#but he fr did this when she was 2 days old fresh home from hospital

[isaacapatow]

ike + showing off to his baby

[arctic-rising]

A Dark Descent, Chapter 2: A Day Out, Part 3

(( <<Previous | Navigation | Next>> )) ((Pinglist: @starry-ampelope  @jedicreed-fr @rockback-charger @blight-nymph @ashenbicornwhale)) ((Author’s Note: I really should have mentioned this earlier, but the Dark Descent series takes place a couple years before the events of Bounty of the Elements.))

       Between the earthen and shadowed flights, a fjord cuts through, clean and clear. It is flanked by ancient stone and tangled undergrowth; pine trees with thickets of brambles at their bases that glow when the moons reach their zenith and towering cliff faces. Despite this, the water is a sparkling blue- a perfect mirror of the mid-day sky for those who view it. Neither muddied silt nor blue algae lays claim to the border, leaving it as beautiful as the jewels hidden underneath the earth’s crust. Wisteria looks over the scene with a keen eye. It’s not often that she’s able to take the more scenic routes when traveling, so a part of her mourns that she’s far too curious about Kordanas to really enjoy it.

       “Kord, I’m sure you’re telling the truth, but I really don’t think regenerating into an entirely different dragon is just a weird thing you can do.”

“I am sorry, but I don’t know how else to put it.”

       Wisteria glances over at her companions. Athena has been keeping pace with Kordanas, occasionally righting herself to keep from crashing into him. The imperial -no, guardian, in question seems to be doing alright so far. He’s not lagging behind, so Wisteria is going to take that as a good sign.

       She’s not sure why they thought it would be a good idea to fly all the way home, but she’s not going to fight it. It’s a nice view, at least.

“Does anyone else know you can do this?”

“I don’t know. I don’t think so. Why do you ask?”

“I dunno, maybe some weirdo out there made you like this so you could serve them forever.”

“Athena, I really don’t think-”

“It’s a possibility! There’s some weird dragons out there! We’ve met weird dragons before!”

There’s a beat of silence before Kordanas speaks up again.

“Maybe you should stop having stare-downs with Scribbles whenever we visit Tomo.”

“He’s planning something, I know it.”

“He writes things down. How is that suspicious?”

“He writes weird things down. Why does he use invisible ink sometimes? Why is quartz cursed? He knows something we don’t, I can feel it!”

“We could say the same for any of the dragons at the trading post.”

“Uh, not really, no. It’s natural for dragons to have hoarding problems, and Pink’s just trying to keep Crim in check. Swipp has tons of connections- he’s probably in touch with some super fancy seamstress and a familiar breeder.”

“Baldwin literally changed himself from a pearlcatcher to a bogsneak. On accident, Athena. How do you breed change on accident?”

“Well you-”

       Wisteria allowed the next gust of wind to push her backward so she could glide next to Kordanas. “Sorry to interrupt. I think we are getting off track.” 

       Athena blinked and nodded. “Okay, right. So, this regenerating thing. Have you always been able to do it, or is this new?”

       “I have always been able to change when times are most dire. It, ah, it is an ability that was common in my birth clan.” Kordanas’ rumbling voice grew soft as he spoke. The wind almost drowned him out, snatching away his words. Wisteria drifted closer, her claws brushing an errant vine that curled around Kordanas’ wing. “My memory of my first home is fuzzy, but I remember our priestess telling us that our ability was a gift from the Gladekeeper. We thanked her for it every sunset by offering something in return at the old willow in the center of a forest.”

“Our ability? So there were others who had the same power?” Athena asked. 

       Kordanas nodded. “Yes, although I do not remember it being talked about outside of the offering ritual. My clan mates were very.... what’s the term? Hush-hush about it.”

       “What things did you offer to the Gladekeeper?” Wisteria had to push to keep pace with Kordanas. Despite having morphed into an entirely new dragon, he seemed to be doing just fine cruising over the rushing river. 

       “Homemade items, mostly. Figurines made from sticks and grass, flower wreaths, and carved logs were common. Occasionally someone would bring a precious stone or a clawful of coins, but...” Kordanas frowned, and narrowed his eyes in thought. Athena and Wisteria stayed quiet.

       “I think there was an element of shame for not being able to offer something made from nature. No one would say anything during the ritual, but there was silent scorn from the priestess.”

“I wonder why..” Athena mused. “Did your clanmates regenerate a lot?”

       “No, not that I can remember. There was one incident where a group went to investigate something along the border, and only one came back. But they were different; changed from a wildclaw into a pearlcatcher.”

“Did they act differently?” Wisteria asked.

“I do not think so. I did not interact with them much in the first place.”

“Do you know if other clans had this power?” Athena asked

       Kordanas shook his head, “No. We did not get many visitors. Not any that I can remember, at least.”

