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Post by Fanged on Jul 17, 2020 18:41:26 GMT -6
The humid air made things a little more difficult for Fanged. The air sat heavy in her lungs, making it just all that harder to breathe. The sensation was rather unpleasant, but she was confident that she’d be able to adjust. She rubbed at her nose in an attempt to distract herself from the mugginess. Harper continued on her eyes fixed upwards as though she was watching for something. Fanged couldn’t help but feel paranoid that there was something up there, waiting to approach them. She tried to listen for any signs of life, curious if there was a creature up there or not. Bats were common in caves so it wouldn’t be outside of the realm of possibility for one to be around. While they were listening, a rock broke free from somewhere over head and fell down to the area to her right. Harper glared at it in concern.
(Harper 7 1/5, 7 1/5)
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Post by Fanged on Jul 18, 2020 18:00:09 GMT -6
Fanged felt herself grow concerned as well. It was a reminder that she needed to keep an eye out for danger. She couldn’t allow herself to grow lax, especially since she had grown to rely on Harper’s expertise so much.
“Keep sharp and stay calm,” she murmured.
Panicking didn’t serve anyone well. It was a vice that made you think less rationally. Panic was only good for alerting to danger. It was not the correct response for dealing with danger. Both her and Harper were unharmed. They had been merely startled by the rock. Fanged took a moment to calm down. Harper waited for her to take a break, only moving again once she was certain that Fanged wasn’t afraid anymore. Fanged allowed her to keep the lead, not trusting her instincts to be as sharp as they needed to in this environment. Perhaps she would lead again when she had calmed down more.
(Harper 7 2/5, 7 2/5)
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Post by Fanged on Jul 18, 2020 18:22:19 GMT -6
As they walked further through the tunnel, the ceiling opened up, effectively letting in a stream of light from the outside. Fanged squinted, trying to see if she could see her way through to the surface. However, the outside realm was still too far upwards for her to be able to distinguish it. For now, the only way she could tell that it was still there was this single beam of light that had managed to make its way through to this level. Her eyes didn’t quite know what to do with the sudden influx of light. Her pupils flickered uncertainly, making her hyper sensitive to the light. Normally, her night vision was poor and the change in lighting would be welcome, but the bright light was a bit painful to observe. She instead shifted her focus to Harper, training her eyes on the Karzik as she hopped along in front.
(Harper 7 3/5, 7 3/5)
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Post by Fanged on Jul 18, 2020 18:48:19 GMT -6
The light source didn’t last too long. Once they had passed underneath the opening, the light was simply a fading memory. Fanged frowned and shifted her flashlight closer. Harper seemed unaffected and the woman recalled that Karziks did utilize echolocation. That was not something she felt was possible for herself to learn to mend her shortcomings. The pathway began to slope, forcing Fanged to be extra cautious. Harper maneuvered down the sloping terrain with ease. If Fanged didn’t know better, she might have thought it was even ground with the way the Karzik moved. She wiped at her face, using the fabric to mop any sweat that had gathered on her skin. The humidity was still quite prevalent, even as they ventured deeper into the underground. She was glad that she had worn cool enough clothing. She had opted for shorts despite them not being very protective and that way paying off for now.
(Harper 7 4/5, 7 4/5)
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Post by Fanged on Jul 18, 2020 18:51:45 GMT -6
Fanged was grateful that her balance was decent enough to keep her upright on the unsteady terrain. She tried to copy Harper’s movements before conceding that the Karzik had an easier time with things than she did. There were an abundance of insects coating the path and Fanged did her best to avoid him. She didn’t want to accidentally crush one and trigger an entire swarm to attack. It was too dark to distinguish what they were exactly and she found herself not wanting to investigate further.
“If they leave me alone, I leave them alone. It’s as simple as that,” she muttered.
Harper glanced back at the sound of Fanged’s voice. When it became evident that she was simply rambling to herself, the Karzik shifted focus to the path ahead once again. Fanged did her best to ignore the insects, but she couldn’t keep her mind spirally down conspiratorial routes.
(Harper 8, 8)
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Post by Nadia on Jul 18, 2020 19:01:18 GMT -6
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Post by Fanged on Jul 19, 2020 7:54:12 GMT -6
“What could these insects possibly be doing gathering in such great numbers. Surely there’s a reason? I can’t imagine that it’s plain circumstance,” she theorized.
While Fanged was distracted, Harper was quick to point out a stash of treasure to the woman. Fanged stopped in embarrassment, gathering up the treasure quickly before they could dwell on the situation any further. Harper was content with her once she actually collected the treasure. Fanged relaxed as she realized that her companion wasn’t about to judge her for growing distracted. She followed the path diligently, trying to keep herself on a straight path. Harper strayed sometimes, but Fanged knew she shouldn’t follow her pet blindly. The Karzik was able to navigate differently to her and because of that, they wouldn’t take the identical path each time. She listened intently for any signs of life. However, the tunnel remained eerily quiet for now.
(Harper 8 1/5, 8 1/5)
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Post by Fanged on Jul 19, 2020 8:06:16 GMT -6
Harper picked up the pace and Fanged scrambled to keep up. She didn’t mind the faster pace, but she was curious as to what had prompted it. They followed the path for its duration. It didn’t take long for it to branch off once again. There were two options this time, left and right. Harper looked up at her expectantly and the woman realized that she was the one meant to choose the path this time.
