closed ⚡🌠 where the pulse of the land offers no respite

[starshower]

Who: Eustace & Tifa
Which: Closed log.
Where: The mines under Orkili.
What: Tifa and Eustace set out to investigate the missing crystals in the mines.
Warnings: it's eustifa.

Comments

[flamekthunder]

It's not impossible the bats also used the crystals as some sort of food source... But it's hard to say without much more evidence. Keep an eye out for any large crevices in the walls. I'll look towards the ceiling.

[starshower]

Should we keep the lights?

[Her eyes are on the small lightning orbs that light their path, mainly, and as much as she hates the idea of throwing themselves into the dark—]

They don't seem to like it very much, so we could be keeping them away.

[flamekthunder]

[...Hmmm.]

If we do, we won't be able to see. However, if it does scare them off, we may be able to hear them move.

I can try dimming them first.

[starshower]

Mm.

[She gives him a small nod in agreement.

Tifa isn't afraid of the dark, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't a little afraid of the dark when she's wandering through a large system of winding caverns with who-knows-what lurking down here in the shadows. Even with Eustace, his presence does a lot to help soothe her, but not enough to make the worries go away completely.

So she'll tuck herself right at his side when he does.]

Your ears might be able to hear them...

[It's said with a small sense of pride.]

Their wings were too big to sound like regular bats, though. More like a low... whoosh than the little flaps.

[flamekthunder]

A whoosh, is it?

[He couldn't help but tease her a little as mimicks her sound before nodding.

The orbs dim, bright enough just to make out any oddities but not too bright that would catch anything unawares. He then conjures one to float around Tifa, offering them a bit more light on the floor so they can at least see their path and watch their footing.]

How's this?

[starshower]

[That will earn him a light slap on the arm first before she's huffing with a sigh of relief.]

Better.

[At least it's not completely dark, so she'll take it. And still hold his hand anyway, just to help ease some of that usual tension she feels sinking into her bones.

They continue like that for a while, walking through in the dim lighting, and every now and then, Tifa will start when she thinks she's heard something, but it's usually a rock cracking under her feet or the light snapping of the electricity that Eustace has conjured. The deeper they go, the more on edge she becomes, though, and as they venture down, hopping from a ledge to the one below, she sees something shimmer in the corner of her eye.]

Wait. Is that...?

[Crystals?]

[flamekthunder]

[Eustace had kept his ears trained for any odd sound while keeping his gaze mostly upward... But any strange crevice or hole he notices, it's much too small for the size of creature Tifa mentioned. Perhaps the bats could squeeze through, but it would be pointless for either of them to try and climb up to investigate.

And because his eyes are up, he won't notice the crystals until Tifa speaks up, and looking in her direction...]

Let's take a look...but keep quiet.

[Just in case.]

[starshower]

[She'd been about to point out that these ones are even less of what they had found before when she had come to the mines, but she purses her lips together to hush herself at his warning first.

The crystals themselves are less of shards and more like dust shimmering in the dim light that his orbs provide, scattered across the floor of the cavern. There is little rhyme or reason to it, but there are patches where it's thicker and others where it's not, which could say more about where to look than she first assumes.

Silently, Tifa motions to a particularly thick pool of it on the other side of the room, and a small trail that leads into a place much, much darker than the rest.]

[flamekthunder]

[Eustace will nod and together they'll follow that trail. As they do, Eustace strategically disperses the orbs until they only have the one, his ears pricked forward to carefully listen as they try not to step on the dust and shards.

And as they follow the trail further and further into the darkness, there will come a point where he stiffens and tightens his hold on her hand, carefully maneuvering her to be more behind him. Just from his posture and actions alone, she can guess that they may have found what they were looking for...]

[starshower]

[She can guess, indeed.

If they both squint in the dimmer light, she can make out a shadow that looms over them—a crevice in the cave walls, and one that is much bigger than the little cracks that they've come across so far. Something big enough... for a creature to live in, maybe?

A den, of sorts, she can only guess... but it's so dark and so quiet that she can't be sure.]

[flamekthunder]

[A den for sure.... It's faint, so faint only those with sensitive hearing like him could catch, but he can hear the occasional rustle and sense a presence within. And go proceed any further without a plan would be foolish. Bats normally live in swarms and he would rather err on the side of caution even if it was just one.

So he taps on the inside of Tifa's palm and with a small gesture to move as silently as possible, he will lead them back far enough so they can at least whisper to each other without causing too much disturbance.]

We need a plan. I can't say the number, but I sense more than one in there.

[starshower]

[She follows, ducking behind a cluster of rocks and tucking in close, and she keeps her voice to a low whisper.]

Don't think our fists and guns'll work on them. We tried... but they just kept coming back. Dreamotion seemed to be the only thing that did work, and even then... the crystals absorbed a lot of it.

[flamekthunder]

[He furrows his brows...]

...I should just freeze them.

[Somehow encasing things in ice has become a common tactic—]

[starshower]

[And while it's a good tactic, in theory...]

Then what? The ice wouldn't hold forever. We'd have to take one back up to the surface, away from all the others when it finally melts.

[flamekthunder]

[A small shake of his head.]

Not even that far. I don't mean to simply imprison them—I plan to eliminate them, and it doesn't matter if it's dead or alive to examine the body.

[starshower]

[She winces at that.]

If you think it'll work... but...

[That hole in the wall wasn't so much a hole as it was a cave.]

Are you sure you'd be able to get all of them? We don't even know how many are in there...

[flamekthunder]

We don't really have much of a choice. We either face an entire swarm at once, or I reduce the numbers either completely or considerably.

[He then voices the different conditions.]

Although we have more space out here, there's higher risk of the bats flying off and escaping. Without knowing the full number, fighting inside the cave directly could easily have us overwhelmed, but it does offer the best chance of sealing them in and getting rid as many as possible.

While I may not be able to get all of them at once, with a mix of ice and lightning, I can take care of a large number. Add your fire, and we can deal with the rest.

[starshower]

[Another light furrow to her brow before she gives a small half nod.]

I could try with the vines, too...

[Though, those always require a lot more dreamotion than just the flames... but it's worth a shot,she thinks.]

Seal off the door so that none can get out.

[flamekthunder]

[A small nod.]

If you can do that and focus on keeping them in and on the defense I can focus all my dreamotion on the attack.

[starshower]

I can.

[There's something of a small, crooked smile that flickers over her expression, gone as fast as it had come.]

I'll watch your back in case any of them manage to miss the ice.

[And just in general, but that part goes without saying.]

[flamekthunder]

[It may have been quick, but he had caught it all the same. And it will be his turn to show something of a light smile before he leans in and gives her a quick kiss.]

I know. Thanks.

[starshower]

[How she loves him so...

That kiss, quick as it is, was the thing that she needed to feel even just the slightest bit invigorated. A little boost to her, and her dreamotion in kind. And it allows her to smile a little more confidently this time around.

He always finds a way to bring that out of her.]

You go first, and I'll bring up the rear?

[flamekthunder]

[A nod as things return more serious, and he'll have the lightning orb remain close to her.]

Keep this. It will help give you light, but it's also like a grenade. It can explode if you need it to.

[starshower]

[Tifa's fingers instinctively reach out to the little lightning orb, and she almost touches it—

Before he says that, and she draws her hand back. It's not as if she's afraid of his lightning, but she's never had to use it herself before?]

How do I make it explode?

[flamekthunder]

[He can't help but look at her a little amused.]

Just throw it. But if you need it to explode near you than just charge it with dreamotion with the thought of it doing so.

No matter how close it is, however, it won't harm you.