A warm breeze blew threw the air as a lone falcon walked threw the woods that lead up to the caves. He was a traveler at heart so he could not really stand to be in one place for very long at a time. He had been on the mover ever since that he was just a boy. He had never had parents who took care of him. That made him wish that he did have someone who cared for him. But he knew that he was still a lot better off then others. He now took his claws and ran them sown his torn clothing. If anyone were to look at him they would probably think that he was homeless or something. However that was not really the case with claws here. He was a student at golden oaks for now. He just chose to where torn clothing because he liked the way that they felt on him. He then walked up to the mouth of the cave now looking at the sight before him. He now spread his long white wings as he looked at the rock formations with in the caves. It was breath taking sight to the falcon because he had never been inside a cave before. . Claws liked nature more then he liked the city life. He was a loner by nature so being around others seemed to bother him quiet a bit. He now smiled as he took a few more steps in to the cave so that he could see even more of this cave.



His golden yellow eyes almost sparkled as he looked at the many different rocks that formed within the cave. He loved how they almost seemed to sparkle in the dim sun light that came in from the mouth of the cave. He did not dare to go in to the cave too deep for fear he might get lost. Claws knew that he was not really supposed to be out here but he just could not help himself. Besides he knew that he probably would not get in to that much trouble considering his traveling nature. And he was old enough to watch out for himself. Or so he thought he could anyhow. He now took time to walk over to a large rock that was rounded at the top. He spread those long wings of his and flew up to the top. It was not that far off the ground but he thought that it would be nice to use his wings instead of trying to climb straight up. He now sat down on top of the rock with a wide smile on his face. If anyone were to come in to the cave he knew that he would be able to be spotted with ease. But that was okay with him for the moment. He knew that he could use the company if he could ever get the nerve to talk to any of them that is.

A wonderful day for a hike, especially one away from the school and away from the town. He was a bit old fashioned in his hiking through these mountains, carrying an unlit torch with him and a few other supplies so he could explore the caves properly and without incident. Unlike the dragons in the area he couldn't simply provide his own flame whenever things got dark, this snake had to use his tools. And this was his one source of relaxation and escape from the modern world, a world he was stuck dealing with almost nonstop.

Not that the physics teacher really disliked any of it, he was quite skilled in what he did. School security was improved thanks to him and his camera system, speaking of which he waved to the last one in the area as he passed by it on a little trail he was following. Maybe one of these days he'd manage to network the whole woods and mountains, cast a huge protective net of them all over the place so no matter where trouble happened they'd be ready. But not today, no, today he was just basic torch, rope, food, the most advanced piece of tech he had was an old radio in case he hurt himself and needed to call for assistance.

And so the snake smiled as he came up to one of the as of yet unexplored caves. Upon his arrival though he was met with the sight of someone else already in the area, and from the looks of him a more rugged student. "Good morning. Didn't think I'd see anyone else out here today but it sure is a lovely day isn't it?"

The falcon held a smile on his face as he looked up at the ceiling of the cave. He was not aware that he was about to have company. He stared at all of the strange formations that were coming out of the top of the cave. He was not quiet sure how those rocks grew from the top of the cave like that. Even more so he was not sure what kept them from breaking off and falling on his head. Oh that was not a good thing to think about while he was here though. A sound a the mouth of the cave mare him turn his attention back to the entrance. Him being a falcon meant that his eyes could catch even the slightest of movements. That was a good defense for him though if he were to ever get in to any trouble. Not that claws ever got in to trouble. Though he knew that he could be right now. He now looked at the snake with those golden eyes of his. He was not sure rather he was from the school or the town. Either way claws knew that he would have to try to talk to him. Though before he did he would need to get down from his perch. After all he did not want to have to shout down to talk to this stranger. So with that in mind he spead his wings and glided down to the ground in front but not to close to the snake. He the gave a shy smile and said” uhhh … errr…. Good m…. morning ….t..to y…you …as …well. Heh…..uhh… me…nether… yes… it..is… a fine … .day …. For … e.. exploring.” said claws practically stumbling over every word he said. That was his worst fault. Claws was very shy around others. That was mostly because he had grown up thinking that others did not want him around. So he avoided then. Now that he was older he knew differently but was still shy to a point.

