"Hey I don't think we'll all fit in here at once!" Usare complained, wriggling around a bit. "We'll get stuuuuuck!" Reaching forward, he dug claws into the ledge and tried to yank himself past the other two with a little growl.
"Fine, you go first, mister jump first, look later." He shoved at Usare with a paw and backed out a bit, the tip of his tail twitching, content to watch both of his brothers for the moment. He knew that if he waited, he'd get to go in too...no rush, not like racing here. For the moment, he entertained himself by glancing at Drathir's tail to see if his teeth had left any marks.
They had, actually. And it was throbbing. Pointy little baby teeth had even punctured the skin in places. Said tail was swishing from side to side as he started in after Usare, trying to peer over his shoulder, "If you fall, I'll bite your tail too."
"Hey not so clooose," Usare muttered, shoving his butt back into Drathir's face, just because he could. Then he looked up again and bounded forward, jumping quickly across a series of rocks. "It's dark in here, but not that bad!" he called back to the other two.
"Hey mebbe you'll have tail-scars!" He chortled, paddling after the other two and wiggling his way in, not too close to Drathir, naturally, because he didn't want to get arbitrarily bitten for his tail-munching rescue attempt of earlier.
When the other's rump was shoved into his face, Drathir had no other choice but to bite it. Gnawing on Usare's flank, the little lion shoved forward, "It's fine - you're a gimped demon, that's why it's dark for you." Grinning, he walked confidently in after Usare, using his movements as a subtle guide. "Oh? Really?" He turned to look back, expression brightening, "Bite it again!" Waving the tuft of fur in the other's face, he laughed. They were being brought up with the understanding that scars were badges of pride to be worn at all times... if he'd get some so early, wouldn't that mean something important?
Usare let out a sound that wasn't quite a yelp at that, jumping out of the way. "Hey, you might want scars on your tail but I don't want 'em on my butt! Makes it look like I was runnin' away from somethin'!" he protested, whirling around to bat at Drathir's face as much as possible in the tight quarters. Then he rounded on Amin as well. "And stop giving him dumb ideas!"
"Aw, C'mon, Usare. You could make up a fun story, like you turned to claw your opponent and his enemy snuck up behind you and BIT'CHA! And then, of course, ya defeated all of 'em." He grinned innocently, and chose to bat at Drathir's tail versus biting it. "Aww, c'mon, brother, you taste bad." He teased, nosing at his flank instead. He wanted to go down too!
Rearing up, he batted back at Usare then shoved hard as he came back down, "Your fat butt is plugging up the hole! Go!" He grinned, "'less you're scaaarreeedddd? I do not taste bad!" Grumbling, he scuffed dirt at Amin, "/You/ taste bad." The frown didn't last long though as he shouldered his way forward, trying to squeeze past Usare, "Hurry up fat-butt!"
"I'm moving I'm moving!" Usare grumped. "Dork-face," he muttered then, knowing that he could probably come up with a better insult but just at the moment he was eager to get inside too. Scrabbling forward, he popped through the crack and tumbled down a short incline, very nearly cracking his head on a large rock.
"Watch your feet, sillybeast." He chided, after he'd noted that Usare was still in one piece. Hopping down to a lower ledge, he started to more carefully make his way down that incline, cautious so that he wouldn't trip and make a fool of himself like his brother had.
Drathir poked through that opening shortly after them and misstepped as well, tumbling down a bit before righting himself, dizzy. "It's bigger!" He stated lamely, looking around with confusion, "Which way?" Shaking his head, the cub wandered off to the side a bit, poking at random bits of rock and shiny things.
"Who cares?" Usare asked, getting up and shaking dust out of his fur. Tail tip flicking, he glanced around and then picked a path at random. Bounding toward it, he bumped into both of his siblings on the way. "C'mon, let's go!"
"I'm comiiiing!" He whined, still making his way down the incline...and when he reached the bottom, he grinned, eyeing a loose rock and swatting it at Drathir, who didn't seem to be paying too much attention. "And isn't one way as good as another?" His tail lashed back and forth with anticipation, a delighted grin on his maw.
