ZincAboutIt

@Snipexe

"Yes," Lita murmured, her fingers still outstretched. "Lost." The water continued to pour down, inches from her hand, and the lure on her mind, her soul only grew stronger. There was a source here, something deep and old, something that could give her everything she had ever wanted. Knowledge. Power. Understanding of the type that few ever even glimpsed, let alone held within their grasp. It could be hers, if she just stepped under that water -- Several things happened at once. Her right foot slid forward, toe catching on a lip of stone that she had missed with her attention so fully glued to the stream of pouring water. The right pocket of her trousers, the pocket that held her Alleycant pen, started twitching and vibrating so hard she thought it might actually tear through the seams. And the left pocket of her vest suddenly burned so hot she was sure it had seared a mark into her flesh. Lita jammed her fingers into her vest pocket, cursing and clutching the Coin in her left hand, siphoning as much heat as she could into the bracers on her arms, the rings on her ears, even the reinforced brass heels of her boots. As she did so, her right foot stopped short on the lip of stone, and she pitched forward for one moment, her right hand flailing out to catch something, anything, before her mind screamed at her to flare her Pewter. She did so, spinning on the ball of her right foot, executing something like half a pirouette before she regained her balance and stepped neatly back onto her left foot. Right into the pool of still, glassy water. Her boot sunk into the water, which reached halfway up her calf and was oddly, pleasantly, warm. Not quite warm as a bath, but warmer than she'd have ever expected an underground waterfall to be. Before she could even begin to register that she had stepped into a pool of obviously-Invested liquid, Lita's momentum carried her backwards just enough for the gentle rainfall of water to splash right down onto the top of her head. Time slowed to a crawl that made chasms from the space between her heartbeats. Lita's body, the cavern, the world, became a half-frozen churn of slush. But her mind... Her mind exploded outwards. Lita could still feel the echo of heat in her left hand, the heat of the Coin. She focused on it now, on that mystery, the knowledge that had been required to make it, the properties it held that she couldn't even begin to fathom. But she could fathom them now, and as easily as breathing, Lita realized that she knew everything there was to know about that Coin. She knew each alloy, each property of Investiture, each interlocking bit of power and magic and metal that the Stranger had folded into this talisman. And suddenly all his cryptic talk of luck and transportation and communication was laid as bare as if she had watched its creation herself. With her thoughts directed towards the Coin, it was only a short jump to the heart of all her questions, all her burning ambitions, that singular and defining figure that had moved in and out of the shadows of her dreams and her nightmares ever since that first morning in the Alleys. The Stranger, with his one spiked eye and his one pit of darkness, a god and a demon and an implacable will that was deeper than any ocean. His promises of truth, of the hidden secrets of the cosmos that were there for the taking - if she were willing to pay the price. Like he had. It had been so easy for him to read her hunger, her pain; surely, he must be intimately acquainted with his own. She could see him now in clear and perfect detail, though her physical eyes were still glued to the pale oval of Laurelai's face in the gloom of the Chapel of Rain. This was another kind of sight, a truer kind. Deeper. She saw him wreathed in darkness and solitude, a great iron hammer in one hand, his vast and terrible will focused on the metal before him, striking it again and again and again as though he might undo each and every one of his errors with every blow. Lita saw it then, for one long-stretched moment: the shape of his plan, the design of the metal that warped and twisted and sparked beneath his hands and his mind and his power. He was building a new world. A new universe. She could see it now, and though a part of her mind quailed with the terror of it, an equal portion gloried at the audacity of it all, his arrogance and his absolute rusting surety that this was the right thing to do. No, not even the right thing. This was above morality. It was simply a thing that would be done, because he willed it so. Because who else could? Lita's heart had almost begun to contract for another pulse, sending another wave of blood through her body. Even now, that momentum that had carried her into the stream of water was carrying her out. But in that place of her mind, time was hot taffy, and it spooled out and out and out between her hands. She reached out casually, almost lazily, and sent her whirling thoughts, all the molten liquid jumble of emotion and ambition and awe and terror and realization through the Coin toward its maker. @Fatebreaker Then, as her second heartbeat elapsed, physics held its sway over Lita and carried her out of the stream of water. Her right foot stepped back to the other side of the pool, and she staggered, the world suddenly speeding up in a blinding rush and sending a wave of vertigo and nausea cresting over her. Lita staggered, burning Pewter and Tin and gagging once before her right hand met the cool stone of the back wall of the grotto. Lita blinked, unsure why her head felt so odd, why her heart was pounding as though she had just run a great distance. There was an odd sensation in the back of her mind, as though she were forgetting something important. She looked down at her boots, then ran a hand through her hair. Did I...? She looked back at the stream of water, then gave her head a little shake. Must have just missed it. Lita replayed the last few seconds in her mind: she'd tripped, stepped backwards, almost fallen, and now here she was. So why did it feel as though she'd done far more than just step backwards? She opened her left hand and stared at the Coin, which was now heavy and cool as always. Another violent twitch from her right pocket snapped her attention back into the physical, and she took out her Alleycant pen with a slight frown, taking a moment to decipher the message. It was Tanarav, from Acquisitions, demanding to know her location and asking if Laurelai was with her. Top brass demands immediate response, do not delay. What is your location? Lita looked back across the cave toward Laurelai, her frown deepening. Was Mac working with the Head of Acquisitions on something? And why go through Tanarav when Mac had her personal Alleycant channel? Confirming that Laurelai is with me. Current location not entirely known, somewhere in the new cavern system. Logged the exploration with DoCI Dept. Head. It's some place call the 'Chapel of Rain.' Why? The reply came quickly, Tanarav's words terse and frenzied even through the transmission. Lita stood there, replaying it in her mind a few times. Then, a few more. She looked back to the pen, her heart starting to race again, the beginnings of a wild smile forming at the edges of her mouth. "Holy rusting hell," she whispered, staring at the slender length of wood and metal in her hand. She looked up at Laurelai, all traces of discomfort gone for the moment. "Atium," she said, and the word sounded strange in this place, echoing off the walls. "Laurelai, they found a whole rusting cave of Atium down here." @Voidus

