Chapter 280: Cave Life

Alright, so while people and other sapients can live underground, there are waaaaay fewer of them than on the surface. I don't get too much of a look down here and by My name, I really don't like it so far. Agreeing with Ann, this place is not fun.

“Subterranean life usually adapts to lower light levels, meaning that other senses such as smell, hearing, and touch are highly enhanced in ways normal animals don’t understand. Not too familiar with these creepy crawlies, but I’m betting it’s the hearing and feeling your voices shake the stones in tiiiiny patterns.” Rosalyn was talking quickly as she swung her staff. Thorns were appearing rapid-fire at her direction, skewering some of the centipedes. She’d tried using her wind spell, but the shell on their backs was hard enough that the wind only scratched the surface.

Ann was having a much better time of things. “I know! I fucked up. I said I was sorry!” Ann slammed her fist into the stone wall, crushing the bug as it nearly split in two. Hard as their shells were, their undersides were soft, and crushing force still worked.

“We’re loud. Surprised me armour didn’t set ‘em off,” Kat said as she brought her foot down on a centipede trying to wrap around her leg. It let out a chittering squeal as white liquid oozed from a crushed segment.

These things weren’t Warped; Rosalyn was quick to inform them. They were just one of the natural, awful creatures that had evolved over thousands of years underground. Their shells were black, covered in rows of jagged carapace segments that mimicked stone for hiding as well as ambushing. These creatures were far from the top of the food chain and had adapted as such. Each was about four feet long, give or take a foot, and had legs that made them true nightmares in the dim light.

“Must have found a nest of the things,” Minnie said. She was standing next to Bren, doing her best to keep out of the way of the fight. “They usually don’t swarm this badly.”

“Oh, sure, cause this would be so  much better if they weren’t!” Ann griped as she crushed another. This one didn’t die right away, and its severed upper half latched onto her arm with delicate legs. Pincers hooked into her shoulder, slicing through flesh in a line of searing pain. Her health didn’t drop much, but it bled like a bitch, and Ann could see the numbers falling. “They make you bleed. Watch the pincers!”

Lucia, not wanting to use her rifle in the cramped space, had her knife out and was stabbing things the best she could. It still clattered off chitin more than it actually found purchase between the segments. “Don’t like. Want dead. Faster!”

“I’m feckin’ tryin’,” Kat snarled as her shield crushed a few against the wall. She was absolutely covered in the creatures, as well. Her braids were only distinguishable by colours at this point with how many were on her head. “Feck this, get movin’! We get away from their nest, we can get ‘em tae leave us alone!”

“Actually, I’ve been working on that,” Minnie said, and a flame burst into life. “They hate fire! Might also be the smoke, but a torch works!” Minnie ran up and started waving it around Kat’s head. The smell of singed hair started to fill the tunnel, but the centipedes made angry chittering noises as they fled.

Ann took the opportunity to squash a few more as they scurried back up the tunnel into whatever holes or cracks they’d crawled out of. “Bugs fucking suck!”

“At least they’re not the mosquitoes,” Rosalyn said, coming up to check on her arm. Bren had sealed it, but the skin was still a little raw.

“True. Anything else we could be running into down here?” Ann asked Minnie, who was still waving the torch around behind them.

“No clue. Could be one of dozens of creatures that call caves their homes. Trust me, caves are full of life!”

“You’d think they wouldn’t be what with all of the darkness, but she’s right. If we’re getting this much humidity, we’re probably headed to an underground lake, right Minnie?” Rosalyn asked.

“Yeah. We should check that, too. Water down here’s a good indication of what minerals will be found as it filters through all the stone. Some say it’s good luck to drink the stuff, too.”

“Blegh,” Ann stuck out her tongue. “I’ve had mineral water. I hate that stuff. It’s so… bitter but not at the same time? Just nasty.”

Lucia grunted out a laugh. “Good for you.”

“She’s right, ye know. Like yer mum tellin’ ye tae eat yer veggies.”

Of course they’d agree on that one. Ann grumbled to herself as she walked, wiping white bug innards off her gauntlets. At least she could get that cleaned off. Her tail had gotten a haircut from some of the awful insects, and she debated using her skill to grow the fur back.  Ultimately, she decided against it. The health could be better used elsewhere. Like living. She’d reset later when everything was safe.

Their next period of trekking was mostly silent. Minnie made remarks, or carved directions into the walls to mark their path, but noise had been cut to the bare minimum. It was this bare minimum that made Ann realise how oppressive a cave like this could be. She heard absolutely everything. Her ears were twitching at the faintest drip of condensation off a stalactite. She nearly jumped out of her skin when Kat’s shoulder plates clunked against each other. Her own claws against the slickening stone were deafening. Ann’s new senses were made for a forest, somewhere teeming with life and sound, and being able to cut through that din, finding the one thing she was looking for. Here, though? It felt like everything was right next to her, and she was starting to lose it.

“Oi,” Kat whispered. Her hand kept Ann from hitting her girlfriend out of reflex. She’d fallen back to check up on Bren and Lucia, who were doing fine. “Cotton. Put it in yer ears. It’ll help. Hyperfixatin’ on sound cause we’re too used tae hearin’ everythin’. Bren’s panickin’, too. Let the rest take over hearin’ fer now.”

