[center][h1][color=red][u]G R A V E S[/u][/color][/h1][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][hr][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]  • Tʜᴇ Dᴜɴɢᴇᴏɴ • [/center][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][hr][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]

Graves turned on his heel and started back down the tight corridor they'd come back to the main room from, a smirk plastered on his face. It may have been at Rael's expense, but the short girl's reaction to his teasing had helped raise his spirits a bit. The Blood Knight was feeling better about the plan to journey deeper into the dungeon in search of escape. Graves would always remember, in the back of his minds, the stakes that hung over their heads- failure meant death. Like actual, real, not-in-the-game death. It still sent a freezing shudder down the man's spine to think about. Still, he was doing better than when they first heard the announcement from the dev team. The rousing speeches from the likes of Tif, Rael and even Sky had turned back the darkness encroaching on his heart. Fear's devouring maw was held at bay for the time being by a cheap laugh at a girl's discomfort. Everyone seemed ready to continue the trek further into the unknowable halls of that damnable labyrinth.

Everyone except one. A loud shout to 'WAIT!' came to Graves's ears from behind him. Curiously, the towering knight of crimson turned to face the source of the yell. It was their control mage; the one he jokingly referred to as '2Chainz' earlier. With a raised brow, Graves turned fully to look down at the shorter woman as she spoke in a hurried, fearful tone. His expression fell. He...understood her concerns. He really, truly did. If Graves had even the slightest clue as to when the issue would be fixed, he would be right with Tessa. Staying still was...easier, even if it wasn't necessarily safer. A defensive position could be held with some difficulty. Enemies coming from above and below was a constant hazard. However, having a wall to their back gave them at least one reliable safety net in a fight. And...really, heading into the dungeon- of their own volition, no less- when death was permanent and real was suicidal at best.

[color=red]"Listen."[/color] Graves let the tip of his halberd drop. He walked up to Altissima, towering over her with his abnormal height. [color=red]"I know you're scared."[/color] A strong, gauntlet-covered hand lifted up and then dropped down on her shoulder. [color=red]"I understand. I'm...[i]terrified[/i], too. This is way...way beyond me."[/color] The voice of the Knight was unlike before. It held no hostility, no presumption of authority or superiority. Graves spoke with a calm reassurance, and a deep understanding of just how Tessa was feeling. [color=red]"But...We can't stay here. It does seem safer, yeah. But you heard the dev- he said they've been trying to fix the issue for [i]hours.[/i] We have no idea how long it'll be before it's fixed. We could be stuck in here all night if we just sit and wait."[/color] Graves gave Tessa's shoulder a squeeze, his smile widening.[color=red] "We're going to be okay. We've all done this a hundred times before. You and Ochre are going to watch each other's backs. And if anything goes wrong, call for us- we're going to keep each other safe, okay? I promise you're going to get out of here. We all are."[/color] Graves took a step away from Tessa, his other moving off her shoulder and back onto the shaft of his polearm. [color=red]"Orchid. You keep her safe, okay? And she'll do the same for you. Now...we can't afford to stand around here too long, or another ambush is bound to come our way. You're going to be alright, Tess, right? You can do this?"[/color]