Whisper Caverns Down the rabbit hole

For @Blackmoore.

It had been so long since her last visit here. Her only other visit, actually. It was odd how the pack that once lived here, so close to that of Willow Ridge, vanished without a trace. Whisper Caverns and Willow Ridge used to share one another's hunting grounds, used to hunt together, have feasts together, traded herbal remedies and healing aid for food and such. It was a shame that none of there members had sought out the Willow wolve for a home when their pack had disband. Ravenna knew very little of them personally, only what her mother had said to her when Ravenna had told her the first time she had come across these caverns. Ravenna hoped one day soon, @Nicolò or @Enoki would request the presence of her brother @Greer and perhaps once again Willow Ridge could have such strong allies not too far away.

Ravenna had been trailing the sliver of land between the swamp and meadows, where the grass was soft and lush, the greenery so vibrant. She had been scouting the lands, ether to find herbs, food or even another wolf - she was not particularly picky today. Ravenna had been lucky enough to happen upon a hare, but it was fast, evading Ravenna at every turn. Her jaws reached out, snapping so close to the hare's backside she sliced fur from his rump. Though the brown rodent took a hard left, darting into the only source of cover he could manage - the caverns.

Now, Ravenna stared down into them still within the safety of the sparse forestry around her, the falls outside somewhere close trickling in the distance. Last time she had gone in there in her youth, she had become fearful. The place was beautiful and mysterious but also intimidating and foreboding. Ravenna took a few steps hesitantly into the cavern's mouth, deciding or not if this little meal was really worth the effort of wondering through the tunnels of this dark old pack den.

It was still pretty much summer-time when it all happened. When Blackmoore have moved southwards, far enough to come across the place - as he'd would learn later - called a Hush Meadow. Till now, his days were pretty uneventful since his venture through the seprent's pass and the mountain range around it. Ever since he'd met... that guy? The male perhaps only now realized that then he'd forgot to ask about the male's name, quite embarrassingly. However, that's how things were since his chat with a lad from Fallen Tree Cove.

They were simply pretty much boring.

At least until his eyes have caught something that have stood out from the surrounding greenery in the distance. From where the male stood, Blackmoore couldn't figure out what's that he's exactly seeing. What's catching his eye amidst all of the bushes and small trees growing on the side of the small hill. With his curiosity peaked, the male have changed his paw's course and directed himself there. It wasn't far, but his walk was becoming slower and slower as he approached the place he'd seen before. Pushing himself through shrubberies and tall grass, he almost missed his query. Only thanks to that sun was in it's noon, he'd was able to found it as the shadows have unveiled the grotto when he came up close enough. An entrance, obviously bigger than wolfs den of any kind he'd seen before. Was it a grotto? Cave? Cavern?

He didn't knew.

What he knew however, that nobody used it for a long time. Everything his nostrils could pick up, were the luscious smells of flowers, plants and herbs alike. Upon inspection, his eyes haven't found no marks or fur lying anywhere on the ground either... It took him quite a while before hesitantly Blackmoore have stepped into the shadowy tunnel. Hoping that he'd won't find a bear sleeping inside, which would most likely wouldn't end up too well for him in a such case. But as it turned out however, it wasn't the case. All what he'd saw around was patches of moss and a broken bone or two lying on the cavern's floor - that is once his eyes have adjusted to the darkness which took a while. Curious and intrigued, the male have ventured further into the tunnel, unsure what he'll find...

And that's when strange sounds have came from the abyss of the caverns, causing male to go prone behind nearest rock.

(This post was last modified: Nov 19, 2017, 03:34 AM by Blackmoore. Edit Reason: missing words )

Ravenna took a deep breath, deciding on facing her fears. There was no real reason why Ravenna would ever need to go deep into this place.
Her home in the Willow Ridge was a light forestry with both enough protection to stalk prey, keep shelter and even hide from predators if needed. This was far different, much more inclosing. Maybe the former pack members here found comfort in such protection the rocky place provided. She decided she would find our for herself.

Her pace was slow, her dull claws clicking on the stone, echoing off the cavern walls. The light of the afternoon shined from behind her and every so often and would look back to much sure she kept sight of her opening. Silver eyes strained in the darkness, eyes trying to adjust, though her ears and nose did the majority of the work here, seeking out for any sign of the rabbit. Surely that was a lost cause, likely somewhere deep in the tunnels far further then Ravenna dared to go. For the time being, Ravenna remained completely unaware of the wolf hidden behind one of the various rock formations in here. She merely wondered, sniffing around the cavern floor in her silver glow.

