[ MINGLE ] MINING EXPEDITION

[nonstopnarcissist]

WHO: Tony Stark & Co.
WHERE: North West Mountain Range
WHEN: November 5th - 8th
OPEN TO: Open to all
WARNINGS: Language, canon typical violence

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The Hike Up/Down

After sending a message out the day before to meet him in the fountain park at dawn (daylight is important) Tony packs up. Supplies secured and a path found mostly by working himself up (not that difficult) and following the blue path only he can see (still weird) Tony guides his modest expedition up a winding way over rivers and to a promising stony outcropping at the base of the mountains before needing a moment to 're-calibrate'. AkA get stressed out as to where to head next for optimal ore extraction. It takes a minute but- again, he's got a lot of anxieties to kick into gear and it should be easy enough to nudge their rag tag little group further up until they find the right spot. Making an easy walk down- well. That's also a trick. Finding a quick path back to the village before they lose the light- marking the way they've come so they can find it the next day? Kind of important.


Digging a Hole

Breaking ground is a matter of staring, trying to think back to what little he knows of geology (not fucking much), and waiting for the anxiety to get to the point where it'll hand him something specific. They need ore, they need a good starting location, and once they manage to pinpoint it? Pickaxes are handed out, a nearby cave explored, and Tony strips down to get to work. Crack stone, haul it out, rinse, repeat. Anything usable gets put in sacks made from stolen sheets to be hauled down- not the best system he's got but they're just getting started. Regular breaks are A thing, canteens of water passed around- he's pretty sure there's a stream somewhere that should help with the 'not dying of thirst' issue in the future.


Encounters With Natives

Somewhere on the hike up, during the dig, or taking a rest on one of the craggy boulders surrounding the cave where they're chipping away at stone, signs of native fauna linger. There's a patchy nest looking thing where one can hear the mewling of peakittens, blue eyed, tiny, and abandoned by the looks of it. Loping about the slopes a few curious mountain elk that bound in at the sign of food, keeping a cautious distance but wandering close should anyone appear friendly. Near the woods, though, just as they wind their way up- or make their way back down at the end of the day? Dust Moths have taken to the air, shimmering wings leaving powder in the air.


Environmental Effects

During the hike up in the predawn there's lying mist clinging to the sides of the mountain in thin curls, swirling in the air as they hike through it. Careful not to inhale too deeply, otherwise you might find yourself a little more honest than you'd like for most of the morning, and that could make the rest of the hike pretty damn awkward. In the caves proper there's stone and ore enough- and a dark, black powder that tastes of licorice and ash. Shadow dust. Maybe the next few swings don't do as much damage- or do any at all. Maybe they picking up stone becomes impossible till you're in the light.


In Too Deep

On the second, maybe the third day all their activity and digging catches some aggressive attention. A pickaxe sunk too deep, cracking through a cave wall and finding a den of snarling, hungry cave wolves that spill through the hole all snapping teeth and snarling claws, bursting out of the tunnels to scatter whoever's dared to come close to their home. A tree felled to mark their path startles a giant boar into charging, bellowing in the night, turning tusk and muscle to clear it's own way through their weary line.

Comments

[alittlelonger]

Rinoa's eyes widen at the warning and she looks down at the kitten in her hands. It looks so innocent! But then he explains and she relaxes. So not dangerous, just ... odd. "Wow, so touching them can make you feel drugged?" That's like nothing she's ever heard before. Monsters are capable of doing many things where she's from, including various types of magic, but it's different and less malicious in this case. She gently strokes the kitten's head with her gloved fingers and it seems content. She's always been more of a dog person, but her heart is already weakening.

"It looks like they were abandoned here. The poor things." They can't possibly survive on their own at this age, she knows that much. She looks up at him. "We'll have to take them back, right? Do you think they can eat food like any other animals, or will we have to figure out a milk situation?" The wheels are turning in her head. "I know there are animals around that have that."

[cryptoherpetology]

"I've been rehydrating meat from my pack for them. Have all their teeth and their eyes are open, but I'm going to see if any other animals back at the village are nursing. I spend enough time around the livestock, I should be able to figure something out for them," he says thoughtfully.

"Two or three weeks, and they should be ready to be adopted out around the village."

[alittlelonger]

Rinoa listens to him intently, and it sounds like he knows exactly what he's talking about, so she relaxes. The kittens will be okay with someone in the community knowing what to do. Her heart bleeds easily, so the idea of these poor things having no future would probably make her cry for a week. "If I can help in any way, please let me know, I love animals. I'm Rinoa." She is very careful as she brings the kitten to her chest where there's fabric in the way so it can rest comfortably there.

"Can I volunteer now? Squall won't mind." Well, he probably wouldn't mind, but he usually accepts whatever Rinoa asks for and she uses that to her advantage. "I've always had dogs but I'm sure I could learn to care for a cat."

[cryptoherpetology]

"If you're up for the risk of them being really high-maintenance pets," Alex agrees, nodding almost enthusiastically at the thought of getting others to take the kittens off him once they're old enough.

"Hopefully I'll have enough figured out about their care to figure out at least a basic care and feeding guide. But I'm guessing they'll take care of a lot of the feeding themselves."

[alittlelonger]

"I'm not afraid of that at all. I'll make sure we both have gloves to wear." It doesn't take much approval from someone for Rinoa to light up, and she looks at the kitten to try and make sure she knows its markings. She'll keep a hand on it going back, just in case, but she wants to make sure she remembers this one. They've already chosen each other, apparently!

"It's very interesting, isn't it? I read there's moths that can make you forget things, and frogs that paralyze you on contact." Rinoa is the type to do the smart thing and read through everything at the inn in her first few days. She doesn't remember everything in it, but she's at a disadvantage already, knowing very little about how to survive on her own. "I know there are others. I wonder if they're native only to this island or if they're from another place too, as stuck as we are."