Usurpation of the Darkness

Book 3

Lily wasn't used to feeling small, but with every step, faintly echoing, she was acutely aware that she was walking through what had been the guardian's resting place. The circular, winding tunnel was more than five light wings across, and so long that all of her fledglings could have walked single file and not covered the length of it all at once.

Ahead of her, a fledgling broke away from his parents to lean over the edge of the path and look down. His Sire was quick to pull him back, and the parents around them held their own children more tightly, carrying or shepherding them down the path with great care. Falling off would be no real danger for most of them, but nobody wanted to be the one to disturb the guardian, or interrupt the journey just as it began. There was an air of awe and silence that hung over them like a heavy cloud.

Lily was pretty sure none of her people had really thought about what they were doing, where they were going. She would have expected a lot more questions if they had; none of them knew anything about the realm they were entering, except that it was under the earth, and thus lacking a sky. The idea made her back itch, and she couldn't even fly.

Nobody was complaining, not at the moment. She knew better than to think that meant there would be no complaints at all, but everyone was probably waiting to see what they were walking into.

Lily wished she knew. She hadn't been able to go with the scouts. Beryl was with them, and Mist, so she trusted they would be thorough, but she wished she could be there herself.

A light wing flew in from the outside, having come back from further along the path. Crystal landed and caught up to Lily. "I have the first report from the short-range scouts," she said. "Want to hear it?"

"No, I'd like to remain oblivious," Lily said with a snort.

"The tunnel goes down into the ground," Crystal reported with an amused huff. "Right after you get down to where the bottom of the pit would be, there isa blocked-off passage with a massive tail in it, which is the other end of the guardian."

"So long as nobody messes with the tail, that's fine," Lily hummed thoughtfully. That passage would be no good anyway; it would just lead back up to the boiling pool, or what had been the boiling pool, which the guardian had come head-first out of to open the way.

"Past that, there are a few crystals to light the way, and the tunnel gets a lot less smooth," Crystal continued. "There are little vents, but only one main way. It just keeps going, down and down. Beryl and Mist kept going, but the short-range scouts turned around, so that is as far as I know."

"Sounds good," Lily said. "You going back down to look further ahead?"

"No, I will stick with you for a bit," Crystal said. They continued forward in silence for a short while.

"I am going to miss the sky," Crystal eventually admitted. "But other dragons live down here. They must have something just as good."

"Probably," Lily agreed. They were getting close to the point where the path delved entirely into the ground; she could see it ahead, an ominous full circle of rock where before they had walked with one side open to the air. As her fledglings passed into the opening, most flinched or took one last look at the sky.

"I hope they have something just as good," Crystal muttered when it was their turn to go into the tunnel.

"Just think of it as an extended cold-season with lots of clouds," Lily advised, covering her own unease with the advice she was doing her best to follow herself. "We don't see the sun often then, either."

"And most of us do not like that," Crystal remarked. "But at least there is light…"

Lily nodded in agreement. The orange glow further down the tunnel was a huge relief, even if it wasn't the sun. "Your namesakes will be everywhere, I bet."

"I was named after the pretty little crystals you get on some rocks, not these massive things," Crystal snorted. "Though these are way more useful."

"They are, at that," Lily agreed, eyeing the orange crystal as it came into sight. It was just like the ones on the inside of the pit, but lodged in the side of the tunnel, partially opaque and glowing from within, somehow. The tunnel was bathed in orange light for a ways, fading to green as another crystal further down took over.

The light was helpful; her fledglings could have navigated the ever-descending slope in darkness, but the light threw every uneven slope and unexpected ledge into stark relief, making them obvious to all.

The tunnel itself, as they descended, remained perfectly sized for the guardian's body, slanting downward at an angle that had Lily anticipating many sore muscles in the future, but not so steep as to be impossible to walk. Flying, on the other paw, was a terrible idea. Not impossible, a careful light wing could probably manage it if they stuck almost entirely to gliding, but far too dangerous to be worth it. One false move would send a flying light wing into the ceiling or the walls, and a moment of inattention might very well do the same.

Lily walked for a time; she didn't know how long, given the total lack of anything to judge by. Not that long; none of the light wings around her had begun to complain or ask for a break yet. It was hard to judge progress, lacking any knowledge at all about how long the tunnel would be, what was at the other end, or how fast they were moving. But one particular landmark caught her attention.

The change was two-fold. The tunnel past a certain point became far more rugged and steep, turning into more of a vertical descent than a walk, and just by where the change occurred, there was an angular chunk of rock jutting out into the path. Or, it looked like a chunk of rock. Lily knew better; this had to be the guardian's tail.

