The Cave of Two Lovers

[Loki-chan]

((open to all groupies UPON REQUEST. plz ask first, don't jump in. we must sew you into the carefully woven plotz. >o>))

Tao Ren hated field trips.

It wasn't just a mild dislike. It was hate, and a lot of it. Spalunking especially. There was nothing attractive about a hole in the earth. It was just like every other hole, dark, dank, and generally claustrophobic. Ren didn't happen to like small dark places. Thanks to his father it was unlikely he ever would. Big dark places, were not much better.

As an ancient world civ. trip, the class was learning about long lost city of Omashu. They were at the base of the mountain which devided the once strong city from it's neighbor. Before them was a dark, ominous hole into the caves. Before they were permitted to enter, they were breifed on the tale of the two lovers. A forbidden love like that of romeo and juliet, they were said to be the ones who made these tunnels so they could meet. And all who tried to follow them would be lost forever. The key, supposedly, was simply to trust in the power of love.

"Bullshit, I don't believe a word of it." Ren folded his arms and glared at the tunnel. He'd been pared up with, as fate dictated, Mithos, Mana, and a perky girl who's name he never even cared to learn, since she associated so much with Mana. As if it wasn't bad enough, they were tied together firmly by the waist, as were all four-person squads, so that no one got lost or pushed off a precepice or something. Ren wanted to know, what happened if one member /accidentally/ fell off the precepice instead? Ren, was not amused.
"Mithy, do you have the lantern oil? Let's get this over with. One hour won't be up soon enough..." That's how much time they were given for free exploration. Any time longer and they send in a search party. Once free time was over, they were expected to reconvene and make the hike all the way through to the other side before heading home. Ren didn't like this idea, at all. And he was making it rather obvious.

[Mana Ego-Chan]

Mana rolled her eyes and sighed. That was the fifth time since they had gotten on the bus she heard Ren grumble about this. It was getting old really fast. She poked her brother in the back and put her hands on her hips.

"Does he ever stop complaining," she asked in a low tone before looking at Ren and going, "Okay, Ren, we get it already. You are not happy. The fact of the matter is that the teacher dosen't care, the board of educators dosen't care, this cave dosen't care, and the rest of us don't really want to hear about it. So please do us all a favor and stop whining. Maybe then those of us who are actually interested in this field trip for educational value will not have what intrigue they have be interrupted by a headache hmm? In short, get...over...it."

Mana could not stand whiners. She had no sympathy for them, no matter who they were. Even when Mithos got in a mood such as this she would tell him to quark it. And this was all very exciting to the history nerd that was Mana. She was not going to let Ren ruin this for her.

[Emma]

Mithos nodded, handing Ren the lantern oil wordlessly. He daren't speak, because he was enjoying this just as much as Ren, and he knew how his sister would react. God, he hated small spaces. With a passion. As much as he loved history, going caving was not his idea of fun. The sooner this was over, the better. "Let's just get it over with, hmm?" He suggested.

Ellie stayed silent as the others bickered, looking around carefully. A wicked smile settled upon her features as she set off. "This way!" She declared, fully intending to keep going even if they didn't follow. They were all strung together at the waist, after all, and she wasn't as weak as she looked.

[Loki-chan]

Ren felt a tug as the annoying girl at the other end of the rope took off, barely giving him time to light the lantern. They were arranged in the order least likely to murder a neighbor- Ren on one end, Mithy beside him next to Mana, Ellie at the other end. So Ellie's tug was like whiplash to Ren, who did his best not to trip, which would've broken the lantern.
"Calm down, dammit. We'll acomplish nothing without the light and you're here set on breaking it." Ren glared at her as they set off into the caves, the first signs of life being the odd bats which flew out when light came near them, obviously scared of the light like they were of dark. Ren's golden orbs scanned the caves, seeing little more than stone and moss. As they entered even deeper, even the moss was there no longer along their path. The cave itself was eeire in design, too... Some of the forks in the road looked like the tunnels had been make decades apart. The tunnel they were in currently, for example, had only minor stalactites and stalagmites. The tunnel they'd been in had large ones... and Ren had just seen one leading off to the side which had none at all. It suggested something more than a little fishy to Ren. He wasn't sure if he should voice his opinion on the matter... horrors that Mana might get even more interested in this stupid hole in the ground than she already was.

