Complete Private Eastern Brisshal One Old Expedition

[Crimson Ruby]

"I am not a pyromancer... That is just from a friend. A friend that used to be a pyromancer." She explained, still protective of her sister, and keeping the large mushroom woman under her gaze. There was a faint nod from her as she heard her sister's remark, acknowledging the theory. "They are probably related, that's for sure." She twisted her lips for a bit, waiting for any reaction, until Crimsonleaf spoke up.

The Primal Aura, added to the Common words the two of them exchanged made the creature react with curiosity, towering over them while tilting her head.

"... Strangers... Who..?"

Ruby paused, looking puzzled for a moment before answering, with perked up ears. "Crimson Ruby... And this is Little Doggo." She answered, frowning slightly and remaining firm on her stance until further interaction. "And you? Who are you?" She questioned, using her Primal Aura to reinforce the question, making the mushroom lean away, intrigued.

"Oek."

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

Hehe, wasn't so wrong afterall. Tell me more about them- Ehm, afterwards.

She would take that as a win, but while her curiosity for this 'friend' of Ruby grew with their mention, so did the more pressing matter of the fungi infront of them. Most importantly, to the way her sister reacted to this... Woman? Creature? She couldn't tell, but she's something and something sentient- And harmless for the time being.

Her right hand gently rested on the Jian as she sidestepped, urging her to put down the sword with a little smile on her face.

It's okay, Jiejie. She won't hurt me!

That much trust she had on this shroom woman, glancing at Crimsonleaf from over her shoulder as the plant flopped on the ground to let himself visible, wiggling it's roots calmly, but much like Ruby it remained wary given how it's petals closed, as if readying itself should it need to jump in defense of either beastfolk.

Oek, we... Explorers. We looking around only!

Her Primal Aura triggered once again, hands couped against her bossom. The matter of the fact: This one could communicate, somewhat.

And then, her inner ape decided to speak up, far more confident this time around.

Looking for treasure. Shiny stuff! Seen any?

Eyes perked up towards Ruby, at least to try and explain herself a little about her looting antics.

Maybe if we are lucky we'll get a memento from our first adventure together.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby settled the jian down when Doggo mentioned for a more peaceful approach, making her cast a glance at her sister even if she was still wary of the looming mushroom person that was before them. She remained mostly wary, though the grip on her blade softened.

"Oek. Got it." Ruby said, allowing her sister to do the talk work for now, though the request for shiny things rose an eyebrow of the beastfolk.

"... Shiny things... Yes..."

It loomed again, tilting its head while looking at the two.

"... Can show... If you help..."

"Seems like you got its interest, Doggo. But I didn't expect you to want treasures and this kind of thing." For a moment, Ruby wondered if she wasn't supposed to be in a certain faction that would offer something like that... And perhaps it would be even safer than exploring the unknown.

But she wouldn't stop her sister from joining where she wanted to join.

"What kind of help?" Ruby asked.

"... Small one... Can't find."

It shook its head, dejected.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

The little bit of doubt left on Ruby was met with a wink from Bao, her lips moving despite not a single word being muttered, and primal aura wasn't in effect. If Yuhan could read her lips, it wouldn't be hard to get exactly what she meant.

Trust me!

Shinies for help. Yes! Doggo, Ruby and Crimsonleaf will help!

She replied back, Crimsonleaf wiggling it's petals finally let loose from their aggression and into a far more relaxed manner. The surprise her jiejie had didn't phase her much, confidence part of her vocabulary, and given she didn't stutter or fumble on spot, it was foresight for Yu to tell she had reasons.

It's less about the treasure to me. I mean, shiny stuff is pretty, but I want to gift you something I got with my own hands! That, and one of my friends really likes loot too, so I want to impress him.

She nodded. Jade would certainly love it, or so her instincts told her- Her blood froze, however, when Ruby asked away and her mind pieced together exactly what this person wanted.

S-small one? J-jiejie, we saw her not long ago, didn't we? Near that slime we found...

Glancing over her shoulder, it's evident they couldn't just cross over that fungi all again, not without risking getting turned into a cartoonish splatter. Her heart sunk for a moment, facing the shroom lady with a worrisome expression.

