Treasure hunting!

[Bobbie]

As Danielle limped, her mind was lost on what the professor said - help me get on the proper path? What is he, now, my spiritual guide? she thought to herself in rather mean fashion, but she was still angry at him for taking the amulet from her. As a result, she hardly noticed him approach.

“What? No, it’s only-” she frantically shook her head and tried to move in reverse to get away from him, but before she could even respond fully, she found her feet lifted off the ground and she was in this man’s arms again until he put her down on the ground. She had to keep her teeth clenched together to ensure she didn’t blurt out her protest - hold your tongue, Danny, remember we’re testing the waters... just keep up the injured puppy act and see-

Danielle’s thoughts were quickly interrupted as her boot was suddenly slipped off her foot. With eyes wide and her mouth stretched into an expressed that screamed absolute discomfort, she stared at him. “W-What are you doing!?” she snapped, trying to resist and pull her foot out of his grasp. It didn’t hurt that much, she had played it up deliberately to get his attention, but if she revealed that now, he might take back his offer of those paintings... of setting her on the ‘proper path’. Why does he have to be such a creep? Why does he insist on throwing me into such embarrassing situations? This has to be some kind of prank.

Danielle spent the entire time looking away from him, her palms pressed so firmly onto the floor that her knuckles were white with the tension. Her lips were pursed and her jaw was locked, her cheeks turning a light shade of red.

Don’t react, don’t react, don’t react... she repeatedly said to herself as her eye twitched and her leg itched to jerk in reflex of his touch. She didn’t dare say a word and once he finally let go of her foot, she pulled it away from him to quickly try and bring this terribly awkward ordeal to an end. She grabbed her boot - but he grabbed her foot again and began bandaging it.

Taking a deep breathe to try and steady her nerves, her body was in desperate fight or flight response at this point as every fiber of her being was screaming to get away. Swallowing, she slowly exhaled, unintentionally vocalising her sigh for just a brief moment, as something of a short and quick whimper escaped her.

FRICK!

The girl’s face could have lit up the entire passage with how red it became and she hurriedly pulled her foot away from Gabriel, hoping that he didn't hear that horrendous sound. “Thank you,” her words came out incredibly quickly, eager to escape this situation. As she was about to rise to her feet, she saw his folded up jacket and then heard his words. Forcing a nod, she rested her back against the wall in her seated position and placed his jacket behind her head like a pillow, hitting the back of her head against it harder than any ordinary person would - but banging her head against the wall, however cushioned, brought some relief to Danielle.

Falling silent, she looked at the boulder and stared at it intently, as if trying to will it into oblivion with her gaze alone.

I’d rather have been crushed by this boulder.

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Danielle: #fffd17

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #24

The Professor left Danielle near the boulders and headed back for her sword thinking about how to take the young treasure hunter back to the city, with an injured leg and her hatred for being carried around. However, right after he disappeared behind the nearest corner, something strange happened. The dirt that was now replacing their broken ceiling began to shake, almost as it did during an earthquake. And not only that time to time a handful of wet dirt fell down to the ground. This continued almost a whole minute before suddenly a large snout pushed through it, sniffing around, almost as if the animal was hunting something.
"Woof?! Woof woof woof!"
The happy barking gave away her identity even before Beast managed to push her whole head through.
"Wooooooo!"
She exclaimed proudly when she noticed Danielle.
When the woofing started, Gabriel was already in the main chamber of the tomb.
"Oh, how cute you are learning to speak!"
He thought for himself before realizing how stupid that thought actually was. For all her resemblance to a puppy, Danielle wasn't one. She was a human being and humans don't bark, well at least usually. Not to mention that he knew this baring way too well.
"God, how did she get here…"
The Professor grabbed the abandoned blade, walking back to where he left Danielle. There he found Beast digging with her front paws to make the hole big enough for them.
"That's an interesting way of staying and guarding Beast."
He said as the oversized malamute woofed again to greet him.
"Danielle I was thinking about how to get you back in the city with your foot injured and I got an idea."
The Professor grinned with the sudden flash of inspiration.
"Would you like to ride back on Beast?"
"Woooo?"
The dog in mention looked at him confused, almost as if she understood him.

[Bobbie]

As Gabriel rounded the corner, Danielle found herself quite alone in the corridor, staring at the boulder, blankly. She was devastated by the trauma she had just gone through of having a man carry her like a princess, remove her shoe, give her a foot massage, and treat her like some delicate and dainty little thing. She had been subjected to something terrible.

