revivalproject | Into the Depths

Entry tags:

Into the Depths | Closed

WHO: Dustin, Tony, some mushrooms
WHERE: Temba Mines
WHAT: Dustin and Tony do some Funfrond-spotting and subterranean map updates
WHEN: Late November, post-event
WARNINGS: Foul language as always

Honestly, Dustin had finished this project for the Funfronds at the beginning of the month. All it took was a few more replicated biochemistry tools (before the replicator was taken and subsequently ruined by the Agrii) before he had a whole culture of spores growing, identical to the original sample gathered nearly three months ago. Dustin can no longer claim to be low on supplies for such undertakings in future; half his shop might as well be a bioengineering lab at this point.

What's kept him from distributing is second verification. And what's kept him from getting that second verification is...distraction. Pedantry. He doesn't like that there's a sheer pit in the center of town that the Funfronds tend to gather around, and he wants to be able to get out of it if he ever falls in. A couple of near-misses during last month's storm might be inspiring this impromptu project, but either way, it's set back his schedule by nearly a week and he only slightly regrets it.

For several hours every day, Dustin arrives at the cavern like clockwork, sets out a bundle of climbing gear, rappels himself down the hole and installs metal footholds as he goes. He stops for breaks, obviously - the noodle-armed boy doesn't have the stamina for this kind of sustained labor - when he runs out rope, and when he runs out of footholds. It is a long and tiring process.

But, finally, he's nearing the end. It's dawn, and Dustin is approaching the mine with more than just construction and climbing gear; now he has a backpack of non-perishable food, some towels and a blanket, basic first-aid supplies, a flashlight and batteries, a lightweight pick and shovel, among other things weighing him down. A section of Funfrond spore culture is carefully tucked away in a padded side pocket. The whole ensemble is half as big as he is, and it's all necessary.

Today, Dustin plans to reach the bottom of the pit and stay there.

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Tony was minutely, painfully aware of the exact depth of the hole, and was only blearily conscious of the numbers ticking at the edge of his vision as he fell, even less aware that he was holding his breath as he watching the point of light shrink above him. That was familiar. There were no unexpected hands or nets to catch him this time, though, only his own jolt out of his fugue state, feeling naggingly frustrated by not quite reaching terminal velocity. His engines flared back to life, a growl that echoed back up toward the light, just in time to send him whipping around the circumference of the pit as he corkscrewed his way back up toward the tiny figure hopping his way down.

"Hey, you're not going to believe this," he reported as he came swooping underneath Dustin, then slowed to hover just overhead this time, studying his rig carefully. "Down there, at the bottom, I found the bottom of a hole. Rocks and everything, Dusty."

Dustin isn't surprised when he fails to hear a distant impact, nor is he surprised when Tony decides to fly back up and hassle him on his own, much more controlled descent down. He's moments away from blithely asking after the Bug Situation when Tony interrupts, and this time, he does something that startles him bad enough to make him nearly lose his footing on the side of the mineshaft.

"--That's not my name." Dustin whirls his head around with a snarl, face flushed and hot. No one's called him 'Dusty' in nearly a year of equivalent Earth time and he definitely is not emotionally prepared to deal with hearing it again. "Don't ever call me that."

What threat that twisted up face presented did not slow Iron Man from dropping abruptly into Dustin's personal space, not quite touching him but close enough to brace a hand on the wall next to him and draw a knee up behind his thighs where he would take an uncomfortable seat should that flailing around actually lead to a fall. Everybody in this town was so touchy about their names. "I don't know, it's kind of cute," Tony was willing to explore, free hand twisting conversationally while Dustin snarled at him on the side of a cliff. "Unless you think you're more of the Billy Ray in this situation, hey," as if that wasn't bad enough, he started singing, "Bein' good isn't always easy, no matter how hard I try--" At least it was brief. "You know what, you're right, you do keep things exciting."

With Iron Man floating closer and his back pressed against the mineshaft wall, Dustin gets the distinct feeling, like a pit opening up in his gut, that he's been cornered and there's nothing he can do about it. Fury bubbles in his chest. He wants to punch Tony in the face, so bad. Thankfully for both of them logic wins out; getting into a fight here would not only be a tremendously stupid idea, but he would also probably break several knuckles on that faceplate, and besides, Tony doesn't seem to mean anything malicious anyway. The name was picked by chance, purely to be annoying.