Wings, oh how the snake envied them. One of these days he'd have a way to fly, maybe invent some practical sort of jetpack wing combo or come up with some bizarre experiment that would give him dragon wings. No, his cousin Athan was already closer to that description, one of those mythical couatl creatures he'd read about a couple times. Oh well, it was something to think about for another time. "So were you just taking a sort of break in here or were you actually exploring the caves?" Now that they'd run into each other if the falcon planned on checking out the caves they'd probably be better off exploring them together. In the past there had been rumors of one or more of these caves being inhabited by monsters that eventually threatened the school, one of the teacher's little side hobbies was trying to figure out if those rumors were true or not. He'd hate to think what might happen if the falcon found some remains in a cave and freaked out with nobody nearby to help calm him down or something. Not that he believed those rumors to begin with but while they were both here might as well hang out together right?

Claws smiled slightly as he tried to force his nerves to calm down. He did not like how they made it hard for him to speak to them But at least the snake seemed to over look it for now. The falcon really hated it when others tried to point out his faults. However he was slowly learning how to deal with this by plainly just ignoring it or just walking away. When you were as shy as he was you just opened yourself up to all kinds of tormenting by other kids. Lucky for claws he was well muscled and strong enough to fight them if he ever needed to. Though claws was more of a lover then a fighter. The falcon now looked at him with those piercing eye of his as he asked his question. Most always though that claws was upset as them when he looked directly in to their eyes due to the look that he kept in them. This however was not the case. He just had that look naturally due to being a predator bird. Though claws would never hurt anyone or anything if he could keep from it. Or if he was forced to use force to defend himself. The falcon had set out this morning to see if he could find something interesting to do today. That was when he had run across the cave. Him being a curious creature by nature could not resist the urge to go inside them and explore for a while.




He smiled now at the snake as he thought about his question for a second. “ uhhh …… actually…. I ….I ….was…. Sort …. Of ….doing …. B….both. Uhh……. I…. came…. Across…. This…. Cave and……. Thought ….. That ….. I …. would …… t…. take …..a ….. l….look…..around…. W…while….. I … had …..s…some…. Extra… time.” he said still stumbling over his words. Claws had a terrible time trying to talk to others. Though he was hoping to get better at that as he spent more time around other here around the school. Claws had never heard any rumors about monsters living around here. Though he had heard of them living in the woods. It had never dawned on him that they could just live in this cave . Though really he figured that if they had he would have heard them by now. Though if he did find some sort of awful thing in these caves he would probably freak out and run away or hurt himself trying to anyhow. You see claws was a coward threw and threw when it came down to things like that. Claws kept the slight smile on his face as he looked over the snake now. He seemed kind of nice maybe it would be fun to hang out with him for a little while.

"It definitely looks like an interesting one to explore. Not usually a good idea to go in unprepared though, but this looks more big than deep. Probably runs a fair way back, high ceiling, not likely to have a whole bunch of tunnels at the back. Course if it does it'd be fun to check them out, and going into the dark or anything like that it's usually better to have a partner along. Wanna check it out with me before hiking more? I've been trying to see what's in all these things lately, maybe find some good stone for a friend to use in statues." So the kid stuttered a little, no problem. Athos had his own history of speech problems he never told anyone about, used to have one of those darn snake lisps where every S sound came out as a hiss. It used to annoy and embarrass him to no end until he finally got over it, but that hadn't been easy. He knew better than to pick on a kid for his speech.

Claws gave a smile as he listened to the snake talk now. He had always been one of those who would do their best to listen to any advise that someone wanted to give him. He knew that it was not very smart of him to go in to the cave unprepared. But claws went in to a lot of places unprepared. In his mind he could handle anything this life wanted to throw at him. And if he did get in to a dark spot he did have a flashlight with him. Though to tell the truth claws was not sure how deep he was going to go in to the cave. Claws was one of those who just made things up as they went along. “ yeah….. I …. thought ….s… so …. As … well …. Hehe ….. Yeah …. I …I ..know. …… yeah ….. It …would. Uhh…. Yeah… sure… t..that ……would….. Be…… fun. Hehe…. M…maybe …. You …..can….f….find ….. Something …….. here……. There…. Are….a ….lot…of ….pretty….rocks ….in….here.” claws said with a smile. To tell the truth claws did not know much about caves expect that the were dark and went underground. But that was fine with him. That was why he looked a new things so that he could learn about them. So maybe going with the snake would help him learn a bit more. It could not hurt that was for sure. Claws moved those sharp clawed hands of his down to where he could stick them in to his pockets where he could not be temped to run them across his pants anymore then he already had.

