it's with much surprise that his wife has relocated to hoenn so quickly. he'd told xander not to expect her comings, but he can't complain. as volatile as the region is, he'd have preferred she stay elsewhere, but there's a bit of relief that comes with having her at his hip. where he can feel her, see her, and ensure her safety himself. 

not that yvette belmont needs someone like him to protect her, but still. 

he holds her closer and snorts at her remark. "do you remember the sand pit in orre? trapped for three days without water and what did you say, hm? you'll take anywhere but the shifting sands again. and here i am, bringing you snow and you have the gall to complain." he jests, as he is want to do around her, as they approach the end of one of the tunnels. 

he regrettably shakes her off so he can withdraw his map - hand drawn and bought for a few dollars, as most of the authentic ones usually are, and then peers down the rocky edge of the hold they'd come upon. 

he snaps some glowsticks and drops them. "hmm. well, looks like we'll need to use the picks. too tight a squeeze for petra." he reaches for said picks at his back and holds a pair out to yvette. 

"well, darling. treasures await."

Yvette Belmont

☉

it's always a bit nerve-wracking to watch the woman he loves dive headfirst into the unknown, but it's a feeling he's become all too familiar with. and with familiarity comes comfort, and years of practice keeping himself together. so he smiles down at her and shakes his head. if they really do end up in a pickle, he can quickly send colette out for damage control. 

the gardevoir is far less fragile than a human body. 

he waits until yvette has gone down a ways before crawling over the edge himself. the shafts is only twice his size, so he's allotted some maneuverability, but not much. all that echoes around him are the sounds of his and yvette's exertions and the occasional chink of the picks digging into the cracks in the wall. 

"how's it looking?" he calls down and grunts as he shimmies down another foot. 

Yvette Belmont

☉

his breath curls in front of him. he has gloves in his pockets, but he's starting to wish he'd had the wherewithal to put them on before their descent. his fingers stay tight against the picks, knuckles reddening as the air gets more frigid. he grunts as he moves down. 

not as young as i used to be. 

he'd never officially declared his field research days over, but digs like this had become far and few between. the man he'd apprenticed under had kept climbing until well into his eighties, and idris had always said he'd follow in his footsteps, and one year longer. 

he slips, but yvette's reaching hand is there to catch him. the pick clatters and he winces as the sound echoes around the icy cavern. when nothing comes of it, he bends to pick it up.

edison's lamplight helps him figure out which cavern they'd entered. they still have one more floor to go before reaching the supposed artifact.

"there are a few caverns connecting the two rooms. we ought to go to the other side, see if they're still viable." he tugs on his gloves.

Yvette Belmont

☉

"relics of the past," he says absentmindedly, paying more attention to the map than his wife's drabbles. his own relic is clipped to his belt. gloves fingers brush against draxon's pokeball, but the ancient drake is a bit too destructive for such a delicate spelunking mission. 

no, instead he releases colette. the gardevoir touches down gently on the icy rock beneath them, mouth forming a small o as she takes in her surroundings. the only sounds in the cavern are their breathing and their footsteps. that is, until colette holds out one arm and motions for them to stop. 

from the western entrance idris had mentioned emerges a cluster of cryogonal. their shrill, almost ghostly cries waver as they spy trespassers. colette makes a sound, as though to pacify them, but their echoes only grow louder. 

colette looks behind her to idris and shakes her head. 

"darling, i suggest we prepare for a battle." he looks sideways at her. "go for incapacitation. and try not to make too much noise. i don't want to tempt the stalactites," he says, glancing up quickly at several of the larger hanging icicles above their heads. 

Yvette Belmont

☉

colette stands to the side, awaiting further instruction. yvette, ever quick and calculating, especially when it comes to battle, will be able to handle this effortlessly. idris can support his wife is necessary, but he has a feeling they'll be alright. he does, however, nod towards the gardevoir and ask her politely to check the avenues of the future. 

her eyes burn a soft blue. she reaches up to cover her own ears, mimicking idris after yvette warns him. 

the clefairy's song isn't too highly pitched and so it doesn't bother the ice above them. the cryogonal, on the other hand, react in the spelunkers' favor. the front of their heads dip, stained-glass-esque eyes closing. and one by one they drift to sleep.

"wonderful," idris says as he lowers his hands. "we should go down the cavern they came from, i think."

Yvette Belmont

☉

the past has proven the validity of her statement and it's something they've said to each other quite often, but after doing some research into the recent happenings of hoenn, her cheery quip only sets him on edge. still, he stomachs his misgivings and trudges onward. 

their boots are heavy on the ice below them, spiked heels catching the slippery terrain. the cryogonal stay in their deep sleep and they pass them without any repurcussions. 

the cavern idris had suggested they traverse is short and squat and its passage isn't a kind one. he has to crouch down and half-crawl through it. 

doing what they do, he and yvette have had to grow used to small spaces. and a thrill rushes through him as the ice creaks and groans around them. 

"there," he says and crawls out, extending a hand for his wife. they stand upon a cliffside; below them is a crystalline pool. water flows from natural aqueducts around the cavern, meeting at this apex. steam rises from its center and idris finds himself shrugging off his coat.

Yvette Belmont

☉