GREEN
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2384 13.61 KB 158
2384 13.61 KB 158
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>Another… interrupted… night meant another late start.
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>This time because you insisted on washing before getting started.
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>All these other creatures probably have a better sense of smell than you do, after all.
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>Noire could clean clothes easily enough.
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>For yourself, however, you wanted the real thing.
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>Noire was able to locate a stream nearby fed by mountaintop runoff.
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>She watched you work over your body in rapt fascination.
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>Even though she had to know how your body worked, she hadn’t actually seen you naked until last night.
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>Even though you’d explained to her how, for example, you took a shower – and she’s been cleaning herself in at least an approximation of it back home – she’s never actually seen you wash yourself before.
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>Eventually her watching made you self-conscious enough you invited her in to wash her too.
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>Which was some nice bonding time, even if it threatened another round.
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>While you resisted that urge, it did take more time.
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>In return, she made sure you didn’t freeze to death in the stream that would have been, if not for her efforts, bitterly cold.
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>She made drying off really fast too.
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>Another night without the tent made packing up to go quick.
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>Claw back whatever time you can; need to hit the road.
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>The warmth her magic provided while you were washing also soothed some of your aches after such vigorous activity after a serious hike.
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>Good thing, because you’re still ascending today.
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>Not all the way to the top, she says, but you need to skirt around the peak for the other side.
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>The closer you get to the top, the stronger periodic blasts of wind grew.
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>Potential paths narrowed, grew rougher.
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>Noire insisted on following behind you, even though it meant verbally guiding you; on four legs she as less likely to fall, and had a narrower profile, she was at less risk of falling.
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>Behind you, she could catch you if she saw you slip.
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>A comforting thought, but didn’t take the edge off your nerves, when the going got real tough.
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>This, too, is a distinction between knowing and experiencing, you figure.
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>Basic Bitch Brain won’t shut up even if you know everything will be alright.
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>Maybe running your mouth can distract you.
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“So how can anything live on the side of this mountain?”
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>”There is a cave network further-”
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>Noire’s voice is carried away by another gust of wind.
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“What?”
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>”Cave network! Inside mountain!”
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“And they all just stuff inside?”
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>”Are we not going about to see these things for ourselves?”
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“Humor me!”
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>”They have to come down some time, to gather food.”
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“In these conditions? How”
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>”We will find out soon!”
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“What, you don’t know?”
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>”I am saving some surprises!”
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>You can hear her smile in her tone.
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>Well, fine, but it isn’t helping you keep your mind off things.
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>Your foot skids to the side when you make a bad step on loose gravel.
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>You catch yourself easily, but can feel Noire’s magic pulling up on your backpack.
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>Maybe distraction isn’t appropriate right now.
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“How much further?”
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>”It is just ahead!”
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>A section of the mountainside ahead does, in fact, look like it’s been carved out.
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>The next time the wind buffets you, you can make out a slight howl to it.
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>The final stretch of path narrows even further, and you have to sidle along the face a short distance.
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>After this, however, you find yourself in a hollowing of the mountain’s face, a cave leading further back.
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>As you step back into the space, Noire comes into view, daintily stepping into the mouth of the cave as well.
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>Here the wind doesn’t bother you, only little eddies left as gusts pass by the entrance.
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>You hear its roar again as it passes.
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>No, no eddies this time.
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>Your skin crawls when you realize it came from behind, not ahead, of you.
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>Noire tosses her head towards the deeper cave. “I suppose we should see what the fuss is.”
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>After a moment’s hesitation, you nod in silence.
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>You let her take the lead, though.
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>Though for the first few minutes Noire’s horn provides the only illumination, soon you find there are stretches of tunnel lit by softly-glowing gemstones.
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>These gemstones have no rhyme or reason to their placement, and at times are absent entirely, leaving that stretch of tunnel in darkness.
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>On closer inspection, they appear to be stumps of some sort of crystal, where a larger formation must have intruded into the cave but had been broken off.