Athos had noticed the rips in the clothing and figured it was either from a lot of hiking or he didn't want to look too attractive so he could avoid more conversations. Either way it didn't bother him, he'd looked just as shabby in the past as well as probably half the kids at school. "Never know, might find something cool worth keeping yourself too. Considering how many dragons have lived in this area, heck even a few of the bigger kind have lived around here in the past, wouldn't be surprised if one of these caves up here had a few gold coins or something left lying around forgotten. Or something just as interesting, never know until you take a look around. Ever been in a cave like this one before?"

Athos wasn't kidding about the coins, but in his mind it was just as likely a smuggler or bad person from the past could have hidden something up here and never got a chance to come back and claim it. He'd be happy to let the kid have anything they found, not like he needed it really.

There was a reason the falcon wore rips in his cloths. The reason was that for some strange reason he could not stand the feel of cloths unless they had beg rips and holes all in them. He said it was because the feely good on him that way to those who asked him why he wore them like that. He gave a smile when the snake spoke again. He was not really here to fin anything valuable. Claws did not know the value of a lot of the old coins around. Even if he did he would not really care to much about the money. Claws did not have a use for a lot of worldly riches as most did. Just give him a few close friends and he was rich in his mind. Then again claws did not think about things in the same way that most did. Though it could be kind of neat to find something like that . “ yeah …. Maybe… I… could …. Really? …. That …… is ……kind …. of …. Neat ….. To …… know. .. Yeah…… you … never …know …. Until…. You …. Look …… uhhh …. No ….. I …..have …not…. That…… is….. Part ….. Of ……. The ……. Reason….. Why …. I …. went….. In…. to…. This… one…. Here” he said with a slight smile. He would not lie to the snake by saying he had explored caves before. Claws knew a lot better then that. Claws was a good kid for the most part. The worst he had ever done was ran away from the orphaned when the other kids kept tormenting him until he had to leave.

"Good first choice at least. Definitely a safer one, come on let's go. I'll tell you all I know about caves and exploring them while we're at it, in case you feel like coming back up here again some time on your own." Blake might have been a world traveler but Athos knew his stuff when it came to exploring. After a quick generic safety lesson he started on his way in hoping the kid would join him. Athos was definitely a teacher, even with one student he was giving lessons. Not exactly physics like he usually taught but he didn't mind. "So let's see how far back this place goes. Has a nice high ceiling so far, probably doesn't angle down much either. But it'll come down pretty quick the further back we go."

Claws was happy to have the snake exploring with him. Really though he could not talk very well to other he kind of like company once in a while. It tended to make him feel less lonely . Maybe that comes from the fact that claws was always alone since he was born. Or at least in his mind he was. Not like many other wanted to talk to and no parent wanted to have him around them. But none of that really mattered now. Right now he was with some one who was teaching him about these cave . That was something that he liked was learning new things when he could. That was one of his better traits. “ okay … Really? ……That ….. Is ….good. ……Oh…… okay……. I …….would ……like ….. that. …..Yeah ….. I ……well ….. Probably ……come ………. Back ….. if ……..I ……. get….. t ……the……… time ….. to.” claws said with a slight smile now. He love to travel around to new places himself. That really was all he had ever done. As soon as he was eight teen he was thrown out of the foster home and started to travel from place to place. The only reason he was here was that he wanted a higher education. He now walked behind the snake when he started to move. He wanted to see more of this cave . And having company was a great bonus to him. “ okay…. Humm …. I …..see . Uhh so Is ….that … a ……good …… thing ? “ he asked as he looked up at the ceiling. As long as the snake was willing to teach him then he would ask questions. Though the snake might just get tired of all the questions after a while.

"Well the further in we walk the more you'll start to notice it's great for making things sound louder. It's generally a good thing though, just don't cause any explosions or gunshots. This place probably wouldn't collapse anyway but it's a good general safety tip. I could tell you all about places like this, anything and everything you could possibly want to know. and probably a lot more too. And if there's going to be any sort of leftover or ignored treasure it'd probably be at the back along the wall. Or up tight to the sides of the cave, it's in a pretty good position so this could have been used as a home at one point if animals or anyone was smart enough. Come on, won't need a flashlight or this torch for a little bit with the light we've got shining in but if it's deep they'll be kinda useful. I'm a little old fashioned going with this torch but I like it, gives me just enough light and a certain advantage flashlights can't give. If I ever got stuck and something collapsed behind me a flashlight can't necessarily tell me all the same things a torch can. It'll flicker and move if there's a breeze coming from anywhere, which can lead me to a way out while a light could miss it entirely."

