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

[El]

A handwritten notice, scrawled in a bold, clean hand has been pasted on the bulletin boards of countless stables across Hyrule.

It's not large enough to dominate, and in more than a few places has been covered by the layers of other flyers and posters: its faded parchment-beige outshone by the many other colours and striking illustrations which have surrounded and absorbed it. To those who can recognise it, the parchment has the distinct scent of-... Monster Extract? But that is all about it which is even moderately interesting at a first glance. It wouldn't be unusual for you to wonder if the original poster of these notices even wanted them to be acknowledged at all.

CALLING ALL ADVENTURERS, LYNEL-HEARTED AND OF FOOL'S LUCK

Tired of seeing the same landscapes? Do you thirst for something more? Gao, a Sheikah scholar of monsterkin, is looking for companions to join him in his descent into The Depths.

Those already with relevant experience of such terrain and encounters wherein are preferred, but all fools are welcome, as long as you're instead capable enough to protect both him and yourself. Be you a fellow scholar with applicable knowledge, or a strong and competent warrior, this adventure is open to any and all as long as you feel your skills are up to the challenge. Your work will be unpaid, but any treasure you uncover during this trip will be yours and entirely yours. I only have interest in the monsters and request that you respect my wishes to not harm them or hinder my own work, unless our lives are truly endangered.

Still interested in this rare opportunity? Then seek Chrystie Ebbers at Gerudo Canyon Stable and she will supply you with further details.

BUT BE WARNED!

Though every care has been taken to ensure a 'safe' route down and an eventual rescue if our return is delayed, (a full week is what I have calculated for), this mission is still akin to suicide: do not accept this request lightly.

...But what worthwhile reward isn't without its price?

Yours,
Gao

Important/More Information: Please Read If Participating

• To make sure this thread doesn't stall, I'll only be accepting a total of three other characters.
• Your character doesn't need to be 'hired help': I am very open to chance encounters, even while already down in The Depths. (Just let me know OoC!)
• Everyone is more than welcome to have their own agendas or to 'derail' the thread's main plot, as in all honesty I have no real plan myself. (I will be throwing in plot hooks here and there as needed to keep things alive though! Depending on how things go). Gao has his own goals, but I largely created this thread to facilitate the unique RP experiences of being in The Depths. You're free to make this thread as impactful on your own characters as you like. (DM me if you have any specific shenanigans you may want to plot in secret!)
• I have mentioned the trip lasting up to a week IC, maximum, but we definitely won't be RPing every single second of it: time-skips will likely occur at some point. IF we even use that full week! Maybe it'll get cut short...?
• CHRYSTIE is an amiable but very astute older Hylian woman. Tanned, with a posture incredibly straight, her wisdom evident not only in the glittering humour of her golden eyes but also in her silver hair and fiercely-deep wrinkles. She 'screens' anyone who comes seeking her out with Gao's adventure in mind, making sure - with a shrewd eye and perhaps some pointed questions - that they're at least capable of taking care of themselves, before presenting them with the map of Gao's location and the appointed time to be there by.
        NOTE: Anyone with evident ties to official Hyrulean bodies will very likely be rejected on sight, with Chrystie playing the whole posting off as just the 'prank of my dear and silly grandchild'. But that isn't to say you can't wiggle your way into her good graces/obtain the information you need regardless. (You are free to RP her if you feel it necessary for your first post!)

[close]

[El]

The moon hung low that night, all but eclipsed by the thick smog of snow that swirled across the plains, blotting out the horizon and enveloping Gao in a world of his own: far removed from the glittering starscape he was so familiar with. There were no towering silhouettes of notable landmarks to gaze upon. No constellations to hunt. No animals to find within the abstract shapes of clouds. Just fog. Silven and ethereal, but incessant. Even with the campfire barely feet away from his face, he could still taste the ice upon his tongue and feel its teeth clamped around his numbing fingertips.

No wonder people rarely travelled up here, to the summit of the Gerudo Highlands.

Was he an idiot? Gao scoffed. He was probably beyond a mere fool at this point - this was brinking on suicide. But the moment of stark, lucid self-awareness amidst his harrowing solitude did nothing to warm the chilled pits of his stomach: especially not when his gaze drifted over towards the gaping hole in the ground. It churned with viscous Gloom, the thick entrails of gore around its perimeter bubbling despite the below-freezing temperatures. He had gazed into its enthralling abyss for more hours than he'd like to admit, but for better or worse nothing ever gazed back.

Gao drew in a deep, shaky breath.

He should've been more patient with the official paperwork. He should've tried again - harder - to drive home the point of his requests. Sure it might've taken another half a year, maybe two if he suffered the setbacks of more rejections, and there would've been a next-to-zero guarantee that the envoy of guards for his allotted group wouldn't just kill every monster on sight, but at least he wouldn't be dead.

What if he got trapped down there?

What if his contacts just never bothered to hold up their side of the bargain and the man some knew as 'Gao' simply disappeared off the face of Hyrule, never to be seen again?

What if the Gloom got him, but the Sundelion porridges he'd cobbled together weren't strong enough to save him?

What IF-...

...Ugh. Solitude really made a man his own worst enemy.

Gao rubbed at the bridge of his nose, wincing at the numbing kiss of cold leather against his already goosebump-riddled skin. He'd decked himself out in a dozen and more different furs and hides, insulating himself in every way nature would allow. A small tent had been erected behind him, sheltering his supplies and the more fragile parts of the hot air balloon which laid currently deflated at his side. Everything was ready and had been prepared to as meticulous a degree as one man's mind and wallet could manage: but would anyone even bother to show up?

Not that Gao could blame them, asking strangers to share in your suicide with nothing more than the shoddy promise of perhaps non-existent rewards wasn't something anyone sane would agree to. Actually, thinking about it, he supposed he should be more concerned about anyone who DID show up. There was also the possibility that the Hyrulean authorities which guarded and closely monitored Chasm activities had caught wind that this was not a sanctioned trip, and were on their way to subdue and potentially heavily fine him.

...That would probably be for the best. But Gao was far too stubborn to relinquish all the hard work and time he'd already invested into grafting this opportunity - all the sacrifices he'd made. The many months he'd spent scouting out the various Chasm entrances recorded on blackmarket scraps of parchment. The crippling expense of sourcing the rare materials required to traverse The Depths more safely. The many people he bribed and the favours he cashed in, and worse yet, the promises he had vowed to fulfil in the future: ones he suspected would be far too steep for his good conscience to endure. ...But those were concerns for another time, once he had made it down and back again, alive and in one piece.

"I am just one man," Gao muttered into the frozen abyss. "But because I am just one man, there is much I can achieve for-... a very small price." One life to potentially save hundreds more? The correct answer was obvious to him, but it hung like a chunk of dead weight in his throat - too bulky and heavy to swallow.

For a moment he regretted ever reaching out to recruit companions in the first place: it wasn't in his character - wasn't aligned with his morals - to willingly risk the lives and safety of others. But this was important, his WORK was important. It wasn't just some whimsy of a man whose heart was far too soft. And no-one else seemed to be bothering to do it except him. At least, not seriously enough. If there was a chance that outside aid could increase the odds of his success, then he had to take it.