Oek, is there a way around?

She gestured over to where they came from, and circled around with her index finger.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

The words 'impress' and 'boy' in the same sentence her little sister spoke made her eyebrow raise in curiosity, only not questioning anything because the mood didn't call for it yet, and also because she had spoke of giving something to Ruby herself.

Her tails swayed, and a grateful smile crossed her lips as she wrapped her sister in a soft side hug with an arm.

Yet, once again, not only the mushroom's words, but Doggo's made Ruby frown. "Yes... We saw that small one. I didn't expect it be lost though." Her gaze went from wary to concerned, and the answers agitated the long mushroom, that wiggled.

"... Show her... Show..."

"W-Wait, first you need to answer my sister here. How do we go there? It is where we found her, but we can't just take the same path." She said.

The mushroom seemed conflicted at first, but soon it went into action, gesturing for the two to follow.

"... Come... Dangerous, but fast..."

Ruby's ears twitched at the 'dangerous', but soon she ignored it, hurrying up.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

If her tail were any lower it would be dusting off the floor with how it swayed once she caught glimpse of that smile on Ruby's face, an arm reaching out to reciprocate that hug and hold onto her sister, moreso now that Oek's request let concern grow visibly so on Doggo.

Something about the agitation Oek had made Crimsonleaf visibly upset too, enough for him to send his own Primal Aura to let Ruby know of such- Like a child worried for a mother.

We'll be fine Jiejie, but we have to help her. I'll stick close.

She quickly replied, resolute despite the uncertainty swirling around her, a single glance back to Crimsonleaf was all she needed for the plant to hop onto her back once again, and with her torch rised high and a prepared look on her ready to march away.

Which was the case as soon as Oek became their guide instead, following up right behind Yuhan as she tried to keep up the pace with them both, aswell as hold the torch to a fair distance away from Oek.

We found her near some really tall mushrooms, she was eating some from the ground, but we don't know where she went after that.

She rised her tone for the fungi lady. Hindsight begun to play tricks on her as both ears lowered against her head and her brows dropped into a frown.

"I just knew we shouldn't have left her alone. Ugh!"

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

"... Big... Know how to go..."

Ruby frowned at the words once again, glancing behind to look at her sister and the flower, returning the Primal Aura in a reassuring way. They would manage to go through this, but she was still concerned on what exactly the fungi meant by dangerous-

And... Soon it was clear what it meant, as soon as they slipped through the fungal tunnel, there was a small platform by the end of it... With a fall that was impossible to see the bottom being the 'welcome' sight the two of them had.

"Wh... What?" Ruby crouched, looking down and squinting to try and see the bottom, but to no avail.

"... Climb... And ceiling... Go to other tunnel..."

The fungi gestured, showing the irregular wall of the cave, and the top filled with stalactites, slowly climbing up all the way to it, in a sluggish yet very efficient way, and making its path toward another tunnel entrance, but by the far left of where they were.

"... This won't end well." Ruby said, turning to look at Doggo. "Climbing won't do well. I think we will need another way to do it... Maybe a rope. Or something..."

If it was only her, she could try risking a wall run, but having to make sure her sister would be safe wouldn't allow her to take such a risky path.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

"Crimsonleaf, tell her that's good and to show us the way, we got no time to lose!"

Her ears perked up again, unwilling to let the mood go sore- They had a guide, so all they had to do was follow her and everything would be fine. Or so she thought, as her bravery was swallowed down by the view:

The void beneath their boots seemed infinite, even the act of leaning to get a better look made her dizzy enough to retreat back to safety, turning back towards the fungi lady in disbelief.

"H-how are we even supposed to climb that without slipping?!"

Doggo turned her head over to the wall, then back to Ruby. No matter how many times she checked, nothing about the rocks spoke 'safe', but inexperience could be the culprit here, a possibility she didn't let slip her mind. Afterall, the veteran explorer was her sister.

"I brought some rope with me and Crimsonleaf could help out with some roots..."

Dubious tone on her words, almost unconvinced of the idea as she gave the stalagmites one last glance before setting sight on Ruby.

