Hunting had been difficult as of late. Blame it on the winter, or just bad luck, but there had been a shocking amount of scarcity of prey in recent moons. Of course, many cats had been worked to the bone and any sort of relief had become painfully rare, but that in Don's eyes that just made it all the more reason to at least try and hunt at the more visually appealing locations.

The large crystal structures caught his eyes in the same way they entranced Exolas, and the tom having been admittedly more engaged in enjoying the atmosphere than hunting, when he happened to stumble across Exolas in the tunnels. Noticing the other tom and the shrew in his maw, Don gave a friendly wave of his tail in greeting. "Good catch! I'm sure the group will be excited to see more fresh prey. Maybe it means the hunting prospects are looking up!" He said, his compliment intermingled with what could almost be considered naive optimism.

"I really hope so. I'm getting sick of the cold and the slog of hunting in it." Don said, an equal longing for the warm weather equally present in the scout's voice. "Winter hunting a nice sucky mix of feeling like you're hunting for hours for no reason, only to barely drag something home and start all over again without break. Feels like the very definition of insanity."

"Yeah. And then of course the deeper you go the more you have to deal with other predators, and they're just as desperate as we are. Which isn't a great mix." Don agreed, before giving a sympathetic nod to Exolas' sentiment. "It's one of the boons to being a scout that you actually get to sometimes go up on the surface but uh, recently I've found there's better hunting down here than up there. Which sucks. I'd personally rather be hunting in the grass than in stone, more a matter of personal prefrence to be honest. Although, will say, the crystals are super pretty. That's one good thing." Don added on, trying to look on the bright side.

"More than I'd like to admit, actually. Me and my brother and sister were stupid once and a while as cadets and risked our lives down there a bit more than we should have. You're not really suppose to goof off down there but you know, kids will be kids." Don admitted, a bit of guilt intermixed with what was clearly fond reminiscing.

"I never really thought much about it though. It's a neat place, but you're right, really darn ominous even without thinking about the whole two-leg thing. It's easy to get yourself really hurt there if you're not careful, lots of things that are one the edge of falling and a lot of dangerous animals that stalk the place on the worst of occasions."

"Sure, I'll come along. Nice to have company that isn't just my family for a while. Not that I don't enjoy talking with them, but since things started getting rough this winter they're pretty much the only cats I have been talking too, and that's just because my older brother makes us plan out time for each other." Don said, more grateful than he would have liked to admit to have a conversation with someone else and a bit of a change in pace. His life had been more or less the same going like clockwork, something that had been practically driving the tom crazy.

"By the way, not to pry, but whose Alurela? I've never met her. Is she friend, family, or...?" Don asked, a casual curiosity underlying his tone.

"Actually sounds like the type of person my older brother would get along with. Third eldest, I mean. I may have more sibling than I know what to do with." Don said with a small laugh, but took a moment to fully consider what the tom had mentioned prior.

"So, where did you live before the Regime? Were you just a loner? Again, not to pry but like, I've never really traveled outside of the Regime or the clan territories except on the rarest of occasions. I'm kind of curious what's out there if I'm being honest. Don't really know much of what it's like outside of the clans and groups around here." The tom inquired, trying not to press too hard but clearly interested in the prospect of learning more about what laid outside the common borders.

Don gave a small, steady nod, smart enough to catch the vocal cue and acknowledge that, wherever the tom originated, there was likely a good reason he left. Taking note of that, the tom clearly attempted to slightly lighten the topic, though following the same train of thought. "Ah, well, to be fair, as strict as the Regime is, I know it could be a lot stricter. I've heard at other times other clans and groups have put the Regime to shame with it too, and if what my eldest brother says is true, a lot of clans and groups have gotten more structured lately. Maybe just how things change with time I guess, but I was never really around when it wasn't like that so I can't say for sure."

"But I do think we're lucky to have more freedom." Don said, after a small moment of consideration. "Stifle freedom and you stifle a lot of creativity, and stop a lot of cats from figuring out things that might have otherwise tried if they'd got the oppertunity to try. I mean ironically the Regime lets us chose our own jobs, even the clans don't get that luxury. Like, I'd hate to imagine my second eldest brother as a scout, or so help me as a mercenary. He's a helluva guider, though."