At the mention of sleep, Vivica felt herself flinch a little. She took another sip of coffee, and her hand shook a little as she gazed up at Bennington. The octopus curled and uncurled his tentacles in obvious agitation. "Bronze is so useful that way," she said, her voice a little too bright, too cheerful. "Sleep n-never, never did me much good, back when I was... back when I lived..." Vivica lowered her voice to a whisper. "Outside the Alleys." She stared down into her cup, the edges of her mind growing hot and smoky, the memories of fire leaking back into her brain like molten lead. Vivica did her best to breathe normally. "We don't talk about sleep, Nox," she whispered, and all the cheer was gone from her voice. Vivica suddenly looked as she truly ought to, a woman in her late twenties, ragged and covered in smears of dried blood, her eyes ringed in purple bags, the whites shot through with red vessels. There was a hollowness to her face, to her entire being, a hollowness that came from her and settled around her. A hundred apparitions floated through her mind, a host of phantom companions, but at her core Vivica was terribly, irrevocably, alone. From a long way off, Vivica's shattered mind finally processed Nox's latest question. She blinked once, then took a sip of coffee. The barest whisper of a smile flickered on her face, like a match in a strong wind. Then, like a magnesium pop of glow, it caught. Vivica looked up at Nox again, her smile bright as a new spike. "Blessed ovens yes! I'd be more curious than a Copper Ferring in a room full of pennies. Do you really think they found it down there? Atium?"

