Dark Tunnels [Elpis]

For the typical person perhaps an odd choice of a day trip, but for Onyx, wandering around the dim caves of the mountain bio dome was actually quite relaxing. After all, his home world had been a dark place, and he certainly kept his preference for less lit areas, even though he had adapted to handle all the brightness of day just fine. Besides, doing some exploration was probably a good idea after what has happened not so long ago, as there might still be clues strewn around, which could help in figuring out why it all happened. Those powers and creatures surely didn't come from nowhere, did they now?

That said, the pale horned man could currently be found crouched down by the wall of one of the larger cave rooms, seemingly focused on an interesting culmination of stalagmites on the other end of said room, as if he was examining it, despite oddly choosing not to come towards it. Well, another strangeness to add onto the list perhaps. Nevertheless, the man would hum to himself faintly as he continued with his unusual activity. ''Hmm....''

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Welp, perhaps his day wasn't going to be as peaceful as it originally seemed. Albeit, it wasn't as if he was necessarily expecting it to be at all costs due to the possibility of something still lurking about being a thing, but a random person's voice out of nowhere was not quite fitting the criteria he had in mind for a situation of that type. Nevertheless, now that he was disturbed from his concentration, Onyx would straighten up as his black and white eyes glanced about, trying to figure out where was this new sound coming from. ''Being loud down here might not be the best idea. It causes a lot of echo.'' Especially when you didn't seem to even have any idea if anyone was around, which he would assume from the way the question had been phrased. It's not like this place was really the most common hang out spot for people after all. That aside, he couldn't do much unless he could actually pinpoint this person anyway.

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Sticking his hands into the pockets of his black trench coat, Onyx would narrow his eyes up at the ceiling in thought. Personally, he'd think it a bad idea to come here if one didn't know how to get out, though was this place even that complicated? When there's a way in, there's always a way out, even if you had to just trace your own steps back to find it. ''Unless you have an extremely horrible sense of direction, you probably wouldn't die before you made it out. Why come in if you don't know your way though?''

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‘’Sounds like you should avoid stepping foot into ones where nobody else ever visits.’’ Even if you were lost to the point where you somehow couldn’t find a way out, as long as it was a cave which people came to for whatever reason, then you would likely be found soon enough. ‘’You make it sound like dying doesn’t faze you though. If you can keep on living anyway, then perhaps it shouldn’t be of so much issue to you.’’ Whether the guy was implying he was immortal or it was a play on words in some way, the way it was put would suggest that death wasn’t that big of a deal at the end of the day.

At any rate, Onyx would rub one of his horns in thought at the situation. ‘’So, where are you anyway? Even if I choose to help you, I can’t do much just by hearing your voice.’’ Unless the other was invisible or something. Caves kind of tended to echo sound all around, so pinpointing someone’s location unless they were really close to you wasn’t always an easy task.

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“True. However, that is just pure luck on your part. I did not have to be here right now, and then you would have been alone.” Assuming there was nobody else in the vicinity, but if there was it would likely be noticeable at this point. With all the noises they were making by speaking, there was no way they wouldn’t be heard by other people. “Perhaps you need to exercise more caution then. It shouldn’t be too hard to stay alive, unless you happen to have an unfortunate accident that couldn’t have been prevented in any way.” Usually, at the very least. Either way, not overestimating your abilities too much was a good way to start.

Onyx would sigh to himself, not necessarily delighted about having to search for lights. He came here precisely for reasons involving the fact that it was naturally darker in here. “I can walk, but not knowing which way does not help me a whole lot. Is there nothing unique of interest located around you?” Anything would be helpful, even if it was just an oversized rock. In case it was something he had passed by before, he would know where to head much faster than when he was trying to search completely blind.

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Hmmm. Stalactites. Well, there were a few places that had some of those, but he could work with that. Although, he wasn’t sure just how elated he was about more noise coming in. Rubbing an ear with one of his fingers as he walked, Onyx would huff to himself before addressing the guy. “I’m not sure whether busting one’s eardrums is all that helpful. If voices echo inside caves, then a whistle will as well.” If all he ever needed was just a bit of sound, then the other’s voice would have done the job long ago. Well, sounds did help as he could try to gauge by their intensity as he moved and whether it went up or down, but any kind of sound sufficed for that in the end. “I think I know where to go though, so just wait a moment.” He had a good idea at the very least. Assuming they were decently close to each other, he was probably right.

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“I can understand the idea of loud sound reaching further and thus being better as a signal, though whether it helps as a locations method, I’m not certain. If someone has trained ears for it, perhaps.” It highly depended on the layout of the cave, and the distance one needed to cover to reach a given sound. Even a well-executed whistle could be hard to locate under certain circumstances.

Luckily enough for the guy, he had managed to find his way around the place, eventually reaching the other. “Well, hello there.”, the pale man would state as a sort of a greeting as he examined the guy before him.

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“You mean caves? Not particularly. I’ve lived in dark places before, but this is more of a visiting hobby than anything else.” Yes, he did enjoy the dim areas, but he wouldn’t think caves to be suitable as a living space for himself. He was no little bat that could do with just having a rock to hang off of to sleep. It wasn’t of benefit to attempt to make a home in such an environment unless one was adapted to it already.

The other did indeed appear human enough, but in Junction, one could hardly assume one’s race just by looks. There were certainly a lot of types of humans there, but a human appearance alone did not guarantee that said person was one of them. In the end though? Unless the conversation turned to it, or there was some reason for him to want to know somebody’s origins, he generally did not bother to spend time pondering the matter for long. You are what you are. That’s all there is to it. Onyx would narrow his black and white colored eyes at the man. “Onyx Rhine. It’s a pleasure.”

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