The cold didn't just crawl into the cave; it felt as though it were being pulled in by the very stone itself.
As Ningning settled onto the furs, the usual ambient warmth of the earth felt drained, replaced by a hollow, sucking chill that made her teeth chatter before she could even pull the heavy hide over her shoulders.
"Doudou," she shivered, her breath blooming in a thick, silver cloud that lingered too long in the still air. "Check the external sensors. Why is the floor acting like a heat sink? It shouldn't be this cold yet."
[Scanning...] Doudou's voice was unusually solemn. [The barometric pressure is plummeting. While the 'Deep Freeze' is still a fortnight away, we are experiencing a 'Dry Thermal Inversion.'
The heavy, cold air from the mountain peaks is cascading down the slopes and pooling in low-elevation basins. Our cave is effectively a bowl for the sky's frost.]