With Ganondorf's death, managing to find Gloom-infected monsters on the surface had become an almost impossible task: the toxic substance had been gradually receding, withering away like the branches of a long-dead plant. The core heart of the infestation had been culled, but the Sheikah scholar had heard from many reputable sources that it still thrived in the darkness of The Depths. Who knew how much longer he had before it faded away from there too...? A prime and potentially incredibly important source of study, lost for who knew how many more centuries to come - perhaps even forever.

Gao clenched and unfurled his fists, spreading his hands wide against the crackling tongues of flame before him. One more hour, then he'd start getting ready to descend. He'd had enough of procrastinating and being poisoned by his own mind, and the promised time had probably passed by now. Admittedly it was far tougher to gauge time accurately in this climate, but he trusted his internal clockwork enough to be confident of his instincts.

The night was still young, so he'd give his fellow fools one more hour.

[El]

Time had passed, and though Gao had felt every second of it drag by with heavy, callous claws - enough to almost convince him that it had stopped altogether - there had been no changes in his environment. No unusual shifts of snow, crunching below boots. No blundering silhouette in the distance. Not even the glint of a predator's eyes, as the rest of a pack closed in. The ghoulish howl of the snow that whipped around the Sheikah left a lot to the imagination, but every reasonable man's optimism had its limits: this was a solo mission after all.

Enough. Sitting here on his haunches any longer was only going to lead to crippling frostbite.

Gao drew in a deep, bracing - biting - breath and kicked his numbed ass into gear. Out he snuffed the fire, quickly disassembling the tent behind him and fixing together the hot air balloon so it was functional once more. He took a few moments to tamper with the various levers and valves, brushing off bundled flakes of frost and saying prayers of gratitude below his breath that they'd managed to stay warm enough to still function. A faint wheeze here, a sharp but small metallic screech there, his gloved hands tightened plugs and connected bends, then went through all the motions of a start-up, repeating to himself the instructions and advice he'd purchased along with the contraption itself.

Ideally the balloon would be returned unscathed and he'd get a large portion of his deposit back: he couldn't imagine himself ever needing something like this in the long-term. But no-one had been stupid enough to simply loan him one either, especially not a savvy businessman who'd pried out the true location of his trip. Honestly, it probably wouldn't have sat well in Gao's conscience even if he HAD found someone to borrow such a thing from. It was perhaps a silly concern in the grand scheme of things really, but the last thing he wanted to be concerned about when bleeding out in the depths of the underworld was 'Ah shit, what about the balloon though! That poor old man'. He wanted his last breath to at least be unburdened enough that he could lament over his own life.

...But all that aside, everything appeared to be in good working order. So Gao buckled up his hefty backpack and got himself situated inside the nest proper. One last breath of hesitation later and he was lifted into the air to the unnatural song of mechanical, wailing groans and the fiery hiss of gas. Not very high - scarcely a few inches really - but just enough so that the contraption could slide across the ground, scraping over uneven mounds of snow and rattling against the odd loose stone.

The air froze in Gao's lungs as ethereal white all too soon gave way to the viscous, rotten black. Tendrils of crimson steam curled around his animated roost, creeping over the nets of rope and knotted wood to lick at his frost-kissed cheeks while the Gloom audibly spluttered below. Then the gaping maw of the Chasm swallowed it all. A deep, harrowing silence followed. Specks of hot red ash illuminated the endless abyss, but the glow of errant, ignited viscera did nothing to alleviate the true depths of the darkness. It was impenetrable. Unknown. Endless? Gao readjusted his grip and fiddled with the lever of descent, finding again another reason to be glad he was alone on this expedition: at least didn't need to hide the shaking of his hands.

Down.

Down, down, down.

Down ever more.

Regret strained at the corners of his eyes as the scholar cast one last, longing stare out across the snowy horizon. And continued to stare he did, unable to swallow the rampant thundering of his heart in his throat as the landscape he'd recently become so familiar with drifted up and out of view. Clumsily, Gao illuminated a small lantern as the blizzard's glow faded. The air warmed as the darkness swelled, but it was a heat that while comfortable in the literal sense, felt clammy and unnatural to his soul. A wave of nausea washed over him. The scent was-... nigh indescribable. Subtle but cloying and rich all the while. Goosebumps riddled their way up his spine as his eyes trailed from the fleshy walls of the vertical tunnel down towards the bottomless depths of black he sunk ever deeper into.

"Hylia guide me," Gao muttered into the nothing, ears stinging at the sound of his own voice as it punctured the deafening void. No amount of research could've prepared his psyche for this: he was descending into a living nightmare.

[Emily]

"Do you think Master Kohga's coming back?"

"You never know, maybe we'll see him just over the ridge."

"You really think so?"

"Sure, why not? He was defeated before and came back stronger. Who's to say he won't do it again?"

In the wake of Master Kohga's latest disappearance, the Yiga presence in the Depths had changed. Their numbers hadn't notably diminished by the lack of their longtime leader, but their over-reliance on Zonai technology had. At least, it had in this sector; communications weren't as easy or reliable as they used to be. Regardless, during the early reconnaissance era of the depths, a Yiga soldier at maximum effectiveness would have been atop a flying machine, loosing arrows in any which way as the fabled swordsman did whatever it was he had been doing down here. And, by contrast, they were now significantly more conservative in their usage. This was probably due to their resources being removed, with Zonai constructs and forges having been moved to the surface. As of the last month or so, the Yiga had resorted to two-man foot patrols around their outposts. And the two who had just passed by likely wouldn't be back for another half hour at least.

One particular spot of ambient darkness within the larger expanse of the depths shimmered, then shifted. It could have easily been dismissed as errant dust particles disturbed by the Yiga patrol. But that wouldn't have been entirely accurate, as it settled back into perfect stillness under one of the large, desiccated trees. In particular, they settled next to a small, white-tinted mushroom shaped like a vase, opening at the top to reveal purple veins intersecting rectangles of green and red. A puffshroom, and judging from the fine green mist emanating from it, as perfect a specimen as had been seen that day.

From within the heart of his camouflage spell, Ekik's eyes widened, taking in every detail he could. What a fascinating little thing, this puffshroom. They didn't exist on the surface, and there was tragically little information written about them. If he was a bit more bold, he might have infiltrated one of the Yiga outposts, which were rumoured to contain written accounts of the various flora and fauna of the depths. He, in fact, was so bold, and merely had yet to be given the opportunity. Perhaps another day.

There were multiple puffshrooms around the ring of the tree, though the tree itself did not appear to be unique, at least not among the others that made up this dim, cursed grove. Curious. He committed every image to memory, every sensation of this particular spot. The earthy scent of mild decay and damp mould, the acrid but somewhat invigorating taste as the puffshroom's mist got into his mouth. The strange green tint that still existed on the ground, despite the absence of any light in the area. And, of course, the distant sounds of creatures cursed to roam this strange, liminal space.

Ekik hadn't been permitted to come down here, and as far as he was aware, that was standard procedure. This area was still considered unmapped and dangerous, but that rating was given by records from the Upheaval, all of which failed to account for any scientific phenomenon in the area. During his time down here, the Rito had come to no harm, merely experiencing several close calls- and in the depths, escaping just one close call was quite lucky. But Ekik didn't require luck, he was bold. He made his own luck.