Making a sound like a strangled animal, Dustin wrenches his eyes back to the wall and continues his descent, going a bit faster now. "Good to know that I keep you entertained," he growls through his teeth. "Jackass."

"Yeah, listen, it's a long way down, better enjoyed with good company," Iron Man replied, sounding as cheerful as that unforgiving faceplate could convey as he drifted away from the wall where he could get a better perspective on Dustin's whole rig. Someone had to be watching it. They'd get back to snapping under the pressure when he was safely on the ground.

The further down they went, the harder it was to ignore that Tony might not be the only one watching. "The tentacles didn't come from the bottom," he suddenly volunteered. That there was yet another thing someone might be looking for in this hole seemed pretty unlikely to him. "The bugs didn't either, for the record. From the walls. Probably should have rigged up a more exploratory system. Straight up and down, that's going to take a while."

Good company, he says, like Dustin is enjoying or appreciating any part of this. He allows himself a moment to mockingly mime the words at the wall in front of him before clamping his mouth shut and letting Tony do what he wants. This is going to take a while and will just take longer if they stop to have an argument, so he really ought to try and exercise some patience so he can accomplish what he actually came down here to do.

At least paranoia provides a good distraction, after a while. Dustin hardly needs Tony's prompting to feel like they're being watched. That's kind of a constant thing for him anyway. His head twists for a moment, sharply scanning the surrounding mineshaft, but his eyes pick up only shadows. A little, involuntary shiver runs down the back of his neck.

"Not what I'm looking for," Dustin explains, voice clipped. He's just going to ignore that comment about tentacles - he's pretty sure that's Tony pulling his leg. Hopefully that's Tony pulling his leg... "If I don't find them at the bottom, I'll explore the bug tunnels next. Project for later."

This is not a project Dustin wants for later.

"Infrared set up in that helmet?"

That answer made it sound like this hole was not only a very popular place for unusual phenomena, but that Dustin did know about the tentacle situation for some reason and might have been more of a threat than Tony had properly accounted for. Maybe that was why he was so hostile. 'Them' wasn't any further illuminating, though.

At least he had to ask about the suit's functions, unless that was some kind of bluff. It had Tony hesitating to answer, not sure what secrets he needed to be more protective of, and if getting this kid in and out of this project of his before he got hurt was more important. "Something like that," he was willing to reply. "Tell me what you're looking for, I might be able to do you one better."

Not seeing a point in hiding his intentions anymore, and completely oblivious to the fact that he and Tony are mentally sidestepping each other's personal assessments besides, Dustin answers earnestly.

"Funfronds," he says through a sigh. A quick glance is passed down over his arm; he can tell that they're nearing the bottom finally, not because he can see it in the dark, but because he just counted the last foothold he'd placed in the wall and passed it. Only a couple dozen more meters to go. "They've got to have a colony somewhere down here that hasn't been mapped yet. I'm going to correct that."

While Tony could not say what kind of answer he was prepared for, it certainly wasn't some kind of ecological completionist effort. There were a lot of weird plants and animals on this planet that weren't at the bottom of a mineshaft that could use plenty of further study and mapping, if Dustin thought it was that necessary. Which, further, Tony really didn't think it was. Where exactly some kind of grass was growing did not feel like a pressing concern to him.

He had to come to terms with all of this while hovering in the dark while staring after Dustin, who had gotten well ahead of him then, sliding down out of the limited range of the glow of the Iron Man's repulsors. "Funfronds," he eventually said. "That's why you're risking your neck?" No wonder he hadn't figured this kid out yet.

"Yes."

Dustin's feet tap the ground in near total darkness. He glances up, realizing that Tony hasn't followed him the rest of the way, but it's not like he'd planned to have someone with a full exosuit follow him down here; Dustin unhooks himself from his rappelling rig, hefts his satchel down to his hip, and fishes out a flashlight from a side pocket. It clicks on and illuminates the bottom of the pit with a narrow shaft of light, speckled with floating motes of dust crossing the beam.

Only once he guarantees that there isn't anything waiting to greet them does Dustin consider elaborating for Tony's benefit. "I've been doing some work for them," he explains blithely, like it's a totally normal thing to be taking jobs from sentient mushrooms. "Need to give them a status report."

