OOM All Skate Skellig Dream Magic Weirdness -Part 11

[brave_kreyu]

They are camped in the woods not too terribly far from a road.

Sometime early in the morning, Skellig hears a horse drawn wagon accompanied by men going down the road. He hears a wheel come off the wagon, hears the guards curse, hears wings the size of his own slam against wooden bars.

The wave of despair from the winged one is almost palpable.

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[27_53]

"Now this is snow," Skellig says softly - his breath hangs in the air as he speaks, stepping forward slightly. "There is just something...so very perfect about the way the world looks, when it is covered like this."

There are no sharp points visible, no jagged edges, nothing raw and rugged - except for a few of the highest windswept peaks and edges of the stones above them.

He rustles his wings out a bit, shaking his feathers into place for flight. His eyes scan the cloud cover, mentally he is checking the wind...

"I suspect we will be fine to fly for awhile, it feels as if it will snow later, but the clouds are not threatening quite yet."

[brave_kreyu]

She shakes her wings out too, getting ready for flight. "I think you're right." She kisses him on the cheek. "Down the side of the mountain, there?" The winds are relatively gentle there, and it should give them a good view of the land below as they descend.

[27_53]

"That will be a good start, give us a chance to study the features a bit before we go hunting for the caves." With the heavy snowfall, some of the markings may be a bit obscured from view, but that will just lend itself a bit to the 'challenge'.

Nodding, he motions in that direction with his hand.

"Lead on, my love."

[brave_kreyu]

They glide down toward the ground, seeing trees below with snapped branches, some that were rotting or dead already have fallen outright as a result of the snowfall. The birds are little puffballs of feathers, seeking whatever seeds or insects they can find between the bouts of weather.

The first cave they pass over isn't marked, and Skellig may be able to figure out why. He can hear a large heart, beating slowly in hibernation, a bear! Ravens quarrel in the treetops over some of the carrion produced by the cold last night.

[27_53]

As this flight is more casual, and they are both carrying packs, Skellig keeps the airborne acrobatics to a minimum.

However, this does not mean that he 'behaves' entirely; occasionally he allows himself bank into a sweeping curve or drop down low enough to skim the snow with the tips of his boots, causing a glittering powder to spray up in his wake.

Where he can sense food and insects for the smallest of the birds, he gives them a 'nudge' in the right direction, aiding them in their hunt. He can hear the bear's heartbeat, deep and slow beneath the surface, and laughs as the ravens complain at each other.

"There is enough there for all of you," he calls out, playfully. "No need to argue so strongly."

[brave_kreyu]

The small birds are grateful for the food, gobbling it up. Some of them are even bold, or hungry, enough, to fly close to Kreyu in their pursuit of food. She laughs in delight as their whirring wings go by her head.

Is there a raven equivalent of 'Piss off!'? Because if there is, that is definitely what he's getting from the oldest raven.

"Things will settle eventually, I'm sure," she says, looking at the ravens. She spots some tracks she doesn't recognize, many hoof prints! "Surely cows aren't out in this?"

They are not cows, as it happens, but European bison!

[27_53]

"That looks to me, to be some animals that are bigger than cows," Skellig says. "But then again, I do not know what cows look like in this part of the world..."

(Or this time period!)

He sniffs the air, cocks his head and gazes along in the direction of the tracks - they are not visible now, whatever group of the creatures was moving - but perhaps with some following the trail beaten down into the snow, they will catch up to them.

[brave_kreyu]

"Bigger than cows," Kreyu says as they catch up to the bison. "Not friendly either, I think." Some of the bison are stamping and huffing already, even as far above their heads as Skellig and Kreyu are at the moment.

"Might be good for a snack, should I ever travel this way in dragon shape."

[27_53]

"I would ask you to save me some of the scraps," Skellig teases, as he looks at the large - very large - land animals below. "I might find a piece good enough to roast."

He knows that she will know he is joking - after all, she always saves the nicest pieces for him during her hunts!

"And no, they do not look friendly - not with those horns." Though they would be no match for a dragon's claws and teeth.

[brave_kreyu]

She chuckles at his joke. "Of course. Could bring you tidbits, the way birds do when they court?"

She nods in agreement about the horns. "The cattle at home have horns a bit like that, though longer and thinner, to help protect themselves from predators." She sketches the shape of the horns in the air. With as many dangerous predators as there are along the Mother River, the people who keep cattle feel it is best to leave them with their natural weapons!

[27_53]

"I would be very grateful if you kept me supplied with tidbits," he says. "No need for me to get skinny again as we go into the dark months of the cold season."

It is smart to allow the cattle to keep their natural weapons - after all, Skellig knows firsthand what some of those predators can do! His mind flickers briefly to the moment he dumped Akatan's corpse along the banks, as an 'offering' to the Mother River.

[brave_kreyu]

"The cold and the dark of the year is a time to put on a little weight," she agrees. "Will keep us both supplied with plenty of good things, take good care of my mate. Foods to keep away the sicknesses that come with the cold and the dark, foods to warm the heart and the soul, foods for energy and strength!"

The 'offering' was likely appreciated by the river predators. Food that can't get away or fight back is relatively rare.

