[center][h1][color=9e0b0f][u]T i f e r e t[/u][/color][/h1][/center] [center]• Tʜᴇ Dᴜɴɢᴇᴏɴ •[/center] [center][hr][/center] Tif caught Graves' irritated stare in her direction and gave him a grin she hoped looked apologetic. For once, her quick wit failed her, so she just held the grin and hoped he didn't decide to just cut her in half then and there. He certainly seemed pissed enough. Eventually, he relaxed - as much as someone could in this environment - and gave her a hoarse chuckle. [quote=@Superboy] [color=red] "Least one of us is having fun."[/color] [/quote] Tif's answering giggle was more of a series of exhalations than a real laugh, her exhaustion finally beginning to show, both in her voice and on her face. [color=9e0b0f]"Honestly, man, it's either keep laughin' or start cryin'."[/color] Privately, as the knot of anxiety in her stomach tightened considerably, Tif realized she probably shouldn't have said that; she had done such a good job of acting optimistic earlier, even when their morale was already pretty damn low. If she broke now... Tiferet cut herself off there. [color=9e0b0f][i]"If" nothing. I won't break. I will keep my shit together until we get out of here, no matter what, because people are[/i] counting [i]on me. This is not a joke, for once; this is serious shit. I will not break. I will not break. I will not break...[/i][/color] Tif took a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Then again. The knot loosened, and Tif allowed herself a small smile. They would be fine. She knew it. Rael cut in at about that point, with [i]exactly[/i] the notion that Tif didn't want to hear: going back into the slime room. Tiferet sighed deeply (and a little shakily, despite herself). [color=9e0b0f]"Speakin' of crying..."[/color] For obvious reasons, Tif didn't want to return to the horrible gooey death trap they had just left. They only had so many fire-based buffs and attacks, even with a mage whose entire schtick was fire on their side. Plus, they had already been nearly overwhelmed; only stacking a bunch of buffs on Graves had allowed them to make it out, and Tif doubted they'd be able to do that for long enough to completely rid the room of slimes. But, at much as she hated it... Rael was right. That room had at least two other doorways to check through; there was no way it wasn't important somehow. Tif tried her best to think up an idea behind the dungeon's layout, but puzzles were never her forte. She had just been about to posit her idea that perhaps there were switches at the ends of the passages that they would have to trigger to progress, when the sound of cracking ice struck all the thoughts from her mind, save one. [i][b][u][color=9e0b0f]Fuck.[/color][/u][/b][/i] As what was almost definitely the boss of the dungeon tore down the only barrier between it and them, Tiferet put bow to violin and [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T4QmFhB87k]started playing.[/url] filled the air of their makeshift battleground, raising the ambient temperature a couple of degrees. The entire party's weapons gained an orange-red flickering glow, as all of their attacks became fire-aspected for the song's duration. If the rest of the dungeon was any indication, doing this would almost definitely paint a target on her back, but Tiferet trusted in her allies to shield her from the boss's attacks. She had to.