"But how do you plan to go up there? Just look at all that..."

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby's eyes trailed on the spike-y ceiling, watching the fungi making its way to the other side, and looking back at Doggo as soon as she had a rope ready. "Perfect." She smiled to her sister. The truth is that she obviously had ropes in her inventory, but it was good to see that her sister was prepared with items they may need.

"We aren't going up there, for sure. We are going for a rope swing." Ruby took the rope and began tying it on a hook she had in her inventory. Sure, a hook wasn't going to have the best angle there, but she would have to make it do, even if it meant using some brute force.

After another quick glance, Ruby managed to find a nice spot, and after a brief preparation, she threw the hook upwards, trying to angle it to attach to one of the stalactites formation... But the first attempt was in vain, and it brought a hiss out of Ruby's lips before she attempted a second, and then a third time, where it finally seemed to get a firm grip.

She tugged it a couple times, testing how stable it was before looking at her sister and gesturing to her back.

"Want a ride?" Ruby twitched her ears, waiting for her sister before she went for the rope swing.

@Little Doggo

 

[Little Doggo]

Her confidence faltered with every miss from the rope, only for the third time charm to strike and let her sister snap it around one of the stalactites.

"Eeeeh..."

Doubtful eyes went to Ruby, then to the stalactites, which by all means didn't look like the most sturdy of formations to grasp onto in her eyes, and back on the cat girl.

"I-I trust you Jiejie, but are you sure that rock won't just break on us..?"

She regretted not asking the fungi lady for some advice, but would she even give input they can understand..? A bump on the back of her head startled her, heart racing as she turned around to find nothing, as Crimsonleaf bonked her yet again over the top of her head.

"OW OW I GET IT... Fine I'll do it, don't be pushy about it!"

Doggo huffed, positioning herself behind Ruby, one foot forth and one back, before leaping upwards to climb onto her sister for a piggyride, her arms tightening like chains around the beastfolk.

"If we fall, I just wanna say I love you Jiejie..."

Overlydramatic as only Bao could be.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby tilted her head, looking at it. "I don't think so, it looks pretty stable... And I have an emergency plan, just in case." She reassured her sister, smiling faintly as she climbed on her back... It felt just like at home, when she used to let little Bao climb on her.

And the overdramatic response brought an even warmer expression to Ruby.

"I love you too, Bao." She chuckled, ruffling the hair of her little sister before taking a firm grip of the rope and giving it one more tug to make sure it was fine... But in all honesty, she would only know it is fully fine when she applied all her weight on it. "Hold on tight-"

Allowing herself to leap and swing on the rope, the lack of a firm ground gave Ruby a sense of thrill, but she kept her eyes focused ahead, not bothering to even glance upwards, not wishing to try to see something she wouldn't be able to solve if it went wrong... There was a momentary crack, and a vibration running on the ropes before they finally reached to the other side, where Ruby finally stomped against the ground and sighed in relief.

"Everything is fine there?" Ruby asked, turning her head to glance at @Little Doggo.

"!!!"

Meanwhile, the humanoid fungi seemed impressed, or at least intrigued, at the sudden maneuver the two girls had just achieved.

 

[Little Doggo]

"Crimsonleaf says that he's gonna jump away if we fall and save himself."

Irritated, but Doggo could accept that much from the plant given it's options- Still, the lack of faith was disturbing her, Yuhan's hand easing her down, like the ruffling was just the calm before the storm...

"If I hold you any tighter I'll strangle you."

Or so she imagined, her hands pawing at Ruby as hard as they could just to reassure herself. The first steps from her sister forced her eyes shut once again, as the only thing left was the breeze and gravity following it's course as they swung from one side to another, aswell as Crimsonleaf's vines clinging onto her backpack and shoulders alike.

Bao clenched her teeth, ears flat against her head, fear deafening and blinding her alike- Slime monsters? No problem. Heights..? A dog's kryptonite as opposed to a cat's...

"We are fine! I... I think."

A squeaky noise from Crimsonleaf compelled her to open one eye at a time, big blues staring back to Ruby and the fungi lady, turning her head halfway to glance behind her- Her instincts warned her otherwise, clinging harder onto Yuhao as she waved her to press onwards.

