[ Having an alternate route is good, but she doesn't have the heart to tell him that it's improbable that that tributary will circle back completely. But what does she know, Lux has never actually been spelunking before.

With an approving nod, a flicker of her earlier smile resurfaces as she continues to carefully press forward. ]

I agree. If that thing is able to survive out here, there must be something it feeds off of.

[ That probably isn't reassuring, but Lux is afire with curiosity. There is no way that something that large could be a herbivore, especially at this depth. ]

It didn't appear to have any signs of infection, at least from what I could see. Do you think there are other creatures that large down here? I wonder if it was able to grow to that size because there are no natural predators here.