"Belle, are you sure this is such a good idea?"

The pink girl groaned and rolled her eyes at her twin. "Come on, Beau, where's your sense of adventure?"

Beau balled his paws into fists and looked into the darkness ahead of them. "I think I left it back at the campsite. This looks DANGEROUS, Belle!"

"All the more reason to do it!"  The pink girl grinned at her brother. Despite their mutual twelve years, it seemed that her twin was six and she was eighteen. She had always been the braver of the two, and today it was really showing. "You can go back if you really want, but I'm exploring!"

That took her brother aback. "What?! And leave you here alone?! No way! I'll never forgive myself if you get hurt."

The pink girl beamed. "Then it's settled! We're going in!" Without waiting for a reply, she charged into the cave, her flashlight held high to illuminate the depths.

Beau watched his sister from the entrance, his nerve threatening to leave. It was uncomfortable enough wearing shorts, but to be out in a dark cave? That was nuts! He looked over his shoulder, then sighed and followed gotta sister in.

"Wow, look at this!"

Belle stared in awe at the mineral formations just around a bend in the cave. They sparkled in the light from her flashlight held aloft in her paw.

The boy's jaw dropped as he came up next to his sister. It was one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen. But something about it unsettled him. There was a significant temperature drop in the cave, and he was certain that the chill down his spine wasn't just from that.

"Come on, let's go deeper!" Belle said. She grabbed her brother's paw and tugged it as the set forward into the cave.

"Sis, wait," Beau said. "I think we should go get Daddies and River, don't you think? I bet they'd like seeing this, too, dontcha think?"

Oh, that's how he was going to try to play it, huh? Belle released her brother's paw and stepped deeper into the cave, crossing her arms. "You just want to chicken out."

“Nuh uh!” Beau shot back.  “I just wanted to share it with our family…”

“Suuuuure,” Belle said.  She turned and began walking deeper into the cave, exploring with her light.

“H-hey, wait for me!”  Beau sighed and followed his sister.  Strange as the cave was, he wasn’t going to leave his sister alone.  When she made up her mind, nothing could stop her.

Belle grinned as she explored.  She knew that her brother wouldn’t leave her.  And the cave was so cool! The deeper she went, the prettier it got, sparkles of pink and purple and orange reflecting the light from her flashlight.

“Isn’t this incredible?” Belle whispered.

“I-I guess,” Beau replied.

The twins ventured deeper, led on by the brave girl.  It seemed that the deeper they got, the more brilliant the colors of the walls and stalactites.

“Whoa, Beau, look at th--”

The ground disappeared beneath the squirrelfox girl.  She had been so focused on the walls and ceilings of the cave that she had neglected to watch her step.  Her chest felt suddenly empty as she found herself freefalling into space.

Time ran in slow motion for the girl as she tumbled downwards, the girl thrashing in the air to try to land on her back.  She tucked her chin in against her chest as best she could, bracing for the impact. It came quicker than she expected. Her body connected hard with cold stone.  Thankfully, she kept her head from connecting with the stone, but her back took the brunt of the impact, knocking the wind from her.

“Belle!  Belle, oh my gods, are you okay?!”

Belle shook her head, her world spinning.  “Y-yeah… j-just a bump…”

“This hole’s really deep… crap,” Beau said.  “Belle, stay right there. I’m gonna go get Daddies, okay?”

"Okay," she mumbled, though whether her brother was still there or not, she couldn't be sure.

As her breath returned and her world stopped spinning, Belle looked around.  Her flashlight had rolled a few feet away from her, but was still very much intact and working.  She rolled onto her tummy and pushed herself up onto her paws and knees, then crawled over and grabbed it.

Shining the light up, she saw just how far she'd fallen.  The ledge her brother had looked down at her from looked to be a good fifteen feet up, and the walls of the cave were quite smooth.  No chance of her climbing back up herself.  She shook her head, then looked around the cavern.

It was larger than the main portion of the cave, the walls equally smooth.  It seemed almost like it was carved out by some sentient paw.  It went deeper and curved around.  Her instinct was to explore, but she knew that going in solo was a bad idea.

A rumbling sound reached her ears, like a large creature breathing.  She perked her ears, and looked around.  "Hello?  Is somebody there?"

The cavern curved around, nearly twice her height.  As she watched, a creature emerged from around the corner.  It was covered in shimmering ice blue scales.  Set in a reptilian head, two shiny green eyes seemed to glare at her.  The creature approached and opened its mouth, showing off two rows of sharp teeth.  It let out a fearsome roar.  Belle could feel its breath washing over her like an icy wind.

The pink girl did the only thing she could think of.  As the creature's roar subsided, she took a deep breath and roared back.  Her squeaky voiced echoed around the cave.  She roared for as long as she could, until her lungs completely emptied.  She inhaled deeply as she finished, slumping a bit, and stared defiantly into the creature's eyes.

The monster seemed taken aback.  Its head withdrew just a little, tilting to one side.  Then it thrust forward and roared again.  Belle felt herself pushed back against the wall of the cave from the power of the creature's voice.

As soon as it subsided, she roared back again, the girl raising her arms and trying to make herself as large as she could appear.  The creature retreated in surprise, stunned that such a small creature like the squirrelfox would stand up to it without any fear.

"You are a strange creature," the monster said.


********



"Come on, it's this way!"

Beau ran forward, leading one of his dads and his eldest sister into the cave.

"What the hell were you two thinking?!" the wolf cried.  "I swear, I need to keep your sister on a leash..."

River grunted as she nearly lost her footing on the uneven stone.  The lilac chinchilla was very much out of her element in the outdoors, even if the cold of the cave suited her better than the warm summer air outside.  "Daddy Wuffy, let's just make sure she's okay first.  Please?"

The wolf growled, but nodded.  "The voice of reason.  How much farther, B--"

The three furs froze as they turned the corner into the chamber where Belle had been lost.  They couldn't believe their eyes.  Before them, a large reptilian creature was running in circles through the cave.  It stood a good seven feet tall, with shimmering ice blue scales.  Its four feet had the most fearsome claws any of them had ever seen.  Its scaly wings, almost like a bat's, flapped a little to keep its balance.  And atop it, holding onto an armored cropping of scales just behind the creature's neck, was Belle, giggling like a madcub.

The creature came to a stop when it noticed their visitors, and lowered its head.  "Belle, it looks like your family is here."

Her giggles subsided as the creature came to a stop.  She waved from her perch on its back.  "Hi, guys!  Meet Bartholemew.  He's an ice dragon who lives here!  He's my new friend!"

"D-d-dragon?" River stuttered.  "But I thought those were myths!"

The wolf shook his head.  "River, dear, there are always strange things in this world.  But at least your sister is safe, right?"

Beau blinked and looked up at the dragon.  "Can I ride you, too?" he asked.

The adults looked at the pink boy, shocked at the words that just came out of his mouth.

The dragon let out a mighty, roaring laugh.  "Come on up.  We can go one more round around the cave.  Your family are welcome, too."

Belle cheered as her brother charged forward and climbed up the dragon's head.  "Yeah!  Dragon riders!"

The adults exchanged glances.

"Well, come on," the wolf said.  "It's not every day you get a chance to ride a dragon."

River blinked, then quietly followed her father.  It was an offer she couldn't refuse.