Afraid of the Dark

[oddvocado]

You creep in carefully, slow and methodical with each step to avoid the decaying greenery, least it make noise and arouse the slumbering dino before you. Its stripes glowed with a magnificence you'd never had the honor to behold before, every breath the creature took causing the light to shimmer and dance across the cave-top. Daring to get closer, you hold your breath and hoist yourself onto a nearby rock shelf, crawling low, almost onto your belly, to avoid scraping your back on the lower parts of the ceiling. The dino's tail flicked up and landed with a heavy thump, a warning to your ears of how muscled and large the creature was, and how much larger it could become as an adult. Your curiosity outweighed the risk as you continue to drag yourself forward, the humidity of the night causing sweat to drip down your face, into your eyes and pooling on your back. Another lunge forward and you would be safe behind a large boulder towards the back of the cave, and a clear view to the sleeping dino. Anticipation built up, you grab an eager hand onto a rock to support yourself, and find your tense smile turn into a gasp as the 'rock' gave way easily and fell to the ground, almost taking you with it, and landing with an indignant squeak. The slumbering dino begins to rumble as his paws press deep into the hardened earth under him, and his eyes open to reveal a daring red that glowed more harshly with intimidation. Whipping around back and forth searching for an assailant, you watch with weak arms and wavering breath as you try to push yourself as far as you can into the rock crevice behind you as not to be discovered. A minute of searching passes and the dino finally settles down with a whimper, padding towards the previously fallen rock and gathering it in his mouth, and you realize, as it is brought into the moonlight, the squishy rock was a stuffed stegosaurus. The dino brought his toy to his sleeping pile of leaves and other toy companions, fluffing up his bedding before gently placing the stuffed animal on the ground. The dino looked behind himself with a steely glare, still upset at the interruption of his slumber from the unknown. You take the moment to let out the breath you'd been holding, and settled into the rocky surface beneath you. Though a baby, and though you could still hear his whimpers as the dino settled into bed once more, you decide not to take the risk on leaving your spot for the night. Moonlight washing over the both of you, you hope the dino does not take the effort to find you later, and watch the bunny in the moon until sleep finds you.