Ask Caves!

[Ines Panteer]

Dantooine. Local time: 09:59.

She was glad. Alana had mentioned a local cave the night before and the two had agreed to explore it together. It was an exciting prospect, to see Dantooine in depth, something which Ines hadn't really been able to do during her time there. At least not from a non-cultural perspective. Not that she had that deep of an understanding for some of the most central aspects of the culture either. After all, the noble's ideas of how farming worked were few and vague.

For the occasion, Ines had packed food and water, enough for the both of them, not knowing if Alana would bring it herself. She had also bought a piece of rope and a hook from a local farmer. Aside from that, she had her usual gear and two torches, one electric and one far more primitive. Cheerfully, the Alderaanian stepped out of her sky blue speeder, just having arrived at the address given to her by the local. For this day, her apparel was quite different than the previous night. Above the white tank-top, she wore a thick grey wool shirt and above that, a beige west - all in preparation for the possibility of a rather cold experience. With good shoes for the occasion and and a warm beanie, all seemed to be in order.

With a few light steps, the girl soon stood at what she assumed was the door to the home of Alana and Astra. Raising her hand, Ines pressed the doorbell and knocked three times. Excitement was clearly visible on her face as she waited for the door to open. In the background, the speeder puffed as it stood in standby. Hopefully, her new friend wouldn't mind her being a minute early.

@Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana stirred as a sound echoed through the house, her eye twitched as she thought she had heard something, but assured herself it was nothing, then the thunderous roar of knocking smacked against the door and everything she knew was over; least in the dream world. Alana jumped up off the couch, her hat falling to the floor from the place it had taken over her face. She stood up, wiping at her eyes as she slowly pieced together what was happening; she told Ines she would go cave exploring with her today! 'Oh feth.' Alana groaned, as she wasn't even close to being dressed. Thankfully Astra and Kraud were off training, but she still had to get the rest of her gear together; not to mention she was still in sleeping wear; sleeping shorts and a wampa t-shirt to boot. "U-UH, coming!" She shouted from the living room, as she b-lined for the door, moving like a white streak through the currently abandoned household. Alana nearly tripped as she had to leap over one of Astra's medication pads on the floor, and keep on her path to the door, before sliding to a stop as she reached it.

Alana's hair was...well a mess, her clothes were wrinkled, and she was barefoot on top of it all; clearly if there was climbing to be done, it was going to be into bed. "H-Hey Ines, um....what's up?" She laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head as a tidal wave of guilt slammed into her. "I....totally slept past my alarm and I'm sorry." She sighed, her shoulders sinking as she motioned Ines in. She perked her head up, inviting her friend in. "Oh, but you look great! Uh, get yourself comfortable and I'll get dress right quick okay!"She would shut the door behind the girl once she was inside the house. "Sorry sorry sorry, I'll be real quick I promise!" Alana turned into the white blur once again as she raced into her room, her old black hat laid on the floor, a sign of where the huntress had been before being awoken.
@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

Apparently, she was too early, way too early. Seeing Alana in the wampa t-shirt made her happy - it made people so much more real when one could see past the appearance they decided to show the world themselves. Still, it was obvious that this was not a situation that her friend had hoped to reach. At least, that's what the Alderaanian thought judging by Alana's body language. A smile appeared on her lips "Now? You are up, for one" she joked, trying to show that she didn't think too much of the delay. Quickly letting her eyes scan the other's messy hair and newly awoken state, Ines soon rose her hands, with her palms pointed diagonally downwards "It's fine. We stayed out late last night" she said.

Entering the house, the noble's head moved from side to side as she scanned her surroundings. "It feels homely" she said, but in the back of her mind, she knew that her own upbringing was in a rather different milieu than what she saw now. "Thank you" Ines replied to the compliment whilst taking off her vest and beanie.

It looked like Alana was rushed, to say the least. Hoping for both of them to have a pleasant time, Ines waved her hands to signal 'no' whilst shaking her head at the same time. "I am not in a hurry." she said, almost about to add "The cave will remain until we get there" but managed to prevent the comment from slipping out. It was way too cheesy, something her father would have said, perhaps.

Her eyes followed Alana, watching her from behind as she made her way to her room. Once the door was closed, the Alderaanian slowly made her way to the living room. With a good posture, seemingly rather far from being truly relaxed, Ines sat down in the couch. At first, she wondered why it was so warm until she saw Alana's hat on the floor next to it. Before long, the pieces clicked together and a likely theory of what happened formed. Bending down, Ines picked the hat up. Holding it in front of her, she looked at for a few moments. It was a beautiful hat. While tempted to try it on, the noble had always been told that it was unbecoming to wear hats inside, at least in homes. With that, she put it down on the seat next to her and waited for the friend to come back out.

@Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana still felt terrible, kicking herself for staying up so late, as she threw off her clothes and kicked the door closed. Several moments passed, as Alana put on a pair of faded jeans, a nice long sleeve athletic shirt and slid on her her best set of padded climbing gloves. She took a few moments to fix her hair. It then occurred to her that she still needed to get her climbing gear, so she quickly grab her bag and threw a flashlight, rope, and a spare energy cell into it, then rushed back meet with Ines; then she realized she needed to get food for the trip. "Hey, so, I'm ready to head out, just need to get some water and gear, then we're good to go!" Alana slid into the kitchen then, as she snatched up her water canteen and filled it to the brim, snatched up two of Kraud's protein bars, threw those into the bag, and finally she felt somewhat ready for the adventure; save for the fact she needed her trusty hat. Striding back on, now with little porg stripped socks on, Alana felt ready to go.

Moving into the living room, Alana snatched up her hat and put it on her head, before jumping down to sit next to Ines, she smiled a goofy smile and let her bag set in her lap. "Well, I'm ready to go, got a blaster ready? Never know what is in there, you know?" She could feel that distant echoing scream start to take affect now as she sat so close to Ines, it reminded her of when she was close with Astra, but this scream felt....duller, less clear, not nearly as welcoming. She still smiled, not feeling the crippling sense of impending doom or the overwhelming sense of condemnation radiating from her friend. "Well, if not, I got a pair of blasters locked up in the armory. Can grab them on the way out." She hoped Ines was up for this, well she seemed up for it anyways, but still you never know with some people; though Ines seemed like the kind of go geter she was drawn to.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

Whilst Ines sat in the rather calm and quiet living room, she could hear her friend rushing about in another part of the house. For some reason, it felt like the calm that would make itself present before a storm brewing in the distance. Her line of thought was interrupted when Alana hollered that she needed some water and gear. "But I..." she said but trailed off, noticing that her host had already entered the kitchen. It didn't matter too much, more water could hardly be something negative.

Without much notice, Alana could soon be found next to the Alderaanian in the couch. Perhaps her feelings of calm before the storm were true after all. With two raised eyebrows, Ines looked at her friend. The presence of anything hostile in the caves had not crossed her mind. Once the issue was raised, it seemed obvious, but the noble had truly imagined something slightly more tourist friendly when the idea was first raised last night. Maybe she should listen more carefully. The other woman soon continued, offering her own blasters in case Ines was unarmed.

"Well" she said, pausing to regain her composure. "I have a stun blaster, my sabre and the rifle I brought last night." While she hadn't planned on being armed with anything more than her stun blaster, which was mostly just there as a safety measure, bringing all of it now seemed reasonable. If anything more or else would be needed, Ines trusted the white haired woman to set let her know. Whilst speaking, the Alderaanian found her eyes linger at Alana for much longer than they usually would. But then, her appearance had changed reasonably much since when they first met a few minutes ago.

"So, are we good to go?" she asked, putting both hands on her lap as she readied to stand up. Soon, the two would be making their way outside. Positioning herself in the driver's seat, Ines pointed at a backpack in the back seat. "I brought us something light to eat" she said and added "You can have some of it now if you want." The possibility of the local waking up hungry was there, and it was always nice to at least ask. Regardless of what the answer would be, the girl piloted the speeder away from the house.

It took a few moments but the realisation of not really knowing where they were supposed to go soon came. Looking to Alana, Ines asked "In which way should we go?" whilst letting the airspeeder climb higher in altitude. The noble threw her friend another glance "I hope you'll have more success finding the way now than we had last night" A bright smile appeared on her lips along with a light laughter.

@Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

It was nice to see Ines had come prepared, probably more prepared than Alana was. Probably why she took to the girl so well, she was as smart as she was pretty; not like that matter you know? Sadly no one knew what could get up in those caves on Dantooine, one moment it'd be fine, next thing you know you stumble into a Kinrath nest and that'd end your trip real quick wouldn't it? Alana hoped that would never happen of course, but well, that wasn't how life works. "Oh, good. Typically this caves are fine, but you can never be too careful. I mean, all sorts of critters can get up in those caves you know?" Alana tucked some of her hair back into her hat, thinking back on some of the misadventures she and Astra had gotten into when they were children, thankfully they had come a long way from there. She relaxed back on the couch, before feeling like she was sitting on something. Her eyes widened in horror, as she remembered her death sticks were with her last night, and made a note to swipe them before Ines has a chance to find out. "Hate for you to get hurt you know? The Crystal caves are pretty lovely, think you'll be right at home once we get down to them." She commented, fidgeting just ever so little so she could nab her pack of deathsticks wedged between the cushions. Alana kept eye contact with Ines, feeling like if she could just hold the woman's attention that maybe she could get her drugs without drawing attention to herself. It felt weird, but whatever, Ines didn't seem to mind it none. Alana jumped up at Ines' question, sliding her death sticks into her side pocket.

