OOM All Skate Skellig Dream Magic Weirdness -Part Nine

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu has gathered plenty of henna and even woad, a blue dye, for some experiments with designs on Skellig's skin.

"The blue would look lovely on you, I think," she remarks. "Your fairer skin would show it off quite well. Though I am far more experienced in applying henna."

She's gathered bits and pieces of designs to look at for inspiration. Celtic style knots, viking style abstract patterns and stylized beasts, the mandala and floral type designs he's admired on her, and more.

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[27_53]

To himself, Skellig thinks - this would likely be enough to buy off the man's debt, and that of his sister - but he does not verbalize that. Mentally he calculates a rough estimate of how many coins are within the chest; he's still a bit unfamiliar with the currency itself, but he knows it is quite a healthy amount!

He senses her come into the room (glancing over, he spies her in the cat form, he will have to ask about that later) as he kneels at the side of the chest, leaving one thigh free for her to hop up onto, perch upon and peer inside.

"C'mere, love," he mutters under his breath, wriggling his fingers and making the universal cat-calling 'pss pss pss' noise softly - promising scritches, if she'll allow it.

[brave_kreyu]

She leaps up onto his thigh to peer inside, makes a purring sound, more than happy to have scritches from her husband!

It is enough, judging from the longing that crosses Xenophon's face for a moment before he shoves it away. "This will be enough to give them all a chance at a better life," he says quietly. "Especially if there is a city close that can more readily accept coin."

[27_53]

Starting behind the ears, he scritches gently for a moment before he moves to get beneath her jaw - he knows there are several places that cats enjoy the feeling of scritches, and he intends to hit all of them.

"Enough to give them a very solid start, and then some." They will divide a part of it equally between the former captives (enough to give them a good start, but not so much to make it unwieldy or too great of a threat of being robbed along the roadway) to go along with the supplies.

He glances up at Xenophon. "I feel it would be in your best interest if my wife and I traveled to Mycenae, to buy out the debt of you and your sister," he says. "Since you cannot read the paperwork. My wife is well-versed in many tongues, and would be able to sort it easily."

[brave_kreyu]

Bliss! So much purring from Kreyu. "We will need to make certain preparations at home before making such a trip," Kreyu speaks up. "A few days, I should think. The village nearby will offer you hospitality for at least that long, especially if you bring some useful supplies with you."

"You aren't afraid of heights, are you?" she asks Xenophon.

"No," he replies, clearly confused as to why she is asking this question. Skellig might have a better chance at understanding the purpose of THAT question.

[27_53]

"Travel will be much faster if we fly from this village here to Mycenae," he offers as explanation. "To stay covert, we tend to...keep at a higher altitude, until it is safe to come lower."

He will leave any further explanation for later, simply because it is not needed at this time. "Will you remove then count the bags of coins in that chest, while we look through this one?"

Lifting her from his thigh, he places her up higher onto his shoulder - yes he is bare-skinned, but his movements are careful (and her sense of balance is keen) to avoid her having to use her claws to grip as he moves to the other chest; it is keyed with a similar lock.

Carefully, he opens it and begins to take stock of the contents - there are smaller bags within this one (likely more coins) as well as some more personal type effects; a dagger with a finely carved and bejeweled handle, some 'fancy' clothes, silk scarves and the like. Skellig reaches for one of the smaller linen bags, which is tied with a drawstring, and unwraps it, allowing the contents - several cut gemstones of a decent size - to fall into his palm, which he presents for her 'inspection'.

[brave_kreyu]

"Of course," Xenophon replies. He starts in on his task, methodical.

She is very careful not to claw him, though she does rub up against his face and neck. "Lovely stones," she says, peering at them. "That one there almost matches your eyes. It might look quite fine on you for the celebration."

When you are marrying a GODDESS, a certain level of 'fancy' is expected. Poor Skellig.

[27_53]

"I'm sure it will," Skellig says - he will withhold his comments about the level of 'fancy' that he knows he will be wearing for their celebration, having resigned himself to the fact that he will be dressing in much greater finery than what he wore when they went into the city; when even THEN, he thought THAT was a great deal of jewels. He bags the stones up again and slips them into the bag that he's started for 'their' treasures to return home with, along with the dagger (thankfully it has an equally fine sheath to go with it) and a few pieces of the silk.

