riverviewlogs | [closed] to dungeons deep

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[closed] to dungeons deep

who: Team Intrepid Explorers: Hiccup Haddock, Christian Fischer, Dave Stutler, Keith, Yuri Plisetsky, Jon Snow, & Freya Vaughn
what: Mission: Cave Crawl
when: Late February
where: A network of caves out in the wilderness.
warnings: Uhh. Spooky cave stuff?

Hiccup originally found the caverns on a solo jaunt into the jungle with Toothless. Well, he found the entrance - they didn't go much deeper inside than a handful of yards, to be safe. Now that they have a full party, complete with some actual fighters, they should be able to go quite a bit deeper.

The group takes a truck as far out into the jungle as possible, loaded with equipment, and between the dragon and the lion, manage to get most of it up into the cave entrance itself. The first 'chamber' they come across is large, oval-shaped, branching off in several directions. It's dimly lit with bioluminescent algae (or clusters of worms, maybe?) and small clusters of softly glowing crystal dotted across the ground and walls, protruding from stalagmites and stalactites. There are a few shallow pools of clear water, filled with blind, pale fish. At points, the scurrying of small creatures in the distance can be heard echoing through the room.

It's set up as a base camp, of sorts. A place to go back to, to keep from getting too lost in the maze of tunnels and caverns. Some pop up tents and some electric lanterns provide light and make it a little more comfortable for rest periods. At one point, some firewood is brought in, and a nice fire started in the middle of camp for heat and light.

It doesn't take more than a day to get out there and get the place set up, and then the real exploration can begin. Team members are encouraged to always go down the branching tunnels in at least pairs, if not more, and to mark the cave walls as they go to keep from getting too lost. The only goals are to discover and to learn, and, of course, to stay safe.

[ooc: Feel free to use this post like a 7 person mingle log! Post top levels, tag around, thread hop to your heart's desire, find cool shit, etc.]

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Well, that too. [And Toothless is nothing if not protective; if anything remotely dangerous lies ahead in these tunnels, he'll know, and he'll react accordingly. It's always been reassuring for Hiccup, to have a 1700 pound dragon firmly on his side.]

If it narrows any more, we might have to turn around. Try another tunnel. [He's not super eager to go down any of them without Toothless.] What do you think, bud? Should we turn around? [Toothless lets out another burst of purple light, ringing down the length of the tunnel, and the dragon seems to nod his head to continue, rather than turn back.] Looks like it gets a little wider.

You're not planning on a fight, are you? Technically we're the invaders here.

I'm a pacifist- [Hunting not included.] -but naturally curious about what's going on in other peoples heads.

[Freya flashes Hiccup a smile before continuing to pad along at his side. She isn't in a rush but she is growing more and more curious about what's at the end of this particular tunnel.]

Follow up question, I can understand animals because I grew up with them. [She doesn't go into details about her early life.] How is it that you can understand toothless?

Well, I want to avoid fighting if we can. We're the ones who don't belong down here. It's their home. ['Their' meaning the creatures that have lived here for gods know how long.] I want to find things we can take back to the city, but I don't want to disturb the environment too badly.

[He looks over at her curiously, more interested in that statement than her question.] I mean, it's not like we talk to each other, we just... really get each other after all these years. Don't we, bud? [Toothless rumbles in agreement, still looking around with his ears perked.] What do you mean you grew up with animals?

My plan is to avoid it. [Hopefully Toothless's sonic purple sound way didn't aggravate anything in the cave. Then again, Freya is blessed with senses that let her see a lot more in the dark without resorting to weird bat-like skills.]

Just what I said. [Freya rolls her shoulders in a shrug.] I grew up around a lot of animals. They have a different way to talk that doesn't involve words. Like the way they move. Toothless talks a lot though I don't think he realizes that I understand him.

[She smiles affectionately at the dragon.]

He's a lot like a dog in the way he speaks.

Good! We're definitely on the same page, then. [He really doesn't relish the idea of fighting anything. If he has to, maybe, but he doesn't want to disturb the ecosystem too badly while they're here.]

Oh, that's what you- [That makes a lot more sense. For a second he was wondering if she was asking if Toothless could talk somehow. It wouldn't be the first time someone just assumed dragons could speak human language.] Yeah. Body language, and tone. He understands some words, too, and he mimics things he sees people do, so that makes it easier.

[Toothless glances back and snorts, eyes narrowing flatly. Evidently he's not into being compared to a dog.]

Same page, same book. [Freya isn't against killing, she'll fight or run to survive and she'll hunt but those are very different from wandering into someone's home uninvited.]

I've noticed that. He rolls his eyes a lot. [She looks up towards Toothless.] I saw that and dogs are awesome. [Says the werewolf.

She turns back towards Hiccup.] Toothless is very sassy. I bet it's something like having a younger brother.

Yeah, he might get that from me... [They've both picked up several of the other's mannerisms over the years. It's a little strange sometimes to see a human's reactions and expressions mirror a dragon's, and vice versa.

Toothless, meanwhile, does another thing he picked up from Hiccup. He smacks his mouth a few times, head tilting, like mocking. He's at least quiet about it, but evidently, he thinks dragons are much cooler than dogs.

Hiccup smiles a little, holding back a laugh, resting his hand on Toothless's side.] I don't know, I don't have any siblings. I don't think it's like that, though. He's family, but he's my best friend, too.

[One of the downsides to having acute senses is that Freya notices even subtle gestures. Her light stormy gray eyes narrow at Toothless.] Excuse you. You shouldn't mock people older than you. After this we can wrestle and see who comes out on top. [Freya sticks out her tongue at toothless. It'd be a friendly match but she really wants to prove that dogs are awesome.

