forum The Golden Child ft. Icefire

Started January 18, 2022 by @MarDeColores this is not it kids

tune

( :D perfect!)

Ro cleared his throat faintly, something feeling odd as he followed Garnet down the narrow alleyway. With how close it put him to the mold, it felt…really off. The crystal in his chest felt like it was…pulsing? Or something of the sort. In any case, it was doing something it wasn't supposed to.

It was getting thicker the further down the alley Garnet went. He really didn't like this. The more mold there was, the more off he felt. He had no idea what the feeling was, but it wasn't good. The mold appeared to be collecting on and around an entrance to the sewers, which could mean the source was down there. "How do you feel about taking a trip into the sewers?" Garnet asked, glancing over Ro.

Ro was grimacing, one hand resting faintly against his chest. He felt really weird, was the best way to describe it. He squinted down at his hands, trying to figure out if there was dust or if it was just his eyes. If there was visible dust or cracking then that was a problem, but if there wasn't…he wasn't sure what was wrong. There was no visible cracking, at least.

"Uh…" Garnet frowned, stepping away from the sewer entrance and towards Ro. "Are you okay?" The man didn't look good, and despite him being a massive pain, Garnet didn't really want anything particularly bad to happen to him. "The mold is doing weird things, isn't it?"

"Uh…yeah." he replied, clearing his throat and taking a deep breath. "I'm fine." hopefully. If the crystal cracked, he would have to high tail it home to get Josef to fix it. The man would be pissed at him about it, though; he wasn't supposed to need a new crystal for a few more months.

Garnet stared Ro for a few seconds, debating whether it was worth it to press the subject. He decided against it. "Okay, then." Garnet turned his attention back to the mold. He wasn't going to be able to enter from there, since the entire thing was completely covered. There was no way he was going to be touching that stuff. "Anyway, you never answered my question. How do you feel about a trip into the sewers?"

Ro took a deep breath. "Uhm. Fine." He replied slowly. He would have to keep a close eye on his health; if he felt the crystal straining or cracking, he would have to leave immediately. Otherwise he would die. And maybe he wasn't real in the first place, but he still didn't want to die.

"Ah. Wonderful." Garnet gave Ro a strained smile. He'd really been hoping the apparently famous Ro wouldn't want to go down into the sewers, but that apparently wasn't the case. "You don't have to come, you know." Garnet started back down the alley, keeping well away from the mold. "I mean, someone of your… uh, status, really shouldn't be going down there, right?"

Ro grimaced faintly. "I don't mind going in the sewers. I'm curious about this mold." he was also curious why it made him feel so ill and strained, but that was not a question he could ask Garnet.

"Okay, then." Garnet shrugged, squeezing back out of the alleyway and starting down the road. He knew another sewer entrance nearby, but there was no telling if it would also be covered in mold. He hoped not. If it was, then they'd have to keep looking and it would take more time. Garnet knew he was being impatient, but he wanted to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible.

Ro followed Garnet down the road, quiet and contemplative. He didn't say anything, just wondered why precisely the mold had affected him the way it had. Maybe it was because of the way he was made? He wasn't sure.

The next sewer entrance that Garnet found wasn't as bad as the first one, but there was still no way he was getting close to it. Same with the third one, but the fourth one is blessedly clear of that very sketchy mold. "Here we go. Finally." Garnet sighed thankfully, raising the sewer cover with a few quick whistles. A quick look down revealed that there still wasn't too much mold down there, which should make this sort of safe. "Down we go!" Garnet glanced at Ro, then started down the ladder.

Ro grimaced, but followed Garnet down the ladder. Hopefully everything would be fine. Things would be fine, this was fine. He wasn't going to die from magic mold. No way. He wouldn't let that happen.

Garnet glanced up and down the tunnel, looking for the way that seemed to have the most mold. However much he disliked it, that was the way he was going to be going. It seemed that the right had more. Wonderful. Garnet whistled a note, summoning a small handful of fire into his palm for better lighting. "This way." He started to walk, keeping as far away from the mold as he could.

Ro grimaced, following Garnet. The mold was disgusting, and it still made him feel…odd. He wasn't sure how to define it, other than just plain odd. It was disgusting.

As they went deeper into the sewers, a bad feeling started building in Garnet's stomach. Not anything particular, just… a general feeling of doom. He was guessing it was because of the steady increase in the amount of mold around them. Garnet turned a corner and froze. The sewer ended in a dead-end. It was completely covered in mold, except for a small spot near the bottom. Garnet peered at it, not really wanting to get any closer unless he had to. It looked like a hole in the wall. He'd normally not be too bothered by holes in walls, but he felt like this particular one needed some closer observation. Unfortunately for him.
"Uh… stay there." Garnet glanced at Ro. As annoying as he'd been, Garnet really didn't want him to get hurt because of some strange mold. And he might get in the way, too.

Ro did as asked, staying still. His head was starting to feel really weird, and the crystal in his chest felt like it was pulsing very strangely. In a way that pained him. He cleared his throat rather loudly, shaking his head in an attempt to clear it. Maybe it was time for him to head back to the surface.

Garnet crept towards the hole, the air seeming to get more stifling the closer he got to it. The ground space without mold got sparser and sparser until Garnet was balancing on one foot in order to not touch the stuff. He was close enough now to inspect the hole, at least. There was a strangely refreshing breeze blowing through it, which was strange. Garnet leaned forward as much as he could, trying to see if he could see through to whatever was causing that breeze. It was right at that moment that Ro cleared his throat. Garnet jumped, lost his balance, and fell forward. He squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating smacking his head against the mold-covered wall and suffering a headache plus whatever the mold did. Instead, the wall crumbled, sending a refreshing breeze rushing down the space towards Ro. Garnet only got to enjoy it for a few seconds before he was rolling down a gentle slope into the unknown.

Ro inhaled sharply when the wall crumbled, and took a few quick steps forward in an attempt to grab Garnet before he fell. But he did, and he watched as the young man tumbled. He hesitated for a moment, then stepped and began to slide down the hill himself. His head was still pounding, and he could feel the strain on the crystal.

(I'm somewhat alive again! Sorry again for the long wait. :)
Garnet came to a stop at the bottom of the hill and let out a groan. Although the slope had been gentle, the rocks peppered all over it had not been. He'd definitely come out of this strange adventure with loads of bruises. He slowly pulled himself into a sitting position and glanced around. It would have been dark if not for the huge glowing lake in front of him. Garnet narrowed his eyes at the body of water. Lakes weren't supposed to be glowing. He would have thought it was connected to the strange mold if not for the feeling it gave off. It was almost the exact opposite of the mold. Where it had been suffocating, this lake made him feel like he had too much oxygen. It was much better, in his opinion. Garnet took a long, deep breath and glanced back towards the hole he'd tumbled from. Ro was coming down the hill as well. That guy was insanely dedicated to following him.

(you're fine!)

Ro got to his feet when he landed at the bottom of the hill, looking around. The lake was odd, and it made the crystal pulse again but in a different way. Now it was straining, as if there was too much energy in it.

"Hey. Funky lake, right?" Garnet asked, getting to his feet and peering at said lake. Now that he was looking closer, he could see something strange a little way down the shore to his left. He would have thought it was a large pile of rocks if not for the assortment of glowing shapes speckled throughout the dark shapes. Even if it was rocks, he wanted to see what was glowing. Hopefully, it would be more along the lines of 'magic glowing lake' and less along the lines of 'bad-feeling mold'.

"Heh. Yeah. Funky lake." he replied, a touch absently. The wild swings between energy strain on the crystal was, to be honest, exhausting and strange. He didn't know how to feel about it.