By the time Abel turned away from the silken mess to face his partner and acknowledge her, Bridget was already in the tree. After a few moments wasted scanning the branches and scarlet leaves above, he exhaled deeply and turned back to stare into the webs. He absently reached out with the tip of the Ampere to sever one of the threads when he suddenly recoiled, having just remembered an extremely poignant piece of information from the Grimm studies at Pallisade: while he didn't remember the name of the spider monsters, he dimly remembered that they could feel any tugging on their webs and would come running en masse to sort it out. Picturing dozens of huge spiders leaping from the gloom at him caused Abel to back up a few feet from the webbing. The hairs on the back of his neck and hands stood on end.

Fortunately, he hadn't long to wait. In no time Bridget was back from her treetop excursion and had relayed her new information. “Sure, sure. Love caves.” An overly genuine undertone was present in his voice; it seemed that forsaking spiderwebs for the dank dark of some cavern truly tickled his fancy. “Good thing you saw that it opened up near your station; otherwise we mighta run straight into a dead end. Just so you know, don't touch those webs. The Grimm can feel them moving.” The butt of the Ampere lay on the ground, and his hand rested on its hilt. It made a workable walking stick since it weighed just as much on his back as it did on his hand—plus, he still felt uneasy, as if he were being watched. After received indication from Bridget about which direction the cave lay, the pair launched into a brisk walk.

They weren't the only ones on the move, however. Between the forking trunk of a lichen-strewn tree fifty feet away clung a mammoth, dark mass. Having blended into the shadows perfectly thanks to its coloration, the creature managed to avoid detection by the humans, even Bridget's semblance since she hadn't used it during her scouting. As its prey moved away, the huge beast followed through the trees, lumbering quietly despite its massive size. The Ursa Major was on the prowl, a thousand pounds of muscle, ragged fur, and insatiable hunger.