Delving Deeper [CLOSED: Gao, Ekik, Sin, Claria]

[El]

Gao grimaced at Claria's remark, lips twisted into a wry but resigned smile. Ekik had been on his mind too: one of many imagined culprits whenever he caught wind of a strange sound throughout the 'night'. The Depths echoed with a myriad of peculiarities, the stagnant and hollow environment magnifying every rustle of weed, tap of iron or shuffle of loose rock. He'd heard the distant whirring of a Yiga's aerial machine, but no clicks of talons or a flutter of feathers. At least, not while he'd laid awake.

"I don't blame the guy," The Sheikah remarked, chewing on a piece of the offered dried kelp. The taste reminded him of home. "In fact I'd rather his absence be out of choice, not-... any other unfortunate circumstances."

Gao wasn't one to reprimand someone for prioritising their own self-preservation. Unless - or, Hylia-forbid, when - any evidence of foul-play was discovered... or their own safety put at jeopardy as a result. It did leave him with a tinge of regret that such an interesting individual had only been with them so briefly though. An intellectual sort too. Their discussions could've been very enlightening.

"We'll keep a look-out." Though the instant those words left Gao's lips his voice faded, nostrils crinkling. He'd just remembered the mushroom-addling incident from their initial encounter: ...surely the fungi wouldn't STILL be affecting the Rito... right? That was a troubling thought. Many a wagoner had been warned against steering while drunk, but what about FLYING while under an influence...

Gao shook his head free of such concerns.

Clearing his throat and taking one last hearty swig of water, he brushed away some crumbs and began packing away what rations remained of his breakfast. He'd happily have demolished far more than what he had, but who knew how long they could end up down here for.

"Since neither of you feel strongly either way, let us head South then." He decided for the group, standing up with a heave and a ho and a dramatic clap of his thighs as if to punctuate that statement with some authoritative gusto. He was becoming more like his old man by the minute, eh. "Better the evil you know, and all that." Gao threw another lopsided smile at his companions, but it was a smile nonetheless.

In truth, there had been more to the decision than that. Strive valiantly as she did to cater to her own physiological needs when her current means were so meager, the scholar had nonetheless noticed Claria's growing discomfort. Not that the South was expected to hold some vast oasis, but he'd rather not dehydrate her further with another - unnecessary -  taxing climb. (You wouldn't catch him dead speaking that out loud though! He knew well a warrior's pride.)

Sinnie was another story however. One which made a whoooole lot more sense now that some more background had been shared.

Despite carefully observing him, the hulking and unusual specimen of a Zora had shown no signs of deterioration: on the contrary he almost seemed to be thriving in this rugged terrain. Given that he hailed from the Gerudo Desert of all places, the Depths probably felt like a casual stroll. Ha!

Odd, yes, for a Zora to be native to that region of all places. But Gao believed it. In fact, Gao had a LOT more questions to ask and a whole notebook to fill on the subject while he was at it. Given his active occupational interest in studying unique species (broadly referred to as 'monsters'), the Sheikah's curious intellect had been thoroughly piqued by this revelation. Not that Sinnie was a monster.

But... maybe he'd pry another time. It had taken a great deal of effort, time and patience to squeeze out even that information. (Though Gao suspected, from the Zora's choice of language, that there had simply been some sort of communication error - laughably.)

"I hope for your sake, Sinnie, that our expedition unearths some treasure of your own too - assuming you're still willing to tag along the whole way." He rambled on, shuffling then over to his tent. After collecting a handful of items and a much smaller backpack in which to stuff them, he began tying down the doorway. "I suppose that spirit's halberd was the wrong sort of ancient, eh."

Was he after some Zonai arms...? Some hero - or heroine's - lost, loyal companion? A historical relic told in tribal tales? A golden gleaming treasure bejewelled with riches? Or did the Zora just simply not use halberds. Gao chuckled a little to himself at that last one.

Sharp-toothed, he threw a grin back over his shoulder. "That'd explain why you never did actually rob us. I don't think our equipment is quite that spectacular." An accusation? Perhaps. But the bear of a man just laughed it off in good humour as he continued buckling himself down and strapping up. As if it was ridiculous to even seriously entertain that thought. Unlike some situations before, this statement had not been a veiled or testing threat. Funny how actually knowing was far less concerning than not knowing anything. His imagination had run WILD. But a treasure-hunter or tomb-raider? Ha. Sinnie was welcome to it all. This Sheikah's riches were very different in form.

"Right then," Gao turned back to his company, standing tall and ready: hands on his hips and one last piece of jerky rolling between his teeth. (He couldn't help it, OK? A snack for the road never hurt anyone!) "Are we all set to depart? I should be able to move quicker - and quieter - now that I've dropped most of my load off."

[LuckyBlackCat]

"If that's what happened... It would have been nice if he'd been honest, but I can't say I hold it against him either." Claria took one more look into the distance, where blackness swallowed up the fronds of the forest and anything else that lay ahead. As worrying as it was to find themselves reduced to a trio, both for the Rito's safety and for each other's, they'd all stumbled into more than they'd expected from the start. His having gotten out while he still could was the best possible scenario.

In any case, all the three could do now was focus on their current task. With a nod towards Gao, she tucked her water flask and leftover rations in her backpack, stood, and set to securing the flap of her tent. As Gao busied himself packing up, his attention shifting between his belongings and Sinnie with whom he chatted, she shuffled to the side of the tent, surreptitiously taking the lotion container from the pack and massaging more of the substance into her chafing hands, rubbed even drier from the ropes. Although still set on hiding her discomfort, if she ignored it only for her fingers to start bleeding during a climb or a fight, that would do nobody any favours.

Sinnie, of course, still showed no sign of any such trouble, his sand-coloured scales as healthy as ever. Which, now that he'd explained his origin, made sense. She'd guessed him to be of Ujua descent, but a Zoran resident of the Gerudo Desert? To say that had thrown her would be to put it mildly. It was a testament to his toughness that he could survive in such an arid and unforgiving area, where few of their kind ventured.

"When you say ancient weapons," she said, donning her backpack as she emerged from behind the tent, "are you referring to Zonai ones?" Her words were less pointed than they had been the previous day - if he'd planned to betray her and Gao, he'd have done so while they'd slept - but she kept her distance nonetheless. The zealous messages inked in scarlet all over his scales, as well as the disparaging remarks he'd made about her kind, still set off her sense of caution. As did his casual comment about using deceased enemies as bait. Yes, some level of ruthlessness was necessary for any warrior, she knew that well, but the way this guy spoke... It seemed like he was spoiling for a fight.

Just what exactly did he want those ancient weapons for?

Claria rolled her eyes. "Let's avoid any such encounters if at all possible." Which was rich of her, the living beacon, to say, but at least now they knew where some of the nearby camps were, they could do their utmost to steer clear of any more Yiga shenanigans. Assuming the ninjas weren't doubling down on their vigilance due to two of their soldiers having gone missing, that was.

Attempting to push thoughts of worst-case scenarios from her mind - with limited success, given yesterday's events - she glanced towards Gao, who kept up his air of cheerful confidence. "I'm good to go." The spots running along her arms and head-tail dimmed in their brightness, as did her tightly-folded fins, casting just enough light to see by. "I'll try not to draw attention."