[Trade] An Ashen Cave

Two forms- light and dark- could be seen making their way along the mountain's path, almost acting as though they were racing periodically with no concern for their surroundings. They chuffed and huffed, pushing themselves further along. The two were Church and Cujo, two Cryolophosaurus with seemingly fiery personalities. They were meant to be teaming up on this particular journey and seemed to be competing more than working together. Nonetheless, they trudged along.
The mountains were colder than normal this time of year, making the trek up a lot more taxing on the two cryolophosaurus. The chilled air nipped at their skin and felt as though it was digging into them the higher they went. Church and Cujo continued, despite this, determined to go on their expedition. It was odd, really- being around potentially active volcanoes and still being bitten at by the harsh cold. They didn't take a moment to consider it for too long- only in a passing thought if anything. 

The silence between the two eventually broke. It was Cujo who spoke first, bumping at the other dinosaur to get his attention- who glared in response already. “You see that cliff up there?” He motioned with his head- a quick nod in the direction of it. 
In the near distance was a cliff's edge, slightly eerie looking- it was sharp and jagged. What caught Church's attention, though, was what was above it. An equally jagged cave positioned on top of this edge. It stood tall with its large opening forming a deep crack even further up the mountain than where it sat. The longer the two looked, the more they noticed. There was a faint orange glow from within the opening and, besides that, a few more openings further down the mountainside. It almost appeared as though it was a line of houses for anyone wanting in. The faint glow emitting from each one told them otherwise though. Clearly, it must lead to the same cave if they all emitted the same glow as the one they first noticed. 

“What about it? We've seen other caves here.” Despite his tone, Church was actually interested in hearing Cujo out about this. His focus on the crested cryolophosaurus made this clear, piercing magenta eyes not leaving Cujo's blue for now. 

The darker of the two let out a grumble. “We should head there. Maybe there'll be something other than the same looking rocks and dirt.” He held annoyance at the other's tone, despite returning the same amount, if not more, of venom laced in his voice. 

Although Church didn't seem interested through his words, his path changed the moment Cujo had made that suggestion. He couldn't help but be intrigued. What could be in there? The two increased their pace and went on their way. It wasn't spoken aloud- but this was bound to turn into a race. Church would walk ahead of the other, only for Cujo to immediately quicken his own steps. Harsh feet hit the ground harder with every challenge before the two were sprinting and no longer sparing each other a glance. That is, unless it was to make sure their opponent wasn't winning this. 
What the two failed to notice was a deep crack in the ground. Their eyes were locked with determination when it happened- both of them simultaneously got a foot stuck in the crack, causing a grunt of disapproval to sound from each dinosaur. Brief panic washed over them before Church managed to shove his unstuck foot into the ground and bring himself out of the crack. There was a hefty amount of resistance, which Cujo was met with as well- to a worse extent. The dark cryolophosaurus let out a growl of disapproval as he tried to escape the earth's grasp. It only continued to pull back. Church had noticed his struggle and made his way over, where Cujo seemed to want to reject the other's help. His eyes were dismissive for only a moment before softening somewhat into a gaze more.. accepting. He allowed himself to be pulled out, flinching only slightly at the brief pain. This sucked, he decided. 

There was a long silence between the two that felt much louder than it was. Neither spoke for a while until Church finally started moving again. “Weren't we checking out that cave?” His tone was no less harsh than normal, which honestly came as a relief to Cujo. He didn't want the other's sympathy. 
Thus, their “race” resumed with minimal troubles. Thankfully it seemed as though neither of them got truly hurt. 

When they finally made it up the path leading to the cave, the two couldn't help noticing an  unusual - but welcome - warmth in the air. Their pace barely slowed as they charged in the entrance, only stopping when they were face to face with a rock and burning heat. They realized soon after that they'd stopped only a few inches from a pool of lava. Cujo and Church had thought the surrounding volcanoes were all inactive but… apparently, they were being proven otherwise. The two focused back on their surroundings when they heard a pop from the pool. It was interesting, they hadn't expected this- especially not a pool so large.
It expanded far into the distance in front of them, with a few smaller pools off to the side of the main one. The cave's ceiling stood tall- they suspected it may even go above the clouds.  Was there an opening at the top? It was hard to tell from down below. They kept about a foot between themselves and any lava pools, deciding not to take any chances after their… other incidents today. 

The two continued on, observing their surroundings. Ash here, Volcanic rocks there, some rubble or bones on the ground. It was nothing out of the ordinary- even if the bones gave the place an odd aura to be around. They were starting to lose interest when something caught their eyes.
Underneath a hole in the top of the cave, some sort of gemstone sat right in the center of where a beam of moonlight shone in. Its red and purple hues reflected onto the stone walls around them and the two cryolophosaurus walked towards it, curiosity gleaming in their eyes. It was placed oddly, as though someone put it there instead of it forming naturally. But who else would have come here? And were they going to come back? Another thought crossed their mind, the thought of potentially taking the stone back home. It was quite pretty and they'd never seen anything like it. 

They probably should have considered this for longer, but without a word between the two- they decided it would be a treasure worth taking home. If someone would miss it so much, why would they just leave it in the middle of nowhere? It was clearly free for taking. 
Church and Cujo stretched as they left the cave, intending to head home- only to be met once again with the stinging cold weather. They'd nearly forgotten about that. A smidge of frustration crossed their eyes before they decided that, just for tonight, they would stay in the cave. The two could always head home in the morning where the sun would hopefully warm their journey back.