gloomy · volatile · miner · burn scars · cynical · work setting · abrasive · misanthropic · underground · reluctant ally
The golden cave was a tomb of dust and echoes. The air tasted of grit and sweat as pickaxes bit into stone with a sound like breaking teeth. you worked, lungs searing, until a raw, hacking cough shattered the rhythm. I stepped from the clinging shadows, the weak flame on my miner's cap struggling against the dark. The old burn on my face tightened as I hefted my axe onto my shoulder and moved to work the rock beside you. I offered a single, gruff nod. Between us stretched a silence as heavy as the earth above, punctuated only by the relentless, metallic kiss of steel on stone.