The musky and fibrous scent of overturned and gutted earth made her nose twitch. She sneezed twice in succession and wiped stubbornly at her nose with the back of her hand as if to rid herself of the invading dust particle that had caused her allergen attack. The cave mouth loomed before her, equipment was strewn about and she could faintly see the bearings and scaffoldings propped up into the sides of the cavern that twisted down into darkness. She glanced around looking for any sign of the man in charge. They had said he would be a stout little fellow with a hard hat and the classic miner look, whatever that meant.
"Hello? Anyone here?" She inquired picking her way closer to a mine cart that was sitting idly on the rails that led back into the darkness of the earth. She carefully looked inside, rocks and earth met her gaze, no hint of glowing gems or Dust in sight. She sighed hoping this endeavor wouldn't just be an excuse for student to come out and help excavate and fortify the rocks and dirt, she hoped to find some actual Dust and extract it.
"What are yee deein heor, lassie?" A thick accent came from behind her. Anput whirled about, hand coming to the sharp throwing disk attached to her skirt out of reflex. A short, mole-like man with a scrungy, dirt smeared face, hunched stature, and scrunched face greeted her. "Ah sez what are yee deein heor?" The man sniffed, rubbing a hand across his nose with a quick motion.
"Yee heor fre the class? Canny good Ah need more Faunus type te be heor cos humans are tee blind te thor surroundings sometimes. Though some hev shown promise before. Anywois , follow me, misse." He rambled for a bit then beckoned her to follow him to a rack of various items. He shoved a hard hat into her hands, one with holes at the top for ears or antlers, gloves, and a light to clip to the hat.
"There yee gan . Now put tha on an follow me. Also divvent touch anythin', hear? Lest I says so." He hobbled ahead of her, scratching at his chin and adjusting his hard hat. He didn't turn his light on as he walked ahead of her into the darkness. She arched a brow as he walked into the dark without even flinching. Despite her vision being better than normal she flicked the light on, total darkness would not be so good for her to see. She stepped into the mouth of the cavern, the cool air immediately surrounded her, a fine chill crawling up her arms as she glanced around the rocks enclosing around her. The mole-man was tinkering with something up ahead, still in complete darkness and Anput stumbled forward, tripping over the mine car tracks as she trudged forward, the weak light doing little to light her way.
After a little while she finally stumbled upon the man who was grumbling to himself and seemingly fixing a strange device. It whirred to life after a moment and he whooped in triumph. " Foinally! Thees bloody things been givin me the run around for a couple a days now!"
Anput cocked her head to the side, squinting at the metal device. "Uhm, what is it exactly?" The man turned to her as if she was crazy or very dumb for even asking.
"Why its ah dust extractor o' course!" He said simply, patting the thing good naturedly as he turned to the winding cavern path that went deeper into the earth. He seemed to sniff the air and breathe in as if he was tasting it...? Anput wondered if he was some kind of Faunus. A mole or badger one perhaps. Or maybe he was just weird...
Up ahead the man gave a gleeful shout. "Wi dunsh the jackpot! We have!" He shouted to her and Anput hurried to see what he was so excited about.
"Thars e whole stash of Fire Dust in thar! A rather large vein of it, by thee look o things!" The eccentric man went to work, slamming the drill like bit into the cavern wall with a flourish. With a few twists and turn of knobs a slight whirring filled the cave.
"So this baby ere will jus' drill tah thee Dust and then I'll extract it like," The thing stopped, and with a click the clear glass cavity of the machine began to fill with a clunky, rock like substance. It pooled and trembled and she balked at how unstable the material was. She stepped back a bit afraid the volatile substance was going to explode. Query waved her down, "Donna worry lass, its foine in ere!" He laughed, shaking the device a bit as he extracted it from the wall. "Now, for ya ta git yer own dust!" He shoved another identical device in her hands. "Use that wee nose o' yers to sniff out the crystal and be careful extractin' it! Go wit yer gut, as me granpappy would say." The man trundled off, leaving Anput alone in the dark. The small pinprick of light from the hard hat was the only way she could see. She closed her eyes calming herself.
She could do this, she just had to focus. She extended her sense, eyes shut tightly and ears pinned back in concentration. She lifted her nose to the air, mouth open as she breathed in both her nose and mouth in order to sample the air. The tangy charcoal scent hit her and she twitched in its direction. She followed her nose further down the passage, winding deeper into the cavern. Her sense of direction told her she was north east from the entrance and to trail back she'd have to take the left tunnel at the fork on her way back.
She found the deposit of Fire Dust, her hands shaking slightly as she put a palm to the rock face, feeling for the thrum of it and the heat. It licked at her palm and she quickly jabbed the device into the cavern wall, screwing the extraction piece in and clicking the button to remove the Dust from its resting place. The device shook slightly as the crystalline structure was removed from its comfortable solitude into the chaotic world of Dust extraction.
Finished Anput wondered back out the cavern, blinking to adjust to the harsh light of the topside world. She handed a grinning Matthew Query the device. He tipped his hard hat to her in thanks and she turned, going about removing the equipment she had put on to enter the cavern.
"Knew ya cold do it on yer own. Faunus are hardy loik that. If yer was a human I'd have to show ye around, baby ye all day! But ye got it in one go lassie! And ya didn't even lose a limb!" He laughed heartily, clapping her on the back and doubling over at his own joke. She chuckled nervously in response, wondering when she could leave.