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>Sometimes you can see a notch or divot in a wall where you suspect a crystal may have once been, though you can’t say for sure but for the darkness of that section.
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>While the tunnels are very smooth, they’re also very round, limiting relatively level floor area for you to step on; the lighting is definitely helpful.
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>The tunnels seem to widen the lower you go, which requires more gemstones to light reasonably, though it does provide better footing.
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>The end catches you by surprise, however.
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>Noire stops when she emerges into the huge chamber the tunnel terminates at.
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>You have to step around her to see for yourself, one arm around her other side to pull her towards you almost instinctively now.
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>You’re really thinking about this huge space
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>Giant crystals jut into the open chamber from all directions, their brilliant glow illuminating the area.
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>In the center stands a cluster of creatures.
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>On one side; around a dozen unicorns stand around a particularly large cluster of crystals, points jutting out this way and that, all around a much taller central spire.
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>Mounds of smaller gemstones sit between them, around the central cluster, barely discernible at this distance.
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>Around then you can see a faint glimmer of iridescence, vaguely defining a sphere.
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>They’re all glaring at four dragons, occupying a relatively flat space in the center of the cavern, one in front of the other three.
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>Two of them look… scrawny?
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>You expected dragons to be bulkier.
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>And you have good reason; you specified their creation.
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>When one of the unicorns steps forward – though not out of the bubble - the scrawniest of the lot roars.
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>That would be the sound you heard earlier, attenuated with distance through the tube-like tunnels.
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“What’s going on here?”
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>You look at Noire
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>She’s looking at the same scene, eyes narrowed slightly. “Some sort of altercation, I imagine.”
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“Is this going to get messy?”
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>She finally tears her eyes away from the scene, and meets yours. “It might.”
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>You’re already in motion before you realize what you’re going to do.
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>Your mind catches up after, half-rationalizing;
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>You can’t let any piece of Noire’s creation end in tragedy.
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“Then we better do something.”
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>Noire lurches into motion behind you, quickly gaining your side again as you walked down the slope – steep at first, then getting gentler – towards the combative creatures.
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>The dragon in front sees you first.
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>You want to say it’s a female, now that you’re seeing several together, rather than just one.
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>The four are two mated pairs, you suspect; the healthier two and the scrawnier two.
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>As that lead dragoness turns to face you, the others follow suit.
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>A susurration sweeps through the unicorns, while the dragons regard you in silence.
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>When you get close, only the dragoness in front moves to meet you.
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>When she reaches you, looming over you and Noire, she surprises you both; she dips her head to the floor, snout against stone. “Welcome, First One.”
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“Huh. So some of you can speak already after all.”
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>The dragon’s head comes back up, cocked in confusion.
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“Ah, well, don’t say everything all at once. What’s going on here?”
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>The dragon looks back at the unicorns. “You said we must remain humble. My mate and I have been living with these tiny creatures. We had an agreement.”
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>You realize you recognize her voice; she’s the first dragon Noire created.
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>The one you gave speech with your own voice.
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>Perhaps that is why she is so capable, even if laconic.
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“I’m glad you took my instruction to heart.”
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>”The tiny ones have a strange but useful power. They can regrow the crystals we eat. They infuse crystals with their light so they can see. This makes crystals tastier and more filling.”
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“Is that part of this agreement?”
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>The dragon turns back to you and nods. “We eat crystals but leave stumps. They grow them and make them bright. We bring them back their plant-food when we hunt.”
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“Sounds like it should work pretty well.”
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>”Others of our kind have not learned your lesson. Rocks of the hills are poor food. Many crystals. But small ones. Much glittering uselessness. My mate and I melt glitter rock and give little red crystals to tiny ones. Other dragons do not live with tiny ones.”
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“They’re starving?”
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>”They eat glittering useless rock. Not enough crystals to live in cold winter. They come here to take. We allow them but they do not understand agreement.”
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“And that causes problems.”
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>The dragon nods again. “Winter brought less plant-food. Then other dragons come here to eat. Tiny ones ignore agreement. They use crystals for their own strange ways. Other dragons must eat crystal-stumps.”
