Taking the Initiative [Dark]

[Dark]

Minh was exploring the premise of the cavern, Monty in close pursuit, both of them trying to outdo the other when it came to dodging fiery fountains of death. It was a game of chicken of the highest degree. It really wasn't all that hard when you figured it out, though--there was a whiff of sulfur and a slight woff sound right before any of the tiny mounds let out a bursting stream of flame, giving plenty of warning to get out of the way.

It was the sight of Mnem, who was practically radiating bad idea, that made her finally turn around. The blood-red flowers the canine was currently peering at were certainly interesting, but Minh felt a bit nervous as the snapped at the end of their viney leashes.

"Not a good idea, I think. Maybe, once we find a way out, we can come back for a specimen. At the moment, though..."

[Bee]

Mnem had half a mind to just cut off portions of the plant then and there, stuff them into her pack, and have done with it. The odds were poor that they would be back this way, once they started exploring the cave. Mnem and Minh did not seem to have very good luck with things working out the way they had planned. Perhaps next they would get kidnapped by space pirates and forced to rob intergalactic diners and assassinate political leaders for the rest of their lives. Minh would probably love that, actually.

But even if she couldn't take this lovely specimen with her--Red Sophus, she had called it, cooing at the flower with the hope that perhaps her gentle words would encourage some kind of cooperation--there were likely to be other interesting plants in the cave. She would just need to find one that didn't look like it ate fingers for breakfast.

"Fine, fine. We had better get looking for a way out." She pointed at the roof of the cavern, quite some ways up. "I don't think we're getting out that way."

[Dark]

No, they were definitely not getting out the way they had come in. Looking up at the ceiling, it was surprising they hadn't died on impact--maybe all the mud had acted as some sort of cushion, and saved them from the hassle of broken bones. Or...something.

"Right, then. So I suppose we continue moving forward and hope for the best."

She retrieved her pack, brushing off as much of the gunk as she could in what she felt was a relatively cheery manner--they had been surprisingly lucky, considering they weren't dead. Or, worse, lost the food. When she caught herself hugging the pack and making cooing noises, she concluded she was in shock.

The cavern itself stretched on for what seemed like miles, and as they walked--dodging blasts of fire in an odd sort of dance--Minh noted the plants themselves were giving off the light. Some sort of phosphorescence, though for what purpose, Minh hadn't the foggiest idea. Maybe it was something in the soil?

[Bee]

Mnem's walk was a continuous exercise in restraint. She wanted the plants. She wanted the ones that glowed, though to figure out the mystery of those, she was probably going to need to go through a careful examination of the soil. Perhaps the plants had developed the ability to really process strontium aluminate (or some zinc compound she had long forgotten the proper name of), and glowed. The only way to find out would be to bring a few home and run a very extensive set of tests.

But what in the world, she wondered suddenly, were they lighting the way for? The thought unnerved her. She didn't want to encounter anything else that could possibly kill them. Mnem had had her fill of near-death experiences some time ago.

Mnem paused.

Fuck you very much, Fate.

"Minh," she said. "Minh, did you hear something...scurrying?"

[Dark]

Minh really wished she could tell Mnem she didn't hear anything, but due to a phenomenal case of bad luck there was no denying the sound of tiny feet making their rapid little way towards them, tapping out a promise of pain and, very likely, death. And from the sound, whatever it was, there was a whole flock zeroing in on their position.

They drew together in a tight circle, and Minh let out a tiny whimper as multi-faceted eyes glinted out from the gloom. It was staring at her.

"They're...beetles. Beetles of unusual size."

The insects were five times the size of Monty, completely covered in a hard, blood-red carapace. They seemed to communicate with each other through the clicking noises they emitted, mandibles clicking; Minh winced as the noise reached a crescendo. Whatever the things were planning, it wasn't good.

[Bee]

Beetles of unusual size, indeed. The little buggers looked like they could have easily eaten a house. And they still would have been hungry enough to consume a few actual people afterwards. People like Mnem and Minh. Being devoured by beetles was not a way in which she really wanted to die. It wasn't even a way in which she had even considered dying.