“Thanks,” Ann whispered back, taking the fluffy stuff and pushing it into her ears. The fur inside the openings wasn’t happy with the addition, and it took a bit for her to get things comfortable. What followed was blessedly normal hearing. She could still hear a lot, but it was muted and sounded further away than just a moment ago. Ann let a breath go she hadn’t realised she was holding. “Oh, holy shit, that’s so much better.”

“Just keep yer voice down. Ye’re gonna sound quieter tae yerself, as well,” Kat said, smiling and patting her gently. “Trick I learned from me Bultrong cousins. Ye’d think good hearin’ would help underground, but it sure as feck doesn’t. Overloads yer senses. Bultrong ‘ave a wide sense o’ hearin’. Not sensitive, like we’ve got, but highs an’ lows get picked up easier. Loud noises travel real far, an’ that means we get a bad dose o’ everythin’ makin’ noise. Ye had tae get used tae yer hearin’ first time ye showed up, right? Had tae get used tae it? Same thing ‘ere. Block it out.”

Ann tried her best. The cotton helped a lot, and the fact that she couldn’t hear her own claws clacking with every step made things a bit more bearable.

“Just follow the light,” Ann muttered to herself. “Just follow Minnie, and you’ll be fine. No getting lost. Don’t think about cave-ins. You’re fine. You can do this. This shouldn’t be a big deal. Come on, you’ve been in worse. Been inside a monster’s mouth and been fine.”

“Ann, I love you, but that’s freaking me out, too,” Rosalyn said, tugging at one of Ann’s straps. “Want to hold hands? It helps me.”

Ann nodded and took the offered comfort. Rosalyn was nearly invisible in the darkness. It was a little eerie to hold on to a hand she couldn’t see, attached to an arm that only appeared when it got to her sleeve. An arm Ann knew had been cut open before in an attempt to see what happened when Warped bits were stuck in. She desperately tried not to think about it, but the idea frightened her.

“Thanks. Would have thought you’d be more freaked out down here than me.”

“Well, the ceiling is further away for me, so I guess that helps.” Rosalyn raised her staff and tapped the top of its wooden loop, letting it clunk against the stone. “Maybe if someone wasn’t such a hulking beast, she’d be a little more comfortable. Wait, you’re digitigrade; can you walk plantigrade comfortably?”

Ann… had honestly never considered trying. She lowered what would be her heels and took a few tentative steps. Everything felt out of balance. Her body weight wanted to rest on the thinner portions of her legs, and she had to lean further forward to put pressure back onto her paws. It was incredibly awkward, but it did take a few inches off of her height. It felt the smallest bit better. Well, until Rosalyn giggled.

“You look like a newborn backbuck!” she laughed, trying to hold back the sound that bubbled up. “Oh my Gods, Kat, look!”

That got everyone to look, even Minnie. Ann groaned as they all started laughing at her while she tried to keep wobbling forward.

“This is so fucking awkward!” Ann complained. “I can sit like this, but walking basically fucks with all of my muscle memory. I can’t even compare it. It’s like you took off part of your legs and kept trying, but also added part to it? Does that make sense? I got a foot back, but also lost so much spring! Also gonna kill my back leaning forward like this.”

“It’ll do great things fer yer arse,” Kat chortled, craning her neck to get a better look. “Oh, aye, it does!”

Lucia just kept laughing behind her hand. Ann hadn’t seen her try to stifle something like this before, and it was a surprisingly proper gesture. Since she had such prominent tusks, she couldn’t fully cover her lips, but had to put her hand daintily between them to muffle the sound. It gave her the look of an old Victorian lady using a fan to hide a smile in front of a suitor. Remarkably cute.

“Glad I can be the comic relief. Blah, fine, let’s keep going before my tail gets soaked in this damp.”

After another ten minutes of walking, Ann realised that her tail getting soaked was inevitable. Time after time, water would drip off the ceiling and run down her back, getting that strip of fur wet, then into her tail, or it’d brush up against a stalagmite that’d do the same thing more directly. Eventually she could feel the weight of the wet fur as the limb swayed back and forth on its own. She had to look like those pictures of a dunked puppy that had hated every second of its bath. The only solace she had was that Bren’s ears were having a similarly annoyed response to the drips. She saw them constantly flicking away stray drops that hit his head, and he looked supremely annoyed. Cats.

Why did you have to be a wolf and not some Labrador? Maybe a hybrid? Ann bitched in her head.

I love water. Bathing in a stream is a delight when it has been frozen over all winter.  This one is coming from your side of our connection.

But I’m fine with swimming?

Waheela mentally shrugged.

Great. So she and whatever fusion she had with a wolf didn’t like swimming. That had changed since the lake Seed. Maybe it was just the environment, though. Being wet, even if she couldn’t really feel the cold, wasn’t fun. If she got a goddamn cold for the first time just for trekking through a cave like this, she was going to have a serious conversation with a certain set of Gods. Wait, no, this was her own damn fault. She’d actively encouraged this! All for Kat and getting to fuck the hot blacksmith lady!