Vivica sipped her coffee and watched the man grow several sets of extra arms, passing spikes to his new hands and spinning them in a dizzying array of patterns. "Nox," she said politely, "I had no idea I knew that much Alleycant. When did I learn all those words?" Then, she smiled. "You look a bit like Bennington now." With a giggle, she picked up one of the other cups of coffee and put it into one of Nox's extra arms. "Now you can drink all the cups of coffee you want!" Something in her pocket started to twitch, and she brought out her own Alleycant spike. There were several messages trying to get through now, and Vivica had never been great at Alleycant. Generally, people delivered their own memos to her. More often than not, people just left her alone to observe their experiments at all hours. It would have been lonely, she supposed, if she didn't have so much company. "Let's see what this message is all about, Bennington," she mumbled, trying to muddle through the Alleycant transmissions. "Something...found... lower caverns - oh yes, I remember those - hmm... something valuable... an atrium? They found an atrium down there?" Vivica cocked her head at Nox. "How do you think they got an atrium built down there all this time, Nox? That is rather a puzzle, though, I mean, no offense - but, well. It's hardly interdepartmental news, isn't it?" She took another sip of coffee, then moved on to the next message. It was someone in R&D, asking about the Atium. Vivica blinked. "Atium?" She looked back to Nox. "Do you think they found it in the atrium down there, Nox? It would just go to figure, wouldn't it? Where else would anyone put their Atium?" @Voidus

I wanted to learn how to draw for ages, and I finally made myself do it this year. The desire to draw the characters I was writing is what finally motivated me to really take the time to learn, and it's what keeps me practicing day after day. I'd just find something that you can't stop thinking about, something that really occupies your attention, something that you can visualize very intensely. Start with what you're preoccupied with, and draw that. That's what worked for me :3 Best of luck!

Corette watched Althea watch everyone, and though her face remained impassive and neutral, Corette could detect her unease. She had moved a bit closer to her Underling, only serving to underscore her fear over what everyone would do. The Underling boy was young and weak - Corette had expected as much. Leave and forget that this cave existed? What kind of nonsense was that? But when Althea had echoed his sentiment, then passed her helmet to Adren, Corette felt a wave of contempt ripple over her. She was diligent to keep this emotion off her face, and in truth, if Althea wanted the DA to take all the Atium off their hands, well, that was good news. But privately, in Corette’s own estimation, her respect for the Elsecaller plummeted. It seemed that fear ruled even one such as her, a Guild leader and powerful Surgebinder. Judging by her poorly-concealed tender hearted tendencies towards the weaker members of the expedition, she was fretting about war. Another man had piped up, his eyes wide as dinner plates as he stared around the cavern. ”Highly valuable,” she said, then looked back towards Adren and Althea. “Karin is on her way back up here. Also, before we discuss how to divide up this great treasure, we might want to consider the organization we all came down with.” Corette pointed to the patch sewn onto her coveralls, which she had pulled into her arms. “We won’t be able to keep this from the Director, not for long. One of this lot may have already sent word. They’ll stake a claim to this just like everyone else.”

Lita stepped forward, then stopped. The Chapel of Rain. It seemed appropriate for this place - peaceful, reverent. She looked towards the water falling from the ceiling, following it down to the pool, which was still as a pane of glass. While everything about this little alcove radiated calm and tranquility, Lita couldn't help but feel something else. Just a whisper, an echo of something more powerful, something that pulled her in. She took another step forward, her mind slow to process Laurelai's question. Worldhoppers? "Maybe," she said softly. "Who knows how long this place has been here?" I wonder what it feels like? She thought, staring at the water. Almost unconsciously, Lita stretched out her hand towards the stream, stopping with her fingers halfway towards the falling water. What am I doing? Sticking one's hand into obviously Invested liquid was one of the stupidest things she could think of - had six months living in the Alleys taught her nothing? Still, her arm just hung there, frozen. There was something about this water that held her attention. "Can you feel it?" Lita murmured, fighting the odd compulsion to touch the water - just touch it. Just once. "Don't you just want to..." -------- Corette finished scrambling up the side of the ledge, the many cuts on her arm stinging and dripping blood, her body so cold she was sure she'd chip her own teeth shivering. She still clutched the bead of Atium in one fist, barely sparing a glance for any of the others as she made a beeline for her pack and the blanket roll she'd strapped to the bottom. Only once she had wrapped the cloth around herself and rubbed a little warmth back into her limbs did she glance around. Althea had already filled half her helmet with Atium beads, and the rest of the group was standing around gawking as Adren threw geodes down onto the ledge. Well, there's all hope for stealth gone out the window. She felt even better about her decision to immediately contact the DA leaders; surely at least the Ghostbloods would know about this already now too. Corette moved towards Althea, Wes, and Whisper, careful not to let her eyes linger too long on the girl. Appearing unaffiliated with any guild would likely be an advantage now more than ever, and would allow her to hopefully gain valuable information on the plans of others in regards for this new resource. "I see you found a drier way to gather those," she said ruefully, lifting the bead of Atium - and her bloodied forearm - out of her blanket. @Ookla the Dreamer @Ookla the Maybe-Existent

