for Darcy

[stands_for_hope]

It's not that he's trying to get involved. He's not, genuinely not. It's always been something of a bad idea to really get properly involved in things. But when the dark-haired girl sees the caves and decides to go 'exploring' (did she say something about herb-ex? is that some sort of drug? a fertilizer? he has no idea) it only takes a quick glance with x-ray vision to figure out that that is about as terrible of an idea as it could possibly be. He's trying to figure out what he can say to make her turn back that doesn't involve the ability to see underground and can reasonably be said by a porter when one of the completely mundane threats (a damaged stalactite, of all things) starts wobbling from the faint reverberation of her steps.

This is a terrible idea.

He still moves at top speed to grab her and pull her out of the way. Even worse, he sticks around to stare at her with wide eyes, still completely unsure of how he's going to explain any of this.

Comments

FREAKING FINALLY, OMG i am the worst

[tasedagod]

Darcy's breath is almost as loud as her heartbeat as she slowly descends into the darkness, one foot carefully placed in front of the other until the stairs end and the floor evens out. Her hand fumbles, seeking a light switch that doesn't seem to exist, only momentarily considering the flashlight app on her phone since that thing drains her battery like it's going out of business. The last thing she wants to do is get trapped someplace without the ability to call for help, or at least see what is going on around her for brief periods of time.

Despite the potential danger, she can hardly hold back her excitement. It isn't every day she gets the opportunity to explore someplace old, and she isn't needed for several hours yet. Once the equipment has been brought inside and set up, Jane might start looking for her, but until then, Darcy is left to her own devices. The moment she nudged aside the partially barricaded door and stared into the depths of what appeared to be a tunnel, she mentally put on her explorer hat and left good sense behind.

The walls were ragged, cold stone, and she could feel where some hooks were installed to hold lanterns or torches. The further she went, the more modern everything became, eventually even offering a few sputtering electrical lights to lend a further sense of safety. Though she was straining every sense in an attempt to hear and see absolutely everything, she completely misses the danger until something slams into her, hard, and yanks her several feet away from the grimy glass cabinet she had been inspecting.

A few scant moments later, she hears a crash, eyes pinned to the stalactite that would have crushed her into paste. Once her heart starts beating again, she looks at her savior, recognizing him as one of the porters helping them set up shop. She struggles, but finally grasps his name.

"Clark?" she asks, obviously confused, for she neither saw nor heard him approach. Then again, she hadn't heard something falling from the damn ceiling, so Death Tunnel: 1, Darcy: -100.

"...what are you doing here?"

no worries!

[stands_for_hope]

He was not expecting to be followed. More importantly, he wasn't expecting the person he was being followed by to ever see him, as he was well aware that he could stay out of sight. Unfortunately, the stalactite had had other plans and it had been his secrecy or Darcy's life and there wasn't even a choice there, not really.

The fact that she knew his name... he'd known it was a bad idea to be so friendly, to chat with the other porters. He'd actually been trying not to stick out, since everyone remembered the 'guy who never talked to anyone' and this was one of the few times when he desperately needed not to be remembered even positively.

But now, here he was. Here they were.

"I could ask you the same question."

[tasedagod]

Is he sassing her?

"I'm Indiana Jones," she says as self-importantly as possible, though her eyes catch and hold on the collapsed stalactite as it slowly dawns on her exactly how screwed she would be if Clark hadn't decided to follow her. Goosebumps erupt across her skin and she shivers, absently rubbing her upper arms briskly.

"Exploring. Looking for treasure and historical artifacts and whatever else might be down here." Her smile is only partially forced as she tears her gaze away from where she was nearly squished and instead focuses on Clark. "...apparently, I'm not all that great at urban exploration. Thanks for saving my life." Maybe one day she will think something through before speaking or acting, but not today.

Despite her near brush with death, she is undeterred. "Did you know this was down here? I didn't. What do you think this place is?" She's approaching the cabinet again, glancing up at the ceiling several times and stepping gingerly, determined to figure out what is inside. She tries to wipe away the grime on the glass but only manages to smudge it further.

Frowning, she gives the cabinet door a good yank. Locked.

"Got anything I can use to break this glass?"

[truth_and_justice]

He draws back, looking around at her prompting. Then, as if making a decision, he holds up a finger.

"Let me try, hmm?"

He is a porter, after all. All those muscles have to be good for something, his face says. Let him try. And when he pulls it open, don't look too hard at the buckled metal around the lock, what with making it clear there's no way in hell that he should have been able to do that. But he's down here for a reason and, he figures, one person seeing him who only knows his first name isn't so bad. He can still disappear.

[tasedagod]

Darcy is a bit surprised that he's playing along instead of trying to drag her back to safety. She's already prepped dozens of half-assed reasons why she absolutely needs to explore this place, and is slightly disappointed that she doesn't even need to bust out a single one.

That disappointment soon vanishes. She watches with wide eyes as he seemingly effortlessly yanks open the cabinet. Well, he and the other porters were hired for a reason, weren't they?

"Damn." Darcy isn't the type to examine the metal, instead zeroing in on the cabinet's contents, a seemingly random collection of vials and jars labeled in an unfamiliar language. She pulls out her phone and snaps a few pictures. Everything looks suitably mad science like, so she's certain Jane will know what these things are.

After she's done yelling at Darcy.

"I kind of wish I had a Geiger counter with me." She pauses, poking at her phone. "I wonder if there's an app..."