[Kodai]

Animal spirits... Kaamil smiled slightly to himself. In a sense, he did have an animal spirit partner... but not in the way that these people did. Putting a hand to his chest, he closed his eyes for a moment, then remembered where he was and focused on Drawser again.

"...Temperature... ...Well, I'm not an expert on such things, but... obviously a volcano is an extremely warm place, while caves, being bathed in darkness, are cold... ...I would say that the two extremes would cancel each other out...? ...At least for a certain distance; I'm sure the closer to the heart of the volcano you travel, the warmer it would become... ...Again, I could be wrong..." He blinked at the pen in Drawser's hand now. "...Oh...? ...What is it...? ...What do you wish to show me...?"

[Jaykobell]

Drawser blinked and tilted his head to the side curiously when Kaamil put a hand to his chest and closed his eyes. Huh, maybe he was remembering something? Drawser didn't know Kaami at all, though, so he couldn't even assume what it is that he was remembering. Maybe something sad? Or something nostalgic? What was it?! But maybe it was something private and maybe Drawser didn't have the right to ask. So he kept quiet, against his own curiosity, so as to not get into Kaamil's private affairs.

Hmm, cold and hot cancelling each other? "Huh, well... I think it's logical. I still think it'd be hotter in caves, although not as hot as it could get." He tilted his head some more, the cap almost falling over his head. Clearly these clothes were too big for him, but Drawser didn't seem to mind at all. "But, well! The only way to find out is to go for it!" With that he tried to twirl the pen between his fingers, but embarrassingly failed. Drawser quickly swiped the pen up from the ground, trying to hide how embarrassed he was now. Whoops. That's what happens when you try to act cool! "W-well. Check this out!" He popped the cap off to reveal a pen tip just like any other. It looked like those thick, large tips for coloring markers. With that, Drawser walked over to the base of the volcano, and he simply started scribbling right over the rocky base. He wasn't drawing directly onto the rock, but just a small bit over it, and the ink still flowed through the pin. The brown ink had a glow and glittery image to it. Drawser seemed used to it, as he just continued to doodle some intricate pattern over the wall. While it might look complicated to anyone, Drawser was obviously used to drawing the figure, for his hand just went with the flow, never stopping and just drawing the details.

Once the pattern was done, Drawser stuck the cap back onto the pen. He looked over his shoulder at Kaamil with a grin. "Check this out!" He then stuck his hand onto the biggest pattern (there was one big drawing, and smaller ones of the same kind were linked to one another, like some sort of complicated chain). The suspending, glowing ink glowed more intensively once it felt Drawser's hand, and it suddenly sunk into the rocky wall until it had completely disappeared. Nothing happened immediately, but shortly after sinking into the wall, huge, rocky platforms emerged from the wall itself. The platforms looked like they were getting pulled out of the rock itself by from mysterious force, and once they were all out, the pattern looked similar to that of some stairs. Of course, they would still need to climb a bit, but obviously this would make the climbing much easier. And safer.

With that done, Drawser looked back at Kaamil, an excited (and proud) grin on his face. "Well? Now we can climb up~"

[Kodai]

At first, Kaamil had had no idea what Drawser was planning on doing with that marker. After all, regular markers didn't do more than make marks on objects, hence their name. But it soon became apparent that this was no ordinary writing implement, as it was able to write on the very air. Very much interested, Kaamil watched silently as Drawser first drew some strange markings, then somehow created a rough staircase for them to climb up the volcano. This certainly would make getting up there much easier! He had been expecting that they would need to climb the old-fashioned way.

"...That is...a very interesting and useful ability..." Kaamil remarked, thoroughly impressed. "...Is that a standard tool for the students of the academy...? ...It must be imbued with some magical power.....I wonder how..." Focusing his attention back to the stairs, Kaamil began making his way up. "...Yes, let's go..."

[Jaykobell]

"Teehee~" Drawser couldn't help but to giggle and wiggle excitedly as Kaamil admitted being impressed by the marker. He put it back into the bag, right into the specific pocket for the markers. Apparently, there was more than only one of these, and they all shared their own color. There seemed to be no different shades of a single color; there was only blue, and not dark or light blue, and so on. "Isn't it?" Drawser replied once he had put the marker back in. "And yes, it's something we all learn to do. Although some are better at it than others. When you get to a higher rank, you can choose an element you want to really specialize  in. Eventually you get to cast spells and modify landscapes to your liking without drawing the runes. But we all learn basic spells to modify the landscapes to a certain extent, so we can explore more easily. Quickly, but just as effectively!" That was probably the detail about abilities that he'd mentioned earlier. It seemed like elements played a big part in whatever abilities the students could come to master.

