I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Natha worked her way south, keeping her pace steady to give them both time to get their limbs to stop shaking. As soon as she was out of eye sight of the spout she felt much better. They were moving into rockier terrain. She moved carefully along the surface, making sure to watch where she was placing her paws. As she moved an opening caught her attention. Sunlight was streaming into some sort of cave. Natha approached the entrance and peered in before turning to look back toward Lyulf. "How do you feel about caves? We don't have to go in very far." She didn't care to get lost in a deep, dark cave system but something about being in an enclosed space felt safe to her.

The past would seem to follow him on this journey, thoughts of his home on his mind as they scurried away from the spout and towards the unknown. It reminded him of the day he ran away, his fear quickening his steps as he tried to put as much distance between his life as he knew it, and new horizons. The mirroring of feelings made his stomach churn in his belly, distracting him from the mouth of the cave that they neared. Lyulf didn't snap to it until Natha's voice cut through the silence. Rapid blinks cleared his mind as he looked up, seeing that they had neared the mouth of a cave. She asked if it was okay if they went in, to which he eagerly nodded. He had grown up in the mountains, cave systems had made up most of their dens. Besides, the feeling of having enclosed walls around him right now made him feel much more secure. Moving on, he brushed up against the mouth of the cave as he made his way in, a faint smile on his lips. "Thank you, Natha..." he said softly, not needing to speak too loud once they were within the cavern. He squinted to see past the lack of light, knowing that the feline would well have the advantage over him in here. "I'm not used to having company, and I feel very comfortable with you," It wasn't an easy thing for him to admit, but after the moment they had just shared, it felt appropriate. He really didn't have anyone here that he could call a friend, not anymore, and then he stumbled upon Natha. It may have only been a day, but already he was starting to feel a lot like himself again. Smiling into the darkness at himself, he turned to try to meet her gaze, where ever that may be, given that his eyes were still adjusting to the dim lighting. "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Lyulf started to make his way in and Natha followed as he thanked her. She felt suddenly embarrassed. What was one supposed to say in this sort of situation? "I uh… thanks. I mean it's no problem, and thank you for accompanying me. It's more fun exploring with company." She worked her way into the darkness of the cave, just missing stepping on a puddle. The light was filtering in along one of the cave walls and there upon them were strange white markings. "Hey, Lyulf, take a look at these." She stretched up on her hind legs, bracing herself against the wall with her front legs as she peered at the markings. "They kind of look like prey animals. I wonder who made them."

A small chuckle came forth at the feline's palatable awkwardness, glad that he wasn't the only one that suffered from this condition. His ears flickered in appreciation, soft eyes searching the dank cave for hers. His smile was true and sincere, he really was enjoying Natha's company. Lyulf nodded at her statement, and was thankful for the shift in topic as she spotted something among the cave walls. He sniffed at the wall out of curiosity, although it smelled nothing out of the ordinary. Lifting himself up like she had, he spotted what she was talking about. Marks covered the walls, ones that looked like deer, jagged antlers sticking out of their rounded heads. "I think they are deer, but I haven't met a wolf who could do anything like this," he murmured, casting a peek her way "Or any creature for that matter..." Lowering himself onto all fours again, he walked deeper into the cave, thankful for the skylights to let in a trickle of morning sun. It made it a lot easier to spot the orange hued markings on the walls, paintings that spread along the length of the cavern. "Who did you think could have left these here?" They were too like natural creatures, deer, foxes, maybe even wolves, to be an accident. These were for sure not randomly occurring things... Lyulf sauntered deeper into the cave, making sure that he didn't get too far ahead of Natha. It was there, to his left, that he spotted something closer to his eye level. Slowly he walked over, mystified by the shape of the thing painted there. It looked like a paw, but there were no claws, and the toes were too long. Tenderly he lifted his own paw, pressing it against the mark with a soft exhale. The damp scents of the cave wafted over him, like wet earth and lichens, but nothing that cave any hints to these unknown things. He leaned closer, spreading out his toes to try to match up with the print below. "What kind of animal could have made this print?" He asked out loud, as much to himself as to his companion. He dropped his paw, sliding it against the smooth stone and pressed his nose closer yet, begging any hint of... anything to provide him with the answers. "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Natha scooted along maintaining her upright position so that she could get a good look at the pictures. Some of these were definitely animals. She saw antlers on one that were very reminiscent of a deer. Another shape looked like a crescent moon. A night time hunt perhaps? She nodded as Lyulf spoke. "I don't know of anyone who can do this stuff either. Not on rock anyway. I did know an old cat who would put markings on scraps of hide to make maps. I've been meaning to try but I don't know what she used as ink. I wonder what they used to make the markings last so long."

Natha paused at a particularly odd looking figure standing on two legs. Her ears flicked back. "What do you think this one is? I… do you think this could be the work of humans?" She found herself wanting to go and she opted just to casually suggest they move on. She wasn't fond of humans even if she'd never met any. She'd only heard stories and legends and none were very good. She eyed the print that Lyulf was stepping in. "Looks a little bit like a monkey only the front part is too short… how are you feeling now? We could cross back up north to find the Gale Gorge. I've heard its windy but supposedly its really pretty and there are all kinds of herbs and things there."

He took his eye off the mark to look towards the feline as she spoke, glancing at the herds of animals that she was peeking at still. Standing on her hind legs like that made him realize just how large she was, built thicker than he would have imagined for a cat. Blinking away the thought, he hummed thoughtfully as she spoke of a cat making maps. "You could always dye the leather and scratch the marks with your claws," Lyulf suggested, finding the whole thing rather fascinating. Making maps on a hide, now that was clever thinking. He had never thought of actually making a map, the most exploration that he had done since leaving home had, well... been right now with Natha. It would be a good idea though, a neat way to track just how much of this land mass that he had been to. While he had no intentions of leaving the north just yet, it could be something to occupy his mind while he was alone. Although the thought of being on his own once again settled like a rock in his belly, ears pulling back to his skull as he swallowed back a whine. Already he had grown so used to her presence, that it made the idea of going off by himself that much harder. Her voice cut through his busy mind, bringing him back to the cave with the painted walls. There was something that changed in her voice, something that tugged at his chest. He stood and inched closer to her, green eyes wide in slight concern. Social cues weren't really easy for him to pick up, making Lyulf shift on his paws as he tried to sort it out. Instead he repeated her words in his mind, seeing that as soon as she mentioned humans, she suggested moving. The male took a long look at the paintings on the walls, nodding along with her. "Could have been, I'm not sure what other kind of animal could do something like this..." Humans had vanished a long time ago, but not without leaving a lasting mark on this world. "Sounds good to me, you can lead the way out," He suggested softly, offering her a timid smile. They had crossed a lot of land already, but he was in no hurry to end this excursion. "I used to live further north anyways, a little wind won't bother me!" It was an attempt to lighten the mood, sensing the almost heavy air that hung between them now. Even though they would be departing, he couldn't help but take one last look at the paintings on the wall. It really was a mystery on how they stayed up there for this long, it had been years now since he had heard of humans in this area... "SPEAK!"

Art by Evelyn