Due to his eyes catching as much information as possible, Ekik was able to notice a distant light emerging from the ceiling, lowering somewhere to the south. He felt his heartbeat catch in his throat for a moment- surely nobody had noted his absence as strange. And if they had, was there ever any chance, even the smallest chance, that he could be tracked here? Of all the places, to be tracked to the depths, and of all the places in the depths, spanning the entirety of Hyrule, this close? No, no it had to be a coincidence. And if that was the case, either Hyrule was expanding its circle of influence, or someone was particularly bold.

Admirable, if the latter.

The sight of the distant light was followed by the less-distant sound of mechanical fans. How had they noticed? He had noticed because he was extremely perceptive. The next sound was rapid footsteps as the two footsoldiers from earlier ran toward the base. "Master Jirri! Master Jirri, balloon!" came the shout. Had everyone noticed the light? This was extremely strange.

Blast it all, this wouldn't end well unless someone did something. And if he was nothing else, Ekik was bold, and constantly aware of it. The Rito took a small marble from a pouch on his belt. He grabbed the perfect puffshroom along with one other and stuffed them -gently- in a vest pocket before standing to his full height. His eyes flashed, suddenly fully open, taking in the area around him. Just as the two Yiga came parallel with where he was standing, Ekik threw the marble to the ground at his feet. The movement broke his camouflage ability, but it didn't matter.

As the marble hit the hard dirt, it cracked, bursting into a bright green light, followed by a whirling updraft of wind. Surprised, the Yiga footsoldiers stumbled to one side as the remaining puffshrooms surrounding the tree covered the area in a truly horrendous-smelling smoke. Ekik, having already spread his wings wide to catch the updraft, rocketed from the top of the smoke cloud and caught up to the Yiga scout plane before it reached its maximum speed. He tossed one of his puffshrooms into the cockpit. Though the Yiga would not be stopped by this, they would be confused, and it might delay their response. At the very least, it should buy him the time necessary to reach the balloon, ascertain who was arriving, and if prudent, help them prepare for what was to come.

[Rex Draco]

Sin | The Depths | Arc II
____________________

Far below the surface of the world was a whole new realm to be explored by adventurers and scholars alike. It was a hidden world that refused to relinquish its secrets and was rumored, by those able to make it out alive, to be filled with horrors that only had the business to manifest within one's deepest nightmares. Twisted amalgamations of long since expired bodies were said to roam the darkness. Twisted and brittle bones were known for rousing from their graves and taking up the sword against passing travelers. It was not just the odd Bokoblin skeleton one had to deal with, but with the long since ruined bodies of horses, wild and ever roaming the deteriorating environment. With the toxin known as the Gloom beaten back, and slowly receding, it has encouraged many to venture far beyond the safety of their dens into the decaying darkness known only as the Depths. 

There was no telling what still remained now that the cursed effigies roused by the Gloom were silent, though their silence did not immediately indicate their departure.

No...

In some cases fiends still silently lay in wait among the soiled ruins and withering flora, the putrid fauna, for a chance to gnaw on the still fresh bones of a foolish adventurer. One needed to be prepared for the worse. The Depths did not just induce the odd bruise or broken bone. In some cases men returned with a deep, incurable sickness that left them bereft of their former strength while others' minds lingered in the shadows and suffered heinous night terrors that could not be forefend by normal or magical means. There were others who were left unknown and quietly vanished, returning to this unchartable place in order to find the remnants of their soul left behind by a poisonous curiosity.

Where did that put Sin?

He was neither a curious scholar or a foolhardy adventurer. His life, though yet fulfilled, did not leave him hungering for such mundane idiosyncrasies such as fame or forbidden knowledge. Sin was a monk, an ascetic who was in search for a power that would surpass his predecessors and allow him to finally return to his circle. He had entered the Depths with a singular goal in mind: to hunt. Claret sarouel were trimmed with fuchsia trim, the cuffs of the trousers tightly bound around his ankles. A deep crimson robe was pulled over his body, wrapped tightly around his waist by a salmon-pink sash, of which carried bound within it the scabbard of an unnamed blade. Bare webbed, feet dug against the arid soil, which shifted as easily underfoot as sand. The gigantic flora reminded the hunter of coral, animals found in the depths of the sea. The Depths were littered with these plants, some of which sprouted Bomb Flowers or poisonous Puffshrooms. He stood with his back against one of the trunks of the brittle broods, the sentient plants that occasionally puffed out plumes of spores, spreading their ilk throughout the grounds.

It made the Depths feel stagnant and if not for the height of these plants he was sure it would be difficult to breathe. While he was thankful for his gills, they were of no use down here, only finding solace wrapped in the folds of his cloak which was soaked to its deepest thread with water from the sea. He stood among the shadows and watched, staying close to the Chasms that served as portals into this otherworldly realm. Scholars were summarily ignored, as they often carried only books and quills. What he was interested in were the ancient and pristine weapons that were rumored to be treasures of the Depths, relics of a time before the great Upheaval. The predator would stalk the unsuspecting adventurers and learn of their pilfered finds. Among their attempts to loot the ancient Zonai artifacts, of which did not interest him, some sought weapons and armor that were said to have once been worn by great warriors felled by the Gloom-soiled fiends that clutched to this land like one rasped for air.

He looked none too suspicious, right?

He was a simple, russet-scaled Zora that was dressed for a journey. Being armed was none too alarming as one needed to protect themselves from the offending beasts that frequented the wide and open lands. Bokoblin were just as dangerous as any Octorok or wild Wolf. Though it was curious as to when the Zora had arrived here in the Depths. Considering he did not carry a large pack, suffering to drag about a simple satchel, the man didn't appear to be set for a long journey. Had he climbed down or traveled down with a group of Scholars prior to the recent arrivals? Well he certainly had to arrive with care and in secret if he was to last long here.

There was no telling who was hunting you, while you hunted others...

[El]

Descent. Perpetual, eternal, painfully continuous descent.

Gao grimaced against the dragging of time, the ache of his eyes as they adapted to the deepening darkness still struggling to focus as motes of dust began to thicken the dank, still air. They danced as they caught the light of his lantern, yet somehow still gleamed in cool, unnatural colours. Perhaps not dust, but spores...? An unnerving suspicion that poisoned the already laboured comfort of his breath, but the distractions were ironically welcome.

...This is taking fucking forever.

As the hiss of the balloon's gas continued its tedious labour, the Sheikah noted also how the visceral glow of bloodied crimson that still clung thick and slick to the tunnel's walls had altered: gradually, but notably. Perhaps as a sign that not even an iota of sunlight could penetrate this deep, it seared more vibrantly than ever. It burned phantoms into his vision: cursive trails of gore that all bled into the next in trippy blurs of ceaseless but agonisingly slow motion, as if the earth itself was convulsing with a sluggish heartbeat.

Popping his ears, Gao swallowed - hard. Being the type of man who preferred to rip off the bandaids and chug down the bitter medicine in one whole gulp, this steady fall was painful in more than one way. Impatience battled with wisdom. Fear curdled with a growing buzz of adrenaline. If the piles of research he'd scrambled together hadn't warned him of the severe repercussions of descending too rapidly, he would've cut off the balloon's supply completely by this point and enjoyed the freefall for a while.

