hours away , open

three fifty-six

skye / david

[atrb=style, width: 250px;,bTable] "You're holding it wrong," she said, surprising herself. The boy before her seemed even newer to the mine than she was. It was strange to know that, despite how little she knew about mining, someone else knew less. She was blushing faintly, but it was probably hard to see her face in the dim light. All she could tell about the boy in front of her was that he had dark hair and dark eyes. Thalo usually avoided talking to people she didn't already know, but she'd seen the boy sitting alone for a few minutes. She supposed she might as well get started making friends with the other miners.

She wasn't usually one to initiate conversations, and now that she had, she wasn't certain what else to say. A part of her hoped the boy would do all of the talking for the two of them. Mostly, she just wanted someone to stay close to when the tunnels grew dark. Perhaps since they were both so new, they could stick together. For the time being she stood awkwardly next to him, hoping he would either say something or not mind the silence.

Thalo guessed she should probably show him around and get them both started working. If any of the other miners noticed them sitting around, they'd probably get annoyed. But he didn't appear to know very much about mining yet, and, well, no matter how much she knew, she was terrible at it. "What to help me relight the lamps?" she blurted out in a quiet voice that was nearly swallowed by the dark of the mine. Without waiting for a reply, she pulled a container of six-inch wooden matches from her belt and removed four. Thalo handed the boy two (one to light and one spare) and kept two. Without looking to see if he was following, she went over to the nearest lamp and lit her match. "Like this," she moved carefully over to an unlit lantern, shielding her match with her spare hand. It lit easily, and she glanced back to make sure he'd seen.

four thirty

skye / david

[atrb=style, width: 250px;,bTable] She was relieved to find he was apparently much better at conversations than she was. He answered her without seeming to have to consider the words first, which seemed a step up from her own conversational skills. It'd been over a year since she'd been surrounded by her family, and in the time since, she'd hardly spoken a word to anyone. She hoped the longer she was at the Base, the more she would remember how to actually talk to people.

"David," she said, tasting the name quietly. It tickled at the back of her mind, as if she'd heard stories of other Davids a long time ago. She sensed it was an old name, but it still seemed to suit the boy in front of her, whom she could tell wasn't much older than she was. "Thalo," she added with a start, realizing this was the moment to offer her own name as well. "Only miners come down here." She didn't consider herself very knowledgeable about Base life yet, but this boy didn't seem to know much of anything. Why on earth would a gardener or steward come down into this darkness? She wished silently again that she had drawn a different job, one that kept her above ground. But now, with another miner for company, the wish was only half-hearted.

She lit a few more lamps with a quick, practiced movement. Shielding her match with her hand again, she turned back to see how the boy was fairing. At his question, she tilted her head to the side slightly and considered a proper answer. "Not just this..." she began quietly. "We should be down working on the shelter," she said with more certainty. Then, realizing he was so new he might not know about the shelter, she added, "They're -- we're -- building a shelter beneath the ground for all the Residents. In case..." Her voice grew quieter. "In case there's another war."

If another war did come, the last place Thalo would want to take shelter would be in a dark, scary hole in the ground. She would far sooner flee for the forest. Here, they were saving and storing food just in case the need did arrive, but she wouldn't mind fending for herself again provided it wasn't down in the mine. "I've been here a few weeks," she added in response to his last question. It felt like she'd been here longer, though. The days in the mine seemed to stretch out and take up far more time than they really did.