Rescue In The Crystal Caves! (B/Illya)

The deed was done, and Nico Dixon was finally an official member of Dies Irae. Needless to say, he had never felt more motivated and excited to continue his quest of becoming a hero. Unfortunately, however, he was still classed as a B-rank wizard and couldn't fend for himself or others as much as he would like to. But this didn't infringe on his work ethic or attitude in the slightest. In fact, the challenge of getting stronger seemed to empower him. Maybe a little bit... too much.

"UWAAAAH! THIS PLACE IS SO PRETTY!" Nico shouted, looking into the crystal caves of Sakuramori with childlike awe. He was wearing a charcoal pullover hoodie with blue denim jeans and black sandals. Strapped to his back was Gelu Morsus, a battle-ax that he had taken with him on dangerous journies for quite some time now, and while it looked and was exceptionally heavy, Nico shouldered the weight as if it were as light as a feather. "Look at how it's shining, Illya! Isn't that so pretty?"

With him was Illya Pegasus, a guildmate he had met earlier today, and together they both were tasked with finding and retrieving a lost child from within. The caves were located deep within Sakuramori, in a place populated only by a small village. Even after their searching, none of the villagers could find the lost child, and looked to the legal guilds of Fiore as a result. Nico was, to put it simply, determined to complete the job and to save the child as any good hero would.

What would become of these two inside the Crystal Caves?

Watching Illya ramble, it was clear that she was a chatty young woman. Even more than Nico was! But judging by the selfsame smile that had been stretching across Nico's face since he started talking, he didn't mind it one bit. It was a nice change of pace to have meaningless conversations, even if they were strewn out in this way, and it was hard to deny that Nico may have been enabling her a bit, spoiling her with conviviality. He listened to her rambling, his face lighting up like the sun were within him. Nico couldn't help but get hyped up for what was about to transpire!

Unable to contain his energy, Nico raised a fist into the air as his expression transformed into a bright, toothy grin. "ALRIGHT!! We're definitely gonna save this kid!" he exclaimed, his cheeks blushing with excitement and his face still smiling earnestly, "There's no way we're leaving without them, right?" It was very much like Nico to overestimate small feats and menial tasks such as this, but it all meant the world to him.

The chestnut-haired man didn't hesitate to take up the lead when Illya suggested that he should, finding the role easy for him to feel comfortable taking. He began to walk forward and into the darkness of the cave. There, sunlight only reached so far, after all.  

Nico walked into the cavern, his marmalade eyes floating around him. He could already see the crystals etched deep into its earth, and how small amounts of light flickered within them. Ehhh... ain't that something? he thought to himself, letting his fingers glide over the crystals as he passed them. The further they ventured into the Crystal Cave, the more crystals appeared. Finally, in the near distance, the darkness slowly began to disappear.

"Well, won't you look at that? Guess we really don't need lights after all!" Nico grinned, chuckling to himself. He looked back at Illya, "Let's try not to get separated!"