He tips his head to nuzzle her torso lightly as she rubs on him, as he rifles through the rest of the chest. "Anything else that strikes your fancy?"

[brave_kreyu]

A stone sphere comes under his hand, fancifully carved into distinct hollow spheres that rotate within one another. An impression of its maker lingers on it, a powerful Earth dragon, the hard granite as malleable as clay under their hands.

"I think that's one of Shulin's works!" Kreyu gasps. "She hasn't let any of her works out of her hands in AGES, so this must be quite old."

[27_53]

Holding it carefully (closer to her to allow her to better see it) he turns it within his hands, allowing the inner spheres to rotate and shift, revealing different scenes of the 'puzzle' as they do so.

"I have never seen anything like this," Skellig says, a hint of awe in his own tone as he studies it, curious as to just how it was made, how it works. "The intricate works are simply stunning, this level of craft."

There is an echo that he can 'hear' just very faintly, one he does not recognize; that is the impression that lingers. "We will take the utmost care to transport it safely home."

There will be something to wrap it in, secure it for their trip.

[brave_kreyu]

"They say Shulin can sculpt stone like clay, even give it a kind of temporary life." Some dragons are legendary even to OTHER dragons!

There is indeed a box for safe transportation of the sphere, and Xenophon is almost finished counting out the money.

Dividing it up and putting it in containers to be distributed will take a little while, but its not TOO taxing as far as work goes.

[27_53]

And since the ship is well-secured on the rocky outcropping (Kreyu did well with her direction of the hippocampi) Skellig is not too concerned with it falling into the sea and sending everything tumbling out of order and into utter chaos.

Once the majority of the useful supplies have been removed (a pile of larger items, building materials that are too large to travel with are left near the run-down stone house; they might be useful in creating it into a workable, livable space again should one of them choose to work to repair and reopen this dock) and the rest of the 'starter packs' are sorted, Skellig and Kreyu are upon the shoreline, along with Xenophon, handing out the bags.

Along with reassurance that yes, they are truly free men and women, and can do as they please...

[brave_kreyu]

Kreyu is much less frightening as a cat, apparently! The lack of giant eagle seems to help with everyone's nerves, and those they freed seem to actually BELIEVE them this time.

One small child hugs cat! Kreyu and the other glomps onto Skellig for a bit in gratitude.

Xenophon gets his own pack, though he seems reluctant to take it. "You will need to get by for a bit while the two of us settle things at home," Kreyu assures him.

[27_53]

Skellig does not seem bothered by the child who has glomped onto him - in fact if anything, he is grateful for the Light and joy that is radiating off of the little one, who has just enjoyed a snack of dried fruits and is clearly Ready For An Adventure!

"She is right," he tells Xenophon. "Once we have straightened out some things at our home in preparation for dealing with your situation, we will return here to the village and then travel onward to Mycenae to settle things." Skellig purposefully does not give a timetable for that, as (for starters) he has no idea of exactly what they will need to do at the Lair to strengthen the wards, and he would not speak for knowing their travel times either.

(He barely knows where they even are now, in relation to the Lair!)

[brave_kreyu]

Xenophon nods. "I will await your return, although I can not repay you for what you have already done."

The children have let go and are being carried by their parents toward the village. "It is not a thing that needs repaying," Kreyu explains from her new perch atop Skellig's shoulder.

Kreyu suddenly seems a bit distracted in the way she was when she was speaking mind to mind with her brothers!

[27_53]

Skellig notices the change in her demeanor and the shift in her focus, so he bids Xenophon a farewell and then turns, slowly walking towards the shoreline once again (and back towards the ship) though it is only to put a little bit of distance between them and the younger man as he sets off along with the others towards the village.

He will not interrupt, but he is slightly curious, perhaps even vaguely concerned. His urge to stroke her fur is strong, but he would not distract her...

[brave_kreyu]

"A bit of luck!" Kreyu says at last, rubbing up against his neck. "Elihu is on his way back to the Lair, should be there in a little more than a day."