[27_53]

Skellig's energy 'warms' a bit as she speaks of taking good care of her mate - it is nice to be cared for as she cares for him, both physically as well as emotionally!

"We have gathered a good stockpile of things already along our travels," he agrees. "I know we will find more, on our way back to Amikaya and to the village itself."

He 'drifts' close to her, as close as he can without bumping wings and causing them to spiral out of control. His eyes are scanning the horizon; another ridge lies up ahead, coated in heavy snow. Definitely a place where more caves could be hidden, though they might need to break through a drift to find an entrance...

[brave_kreyu]

"We will," she agrees, pleased at the thought and his warming energy.

Skellig's eyes, sharper than hers, will catch it first. A stone painted in ochre, edge visible thanks to its being protected by other stones around it. Given the stone's position in the rock face, the cave complex it indicates could be vast!

[27_53]

Spotting the stone, he nods his head towards their landing site - then banks away from her slightly, to lead the way and scout a level spot to land (a bit difficult, but this cave has been explored before at least from the mark) so it isn't impossible.

His wings kick up a flurry of the light, fluffy snow into the air as his feet hit the ground in a dull thwump - he listens carefully to subtle squeaks and creaks of the snowpack beneath his weight, to make sure there is no risk of a slide.

Satisfied, he waves her in to join him, and starts to trudge the short distance to the entrance between the stones.

[brave_kreyu]

She wraps her arms around him after she lands, kisses him on the cheek. Such a considerate husband!

They do have to clear SOME snow to enter the cave, but it's not as bad as it could be. Inside, there are signs of old campfires where the air flow would draw smoke up and out. "It seems a cozy space, and fairly large."

It is larger than their guest quarters, for one, plenty of room to spread out though. But....Skellig doesn't HEAR anything alive. There should be insects, at the very least, and there aren't any. Kreyu's brows furrow as she touches the back 'wall' of the space.

[27_53]

There is a decent sized stockpile of well-dried wood near the inside of the entrance that has clearly been there for several seasons, and he would also expect there to be some evidence of life within - mice or other small critters who would seek to find shelter, and eat the insects that are also lacking...

"It's oddly quiet," he says, watching her as she 'inspects' the wall. "Not threatening, just...quiet."

[brave_kreyu]

"There's an enchantment on it to keep animals out, I think," she says, gaze distant. "We couldn't do something like that. The titans, maybe, or the fair folk..."

She pushes just a touch of Essence into her hand as she touches the back wall, and a door slides open in the stone. From the dust, it has clearly been a VERY long time since anyone has used this door!

[27_53]

Watching her 'work' with her abilities is something that Skellig greatly enjoys - not only for the chance to observe and study different techniques, but he is also quite appreciative of her acting in her element.

The dust is not entirely unexpected, but it does make him sneeze, and rustle his feathers a bit to keep any from settling on either their wings, moving the dust out towards the entrance of the cave.

[brave_kreyu]

"I wonder. By dragon standards, this isn't that far from where the Procession of the Heavens was built, and I think the mountain where Tyr's clan lives used to be a dragon's lair..."

Absentmindedly, she mutters a string of syllables, produces a floating ball of light.

[27_53]

"You are probably right - the great hall is quite large, and they have done a good amount of work to close up the majority of that gap in the roof to shelter them from the elements."

She would fit easily inside the space, even in her dragon form. If she thinks that this might have been the work of titans, the fair folk, or even a dragon...he steps closer to her as she produces the ball of light.

(His senses cannot pick up any of the wards set by higher powers, but he would try to protect her, regardless.)

[brave_kreyu]

"Silur might have done that work herself. For an Earth dragon of her power, moving through stone like that would be no more difficult than moving through open air."

"They could be the work of Silur's partner, Antaios," she remarks as they descend "Dragons can't do enchantments like this, not something that will last."

Eventually, the light reveals a wonder. The tunnel they have been walking through opens onto a spherical cavity in the earth lined with truly enormous crystals in a rainbow of hues. It's like being on the inside of a geode!

[27_53]

There have been many, many moments in Skellig's lifetime - and several of the bigger ones during his time with her here in this one - that Skellig has found himself at a loss for words. But never anything like this, as her light spreads into the open space and the refractions and reflections of the colors catch the glow, glittering as she moves.

His breath catches in a sense of awe, and there is just so much shiny surrounding them, from all sides - even the ceiling!

Speechless and stunned, he has to mentally remind himself to breathe. Words are not happening - and neither is walking.

[brave_kreyu]

She puts her hand on his arm, almost as much at a loss for words as he is. They simply stare at the crystals for...who knows how long. Does it even matter, and how would you tell anyway?

"They must have been grown like this on purpose, but I haven't the faintest idea how," she says, her voice hardly more than a whisper. There is longing to know, and faint sadness that she almost certainly never will.

[27_53]

With her hand on his arm, he is able to at least regain his capacity to think, though his mind can't quite comprehend what it is they are looking at. These do not even look real - they are like nothing he has ever seen before!

He can hear the longing and sadness in her voice, and he moves his body closer to hers, wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her into a half-hug.

"I cannot even...the colors," he stammers quietly. "It is the entire spectrum. It should...it should not be possible, and yet..."