"Are we there yet..?"

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

"Crimsonleaf needs a bit more faith." Ruby said, swaying her tails and side glancing to look at her sister, smiling softly at the hesitant questioning. "Kinda, we are on the other side by now, but it seems that we need to cross this tunnel?" She looked at the fungi woman, wondering if her words (and assumption) made any sense for her.

The fungi slowly nodded, gesturing to the tunnel, and slowly moving into it.

"There... Shortcut to... Bellow."

Ruby nodded back, glancing at @Little Doggo.

"We will need to walk a bit more." She confirmed the fungi's words, starting to take a couple steps and followi them. "If you need to rest, you can stay there, by the way." Ruby smiled at her clinging sister, not minding her weight.

"Say, Oek, is there anything in these tunnels we should be wary of?" She inquired, with her analytical gaze wandering across their path, trying to pick up any clues of any danger in the middle of that fungal and strangely sticky surface that covered everything they walked on, or supported a hand at.

"Tunnels... Are mine... Just be careful... Bellow."

The fungi replied, focused on continuing their path, that slowly inclined downwards, though it had some steep moments as well, but nothing that couldn't be managed with attention enough.

 

[Little Doggo]

ᛏᚱᚢᛖ.

"He agrees!"

Not a surprise for Doggo, afterall, Ruby spared the plant's life and allowed it to tag along with them.

Yuhan's smile was enough to fill her with courage, shooking off her head as quick as her sister offered, just as fast as she was to untangle her grip and drop down to the floor once again.

"I can't beat the bad guys that try to harm you and Oek. I'm all grown up now, I can do this!"

She tightened her fists, determined to make it through the tunnel with her own two legs, despite the sticky surface being a bit of a hassle (and honestly disgusting for her to step on) as the floor became almost gum-like.

Excitement toned down, Doggo followed Ruby's words and begun to inspect more closely the surface they walked on, Oek's warnings getting her ears to perk up as she watched how subtle the inclination was. Try as she might, her gaze couldn't go too far to get a clue of what awaited down there.

"So... No torches here or the floor lights on fire, right?"

It could just be a hunch, but something about slimey or sticky floors made her believe they could absolutely combust at the touch of an ember...

"I just hope we are not taking too long, Oek... It didn't look very friendly out there for fungi people."

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

Ruby smiled at @Little Doggo's determination on being reliable, and the feline girl respected it rather than simply thinking it as something cute, which she even added- "I will take you up on that." She nodded, swaying her tails and trying to not slip on the steep paths, something that didn't seem to be an issue for the fungi person that was with them.

"Yeah... Let's avoid fire for now." She confirmed. It wasn't like all the glowy fungi weren't providing light enough, even if it was dimlight, rather than something that would let their paths more clear...

Eventually, the trio reached an opening, and they had finally entered a more open zone, somewhat returning to where Ruby and Doggo were before they got themselves stuck in the tunnels. Looking around, it wouldn't be hard to eventually spot the small fungi child, that was hiding and perfectly still between other mushrooms, pretending to be as inanimated as them.

"Ah--"

The fungi, just about to take steps forward, was partially halted by Ruby, that reached for it and took a firm grasp of its appendages. "Wait-" She hissed, also placing an arm in front of Doggo.

Her ear twitched, listening to a heavy noise, that was followed by a fierce sound of ripping and chewing.

"Something... Is here..."

Spoiler: Insectoid

A large creature clawed the mushrooms, using its large fangs to embrace them and eat them greedily, letting out a gutural noise and clicking thrice, while its antanneae twitched and brushed the scarce air of the cave, trying to detect more preys for it.

"!!!"

The fungi child ducked, trembling terrified, and it seemed to catch the attention of the fungi devouring insectoid, that clicked its fangs and rumbling over to the fungi child, looming over it with its giant frame.

"Not... Danger..."

Stressed, Oek rose and marched forward, seeming ready to engage into a fight with the creature unless it was stopped.

 

[Little Doggo]

Her smile only grew louder as Ruby offered her trust, leaving the fire matter aside as the future took priority as opposed to the present, her tunnel vision fading just as fast as her claustrophobia did as the world opened before her once again, stepping closer to the glowing mushrooms, as the light always offers safety.

