driftfleet | Libuscha IV System Mingle (no. 1)

[ They've been in the caverns for... not very long, but if you ask Eithan, it's been long enough, because every amount of time is five times longer when it's cold.

He doesn't have any specific "adventuring gear," as it were, but he's at least got a big enough coat to stave off the chill, and sturdy enough boots to make sure he doesn't practically ice-skate his way through this whole adventure. And hey, his staff doubles as a steadying device whenever the ice gets too slick! So that works.

Eithan's carrying a flame in his open palm - mostly for warmth, since the glow of the waters beneath provides enough light that they're not in immediate danger of running into walls - and stops when path opens into a slightly wider space... since up ahead, there are apparently three different paths that all appear to go deeper. ]

... Huh. What now?

[Belthazar wears his usual robes. They've been enchanted head to toe to grant elemental resistance, which really just translates to wearing fleece outside to the ice caves. He's starting to feel it, too. Which is why he keeps moving. Belthazar is lacking in a staff at the moment, but his boots are decent, at least?

He's doing his fair share of sliding, though. Such as when the path splits into three.]

I suppose I could--

[His step turns into a big step and he goes shooting past Eithan, skating toward the leftmost path with a yelp.]

-- not what I wanted!

[He stops sliding, but only after he windmills his arms and lands on his butt. And then he just sits there for a moment, pouting.]

I love the frost school of magic as much as anyone, but this is incredibly obnoxious. Anyway, what do you think? We could always make our way back if it's not the right way.

[ Eithan pretty much double-takes when Belthazar suddenly zooms by, and then snuffs out the fireball and rushes over when he hits the ground. ... Though, yeah, okay, once he realizes that Belth isn't seriously injured, he starts snickering. He can't help it, that was pretty damn great to witness~ ]

Apparently frost doesn't love you so much. [ He grins as he offers him a hand up. ] But, yeah, let's try this way.

Aaaand that's why I prefer fire magic. Well, one of the reasons.

[He's glad someone is enjoying this. At least he's momentarily forgotten about how cold it is. He stands up carefully with Eithan's help, still slipping a little, but since he barely weighs anything it's no big deal.]

I have an idea.

[He continues holding onto Eithan's hand. He gestures with his free one like he's sprinkling something, and a softly-glowing trail of red sparks marks the floor where they've been. Then, after a moment of consideration, he enchants his own left shoe so he doesn't have to think about it.]

Now we'll be able to tell if we've been this way before.

Edited 2018-11-28 08:19 (UTC)

[ Well yes, fire is better~

He watches the spellcasting, looks back at the red trail behind them, and nods. ]

That's... a really good idea. Nice. Thanks! This way, we definitely won't get lost.

[ Knock on wood. ... is there any wood around here?? ]

But maybe we'll get lucky and we totally picked the right path the first time. Maybe. Fingers crossed. [ Which he does, with his free hand~ The other, he's perfectly content to keep holding Belth's. ] Onward then? As we keep tryin' not to fall on our asses?

[Belthazar's dumb hard head maybe.]

I don't have any navigation spells, so that'll have to do.

[He squeezes Eithan's hand encouragingly.]

Fingers crossed! [And he crosses his fingers, too.] If one of us goes down, we both go down, so let's make this count.

[And he tugs forward down the path. It's certainly windy, though thankfully a little less slippery. It's just hard to see what's ahead because of the curves and how narrow it is, but Belthazar has no trouble fitting, even with Eithan close by. He is not a very wide mage.]

Yeah! We've got this.

[ Eithan doesn't have trouble fitting either, luckily. Narrow isn't a problem! What is a problem, though, is... height. And that narrow cavern is getting a lower and lower ceiling for this particular stretch. Eithan does a pretty okay job about watching his head for a little bit, but eventually, his luck runs out.

Bonk. ]

Ow!! Motherf--!

[ He stops, lets go of Belth's hand so he can rub at his forehead, grumbling. ]

[Belthazar is completely unaware of how short the ceiling is getting until Eithan bumps his head. He stops and looks back at him with concern, but it doesn't seem to be... concussive? At least?]

Ah, Eithan! Are you bleeding? Let me see-- I always carry little adhesive bandages just in case.

