Sunbeam Lair glass half full

Weather: 28°F, Foggy, snow (3-6 in.) in the afternoon and evening.

After following the creek for some time, Dune veered off to the right and headed for the mountains. He was quite used to the slopes, having grown up in a mountainous region. A cave had caught his attention, and soon enough he found himself engulfed in a much darker place. There seemed to be a strange amount of abundant life here, considering how dark and secluded it was from the rest of the world, and suddenly he felt rather claustrophobic. When he turned around, however, he realized he had gone too far, and he had not done a good job of remembering where he had turned in the first place. He was lost, but he had a pretty good idea of how to remedy (hee hee) the situation.

Carefully, methodically, Dune lowered his head to the ground and began to sniff out his own tracks. It wasn't easy, considering he literally smelled like himself, but he was fairly certain he was going in the right direction.

The others had been resting, while Lennon got little slumber that night. Evening after evening it seemed to grow harder just to sleep, but it allowed him to stay alert while the others dreamed. The smell of a stranger was what forced him to stand up, an odd sense of protection washed over him and for the first time he greeted an unharmful wolf with aggression. 

He followed the wolf’s tracks until coming upon an ivory male. In truth, if he’d been any other color Lennon likely wouldn’t have been so brash. Yet, this newcomer reminded him of the white beast the attacked Alarian and Korei, and his bias overtook him. ”Hey - who are you?” He barked, not showing any strong behavior of hostility. Just not exactly the most welcoming face.

Dune was almost thankful when the scent of another wolf became known to him. However, the posturing and aggressive tone of the stranger was anything but welcoming. That was especially strange, considering Dune was certain this was no claimed cave. The ivory male had done nothing wrong, as far as he could tell, so this open hostility immediately put him on edge. Still, he tried to remain calm as not to escalate the situation. He had no reason to refuse giving an answer, so he spoke in a gruff voice.

"Dune," he replied. He did not attempt to elaborate in any manner. That simply was not his way. Instead, he remained where he stood, slightly tense, and readying himself for any conflict that might come his way. He was well-equipped to fight, and he would do just that if it came down to it.

With his outward unwelcome of the stranger, he noticed the unease he placed on the white wolf and relaxed himself a bit. For now, he believe this traveler had not come as a threat, and his mood shifted dramatically. Besides, with the five other mouths with the ability to bite lingering farther in the lair, this newcomer could hardly pose much an issue. 

”Lennon - sorry about that, I’m just a bit on edge lately.” He gestured to the claw marks on his shoulder and presented he missing chunk of flesh from his back leg. ”You’re welcome here, just as long as you’re friendly.” He flashed Dune an apologetic smile, hopefully he would be as amiable as himself.

Dune parsed through the words the other spoke with ease, struggling to keep up with the conversation. An apology, an explanation, and a sense of ease. Thankfully, it did not appear that this would turn into a conflict of any sort, based on Lennon's posture and tone of voice. Dune too relaxed, and he looked behind Lennon, wondering if the stranger knew the way out of this godforsaken cave. He had not meant to wander so far, but the strange sights had kept him going, and now he was unsure how to leave.

"Exit? he asked, gesturing to the tunnel that was behind Lennon, hoping that would at least give him some sense of direction. If not, Dune would have to figure it out on his own. He knew this wolf owed him nothing, but Dune was hoping there was some spark of generosity in his new acquaintance's heart.

It seemed the new acquaintance wasn’t the most articulate, of course he didn’t mind though. He lowered his ears as the wolf asked for the exit, and wondered if his abrupt introduction had made the male wish to leave. The idea stung slightly, he really didn’t like making others uncomfortable. ”Yeah, I can show you.” He insisited, sending him a friendly smile. 

”This place isn’t all cave, y’know. There’s a beautiful lair inside,” He hesitated, thinking about the prepossessing sunbeam’s falling through and herbs covering the grounds, ”I can show you, if you’d like.” He began to walk towards the exit anyway, in case the ghost preffered to leave.

Dune sighed in relief. He likely could have found his way out (eventually), but having somebody show him the way was much more appealing, and it would mean that he could return to the outside world sooner rather than later. Dune was getting ready to follow when Lennon mentioned something else. "Lair?" he asked, unsure of what the word meant. It was not a word he had come across before, and he was somewhat curious.

The more time he spent in this cave, the more he wished for the fresh (albeit freezing) air of the world outside. Dune was not a wolf who did well in enclosed spaces, and he was itching to get out of here.

With the question his ears lifted, he gestured with his head. ”I’ll show you,” He began to trail through the claustrophobic spaces with ease. Padding along the damp ground, before revealing an opening to a prepossessing sanctuary. Rose-tinted sunlight streamed through, bathing the green filled ground, and the resting wolves. ”See?” He smirked, glancing down to see his acquaintance’s reaction.

Last one from me! I can't see Dune going further into the place, haha.

Instead of following the wolf deeper into the cave, Dune continued toward the exit. He longed for the breeze, the sunlight, and anything that was out of this cave. Thankfully, he hadn't been that far from where he had entered, and the large white male exited from where he had entered and he took a long, deep breath in. Snow had begun to fall, but that was no matter. It was far better to be out in the snow than cooped up in that stone prison.

Dune glanced back toward the entrance, slightly curious as to why Lennon would want to stay in there longer. The northern wolf licked his lips then began to journey around the mountain where the stone prison lay somewhere underneath.