Eukara Vox
Legendary AdventureGuide!
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Love, Dragons and... Cupid?
by Eukara Vox
"I like what you have done with the place.... Really..." Chrysa stepped into the addition to her home that would hopefully accommodate Talvan as the dragon continued to grow. There had been a shallow underground cavern behind her house that they found while still building the current room.
It had been an accident, but one of Talvan's make. Once they had returned from Brazil, Talvan took an unusual interest in the completion of her new room. While snooping around, she knocked a ladder over, which in turn, sent a paint can flying. The paint can then hit a switch on one of the machines they were using to raise the roof to accommodate Talvan's eventual size, sending the machine rumbling across the floor. But, the floor was not complete and there was a dropoff of about a foot and a half from the finished part to the ground.
Apparently, that was all the machine needed to destroy the ground. When it tipped over the edge, the machine plowed downward, a corner of the metal hulk imbedding itself into the ground. Everyone watched as the impact point sent cracks sprawling away from the house. In a matter of seconds, the ground collapsed, revealing a shallow cavern.
The builders were grateful to a point. This new development would make it easier to place a roof on the room, not to mention the roof was now flush with the house's original. But, the machine was destroyed, since it followed the ground when it collapsed. Of course, Talvan was oblivious to the problems with the new development. She was quite proud of herself for helping them out. Maturity or not, there were some things she obviously hadn't figured out yet.
Chrysa was looking at one of the other things in which Talvan had yet to figure out. It seemed that Talvan had once again ransacked the chocolate supply. Wrappers and foil lay stewn across the floor, the light glittering off of them nearly as brightly as the gemstones embedded in the cave walls.
My part of the house is my part of the house, thank you very much. Talvan raised her head slightly and snuffed.
"Really, Talvan, is it too much to ask that you keep this place at least decent? What if Namaran wanted to come over?" Chrysa descended the spiraling steps and approached Talvan's rock bed.
Talvan's head shot up. Namaran is here?! Why didn't you tell me? Where's your broom and dustpan? Chrysa!!!!! The last statement was a high-pitched whine, causing Chrysa to wince.
"This is not my part of the house. If you want it clean, you have to do it yourself." She turned and headed back to the door to her room. Chrysa paused at the door before opening it. "If you wouldn't be such a mess to begin with and used the trash can that is next to your bed, Talvan, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
As Chrysa turned the doorknob, Talvan grumbled, sending a slight rumble through the floor. Chrysa felt it, but did not let her dragon see that it was noticed. She stepped through the door and proceeded to the kitchen without closing it. A knock on the front door echoed into Talvan's cavern, to which she respond with a squeak. Chrysa chuckled and headed up front.
"Diren," she spoke with a smile on her lips, "how is your day going? Please come in."
Diren stepped through the door and returned Chrysa's smile. "My day is going well. Namaran is waiting to see Talvan's new place. He is envious, poor guy."
"I know. Who knew that there was such a place under my house!" She led him to the kitchen, where Talvan's grumbling had become more audible. "Ignore her. Her area is a mess and is mad at me for not cleaning it up for her. She is panicking because you and Namaran are here. Talvan would have known that had she been listening to me for the last two days as I made plans for today."
If you would have made it more clear that what you were saying was important, I would have listened better.
Chrysa groaned, leaving Diren to imagine what the dragon was saying. He put his hand over hers and smiled. "Ignore her for now. Let her stew as Namaran waits patiently outside."
A slight roar was heard from Talvan as the noise of her moving around became louder. "That was shameless, Diren!" Chrysa laughed, though quietly, at his sheepish look. "I guess it did get her moving though. I should be grateful."
"Yes, you should." He smiled, then cocked his head. Yes, Namaran, she should be finished soon. I know you are excited about seeing her cavern. Give her a few more minutes to straighten up.
"Namaran a bit impatient?" Chrysa moved to the refrigerator and began to pull out meat and cheese for sub sandwiches.
"Yes, he has been waiting for a while now to see it. He is mad that I have seen it before him. He forgets that I saw it when the ground caved in... not the finished product." Diren watched Chrysa pull out item after item. "Anything I can do to help?"
