another.

Then, to Gaia, Halaoui comments, "But having wind go through your fur feels nice on a hot day." He starts on cleaning his other paw, mouth quirked a tad upwards. "Especially when you run down a hill."