Poet of the Abyss

In the dimly lit tunnel, the young Iesos toils away with unwavering determination. He wears a grey working suit on his lean frame, battered from countless years of spent digging raw minerals from the unforgiving earth.

Smudges of soot and sweat mark his face, yet his eyes gleam with fierce determination. Every strike of his pick-axe reverberates through the rocky tunnel, echoing the relentless beat of his ambitions. Lost in his thoughts, he carves out the platinum free, each fragment a minor triumph for today's work.

Too lost in his thoughts, Iesos focused on extracting more platinums. A voice, loud and baritone, snapped him out of his reverie." Iesos!" He turned and spotted the caller, a tall, large man walked up to him, smirking and said." Lost in your own world again, huh?" his tone was a mixture of mockery and a tease, yet it wasn't hostile to Iesos's ears when the man who spoke is his older brother.

Iesos glanced back at the pile he managed to carve out today, flashing the older man a wry smile." You can't blame a man for getting a bit lost in thought, Ulysses."

The brother crossed his arms, lips forming a curve frown, his thick brows meeting. The man always has the natural frown and gruff look in which Iesos got used to when they were growing up.

Ulysses's eyes burned with a fiery golden glint, contrasting with Iesos's captivating crimson ruby gazes. Their hair creates a distinct contrast. The older brother's defined features are perfectly accentuated by his short, burnt umber hair. On the flip side, the younger sibling has hair that is slightly longer and as dark as a raven's feathers that fitted his oval face.

They are entirely opposite to each other as what their mother always enjoys observing between the siblings. Ulysses is bigger than Iesos. And when said that the older lad is bigger, it means the man likes to work his body and just be fit. Not a doubt that the man always gets ladies on his toes, all while Iesos buries himself in literary works.

Now, Iesos digs up a last piece before throwing it into his pile. Letting out an exhausted sigh, Iesos drops to the ground with a huff." What time is it?" He asked, tilting his head up to the side to meet Ulysses's nonchalant gaze.

"It's dinner already, you idiot. You should have brought along some chronometer." He replied with a grunt, joining the raven head lad on the ground.

Iesos sighs again, he dropped his face on to his dirty gloved hand, groaning." Don't be mad… I forgot to take my lunch." He confessed with a guilty whine.

Ulysses chuckled." I fucked during lunch break." He mused, glancing with his gold orbs to the side to look at his brother's reaction." Guess who?"

Iesos whine, face still buried in his gloved hand." I don't care about your sex life, Ulysses. I would rather worry about my next page." the raven head let out a few more soft whining, like a child who forgot the formula for the algebra.

The older man rolled his eyes and huffed." Is it getting interesting?" he asked, a hint of curiosity in his tone. Ulysses had read his brother's poetry collection, all about man vs society and a rebellion against their government.

Iesos finally lifted his head and gave his brother a knowing look." So you're still reading it?" there is a hidden lying whimsy in his tone when he asked. Ulysses nodded." Yeah, your man is really tough." He praised with a gesture of his hand, imitating the character by slightly raising his arm and his hands balled into fists.

Iesos felt his chest swell with pride at the compliment, believing that his work would turn out as a masterpiece." T-thank you…" He replied sheepishly. Ulysses raised a brow and noticed his brother's prideful look and scoffed.

"You look stupid, you know that?" He mused with a toothy grin." Like some guy with a small dick." added hysterically by Ulysses as he rose to his feet and offered a hand in which Iesos took gratefully.

"At least I've got a big brain." the younger man replied with a smirk, the other only shook his head in amusement.

They started stacking the extracted platinums into the cart, sharing a comfortable silence as they worked together. Once they had finished, Iesos walked to the nearby controls, coordinated a designation before pressing the last button and the cart departed, following the rail tracks towards the dark tunnel ahead.

"So, what do you wanna have?" Ulysses asked as they started walking towards the ladder. He waited for Iesos and letting the younger man climb first before he followed suit.

"Depends what they serve." Iesos replied with a shrug, reaching the surface, and waited for Ulysses. Once the older man had emerged, he got to his feet with a grunt.

"Well, yeah, I heard they're serving sirens." Ulysses says while dusting off his pants.

The raven head scoffed in response." Let me guess, the milks and loafs again?" A tone of disappointment etched into Iesos's voice.

"Why do they think filling our stomachs with sentient barbeque? I mean, isn't this illegal? The sirens are an endangered species now." Iesos huffed.

"Hah! tell that to the senate!" Ulysses bemused with sardonic sarcasm.

They walked back to the shelter, bantering about the cafeteria's menu, exchanging opinions and jokes, plans for the rest of the night and tomorrow's shift. Moments like this rarely last, especially where there are prying eyes from the higher ups, keeping them in line where the government wants them to be.