But caution, Gao. Caution. It was imperative now, here, more than ever.

...Hopefully there weren't too many OTHER threats and dangers he was unaware of completely: gaping holes in his safety research, blindspots he didn't even know to be wary of. A troubling thought. Knowledge truly was power, but all the more reason for him to pursue more of it, despite its inherent costs and lethal risks.

This was the lair of his research, and he would obtain it.

The 'dust' thickened. The air seemed to shift. And then with an end so abrupt his eyes failed to keep up - registering the sudden abyss of black several seconds late - the tunnel of gory Gloom suddenly ended. Just like that. Gone. FINALLY gone. Gao had expected silence: a chasm of deathly stillness that suited this infamous hunting ground of nightmares and phantoms. But silence he did not get.

A commotion. A fight? An accident? An attack already?!

The sharp sounds of chaos punctured his sleeping eardrums, snapping Gao into immediate alert as he strained - and failed - to make out whatever was happening below. Blurry shapes and infuriatingly grey silhouettes blundered around in the darkness, plumes of what he could only imagine was smoke casting an even thicker cloak of obscurity across the scene. He thought he heard a man - perhaps several? - scream, but the echoes of it cast rebounding across this abyssal cavern and the ringing of his head against the sudden bloodrush of panic and pop of pressure made it hard to tell for sure.

Disorientated but rapidly adapting, Gao realised that there was little point in attempting stealth with his lantern already lit - and now assumedly in plain sight for all to witness. Without wasting another breath he reached back into his belongings and pulled out the largest of his Brightbloom Seeds and flung it full force down at the ground below him. If worse came to worse and he WAS the target of some alarm or attack, he'd need to jump overboard: he needed to know - immediately - how far away flat land was, if it was even safe to attempt a leap without first unfurling his glider.

With a sickening drop of his gut, the seed took forever to fall - and even longer to bloom. Worse yet-...? Gao swore he recognised the glow of oddly familiar, red lanterns amidst the sparse scattering of citrus-yellows located very close by the initial landing spot.

Fuck.

Fuck fuck fuckity fuckfuck.

And then JUST as Gao was about to fumble for his glider, his hand already upon the folded wooden wings tucked into his backpack, a soaring silhouette in his peripheral vision snapped his neck to the side. His grip changed targets, instead locating a dagger sheathed at his thigh. Careful not to touch the sharpened blade he'd oiled with a paralytic-poison, he angled the weapon with a tightening of coiled, primed muscle. The figure - creature? - was moving with all the speed of hurried intention. No doubt about it: it was aiming for him.

Lips peeled back across his gums, Gao bared his fangs and boomed, "IF YOUR INTENTIONS ARE FRIENDLY, I SUGGEST YOU SAY SO NOW!!!"

Maybe he should've launched the dagger there and then, but even if the pacifist hadn't felt the abrupt tugging of his heartstrings at the thought of 'just maybe', the shape still wasn't quite close enough to guarantee an accurate hit. Forget potential Rito - which he realised would have a much easier time down here - even an Aerocuda had mastery of the air and could swerve at a second's notice. A true hunter knew not to attack on sight, but to wait for that golden window of opportunity - even if the blade of a second kissed the skin of your throat as a result.

[Emily]

((OOC: El, given that Ekik doesn't respond to Gao's call, I am granting you 1000% permission to follow through on whatever Gao would genuinely do lol. If he'd throw the knife, do it, it'd be so funny and fitting.))

Judging purely on a two-dimensional plane, the entry point of this balloon and the Yiga encampment from which Ekik was travelling were quite near one another. But as Ekik climbed and climbed, he was increasingly gratified about expending the wind pearl. The chasm through which the balloon descended deposited its travellers much quicker than the other entry points to the depths; directly below the hole was a risen plateau perched on the side of a 'tree'. Fortunately, this would also delay the Yiga approach- they would only be able to reach this place with their flying vehicles, which might possibly be too significant an investment for a single target like this one.

As he approached, the Rito was encouraged to witness the balloonist throw several  brightblooms toward the ground. The likelihood of this being a practised professional grew, and Ekik held back some growing bile. Surely the survey team wouldn't send someone down here- an intense risk- just to find him. Surely they wouldn't have found the closest chasm, as if tracking him by magic. He was far too clever to be found so easily. But who else, knowledgeable about this area of the depths- mostly unmapped and still quite dangerous- would come down here? He let out of a breath to relax himself, to relegate that anxiety to a later, more productive time. Even if it were someone from the survey team, even if his entire life's work was about to be stripped from him, they would need help fending off the-

What was that? There was the distorted sound of a distant scream filtered through excessive wind resistance. Ekik couldn't make out the words, but he was certain it wasn't any voice he recognised, at least from the general tone. The edge of either rage or bravado-masked fear- impossible to tell without more information- seemed out of place for anyone he expected to come after him. Regardless, he had certainly been seen, no doubt seen at the very moment of takeoff. Nothing to do but press forward. He veered off of his intercept trajectory and instead surveyed the plateau top, attempting to form a strategy.

Ekik was no warrior. He was barely a combat mage- his speciality was much more oriented around travel and trickery. Laying eyes on the workspace failed to generate any immediate ideas. The scientific areas of his mind were drawn instantly to the incredible abundance of the area- the plateau held at least a dozen bomb flowers and several muddlebuds, and that was just what he could see. The more urgent threat, unfortunately, was the large body of water resting at the centre of the plateau, and directly in the path of the lowering balloon.

Light was an issue for the Rito. Not generally- most of his associates were perfectly functional in the daylight- but his eyes required little light. The brightblooms weren't the equivalent of daylight, but they limited his potential for information gathering. He had to land at the edge of the plateau, some 15 metres from where the balloon would be landing in a moment or two, and shield his vision somewhat. He fished around in his pouch with his free hand, and looked up at the balloon. Pulling a blue, glowing bead from the pouch, he tossed it once in his hand before underhand-throwing it at the small pond.

Upon striking the surface of the water, the bead broke, causing a bright blue flash of light and a loud crackling sound. From its point of contact, the bead expanded into a flat sheet of ice, expanding to cover the entire surface and providing a safe place for the balloon to land. It was really quite unfortunately placed- Ekik idly wondered if any other balloons had descended in this exact place and plunged into the water. That would have hurt their chances at escaping, surely. It also seemed perfectly shaped to elude the vision of anyone coming from directly above.

He shrugged slightly, eyes half-closed and still adjusting to the light, and would walk next to one of the large mushrooms, under which grew several bomb flowers. These, if handled carefully, would make any Yiga approach impossible. Toss one at a flying machine and, even if it doesn't make contact, the pilot should be discouraged from further attack.

[El]

Alarm swerved into confusion as the approaching silhouette took an unprecedented change of path: downwards. ...Downwards? Brow scrunched, knuckles white, Gao glared through the strain of dimly-lit illusions as he observed with raised hackles the figure's descent, voiceless and silent.

...Why? What-...? ...What was it planning?

