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 Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 10:31 am
Nemesis glanced over her shoulder, arching a brow at Alkaid. It seemed like she was vaguely impressed by Alkaid announcing that she could actually do something to contribute to their exploration. For once, Nemesis thought that Alkaid had a genuine use, and wasn't so completely worthless. "Cool--"
WAIT.
Ow. ******** that hurt! She stumbled a few steps forward as she was punched by Alkaid's attack. Sure, now she looked like the christ risen from the grave, but that punch hadn't exactly been kind. "Holy s**t, could you have given me a more proper warning?" But, it worked. Nemesis was her own light bulb. "You ******** owe me one for that blow." Nemesis was partly convinced that Alkaid had only done it so she could hurt Nemesis for all the times the senshi of decay had been rude to her.
"Whatever, come on..." And she led the way again. The walk wasn't short, in fact, she wasn't quite sure how long they walked through the landscape. It was never-changing, except for that blot on the horizon, growing larger and larger and more defined the closer they got. As they drew near to the base of the mountain, rocky debris littered the ground, making the trek slightly more dangerous. But, Nemesis was undaunted.
"It's huge," she said breathlessly. How much time had they wasted getting here? Probably too much. Whatever, she'd say she spent the night at a friend's house and forgot to call home.
"We're going this way." What? No break? No real pause to take in the scope of their discovery? No, Nemesis had spotted some sort of cavern in the mountainside, and she was heading towards it with determination.
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 11:00 am
"I did warn you," she breathed under her breath as Nemesis chastised her. She didn't want to know what Nemesis' idea of payback was, especially since she had a feeling that Nemesis was going to make a much bigger deal out of it than she should. Alkaid was already helping her by wasting so much energy on the magic - wasn't that enough? Probably not was her guess.
With a little sigh she shoved the thoughts away and put her full attention on the tracking glow, which instantly grew brighter in response to her concentration. Then she simply fell in step behind Nemesis, following the glowing senshi of decay with ease and zoning out as the walk grew longer and longer. When Nemesis finally spoke up, she blinked her eyes a few times, like she'd just been roused from a particularly intense day dream, and looked up at the mountain.
"No kidding," her eyes were a little wide and the tracking glow was fading a bit as she gave the mountain overhead a small inspection. It was useless though - even with the glow surrounding Nemesis, the darkness weighed heavy overhead and shrouded everything. She snapped her eyes back down as Nemesis began to move and with her attention once more on her magic, it swelled and burned fiercely. She passed into the entrance of the cavern without much thought - no reason to be scared if it was just as dark inside as it was out. At least in the cavern the light could reflect off walls instead of dying in the dark beyond it.
"Do you see any sign of.. anything? It looks like this place was wiped clean." She'd seen no signs of people on the long walk and, though perhaps something had managed to be preserved inside the cavern.
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:02 pm
Nemesis thought she had heard Alkaid mumble something, but dismissed the thought in favor of focusing on their journey. It hadn't been the most interesting trip, and Nemesis found herself all too easily familiarized with the terrain. It had been the same thing over and over again. Some more navy blue dirt, some more black sky, some processional outcropping of crystal.
It was why she was so much more hopeful now that she had entered into the spacious tunnel. Something like this was definitely man-made, and held firm through the test of time. It was tall enough to fit a giant, wide enough for five people to walk through shoulder-to-shoulder. This definitely wasn't a natural occurrence. If she felt the desire to reach out and touch the black stone, she would feel how smooth it was.
"There's... nothing here." Was that disappointment in her voice? Did her eyes lose their light for just a second. Had it been ridiculous of her to expect something, some secret treasure left here that was just for her? It was ridiculous. "But let's keep going. This seems to go on for a while, and it has to lead somewhere. I want to know where that somewhere is."
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:20 pm
Alkaid had been switching between complete concentration and observation, unable to deny the curious part of her. She had managed, thus far, to keep the magic flowing even if she could feel it starting to take its toll on her energy.
Still, she wanted to help Nemesis explore what was left of her home planet, even if that meant that she was going to be exhausted when they got back home. It wasn't as if she really owed the girl anything, it was just Alkaid's impossibly giving nature. That and this kind of concentration meant that most of her thoughts were successfully driven out - she could deal with that for a little while.
Ahead of them, it became more and more clear that the tunnel was ending, and at first Alkaid seemed disappointed. "That looks like a dead end, Nem." Then, as Nemesis and her bright light grew closer, Alkaid could make out the edges of something in the dark stone that surrounded it. "No, I think that's a door!" Her disappointment gave way to excitement and her voice managed to sound somewhat cheerful.
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Posted: Wed Feb 09, 2011 1:37 pm
Nemesis was about to give up hope herself. If this was a dead end, that meant they'd have to go all the way back outside of the mountain and look for a different entrance. She wasn't sure, either, how long Alkaid's magic would last. It seemed like Alkaid had to really concentrate to keep the light going. "********," she hissed softly. Alkaid probably wouldn't be able to last through another exploration in a long tunnel. This was the end of the road...
A door?
Nemesis then saw it too, and with a sigh of relief she massaged her forehead gingerly with her fingers. Eyes closing, she silently thanked god that it wasn't as much of a dead end as she imagined. She wasn't normally a religious sort of person, but she'd make an exception for this day.
Her eyes opened, and she was nearly startled out of her own fuku. The tunnel glowed with life. Through the walls like veins, blue light traveled, producing a dim glow. The tunnel wall was adorned with lanterns every few yards, pulsing with that same natural blue light. It was an unobtrusive sort of light, enough to light the tunnel and that was it.
She heard a whisper, a soft, sweet tone, though the words themselves were indistinct. Nemesis gaze moved from the tunnel back to the door, which was equally made of the same stone as the mountain. It too had those spider-like veins coursing through it. A hand lighted on the door handle, sun-kissed and adorned in gold rings and bracelets. Who the hell could be here besides herself and Alkaid?
Alkaid?
Her eyes had traveled up that slender arm, to the woman's face. It distinctly reminded her of the senshi who was accompanying her now, but this woman was somehow even more warm and accepting. Her hair wasn't ruined by those godawful dreads, allowed to flow freely over her shoulders and down her back. "Alkaid?" The woman turned the doorknob, opening the door for them. Just inside she could see a staircase ascending the mountain.
And then the image was gone, and she was left feeling vaguely disturbed. The door was shut, the soft blue glow was gone. Instead, the only light in the room was her own magic-induced light. She glanced over her shoulder and back to Alkaid, fixing a hard stare on the senshi. The resemblance was uncanny, but it was impossible. Nemesis wouldn't entertain the notion that the vision she saw had Alkaid in it. She turned on her heel, walking right up to Alkaid and grabbing the girl's wrist. "We're leaving."
She didn't want to be here right now, and so, they left.
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