[Kyokujitsu Senshi]

It was kind of weird, being brought before a dank cave and being told that mysterious herbs were down there that you needed to get. They were kids and all, so like, someone could joke about child labor laws and mining, but that didn't quite seem appropriate considering the vital need. Well. Risuki wasn't a kid anymore, but you got the point. Slowly, Senshi had adorned the protective suit for the mission, as well as the mask for this operation, as she looked towards the others. Before giving a big thumbs up between them. Just another day at work.

"I like them!" She says, her voice somewhat muffled through the protective layers as she waddles her hands back and forth and does once of her cursed dances, skipping, and pivoting on her tippy toe, before then raising her hands over her head, making a heart motion. Before shimmying to the left and right as she waves her hands in the air. Yeah. Sure. Senshi was a bit of a weird oddball, but she was their weird oddball. Now then. Senshi proceeds to move between the two girls to the mouth of the cave. They probably had their headlights and what not, but Senshi smirks. 

"I can make a light for us if you all need! Bright light too!" 

The Suits

[Karamatta Risuki]

If Risuki is put off by the potentially toxic nature of the mission, she has a fine way of hiding it. While she'd quirked an eyebrow up at the requirements to wear a suit and mask during the mission to bring the specific herbs from inside the dank cave and out to be collected for their medicinal uses, she had at least known to leave behind Sota's pelt so that it wouldn't end up getting in the way of the hazard suit and wouldn't get contaminated by the potentially harmful chemical or biological toxins that the cave could produce. She's still able to suit up and don the mask, hiding nearly the entirety of her body, save only for her green-blue eyes. When she's suited up as well as she can be, she returns the thumbs up Senshi gives to them, letting the others know that she's ready for the mission as well.

The rest of the activities Senshi displays are not, however, imitated by the taller, tan woman, and for good reason, and she even gives some explanation about it, just so Senshi is aware. She follows the blonde to the mouth of the cave while she explains the potential threat with at least a little more gravity than Senshi seemed to take with this mission, while she activates her headlamp. She was already a little disappointed that the mission likely wouldn't involve any combat, which was a mission type that she excelled with.

"The filters are only good for a set amount of breaths, ya know. If ya exert yerself, they'll burn out faster. 'N the headlamps are good enough, we dunno if yer own techniques are gonna catch any of the same stuff on fire and cause an explosion... or worse..."

Her own voice is muffled through the filters of the gas mask, but she hopes her seriousness still makes Senshi think twice about doing anything rash.

[Warai Ameko]

Ameko was without her companions, the need for protective suits had necessitated that she leave them behind. It wasn’t as if they made gas masks that fit canine-like faces. Maybe they did, come to think of it, but the important thing was Ameko wasn’t aware of any such equipment. So it was that she felt somewhat naked even when dressed in a suit that was utterly too bulky. She was used to minimal, loose-fitting clothing, the kind that let her rapidly adjust her movements in air and strike out with any part of her body. She felt utterly out of place dressed in the protective gear and without her companions. The absence of Risuki’s pelt only reinforced the notion in Ameko’s mind that they were absolutely not the correct choice for this particular mission. "I don’t like them,” Ameko grumbled, her voice distorted through the mask, "Don’t feel right wearing this thing. Can’t move well, can’t see well, can’t fight well.” Her voice bordered on a childish whine. Awkwardly shuffling behind the other two, Ameko nodded, "Yeah, pretty sure if we have to wear this shit then something in there might go boom when exposed to fire. Besides, if we don’t get to do cool stuff why should you.” The second, more childish part of her statement, was reduced to a mumble under her breath.

Karamatta Risuki Kyokujitsu Senshi

[Kyokujitsu Senshi]

"Oh..." That was the first response from the little girl as she was told about how the mask filters only had a set amount of breaths. "Gotcha...I'll like. Try to breath once every thirty seconds or somethin' then." She sounded largely as if she was joking, but before long? She found herself listening to Ameko, giggling softly. "But you guys are cool!" That sounded silly to her. Taking the liberty to stop for a moment, she hugs Ameko through their suits, and cuddles up against her, before breaking the hold.

"Off to adventure. We go!" She declares, slowly turning on the headlamp, and then looks downwards at the tunnel in question. It was just herb gathering right? Nothing dangerous. No arrows being shot at you, or people trying to gut you. Nice, calm, and peaceful. Or so she figured. "I've heard lots of ghost stories about caves like this!~ Spooky scary ones where people went down and were never able to make it back up. So their spirits stand in the entrance and try to urge people to come in and plaaaay! WhoooO!~" She says, making spooky ghost sounds.

