[Chr24] Ice Caves

Zana, Moonie, with her Gingerbread Shoon, Luna, and Aeris approach a cavern, carved into the side of a small mountain.  The ground was white with snow, the trees seemingly gathered above the 'bucks as they walked, shielding them from the gusts of wind they could hear, broken up by the outer thicket of the forest they'd been walking through.  They had heard news of a Golden Polar Bavee, a rare sight, if true.  After hearing about it, they couldn't help but let their curiosity get the better of them and all decided that they would take the opportunity since, well, what harm could come from it?

Moonie looked around, her eyes trailed up the tree as she noticed a snake slithering up one of the trees, stopping and seemingly staring back at the 'buck.  She couldn't help but wonder if it could see her, or if it simply was sheer chance it was looking her way.  Maybe it could smell them.  Either way, it remained nearly completely still, its tongue flicking out a few times before it returned to what it was originally doing- slithering around a tree.  She looked back toward the group and wondered if they had seen, but they simply kept moving forward.  Looks like nobody else noticed.  She continued forward, catching up with the others before they reached the entrance of the cave.  Looking inside, it didn't seem like much, the sunlight barely was able to shine its way through.  Icicles dangled from the ceiling as the further you looked into the cavern the more like an abyss it seemed.

"This is a little.. creepy." Aeris gave a lightheared laugh, more out of being in a state of anxiety.  The cavern wasn't inviting.  In fact, everything seemed to scream "STAY OUT"  

They all seemed to hesitate.  Standing in silence as they seemed to wonder what they should do.  "We should just go back.  We don't want to get lost." Zana decided to be the voice of reason, though they all knew it.  "Yeah," Earned a small nod from Luna as she shifted on her feet.  It almost felt like something was watching, as almost impossible as that seemed.

As they turned to walk away, there was a loud crack before a long rumble as the ground beneath them crumbled, dropping them down.  As they fell, they soon hit something and instead began to slide.  It would almost be fun, if not for the fact they weren't sure how far they'd fall or what would be waiting for them at the bottom of said fall.  Finally, Aeris fell off the "slide," letting out a small scream before the others followed.  They all tried to reach out to find one another in the air but to no such luck.  It wasn't too long before they fell for a final time, nearly bouncing back up from whatever they had landed on.  They all waited for a moment, wondering what just happened as they tried to process the events that just unfolded.  As Aeris pushed herself to her feet, she looked around, the others were beginning to get on their feet as well before they noticed they were in a nest of some sort.  Feathers had cushioned their fall, though they were so large, the group were unsure of what could have such a feather.  They gathered near the edge, jumping down and looking around at whatever they could make out.  The sunlight was able to shine through from the hole that had seemingly formed out of nothing.

They couldn't make out much, save for the dirt ground and feathers lost here and there.  They turned their attention to the wall, scratched by whatever creature had made its home here.  Something large.  Maybe something dangerous.  They stared for a moment before Aeris shook her head slightly and turning around, her blood running cold the moment she did.  She couldn't talk, she couldn't move.  Zana glanced over at the other 'buck before noticing, her eyes widened in fear as she turned and stepped back.

"Hey?"  She tried to calmly get their attention, and the two of them looked over at Zana and quickly noticed something was wrong before they turned to see for themselves.

There it stood, a large Glacial Twiwa.  Way larger than they'd ever seen, or even heard of.  They stood there frozen as they tried to figure out what to do.  There was seemingly no way out, not right now, at least.  Do they try to run?  Do they try and play dead, hoping it would lose interest and simply leave them alone?  All of a sudden the group heard the tiniest of noises, a soft squeak, really.  Shuu.  They began to wonder if a Gingerbread Shoon's cloud would help calm the beast standing in front of them.  As the Shoon let out another stretch it made yet another noise before the Twiwa began to make a noise of its own.  An angry one, of course.  The group didn't want to simply stand and wait any longer, they turned and began to run.  The Twiwa let out a screech before they could hear the angry fluttering of its wings but they didn't dare turn around to see if it was chasing, it was too likely of a chance.  As they ran past the nest again, they noticed a couple of eggs.  Of course it was simply trying to protect it's young.  They'd be angry, too if there were intruders.  As they continued to run, they began to wonder how they were going to get out, but there had to be a way out- after all, the Twiwa had to come and go somehow.

As they ran, they looked frantically around for the exit, finally seeing a different pathway down.  Without hesitation, the group ran toward it, the Twiwa struggling to fly toward them in such a confined area.  They ran, despite it being nearly pitch black throughout.  They just needed to see that small glimmer of sunlight to find their way out.  That's it.  And they'd be free.  They continued to go forward, and they were finally able to see it.  The light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.  They picked up pace, though just because they were able to escape the cavern didn't mean they were free from the Twiwa.  They would have more of a chance to find a place to hide, though.