Vivica nodded, then set the now-full cup of coffee on the break room table and swapped another one beneath the coffee maker. "Of course I'll help you," she said, taking the pencil out from behind her ear and slipping her little notepad into her hands. She started jotting down names immediately, her bloodshot blue eyes flicking up to the new fellow and back down every few seconds. "There's any number of ways we could go about this, focusing on some of your more striking qualities." Vivica looked up at Bennington, then pointed to a name she'd scribbled down. The octopus gave a little twirl and then moved over to circle the new apparition in wide loops, getting a good look at him from all angles. As he did that, Vivica grinned at the man. "Your height is quite impressive - definitely my tallest visitor to date. 'Stratos' could work for that, or we could go with something Alethi - those Alethi really are tall. I met an Alethi fellow once, wandered right into an Alley where I was walking. He had the most lovely violet eyes. I think... I think I might still have them somewhere..." She chewed her lip for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, before the coffee maker sputtered a little. Vivica blinked, then swapped out another cup before continuing on. "We could, of course, go with all that nice blonde hair you've got there - almost silvery. One of the Earths has some lovely blonde mythological figures, I always liked those stories. Let's see... we could call you Finn, perhaps? Finn, who ate the Salmon of Knowledge and knew all that there was to know in all the world! Now, that would be a thing. Can you imagine? God-like knowledge? That would be amazing. You know there are actually a few people around here who are basically gods. I've never met any of them personally, though I guess one leads the R&D Department again so I should probably meet him at some point..." Bennington continued to loop around the new man, moving closer. "Of course, we could go with those eyes of yours - nice and black. Can't even see the pupil actually - that's rather fun, isn't it? Noctus, maybe? Or Nox? Or we could go with a Parshendi name, they've got those black eyes, all glassy like polished jet, aren't they? But then, I don't want to offend you - you're no Voidbringer, after all." Vivica giggled, sneezed into her elbow, and swapped out another cup before beaming at the new man one more time. "So," she said, clutching a cup of coffee before her face and taking a sip. "Any favorites?"

Corette noticed the shifting movements within the fissures a moment before Karin swam up to her, eyes wide. The touch on her arm was soft, but even slight contact stung against her bloodied skin. Karin motioned towards the surface, and Corette nodded, kicking her way up. She wasn't eager to fight a swarm of eels in dark water. As her head broke the surface, Corette resisted the instinctive urge to take a breath. Instead, she struck out towards the shore, which actually amounted to being little more than a lip of bare, jagged stone and a few feet of gravelly beach. When her feet touched the bottom, she turned to Karin and held up the bead of Atium. "This is Atium, one of the rarest resources in existence," she whispered, unsure who might be listening in. She was sure at least a few others in the group would be able to puzzle out the fissures, crystals, and strange feeling of this place. "Once word gets out, everyone is going to want a piece. These caves will be crawling with people, each one trying to make it rich. Add the Guilds into this, and it could get even worse." Corette slipped the spike back into her sheath and felt herself begin to shiver. She looked up towards the ledge and spotted a cascade of boulders that looked easy enough to climb. Better start now before you freeze up. Corette forced herself to move her arms and stamp her feet, anything to get her circulation moving and warm herself up. Wet as she was, it wouldn't do much, but it was better than nothing. "Listen," she said to Karin, voice low. "I'm here mostly on my own business, but I've been a field agent for most of my life. I rarely spend more than two days at a time in the Alleys; most people there don't know me, and I want to keep it that way. As far as they are concerned," she pointed up towards the ledge, "I'm not in the DA. Now, I'm going to get back up there before I break my teeth from shivering too hard."

