[A/N: Day 1 (3/3)]
_________
Cael stood at the cave entrance, rain dripping from the rocky overhang in uneven intervals.
Thunder rumbled in the distance, a low and constant growl that never seemed to move closer or farther away.
He had made a decision.
The snake. The only creature he had encountered since arriving in this dead forest. If there was any clue to be found, it would start there.
With a quiet exhale, Cael stepped out of the cave and into the rain.
He moved through the trees with practiced silence, using Black Lightning Steps to mask his presence.
The journey back to where he had killed the snake took only a few minutes.
But when he arrived, Cael searched for the dead snake's body.
The snake's corpse was nowhere to be seen.
'What happened? Did it get eaten?'
Then the wind shifted. The rain, which had been falling in steady sheets, began to soften.
The droplets grew finer, almost mist-like, as the storm's intensity waned.