He glanced up as the other two bounded off, just in time to get hit with the rock and let out a loud growl, "Amin!!" Making a face, he ran after the other, tackling him and going for an ear.
Usare ignored the both of them, running ahead with a wild sort of whoop. "You're both slowpokes! Quit fighting each other and follow me~ I'm the leeeeader~!" His voice faded in and out as he dodged through small caves and around piles of rocks in the floor. This place was a maze, and it was -great-! He wasn't even concerned about getting out now... worry was for later!
"Eeep!" He squealed as his brother latched onto an ear, pawing wildly in an attempt to get his sibling off of him. "I dun want Usare to be the leadeeeeeeerrrr get off me so we can go catch hiiiiim!" He wailed, trying to tempt his brother to release his ear via promises of greater glory.
It didn't work at first as he laughed, full of mirth as he played with his brothers. But... the other's triumphant calls and insults soon penetrated, drawing Drathir off Amin, "Neither do I! C'mon!" He raced off after Usare, weaving in and out of those same tunnels. This was a great deal of fun. Growling as he came around a corner and pounced at Usare with a swipe of his paw, Drathir grinned, "You're it!"
Usare ducked Drathir's swat, but still felt a bit of it as he dodged aside. "Hey, since when are we playing tag?" he called out. "This place is waaaaay better for somethin' like hide and seek!" Glancing back, he saw Amin coming as well and grinned. "Right, right?"
"Well yeah, but we don't know it that well yet, and if one of us gets lost, what're we gonna do then, huh? Just wander around aimlessly?" He frowned, loping after his siblings. "Let's explore first, before we play hide'n go seek, though that would be fun with all these big rocks..." Excellent hiding places.
Drathir pulled a face and batted at Amin, "Cowaaaard!" To Usare, he stuck out his tongue, "You count!" Spinning, he ran off into the darkness, taking the first turn he came across, confident he could find his way out from where ever it was that he was currently exploring. After a few minutes of running, the cub slowed to a trot and then a walk, looking for the best hiding place.
"No fair!" Usare burst out at that. He wanted to -hide-, darnit! "Hey, -you- count, scaredy-cat!" he said suddenly, whirling and batting at Amin. "I'mma go hide see you lateeeeeer!" And he was off and running, not in the same direction as Drathir.
Amin sat for a long moment, fuming. He wasn't a scaredy cat! He was just being careful! They were demons, yeah, but even they could get into trouble if they didn't use their minds first...right? His father had always told him he needed to be cautious...think first. "Fine! BUT IF WE GET LOST ITS YOUR FAULT!" He shouted, before counting...very -quickly-.
Drathir froze as Amin's voice echoed crazily in the tunnel, glancing around as though expecting the other demon to suddenly jump out from some corner. Hurrying forward, he crawled into a narrow passage, figuring it was a good place to hide - his colourings would make it easier to spot him even in the darkness. But... it got warmer the further he went in.... Curiosity piqued, the cub inched
forward, trying to figure out why a big rock was getting hot. The older members of the pride had said this place was sacred... maybe there was something sacridish here? Game forgotten, he kept going.
Meanwhile, Usare had found another place to hide. He'd gone down one of the side-tunnels, wriggling behind a few large rocks. Now he tried to still his breathing and be totally silent... couldn't let Amin find him!
Amin was using his nose in an attempt to find his siblings now, and though he could smell...at least one of them, there was an odd scent to the air now, one that he could almost taste, but he decided to ignore it, going towards the one brother that he could smell, Usare, actually...if he found one brother, then the second one surely couldn't be -too- far behind, right?
It was awfully warm now... he closed his eyes as he inched along when dirt sifted down and made them sting. Where was this going....? Reaching forward, he found his paw find a less tunnel-like area right in front of him. What? Blinking his eyes open, Drathir did a double take as he clambered out of the cub-sized tunnel, "Whoa!" There was a dull glow, enough to illuminate some of the masive chamber. Poking about, the cub sniffed at the huge tunnel that opened up on this space... and then wandered over to the narrow bridge where he crept up it a little ways. At least until he looked down and found a giant demonic eye staring angrily up at him. Crying out as the fur along his spine stood on end, the frightened cub spun and ran back, diving into his little tunnel. Proud as he may be to be a Demon... when face with an /eye/ that big! "Ahhh! It's going to eat me!" Scrambling through the tunnel, he burst out the other side and ran, trying to find his brothers - couldn't let the big demon eat them all.
