charlie looked up the wind blowing in her face making her eyes water and her nose red. charlie heard atticus's offer then looked t her hand, she decided to take the offer. charlie got to the spot where atticus was and rested, her face getting close to the rock wall to get out of the cold. charlie could feel the wind blowing harder, getting colder. chalie kept her hurt hand close to her body, babying the best she could. she was hoping she wasnt losing a lot of blood. she closed her eyes to think of what to do. she looked over at atticus, watching him closely 'he doesnt seem that bad..' charlie thought. harlie tucked her head back, closer to the wall as the wind started to blow even harder, her hand freezing. she tried not to let go but her grip weakening as the cold hits it. charlie moves, and get in a more comfortable spot. "we need to find shelter fast!, its just going to get worse" she yelled out to atticus as the wind howls. she was hoping it would be done but she knew that wasnt going to be the case.

charlie looked over at atticus "y-yea, we should keep moving, im fine for now, lets go" she says stuttering as the cold goes through her lungs, the sharp feeling of the cold air hitting her. the bleeding stopped but it still hurt, if she was careful then it shouldnt bleed again. charlie started climbing up, trying to see but the wind wouldnt let up. charlie shook her head, no use in trying to get a look at where they were. charlie kept moving, beng careful, the wind whipping at her face and hands. charlie's lungs heaved for relief from the buring wind. she had to keep going, she had to make it back home, the thought of not returning to her tribe make her push even more to get home. charlie covered her face with her shawl, charlie was going fast but steady, trying not to hurt her hand again. charlie wasnt going to let this horrible weather keep her from her family, charlies determination grew and grew. her heart racing, threatning to come out of her chest, her lungs heaving, feeling like theyre going to explode. charlie ignored the pain and kept going like a predator going after its prey.

Charlies hands were freezing, they felt like they were burning in a fire. Charlie had to keep going, the wind not letting up, Charlie's face and hands felt numb. She wanted to stop but she couldn’t, she had climbed high, Charlie looked down to see where Atticus was, she looked back up an found a opening in the mountain. Charlie went faster so she could reach the cave. Charlie worked hard to get there, her feet and hands felt like they were going to fall off, Charlie finally got to the entrance of the cave and saw how huge it was, Charlie was curious on why it was so large, it was like something huge was living in it. Charlie looked around and saw scratches on the walls, she walked closer, ignoring the cold. Charlie ran her hands along the walls. She remembered the old stories her father told her about dragons , she just brushed them off because she thought he was playing, but seeing these marks it made her rethink everything. Charlie was amazed. She waited for Atticus to get up in the cave. She hope he wouldn’t hurt the dragons if they were real. Charlie would protect them at all costs. Her mind swirling on what she should do. Charlie had no choice but to show Atticus but she was worried o what he would do. If h knew the stories that would be ok unless he wanted to kill them., but if he didn’t know the old stories would he believe her? If he didn’t she would have to show him, but what if the marks were from long ago and the dragons were actually extinct. She shook her head not wanting to think right now. She went to the edge of the caves entrance and looked down to see where Atticus was. She just saw him, Charlie went a little deeper into the cave and tried starting a fire. She used the flint that she found in her pocket and got a stone, she hope it would work, Charlie got some twigs from inside the cave, she was confused as to why there were twigs in the cave but she just shrugged it off and was grateful there was something to make a fire. Scrapped the flint and stone together and made a fire, she sighed in relief and warmed up her hands. She didn’t have any food so she hoped that maybe Atticus had some. Her stomach growled but she ignored it. Charlie sat close to the fire. Maybe she would find dragons. Hopefully she could get one herself she smiled to herself. She realized that the last time she actually smiled was when her father hugged her before he went out to the war in the blizzard.

Atticus could feel his muscles shaking with every reach for another hold, and no longer because of the cold. He felt like the muscles in his arms were no longer there, a numb reminder of the current circumstances. Focusing on Charlie's movements to distract himself, his curiosity spiked upon seeing her speed up, before even disappearing into a crevice some 5 or so meters above himself. Energy seemed to return to him in his body's final heave up the less sheer wall.