She took the chance to examine it closely as she and Crystal walked around it. It appeared to be actual stone, riddled with cracks and broken into chunks that all held together in a way that would seem somewhat odd if she didn't know there was something other than stone at the center, out of sight.

"Are these scales that look like rocks," she murmured, brushing her tailfins along the rough surface, "or rocks stuck to scales? Or scales made of rock?"

"They all would look the same," Crystal said lightly. "Maybe if you ask louder, the guardian will answer."

"I'm not really hoping for an answer," Lily said quickly, pulling away from the rock. "It doesn't matter." She stopped at the edge of the new section of tunnel, looking down.

It reminded her, now that she stood at the top of the rugged tunnel into the ground, of walking down the mountainside, along Pyre's path. So much so that she wondered if he had gotten the idea to make his path from travelling up this very passage. The path sloped so steeply down that one could leap forward and fall far enough to hurt themself, and her people had already found the path of least resistance, a winding path that cut back and forth as it descended, looking very much like it had been made on purpose to aid those passing through.

"I cannot see the bottom," Crystal observed, leaning out over one of the many ledges.

"Let's just hope there is a bottom," Lily replied. She could imagine this steep descent going on forever… It wasn't a pleasant thought. But she had been promised a place her people could actually live in, and this wasn't it, so there had to be more once they got down far enough.

O-O-O-O-O

"My paws hurt," a fledgling whined.

"Then you can ride on me for a bit," her Sire said, slipping his tail under her and tumbling her onto his back. The move was more than a little sloppy, and Lily suspected he was just as tired as his fledgling. Everyone had been walking, with occasional breaks, for far longer than they were used to. There was water aplenty, dripping and pooling everywhere, but no end in sight.

And more importantly, no food in sight. Lily pawed at a chest-deep pool of water, enjoying the chill. Wherever the water was coming from - it could be heard everywhere, but there was no obvious source - it was cold. It was not, however, hiding anything edible.

"I am hungry," the same fledgling complained.

"I am too," her Sire admitted. "We should be getting food soon… I hope."

Lily avoided his gaze, slipping behind Crystal before he could see her. She didn't have an answer for that, and saying she didn't know would just demoralize him. Better he couldn't find her.

"We do need food," Crystal murmured. "Surely there is some down here somewhere?"

"There had better be," Lily said grimly. The sounds of trickling water everywhere were taunting; usually, water meant fish. Not here, though.

The light wings around her and Crystal were walking again, leaving them behind, so she shook herself and followed along. She wasn't at the back of the pack, somewhere closer to the middle, but it wouldn't take long to end up trailing behind everyone. That wasn't where she wanted to be at all.

A light wing soared overhead, flying in the wrong direction, and Lily instinctively ducked.

"Alpha! Lily!" the flying light wing cried out.

"Here!" Lily barked, wondering what Whirl wanted.

"We need you at the front of the pack, it is urgent," Whirl said, landing gracelessly nearby. It looked like she had narrowly avoided planting her face in a rock, actually, though Lily wasn't sure how close a call it had been.

"Danger?" Lily asked, breaking into a run. Her paws hurt, but not nearly as badly as they had back when she was travelling with Beryl. She could deal with it.

"They found… a side cave…" Whirl panted, running beside her. The light wings ahead of them had noticed the disturbance and were moving out of the way, many calling out worried questions as she passed.

"Occupied, food or threat?" she barked.

"Both," Whirl gasped. "You will see." She dropped behind, unable to keep up. Lily felt a brief rush of pride; she wasn't in great shape, and she couldn't fly, but she could outrun at least one of her fledglings. Possibly two, if Crystal had tried to keep up with her, as she was nowhere to be seen now. All of that walking and running with Beryl had made her stronger.

Beryl. She slowed to a walk as she saw him, along with Ember, Cara, and a few others, crowded around an opening in the tunnel wall. He didn't look all that worried, so she took her cue from him and approached with a casual rumble. "What's going on here?" she asked.

"Pretty sure this is where the guardian keeps the Deathgrippers she took from Grimmel," Beryl said quietly, pushing Cara with his wing until she stepped aside to let Lily see. Lily slid between them, savoring the contact on one side and ignoring it on the other.

Through the irregular archway was a wide cave with stone teeth everywhere, growing from the top and bottom at random. Water was dripping from most of the ones pointing down, and puddles speckled the floor of the cave, constantly rippling. There were only a few grey crystals in the corners of the vast expanse, most of the open area shrouded in darkness, and red mushrooms were growing everywhere, some wider across than her paw, and others tiny and densely packed enough that they formed a uniform covering over the stone.

On its own, she wouldn't have been that interested in the new scenery, except to make sure it didn't lead to anywhere more interesting. But there were familiar red and black shapes lurking in the darkness. Some weren't moving, but others were roaming around, not looking in her direction. They didn't act at all as they had in Grimmel's ship, or at any other time she had seen them.

