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Shadow (27 days after)

"It's not outdoors, it's cold as hell," He rolled his eyes.

"At least it's not a burning inferno," I insisted, nudging him again, "C'mon, I thought Whiteclaw said you were fun!" Amberclaw turned his head around away from me, but the more I bumped him with my huge snout, the more a slight grin slithered through his snout. A 5th bump made him turn around with laughter.

"Okay fine! Fine...stop!" He half-laughed, half-growled, "I'll come along. But just this one time. I like this cave."

"C'mon, you can't stay in this cave forever!"

"Nothing's going to kick me out of here for more than an hour Shadow."

"Really-" I snorted nearby, when out of nowhere a huge roar jump started deep in the earth. I didn't have time to prepare myself to the incoming earthquake, but Amberclaw was, sprinting around to the nearest cover up. My stomach lurched as the earth strangely began to shake, wobbling everything all over the place. I stood unsteadily, and quickly leaned on the nearest wall with a painful crash as the earthquake commenced, shaking hard for a few seconds, before being drowned into silence. The cave ceiling bounced around, then shuddered to a silence in a thick fog of dust. When I came to my original self after the quaking stopped, I found my legs still quaking themselves, still and perhaps evermore trapped in this fetil action. My heartbeat was racing my legs in my chest, but at least my breathing was normal. My legs were bent and mid-way through a slide toward the center of the pathway, but my claws caught me before I could fall. The dust itself slowly began to clear when Amberclaw popped out of his hiding place, noticing that the cave itself changed shape.

Or mainly, it almost fell apart.

Holes and deep cuts in the alkaline earth broke through to the surface of the world, spewing dampened light into the cave. The ceiling was littered with cracks that opened away from the Clock towards its entrance, and of course, snow found it's way into the cavern.

"That was bad," Amberclaw shuddered, looking around, "That was actually really bad..." I could tell from his face, he's never experienced an earthquake so powerful. I shifted my body upwards, using my huge skull, then stomped back to normal position, shaking the earth a bit more.

"You okay?" He questioned next. I nodded.

"Yeah....I-I-I'm good," I stammered.

"On that note, I'll come along outside," He finally sighed. I grinned, then with a heaving breath, slowly walked outside. But the feeling of the recent earthquake got me worried sick. What was going on? Why were there so many?

What's happening?

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"Why haven't you talked to your dad yet?" Amberclaw spoke aloud though the blackened and fallen trees. I stepped up upon a dead birch tree, and cautiously balanced myself on the pathway through the woods.

"No reason," I lied through my teeth, "He's tired. I felt the need to give him some rest for a while."

"He is resting though," Amberclaw pointed out. I swallowed.

"I mean for a bit longer. 'Till the time comes." Amberclaw looked down, flexed his jaws, then fixed his eyes upon the forest horizon in the u-shaped valley. Many trees were now down and buried in thick earth from the quake, and rocks were uprooted along with them. Some rotten trees covered in fungus now were shattered on the white frosted soil, cool to the touch. As I marched quietly in the snow, a cold feeling submerged in my legs, which I guess was a light type of frostbite nibbling on my scales. The air was chilly, and my insides were frozen themselves, making me shiver. Perhaps it wasn't a good idea to go wandering off into the blue. Me and Amberclaw walked silent, speechless to our own silence as if our mouths were screwed shut, but eventually things floated into my snout that made the silence shatter.