As Ren pondered on whether to say something, a rumble emmitted from the caves which threatened to reveil why exactly the caves were different. The floor crumbled away below them, and as expected, as Ren fell he dropped the light. The lower cavern was now illuminated in the dieing glow of a puddle of burning oil. As Ren looked down the tunnel, he could've sworn he was the fuzzy tale of something that looked conspicuously like a giant mole running off into the darkness. The rumbling faded.
"Mm, Fuck. Anybody seriously injured?" Ren looked to the group, then up at the large hole. The two tunnels definitly intersected, with this lower tunnel then leading further down, and the one they were in leading futher up. The tunnels resembled a hyperbole. The chances of getting back up, were slim to nothing, with bets on nothing.
"...Fuck."

[Emma]

"Fuck!" Both Mithos and Ellie mirrored Ren's curse almost simultaneously, the small blonde staggering to her feet. "...Cut my hand open."
"Think I broke something."

They spoke at the same time once more, and Mithos studied his leg as best he could whilst waiting for his eyes to adjust to the sudden lack of light. A couple of pokes and prods and one very loud yell later, the englishman sighed. "...I knew I shouldn't have come on this fucking trip. Not like any of you lot are tall enough to give me a hand, either." He muttered. "I'd try, but I think I broke a couple of fingers." Ellie apologised, inspecting her hand. Her eyes adjusted swiftly to the dark, assisted by the eerie grey-green glow of the stalagmites and stalactites.

[Mana Ego-Chan]

Mana had fallen directly on her back. The next thing she knew there were a bunch of little starts in her frontline. She also felt a very sharp pain in the back of her head. She groaned as her vision fuzzed for a good ten minutes as before she could focus enough to see that she had landed on one of the rocks that had caved in with it. She got back up to her feet, groaning a bit as she rubbed her head and looked up. What a hell of a hole.

"I suppose that is the risk to ancient caves," she said slowly as she closed her eyes and tried to overcome the headache that was rapidly coming upon her, "Thus is why I didn't want to be an archioligist. Too many casams."

Mana inspected Mithos's leg. It was already starting to well and were purple. Mana kinda "aw"ed at him and then looked over to the gash in Ellie's hand. She lifted up her shirt to reveal a white muscle shirt underneath for physical emergencies. This was the same reason she had very tight solid black shorts under her skirt. She took the bottom of it and ripped a piece of her shirt. Then she took Ellie's hand in her own with a slight frown. Her head was already throbbing badly and the fact that their voices were echoing off the walls was already killing her. She wrapped it and tied it tight with the only small stick she found, enough to keep but not tight enough to hurt her.

"There," she said dusting her hands a bit and putting one to her head," That should stop the bleeding and keep it from getting infected. Obviously we can't go up so we are going to have to find a way to get out by finding another tunnel or something."

She kneeled next to Mithos and examined his leg closely. It definatley was broken, but there were no splints to help it, so he couldn't walk on it. The only stick Mana has found was too small and better for Ellie. Her father made sure she knew all of these basics because in their business, people got hurt. She actually got pretty good at it. By the time she was 6 she was able to take care of at least a dozen of his men without taking a sweat. She was also doing this to try to focus her mind to keep from getting dizzy, which kept happening.

When she was done she closed her eyes and put a hand to her head again. She just wanted to listen because to look at people only made her head hurt more. She wasn't going to say anything about it either. It wasn't her style. She just wanted to find a way to get out of that cave and go to the surface. For once, she was agreeing with Ren. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She sighed.