The sharp sounds of Beast’s barking, however, was enough to snap Danielle out of it as she blinked away her concerns. “Beast!” a wide grin appeared on the girl’s face as she rose to her feet, looking up at the wet dirt, and then that adorable snout poked through, followed by her entire head.

“Good girl!” she limped to be right underneath Beast and reached up to try and reach her nose, but she couldn’t quite stretch enough for her fingers to reach the massive dog. “Who’s a good girl? You are such a good girl!” she sang, before Gabriel suddenly spoke and she turned to face him, lowering her hand. “Look, Beast managed to dig through the ground!” she exclaimed, quite proud of the malamute as if it were her own. Just like that, all of her woes were gone. "Oh, did you get my sword? Thank you." she reached out for it, trying her best to be polite and not ruin the advantage that she felt she had just gained.

Things were only about to get better, however, as Gabriel put forward his suggestion. “Ride... on Beast's back?” she turned to look up at Beast again as her smile grew wider and wider. “Yes! If she wouldn’t mind, but I don’t think I weigh very much... Would you mind if I sit on your back, Beast?” she asked, having gone back to talking to the dog and trying to reach her head again, which was possible now that her entire head could fit through the hole.

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Danielle: #fffd17

[Mr. Moon]

Gabriel #25

It was hard to say if she understood what they were talking about, but either way, Beast didn´t look very happy, about the prospect of carrying Danielle as some kind of horse. It was only when she saw how excited that girl was about it, that she woofed in agreement. Now that was one of his problems solved. The other, more pressing one was, how to get the girl up there. Gabriel was no expert on social interaction, but he was a quick learner. He already found out, that she didn´t want to be carried or lifted, but with her injured feet there was no way, she could climb there on her own. As he was thinking about it, he got an idea. A crazy one, but also the only one feasible.

“Alright, I think I figured it out…Beast, fetch!”

As he said these words, the professor grabbed Daniele for her shirt, turning around while sweeping her legs, only to throw her across his shoulder upwards towards the shocked malamute.

“WOOOOF!”

Beast exclaimed with her mouth wide open. Good thing her hunter instincts kicked in and she managed to grab her shirt with her teeth, otherwise, it would be very awkward for the Professor. Some pulling and twisting later, the giant malamute managed to pull Danielle out of the mound and back into the fresh air. There she could see for herself how Beast found them. There was no plan in it and she couldn´t hear or smell them either. It was just an accident. She was simply bored and so dug around a dozen or so holes, always deep enough to hit the stone walls under it. And in this case, she found no wall.

“True Step.”

Hitting the air beneath his feet, Gabriel launched himself upwards with a blinding speed, landing right next to Danielle and Beast. With a sigh he looked on what his pet caused.

“Guess I can not be really angry with you this time, right?”

As he muttered, Beast happily licked his face, before lowering herself so Danielle could climb up.

“Alright, time to go. We have lots of work if we want to get you these paintings.”

[Bobbie]

Danielle watched Gabriel as he spoke, confused as he commanded Beast to fetch something... but fetch what? With a puzzled frown, she was about to ask until her shirt was suddenly grabbed. She stumbled and tried to pull away from him.

“What are you doing?!”

Suddenly, her feet were swept out from under her as she no longer had a steady footing on the ground and she was flung through the air! I’m going to kill this man! Her threat was silent, but her eye was filled with panic as she found herself flying through the air before a sharp yank caused her to stop in her path.

Twisting and turning, she tried to look up, seeing that her shirt was held firmly in the dog’s mouth and she was hanging there as if she were a little pup in Mama Doggo’s care. Her legs kicking wildly, she grumbled beneath her breath as she raised her arms over her head to try and protect herself from all the dirt and debris. “Ow!” she winced as her body was pulled and swung about in all directions like a ragdoll, bumping into rocks and being dragged through soil. Finally, it was over as she was out on the other side again and Beast released her on stable ground.

With a pant, she sat up and began dusting some loose soil off her clothes, an angry frown on her face, as usual, but her features soon softened - Beast was only trying to help, and she wouldn’t have made it out if not for Beast. With a smile, she ruffled the dog’s ears, her gaze gliding across the mess that Beast had made, just as Gabriel emerged too. “You’ve been busy while we were gone, haven’t you?”

Danielle’s little smile grew into a grin as she climbed on top of the malamute’s back, trying to be gentle while holding onto her firmly. Following each grab of Beast’s fur, however, the girl would always pet her on the same spot to ensure that she didn’t hurt her in any way.

And just like that, Danielle got a free ride on the back of such a glorious beast into her next adventure.

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Danielle: #fffd17