As she watched, one leaned down and ran its face along the ground, scraping and mashing a bunch of the red mushrooms. Then it tilted its head back and swallowed.

"I'm thinking they're either eating them for food, or to keep them docile," Ember said quietly. "Can't say either way, not without knowing whether it's the guardian keeping them so quiet."

"We have to find out," Beryl rumbled. "Everyone is hungry, and I haven't seen any other sources of food."

"Quiet!" Cara hissed. "One almost looked over here!"

As she spoke, the Deathgripper that had been eating looked up, straight at them. Its eyes were wide and unfocused, and nothing happened. It didn't react at all.

'You have found the resting point,' the guardian said. Lily jumped in surprise despite herself. 'They will not harm you. The red mushrooms are a suitable food for any who are hungry, and grow throughout the realm. Not all mushrooms are safe, but these are. Take as many as you need, but be sure to leave some to grow.'

"Are mushrooms the only edible thing down here?" Beryl asked.

'No, but you have not gone far enough to find anything else,' the guardian responded. 'This is still my domain, and none live in my domain. This cave is solely for those passing through.'

"Right, got it," Beryl said, stepping out into the cave and leaning down to sniff a mushroom. "Doesn't smell like anything…"

Lily watched as he snapped up the bulbous cap of one mushroom and swallowed it. "Doesn't really taste like anything, either," he reported. "Not terrible, but not something I would eat if I had options."

"Good enough," Cara declared. "I am going to go tell everyone there is food here."

"And tell them we'll be sleeping out here, in the tunnel," Lily added, choosing to allow Cara's initiative rather than shut it down… though she was tempted to tell her off. Now wasn't the time. "Now's as good a time as any to break for the night."

"It was night when we came down here," Beryl said. "And we walked for a while… I can't tell whether it's night or day now."

"I think those concepts aren't going to mean much down here," Ember rumbled, stepping out into the cave.

Lily was tempted to join them in trying the mushrooms, but she turned away. First, she would make sure everyone knew what was going on. And to that end…

Whirl was right behind her, obviously waiting for something, panting heavily. "It's all fine, and the mushrooms are food," Lily explained. "We're stopping here for the night."

"Alpha," Whirl said, her ears flicking in agitation, "who did you send out scouting?"

"Who did I send?" Lily asked. "I didn't send people so much as ask for volunteers. I think Beryl and Ember went, I know Crystal went at least once… Why?"

"Root went out," Whirl huffed. "Could you give him some sort of task that does not involve going away from the pack? It is not safe, especially for him. He cannot do things like that."

"If he's doing it, maybe he considers himself capable?" Lily asked diplomatically. He had to be able to do it, if he was still out scouting now, so it wasn't a question of whether he could, it was a question of whether he should. She was inclined to think that Whirl was probably leaning too far toward the 'keep Root safe and close' side of things, given she always did that.

"He is blind and helpless, and I want him close by," Whirl said vehemently. "And I want that bad influence female away from him, too, but he does not listen to me when I say so. Can you do something about it?"

"I can talk to him," Lily offered. She wasn't about to promise anything more, not without hearing both sides. Especially not when she suspected she was going to end up supporting Root.

"Thank you," Whirl sighed. "I hate to go to the alpha, but he just does not listen anymore. Not since..." She wilted, crouching low and hiding her face behind a paw in a way Lily would have thought was overly dramatic for most light wings.

"Flare," Lily said quietly, walking over to put a wing over Whirl. Her back ached, those same four points protesting as her skin stretched tight, and she ignored it. "I miss him too. He was a good person, and I'm sure he was a great mate."

"He was," Whirl moaned. "I miss him so much…"

"Maybe a good night's sleep and a full stomach will help you feel a little better," Lily offered.

"Maybe," Whirl huffed, pulling out from under her wing to look at the mushroom cave, and the steady stream of light wings entering it. "You will talk to Root?"

"I will," Lily assured her. "As soon as he gets back."

O-O-O-O-O

It was night - or day, Lily had no way of knowing, and the crystals never changed in how much light they put out - and the pack was settling down to sleep after filling their bellies with mushrooms. The sounds of scales scraping on stone, deep breathing, and Dams soothing their fledglings to sleep in a strange new environment echoed throughout the area.

No noise came from the passage downward, which Lily would have taken for a good sign if not for one small thing.

"You're sure Root hasn't come back through here?" she asked.

"Storm did, and she said Root would come back when he felt like it," the female in charge of watching the path down replied. "He is just down a short way, you should be able to call to him from here."

"You've seen him recently?" Lily pressed.

"Storm only came back a little while ago, and she had just seen him," the guard offered.

