--- Sylvie ---

Sylvie quickly realised she was in the wrong outfit for something like this. She wasn't in a swimsuit thankfully, she'd been told not to put it in beforehand… but her current outfit was just a t-shirt and shorts with some solid sandshoes that were keeping her feet fine. The rest of her not so much. Her hair wasn't properly secured and she had to keep combing muck out of it. Her exposed legs were covered in moss and the rest of her outfit wasn't much better. Luckily it wasn't a favourite shirt or anything but she really did wish that she had something better…

Or that she was like Callisto. The woman strode forward completely spotless. She was in the very back, making sure that nobody got lost and had somehow managed to avoid getting any dirt on her so far. Sylvie had no idea how that was possible. Just to get inside had required her to squeeze inside and yet not a spec of dirt could be seen on her outfit. Though Sylvie was thankful that Callisto was wearing a more normal outfit instead of her maid one. Sylvie wasn't sure if she could handle Callisto remaining clean in so much white.

Alice probably had the best outfit. Even compared to Hank. He was just in a set of shorts and a t-shirt as well though he was much less concerned about getting dirty. Alice had long sleeves and long pants that went a long way to keep most of the dirt getting to her. Though Like Sylvie her hair was left free and it had grabbed a few bits of debris along the way.

Penny was wearing essentially the same thing as Sylvie… but somehow managed to remain a good deal cleaner. Sylvie wasn't sure how she'd managed it for a few moments… until Sylvie noted that Penny was right behind Vivian who looked almost like she'd collected all of the dust, moss and dirt on her way through, leaving just enough for Sylvie to still pick up some of her own dirt. Callisto seemed exasperated at this but unlike Sylvie, Vivian clearly had no issues with her current… 'attire'

Sylvie sighed as she squeezed through another small section of rocks. The adults had to crawl to get through but Sylvie and her friends were just barely short enough to walk through sections like this. It was the eighth smaller section they'd been through and it really did not give her a good sense of where they were going.

"How far in do we need to go?" asked Sylvie.

"Pretty far," answered Hank. "Not sure if they're even still there to be honest… but I hope so. Bit surprised nobodies turned this into a touristy place actually,"

"It's a cave," said Alice with a deadpan voice.

"Ah, my dear daughter doesn't appreciate the adventure we're going on!" whined Hank dramatically.

"Daddy, even if I'm thankful you made me where long sleeves this cave is still kinda gross. I have all sorts of icky stuff on me and bits in my hair and… and just look at Vivian!" retorted Alice.

Hank turned around fully, allowing his light to shine right on Vivian… and flinched back. She was practically covered in head to toe in moss and blank gunk with bits of dirt and grime just layered on everywhere. The only clean place was the light on her helmet and the area around her eyes but it showed some evidence of being cleaned off recently. Hank had to just pause for a few seconds as Vivian blinked. "Ok I get it but can you turn around? That's shining right in my eyes?" complained Vivian.

"Oh, right sorry," Hank turned back to the front. "Just… just HOW did you even manage to get all of that on you? The cave is dirty yes… but not that dirty! You look like you lost a wrestling match with a mud monster,"

Vivian just shrugged and stayed silent, so Callisto spoke up. "There is a reason I act as her maid you know. She is not bad at cleaning but sometimes… she just gets dirt everywhere. It is not limited to just herself you know. I once returned from a short trip away to find the entire kitchen coated in flour."

"I was trying to make you something nice that would be ready when you got back," Vivian admitted with a wince. "There was just… a slight mishap with the flour while I was trying to make the cake…"

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"Vivian, there was at least two maybe three bags worth of flour in that kitchen," stated Callisto.

"Look it just sort of happened ok. The first bag was a mistake. I was trying to measure it out when the whole thing slipped from my fingers, and I tried to catch it which just… did not go well so there was flour everywhere…" admitted Vivian.

"And the second?" asked Hank somewhat hesitatingly.

"Well I didn't want to clean up until I was done with the cake and we had extra flour so I just got another bag but well… the floor was slippery and covered in flour," explained Vivian.

"And the third bag?" asked Alice somewhat concerned.

"Oh, no it was just the two bags. Callisto was exaggerating," said Vivian.

"Indeed, because I was including the sugar that got knocked over as well in that slight hyperbole," added Callisto.

Vivian glanced away sheepishly, something that was rather obvious when the light on her helmet showed where she was looking. Things were silent for a while after that admittance, with only the background noise of running water to distract them. Sylvie wondered if it was the ocean for a bit… ℞ΆƝƟBËS

But not even five minutes later they came out into a larger then normal underground cavern. It had a few cracks in the ceiling that let little bits of light in, shining down on an underwater river. With the extra shafts of light, it looked really pretty. Sylvie was happy to stare at it for a while until Penny asked, "Is this what we're here for?"

"Nope, though it does mean we're nearly there," answered Hank.

Sylvie wanted to ask what they were looking for again, but knew she wouldn't get an answer so she just kept quiet. They followed the river for a little bit until they made it to a sort of waterfall type of area. There was also a nice rock bridge that let them just walk over the water. It was a bit thin and slightly wet but for Sylvie's tiny feet it was more than wide enough.

When they got over the other side Hank led them through a corkscrew tunnel that eventually lead back out to the water. Sylvie was pretty sure that the water had run through this way before the waterfall came about. Sylvie didn't know if the wall had eroded naturally at the corner allowing it through or if something had messed with it.

When they got to the bottom and reconnected some ways down the river Sylvie was stunned. The are had opened up into a sort of underground lake. It was quite large for being underground and while it didn't have any light coming in from the surface… that was almost better. Hank quickly turned off his flashlight with Vivian and Callisto copying him shortly afterwards.

Sitting on the ceiling of the cave were beautiful blue lights that Sylvie knew to be glow worms. They were attached to each other with strings that shined under their bioluminescent light, and reflected off the almost still pool underneath them. It was breathtaking to see and made the trip worth it.

For a moment, Sylvie entirely forgot about all of the muck on her. The little scrapes and bruises that she'd picked up on her hands. It all fell away as she took in the wonderous sight. They weren't all that far from there home, just a little bit off the beach and yet… there was something so spectacular just waiting to be found. Sylvie knew what Hank meant now, when he said that it was a surprise this hadn't turned into a tourist spot.

The group found there way over to a relatively large and dry rock that Hank had picked out in the dim light. Gathering around it they all sort of sat, sort of leaned against it as they just enjoyed the sight. It was a wonderful way to start their beach day. When it was all over, Sylvie would think back on it fondly, with a bright smile. It had easily been the best activity she'd done with her friends so far. Well… maybe not compared to theme park but that had it's share of issues.

---

It would be a number of days later that Sylvie heard from Kat about her date with Lily and the super duper magical crystals in that one cave. It sounded awesome and like a sight she really wanted to see one day… but at the same time? Sylvie found that she wasn't all that jealous, because glow worms were still awesome and unlike the magic fantasy crystals? They could be found right here on earth and they were still awesome. Sylvie also liked to think her own adventures pushed Kat to check out the caves rather then any other date spot. Wasn't that cool?

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