"Come back anytime!" Query shouted after her, waving enthusiastically and grinning. She hoped she would never come back, she wasn't cut out for mining and extracting no matter how much he said she had a knack for it or whatever. She would stick to candle making... Far less stress and less risk of the thing your working with blowing up in your face. Though a valuable experience it had been she supposed. At least now she knew how dust was extracted...sort of.
"Hello? Anyone here?" She inquired picking her way closer to a mine cart that was sitting idly on the rails that led back into the darkness of the earth. She carefully looked inside, rocks and earth met her gaze, no hint of glowing gems or Dust in sight. She sighed hoping this endeavor wouldn't just be an excuse for student to come out and help excavate and fortify the rocks and dirt, she hoped to find some actual Dust and extract it.
"What are yee deein heor, lassie?" A thick accent came from behind her. Anput whirled about, hand coming to the sharp throwing disk attached to her skirt out of reflex. A short, mole-like man with a scrungy, dirt smeared face, hunched stature, and scrunched face greeted her. "Ah sez what are yee deein heor?" The man sniffed, rubbing a hand across his nose with a quick motion.
"Yee heor fre the class? Canny good Ah need more Faunus type te be heor cos humans are tee blind te thor surroundings sometimes. Though some hev shown promise before. Anywois , follow me, misse." He rambled for a bit then beckoned her to follow him to a rack of various items. He shoved a hard hat into her hands, one with holes at the top for ears or antlers, gloves, and a light to clip to the hat.
"There yee gan . Now put tha on an follow me. Also divvent touch anythin', hear? Lest I says so." He hobbled ahead of her, scratching at his chin and adjusting his hard hat. He didn't turn his light on as he walked ahead of her into the darkness. She arched a brow as he walked into the dark without even flinching. Despite her vision being better than normal she flicked the light on, total darkness would not be so good for her to see. She stepped into the mouth of the cavern, the cool air immediately surrounded her, a fine chill crawling up her arms as she glanced around the rocks enclosing around her. The mole-man was tinkering with something up ahead, still in complete darkness and Anput stumbled forward, tripping over the mine car tracks as she trudged forward, the weak light doing little to light her way.
After a little while she finally stumbled upon the man who was grumbling to himself and seemingly fixing a strange device. It whirred to life after a moment and he whooped in triumph. " Foinally! Thees bloody things been givin me the run around for a couple a days now!"
Anput cocked her head to the side, squinting at the metal device. "Uhm, what is it exactly?" The man turned to her as if she was crazy or very dumb for even asking.
"Why its ah dust extractor o' course!" He said simply, patting the thing good naturedly as he turned to the winding cavern path that went deeper into the earth. He seemed to sniff the air and breathe in as if he was tasting it...? Anput wondered if he was some kind of Faunus. A mole or badger one perhaps. Or maybe he was just weird...
Up ahead the man gave a gleeful shout. "Wi dunsh the jackpot! We have!" He shouted to her and Anput hurried to see what he was so excited about.
"Thars e whole stash of Fire Dust in thar! A rather large vein of it, by thee look o things!" The eccentric man went to work, slamming the drill like bit into the cavern wall with a flourish. With a few twists and turn of knobs a slight whirring filled the cave.
"So this baby ere will jus' drill tah thee Dust and then I'll extract it like," The thing stopped, and with a click the clear glass cavity of the machine began to fill with a clunky, rock like substance. It pooled and trembled and she balked at how unstable the material was. She stepped back a bit afraid the volatile substance was going to explode. Query waved her down, "Donna worry lass, its foine in ere!" He laughed, shaking the device a bit as he extracted it from the wall. "Now, for ya ta git yer own dust!" He shoved another identical device in her hands. "Use that wee nose o' yers to sniff out the crystal and be careful extractin' it! Go wit yer gut, as me granpappy would say." The man trundled off, leaving Anput alone in the dark. The small pinprick of light from the hard hat was the only way she could see. She closed her eyes calming herself.
She could do this, she just had to focus. She extended her sense, eyes shut tightly and ears pinned back in concentration. She lifted her nose to the air, mouth open as she breathed in both her nose and mouth in order to sample the air. The tangy charcoal scent hit her and she twitched in its direction. She followed her nose further down the passage, winding deeper into the cavern. Her sense of direction told her she was north east from the entrance and to trail back she'd have to take the left tunnel at the fork on her way back.
She found the deposit of Fire Dust, her hands shaking slightly as she put a palm to the rock face, feeling for the thrum of it and the heat. It licked at her palm and she quickly jabbed the device into the cavern wall, screwing the extraction piece in and clicking the button to remove the Dust from its resting place. The device shook slightly as the crystalline structure was removed from its comfortable solitude into the chaotic world of Dust extraction.
Finished Anput wondered back out the cavern, blinking to adjust to the harsh light of the topside world. She handed a grinning Matthew Query the device. He tipped his hard hat to her in thanks and she turned, going about removing the equipment she had put on to enter the cavern.
"Knew ya cold do it on yer own. Faunus are hardy loik that. If yer was a human I'd have to show ye around, baby ye all day! But ye got it in one go lassie! And ya didn't even lose a limb!" He laughed heartily, clapping her on the back and doubling over at his own joke. She chuckled nervously in response, wondering when she could leave.
"Come back anytime!" Query shouted after her, waving enthusiastically and grinning. She hoped she would never come back, she wasn't cut out for mining and extracting no matter how much he said she had a knack for it or whatever. She would stick to candle making... Far less stress and less risk of the thing your working with blowing up in your face. Though a valuable experience it had been she supposed. At least now she knew how dust was extracted...sort of.
