Focus Your Chi [Finished!]

[Bee]

Jin took a moment to shake the snow off himself. He didn't want that shit either freezing to ice or melting all over him. It was times like these that took his general dislike for snow and turned it into a consuming hatred.

He shrugged. "Go back as far into the cave as we can, probably. I haven't explored this one very much, but most of them are pretty empty. Maybe we can kill a bear for food if we end up holed up in here for a while."

It was entirely possible, being in here for a ridiculous amount of time. Storms could last for days, and snowfall lingered for weeks afterward. They might even have to dig their way out of the cave through a nature-made door of snow. Jin's tail twitched; it did come in handy in times like these. And when Mother thought it amusing to seal him in an igloo with tightly packed four-feet-thick walls.

[Dark]

Hadyn frowned and eyed the dark expanse of cave warily; the suggestion of large wild animals in local residence was vaguely worrisome but he was sure between the two of them they would take care of whatever might pop up, as long as they weren't caught unaware. If there really was a bear, though, and they killed it... how would they cook it? The idea of raw meat made Hadyn's stomach roll.

"Right." Explore the cave. Hadyn had relatively good night vision, generally, but there was hardly any light now and the cave would only get darker as they went on. "Don't suppose you have a torch on you?"

Hadyn didn't have much on him that would be of use; the satchel he cared with him had a handful of coins, a pack of cigs, and a lighter. The lighter would get them farther than nothing though. He dug it out.

[Bee]

"No," Jin said. He didn't have anything in his pockets really. "If there is anything in here, it's probably made a nice little bed of brush for itself...we can dispose of the current occupant and make a neat little fire out of its bedding."

The flimsy light of Hadyn's little device led them deeper into the cave, and Jin kept a sharp eye out for anything that might be considered useful. They rounded a corner, and stumbled upon something very interesting indeed.

It looked like some idiot had attempted to make an expedition through the area. Quite some time ago, if the state of his corpse was any indication. The bones weren't all in one spot--nibbling on and picked about by hungry critters of the forest, likely--and most of the food except what might have been bread but really just looked like a grimy block of wood was gone. He had brought straw with him, though, and a small supply of wood. He had likely thought to stay a night or two in the cave, gotten trapped, and then gotten eaten. Or died of dehydration. That was entirely likely.

Jin grimaced. "Well, some of this should be useful. Mind the corpse."

[Dark]

Hadyn hummed in agreement, quickly gathering up some of the straw and a few smaller pieces of wood; the previous occupant had taken the time to build a fire pit, a fact that Hadyn was very grateful for as he built a fire. It reduced the chances of a spark igniting the very dry hay that was strewn everywhere; they would still have to keep a careful eye on it, though.

Hadyn kicked the bones out of the way and sunk to the floor, digging in the satchel for his cigs. As vices went, it was something he hadn't picked up very long ago, and something that once upon a time Hadyn would have frowned upon. For all his problems, Haydn liked to keep himself relatively healthy; cigarettes didn't really fit into the equation. Still, they could be rather placative.

He glanced at Jin and waved the pack, "You smoke?"

[Bee]

Jin looked at the pack of cigarettes blankly. A couple of people around here smoked pipes on occasion, but he hadn't seen what Hadyn was toting around very often. Breathing thin, frigid air was usually difficult enough as it was without compromising one's lung function; the addiction of choice around here was usually the pleasant burn of alcohol. Jin personally had never tried the stuff, though he had seen Sana do it.

But there was really nothing better to do (their other activities probably ran as follows: sitting around the fire, poking at dirt, glaring at one another, and grimly contemplating the prospect of an early death by starvation), and the cigarette would keep his hands and mouth occupied for a little while, at least. So as much as he disliked the notion of accepting things from baby killers, he shrugged.

"No time like the present to start."

[Dark]

Hadyn nodded absently, extracting a cig for himself before tossing the carton to his companion. He lit it rather clumsily--gods what he would give for an opposing thumb--and handed over the lighter, too. The first lungful had him coughing a bit, but the warm flood of nicotine was quick to act and the cough subsided; he settled into drowsy, almost-contentment.

The fire cast a cheerful glow and Hadyn looked around the illuminated cavern with vague interest; the tunnel extended out past the alcove into the darkness. Hadyn took another drag of his cig, “I wonder how far back it goes.” Not that it mattered; there was still a snowstorm going on outside, even if they found another viable exit.

It was--strange--to think that they might die here; he supposed Old Bones might enjoy the company, though he wasn’t so keen on the idea of moldering here for a small eternity until the next poor buggers stumbled in to die.

Hadyn supposed he’d found what he was looking for after all.

[Bee]

Jin mostly let his cigarette burn itself out. His efforts to not plunge himself into a coughing fit had just ended up in an even more violent coughing fit, and he didn't much care for the choking smell, especially in this enclosed area. But what else was there to do, really? Except recline and wait for the icy hand of death. Jin didn't much care for the icy hand of death.

He eyed the darkness that stretched beyond their little camp fire and felt the unpleasant burn of restlessness. He was torn between staying where they might be moderately safe and exploring to pass the time. He didn't want either of them to do something untoward in their boredom, like strangle each other.

He flicked the last little bit of the cigarette butt into the fire.

"Not that I don't love relaxing by the fire with you, but what do you say we check this cave out?"

[Dark]

Following suit, Hadyn tossed what was left of his cig into the fire. It was awkward enough trying to handle one when he wasn't walking; he didn't think he could manage both. If they got out of the cave alive, maybe he would look more seriously into achieving his bipedal--it would be a rather handy thing to have right about now. That way, the next time he got into a life or death situation, he would be a little better prepared.

"Sure," Hadyn pushed off the wall, "Though we could probably use a torch." Not that they would be able to carry it easily, but how else were they going to be able to see where they were going? Hadyn had relatively keen night-vision, but some level of light was required. The tunnel was pitch black.

Hadyn banked the fire--he didn't want to put it out completely, but they didn't need it catching the hay of fire while they were gone--and quickly assembled too torches. He took one carefully in his jaws--the flame was a little too close to his face for comfort, but not close enough to burn.

[Bee]

Jin grabbed the other--it was keeping his face nice and toasty, at least, though he was vaguely worried that a spare spark was going to catch his floppy mane and set his head on fire--and they set off on their way down the cave. For a long while there was very little that they had not seen before. Dirty rocky walls, dirty rocky ground, dirtrock rockdirt on into eternity.

Then he saw what might have been rudimentary tracks, grooved into the earth like something with pretty good-sized wheels was meant to traverse them, and there was actually a cart, broken and bent, against the wall of the cave. Not just rock-dirt anymore, but lined with carefully placed wooden supports. They looks to be very old.

Huh. He'd had no idea this was a mine. He had no idea what there actually was to mine out in the Glacier.

[Dark]

Hadyn grinned--or attempted to; it was rather difficult with a hefty chunk of wood clenched between his teeth. Stumbling on an old mineshaft was a stroke of good fortune--unless there had been a rock slide in the years following when the mine had been active, there was a very likely chance that they would find an exit. Not that they would be able to employ such a handy escape route until after the blizzard passed, but the thought alone was enough to raise his spirits.

"We'll follow this as far as we can." Muffled by wood and spit, the words didn't come out sounding anywhere near right, but he hoped Jin would get the overall gist. And not mock him too seriously about his current inability to enunciate, which was something that, in their short acquaintance, Hadyn was beginning to suspect the canine rather enjoyed doing.