The sounds weren't coherent enough to give a solid image of what have spooked the dark male to duck behind nearest cover. They varied so much, that poor lad was unsure of what he was exactly hearing. It could be anything, from a little field mouse traversing through a pile of twigs to a panther moving about lazily in their lair. For now, he couldn't know really. So he'd waited, firmly pressed behind the silhouette of a rock that was between him and the rest of the tunnel ahead of him that was disappearing in a few leaps - consumed by darkness.

The male was quite good with controlling his emotions. It seemed like patience could be his strong suit, as his tail didn't even flicked through all this time - despite being free to trash violently around if it wanted. His ears were a different story, as they were the main source of information at present. "Seeing" farther than eyes in this darkness, they moved quite a lot - filtering sounds rushing through the caverns. It was thanks to them, that his mind have realized that source of the noises was inevitably coming closer. But as it was, Blackmoore's ears were able to filter out the echos and pick up...

Steps.

Yes, steps. A figure was coming towards him. Someone with paws just like him - or just similar to his. After all, he'd could hear the dull sounds of claws clicking against the cavern's floor. It alone meant that he wasn't hearing a panther or other feline. Their claws retract. - He thought. Could it be a bear or coyote then? He could swear that the steps were too light for the former and too heavy for the latter. What it was then?

In a sudden urge, the male have risen up and decided to step out from his hiding place. His eyes couldn't see anything - at least for now - so he'd took a step forward. Deeper into the caverns. Seeing no difference, he'd took one more.

And one more.

She was a stubborn woman, who at the time being found herself content with debating with herself in her thoughts. She didn't like being underground. She didn't like being confined, to where she looked up to the sky and there was not one. To where when she took a deep inhale, she did not smell the fresh soil, the scent of the trees and brush. She couldn't hear the birds chattering, water flowing in the background or the scurrying of prey. There was nothingness in here, savor a cold chill up her spine. Still, she wondered why her pack's former allies loved it here so much. Outside, it was beautiful. The caverns opening was situated in a small stretch of land somewhere between the Marsh and Meadow. There was a small water fall outside in the forest even to bask near. Willow Ridge didn't even have that. So surely, surely, there was some great beauty within these caverns she had yet to find.

Maybe the rabbit she had been trailing had found this source of light in the darkness. Either way, she had lost the scent to it now and the scurrying she had heard as it ran into the cavern tunnels could no longer be heard. Her ears went to work, listening, but the noise she caught was not that of a rabbit. Steps. Yes, steps. A figure was coming up from behind her. She couldn't help but be frozen in place for a moment, though the other creature was taking slow enough steps to allow Ravenna to face the being head on. The few steps that the other creature took sounded as similar as her own. She figured it was another wolf or a coyote. It would have to be quite a large one though, whatever it was.

Her hackles rose, her legs shifting to where her stance was grounded, legs bent. She was ready for a fight if the need arose and her head lowered to level with her spine, ears fell back and with a flash of her teeth, a growl echoed from her jaws. She would hope that whoever was out there, would heed the warning to back off. Here in the darkness of the tunnels, one could only be cautious. Her silver eyes focused, straining to see and the figure of Blackmoore finally came into view.

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

Soon enough it begun clear why the darkness before Blackmoore's eyes wasn't going away, as his cautious steps led him into a different corridor. He could only go left or right now, however before the male turned in any way - his ears have been assaulted by a sudden growl coming from his left. Working on instinct, his muscles tensed in anticipation of the blow - after all, the sounds that reached his ears have definitively told him that he'd got too close for comfort for the creature that he'd came upon. Yet the blow had never came to existance... It took him only a snap to realize that, yet the male would bet that the other person noticed that even in darkness of of the tunnels.

"Easy, easy there!" - Were the first words coming from his maw as he'd turned his head fully towards the stranger. His deep voice rattled through the corridor as his positively green eyes locked onto Ravenna's shape in the darkness, still unsure upon whom he'd came up in the caverns. Yet, right now, his nose turned out to be less dependent on light, as his nostrils picked up a faint scent of willows and leafs... and fur.

It looked like the lad have came upon one of his kin, instead of a bear, that's for sure.

(This post was last modified: Mar 29, 2018, 07:17 AM by Blackmoore.)

It only took moments for the other creature to call out in response. It was not a snarl in return, but an 'Easy there!'. Words which obviously let her know that it was another wolf, a male wolf and a large one at that. In the very dim lighting she could just barely catch his outline but as he had turned to her, it was the glow of his eyes which shown the most in the darkness. Ravenna was happy it would not come to a fight. She had been expecting one, had it been a coyote. Hell, it could have still been a fight even if it had been another wolf but by his words she imagined now he was not looking for one.