Fanged glanced around, feeling suddenly anxious with having to make a potentially important decision. She would need to examine both tunnels and make a judgement from there. She didn’t have time to thoroughly investigate both so she would have to make due with judging the tunnel entrances. She utilized the light from her flashlight to reveal the gist of each tunnel. The one on the left was full of additional plant life which was intriguing.
(Harper 8 2/5, 8 2/5)
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Post by Fanged on Jul 19, 2020 8:11:14 GMT -6
However, strangely enough, the insects all turned down the right tunnel. She would have presumed that they’d want to go down the left tunnel towards the plant life. She turned the flashlight and stepped through the entrance of the right tunnel, trying to figure out why the insects were attracted to it. There were no obvious signs of anything out of the ordinary. Perhaps what was attracting them was further in.
“Guess we have to go down it if we want to solve this mystery. Do you have any objections?” she asked Harper.
Harper moved to follow her through the entrance of the right tunnel. She allowed Fanged to have the lead for a while and the woman eagerly accepted the responsibility. When there was a mystery to be solved, she had no qualms taking leadership. The tunnel was spacious, though the trail of insects was centralized to the center of the tunnel.
(Harper 8 3/5, 8 3/5)
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Post by Fanged on Jul 19, 2020 8:16:06 GMT -6
Her first instinct was telling her that the insects were attracted to some sort of corpse. However, logic told her not to jump to conclusions. It was at least reasonable for the carcass of some dead creature to be located somewhere in the mines. The familiars could be territorial so it wouldn’t be shocking for one to have taken things to far. She had heard rumors of massive tunnel worms that could cause destruction in their wake.
“Now that I think about it, that certainly is terrifying. I hope you’ll be able to at least see one coming if we happen to cross paths,” she told Harper.
The Karzik buzzed in response to her words. Fanged hoped that was agreement, though she doubted Harper could understand the complexities of her words. Perhaps she would recognize the word tunnel worm if they ever came across one. But for now, their communication was quite limited.
(Harper 8 4/5, 8 4/5)
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Post by Fanged on Jul 19, 2020 8:26:12 GMT -6
The tunnel widened even further and the trail of insects remained the same. She was starting to wonder if there was even a conclusion to the trail or if they simply marched forever. Harper looked at them with interest, prompting Fanged to wonder if she ate insects. She was a bird insect like creature herself so it could go either way in her opinion. For now, she made no move to eat the insects at the very least.
“Guess the only thing we can do is follow the trail to figure out where it leads,” she murmured.
It seemed rather limiting to keep herself to a single path. Especially when the tunnel was quite wide. But intrigue for the insects won out over her other desires of exploration. She felt strangely determined to solve this mystery that she had partly crafted for herself. The conclusion would likely be unsatisfying, but she would still solve it.
(Harper 9, 9)
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Post by Nadia on Jul 19, 2020 8:50:08 GMT -6
The trail has led to some loot!
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Post by Fanged on Jul 31, 2020 12:40:33 GMT -6
The small hoard of treasures was a nice find and Harper was quick to point them out to her. Fanged was glad that Harper was so quick to spot them. She herself had been too preoccupied with the ants to notice much else. She collected the treasures quickly and placed them away. She wondered for a moment if Harper would appreciate a quick pat on the head. Before she could overthink thing, she gave her a brief one. Fanged felt more comfortable when the Karzik didn’t react negatively to her touch.
“Alright, let’s keep going,” she remarked.
Harper was happy enough to oblige. The trail of insects didn’t appear to continue further. It seemed almost like they had been attracted to the treasure stash, but the very concept seemed rather absurd to her. They continued forward until they hit a dead end. Fanged frowned, not exactly in the mood to backtrack.
(Harper 9 1/5, 9 1/5)
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Post by Fanged on Jul 31, 2020 12:47:30 GMT -6
“I guess if I don’t want to retrace my steps, I’ll have to break through this dead end,” she muttered.
The only way she could think to accomplish that task was to grab her pick and bust through the wall. Of course, the wall would need some work done beforehand in order for her to break through it. Harper was attentive as the woman raised the pick. She was ready to swoop in and stop her if there were any signs of gems. Fanged struck downwards with the pick and drove it as deep as she could into the tunnel wall. She pushed forward, trying to loosen some dirt and get some sort of progress started. If she could destabilize the wall, she should be able to create a hole large enough for both her and Harper to fit through. She pulled the tool out, dodging the shower of dirt that followed.
(Harper 9 2/5, 9 2/5)
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Post by Fanged on Jul 31, 2020 12:50:55 GMT -6
The next time Fanged struck the pick into the wall, she hit a large rock. The impact reverberated up her fingertips, making her hands sting. She yelped and gritted her teeth as she continued working. Harper tilted her head at the sound. Hopefully the woman hadn’t hit anything valuable. If she had, it was surely damaged by now. Ignoring the thought, Fanged continued working. On the second strike, she was able to dislodge the rock by hitting it at a different angle. It landed close by her feet and she picked it up to investigate. When it turned out to be a completely ordinary rock, she tossed it to the side. Harper watched as it landed a few feet away. For a moment, she looked as though she were about to go and inspect it as well, but she ultimately decided to leave it alone. Perhaps she trusted Fanged now.
(Harper 9 3/5, 9 3/5)
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