500+
Gotham hadn't really thought that his shaking had the actual goal of becoming dry, anyway; he was more interested in making his sister wet again! He giggled a little at her statement and shrugged, realizing that girls didn't think the way that boys did! They cared about being dry, but the little boy only wanted to get his sister back for making him even more wet in the first place! He wouldn't tell her that, though, because then she would be on to him and might even start playing the game, too. The ebony pup would have more competition, and less chance of winning! Naw, today they would go exploring instead of having a water fight, and Gotham wouldn't pursue the matter futher.
He knew that what he said about the monsters was not a complete truth. Of course, it was possible to outsmart the monsters, but in reality the monsters were also very, very smart. They were probably still in the cave with the two pups, clinging to their fur and dancing on the tips of their ears! No matter, though, because despite having a bad reputation the monsters were not really all that bad at all! Gotham sometimes felt kind of bad for them, because no one liked them. It was only their nature to be silly trickster beasts, and who could deny them that? The boy was pleased to have satisfied his sister, though, and would not tell her anything else she didn't know, especially if she thought they were scary. Instead, he gave a brief closed-mouth smile to her and nodded almost imperceptibly. She couldn't know that he was hiding the truth from her, otherwise Gotham would feel very bad.
The darkness seemed as if it had become an actual entity, a thing that was not characterized only by the absense of light but also by the way it seemed to stifle all sounds and wrap around one like a heavy blanket. Gotham's paws felt a little chilly as he continued to walk deeper into the cave, and uncertainty began to creep up on him, too. His head was kept low to the ground, and his tail fell behind him. This way he was less visible, and the darkness could not find him. He merged right into it, black on black, only his eyes catching the faint light and sending it back. The boy felt so sneaky! His poor sister, having been deprived of so much pigment, was not quite so fortunate, and Gotham felt just a little bad for her. As for what might be down in the caves, there was only one answer. "Monsters!" he cried out impetuously, not even a thought of what the word could do to his sister flitting through his mind. He immediately regretted it, and scrunching his shoulders up a little and pausing in his tracks he added hastily, "Haaah ha, I'm just a-kiddin'. Diddi trick ya? I thinks dat's all rucks en dirt en stuff." Eyes wide, hoping that his sister would buy his clever cover-up, he resumed his earlier pace, a hesitant plod through the underbelly of the land.