Welcome to Gaia! ::

Oliver was not sure where he was. The hallway was dark, and gloomy, moist, and smelling of mildew. He nervously walked past room after room, some doors left open a crack, some doors were not doors at all. They were iron bars.

The kid stuffed his hands nervously in his pockets, hunching his shoulders and burying his face in his scarf as though warding off a chill. He knew there were some pretty creepy spots on the island… Lots of abandoned buildings and wreaked homes, creepy dark places and shadows and old places. But he never knew there was a whole dungeon here! There were doors left open to old, rusted torture chambers, and others that were carrying an overabundance of old, rusty locks. As though what was behind those doors was to be locked away forever.

Oliver shot a glance over his shoulder. Just to make sure there was nothing creeping behind him… With every sullen, echoing drip of water he felt ready to jump out of his skin.

As the loud sounds came down the stairs, Oliver slowed his pace to listen. Just in case it was a monster or something having crept out of one of the dark cells. It sounded human enough. But when the shout came ringing out from behind him, the kid still jumped near a foot in the air, and with a startled squeak he plastered himself against the heavy wooden door to his right.

Hidden in the recess of the doorframe he was able to catch his breath... until he heard a scratching noise on the other side. Rats, it had to be rats. But rats didn't make scratching noises at the height of a human's head.

Oliver threw himself away from the door, tripping over his feet and landing in a sprawl on the moist pavement. Only then, caught between two frightening places, did he spare a glance for the trainee behind him.

Oliver was used to being laughed at, but as he scooted a couple inches away from the other trainee, he realized he wasn't used to apologies. He felt a strong desire to just scramble to his feet and run away despite the friendly greeting, barely holding himself still with as much willpower as he could muster.

"Ah, um... I-I think I'll be okay," he stammered meekly while getting his feet back under him. His pale eyes darted left and right, but not once made eye contact with the Sun trainee.

Oliver jumped, but it was only a mild startle in comparison to his earlier leap. He stared at the hand, glanced to one side nervously, and finally accepted the handshake. His own hand was cold to the touch and his grip was weak.

"O-Oliver K-Keeley," the teen stammered, finally daring a second of eye contact. "I d-don't know where I am," he said in a quiet tone. His entire body was tense and ready to bolt at the slightest sudden motion, like a scared rabbit.

Oliver yelped, he hadn't expected the gesture and was nearly pulled right over. He nearly fell right into Milo. But it didn't look like the other seemed to mind, or even notice, not with such a dramatic flair to his gestures. The kid was in way over his head.

"B-basement?" he asked weakly, glancing back over at the door that had scared him. It was silent for now.

Wait... People lived down here? Oliver's surprise and horror were clear in his expression. This was a terrible, horrible place, why would anyone want to live here? Although the dorm seemed thoroughly occupied, maybe there hadn't been enough room? And were all the residents here just normal people, or was there a reason they were put down there?

He had never worried about other trainees killing him in his sleep before, but it seemed more likely now that he saw the state of some of these rooms.

"I- um..." How did one get out of a tour of dungeons without specifically saying they didn't want to be in the dungeons anymore? Oliver couldn't very well say no when Milo seemed so enthusiastic. His tone was far from certain when he finally replied in a tiny voice. "O-okay..."

"N-no, a-a t-tour sounds good!" Oliver stammered quickly, his Canadian heritage getting the better of him. He couldn't very well say 'please just return me to the surface world unharmed'. Enthusiasm in a place like this could mean a healthy sense of optimism and a love of adventure... or it could just mean crazy and Oliver didn't want to get involved in that kind of nonsense!

The young trainee reminded himself that going with the flow could be good for him. He could just go along with the tour, learn a bit about it, and maybe how to avoid it in the future. And best of all, a tour probably included how to get out.

Oliver felt distinctly uncomfortable with the hand firmly holding his shoulder. Part of it was the sensation of being tethered and unable to run away, but the other half was due to his unfamiliarity with physical contact. It was strangely distracting, that prolonged touch, and he felt unnerved even though it was probably second nature to Milo.

He offered a couple small nods where necessary, although when the Sun trainee started talking about mutant bugs he began to fidget nervously. Was that what he heard, scrabbling around on the other side of the door? Mutant bugs? Or something even worse, like mutated rats with long spider legs, or piles of mould with sharp claws and teeth?

The kid longingly glanced back over his shoulder towards the staircase.

"Ah, um... okay..." He finally squeaked. Milo seemed to have the most incredible sense of adventure, it was a trait Oliver had never been able to understand. "I-isn't it... really s-scary living here?" He finally asked in a tiny voice.