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>You tap your foot on the stone floor, hands on your hips.
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“Didn’t expect lithovores to have a rough time of winter too. Though I guess it’d require you to spend more on keeping body temperature up. Though you could just hibernate. Unless ‘no hibernation’ is part of the lifecycle acceleration…”
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>When you look back to the dragon, she looks surprised.
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“What?”
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>”You are the First One?”
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“What about it?”
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>”Your wisdom is total.”
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>You can’t help but laugh.
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“Remember what I said about humility? I’m humble enough to know I know nothing.”
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>The dragon cocks her head again, but eventually dips it to the floor once more.
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“Ah, don’t worry about it. Let me see what I can do.”
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>You walk past the dragoness, towards the other dragons and the unicorns.
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>None of them seem to know what to make of you.
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>You stop halfway between them, and clear your throat.
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“I understand winter has been hard on all of you. It’s important everyone gets what they need to survive. But there is an order to all things; everyone has needs and will strive to meet them. My friend here-”
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>-you wave a hand to the dragoness you spoke with, and the gesture seems to surprise everyone present-
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“-made an agreement that benefits everyone. You should follow their rules.”
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>Thinking about follow-on consequences; you may have just introduced territoriality into the world, but it felt like things were heading that way anyhow. May as well get out ahead of it.
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>You turn to the unicorns.
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“You are hosts. You should treat your guests well.”
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>You look around the space again, thinking.
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>There’s definitely enough material here, so there’s no absolute shortage. It might be an equilibrium issue, but also one of simple propriety. If an agreement is upset, there is no reason for either side to follow.
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>You turn back to the two smaller dragons.
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“If you want to come here for food, you should bring an offering in return for their hospitality. Continue the agreement your friends formed. Your strength alone does not give you right to steal. Respect those who can provide what you need, and you’ll get more of it in the future.”
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>Then, the unicorns.
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“No group can stand alone forever. There will be times you need things from others as well. If you treat others right, they will treat you right. Take the initiative and the lead; set an example for others to follow. Friendship benefits everyone involved.”
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>You look back and forth between the two groups.
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>They look back and forth between each other and you.
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>Finally, one of the unicorns – a more slender mare towards the back - makes a move.
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>The mounds near them you see are discarded garnets from schist formations like those near your house; that must be the rock the dragoness spoke about melting down, the glittering bits being mica.
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>The slender unicorn takes up a mound in her magic, then strides forward out of the iridescent shimmer surrounding the group and the largest crystal.
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>She walks up to one of the dragons, confident though not entirely unafraid.
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>After seeming to size it up, she nods, then drops her entire pile in front of the dragon, then walks back to her group.
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>Seeing this, the unicorn in front of the rest, who you guess is their leader, looks to the group, then points her horn at the large multipointed crystal and hits it with a beam of light.
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>From the tip of the central crystal, several beams of different colors emerge, angled to hit other points.
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>Each one seems to jump several times, tracing different patterns across the formation.
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>It must have been a signal, or even some sort of explanation; the other unicorns watch it intently, then nod to each other, and section out part of their own little piles of garnets.
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>The leader levitates all these sectioned-off garnets, holding them until they shines with a deep red light, then moves them over to the two smaller dragons.
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“Well, it’s a good start. Take this offering for now. Come back with food for them. These little contributions can grow with time, fairly and as each side is able.”
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>You gesture back to the dragoness who spoke to you.
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“She will be the arbiter of what is fair. Listen to her.”
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>You can see Noire is between you and her now, considering everyone present before speaking. “Her and her descendants,” Noire agrees. “Henceforth, there will always be one from her lineage as an emissary between your kinds, to maintain this agreement.”
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>Everyone looks to the dragoness, then gives their own forms of agreement.
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“Good! Now lets get past this posturing. I would like to see more of this fascinating place of yours.”
by E4-NG
by E4-NG
by E4-NG
by E4-NG
by E4-NG