[ Yeah, not concussive! Just bad luck. And what he gets for being tall. ]

At least one of us came prepared. Heh...

[ He leans down so Belth can see, pulls his hand away - yep, blood. Not much, but enough to be annoying. (It's also, you know, black and glittery now, so that's great.) He sighs. ]

Wouldn't be an adventure without gettin' some kinda injury, right?

I can't heal, so I have to improvise often.

[The blood is just as Eithan told him before, but seeing it is something else entirely. He's not the vampire in the relationship here; he doesn't typically see it.]

Oh, that's... it looks kind of like motor oil. Is that normal for your... not-normal blood?

[He conjures water on a bit of cloth and dabs dutifully at the wound, and then he covers it with a medium-sized bandaid.]

There, all done. We'll check it when we get out of here to see if you need a new one.

[Wait, there's one more thing. He stands on his tiptoes so he can plant the gentlest kiss on the bandaid.]

Edited 2019-01-09 08:01 (UTC)

Yeah... that's normal now. [ A beat. And then, completely dry: ] For what it's worth, it still tastes like blood. So at least somethin's still consistent.

[ Fuck the Astral Plane. Seriously. And if it's gonna still affect him like this, the least it could do would be to let him go back there now and then! (Stockholm Syndrome, much?) But nope. He's stuck here. ... Oh well, no reason to dwell on that!

Especially when Belth drops that tiny little kiss on his forehead. Eithan obviously can't help but grin, laughing a little as he shakes his head. ]

Hey, I feel better already, I'm sure it'll be fine. Thanks, love.

[ -- Okay, cute pet name just kinda slipped out whoops. Oh well! In for a penny, yadda yadda?? ]

Oh, that's something. It means it's still working like normal blood should.

[That laugh is really cute. He almost goes in for a real kiss, but then he remembers they want to get to the end of this cave eventually.]

You're-- [His cheeks turn bright red and it has nothing to do with how cold it is.] -- w-welcome. [He clears his throat, trying and failing to regain some composure.]

Let's get going. [He takes Eithan's hand again and gives it an encouraging squeeze, and he offers a shy smile too.] We don't want to be here when night falls. It'll be even colder, I bet.

[ There will be time for real kisses later! Aaand okay, maybe he snickers a bit when Belth turns beet red. But he's smiling - a genuine, sappy thing - as he squeezes his hand in return and they continue down the (short, dammit) corridor. ]

Ugh, yeah, no thanks, I'm already freezin'... don't wanna think about how much worse it might get. [ Whine more, Eithan. ] What kinda goddess or whatever puts a tree in a cold cave?

I definitely, definitely don't want to spend the night in here.

[That smile is so cute and he almost gets lost in it, but they ought to get moving. He gently tugs Eithan onward and resumes bantering as they pick their way down the path.]

A goddess who doesn't want her tree to be found. Can you imagine how much different this world would be if everyone just waltzed up and wished on a tree whenever they needed something? It'd be trivial.

[ Even the mention of having to spend the night down here makes him shiver! Like, true, it wouldn't be the end of the world, they'd totally survive, but it's too cold for that shit. ]

Ehh, true. Though I still say there's better places to put it and keep it hidden. Or hell, just move it around a bunch. [ Snort! ] Annoy the hell out of everyone in the process.

That's the approach I would have gone with, were I some goddess with endless power and time on my hands, but the gods rarely make sense.

[The path turns steadily downward, until it forms some weird steps.]

Hmm... we might be getting close. The air here feels different.

More like never make sense...

[ He doesn't notice the difference until he reaches the stairs as well - and, well, stairs are probably another indicator of being close. The cavern seems to be getting roomier as they go too, which he especially appreciates because it means he can stand up straight again!

But all of that is pretty secondary to the feeling of pure magic that's steadily rising the deeper they get - like with each step they take, there's just a little more charge to the space around them. Eithan picks up on it pretty quick, and smiles - the thought of getting closer and actually finding this damn thing puts a bit of a spark back in the excitement of this whole spelunking adventure. ]

Yeah, unless somethin' else down here is fakin' us out, I definitely think we're goin' the right way.

Libuscha IV System Mingle (no. 1)

iv. hey let's find a tree

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