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Skarn liked the credit staying awake all night to his experience, but it was really mostly paranoia that kept him up. He sat there, glaring at the various holes in the walls that led to more tunnels, until Smear woke up. He yawned, standing up and stretching his muscles. Skarn perked his ears a little, quickly giving Smear a glance before looking back ahead of him.

“Why so tense?” Smear asked, sitting back down.

“Right, he didn’t see the creature…but I think it’s long gone,” Skarn thought. “Nothing you need to worry about,” he said, “at least not right now.”

“What do you mean?” Smear asked, staring at Skarn with a confused expression.

Skarn silently wondered if the only time Smear could be smart was during a tight situation. “If what I am suspecting is true,” he said, “you’ll find out.”

Smear was about to ask what he meant again before Ink yawned rather loudly. The dark-colored foxdog pushed herself up into a sitting position, shaking her head in an attempt to shake out the drowsiness.

“Good morning, Ink!” Smear yipped happily, although he wasn’t really sure if it even was morning.

“Hey,” Ink said, yawning again and giving her head another good shake.

“You are way too cheerful, Smear…” Pencil growled tiredly, as she had also woken up.

Glass awoke in silence. No yawn, no stretch, no indication that he was even there. He just opened his orange eyes and glanced at everyone from his spot from the rock floor of the cave. He remained quiet while everyone else talk, well, Smear was the one doing most of the talking, as Pencil and Ink were both still waking up and Skarn was still on watch.

“You can stop glaring at nothing now,” Pencil said, walking over to Skarn.

Skarn nodded, shoving his dagger back into the satchel he had around his middle. Ink had woken up fully, and she and Smear were chatting away. Glass still remained silent, having nothing to say.

“What’s got you so on edge, anyway?” Pencil asked.

“There was another one,” Skarn answered, “another one of the monsters that you decapitated. I feel like they have a nest in here.”

Everyone went quiet, and all eyes were on him.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that?!” Smear exclaimed.

Skarn snarled at himself in his head, realizing that he had probably just struck fear into his little group. “I didn’t want you all to get jumpy and fearful,” he explained.

“Jumpy? Fearful?” Pencil asked with a laugh, “Hah! As if!”

“Yeah Skarn, have more trust in us,” Ink said, “we aren’t called the best fighters back at home for nothing, after all!”

“You g-guys are, at least…” Glass said, finally speaking up, “but I p-predicted this as well, so this is no shock to me…I’m s-scared, yes, but we have a job to do.”

“Well said, twin of mine!” Pencil said, lifting up a paw and ruffling Glass’s white fur.

“Heh…” Glass chuckled nervously, “Skarn, think we could get moving? I don’t feel safe staying in one place for too long…”

“We don’t have much of a reason to stay put,” Skarn said, “so sure. Come on team, we’re moving out!”

Before Pencil or Smear could object that they hadn’t even eaten yet, Skarn was walking away into one of the other tunnels. Ink followed him, ignoring her complaining stomach. After all, he was the leader, so he knew the best out of all of them, or that was her reasoning, anyway. Pencil growled a little before following after Skarn, along with Smear and Glass.

The five wandered throughout the cave for a while, but no more of the creatures were seen. Ink and Smear got to talking again, but Skarn had to snarl at them to keep their voices down in case they were heard by something. All the while, Glass stuck by his sister’s side. The investigator was on edge the entire time, looking around, paying attention to everything.

“Excuse me,” Pencil growled, finally done with being hungry, “sir leader, think we could eat now?!”

“Keep your voice down,” Skarn snapped quietly, “and let us find somewhere to rest first. Then we can eat.”

Luckily, it didn’t take long before they found a small pocket in the wall. They went inside, sat down, and Skarn divided up the rations. Again, it was only small portions, which angered Pencil even more. However, Glass convinced her that it was better than nothing, so a fight did not break out.

“So you really think that we’re in a nest?” Ink asked after she finished eating. Glass nodded.

“It makes the m-most sense…” he explained, “I mean, Pencil t-took down that first b-beast too easily…and S-Skarn and I did see another o-one…”

“Can we just give these things a name?” Pencil asked, “Calling them variations of beasts will just get repetitive and stupid.”