"There she is! Jiejie let's!-"

"Wait-"

Her body rocked backwards, her head shook a little at the abrupt stop Ruby's hand forced her to, ears cringing once munching and chittering alerted her of the very presence Yuhan had caught on before Oek and herself could. What she saw was the large chitinous, nightmareish form of the insect, causing her whole body instinctively taking one step further behind.

This time, to solidify her posture rather than overtaken by fear...

Her eyes widened as the ruse was caught on by the bug and aimed for the mushroom child, Oek being the first to rush in, Doggo's hands swirling as her eyes turned into a fiercesome squint, her body tensing up with anger to the big bully of an insect. The air begun to turn colder as she begun to manipulate it to make ice out of thin air.

A large block would erupt from the floor just infront of the fungi child, shaped like a large closed fist and aimed like an uppercut for the insectoid's face, pushing it back and creating distance between them. Sufficient to say, the click and clack of it's powerful maws expressed it's fury well enough as it turned back to face the bigger threats in the area:

"Fight someone of your size, BUG FACE!"

Doggo shouted, as Crimsonleaf begun to untangle himself from behind her, with the reddish plant preparing to circle around and wiggle his way to the fungi child. The plant's Primal Aura would send this thought straight for @Crimson Ruby, Oek and Little Doggo to know.

"Alright, you heard it Jiejie, let's help Oek!"

The big bug, on the other hand, prepared itself to lunge towards Oek, as the one big meal that it could try to chomp at given it's one that wants to go straight at it, it's powerful arms spreading outwards to try and grasp the big fungi by her arms.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

The insectoid and Oek clashed against each other in a pure fury of titans. The beast swung heavy and devasting blows, while the fungi had swifter movements and used poisonous spores for its advantage.

"Run..."

It warned the fungi child.

"?!"

The fungi child jumped surprised at the sudden turn of events, and its own family had appeared to help. However, it remained frozen in position, just as much as @Little Doggo protection was.

Ruby, meanwhile, leaping two steps, lunged toward the insectoid, swirling and scratching the tip of her blade against the carapace of its arm, forcing the monster react and retract its stance, which gave the opening the cat girl needed to change the direction of her twirl and slash the side of the creature, giving it no room to dodge, as it was already moving to the direction of her blade.

Rumbling, the beast averted its attention once more, throwing its heavy arms in a downwards strike, trying to crush Ruby against the ground, only for her to dodge, rolling to the side-

However, she was caught by a similar bait she had done to the insectoid, and the creature tackled her with the fangs, wrapping her tightly against it and tightening the grip with a crushing force, enough to make Ruby gasp and struggle, only for the insectoid to release a loud and deafening shittering, that was certain to ear-pierce the beastfolks.

Oek retracted at the sound, watching the brutality unfold and shifting its glance between the the cat girl and the fungi child, before rushing for the latter.

"Come! We leave!"

It wrapped its limbs around its kin, and glanced back to see if the insectoid was still distracted.

 

[Little Doggo]

Jiejie watch out!

Holding her spell to protect the fungi girl kept her busy, and all she could do was spectate, with Crimsonleaf trying to sneak his way closer to the child in hopes of aiding on the rescue efforts. He would be the only one not affected by this unholy shriek from the insectoid, Doggo's ears clasping hard against her skull, hands rising to cover them as best as she could. In a blink of an eye, her sister was in trouble.

And her Primal Aura called for the flower, Crimsonleaf's vines stretching out to grasp one of the giant bug's legs and pull from them, forcing it onto one leg. Surprised, the mad insect begun a tug battle with the much smaller flower, with Doggo rushing in as ice begun to form on her hands, taking the shape of a large frozen hammer that she swung with no abandon at the height of her battlecry, slamming it right against the bug's last standing leg and forcing it to trip completely on it's back.

Crimsonleaf!!!

The bug endured, unwilling to give up it's grip on the cat. It would crush her if that's what it took to get her to stop squirming. Just when it tried to tighten it's fangs on Yuhan, Crimsonleaf jumped on top of it's head, roots yanking them apart, albeit not enough to free the big sister without some effort of her own.