Ravenna calmed herself, her stance that was otherwise ready for an attack loosened and she lifted back to her full height. Still, she remained tense, cautious, within this underground with a complete stranger. "You scared the hell out of me..." She spoke, obvious irritation laced in her voice which was followed with a sighing of relief. She was most uncomfortable here underground which could have been noticeable on her expression if her expression could have been seen. For now, they only had their voices and their noses to understand one another. He was a musky fellow, a strong scent, earthy and she did not pin-point anything familiar to her like the willows, the grasses of the Fireweed Rise of cedar forest.

Hesitantly, she took a few steps forward, pale silver eyes straining. "Maybe we should get out of here..." In her panic at the other wolf's footsteps and her turning around so abruptly, loosing track from having been caught off guard, she had lost the light of the caverns opening. Had she gone too far? How would she ever make it out of here? It seemed in her wish to break her fear and explore the unknown she had gotten lost and in it, grown even more fearful.

He had trouble seeing anything more than a faint outline of a stranger amidst the shadows that ruled the corridors. Hell, he'd barely could say where were the strangers eyes before he sensed her movement. Yes, sensed as his ears caught on the sound of her breath as well as soft hum of the moving fur before his eyes noticed the changed outline of the figure they were trying to see in full. "You scared the hell out of me..." A rasp sound broke the almost ear-ringing silence, telling him that his green eyes were staring at a female before him. Realizing that, Blackmoore could perhaps understand the measures she was taking to defend herself. After all, any stranger could be up to no good - especially one you met at a remote and secluded location like this. The male wasn't going to hold it against her however, as it seemed pointless. On a contrary, in his mind the woman scored a plus for being cautious like that.

"So did you." - The male have stated simply, as his head tilted with a brief flash of amusement on his maw. "A growl like that made me think it's gonna be the last thing I gonna hear before departing to the afterlife." He chuckled as his eyes realized that the woman before him made a step towards. A few more and his eyes were going to tell him she's of a similar size, as well as notice the dominantly grey hue (or white? he couldn't tell in the shadows) of hers as she'd almost spurt the next words right into his face. "Maybe we should get out of here..." Her tune changed, the male could easily tell as much as he'd picked up the anxiety in her voice, as well as movement. This have made him wonder what could be the cause of it. After all, if it was him - the strong and seemingly independent woman like the one that just growled at him would just simply kept at it and told him to back off before rushing to the nearest exit. Or would just lounge at him, right?

So it had to be something else, the male summarized in his mind before nodding as the female came close. Close enough to see her face in some detail. "Sure we can," He'd begun, taking a step back into the corridor he'd came from. "My only question is do you want to go that way, or the way I came?" Blackmoore continued looking to his right (her left) briefly, underlining his words with a paw pointing the same direction before lowering it again. "The entrance is just around the bend behind me" The male finished in his low baritone, staring intently upon the woman.

(This post was last modified: Mar 31, 2018, 07:28 PM by Blackmoore. Edit Reason: Repetitions? Crappy sentences and such? )

The stranger before her spoke up once more then, admitting that she, too, had scared him by the growl she had given him. He chuckled and though she could not see his expression, she smiled, a half laugh of her own slipping past her lips at his words. Well, if anything she knew now her growl was intimidating enough to make someone think they were not going to live past another day. In truth Ravenna was a rather large girl, thickly built with a solid torso, thick legs and full hips like her mother. She was larger though then her parents and had grown to learn to take care of herself quite well. Of course, living within the safety of a pack meant it less to that she would get into any real serious scraps. Today she had decided to wonder off on her own and for a moment she had thought it would turn out badly. A moment she was glad had now passed.

'Sure we can' the man before her would then say and as he spoke she found herself beginning to try to study what she could of his face in this darkness. For the time being she would notice his eyes, a glowing of blue-green hue that drawed her in. He asked her then if she wanted to go out from which she came or the other way, a way she had never gone before. Had he been in this cavern before and knew the place? Ravenna decided it was a risk she was unwilling to take. This little game of exploring the underground had gone far enough for her. "I think I'll take the entrance. I don't think being underground is really my thing..." She found herself admitting to the stranger and shrugged though after the action realized he may not have been able to see it. Either way she did not push herself closer into his direction. If the entrance was just around the bend behind him she would hope that he would either lead her out of step aside for her to find her own way. Still she did not want to be rude and push him aside if the need did not call for it. He'd have no reason to trap her in here, right?