“I agree!” Smear exclaimed, “Let’s call them murder demons!”

Everyone was silent. Pencil face-pawed, groaning a little. Skarn gave Smear an unamused stare. Ink smiled a little at the dumb name Smear came up with, but didn’t laugh. Glass flattened his ears, looking away. Smear was grinning innocently.

“What? It’s a good name,” he said.

“Just…no Smear, no…” Pencil growled, sliding her paw away from her face.

“I have a better name! No offense, Smear,” Ink said.

“Out with it then,” Skarn said.

“What about…um…” Ink said, “…I forgot.”

“Oh come ON!” Pencil snarled, irritated, “Let’s just call them Spiderwolves and be done with it!”

“Good idea, but no,” Skarn said, “I don’t think that fits.”

“But it’s perfect!” Pencil argued.

“Um…if I m-may…” Glass stuttered, “How a-about we c-call them Arachnines…? Y-you know, a cross b-between arachnid and c-canine…?”

“Hmm…” Skarn said, “Yes, that could work…”

Glass smiled a little, his ears perking up again. Things calmed back down, Ink and Smear going right back to talking, Pencil starting to talk to Glass, and Skarn thinking things over. If they were in a nest, they’d be at a huge disadvantage. The “Arachnines” would most likely know every twist and turn, and he and his group would be stumbling around blindly. And worse, a nest would probably mean a queen…

Eventually, everyone began to get tired again. Ink insisted on not staying awake to watch for danger, and quickly fell asleep before anyone could object. Skarn had already done it, and he wasn’t going to do it twice in a row. After a little bit, it was decided that Smear would be on watch this time.

Pencil didn’t like this. She was almost certain that Smear would goof off, and tried to convince Skarn to let her be on watch too. Skarn, however, wouldn’t let her. He didn’t need more than one tired fighter. Pencil gave up after a while, and fell asleep shortly after, along with Skarn and Glass. Smear sat there, ears perked, barely moving. He almost looked like a statue.

He was going to prove his group wrong. He was more than just a clown, he always had been. He just chose to be happy so everyone else would be, along with it being an escape for himself. Ink seemed to be the only one to know this, since they had been friends since they were pups, close friends at that. She knew what happened. She knew why he had chosen to quicken his reflexes in training; she knew why he had the urge to act faster than anyone else.

Before he could reflect anymore, he spotted something. He saw a green glow. He squinted, leaning forward a little. He soon saw more glows in pairs of two. His purple eyes widened when he realized what the glows were. They were eyes, dozens of glowing, pupilless eyes. He acted quick, rushing to Skarn and shaking him until he woke up.

“Smear?” Skarn asked, sitting up, “what is it? Danger?”

“There are eyes,” Smear explained, “lots of eyes.”

“Wake the others!” Skarn exclaimed, pulling out his dagger.

Smear started to wake up everyone else just as the Arachnines leapt out of the shadows. They crept along the walls, ceiling and floor, but never took their eyes off of the group. Glass quickly ducked behind Pencil, trembling like a leaf. Pencil pulled Skarn over by his tail, quickly digging around in the satchel to pull out her own dagger. Skarn snarled at having has tail pulled, but he had more to worry about than that. Ink felt a shiver go up her spine at the sight of all these bloodthirsty creatures, but she took her fighting stance, ready to battle to the death. Smear studied their movements so he could dodge and counter appropriately.
After what felt like ages, one of them jumped off the wall, lunging right for Skarn. The leader ducked, causing the Arachnine to crash into three other Arachnines. That led the others to swarm the group. The ones on the ground quickly surrounded them, the ones on the walls leapt at them, and the ones on the ceiling shot silk from their tails, trying to trap one of the foxdogs in it.
As expected, the four warriors fought very well. Glass just tried to stay away from getting hit, constantly hiding behind his sister and sometimes shouting out advice. After a few long minutes of non-stop battling, the Arachnines realized that they could not win. They quickly retreated.
“Don’t let them get away!” Skarn shouted, “If this really is a nest, they’ll probably inform their queen!”
“On it!” Pencil barked, and started to chase after the fleeing Arachnines with Smear and Ink.
Glass edged closer to Skarn, no longer having his sister to protect him. However, it wasn’t long before she returned with Smear and Ink, yellow ears with black tips pinned back in frustration.
“They got away,” she growled, “not much we can do about it now.”
“They probably knew th-that we w-were already here anyway,” Glass said, “m-maybe they’ll fear us n-now…?”
“Maybe,” Skarn said, “but I highly doubt it…” he turned to address everyone. “Alright guys,” he said, “we have to have fewer and shorter rest periods. We’ll be safest if we keep moving. That rule starts now, so let’s get going!”
“Th-that’s not a g-good idea…” Glass said gingerly, “they’re injured…”

