The deeper tunnels always had this weird smell, like metal mixed with something sweet that Suisen couldn't quite place. He'd been told a hundred times—okay, maybe more like ten, but who was counting?—that the "Off Tracks" weren't exactly a playground. Something about sand worms and carmot and very dangerous criminals doing very dangerous work. But boring safety lectures weren't going to stop a curious homunculus from poking around where the shiny things lived.
Suisen crouched near the entrance of an unexplored shaft, his crimson eyes wide with wonder as they reflected the faint glow emanating from chakra crystals embedded in the rough stone walls. The seals covering his body tingled slightly—not painfully, just a gentle reminder that they were doing their job keeping all his spiritual energy from turning him into a crispy homunculus-shaped torch. He reached out with one small hand, fingers hovering just above the surface of a particularly bright blue crystal jutting from the stone.
"Whoooooa," he whispered to absolutely no one, because he'd definitely snuck down here alone. "Dad said these things power the whole village! I wonder if I could—"
He stopped mid-sentence, head tilting as he heard something deeper in the mines. Could be a worker. Could be something way less friendly. Either way, Suisen's curiosity was already doing backflips in his brain, and his feet were starting to follow suit.
The blonde homunculus adjusted his hoodie and crept forward, keeping low even though there was nobody around to actually see him. It just felt more adventurous that way. The tunnel opened up into a larger cavern, and Suisen's jaw dropped at the sight before him. Dozens—no, hundreds—of chakra crystals lined the walls like stars frozen in stone. Some pulsed with a gentle rhythm, almost like breathing. Others remained still and dormant, waiting to be harvested.
"This is rad as hell," he breathed, taking another step forward. His foot crunched on something that definitely wasn't regular stone. Looking down, Suisen spotted what looked like tool marks carved into the floor—evidence that miners had been here before, probably marking safe paths through the cavern.
A distant rumble echoed through the mines, causing a few loose pebbles to rain down from above. Suisen froze, crimson eyes darting upward. That was either settling stone or something much, much bigger moving through the tunnels. The smart thing would be to turn around and head back to the surface. The Suisen thing was to investigate just a little bit further.
"Just a quick look," he promised himself with an impish laugh, already moving deeper into the glowing cavern. "What's the worst that could happen?"
[MFT:250+]
Suisen crouched near the entrance of an unexplored shaft, his crimson eyes wide with wonder as they reflected the faint glow emanating from chakra crystals embedded in the rough stone walls. The seals covering his body tingled slightly—not painfully, just a gentle reminder that they were doing their job keeping all his spiritual energy from turning him into a crispy homunculus-shaped torch. He reached out with one small hand, fingers hovering just above the surface of a particularly bright blue crystal jutting from the stone.
"Whoooooa," he whispered to absolutely no one, because he'd definitely snuck down here alone. "Dad said these things power the whole village! I wonder if I could—"
He stopped mid-sentence, head tilting as he heard something deeper in the mines. Could be a worker. Could be something way less friendly. Either way, Suisen's curiosity was already doing backflips in his brain, and his feet were starting to follow suit.
The blonde homunculus adjusted his hoodie and crept forward, keeping low even though there was nobody around to actually see him. It just felt more adventurous that way. The tunnel opened up into a larger cavern, and Suisen's jaw dropped at the sight before him. Dozens—no, hundreds—of chakra crystals lined the walls like stars frozen in stone. Some pulsed with a gentle rhythm, almost like breathing. Others remained still and dormant, waiting to be harvested.
"This is rad as hell," he breathed, taking another step forward. His foot crunched on something that definitely wasn't regular stone. Looking down, Suisen spotted what looked like tool marks carved into the floor—evidence that miners had been here before, probably marking safe paths through the cavern.
A distant rumble echoed through the mines, causing a few loose pebbles to rain down from above. Suisen froze, crimson eyes darting upward. That was either settling stone or something much, much bigger moving through the tunnels. The smart thing would be to turn around and head back to the surface. The Suisen thing was to investigate just a little bit further.
"Just a quick look," he promised himself with an impish laugh, already moving deeper into the glowing cavern. "What's the worst that could happen?"
[MFT:250+]