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Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 17, 2023 11:34:39 GMT -6
THAT would be something to explain to the authorities. Still, Fiera was at least somewhat responsible when it came to mining, and was determined to take good care of her pets. She'd try and find one of the wider, more open areas to reduce the chance of Flicker being able to run herself off a cliff, even if it wasn't very exciting for Fiera personally. She muttered to herself as she went over her mental map of areas in the mines. She knew where all of the reclusive, winding tunnels were because that was where she preferred to mine... but that wasn't where she needed to go today. So where hadn't she been? There were some blanks in her mental moa, so she supposed that was the best place to start looking. Other people were flowing into the larger tunnels of the main mineshaft- perhaps that would be a good place to start.
Fiera 14 Flicker 0.4/0.4 4
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 17, 2023 11:38:07 GMT -6
After all, the popular parts of the mines were popular for a reason- they were rich in gems, ores, and fossils. All those people couldn't be wrong, right? And more people meant a bigger area that had already been mined in, meaning that Fiera would likely have some room to move around and Flicker wouldn't feel as pressured. She could already see her lamadidron snorting and starting at the other people walking around them, and the clanking noises from their tools and findings. "You're gonna be ok." Fiera comforted, though admittedly it was a bit difficult with how dry and sarcastic her voice sounded. It wasn't on purpose, but it was a little hard to have empathy when a creature of that size was so easily spooked. Soon they were turning right into a nearby tunnel, wide and yawning in the wall of the "central room" of the mineshaft. Where it led, she wasn't sure.
Fiera 15 Flicker 1.0/1.0 5
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 17, 2023 11:55:35 GMT -6
There were plenty of other people heading in the same direction that Fiera could ask, but frankly she would rather die than lower herself to that. It was better to stride forward with a sense of confidence and a pickaxe and see what you got. The tunnel was well lit, which thankfully kept Flicker from getting TOO nervous. Gas lamps lined the walls, their dull orange glow making the tunnel quite colorful, with the sound of metal clinking against stone sounding almost musical. Fiera was enjoying herself for now- and she was taking the sensation while she could, considering how grumpy she usually got after rolling around in the dirt and the heat for a couple of hours. Flicker didn't find it quite as enjoyable, cowering behind Fiera and glancing around nervously. "Don't worry, it'll open up soon." Fiera said in her nervous pet's direction, before tacking on a "...Hopefully."
Fiera 16 Flicker 1.1/1.1 6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 17, 2023 11:59:43 GMT -6
It turned out she was correct however, as the hall soon started widening. It turned from a hole to more of a horizontal slot, with the width of the tunnel increasing much faster than the height, though the humanish did slowly find herself with more room above her head. The floor smoothed out a bit too, making the tugging along of her mine cart easier in a way that her arms were grateful for. Flicker seemed a bit more comfortable with more breathing room as well. Soon the walls stretched so far away that Fiera supposed they had entered more of a roundish room than remaining in a tunnel. Even though it was decently lit by various gas and electric lights strewn about the walls and bolted to the ceiling, Fiera still couldn't see the far side of the room- the center of it was choked with chalky tasting dust.
Fiera 17 Flicker 1.2/1.2 7
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 17, 2023 12:02:28 GMT -6
It wasn't that the dust was particularly THICK- no more than on a beach on a windy day- the room was simply so large that the natural byproducts of mining cut off the light after a certain point. And boy was there a lot of mining. The dust kept her from seeing the exact number of people, but even when accounting for the echoes she could hear dozens if not more people working in tandem, the clatter of pickaxes and hammers ringing through the hall. The echo was severe but not painful, and Fiera nodded quietly as she began to look for her own spot to work. If the room was this large, it must have been on a major vein of some material, and she was going to find out what. With Flicker in tow (literally- she didn't seem to want to move from her spot on the floor, so Fiera had to drag her) the humanish made her way to a wall.
Fiera 18 Flicker 1.3/1.3 8
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 17, 2023 12:05:55 GMT -6
When she made it there, Fiera ran her fingers along the wall, looking for any signs of something worth digging out being present. It didn't seem too hard and so would be quite easy for her to mine out, but appearances could be deceiving, and she didn't want to waste any effort (or back pain) on mining out something that wasn't going to bear fruit... so to speak. She passed a few people on her way down. One man had a massive blood iron PHIL assisting him in digging, using its claws to move pebbles out of the way of his feet so he could continue digging. Another woman had a gargoyle assisting her in the digging process, its claws cutting through stone like butter. Fiera suspected magic was probably involved in that last case- she couldn't imagine anything managing to hack through stone so easily otherwise, even if you WERE a creature that had evolved to live down here.
Fiera 19 Flicker 1.4/1.4 9
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 17, 2023 15:42:15 GMT -6
Fiera didn't have those sorts of skills though- all she had were her mining tools and... the non-existent assistance of a creature that didn't know how to dig and didn't really want to be here. Yeah, Fiera was on her own today. Still, at least an atomic lamadidron was a pretty good deterrent if nothing else. They were known for being pretty dangerous, even if their threat was an environmental hazard more than anything else. Flicker probably wouldn't be able to bring herself to hurt a fly, but if one landed on her, it probably wouldn't last long. Finally, Fiera found a patch of wall that looked... just a bit more shiny and iridescent than the others. She glanced back at the other miners. A couple of them had some small gemstones lying around them- it looked like she might be able to find some in this wall as well. There was only one way to find out for sure.