After that, Drawser followed Kaamil up the rocky staircase, struggling slightly to get up, since he was slightly smaller than average. He seemed to have the physical endurance to do so, however, since he progressed relatively quickly from one platform to another. "As for what's in the markers..." Drawser started as he continued to climb, sometimes looking at Kaamil as they climbed, "I think they said they use a very specific elemental to create these. But I think it might be a secret, so nobody knows, really. Apart from the Director and maybe his son. And you know, all those higher-ups." It would be pretty silly if none of them knew how they made them! Really. "They're all really easy to use, though. Same as a normal marker, really. Depending on the color, you can modify that landscape, so it's really useful. You get more colors as you go up the ranks." It was a wonder one could remember all of this. Obviously Drawser had a passion for these studies that he was doing, and it showed in the tone of his voice.

[Kodai]

"...Hm... ...That's really interesting, and incredibly useful for your line of work..." Kaamil mused, following the path Drawser had made up the side of the volcano. With the ability to manipulate the environment, the students of the academy could surely explore any type of terrain with ease. Just look how far they had come already! With traditional equipment, Kaamil doubted they would have been able to climb up so quickly and easily. "...I suppose the magic is in the ink... ...May I ask how many markers you have...? ...Or rather, what your rank is...?" Pausing to catch his breath a little, Kaamil looked up at the cliff side. There were many small crevasses in the rock wall, but only a few that the two boys would be able to fit through. He pointed up at the nearest of these larger openings.

"...Shall we try exploring there first...?"

[Jaykobell]

"It is! Although the younger ones don't get any elements until they can get to the first rank," Drawser mused as he continued to climb, apparently keeping up just fine. Either he trained his heart, or he had gone through this sort of drill multiple times before. Up and up he went, scrambling up the platforms. It looked like he was going to fall once or twice, but he never let on any signs of panic or danger. He blinked and looked over at Kaamil when he continued to talk about the ink. "I think it is, yeah. Since the symbols on their own seem to be useless. Or else I doubt they could teach us in the books and draw them on blackboards." Imagine if the runes replied if you draw them just about anywhere! That could be troublesome.

He got onto one of the highest platforms. Of course, Drawser had been able to raise platforms only up to a certain height. "Eh? How many I have?" he mused back when Kaamil asked him what his rank was. "Well, where I stand now, I can explore with a guide and I can explore areas supervised by the Zeroths. They're the highest rank you can get, right under Headmaster -- that's the Director's rank -- and Radar -- that's one big rank given only to the best of the best." He put his shoulder forward, where little strips could be seen on the vest. "The stripes show you your rank. You can get customized things... You can ask for medals if you prefer medals, say. I wanted something simple." He then pointed them, two stripes in total. "I'm a Binary. So I can control water, fire, earth, and wind. If I can escort you safely, then they'll get me to pass the Tertiary test sooner than the others; and if I pass that, I'll be able to control grass and metal, and I'll be able to escort people from time to time."

He was way busy talking (too much) when Kaamil pointed up at an opening up ahead. Drawser looked up and blinked, his cap almost falling over his head again. "Ooh, that sounds good! Looks like a good opening." And the platforms could get to it, too! "Let's go!" He increased the pace and started moving, scrambling some rocks and pebbles as he continued to climb. Only a few platforms, and they'd get there."

[Kodai]

All those ranks... it seemed a bit militaristic. Or were most schools like that? He had read of grades, or tiers, in the school system, but from what he had gathered, they weren't exactly the same as ranks... Ah, but that didn't really matter now. The academy would run itself as it saw fit, and as long as the students were fine with the system, Kaamil saw no reason to be against it. Following after Drawser, Kaamil managed to climb the rest of the way to the entrance of the opening he had seen, which turned out to indeed be a cave. Stepping inside a few paces, he noticed that the light filtering in didn't manage to get very far, and cast a good deal of shadows due to the rocks poking out at odd angles. Hm...

"...Drawser... ...You said you can control fire, yes...? ...Could you perhaps create a torch of some sort, so that we may see better...?"

[Jaykobell]

Well, look at that, Kaamil seemed to be tagging along pretty well. It looked like he'd already done stuff like that, really! He didn't look like most of the little rookies from the Academy. Just his presence seemed to give out something, too.

Drawser caught up to Kaamil shortly afterwards, scrambling up the platform and into the entrance. And to agree with Kaamil's point, the light didn't go so far in the rest of the cave. As was to be the case with caves, right? Drawser slipped in, and immediately he noticed the hotter temperature inside the cave. It was still somewhat cool, but obviously it'd get hotter the deeper they'd go.

