#dragonhcrt / o5

[fellstcr]

⚔️ // byleth's flame cast a warm glow across the steps of the train station's walls , and dark shadows into its cracks and crevices. byleth treaded carefully , and had warned the others to do much the same. the station had always been something of an oddity in downtown arcanus. it was one of the few places that had always been left abandoned. and seemingly for a long while.

cobwebs were strung across the rafters high overhead , and the cool stone within which the station had been carved was rife with large cracks and crumbling debris from disrepair. ornate tiles that must have once brightly shone were faded and cracked , but still remained in the archways of the station.

byleth came to pause only when they had descended far enough to come across the archway that had read , in large ornate letters , sonata station. the ticket booth and entrance tunstiles were further within.

"this was the last place the girl seemed to have seen before her communications stopped," byleth noted, lifting her flame higher. "i'd imagine she went farther in. but let's take a good look around just in case."

@dragonhcrt / @chenshixianyou || detectives !

[fellstcr]

⚔️ // cheek wedged between tooth and fang , CLAMPING DOWN on the beginnings of a rebuttal. in a great many ways , this place was a tomb . as she cast her eye across their surroundings , she was keenly reminded of THE RED CANYON. zanado's ruins were vast as well , but they harbored a similar , familiar weathering about the remnants of what once was a sprawling city. here , cobwebs and hairline fractures in the stone announced its age , and the roots of plant life pried apart the man - made constructions easily.

if something happened here , there was only SO MUCH even her power could mitigate. ( and suffice it to say , there was a strange aura about the place that made her uneasy . )

"i'm a little concerned about this place's structural integrity," byleth began carefully. "what if you and i went further in together , marcellus? just , not very far. only enough to get a scope of the place , and then report back. that way , we can remain at least a pair in case anything happens." she turned back to zhongli. "— do you feel comfortable taking a full sweep of this area in the meantime? if we're not back in ten minutes , between the three of us , you're the most well - equipped to keep track of the team."

The scent of dust and crumbling earth hangs in the air, and a silence loud as the passage of time accompanies it. It's a feeling all too familiar to Zhongli, one he cannot help to feel a slight kinship with. His steps reverberate through the tiles beneath his feet, vibrations reaching down, down into the floors below.

Firelight reflects in his golden eyes that flit back in forth, taking in the sight of the abandoned station at the same time as he extends his consciousness outward, around them-- within a few moments, he already knows. This place is deeper than he might have expected.

The stones hold their breath, their secrets buried deep inside. Zhongli knows better than to crack them open with anything but the most delicate hand.

"I cannot detect any signs of life within the immediate area," he notes, "at least, human life." A heartbeat, small and indistinct as it may be, can still be felt to those who know how to listen. Here, there is silence.

And yet, he frowns. The feedback from the earth beneath his feet has ever been reliable, but this is not. Something about this place is far from ordinary. To take caution with their steps is well-advised.

Still listening, still watching, he approaches the old turnstiles. Here and there, the dust is thinner, less settled-- signs that someone had passed through this way, but not that they'd come out..

@dragonhcrt