Rarely might you see a pigeon's head bob as fast as Bunber's was during this moment. Clinging to Whilly's fur as the agile cat sprinted through the forest, Bunber's head was practically vibrating to keep up with his passing surroundings. After being slapped by a passing branch for the third or fourth time, Bunber was tempted to contradict his previous "Go, go!" with a defeated "Slow, slow..." However, just as this temptation crossed his mind did he see a shadow soar across the forest floor behind them, suddenly igniting a wish that Whilly would speed up.

Whilly wouldn't have been able to, though; his paws were beginning to ache and-- while Bunber insisted the creature was right on their tail-- Whilly was starting to doubt they were still in danger. Adrenaline dwindling, his sprint through the forest started to feel less like a thrilling flight and more like an exhausted gallop. Then, up ahead, Whilly spotted something. His eyes lit up. "Bunber, look!"

The struggling bird spat out a leaf. "What?"

Whilly started to veer to the right, changing course. "A cave! You said we were looking for shelter, right?"

Bunber's eyes widened. "A what?!" He adjusted his talons, pulling himself up the cat's coat against the wind and peering ahead. Pigeons don't have the greatest night vision, the best he could make out was a vague absence of light up ahead. However, a subtle shadow in the dark was all Bunber needed to be certain Whilly wasn't joking. "No! No, no, no! We are not entering a cave!" Those last few words started to echo.

"What do you mean?" The stars disappeared. "This is the most shelter-y shelter! This is as shelter as shelter gets! Its perfect, what else would we have been looking for?"

"A fallen tree! A hollowed log! You know, somewhere where we can see, escape if we need to, breathe?!"

Whilly's pace slowed to a walk, his claws clinking against the cold rocky floor. "We're not plunging into caverns, if we stay near the entrance we can do all three of those things! Bunber, have you never slept in a cave?"

Bunber spoke after a long, puzzled pause. "I'm a bird."

Whilly found a depression in the ground and sniffed it. "So what? My kind doesn't go in caves, but they're still cool and I go in them anyway." He stepped into the depression, concealing the two of them from the entrance. "This is a good spot! See? Near the exit, but concealed." Whilly started circling in place, searching for a good spot to lay down.

Bunber seemed to have calmed down, but still refused to let go of Whilly's fur. "...What did your kind do, exactly? Sleep in trees?" Whilly didn't respond. He continued to circle in place until he finally curled up against the wall, his tail tucked under his chin. Bunber couldn't see Whilly's face, but the silence told him enough. Regret swirled inside Bunber, his stomach chastising him for asking.

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Eventually the pause lasted long enough for Bunber to realize it was settled, they were sleeping in this cave. He looked around uselessly. He then tried closing his eyes uselessly. It was all the same, all black. He started to drift into unihemispheric sleep, a type of rest where one eye was open and alert. This was, once again, useless... but he was too anxious to have it any other way.

The scraping of nails against stone.

Bunber's eye snapped open. He couldn't see, but he heard it. He recognized it, but he couldn't move. It found them. It was here.

The nails continued, dragging along the stone. It was coming from the entrance. Feathers brushed against the wall. Whilly stirred and lifted his head. The nails stopped. "Whilly..." Bunber managed to squeak out. "...run."

SNAP!

A familiar beak revealed it's presence and bit the air. Fortunately, the darkness redirected the creature's aim just a little over Whilly's head, giving time for the cat to make his escape. He leapt out of the hole and skid across the stone, the monstrous bird roaring. It was a horrific noise, and the excellent acoustics weren't helping. Whilly fled deeper into the cave, slamming into a few walls as he tried to navigate the twisting tunnel. The creature steadily shuffled after him, barely fitting the cave's narrow shape.

Bunber felt the air get thinner. "What are you doing?!" He cried out. "You're going deeper, head for the exit!"

"It's blocking the exit!"

"You're going to get us cornered!"

"I don't-" The cat was cut off by another meeting with a wall. He groaned and quickly scurried back to a sprint, only slamming into another wall.

"Don't you stop! Why did you stop?!"

Whilly didn't respond. He stood on his two hind feet and clawed at the wall. Another squawk sounded, a noise so close and so loud it made Bunber's beak chatter and Whilly's paws shake just from the vibration. Then, at the center of the wall, off to the right, Whilly's claws dipped into a hole. His whole arm had found itself deep into a passage. Hope!

SNAP!

Swish...

The creature's beak came up with nothing yet again. They roared and snapped again, and again, and again, but the two were gone.

Whilly's head popped out the other end of the narrow passage, Bunber clamped in his mouth. Bunber would have been flapping and screeching in protest, however he conveniently happened to pass out the moment he felt Whilly's teeth, which made carrying him through the hole much easier. Whilly squeezed out of the passage and took a few steps forward into the new area and gently placed Bunber on the ground. He could hear the creature clawing and pecking at the wall, broken up with frustrated squawks and the sound of crumbling rocks. Whilly walked up to the hole nervously, peering through. The creature was frantic, practically breaking the wall down, rocks were dropping. Whilly needed to do something, this passage was their only escape.

Dust trickled on his head. Eyes wide, Whilly looked up and saw a great crack strike into the ceiling like lightning. Whilly's fur spiked. A boulder fell and Whilly leapt away, rushing towards Bunber and snatching the limp bird as he bolted into blackness. A boom like thunder fell behind Whilly as the ceiling collapsed, rocks tumbling into one another to form a great cobble wall. He winced, regret stirring in his stomach. As Whilly plunged deeper into the cave, all he could think of was what he was going to say to Bunber when he woke up.