Usare had heard Amin coming though... and scrabbled backwards, trying to be quiet still... though he knew it was probably a lost cause now. But he had to -try-. Then he heard Drathir's yells and froze, sitting up suddenly. "What?!" he yelled back, game forgotten. "What's gonna eat us?!!"
"Usa-" He'd been calling his brother's name, to point out his failure at hiding, when the other's wild call came to his ears, and he went rigid. "Eat us!?" Had the other found a monster? "C'mon, Usare! We gotta go help him!" Barrelling in the direction of the other's voice, he sent rocks and other various debris flying as his paws scrabbled to get solid footholds in his mad dash for his brother.
Drathir was running blindly and nearly barelled into Amin in his flight. "The demooon! It's huge! It's eye! Hot!" He ran around the other, tugging him in the other direction, "Don't go that way! It's that way!" He just wanted to find his parents and be safe... away from the big monster.
Usare charged after Amin, nearly running into Drathir when they all met each other. "Wait, what demon? What eye?" he called out, turning around in wild circles as he tried to follow Drathir's movements. With a sudden growl, he pounced on the other. "Hey! Calm down, there's nothing even -chasing- you, what are you -talking- about?"
"Yeah, bro...calm down!" He blinked at the other, nosing at him a bit as though that would calm him down. "It can't be that big! It wouldn't be able to fit in here, much less get out! C'mon, show us this great big demon thing! If it's a demon, then it's gotta be on -our- side, right?" He cocked his head, ears swiveling. It made sense to him anyway.
He struggled for a moment under Usare's weight then calmed as the presence of both his brothers soothed his fear. There was nothing chasing him...? Really? Peering back the way he'd come, the cub frowned. "There /is/ a big demon! It was angry! Looked like it wanted to eat me! That's not on our side is it? We don't kill each other.... Just the unworthy ones... I'm not unworthy..." Muttering he seemed rather reluctant to go face that giant malevolent eye again.
"Aw, c'mon, how d'you know it was angry? Did it talk to you or just look? Looking's not scary! I wanna see this demon, show us where it is!" Usare said, jumping back off Drathir and bouncing up and down a bit. "You wanna see too, right Amin?"
Amin nodded repeatedly. "I want to see! I want to see this big demon! If he's really so big, then perhaps he could teach us stuff, doncha think?" He tilted his head, "So show us, don't -you- be a scaredy cat!" He grinned slightly, feeling a bit better now that Drathir was being properly chastized and he wasn't the apparent coward anymore.
"I..." He grumbled, eyeing the other for a while before finally grumbling and leading them to the tunnel he'd run from, "If you get eaten it's not my fault. I warned you." Rounding on Usare, he growled, "Because the look was /hot/! And the eye glows... and... wait until you see. Hrmph." He prodded the nearest sibling towards the hole, clearly refusing to enter first.
"Hot doesn't mean yum, dinner!" Usare protested, though a lot of times, it -did-. But he'd started this, so he would -finish- it! He'd see this demon and look it in its 'hot' eye, even if it turned out to be the last thing he ever did. And so with a quick glance back at Amin, he padded after Drathir, wriggling into the tunnel first.
Amin shrugged and wiggled his way in behind Usare. He didn't think that such a big creature could live in here, if he did, he wouldn't be able to get out! And then how would he eat? Honestly now, even if something did live down here, it couldn't be nearly -that- big.
"You didn't see it though!" Drathir protested, ducking into the tunnel after they had entered, "Can't you feel the heat? That how you know you're getting close.... it comes from the eye... the huge eye." The cub lifted his voice so that it could be heard easily
Usare glanced back, peering past Amin, and scoffed at his brother. "Well, it can't be -that- hot, you didn't even get burned or anything. I still think you're a scaredy-cat." Sticking out his tongue, he turned around and kept crawling forward. Then he stuck a paw out into empty air and wiggled his way out, looking around. "Whooooaa! What're you so scared of, this place is -awesome-!"