Claws now was listing carefully to what the snake was telling him. He could see that he really knew his stuff . At least it seemed that he knew a lot more then claws did. Though claws could always say that he had never been in a cave before . He was surprised to hear that the inside of a cave made sounds louder. He would have thought that they would have been slightly muffled because of the fact that caves went underground. Maybe that was not the case though. He smiled slightly when he said not to make any explosions or gunshots. For one thing claws could not stand loud sounds due to his sensitive hearing. And then he would never be around anything that could hurt him if he could avoid it at all. Though technically speaking what he was doing now could be dangerous. But he was not thinking about that right now. Right now he was just trying to enjoy himself and have fun. Though he was learning new things as well. “ uhh … okay … I …….will …….. Keep … that …..in ….mind. …….. Hehe ….. That ….. is …..a …… good …….. Thing…. We …… do …… not …….want …….to ……. Be ….. Trapped ……. In……. here. …….. At least ………..I ……do ……not……….. Okay …………I ……..would ………..like ……that. ………Yeah ……..that ………would…. Be ….neat …………to …………find ……..something ……..like ……..that………… Though…….. I ……….would …………not ………know ……what ………..to …………do …………with …….it……… It……… looks ……….like …………it ……..could ……..make ……….something ………..a ……..good ……….home. ……….. Okay ……………..I ………….am………… coming………… Ahh……….. I ….see …….that ……..sounds good………… Humm ………..hopefully ……..that ………….will ……never …..happen. ……..It would …………be …….bad ………..to …………be ……..stuck ………..in ……..a ……..place ……….like t…………his “ claws said with a smile. He could feel himself calming sown slightly. He was taking his mind off of things that would bother him. Though the thought of being hurt some way would still tackle the back of him mind once on a while. It was the natural way to think after all.

"Well if we do find anything in here and you don't have a clue on what to do with it, could always potentially give it to a friend." Maybe that was something he shouldn't mention, maybe it was okay. Athos wanted to get to know more about this kid even if he did have a bit of a problem talking to him. It sounded like it was going away a little, maybe just nervous around new people? Could be, or could be he was putting more effort into sounding like a "normal" person. If he was, then the snake wanted to let him know he didn't have to try so hard. Just had to be himself and if people couldn't get used to that then it was their problem not his. He figured in case it was a bad subject though he should change the topic quickly. "Now that we're getting further back here, probably wasn't inhabited by anything big. Nothing like a dragon or other large animal at least. See these rock formations coming up from the ground? Bigger creatures wouldn't have let these form and if they were here they'd break it off to have a more level home."

Claws was looking around the cave as he listened to the snake speak. He loved seeing new things as long as they caught his attention first. Claws was the kind who wanted not to have to be board when he was doing something even if it was for his education. That was why claws tried to keep classes that he knew that he would not be too bored . That was not an easy thing for him to do though . He smiled now when the snake said that he could always give what he found to a friend, was that the snakes way of saying he wanted to be the falcons friend ? Maybe not but then again maybe so he could not be for certain. He would just watch him and see. Claws was not all that great at making friends due to how shy he was most of the time. He did want to make a few friends though if he could . “ that ..... sounds .... like ... a ......good ..... idea ......to .......me” he said. The look in those piercing eyes of his should have told the snake that he did not take any offence to what he had said. If anything the falcon took it more as a friendly jester then anything else . Claws was just a really nervous person who had trouble talking to others and saying what was on his mind. That was both a good thing and a bad thing depending on how you looked at things like that. He now listened to the snake as he told him more about the caves. He look over now at the rocks that the snake was talking about. He was relived to find that there would not be nothing big in here with them. He did not know about the snake but he certainly did not wish to upset anything in here. The thought that something could crush rocks like that seemed to bother him slightly. Though in his defense he did not know a whole lot about dragons and things like that. “ that ....is..... good...... Would...... not...... want...... to.... make....... nothing .....big ..........mad....... in....... here...... heh . Really..... wow....... that....... is...... good...... to....... know.” he said with a smile. It amazed him that the snake knew all of these interesting facts that he would have never learned otherwise. He figured that the more got to know him the better he would like him.