It hadn't deemed to respond to him - maybe it hadn't heard him? Maybe it COULDN'T understand him? Maybe it simply didn't care? - but the lack of communication and unforeseen behaviour clouded the Sheikah's judgement: any further threats wilting in his throat as full-processing power switched tracks to recompute a brand new swathe of possibilities. Had he scared it off? No-... no. If that had been the case it would've turned tail completely, but now, as Gao cautiously peered down over the balloon-nest's wooden wall, he realised instead that the stranger was preparing for something. It had soared on ahead - below - to take up a strategic highpoint upon the junction of some ancient stone tracks. Gao had just registered that the form must be a Rito of some description, but as he was scrambling to make out more details - given its tactical position on the very perimeter of the brightblooms' reach - a sudden explosion of fire jolted his heart.

His breath stopped. His eyes burned. A blast of heat illuminated his face as the balloon he sailed within trembled.

Pulse thundering in his ears the Sheikah quickly sheathed his laced dagger to instead attend to the controls, shakily re-adjusting the device's jilted temperament against the surprise currents of hot air. He felt a cold sweat break out across the goosebumps that riddled down his spine, having to turn his attention away from the suspicious stranger like this, but he had to prioritise - risks be damned. And so with quick cranks and turns and a wailing hiss of altered pressure, Gao swerved the balloon as sharply as he could, narrowly dodging the sea of flame below. He was successful - but barely - the heat from the fire ironically allowing him just enough lift to get that one extra metre further away from its hungry, lapping tongues and open maws. Then finally, with a soft thwump and a muffled jangle of metal, it settled. And to Gao's indescribable relief, he hadn't been shot in the back in the process.

He was alive, for now.

Weakening the fumes but not suffocating them entirely - in-case he needed to make an emergency exit as pathetically 'quick' as that could be HAH - the balloon was silenced in its hesitant standstill. One moment dragged into the next. The darkness swelled as the clouds of dust and spores settled into exhausted cinders, starving the fire that had blazed so violently before. Its devouring fever had claimed Gao's expensive brightblooms - an intentional target? - but in its place two torches had been lit with an ethereal glow. Lit alongside a-... shrine of some description? The elevated altar stood empty, but full of purpose nonetheless.

It wasn't-... some sort of sacrificial thing, right...?

Gao eyed the oddly inverted triangular pillars and blocky stonework with the intrigue of a scholar, but his attention couldn't linger for long. The Rito was still there. UP there. They hadn't done anything since - but nor had they said anything.

Why?

Was this-... some sort of alert signal? Had they called for back-up?

Paranoia clawed at the tight constraints of Gao's chest when his vision registered also the clustered racks of eroded weapons. There was an intent in the pattern swirled across the shrine's sandy floor. And he didn't like the way the raised tracks curved around him, monitoring him.

He needed to hide the balloon: SOON. All the more so since Yiga were out there somewhere, realistically due to arrive at any minute. But what was the point in attempting concealment when a pair of wide, gleaming eyes observed him so?

The Sheikah clenched his jaw. His lips were dry with apprehension, but licking them alleviated nothing. There was nothing for it: there needed to be a confrontation. An open table of revealed cards - ...or daggers.

So out of the balloon's nest Gao pounced, his usually quiet footfall punctuated instead by the hefty thud of his cumbersome backpack. Warily he eyed the Rito up above, his approach cautious but steady, as he clambered up onto the ruins and made his way up the same path. He proceeded as if he were sharing company with a volatile monster: even if the stranger's species gave him hope that it'd be more open to communication and reasoning. Fingers crossed.

Gao's hand hovered over the sheathed handle of his dagger, but he did not draw it again - not yet. "State your intentions." The Sheikah demanded, taking care to enunciate every syllable clearly and with sensible volume. His approach continued but he'd be careful not to get within melee range. "Are you friend or foe?"

[Rex Draco]

Sin | The Depths | Arc II
____________________

Black.

The color of night. The wash that hung in the air before dusk, and crept into the horizon at dawn.

Sin's rose-colored cloak allowed him to perfectly blend into the darkness which became more like a second set of scales than a cover. On land he was far from the awkward, ambling fish that many Zora found themselves in when in such a situation. Clawed, webbed feet gave him a stability that saw he was able to slide along the ground, shoulders remaining even with the particular underground timber he found himself leaning against for cover. He kept his palms over one another, resting on the hilt of his sword. The motion allowed him to pull the sword 'straight' so it didn't rest at an angle that would accidentally bump the obstacles he brushed against, therefore preventing any undue noise to give away his position. 

Amidst the commotion he allowed his gaze to drift towards the glowing blooms that many travelers used to light their way. Brightblooms were both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand they provided illumination within a considerable range that gave adventurers a sense of safety, but in the same instance it lit up the area, drawing to it the most unwelcomed of guests. Sin has seen it happen once or twice. Those who did not pay heed to their surroundings would quickly find themselves swarmed by the little Froxes. The sudden appearance of the Brightblooms was quite problematic for him as well. Nowhere near the voracity of the sun's light, it was still quite a shock to the eyes when a sudden brightness arrived where there had been nothing but a void. While he was not a creature of the night he found himself wandering the darkness of light semi-regularly. One grew used to low light conditions well enough over time. As a creature who thrived in the water where sometimes one would delve into conditions of primordial darkness, he had ways of traversing his environment without the use of his sight.

When the bloom erupted with such rich lumination Sin found himself squeezing his eyes shut and turning away. At the same time of this temporary loss of sight the tendrils that all sides of his head, which at a glance appeared much akin to dreadlocks, raised up from his shoulders and back. Blinking his eyes clear he would lower the tentacles and turn his head so he could peer back and over his shoulder. The researcher seems to have company. The man stood out well enough, Hylian by the looks of it. His hair seemed to lack the pigment expected of Sheikah. The other appeared to be a denizen of the finely feathered variety, as ash as the snow.

A call to arms, huh? The Zora would bide his time and wait for the pair to become more acquainted. The more distracted they were with each other, the further it would diminish ant questions held over his presence. If the coincidence happened once, it could happen twice.

Pushing his back straight the Zora would step away from the coral-like mushroom, the tree-like bough. He made sure his steps were silent. To do so he had to carefully watch where he stepped. Heel to toe he would walk over the crinkled flora and withered flowers surrounding the bases of each stalk. He would finally step into the range of the blooms' radius.

"So I'm not the only person down here it seems..." He seemed to stress the term, as if to indicate his encounters with a second kind, beyond entities of their caliber. Call it Goddess-Blessed, Enlightened, Spoken, or even Sapient, but there was something about a person that made them stand apart from your ordinary monster. "Greetings, fellows."

But perhaps it was that people tried so hard to discourage the flavor of monster hidden deep inside their blessings.

[Emily]

Intriguing.

It was only when the balloon gently swerved to one side and clipped over the edge of the plateau that Ekik began to suspect something was wrong. Assuming full logical capability in all parties, the balloon would have landed and its occupant would have exited, thanking Ekik for his assistance. That, however, had not happened. He was suddenly aware of the heat radiating from the ice... it was not ice. He checked the pouch of beads, counting them. He had accidentally thrown a fire bead? That was not, he wouldn't have-

"State your intentions. Are you friend or foe?"

Ekik blinked, his head quickly rotating to first one side, then another. His head now cleared, he was able to see that they were not, in fact, on a plateau far above the depths below. Troubling. Deposits of that mineral unique to the underworld were all around. Around them, where the balloon had ultimately landed, were the ruins of some ancient building. Some ancient facility, perhaps? It was hard to judge, as he had never studied the Zonai nor their industrial history. They seemed to have very little interest, after all, in the abundant fungal growth that blessed this region.