Amin was hot on his brother's tail, and he stared owl-eyed at the great cavern. "Hooooly..." He whispered, "So where's this huge demon eye thing you were telling us about, huh?" He started padding along the rocky floor, feeling the warmth of it beneath his toes. How very amazing...
"I dare you to cross that bridge after looking down." Huffing angrily, the little lion puffed up with indignation and shouldered each of them towards the narrow bridge he'd initially explored.
"That bridge?" Usare replied, looking toward said bridge and blinking. "Okay okay, I'm going stop pushing!" he said then, smacking Drathir in the face with his tail. Then, "C'mon Amin, let's go see this 'eye'..." And he sauntered off, obviously not expecting much of anything.
"Right behind you." He said gleefully, pattering after his sibling and reaching out to poke Usare with a paw. Though he surely expected something, he was a -demon- and he wouldn't be afraid of it!
Drathir stood off the side, fully prepared to gloat and, should it be needed, dash to safety. There /was/ a demon's eye down there, glowing in all it's malevolent glory. Sitting down, he soaked up the soothing warmth in the rocks as he watched his brothers approach the bridge.
Usare padded out onto the bridge a few paces before pausing and plopping down on his rump. Then he looked around and shot a triumphant sort of look back at Drathir before calling out, "Oh deemooonnn come and eat me, if you can!" Then he looked down ... and froze. Oh... there really -was- a HUGE EYE down there! But now that he'd acted so brave, no way was he about to run. Instead, claws shot out and gripped the rock of the bridge, as he tried not to look like he was shaking.
Amin came close to Usare and then peered over the edge, eyes suddenly growing wide as saucers. "Ooo...is that an eye?" He breathed, "But...if...that's just an eye...w-where's the other one?" He inquired, trying to rationalize this out in his head. There COULDN'T be anything that big...right?
"SEE!?" He bounced up and danced a little, triumphant, "I /told/ you! It's a big eye! Just one! Who's scared now huuuuh?" Edging towards the bridge, he gestured for them to come back, "Doesn't it look angry? Should go... before it eats us..." As he spoke, a bubble of gas rose to the surface in the lava pool below and erupted into a spectacular fountain, spraying the wall nearest the geyser.
"Ah!! See!! Come on.... Amin... Usare...."Gnawing on Amin's tail, he tugged on it gently, trying to usher them away so they could get out before it did... whatever it had just done again.
Usare jumped visibly at the fountain of lava, eyes wide as saucers as it burst against the far wall. "I-I'm not s-scared!" he said, still trying not to betray rather obvious (by this point) fear. "Amin's r-right..where's the other eye..? Does it just have one or ... or ... " he trailed off, ears laid back against his head and head lowered in an almost (but not quite) submissive sort of pose. "W-wait ... wait... what if ... it ... just wants to see how brave we are? If we go b-back, we'll be unworthy... right..?"
Amin yowled unhappily, distracted from the 'monster' for a moment by his brother. "Leggo my tail...m'fiiiine." Or as fine as he could be with the whatever it was that was down there. "And eyes are not hot!" He declared adamantly, stamping a paw. "What sort of silly demon only shows its eye and doesn't the rest of it? Besides...uhm...if that's its eye, I dun think it can get -out- to get us..."
"It just /burst/!" Drathir complained, looking down as he huddled close to his brother. When Usare pipped up, the young prince's ears laid back against his head... he hadn't considered that.... "But... maybe if we crossed that would be enough? I don't want to be weak..." Murmuring, he peered down at the eye as though expecting some sort of sign about what they should do.
Just then, another bubble burst, this one farther along toward the center of the chamber. "See!" Usare yelled, getting up suddenly. "You're right, we have to cross it!" he said to Drathir, suddenly glad that they figured it out. "Before... it probably wanted you to go back and get us. But now if we go back, we'll be weak and cowards. We gotta go forward!"