S
Snowday
Guest
Tem and Taggart trudged alongside Leo, the formal introduction all but forgotten. Both made an active effort to tag anything not resembling an exceptionally normal rock in hopes that if they did so, their dive would be ended sooner, but cooperation between the two was hindered. Tem found herself very much opposed to speaking to this Taggart. She knew his sort. Every urchin who ever urchined could smell a Pegulian scholar from a mile off. If you wanted money off of one of those guys, you took it by stealth or by force, never by channeling the goodness of their hearts. Tem and Taggart could hardly compete with one another in tagging the things they found, but there seemed to be a certain pressure for each one to stay ahead of the other. Tem sure didn't know why he would want to get ahead - she was the one who'd been diving, after all, and whatever lay ahead wasn't going to be alphabetized like Taggart's natural habitat. Admittedly, Tem was still terrified. Even though they were no longer in titan territory - probably? - there seemed to be a higher concentration of sea life here. When Tem reached into the nooks between rocks as instructed, small creatures would dart out in the wake of her hand - tiny fish and crabs and at one point an eel. If she wasn't careful where she stepped, some sort of stingray beneath the muck would move just the right distance to scare the daylights out of her. She had no idea what lay ahead, and consistently forgot what was behind her, so every step she took was just a new isolation. It was terrifying, but for pride's sake, she wouldn't show her fear. Not to Taggart. Ugh.
Then, directly in front of her, she heard Leo speak - at first to himself, perhaps to his Aux. Then, stopped before some sort of gate. Intrigued, Tem peered past him as he pushed open a bronze gate. There was darkness just past it, but something else, as well. They were dark, blocky shapes resembling buildings. A city? The thought was on all their minds, and it couldn't be right, but there it was.
"...Exactly what we're looking for." Leo's words were met by silence. For a moment, none of them moved, as if collectively considering their options.
Taggart's voice broke the silence. "We must be cautious."
In yet another show of pointless dominance, Tem passed them both by (but made sure that Taggart could feel the displaced water hit him as she passed), taking some wires from Taggart's bundle as she went. Distantly, she heard Taggart make a noise of frustration behind her, which she dutifully ignored. Walking at a brisk pace to keep ahead, she inspected her surroundings - a city, certainly, but she couldn't spare any interest. Her primary concern was tagging anything she could find as quickly as possible. Something glimmered on the beginnings of what seemed to be pavement, mere paces from the bronze gate. Tem made a beeline for it, scooping it up in her arms.
It was a bronze pot, an item worthy of tagging if she ever saw one. But for the sake of being thorough (and, okay, curiosity), she stuck her hand inside to feel for whatever it was the ancients kept in the things. She was expecting jewelry or bones or something morbid and identifiable. Instead, her hand grabbed at something markedly squishy. She retracted her hand and leaped back in terror as a much larger eel vacated the pot, fleeing into the void like a bat in the night.
For a moment, Tem was stunned. Then, a familiar face she really did not want to see at that moment was looming over her scornfully. "In case you didn't understand my initial statement; be careful."
And Tem could do nothing but scowl at Taggart's back as he skulked off after Leo. Already, they were both ahead of her. She got to her feet and followed at a considerable distance.
Then, directly in front of her, she heard Leo speak - at first to himself, perhaps to his Aux. Then, stopped before some sort of gate. Intrigued, Tem peered past him as he pushed open a bronze gate. There was darkness just past it, but something else, as well. They were dark, blocky shapes resembling buildings. A city? The thought was on all their minds, and it couldn't be right, but there it was.
"...Exactly what we're looking for." Leo's words were met by silence. For a moment, none of them moved, as if collectively considering their options.
Taggart's voice broke the silence. "We must be cautious."
In yet another show of pointless dominance, Tem passed them both by (but made sure that Taggart could feel the displaced water hit him as she passed), taking some wires from Taggart's bundle as she went. Distantly, she heard Taggart make a noise of frustration behind her, which she dutifully ignored. Walking at a brisk pace to keep ahead, she inspected her surroundings - a city, certainly, but she couldn't spare any interest. Her primary concern was tagging anything she could find as quickly as possible. Something glimmered on the beginnings of what seemed to be pavement, mere paces from the bronze gate. Tem made a beeline for it, scooping it up in her arms.
It was a bronze pot, an item worthy of tagging if she ever saw one. But for the sake of being thorough (and, okay, curiosity), she stuck her hand inside to feel for whatever it was the ancients kept in the things. She was expecting jewelry or bones or something morbid and identifiable. Instead, her hand grabbed at something markedly squishy. She retracted her hand and leaped back in terror as a much larger eel vacated the pot, fleeing into the void like a bat in the night.
For a moment, Tem was stunned. Then, a familiar face she really did not want to see at that moment was looming over her scornfully. "In case you didn't understand my initial statement; be careful."
And Tem could do nothing but scowl at Taggart's back as he skulked off after Leo. Already, they were both ahead of her. She got to her feet and followed at a considerable distance.
Last edited by a moderator: