“I think we should stay at the cave up ahead for the night,” a voice spoke up.. low, blunt, and not bothering with politeness.

  Everyone paused slightly..

  Their heads turned almost at once, drawn to the speaker like a collective pull of gravity.

  It was Dan.

  He stood at the edge of a shallow slope, dark blue hair tousled by the icy wind, his arms crossed and face slightly scrunched like he was irritated by the cold air, or just naturally annoyed by everything. His deep blue eyes, the color of ocean shadows, flicked toward the others as if daring them to disagree.

  “Alright,” Jett said simply, her breath curling visibly in the cold as she nodded once. Her tone was neutral but accepting.

  “Mm-hm, same,” Ron added, his voice softer, eyes wide and blinking up toward the distant frozen rock wall Dan had gestured at.

  Emma said nothing at first. Instead, her unique white eyes scanned the area slowly, carefully. She turned her head slowly, her silver-white hair following the motion like threads of snow-dusted silk. Her skirt moved with the snowy wind, rippling at her knees. She narrowed her gaze a little, eyes drifting from frozen tree to stone to slope until... finally, they stopped.

  The cave was there. It wasn’t far, just beyond a cluster of snow-laden pine trees. Its entrance was wide enough for all of them to pass through without squeezing, and its mouth was framed by jagged ice that hung like sharp crystal fangs from the top. Snow had piled around its entrance in half-moon shapes, disturbed only by a few old paw prints now frozen in place.

  It wasn’t too large, nor too deep, Emma could tell that much even from where she stood. That was a good thing. If it had been deeper, darker, there might have been the danger of something else inside… something they wouldn’t want to meet at the moment..

  She gave a small nod, silently agreeing.

  So the five of them began to walk toward it... Dan leading, his steps a little too confident for someone so casually brash, his boots crunching against ice that cracked underfoot. Jett followed close behind him, her black hair bouncing with each step as she kept her arms at her sides. Liz walked a bit slower, her emerald eyes scanning the trees suspiciously, her red hair packed in twin buns bobbing slightly with each cautious step. Emma and Ron brought up the rear, their smaller feet making shallower prints in the snow.

  When they reached the entrance, the air inside the cave immediately felt different. Colder in some parts, warmer in others, oddly enough. The stone inside was rough and ancient, scarred by age and weather. Frost clung to the walls in curling sheets, but there were still patches where the rock was bare, smooth, and dark.

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  Emma’s eyes moved slowly, assessing.

  It was just deep enough for comfort. They wouldn’t need to go in far. No shadows moved inside. No growls. No strange smells. Just old, frozen stone and silence.

  Dan didn’t wait. With his usual lack of grace, he stepped inside and plopped down beside a jagged frozen rock that jutted up like a crooked throne. He sat with a casual drop, one leg stretched out, the other pulled halfway in. He looked up and found that none of the others had followed.

  They were all still standing there.

  Just staring.

  Dan raised an eyebrow. “What? If I’m that interesting to look at, maybe I should put on a show when we get back,” he said with a lopsided grin, voice half-amused, half-irritated.

  The moment broke.

  Liz rolled her eyes, stepped forward, and muttered under her breath, “Dimwit…”

  Dan heard it anyway.

  He twisted his face, exasperated. “What did I do now?” he asked, his tone heavy with the kind of dramatic annoyance only a fourteen-year-old could master, as if her insult was nothing more than a fly buzzing near his ear.

  He didn’t get to complain for long.

  Liz didn’t even say anything. She simply stepped closer, aimed, and gave his leg a light but firm kick.

  “Ouch!” Dan yelped, rubbing at the spot with a grimace. “Seriously?”

  Liz just smirked and walked past him like it was nothing.

  Emma had already found her spot by then.

  Her eyes had locked onto a raised patch of frozen rock near the wall of the cave, where small icy stones had gathered like a natural cushion. It looked uneven, but compared to the rest of the floor, it was the most comfortable place to sit.

  She approached it quietly, the snow crunching faintly under her shoes. Lowering herself carefully, she crossed her legs in a sitting pose, her skirt settling neatly over her knees. Her arms rested lightly against her thighs as her gaze moved across the cave again, checking silently.

  Jett had already chosen a spot close to the entrance, her back against the cold rock. Ron sat beside her,

  Liz took her seat near Dan.. close enough to kick again if necessary, far enough to be comfortable.

  Now they were all seated.

  The silence returned.

  It wasn’t heavy. Just... uncertain. The kind of quiet that came when no one quite knew what to say. They looked at one another from where they sat, some shifting slightly, some breathing a little too loudly in the silence. The wind howled softly at the cave mouth, brushing past them like a ghost.

  Then....

  Rrrrrggghhhh...!

  A low, unmistakable rumble.

  Everyone’s gaze turned almost instantly to the source.

  And there he was.

  Ron, his face frozen in sheepish horror, both hands pressed to his belly as if that could somehow silence the traitorous sound it had just made. His pale gray eyes widened as his lips parted slightly.

  “Hehe…” he laughed softly, almost like a mouse trying to defuse a trap. “That... was me.”

  Emma blinked.

  Jett smiled faintly.

  Liz snorted.

  Dan scoffed, but before he could even finish that breath,

  Thwap!

  Liz smacked the back of his head with the palm of her hand, just hard enough to make it sting.

  “Ow... hey!”

  Her glare said 'don’t ruin the moment', and Dan, for once, got the message.

  He turned his head back forward and forced a smile.

  It didn’t come from the heart.

  But still...

  It was enough for someone like him...

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