Laskowski

[...]
____ "If you ever feel like talking, I'm here to listen," I murmured, drawing closer to her.

____ She turned to meet my gaze, the dim moonlight reflecting in her eyes. Her face displayed a mixture of emotions, with sadness etched in her lines.

____ Her attention returned to the landscape below, her gaze followed the contours of the moonlit world. She whispered gently, "It wasn't always like this, you know," each breath seemed to hold a multitude of thoughts.

____ The breeze whispered through the reeds, echoing the heaviness in her words. My curiosity piqued by her somber tone, I leaned in and gently inquired, "How so?"

____ "Things were different... with my family", she softly confessed, her voice carrying the weight of memories. "We used to be close."

____ "Oh. What happened?"

____ "That seems like a distant past", she said, raising her forelegs gently and gazing at them as the moonlight illuminated her scales, "I used to belong to a Banescale family. I was one of them, and my father was the sky warrior."

____ Her mention of a Banescale caught me off guard, and curiosity surged within me. Whispers about them had reached my ears before, but I had never seen one. And here she was, a Guardian who used to be one of them? It was unexpected. What happened to her before? Questions flooded my mind as I became captivated by her narrative.

____ "I still remember the day my brother and I entered this world," she reminisced; the reeds swayed gently around us, providing a natural accompaniment to her memories. "My mother was overjoyed. She said we would follow in his wings someday," a fleeting smile touching her lips.

____ "For years, he mentored both me and my brother, guiding us with his strength", she recounted, the yearning for their former bond evident in her voice.

____ "And during those days, I lived in the shadow of his legacy", she added, pride and sorrow mingling in her tone.

____ A deep breath punctuating her words, she paused, lost in thought for a moment. "But gradually, I began to feel suffocated by his decisions", emotion quivering beneath her words. "It was as though I couldn't break free from his influence, no matter how hard I tried."

____ "I attempted to express my need for autonomy", she continued, her gaze distant. "However, he disregarded my desires".

____ "I endeavored to assert myself, but the more I tried, the more strained our relationship became", she lamented, her voice laden with emotion.

____ "Until one day, a rift formed", she revealed, her voice faltering. "And I made the decision to leave."

____ "My mother tried to dissuade me", she continued, "But in my anger, I said things I shouldn't have, things I still regret to this day," sorrow lingering in her words like an unhealed wound.

____ "After that, I didn't see them for a long time," she whispered almost inaudibly, "I don't even know how long it's been."

____ A sudden silence surrounded us, the only sound being the steady rush of wind through the reeds. Leaning my head on hers, I looked out at the peaceful sight below - the roaring rapids far beneath, their beauty contrasting sharply with the turmoil she held inside. I couldn't help but feel the weight of emotions, with each word carrying a piece of her pain. It felt as though she was unraveling the threads of her past, weaving them into our shared moment.

____ I set aside my inquiries, recognizing that this was a time for listening, for understanding.
[...]

[...]
____ As we descended further, the path gradually narrowed and the suffocating heat grew more intense with each step. It wrapped around me, clinging to my skin, making every breath a struggle.

____ Eventually, we emerged into a vast place, the air thick with the scent of sulfur and the distant rumble of molten lava echoing off the walls. In the center, a colossal lake of molten lava dominated the scene. The lava cascaded down from towering stratified corridors, creating majestic waterfalls. The walls and lakes were adorned with obsidian pillars and formations of magma, creating a mesmerizing spectacle. It filled me with awe and amazement.

____ "Where are we?", my voice barely a whisper, swallowed by the cavernous space.

____ “The central hall,” she replied softly, “where all paths converge and where we frequently assemble.”

____ My gaze roaming over the chamber, its scale and majesty unfolding before my eyes was far beyond what I had ever seen, "More impressive than I thought," I admitted. In that moment, I forgot about the stifling heat that surrounded me.

____ While cautiously surveying our surroundings, I was suddenly startled by a strange echoing sound from above. It resembled a powerful roar, shattering the silence around us.

____ Raising my eyes, I observed a creature standing on the precipice above, completely engulfed in flickering flames. The uncanny radiance emitted by its flames seemed to elegantly intertwine with the darkness.

____ The creature let out another resounding roar, its voice echoing throughout the chamber like an eerie symphony, filling the air with an unsettling unease. It descended and perched on a pillar at the center of the lake, its eyes fixed on us with a intense stare. Despite being smaller than us, its presence filled me with wariness.

____ She twitched her tail. I positioned myself beside her, prepared to intervene if anything seemed amiss. However, she extended her wing wide, blocking my way forward. In hesitant, I sensed an unspoken connection between them and took a step back.

____ My curiosity piqued, I whispered, "Who is that?"

____ She remained silent, her gaze directed at the creature. The air was heavy with tension, only broken by the occasional splash of small rocks falling into the flowing lava. Eventually, in a voice laced with an indescribable emotion, she replied, "My brother."

____ "Oh..." So that's her brother. I glanced at him, he was still standing there, peering down at us. The intense light from the lake cast a vivid red hue on his body. And I finally noticed, he only had hind legs - just like the descriptions about Banescale I had heard.
[...]

[...]
____ "Well... It happened one evening,"[...]
[...] [...]

____ "Are you lost?"
____ "What brings you here?"
____ "We have no one with that name."
____ "I don't know what you're talking about."
____ "But you mentioned going with someone, 'Roosevelt'. Where is she now?"