"Yep, they start to break the stone apart. If you see dirt overhead it's not a good sign either. Best if you see smooth stone, it's got the least chance of coming down on you. That doesn't count anything like a mine where people are intentionally taking part of the cave out, expanding it, and trying to put in supports to fix all the damage they do. I wouldn't suggest going in any of them even if they were supposedly safe, never know what might have been disturbed like pockets of gas or weaker rock." And none of this was counting the normal effect of water dripping down into caves, sometimes it could be stable and sometimes it could be a disaster waiting to happen. "And by the way, it never hurts to be a little paranoid. Just don't let it start to rule your life or anything."

The falcon gave the snake as smile as he walked behind him now. He knew that hw would be sure to watch for signs that the roof might cave in on them. But he was not going to let that ruin his good time though. He wanted to enjoy looking around and talking with his new friend here. He would not be going in to any mines snood though cause he figured that they would have been dangerous. He had heard many stories of young kids going in to mines only to be killed by falling rocks. That just did not sound like a good way to die if you asked him.” ahh ….I ……see. ……That …….is……. something ……that…… I…….. will ………make …….note……. of. ……..Yeah ……….I ……do…. not ……..think ………that……. I ……would……. want ……to……. go…….. in……. to……… a…….. place……. like ……..that……… Hum……… I…….. did…….. not…….. know…… that…….. though” the falcon said with a curious look on his face. He did not know that gas could be trapped under ground. He did know though that water could be trapped. He then smiled at the snake when he made his next statement. He was not that paranoid yet he knew that much. But he knew that could change if he ever allowed it to.” ahh…… Yeah…. I…. try ……..not……. to ……..let …….it …….bother …….me ……..that …….much.” he said keeping the smile on his face. Good thing that he was not eels offended as some could be. He never got upset at anyone really.

Athos started to walk into the cave, looking around. "Well it gets dark pretty quick, and from what little I can see it's actually moving up to start. Not exactly normal but it can happen, would usually mean this is the opposite end of one that starts higher up. Kind of like a back entrance, ground's firm though and not slippery, shouldn't be a problem. Might need a bit of light in here soon though." Good thing he had the proper supplies to handle it. Maybe a flashlight would have been better but he still counted on his old fashioned torch. Besides wild animals should they encounter one typically shy away from flames, not so much from a flashlight.

The falcon gave a slight smile as he followed the snake in to the cave slowly. He took time to look around the cave as the snake spoke. The good thing was that it was not all that small in here yet. He just hoped that it would remain that way. Claws hated tight places that was for sure. He heard the snake say that the cave got dark though. Well he did have a flashlight with him incase they needed it. Other wise he would not have been looking in caves at all. He knew that if you wanted to go from one end of the cave to another you needed light. “ oh …. It …. Dose? …. Well ……I ……..have…….. A …….light ……..if ……..you …..uhh …….need…….. one…….. Hum…. ….That…… is……… interesting…….. I …….did……… not…….think……. caves …….had ……many …….entrances …….myself…….. I…… guess…… it….. would…….. be……. helpful…….. if …….you ……wanted…… to……. get ……out….. fast …..though.” he said with a slight look of curiosity. He was not saying that as if the snake did not have a light. Really the falcon was just being kind and offering him one if he needed it, that was the way the falcon was. He was certainly learning a lot from this snake that was for sure. Though once again the though that something could be at the other end of the cave still bothered him a bit. He kept telling himself though that he was safe as long as he had his friend with him. And the falcon could take care of himself he had to, he just did not like putting himself in danger very much

"Sometimes it can be natural, sometimes it's the way someone decided to make it. Feel free to use your flashlight, it'll help when it comes to looking farther up ahead. I'll go with the old fashioned version though." Athos smiled and struck a match, lighting up the torch and smothering the match before it could burn his fingers. "Gives decent light all around instead of one direction, I like it but not everyone does. Flashlight's still pretty useful though." Athos took a quick look around now that some of the darker corners of their current area were lit up. Everything still seemed pretty safe, nothing going wrong and no real risks yet. Hopefully it'd stay that way and they'd get to completely explore the cave, but this might take a while if it was a winding path like he expected it to be.