"So," she said with a small amount of humor in her voice, "Anyone have nightvision or smoke?"

[Loki-chan]

Ren appeared to have been the only one to make it out with little but scrapes and bruises. Falling from high places was common practice for him- unfortunately so. He never seemed to have much choice in the matter. He'd only been severly injured by it once, though certainly he'd suffered much worse than a fall in the past. His eyes ran over to Mithy's injured leg as the last of the oil light failed and they were consumed by darkness.

Just then, the ceiling of the cave illuminated in a bright blue. It was a crystal, or perhaps a moss or fungus, which only glowed in the dark.
"I think, that ought to do it. But getting out of here is another matter entirely... I could find us an escape route, I'd like to see how it does us any good at all, though." Ren looked back to Mithy's leg, the tiniest hint of sadness flicking through his golden orbs. "He's right, too. None of us are near enough to help him, unless you'd like to stand on my sholders. However..." Ren sized up Mithy. How much could a seven foot englishman weigh? 200 pounds, at most? He was tall, but save a little muscle, rather skinny. He certainly didn't have the muscle mass Ren did... or at least, not quite as concentrated as his.
"Probably, I could carry him. It depends on where the injury is, it would be stupid to injure him more..." Ren stooped down to where mithy sat (given, he didn't need to stoop very much), and pointed at the leg. "Where's it hurt?" Concern showed more in his voice than he'd have preferred. But there was nothing wrong with that, right? Mithy was his comrade, he shared his views and was almost comparable to him when it came to fighting. Given he had a long way to go... but he wasn't wasting any time getting there. He was worthy of Ren's respect... nothing more. Of course. That's right. Yep, nothing more. That was /all/.

[Emma]

Mithos waved vaguely at his shin, where there was a rather obviously out-of-place purple lump. He'd broken bones before, of course, but not quite in the same circumstances. Somehow, he didn't doubt that Ren could carry him. The touch of concern made something in Mithos' chest stir, but he was too exhausted to smile or let it show. "This cave is likely to just keep going deeper. I think we're pretty much stuck."

Ellie thanked Mana quietly, then rummaged in the smal bag she had about her waist. She had stuffed a notebook, a couple of pencils and her tie in there, which was perfect. Very carefully, she managed to snap one of the pencils in half and splint her fingers together, using her tie as a makeshift bandage for now. "He's right - But I think it'd be stupid to just sit here and wait for the search party."

[Mana Ego-Chan]

"Yes," Mana said leaning back against a random wall, " Like they are even going to know we are down here. If we want to get out of here, we will have to find a way ourselves."

She let the wall support her as the room continued to spin. She surmised that this was what it was like to be drunk. And if it was, she never wanted to be. Her head hurt a lot and she was just trying to center one focus point without letting them know of her weakness. Ren was, perhaps, lucky she was she was in such a state. Seeing him look at her brother that way would have caused her to fight with him. She heard the concern in his voice and it was enough to make her sick, if her mind wasn't doing that already.

"So our only option, really, is forward," she said crossing her arms, "I don't know about you, but I don't want to wait around and see what comes along. This cave is thousands of years old. Who knows what lies within these walls. Ren, if you would please carry my brother, I think we could continue on and try to find a path that leads up."

[Loki-chan]

Ren perked an eyebrow. Mana, actually suggesting he help Mithy? Bizzare concept, she really must have hit her head hard. He had to think about the situation for a moment, since escape seemed awefully unlikely. As it was, the search party wouldn't be out for another fifty minutes, and they might be able to find an escape by then. Or, they'd become fifty minutes more lost, with an even smaller hope of freedom. It was taking a chance regardless of what they did.

