minglingworlds | the story must go on ( leia

Entry tags:

the story must go on ( leia | alvin )

[As dark clouds roll overhead, the excavation team Leia had been tailing through the Epsilla Ruins starts to pack up and leave. It's rather sudden; she can only hear bits and pieces of their conversations as their voices echoes through the corridors, but she can't exactly find it in her to complain, either. No Alvin this time, no Ludger... not even a listing on the job board.

She can do this herself. Just her, and a scoop that has the potential to put her in the spotlight--for once.

How exactly would that work, being that the team told her she should leave, and actually thought she did? Well, she hasn't really thought that far ahead... but she takes pictures anyway, and jots down notes about some of what she sees to determine whether they form a story.

This might give her some ammo to work with when she approaches them again for her interview... on a better day, when their work isn't cut short and everyone's in a better mood. Whether they'll appreciate her nosing around, though, or take it as some sort of blackmail, remains to be seen...

Instead, she pulls out her GHS, leaning against a cavern wall with a sigh as she stops for a break. There on the screen reads a message about incoming severe weather, and suddenly... things kind of make sense. (How long had the alert been there, anyway...?)

That had to be why they left.

Before she can contemplate much further, the GHS actually rings, startling her. It's only then she notices a little envelope symbol at the top of her screen, indicating she's been getting texts as well... but she picks up, because she recognizes the ring tone and who it belongs to.]

Hellooo, this is Leia the sleiya speaking.

[There's a smug grin that comes through clearly in her voice. Yeah, she's definitely taking this seriously.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[~~let the storm rage on~~

He walks further in, flicking the flashlight up and around the high ceiling walls. Following the curves, he sees that that it's an enclosed cave, so only one way in and one way out. Again there's nothing lurking around, so that's a good sign. But there isn't any sign of supplies, which is not so good.]

Yeah, but we still might be in trouble if there isn't anything around.

[He's hoping that some random miner found this cavern and there are some crates hidden behind one of the few pillars within the cavern. As he continues stepping forward, he hears a crunch beneath his feet and quickly he drops the light as he steps back. Yep, bones. But fortunately they're small ones and while it's clear something hunted and ate them a few there, it's not a giant nest.]

See anything?

[He still needed to check the other half, but so far his side is empty.

[Leia stumbles back too when she hears the crunch, and she's glad it was him who stepped on it and not her. Nevertheless, finding bones is unsettling, and she sounds just short of startled at the question.]

Wh-What? --Oh.

[She peers over to the other side, the one left unchecked, when Alvin shines the light over it.]

Just some boulders...

[Ones that look almost like tombstones, but she imagines that's just her imagination. Still, they look like they would make for a good place to sit or lean against. The only thing missing is... well, wood.]

M-Maybe I should just summon some fire!

Can you really do that? [He's returned next to her and is looking at her curiously.

He knew sh could do healing artes, but he actually had no clue if she could use any other spirit artes. But he also doesn't know the ins and outs of spirit artes. Anything fire related he can do is either the super old fashion way or, you know, firing bullets or blazing his sword. Not as practical or useful.]

Well, I'm not as good at it as Elize, but I've been practicing and she says I'm getting better.

[Which is great! Except.]

Still won't help until we find something I can light though, I guess.

[Leia sighs, holding up her hands in front of her for a moment to stare at them, as if fire might appear at any moment. Rather than waste her energy right away, though, she allows them to fall back down to her sides, and she walks a few paces towards the boulders.]

Let's just sit for now.

I'm not sure if I'd want to risk getting burned even if you did have something.

[Horrible, horrible teasing. Alvin that's just mean. But he does move over to follow suit and sit down, spreading out his now slightly damp coat and further loosening his scarf to also take it off and let it air out. At least most of the rest of his clothes had dried well enough, and the air within the cavern they were in wasn't too damp.

But that chill breeze that passes through every now and then isn't going to help much.]

[On second thought, maybe they should have kept moving after all; but at least Alvin's teasing keeps her distracted and moving. She jabs him lightly with her elbow as an unimpressed growl escapes her lips.]

I should burn you on purpose.

[But she doesn't because she is Mature.]

[He just laughs.]