Claws smiled as he watched the snake light his torch now. He then took the small flashlight he was carrying out of his pocket incase he need it. The good thing about that little light was the fact that h had a cord on it were he could put it around his wrist. He smiled as he hard the snake say that some once could have made this cave the way that it was. Well if that was what they did he hoped that they were not waiting for them on the other side. Well maybe that would not happen though. “ ahh…… alright…….. Okay ……I ……..will ……..do …….that ……then. …….Ahh ………sometimes ……that ………is ……the……. Best….. way……. to …..go.” he said with a smile. He the heard him say that the torch gave light all around. He could see what he meant by that as he looked around the cave some more. It seemed to him that this cave was a bit wetter then the other cave was. “ahh …..I …….see. …….That ………dose………. Make……a…….lot of since,,,,, I…….. suppose.” he said with a smile. He too hoped that nothing bad would happen while they were down here. He did know one things about caves like this though. He knew that bats and things like that liked the caves like this one. That made him wonder if they would find any while they were here. Probably not though. He was not bothered by that sort of thing himself.

Athos was going to be keeping a close eye on their surroundings just in case. He wasn't about to be the cause of his new friend getting hurt either by an accident in here or by someone at the other end. "So I'm guessing you've moved around a lot before here. Any places you really enjoyed staying or any preference? Maybe cities were better for you than rural areas, or maybe you enjoyed getting away from it all and just being in the woods for a while?" It should be a safe question considering how much they'd talked so far, and how the subject had sort of come up once or twice but never been directly asked. Maybe if he really liked the woods Athos could get him and Verdy hanging out, see if the two of them could be friends. If anyone knew more about the woods than Athos, at least their layout, it would be the green dragon.

The falcon was now walking behind the snake as he led the way threw the cave. He just kept it in mind that more then likely they would not be encounter anything that would hurt them. He figured that if he could keep thinking that way he would not worry so much. He hated when his mind made him constantly do that after all. Ahh that was the worst part of being so paranoid . He then head the snake as him a few questions now. “ yeah … I …still ……do. ……..well ……I ……like …….rural…..areas ……the …….best…..cause……… they……. Help …….me ……..to…… stay …….relaxed. …….there …..was ….one town…. That …. Was a ….pretty ……nice ……… place to ……stay. Though……… I …….tend …..to …….stay……. in …….the …….wooded …….places……. if ……I …….can ……though. ……..As …….you …….can ……tell……… I am ……..sort of …….shy……….. so it is…….. hard ………fro …….me……. to …….stay ……..near …….others …….a……. lot.” he said with a slight smile. Claws was a traveler at heart and a loner by nature. So he never really wanted to stay in any one place for a long time. He did like to talk about his pas though cause he really did not have that bad of a life. The worst thing about his traveling life was the fact that he got lonely at times. Strangely though he never wanted to settled down. Though while he was here he would like to try t make a friend or two while he was at it. You see with claws he did not really get mad about questioned that others asked him. If he found a question to personal then he simply chose not to answer. That was just the way that claws was.

"Yeah, I kinda guessed the shy part but didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Some people try to make a jump from calling someone shy to saying they lack confidence, sometimes it's true but not always. Country's nice, I'd probably stay on the outskirts or the woods too but it's been a while." Athos was fond of exploring but lately he'd found he enjoyed staying at the castle. For once it was a sense of security, not only because he set up all of the school's security but because it was so much bigger and sturdier than a little apartment or a shack somewhere.

Claws smiled to what the snake had said. He was glade that the snake had not made a big deal out of his shyness. If he has the falcon would have gotten even shyer then he already was. Though he knew that was hard to belive. The falcon was not all that confident in himself that was true but he would not admit this to anyone. After all he did have a little bit of pride.” I … am ….. Glad …for ….that….. A lot……of….people…..have …..done …that …to me…..in….the ….past…..yeah ….I ……love……. living ……where …….I …..get…… to …..be ….in ……touch …..with….. nature……… For…….. me…… that…… just…….. kind of…… feels…… natural …..you …..know?” he said with a slight smile. He hoped that the snake could understand what he was saying. Not a lot of other could though. Maybe that was because the falcon was a very strange sort of creature he supposed.