"You can slice the rolls. I bought them fresh this morning from Mortimer, without Talvan. That seemed to sweeten him up enough to give the rolls to me at a decent price." Chrysa sighed loudly. "I cannot wait for her to become more of a lady dragon and less of a gangly teen dragon. Life will be so much easier."
Diren nodded. "And then you will be able to ride her." Though Chrysa didn't see it, Diren's face showed disappointment. He unwrapped the rolls, grabbed her bread knife and began to slice the rolls.
"Yeah, finally. I can see now why people are supposed to bond to a dragon at a younger age." Chrysa said as she looked through refrigerator. She pulled out various condiments and put them on the counter. Turning to Diren, she smiled. "I have always envied your bond with Namaran. Growing up with a dragon by your side must have been fun."
"It was, but it was also a lot of work." He shrugged. "But our bond is also so strong because of that." He finished slicing the rolls and presented them to Chrysa. "Here you go."
She took them from him and began to fix the subs. "A source tells me that there was a sighting of a hippogriff recently," she said in passing.
"Oh no... I am still recovering from Brazil and I am not the one who was kidnapped!" Diren's look softened. "Do you still hear it?"
Chrysa lowered her eyes and finished Diren's sandwich. "In moments when I am trying to relax and not do anything to occupy my mind, yes, I can hear the music. So, I try to keep myself as occupied as possible. It gets exhausting, though."
"I can imagine, Chrysa. Now about this... Hippogriff. Where and what does this mean to you?" Diren smiled, knowing very well what the second half of the question's answer was.
"Greece, primarily the causeway between Athens and Corinth, Dioriga Korithou, or Corinth Canal. Apparently, there seems to be a rook of some sort along one of the walls. If that is true... Diren, I want to see a hippogriff. Out of all the 'mythical creatures' in the world, that one is the one I want to see the most. They are supposed to be regal, majestic, awesome to behold..."
Diren sighed as he carried their food to the table. "And just what dangers lie in wait for us in Greece?"
"Well, if you want to believe the stories, there are a lot of 'mythical creatures' in Greece, but most you have to purposely go seeking to come into contact with them." Chrysa sat down and looked at Diren with hope. "I have done my reading. Hippogriffs are supposed to be reasonable and intelligent, if we regard them correctly."
"And that means?" He took a bite, readying himself for her explanation.
"Well, hippogriffs are vicious creatures. But, if you approach them correctly, pretty much in a way that defers to them as superior, they will react to you with light indifference. You then must continue to prove your worth until they see you as friend and not meal. Kinda like how you would react to an elephant, lion, tiger, etcetera." Chrysa seemed oblivious to the look Diren was giving her as she bit into her sandwich.
"You are serious, aren't you? You are willing to stare down a hippogriff?"
"They are supposed to be easily tamed if you do everything right!" she exclaimed.
Diren shook his head. "That is a big if, especially involving us."
"Please?"
Diren groaned and nodded his head. "Then, when do you want to leave?"
Another trip! And Talvan's place is marvelous. I want one... We are going to Greece? I love that place. Diren started at Namaran's voice in his head.
Chrysa chuckled, obviously talking to Talvan. "Let's head out after we finish eating."
Diren put his half-eaten sandwich on his plate. "I think I will take mine to go..."
* * * *
The Corinth Canal sparkled in the sunlight. The sheer walls were beautiful, though hard to fly near. The wind tunnel created by this immense canal was nearly impossible to fly in. Exhausted, Namaran touched down at the halfway point, up on the ledge. Diren helped Chrysa dismount the crimson giant while Talvan flew lazily to the ground, settling beside Namaran. Both humans found a patch of grass and laid down.
"I don't know about you, but if a hippogriff wants to remain in hiding, that is an excellent place to do it. Namaran has no interest in continuing today." Diren looked over at his dragon and cringed at the poor beast's heaving sides.
"I am really sorry Diren. I had no idea. I feel just awful." Chrysa sighed. "I would never have asked."
