The wind had picked up since Proxima and Chronos had begun their trek across the windswept plateau. It had reached almost a gale-like force, though Chronos swore they were still a great distance away from the twisting crescendo. Still, it seemed like the pair of them were close to being stuck in a storm.
"We have to find shelter!" Chronos yelled over the wild for what felt like the five hundredth time. Proxima didn't respond. She was too tired, too out of breath.
Suddenly, they broke out of the bamboo forest and into a clearing. The sight before them made both of them halt abruptly and stare at the clearing, mouths agape with shock. It looked as though dragons had once lived here, but the clearing was in bad shape. Any shelter that had once stood was gone, and the ground was littered with materials of all sorts. Chronos barely even flinched as a pair of rogue bracers blew into his face.
"Did- did the wind do all this?" Proxima asked quietly.
"No, this is too much damage for a simple windstorm. Besides, the wind flight knows how to build structures to withstand any force of wind. They've have to."
The two of them fell into silence. They had to tread carefully, lest the bamboo splinters that were strewn across the ground became embedded in their feet. Once they reached the other side, something caught their attention.
"Look! A tunnel!" Chronos exclaimed, rushing over to the hole in the ground. He paused at the entrance., face falling. "I-I don't know if it's safe. There could be anything down there. Dragons... beastclans... the shade." He paused, taking a moment to scan the skies. "I don't think we have a choice. This storm is getting too dangerous." He turned. "Are you okay with this? This will be very different from being underwater..."
Proxima studied the entrance to the tunnels, expecting to feel a sense of dread, but she didn't. "Whatever is down there, we'll face it together." She vowed.
With that, the two of them began to make their way down the tunnel. It was very dark, despite the fact they had grabbed a pair of glowing pocket baubles from near the entrance. Proxima could feel Chronos stiffening and slowing beside her, and he had gone oddly quiet.
"Is everything alright?" She whispered to her friend, trying to push him to keep moving while she spoke.
"Y-y-yeah." He whispered back. "I'm just... not fond of underground."
"But you're a snapper!" Proxima couldn't help but be surprised by his confession.
"A lightning snapper." Chronos pointed out. "Do you know what the ground does to electricity? It absorbs it, takes it far far away. Back in lightning, there were stories of dragons who had been burried under rockslides or mudslides. Most if them died, but the ones who survived, they were never the same again. The Earthshaker may be who created my breed, but I have always felt completely and 100% a lightning dragon."
Proxima pressed herself close to Chronos to comfort him. He leaned into her, and they continued to walk in silence.
Once the tunnel started to open up again, Chronos began to breathe more evenly. He still seemed a little nervous, but the cavern seemed spacious enough that he could begin to relax.
"There's no one here." He observed, scanning the room. Proxima was scanning too. The room was a complete mess. There where broken bottles and torn cloth and there were numerous objects scattered carelessly on the ground. Suddenly, something caught Proxima's eyes, in the corner of the room. Something, no, some
one was lying unconscious on the largest pile of fabrics.
"Look, over there!" Proxima called out, racing over to the skydancer. Chronos followed her as fast as he could. The skydancer looked to be in a bad condition. Bamboo splinters were piercing her skin, surrounded by dried blood. Her gembond looked to be pulsating slightly.
"Is she alive?" Proxima whispered
"I think so. Look. She's breathing." Chronos replied in a hushed tone. "But she's got a bad fever. She's burning up. She needs help, and soon, or she might not make it."
Proxima couldn't take her eyes off the skydancer. She wasn't even fully grown yet. She couldn't have been too much older than the two of them. "What are we going to do? Proxima asked. "Do you know anything about healing?"
"No." Chronos admitted, though determination filled his voice. "But we'll figure something out."
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So, Proxima and Chronos have found Vaille! Now the pinkerlocke team is finally together! Kind of. Vaille isn't really aware of the hatchlings.
I should probably let you all know I added a new rule. If I get four apparel pulls without being able to follow through on it, I have to hatch one of the unhatched eggs in my vault. If I run oout of eggs, this rule is not put into play, because if I can't afford a gene, I definitely can't afford another egg.
