Hodari's Story

The darkness of the mine was only barely pushed back by the small flow lantern perched precariously on a bolder at the far end of a dead end mine shaft. A book was was spread wide over the boulder in front of the lantern that ,as the reader adjusting her glasses up her nose ,made to collect as much light as possible to read the book in front of her.

Standing suddenly and sweeping the light up with her she spun to study the rock face behind her. Reaching up as high as she could on tiptoes her finger just barely made contact with a suspicious looking chunk of rock. Hefting the lantern higher she was sure of her find now and if she was just a lil bit taller she could break it free. Turning back she knelt to the mine floor and after setting down the lantern she began to jot down notes. She would need a step stool or something. Maybe Tish or Zeki had one in their shops. She would also need a pair of those goggles the miners daughter built by hand. She had really been meaning to speak to the young teen but she found herself very flustered anytime she was around her father. Hodari could be a very intimidating person.

"Helllooo" A deep voice bellowed down the rocky tunnel startling the woman so much she nearly knocked over her flow lantern. That would have surly been death getting her lost in the pitch black tunnels. She scrambled to quell its rocking and threw up her arm to block her eyes as a more powerful light swept across the mine and illuminated her more fully.

"Oh! Pardon me Darlin!" The deep voice drawled as leather gloved hands reached up to pull lighted miners goggles down from deep sapphire colored eyes. Eyes that currently held something like shock and concern. "Dae! What are you doing this deep in?!" The male Majiri asked his thick drawl not hiding the concern in his voice. He strode towards her every step felt like there was less air left in her lungs. Some how this man did this to her every time.

"Ho..Hodari!" She was finally able to squeak out as she forced her lungs to inflate. The concern was very quickly turning into a stern scowl and she knew she needed to explain quickly. Popping quickly to her feet only reminded her of the size difference between the two of them. Where Hodari was only a few inches taller then she was but he was solid muscle. Wide shoulders and very strong arms from swinging a pick axe day in and day out. "Do you remember the rock I found a few weeks ago that had the broken amonite in it?"

Hodari slowed his stride a little. "Oh yeah the one you showed to Najuma?"

"Yes! Yes!" Dae quickly dropped back down to her book to point at the drawing of the broken fossil she had sketched there. Hodari crouched down next to her. His knee sending a jolt thru her as he gently brushed against her. He ran a gloved hand surprisingly gently across the drawing. "Well I think I might have found the vein it belonged to, i think, and I might have found an even better more intact fossil for her!"

"Hm.." Hodari rubbed his hand over his chin. "Okay Darlin, Show me." His deep drawl washed over her. He stood offering her his hand and she stood turning quickly to the wall she had been inspecting earlier. Hodari swung her flow lantern up much easier as she struggled back up onto her tip toes to try to point out the vein.

"See here?" Her fingertips ran along above her head mapping out a slightly different colored band of stone running through the mine's wall. "This must have been the floor of an ancient ocean at sometime and over eons these fossils formed and I bet we can find even more!" She had been so excited to share the geological history with her current companion that she didn't realize just how close he was until he leaned over her and ran his own gloved hand along the vein for himself.

"So more fossil shells could be in here?" Hodari was so close she was suddenly hyper aware of his body heat as it warmed her all the way up her back.

Focus Dae! "Yes!" on her tiptoes she just barely got her fingers to tap the suspicious stone. Hodari's gloved hands covered hers easily reaching the stone. The full length of his body pressed her against the wall and suddenly Dae forgot how to breathe. All she heard was Hodari's startled voice as blackness took her.