[SkyWolf11]

The deeper into the hall they ventured, the darker it got.  It seemed that this place was long abandoned, or at least not frequented much as there was no light sorce at all.  And though their sight was much better than say a humans when it came to darkness, it still was hard to make out anything other than the walls.  

"Oh man, it's so dark in here ..."  Ahiga let out a grumble as one of his arm blades brushed up against the narrowing wall, making a high pitch screech that made them both wince.  "Is it just me, or is it getting more narrow?", he asked, inching away from the wall.  Jizelle looked around to see if it was, but it all looked the same to her.  Then again, she didn't have a thick body adorned with huge blades...  "From what I can see, it looks the same as it was ..."  She looked over at the Werecain, barely able to make out his features.  "I think you're just imagining things."

Ahiga looked at her with frustration but decided against answering.  It was a hard call ... the darkness could be playing tricks on him and making him think that but ... he just wasn't sure.  But all the same, it made him uncomfortable to venture so deeply into a strange place, especially with no light.  

"I think we should turn back ..."

[Lvl. 4 -- 16]  [Lvl. 5 -- 22]

[SkyWolf11]

Jizelle's ears instantly fell at those words and she let out a pitiful whine.  "Noooooo!"  She let out a loud snort of protest.  Well, if he insisted on treating her like a pup, then she'd might as well act like one.  "We can't turn back now!  We've already come this far!  We have to keep going!"

Ahiga looked at her with torn feelings.  He knew there probably wasn't much to do for a young Lucain like herself up here where the lands were desolate and unpopulated.  These empty lands were meant for those more ... matured and experienced persons.  He didn't want to deprive her of her entertainment but at the same time he didn't want to put her in danger.  'If it's this difficult looking after a sibling, then I'm not so sure I want any kids...', he thought with a tired sigh.  Right now, he felt more like a parent trying to protect a child rather than a brother accompanying his younger sister.

His eyes met hers and he shook his head in defeat.  "Oh fine!  You better be grateful that I put up with you..."  He smirked and was given a playful shove by the Lucain.  "You know I appreciate it.~"

[Lvl. 4 -- 17]  [Lvl. 5 -- 23]

[SkyWolf11]

He smiled with a rough "Mhmm." at her hidden thanks.  Perhaps nothing bad would happen after all...  He slowly let his mind wander off and began to reminisce of his younger days.  In all fairness, he was just like her, though maybe a little less adventurous and a smidge more serious.  

Minutes ticked by as the pair slowly padded down the long hall, fumbling over unseen rumble and debris that littered the ancient pass.  Jizelle tried her best to stay up against the wall to avoid the rocks, but it wasn't doing much good.  She let out a small yip as she stubbed a paw on a large jagged rock fragment then let out an angry growl.  "OUCH!  Uggghhh, these blasted rocks!"  She stopped to nurse her throbbing paw.

Ahiga snorted and fell back with Jizelle as she came to a stop.  He walked over to inspect her paw.  He couldn't see it clearly for the shadows, but his eyes had adjusted enough to get a good look.  "You scratched it up pretty good there...", he informed her.  "Man, I swear... nothing's going right for me today!" "It's a common accident when walking around blindly."  She nodded but sighed.  "Yeah, but the little things just add up and make it all the worse..."  She chuckled a bit at her own words.  She sounded whiny, but to her it was the truth.  She happened to mess up quite a lot, and though it probably didn't seem like much in anyone else's eyes, it effected her hard.

[Lvl. 4 -- 18]  [Lvl. 5 -- 24]

[SkyWolf11]

"I know...", Ahiga comforted her.  There wasn't much else he could think to say.  By now, he could practically read her like a book, feelings and all.  Though, he still wasn't good at cheerful pep talks.  

Jizelle smiled then turned with a sigh.  Her eyes scanned up ahead for ... well, anything really.  She was half expecting to come across something different this far in.  But, maybe she was getting her hopes a bit too high?  Just then, her eyes made out what looked to be ... a fork in the tunnel?

"Oh?  Do you see that?", she asked Ahiga.  He looked at her then to where she was looking.  He had to squint a bit to see it, but he did see it.  "It looks like a split in the tunnel."  He himself had never been inside the Basantha Shrine, so this was a new tibit of information to him.  "I guess the tunnels have many side passages and such."

"Wow ... I wonder how far these passages web out."  "There's probably no telling.  I've never heard of anyone mapping them out..."  But perhaps he was wrong.  You would think that such a well-known place would have attracted many adventure seeking fellows and architects eager to learn of the place.

