whispers turned to talking

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

The tunnel narrows again, walls pressing in with a damp, claustrophobic hush that seems to soak up sound as much as light. Every step kicks up the sour reek of moss and rot, the scent thickening in the back of Flora’s throat like a dare. She picks her way carefully around a patch of glowing fungus that looks far too eager to be touched, wrinkling her nose as she glances sidelong at Callum. "Soooooo," she says lightly, tone at odds with the hunched, curling tunnel around them, "did you ever hear the stories about the Myrworm that lives down here?"

Her voice echoes just a little too far, like something is listening.

She doesn’t stop walking.

"Big, squishy, angry thing," she adds, nose scrunching as she ducks beneath a low-hanging root. "Apparently it attacked all of the groups who came down here and they could never manage to kill it." Flora flashes him a grin that’s all teeth and nerves. "Just thought I’d ask. Y’know. In case you have any worm-specific skills I should know about."

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Callum

There's a hatchet got a knife
When I awoke there was nothing real in this life

The tunnel continues on - and on, and on, and on - until Callum begins to wonder what, exactly, he's signed up for in protecting Torchline's queen. Who, by the way? Doesn't seem to need protecting. It makes him wonder what exactly she has planned for him down here. Snake bait? Check. Maybe this mythical Myrworm is the next thing he'll be thrown at to distract.

Ah, well. As long as she kills it before it eats him, he supposes he can't complain.

"Well, that's unfortunate," he says, huffing a dry laugh. "But how different are snakes and wyrms, really? Perhaps my skills as bait will come into good use." It's easier, after all, to joke about it than it is to picture what might happen to them if said Myrworm comes along. If groups of Caido's strongest couldn't dispose of the creature, then Callum is under no illusions as to what will happen to him. He has never claimed to be one of the world's finest fighters. He's just scrappy enough not to die - so far, anyway. Turning sharp, blue eyes to Flora, he grins. "I'm starting to think I offended you on the beach that day. This is one hell of a way to get revenge."

But dreams are so intoxicating
When you're doing this alone

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora grins, the expression gleaming sharp in the pale glow as she angles a look at him through the shadows. "Can’t wait to find out," she says breezily, as if becoming worm bait is just another item on her to-do list. Her tone is almost too casual, but her fingers still drift close to her blades as they press deeper into the crush of tunnels.

At his jab about the beach, her laughter bubbles up like champagne, echoing oddly in the tight space. "Mm, could be," she calls back, tossing him a playful glance over her shoulder. "To be fair, that was a first for me, I've never been in someone's arms before and had them not know who I was." She flashes him a wink, curls bouncing as she moves ahead. "I’ll let it slide, just this once. But if it happens again," she adds, mock-severe, as if he might find her hips beneath his palms again and be caught unawares, "I'll feed you to something way worse than a big worm."

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Callum

There's a hatchet got a knife
When I awoke there was nothing real in this life

If nothing else, Callum supposes that he's keeping the queen in good spirits as they traverse down into the nightmare that is the Crush. So far on this little trip, she's proven herself more than capable of taking care of herself, which leads him to wonder if she'd hired him simply for the company. Not that he's conceited enough to think it was his company specifically, but just... anyone's. Cal can't blame her - he wouldn't have wanted to come out here alone, either.

Her laughter is bright and bubbly, and he grins in response. "If it happens again," he says. "You might as well feed me to whatever you'd like, Sunshine, because I might as well be dead if I don't recognize you a second time."

Callum sidesteps a patch of fungus - fungi? - and shifts his crossbow in his hands. "So," he says after a few minutes. "Giant Myrwyrm notwithstanding, what else do we know lives down here? Just so I can adjust my bait performance accordingly."

But dreams are so intoxicating
When you're doing this alone

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora shoots him a sideways look, one brow arched, not quite sure yet whether she loves or hates sunshine—but finding, to her mild annoyance, that it’s sort of growing on her. She rolls her eyes, but there’s affection behind it, the kind that curls in her voice as she says, "I’ll take that as a compliment."

His question draws a thoughtful hum from her lips as she picks her way over a patch of crumbling stone slick with condensation. "Let’s see..." She squints into the gloom, eyes narrowed. "There was a big spider. Like, really big, but it was killed." She pauses, stepping over a groove in the tunnel floor that looks suspiciously like something burrowed through it. "Then there’s supposedly some giant water monster even deeper down. But who knows if it stuck around after the Family left or not."

Grinning over one shoulder, she adds, "You wanna find out? Or is this where you make some sort of excuse just to get back to the surface?"

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3

Callum

There's a hatchet got a knife
When I awoke there was nothing real in this life

Whether or not Flora likes ‘Sunshine,’ she’s stuck with it now. She should really take it as a compliment; Callum only gives nicknames to those he likes, and he’s coming to realize that he likes Flora. She’s fierce, and fiery, and fun - all things that he values in his friends. ”Good,” he says easily, tossing a wink her way. ”It was meant as one.”

She launches into a thoughtful hum, and Cal follows along in her footsteps as she picks her way across crumbling stone. He raises a brow at the thought of a dead spider corpse, wondering if it was venomous and if that venom could be harvested for use or resale - there is, after all, quite the black market in Torchline - and then considers the possibility of a water monster. But at Flora’s question, he laughs. ”I don’t make excuses,” he assures her. ”You paid for my services, and you’ll get what you paid for. Water monsters and all.”

But dreams are so intoxicating
When you're doing this alone

yeah I got heartbreak that I reminisce about

Flora tosses Callum a crooked smile; sharp at first, but it softens at the edges, threatening to bloom into something genuine before she laughs, bright and careless. "Hope you checked the fine print when I bought your services," she teases, voice lilting as she lifts a brow at him, "because I’ve got way more in mind than just a casual stroll through nightmare caverns."

With a swish of her braid and a grin that dares him to keep up, she leads the way forward. The tunnels narrow again, the walls sweat-slick and glowing faintly with sickly lavender light. They pass a stone outcropping shaped almost like twisted ribs, and for a moment, Flora pauses—where the path forks, one tunnel curling toward stale silence, the other echoing with the low, constant sound of rushing water. She glances back once to make sure he’s still there, then angles toward the sound without hesitation. Deeper into the dark. Toward whatever waits.

Whatever it is, she doesn’t plan to face it alone.

~FIN

real big things I still gotta figure out

Code 100% taken from the queeeeeeen herself, Sky <3