The figure in front of him was clearly uneasy, but had not attacked him. Strange, Ekik probably would have attacked someone in this situation had they done such a thing, especially without knowing the hallucinogenic effects of the puffshroom. That struck out many potential allegiances the man might have- certainly he wasn't a Yiga, but that was easy to infer. He likely wasn't part of any military attempt to reoccupy this territory either.

"Unfortunate," he said, tilting his head to one side and looking over at the new arrival. "I seem to have suffered adverse effects from this 'puffshroom'." He pulled the perfect puffshroom from his vest pocket and held it out, as if in some manner of explanation. "I apologise for the inconvenience caused. I was under the impression that we were elsewhere, and that I had supplied you with a safe landing zone.

"I assure you, I intend to render aid in defending you from-"

Ekik felt the presence of another only as they began to speak. His head whirled slightly further than a normal denizen of Hyrule might find comfortable, eyes flaring open. Now looking away from the flames, he was able to take in the sight with full vision. A Zora, but not one of a kind he had seen before. It seemed he was learning new things about all manner of surface life here in the depths. He didn't know how to catalogue the pair of them, without any names. Someone who seemed like a Hylian, but not quite, and someone who seemed to be Zora, but not quite. Perhaps they would think similarly of him.

"So I'm not the only person down here it seems..." came the call from the Zora. Ekik's eyes narrowed slightly at the tone, and the stresses it put on. But he was relieved that their little party was growing in the face of the oncoming Yiga. Oh, perhaps the Yiga were also hallucinating from the puffshrooms. That would be fortunate. Though the three of them might be strange, they all seemed somewhat friendly. That feeling was reinforced by the following comment from the Zora. "Greetings, fellows."

"Greetings," came the Rito's reply. "I regret to inform you-" he looked from the Zora to the... Hylian?- "the both of you- that a Yiga patrol was alerted when your balloon entered the Depths. I have stalled them somewhat but-" he looked at the fire, which was only now beginning to die down without anything more to feast upon. "I fear my actions might have re-balanced that advantage."

[El]

Adverse effects from a mushroom...?

Heightened suspicion tightened the corners of Gao's eyes, narrowing them into keened blades of caution. They glinted in the last of the dying flames, watching, observing, listening in rapt silence as the Rito rambled on the rest of his excuse. The unusual specimen the stranger presented did indeed match the descriptions - and illustrations - the scholar himself had researched back up on the surface, but this was his first time hearing of such side-effects. Then again, it was obvious that much of the Depths was still very much unknown: it wasn't unlikely. Perhaps only Rito displayed such hallucinatory reactions, for example?

Besides, he-... he seemed to be telling the truth.

Gao rather prided himself on his 'Bullshit-Radar' - at least when it came to life-threatening sincerity - and for all the stranger's subtle oddities and peculiar mannerisms, he didn't catch a whiff of deception. The Rito hadn't even stuttered when laying out the situation. Some might have reasoned away his collected, precise manner as the telltale signs of a premeditated excuse, but Gao had seen his shock -  it looked genuine. Besides, though he wasn't exactly an accepted face amongst his fellow scholar-kin, he knew an intellectual when he saw one: he rambled just like they did, with precise speech and more technical descriptors. He was more polite though. And less-... demeaning.

Ha. A barely-squashed scoff of a laugh loosened the Sheikah's jaw. A scholar falling prey to his own research and blundering around in the darkness of dangerous, unmapped territory...? Yeah, that sounded familiar. Very well, he would choose to trust him. Perhaps that made Gao an idiot, taking a stranger's word at face value; but if you allowed suspicion to hang over your every waking moment you'd run yourself into the ground with exhaustion, long before any of your suspected fears were realised. That was too tiring a way for Gao to live. Besides, what was it his father used to say...? 'What you put out into the universe, you receive in turn'. A little bit of kindness - of acceptance - could go a long way.

Warmth returned to Gao's expression for the first time since his descent, softening the coarse edges of his features. He was on the brink of a smile when very suddenly another presence revealed itself, tightening the leash of alarm that pulled taut his muscles all over again. Threat flared in his crimson eyes but before it could sharpen into intent-... he realised something:

Seafood Riceballs.

A stupified - dumbfounded - look washed over Gao's face. The two strangers had exchanged their greetings and meanwhile the Rito was thankfully filling in the gaps, but all the Sheikah could think about was that hulking beast of a Zora back at Castle Town - during the communal rebuilding project. The man - nay, creature even - had been curt but obedient, favouring solitude and a strong work ethic over any chances to socialise. Gao still recalled that one, brief word - 'Share' - and the thumbs-up Purah had rewarded the Zora with before he stalked off as swiftly as he'd arrived. It had been an odd encounter. Odd enough to sear itself into a memory, stained with the shame Gao had felt over all the gossip that likely prompted it.

But now...

...Gao's brow furrowed with confusion, his thoughts tumbling over one another as they struggled to put together the jigsaw pieces that just wouldn't slide together no matter which angle he approached it all from.

Now the Zora was eloquent, polite, and had approached him with no prompting...? Sure, he supposed being in such a raucous crowd of strangers could make a person act differently, but the person Gao had instinctively likened to a breed of monster back then was now... an erudite gentleman...?

.......??

And that was BEFORE the Sheikah even started to process WHY the Zora was down here, right now, in this place and moment of all times.

"I fear my actions might have re-balanced that advantage."

Holding back a troubled, exhausted laugh, Gao spared the hand formerly at his sheathed dagger to instead massage out some of the tension at the bridge of his nose. "No matter, friend. Mistakes are the way of nature - we can't always avoid them." His grin was wonky - half-forced - but the glint of his sharp teeth came not from instinctive alarm or threat, but from amusement: amusement at fickle fate's silly games. Very well, my bored Goddesses, have it your way. I suppose a familiar face and a fellow scholar won't be unwelcome.

The Zora didn't appear to immediately recognise him though - understandable really - so Gao simply gave him a courteous nod. "The name is Gao. Looking at your capable physique I don't suppose you'd mind helping a man out? The sooner I can get my hot air balloon tucked away somewhere less conspicuous, the sooner we can leave this place before trouble arrives."

Gao didn't actually need assistance - he was strong enough to manage alone - but it was his way of offering an 'olive branch' so to speak: an offered handshake of temporary allegiance, without all the unnecessary steps and instead an immediately practical application. He didn't wait for a response though, in case he really was rejected: that would be awkward. So instead he hopped down from the elevated pathway, landing with a soft thwump as his cumbersome baggage plumed fresh clouds of dust from the greyed earth.

"Could you keep an eye out for us, Mr.Rito?" Gao called out, already making his way over to the balloon: he'd left just enough gas on that it'd be easy enough to drag it into some nearby cover. The soft light from the lantern still stationed within would also help provide him with enough vision. "You look like the sort who has remarkable eyesight - I'd appreciate your assistance."

...That wasn't rude, right? It WAS meant to be a compliment - the Rito reminded him of many an owl - but once the words left Gao's lips he couldn't help but grimace a little. Hastily he added, "And my apologies for my earlier threats, I fear I may have been over-cautious."

