[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

As they swapped places, Melline glanced at the closed Bestiary and frowned; Bella must not have been able to identify the tracks yet, or she would have left it open on the correct page to avoid making noise, allowing Melline to read through it on her own before they discussed it in the morning. She glanced down to where Bella now lay beside her feet, and wondered why the though of hunting something new and unknown made her so uneasy when before it would have filled her with excitement.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

As the night wore on, there came a rustling sound from the cave entrance, and Melline stepped silently into the shadows with only a whispered "Bella" to wake the others. Nevertheless, the fitful sleep she had fallen into did not good and Bella lay with her eyes open but squinted, peering at the direction the rustling sounds were coming from while continuing to pretend she was asleep. In one hand she clutched a dagger, hidden from view by the thin blanket they shared.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

She was usually the bait, as Melline was engineered to attack from the shadows, but it always made her feel slightly vulnerable and alone. Silently she blessed the hood that hid her face - and therefore her emotions - from view, and clutched the dagger closer as the rustling sounds grew louder. Whether they were from the creature they were tracking, or from an innocent animal that had wandered in to a warm cave to seek shelter, she would dispatch them accordingly.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

A high pitched squeal broke the silence, and the three of them tensed for action recognising it to be a wild taosig boar, presumably seeking food and shelter. Bella sprung up, however, when the squealing grew fainter yet more panicked, accompanied by the sound of something very big and very heavy being dragged out of the cave very quickly, before being suddenly silenced. She glanced at Merpsichore's bristling frills and Melline's shadow, and made a very quick decision.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

She gestured at their camp, and Melline materialised out of the shadows and began packing up as Bella rolled up the sleeping mat. Something was very clearly amiss, and the silence from what should have been a long fight or a loud flight had shaken both of them more than any noise could or would have. Silently they packed up their camp, before moving together to shoulder their packs and supplies, before hefting Merpsichore's pack onto her between them.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

[This post is a new hunt - previous posts turned in for wild pet already]

Together, they moved as silently as possible, towards the mouth of the cave, ready to run at a moment's notice. Melline's ears were back and her fur was bristling, yet somehow even Merpsichore knew to keep silent. Whatever had killed the boar seemed to have left, but they found the grisly evidence of its successful attach at the mouth of the cave, the white snow stained red and four enormous footprints embedded just outside of the cave mouth.

"Battleheart" muttered Bella, low enough that she hoped only Melline's sensitive ears could hear her, and help up a hand, signalling not to move.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

The snow was building up in the mouth of the cave, and the swirling white mass obscured what little they could have seen in the darkness.

Melline sniffed the air, and pulled gently at Bella's wrist and Merpsichore's coat to guide them back into the cave.

"It's still out there" she murmured, gesturing to the cave mouth. Though nothing could be heard for the sound of the wind, there were occasional noises that could have been made by wings.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Bella tensed beside her, but did not look away. "You smelled it" she almost hummed. It was not a question.

Merpsichore swished her tail from side to side. She could smell it too, and it smelled angry.

"Is it too big to fit into the cave?" Melline whispered; Bella was the expert on monsters, after all - she was more of the muscle, and her knowledge focused more on where and how hard you had to hit something to kill it.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Bella considered the question. It would be a tight fit, certainly, but a creature caught in a blizzard like that would not be picky.

"It could probably fit, if it squeezed in - but it would have to be very desperate to try."

She glanced around, mentally cursing the darkness that pooled all around them. Her own eyes were sensitive, but not enough to be able to judge the dimensions of the cavern or see what lay around them.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Melline, whose eyes were much more sensitive in low light than Bella's, understood what she was looking for and glanced around them.

"There's a small hole in the rock on the right - I don't know if it leads to a chamber, a burrow or outside though. Merpsichore checked it out when we set up camp, so there's nothing in there at the moment." She sniffed the air; something outside was stirring, and Merpsichore was becoming agitated beside her.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Bella considered the option, but shook her head; she didn't want to risk them getting trapped.

"If it gets in here and smells or hears us, it will try to smash through the rock to get at us, and may bring the whole cave down."

She paused, as a loud crunch echoed from the cave entrance followed by the sound of large wings beating slowly, drowning out the whistle of the wind outside. Something very large was coming close to the entrance.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

"No choice" murmured Melline, as Merpsichore tasted the air with her forked tongue.

Bella nodded, and the three of them moved quickly but quietly around the rim of the cave, Melline guiding the other two until they reached the mouth of the tunnel. As they slipped through, a hulking reptilian silhouette blocked the dim light entering the cave from the outside, and a pair of large reptilian wings were extended and shaken out, flinging snow around the chamber.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Quietly, they made their way through the tunnel in the dark, listening in case the roof began to crumble. There were a couple of metres of tunnel before it widened out into another, smaller chamber, but Bella was satisfied. For now, it meant they were safe, even if it could smell them.

"It doesn't look like there's another way out" murmured Melline, close to Bella's ear. "And I can't see any snow, so it doesn't look like there's anywhere for smoke to get out either.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Bella frowned. Without an exit route for smoke, they couldn't start a fire, and without a fire, the cave was already beginning to cool. Beside her, Merpsichore was beginning to shiver, and Melline could see their breath condensing into a cloud of steam each time they spoke.

She thought a moment, and then grinned, though Melline couldn't see it through her mask.

"It has just ocurred to me that we are not stuck in this cave with that beast" she whispered.

[ToxxicRenegadeAngel]

Melline raised one eyebrow in surprise, but in the darkness Bella couldn't see it. She tilted her head, puzzled as she couldn't see any other ways out of the chamber. Suddenly, she clocked on to what Bella was thinking, and a corner of her mouth twitched slightly.

"I think I understand" she murmured, resting one hand on Merpsichore's head as she smirked. "We aren't stuck in this cave with it, because it's stuck in this cave with us.