saveourearth | Run, run, follow me [Open Mingle]

Entry tags:

Run, run, follow me [Open Mingle]

Date: Saturday, 4.1.2020
Characters: OPEN

I.

It's midday when trouble seems to brew underfoot. Literally underfoot, in cases - wherever the Numbered are, they'll suddenly find dormice approaching them, running around their feet, in some cases up their legs, aiming to get their attention, and then running off - coming back again, running off once more in the same direction.

Trying to get the Numbered to FOLLOW.

II.

If Numbered decide to follow the mice, they'll be lead through the streets, fields, or whatever there is (in some cases, this might mean that the mice are trying to lead them through the military area aroudn the air base). Perhaps they'll run into other Numbered on the way - all mice seem to be leading those that they lead into the exact same direction.

III.

The direction of, it turns out, the tunnels under the cliffs. The mice will easily slip through the grates that bar the entries - the grates were made to keep humans out and let a tiny mice through easily. The Numbered, however... well, the grates were installed solid and sturdy to keep humans out. The mice will vanish in the tunnels and not come back.

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Benjiro falls into pace with the doctor as he had before, but this time he keeps within an arm’s length. Even less attention goes to his notebook, so eventually he tucks the pen in place and stows it to free both of his hands. He would rather be at the ready.

“He is the only one out there that I am aware of... We might have done a dive out there if he had not had so many sharks around his fort,” he confirms. The ‘we’ being himself and Sadie. “I can check my maps after this and compare his fort location to the second larger epicenter.”

Finally they arrive at the end of the tunnel - which they might notice a bit ahead of time, as Mary Ann's torch hits something at the end of the tunnel.

There's no wide empty space here, but instead... a wall covered in giant brown fur. A wall that is moving very slowly in synch with the breeze. Approaching it will show that it is rather some giant furry creature (at least going by the size of the fur) resting in a presumably equally giant cave. There's enough distance between the cave walls and the fur wall to walk in between, which only underlines how big everything must be.

The brown at the end of the tunnel is such a stark contrast in both a sudden end of the path and color that it is obvious the instant the light shines on it. The teenager pauses from caution, then continues forward until he stands right in front of the furry wall with his steps utterly silent.

Looking at the strands that make up the fur provides another clue towards estimating the sheer size of what lies in front of them. The movement becomes clear more slowly, and that indicates they are positioned somewhere beside it. Away from the head is certainly safer.

Benjiro notices the gap as well, and looking to Mary Ann, he motions with one hand towards the space with a questioning look. Should we go in?

He can't hazard an exact guess at how big the being is, but he can say that it is truly giant, larger than any land-dwelling creature has a right to be - a first guess would be that it's the size of two IKEAs stacked on top of one another.

Mary Ann just.

Stares at that.

The fuck. She doesn't even know what to say to that - but she's going to nod Benjiro's question. Yes, let's go. She gestures for him to go ahead.

Organic beings have theoretical limitations of size on land due to being made from carbon bases and the physical limits of organic tissues as a result of the molecular bond strength. This one exceeds those limits without a doubt, but with more observation, he might narrow the range of potential size further.

Before they enter, Benjiro silently requests the other torch so they are both able to illuminate the cavern as needed. Careful to angle his down and away from the fur, he enters the space first and hugs close to the rock wall to proceed around.

She gives him the torch and follows, paying close attention to what she can see of the furry giant.

If it moves even a tiny bit she'll bolt and run back towards the tunnel they came from - she really doesn't want to be trapped between it and the wall.

They walk for a while before the furry wall gives way to... a foot? Yes, that looks like a really, really big mouse foot right there. It gives a bit of perspective on the size of the whole mouse, at least - the foot alone is the size of four double-decker buses.

For his part, Benjiro would attempt to follow her if it were to shift suddenly.

Upon reaching the foot, he freezes for a few seconds out of shock. Creeping further forward to examine it more closely, he marvels at the reality in front of his eyes. For the first time in many months, he feels rather small.

A hand covers his mouth, then folds as it slides down to his chin in thought. Assuming proportionally that this rodent is identical to the smaller ones, he has a much more precise idea regarding scale. It is impressive in any regard.

Mary Ann has, at this point, figured out a way to converse silently. She pulls out her phone and types into the notepad: It must be bigger than a block of flats.

Or at the very least that size. And she doesn't like that thought. Because... she can't quite pinpoint what is directly above them right now, they walked for long enough underground that can't even make an informed guess any more. But Ben tracked their path, didn't he? Maybe... Can you tell what's above us?

Hand left behind in the air when he turns his head to read from her phone, Benjiro gives a couple of strong nods. She’s right about the size.

He sees her typing again, and waits to read the question that follows. He furrows his brow in thought, then holds up a finger in request of a moment to try. Reaching into his bag, he pulls out a pair of notebooks. He opens the first to the tracking marks, and the second he skims to pull out a printed copy of a map of the local coast from between the pages. Starting on the map, he marks roughly where they began the descent while resting the other notebook on his duffle bag for reference. Slowly he marks ticks along the map, some longer and some shorter with varying degrees of turns based on his memory and notes. The final straight line slides to a stop right near the mouth of the river. There, he marks an X and turns the paper to Mary Ann.

This is very near where Sadie was in the river when she set off something with her magic.

...Well then.

She stares down at the map. Perhaps they should have expected that. Something under the river - she wonders if that's why they found the mouse figurines in the river...

She picks up her phone again and types Inform the others?

It would explain at least that much.

Benjiro tucks his notebooks back into his bag while keeping the map out for reference. It would guide them back to their original entrance if nothing else.

The question she poses next is answered with another nod. Absolutely.