This was only creating more questions, though these ones at least unstuck Tony from his stunned hover to cut his engines and drop down heavily next to Dustin. That sent more dust up into the air while Iron Man turned his menacingly glowing eyes down at the kid to ask very seriously, "You've been down here before? I hope they're at least giving you hazard pay for this. There's laws about kids working in mines."

Dustin passes Tony a quick, quizzical glance over his shoulder. "Not here," he corrects, continuing down the main tunnel at a steady, cautious pace. Tony's inane chatter about child labor laws is subconsciously filtered out - something that Dustin is getting a lot better at, thankfully for both of them. "Well--not this route, anyway. Wanted to make a reliable way out of the pit in case anyone falls in. Two birds."

"Weird place to arrange a meeting," Tony was muttering as he trailed along behind Dustin, tense and anxious. It wasn't quite as bad, with the suit, he could just grab the kid and leave any time he wanted, this was fine. "I've found it's better when everyone is comfortable and relaxed, best results for everyone involved, you make bad deals when you're in a hurry." He had to try to clear every other word that was trying to come out of him from his throat instead of filling the whole tunnel with his anxiety, and Dustin's reminder about falling in did not help.

"It would be better to stop anyone from falling in in the first place," he pointed out primly. Not that this was much of an issue. Only a complete idiot would fall into the giant hole, and the local idiot population was very small.

Dustin eventually gives up on shooting backwards glares at Tony while they walk - the man talks so much that it's basically impossible to lose track of him, in spite of how his voice echoes through the main tunnel ahead. His steps are cautious, but without hesitation. Dustin knows where he's going.

"Let me know when you get around to building that giant manhole cover," he mumbles. Then, changing tracks, "See anything?"

Tony had mentioned that his helmet had some infrared-adjacent technology built into it, which could make him a valuable scouting resource. But luckily for both of them, the Agrii's bug-repellant measures have been successful; the tunnels ahead are empty and quiet, and apparently have been for some time.

If Iron Man did see anything, Dustin was going to wait for the answer while he happily retorted instead, "It'll take about as long as your four hundred and eighteen metre elevator. We'll pop the champagne together," and took his time considering the tunnel and the information he did have. Reeve's maps didn't go this far, and after spending several days down here he had not found a good direction to wander out in, though see also: local idiot population. He had not done much of anything good with that time.

"If they are down here," he finally said, with a glance over his shoulder back the way they had come, tracking the movement of the air, "the only way out is the way we came down. At least--I don't know--maybe there's plant-sized access points. I'm not seeing any hotspots, if that's what you're looking for, but you might be interested to know there is a higher concentration of CO2 from this direction. If that's the kind of thing you're into."

A valid point, but not one that Dustin is in the mood to acknowledge amicably. He grumbles something irritably under his breath and sweeps Tony's quip away with a wave of his hand.

His answer to Dustin's question is much more interesting, besides. "...Yes," he says, pausing to glance in the same direction as the Iron Man's helmeted, glowing eyes. "Aside from respiration, anyway. Funfronds feed on decaying plant matter. I've never observed them eating on the surface, so that would imply they take it back to a centralized colony; whatever food storage they have should be emitting carbon dioxide at a significantly higher rate than ambient as it passively decomposes."

"Yeah, sure, it's plant matter that's decomposing, nothing to worry about," Tony wasn't so ready to believe. No one else had gone mysteriously missing, right? Dustin would have to get some control over his mushroom enthusiasm for Iron Man to finally slip ahead of him, one hand out to keep him behind the armor while Tony found out for them what was rotting away underneath the city before Dustin had to have any dreams about it. He only hesitated in his slinking approach down the tunnel when he started detecting a sound, a rustling and the clatter of sliding pebbles; something moving. Hopefully, that wasn't also what was rotting.

Dustin, pretty clearly understanding what his traveling companion is getting at, rolls his eyes as Tony passes him. "I haven't tested if they're omnivores," he says, deadpan, halting just before his chest impacts Tony's outstretched arm. Then he ducks underneath it and keeps going. "I suppose there's no reason why they wouldn't be - most Earth-based fungi are opportunistic enough to decompose plant and animal matter. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if the Agrii were using them as some kind of convenient body-disposal unit."