Sighing, he watched the ice crystals swirl in front of his mouth before disappearing into the dark, looming mouth of the cave. Atticus kept his steps hesitant, looking around for former or recent signs of life. Was another person taking shelter here? His answer was quickly given. Looking at the cave walls and frowning, Atticus ran his hands over the white, almost sanded lines engraved into the walls. The absence of dripping water and the soft flowing of water in the background disturbed him. There was only distant howling of wind, and the almost sand paper sound of him feeling the marks in the walls. Atticus looked up, his olive eyes gleaming almost a brown in the dimmed lighting as he tried to take in what he was seeing.

The marks were long, and worryingly thick. White, scraped away stone claw marks far longer and deeper than what even the largest of bears could dream of making. The sight almost made him queasy. Atticus knew he was far too strong and old to believe in worthless tales to keep kids safe, but he knew for a fact this couldn't even possibly be a hallucination. Dragons couldn't possibly exist anymore, or even exist period. Gigantic, bat-winged reptiles that could hold the power of breathing flames? Turning around, Atticus kept walking, hearing the hiss and roar of a fire being born. Charlie seemed to have settled down fast. Had she even seen the markings in the walls?

The spikes above them hung down like long, dark stone fangs, jagged and tipped with icicles. A frozen over river lay before them, winding around in wide curves before vanishing into a tiny hole only large enough for a hare to pass through. "Surprised you even got the fire to start. You're skilled, you know. Do you need any help with your hand?" Atticus hunkered down beside her, staring into the flames and sitting with his legs crossed. Looking over at her, another question lay hidden in his gaze, but he didn't want to add another thing to their endless list of stressors. The claw marks could wait if they were safe now. That was another question. Was the thing that made those gashes in the stone still here, or a reminder from the ancient past? Atticus looked back into the flames, taking his thin gloves off. Safe to say, the mountains had mangled them. Grimacing, he put the now tattered fabric to use by feeding it to the fire.

Charlie glanced up and saw Atticus, she looked down at the fire. She forgot the pain in her hand, she was more focused on what could be down farther in the cave. Charlie looked at Atticus watching his movements. He walked to the claw marks, she watched him carefully to see what he would do. After a few seconds he was talking towards her, she adverted her gaze and payed attention to the fire, she didn’t think to talk so she just sat there until she heard him talk "oh, umm thank you, ive practiced before I'm just surprised that there were twigs in here" she said blushing a little bit. "honestly I forgot about my hand heh, but sure if you want a look at it that would be nice" Charlie held her hand out for him to look at, she looked at her palm, the blood had dried and if she did move it, it would kind of hurt. Charlie looked at the fire, then back at Atticus, she deiced to muster up the courage and ask him about the marks on the caves wall. "so, have you heard of the old stories about the dragons?" she asked looking back down at her hand "my father told me about them but I just shrugged them away, I thought they were just old tales, but seeing those marks makes me believe other wise. They cant still be alive.. Right?" Charlie knew she was talking a lot but she couldn’t help it she wanted to know what he though, 'maybe when he goes to sleep I can go look deeper into the cave and find out if it’s a dead end or not.. But is that safe to do?' Charlie thought to herself. She wanted to go explore now but she had to rest and she knew that, if she didn’t she wouldn’t have the power to run if she needed to. Charlie looked down at the rocky floor. Charlie needed to know if the stories were true she needed to know if the dragons were actually real, even if they aren't and she found nothing she would feel okay, knowing that the stories her father told her were just made up or maybe there were dragons back then. Whatever the case was Charlie needed to find out or it would drive her crazy.

Atticus nodded at her words, surprised she'd forgotten. Taking out the wineskin he had clipped to his belt beside his axe that morning, he prayed it would be melted by now. Experimentally shaking it, he pulled the stopper out and poured the chilled water over her hand. Atticus found the way the wind echoed and whistled into the dark, long cave unsettling. Perhaps it was just the forest kid in him not used to being so high up. Absentmindedly rubbing the water gently into the scabbed over gash, he washed any of the dried blood off. Sadly, he didn't have any herbs on him anymore.