Mary Ann does what she proposed and types out a quick message - and then pulls up a second notepad page and hands it over to Ben so he can type in his number and participate in the conversation if he so wishes.

Benjiro is silent some time as he watches Mary Ann communicating with the other groups gathered in the tunnels. His brow is knotted in a mixture of thought and worry as more information is revealed about the sharks and involvement of Mr. Evil.

As discussion reaches mention of previous Echoes at the river mouth, Benjiro writes a note to Mary Ann in his notebook to show her.

Let’s go back. I want to check out what is above the big mouse, but I would rather have everyone else out of here when I do. I do not intend to wake it, but if I accidentally disturb it, then it could be dangerous.

Edited 2020-04-16 15:27 (UTC)

Agreed she responds and starts walking into the direction that they came from. She'll wait until they are a good distance up the tunnel before speaking out loud again.

"...How do you plan on checking out what's above the big mouse, that you expected trouble to arise from it?"

Not that she is necessarily going to stop him, it's important knowledge. but... just please don't cause another earthquake or tsunami or whatever else there's out there these days.

He follows her out of the burrow and up the connecting tunnel. Once they stop, he slides the strap of his duffle bag from his shoulders without yet setting it down.

“There are two options. One being that I climb up there. That requires me to push against the mouse on the way. I could move sideways so that I can take contact on and off until I get high enough to stand on the mouse. Large as it is, I don’t think I would disturb it if I went slowly and quietly, but there is a chance. The second option is I go back home, grab my custom drone, and try to fly it up there. If I lose signal from my drone like I did with the cheap ones I modified to explore the tunnels, I have no idea what it would do.”

Both options have pros and cons.

Edited 2020-04-18 14:36 (UTC)

"...You think it's likely that you'll lose signal? Even though it is more expensive?"

She fully understands why he wants to climb up there, but... look, how should she explain to his aunts "sorry he's not coming home he got squished by a giant mouse"?

“I think the probability is low if I stick close at the entry. The other issue with the drone is the limited space. The camera will capture very little that near to the ceiling in a pass, and if I don’t follow a strict grid path, I could easily miss something,” he answers. He might have more confidence in the signal if he had gotten a drone down this way previously. As for pathing, that will be a challenge with the curvature and spacing. He can do it, but it will take a long while.

"...you'll probably learn more if you go up there yourself," she has to admit. She still doesn't like the idea.

At all. ...but she can't deny that it would be useful. And that he's probably sturdier than most others right now.

“Assuming there is something up there to find, then yes,” he answers. Benjiro is not wild about the idea himself, however, he feels responsible and wants to gather as much information as possible.

He sighs a slower exhale and runs a hand through his hair before he asks, “If you wouldn’t mind asking on the Network for everyone to clear out of there, I’d appreciate it. And while we wait to be certain it is clear, do you want me to lead you back to the surface first?” He tracked their path after all. If anything goes wrong he does not want Mary Ann stuck down here lost and alone.

"I'll do that.

...take your phone so you can get in contact with us in case anything happens." In case he gets trapped up there or... not that she would know what to do in that case. But she's sure that they will be able to figure something out.

"I'll find my way back, don't worry." She reaches out to briefly pat his arm. "Be safe."

And with that, she'll get on the clearing out and type a message.

“Thank you. And I will. If I do find something, I’ll try to take pictures.” His cell service will not reach so far down, but he will not refuse to use the network for the Numbers should anything urgent arise.

The pat on his arm is met with a smile propped by false confidence, “I’ll be careful.” At the very least he offers her the map printout he marked as it would provide a reference if she needed to look for a right or left turn ahead.

Watching Dr. Tilly start walking, he turns and heads back down towards the burrow. When he reaches the wall of fur, he stops to sit down and log into the Network on his phone to await confirmation that everyone is giving the burrow appropriate distance. As he waits, he strips his socks and shoes off to stuff into his duffle bag. He needs to thank his great aunts again for this new bag when he gets home. It holds so much more than his last one.

Once he feels confident the area is clear, he tucks his phone into a safe pocket in his bag to the outside and secures his flashlight in the back of his waistband angled upward. Entering the space with the giant, he puts two hands to the fur to press in a slow test. So long as the mouse does not seem disturbed as he leans his weight in and no more, Benjiro proceeds. Bracing sideways between the mouse and the cavern wall with hands and feet to distribute his weight across no less than three points at a time, he will climb by pressing outward to each side and gripping the rock when he can find handholds. Slow in the ascent, he is careful to push or withdraw his contact to the mouse without dragging against the fur.

A ripple seems to go through the fur - and probably the skin somewhere beneath, but his fingers aren't long enough to actually touch on it through the giant hairs - but it dies down after a moment, and nothing further happens, there's no change in the pace of breathing of actual movement.

Scaling the wall isn't too hard for him - there are small footholds everywhere, and every once in a while he'll come past a ledge large enough to sit down on it and rest. It just is a good distance up, confirming the estimations about size. The climb does, however, eventually bring him to where the cave starts caving inwards, so he's starting to climb more and more upside-down instead of straight up.

As much as he is able, Benjiro climbs only with the use of the cavern wall, and touches the giant only once he is forced to brace between the wall and fur to continue upwards. The ledges along the way are used to rest, glance around with the flashlight, and to check in on the Network on his phone. Reading the messages from Sadie and Walter in particular put a weight in his gut. It was a spontaneous decision to climb, but no less calculated. He will have to answer for it later.

The actual effort to climb is not so intense thanks to his strength and the ledges that provide adequate rest along the way. So once he has made it to a place where the fur slopes upward at less than a 45 degree angle from the horizon, he looks to transition carefully onto hands and knees perched on the giant mouse. Before he moves further, he looks around with his flashlight once more.

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I'll send in the NPC next tag

Thank you <3

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