Before he can continue needling at Tony's Funfrond paranoia, however, both of them are startled into stillness by the sound of something moving up ahead. Dustin flinches and reaches for his belt; his leatherworking dagger is sheathed there, and although it wasn't made as a weapon, Dustin will absolutely shank an alien cockroach with it if he has to.

"The fuck was that?"

What indeed? Moments after the noise there is a little bit of motion, something blue-purple and slightly glowing in some places, rolling into the middle of the path. After a moment of stillness it is obvious that the glowing is the cap of a mushroom. A mushroom that stands after a moment, then dances a vigorous jig in the direction of the pebbles it had tumbled down. A jig that, since both of those present had the Communication datapoint, would be understood as language.

[Push fair not!]

Then it moves back toward the pebbles, clearly rushing back to meet whoever 'pushed' it.

Dustin didn't get the chance to do any panic-shanking with Iron Man already frowning at the back of his head and arm still raised at the ready to snatch him abruptly by the collar and yank him back when the ambiguous sound became distinct movement. He didn't get much further than that, holding Dustin by the shirt at his side and raising a lip at the glowing thing in the beat of stillness that followed, and only tightening his grip as the new entity...danced at them.

For a hysterical moment, Tony thought he understood this dance, only what it was saying was nonsense. He might have been the bigger threat here to Dustin, who could just step on the glowing thing if it got too excited, so he finally released the kid with an apologetic pat to the fabric, to try to put both of their dignity back together.

Dustin has just enough time to recognize the little figure before he's roughly dragged away by the scruff of his neck, multiple sweaters, and a coat. His eyes, already wide from realization, bug out in surprise.

"H--Hey! Let go!" The boy squirms like a feral animal and lets out a string of furious curses, consequently missing the Funfrond's own dance of protest in the process. There's absolutely nothing to be done against the Iron Man's grip, however, so he doesn't actually escape until Tony allows him to, at which point Dustin promptly scuttles a few steps ahead and drops to the ground. Experience tells him that Funfrond language is just as reliant on vibrations transmitted by their movements as it is actually seeing them, if not more so, which means the fact that the quickly-retreating mushroom isn't facing him shouldn't be too much of a problem.

One of his hands perches on the soil, standing upright on its index and middle fingers, with thumb and pinkie extended in a rough approximation of waving arms. Then he makes it dance back.

[Wait!! Have words for colony!]

The movement of the He Rows finally drew the attention of the little Funfrond, which looked ready to run away until Dustin moved to 'speak' to them. After a moment another Funfrond appeared, this one more red and amber in color. They watched Dustin for a while before the original blue one danced a tentative response.

[Not allowed talk to big strange animals.]

Ah stranger danger, you apparently can exist in many cultures.

Edited 2023-01-06 19:19 (UTC)

Oh, good, Dustin was on the floor and talking to the fungus. Wait--that was talking, Tony realized, in not so much of a rush but slinking closer after Dustin as the mushrooms considered them, and then did their little dance again. That was a lot more clear to Tony than the first phrase, and he helpfully provided, "They think you're being an animal, and honestly, this is all pretty rude, usually you'd start with a greeting, maybe bring a gift for the hostess. Call ahead, even. The clothes can't really be helped, but we could still work on it, if you've got a couple of years and are willing to address the hair issue."

Dustin breathes a sigh of exasperation, both at the Funfrond's (admittedly expected) wary response and the peanut gallery's commentary behind him. He decides to address both at once.

"I know a guy," Dustin hisses at Tony. Simultaneously - effortlessly in fact - his hand does an agitated jig at the pair of Funfronds. [Dealings before, on surface. Make spores, show map? Spoke to this one.]

Then his other hand is drawing a crude picture of the multi-tiered Funfrond he talked to several months ago in the dirt, unconsciously emulating the style of the mural Funfronds at the Memorial. All this, while still talking to Tony.

"Most of them don't even know we're sapient," he explains quickly, tone hushed and more than a little snide. "Their language and behavior accounts for that. It's not like there's a standard work for polite discourse with them, unless that's really what you want to focus on."

There's a beat. Dustin's eyes narrow, twisting his neck sharply to glare at Tony over his shoulder.

"...The fuck do you mean, 'hair issue?'"

The little Funfronds pay lots more attention to Dustin because he's actually a talking creature, and when he explains the look between each other and nod. One runs off on little toddling legs while the other watches Tony and Dustin together.

[Big animal very funny look. Why moss on face?]

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