[Video]

[flickerflash]

[She'd been waiting for hours to see if they'd turn up.

Just a little after dawn on the 25th a piece of smudged notepaper gets carefully tucked into Katie's journal, and then she tosses the whole thing into the hollow log she's sitting on out in the forest.

The video clearly picks up the message. It's not very long.]



   Gone fishing.
Everyones invited
   except Raine.
  No drowning.



[There won't be any replies. She's gone.]

Comments

[wise_maiden]

If you don't have your journal, you can use mine for it.

[flickerflash]

Oh... [She hadn't thought about that, and instead pats herself down as if her journal is somehow small enough to fit into one of her pinafore pockets.] I must have dropped it down here.

[wise_maiden]

I don't think it's down here, but we can take a glance around for it all the same. [In the name of killing some time, perhaps.]

[flickerflash]

All right, then. [She looks a little relieved, if only because some of what Raine has said has her imagining some kind of chaos in the streets above. But her journal is also very useful. She stands up and dusts herself free of excess crumbs, much steadier on her feet now.]

[wise_maiden]

[Raine rises again as well, readying her light for the darker areas.] Lets see what we find, then.

[flickerflash]

Okay! [And thus a hunt commences! Though if it's okay by Raine, Katie will just latch onto her sleeve at some point because you're an adult and it's dark down here.]

[wise_maiden]

[Raine has no problem with being latched onto. She's not entirely comfortable in the tunnels herself, with her own experiences, as being constantly aware of being dampened tends to be unsettling after a while.]

Still okay there?

[flickerflash]

Uh huh. [With the presence of an adult directly at hand, Katie is quite happy to peer about the place. It's less creepy and more an adventure. Though she sounds doubtful after a bit of hunting]

I don't think I went too far. You would think I'd trip over it in the tunnels.

[wise_maiden]

You were probably very tired when you first woke up. It's easy to misplace something if you aren't certain of your surroundings.

Even so, we have done a lot of looking so far.

[flickerflash]

Mm. But you think I might not have had it? [She's hopeful. It'd be a shame to lose it.] Perhaps it's at home, then. Maybe I'll have to borrow yours after all.

[wise_maiden]

I'm sure it will turn up somewhere. They tend to, after a whil.

[flickerflash]

Okay.

...

Then... do you think it's safe to leave yet?

[wise_maiden]

Well... I suppose we have dallied down here long enough that it might not be so crowded. Are you sure you're feeling well enough?

[flickerflash]

Uh huh. I don't feel so tired now. [...she'd also like to see the sun again, actually. It feels like it's been a while.]

[wise_maiden]

Then lets make our way back over to the entrance. We have some climbing to do.

[flickerflash]

All right, then. [She beams.] It's not too far, is it? I'm a good climber, but climbing in the dark is a bit difficult.

[wise_maiden]

I don't know how you'll find the climb, Katie. Do you want to go in front of me? That way I can catch you if you have trouble.

[flickerflash]

I'm an excellent climber.

[But nevertheless she'll take hold of the ladder and begin climbing up. She's sort of hoping to see interesting crowds of people at the top and if Raine goes first that might not happen.]

[wise_maiden]

All right, but be careful anyway. [Once Katie begins climbing and there's enough space without crowding her too much, Raine begins the climb herself.]

[flickerflash]

[Katie climbs with ease, though mindful of the idea of not very friendly people at the top, she slows as she ascends the ladder, waiting until it sounds quiet above before she climbs those last rungs.

It's only when her fingers reach past the ladder and out into sunlight that she pauses, absolutely still, feeling the warm prickle brush over her knuckles as if the air outside is liquid. It's a familiar sensation. It reminds her of skeletons and violins.

Brook...

She stops dead on the ladder. Blinks. She's done this before.

Oh.

This is going to be complicated. She climbs one more rung to peer over the edge, then clings as if she's about to fall. To Raine, it might just look like a child having a sudden fear of the height she's climbed. But Katie can see water, flooding across the ground and down through the trapdoor. But she can't hear it once it falls. It's these tunnels. Why is there water...]

Raine.

[wise_maiden]

Katie? Are you all right?

[It's the first time she's called her Raine since she found her in those tunnels. Raine, and not Professor. It's an odd, flitted away thought- her concern is with the girl's hesitance up above.]

[flickerflash]

[Katie's caught between reassurance and lying, not sure which way to fall, caught on the cusp. But there's one thing she remembers that is important-- and a hunger for the gold in the air that's all-encompassing.]

These tunnels are death, did you know? [She sounds whimsical for a moment, and then drops into dead seriousness.] I made you a promise. Please don't fall if you see it.

[And then she's practically jumping up the last few rungs to the outside world, to catch at the light.

Raine won't feel anything different at all. Not until she reaches the very top herself, and then the sudden appearance of golden light and water flooding into the tunnel system will be rather startling.]

[wise_maiden]

[A bit of uncertainty grabs her at that warning, but Raine steels herself, taking those last few rungs a little slower but steadily.

She hadn't been very far behind Katie, and the light of the sun is beckoning, very welcoming, after being in those suppressing tunnels.

Except that is fleeting, once she reaches the last rung and her head is able to peer up over the surface and her hands tighten on the ropes, eyes widening at first, wide and taking in everything as far as she could see - water pouring in, water all around - it was just like the boat had been, the world shimmering and wet, except this was Luceti, this was the plaza, and she forces herself to shut her eyes tightly and keep her hands clenched so she wouldn't fall.]

[flickerflash]

[Katie hates the water for other, more feline reasons, skipping over its surface and trying to shake her feet dry much like a cat does. The world has overturned for her in colour and memory. Much like the last time this happened, the glamour brought to life washes over everything in the near vicinity. Unlike last time, Katie doesn't give much of a damn if she manages to infect someone else, too caught up in seizing back what is hers by right. It's glorious, and the tunnels have no right to keep stealing it from her. Nor do the other residents of this rotten little place.

...if it weren't for the heavy, rigid lines of the vow she made, she might well have forgotten Raine was there. But once she can master the first surge of glamour, Katie's turning back for the ladder, reaching down to lay her hand over Raine's.]

It's all right. I promised, didn't I? Give me your hand.

[wise_maiden]

[She almost doesn't hear Katie over the sound of the water, rushing at her all around and yet not quite in, not quite touching. Being eye-level with it doesn't help that, either.

But then the words register, though convincing herself to loosen a hand to hand to the girl takes another few moments.]

I ... yes, of course you did. J-just a moment. [Eyes closed, breathing in quick deep breaths - though there's a mental block there too, just as long as she's not breathing in any water. Eventually one hand will unclench enough for Katie to grab.]