who told you what was down here

Maea

And I only needed one more touch
Another taste of devouring rush

He was quite spectacular, in truth. Ever since she was a child, Maea had loved reptiles. From glass snakes sunning on rocks in the Glade to companion dragons and their far grander relatives, even to the Allogator she had seen once near the Black Lake, they held an appeal she couldn't quite explain. It was unfortunate that she only was allowed a glimpse of Asta's lial before he shot off along the tunnel.

While shifted into her tiger form, even being unburdened wouldn't have allowed her to keep up. Resigned to follow the trail of fresh magma the crocodilian creature had left behind, it was a winded and refreshed Molten Tiger that finally caught up just past the opening to a cavern.
At least then she could take a closer look at him. Dropping the bag for a moment, she circled him a few times, to really appreciate the patchwork of cooled lava plates and the ever burning furnace churning beneath. Positively magical, in ways that even her strange tiger was not, Asta was given a gentle head butt.

For no reason beyond, well... that she could. And wanted to. And possibly because he hadn't sent her packing for being stubborn and refusing to change her mind even when it didn't make sense. Maea was grateful for that.

But the room was so quiet
Whose side am I on?

Base by Skylark, Art by Midjourney