Skarn growled, but he knew that Glass was right. They had to get their injuries treated before they could move along.
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No one slept after they’d been attacked, so instead they sat in a circle. Skarn was talking with Glass, although he wasn’t looking at him. Pencil wasn’t talking to anyone, as she was glaring around the room, tense and ready to fight all over again. Ink and Smear sat in silence for once.
“So you sure you weren’t hurt that badly?” Ink asked after a few seconds.
“Yep,” Smear said with a reassuring smile, “I’m too fast for them, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember,” Ink said, smiling back.
They became silent again. Glass glanced over at them, a little concerned. They weren’t ever this quiet, as they’d at least be whispering back and forth. Then again, they’d never had to fight dozens of spider monsters before, none of them had.
“Glass, are you listening?” Skarn asked, looking over at the investigator.
“Sorry S-Skarn…” Glass apologized, “I w-was worrying a l-little about Smear and I-Ink…”
“Why? They’re not dying,” Skarn said.
“They’re n-normally very t-talkative,” Glass replied, “but n-now th-they’re being very quiet…”
“They probably have nothing to say,” Skarn said, “I wouldn’t really blame them.”
This was true. Ink and Smear didn’t have much to stay after the fight. The Arachnines were intimidating and threatening when in groups, and chances are that they knew that to, and would now ambush in larger groups. As the minutes ticked by, however, Ink and Smear began to recover and started talking again. The Arachnines didn’t show themselves for the rest of the time that the team spent resting, but the peace wouldn’t last forever.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

Skarn liked the credit staying awake all night to his experience, but it was really mostly paranoia that kept him up. He sat there, glaring at the various holes in the walls that led to more tunnels, until Smear woke up. He yawned, standing up and stretching his muscles. Skarn perked his ears a little, quickly giving Smear a glance before looking back ahead of him.

“Why so tense?” Smear asked, sitting back down.

“Right, he didn’t see the creature…but I think it’s long gone,” Skarn thought. “Nothing you need to worry about,” he said, “at least not right now.”

“What do you mean?” Smear asked, staring at Skarn with a confused expression.

Skarn silently wondered if the only time Smear could be smart was during a tight situation. “If what I am suspecting is true,” he said, “you’ll find out.”

Smear was about to ask what he meant again before Ink yawned rather loudly. The dark-colored foxdog pushed herself up into a sitting position, shaking her head in an attempt to shake out the drowsiness.

“Good morning, Ink!” Smear yipped happily, although he wasn’t really sure if it even was morning.

“Hey,” Ink said, yawning again and giving her head another good shake.

“You are way too cheerful, Smear…” Pencil growled tiredly, as she had also woken up.

Glass awoke in silence. No yawn, no stretch, no indication that he was even there. He just opened his orange eyes and glanced at everyone from his spot from the rock floor of the cave. He remained quiet while everyone else talk, well, Smear was the one doing most of the talking, as Pencil and Ink were both still waking up and Skarn was still on watch.

“You can stop glaring at nothing now,” Pencil said, walking over to Skarn.

Skarn nodded, shoving his dagger back into the satchel he had around his middle. Ink had woken up fully, and she and Smear were chatting away. Glass still remained silent, having nothing to say.

“What’s got you so on edge, anyway?” Pencil asked.

“There was another one,” Skarn answered, “another one of the monsters that you decapitated. I feel like they have a nest in here.”

Everyone went quiet, and all eyes were on him.

“Why didn’t you just tell me that?!” Smear exclaimed.

Skarn snarled at himself in his head, realizing that he had probably just struck fear into his little group. “I didn’t want you all to get jumpy and fearful,” he explained.

