Underground Sea Far Away in Another Dark Place

@Cottongrass didn't sound too convincing but she wasn't about to tell him so, one thing at a time and worst case, well, she'd find him again. Shivers were beginning to set in now she was clear of the water and she nodded to @Avery she nodded when he chose a path, her soaking fur chilling just a little more as the fresh breeze blew through. At least it seemed the most likely path, even if it may not have been the one he had come in on.

She moved closer to her brother's side, drawing what warmth she could while her own movement worked to fend off whatever chill it could. She had been so focused on putting one paw in front of the other in an attempt to save herself from turning into some icy statue that it was only Avery's words that caused her to look up. Her tail began to wave, one worry chased away after the next, they were out of the cave and Cottongrass had found them just fine! "Yeah, A-avery... Cottongrass, C-cottongrass... Avery..." Her speech halted to allow for the shivers to clack her teeth each time a breeze blew past. Finally she spotted a small alcove and tucked herself out of the wind, "M-maybe we should just rest here for a bit?"

They weren't dead! They weren't hurt! And the world was ending but it wasn't anymore!

All in all, Cottongrass was sure that the day had hit rock bottom in terms of what could go wrong - but that just meant things could only get better with each passing moment. Whatever storm of feelings that was bubbling inside of him was forgotten. Instead he could only feel relief and joy upon seeing the forms of Vic and Avery. Because Vic - Vic was shivering with each step but she didn't look ready to blame him for not warning her about the hole in the ground. And @Avery - he wasn't yelling about how Cottongrass was going to eat him or something. Which he liked, a lot.

His tail wagged hard enough for the rest of his hindquarters to sway with the movement, and he bounded forward towards the two siblings. He barely skidded to a stop before Avery, nose bumping softly against the male before he brushed past to the alcove Vic found. It was snowing, cold, and he still felt kinda bad about what happened. But he was going to fix everything, alright?

"You're freezing." He chirped as he settled against her side, ever so observant. And with that - he threw Avery an expectant stare, waiting for the small male to join them. It was too cold to be dawdling, or at least that's what he thought. He also might have been touch starved, but none of them needed to know that. His cuddles were going to be life-saving cuddles and totally not selfish at all as far as they knew. He leaned closer into Vic's side, flank twitching at the seeping coldness he felt coming from her wet fur.

It was there the three would huddle, content to spend the rest of the day warming up. Their adventures would start tomorrow, once the cold in their bones melted away.

Fade.