"Sure am, just need shoes and my trusty blaster, than we're off to the races." The white haired woman pranced over to the armory by the front door and got herself geared up; outdoor back slung over her shoulder as she did so. She paused to strap on her hiking boots, and slapped on the hip holster for her blaster, Alana looked like a full blown explorer now; which was quite the turn around from just a bit ago. All set up for the days events, Alana jumped into the fancy little speeder that Ines had brought over, finding the little speeder rather adorable. "Very slick design, and I love that there color, bet it cost a pretty credit." Alana set her bag down at her feet, glancing into the back as Ines mentioned having cooked up something. "Oh no, I'm alright, don't wanna get food all over the interior. I'm not the most graceful eater if you can believe that." Alana snickered, adjusting her seat as she tried to get it more to her liking. Alana grabbed onto the arm bar inside the speeder as Ines began to pull away from the house; not out of hear, but rather old habit.

"Oh, well that's a wonderful question." She flashed a devious smile as she pointed to the east. "Head out that way, out past the fields, we need to chase the cliffs, that'll get us to Brith Valley, then we can start our adventure from there." It seemed Alana actually knew something about getting around outdoors. "Last night doesn't count, it was a fluke I promise." She grinned, jabbing Ines in shoulder playfully. "When we were kids, Astra used to get lost all the time, and I had to lead us back home. She forgets that more times than I care to admit, so whenever she brings that up, let her know I know how it really went down." She elaborated, relaxing back in the seat and putting her arms over her head, knocking her hat into her face; to which she moved to correct this error.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

The last few moments in the house coursed through Ines' mind as she prepared the speeder for flight. The process of doing so wouldn't take long since she never turned the engines off before entering the Calloway home. It had just felt fulfillingly good and pleasant. Perhaps there was some truth to her comment about it feeling homely after all. Naturally, it could also have been Alana's company. For the moment, it became one of those places where she liked to let her thoughts linger. Snapping out of it, the Alderaanian turned to her friend "I can't imagine it being that bad" she said with a laugh whilst wondering how much of a mess a person could really cause. Taking note of the kind comment about the speeder from before, she raised a valiant fist "Got to represent the family properly!" her tone was satirically serious as she projected her mother's words.

Staring forth awkwardly, the teen turned the steering wheel and guided the speeder in a 180 degree turn "Right, eastwards" she mumbled. The navigation system did show a cliff range not too far ahead. Whether it was the one the white-haired woman spoke of was yet to be seen, but having a destination in mind was always nice. While the airspeeder could climb rather high, the noble decided to remain just high enough for them to be able to fly above the treetops. Watching the surrounding landscape from fifty meters above ground was much more enjoyable than 500.

Ines let out a surprised "Ow" upon being jabbed in the shoulder. It was not a mean spirited jab which was reflected in the low amount of pain it caused. A genuine smile appeared on the girl's lips as she threw a long glance at Alana. While she had seen friendly jabs in holovids, it was something which she had barely ever experienced herself. Although being tempted to retaliate, doing so whilst piloting seemed like a rather bad idea. "We'll see about that" she chirped, rather amused by her friend's story about being the better navigator compared to the other twin.

The more time she spent on Dantooine, the more she liked the planet. It's green rolling fields, grazing animals, creeks and cliff ranges never seemed to cease amazing the noble. In some sense, it reminded her of Alderaan - or at least how it looked in the pictures. Allowing herself to be distracted for a moment, Ines happily watched a flock of domesticated Iriaz below. "Was this where you grew up?" she asked, looking back at Alana soon after they had swooshed past the animals.

The Heretic

 

[Alana Calloway]

"Oh, well, I'll surprise ya." Alana chuckled, setting her hands in her lap as she twiddled away. She wasn't proud of it, but when she was let loose she had the appetite of a fasting ranco; it was not a pretty site, and Astra had given her more than several comments about it.

She winced as Ines seemed to have felt discomfort from her jab, having forgot that Astra was a tad thicker than Ines was, she didn't take that into account. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bruise ya, was just messing about." She apologized, feeling a ping of guilt that her excitement got the better of her. "You can have one on the house once we get to the cave, sound fair?" She chuckled, her anexity screaming at her full board that Ines was going to think of her as a jerk for that little incident; but she just slowly tuned it out, years of practice had made her quite skilled at burying her anexities. "Astra and me slug each other all the time. It's like our little game you know? Though she hits a bit harder than yours truely." Alana shrugged, hoping to ease the rising anxieties in her mind, as she pulled her attention away from Inez and directed it out the window, watching some of the wild life go running wild at the sound of the approaching speeder. She snickered at Ines' response, already feeling that the woman wasn't too sure about Alana's tracking abilities. The huntress spotted several of the multi-colored birds native to Dantooine sailed across the horizon. As much as she disliked this planet, it did have some pretty amazing sights.

