The Bellators

3:9:2

 From right above all the way down the omnidirectional umbrella horizon of the cavern jut stalactites of varying sizes from pins the size of hands to blades the size of bodies. Dried in darkness, only the shine of the faint fluorescent light from deep deep below brings it any presence, just a minute hue when otherwise it'd be submerged in the stone sky.

A sky not painted with strokes of purple nebulas nor grazed with sprinkles of white stars, but a sky of colorless rock and dirt, a solid ceiling whose scattered holes lead to no visible light beyond any surface, a claustrophobic infinity of far yet finite possibility.

Well below that solid sky, deep deep down to the source of the fluorescent white light all the way on the surface of the cavern stands the expansive dirt city, rectangular buildings stacked disorderly and arrayed down streets of stone. Where many cities would have clean skyscrapers with straight edges that climb to the clouds, instead there were distinct blocks misaligned to a few stories but nothing too grandiose, almost leading to an architectural design with a glitched nature. There was a lack of refinement and vision, rather such an unkempt appearance felt rushed and desperate, but it wasn't as though it'd be judged by any tourists.

For nearly the whole of life under the cavernous ceiling is the native population, a great sample of which roams up and down the rocky road in their similar grayed rags over gray skin; some in clusters of families but many disjoint and isolated. They had their heads hung low, many of them highly concealed under their hoods with the few exceptions exposing little more than their bald parched heads. A few of them do walk through the opened doorways along many of the dirt buildings which appear to be shops of some nature, although they enter with little enthusiasm. Others come out just the same, one of whom coughs a hacking dry cough before diverging along the street.

On one side of the road walking down was a lone mother walking two daughters about half her height, dressed in similar attire, their heads down in silent fatigue making their way through the city's more bustling parts. One of the daughters raises her head in random curiosity, curiosity which is then grabbed from ahead of her as her eyes widen and awe strikes her face. A flash of excitement and wonder awakens her which she carries to grab her mother's rags and begin shaking them back and forth fervently whilst exclaiming unintelligibly, which the mother initially ignores in a haze before the consistent calls snaps her attention forward. Nearly immediately the mother is too locked on the sight as is her second daughter whom is just slightly taller than the former and wears a more apprehensive reaction, although that is highly tame compared to the drastically anxious face worn by their parent; that parent immediately grasps both of her daughters with a sharp pull to her side and casts a scornful glare similar to a defensive tiger protecting her cubs, snarling specifically at the three roamers who walk up the street in approach.

Those three walk side by side, the one in the center stepping with black dress shoes paired with a professional black attire of leggings and a blazer, accompanied to the left with one ambling in brown flatfooted shoes which complements their long brown overcoat, and to the right prowls one with casual white shoes bipartite to an oversized white hoodie. They walk by the center of the street although leaning right, the opposite side from the small family and yet still the mother reacts so harshly, veering her children towards the very edge of the street to maximize distance from them. Other strollers take notice of the trio and steer clear from them in a clear repulsion, leaving an open path for them although not in hospitality.

Whereas two of the walkers are not as concerned by the hesitant shots and glances, specifically the one in the white is, who glimpses around from side to side swaying her long thick pink hair pink like the wrapping around half of her hoodie. In front of her she plays with her fingers nervously, breathing remarkably heavy compared to her companions at the very least. Despite the colorful dress worn with sprinkle decals of blue, pink, purple and green amongst the embellishing cartoony frosting details, the young woman shows all but innocence, her body trembling with fearful pink eyes, her lips parted open to make a 'huh' every few seconds in reaction to the hostile reactions to simply the presence of her own being.