She needed to be quicker; sneakier. Her ventures beyond the Aurora borders were always halted by either her mother or father, who could scale the mountain without making a single sound. Revon, unfortunately, was still clumsy as she grew into her long legs. Her oversized paws shuffled across the stone terrain, awkward and uncoordinated. Lighter, she thought to herself as she struggled to grasp the concept of walking on her toes and not the entire base of her paws.

What she needed was more practice—which was precisely why she was currently evading her parents. With a quick glance over her shoulder the girl disappeared into the mountain, her black tipped tail wagging gently behind her as excitement fuelled her steps. The morning glow of the sun helped mask her russet fur against the sea of gray—something she had learned early on. She longed for the same dark fur that adorned her father, for it would make nighttime adventures much easier, but the mountain princess would have to work with what was given to her. The red could be useful—she just had to figure out how.

Without hesitation she descended down the nature-made steps, curiosity fuelling her as she embraced the cooler air. Her father’s scent lingered in the damp air but it was stale, earning a sigh of relief from the little Archer. For now she was alone. Perfect. She hummed to herself as she approached the hidden lake, her tangerine eyes wide. She had never seen anything like it before. Hesitantly she reached forward and tapped the water with a forepaw, disrupting the mirror-like surface and earning a small, amused giggle from the fox.

The cavern was awfully quiet—too quiet—but it reminded her of her father, for he moved like a shadow and only spoke when necessary. Mother was quiet too, but a different type of quiet. More thoughtful. She was like a quiet sunrise, warm and filled with an array of colours.

Her toes curled at the thought, a smile still pressed to her dark lips as she poked at the water once more, disrupting the smooth surface. This time the giggle caught in her throat, the embers in her skull narrowing as the sound of approaching steps echoed throughout the underground. Go away! She wanted to scream, but her tongue remained slack between her canines, and instead her nose twitched. It was a pack member—one of the newer recruits that Revon had done well in avoiding since their arrival. She did not necessarily dislike them. She just did not have time for them. Not when there were adventures to be had and mischief to get into.

The voice consumed her as it filled the void around them, her pointed snout turning to greet the dark-eyed male. She nearly rolled her eyes at his question but kept herself in check. She was the alpha’s daughter after all. “Lookin’,” she answered with a casual roll of her shoulders, her tail giving a sharp flick to dismiss his question. “What are you doin’ down here?” She countered, a single brow lifted. 

Thinking.

How boring.

She, too, had to refrain from rolling her eyes. Adults always engaged in such boring activities, making Revon certain she did not want to grow up. No thank you! Life was far more fun and entertaining as a child, for the possibilities were endless! Growing up meant rules and order. Boring crap. Stuff the little fox had no interest in.

Not yet, anyway.

At his question the Archer gave a quick shake of her head, her lips pursed as her tail tucked neatly, almost fox-like, around her coiled legs. “Nah,” she answered with a lazy shrug, her head falling slightly to one side. “Never been down here before.” Even though it was none of his business. She didn’t even know why she was sharing it with him. He was probably just going to tell on her for wandering so far from the Aurora borders.

Her nose wrinkled. “Why y’come down here t’think?” Couldn’t he have done his thinking elsewhere? Anywhere? Far away from her. The fox knew she couldn’t tell him to leave. He was older. He could get her into heaps of trouble. Heck, he could pick her up if he really wanted to and return her to the Heights! She had to be mostly nice. For adventure’s sake.

Her ears twitched at his comment but she said nothing. Instead she refocused her gaze back to the still, black surface of the water, a line forming between her brows. She was not interested in entertaining an adult. Had her mother or father sent him after her to make sure she stayed out of trouble? Or had he taken it upon himself to keep an eye on her? Or had he come down here to seek out solitude as well and Revon had ruined his peaceful ‘alone time’? Her nostrils flared in amusement at the thought but she remained quiet, the tip of her tail twitching.

Quiet and out of the way. Precisely why she had come to the cavern. And the Aurora second had ruined that. The irony. She nodded in agreement to his words but, again, did not respond. It appeared she had been hanging around her father too much and had adopted some of his silent mannerisms. Not that she minded. She was not really in a conversational mood. However, the next cluster of words that filled the cavern caught her interest, causing her fiery gaze to land on the older agouti once more. He was asking her to join him on a scouting, maybe some hunting, mission? A brow arched. Huh. He really wanted to earn some brownie points with her parents. She shrugged. “I guesso,” she answered dismissively as she uncoiled her hindquarters from the ground. “Where y’goin’?”

The man wasn’t very specific with his answer but she didn’t mind. It only added to the thrill of the adventure. Even if it was with company she didn’t want. Just because they were going on a scouting mission together it didn’t mean she actually had to talk to him, right? Her ear twitched in his direction as he spoke, her fiery gaze still fixated on his tawny frame. “Hmmm,” she hummed as she shuffled her forepaws, her head falling to the side. “Yea, I s’pose I’ll come with you.” This new path Pyriel spoke of might actually be of some use to the little fox in the future. But only if she knew where it was. Which meant she would have to accompany the dark-eyed subordinate.

She took a step toward the path she had used to get down to the hidden lake, her brows pinched together as she waited for the older male to take the lead. The scarlet Archer could dip out of the adventure once she got bored or tired of the newcomer’s company. There was also the possibility that it wouldn’t be completely awful, but she was doubtful. However Revon couldn’t be rude, or passive, to her parents’ subordinates. That wasn’t how proper mountain princesses behaved. And she did not want to be scolded—especially by her mother. So she had no choice but to play nice.