The Dead.. Are Alive?

Ricin’s natural curiosity has led the lighter pup to go explore while trusting that his brother will take care of whatever danger is in the back. Maybe he is being reckless but he feels the need to clear the room of other dangers besides predators. So far, the brothers have been lucky enough not to find traps, however, being a pessimist at heart, Ricin does not expect their luck to hold out much longer. So, he has taken it upon himself to clear every seemingly safe room. Does he know what he is looking for? No but Ricin is pretty sure he will know a trap when he sees one. Well… he hopes he will.

Eyes continue to survey the wall of bones as Ricin starts to walk alongside it, moving away from the back of the room where Chade is and back towards the entrance. How many bones are on these shelves? Are they all from the same type of creature? Questions cloud his mind as Ricin walks. Most of the skulls look similar in size and shape, however Ricin cannot place what kind of animal would have that skull. As he walks and inspects, he finds parts of fractured skulls and tries to piece them together in his mind. The forehead is raised and flatter than a wolf’s. It’s snout isn’t elongated like his own and the teeth appear to be deer like.

There are a few sharp teeth in among the flat ones, letting the lighter brother know they were omnivorous creatures. Mushrooms and crystals litter the bones, poking up in odd places and further obscuring key bone features. Paws weave their way around broken pieces of wood, scattered animal and unknown creature bones, chipped stones, and skittering rats. Ricin picks up the sound of dripping water but does not see the source. Nose tests the air and catches too many scents to identify. Luckily, none of them jump out in his memory as dangerous, so Ricin allows himself to relax slightly. Eyes resume their trace along the length of the wall as he walks beside it.

As Ricin tries to study the skeletons further, his right front paw lands in a slight dip of the floor, pulling the lighter-hued boy’s attention downward. The ground appears to slop downward, toward the corner of the room. Looking back toward the area where Chade is, Ricon ponders if he should continue to investigate or alert Chade to this strange new development. When there is a loud clattering noise from behind him, Ricin starts to turn to go help his brother. Suddenly, Ricin feels a cold breath against his neck and it freezes the boy in his tracks. A soft howling reaches his ears and Ricin quickly snaps back toward the corner, ready to attack.

Gaze flicks over every inch of the intersecting walls, trying to find the source of the noise and breath. Cautiously, Ricin moves forward, straining his ears to try and hear the low howl again. As he nears the entrance area where they had first laid paws in the tomb and feels a gust wind travel down the tunnel from the world above. As the cool air rustles his fur, the strange sound is once again heard. Ricin is able to pinpoint the source this time as his eyes find two dark cavities that have been carved into the rock walls on either side of the entrance slope. Rolling his eyes, once more cursing his lack of peripheral vision, Ricin goes to the tunnel opening nearest to him.

Casting a quick glance back toward where Chade is, Ricin quickly moves forward to stick his head into the corridor. The ground slopes gently downward, as the tunnel descends deeper underground. As the passageway falls away into the earth, Ricin sees several openings along both walls. Moving back into the main room, Ricin swiftly moves toward the other wall to confirm his suspicions. Both passageways delve deeper into the earth, hiding more caverns and rooms along the way. The tunnels had both curved off out of his field of vision but not before causing Ricin to suspect there is a great labyrinth of rooms and hidden corridors under his paws.

Happily moving back into the main room, Ricin hears more clattering coming from the back of the room and the lighter hued boy moves to assist his brother. Once they kill this animal and fill their bellies, Ricin will try to convince Chade to go with him and explore the depths below them.

"Speech"