When Kaamil spoke again, Drawser blinked and looked up. "Fire?" He tilted his head and then looked at the tunnel ahead. "Hmm...." How to go about this...? He had no idea if he could make a torch. Oh, sure, he could summon a flame, but... how would he hold it? ... Oh! Yes, perhaps... "Hmm! I think maybe I can do something for this." He started shuffling through his bag, pulling out a red pen after a few moments. He popped the cap off. "Ah, actually, I've never tried this... but I remember learning it."

He started tracing another symbol, one that was different from the previous drawing. This one was as intricate, but unlike he previous ones, Drawser also added little extra lines and symbols around the main drawing. These were colored a blindly white. It seemed like even the pen knew the symbols. Once the rune was drawn, Drawser put the cap back on and pushed his hand through the rune, which flickered like a wave and disappeared, and in its place appeared a small fireball. Drawser put the pen back in his bag and then tentatively tried to touch the flame. His hand passed through it without any problem, and Drawser seemed pleased. "It worked! We can go forward now." He put his hands around the little flame (which had quite a radius despite its small size) and carried it along. What awaited them forward?

[Kodai]

Drawser never ceased to amaze, did he? ...Or maybe it was just the magic of the school? Then again, Drawser was the one using that magic right now. For a moment, Kaamil wondered if anyone could learn this magic, but quickly figured that since it was being taught in an academy, the answer was yes.

"...Thank you, Drawser... ...That magic is really impressive; quite a useful thing to know..." Kaamil gave Drawser a small smile, then continued deeper into the cavern. Now... looking for these coins... From what Drawser had said, they were small and so could be virtually anywhere. Kaamil tried to keep a look out for anything shiny that caught the light of the fireball, but that quickly became frustrating as there were many gleaming stones deeper into the cave. Not to say that the stones weren't interesting in and of themselves, but the two weren't here to look at pretty rocks.

...Maybe he should find an extra-special one for Kami, though.

[Jaykobell]

"Eh?" He turned around and gave Kaamil a confused look. Why thank him? Oh, maybe because Kaamil was learning all these things as they progressed? Was that it? Hmm, well, whatever the reason, it's always nice to be appreciated! "You're welcome!" he replied with a grin and a thumbs-up, his other hand holding onto the small fireball. "Now! Let's proceed!" he proposed eagerly, skipping ahead like... a kid. No need to look out for danger, nope. Danger? Unknown to this kid.

"Look at all the pretty stones!" Drawser commented when they got to this small portion of the cave that was littered with shiny stones. Was that crystallized magma?! Was it?! Imagine! It might not be a coin, but it's so pretty! He was definitely snatching one of these to bring back with him. "I wonder if any of these have a coin in them," he mused as he pulled a rock out of the wall. His treasure, mhm~ He put the rock in his bag, and meanwhile, the little fireball had stood there in place, waiting for someone to pick it up again to carry it along.

But even though the fireball was small and harmless, it was still hot. Not only that, the cave was getting hotter and hotter, and soon enough Drawser started sweating from the heat. He waved a hand over his face slowly. Well, maybe the climb had been harder on him than on Kaamil? Climbing a cliff, especially with those baggy clothes of his (obviously designed for seasons like autumn and winter, too), had to be exhausting to a certain extent. He sighed deeply as he continued to wave his hand. "So hot in here now.... Or is it just me....?" Kaamil didn't seem... that... hot? But really, why the baggy clothes to begin with? Why not a size that fitted him? And couldn't he at least take off his hat?

[Kodai]

Kaamil kept an eye out for any stone he thought would manage to catch his brother's eye (which really could be any of them, but he wanted something extra-special), but he also began keeping an eye on Drawser. The boy seemed to be growing particularly overheated, and though Kaamil was feeling the effects of being inside a volcanic cave, Drawser appeared to be having a very difficult time of it. Eventually, Kaamil stopped, resting a hand on Drawser's shoulder so he didn't wander off before he had the chance to talk.

"...Drawser... ...If you are becoming uncomfortably warm, why don't you remove your hat and jacket...? ...They hardly seem like the sort of clothes one would wear in a volcanic environment..."

[Jaykobell]

Drawser kept waving his hand at his face, walking by there and by here, without any specific trail. Phew, so hot in here... He jumped a bit when Kaamil put a hand on his shoulder. He looked over it and blinked. "E-eh?! T-taking off my c-clothes?" Well. Well, it was hot in here, yes... Taking off these clothes would make it all the better... but... "A-ah." He poked his pointer fingers together. What to do...? He was okay taking off his clothes when he was with Albert (because... Albert.... knew), but... should he, should he not...? Well... Kaamil wasn't a bad guy, right? So really there was no danger. And besides, he had the pens if Kaamil ended up being a cunning jerk of some sort. "Ah... Actually, Kaamil... Um... Well, I guess there's something I gotta tell you..." Well, really, this heat was unbearable, which was why he bothered to take the advice. Of course he wouldn't just... strip or anything, but he'd take off the coat and the hat. And that would be enough.

And so Drawser did that. He took off the hat first... revealing a bump of hair on top of his head from under the hat. Apparently his hair was much longer than that neck-length hair of his. And with that, he looked even more feminine. Next he took off the coat, first unzipping it. Why did he seem so reluctant to take off his coat? He had something underneath, so why? Well... there was no scar under the coat, no mechanical limb, nothing special.... save, perhaps, for a rather... pronounced female chest. In other words... Drawser didn't look like a boy at all anymore.

The Binary wiggled a bit. "S-see... I'm... actually a girl?" Drawser gave a sheepish smile. "M-much better now, th-though."

[Kodai]

Something to tell him? What could it be? Patiently Kaamil waited as Drawser removed his hat and coat, and then... the secret was revealed. Perhaps it wasn't a drastic secret, but from the way Drawser had been hiding it, it must be very important for her to not have anyone know.

"...It's good that you're feeling better... ...It would be a poor turn of events if you were to faint from heat stroke..." Kaamil remarked. "....Do not worry, I will not tell anyone of this secret... ...Though, why is it such an important secret to you...? ...If you do not mind telling me, that is... ...You have told me this secret already, so I assume you trust me to some extent...which I thank you for..." He gave her a small smile and began to continue forward again.

[Jaykobell]

Secret revealed, and Kaamil didn't seem angry, or even bothered, by the sudden gender-change of his guide. Drawser put her hat in her bag and even managed to stick in her coat. She listened to Kaamil still as he talked, and she looked up at him. Well, obviously he'd have questions, it was expected. "A-ah, I don't mind! It's okay. Uh, see, my dad used to be a member for the Academy... I'm an only child, so he was always a bit possessive -- and still is, really. So when I offered to take courses at the Academy, he was afraid some people might take advantage of me because I'm a girl -- kinda small and defenceless-looking, you know. So he asked me to try to 'be' a guy as much as possible, to avoid getting abused by older students or twisted guys." She didn't seem to mind telling him about it. She put an arm behind her head and smiled sheepishly. "I registered as a girl and all, and the Director knows, and since he knows my father, he's okay with that... so... I'm... kind of like a hermaphrodite, I guess." That was followed by a forced burst of laughter, at an attempt to make a joke. ... Moving along. "Th-thanks for promising to keep the secret, though. I know some people don't like the idea of hiding your gender..." She had started to follow him along as she explained the situation to him.

But as they progressed along, the atmosphere seemed to change. Heavier, more dangerous... And as Kaamil moving forward ahead of Drawser, the floor under him suddenly started to crumble. It took but a few seconds for it to happen, which left no time for neither Kaamil nor Drawser to react. The ground gave way in a matter of seconds, and Kaamil found himself falling down a pitch-black hole.

When she noticed the floor crumbling, Drawser dashed forward. She yelled out, "Kaamil!" as she ran towards him, but in the end, she was too late to help him in any way. Not only that, for as soon as she had reached the hole, the floor stretched by itself and covered the hole, covering it as if it had never been there to begin with.

The hole wasn't so deep, and soon Kaamil's fall stopped... but the air was drastically different now, and the whole place was pitch-black. There was this buzzing sound that persisted, this sound that had came out of nowhere...

[Kodai]

Quite suddenly, Kaamil grew quiet and almost somber. He didn't quite catch Drawser's eye as he replied, "....Is that it..... .....I see........" He continued speaking, although it was so quietly that Drawser would barely be able to hear. "......With the abilities one learns at the academy, one would think that it wouldn't be much of a problem... ...but then... ...sometimes power cannot save you from such a situation......."

Before anything else could be said by either Kaamil or Drawser, the rock underneath him collapsed, sending Kaamil falling into blackness. He managed to land safely, though his senses were now on full alert. Cut off from his guide... What was this? A pitfall? Or a trap? Standing, Kaamil narrowed his eyes and concentrated on the buzzing noise. He had a feeling that it wasn't his ears, and that he wasn't alone in this darkness...