[h3][b][color=367597]Lysette[/color], [color=a36209]Riss[/color] and Sirius[/b][/h3] "Chump -nothing personal- and I are headed to the mines, tell Sirius for me." Shor’s sudden exit with Kubo wasn’t [i]too[/i] surprising. She always seemed to do things the way she wanted them to. With Sirius off fetching Riss, and without knowing how long it would take in order to coax him outside, Lysette retreats to her room in order to assemble her gear. Collected over the years, she had a pair of swords, numerous throwing knives, and a simple bag to carry her items on the go. Once her equipment is set, she returns to the cafeteria to wait for Sirius and Riss. Sirius notices that only one member of their original group, Lysette, is still there. Approaching her, he asks, “Where did everyone else go?” “Shor took Kubo and ran off to the mines, wanted to let you know” Lysette responds with a shrug. “Okay, then we should get going too,” Sirius replies, “Although we might want to discuss what manabeasts we’re looking for first.” [i]I hope Shor and Kubo will be okay.[/i] “I don’t mind too much what we go for, the only element I’m interested in taking up now other than the ones I’m using right now is Metal. What about you two?” “Same to Metal, though I’m more interested in Crystal for now,” Sirius responds. “Looks like we’re heading to the mines too.” Riss declares. “You never said what you wanted,” Sirius points out. “I want a lot of things.” Riss rebuts, expression expressionless as ever. “Don’t be selfish, Sirius. Selflessness is a finite resource.” “I want you to get something out of this too, Riss,” Sirius retorts, frowning slightly. Riss crosses his arms. “And I will. Sealed artifacts are always useful.” “I want money” Lysette whispers. Riss nods. “Yes, Lysette. I agree. Let’s all get Metal, Crystal, and Money artifacts.” Sirius continues frowning, but reluctantly agrees, “Alright, we’ll head to the mines then. Is everyone good to go? I personally need to grab stuff from my room first.” Riss reveals a plain beige backpack. He reveals it by taking it off his back and holding it up. How it went unnoticed before now is hard to say. He should have been a Darkness Mage. “I grabbed everything I could need when you weren’t looking.” “Alright, I’ll go pack up really quick,” Sirius states, “Do you want to meet up at the train station?” “Sounds fine to me, don’t take too long” Lysette says before setting off toward the nearest stop. “C’mon Riss, let’s go.” Riss follows, and the two walk in comfortable silence. Minutes pass and they eventually arrive at the train station without having said a word to each other. After readying tickets, they sit down on a bench and wait for Sirius. Eventually Riss looks at Lysette and Lysette meets his stare. [i]He ate a cat![/i] Lysette internally screams. Riss makes a piss-poor attempt at conversation. “You like money?” Lysette blinks several times before looking away and pretending she never heard anything. Back in his room, Sirius scoops up a light green backpack and packs medical supplies -- it wouldn’t do if someone bled to death. The mines would probably be poorly lit, but his Light abilities compensated for that. He stuffs some snacks into another pocket, bringing extra in case Riss or Lysette got hungry too. Water would be essential as well, considering they’ll be out for a while. Sirius hefts the backpack experimentally to make sure it wouldn’t be too heavy to carry around. The bag was of moderate weight, but things would balance out even with added reagents if the food and water were consumed. Finally, Sirius straps a straight sword to his waist and heads off to the train station. When Sirius arrives, he finds Lysette and Riss sitting on a bench together. “Hey! Did you guys get along while I was gone?” Riss and Lysette share a sidelong glance before Riss replies. “Best Friends.” “A real bonding experience” She adds. “Great! I’m glad you two could become friends with each other,” Sirius exclaims happily. The arrival of the train graciously interrupts any follow-up to Sirius’s comment. [hr] The corridors of the mines winded and weaved without rhyme or reason. Minecart rails jutted out of the ground irregularly, showing the mine’s age prominently. The air was stale and heavy with the promise of manabeasts lurking in the depths. An orb of light bobs besides Sirius, illuminating the surrounding area. The place seemed a bit suffocating for his taste, but he’d have to get used to it. The mines were the most consistent source of Metal and Crystal manabeasts after all. He could sense the faint flickers of light up ahead from the torches lining the wall. What bothered Lysette was that dust seemed to linger in the air long after it was disturbed, and using wind to shift it away only seemed to raise more into the air. Trying to breathe in the air was a mistake. Activating her enhanced smell only threw her into a fit of coughs to dispel the foul odors. Sirius looks over, “Are you okay?” Lysette squints at Sirius, who was a blinding figure with the light orb nearby. “Debt.” “Debt?” “Debt.” It didn’t seem like Sirius was going to get anything else out of the girl, so he drops the subject. He then checks to see how Riss is coping with the unpleasant environment. Riss seems fine. Too fine, really. “Where do we find the manabeasts? Kick over a rock? Blow a whistle?” Lysette asks, eager to blow her safety whistle. “That might be a good idea, why don’t you try it out? I’ll keep an eye out for anything else that approaches,” Sirius comments. REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE Lysette blows the whistle, letting out a shrill noise that sounded awfully louder inside the mines compared to the outdoors. “Can I do it again?” She asks after a few seconds of silence.