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"There are one or two open passages that I haven't explored further on my own. Heading the opposite way we wandered during our first trip brought me here and, I'll admit, I've spent a good bit of time here." Her first trip alone she'd found her way to the place that had started to feel more and more like a haven with every visit. She'd lost track of time clearing away dead plat life and debris only to return the following week with Celsus in tow.

"I can put more work into this area when I come on my own, though... Exploring the building itself might be best with someone else." She wouldn't be alone if something happened-- trapped without anyone who could help her if she met with the unexpected.

Overhearing the two, Eta leapt down from her perch on the rim of the waterless basin, tail twitching as she watched them both before trotting towards the opening leading back into the stone archway. "I'd like to come along this time, if the two of you don't mind."

"I don't believe you've been around Eta long enough to recognize that tone, Luc, but..." Cordelia made a gesture to the silver tabby strutting on ahead of them as she shifted her 'exploration pack' onto her shoulder before picking up the other lantern. "She wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer."

That was something that she had picked up on rather quickly about the cat. Eta was much like her in a lot of ways; a trait that was as frustrating as it was endearing. It made the feline a good companion in her own way as well.

"Lucien said he wanted to find one of the gathering halls, didn't he? I'm smaller than either of you are. If there's a path that the two of you can't get past I might be able to push on ahead." There was also the knowledge that her eyesight was better in the dark. She might see things, including possible dangers, before either Lucien or Cordelia did.

"That's because your cat is a powder puff, Luc." She laughed, brushing her shoulder against his as she held her lantern up to light the way ahead of them. "Eta has been compiling a map during our trips-- She's better with the technical aspects of it than I am. Eta? We haven't taken that stairwell down yet, have we?"

Her ears ticked towards the sound of the young woman's voice and she paused, both listening and not. Something was edging in on her sense and she didn't know what. Certainly Cordelia could feel it too... Or maybe she couldn't, not currently being Sailor Corvus and all. "Hm? Oh. No, we haven't. I can check ahead to see if the stairs are clear, if you'd like?"

"Yes, please, if you wouldn't mind." She nodded, resisting the urge to get into her pack for a glowstick to hand off to the Mauvian. Eta had already lectured her once on how good her natural eyesight was.

"Once it's complete, of course." Cordelia nodded, leaning against the smooth, stone wall of the hallway. She'd made her own mental notes about the difference between the walls-- smooth were carved; a sanded down part of the mountain. The others had been pieced together stone by stone, meant to withstand everything that the world ha dset against it.

"I've thought about making a digital copy of it. With all of the gaming and design software out there?" She wouldn't admit that she'd thought of giving Eta access to her laptop either, or even getting the feline a tablet of her own so she wouldn't have to worry about getting fur or hair in the keyboard. "How has your progress with the Archive been going?"

"You're doing a good thing in making sure that there is information available, but... I'd have a few reservations about uploading information to a database that you didn't have complete control over. What if someone passes that information on to another source?" She didn't like the idea of another senshi or knight turning coat and taking whatever information they could over to the other side with them. The Negaverse had assaulted the Surrounding before. What was to say there wouldn't be an attack in space again?

"I--" Whatever she might have said was interrupted by the butt of the silver tabby's head against her shin. "All clear, Eta?"

"Yes, Cordelia. We're able to proceed down this path. There's another hallway at the bottom; one that seems to loop around. I didn't press on too far without the two of you-- Just far enough to make certain that it would be safe."

The silver tabby sat quietly on the floor between the two young people, listening to them intently as they spoke to one another. Something about their words rang familiar to her ears-- not the exact words themselves, but the tones and the passion. These halls had seen many a conversation between the cousins, of that she was so certain it made her whiskers twitch. It felt right in a way she couldn't explain; just the way that being near Cordelia when she was Sailor Corvus felt right. Or finding and waking a new senshi... Or any number of things that were just right for any number of reasons.

"You can't be afraid to fight any more than you can be afraid to explore. Come on, you know. The world awaits!" Her tone was bright as she turned to trot back down the stairs ahead of the two senshi, blazing the trail ahead of them once more.

At that Cordelia laughed, shaking her head slowly as she reached out to take hold of her cousin's hand. "Who are we to argue? C'mon, Luc. Let's go."