There was still snow deep on the ground in the mountains of Rekes, and Splash considered it with no small measure of exasperation. It was all well and good for Rocky and Nova, long-legged pains as they were, but for himself and Parhelion who was up to his chin in snow? Parhelion seemed to be delighted by the snow, but that was neither here nor there.

"Can't this wait," Splash sighed exasperatedly, following the trail in the snow left behind by Rocky and Nova walking through as it was marginally better than forging his own path.

"Well, it could wait, but then if something explodes, where would we be?"

Splash blinked at that rather nonsensical response and blinked at Nova in confusion. "What?"

"If something explodes!"

Rocky snorted out a laugh. "What Nova means is that if we let it be and it comes back to bite us in the ass later, you'd have wished you'd come out here in the snow now."

"That's what I said!"

Splash rolled his eyes, ignoring Parhelion bounding past, leaping out of the snow like a miniature whale. "So you say. I'm still not sold on this."

Rocky grunted. "I know Glow saying that the animals have started avoiding a certain area seems like nothing… but what if it's a warning sign for something bad? Like an earthquake, or a tolaat moving in?"

Splash thought of the many-legged worm beast and shuddered. Nova also looked mildly queasy at the thought, and seemed to be reconsidering the trek. "Fine," he acquiesced, and Rocky nodded veerfully as Parhelion scrambled up onto the larger tark'ee's back.

The four continued the walk through the snowy landscape, air crisp and clear in the watery winter sun. Still, it was bright enough reflecting off the snow to blind, and so they were wearing sunglasses to make sure nobody got snowblind. They descended into the treeline, off the mountain's rocky slope, and the drifts became much more manageable. Mostly the snow had fallen in the gaps between the trees, leaving the space under clear where it had caught on the boughs. The soft rustles of wildlife surrounded them, even in the dead of winter - the rodents and birds had to eat, after all.

But as they continued further towards their destination… those sounds became fewer and further between until they eventually stopped, and all that resounded in the air was silence. Even Parhelion seemed to sense it, flattening down on Rocky's back worriedly.

Splash didn't like it. "I can see why Glow brought this up," he said, voice hushed.

Rocky nodded, fur along his spine bristling. "Yeah. I don't like this."

Nova shuddered, fur fully fluffed out so his tail looked like a feather duster. "Neither do I."

The three adults exchanged glances, then looked at the woods ahead, idyllic except for the complete lack of wildlife. The sun streamed through the branches almost making the snow glow in the shadows beneath the trees… but the only sounds was the whisper of the leaves in the wind. It was wrong, but they were here to find things out.

And so, unwilling, Splash took a deep breath and stepped forwards warily. The other adults followed, and they moved forwards, quieter now - it seemed that to even break a twig in this silence would bring something down on them. Parhelion didn't seem to like the silence, but he was young and restless, and slipped down from Rocky's back to run and play in the snowdrifts. Rocky kept an eye on him as they walked, and so when Nova and Splash halted suddenly, he nearly stumbled into them.

Before them, a large hole gaped in the forest floor, leading down to who-knew where.

"It is a tolaat," Splash groaned and resisted the urge to bonk his head on the ground a few times.

Rocky rumbled in dislike and quietly called Parhelion over to settle him on his back again. Nova was staring down into the depths, looking like nothing more than a giant featherduster.

"I don't like that," he said flatly. "Time to go?"

"Time to go," Rocky agreed, and the three turned to hurry back home. Someone would have to do something about this… but it wasn't going to be them.