"Come with me," Lily huffed, picking her way down the rocky slope. Her legs ached after what felt like a whole day of walking downhill, but she wasn't content to just assume Root was fine. His only method of sight involved making noise, a lot of it, and she didn't hear any roaring. That was enough to worry her.

Descending alone, Lily found, was somewhat eerie, nothing like travelling with the entire pack had been. Her companion was silent and a step behind her, so it felt like she was entirely on her own. The light of the crystals felt dimmer, with nothing but other crystals and dark stone to reflect it. The trickle of unseen water was far more ominous with no voices or even breathing to drown it out.

A white shape leaped out from behind a rock further down, and Lily heaved a sigh of relief as she recognized Root. He was fine, and as she watched, he hopped off a thin ledge and landed nimbly on a crystal… All without seeing anything.

"You can go back to guarding the entrance," Lily said, glancing back at the guard. "We'll be up soon."

"Yes, alpha," the guard chirped, quickly retreating.

"She left fast," Root observed a moment later, his sightless face turning toward her. Directly toward her; it was as if he could really see her, though the depressions where his eyes had been put paid to that.

Lily considered it somewhat unnerving that she'd had to look to be sure he didn't have his eyes back. "How are you doing?" she asked carefully.

"Amazing," he said happily, leaping up to her level without a care in the world. "Totally amazing. Did you know, seeing with sound works with echoes, and there is nothing but echoes in here!"

"That does not hinder you?" she asked. She was seeing that it didn't in the way he moved, of course, but she wanted his explanation.

"The opposite," he chuffed. "I can be sure I know where everything is, and with quieter noises than I could ever get away with outside. Just talking is enough for me to get an impression of what is around me. Breathing loudly is enough to get by on."

"So it is not just easier to see, it's less obtrusive," she said knowingly. Of course, he would like it that he no longer needed to roar or bark just to see. Storm might have been working on him, but he still cared enough to not want to annoy the people around him.

"Yes and no." He hopped backward and down to a lower ledge, landing easily with all four paws at different angles, and his tail propped up to provide a fifth source of balance. "I do not have to worry about what might be above me, or whether I am being watched from afar, or… anything."

"You can probably see more clearly than me," she said.

"I can see behind my head," he snorted. "And every little pebble lodged in a crack in the wall, and what is behind those cracks. There is flowing water."

"I hadn't guessed," she drawled, flicking her ears sarcastically. The noises of water nearby had never stopped for a moment.

"Did you know that there are three little streams, all following cracks that stretch out beyond what I can hear?" Root asked. "Far beyond, but for a while they go parallel to this tunnel. And the paths they follow seem too neat to be natural, though I do not know what could have made them intentionally."

Lily suppressed a shiver. "That makes me nervous, and I'm not even sure why," she admitted. Maybe it was the idea of some unknown kind of dragon working around her, close by but hidden, watching and working toward their own ends… Though that was silly; they weren't even out of the guardian's range yet. There was only the one potentially nefarious presence to contend with.

"It is weird," Root chuffed. "But I am guessing you came down for reasons other than listening to me talk about what is behind these rocky walls?"

"I did, at that," she admitted. "Everyone's getting some rest. It's a little nerve-wracking to have one light wing hanging around out of sight of everyone else."

"I did not mean to be out here that long," Root conceded, leaping back up to her with ease. "It is easy to lose track of time when I do not have someone by my side every moment of every day."

"Try to bring a friend next time, at the very least," she advised.

"Storm and I spent all day scouting ahead, and she gets really grumpy if she does not get enough sleep," Root said, shaking his head. "And my Dam would never approve of half the things I can do now."

"Such as scouting," Lily said carefully.

"Did Storm and I do a bad job?" Root asked, fixing her with what would have been a stare if he had eyes to do so with. His face was pointed at her, anyway. "We went further than anyone else, and we got back in good time."

"I have no reasons to complain," she replied truthfully. With what Root had just told her about how he could see - hear, whatever he called it, she didn't know enough to be sure which word applied better - he was probably the best light wing for the job. His trick of hearing through cracks too small to see through could have uncovered any number of potential issues, like dangerously thin overhangs, or hidden chambers harboring dangerous lurking creatures…

"No, I definitely want you and Storm out scouting as often as you feel comfortable with," she said with a shudder. "I'll handle your Dam if she really starts complaining, but you might want to reassure her before that becomes necessary."

"Thanks for taking my side," Root murmured, his head lowered. "She… I do not want to sound horribly callous, but she is not taking… it… well. At all. I miss him, I do, but it makes me want to step up and make him proud, not hang around and whine and do absolutely nothing."

"Like I said, you should talk to her," Lily repeated. "Help her understand that. You're an adult, and if it gets bad enough I'll interfere, but you shouldn't need me to do that."