Ines snapped Alana out of her day dream with the question, as the hat clad woman glanced to the driver. "Well, kinda, yea. Astra and me were born on Corellia, but then our parents died and Kraud was nice enough to take us in. So, been here ever since." Alana nodded, pausing as she readjusted her hat so it didn't slide over her face, though she soon gave up and set it in her lap, letting her silvery hair run down rhe front of her face as she did so. "I just come back and visit now and then, tried doing the freelance bounty hunting gig and it didn't work out. So here I am." Alana looked out the window, not wanting to risk seeing how Ines would react to her little explanation. In all honesty, she was embarrassed about her failings, but there was nothing she could do about that other than to keep trying.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

It appeared as if she had come off as more squeamish than intended, at least judging by Alana's apology and following reaction. Still, hearing the offer, the Alderaanian was glad to agree with a single but definite nod and said "Deal" flashing a mischievous smile. Hearing Alana speak of her relationship with her sister almost made the noble envious seeing as it did sound like a rather typical relationship between siblings. By all accounts less formal than the relationship she had with hers. This is not to say that the Panteer children never argued or had disagreements - but the very verbal nature of it all and the, at times, high degree of competitiveness between them could become tiresome. "I will be sure to wear heavy armour next time I meet with her then" she said jokingly, still feeling a bit of a sting by her shoulder. This was despite not owning a piece of armour herself.

***​

That was not good. Ines had managed to lead the conversation into a rather sad subject as Alana touched upon the death of her parents. Fortunately, it took a brighter turn as Alana continued on, talking about Kraud and her more recent activities. While she hadn't made any efforts to hide the sorrow she felt for her friend, it was clear that she was moving on to more positive thoughts as Alana did. "It is beautiful here" she said, more as a reaction to her friend confirming that she lived there rather than the story at large.

While she didn't immediately react to it, hearing that Alana had tried out bounty hunting was concerning. In the noble's view, the typical bounty hunter cared little for morals and when they finally did, they applied their own skewed sense of right and wrong. Letting silence set in as the white haired woman turned the other way, Ines considered whether to ask about it or not. But in the end, they were friends - even uncomfortable topics would have to be explored sooner or later. This might have been a bit too soon though. But there it was; carefully considering her words, Ines spoke "Did you" she started but trailed off. Looking to Alana for a reaction. Finally, the Alderaanian continued "Did you kill anyone? Kill or condemn them to torture?"

@Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana snickered at the comment, probably would help Ines in the future against her sister. "I think you'll be alright, Astra only slugs me. Maybe if you pull a prank on her you'll get one coming your way though." Alana sorta suggested that maybe the pair could totally prank Astra in the future; it would be fun to have an accomplice for once after all! "Though honestly I'd rather have her sock me, because other wise she tickles me, and that's a fate worse than death let me tell you." Alana shivered, thinking back to how many times her sister laid her low by her dirty tactics. Sucked that Astra was the stronger of the two, but Alana got all the good looks and talent, so it balanced out; least that's what she told herself. Maybe Ines had family, she'd probably understand it too, you loved them, but sometimes you just wanted to tear your damn hair out over them.

"Sure is, ain't it? I ran away from this place for a reason, but it's never stopped looking good." She commented, folding her hands across her lap as she looked up to the sky, enjoying the scenic drive they were embarking on. She hoped the sharing of her backstory didn't make Ines sad, everyone seemed to get all uncomfortable once dead parents got brought up, but Alana had long since gotten over it. She had her sister, and she had Kraud, that was all she was gonna need in this life; well that and some self respect of course. Then the conversation took a turn she hadn't expected, as Ines seemed to dislike the idea of the free lancer bounty hunter work; which Alana hadn't even started down. "What? No, absolutely not. That's not at all what I'm looking to do." Alana started, putting her hands up in a defensive posture, her expression showing concern that Ines was against the idea; she didn't want to lose a friend this early on. "I just wanna bring in criminals and make enough to take care of myself, you know?" Alana tried to smile, maybe put Ines at easy that she wasn't into hurting people. "I mean, they wouldn't even give me a job. Gotta find some other way in, because I don't have the 'pedigree' to get in. Not going to be a hired killer any time soon, so don't worry your pretty little head." She hoped her words put her friend at ease, though Alana was never sure the affect her words would have on other people. "It was either this, or I have to join that jedi order nonsense with my sister and Kraud. And....I don't want that life." Alana sighed, looked up at the roof of the speeder and then over to Ines. "Like, give up my freedom like that? Not being able to think for myself? I...I just didn't want to do that." She frowned, looking down to the floor, then back to Ines. "I....guess I'm sorta selfish for wanting that, right?" She mumbled, maybe starting to understand why Kraud was so disappointed in her.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

A devious plan of how she would get back at Alana started to form in Ines' mind as the woman revealed her one true weakness: Tickling. Having had a hand in raising a few of her younger siblings, the Alderaanian considered herself an expert tickler. Still, viewing the other as her best defence against whatever creatures could be found inside the cave, Ines would have to show restraint in order to not become too much of a distraction.

It was good to hear that Alana wasn't the kind of person she feared. Catching bad guys didn't seem too bad. Actually, it was a good thing. Once again, the noble felt like she could relax in her seat after a number of tense moments. It was a shame that they didn't welcome the huntress to join immediately but seeing the hopefulness which the white haired woman retained was encouraging. While the assurances were nice in themselves, hearing Alana say 'pretty little head' quickly increased the temperature in the speeder by a few degrees. Blood was filling her cheeks, quickly colouring them in a redder hue.

