[IN PROGRESS] Partly's Honeycomb Hunt

[skinstealer]

The claw marks are of a similar size to Lumin's own- possibly critter-created, but hard to tell. They are, however, thinner...by a large margin.

"I'm not too familiar with mines, really!"

[Pichi2214]

As they venture deeper into the caves Vial stops every now and then briefly to scribble down the route, catching up to the rest with quick hops after. As they notice how dark it gets they reach over to their backpack again and pull out a small lantern, their paw glowing for a moment as a magical flame appears within the glass cage, causing both the environment to be brighter and the lantern to float next to Vial as they follow the rest.

[Ignispark]

Dia makes sure her helmet light is on, otherwise simply staying and staying alert.

[knux400]

Lumin stops briefly to pull a stack of neon orange plastic cones from their pack- instead of being perfectly conical, each one has a sharp edge on one side, making them look like a teardrop when seen from above. Lumin places one at every intersection the group comes across, making sure the pointed end faces the way they came from.

[skinstealer]

Partly suddenly stops after a few more minutes of walking, the light from outside completely gone now. "Oh, hey! Look!"

Xey step around with xyr tail whipping at the ground, highlighting a transition into wooden planks. "We're starting to get into the mines...do you think we'll find any treasures around? Aside from the honeycomb, I mean."

There's a strange wind coming from under the planks, lightly disturbing the clouds on xyr body- but if they notice, they don't make any note of it.

[knux400]

Lumin looks around thoughtfully. "Well... It's a mine, so presumably there's something of value worth harvesting."

[Ignispark]

"Perhaps an old tool, something left behind by an old inhabitant before it was closed down...really could be a lot here, excluding the ore-."

[Pichi2214]

"Hmm.... I've not really been in caves much so I wouldn't know. I'm excited for whatever we found though! :>" They hop once, wiggling their little body. "I'm mostly looking forward to the honey.... but if we find other stuff i'll certainly not complain."

[skinstealer]

The planks below them creak as Vial hops, Partly continuing not to pay it much mind.

"A tool, huh...I don't know much about that, but I wonder if there's anything people back in the Nexus can learn from!"

There's quiet again for another stretch, the only real sound coming from the sound of pawsteps on floorboards.

"Yknow, I think-!"

Without warning, the boards below them start to crack, snapping and sending the four of them careening into the darkness below-











-landing roughly on slightly spongy ground, just enough to keep anyone from getting too hurt, but enough to cause some soreness.

[Ignispark]

Dia coughs. "...I'm giving this mineshaft a 2.5/5 star safety rating so far."

[Pichi2214]

As they fall Vial's star shaped head glows more brightly, before dimming a bit as they safely glide the last bit to the ground landing next to the others. "Oh my, oh gosh! Are y'all alright? D:"

[knux400]

Lumin lands sideways, sending orange cones everywhere. It quickly scrambles to its feet, gathering the cones and placing them back into a neat stack. Once they've got everything situated, they look around for a way forward.

"My fault. I should've checked that bridge before we all walked on it."

[skinstealer]

Partly takes a moment to get to xyr feet, wobbly at first.

"...oh...oh no, this wasn't a part of the plan at all..." Xyr clouds crackle as xe stretches out, xyr face twisted into a grimace.

"I'm- don't take blame, Lumin, I'm the one who got us into this mess...I guess I did advertise danger, but I really thought it'd be safe."

Xe looks up with a frown, the former path too high for any of them to reach. "...that's out of the question..."

There's two paths ahead, with some investigation. One has cool air, and the other, warm.

[Ignispark]

Dia taps their paw against the ground a couple times, eyeing both directions.

She glances down the path with cooler air.
"...Honestly, I have no idea which way is mostly to return to the source the more swiftly, if any...but we will have to pick one and see where it shall lead us."

It points down that way.
"I think that I have a better feeling about venturing towards the cooler air. What do the rest of you think?"

[knux400]

Lumin thinks to himself for a moment.

"...Hot air tends to rise, so if the plan is to go up, I'm thinking the warmer air is our best bet."

[Pichi2214]

"Hmm... I do agree with Lumin, if we want to get out I'd try the warm air. On the other hand... who knows what we'll find in the depths. ..do we know the path to the honeycombs? Or do we have to go deeper anyway to find them?"

[skinstealer]

"...I think...we should probably focus on getting out. Even though I really want to find the combs, I'd feel way worse if we all got trapped down here!" Partly sighs, rubbing xyr cheek with a paw. "Warmer air it is, then."

Xey start walking forward, xyr high spirits clearly troubled by the group's situation, judging from xyr posture and the fact that xey keep looking over xyr shoulder to make sure people are following.

[Pichi2214]

Vial nods. "Of course! I wouldn't anyone to get actually hurt..." They waddle close to Partly, their star shaped head providing a soft light.

[Ignispark]

Dia seems rather neutral. She nods, following. "Mmm. Likely a good idea."

[knux400]

Lumin stops to plant a cone in the landing zone, tip facing the tunnel they're heading towards, before quickly catching up to the group.

Without a word, they begin shifting towards the front of the pack. It seems like she's going to walk at the front the group if no one else says anything.