"Storm was just saying something like that earlier," Root said with a grimace. "Something along the lines of 'I will bite her if she insults me, but it is up to you to make her stop stamping on your tail whenever you try to do anything.' But she said it with more growling."

"Sounds like her," Lily laughed. "So you'll do it?"

"Tomorrow," he said. "Or… whatever counts as tomorrow now. Hard to say."

"Before you and Storm go out exploring again," Lily suggested. "But after everyone gets a good night's sleep."

"Just in case she whines about me being in danger loud enough to wake everyone up," Root huffed. "Right." He began the short walk back to the section of tunnel everyone was resting in, and Lily followed him. She hoped that was the end of their issues, or at least the end of her personal involvement, but it seemed unlikely. Her work as alpha was never over, not even when it came to helping her fledglings get along.

O-O-O-O-O

Lily had long since given up trying not to think about how many mountains of stone were above her head, even as she spent what felt like another entire day travelling as much downward as forward. She walked at the front of the pack, waiting for word from her scouts as they returned, and gazed first-paw down the endless tunnel stretching out in front of her. Pearl was beside her, waiting for Ember and the others to come back, and she made for good company. And potentially a good source of information.

"How long would it take me to fly to the horizon?" Pearl hummed. "Interesting question. Am I going all-out, or flying normally?"

"Flying normally," Lily responded. She didn't actually want to know about that specific amount of time, but it was an important part of the thing she did want.

"Probably a fifth of a day?" Pearl said doubtfully. "It's hard to guess at that, and I can't just fly to the horizon to check now. And how would I know when I reached the horizon?"

"Not sure," Lily admitted. "Do you know how long it would take you to walk to the horizon?" That was what she actually wanted to know.

"No, never done it," Pearl said simply. "Longer than it would take to fly there, and then you have to tell me what I'm walking over to do it. Crossing a mountain on paw would take longer than running through an endless field. Why?"

"I'm trying to figure out how far down we've gone," she admitted. "And how far we'll have to go to leave the guardian's range." Said range was 'to the horizon' when on the island, and she knew the guardian was physically on the surface, so it seemed reasonable that the range was the same no matter which direction one travelled away from the dragon herself. But that was about as far as she could reason without information she didn't have, like walking times and directions.

"I'm sure she'll tell us when we get to the edge," Pearl said brightly. "But I guess that would not help you figure out how far we have gone, just that we've made it."

"We're walking at an angle, too, and it's not even the same angle for the whole stretch of tunnel," Lily added. "There's no real way to know how deep we are."

"So long as the ceiling doesn't give way with us under it, I don't think it matters," Pearl said.

"Probably not." She spotted a flash of white coming up to meet them, and then a golden figure behind them. "Looks like… Spark and Holly?"

"Interesting matchup," Pearl murmured. "Holly wanted to work with him. Maybe she likes him."

"Everyone likes him," Lily said neutrally, hiding her unease. Holly probably had a reason for requesting Spark, and she doubted it was an innocent one like that. Though she didn't see what else Spark had to offer. He wouldn't be able to help her gain influence over the pack. Not directly, at least…

Now that she was thinking about it, Spark could be useful for any number of indirect plays for power. He was a connection to Ember, coveted by most of the pack's unmated females, and trusted by pretty much everyone he knew. So long as he could be convinced he was doing something good, he could help in pretty much any scheme she could think of. As a morally-upstanding backup, or bait, or a proxy to propose ideas, or something else entirely.

"Pretty much," Pearl laughed. "He makes friends easily."

"Possibly a little too easily," Lily muttered. "Some of those people might not really be his friends, they might just want something from him."

"Not Holly," Pearl retorted, unaware that Lily hadn't meant to speak loudly enough for her to hear. "I don't know her that well, but she seems very straightforward about what she wants. If she wanted something from him, she would have asked."

"Perhaps," Lily said, hiding her suspicion. Holly was not straightforward, not even close, which either meant Pearl didn't know her well at all, or was deliberately trying to downplay Holly's skill at manipulation. The former was far more likely than the latter, but the latter was still possible. Some of the same uses Holly could have for Spark applied just as well to Pearl, though she appeared to be less gullible.

"We found something other than boring tunnels!" Spark barked as they approached. "Everyone else is exploring, we came back to tell you. It is not far!"

"There is a massive open area," Holly added, carefully landing in front of them. Spark overshot and landed somewhere behind Lily. "It has huge crystals and mushrooms of all kinds and many different plants. There are dozens of different tunnels leading out of it."

"A crossroads?" Pearl asked.

"A what?" Holly replied, squinting at Pearl.

"No-scaled-not-prey term," Pearl explained. "A place where many paths cross. Roads are intentionally made paths."

