It was a relief when he felt Thal start moving again, and even better when she started swimming on her own. He'd been getting pretty scared at how limp she'd been, but it seemed like she'd finally snapped out of the Void-inspired despair and returned to her senses. And, soon enough, to the air and raucous noises of the jungle.
Tal rested on the edge of the cenote, the lip thankfully not a deep one, after the grateful Ancient had gotten herself all the way out. He bobbed his head in awkward acknowledgment of her gratitude but didn't really know what to say.
Luckily he didn't have to find the words just yet. He was still halfway in the water when Maea was grabbing onto his arm, helping to haul him the rest of the way out. Bemused but not against a group hug Tal wrapped one arm around her and the other tentatively around Thalassa while they sat there and felt their emotions, or whatever was happening. His emotions - fear for Thal, the lingering unease of the Lotus, embarrassment from getting tricked by the spokes - were firmly quashed deep down where they could properly ferment. "Hey," he said, gruff but unusually gentle as he patted shoulders and backs. "Hey, s'okay. We're all fine now, yeah? An' that Lotus is gone. Well, I think it is. Except..."
He hesitated and refused to look back at the still, black waters that even now were fading back into invisibility beneath the covering of broad leaves and interlacing vines overhead. "When we were down there, I saw... somethin'." He chewed his lip fiercely, avoiding Maea's eyes as he reached up to tap the side of his Goggles. "There was a tunnel in th'wall. An' some sort o' creepy purple light filterin' down it. We could try divin' again t'check it out. Or... I dunno. Maybe there's another big hole in th'ground further on? Or a cave or somethin'?"
Tal reveals that he saw a tunnel with a potential Void influence while he was in the water. Should you swim through it? Try to find an entrance aboveground further along? Or something else entirely?
Tal rested on the edge of the cenote, the lip thankfully not a deep one, after the grateful Ancient had gotten herself all the way out. He bobbed his head in awkward acknowledgment of her gratitude but didn't really know what to say.
Luckily he didn't have to find the words just yet. He was still halfway in the water when Maea was grabbing onto his arm, helping to haul him the rest of the way out. Bemused but not against a group hug Tal wrapped one arm around her and the other tentatively around Thalassa while they sat there and felt their emotions, or whatever was happening. His emotions - fear for Thal, the lingering unease of the Lotus, embarrassment from getting tricked by the spokes - were firmly quashed deep down where they could properly ferment. "Hey," he said, gruff but unusually gentle as he patted shoulders and backs. "Hey, s'okay. We're all fine now, yeah? An' that Lotus is gone. Well, I think it is. Except..."
He hesitated and refused to look back at the still, black waters that even now were fading back into invisibility beneath the covering of broad leaves and interlacing vines overhead. "When we were down there, I saw... somethin'." He chewed his lip fiercely, avoiding Maea's eyes as he reached up to tap the side of his Goggles. "There was a tunnel in th'wall. An' some sort o' creepy purple light filterin' down it. We could try divin' again t'check it out. Or... I dunno. Maybe there's another big hole in th'ground further on? Or a cave or somethin'?"
Tal reveals that he saw a tunnel with a potential Void influence while he was in the water. Should you swim through it? Try to find an entrance aboveground further along? Or something else entirely?