"Some people are born for the city life and enjoy all that stuff, others are more down to earth and need to be away from the crazy lifestyle." And some people tried to find a middle ground. Since they were in the middle of exploring a cave though it was probably pretty obvious they both preferred nature. Athos was starting to wonder about this cave, more like a tunnel as they progressed. It had more turns than he thought it would, least there weren't any branching paths to get lost down or any signs of trouble. There were times when he wanted to run into a problem just so he could show off his talents, but it wasn't appropriate and especially not with a new friend.

Claws smiled as he heard what the snake said. The falcon for one was just glad that he was one of those who could enjoy the peace and quiet. He hated the nose and rush od the big city. He has passed threw a couple of those before he had need up here. Claws gassed he had seen about every setting you could imagine. Yet he always found that there were more to be fond. He was also happy that they hand not run in to anything yet. He would not have been very comfortable being cornered by someone in a dark tight hole. And really one could not blame them for being upset that their home had been disturbed. Though he sopped that if they did run in to someone they did not have to be dangerous or anything like that. Though id they did get in to any trouble he would not say much towards the snakes using his kills to keep them from getting hurt. Though if the had a weapon claws would still have to worry about the snake and his safty. “yeah…that ….is…..true…… I …..am……not…..good…..with….fast…paced….living.” he said with a smile. He was just happy that he had fund someone who seemed to like nature as much as he did. But the falcon knew that he should not get to close to anyone here. After all he had a lot of traveling to do still. And the last thing that they young falocon wanted to do was make a close friend only to leave thrm behind when he left. Though the falcon was sure that this way of thinking would soon pass with time.

"I try to avoid it especially now since I'm a teacher, plenty to keep me busy and don't need to waste time with all that super fancy city stuff. I do get a little obsessive about security stuff but that's more of a hobby I guess." Athos smiled, listening as his voice slightly echoed around them. They were getting deeper into the cave, and by his count this was the third or fourth turn they'd made. Either they were going to have to hit the other side soon or a dead end, and that didn't seem too likely with all the twists so far. That, and they were still going up, something had to have carved this path long ago but whatever did certainly wasn't around anymore.

Claws smiled as he listened to the snake as he spoke to him now. He could head the sound of the snakes voice echoing as he spoke. Well that was interesting to hear. He now looked at the smoke as he moved behind him now that the tunnel was going upwards. Probably what bothered him mostly now was the fact that it might be hard to hat back down again. Well it would not be that hard for the falcon because he could simply glide back down. But he would not do that while he was around the snake. If there was one thing that he was not it was a show off.” yeah…I can….understand ….that….one. …I am…not…a …big…fan…of… all…of …that….kind ….of….stuff…… Heh….. Yeah …..everyone…… has…….. Their…… hobbies…….. Though…….. I ……..have…… a …..few…… myself….. That…. I …..kind of ….obsess ….with …..myself.” he said with a smile. The falcon smiled as he walked closer to the snake. He only did this because for some reason it seemed that the further up they went here the tighter this place got. He just hoped that it would not end up getting to tight for them in here.

Athos smiled, glad the kid was walking a little closer. It was kind of reassuring in a way, and it showed him Claws was more trusting now. The path got wider again and he slowed his pace, looking at the walls carefully. "Hmm... this is odd... haven't seen one of these in ages." The snake moved to one side and picked at something in the wall, pulling a scale from it and holding it close to the light. "Take a look. Don't really get to see these very often, it's a hydra's scale. Looks pretty old, really dusty and dirty, only one I've seen so far but maybe that's who made the cave a long time ago. See, usual snake or dragon scales have a smooth rounded end or sweep out with a point at one side. This here, if you look close, it's got three different points with just a little dip between them. So it was from a three headed hydra probably. Really unique, bet if I had better light it might even have a couple different colors running through it." The scale was about the size of his palm, still from an anthro probably but it wasn't really a concern for him. Like he said it was too old and dirty to be a sign of anyone living here.