Lily committed the new word to memory; it seemed like it would be useful, given they had come across what was almost certainly an intentionally-cut path once already. The word was a quick mash-up of the rumble for 'path' and part of the noise for 'made', which made sense.

"That sounds right," Holly agreed. "Nobody is there, it is empty, so it is probably safe. We did not see anything dangerous."

"Good, since we've got nowhere else to go," Pearl said thoughtfully. "You know, I bet that big cave is the edge of the guardian's influence."

"Whatever it is, I want all of the paths out of it checked by the time the pack gets there," Lily said sternly. "Tell Mist she's in charge of that."

Holly tilted her head. "I could do that," she offered. "Mist was going down one of the smaller paths, last I saw her."

"Find someone else to do it," Lily huffed. "I want you guarding any suspicious exits you find, with Cara." It would be easier to keep the both of them from influencing others if they were stuck on guard duty together.

"That seems like a waste of my talents," Holly said carefully.

"But you'll do it anyway," Lily retorted.

"Yes, alpha," Holly grumbled.

"Pearl, mind going to check on the parents with fledglings, letting them know what to expect?" Lily asked, turning to her friend. She caught an odd look on Pearl's face as she turned, but it was gone by the time she was speaking.

"Sure, I can do that," she agreed. "Big cave, probably plenty of places for fledglings to hide or get lost in, keep them in sight at all times just to be safe."

"Exactly," Lily hummed. "Thanks."

Pearl left, following Holly – taking to the air to do it, though Lily would have thought she'd run – and Lily found herself alone, the closest light wing a few dozen paces behind her. That didn't bother her; a few moments of quiet solitude would be-

"Alpha!" someone barked.

She snorted at her own naivety. There was no way she was going to get any solitude any time soon, let alone while she was in full view of at least a dozen of her people, and the rest knew exactly where she was. At best, she wouldn't find somewhere to be alone until they got to the big cave.

O-O-O-O-O

Water fell from the ceiling like a rainstorm concentrated into one pond-sized deluge, a waterfall coming from above and disappearing into a pool that was far too small for the volume pouring into it. Lily assumed there was some sort of underwater tunnel beneath it, which in turn made her wonder whether the waterfall had been created, because it seemed far too coincidental for there to be identical holes in the ceiling and floor of a massive cave-

None of which really mattered, but thinking about one small part of the awe-inspiring expanse in front of her made it easier to accept as real. If someone had ever tried to describe it to her all at once, she would have started laughing halfway through and dismissed them as telling stories.

The cave was so large that she couldn't make out the far side without squinting. The crystals that lit it, rising out of the ground like tiny mountains at random, were so bright she couldn't look directly at them, and so large that she felt like a gnat in comparison. The entire place was illuminated in various shades of blue, green, and yellow, creating an 'underwater' feel that made the waterfall seem even more out of place.

She stepped out onto the ground, her paws crushing little mushrooms and what looked like grass but was a few shades too blue to possibly be the grass she knew, all interspersed with weeds three times taller than anything else, reaching up to her face and ticking her nose when she walked into them. There were little bugs buzzing around, mostly ignoring her, just flitting between the stems as she disturbed them.

She heard various noises of surprise and awe from behind her, and completely ignored them. They'd been told what was and was not safe to do here, and she had people watching for trouble. She just wanted to drink in the scene… and then go get an actual drink from the waterfall's tiny pool, assuming it wasn't salt water. She could imagine there being a tiny hole at the bottom of the ocean, far above, and the waterfall coming from there. It was a disturbing thought, driving home yet again just how much was between her and the sun, but at least it made sense.

Beryl was flying toward her, looking entirely at home in the massive open space of the cave, and she broke into a brisk walk to try and meet him halfway. The ground was mushy under her paws, everything easily trampled and loudly broken, which she supposed meant it would be hard to sneak up on anyone on paw.

"This place is certainly a sight," Beryl said as he landed. "I've never seen anything like it. The closest thing was probably the inside of a mountain of ice, but that had a whole different feeling. Far brighter and colder."

"Is there anything I'm not seeing from here?" Lily asked, resisting the urge to touch him. She hoped he was about to tell her about a nice little hidden spot… though she didn't have time for that, not unless they were going to spend the night here.

"Nope, it's all the same on the other side of the crystals," he said, flicking his tail at one of the larger blue ones. "There are a bunch of tunnels and cracks and such all throughout the walls, though. Some of them are like the one we just came from, others seem way more natural and might not go anywhere, and others still have signs of dragons passing through at some point. Claw marks, scratches, that sort of thing."

"Any recent signs?" she asked. They had yet to meet a resident of this underground world that wasn't being controlled by the guardian. She would feel a lot more comfortable getting answers from some random passerby if that was an option.