[Lvl. 4 -- 19]  [Lvl. 6 -- 25]

[SkyWolf11]

The pair moved closer to investigate these new paths.  Jizelle inched cautiously into one as Ahiga inspected the other one.  "Man ... and I thought it was dark enough as it was.  I can't see anything in there!"  Ahiga nodded and backed up out of the path.  "Yeah, I can't see more then a few feet this way either."

He looked back and forth between the two ways then glanced back at the way they'd come.  "I don't feel comfortable going on into this darkness with now light whatsoever...", he sighed.  Jizelle's eye's widened and she hoped he didn't want to turn back.  "We can do it!", she said quickly, "I mean, we made it this far in the dark, haven't we?"  Ahiga snorted.  "Yes but we were lucky.  It was a one way street, no turn offs.  I have a feeling if we try moving on blindly, we'll wind up lost in here for who knows how long..."

Jizelle opened her mouth to protest, but quickly realized he was right.  She let out a sigh.  If there was one thing that he'd managed to beat into her head over the years, it was never to dig yourself into a hole you couldn't get out of...

[Lvl. 5 -- 20]  [Lvl. 6 -- 26]

[SkyWolf11]

Ahiga saw the look of sadness of Jizelle's face and smirked."Don't worry, we don't have to go back... yet.", he chuckled lightly.  He may have been a very strict Werecain, but he wasn't that mean to her.  

Jizelle's face lit up after her initial shock of surprise and she perked right up, all three tails wagging happily.  "Really?!  Awesome!"  Her smile faded into a straight face in concern.  "But what about the darkness?  You said you didn't feel comfortable going forward in the darkness..."  The Werecain nodded then turned.  "Yes, yes I did.  But!...  I have a plan."

[Lvl. 5 -- 21]  [Lvl. 6 -- 27]

[SkyWolf11]

The look of confusion that appeared on Jizelle's face was nothing short of hilarious.  "A...plan?"  Ahiga chuckled again and nodded with a sly smile.  "Uh huh ... so what is this all-so-important plan of yours?", she asked with a bit of sarcasm.

Pacing slowly as he thought of how to explain it, Ahiga was a bit unsure of his plan.  It would require him leaving ... and he wasn't so sure if it would be such a good idea...  He stopped and stared at the Lucain.  "Well ... the more I think about it ... the more holes I see in it....", he huffed.  Jizelle shook her head and looked at him expectedly.  "Well!?  Come on tell me!  You can't just tell me you have a plan and then say it won't work!"

A few minutes of debating and he finally decided to speak up.  "Okay, well before we go any further what so ever, we have to have some sort of light.  That is definite."

[Lvl. 5 -- 22]  [Lvl. 6 -- 28]

[SkyWolf11]

"Okay, so a light...  Where the heck are we going to get one out in a frozen wasteland?"  She had a point, no?  It wasn't like there was a very large supply of dry tender to even think about making a fire out of, hence why not many could survive out here.  And even if there were, there was still the problem of igniting it.  Not an easy feat for those who weren't of the fire element...

The Werecain flashed a sly smile.  He had been living quite a long while up here, much longer than she, and in that time he had learned a few tricks of survival.  Fire wasn't going to be easy to find but it was possible.  Clever Ahiga knew what to do, luckily for Jizelle.  Perhaps one day she'd catch some of his smarts to use for her own.

[Lvl. 5 -- 23]  [Lvl. 6 -- 29]

[SkyWolf11]

"Don't underestimate your brother.  He knows some things."  Surprised, Jizelle shot him a suspicious glance.  "Oh do you now?" "Yep, I know how to get a hold of a light.  Though, it won't be too easy... "

A confused look and tilt of the head was all Jizelle needed to tell Ahiga she was definitely clueless to his means.  He chuckled.  "And, as much as I don't want to, I'm going to let you stay here while I go to fetch one."  

Those words lit up the female's face in a wide grin.  "Y-You would?!", she asked dreamily at his words.  That would be a leap of faith from him, something he rarely did as he stuck to the safety first method - always avoiding potentially disaterous situations and playing it on the safe side no matter what.  It must have meant he was finally trusting her own judgements.  Or so she saw it.  It was somewhat of an honor for the girl.

Ahiga nodded with a soft smile.  "Yes I would, believe it or not.", he chuckled.  "I trust you won't do anything stupid while I'm gone?"

[Lvl. 5 -- 24]  [Lvl. 7 -- 30]

[SkyWolf11]

Striking a soldier-like pose, Jizelle gave a firm nod to the Werecain.  "Yes sir, you can count on me!"  He chuckled and nodded.  Hopefully she meant it.  "Alright then.  Well, I'm off."  He turned and started back down the tunnel.  Stopping short, he turned and looked at her with eyes full of concern.  "Really Jizelle... please stay put.  Going down any of those tunnels could prove fatal, even more so alone."

