Land Down Under (KJDarKnight & Treasure)

"God don't call me sir, just Mathias. I'm not an old man" he chuckled softly "And we are scouting for trouble mostly but anything else interesting" he pulled his riffle off from his shoulder "The guns at the range don't have a scope, take a look thru mine and tell me what you see" he said, offering her the heavy riffle
 
Old was relative, Lynna thought, but for once her brain intervened and kept her mouth from spouting gibberish that would get her smacked. She took the scope and caught herself just in time before she put the wrong end to her eye. Calmly, she flipped it around and peered vaguely off into the distance.

"Um... a tree?" she asked uncertainly. "I don't know what I'm looking for."
 
Movement, start there" he said, pausing in their walk to let her look "anything that seems strange though at this point everything was strange and new so hard to say exactly what he meant, but she would learn given time
 
"Okay." She squinted through the scope until her eye watered. Movement? It seemed everything was moving! She figured he didn't mean the waving trees or the... grass? Yeah, grass wiggling with the breeze. How was anyone expected to spot anything suspicious in all of this?? Still, she did her best to study their surroundings. "I don't think I see anything," she said, lowering the scope. "No human or creature movement."
 
he let her take her time before he held his hand back out "Let me see" his eyes were good but not that good, it was at that second that something did move against the direction of the wind, coming towards them thru the grass but it lasted only a moment
 
Lynna was already distracted, staring elsewhere and trying to drink it all in. It was all so big!! A part of her really wanted to run back into the comforting darkness of the underground city. People were not meant to be up here, and that was a truth she was willing to support!

Then something caught her eye and she stared down at what looked like maybe a pipe half buried in the dirt. "What's that?" she asked curiously. Then she noticed Mathias' stance. "Did you see something?" She asked, trying to pretend like that's what she meant all along. She didn't want to get caught slacking.
 
Mathias frowned "Give me the scope" he repeated himself but rather than wait he took it back and looked thru "Something... Probably a rabbit, too small to be anything else" he said before lowering the scope, not seeming too concerned but he lifted his head a bit and let the smells of the area brush his nose "Yes just a rabbit" he shouldered the gun "And what's what?"
 
Lynna hesitated, not sure if she should bring up the pipe thingy, but she was supposed to be pointing things out as a scout, right? "That thing. It looks like a random pipe in the middle of nothing," she said, pointing to the small, grey and brown thing sticking up. "What's a rabbit?"
 
"Well, lets go check it out" he said shrugging as he started to walk thru the long grass "Rabbits are a rodent, they burrow and breed like crazy, that's how they survive up here, numbers mostly" he explained "Mostly harmless but they are fast and strong, don't want one of them kicking you"
 
"Oh." Lynna tried to spot the rodent, but it was nowhere to be seen. What did it mean if a rabbit kicked you? She had visions in her head of a giant rat kicking like a human. "The pipe thing is right over there, a few feet to your left."
 
Mathias walked over to where said pipe was, not seeming to concerned "It's part of our air ventilation system" he told her, putting his hand over the intake, the suction was light but there. "it's taken from here and to the air purifying system before being deposited into the ventilation"
 
"Oh," Lynna said, her disappointment clear. She looked up again. "Well, that's good it's not, like, dangerous or anything. Which way to the trade post? I'll bet those poor saps will be waiting eagerly for some of our goods. Just so long as we don't get caught by the surface-dwelling peoples."

She started walking forward confidently. She - along with most of the population in Desolation City - completely believed that the humans living up on the surface had to be complete savages barely capable of taking care of themselves. Surely those savages must love attacking innocent travelers and stealing the supplies, right? Not that they'd know what to do with anything, but it'd be a seriously costly loss. Not something she wanted to be associated with her first time on the surface.
 
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Mathias nodded ahead towards the tree line "fastest rout is thru the tree's there" he answered "and I wouldn't worry about the surface dwellers. They have little use for our goods. They get everything they need from the land. Which is what we should be doing if you ask me" he was a fan of the surface having spent a good deal of time up here growing up
 
Lynna glanced at Mathias in confusion then rolled her eyes. Of course he did. He'd been up here so much the air and bright light had likely fried his brain. No one should live up here unless they were doing super cool heroic stuff! Maybe research, too, but everyone knew the surface was no place for civilized people.
 
Matbiaz smirked a little. He knew that look well enough "you can say it. Not the only one that thinks I'm crazy" he said as they headed back towards the rest of the group

That was when the bunny hopped into view, large as a dog would have been with this course fur beedy eyes and an inpressive set of front teeth but it paid them no mind "that is a rabbit" Mathias said calmly
 
"I didn't say it," Lynna muttered. In her head, she added, You said it, not me. Not something she would ever say out loud in a million years.

Then a huge... thing hopped out in front of them. It had a vaguely oblong or maybe oval body, massive ears that pointed skyward like pointy dishes, a pointless tiny fluff of a tail, and what looked like coils for hind legs with stubby little front ones for balance. She saw the teeth last. Then that's all she saw.

"Uh... I thought you said it was... teeth!" she stammered, her hand scrabbling at her belt for a weapon. "Who cares if it kicks, look at those teeth!"
 
Mathias laughed at her reaction "relax. It isn't agressive unless you're attacking it" he assured her before purposfully crunching a twig. The rabbits ears swiveled before taking off, bounding back into the long grass
 
Lynna's cheeks flushed under her protective gear as she heard someone snickering behind her. "Oh," she said a bit lamely. "I guess I look pretty foolish now. Well... least it didn't eat me, I guess." She shrugged awkwardly and started walking again. This time, she was on the lookout for any more rabbits or similar.
 
"Nah, it's your first time up here, your reactions are about normal I'd say" he shrugged as he continued along leading the way back towards the others. "You've not seen so much as a blade of grass am I wrong?" he asked, snapping off a thick blade of grass and offering it over to her, she had a lot to learn about the world above
 
"Well..." Lynna took the grass blade and examined it through her goggles. She wished she could raise them to look at it better, but she was wise enough not to tempt fate. "I have a friend who showed me grass, once, and he has this tiny little tree growing in a pot. It doesn't look nearly as green as this, though."
 
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