As for where to actually hide the balloon... hmm..... There were some very large tunnel entrances nearby: the sort with wide, gaping mouths that suddenly reminded him of tales he was told as a kid, of monstrous sea serpents that lurked in the depths. But Gao quickly decided against that direction when he realised how obvious a hiding place they'd be. 'Hide in plain sight' was a risky but oftentimes very efficient approach to things, but he didn't want to be THAT on the nose. No, no it needed more cover, more rubble, or something to work with: debris to manage and collect like a blanket. So instead Gao - with his two hands firmly tightened around the rim of the balloon's nest - manoeuvred his expensive burden towards a cranny of deteriorated architecture. If angled just right - and the balloon appropriately deflated - it wouldn't just be out of immediate sight but well camouflaged too.

...

...Honestly though...? Gao still half-expected to be stabbed in the back at any second now. But there was a strange sort of release in so readily presenting the two odd - and potentially very dangerous - strangers with an obvious opportunity. (He wasn't even fully convinced the two weren't already acquainted.) If they didn't kill and rob him blind now, he doubted they would anytime soon.

...Well, that's what he hoped anyway.

[Rex Draco]

Sin | The Depths | Arc II
____________________

Sin had felt it best to step out and greet everyone with a measured familiarity. It was something people just did sometimes, whether they meant it or not. He surely didn't. It would have not turned out well for him had he remained hidden, as was his intention, but he wasn't sure if the self-proclaimed monsterologist had noticed him or was focused on the Rito. Given the bird's bright plumage he was sure, now, that they had meant them. It was a bothersome thing. He wanted to remain enshrouded in shadow a bit longer to better observe his targets. The Rito, at first glance, appeared very skilled, though mayhaps it was mayhaps an instance of dumb luck that cut his confrontation short.

Puffshrooms?

Sin has never heard of these kinds of mushrooms causing any adverse effects, though he could not say he was ever personally affected by them. He'd often see critters and other creatures walk by them with no ill effects, but was this just a case of luck? Regardless of the situation he would put the matter aside for now. The Rito spoke up, returning his greeting. Sin pulled the edges of his lips back, trying to maintain a neutral expression as his face attempted to frown at the Rito's attempt to engage in friendly talk. He spoke of the  Yiga, though it was not a clan name he was familiar with.

"I've never heard of such a clan." Sin presented. "Don't you have a weapon in order to defend yourself?" The bird wasn't so cocky as to have wandered down into the Depths without a means to guard himself from the deadly creatures that lurked in the mire, right? If so he'd be useless to target!

Gao proceeded to introduce himself. Sin doesn't remember offering his name, so it seemed he would have no choice but to reply to the trade. He was remiss to do so seeing as he was not here to become familiar with either individual beyond what it was they carried for weapons.

"Mistakes shouldn't be taken lightly." Though Gao was unused to Sin speaking he had only met him during a rather hectic time and for mere moments during a meal. Who talked while they were eating? But time had long since passed between then and now, so surely the man had grown accustomed to the small talk that Hylians were nigh obsessively fond of. The weather here, how I feel there. Get to the point. "Though the mistake seemed to be in one's favor, letting an enemy get away can prove problematic on the return."

The robbing blind could wait, for now. Sin crossed his arms over his chest and watched as Gao moved about. His head would turn slightly to avoid directly looking at the light whenever it moved. He was still quite used to the dark, having been meandering about for a short while. Gao made his way over to his balloon. Quite a queer mode of transportation. Though there was something else more fantastical than the technological remnants of a lost and ruined civilization. 

"What kind of name is Gao?" He had no questions concerning the mana's origin, nor of his presence down here. If up to Sin both the Rito and mixed Hylian had the prospect of being targets for his endeavours, but what was in a name? It was your origin, your pride. Certainly Gao had a reason to be named Gao and it wasn't at the lackadaisical whim of his parents that chose the name at random, feeling that it was cool.

[Emily]

"No matter, friend. Mistakes are the way of nature - we can't always avoid them."

Ekik tilted his head slightly to the side. Strange. He was well-practised in reading the social cues of his fellow Rito, but had never been particularly exposed to the habits of the other races. In this instance, he had expected anger, perhaps even violence. While Ekik would have, of course, accepted the logical explanation he had provided if it had instead been provided to him, such reflexive acceptance was not something he had come to expect from others. The scientist was out of his element here, surrounded by unknowns in temperament and occupational concerns, and resolved to remain cautious even in the face of a common enemy. He settled on giving a slight nod.

"Gao," Ekik mused to himself. Amusing, he'd thought only Sheikah were usually named after fruits. And then the realisation dawned on him. His eyes narrowed for a moment, but he chose not to let on. There were two situations in which the knowledge would be useful to keep quiet, whether Gao be an undercover Yiga or whether his identity as a Sheikah wasn't a hidden fact and Ekik had just erred in his initial assumption. "I am Ekik. I will provide overwatch, if you think it the best use of me."

Of the two strangers, the Zora was certainly the more unpredictable. While it was possible neither would attack while outnumbered, Ekik had an idea of what Gao would be capable of, or perhaps more correctly what Gao was likely to do. In response to the Zora's questions- and a mental note that Gao's name didn't seem to be the same flag for everyone- the Rito nodded. "I am capable of defending myself, should it prove necessary."

As he spoke, he scanned the horizon, noting the growing glow of a flying machine's headlight on the horizon. So they had tracked the balloon's trajectory after all- he had momentarily hoped his unintended redirection would aid their hiding. Alas, if he was calculating correctly, the angle of the incoming light suggested the Yiga would pass directly over them on their search. "It would be difficult to eradicate the Yiga at this point," he continued, pointing toward the distant light so the Zora could be alerted. "though I will ensure those that approach do not return to their camp for reinforcements. I shall apprise our compatriot of the situation."

At that moment, the search glider crested the distant hill. Ekik continued holding the fire bead, but jumped down to where Gao had finished hiding the balloon. A commendable job, though Ekik was unsure of its success should the Yiga search the quarry. He traced a rune into the air with his free hand, muttering under his breath, and released a spell. The balloon disappeared. "The Yiga are approaching in one of their airships. I lack the experience to say how many will be approaching, but I expect others to follow on the ground. Your balloon is still there, but will remain hidden for the next hour." He pulled another bead, clear like glass, from his pouch and held it up. "This bead can conceal you, me, and our Zora companion should I activate it. The spell will hold for as long as we remain in one place, so I suggest we find a good place to ambush them."

[El]

...Gao supposed he should've expected his two ambushers unanticipated companions to regard his forgiveness of Ekik's potentially lethal 'error' as odd (a totally reasonable response really), but... well, the Sheikah held back a sigh - so many sighs. Truth be told his reasoning had been very simple: grudges complicated things, and these-... peculiar relations were already festering with enough complicated feelings. While his attempts to keep the atmosphere amicable might've cost him some esteem in the eyes of Rito and Zora alike, he did not regret it. His decision soon bore fruit as Ekik revealed an incredibly useful skillset-.......

....-right after Gao had put all the work into hiding his balloon.

...AFTER he had sweated and toiled.

And no-one had helped.

Nope.

