sometimes it's best not to get involved :] {2.0}

[Lena Duchannes]

Aliens in the Caster tunnels. Sure, why not? Everything else apparently liked to just kind of sneak into powerful magical places and use them to terrorize the citizens of Gatlin. And, of course, just aliens couldn't be a thing, oh no. Apparently, the night before, Ethan's great aunts had disappeared. Into the Caster tunnels. Because that was apparently a thing that could happen. Ethan and Mallory had shown up at Ravenwood that morning in a bit of a panic, after having spent the entire night looking for his vanished insane relatives. Because apparently, they moved fast for a bunch of old ladies. Or maybe it was just the whole Caster tunnels thing.

Either way, they'd managed to convince the Doctor to run a scan of the area underneath Gatlin, and lo and behold there they were...along with something very big and not of this Earth. Great.

And, that was the reason they'd all headed down into the Tunnels, because stopping aliens was sort of their thing, and if they could get the terrifying trio out at the same time, then fantastic. With Aether perched on her shoulder, Lena conjured up a sphere of light as they descended into the tunnels, down the stone stairwell that led from Ravenwood. Macon would probably kill her if he even had an inkling that Lena even knew where the entrance to the Caster tunnels from Ravenwood was, but thankfully, he didn't know about all the times she and Ridley had been sneaking around, so. Keeping it that way seemed like a good idea. Besides, the last thing they needed right now was Macon breathing down their necks even more than he usually did.

"Do we even know what this thing looks like?" She finally spoke after a few moments of silence, as the torches along the wall ignited suddenly. "I mean 'really big' doesn't tell us much." But, if it was big, then there was a better chance of the great aunts stumbling upon it and probably getting eaten or something if they didn't talk its ears off first. Which was a possibility. Aether shifted on her shoulder and Lena briefly reached up to stroke his ivory feathers. It wasn't really a surprise that he was restless in such a powerfully magical place, but for now, sticking close was probably the best idea for all of them, people and daemons alike. Getting lost down here was a really bad idea.

"As if we've ever had any idea what we're doing," Aether's voice sounded in her head as he Kelted to her and Lena resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her daemon was never really one of the various misadventures that their little group always took part in, but hey, it wasn't his choice whether or not Lena wanted to travel through time and space. And he had fun once he got into it, he could never deny that to her. Not when she knew everything he was feeling and vice versa. "A girl can dream, can't she?" Lena replied, following close after Ridley and Felix. Whatever it was, knowing their luck, it was probably dangerous and freaky-looking or some weird trap or a bunch of little aliens that made up one.

The possibilities were endless.

Hopefully, whatever it was, it wouldn't be able to withstand the wrath of 1/4 of the Duchannes clan, the last of the Time Lords, a severed Incubator and Angry Mary Poppins. Very little in the universe could.

[Ridley Duchannes]

Okay, seriously, what assholes were putting the existence of the Caster Tunnels out there? Because at this point, they just kind of seemed universally known. Ridley supposed it was possible that they were drawn to this place's power, since it was probably one of the most magic-heavy places in this world - but still. She swore, they were gonna learn these tunnels by heart if they kept having to venture down here. And there were worse places to be, sure - she kind of liked the power that hung in the air, and the way she felt as if she belonged here - but tracking probably-murderous-aliens and Ethan's Great Aunts (who were in many ways, just as terrifying) kind of made the whole thing a bit of a drag. Ridley wasn't sure which party she wanted to run into first. At the moment, the Aunts were winning out, because they had their map. Finding them would mean gaining the advantage of knowing exactly where they were going, at least.

Her coyote daemon trotted beside her, his thick tawny fur catching the light from Lena's palm a little. Felix had his tail held high, and his ears pricked forward. She almost had to roll her eyes at his eagerness - she knew it wasn't any innocent keenness for adventure that motivated him, but the mischievous urge to get into trouble. But at the very least, he was making himself useful, lowering his nose to the ground and sniffing in an attempt to pick up any scent that could lead them to what they were looking for. "Find anything?" she murmured to him under her breath.

Felix swished his tail at her dismissively. "Oh, yes. I've just decided to keep it to myself."

Ridley gave him a disgruntled nudge, and he playfully streaked forward to sniff around in front of them. For her part, Ridley glanced back over her shoulder as Lena spoke and was wonderfully reminded that they had little to no idea what they were even dealing with. "Well, at least it rules out...Savannah Snow? No one could call her 'really big' unless they were comparing her to, like, a stick bug. Although she does kind of look like an alien." She couldn't quite help the dig, and from just ahead, she heard Felix snicker. The resentment they both harbored between Savannah and her daemon, Wiseau, hadn't quite faded despite the fact that they hadn't attended the high school for months now. If there was one thing Ridley was excellent at, it was holding a grudge.

"What I want to know is why they decided to hide out here. I mean, they're called the 'Caster' Tunnels for a reason." She paused, glancing back again - but this time her gaze fell, not on Lena, but on the other members of their little group - The Doctor, Clara, and Fluffy. A playful smirk crossed her features. "Guess they just let any ol' riffraff in here, these days." If they were obligated to go through with this, then Ridley was going to at least find a way to entertain herself. Unfortunately for her companions, they were the only means she currently had of doing so.