Shaking Off The Rust
Natha was pleased they'd gotten an early start as the mountain range was proving terribly difficult to cross. She carefully worked her way over the rocky terrain. "I was hoping with a name like Dreamer's Col this place might be a bit more, I don't know, dreamier. Do Not Climb Mountain Pass would have been more accurate." She suddenly slipped and a number of rocks tumbled down below her as she slid but she was able to stop. It had been a minor rock slide thankfully. She began working her way back up until she reached the mouth of a cavern. She stopped and peered inside for a moment before glancing back at Tamsyn. "I've heard some of these caverns go all the way through but I have no way to really know if this is one of them.
Knight
Of all the places they had traveled so far, this might be the most nerve racking. The path up the side of the dormant volcano had been fairly rocky and hard to climb as well, but this felt like a much harder fall if one of them slipped. She gave a breathy chuckle at Natha’s joke, adding in agreement, ”Yeah, this really seems like false advertising.” Just as she spoke her gaze snapped up when she heard rocks shifting under Natha’s paws and she paused till she was sure her friend was on stable ground once again. She breathed a sigh of relief and kept going, carefully placing each step till they finally reached a cavern. She stood next to the feline, squinting as she peered into the cave curiously. She didn’t smell any lingering scents of other wolves or predators so the only danger she could really see was them getting lost in there. ”Well... I guess we’ll have to find out, won’t we? Maybe just keep to one side so we can always follow one of the walls in case we need to find our way back out.
"That sounds like a good idea to me." Natha thought Tamsyn's suggestion was smart and so she followed the right wall into the cavern. The first thing that hit her was the darkness. The further they went into the cavern the darker it got. It made the fur on the back of her neck stand up. "One of these days I need to figure out a way to make and carry light. Even my eyes can hardly see in this darkness." She carried on, nostrils flaring as she picked through scents. Mostly it smelt strongly of earth and clay, there were no scents of potential threads or predators and for that she was grateful.
A small shaft of light up ahead caught her attention and Natha quickly padded over to it. There was a small hole in the ceiling that allowed for a narrow shaft of light about the same size as one of her paws to filter through. "Well, at least we aren't too deep and it seems that its moving horizontal." She was glad they weren't going straight down into the bowels of the mountain.
Tam was happy to let Natha take the lead as they made their way into the mountain. She walked close to the right side of the cavern as well, occasionally letting her shoulder brush the rock just to reassure her it was there as they went deeper and deeper into the darkness. When Natha commented about figuring out how to make a light she chuckled and replied, “Yeah, that would be very helpful right now.” Everything was pitch black and she had given up trying to see anything a little while back.
When a small spot of light appeared ahead of them she was quick to move toward it as well, tipping her head up to see the small patch of sky visible though the hole above them. She nodded in agreement to the assessment. “Maybe we did find one of the passageways after all,” she said in return. After taking a second to enjoy being able to see for a moment, she nodded with her head back down their path. ”Lets keep going. I’m not too much of a fan of how dark it is in here.”
Natha nodded in agreement. "Same, I don't mind a small place to curl up in like a den but I don't think I care much for dark, deep caves." She was sad to leave the light but anxious to find the other end of the tunnel. Natha was pretty sure that Tamsyn was right. This had to be one of the tunnels that lead to the other side of the mountain range. Unless it was just wishful thinking.
Shrouded in complete darkness, Natha felt her other senses sharpen. She could hear the slow drips of moisture falling from the ceiling and at one point she yelped and jumped as she stepped in a muddle. Oh joy… because pitch black wasn't enough, wet just had to be added to the mix. She hated being wet.
Finally, a light shown up ahead and as Natha stepped into the sunlight she swiftly closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of fresh air. "Ahhhh that's more like it. Hey, look down there! See those woods? Those are the Mile-High Woods!" Grinning, Natha started working her way down. Of all the places she'd explored she enjoyed the Mile-High Woods a lot and she thought Tamsyn might like them to.
It was impossible to know what was even inches in front of her nose in this darkness and it was certainly something Tamsyn was going to be happy to get away from. The sooner the better as far as she was concerned. When Natha stepped in a puddle and yelped it caught Tam off guard, making her jump from the sudden noise. She let a slow breath out though her nose while she tried to get her heart rate back to normal after the sudden startle - now wishing more than ever they were finally on the other side of this passage.
The moment she saw light start to seep into the cavern ahead of them she grinned happily and her tail began to wag ahead of her. So they had managed to find their way though! She picked up her pace until she finally stepped out into the sunlight as well, blinking to adjust her eyes to the light that seemed extra bright in comparison to the darkness they were just in. When the feline next to her pointed out the woods below them, she turned her attention to the Mile-High Woods in question. Her eyes widened and she grinned as she replied, ”I’ve never seen trees grow like that! That’s so cool!”
She laughed softly at her own amazement while her mint green gaze took in the sight of the landscape stretched in front of them. They had covered a lot of ground so far together, but she was throughly enjoying it. ”Is that where we’re headed next? Or do you have something else in mind?”
Natha nodded eagerly. "Yes! In those woods I'm sure there are trees that even wolves without retractable claws can climb." Natha loved climbing and being up high and she wanted to share that with Tamsyn even though she knew wolves didn't usually climb. Of course here in these strange lands it was dangerous to make assumptions. She'd met three wolves now that had retractable claws like her own. It was very strange and she had no idea why it was so but life was what it was. She started the descent, scrambling carefully down the rocks as she sought to get to the woods. It was one of her favorite places so far but she hadn't had the change to really explore it yet.
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