"No, none recent," he said. "And there aren't any of those red mushrooms here, either, so I'm not surprised. This place is nice, but I don't think it can support us for any length of time."

'As intended,' the guardian announced. Lily did not flinch, she thought she was getting a feel for when the guardian liked to interrupt, and had been expecting it at some point soon. They had to be close to the edge of her territory, after all.

"You don't want people lingering at the entrance to the world, right," she said. "Where do we go to find somewhere we can live?" She distinctly recalled the guardian saying she wouldn't give help like that, but asking again couldn't hurt.

'I will not say where to go,' the guardian growled. 'But I can say that the leftmost tunnel in relation to where you entered leads to less heavily-occupied caves. Most of the other passageways lead to nothing but occupied territory.'

"That's helpful, thanks." She meant it; knowing where not to go was vital. If said 'occupied territory' wasn't occupied by friendly people, leading her pack there would be a disaster. Much better to go where there were less people.

'As a general rule, the lesser-traveled paths either lead to unclaimed places, or to territory held by those who do not want to be found,' the guardian said. 'You know of the red mushrooms, but be aware that there are underground seas with fish, similar to what you are used to. Settling along the shore of one of those has its own dangers, but you will likely consider it worth the risk.'

"Again, great to know, thanks." She didn't know why the guardian had decided to forgive her and give good advice, but she would take it. "Anything that will kill us if we don't know about it?"

'I have already told you that more danger lurks the deeper you go,' the guardian said slowly. Lily got the feeling she was choosing her words carefully. 'Danger in many forms, living and not. Some caves do not already have occupants for very good reasons, and others are only occupied because those within them are too feared to go anywhere else. Do not seek out the most isolated corner in existence, because you will find something far more dangerous than you has likely already claimed it.'

"Well, that's not unnerving at all," Beryl said.

'That is not my concern. This cave, as some have guessed, is the limit of my range. I do not control or care about what happens beyond this point. Once you leave, I will not know what you do, and I will not be able to intervene.'

Lily specifically did not think about how she considered that a very good thing. Instead, she nodded in understanding. "Thank you for the information. We may have had our differences, but I would not part on bad terms."

'Pretty words, hiding your hatred for those who have power over you,' the guardian said coldly. 'I do not know what will become of you. I hope never to have reason to find out.'

"Same," Lily shot back. That was the sort of attitude she had expected from the start. It was almost comforting to finally see it; she wasn't wondering what had changed, anymore.

There was silence – aside from the shrieking of a fledgling who had leaped off a crystal and was flying around like a crazy person – and Lily met Beryl's gaze.

"So, left," he said. "Want me to find out which path is the right one?"

"No," she said impulsively, "not the right one, the left one."

He stared at her for a moment, then snorted and nodded wildly. "Right, right, I'll find the right one."

"Left!" she barked, smacking him with her tail. He tried to catch it under his back paw, but she was too quick. "Or you'll wish I'd left you behind! Has this trip left you with no thoughts in your head?"

"That's not right," he retorted.

"Left is not right," she shot back. "You're right."

They stared at each other for a long moment.

"I'm out of ideas," he admitted.

She let out a long, barking laugh. It was stupid and she really hoped nobody had overheard, but stupid and silly was exactly what she had needed. "Any chance you could delegate that task and then help me find somewhere away from the crowds?"

"I'll do my best," he said with a grin.

O-O-O-O-O

The leftmost passage turned out to be almost identical to the tunnel that had taken them from the surface to where they currently were, just flat and going in a different direction. After seeing the big cave and its wildlife, she couldn't help but see the tunnel as cramped and boring.

Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as long as the first tunnel, and the other end was interesting, if not nearly as magnificent. The greenish-grey moss that carpeted the long, narrow cave the tunnel let into was soft and pleasant, and Lily could see all sorts of nooks and crannies for her people to sleep in, since it was already that time again. None hidden enough to be private in, though, which was a shame since Beryl hadn't managed to find anywhere good enough in the last cave.

But when it came to the more essential needs, this cave had her people covered. She could see a trio of small, brown, scruffy-looking prey animals grazing on the moss. They wouldn't be enough for even a fraction of her people, but she highly doubted that there were only three around. There was a bend in the cave that meant she couldn't see the whole thing at once, and she was sure there would be more around said bend.

Her people, her fledglings, filed out into the cave and, for the most part, flopped down wherever they pleased. They were all hungry, but most of them probably didn't even know how to catch prey. Which, now that she thought about it, was a horrible blind spot she was going to have Beryl get rid of the moment he had some spare time to teach.

But for the moment, while everybody else settled down to sleep, Ember, Beryl, and half a dozen others went out to hunt for the pack. Lily, for her part, waited for them to return. Her back was acting up for no apparent reason, and she was exhausted. Hungry, but also tired. It was an annoying combination.

