Danger was her middle name.

Not literally of course.  It was Ryanne.  But, if she were to choose, Danger would be in there somewhere.  Careful hands grasped along the stone.  She was attached to multiple other lines, but she feared not the fall.  This was her life’s work and if she passed in pursuit of it she would be quite pleased.  Her brown eyes checked back to the form behind her to ensure he could keep up.

Well-muscled and intelligent, she had chosen this intern to accompany her.  She had felt, through the test scores and his questioning attitude, he could ensure that she did not get too carried away regarding their finds.  He could carry things like a mule and could reach all the things in the up high places.  The perfect intern.  While she was wont to get carried away, he had a magnificent ability keep a level head.  He would help ground her.

Mountain wind whipped through her hair and tore at her clothes.  It attempted to remove her soft waves from their bonds and succeeded in freeing only a few shorter locks around her face.  It was exhilarating and made her feel as if she were flying.  Soon enough they reached their destination and she began to help set up the tents and equipment necessary.  She also ensured that her smaller travel pack had all her essentials – digging supplies, notepad, sketchbook, pencils, and her camera.  Harrie was jittery with excitement.  She could hardly wait to climb up into the cave.  And when, finally, everything was set up she found herself pushing James toward the spikes.

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The cave was beautiful.  Cool and dry.  The earth was well compacted but appeared as if it might be easy enough to dig.  There was some clay like spots which concerned her.  It just meant Harrie had to be extra careful.  She wore knee and elbow pads to kneel more easily in the dirt.

As James spoke to her, she hardly paid any mind.  She was much too excited by the prospect before her.  Her brain was already mapping things out and looking for promising places to start.  He mentioned something about time travelling and she snorted in response.  [b]“Sounds like it would make for a great novel.”[/b]  Students could be so silly sometimes.  Though his 51 puzzle joke went over her head.

As she wandered the inside of the cave, she came upon a spot where, as she looked up, she could swear there was a darkened patch.  Perhaps from ancient fire smoke.  She gasped loudly and ran toward James.  [b]“Come take a look at this,”[/b] she said - almost too quickly to understand.  Harrie grabbed his hand to drag him with her to the spot.

Pointing up she looked expectantly at his features.  [b]“What do you think?”[/b]  He had a very short time frame in which to answer before she continued, “We’ll have to get some scrapings to test.  I wonder if I could reach it if I sat on your shoulders, oh giant one,” she teased.  And then she was off again, searching deeper into the cave.  Unfortunately, the light from outside did not quite penetrate this far which would mean bringing up equipment.  It was a tedious task but her annoyance was overpowered by thrill.

She came back toward the lighted area.  [b]“So, how should we section this out?   Where should we start?”[/b]  Harrie was now speaking in her teacher voice rather than her excited, child-like jumble.  She cocked a hip, placing a hand there.