Shizu slowly woke up and looked around. The rest of the pack was still sleeping as the sun was starting to rise. She noticed that her side had completely healed but she did want to get the blood off her fur. She walked into the lake and swam a bit before crawling out and shaking herself dry.
"Looks like you're feeling better." Tsume stood up and stretched.
"Yea, Cheza is amazing." Shizu sat down in the grass.
Kiba and Cheza slowly woke up as did Blue an Toboe, leaving only Hige asleep.
"Hey Hige, wake up." Tsume nudged him with his nose.
"Five more minutes" Hige yawned, refusing to get up.
"Now Hige" Tsume and Shizu spoke at the same time then looked at each other.
Hige began to laugh as he got up. "You two are so much alike that you already know what the other one is thinking."
"Shut it Hige" Tsume and Shizu once again spoke at the same time.
Shizu began to laugh as did Hige and Blue.
"Come on, we should keep moving." Kiba spoke.
"Are you feeling better Shizu?" Toboe looked over at her.
"Mhmm. Good as new." Shizu smiled and followed Kiba's lead with Cheza. "Thank you Cheza" Shizu looked up at Cheza who smiled.
"You are welcome." Cheza spoke as she walked beside Kiba.
The group walked out of the oasis and back into the snow. The sun was shining brightly and there was not a single cloud in the sky above them. The air was cold but no one felt any sense of a chill thanks to their warm fur. The group walked in silence through the snow for hours as slow moving clouds began to crowd the once spotless sky. The temperature was dropping as snowflakes soon began to dance down from the sky.
"This is going to turn into a storm soon…I can sense it." Shizu spoke up.
"I sense it too…" Toboe added.
"It's gonna get bad…" Hige pointed out.
"We should find a place for shelter." Tsume looked ahead.
Kiba nodded, knowing that this storm could get bad and he did not want to make Cheza walk through it. "Try to look out for anywhere we can rest."
The group continued walking as the wind soon picked up and the snow began to fall down at a quick pace. Shizu peered through the snow and saw what looked like a cave in the distance.
"You guys I see a cave" Shizu spoke over the howling wind.
"Come on, we're almost there." Kiba spoke as the pack continued their journey through the fast falling snow. The group finally reached a cave that could shield them from the snow.
"Smells safe" Shizu spoke as she shook the show off her fur. "Seems like nothing has been here in ages…"
The rest of the pack shook the snow from their fur and sat down on the dry dirt inside the cave. The snow could be seen blowing around just outside the cave's entrance.
"Are you alright Cheza?" Kiba looked up at her.
Cheza nodded and sat down in the dirt shivering. "This one is cold."
Kiba laid down close to her so he could keep her warm. "We should rest until this passes over."
Shizu stretched and sat down looking out at the falling snow.
"Hey Shizu how long do you think this storm will last?" Toboe sat down a few feet away.
"It's strong…it could be hours or even days…" Shizu sighed. "Boring…" She stood up and looked deeper in the cave. "I'm going to explore the rest of this cave." Shizu began walking. She knew that this went on for a while since she could see deep into the cave thanks to her excellent night vision.
"Careful, you don't know what is in here." Blue looked over.
"I will, don't worry about me." Shizu walked past the group and into the darkness of the cave.
"You're gonna let her go alone?" Hige looked at Tsume.
"She can make her own decisions. Not my job to baby-sit her." He laid down.
Shizu walked deeper into the cave peering through the darkness, sniffing the air. She had always been curious, even as a pup she liked to explore. She was the first of her litter to leave the den and explore outside. She sniffed the floor yet did not smell any creature's scent. There were some old scents but nothing to say that it had been in this cave recently.
Man this is boring…There is nothing here. Shizu thought to herself as she took another step and suddenly the ground beneath her collapsed. She hit the ground hard and coughed as the dirt settled. She growled and shook the dirt from her fur and looked up. The hole must have been ten feet deep. She got to her feet and cringed, her back leg must have gotten sprained during the fall. Great…there is no way that I can jump out of here…She sighed and attempted to climb up the hole but each time she tried the dirt fell away, she could not get a good enough grip on the dirt.
Looks like I have to wait until they come looking for me…She thought for a moment just to shake her head No I will get out of here on my own…I don't need help…She growled and continued attempting to climb out but each attempt met with the same result, a slide back down to the bottom. She hated asking for help, even when she knew that she needed it. She wanted to appear strong and independent, not weak and needy. She let out a heavy sigh. I have to get out of here…She laid down, she did not know what to do to get out. Every time she tried to climb she just knocked down more dirt. Each time she jumped her hind leg gave out from pain. Looks like I will need to call them…Shizu got to her feet and let out a howl.
Meanwhile back where the rest of the group was Toboe got to his feet.
"That was Shizu." Toboe looked into the cave.
"She sounds hurt" Blue got to her feet.
Tsume got to his feet and ran into the cave with Toboe running behind him with Blue and Hige. Kiba stayed behind to guard Cheza since she was still very cold.
"She sounded far…how will we find her?" Toboe wondered aloud.
"We'll find her…" Tsume growled as he ran.