The three prey Lily could see hadn't minded Beryl and the other hunters flying over to check the rest of the cave, and they didn't seem to care about the scores of light wings settling down nearby… but the sole light wing she saw creeping toward them on paw was surely going to catch their attention. She didn't particularly care if those three were scared off, so she said nothing, just watched from her perch atop a deep purple crystal.

The light wing was Aven, and her approach was beyond cautious, creeping across the moss as if a single blink would send the prey fleeing for their lives. She was acting as if they wouldn't see her if she moved slowly enough, but for some reason she hadn't thought to actually make herself invisible, so she was an obvious white mass slowly drifting in their direction every time none were looking her way.

Lily had assumed that the prey did see Aven and just didn't care, so she was a little surprised when one finally looked in Aven's direction at the wrong moment, saw movement, and shrieked so loudly a dozen light wings looked up from the other end of the cavern. All three of the creatures fled, hopping like mad, and Aven didn't give chase.

Aven didn't do anything at all. She crouched there, motionless… or maybe she was quivering, it was hard to tell from a distance. When she did eventually turn around, Lily had no trouble seeing that she wasn't happy. Far from it.

On the one paw, it was Aven, one of the three females Lily considered most likely to try and steal some of her authority; or all of it, if Holly had her way. On the other, she was still Lily's fledgling, one of the pack, and if she would offer counsel to someone like Diora then she wouldn't refuse it for someone like Aven.

She stood, shook herself off, winced at the pain in her back and now in her paws, and intercepted Aven on the way back to the pack.

"Sneaking up on prey isn't easy," she said conversationally, falling into step with the other female. "I think I did about as well my first time."

"With Beryl?" Aven asked tonelessly. "I was not trying to hunt them."

"Sneaking up on them works the same regardless of what you want to do once you get close," Lily said. Aven was avoiding looking her in the eye, staring down at the moss instead, and almost seemed to be shying away from her. "Want me to give you a few tips?"

"I will wait and get them from someone else if it is all the same to you, alpha," Aven murmured.

"I'm sure Ember would be glad to help you," she said, shamelessly directing Aven away from spending time with Beryl. "Is there something else on your mind, though? You seem unhappy."

"It is nothing," Aven huffed, walking faster. They were almost to the rest of the pack, and Lily spotted Holly and Cara waiting for her. She stopped short of going right up to them and let Aven go on ahead. Something was definitely bothering Aven, and she wasn't sure what. She didn't want to leave it unresolved.

Holly engaged Aven in conversation almost immediately, smacking her tail beside her and inviting her sister to sit, but Cara stood, glared in Lily's general direction, and kept glaring until Lily jerked her head to the side and indicated that she wanted to talk to her.

"What?" Cara said grumpily, coming over to stand in front of her. "We are tired and you have a dozen other light wings to ask favors of."

"I'm worried for Aven," Lily said just as bluntly, ignoring the rudeness for the moment. There would be time later to make sure Cara knew it wasn't acceptable to talk like that. "She seems stressed, and I don't know why."

"Oh, do you not?" Cara asked sarcastically. "You know, maybe it is because she is missing that No-scaled-not-prey she tried to make friends with back in the valley. Or maybe it is something else."

"I would think something else, since she wasn't like this before we came down here," Lily said seriously. "Have you taken her to see Honey and Copper?"

"I know what is bothering her," Cara growled. "You killed a No-scaled-not-prey right in front of her. She wanted to make friends with one, she never hurt one, and then she had the blood and guts of one splattered all over her. I do not care that you killed it, good riddance, but you did it right in front of her with no warning. She is having nightmares and not sleeping well, and it is your fault. Does that explain why she does not seem happy?" Her last sentence was accompanied by a low snarl, and she turned tail on Lily immediately after she ground out the last word.

"Oh," Lily said as Cara departed. She didn't know what else to say; it made perfect sense now that she'd had it explained to her – and she shouldn't have needed it explained, really, she should have seen it – but that didn't mean she knew what to do about it. An apology would probably be a good start, and maybe something suitably happy and non-violent for Aven to do, ideally a responsibility that wouldn't give her any authority, but would make her happy…

It was something to think about, and at the moment she had nothing to do but think. She moved to sit down on an open patch of moss between two single females and tried to relax. To think about what to do with Aven, and her sisters, and the pack as a whole, and where they would be going, and Beryl

By the time the hunters returned with food, she was so deep in thought that she almost didn't notice. Coming down into the underground world had gotten rid of one of her problems, but it certainly hadn't done anything to solve the rest of them, and it was adding more than its fair share of new problems to the mix. Not the least of which was finding a new home, given they'd not had any indication of a single suitable place yet.