the story must go on ( leia | alvin )

[journaler]

[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.]

Comments

[opportunitycosts]

[And he just laughs.]

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

[journaler]

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.

[opportunitycosts]

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.]

[journaler]

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?]

[opportunitycosts]

[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.

[journaler]

[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.

[opportunitycosts]

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.

1/2

[journaler]

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.]

[journaler]

...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?

[opportunitycosts]

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.

[journaler]

[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.]

[opportunitycosts]

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.

[journaler]

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.

[opportunitycosts]

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.]

[journaler]

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.

[opportunitycosts]

[Uh huh. Maybe he should move a little away, too...]

All right, let's see what you can do.

[journaler]

[It's the same song and dance, really. Once the wood is all together in a pile, she concentrates really hard and starts chanting. She starts to glow because of the mana she's offering, and--

a small ball of fire shoots towards the all the wood!]

Bull's eye!

[The pile is kind of in shambles now and needs to be fixed... but there is a small fire that will hopefully grow with some nurturing.]

[opportunitycosts]

[Alvin gives an appreciative whistle as he quickly rearranges the wood some to help stoke the fire, the small crackling becoming more frequent and louder.]

Not bad, Snoops. This should at least last us through the storm.

[If the wood doesn't burn too quickly, they might have enough for the night if needed, but he's not really too keen on having to spend the night here. A few hours, maybe.]

[journaler]

I feel warmer already.

[Her nose proudly in the air, she takes back her blanket without asking (oops) and wraps it around herself. She's careful not to let any part of the blanket near the flames, of course... as fickle as they are.

(Also the whole, you know, catching the blanket on fire thing.)]

[opportunitycosts]

[Of course she would just take it, but he just gives her a wry look before he wraps the blanket around his shoulders. By his nature he can handle the cold better, but he had been wet earlier, so being able to actually dry will hopefully help prevent any potential colds, and he's not going to risk it.]

Well now that we're not trying to find a way to survive—[Half joking.]—did you actually learn anything about the ruins? And you've been through here before, right? [Fractured dimension of course.]

[journaler]

... Yeah, I have.

[Watching him do the same, she only wraps her blanket around tighter. She gives a sigh, feeling relieved.]

The catalyst was deeper in that time, so we didn't stick around here long... but I know it was different. [naturally.] There were actually monsters around, and the soil was a lot richer. There were even some plants growing... which probably made it easier for the monsters to live here.

The team was even talking about how they discovered some of their fossils. I bet there are more.

[opportunitycosts]

Fossils, huh?

What if we find some human ones?

[It's like the start of a ghost story.]

[journaler]

[Honestly, why did he have to go there??]

I think I'd throw them at you.

[Or be really, really creeped out. Same difference.]

[opportunitycosts]

You'd actually desecrate the remains of an unfortunate victim?

[Because he's Alvin.]

[journaler]

Maybe!! [No.]

... [She's so indignant at first, but eventually just sighs.] I'd probably be scared. Is that what you wanted to hear?