When you mistake your boss for another hallucination @Voidus

Corette kicked towards the wall, looking back once to see if Karin would follow; she did, reforming her feet and hands into flippers. Well, that's convenient, Corette thought, a little envious as she continued to kick with her inefficient human feet. Still, they did the job well enough, and soon she had reached the rough black stone of the cave wall. The light from her headlamp illuminated a barren landscape, with very little in the way of underwater plant life or fish. As she had hoped, small fissures and cracks pockmarked the stone down here; deep indigo light glittered within, winking in the watery silence. Corette pulled herself down the stone, cocking her head to get a good look into one of the fissures, when something sinuous and dark whipped out at her. She kicked back from the wall, only her years of practice free-diving keeping her from opening her mouth in surprise. The flurry of bubbles from her motion almost obscured the shape of a long, mottled grey eel slinking back into the hole. It bared sharp, needle-like teeth at Corette, its eyes slightly luminous and a bit too intelligent for comfort. She eyed the eel with caution, moving to the side a few feet and sliding the long dagger out of its sheath on her calf. Corette gripped it in her right hand, pulling herself along the rock with her left and shining her headlamp along the other fissures to check for other surprises. A few more pairs of gleaming eyes reflected out at her, but eventually she found one that was unoccupied. Corette squinted into the crack, heartbeat starting to pick up as she saw the delicate thicket of crystals growing within. And there, at the back of the crevice, a fist-sized protrusion of rock. Gritting her teeth at the pain she knew was coming, Corette slid her arm into the crevice. Sharp crystal ripped tiny lines in her forearm and across her knuckles, nicking her fingers as she reached further, further -- there. Her hand closed around the nub of rock, and with a quick twist of her wrist that ripped a few more cuts into her knuckles, it came free. Corette pulled her arm out, and the blood from dozens of tiny, shallow slices billowed into the water before her. This might be a problem, she thought, wondering if the eels would be drawn to the scent of blood. One or two she could handle, but a swarm could get a little overwhelming. Still, that possibility was a distant echo in her mind in comparison with the globe of stone she held before her eyes. It looked grey, ordinary, but she'd heard the stories. She knew that there was more to this than appearance would suggest. With a sudden crack that warped hollowly through the water, Corette slammed the little geode onto the hard black stone of the wall. A few chips flaked away, and Corette carefully opened the hollow rock with shaking hands to clutch the tiny bead of metal between her fingers. She had never been religious, but as Corette moved the smooth ball into the beam of her headlamp she felt something akin to reverence ripple through her. She smiled, then sheathed her dagger and slipped a tiny spike out of the sheath in its stead, holding it carefully to avoid dropping it. Alleycant was much harder under water, but she took her time; this was a report that couldn't wait - not even the time it would take to resurface. Corette could see Karin floating nearby as she transmitted the message to the highest level she had clearance for. This was something that the DA Department Heads needed to know. Now. Begin Urgent Message: Field Agent C605-20, Corette Wainright, beginning report. Rare substance located in the subterranean tunnel network. Initial findings untested but highly indicate the presence of Atium. Requesting immediate action. End report.

"Red For Danger"

Vivica cocked her head as she watched her newest hallucination spike himself with something she did not recognize. She blinked once, twice, thrice, then looked up at Bennington with a giggle. ”Bennington doesn’t do very well with coffee,” she said. “He’s always getting into trouble - aren’t you?” Bennington wiggled his tentacles, narrowing his eyes. Vivica raised an eyebrow at him. “Don’t you look at me like that.” She turned back to the new man. “Forgive me, I’ve been so rude,” she grinned apologetically. “Do you have a name? It’s ok if you don’t, that happens all the time. We can discover one together!” With a cheerful ping! the coffee maker began dispensing a fragrant stream of black liquid into one of the cups. ”Did I already tell you my name? I did, didn’t I? Right?”

