Advertise/Affiliate Other Forum Main Page The World Before You Play

Tourist Traps

Started by Magyar, December 30, 2016, 09:48:25 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Magyar

"Very... outdoors," Hvit commented, "Do you not worry that some one could steal it?"

As they walked, his eyes fell on her form. He studied her movement, the subtle inconsistencies that made her gait unique. He followed the gentle sway of her hips, something he was always curious about in bipeds. Females had a definite sway, while males did not unless they consciously tried. An odd biological choice. He settled on a familiar feature, that of her wings, and considered the feathers. They were really what caught his attention, an oddity in normalcy. He'd seen them on dragons before, but her individual colours were something that caught his eye no matter how often he saw them.

DragonSong

"No, not really. No one comes this deep into the jungle, really, and even if they did..." She shrugged and turned to him with a smile. "Most Yoreiqi aren't all that concerned with worldly possessions."

She seemed to notice the way he was looking at her and tilted her head. "Um...is something wrong? Did I get some leaves caught in my feathers?" She spread her wings and turned, trying to see the backs of her wings- rather futilely, though it did have the effect of blurring the colors of her wings into a kaleidoscope for a brief moment.

Magyar

"No," he assured her, "I was just... enjoying the view. You've been to my home. It is a very muted colour palette, to say the least."

The kaleidoscopic shimmer of her feathers was reminiscent of the iridescent coat of a magpie, but this time they shone with a full spectrum and glinted in the half light of the treasure trove.

"The drakes in my land are much less... extravagant," he said, a small grin pulling at his lips.

DragonSong

"Oh." She smiled and flushed a bit. "Well, I suppose I'll take that as a compliment." She glanced around, then offered slowly, "Would you...like a tour, of sorts? I'm afraid I don't exactly have many jewels or gold, but..."

She trailed off and looked up at him hopefully though her lashes.

Magyar

"Gladly, I'd enjoy one," he said smiling, "Show me."

He felt a melancholy settle over him. This couldn't last. Her company he enjoyed, but he'd been thinking over his reactions to her. They did not bode well. As he followed her, his smile was tinged in a sadness of sorts. It was a sadness born of the knowledge that he should leave, but the deep reluctance to do so. It came down to whether or not he valued his own happiness or her safety. Even then, if he chose the greedy path, both her safety and consequently his happiness were at risk. The choice was obvious, but it was much harder to him.

DragonSong

Melly beamed and fluttered over to him in a half-leap. "Alright, come on then." She took his hand, marveling a moment at just how big it was compared to hers.

It suddenly struck her that he could probably crush her with little effort, like the bird he so often claimed her to be.

She shook the thought away and turned up the brightness of her smile a bit. "Here, this way," she chirped, tugging him after her toward her piles of treasure.

Well. It was treasure to her.

"Most of this...well, you probably won't like it much," she admitted with a small laugh. "But...you might like these." She led him toward her scattered pile of stained glass- a portion of it, at least, chipped pieces of colored glass in every color of the rainbow.

Magyar

"Very colourful," he said, his smile widening. She was like a little child, amazed by the world and it's little wonders. It amused him but also pained him. He would miss this.

"Even if I wouldn't collect it, you did," he said, "Show me your treasures, whatever form they take."

DragonSong

Her smile widened. "Okay, you asked for it," she laughed brightly. She squeezed his hand gently and led him around the room, through meandering paths that wound around piles of ancient scrolls with beautiful works of illumination, musical instruments, paintings, carvings, written music, even tapestries and pieces of old mosaics.

And always, always the stained glass, scattered through and around the other piles in a seemingly haphazard manner. Melly's eyes kept darting toward the light that streamed in through the pillars, judging the time by the angle of the shadows.

She glanced up at Hvitt as she slowly came to a halt. "If you don't mind waiting...there's something I want you to see. It'll happen soon."

Magyar

"Does the setting sun refract through the stained glass, causing the whole hoard to sparkle with the colours of the rainbow?" Hvit guessed, noticing the copious amounts of glass shards among the intellectual treasures gathered here. He was pleased, in a way, that this Little Bird was less concerned with treasures of the eye than those of the mind. It was promising, hopeful to the dragon she would grow into, given time.

DragonSong

Melisma beamed and nodded quickly. "Something like that. Come on, stand...right...here." she rocked onto her toes so she could take him by the shoulders and shuffle him over a few paces, then turn his body slightly.