In the hopes of hiding her blush, the noble leaned forth, tampering with a few systems before returning her gaze to the way ahead of them. It was weird - rarely before had someone been able to make her blush so quickly, and with rather simple praise no less. After spending a few moments pondering on what it was that could be affecting her, Ines finally decided to leave the considerations for another time.

Going so far as to not pay any attention to the path ahead of them, Ines turned almost fully to look at her friend. The implications were huge. Astra was a jedi and Alana had the force. Her eyes, big and round stared at the other as her lips formed a small 'o'. Force sensitives weren't too common around the galaxy. While spotting one belonging to an order was rare enough, finding someone outside of an order was even more rare. Slowly, Ines' face was returning to normal as she started to reflect over what her friend had said. It was, after all, a serious topic.

Looking to her friend, Ines smiled. "No, I don't think you are selfish." she said honestly. Whilst the teen's attention was returning to the piloting, she continued speaking "The Jedi are not perfect and we have each got our choices to make. You don't owe the jedi your life, at least not in that sense." she said, apparently not holding any of the religions in high enough regard to think that anyone should be obliged to join their ranks.

Soon, the speeder started slowing as it dropped in altitude. Ines was guessing that they might be nearing their destination - but she refrained from taking any real decisions. Instead, she awaited instructions from the local who probably knew what they were after much better than herself. In case the other woman hadn't noticed their whereabouts, Ines asked "So, why is it called 'Birth Valley'?"

@Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana felt relieved to see that her friend took the news well, but she did notice Ines was fidgeting behind the controls, not that she paid too much mind to it, after all her friend was probably not used to driving on this sorta terrain. She was a tad surprised that Ines took the jedi reveal so well, well not really, Ines was pretty chill, but Alana knew all to well how people could react in ways you'd never expect.

There was an odd silence that took over the speeder for a moment, as Alana glanced towards her friend, seeing Ines smile did put her at ease; she had a really nice smile after all. "Wish my dad would see things that way. He and Astra are all over me about how I'm wasting my 'gift. That's the real reason I ran off you know? I love them, but sometimes I just can't deal with them and the jedi business." Alana chuckled, fidgeting with the hat in her lap as she didn't like talking ill of her family or their trade, but she just did not see the appeal.

As they neared the site, Alana set her hat on her head, feeling a bit giddy about what they were about to do. She hadn't gone cave crawling in years, Astra was too focused on 'jedi business'. "They call it that cause of the Brith that live in it. They're like...these big sky birds? Look like...um...sky fish?" Alana stumbled through her explanation. "They're basically harmless though. Typically they just startle people, long as you don't attack them, they don't attack you. In fact I can't think of anyone that got attacked by one. They're entirely harmless, but there's alot of them that live in the canyon, hence the name." Alana smiled, grabbing her bag and set it between her legs, as the would point towards a small clearing along the canyon path. "There, set it down there. We can climb down and find the cave opening right below the ridge." Alana advised, feeling rather confident everything would turn out fine; Graul didn't come up this far, and the Laigrek didn't care for the tunnel systems anyways. Once they settled down, Alana would exit the speeder, taking in a deep breath of fresh air as she gave a look around. "Perfect day for cave crawling if you ask me!" She proclaimed, hopping out of the speeder and looking back to Ines. "You need help unloading anything?" She offered, stapping her hip holster into place and setting her blaster for stun, as she now had her feet on the ground. If Ines didn't need assitance, Alana would begin to stretch herself out, starting with her calves and working up to her shoulders. "Give me just a minute, or heck, join in! Need to make sure I'm all good for when kick this thing off!" Alana was a tad rusty at her climbing skills truth be told, but she knew Ines would do just fine. The weather felt amazing, and the breeze felt pretty dang good too. The tall grass and weeds along the canyon ridge blew to and fro against the mighty gusts blowing across the plains of Dantooine, which told Alana they had picked a terrific day to do this adventure.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

A light chuckle escaped her as the red-eyed woman mentioned how she felt about her families pressure on her. In some ways, she recognised herself in it since her own family could be rather demanding at times too. But then, she and her siblings tended to view it more as obligations and duties - things which had to be tended to without exceptions. Perhaps it was easier to argue that it was their duty to do something when it was for the House instead of an outside order? In this regard, Ines had no good answer.

The explanation made sense. Naturally, Brith Valley would have something to do with Briths. It was somewhat amusing, listening to her friend struggling to explain what the beings were. When she finally compared them to fish, it clicked for the noble who now remembered reading about them before going on her hunting trip. Whilst her memories of the details were rather vague, she remembered the images shown in the article. "Like Thrantas" she exclaimed. The remark was initially enthusiastic and remained so until the very end where the sentence stopped at a more bitter note. The girl had taken great interest in how Alderaan used to be before it's destruction. Naturally, the creature would be familiar to her, but she was quite unsure about how much others would know about the creature. The interjection was short enough for it not to truly interrupt the flow of Alana's speech, and quickly trying to pick up the mood again, the noble listened attentively to the more thorough description of the animal.