Lita sniggered at the obvious irritation in Laurelai’s voice. It was almost impressive how quickly Okame was able to get her all riled up - the woman was usually a glacial vault. “That would certainly be an interesting experiment log.” She knew Laurelai wouldn’t miss the wry humor in that statement. “Just one more in our legacy, hmm?” The black stone continued on, narrow, jagged and rough, almost as though they were moving through a crack in the earth instead of a true tunnel. Lita had to dip her head and twist a bit around some corners - she could only imagine how hard it would be for Okame to get through this last bit of tunnel. Somehow, she couldn’t muster much sympathy for the Skybreaker. ”I can see something up ahead,” she whispered to Laurelai, shimmying around a particularly narrow bend. “Some kind of chamber?” The little alcove beyond the tight bend in the rock was small - hardly bigger than a coat closet, and seemed to be nestled into a little bubble of a cavern, the sides a bit smoother than the stone of the tunnel. Lita caught her breath; at last, this was the source of the blue-white light. A gentle stream of water poured from a crack in the ceiling, falling like rain into a pool about two feet across. The surface of the water betrayed no ripple as the stream of glowing liquid hit, though everywhere Lita could hear the gentle echo of falling rain. Something was carved into the stone above the entrance to the little cavern, words in a language Lita didn’t recognize. Words... Lita started, flaring her Tin to get a better look at the scratches. Yes, that was definitely a language. She thought she recognized one of the characters, something she’d seen once as a girl in the memorial at the heart of Elendel... ”Laurelai,” she whispered, reaching out with one hand blindly, her eyes still glued to the stone. “Laurelai, come here. Can you read Old Terris?” @Voidus

Ene, don’t leak my plot reveal!!

Vivica looked up at the voice, realizing that she’d beed staring at the wall for... a while? Yes, it has probably been a while. She grinned at the newcomer, who looked a little familiar though she couldn’t quite place him. Another hallucination? She thought, looking up at Bennington. Well, it had been that kind of day. “Coming right up!” She sang as she poured water into the machine and pressed ‘START’. That done, she turned her full attention to the new fellow. ”Hello!” She chirped, twisting the coppermind ring on her finger and cataloguing this newest apparition for later review. “I don’t think I’ve seen you before. I’m Vivica, and this is Bennington.” Vivica gestured to the octopus, who looped and gave the tall blonde a curious gaze. “Now, don’t be jealous - either one of you. There’s plenty of room for all of you.” She waved a finger at both in turn, grinning even wider and smearing her nose with more blood. Always more blood...

Lita bit off a scream when Okame shoved the both of them off the ledge, the moment of disorientation compounded exponentially with her Tin on. She was halfway down the long drop when Laurelai's message came through. This is your fault. You asked him. She looked up, meeting the blonde woman's eyes, and sighed. I know, she responded. I suspect I won't hear the end of this for a while, which is only fair. Lita burned Pewter as they touched down, the hot fire within her fortifying her body and perfecting her balance. She landed gracefully, then joined Laurelai in glaring at the Horneater. "It really is a wonder," she said acidly, "that you have yet to make any friends amongst your new guild. You're ever-so fun." With another, louder sigh, Lita straightened her shirt, tucked a few stray hairs back into her braid, and checked their pack. Blessedly, nothing had fallen out. Satisfied, Lita slung the pack back onto her shoulders and took a good look around. The chasm had bottomed out into another low tunnel of black stone. Gravel crunched beneath her boots, and the air smelled wet and chalky and cool. The echo of falling water whispered around them, and that luminous blue-white glow was stronger here. Lita extinguished her Tin for a moment to gauge the true darkness of this place, and was pleased to see that even her companions could find their way around. She nudged her Tin higher again, and the cavern brightened to something like daylight - if the day were lit by a cold, blue-white sun. Laurelai's breath was coming a little short, surely from their fall, and Okame breathed easy and deep. With her senses so refined, the sound of water seemed almost deafening. "There's some kind of spring up ahead," Lita said, stepped forward with a crunch that roared against her sensitive ears. "Maybe a waterfall?" She handed Laurelai a torch, then moved ahead, recalling that momentary wink of the Sun on her Coin. It had been a long time since the faces had changed - not since that night when the Stranger had offered her that choice. The night of the Alleystorm, when everything had changed. What are you telling me? She thought at the cold disk of metal in her pocket. What is waiting down here for us? @Voidus @Invocation

