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 Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 9:47 am
 The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua couldn't help but admire her courage in facing her fear. He stayed where he was, not moving away as she inched her way up the cliff. He was ready to go help her if she needed it, but he forced himself to let her do it alone. He smiled at her as she made it past the narrow stretch.
"There. That was the worst part. Almost done now." He told her comfortingly, moving out along the path again. He moved slowly though, making sure to keep to Tianara's pace. Though it took them much long than it normally took him, they finally made it into one of the higher caverns in the cliffs. He set his stuff down on the floor. "Congratulations. You made it up." He told her with a proud smile.  The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:03 am
Tianara found after a while that it was easier to lock her eyes on Joshua and move that way. True, she had to keep glancing at the edge, the drop and the water every few seconds, but then she would stubbornly look back at him. It wasn't easy, but it kept her moving.
Once they got into the higher caverns, she flopped onto the floor and let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Oh. Wow. Okay," she managed once she started breathing normally again. She looked up, though, when he spoke, and saw his smile. Her heart made a funny flip - he was proud.
She hadn't realized before how nice it was to make someone she cared about proud of her.
Setting down the heaters she'd brought up, she looked around the cavern and nodded. "There's a lot of space here," she mused. "It'll take a lot of heat for even this room. Should we explore first, find some storage areas before we bring everything else up?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:12 am
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua glanced around the cavern. "We could always put up dividers or something. That might make it easier to heat." He said thoughtfully, then nodded at her. "But yeah, let's take a look around first. See if we can make our way down to the water caverns. It'd be no good taking stuff there, only to find out we'd have to bring it up the cliff anyways." He said with a chuckle. He held out a hand to help Tianara to her feet. "Looks like this expedition is officially underway." He said with a smile. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:18 am
Tianara gave him a sad little smile in return as she got to her feet. "Yeah," she said at last, looking around the cavern. "No matter how much we wish it wasn't."
It was debatable if Joshua would remember Tianara's earlier words about the caverns. "If we're driven back to the caves, that means we've already lost."
That they already had to prepare the caves in order to protect the ocean children and those they needed on their side was not a good omen. The war might not yet have started, but it was closing in, and they were already struggling to protect their own.
What chance, Tianara wondered, did they really have?
Shaking her head, she turned to Joshua. "Come on," she said wearily. "Let's go look for a pathway." Walking into the shadows, she began to disappear from view.
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:31 am
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua sighed as he followed along behind Tianara. He'd been trying not to think of what the caves meant. He was trying to think of them as a precaution rather than a last ditch effort. In all honesty, he was hoping and praying that they wouldn't need any of this.
As they wandered the caverns, it was clear they were an extensive network, burrowing all through the cliffs. There was plenty of space and caverns of various sizes. In a way, it actually reminded him of Tianara's home cavern. At every branch though, he chose the tunnel that headed downwards. Soon, he could hear the ocean echoing as it pounded against the stone. Eventually, they were down at the last level.
Here, Joshua paused, hands on hips as he surveyed the cavern. "This should be good I think. It looks like the pool goes into an underwater tunnel." He said, peering over the edge of the water. The depths of the pool were impossible to see, but that was what made him think it didn't quite stop. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 10:55 am
Tianara felt perfectly at ease as they went through the caverns. It was like home to her - all her senses had spent most of her life being honed for places like this. Her sense of direction led her through smoothly, and she had no worries about finding their way back.
"I like it here," she murmured, almost to herself. "It feels nice." Nice was probably not the word most people would have used. But Tianara seemed content enough. She wondered if Joshua liked it as well.
When they reached the pool and Joshua said his piece, Tianara examined the water. She shrugged. "One way to find out," she said lightly. Then she jumped into the water, sinking rapidly from sight.
It was a good ten minutes before she surfaced again with a smile and a nod. "There are some tight places, but it's a tunnel. We'll have to find a bigger one if we want to store boats and things here, but this one is big enough for most people."
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 11:09 am
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua chuckled at her statement. He wasn't surprised she found the caverns nice. If they reminded him of her home, then surely she felt it too. He hoped the others who came here would be okay with it. He watched as Tianara sank into the waters, quickly disappearing from sight.
