subnautica | 12/10, voice;

So in non-radiation-leaking news…[There’s a slight pause and then the splashing of water like Percy’s still in the ocean.] Staying away from the Kharaa sounded like a great idea and I might have found something else.

The place where the water flows below. I think I found it. [And for anyone who wasn’t part of the Grand Reef exploration:] When we went to explore the Grand Reef some of the fish kept mentioning something that attacked the Degasi crew and that one of them might’ve sunk to the water that flows below. Problem is I don’t know if that means one of the crew members or one of whatever attacked them.

Anyway, I’m going back. I didn’t get far enough to really explore down there but there’s a bunch of caves and waterfalls that need to be checked out. [A beat.] Annnd some other stuff.

[That’s not ominous at all.] The tunnels should be big enough to get a submarine down there if anybody wants to come with me. [And suddenly he seems a little more commanding.] I don’t know what we’re going to find down there but if you think you can hold your own, let me know. I want to go back soon.

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You know I can't say no to a good exploration. I want to see if we can find any more clues to the Emperor's children down there, too.

[he sounds relieved actually. after the pulse on the 7th and the Kharaa news the day after, this is a wonderful distraction. possibly hazardous also? but at least it's more straightforward]

Korra told me that some of us talked to the Emperor while it was stuck in a cave, but not much about its kids. I know the reef fish confirmed they weren't out there but why are you looking for them?

[It's not accusatory, mostly just curiosity. There's always so much going on on this base, but it keeps him busy and he likes hearing about this. Plus he seems to be thinking the same thing. Exploration? A good distraction that's not as dangerous as alien bodysnatchers.] I was hoping you and Sorey would be up for helping navigate the caves. He told me you guys used to explore ruins back home.

Well...it's part of the thing holding her down there. Not the only thing, but she thinks they're still around somewhere in the Void. I think she'd be more inclined to help break herself loose if we were able to confirm they were okay and somewhere else -- we couldn't find a sign of them in there either, dreaming or waking. I know the reef fish said they weren't there, but they might have meant, not in the shallower part of the Grand Reef...

Are you kidding? We're more than ready to check that out. Caves aren't totally the same as ruins, especially if we're in a transport, but we should be able to make some pretty good headway.

[he can't quite hide his enthusiasm, even in voice-only]

[That's something to consider.] Makes as much sense as anything else around here. If there's motivation to get back to children she cares about then sure, why not. [There are some questions in his head he doesn't know if he wants to ask yet, but he'll let them just float elsewhere.] We'll take a look.

[It's the enthusiasm that makes him smile. He can appreciate people that are in it for the adventure.] That's the thing, we don't know what we'll find in those caves either. I know it's not the same as ruins but…let's just say Annabeth and I have gone through some caves and ruins that revealed even bigger places. [Let's not talk about that though, that wasn't really fun for anybody.] What's so great about ruins anyway? I never asked you or Sorey.

That's fair; it seems like the more we explore here too, the more we find to explore...

And ruins are just...fascinating, and important. The marks of history, what ancient peoples left and what they did for the world, the architecture and techniques they used, what we can learn from them and apply in the present day -- there's a lot of gaps in our knowledge of the continent's history back home, so being able to find clues to fill in the hidden pieces is satisfying even if we sometimes can't quite agree on a theory.

[he sounds oddly fond, now]

It's been our hobby since we were kids. And, well, there's some things we really want to accomplish back home...ruins may hold the answers to those, too. Though some of them, like the Trial Shrines, can be pretty frustrating.

The ocean's usually the biggest part of the world. That doesn't surprise me too much. [And perhaps he's biased.

Still, he listens to Mikleo explain about the ruins and while his mind starts to wander a little because he sounds a lot like Annabeth when she gets excited about something he can understand why it would be important. History, as Percy's found, is important, and more than anything in the last year he and his friends have realized that filling in gaps and changing history is important to stop silly little things like the end of the world.]

Where we're from ruins and ancient landmarks and areas are important to us, too. Annabeth and I just got back from the ancient lands before we got here. [...well, no. He pauses awkwardly.] I did, I mean. It's been months for her now. Anyway it sounds like you guys are trained for puzzling out this stuff. But what's a Trial Shrine? [Just because he's wondering, nbd]

Pretty much what it sounds like, yeah? We had to go through them and there's a test in each one administered by a guardian -- partly fighting, partly getting through difficult conditions, partly some kind of -- hm, I suppose morality test might be the closest term? Something to check if Sorey can do a Shepherd's job without getting corrupted by it. Success meant unlocking more of a Shepherd's power.

[he trails off and there's a slight pause; talking about them brings up a lot of complicated feelings he's not really sure what to do with right now. it's been close to a year since they safely emerged from the last one.]

Do you guys have anything like that? In the ancient lands, or...?

[That sounds familiar.]

Sometimes. Annabeth...well, her mom's Athena, so during the last summer she was picked to follow the Mark. That's part of the reason we split up in the ancient lands and she had to face a ton of trials on her own to prove she was worthy of recovering the parthenon which we kinda needed to help stop the end of the world and the war that would start it. But we get sent out on quests a lot, too. The gods like to use us to do their own work and test us and our abilities. Sometimes they're not even optional.

[He frowns a little.] That's what we were doing before we got here. We had one more prophecy to fulfill.

12/10, voice;

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