"Let us hope that they will not be too annoyed that we come visit their valley then" she said before turning the wheel to steer the speeder in the direction which Alana suggested, making sure to slow down the speed in order to reduce the sound pollution they would cause.

Upon having landed, the noble turned off the speeder and reached back to grab her backpack. It only took a few moments for her to take on the vest and then the backpack before she was out in the open with Alana again. Shrugging, she answered honestly "I don't know, is it? I mean, we'll be in a cave, right?" she chirped, perhaps revealing her rather limited experience in the exploration of caves. Ines walked around the vehicle and opened the trunk at the back. Among the various objects found inside, she took out the primitive torch and put it in her backpack, strapped the electric torch to her belt and let her rifle hang behind her shoulder by a leather band. It didn't take long and could be done by herself without too much effort. "It is alright" she said, adjusting the position of her rifle before closing the trunk again.

Turning around, Ines jaw dropped a little as she saw her friend stretching. While she couldn't put her finger on it, there seemed to be a kind of elegance to how Alana moved which she found admirable to say the least. "I hope your jeans are up to the task" she noted before joining her friend in the stretching. While the Alderaanian was no stranger to the task, she mirrored her friend's moves, figuring that they might be better for cave crawling.

Letting out a deep breath at the end of one section, Ines paused "Are we good to go?" she asked, looking at Alana with an eager smile. She didn't quite know where the cave was, but the excitement to go explore it was still there, she just hoped that her guide would try to keep them away from too much danger.

Explorer 1

 

[Alana Calloway]

It seemed her comment about family landed on the mark, as Ines seemed to snicker at it. Alana didn't need her to answer the question, it was just nice to know that she wasn't alone in her family struggles, and knowing Ines could sympathize made her feel a bit better.

Alana looked at Ines with a bit of confusion, not understanding what a Thrantas was, but Ines certainly seemed excited about it; reminded her of a child seeing their favorite animal at the zoo. She let out a small snicker at the remark, nodding as if she knew what Ines was talking about. "Yes, exactly like a Thrantas." She'd have to look at what those things were later, because she honestly couldn't place it with anything. After a moment, Alana sheepishly commented. "You'll have to catch me up on what a Thrantas is, I've never heard of those things." She was a tad interested, after all, Ines took interest in it, and Ines was pretty interesting herself; so clearly a Thrantas had to be fething amazing. She was very curious to see Ines throttle back on the speed, reducing the noise of the air speeder as they came in for a landing , having never considered that being an issue. It did make Alana think about it though, maybe that sort of thing was rather disturbing for the creatures living here; especially in a valley of all things. Ines' comment brought a smile to her face. "I'm sure they'll love you. I mean your pretty laid back, so are they. Ain't no thing." Honestly it was the creatures that lingered in the caves that concerned Alana, but the chances of that were unlikely. Least that was the hope.

Getting out of the speeder, Alana understood her friend's confusion, some people didn't see how it was connected. "Well, you see if it rains, the rain water gets into the caves, and what ends up happening is sometimes you can get trapped in the cave when it fills up with water, or drown. Sometimes both. Very unpleasant way to go let me tell you. Happens once or twice a season, but think we're in the clear today." She affirmed with another glance to the sky, not seeing a single storm cloud on approach. It didn't seem that Ines needed her help, so Alana went about getting herself ready for the adventure ahead, occasionally pausing to watch Ines get her preparations together, but before long her friend joined in the stretching. "Well if they aren't, it'll make this whole trip a little more interesting won't it?" In reality it would totally suck, but hey, that was life. Alana had faith in her trusty adventuring jeans though; after all, she'd done this countless times with no wardrobe malfunctions.

When Alana felt they had a fair bit of stretching done, she was ready to go. Putting on her back pack, she nodded to Ines and strode to the edge of the ridge, leaning over, she found a small break in the valley wall about ten feet down, looked like a good place to start, as Alana motioned Ines closer towards her. She gestured to the opening, smirking as she mapped out the path down there. "See that? We'll work our way down there, see what happens. That's the fun part of this thing, we just find a nice cave and if it looks good, we investigate it." She looked to Ines, getting her arms warmed up for the climb down below. Alana took out a small metal peg from her bag and set it down, then looked to Ines. "You ready? There's plenty of handholds here, but if you want to use a rope your more than welcome to give it a go." Alana felt pretty comfortable with climbing down with a rope, the valley slopped downward after all, so if you fell, you had a good chance of getting hold and stopping yourself in most cases; assuming the fall didn't out right kill you, but Alana felt pretty confident in herself.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

At first excited at the prospect of her friend knowing of what a Thranta was, Ines let out a silent laugh whilst shaking her head as it was revealed that it was really an unknown concept. "For sure" she replied, happy that the huntress was willing to learn about the noble species of what she considered her home planet.

***​

Listening to Alana's explanation of why the weather was good turned out to be a rather chilling experience. Perfectly content to end the discussion about being trapped and drowning, the Alderaanian diligently nodded her head whilst keeping both eyes fixed on
her friend's red one "Yep? Yep, got it" she said, sending the other another deep nod. "Crystal clear - water is bad" she said before quickly moving on in her activities. Hopefully, Alana would not linger in the subject as Ines dearly wanted to change it.

After a joke or two, the local finally decided that it was time to go. The noble gladly followed to see where they were going. The break which Alana had found did not seem to be too far down, perhaps a three meter climb or so. At this point, Ines almost considered dropping down but ultimately decided against unnecessary risks. Flashing a smile, she spoke "This does seem like fun" she said, her voice filled with bubbling excitement. It was considerate to bring out a peg, but at this point, it wouldn't be needed just yet. "I think, and hope, that I will manage this one without. As long as the rocks are stable" she said, bending down to start her descent.

At first, she took conservative and careful steps, sending precise kicks into the walls to ensure their stability. Once satisfied that the Dantooine rocks wouldn't just crumble under pressure, it started to go faster until she finally reached the ground. Almost as if feeling drawn towards the cave entrance, Ines walked towards it with both eyes opened wide. With one hand hovering in front of the torch, she was fully prepared to enter the cave "Have you not been to this cave before?" she asked whilst piquing in to see the cave.

Thrantas

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana smiled as it seemed they were in agreement, though she understood why Ines wasn't exactly comfortable about the whole drowning thing; she wasn't a fan either. "Yep! So let's get on in there." She was kinda pumped now, so Alana found it sorta difficult to not get ahead of herself; but the thought of Ines getting hurt due to her overaggressive was not something she wanted to think about. "Oh it is! Rocks are pretty good at doing that sort of thing you know!" Alana chimed, as she started to get herself ready for the short little climb below.


Starting the decent, Alana took a handful of rock face, as she began to scale down, happy that she hadn't lost her upper body strength. The padding on the gloves was a life saver, as she kept herself at a slow pace, letting Ines get ahead of her so she could keep track of her friend. She wasn't sure how the noble woman was going to take to climbing, but she seemed to handle it rather well. As they worked down to the opening, Alana occasionally looked to Ines to see if she was having any trouble, and if needed would do what she could to keep her new friend safe.

Reaching the opening, Alana let go and set herself on the rough ground as Ines had beat her into the cave. When her friend drew out her torch, Alana moved up behind her, smirking as the cave walls gave a small glimmer to it, showing that there were crystal fragments inside the cave walls. "Nope! This one is new! There are so many of them that you lose track!" Alana grinned, as she stopped a few inches behind Ines, letting the girl take in the sight. "There's all sorts of caves like this around here, some are just like this, nice and pretty crystal caves, sometimes you get monster caves. It's really a mixed bag you know?" Alana was hoping the rest of the trip would be just like this.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

She had not noticed it so far, taking in the odd sense of grandness from the cave, but then she saw it. As if there were hundreds if not thousands of stars twinkling in the cave walls, shining bright as they were highlighted with the torch. "Wow" she whispered, more for herself to hear than anyone else. The noble turned to her friend with a bright smile already on her lips "We're lucky" she said, seeing a few small shards spark behind her friend too. "This one is beautiful" Tilting her head upwards and allowing both arms to hang loosely at her side, Ines slowly spun two laps the spot. Happily, the teen gazed up at the cave ceiling, watching as multiple sparkling shards melded together.

The risk of getting dizzy was minimal, considering how slow she was spinning. When finally stopping, she almost felt like laughing, seeing how happy she was. Ultimately, she just allowed her smile to remain for a bit longer. "To think that this is just the beginning" she said, looking at her friend. The larger open area they were in now was to narrowing down into a smaller path a bit further ahead. A small and rather insignificant stream of water was making its way down the path. Walking over it wouldn't be a problem for anyone as its depth and width were minuscule. After throwing a glance at Alana to make sure she was still following, the teen slowly started walking along the water with one foot on each side.

"What a nice stream" she said, looking down at the cave floor and the water as she walked. "It adds some nice sounds, it should be drinkable and it doesn't bother anyone" As they kept getting further in, the path kept getting smaller, but at this time, Ines paid it little mind as she found herself rather distracted by the beauty all around her.

@Pyrenees

 

[Alana Calloway]

Sure enough, they were rather lucky as Ines mentioned,as this was definitely one of the prettier caves that Alana had seen. "Wow is right." Alana commented, as she moved closer to Ines, looking around at the sparkling sky above them. Dantooine still had a few surprises left in it, as it was now showing Alana. With the glistening caverns above the pair, Alana's eyes met with Ines' as the woman commented how beautiful it was. Ines herself looked rather radiant, with the hundreds of little lights shining down upon her, the sight of her struck Alana, as she found herself rather stricken by the image before her. Little did Ines know, the cave wasn't the only beautiful thing Alana was looking at. "Yes, it is." She commented, returning the smile in kind as her friend circled about the cave of wonders.