Jizelle frowned at her brother's worry, but forced a smile to try and reassure him.  "Don't worry, I won't.  Promise."  His eyes scanned her face in search of any deception, but he couldn't be sure of her intentions while he was away.  Letting out a sigh, he faced forward and continued down the path.  He would just have to put faith in her to take his words to heart.

[Lvl. 6 -- 25]  [Lvl. 7 -- 31]

[SkyWolf11]

In a matter of seconds, the shadowed figure of Ahiga was lost to the darkness, leaving only the faint clacking of his claws to be heard.  Jizelle stared after him for a while before letting out her own sigh.  Her eyes looked at the two tunnel entrances longingly.  The urge to explore was eatting away at her and her legs twitched as she battled it to stay put.

"Soooo ... here I am.  Alone.  Nothing stopping me from going down that way... or that one.", she argued, seemingly trying to convince herself to take the risk.  "But! ... I promised..."  The rebuttal.  "But on the other hand, it's not like I haven't disobeyed him before..."  She had begun pacing as her concience battled with her disobediant side.

Stomping madly at the ground, she shook her head wildly.  "UGHHH!  He had to pick now of all the times to trust me to do as he says!", she growled.  For someone like her, who's curiousity pretty much ruled her behavior, this ... was torture.  But after seeing the genuine concern in her brother's eyes, she was torn.  Nine times out of ten, she'd just ignore him and do as her 'devil' side wanted.  In a huff of torn feelings, she plopped to the earth and dropped her head on her paws.  Even then, she couldn't stop staring curiously down one of the paths...

[Lvl. 6 -- 26]  [Lvl. 7 -- 32]

[SkyWolf11]

Feeling even more restless than usual now, Jizelle stood and began pacing once more.  Though now it merely served as a distraction from her thoughts.  Her eyes shot back and forth from each path as she walked, then turned, walked, then turned, and so on and so on.  

Finally, the urge became too strong to bear, and she took a few hesitant steps down the right path.  A few feet in and she stopped, rethinking.  "I-I'll only go a little further ... yeah!  I won't go that far."  Having convinced herself that she'd found a loop-hole, her stride more confident and she started down the path with eager steps.

Surely nothing dangerous was down here, not in this seeminly abandoned tunnel, right?  Surely ...  


[Lvl. 6 -- 27]

[SkyWolf11]

It wasn't long before Jizelle's worry was tossed to the wind and her adventurous nature took over.  Walking along in a steady stride, her eyes flickered from one wall to the other, taking in the faint markings that were chiseled in them.  "Oh... wonder what they mean."

She stopped as one particular symbol caught her attention.  Wait a minute ... was it ... glowing?!  Yes, it was!  That was the strangest thing Jizelle had ever seen.  Well, she didn't get out much either so perhaps it wasn't that strange ... but still interesting nonetheless.  

Jizelle stuck her face right up to the wall as she watched intently the strange symbol shimmer.  It was a beautiful sight.  Within it's shape (which she still had no recognition of) the vibrant colors danced, flowing fluidly from a bright white to a dull green and back.

[Lvl. 6 -- 28]

[SkyWolf11]

As Jizelle stood under the trance of the symbol, the faintest sound of shuffling echoed from further down into the tunnel.  Her ears pricked curiously and swiveled in the direction of the sound.  Turning slowly to look down the path, Jizelle suddenly felt a bit uneasy about going on alone.  Her mind raced with images of huge, terrifying monsters that could be lurking down in these dark, forgotton tunnels.  Now, a coward she was not, but at the same time she knew that she would not do well in a fight while underground - in a place she hadn't time to explore.

She manuevered her body around to face whatever could be hiding in the dark.  Pushing her backside close to the wall, she felt her fur bristle as more shuffling -louder this time- sounded again.  Yep, suddenly coming down this tunnel against Ahiga's words was looking bad, more so by the second.  

"St-stay back!", she growled into the dark, hoping her voice alone would be enough to scare away whatever could be lying in wait for her...

[Lvl. 6 -- 29]

[SkyWolf11]

The mystery creature seemed to listen as the skittering stopped shortly after she'd spoke out.  Just then, a pair of bright shining eyes peered out curiously from behind a large rock a few feet away from the Lucain.  They bobbed up and down nervously before their owner shot out from the shadows and into Jizelle's sight.  The culprit was a young Rattegan that zipped by Jizelle quickly and running from her sight.

Feeling a fool now, Jizelle looked around nervously to see if anyone had seen how frightened she'd gotten.  Good thing she was alone, now she could blush in solitude.  "Oh man...", she sighed, sitting and trying to get her racing heart back down her throat, "I'm glad Ahiga wasn't here to see that.  He'd never let me hear the end of it!"

[Lvl. 7 -- 30]