"Hmph. Funny, isn't it, this cave is thousands of years old and yet caves in in such a fashion? It can't be just weak support, then it would've crumbled below one of us before all of us like that. And the tunnels... did you notice they're all the same width?" Ren surveyed the cavern around them. "And the stalactites. Did you notice there aren't any in this tunnel? Odd, for thousands of years worth of time to form them." Ren looked at the two girls. "What are the chances that these caves haven't stopped forming? They could, very well, be changing right now. If we continue on, we might not even be able to get back to this place. And we don't know that the tunnels of this lower level, connect anywhere else with the upper. Is it really wise to just start wandering off?"

[Emma]

"Just... Stop talking." Mithos said to Ren sharply, rubbing at his head. God, he had such a headache now. "No more 'what ifs'. Let's just... Let's go on. Maybe we'll find something, maybe we won't. But I'm not sitting around and waiting." He said, struggling to his feet and leaning heavily against the wall with a hiss. "So come on, carry me."

Ellie watched Mithos with a quiet awe, astounded again at the way he took control, even with a broken leg and what seemed to be a mounting headache. "He's right. Sitting around here with no water or whatever won't do us any good."

[Loki-chan]

Ren gave Mithos a short glare for not siding with him, but he supposed he was overruled. It didn't make much of a matter in the long run, they'd either be found or they wouldn't. All of those horror stories on the discovery channel seemed to suggest staying in one place was best, however... Well, they'd just have to see. Obviously, they were moving on.

"Alright, alright. Latch your arms around my neck or it'll be your own fault if I drop you." Ren said, wiggling around Mithy's larger frame to get a grip on the englishman. With one arm under his knees and the other on his back, Ren carried Mithy bridal style. It was the only way that would work, where Ren wouldn't be dragging his legs along the ground and injuring them moreso.
"Happy? Now we can go wander off into the darkness, since thats what you all want. Come on, then, why don't we get moving."

[Mana Ego-Chan]

Mana watched Ren pick Mithos up. The whole thing looked twisted, but Ren was right. There wasn't a whole lot of options for a short guy. Mana followed them, Ellie by her side. For the moment, her dizziness was mild. She find a few instances where she would feel kind of sick, but over all she felt she could press on. Occasionally she would rub the back of her head.

"These caves," Mana said getting a good look around, "There is no way they can be man made. You would have to take a gigantic drill thru here to even get a little of the circumfrance of these openings. Why do you think old tombs and the pyramids had collums and square rooms? It was easier to support the structure that way. These tunnels...are just odd. Also, I noticed some heiroglyphics above and yet down here...they almost look like they were rubbed off. This is strange."

Mana was taking in thier surroundings a bit. It was still hard to focus. Mostly because it was dark. They came to a fork in the road not far ahead. They stopped. The right tunnel looked more sound in structure than the left but the left held a cool breeze. It was Mana's belief that if one was lost, they would find the answer in their own knowledge if one stopped long enough to think.

"We should probably go to the right," Mana said trying to focus, "It's common knowledge that the ancients who made caves such as this often made escape tunnels to the right. Professor Harding found that out in Giza."

[Emma]

"Yeah, but we've already established that this isn't likely to be a manmade cave." Mithos chipped in, one arm around Ren's neck. This was a little bizarre, a little... something else, too. But it was the only way. "The right tunnel looks safer, but... The breeze from the left makes me think it's linked outside, somehow." He thought aloud.

Ellie nodded quietly, taking a long look at both tunnels. "The right tunnel may look more sound, but take a moment to see -" She pointed down the left tunnel with her two splinted fingers, "-There are far more stalagmites and stalactites down that one, meaning it's probably older - and less likely to collapse at any given moment."

[Loki-chan]

"I would find it hard to believe that a breeze, this deep in the cave, could come from just anywhere. That one probably connects to the outside. Age has little to do with it! The right looks newer and thus, was probably made later just to lure us into a dead end, or worse, a loop. The left, obviously." Ren motioned his head to the left, feeling the rub of Mithy's arm on the back of his neck. He had really nice skin, Ren could barely get over it. He hoped his blush was less prominent under such blue lighting. A blue that went bagnificently with Mithy's overall appearance, by the way. Not that Ren cared, or anything...
Just pleasing to the eye.