"It happens at dawn and dusk." Her smile didn't shrink at all as she plopped down onto the ground, legs crossed and palms planted behind her as she leaned back slightly, wings flared just a bit to the sides.

Magyar

"Stand, or sit, little bird?" Hvit asked, an amused grin playing on his face. Nonetheless, he stood where she had directed him, and waited for the sun to set.

"How did you come by this glass, anyhow? The rest of these items I could see being traded, but pieces of glass?" His expression was inquisitive, but he still kept an eye on the view, not wanting to miss Melly's moment.

DragonSong

Melly chuckled, blushing a bit. "Well- stand or sit. Whichever you like."

She tipped her head back a bit to look up at the ceiling. "I did trade, for a lot of it. Sometimes traders make their way across the sea, but some of their goods are damaged in the crossing. They'll take food in exchange for that, and I don't mind hunting for them."

She shrugged, then her eyes flicked to the pillars. Her smile widened.

The chamber was very open, due to the nature of the bottom half of the walls, but the ceiling and the top half of each wall was mostly solid stone, save for the occasional small hole. Hvitt' guess had been mostly correct; as the sun set, the light spilled through the gaps in the pillars and reflected off the scattered bits of colored glass, bouncing from one pile to another in rays of rainbow light.

But it went further than that. Above their heads, Melisma had carefully placed the larger pieces of stained glass along the walls and ceilings, the light reflecting off her hoard bounced up to light those pieces in a soft glow, giving an appearance of a sky of multicolored stars.

Magyar

The light of the sky, already a beautiful burnt orange and red, fading into a deep blue, bled through the pillars and caught inside the little shards of glass, infusing them with rich colours that they didn't have before, resting in their shadowed piles. The haphazard stacking of the shards caused the beams to refract this way and that, bouncing light all across the cavern, and not only did they reflect off of other glass, but they shone on the metallic trinkets, and together they matched any hoard of gems and gold, as twinkling and colourful as the dragoness who owned them.

Hvit looked up and saw that the ceiling too was decorated in sparkling glass, and against the cold black and blue of dark stone, the warm and bright colours contrasted like blood on snow. It was a sight indeed worth waiting for, and one he wouldn't soon forget.

"How long did it take you to make this?" he asked, studying the intricate hanging glass. It wasn't something he would have done, more for lack of the idea than anything else. He also couldn't figure out how she'd fastened them to the walls and ceiling. Full of little wonders was this hatchling.

DragonSong

Melly' smile was nearly as bright as the sparkling glass, genuine joy in his reaction shining in her face.

"A few months," she replied, bouncing to her feet. She suddenly turned a little shy, shuffling her wings and ducking her head slightly. The light all around them lit on her feathers, making them glow, and the gem in her brow glittered softly.

"You...you like it?"

Magyar

He looked down at her, remarking to himself at how well her shimmering rainbow feathers matched the glittering expanse she had collected for herself.

"Yes, it is very beautiful," He said, glancing quickly at the gem set in her brow. A twinge deep in his chest caught him off guard, and he drew in a quick breath. He stared for a few seconds before he could shift his eyes back to her. He regained his thoughts and asked, "How did you think of it? I certainly have never seen the like."

DragonSong

Unnoticing of his apparent lapse of attention, Melly's smile widened again and she bounced a little on the balls of her feet.

"Sunlight off the water," she replied brightly. "I saw a refraction light up this festival some villagers were having, and I thought...well, of it worked in water, surely it would work on glass, yes?"

Magyar

"Surely..." he said absentmindedly, trailing off as the gem took the forefront of his thoughts again. He cast them off much more easily this time, asking, "Is there a place I can rest? It has been a long journey, and I find that my mind wanders more than I like it to when I am tired."

DragonSong

"Oh, of course!" She practically bounced up against him and took his hand again. "Would you prefer to sleep in this form, or as a dragon? I think there is space for either..."

Her brow furrowed and she tilted her head, lips moving silently as she considered where she could put him.

Magyar

"Would I even be able to take my own shape here?" He asked, "I was not exactly comfortable in the large entrance room, and you said that was one of the larger spaces here. I could fit in this room, I suppose, but at the expense of your treasures, so I think not. No, I shall stay in my smaller shape, little bird."

DragonSong

She smiled a little sheepishly. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Come on then, this way."

She took his hand again to lead him back down the hall. With the sun setting, the temple was cooling rather rapidly. She shivered a bit, unused to wearing her human shape at night. It probably didn't help that she'd never really bothered to find proper clothing for herself.

Tags: