[color=lightgreen]"Hey, bro,"[/color] Dante said absently to Fenn by his side. Fenn cast a sidelong look at the taller demon as they walked. Dante had his eyes fixed on the ogre named Gunthar who was disappearing down the tunnels, way ahead of them. [color=lightgreen]"What do you think of that guy, Gunthar?"[/color] "Oh, the big man," Fenn answered. "I dunno, he's cool. Doesn't talk much." [color=lightgreen]"I sometimes catch him looking up at the sky, almost wistfully, ye know..."[/color] Dante explained. [color=lightgreen]"I just wonder what's going through that head of his. Like maybe he wants out."[/color] "Out? Of this place...? [i]Lilith[/i]." Fenn shook his head bemusedly, then waved off the thought. "I wouldn't talk like that if I were you, Dante. That's just asking for trouble." [color=lightgreen]"I'm just saying... could anyone even stop him?"[/color] Dante went on, much to the visible discomfort of his friend. [color=lightgreen]"My uncle says that the Ogre tribes fought off the humans for ages. Even after the Demon Lord was defeated. They were the last to fall. Stronger, tougher than [i]anyone[/i]."[/color] "I can't hear you," Fenn pretended, half joking - as was his way - but deadly serious that Dante should just stop wherever he was going with his musings. [color=lightgreen]"Alright bro, I get it,"[/color] Dante finally relented. He knew that if anyone heard him talking like this, there'd be major punishment to pay. But his mind could only think of his earlier argument with his uncle. And one line in particular. [b][i] "...Your father was missing, replaced by a trail of purple blood that led to a river, where the trail went cold."[/i][/b] [color=lightgreen][i]He's still out there,[/i][/color] Dante thought. Virgil started calling out at the head of the column. “Separate into your squads! As a reminder, torches are only for emergencies; we don’t want to make more work for the carters in charge of ventilation. Pair off, and trade who’s acting as Light BEFORE you run out of Aura. I’M TALKING TO YOU, TAGG! That happens again, I might not send a team after you next time!” Dante grinned along with the chuckling crowd. He was close enough to lean over and give Tagg a friendly shove. The demon in question scratched the back of his head sheepishly, a grin on his face. [color=lightpink]“Dante! F-Fenn!”[/color] Dante turned to see Talia approaching them. Talia was good people, with a big heart. Being of similar age, they were both in Old Draconhouser's care at the same time and grew up together. Dante had always liked Talia. [color=lightpink]“Want me to be first Light today? I’ve been practicing a technique to help me last longer.”[/color] Fenn practically jumped on the Satir, putting an arm around her. "Oh, make you [i]'last longer,'[/i] huh?" Fenn goaded, putting a sexual spin on her phrasing. "Sounds wild." Dante was caught between wanting to laugh and feeling uncomfortable for Talia. Had it been anyone else instead of the bookworm, classic Fenn would've gotten a laugh out of Dante, but instead he shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. [color=lightgreen]"Lilith, cut it out, you creep."[/color] The three of them made a good team in the mines, and once they were at their spots, Dante was soon whacking rock with his pickaxe. [color=lightgreen]"So Talia,"[/color] he started, maintaining a steady pace of work. [color=lightgreen]"What did you do with your day off?"[/color] He picked up some ore, brushed a bit of soil off it with his hands as he took it over to the cart and dumped it in. Then he went back to gather more. He could hear some of the groans from older demons as they bent over, hauled themselves up, threw ore into carts. Each movement of the body seemed tough on some of the workers. Dante was still young and hale as ever, but it scared him to think that he'd be doing this the rest of his life. It wasn't something he really thought about often. But now... [b][i]"Your father was missing, replaced by a trail of purple blood that led to a river, where the trail went cold."[/i][/b]