Mr.Tactiturn of the Deep Seas (with his peculiar ignorance of the Yiga - perhaps he truly was a foreigner?) just stood there stoically and judgemental, passing scathing commentary. While Gao wouldn't hold it against a man for not offering aid - they were basically strangers after all - it was still a figurative slap to the face to not even have your request humoured with an excuse or just a response in general. And THEN he decided to instead spend his time criticising him and his name for some reason...?

Gao's jaw pulled taut, locking around a strained smile. Tension broiled in the pits of the Sheikah's stomach, burning heat through veins whose pleasant warmth usually held good humour and an easy nature.

Grudges complicate things, Gao.

Your adrenaline is messing with your mood. You're still adapting to this new environment. You're overwhelmed with two new faces in a dangerous place and the looming threat of incoming Yiga. All the alarm signals - your nerves - they're fucking up your judgement. That's all it is.

Take a deep breath, Gao. These are petty concerns. Perhaps even just misunderstandings? Overreactions.

Let. Them. Go.

Thankfully Ekik's pressed warning of the approaching Yiga swatted aside the clouds which had smothered Gao's temperament, quickly wrenching him back into the present to look towards far greater issues. It was alarming how quickly they'd leapt into action, and even more so that they had no accurate estimation of their numbers. Through the smog of suffocating darkness beamed the light of a rapidly approaching aircraft. The Sheikah drew in a deep, bracing breath, ignoring the subtle tremble of his chest as he collected his thoughts.

"This bead can conceal you, me, and our Zora companion should I activate it. The spell will hold for as long as we remain in one place, so I suggest we find a good place to ambush them."

'AMBUSH them?' Alarm widened Gao's eyes. He'd be an idiot to underestimate even a fellow he did know, but was Ekik's arsenal of skills and potent explosive pills worth that amount of confidence? Even against an unknown amount of Yiga?

Confusion, admiration, doubt and then finally disagreement flitted across his crimson eyes before they creased into a frown of disconcertion. "As much as I respect your courage, Ekik - and your evident talents too - please do not engage them in combat: at least not on my part." Gao's eyes flashed towards the Zora as well as he said that, though he knew in truth he held little sway over either of them. He could not ensure this would end peacefully.

He chewed briefly then at his lower lip, trying - and failing - to massage out the tension in his jaw with an anxious hand as his attention went back up to the now much closer aircraft. A strained sigh seethed through his teeth.

"Both of you take cover. I'll handle this."

With a wave of his hand to motion them into hiding, Gao stepped out into the most open space. He had doused the lantern of his balloon even before Ekik had masked it entirely, but his vision still fizzled as it strained to adapt to such abject darkness even minutes later. So for both his own comfort and to truly highlight himself as a beacon of interest, he slammed down another brightbloom seed and then sat upon the very backpack he'd dug it from. Honestly it was a relief to have the weight unburdened from his shoulders, even if a now far greater one weighed heavily upon his constricting chest.

Unhooking a bundle of mighty bananas from the side of his roost, Gao unpeeled one and took an anxious bite. A far too large bite. He couldn't even taste it as he chewed, muscles working on idle, passive reflex, while his eyes remained fixed above. Far too hastily did the dreaded moment arrive when the bright headlight overhead unveiled shapes and structure and details too close for comfort, a clarity of information that was valuable but equally dangerous. The one silver lining to it all was that the aircraft then swerved into a rapid descent: they hadn't fired on sight, thank Hylia's good graces. (Maybe they'd caught sight of his snack?)

Gao's chewing intensified. His heart pounded. The knuckles of his spare fist had whitened, betraying the nerves of the otherwise 'casual' posture he'd attempted to adopt: one foot upon a knee, the hunched slump of relaxed shoulders, a wide smile plastered upon his face. Gao nearly choked on his banana when he went to clear his throat, readying himself for a greeting once the Yiga disembarked within earshot. There were two of them - for now. Good. That wasn't too bad.

"Ahoy there, comrades!" The scholar cheerily called out, waving a spare hand. For the first time in a very long time, he wished he looked much more like a typical Sheikah than a Lurelin lad: even without the masks obscuring their faces he could see the Yigas' blatant distrust and confusion - both of them had their hands on their blades.

Gao guffawed, finishing up his banana before tossing aside the skin and slapping his hands dry of moist debris. A grunt of a pause later he stood upright, continuing, "Come now, there's no need for hostility!" He assured, raising up both of his arms and spreading his fingers wide, demonstrating his empty palms void of weaponry or tricks. "I was really hoping I'd find you guys down here, but to bump into you so soon-?! Ha! Master Kohga must be smiling upon me!

"Come share a snack with me and let me share my story too: I've been eager to for longer than you know, I bet."

[Rex Draco]

Sin | The Depths | Arc II
____________________

Ekik seemed to neither fully answer nor inherently deny his capacity to defend himself. The Zora's deep blue eyes were sunken in pools of obsidian, the murky pools swallowing the pair of gems, which seemed to dimly glow in the depth's isolating darkness. He stared at the Rito, scales modified for flight rather than swimming. A sharp profile with curling beak and spread and flayed fins meant for perching. He hardly seemed built for the stamina required to traverse the Depths effectively, let alone fit enough to carry a weapon. The Rito's words caused the Zora's grip to tightly clutch against the hilt of his sword, the very tips of his claws grazing the hilt of his sword's guard. His muscles tensed beneath his russet scales with barely a flutter. His lips remained pursed and his thoughts unclear.

Was his head empty, outpaced by Ekik's logistics towards the immediate threat, or was it merely whimsy that carried the trout tumbling twixt his thoughts, turbulent and troubled? Trepidation seemed to follow in his silence, but he was enraptured by a single phrase.

Eradicate The Yiga.

Such a dominating dream delivered courtesy of his avian cousin. Yiga were a mischievous group known for their malignant acts of kidnapping and territorial treachery of claiming land under the sovereign control of the Hylian court. The corner of his lip curled up, turning his solid expression into that of a crooked sneer. His sharp eyes downturned as they were pressed down by his scowling brows, the fish's facial muscles forlorn by his own precarious tendencies.

"Why couldn't one eradicate them from the Depths? Isn't an airship just a bigger balloon, a dirigible barely aloft on the windless currents of magic?" It could be plucked out the sky with a well placed flame, like a moth.

But it seemed Gao found himself a pair, neatly tucked away in his chest as he seemed to pout and puff out like a bird ready to face a predator on the edges of his nest. It made Sin curious just what was at stake for the mixed blooded boy that he would place himself between them and an adversary known to arm themselves well.

The Zora would tilt his head at the call to action. The seemingly lifeless dreadlocks of flesh fluttering before the right tendril lifted up, as if to better hear the sharp-eared adventurer.

"Cover?" A strange request that deemed repeating.

Was he so naive as to trust his back to stranger? At least as far as it concerned him, the Rito and Shiekah were naught but presences he had yet to determine as valuable targets or invaluable dupes that were foolish enough to invade the Depths for glory.

And yet there he went! Little had he time for unbridled banter in an attempt to beguile the brute. Ekik had offered to disperse their presence, but Gao turned about to reveal it with words of peace and gentle musings.

He was serious!

Cover him? Sin only knew how to cut men down! Pushing his left leg back the Zora grabbed the sheath of his weapon, which hung on his left hip, with his left hand the hilt with his right. What was he planning to do?