But the dark red menaces were blocking most of the availble paths, and they were chittering madly. An attack. They had to be preparing an attack.

An idea hit.

"Minh," she said, cautiously beginning to back away from the beetles. "I think these will burn as well as anything else. We need to get them to cross over the vents."

She didn't know how they'd manage it, though. The beetles had probably been here for quite some time; the likely knew about the little mounds of dirt and the deadly flames they expelled. But still. It was either that, or run headlong into the swarm of them, which would very probably end in gruesome demises for all of them.

[Dark]

The vents. Right. Minh bounced the the heels of her feet, thinking fast. They would have to time it perfectly, and she wasn't exactly sure how they could manage with so many beetles, but they would have to try.

She met Monty's eye--who was bristling with righteous bander rage, ready to viciously maul at the first indication--and nodded. "Go."

The bander shot forward, easily avoiding snapping mandibles as she slipped between jointed knees. Some of the beetles turned, slow because of their cumbersome bulk and followed. While the rest were distracted, Minh took the opportunity to to run rather blindly into the swarm, throwing her whole weight into slamming against the nearest beetle. It went tumbling over and landed on its back, legs kicking uselessly in the air.

She grinned. Flipped over, the beetles couldn't cause any serious amount of harm. They could also be moved rather easily over vents, and disposed of. Hell yeah.

Now they just had to avoid being pinched in half while they dealt with them all.

[Bee]

It didn't take long at all for the cave to become a den of violent beetle death. Some were overturned and immediately pounced upon by Monty, who proceeded to sink hir teeth into their underbellies; some were lead over the vents, which was the most awe-inspiring sight of all, because some of them were carried by the force of the eruption halfway to the ceiling of the cave, riding a terrible wave of flame, and they fell to the ground roasted.

Their snapping little pinchers looked like hell, but Mnem was fast, and managed to dart out of their way as another beetle chased her over the vent--timed right, she got over it fine, while the little bastard following her got turned into toast.

Soon the beetles were either dead or had fled to regroup--and plot some newer, better assault. They knew what they were up against now.

"Let's stand quietly here for a moment," said Mnem, "and wish quite fervently that this is the last bit of freakishness we see until we're out of here."

[Dark]

Minh took a deep breath, silently agreeing as she whipped away some blood from her cheek--she'd gotten a little too close to that last beetle. Maybe, in addition to the silence, they should try praying--because it couldn't do any harm, considering the time they'd been having. And while Minh hadn't ever paid respect to any specific deity, at the moment she felt like it was never too late in life to find religion. Especially if it kept you alive and out of the jaws of mutant bugs.

In the end, it actually wasn't too hard to find an exit. They followed a relatively straight line--the nipping plants started to die back, and the flora thinned down until it was almost nonexistent. And it she wasn't hallucinating, Minh thought she felt a slight breeze.

The rock slide they had to climb, however, was not at all pleasant. The boulders were gigantic, and hard to navigate. And their exist was, of course, up at the very top. So they climbed.

[Bee]

It would figure. They finally manage to get themselves away from coleopteric death and find themselves faced with yet another opportunity for complete physical exertion. Mnem wasn't sure how much effort her body was going to tolerate before it metaphorically gave her the finger and went on strike. She pushed herself from rock to rock, not really caring that she was falling a bit behind Minh; she wanted to take a break, but she was sure that if she sat down on a rock, she wouldn't get back up for hours.

Monty was bounding ahead of them both, of course, and Mnem wondered just how much energy that little demon had. Perhaps being a psychotic hellbeast gave hir supernatural endurance.

Finally, after ages upon ages of climbing, they found themselves back in the forest proper. They had evidently passed the creepy part of the woods with the quicksand, but Mnem wasn't going to take any chances. She kept an eye to the ground, and tread lightly.

They needed water, as if things weren't terrible enough. They had a bit in their packs, from a small well near the old woman's house, but that wouldn't last them long even if they conserved it. And with the amount of exercise they've been getting lately, it was going to be impossible to conserve.

"We need to find a stream or something," Mnem said with a sigh. "Dehydration kills as effectively as starvation."