He waited anxiously for her to return, hoping nothing went wrong. He was just a worrier by nature. He breathed a sigh of relief as she surfaced. "That's good enough for now." He told her with a nod. "I'm sure there's more caverns down on this level and we can find one later. Right n ow though, we just need to get the food stuff back here."
He paused, considering something, then asked her, "Do you want to swim back to the cove or come back down the cliff?" He said, giving her the option. He had no choice but to go down the cliff as he didn't have the ability to breath underwater like Tianara did. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 3:16 pm
Tianara hesitated when Joshua made the offer. The longing in her gaze was obvious when she turned to look back the way she'd come. Oh, she wanted to swim back, and badly. She was made for the water, she thought unhappily, born and raised to it. Why should she put herself through the misery of the heights on the way back?
Giving herself at least fifty reasons why swimming back would be the best option, she raised her eyes to Joshua's. And looking at him, she found the reason that would make her face the heights again.
He was her friend, and she didn't want to leave him to walk the cliffs alone - speed be damned.
"I'll go with you," she said, hauling herself out of the water. She gave a brief shiver at the sudden change in temperature, but otherwise showed no change of expression. "We can see if anyone's back yet on the way.
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 3:24 pm
((Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry, I'd made a move to another island and I'm getting a steady connection this week for the first time in months. Am I welcome back?))
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 3:26 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua waited patiently, letting Tianara make her decision. He wouldn't force her one way or the other. He smiled when she chose to come back with him. "Alright. If your sure." He said and shrugged. They would just have to take it slow on the way back, but that was fine with him. He was oddly pleased though, that she would chose to leave the water and come back with him.
"Let's get going then." And with that, he turned and walked back towards the upper cavern where they'd started. He paused occasionally, trying to remember the correct way up. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 3:30 pm
((OOC: @Trey: You certainly are. Welcome back. razz ))
Tianara smiled a little herself. She'd made her choice, and though she already knew she'd be cursing herself a thousand times on the way down, she was content with it for now.
Walking along beside him, she realized that he was having a little trouble with the directions. "Here," she said, "I can take you if you like." She gave him a mischievous grin. "Caverns are my specialty."
She picked one of the openings with perfect confidence and headed that way. They'd only been headed this way once, but she felt like she knew the caves - maybe because they reminded her so much of home. It wouldn't be hard to find her way.
With a quick glance over her shoulder at Joshua to see if he was comfortable following or if he would rather lead, she led him in the direction she remembered them going earlier.
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 3:34 pm
((Great! So, what's Citara been up to?/Where is she?/How much time has passed?))
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 3:43 pm
((OOC: Oh yeah, that's right - I do have a character by that name, don't I...Well, absolutely nothing has happened with them since the last time you were around. I actually have to go track it down to remember what did happen. >.> And then make a profile, since I never did get around to that. I'd say at least a couple weeks, but the Daniel/Citara thing has been running on a different timeline almost since the beginning, so don't worry about it too much.))
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 3:46 pm
The tiger that shouldn't be....is.... Joshua grinned and gestured for her to take the lead. "Be my guest. You know caverns better than me." He said with a chuckle as he fell into step behind her. He obviously didn't mind letting her lead. He knew when he was out of his element. He figured it was better to let her lead than to try and force himself to lead and end up getting them lost.
Hands in pockets, he followed Tianara back to the place where they'd come in. There, he walked out to the edge and stood on the path. "Do want me to lead or to follow behind you?" He asked, unsure if she wanted the path clear ahead of her as she tried to go down. The tiger that should be....isn't....
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Posted: Tue Aug 17, 2010 6:02 pm
Tianara flashed him an easy smile as they crossed through the caverns. She had no difficulty finding their way back to the top. It was actually remarkably like her home caverns - she even found a few shortcuts through subtle clues that the walls gave her. It made her happy, and she appreciated the fact that Joshua let her lead. That he trusted her.
He might not have seen it that way, but she always did.
She paused uncomfortably as they stopped at the opening of the path. "Um..." There were a few seconds of hesitation. Then she gave a slow, tired smile. "I'll follow. It makes me feel safer to see you in front of me. I don't want to freeze up."
All very true. But the only thing she didn't say was that, well...she trusted him.
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