"He broke the news to Revenin who took it....relatively well, all things considered. An old rival, a fellow fire dragon, should keep Revenin occupied long enough for his temper to completely cool off."

[27_53]

Relief floods Skellig's system - relief that he did not even know he was holding out hope for - at that news. That kind of news definitely deserves petting, so he reaches up and strokes a hand over her fur as he sighs.

(The exhaustion is starting to set in, but it is entangled with the relief that perhaps Revenin will not set him alight the moment he first meets him.)

"I am glad and grateful to hear that, my love," he says honestly. "I know that was important to you, very much so." Even if Kreyu would not have done differently if Revenin had 'disapproved' of Skellig - it is not like he would have expected her to dump him off to the side like trash! But it is still her family, her brood brother, and he knows it means something.

[brave_kreyu]

Skellig can feel her relief as she presses against his hand. "It is a great relief to my heart," she admits. "You would be my husband, my heart, no matter his response, but I had hoped for something like this."

She can tell he is weary, and she's getting that way herself. "Shall we go back to the Lair, love, get some rest?"

[27_53]

"I think that is the best course of our actions," he agrees. A glance towards the road (is it a road, or perhaps just a very large path?) that leads towards the village confirms that everyone is on their way, moving towards their new beginnings. "We will have to wait awhile until they have fully moved on, but at the pace they are setting, it will not take long."

And that will give them time to finish packing the things that they have gathered from the ship, Skellig using some of the larger canvas sacks to fill with the things that they have chosen to take back for themselves. Tucked carefully away is the box with the finely carved puzzle ball, as well as the sack with the gemstones and the dagger. Once he has listened well enough and he is certain that they are out of sight, he steps clear of the shoreline, gives her room to shift back to her dragon form, then readies their 'cargo' for the flight back to the Lair.

"What of the ship?" He asks, as he hops 'aboard' her back and settles in to his usual spot, the spells already active around him for protection. "If we sink it, it will be of no use for scrap. But perhaps it could just be disabled, in some way, so that it would never sail again?"

[brave_kreyu]

"I think I can manage that," she rumbles. The keel was designed to withstand a lot of things, but a DRAGON pulling on it was not one of them. It won't take long to make the ship no longer seaworthy!

After that, it's time for a straight flight back to the Lair and a quick round of unpacking.

She's glad to be able to take a human shape again, because it means she can wrap her arms around Skellig, kiss him softly.

[27_53]

"My love."

There are a lot of things attached to those two words - especially with the way he says them as she allows his arms to wrap around her body (he has missed this shape of her) and his lips to press against hers. It is an expression of gratitude, a statement of fact, a declaration of belonging and so much more...

He lingers for a moment with his forehead resting against hers, before he leans back slightly and looks at her face, her chest - checking for burn marks or bruises, anything he might have missed that may have filtered over. He doubts there is anything that 'survived' her multiple shifts, but he wants to be certain...

[brave_kreyu]

Her heart is so very warm at what she senses in those two simple words.

"I am well, my love," she says, smiling softly. "Though we can wash up while you check me more thoroughly if it would make you feel better."

For once, there's no innuendo attached to that statement. They are both tired, physically and emotionally.

[27_53]

"I would like that," Skellig says honestly. "And then I would like to take you to our bed."

And for once, there is no innuendo attached to that statement either. He offers her a smile - it is slight, but it is genuine.

[brave_kreyu]

"I should like that very much," she replies.

Washing up doesn't take long, and soon they are back in THEIR bed. She's rubbing the skin ointment onto Skellig because he has, of course, gotten a bit burned. Her strokes of his body are slow and soothing.

[27_53]

Inwardly, Skellig is still feeling relatively decent, all things considered - other than his sunburn, there are only a few areas he has found himself sore and tired. However emotionally...he is struggling a bit, unsure of what exactly he can be feeling, what he should be feeling. Lightness and Darkness entangled earlier in his mind have mixed things, and then there is the anger and frustration intermingled with peace and understanding.

At some point while she is working the ointment into his skin, he shivers firmly, leans into her touch.

"More of them behaved than I expected," he mutters quietly. "We were convincing enough."