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Post by Emery on Aug 9, 2023 14:53:00 GMT -6
The area they were standing in was less of a distinct room, and more of a teardrop shaped opening at the end of the tunnel they had been walking down. The ceiling curved neatly above them, and the pale stone and sand eagerly reflected the light her flashlight was giving off, making it surprisingly easy to see. The floor was covered in a thick layer of sand, and she could no longer detect stone underneath her feet, which gave her the impression that it went down quite far. Just like in the tunnel, she could see little stones studding the sandy area, and more embedded in the ceiling above, though none of them looked especially valuable off the top of her head. Granted, she didn't really know her gemstones just off the dome, but she was of the opinion that she'd know what she was looking for once she found it.
Emery 15 Argos 10.0/10.0 15
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Post by Jack on Aug 9, 2023 17:25:56 GMT -6
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Post by Emery on Aug 10, 2023 14:06:01 GMT -6
Now that they had found a good place to start working, Emery supposed that they should... work. "Argos... dig." She said, giving the command that she had recently taught him. He immediately began moving, but didn't immediately begin digging- instead, he looked around carefully, running his claws through the sand gently as if looking for a good place to start. The movements and shapes he made in the sand almost reminded Emery of a zen garden, until he finally sprung into action, scooping large handfuls of sand off of the ground and back where they came, into the hall. Emery wondered about that for a moment, but realized that it made no sense to throw it somewhere else in the room- you'd have to move it again the minute you wanted to try another spot. But they had already seen the hallway on their way in, and knew that it definitely didn't have gems in it.
Emery 16 Argos 10.1/10.1 16
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Post by Emery on Aug 11, 2023 8:54:50 GMT -6
She watched Argos dig for a moment before she realized that she could probably be helping. With normal stone, she couldn't actually assist. Her arms were simply too weak to break through solid rock, even with the assistance of a pick axe, and her shoulder joints were fragile enough that the mere effort could pop one of them out of its socket if she even tried. Which would be a lot more trouble than it was worth, obviously. That was why she acquired Argos- to help her do the things she couldn't in the mind. But soft sand like this... she could help sift through it, right? Obviously it would be better if she had an actual sifter or some sort of fine mesh to help separate the sand from actual stones. But she didn't have that, so she would just have to work with what she did have- namely, a very nice shovel.
Emery 17 Argos 10.2/10.2 17
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Post by Emery on Aug 11, 2023 8:56:45 GMT -6
It was brand new, so she might as well take this opportunity to break it in. She picked it up, examining it briefly for any defects (There weren't any, but you could never be too sure) before plunging it into the sand, one boot on the blade. She picked up the scoop easily and moved it behind Argos, letting the sand pour off the shovel blade while she looked carefully for gemstones. There was a rock in there, and she plunged her fingers into the growing pile the moment she saw it, before it got lost and buried once more. Upon closer inspection however, it truly was... just a rock. The first of many to be sure, but useless all the same. She tossed it into the hall- there was no sentimentality to be wasted on a simple stone. Argos hardly seemed to notice her fooling around, so she was safe to try again.
Emery 18 Argos 10.3/10.3 18
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Post by Emery on Aug 11, 2023 9:00:45 GMT -6
Another scoop, gently poured onto the ground behind Argos. This would be admittedly easier if Argos wasn't spraying her with sand the whole time, but she wasn't about to tell him to stop. There was nothing in this scoop either though, of course. She turned to grab another scoop, pouring that one out as well. Still nothing. She shouldn't be surprised though- gems weren't exactly common, which was precisely why they were valuable. Behind her though, Argos slowed to a stop, and Emery turned to look at him. "Find something interesting?" She asked, suddenly realizing that she hadn't trained him to not covet or straight up eat any gems he found- hopefully she'd be able to wrestle them away from him so she could actually keep them. He glanced at the thing in his hands a moment longer... and then threw it over his shoulder and began to dig at the sand once more.
Emery 19 Argos 10.4/10.4 19
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Post by Emery on Aug 11, 2023 9:03:22 GMT -6
Curious, Emery leaned down to grab what he had tossed behind him before he could entirely bury itself again. What could be interesting enough for him to look at briefly, but not desire as food or think to show her? He didn't often show scraps of personality, after all. To her surprise though, the thing she grabbed seemed quite interested in escaping her grasp, and she found it sinking further into the sand even as she tried to clutch her fingers around it. Huffing with frustration, Emery simply grabbed a whole fistful of sand, pulling the thing out with a significant amount of substrate around it, and then shuffled her hand like a sifter to knock the sand free. As it fell away, Emery finally saw what it was- a fat, white grub, its legs flailing wildly as it sought an escape from the light of her flashlight, clearly terrified of her.
Emery 20 Argos 11.0/11.0 20
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Post by Nadia on Aug 11, 2023 22:24:58 GMT -6
Eww... at least there are gems as well as grubs.
