City of Stone

[MadEmperor]

Ein chuckled lightly, smiling faintly. She was dead on about what Vander was to him; he couldn't deny it. "That he has."

A moment later, he decided to open up. "Truth is, I never intended him to be anything else; after he became more than a reminder of my sins, anyway. I can no longer imagine my life without him—without either of you. I only know that I'm a better man with friends like the two of you."

[DragonSong]

Nani smiled and leaned over to press her shoulder against his lightly, just for a moment.

"We love you too," she assured him, without a hint of irony in her voice. Despite how much her time on the mainland had changed her, the easy sense of affection she had been raised with still shone through. She'd loved a lot of people through her life, and even though her relationship with Ein was complicated and occasionally confounding, she firmly counted him among them.

[MadEmperor]

Ein cleared his throat, looking away briefly to hide the faint reddening of his stony skin. She had seen right through his words to the emotions behind them. He might as well not have emotional walls with her around.

"We should... probably discuss what we're going to say to my father's people when we find them."

[DragonSong]

"I suppose we should," Nani agreed quietly. She chewed at her lower lip for a moment, eyebrows drawing together. With a small sigh, she muttered, "I don't...really know anything about your father's people. I'd never even heard the word gargoyle until a week ago."

[MadEmperor]

"I only know what Rosamund told us: that they are a people made xenophobic by their experiences with the outside world. I don't even know my father's name or how they view him. For all I know, he's seen as a criminal," he answered with a half-sigh as he watched the rain fall.

"If we aren't lucky, this could go very badly for both of us. But I know I can't convince you to let me take the risk alone, so I won't try."

[DragonSong]

"Good." She nodded quickly. "Because I'm with you." She paused a moment, then said slowly, "And...not because I have to be. I think I was--I was scared about that, for a while. After you told me, y'know...about your past. I was scared I was only with you because of this...pull."

She put hand over the center of her chest, frowning down at the stone floor of the cave. "And I can still feel it--I think I always will. But it's not why I'm staying, Ein. It's not. Being your Paladin...I don't think it matters as much to me as being your friend."

She continued to stare at the floor, then shook her head and cleared her throat quickly. "So. When we meet your father's people...maybe we should just try to be honest? Tell them you just...want to know more about them. About this part of you."

[MadEmperor]

Another deeply emotional moment between them made him feel awkward, and he realized yet again that he was woefully out of touch with his own emotions. He was glad to have someone with greater emotional intelligence to balance out his stiff nature.

Ein exhaled slowly. It went against his untrusting instincts but she was right; she had done much to restore some measure of his faith in other people. "Yes. That... is probably the best plan. Lies would only put us in greater danger."

"Beside, it isn't as if we can hide my mixed blood from them. I don't know how my appearance differs, but I'm sure it does."

[DragonSong]

Almost despite herself, Nani felt her lips twitch up on one side in a hint of a smirk. She reached over to give a lock of his fiery hair a single gentle tug. "Something tells me it might be this--I can't say I really know anything about gargoyles, but judging by...well the rest of you..."

She waved a hand at him to indicate the living-stone appearance to his skin, then shrugged. "I don't think I've ever seen a rock in quite that shade of red."

[MadEmperor]

Ein barked a laugh. "Perhaps a ruby of some unusual brightness but you have a point. If there's any indication of my Adelan blood, it's the hair."

Vander huffed in agreement.

"And how do we explain you, boy?" he asked the animal. "Would they even believe the truth? It is a rather strange series of events."

[DragonSong]

Nani half-laughed, half-sighed and reached over to scratch behind the strange hound's ear. "Well...I guess all we have is the truth," she mused quietly. "Insane as it sounds..."

[MadEmperor]

"I suppose you're right about that," Ein chuckled.

The wind had ceased to howl, and the rain was getting lighter. It would soon be time to set out.

"Looks like it's clearing up out there. How do you feel now?"

[DragonSong]

Nodding, Nani pushed herself to her feet. She was still a bit stiff, but she was rather hoping some actual movement would help with that. "I'll manage," she assured quietly. "Besides, we don't have many hours left until sundown—we should try to make up whatever ground we just lost waiting out the storm."

[MadEmperor]

When the rain finally stopped, they departed the small cave and resumed their trek through the mountains. When it became too dark to safely travel, they found a spot to set up camp. It wasn't long into the next day when they finally caught sight of the mysterious, gigantic pillar thrusting up from a broken peak like a spear. Islands of stone floated around the top, tethered to the pillar by enormous chains.

"Dear gods... it's bigger than I imagined," Ein commented, awestruck.

[DragonSong]

Nani was speechless for several moments, just staring up the improbable--impossible--sight before them.

"How...?" She shook her head slowly. "I mean, just...how?"

[MadEmperor]

Ein shrugged. With awe still in his voice, he answered, "Just another mystery of the world. I doubt we'll ever know where such things come from."

"But to think that I have a connection to something like that. It's surreal. I mean, how do we even fly that high? Maybe some perch exists halfway up where we can rest."

[DragonSong]

Nani's brow furrowed as she stared up at the spire, considering. Calculating.

"...Island hopping."

She looked at Ein, starting to smile a bit. "We can do this. We treat it like island hopping—I'll teach you."

She glanced down at Vander, then back up. "You'll have to carry the dog though."

[MadEmperor]

"Of course, but..." Ein paused, unsure what she was talking about. "What do you mean by 'island hopping'?"

He had rarely even seen the ocean, and not once had he been on an island of any variety. There was no frame of reference for him to grab onto. And why was the idea making her smile so?

[DragonSong]

"Ah, right." She chuckled a bit and took a few steps back so she had room to spread her wings. "So, it's this thing some of us do, back home. Before Rosamund did whatever she did to my wings, they weren't strong enough for proper flight--so I'd have to catch air currents to get any real distance."

She tipped her head, eyeing the height of the spire, feeling the chill of the air around them, running half a dozen calculations as she did. "Warm air rises. So if we can just catch a warm current, we should be able to get up there."

[MadEmperor]

Ein nodded in understanding. It was, after all, what birds did. "Ah. I see. We should get closer before we try, though. And perhaps take a moment to rest so we have all the energy we'll need."

"But, you're right, it should get us up there. It's likely what they do."

[DragonSong]

"If their wings work the same way yours do, I imagine so," she agreed thoughtfully. Without feathers, Ein tended to need to do a lot more actual flapping than she did.

She glanced down at Vander and rubbed his head. "Maybe I should take him," she murmured slowly. "Less weight for your wings, mine are better built for gliding anyway..."