[Pride] And thy shadows do call. (Arancion and Ijara)

[Tanakako]

It had been a long day... the council had been at session for most of it while they discussed one of the new tunnels that had proven to be weak, and had in fact endangered their young King and his Guard-come-companion, Basa-Juan. The grey leopard had been injured when the tunnel collapsed, hurt when he moved to protect King Nahasi. Juan had been at the meeting, his walk stiff but otherwise little sighn he had been hurt was visible, aside of course the large poultice-leaf stuck against his fur where the rock had struck him.

They knew what had to be done, but they couldn't just leave the tunnel roped off.. some young pride member would eventually get curious and go down there, and risk hurting themselves in another collapse... It was perplexing, as the easiest solution was to induce another collapse, control it and block the tunnel that way, but how did they do that when none of them could get near it, let alone start digging again.

Arancion sighed and shook his thoughts away, pale eyes gazing about the tunnel intersection he had found himself at. His mate, Arathien, was still busy discussing some abstract plan, but Arancion had needed to get out, to stretch his legs and shake off the feeling of uncertainty that had been plaguing him for days now. His nightmares were slowly getting worse and now this had happened... he wondered what the goddess was trying to tell him.  

[Innocent_Hybrid]

The council session had been long and draining. A tunnel collapse was always a possibility, but a serious one none the less. Ijara had been in one during his tunneling days and knew know how dangerous they could be. They had been lucky that no one had been killed, though the injuries Basa-Juan sustained were unfortunate. The meeting had somehow degenerated about what they would do with the tunnel itself. His opinion on the matter was that they could always find a new way to the water source, but sealing a dangerous tunnel was a high priority. He was just about to offer to induce the collapse himself when the session ended.
Ijara wasn't good with emotions, but he recognized the hint of frustration that flickered through him.
He was also slightly surprise when Arancion walked off alone. He threw a glance at Arathien, who was still chatting, and slipped after his fellow leopard.

He found him at an intersection fairly deep in the maze of tunnels that they called home. "Are you feeling well Arancion? You seemed a bit out of it during council."  

[Tanakako]

The voice behind him pulled his thoughts from their endless loops and back into the here and now. Turning he greeted the other male with a dip of his head, a very polite and restrained motion that was Arancion's usual manner, for the dark male was rather known throughout the pride for his somber expression.

"I am fine." The simple reply was perhaps all anyone would be able to get out of him aside form his mate, for the panther-like leopard had never been known as a chatty cat. "There has to be a way to bring down that tunnel without sending diggers in... " He murmured half to himself, half to Ijara. Turning he glanced about the tunnel they stood in. "I have never been a digger, but didn't you work in the tunnels before?" Turning those eerie pale eyes on the other male, Arancion studied him intently, almost as if he could read the brown leopard's thoughts.

"Did you ever come across anything that would remotely trigger a fall?"
 

[Innocent_Hybrid]

Ijara looked in the direction of the tunnel in question.
"There are a few things that could force a collapse without immediate danger." A slight frown creased his face. "Unfortunately they depend on the stability and formation of the walls. I had not the chance to visit the tunnel before the cave in and since we sealed it I cannot be sure if it can be remotely done."  

[Tanakako]

Arancion tipped his head as he listened, a slight frown on his brow. "What kind of things? The king wont accept risking another pride member, these have to be done without being close. It is going to be tricky even if everything goes well." Pausing he looked expectantly at the other leopard, wondering what methods he was considering.
 

[Innocent_Hybrid]

He looked back to the older leopard.

"Our options are limited unfortunately. The common methods are using water to weaken the earth holding the tunnel and using sound or a rock slide to cause enough seismic disturbance. We could also try and seal the entrance and mark it off, but that is a temporary solution at best."