Hello Alleyverse! If you haven't been following the Into the Dark plotline, that's just fine. But, if you've wanted to get in on the action, we are about to begin our second phase (in the next few days or so). If you're interested in engaging with this plot, please mention me here and I can add you to our plot PM! Stay tuned for some exciting developments happening very shortly.

Certain things are just friendship

How dare you make me chortle while I attempt indignation

Can no one be simply friends in this universe?

@Ookla the Roleplayer callin' you out

Lita began burning Pewter the moment she saw Okame tense beside her in the tunnel. She knew that if he summoned his blade, it would take him all of a second to sever her soul like a bit of string; she could maybe jump backwards in time. Maybe. There would be no hope for Laurelai. The thought of Laurelai dying - really, truly dying, sent a small but white-hot lance of panic shooting through her. Her fists clenched instinctively, ready for -- For nothing. Okame pressed his hand to the wall, and it seemed that he had mastered himself for the moment. Lita let out a tiny breath she didn't realize she was holding, then turned back towards the tunnel. The shadows across the ground up ahead deepened oddly, and Lita burned more Tin. The light in the tunnel moved towards something akin to evening, and the shadow on the floor resolved into what it truly was: a massive rent in the ground, easily fifteen feet across. The dripping, trickling sounds of water echoed up from the hole, and Lita thought she could detect the faintest blue-white glow reflecting off the moist black rock. "There's a chasm up ahead," she said, a little louder than necessary, hoping to distract Okame and Laurelai from their own tension. Lita moved forward, reaching the nearest edge of the chasm and looking across. She could jump it - possibly. And anyway, Okame could easily Lash them all over the pit. But something drew her attention down, instead of across. Now that she looked for it, there was definitely something glowing down there, faint and luminous as starlight. "Okame, can you take us down?" The words were out of her mouth before she even realized she was speaking them, her heart beat picking up as she continued to stare down into the abyss before her. Lita's hand strayed into her pocket, and she slipped the Coin out into her palm, studying its face. As she looked, the Spiked Skull on one side seemed to wink out, replaced by the image of the Sun. The light of truth... Lita cocked her head, bringing the Coin closer to her face to get a better look, but the symbol vanished to be replaced with the Skull again. She turned it over, but no - it was just the Skull, as usual. Surely, she hadn't just imagined it? She pocketed the Coin again, looking down into the chasm with a renewed fervor. "There's something down there," she whispered, and her voice was hungry and cold. Lita looked back over her shoulder, pupils wide with Tin, smile sharp. "I can feel it." @Invocation @Voidus

Vivica looked up at Bennington, who was continuing to loop in sinuous figure-eights as the sounds from the radio crackled and shrieked. She glanced at Grey, then to Sierra, then looked down at her empty coffee cup. They were all out of coffee, it seemed. This won't do, she thought, scooping up Sierra's empty mug and sliding Grey's off the counter, the cups clinking gently in her arms. She moved around the back of the visual acuity tester, careful not to disturb Grey, pointing at the coffee cups and grinning. She'd be back in no time. Bennington followed her out of the room, curling and uncurling his tentacles with a shrewd glee. She wended her way back to the break room, then began the process of refilling the machine with coffee grounds. "Isn't this exciting, Bennington?" Vivica said as she scooped the fragrant beans into the device. "I've only seen this experiment three times before... Or, was it two? Four...?" She pursed her lips, continuing to scoop coffee grounds until there was a small mountain in the filter. "Five times?"