Diren reached for her hand and patted it gently. "I know. You love Namaran almost as much as Talvan."
Chrysa turned her head to look at Diren. "Who in this planet wouldn't love Namaran? He is the best, most handsome, polite, gentlemanly dragon in the world!"
Diren chuckled as Namaran weakly bugled his appreciation. "Namaran say thank you, but you make it easy to be that way."
Chrysa blushed. "Talvan is lovable too, I must make mention of that." Silence met her comment. She looked at Diren. "That's odd. Shouldn't she have responded to that?"
"I expected her to speak up while Namaran was being enamoured by you." Diren glanced at the dragons. "Wait... where is Talvan?"
Chrysa sat up quickly and got to her feet. She looked around, but didn't see Talvan anywhere. Talvan?
Yes, heart-sister?
Where are you?
I found the most amazing creature...
"She's found an amazing creature... it looks like a cupid!" Chrysa looked at Diren alarmed.
"Oh dear..."
* * * *
Talvan pranced after the creature flitting through the air. It looked like a mix between a teddy bear, a rabbit and an fairy. It sang sweetly, darting here and there, looking at flowers and other plants. Talvan had never seen anything like it. Once in a while, it looked behind to watch if the dragon was following. Each time, it was satisfied enough to keep flying.
Talvan was so consumed by this new creature that she did not pay any attention to where they were going. Nor, did she pay attention to how much time had passed.
Suddenly, the little creature stopped and turned to face Talvan. It smiled and then sang a new song, one that was faster than the one Talvan had followed. To her amazement, several more of the flying creatures joined their friend in the air. Together, the little beings made quite a nice choir.
One flitted down to her, floating at eye level and tapped Talvan on the nose gently. It tickled, causing the dragon to sneeze. The little cherub was sent tumbling backwards through the air until it hit another of its friends. Joyous at the new game, all the creatures began tickling Talvan's nose.
While she was distracted, the first creature left them playing, searching out left and right for something very specific. An hour later, it returned and motioned for the others to stop tickling Talvan. Slightly miffed and tired, Talvan sat down heavily upon the ground and stared at the creatures. Suddenly, they weren't as intriguing as before.
She looked around, realising she had no idea where she was. She called for Chrysa, and heard her speak back, but because she couldn't begin to describe where she was, help from Chrysa was limited. The creatures began to sing again, lightly, drawing Talvan forward. She followed, eyes closed, until the creature stopped.
Before her was nothing she had ever seen before. Colours were enhanced, as if someone took a paintbrush and made everything what they should have been from a deity's perspective. Creatures played about in the water... creatures Talvan had only seen in the books Chrysa loves to read.
And in the middle of it all stood a very proud creature. He stood tall and regal, back upright and coat glossy. As she stared at him intently, the cherubs began to sing again. Talvan ignored them. The only thing she could think of was that Chrysa would have just died if she were standing with Talvan. For, before her, stood the most magnificent creature yet. A Centaur.
The song crescendoed as something began falling on Talvan's nose. The cherubs were sprinkling something on her. Just as she started to speak, something sharp embedded into her backside. She inhaled rapidly as the pain spread through her muscle. When she turned to look at what was wrong, she saw a tiny arrow. She reached back and pulled it out with her mouth and spat it on the ground.
"That was not necessary!"
The cherubs continued to sing, dancing in the air gracefully, hypnotising Talvan. Suddenly, the cherubs departed and Talvan found herself standing next to the Centaur. Though she tried to speak, she couldn't find her tongue. He was so handsome and strong, that she shied away from talking to him. When he looked at her, she admired his big brown eyes.
"What do you want little one?" he asked.
"Ohhh, nothing," she said dreamily.
The Centaur looked at her strangely, then alarmed. He knew that look. He searched the air for the offending creatures and found them perched in a tree watching. They giggled, then took to the air, disappearing as if they hadn't been there at all. He looked back down at Talvan, who had now taken up residence, curled at his feet. Her eyes looked at him longingly.
"Oh dear..."
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