Of course, most of Mithy was pleasing to the eye... Ren blushed further. It was a bad time to be thinking such things. He'd have to scold himself later. Wash his mind out with soap, or something. Still, there was something about this cave...
No, rediculous. Nothing about the cave at all. It was his own hyperactive imagination which led him thus.

[Mana Ego-Chan]

"Yes but a breeze could mean that it is coming from above too," Mana said looking at them seriously, "Which suggests a falut in the roof. One wrong gust of wind or strey echo could send the whole thing crashing down, which I doubt is what you want. Ren if you want to go down that way, you are more than welcome. Just give me Mithos and you can have fun in your cave in because I refuse to let my brother be hurt again."

Mana was starting to get annoyed with the whole situation. She hated the dark unless it was night time. Plus it was muggy down in there. The air was damp and heavy, which didn't help Mana's condition. Her headache went on full force and for once she wished Ren wouldn't act like a freakin know-it-all and trust her. She studied this thouroughly because caves and tombs are a part of history books. She meant it her statement. If Ren were buried under a pile of rocks, she doubted she would do anything to help unless Mithos gave her the puppy dog eyes. It wasn't her concern.

[Loki-chan]

"And a roof fallout could also mean an exit. As in, a way to climb out of this god-forsaken tunnel. It's /rock/ for God's sake, a lousy wind won't cause a cave-in. Maybe a light earthquake, but nothing short of gale-force is going to shift a big hunk of stone. You don't see anything blowing down the pyramids, do you? And that's just made of stone bricks. This, this is solid.' Ren kicked the wall to demonstrate that nothing would fall on them. And indeed, nothing did.

"And i'd like to see you carry him. You're already loopy from the fall, and you expect to be able to carry a full-grown englishman? It's /really/, not as easy as I make it look." Ren shot Mana a glare. He was probably the only one in this hole fit enough, or at this point, healthy enough to help Mithos. And he wasn't giving him to his crazy sister as long as he had a choice.

[Mana Ego-Chan]

Mana glared back at Ren. He could be such a stupid proud bastard sometimes. Normally she would brush it off, but this time it really irritated her.

"You know what Ren," she hissed at him, "Fuck you. I'm just fine and PERFECTLY capible of carrying my brother. You are not a God. You hurt just like the rest of us. So why don't you come down from your goddamn high horse and try thinking outside of your own opinion, hm?"

It was then a wave of nausea and dizziness hit her. She would never let Ren know how bad off she was. She would never give him the satisfaction of knowing how on the mark he was. He would only smirk that smirk that made her want to decapitate him. That would cause her to become angry and Mithos to be angry with her. She stepped back a bit, not realizing Ellie was as close as she was, and leaning against her. Then, with a large blush, she apologized silently and continued to stand with her arms crossed, frowning in the direction of her chosen tunnel.

[Emma]

"Stop it!" Mithos snapped, rubbing at his forehead. "For God's sake, just pick a fucking tunnel." He muttered, grumbling. God, he hated being underground. "You are not carrying me in that state, Mana. You need to sit the fuck down for a minute."

Ellie placed her hands on Mana's shoulders with a worried glance, watching her friend. "...He's right. You can barely stand." She said quietly enough for only her to hear.

[Mana Ego-Chan]

"I really don't know what you are talking about Mithos," she hissed with a glare, "I'm doing quite well so don't tell me what I need...*whispers to Ellie* But thank you for your concern."

It was at that point another conveniant attack hit her. This time she felt really tired. All of this stupid bickering was taking more out of her than she cared to admitt. She stood still, wavering only a bit, but closing her eyes for a brief moment. She was going to beat this and get over the headache one way or another. Even if they had to take separate tunnels so that there would be at least a little more quiet for Mana, then she would be prepared to do so.

[[FYI: It is bad for someone with a concussion to go to sleep. That leads to a coma most of the time...just so ya know. ^_^]]