Athena frowned and Wisteria sighed.

       “That is a very odd power to have,” The little nocturne said. She let her gaze wander to the rushing waters below them, watching their faint shadows ripple over the waves. 

       “Yeah, Wisteria’s right,” Athena said, “I wanna know what your clan did to get that.”

“I am sorry that I cannot tell you more,” Kordanas said. 

       “It’s fine big guy. It’s just weird, ya know?” The tundra said, and gently bumped the edge of her wing with Kordana’s. The guardian smiled and nudged her back. “Every flight has their secrets. I wanna know more about this, but I’m too tired to head back into Nature.”

       “You have a good point, Athena. I too would like to return home as soon as possible,” Kordanas said. Wisteria nodded in agreement.

       The conversation died into companionable silence. Wisteria spent the majority of the time watching the glittering water as the sun rose and fell as the day dragged on. Eventually the trio came to rest along the steep shores of Dragonhome, setting up a small camp on a dusty ledge that jutted over the fjord. Athena and Kordanas focused on preparing the tent that they would sleep in for the night while Wisteria hunted for fresh food on the edge of the Tangled Wood. When the nocturne fluttered back, three walleyes, two ravens and a claw-full of tarantulas and snapdragons, the others had managed to get a fire going. Kordanas had curled around the flame while Athena was rummaging through her packs, triumphantly pulling out a package of dried stalks. 

“Athena. I already got food. We can save that for later,” Wisteria said as she ran her paw over a nearby stone and placed her findings on it.

       The tundra blinked, placed her ration back into her bag and went about helping Wisteria prepare a meal for the three of them out of her haul. Kordanas spent the majority of the evening sleeping, only waking to eat dinner and take first watch. The night went without a hitch, and Athena helped divide the left overs for breakfast.

       The rest of the travel went smoothly, the trio bouncing between Shadow and Earth for camp, and quickly heading off each morning. They were all eager for a break from flight as the mottled brown and red ground of the Scarred Wasteland came into view. The river became smaller as the edges of Earth and Shadow grew closer together, and finally the land of Plague forced the rapids to split into two, one branch leading out to the great unknown while the other fed into the Tidelord’s domain. Pale spires of wood and massive bone stretched towards the sky in the distance, and the sickly hued clouds drifting above became thicker as the group drew closer. The air grew sour with something foul, and Wisteria wrinkled her nose. She could easily imagine the grimace on Athena and Kordanas as they swooped closer to the ground. Green splotches glowed underneath mottled red land that curled like scar tissue, and if Wisteria looked hard enough, she was sure that she could make out the faint whites of bones peeking out of the twisted earth. 

“Hey! My wings are sore as hell, think we should take a pit stop?” Athena called out. 

“Soon as we find a hospitable town. I would rather continue on than get shot out of the sky or travel on foot with no directions,” Kordanas said.

“I agree,” Wisteria said. Athena nodded and the three pushed on.

       It wasn’t until dusk that they found a place that was willing to take them in. A small clan of snappers and a ridgeback that lived in burrowed tunnels granted them refuge in exchange for a portion of the tadpoles they had collected. In the morning they were able to get directions to the nearest town, and off they went.

       Time passed, and by midday the three managed to reach the front gates of Matiken; a spiraling town that lay over a hill, and was protected by a wall made of stone and curling rot, where sharpened bones jutted outwards to the unending expanse of the wandering contagion. Peaks of low buildings were just visible, while second and third story homes towered above the walls. Simple stone and wood buildings seemed to be common from what Wisteria could make out. The rough natural landscape transitioned to rugged cobble and worn paths as Athena, Wisteria, and Kordanas entered the plague town. Occasionally another dragon would pass them, but it seemed that most folks were tucked away in their dens for the time being. 

       The trio eventually reached what Wisteria could guess was the plaza of the clan. The stone path opened up in a diamond-shaped clearing, each side home to a different and equally important looking building. The tall structures loomed over the gnarled ground, casting shadows that merchants had set up shop in as they worked through the summer heat. 

       “Sooo. Who wants to haggle and who wants to look for a place to spend the night?” Athena asked. Her armor and fur had attained a layer of red dirt without her realizing, and it wafted away whenever her tail swiped across the path.

       “I can look for a room. You two are better at talking than me.” Wisteria said. Kordanas blinked and Athena pulled a face at her. The nocturne wasn’t sure what that was all about, but she wasn’t intent on finding out. “Besides. You two have the stuff.”

       “Yeah, alright. Don’t spend all our gold in one place,” Athena said. She began to walk into the plaza with Kordanas in tow. The guardian spared one last glance at Wisteria over his shoulder before turning back to the tundra. 

       It was easy enough for the little nocturne to find an affordable inn. She was excited to tell the others that she didn’t even have to trade one of their remaining tadpoles as she carefully went about settling in for the night.