I think I'm plenty hot enough, thanks.

[How did he manage to swing her comment around that far? Because it's Alvin. It's what he does best.]

[How does she even respond to that...... damnit, Alvin.]

Say it three times fast and maybe it'll come true.

[For the record though, she definitely likes the suit/business-man look... It makes him look professional, which isn't even a lie sometimes. He's grown and changed a lot.

Saying that now, though? Nah.]

I don't need to when it already is true.

[He could keep at this all night if she lets him. Or actually executes that threat and tries to fry him.]

Oh, stop it!

[She elbows him, finally, which is considerably less painful than fire, but it'll have to do.]

You're not helping.

[And he just laughs.]

At least it took your mind off things, didn't it?

Well, yeah...... [him and his logic.] but it's not like that'll help either in the long run.

Just... let me see the flashlight again.

Survival is all about the mood.

[That's not helpful either, Alvin. But he hands her the flashlight.]

Think there was something we missed?

[He would be for that, really. Otherwise, his joke about getting all "cuddly" won't be much of a joke soon.]

Sure hope so.

[She takes the flashlight and starts to stand back up again. Sitting hadn't been as comfortable as she was hoping, anyway; hopefully a fire could help with that.]

We always find the weirdest stuff in these caves, and even on the road.

[Why should this be an exception?]

[Well he can't just sit around and let her do all the work now can he? Well he can.

But he pulls out his GHS to use it as a light source.]

All right then, here we go for round two. I'll check deeper in the corners—maybe there's a secret cache we missed.

[Her eyes are peeled for something, anything that sticks out or looks unnatural. Her hands run along the wet, dirtied cave walls, debris loosening with every touch as she scans the area as meticulously as she can. She goes both low and high as her height allows. Suddenly...

...

......]

This feels...

[different. Like wood? Suddenly, she shines her flashlight on a spot near her feet, and it seems to be some sort of crate.]

Hey, have a look at this.

Found something? [Alvin hadn't been as completely thorough as Leia had been, but at her call he turns and heads over. Seeing the create, his brows rise.]

Well now, how did we miss this?

[He crouches down, a hand going over the wood.] A little damp, but it should work for firewood. But maybe there's something else inside...

[He grins up at her.] Nice job, Leia. Check around and see if there are any others while I work on getting this open.

Okay!

[She perks up immediately at the compliment. There's usually stuff in crates like these ranging from weird to useful (or both), so she's just going to leave Alvin to it.

There's extra bounce in her step now as she continues her search.]

...Yikes. This one's in pretty bad shape.

[She finds another, but unlike the other one, this one is already broken down, blending in perfectly with the cavern walls. Either someone already tried to burn it, or maybe it's just that old and rotten.]

Maybe it'll burn easier?

Yeah, go ahead and bring it over.

[He's pulled out his pocket knife (because I say he has one) and is working to get some of the boards loose before he's finally able to pry open some of the older boards.]

—Looks like we have some blankets here, at least.

[She does what he says, but she was totally going to do it anyway, okay. She arrives by his side just in time with the beat up crate to peer over his shoulder at the...

blankets. Huh.]

That's pretty convenient.

[Suspiciously... so?

Whatever, she calls dibs on the cute one.]

They likely had some stored up in case there was a cave-in or an accident. If the worker was lucky, they could hole down here until rescued.

[Granted, he doesn't actually want to be in that kind of situation, but it worked in their favor.]

But that's really all there is in this one. If there were other provisions, they were probably in that other crate.

[He pulls out the blankets and makes his way back to their original spot before casually dumping one of them on Leia's head.]

Now let's make that fire.

Oof--

[Suddenly it's dark. She claws her way out of the blanket like a dog and shoots him a Look, though otherwise doesn't seem all that annoyed.

Alvin being Alvin, and all that.]

Fine. I'll do it.

Now, you're sure you're not going to accidentally light up one of these blankets, right?

[He says as he sets their newly acquired provisions in a suitable location—which...isn't really hard given how much space they actually have—and then settles down to sit and properly arrange the wood.]

Sure I'm sure.

[But you can never really be too careful, so for now, she offers Alvin her blanket, too.]

Just hold this for a sec.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/2

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject