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Confined Together [Mr. Darcy]

Started by Cheesigator, October 07, 2016, 08:30:44 AM

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Cheesigator

The cavern was eerily quiet, near pitch black save for the few strains of light that bounced off the walls from the entrance some twenty feet away. The sound of heels clicking on the stone echoed through the tunnel, before stopping when rounding a corner. The dark cave suddenly became flooded with bright orange firelight; Ain stopped once her torch had caught fire and smiled to herself, eyes sweeping over the rocks for anything that caught the light and glimmered, and already she saw a few things that caught her attention.

"Good." She said to herself, pulling her pickaxe from where it was situated in a holster on her back. She wedged the torch in between a few rocks on the ground and shrugged off her cloak, because it was time to get to work.

It was easy for her to get absorbed in her work, mining wasn't easy. But it was easier than dealing with traders who did the mining for her--and it saved on money, too. Entirely free, actually. So she found it rather enjoyable; it was her quiet time, her time to focus on nothing and let her mind relax into a state almost like meditation.

It was when she had paused to wipe some sweat from her brow that she noticed it; a slight tremble in the ground. It made the walls shiver, and she stopped entirely, brows furrowing as she listened carefully. There were some dragons outside, and they were none too happy with each other.

She rolled her eyes, deciding to go back to her work, the sound of her iron pickaxe striking the rock making her ears ring and effectively blocking out all other noise. A few strikes, and the cave shook again, much more violently this time. A few pieces of rock crumbled from the ceiling, and she paused again, gritting her teeth. If they kept thrashing around like that, who knew how sturdy this place was. Her eyes went back to the stone she'd almost loosed from the rock and she stood there, visually torn. Go out there and slap the shit out of those two assholes, or keep working?

"Fuck it, it'll only take a few more hits." She grumbled; she hoisted the pickaxe up and as soon as it struck the rock, the most violent tremor hit yet, bad enough to knock her right on her ass.

As she sat up, now actually pissed, another shake rattled the cave, followed shortly by the echoing sounds of crashing. Her eyes widened, the crashing noises turning to a roar as the entrance to the cave was completely caved in. She threw her hands up to shield her face as dust flooded the tunnel, the wave of wind and moisture effectively making her torch sizzle out, until she was left in utter pitch black darkness.

And it was then, when she was robbed of her sight, that she heard another sound, once the pebbles and rocks had stopped falling.

She wasn't alone in here.

Darcy

Despite all their refined culture and elegance, Claudius decided that humans were amongst one of the cruelest species he'd ever come across. He could understand humans not wanting him around. Minotaurs didn't exactly have the best track record when it came to civil interaction, but he hadn't even done anything to deserve their wrath, much less deserve the new tear they'd put in his suit.

It had only been a few hours since he'd wandered into some town to try to get a job. A simple servant's position. That's all he wanted. As usual, the townsfolk had met him with sideways glances, and nervous chatter. It was when he stopped to ask a local for directions that things went south. The man had panicked and drew a knife on him. Talking hadn't helped and one minor assault later, Claudius was back to square one.

The wilderness had always felt more like home to Claudius, and it was the perfect place to take out his frustrations.

Angrily flipping through his book on etiquette, he found a page on introducing yourself to strangers.

Step one, get their attention. He'd done that. He had even said "Excuse me, sir."

Step two, introduce yourself. That's where it went wrong. The man hadn't wanted to hear it. Slamming the book shut and tossing it aside, Claudius took his anger out on a patch of grass. Only once the grass was well and truly torn up did the minotaur feel any better. He gathered up his things and was about to set off for someplace new, when his ears picked up the not so distant sound of dragons.

Dragons were something he had only encountered once before in his travels, and he hadn't stayed there long. Dragons themselves, while revered by minotaurs, were also a great threat. By the way these two were going at each other, there was no doubt in his mind that they were well and truly pissed off. As far as he could see it, there were two options. Find a place to hide, or run and hope he didn't get caught up in a dragon battle.

Hiding was a more sensible choice. Running towards where the dragons were, was not.

While some might think a fight between dragons was something spectacular, Claudius found it just escalated his terror. There was a cavern set into the mountainside that all his instincts were telling him to take shelter in. The only problem was that it was way too close to the fighting.

Self preservation took over, and he made a mad dash for the cave, making it just in time for a tremor caused by the beasts to send him stumbling into the wall. He curled up onto the ground, covering the back of his neck with his hands, while yet another tremor rocked the earth.

Claudius counted himself lucky for being just out of range of the rockfall that followed. The entire cavern filled with dust, sending the minotaur into a sneezing fit. Once the debris had settled and dirt had been successfully cleared from his airways, Claudius stood up.

He wiped his nose on the jacket sleeve, it would need a washing anyway, and tried to take in his surroundings. It was pitch black in the cave, but something didn't feel right. Perking his ears up, he could just make out the faint sound of someone, or something else, breathing in the cave.

Scrambling back in adrenaline fueled panic, he tripped and fell down onto the rubble near the entrance of the cavern. Grabbing the nearest small rock, Claudius threw it in what he hoped was the right direction to ward off any potential attack.

Cheesigator

She heard the sound of a sneeze, and then silence, as both she and this other person/creature came to the mutual understanding that they weren't alone. It was only slightly awkward, made even more so when she heard a bit of scrambling, and then a rock hit her in the shoulder.

... Seriously?

Well they had good aim for being in the dark, but that had probably just been luck. Great.

Ain let out a heavy sigh as she felt along the wall, finding her makeshift torch again. "Well, whatever you are, you're smart, at least enough so to understand me." Most regular animals didn't think to throw rocks in self-defense, after all.

She took in a breath and blew out, flames igniting and lighting the cavern in a sudden blaze of orange that bathed the now-dusty walls. It dimmed a little when the flames just returned to her torch and she stopped breathing them, but not by much. She looked over, and to her slight surprise, saw what the stranger was.

"Ah, a minotaur. Have to admit, not something I come across often." She put a hand on her hip, looking behind her, further into the cave, and then back at her present company.

Without fear, she walked over to him, hips swaying and boots clicking, but her eyes weren't on the stranger. She walked past him and held up the torch to the caved-in wall. There weren't any openings, and she couldn't feel much airflow. This part of the cave was too small for her to change in, lest she risk getting stuck.

"Shit." She muttered under her breath. Looking over to the minotaur, she raised her eyebrows slightly. "What's your name? Looks like we'll be stuck finding a way out of here together, so might as well get acquainted."

Darcy

He could tell immediately by voice that he was stuck in here with a woman. Perfect. Most likely a human, so, completely useless to him. Still wary, he sat and listened while she moved around the cavern, still far enough away he wasn't concerned. At least, he wasn't until she breathed fire.

He'd only encountered a magic user once before, shortly after he'd left home. The man he'd run into had been able to manipulate plants. That had startled him. This was terrifying. He laid his ears back and scooted himself farther away from the stranger, until the flames subsided.

The light from the torch was bright enough for him to finally get a look at his current companion. She looked strong, which put him at ease a bit. He was with someone who could probably handle herself, magic or not. He watched he with caution as she came closer to check out the blocked cave entrance. Unsure if he should move or not, Claudius sat completely still, while she took stock of the situation.

"What's your name? Looks like we'll be stuck finding a way out of here together, so might as well get acquainted."

She wanted to know his name. That was a new one. Immediately perking up, Claudius scrambled to his feet. This was the perfect time to practice what he had read in his book. Now what had the book said?

Stand up straight. Check. He made sure to square his shoulders and not slouch.
   
Maintain eye contact. Check. She had hazel eyes he found to be quite nice.

Offer a handshake. Oh. He wiped his hand on his jacket to help with the dirt, before offering it to the woman.

"I am Claudius Stebbin. It is a pleasure to meet you," He said, making sure to speak slowly and clearly. He wasn't sure if saying this meeting was a pleasure was the right wording, under the circumstances. It would have to do.

Cheesigator

Eyes that glimmered like gold coin flickered from the minotaur to his extended hand and then back to his face. Color her surprised, he was oddly... Pleasant. It was almost cute, in the strangest of ways.

She took the offered hand and gave it a firm shake. "Given the circumstances, sure I guess. Nice to meet you Claudius, I'm Ain."

Another tremble made the cavern shake, more dust falling from the ceiling. She let go of the minotaur's hand, expression twisting to a sour look of annoyance more than anything else. Seriously, those two out there were giving her kind a bad name.

"Those two dragons are probably going to be at it for a while yet. We should probably get further back in the cave if we don't want to be completely crushed by rocks." She said, turning towards the looming darkness that led deeper into the mountainside, her torch only lighting things so far.

She looked back at him, eyebrows raising slightly. "Dunno how familiar you are with caves, but some of them have alternate ways out. Sometimes. Maybe we'll get lucky." It was certainly better than sitting around here waiting to die of starvation.

Worst case scenario, she could always change back and bust a way out if necessary, though she'd prefer not to, not with those other two dragons around. The last thing she wanted to get into was the middle of a territory scuffle.

"We'll need a way to mark where we've already been. Got anything on you that might help?" She didn't exactly carry a whole lot of paint on her person, or other things that could be used as markers. She could probably think of something if need be, though.

Darcy

   The idea of traveling further into the cave was not ideal for Claudius. He'd sooner dig their way out than waste time and energy exploring what was more than likely a dead end. However, between the dragon scuffle going on outside and his lack of knowledge on caves, trusting Ain seemed to be the safer route.


"We'll need a way to mark where we've already been. Got anything on you that might help?"


   Oh right, his posessions. Glancing around, Claudius spotted his open satchel half buried under some of the rubble near the entrance. Figuring he must have dropped it on his way in, he knelt down and tried to pull out from the debris, without any luck. The only thing he was able to pull out of it was his etiquette book, now a little worse for wear. Hugging it to his chest, he got up from the ground.


   "I don't have anything. We can leave a trail of stones?" He suggested, gesturing to the rubble in the cave entrance. It was the start of a good idea, sure. But they'd have to carry a lot of rubble with them.


   Another rumble caused Claudius to flinch. Despite his whole life being told that dragons were noble and respectable creatures, these two were sure acting like beasts. He flicked his ears to clear them of dust, then continued to pitch his idea.


   "We would need to carry stones. My bag is buried but we can use my shirt-- no. My pants, like a bag. You tie the legs at the bottom and put the rocks in. Here, I'll show you." He said, setting down his book. Claudius thanked his ancestors that he'd put on undergarments today, as he started to unbutton his pants. It wasn't polite to completely undress in front of strange women, after all.

Cheesigator

Ain watched Claudius scramble around to try and get into his bag, with little luck. She was curious as to what exactly his thought process was, since it seemed he had an idea.

She noticed, with a slight eyebrow raise, that the small book he was able to rescue from the bag was quite tattered and well-loved; it was about etiquette. Certainly explained a lot. She smiled a little to herself; what an interesting person.

His idea, however, was not exactly one she had expected from him, and the fact that he was so eager to start unbuttoning his pants had her gawking at him for a moment before she snapped herself out of it and held up her hands.

"Oi oi hold on a second, I appreciate the thought but I'd at least like it if you took me to dinner first." She said; it was only a half joke.

But, he was on the right track. She glanced down at the pouch sitting on the belt she wore around her waist, wheels turning in her head before she let out a noise that was a mix of a whine and a groan. Ugh, dammit.

Dammit dammit dammit. Damn those jerks outside, they owed her for this.

"You've got the right idea, but stones might be difficult--they kind of blend in, with all the other stones in here. And they're also pretty heavy to carry, but," She hesitated for a moment, closing her eyes and sighing, withering a little in defeat as she pulled a shiny gold coin out of the pouch at her hip. "But these are a lot lighter and easier to notice." Because they glittered and caught the light.

Dammit. She was a dragon, so this was admittedly a little hard for her. It wasn't like she was poor and didn't have enough of a hoard back at home, she just... They were so pretty. And shiny. She liked laying on them. It wasn't fair.

Stupid asshole dragons making her give up some of her treasure.

She took two coins out and dropped them to the ground, the clinking noises making her flinch. Precious hoard, wasted.

"Two to mark where we started." She said, before walking over to Claudius and offering him the torch, asking him to hold it a moment. If he didn't feel comfortable with it, she could always lean it up against the wall.

She bent down and got a grip on the undersides of the large chunk of rock that was holding his bag captive; it wasn't easy in her human form, but again this cavern was too small for her to change back, so this would have to do.

She took in a breath and suddenly put all her focus and energy on lifting the rock, at least enough so for her new companion to swipe his bag from underneath it. It was pretty heavy, but she was a dragoness, and she always did joke that she could crush a man's in between her thighs.

She nodded to him to grab his bag while he could, since the rock was heavy enough to make speaking difficult, the strain on her muscles visible. But she could lift it, so at least she could do that much in this form of hers.

Darcy

"Oi oi hold on a second, I appreciate the thought but I'd at least like it if you took me to dinner first."

   Feeling his face flush under his fur, Claudius stopped what he was doing. Of course it was a bad idea, he should have known better. He fixed himself up, muttering a quiet apology to cover up his embarrassment. As far as he could tell, Ain didn't seem too put off by it.

"You've got the right idea, but stones might be difficult--they kind of blend in, with all the other stones in here. And they're also pretty heavy to carry, but,

But these are a lot lighter and easier to notice."


   Claudius couldn't help but let out a low grunt of surprise when she produced a gold coin from her hip pouch. She seemed almost pained to suggest leaving coins to mark their path. He could imagine why. He'd never seen any coin larger than a silver before, and she was going to leave gold coins laying about in a cave. That wasn't a small sacrifice. It had to make him wonder who she was, and what she was doing all the way out here.

"Two to mark where we started."

   He nodded, carefully taking the torch in his left hand when it was offered, and tucking his book under his arm. It was the least he could do to help out in their current situation. What he didn't expect was that once Ain handed him the torch, she would lift the rock his bag was under. Were humans even this strong? Maybe the rock was lighter than he imagined it, he hadn't thought to try lifting it himself, though clearly it was taking quite a strain on--

   She was nodding for him to get his bag. He mentally cursed himself for not grabbing it immediately, and knelt down, quickly swiping the bag from underneath the rock, while keeping the torch away from his new companion.

   Getting back to his feet, Claudius slings the strap of his bag over his shoulder. Giving Ain a low bow, he touches the first two fingers of his right hand to both horns, then over his heart, in his clan's sign of respect.

   "What a feat! You proved me wrong in my assumption all humans are weak. Such a bold display of strength all to get my bag back. Never seen anything like it! That would have put a few warriors I know to shame." He said as he dug through his bag. Finding the handful of copper coins that were loose at the bottom, he offered them to Ain.

   "It's not gold, but it will mark the path as well. I'm in your debt for getting my things."

Cheesigator

It took him a moment or two to get the idea before he finally snapped to it and snagged his bag from underneath the rock; once he was safely away she slowly let it back down, rather than just dropping it which could cause a minor avalanche if they were unlucky enough.

She dusted her hands off, unable to hold back the smirk as he complimented her strength. She shook her head, waving it off as he dug around in his bag.

"Wrong idea, Claudius. I never said I was human." She said with a wink as she offered to take back the torch, when he offered her his coins.

She blinked for a second, taking his words into consideration for a moment before a warm smile crossed her face and she shook her head, reaching out to take his fingers and curl them over the coins in his palm into a fist.

"Keep them hun, I've got plenty more where these came from--I'm sure there'll be other ways you can help me while we're rootin' around down here."

She gave his hand a gentle pat before she stepped away to start leading the way down into the cave system, trailing her fingertips along one of the walls as she boldly stepped into the unknown. Of course, the further they went in, the darker it seemed to get, if that was even possible, as well as colder, and more damp. These were all things she was used to however, as caves were quite a natural thing to her, having grown up in one in her early years and so much time spent mining in them now.

Of course it wasn't all easy going; the tunnels curved and swelled, sloping up and dropping down unexpectedly, and the water dripping off of stalactites who-knows-how-old had worn the tunnels smooth, sometimes making it difficult to find purchase on the slick stone, even for her. But she remained diligent about dropping the coins every now and then, and every now and then they had to double back once the tunnel grew too small for Claudius to continue through.

Finally, they seemed to reach a sudden drop-off, when all other branches off the main path had been explored, as notated by the shining coins that reflected the light off their torch so well. Ain peered over the edge of the sudden drop down, the firelight failing to reach the bottom. Who knew how far down a fall it was.

She glanced back at Claudius, the tunnel mouth opening up wide enough he could step up next to her to look downwards if he pleased. She took out a coin, glanced at it, then back up at him, and dropped it over the edge.

It was a solid thirty seconds before it hit the bottom with an echoing tink tink tink.

"That's unfortunate." She said, her voice echoing slightly even though she spoke quietly.

She raised the torch; there were pillars of smooth rock stretching out across the cavern ahead of them, and while some of them might have been jumpable for Claudius, others were not. Most of these obstacles wouldn't have been an issue if it had been Ain by herself, but that just wasn't the case here. She looked back at him, raising her eyebrows.

"I know this may seem rather sudden to ask, but how much would you trust me to catch you?" She nodded downward. "Down there."

Darcy

   "Wrong idea, Claudius. I never said I was human."

   Not human? That would explain the strength. This fact did not diminish Claudius' respect for Ain at all. He found himself all the more curious about what sort of ... person? Creature? His new companion was. He really wanted to ask her to elaborate, but now wasn't the time for that.

"Keep them hun, I've got plenty more where these came from--I'm sure there'll be other ways you can help me while we're rootin' around down here."

   Giving Ain a curt nod, he let her take the torch. For the second time that day he felt his face grow warm with embarrassment. Of course she wouldn't need his coins. And she touched his hand! So casually too, as if they were already friends or something. He stood there and watched as Ain started off down the tunnel. Shoving the coins back in his bag, he quickly followed after her, not wanting to fall too far behind.

   Despite having been in caves before, this was the farthest underground Claudius had ever been, and he swore to himself he would never come this far underground again. Dripping water echoed from unknown locations, and the light from the torch cast twisted, looming shadows that for all Claudius knew could have been something terrible waiting to get them if their light went out. He'd heard enough stories. He'd seen dragons today, why couldn't cave beasts be here too?

   He held onto his tail for comfort, twisting and playing with the long hair at the end of it to keep his mind busy. Ain's confidence was reassuring too. She wasn't scared of the cave. Maybe she was the scariest thing in the cave. Each time she set a coin down, Claudius mentally took count of how many she used. If he didn't die, he'd owe her for this favor. It was important to know how much you owed someone, after all.

   ------

   They were going to die in this cave and Claudius was sure of it now. There was no way he would get across that chasm. There was no way he could see Ain crossing it either. He watched as she dropped a coin over the edge. The amount of time it took for it to hit the bottom was concerning, but Claudius would never have expected Ain's follow up suggestion.

   "I know this may seem rather sudden to ask, but how much would you trust me to catch you? Down there."

   Down there meant jumping over the edge. Not just for him but he assumed she'd have to get down somehow too. Some way he couldn't if he had to jump. Inching away from the edge, Claudius shook his head.

   "It's far. You're strong but I am heavy, and I don't want to crush you. How can I know you'll be able to see me when I fall?"

Cheesigator

His concern was adorable in its own strange way, Ain found, and the corners of her lips turned up just slightly at the notion of it as she listened to his response.

His worry was well-placed, certainly reasonable. He brought up valid points, considering he didn't know what she was.

She shrugged, thinking on it for a moment before snapping her fingers. Handing him the torch, she hesitated for a moment before undoing the buckles on the belt of pouches she wore on her hips. Making sure everything was secure, she handed it to him, taking the torch back.

"I don't need to see you, I'll be able to use my other senses. That has all of my gold coin and jewels I've collected recently in it. I'll be able to sense you more easily with it to catch you. Your weight won't be an issue, probably."

Probably.

With that, she stepped to the edge, gritting her teeth as she shrugged. She wasn't exactly sure what she might find down there; it could be smooth floor, it could be a bunch of spikes waiting to break her limbs to pieces when she landed.

Well, she was a dragon, she'd be fine, probably. She had thick skin. Armored scale plating and all that, under this fake human exterior.

She didn't let herself think on it a moment longer, and stepped off the edge, dropping down with only a whistling breeze and the sound of cloth flapping in the wind to tell Claudius she'd actually been there and not just a hallucination this entire time.

The free fall put the light out on the torch almost immediately, and when she finally hit the ground it wasn't without pain that sent her to her hands and knees for a brief moment as she grit her teeth yet again, hissing a little as she shook herself. Well, the ground was uneven, but as far as she could tell there were no stalagmites impaling her legs. Her human form had held up quite well, better than she could have hoped--her kneecaps were still sitting nice and tight underneath her muscles and skin, even! What more could she ever ask for?

She took a moment to reach out, find the torch and ignite it again, the light a small orange flicker to the minotaur waiting up above.

Ain looked up to where he probably was on the cliff ledge, squinting but unable to see him exactly. She could still smell the scents of her treasures though, and could pinpoint using that just about where he was.

"It's alright, go ahead and jump!" She called up, her voice echoing off the soft walls as she set the torch down, keeping an eye on it to make sure it didn't go out.

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