Ann’s lips curled in self-recrimination as she stalked awkwardly forward, letting Rosalyn support her. She needed something to punch or fuck. Either one would make a ton of noise, and that’d be a problem in here! Maybe if she could steal some privacy with Kat and the scarabs? Wait, Rosalyn had been all hot and bothered in town…

Fortunately, the lake wasn’t too far. The gentle drip of water into water grew louder and louder in Ann’s ears until they rounded a corner and found the cavern. It was large, roughly round, with a dark lake on the opposite side of the space. The lake was still, save for occasional ripples from fish living in its glassy depth and condensation. At the far end of the crystal’s light, they saw that the water continued under an opening in the stone, leading further back and out of sight. Three tunnels left the cavern, excluding the one they just entered from.

The party fanned out to check the surroundings. Ann, Bren, and Kat immediately went to the offshoots. Each took a few minutes to listen, trying to hear if anything might be making its way towards them. Only deafening silence greeted them.

“Alrighty,” Minnie declared. “Good place to take a break and possibly set up camp if you’re all feeling a bit winded. Only been half a day according to my clock, so we’ve got pleeenty of travel left to go. I’m going to go check out the walls over there, do whatever for now, yeah?”

With happy sounds, the rest put their gear down and stretched. Kat didn’t have the luxury of getting all of the way out of her gear, and neither did Ann, but taking off the heavier pieces felt amazing. As she put her gorgette on her pack, Ann deftly retrieved the sound bugs and slipped them into a pouch.

“So, how long do you want to rest?” she asked.

“Dinnae. Actually a bit tired after last night,” Kat yawned. “Could do wit’ a nap.”

“I could use some rest as well,” Bren agreed. “It has been a trying time on my nerves considering these new ears.”

“Oh, right! They doing a little better?” Ann asked.

The man shrugged, reaching up to gently poke at the immature additions. “They’re strange. I suppose I will adjust to the change. I do wish my body would make up its mind which set of ears it would prefer. Having both is not only unnatural, but just looks incorrect! It drives me mad!”

“Should hear thoughts,” Lucia huffed a chuckle. “Constant. Not both. Please, Qu’Sella, not both! Is strange, and not handsome! Woe befall his fragile beauty!”

Lucia’s toothy grin at Bren’s glare told Ann the woman had poked a sore nerve. He did look a bit silly.

“You could just grow out your hair until it covers your ugly human ears,” Rosalyn said, snickering to herself.

Bren rolled his eyes, pulling out a heating crystal. He set it on the floor beneath the wire stand for the kettle and started making some tea. “As one of the three with them, yes, I would prefer that. Both is superfluous. The feline ears will be a magnitude better than my human ones. Honestly.”

Kat had been doing her best to sneak up on him, and finally reached her mark. “Aye! But they don’t make things so loud.” She raised a hand to block the back-handed punch that came flying at her jaw. “Gonna have tae get better at filterin’, too.”

Bren’s face muscles worked as he tried to crush his obvious annoyance. Kat was right, after all. Ann had done great with her advice, and he’d have to listen to the current masters of holy shit hearing. It’d only get worse as his ears finished coming in.

“I…” Bren lowered his fist, “will be taking a short rest. Lucia?”

“Can watch. Stamina good.”

Kat and Bren yawned together, then nodded in unison.

“Then we’ll do that. Free time, folks, just take some rest!”

Ann stalked up next to Kat as she got her pack situated in a way that wouldn’t kill her while she napped. Leaning in opposite her girlfriend over the bag, she dropped her voice to barely whisper. “Gonna go make up not plowing Rosalyn’s brains out while we were at the temple. Fight distracted from things. Wanna join?”

Kat’s eye was so conflicted. “Ye’re the worst. I’ll pass. I’m just feckin’ exhausted. Dinnae how she’s still walkin’.”

“Won’t be for long. Not well, at least.”

“Heh, make sure o’ that. Ye owe me a double stuffin’ later, though.”

“Deal. Gonna make sure you’re airtight.”

“Mmmf,” Kat shivered. “Save the dirty talk fer tonight. Ye got the bugs?”

Ann patted her pocket.

“Good. Tell me how crosseyed she got. Ye notice she’s started doin’ that?”

“I have. We’ll be just around the corner in the tunnel we came from. Love you.”

“Love ye, too. Have a good nap.”

They shared a gentle kiss. Kat’s lips were soft and warm, and Ann had to fight her urge to sink into them. She had other soft and warm things to sink into, though.

Standing, she walked over to Rosalyn who was starting to set up her stuff. Grabbing her by the horn, and another hand around the mouth, she yanked the woman off her feet. Wide eyes peered through her glasses up at Ann with a question.

A question that was answered by a small tap of Ann’s hips into the plush rear hidden just beneath the robe. The Druid’s eyes went wide, and she struggled a nod against Ann’s grip.

Minnie was too absorbed in her survey, staring at a wall, and Bren had his back turned towards them. The only one who saw them steal away was Lucia, who just rolled her eyes.