Fiera 20 Flicker 2.0/2.0 10
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 27, 2023 9:57:08 GMT -6
After a moment's deliberation on the right tool to use, Fiera plucked her pickaxe from the mine cart. It was an old reliable by this point, perfect for wresting stones from the walls of the mines. She couldn't say she was particularly fond of it though- her shoulders were always aching for hours after its use, her ears ringing from the sounds it made against the echoing walls of stone. But damn, if it hadn't made her a lot of credits through what she was able to dig up. "Alrighty then- let's get started." She muttered, mostly to herself as Flicker was busy staring through the gloom, her ears twitching nervously. Her attention was brought back to Fiera quite quickly as the humanish brought the tip of the pickaxe down on rock however, making a ringing sound that echoed throughout the massive chamber, joining the chorus made by the other miners.
Fiera 1 Flicker 2.1/2.1 11
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 27, 2023 10:01:12 GMT -6
The lamadidron yelped loudly at the sound, skittering backwards across the floor. Her lead drew taught and then yanked at the mine cart, pulling at the chain with all her strength. Fiera whipped around, quickly grabbing the cart before she could yank it across the floor and run off into the depths of the mine. "Oh no you don't!" She hissed despite her efforts to stay calm. "You are not going to die from a loud noise!" She said, finding herself arguing with a creature three times her weight. Flicker honked plaintively, her eyes flicking from side to side. Fiera sighed. "You're going to be FINE. Look, would it help if..." She muttered and opened the mine cart. There was a towel in there that she used to make sure the more delicate crystals didn't get dented or crumble when rolling around as the mine cart bumped and bumbled its way over rough surfaces.
Fiera 2 Flicker 2.2/2.2 12
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 27, 2023 10:07:54 GMT -6
And yet, considering that they were only a short distance into the mines, she was sure any gemstones she dug up would survive. "This, on the other hand, is going to be RUINED." Fiera muttered to herself, holding up the towel. And yet, she had plenty more at home and at least it would help Flicker survive all this. Well, hopefully. "Ok, you ready?" She said, and then draped the towel over Flicker's head. The lamadidron attempted to flick it off, but Fiera quickly yanked down on the edges, tying it under her chin. "There." Fiera said, stepping back to proudly observe her work. "That should make the noises a bit more muffled for you, eh? Or at least make it so you focus on something else other than the noise." She said, watching as Flicker lifted a claw to scratch idly at the knot tied under her chin, grunting unhappily.
Fiera 3 Flicker 2.3/2.3 13
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 27, 2023 15:00:26 GMT -6
Even if she didn't like it, it would have to do for now. Fiera didn't exactly have any other ideas if Flicker decided she didn't like the mines all that much. She'd just have to try and mine out as much as she could as quickly as possible and then drag her pet back out again. She sighed, raising her pickaxe again. "Right then... let's try this once more..." She said, and brought it down on the wall. It made just as loud of a clang as before, but when she looked back, Flicker was still fooling around with the towel, scraping at it while whining plaintively. At least she wasn't having a panic attack over the noise anymore, Fiera thought to herself. She tried to work quickly, pulling chunks of stone from the wall before Flicker could pull off- or melt through- the towel. Soon she had a neat pile at her feet.
Fiera 4 Flicker 2.4/2.4 14
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Feb 27, 2023 15:49:33 GMT -6
She glanced behind her- Flicker had somehow managed to pull the towel all the way over her face, like a blindfold. The lamadidron honked loudly in distress, standing up from her little spot on the ground. "Oh, for goodness' sake." Fiera muttered, before marching over to Flicker and yanking the blindfold off. "...This isn't the best idea for you, huh." Fiera said, sighing and rubbing the back of her neck. Flicker honked plaintively in response. Fiera rolled her eyes. "Alright then, I'll pack it up." She replied. She tossed the few hunks of stone she had managed to harvest into the minecart- she'd have to see if there was anything worth keeping in them later. And then she pulled gently on Flicker's chain, leading her back towards the entrance. Flicker didn't need to be told twice, and happily trundled her way after Fiera, glad to be free of this strange place.
Fiera 5 Flicker 3.0/3.0 15
(Fiera takes Flicker and leaves the mines.)
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Post by Jack on Mar 4, 2023 19:13:11 GMT -6
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 5, 2023 11:14:19 GMT -6
Krista may have been enjoying the cold, but Fiera certainly wasn't. A sudden cold snap had come to the Labs City. She had bundled herself up as much as she could before she left for the mines. Even her tail was under heavy wraps, making it look almost as thick and bulky as her lamadidron's. She knew she would regret it as soon as she got into the mines, as the further down you went the warmer it got- especially once you started work on actually mining. But Fiera couldn't even convince herself to leave the house without bundling herself up, so she would just have to deal with it. If worst came to worst and she felt herself overheating, she could sacrifice some space in her mine cart and shove her coat and wrappings in it. Heck, she could probably justify that to herself as "padding" for "more delicate" specimens she managed to find. Fiera 6 Krista 1.1/3.1 1
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Dec 5, 2023 11:20:13 GMT -6
Krista on the other hand was loving it. Up until now they had been having quite a balmy winter, leaving Krista feeling uncomfortable in the weather and difficult to ply into cooperation at best. Trying to get Krista to do anything up until now had been a bit like using a broom to clena up a puddle of syrup. A sudden cold front had made the temperature plunge however, and now she was scampering around like a hatchling. "Well, I'm glad at least one of us is enjoying it." Fiera muttered from behind the two scarves she was wearing as Krista shoved her face in another snowbank. "You'll be warmed up before you know it, though." Fiera said, eyeing the entrance of the mines as it came into view. Finally. She tugged the mine cart over another rock and gave Krista's lead a tug, bringing them both to the entrance.
Fiera 7 Krista 1.2/3.2 2
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