[Roderik]

OOC: Open to all members of Stoneclaw. Basically this thread is the discovery and settlement of the clan into the community cave.
And here's a music track to inspire the moment of discovery for the wall markings. We Are All Guests Upon the Land: https://g.co/kgs/CZ8Y44

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The moment his paw touched the sand, Roderik felt a mixture of serenity and pain. Looking up to the sea, he thought of the time past he had spent with his Taverin and his father. Those had been some of the happiest times of his life and never again would they return. Taverin was gone, leaving what felt like a gaping wound inside his chest. The thought of him sometimes made it harder to even breathe. Roderik then took in a deep breath, realizing he had been holding it while lost in his memories. Shaking his head free of the sorrow, the young leader looked back to his small group to make sure they were all accounted for and well. Down the cliffside, the wind, and the cold that had come with it, was absent. They were his family now, his future, for as long as they chose to stand by his side. He wanted to prove he was worthy of their trust, but he knew he lacked the experience. He hoped they would be patient with him, while he learned to be the king they needed. 

"There is a large cave nearby. I will go scout ahead to make sure it's safe. Those who wish to accompany me, be aware of your surroundings. We do not know if anything currently occupies this territory."

It was unlikely, as they had encountered no scent or claw markers on the way, but the wind could have covered the first... And the second he may have missed in his eagerness to move ahead. Roderik cursed his recklessness. The last thing he wanted was to put any of his companions in danger. 

"The rest of you, stay here until we come back for you, alright?"

Moving ahead, Roderik kept a sharp ear and a cautious glance to what lay ahead. There were no noises to be heard aside from the constant coming and going of the sea, and the winds that soared high above the cliffs. As they got closer to the cave, the young sabre began to notice some items laying about the sand. They looked strange and foreign to him, seemingly made of wood. One of them looked like a miniature version of himself carved from a piece of driftwood. Lowering his head to sniff it, he wondered who had made it and why. Roderik frowned, thinking of the humans and their strange ways. Did humans live here? No, he couldn't smell them if they did... But perhaps they had lived here before. 

"Be on guard"

The entrance to the cave was larger than he had anticipated. The ceiling rose almost as high as the cliff itself. The floor of the cavern was stone, smooth and soft beneath his paws. At first the cave seemed empty, but his eyes caught more strange items in some of corners as he explored further. A basket of reeds lay next to a pelt seemingly belonging to an animal who's fur he did not know. It was a silvery grey in color, and though the fur was short and looked stubby, it felt incredibly soft to the touch. Looking out into the depths of the cave, Roderik found some measure of peace in knowing that it was no longer inhabited and it would be safe to claim it for the night. Still, it was obvious the place had been lived here before... By whom? When? And why had they gone? Walking back to the others while still looking around, he asked the question aloud.

"Someone lived here before... Humans?"

The voice that answered him spoke solemnly. "Sabres..."

Frowning, Roderik opened his mouth to ask how the other could have come to such a conclusion, but before he could do so, his gaze was drawn upwards to the wall the other kept staring at. The question died in his throat as he saw...

The light of the sun reflecting on the sea came to bathe this one wall of the cave in a golden glow, seeming to illuminate the markings upon it. 

Paw prints. Hundreds of them, littered the wall of the cave. Small ones seemingly belonging to cubs on the lower quarter, larger ones high up. Some of them were red, others black, but most of them were white and they stood out so much against the dark color of the stone that Roderik wondered how he had missed them coming in. 

"Incredible..."

Walking closer, the young leader slowly raised a paw and placed it on the wall next to one of the marks. Who did this one belong to, he wondered to himself. How many of them had there been? Where were they now? So many questions, and perhaps in time they would find the answers. Lowering his paw, Roderik gave a nod of satisfaction. 

"Fetch the others"

The cave was deemed safe, for now.

[Ferdinand]

"There is a large cave nearby. I will go scout ahead to make sure it's safe. Those who wish to accompany me, be aware of your surroundings. We do not know if anything currently occupies this territory."

Ferdinand had found himself trailing behind the group as they walked towards the shores of what was to be their home. The young lion had trailed so far behind as he stopped every few feet to categorize and learn the landscape that he and his King had just traversed. As a cub he had heard stories of a place similar to this, but now in his adult age the boy couldn't be more excited to see that perhaps those stories were true. His head swung up as his King spoke to the crowd, and the lion was already scrambling to the front of the line. 'I'll go!' he thought excitedly as he pushed forward and stood at attention.

He was the Loremaster of this pride and come hell or high water, he would be around at every historical event that was to take place under their new royal leader.

"Be on guard"

The lion puffed himself out as he strode behind his King further to the cave. What dangers could have awaited them? The lion wasn't much of a fighter, but he hoped dearly that his already large stature would make any foe run tail tucked between their legs. Even as they neared the entrance to this fortress of stone, Ferdinand couldn't help but let his eyes wander and linger on every detail of this place. If he were to do his job correctly one day, these details were going to need to be important. It was, of course, the terrible fate of a bard.

"Someone lived here before... Humans?"

From the entrance of the cave the boy squinted and lowered his head to the ground before raising it up to sniff the air.

"I don't believe it was humans, My Lord," he hummed excitedly, taking a step forward and looking around, "humans would have made much more of a mess. This was inhabited by something or someone large. Or, at least many of something. It is...fascinating, My Lord, that we've stumbled upon this magnificent sight! I implore that we search the surrounding areas soon- who knows what-"

He was cut off almost instantly as his King walked past him and in to the cave. The lion's ears fell atop his mane as he watched for a moment before following in, sighing softly at the misdirection, though his attention was brought back to center as the awed voice of Roderik came through the walls of the cave.

"Incredible..."

It was.

The sights before them were like nothing he had ever seen before. Hundreds, no, thousands? of prints littered the cave and its walls. The stories this cave must have seen! There was an audible gasp from Ferdinand as he too walked further in with wide eyes and an agape mouth. What was this place? There couldn't have been that many humans- no, it wasn't humans at all. Ferdinand shuffled closer to a wall, his eyes widening as the realization of paw prints came to his mind. He turned to look back at his King who had already placed his own paw up against one of the marks on the wall. The realization hit him instantly and the lion found himself bounding further in to the back of the cave. If this was sabre territory- if this had been sabre territory, then there were many more stories that needed to be uncovered.

But I can see the sunshine's rays gleaming through the clear water

Telling me you gotta hop in for this chapter's ride

There will always be better days

[Dogma]

#ff8742

It probably wasn't the best idea for her to be following the big boys into this 'spooky' cave, but hey, someone had to protect the boys if something scary popped out. That someone was gonna be Dogma, stamping her feet triumphantly behind Roderik, eyes cutting in the dim light of the cave, nostrils flaring at the smell of mildew. This place hadn't been touched in a long while.

They'd stop however, glancing back as Ferd stepped to and offered some insight along with Roderik, Dogma merely tilted her head and walked to a section of wall littered with large prints. "Humans might have been a problem, but if it was other cats, that's not so bad." She mused, looking over her shoulder at the others. "I wonder if they'll come back?" She mumbled thoughtfully, this place was supposed to be uninhabited right? Well, for what it was worth, this was Stoneclaw territory and if they came back looking to make trouble she had no qualms with cracking skulls.

"What do ya think happened to them, Boss?" She walked over to Roderik's side then, glancing up at him before looking to the mural of paws, worn away by time and bleached by the sun's light. Leaning back on her hind legs she'd hop up just a smidge, placing a forepaw against a small paw that was low enough for her to reach. "This one is a little bit bigger than mine, huh." The artisan examined, whiskers twitching thoughtfully.