In a moment of surprise, the wrathful bug reacted, grasping onto Crimsonleaf as the plant exposed itself to danger for the pair, squeezing it with it's claws digging into it and forcing a painful whimper off from him.

NO, LET THEM GOOO!

Doggo rushed into the fray, circling around the beast at a safe distance before jumping onto it's arm to wrap her own around the one holding Crimsonleaf, cold rushing through the tip of her fingers as frost spread through it's chitin, slowly beginning to solidify the struggling bug's limb down, a task far easier said than done, as keeping herself attached to it was just as difficult with how it begun to thrash in desperation to their combined attacks, chittering in distress and anger alike.

@Crimson Ruby

 

[Crimson Ruby]

The stumble of the bug made Ruby squeak as she fell along with it, groaning upon the impact, but soon having her senses snapped back to reality when the creature continued its merciless attempt to cut her in half.

Ruby gritted her teeth to suppress a scream of pain when the hold only tightened, which only prompted a fiercer struggle, hoping to get rid of the grip even if was only wounding the crimson cat even more... However, the flower's attempt to help Ruby to be free gave the margin Ruby needed to slip away, rolling out of the insectoid's reach just before it tried to clench its pincers on the Whistle again, and letting her have a second to recover her breath.

"Gods... Arh..."

Her eyes met @Little Doggo's for a moment, and a proud smirk grew on her face while her Primal Aura complimented her sister, but it soon shifted to a more wrathful one when she turned to the insectoid, partially frozen by her sister's magic.

With a hold on her blade, a rumbling vibrated from Ruby's legs, a half-second before she exploded into speed, rushing toward the fallen bug and swiftly dodging one last attempt of the creature to harm her, before sinking her blade deep into its skull and sliding up to its carapace as it shireked, levering the blade in a devasting slash that caused a mess inside out.

A viscuous liquid escaped the wound of the creature, with a sonorous snap announcing its death, along with its erratic, quivering limbs.

The crimson cat stumbled, falling on her back on the ground as the intense moment was finally gone. "Aah... Doggo!" She laughed, weakly. "That was great- Good job-" Ruby winced, forcing herself to sit and look at her sister, and mustering a small smile.

 

[Little Doggo]

It was a miracle that she didn't face the wrath of the bug, as it's eyes were all but focused on her the second it's pincers had her in reach. It didn't need arms to do so. Doggo shut her eyes, and it's on that moment, when her Primal Aura retorted in fear towards her sister, when Ruby moved like lightning and only the whistle of the blade slashing through it's head could be heard, the liquid it had for blood staining Bao's clothes a little as she yelped once the gargantuan arm dropped flat on the ground, rolling over the floor and onto her back.

Yet she couldn't catch her breath no matter how hard she panted, the encounter had her head running in circles, until it finally focused on her sister and the predicament she was seconds earlier. Fortunately, Crimsonleaf had it's own way to patch itself up being a plant, and yet the flower just remained on a sitting position, it's petals wiggling as a sign it still lives, granting her the confidence to rush over to where Yuhan was at.

"Jiejie, y-you are hurt..."

She got too busy sobbing over it, it almost made her forget she's far from a child, the thought snapping her onto action as her hands aimed over towards Yuhan. The tears rolling down her cheeks begun to defy gravity as they were pulled onto her palms, gathering water from whatever source she could in order to wash over her sister. The lack of a nearby water source made it harder on her own energy pool.

"I-I can't deal with all of them Yuhan."

Bao muttered on a shaky tone, her hands trembling as she held as much focus as she could and the healing process slowed down, patching up the crimson cat of her most serious injuries before the water coming through her hands suddently dropped flat onto the ground.

"We did it Jiejie. We saved... Oek's daughter."

Her voice grew lower as Doggo got herself closer and closer to Ruby, flopping right next to her sister and clinging onto her arm like a child ready to sleep.

"Please no more bugs, I'm super tired and Crimsonleaf too."

The poor Crimsonleaf waved with one of it's vines, too lazy to close the gap with the pair.

@Crimson Ruby