Prompt 5
The Caves (5) : To any explorers visiting the new Reservoir, they may find that just a bit away from the sandy water are a set of caves. Some of these connect back to the lake, but others rapidly plunge into darkness. It wouldn't be hard to get lost in here, but thankfully there are some very odd lights to help guide you out. If you turn off your light down some of these dark paths, you may find yourself surrounded by glowing pastel lights. A closer inspection reveals that you seem to be looking at some sort of glowing caterpillars. An internet search will reveal that Destiny City scientists have been researching the strange, unnamed creatures, but the articles are very limited. If you take them out of the cave they seem to shrivel up almost immediately. They’re neat, but clearly meant to stay in their natural habitat.
At least inasmuch as they could be seen doing so. When he was out draining in the city proper, it was very typical for senshi and knights to just sort of… shoo him away. Not always super politely, but very rarely aggressively. Maybe he imagined it, but when Feldspar targeted more secluded areas- the beach, late at night- Order patrols seemed significantly less accommodating to him, much less interested in chatter, leaning a little more into brutality.
The squire of- he didn’t know. Blue something or other- had whacked him directly in the face with her metal staff, and it had felt abruptly like his nose exploded. And so Feldspar had retaliated by bashing a rock into the side of her head.
Most movies he’d seen would’ve implied that that should be enough to kill her, but the girl really just looked angry and disoriented. And since she was stronger and probably significantly more resilient than him, it felt like the opportunity would best be used to try and get away from her. He couldn’t quite ‘run’ away as he hobbled with his cane through the sand, but he managed to put some distance between them before the squire was able to actively pursue.
Feldspar had fled into the dark and winding caves and had promptly powered down so the girl wouldn’t be able to chase his aura. The paths were branching and many, and she probably only needed to take one wrong for him to be relatively safe, as long as Gideon was able to keep moving forward. And, like- he just needed a few minutes of respite, anyway. He could call a general to drag him back to Negaspace and be in the clear from further assault. …He’d just have to be powered up to do that, probably, so he needed to feel at least a little security, first.
He didn’t turn the flashlight of his phone on, just kept the screen dimly lit and angled toward the ground so he knew where to shuffle his feet to without slipping or tripping. And he had to be quiet, so there was a little extra caution involved in that regard…
But the cave wound on, twisting into darkness and offering a few scattered routes for Gideon to take to avoid detection. When it started to narrow, and the stones and rubble jutted up in odd angles that made it difficult to continue, and water permeated through most of the ground, leaving puddles that hampered his desire for silence, Gideon decided it best to take a pause here. Definitely because it seemed dangerous to continue and not because he was starting to get woozy and his nose definitely sent radiating pain up through his entire head, and he was still bleeding, and the taste was a thick, uncomfortable copper in the back of his throat.
He sat on a rock, closed his eyes, tipped his head back to rest against the cavern wall.
Gideon should’ known better.
He should’ve known better than to come out to a relatively secluded place as Feldspar. It made it harder to tell people how to get to him, made it more difficult for other agents to locate him when he needed help. It would only ever take one, right? One enemy that wanted him dead, there, in that moment. And what would he do about it, honestly? He couldn’t fight and could barely run. Having access to something more sturdy than his cane to bludgeon with had spared him this time, so far, but typically? He kind of relied on just… not being attacked. And that was putting an atrociously insane amount of faith in people he didn’t know, trust, or like.
Kind of an idiotic thing to do, and he should probably reconcile with the fact that he really needed the support of some other agent to go with him, even another lieutenant. Feldspar wasn’t really cut out for someone catching him alone…
It was just a difficult concept to grasp. He didn’t expect anyone to be there next to him, cause y’know, tackling literally anything alone was just what he’d grown accustomed to. Rationally, he knew he could ask Tanwyn or Nataniel. Probably even Ellian at this point, and any one of them would be there for him. Now. But it hadn’t always been that way, and Gideon wasn’t used to needing someone else to tag along.
He groaned as his eyes peeled open to a soft light.
It immediately set him on edge, heart pattering and breath rushing sharply in because he had turned all his lights off so as to not be found easily, and if there was light, then that girl would locate him, and boy would he be effed if she found him sitting here in the dark as a civilian. He froze, listened, thought he’d hear the sound of her approaching through the puddles… But he didn’t. The soft ambient light overhead continued to glow, and Gideon squinted at it to try and better understand what the ******** he was looking at.
Little caterpillars. They inched along the walls of the cavern overhead, but in reach if he stretched his arms out to grab one. Gideon briefly debated the merits of squashing them all so they’d quit lighting up, and he’d be able to hide- but that seemed cruel and pointless. They weren’t actually doing any harm, he supposed. He couldn’t hear anyone approaching.
But he did need to use his time wisely and get out of here. He flicked his phone on again and typed out a quick message.
Quote:
El can you come pick me up im in a cave on the beach
He dropped a pin for his location and angled himself back to snap a picture of the cavern. He figured that would be enough to let Diesel pop in, even if it wasn’t incredibly distinct from any other cavern around here, probably.
Quote:
lol, Buddy. Are you just spending your night hanging out alone in a cave?
The smile that tugged his lips was involuntary, though it did make him wince a bit as his face reminded him that he was hurt.
Quote:
got chased in by territorial locals what am I supposed to do about it?
Quote:
You want me to come beat em up for you?
Quote:
well why else would i have texted you
Quote:
I’ll be there in a sec.
He exhaled, settled back against the stone wall, and closed his eyes again. The next time he heard footsteps, it was Diesel coming to retrieve him.
[WC:1153]
(Ellian's's texts not applied to word count and were confirmed by Indi!)