"I hope it doesn't sting too much. I don't have anything on me since you don't tend to bring a sack to a war, but this should at least make it easier to grab things." Atticus murmured, pressing his two thumbs gently onto the cut as he finished pouring the water he could spare in hopes it would dull the sting. Her words surprised him. So Charlie had seen them. Was she really this relaxed? "I had assumed you didn't see. I was raised on stories of dragons bringing death in infernos, there hasn't been anything good told. The one I heard most was a young knight who had slain a mother and her offspring, and the next day himself and the entire clan had fallen ill, before passing shortly after. I can't say I'm a fan, but there's no way they could still be around, right?" Atticus gently let her hand go, before putting the wineskin closer to the fire to melt the rest of the water. "I haven't even heard of a single report of them for, what, generations? Then again, your clan is closer to the foothills. What about you?" Raising an eyebrow, Atticus looked up at her from the fire while still adjusting the wood and his boots.

Tidying up was a chore in itself. His bloodstained jacket was probably not salvageable when he got back, but for now it may as well be the solution to all his problems. Taking it off and laying it over a boulder, he looked over the dark brown turtleneck he had on under. No tears, but it was not the most comfortable thing right now. Side eyeing the river, he wondered if cleaning any clothing would be appropriate at this moment. "This might not be the best time, but if we wash our jackets we can go explore to make sure it's safe while they dry. It won't be as cold in here, and there's no greenery to burn so the fire can be unattended. Worst comes to worst it burns down to embers." He suggested, walking over to the river to check how deep it was frozen over. After a light punch, it gave beneath his bruised knuckles which were met with the cool stream. Shaking his hand off, he found himself lost in the rippling waters. Charlie really wasn't all that bad. She was strong and a fighter, and he knew she had gotten motivation from her father. Scooping the cold water into his hands, he splashed it onto his face and washed the stress from the climb away.

Charlie hissed at the water hit her palm, she relaxed when she realized it wasn’t that bad "its fine now and I didn’t bring anything because I wasn’t supposed to be outside anyway" she said softly. After he finished she flexed her hand. It seemed fine. "yea I saw it, it was almost the first thing I noticed" Charlie said staring into the fire "My father told me the opposite, that dragons were friendly, that they could help our world if people wouldn’t kill them and the only reason they would attack is I the people or other animals attacked first" Charlie said trying to remember, she had been young when her father told her, she was probably 7 or so. "if they are still alive, then it would probably down this cave, its mostly our best shot at finding them" Charlie started rubbing her hurt hand, testing it. Charlie got up and took her jacket off, the weight on her shoulders releasing. She rest it by the fire on a rock. Charlie nodded and got up and stretched. Charlie looked behind her at Atticus and smiled softly she looked forward before he got up. Charlie bent down to reach her toes and groaned softly has her back popped a little, the pressure getting relieved felt good.

-

Charlie straighten up and started walking down the cave slowly, careful to not trip over anything. she stayed by the cave's wall and walked her eyes trying to adjust. 'Atticus isn't that bad, I can trust him.. Just don’t lower your guard down just yet, we aren't out of the woods yet, he could kill you anytime he wants, he can get you down on your face and make you beg for your life… but it seems like he wont, so I think I'll be ok' Charlie thought, Charlie saw some light and she stopped for a second confused at to why there was light, Charlie looked back thinking maybe she should wait for Atticus, but she didn’t. Charlie walked closer to the light, then she saw it, saw them. The dragons, so many of them in the middle of the huge opening, some ice in the middle, so many dragons, "how..' she whispered. Charlie watched in amaze how there were so many dragons, so many colors. She was stunned, she couldn’t move. Some were flying, some where on the walls, or laying on ice. So many, hundreds no thousands of dragons in this one place. Charlie didn’t know what to do, she knew she had to keep this a secret from everyone, just maybe not Atticus though. No one could know these dragons were here or they would come and kill them. Charlie got on her knees. She watched baby dragons play, even grown ones, they all seemed peaceful, there was no fighting, no fire or anything destroying this wonderful place, there was grass in some places, water in other areas. Charlie couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her whole like she didn’t believe but now seeing it is just unreal. Charlie pinched herself but it wasn’t a dream, this was real. Dragons flying actual dragons.

-

(am I doing ok?)