The pair fell into the hunt dance just as smoothly as any force of nature worked. At the slightest cue from his Alphess, Shandom knew his part in this dance and began to execute the steps to perfection. She watched and listened with her body as he picked off what would be their next meal and began herding the poor, stupid creature towards the young wolfess in wait. Her ears worked to catch every note, anticipating each move of the furred beast so she would not be in the wrong position when it rooted out of the foliage before Shandom. She dropped her stance, tightening muscles whilst letting her joints relax so she could spring at just the right moment…
And then something happened, and she heard the skittering of small paws on dry leaves as the animal veered to the right. She barely caught sight of the white cottontail as it retreated through the brush. Standing abruptly, her eyes darted to Shandom in confusion, but she had no time to process her thoughts before he called to her. Bemused, she trotted swiftly to Shandom, her eyes imploring him for answers.
“What is it? Why did you stop?” She asked, but he was already saying something, and when her gaze finally traced the same track as his she saw what he was talking about. There, carved into the mountain wall, was the gaping mouth of a cave, and she instantly saw what was so intriguing about it.
Her eyes traced the edge of the cave, an edge that seemed too perfect to have been opened by nature herself. She could only see a few feet inside before it became dark, and she knew that the cave must run deep into the mountain. Curious, she padded a few steps toward the threshold and lowered her muzzle to sniff the ground, but yelped and leaped back in surprise.
“Snakes!” She took a few steps back before stopping, recollecting her composure, and looking again. No, they weren’t snakes, but some kind of metal construction affixed to the ground, leading a path into the darkness of the cave. Her ears bent back for a moment, and she looked at Shandom. She knew this was something left behind by the humans but did not know its purpose. “What do you think those could be?”
Cautiously, she approached the cave again, her paws coming up to the shadow that drew the line between outside and inside. Lowering her snout, she tested the ground. No kidding it smelled like fun, but what it didn’t smell like was even more exciting. There was no musk, no scat here. Nothing had made this place their home. She turned a mischievous eye to Shandom. “It’s ours to explore.”
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