It's something Freya is very passionate about.]

You don't? That sounds like me and my older brother. He was my best friend and sometimes a jerk but we were very close. [Her expression becomes wistful before she changes the subject. It's been awhile since Freya's thought of Karr.] Did you ever want siblings?

Does toothless have any siblings? [Toothless might end up having an older wolf sister at the rate that him and Freya are going at it.]

[Toothless rumbles out a sound that can only be 'challenge accepted', swishing his tail almost smugly with the surety of a cocky young dragon. Not that Hiccup really knows it yet, but Toothless is about the same age as he is.

Hiccup just glances between them, and fixes his dragon with a stern look.] Toothless. [Toothless just smacks his mouth a few times at Hiccup, now, bumping against his side before he trots off ahead, barking out sounds like laughter.]

I don't know. Sometimes, maybe? It might have been nice to have an older brother for my father to focus all his disappointment on. I just have a cousin, Snotlout. [How the tables have turned in that relationship.

His expression grows a little more serious, sadder, at the next question.] I don't know. We've never seen another Night Fury before.

[Freya laughs at Toothless. She's eager to face him one on one though she doesn't plan to pull out her full strength until she knows what Toothless is capable of. Her whole life has been involved holding back and playing it safe. It isn't exactly normal for a five foot girl to be able to lift a car off the ground.]

That is more my fault than his. [She admits with a smile. Freya is kind of egging Toothless on.]

Snotlout? You have an interesting choice in names. [Though Freya is named after a Norse god so maybe her name isn't normal either.] Oh? I bet there are some out there, maybe not near you but the world is a very big place.

[Her tone is filled with hope.]

You might not know better, but Toothless does. [He quips wryly, a little teasing, holding the lantern a little higher as they keep walking. The tunnel seems to be widening instead of narrowing, so that's good, and maybe means they're close to something. Whether it's something good or something dangerous remains to be seen, though.]

Well, we're vikings. The general belief is that a hideous name scares off trolls. [Which means they've never seen a troll on Berk. Good lord some of those names.

But then he smiles slightly, a little sadder.] It is, and that's what we've hoped for, but as far back as I can tell, Night Furies have always been rare to the point of almost being a myth. Practically no one's seen one and lived to tell the tale, and as far as I know, Toothless had been on his own for a while.

[Freya notes the way that the cavern seems to open up and she hopes that there is something interesting down at its end.] It doesn't have to be a sad thing you know. Wolves leave their packs after 2 years, after they've reached maturity to find a place to live and start their own families.

It might be that Toothless reached the point where he flies off and finds his own family. [She looks over at Hiccup.] And my understanding is that he found you so he must have done a good job of it.

[Animals weren't like people and Freya wouldn't assume that it's because something bad had happened. She doesn't want to think that Toothless's past is anything like hers.]

I think there is an opening up here.

Maybe. I wish I knew, you know? The- the not-knowing. I wonder all the time what brought him to Berk, if there are others out there looking for him. [It seems sad, to Hiccup, leaving your family after such a short amount of time to go start your own. They don't do that on Berk. The farthest he will likely ever go from his father, besides his year on the Edge, is across the village.

But more importantly, they're coming up on an opening. Hiccup nods and holds the lamp a little higher. Toothless approaches it first, peering into a wide chamber curiously, then he looks back and lets out a soft roar.] Looks like it's not occupied. I wonder what's down here. I can see light, farther ahead, it's dim but it's- Oh, wow, what is that?

Yeah. Not knowing kind of blows.

[There are a lot of things that Freya doesn't know but,unlike Hiccup, she doesn't want to know. They were all unpleasant events and she spent most of her time trying not to think of them. She lets her life distract her from her past.] It smells like something has passed threw here but it was over a day ago.

[Freya holds her nose to the air to try and catch what scents she can. Toothless probably has an easier time since he can put his nose on the ground without looking unusual.]

Is it like the crystals we saw before?

[She follows behind him and then pauses.]

[Hiccup pauses to look at her curiously, when she says that it smells like something passed through over a day ago.] How can you tell? Is this like- is it magic, or something? [Or does she just have an enhanced sense of smell like that?]

Uh, yeah, maybe? If it is, there are a lot of them, though. Different colors, too. We could definitely bring some of this back. I bet they could be used in lanterns or something, maybe.

No. I can't do magic. I just have a very sensitive nose.

[Which is super gross sometimes.]

I like colors. If we find a purple one I call dips. I'm also hoping to find a vine of metal or something. I'm curious what we'll find. This isn't quarts or anything but some other material. I wonder how well it holds or conducts energy.

A lot more sensitive than mine, then. [She would hate Berk. She would hate it so much.]

New metal would be amazing. I need more materials for some metalworking projects, and I bet anything we found in here would be pretty unique. [They make their way into a widening, open cavern, caked in the glowing crystals in natural patterns on the walls. There are a few different colors, the light coming off them persistent and brighter here, with so many clustered around.]

I wonder, too. Even if they don't conduct all that well, though, I bet people would pay for jewelry made with these.

That's what I'm thinking too. [Freya has a lot of uses for metals and crystal's, specifically with her current project. She needs to breath life into a machine which means it needs a power source like a heart. She's hoping to find something like that here.]

I don't generally think of frivolous uses like that but I guess that'd be pretty cool.

[You know, if people are into that kind of thing.]

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[closed] to dungeons deep

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