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Post by Emery on Aug 14, 2023 20:25:18 GMT -6
She held the grub gently, watching as it wiggled and flailed wildly. Other people might find it disgusting, but Emery couldn't help but have sympathy for such creatures. They were so small and delicate- so much more easily injured by her than she could ever be injured by them. After all, she was wearing thick gloves for mining- what damage could it ever hope to do? All it could hope for was that it was born into a merciful world. Normally, it would be sorely disappointed. This time though, it got lucky. Emery had no intention of harming it, and was in fact quite interested. It was, in comparison to other species, very rare to find beetle larvae this far underground, especially one of this size. Beetles normally relied on an abundance of food in their infancy to quickly grow into an adult at their earliest convenience, growing fat and happy in the meantime.
Emery 1 Argos 11.1/11.1 21
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Post by Emery on Aug 14, 2023 20:28:11 GMT -6
But the caves were not places of abundance. There were plenty of stones, sure, but organic matter? The things that grubs ate? Were few and far between. Emery had heard of unique species of insect that only lived in the mine system of the Labs City, but she never thought she'd actually find one. The biology of these fascinated her. It was theorized that they never even metamorphosed, with their grublike bodies being perfect for navigating the underground, the wings of their adult forms no longer necessary in the tight tunnels and difficult to navigate gloom that characterized the gloom. As a result they could grow as large as they wanted in their grub stage, not constrained by the need to form a pupa and successfully undergo metamorphosis. From there, they just ate scraps of refuse in the odd corners of the tunnels, muscling out competitors with their larger size.
Emery 2 Argos 11.2/11.2 22
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Post by Emery on Aug 14, 2023 20:33:16 GMT -6
Well, larger by comparison at least. They could easily beat out any cockroaches or flying things, but when it came to creatures like tunnel worms or karzik, they tended to make up the bottom of the food chain. But that was a useful position for them. They might not look like much, but these grubs were a vital piece of the puzzle for the ecosystem of the cave system. They turned otherwise "useless" biological garbage, scraps too old or rotten or inedible (such as pieces of paper that people dropped on their way down here, based on some well-chewed firsthand accounts Emery had read) into most useable energy that could be passed up the food chain to more technically impressive beasts. To Emery, they were more important than any strange gem monster she could have dug up down here, and she hadn't even needed to look too hard for it.
Emery 3 Argos 11.3/11.3 23
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Post by Emery on Aug 14, 2023 20:35:43 GMT -6
She would have to study it further. Could metamorphosis be induced in this species? Was it truly mythical? Or did they simply turn into a form so small and unassuming that no other scientist had assumed there was a connection so far. Did it require a certain combination of type of food, frequency of nutrition, and lighting? Did they need to migrate? Emery reeled from the possibilities. Grub migration. Imagine that. Argos slowed to a stop while digging as he watched Emery stare at the beetle grub she had taken from him for a solid five minutes. He didn't know what to think of her yet, but he really hoped that she knew what a grub was. Or... maybe she was trying to figure out a way to eat it? He had never seen her eat or drink anything to his knowledge, and she wasn't exactly quick. Maybe... maybe he'd finally get to see how she did it?
Emery 4 Argos 11.4/11.4 24
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Post by Emery on Aug 14, 2023 20:38:38 GMT -6
He watched carefully. Maybe the box around her head would... unhinge somehow? And there would be jaws hiding in there? But his questions would be left unanswered- Emery would not be eating today and either way this grub would not be on the menu. Instead, she decided to keep it for further study. She quietly unclipped a pocket on her hip and slipped it in. The creature immediately curled into a ball as soon as she allowed it to and tumbled into the dark, defending itself from the sudden movements it had been swung around through. Hopefully it would make itself a bit more comfortable in there and she could set up a terrarium for it when they got home. For now however, Emery wanted to do a bit more mining. She turned to look at Argos- he had stopped digging. Had he found something special? She leaned in closer to get a better look.
Emery 5 Argos 12.0/12.0 25
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Post by Emery on Aug 14, 2023 20:46:14 GMT -6
...No. It was just a pit of sand. But to Argos's left next to the pit, there WAS a small pile of gems he had picked out. "Oh, excellent. Good dig, Argos." She said, gesturing at the gems. She watched as he pulled his claws in closer to his chest- a swell of pride, perhaps? She couldn't really say, unable to read his body language. She gave him an affectionate, if a bit stilted, pat on the head. "Very good job. Take a break. I'll examine these." She said, sitting back on the lip of stone above the sand pit they had been digging in. She scooped the gems up, setting them in her lap and Argos settled down into a crouching position, the closest she had ever seen him come to "laying down". Whatever was most comfortable for him, she supposed- though she couldn't see the appeal in it herself.
Emery 6 Argos 12.1/12.1 26
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Post by Emery on Aug 14, 2023 20:48:52 GMT -6
They had a good blend of stones, amalgamates, and gems. The most obvious one she could pick out was a shard of cherry quartz. It was a brightly colored, cheery pink. Emery could easily see some lady fancier than herself setting it into a necklace and carting it about on the town for the night. It was nice and shiny, if not particularly large, but perhaps Emery could still get a decent prize for it. She held it up to the light briefly, admiring how perfectly clear it was, before placing it in her pocket. A good find. Then there was a smoke topaz- the cherry quartz's less popular cousin, if she was being honest. Emery found it attractive, but she knew that the brown coloration wasn't going to win it any beauty contests. Still, a topaz was a topaz- she was sure The Underground would buy it off of her regardless.
Emery 7 Argos 12.2/12.2 27
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