“Jumpy? Fearful?” Pencil asked with a laugh, “Hah! As if!”

“Yeah Skarn, have more trust in us,” Ink said, “we aren’t called the best fighters back at home for nothing, after all!”

“You g-guys are, at least…” Glass said, finally speaking up, “but I p-predicted this as well, so this is no shock to me…I’m s-scared, yes, but we have a job to do.”

“Well said, twin of mine!” Pencil said, lifting up a paw and ruffling Glass’s white fur.

“Heh…” Glass chuckled nervously, “Skarn, think we could get moving? I don’t feel safe staying in one place for too long…”

“We don’t have much of a reason to stay put,” Skarn said, “so sure. Come on team, we’re moving out!”

Before Pencil or Smear could object that they hadn’t even eaten yet, Skarn was walking away into one of the other tunnels. Ink followed him, ignoring her complaining stomach. After all, he was the leader, so he knew the best out of all of them, or that was her reasoning, anyway. Pencil growled a little before following after Skarn, along with Smear and Glass.

The five wandered throughout the cave for a while, but no more of the creatures were seen. Ink and Smear got to talking again, but Skarn had to snarl at them to keep their voices down in case they were heard by something. All the while, Glass stuck by his sister’s side. The investigator was on edge the entire time, looking around, paying attention to everything.

“Excuse me,” Pencil growled, finally done with being hungry, “sir leader, think we could eat now?!”

“Keep your voice down,” Skarn snapped quietly, “and let us find somewhere to rest first. Then we can eat.”

Luckily, it didn’t take long before they found a small pocket in the wall. They went inside, sat down, and Skarn divided up the rations. Again, it was only small portions, which angered Pencil even more. However, Glass convinced her that it was better than nothing, so a fight did not break out.

“So you really think that we’re in a nest?” Ink asked after she finished eating. Glass nodded.

“It makes the m-most sense…” he explained, “I mean, Pencil t-took down that first b-beast too easily…and S-Skarn and I did see another o-one…”

“Can we just give these things a name?” Pencil asked, “Calling them variations of beasts will just get repetitive and stupid.”

“I agree!” Smear exclaimed, “Let’s call them murder demons!”

Everyone was silent. Pencil face-pawed, groaning a little. Skarn gave Smear an unamused stare. Ink smiled a little at the dumb name Smear came up with, but didn’t laugh. Glass flattened his ears, looking away. Smear was grinning innocently.

“What? It’s a good name,” he said.

“Just…no Smear, no…” Pencil growled, sliding her paw away from her face.

“I have a better name! No offense, Smear,” Ink said.

“Out with it then,” Skarn said.

“What about…um…” Ink said, “…I forgot.”

“Oh come ON!” Pencil snarled, irritated, “Let’s just call them Spiderwolves and be done with it!”

“Good idea, but no,” Skarn said, “I don’t think that fits.”

“But it’s perfect!” Pencil argued.

“Um…if I m-may…” Glass stuttered, “How a-about we c-call them Arachnines…? Y-you know, a cross b-between arachnid and c-canine…?”

“Hmm…” Skarn said, “Yes, that could work…”

Glass smiled a little, his ears perking up again. Things calmed back down, Ink and Smear going right back to talking, Pencil starting to talk to Glass, and Skarn thinking things over. If they were in a nest, they’d be at a huge disadvantage. The “Arachnines” would most likely know every twist and turn, and he and his group would be stumbling around blindly. And worse, a nest would probably mean a queen…

Eventually, everyone began to get tired again. Ink insisted on not staying awake to watch for danger, and quickly fell asleep before anyone could object. Skarn had already done it, and he wasn’t going to do it twice in a row. After a little bit, it was decided that Smear would be on watch this time.

Pencil didn’t like this. She was almost certain that Smear would goof off, and tried to convince Skarn to let her be on watch too. Skarn, however, wouldn’t let her. He didn’t need more than one tired fighter. Pencil gave up after a while, and fell asleep shortly after, along with Skarn and Glass. Smear sat there, ears perked, barely moving. He almost looked like a statue.