It was rather nice seeing how much joy someone could experience from such a simple thing. Alana found it rather heart warming in fact. "Like I said, Dantooine is a place of wonder. I suppose all worlds have their own beauty to it." She replied back, glad that this trip was getting off to the right start The pair would eventually continue on, coming into a larger cavern with a small underground stream seemingly running through the center of the chamber. Ines tossed a look back at her, but Alana kept herself well within reach as they adventured on, her eyes dancing from looking at Ines, and then to the cave around them. She snickered as Ines began to walk closer to the water, thinking of how amusing it would be if her companion fell in. "Careful, don't think we packed a spare change of clothes if you fall in." She cautioned, though she doubted Ines would need to be warned about such things. "It is rather nice, isn't it? Not sure if I'd drink it though. You never know what the farmers up top put on their crops." Though, some of the laws regarding that sort of stuff had been rather strict, Alana still didn't trust it; not everyone followed regulations. With the path narrowing, Alana took note that they were going into another part of the cavern, looking down, she'd see if Ines was at risk of slipping into the stream, and if so she'd redirect her friend back to dry land.

As the pair moved on, they would reach another chamber that seemed to split into several paths, with a bit of room in the center for them to maneuver around. "Well, look at this, we got a few choices on were to go." She smiled and poked Ines gently in the side, careful not to risk injury to her friend. "So, which way to do we head to now?" Alana asked, readjusting her hat as the shimmering cavern surrounded them, reflecting faint trails of light back upon them.

@Pyrenees

 

[Ines Panteer]

"It is" she said with an impressed voice, agreeing that all worlds did indeed have their own beauty. Some planets, she liked more than others, but all of them had something uniquely special to them. As she pushed on forth with one foot on each side of the small stream, Alana's cautionary words could be heard. "I am" she chirped, still keeping a keen eye on the ground as she kept moving forth. It was true that Ines had not packed any spare clothes other than the beanie which was currently awkwardly stowed in the pocket of her vest. While it was always good to be prepared, they were going to climb which meant that a lighter load was preferable. Bringing more clothes than necessary had seemed like a bad idea.

With furrowed eyebrows, the Alderaanian looked back at her friend. "Shouldn't it be filtered?" she asked, pointing up at the cave ceiling above them. The idea of their whatever-it-was-that-farmers-put-on-the-soil-thing reaching all the way down to the cavern was discouraging. Still, the warning was appreciated and Alana probably knew much more about how it all worked than herself.

Reaching the other chamber, the noble paused to take it all in. It was less grand than the first one but she liked it nonetheless. With the stream continuing to the left side of the room, the noble took a step to the right and made her way towards the center. A few larger rocks formed a somewhat elevated platform in the middle which the girl hopped on top of. Turning on her torch, she scanned all three of the possible routes. While the one to the left continued guiding the small stream, the other two seemed to be less remarkable from their current position. "Uhm" Unsure which path to take, Ines looked at them with raised eyebrows and wide open eyes. "Uhhhhm" she continued, and looked to her friend. "Let's take the middle one. And next time, you choose"

With that, she hopped off of the platform and approached the path. Lighting the way with her torch, the noble ventured on ahead. Before long, the path took a slight turn to the right. After a few more meters, it seemed to take a turn to the left. Upon turning, the noble stopped rather suddenly as she found herself facing a cave wall "This looks like a dead end." she said, brushing a hand against the surface in front of her.

Algarus

 

[Alana Calloway]

Alana snickered at her friends question. In theory it should be filtered. But that was all in theory. There was always that one grouchy farmer who thought regulations were nonsense and dumped heavens knows into his crops. "You would think, I mean there's a good chance it's safe, but some of the farmers here get crazy with their pesticides." Alana looked at the water and chewed her lip just a tad. She looked at where the edges of the water laid, and did not see the signs of contamination that were sometimes indicated. She reached down and stirred the water with her finger. It was cold, but more importantly clear, crystal clear even. She withdrew the digit and put it to her mouth. She didn't taste anything unusual either. "Though this little fella seems to have been spared." She smiled at Ines, as the trudged on through the cave.



Reaching the three tunnels, Alana merely watched in amusement as Ines tried to pick the route they were to follow down. When the woman finally made her decision, Alana nodded in acceptance of the proposal. "Sounds fair to me." She said, and once more they were on the move. Or at least they were, until they hit a dead end. Alana took a step back, accepting the fact they had reached a dead end, as she rolled her shoulders. "Well, least we got options. That path way to our right looked pretty promising, so let's give that shot." Alana would begin to move on back, but would not continue on if Ines lingered behind.

As Ines touched the wall, she would feel the walls vibrating against her palm. There was a low rumble that would echo within herself, as it seemed that she herself was reacting to the wall in kind. It would be a strange sensation to be sure, as it felt like she was almost in tune with the vibrations of the wall. If she kept her hand pressed against the wall, the vibrations would continue for a time, before slowly fading away; the rumble she felt within herself dying off as well. The entire ordeal might have lasted several seconds at the most, but no doubt it would be unusual to the young noble.

@Pyrenees