Probably wasn't all that funny of a joke considering that people did die doing this kind of work from time to time. Stepping down with her basket and a pair of tongs, she slowly turns her head from side to side to help extend the field of vision as the three make their way into the dark tunnel. The prospect of herbs and medicine awaited them.

[Karamatta Risuki]

Risuki non-verbally agrees with her other teammate, as she similarly dislikes restricting herself with such a bulky suit. Senshi seems mostly fine, though, if a little let down by Risuki's light chastisement. She blinks when she and Ameko are called cool by their third teammate, although only Ameko is given a great big hug by the shorter girl. She can't help but to feel like maybe Senshi was actually too young to be a shinobi, but she wouldn't say anything aloud. The last thing she wanted to do was ruin the poor thing's high spirits. Speaking of spirits, Senshi begins with some kind of ghost story that just sounds ridiculous. Why would ghosts want to continue playing in the place they died? No matter.

Although the mission was somewhat stressful, with their headlamps on and Senshi somewhat goofily making some silly ghost sounds, the mood is lighter than it might normally be. Perhaps that was what their third teammate brought to the table. While she and Ameko were somewhat serious and rough around the edges, perhaps Senshi was the lighthearted one that kept either of them from being too engrossed in more serious matters. Or perhaps she was just a goofball that needed more serious missions in order for her to learn that she needs to take things more earnestly. It could go either way.

After a few meters, the air turns a sickly greenish color, and there's even a slight glow. She turns off her headlamp, hoping that the darkness will allow her to see what's causing the glow; just to make sure, she turns towards the others and gestures towards her own headlamp so they understand what she wants them to do. This glowing effect might even be something that the herb they're looking for can do, or it might at least conserve the headlamps for when they become more necessary.

[Warai Ameko]

Ameko exhaled as Senshi hugged her, the teenaged kunoichi was still unused to the sheer excitability and love that seemed to flow from the blonde with each waking moment. The hug brought an exhale from Ameko, and an awkward arm around her back, three taps signifying reciprocation as she stood awkwardly. Hyenas were far easier to understand than humans were, at the end of the day. There was no need for talk, no need for worries or anything of the sort, a simple question of food and affection. "Stories are stories,” She muttered loudly, releasing her hand from Senshi and pushing her away as she said so. It wasn’t that the thought of ghosts worried her, at least that was what she told herself. No, she simply didn’t need to be reminded of their claustrophobic endeavour. Trapped in suits, trapped in a cave. Nothing about it seemed particularly pleasant to the Warai. Ameko did not giggle at the ghost sounds, instead opting to grit her teeth as they descended further. The increasing glow from the cave’s interior only sending her hackles further on edge as they descended deeper and deeper. Risuki motioned for them to turn their lamps off, and begrudgingly, Ameko followed suit, her jaw clenching as she did so. Sickly green air and light filled the cavern and Ameko could not help but feel uncomfortable. "I miss fighting bandits,” She all but growled.

Kyokujitsu Senshi Karamatta Risuki

[Kyokujitsu Senshi]

Her teammates seemed to be more focused on the task and the negative things about life, whereas for Senshi? It was all about the experience. When was the next time they were going to wear a suit like this? When was the next time they were going to be able to explore a cave and pick rare herbs? When she felt her hug returned with some taps, they'd venture downwards together. The eerie light of the bioluminescent plants proving to be an interesting sight as she slowly taps her headlamp and turns it off with a click. "Cool...It's so pretty!" She says with a slight exhale. Before slowly recalling the shape of the plant they were supposed to get.

"I wonder how they grow down here." She says, slowly taking a plant and putting it into the back of her pack. Slowly, as Risuki, Ameko, and Senshi made their way, there was a silent shift as they come before a wider outcropping. Where there, laying along the ground were the visages of bones...Human bones. Looking down, they could see skeletons, weary, slumped along the walls, or in the case of one, literally fused to the wall, with plants spreading through it, and glowing herbs sprouting in the eyesockets and mouth. They must have been dead a very long time, as the bones were a bleached white. Partially cracked. Senshi slowly crouches, and looks upon the bodies, and with it, she slowly crosses her hands over her chest.

"Rest in peace." She says, and with it, the skull slowly tilts to the side along the left shoulder. Then slumps, as a large insect comes pouring out of the eyehole. Skittering off. Senshi takes a deep breath, and slowly reaches out and begins grasping more plants and placing them into her pack gingerly. Before the three girls might hear the sounds of skittering footsteps in the cave, pattering feet, and with it, the little blonde slowly turns. "Are we alone down here?"