He was going to prove his group wrong. He was more than just a clown, he always had been. He just chose to be happy so everyone else would be, along with it being an escape for himself. Ink seemed to be the only one to know this, since they had been friends since they were pups, close friends at that. She knew what happened. She knew why he had chosen to quicken his reflexes in training; she knew why he had the urge to act faster than anyone else.

Before he could reflect anymore, he spotted something. He saw a green glow. He squinted, leaning forward a little. He soon saw more glows in pairs of two. His purple eyes widened when he realized what the glows were. They were eyes, dozens of glowing, pupilless eyes. He acted quick, rushing to Skarn and shaking him until he woke up.

“Smear?” Skarn asked, sitting up, “what is it? Danger?”

“There are eyes,” Smear explained, “lots of eyes.”

“Wake the others!” Skarn exclaimed, pulling out his dagger.

Smear started to wake up everyone else just as the Arachnines leapt out of the shadows. They crept along the walls, ceiling and floor, but never took their eyes off of the group. Glass quickly ducked behind Pencil, trembling like a leaf. Pencil pulled Skarn over by his tail, quickly digging around in the satchel to pull out her own dagger. Skarn snarled at having has tail pulled, but he had more to worry about than that. Ink felt a shiver go up her spine at the sight of all these bloodthirsty creatures, but she took her fighting stance, ready to battle to the death. Smear studied their movements so he could dodge and counter appropriately.
After what felt like ages, one of them jumped off the wall, lunging right for Skarn. The leader ducked, causing the Arachnine to crash into three other Arachnines. That led the others to swarm the group. The ones on the ground quickly surrounded them, the ones on the walls leapt at them, and the ones on the ceiling shot silk from their tails, trying to trap one of the foxdogs in it.
As expected, the four warriors fought very well. Glass just tried to stay away from getting hit, constantly hiding behind his sister and sometimes shouting out advice. After a few long minutes of non-stop battling, the Arachnines realized that they could not win. They quickly retreated.
“Don’t let them get away!” Skarn shouted, “If this really is a nest, they’ll probably inform their queen!”
“On it!” Pencil barked, and started to chase after the fleeing Arachnines with Smear and Ink.
Glass edged closer to Skarn, no longer having his sister to protect him. However, it wasn’t long before she returned with Smear and Ink, yellow ears with black tips pinned back in frustration.
“They got away,” she growled, “not much we can do about it now.”
“They probably knew th-that we w-were already here anyway,” Glass said, “m-maybe they’ll fear us n-now…?”
“Maybe,” Skarn said, “but I highly doubt it…” he turned to address everyone. “Alright guys,” he said, “we have to have fewer and shorter rest periods. We’ll be safest if we keep moving. That rule starts now, so let’s get going!”
“Th-that’s not a g-good idea…” Glass said gingerly, “they’re injured…”

Skarn growled, but he knew that Glass was right. They had to get their injuries treated before they could move along.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No one slept after they’d been attacked, so instead they sat in a circle. Skarn was talking with Glass, although he wasn’t looking at him. Pencil wasn’t talking to anyone, as she was glaring around the room, tense and ready to fight all over again. Ink and Smear sat in silence for once.
“So you sure you weren’t hurt that badly?” Ink asked after a few seconds.
“Yep,” Smear said with a reassuring smile, “I’m too fast for them, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember,” Ink said, smiling back.
They became silent again. Glass glanced over at them, a little concerned. They weren’t ever this quiet, as they’d at least be whispering back and forth. Then again, they’d never had to fight dozens of spider monsters before, none of them had.
“Glass, are you listening?” Skarn asked, looking over at the investigator.
“Sorry S-Skarn…” Glass apologized, “I w-was worrying a l-little about Smear and I-Ink…”
“Why? They’re not dying,” Skarn said.
“They’re n-normally very t-talkative,” Glass replied, “but n-now th-they’re being very quiet…”
“They probably have nothing to say,” Skarn said, “I wouldn’t really blame them.”
This was true. Ink and Smear didn’t have much to stay after the fight. The Arachnines were intimidating and threatening when in groups, and chances are that they knew that to, and would now ambush in larger groups. As the minutes ticked by, however, Ink and Smear began to recover and started talking again. The Arachnines didn’t show themselves for the rest of the time that the team spent resting, but the peace wouldn’t last forever.