Hidden Beauty

Vine had stuck close to home most her life, but that didn't mean she wasn't ready to go out an explore herself. She was much more capable now that she was mostly grown. She didn't think high and mighty of herself, but she did think her parents did well with raising them as strong individuals. She tried to go on short trips for hunts and set snares and the like, but she wanted to go out a little further.

As she walked outside of pack lands she didn't make it very far before coming across a mysterious looking cave just outside of home. She wondered how she missed this before since it was so close, but no matter. Curiosity grabbed her and she was entering the cave with some caution because she wasn't a dumb girl. Something could have been residing inside, or it could have dropped to the center of the earth. She didn't know.

The farther she walked through the entrance of the cavern, the darker it got. And while she wasn't necessarily scared of what could be inside, she was more worried about how she would find her way back if she kept going. In long but slow steps she kept moving forward, turning her head to look behind her to see the light from outside fading. Just as she was about to turn around to leave, she noticed an ominous glow flicker in the farther reaches of the cave, and while she thought it was a good idea to head back and not discover what laid inside she still found herself moving forward.

As the glow of the cave grew brighter the farther she went, the more she felt safe inside. The more she made steps in a normal pace and manner. She came across a few branches that did not lead to the glow in the heart of the land, and tried to make note of how to get back home. She should have prepared another way but it was too late for that now. She twisted and turned inside the tunnels towards the blue luminescence and soon she would come to the reason of the name of the caves, the mushrooms inside.

She stood in the archway for a moment, not so much in awe but admiring the glow of the room itself. It was very beautiful. She would start in a quiet pad inside, watching where she stepped and careful not to touch any of the mushrooms or puddles beneath her. She wasn't a healer and didn't have experience with plants of any kind but she knew enough not to mess with mushrooms much. She dropped her nose close to one of the buttoned shrooms, but didn't linger long. Once in the center of the cave, she sat and looked slowly all around her. She didn't sense anything amiss about it, she didn't think there was anything in the corners ready to jump and attack her. She made a note of this place in her head so she could maybe come back or perhaps show some of her siblings.

There wasn't much else to do in the cave, so she just took the few moments to admire it. See if the lights were pulsing or if it was just an illusion of the water dripping from the stalactites. She wasn't really sure, but either way it was something to experience. A good experience. It wouldn't be too much longer before she would turn to leave, eager to see what else Boreas had to offer her. She remembered how to turn out of the center of the cave here, but after a few turns she was starting to feel like she was in the tunnels longer than she was coming in. She kept turning to see if the cave behind her looked the same as her way in, and it did kind of but it was hard to photograph that memory. She did her best to reach the branches, look each way and as she made more steps down one path look behind to see what it looked like. Luckily at some point she made it where she could see the exit of the sun. That's all she needed to get out. It was a lot more reassuring as she saw the light of day and she hoped it would be easier if she ever came back to this place. She'd have to keep her cool if she brought one of her siblings out here and felt lost again.

As she found her way outside, it was the same way she came in and she had to wonder if all those other tunnels led to dead ends or continuous loops. She was glad she made it out without much struggle. She'd make her way further west from here, she still had a lot of the day left.

Word Count: 813 Words

"Vine"