Day 382:
Lyra was in the lead today and went out with Belina and Larkspur to the blooming grove. 20 battles was not enough for everyone to get a level but it was just enough to tip Lyra up to lvl 13
Day 382:
It was turning out to be quite a nice day in the woods. Rey had finished checking the traps early and had agreed to accompany Larkspur and Lyra out into a part of the woods that the other dragons had only just mapped. Lyra was very glad for the company, while she could handle herself okay in a fight, probably, Rey’s sharp eyes and self assurance made up for her lack of confidence.
The idea was, according to Larkspur at least, that the soil would be different and they would have a better chance of finding helpful plants for illnesses there. It seemed logical enough, and though it was quite the trek, the plants around them slowly changed. This wasn’t quite enough for Larkspur who led them off the edge of the map.
“Your hearing better be enough to get us back,” said Rey from his position on Lyra’s back.
Larkspur bobbed his head “I will listen for the (ah) bees but for now -”
He crowed in delight, and darted forwards so fast Lyra nearly lost him in the tangle. “The water!”
A fen opened up before them, there was barely any water visible but after a few steps it puddled around their feet with every step. Larkspur immediately set about his search, delighted with the variety of new plants that this niche ecosystem provided while Lyra, with Rey still on her back, was simply happy to take in the change of scenery.
Since she couldn’t hear plants like Larkspur could it was unlikely she’d find anything specifically medicinally useful but she might find something pretty or better yet, edible to bring back. This wasn’t nearly as pressing as the plants Larkspur was looking for, especially with not only Larkspur and Penthesilea but Diedrich and Belina having another clutch on the way, still Lyra liked to feel like she was making herself helpful regardless.
Some of the vegetation was familiar, like the starmoss that grew plentifully throughout the woods but there were many species she didn’t recognize tucked amid the grasses and sedge. Curious flowers with sticky ball like fronds, though Lyra couldn’t see a reason for it, plump overripe berries nearing the end of their season and buzzing with insects, and what appeared to be the cap of a strange black mushroom with blue spots in a section of flooded deadwood where many of the trees had fallen. Its size wasn’t strange for the woods but the colouration was.
Lyra picked her way over carefully to avoid sink holes hidden in the mud, determined to get a closer look. Larkspur always spoke highly of mushrooms and Lyra found them at the very least, both easy to grow and rather delicious.
She was taken aback and somewhat surprised to find when she finally peeked over the pile of fallen logs to find a wide green dragon wearing a mushroom top as a hat.
“Are you lost?” asked Lyra, though the dragon didn’t look it. His eyes were closed and he might have been sleeping. Lyra could feel Rey shift slightly to be in a better position if anything went wrong.
“Oh no,” said the dragon, who wasn’t a sort that Lyra recognized though she knew there were many in Sornieth. He didn’t open his eyes. “I just pulled over here to meditate, it was just like so peaceful, y’know? And you get a good breeze here, so crazy the Windsinger can reach his children just where ever, so I wanted to take some time to just enjoy nature and like... commune.”
Lyra struggled to follow the draconian in an unfamiliar accent but she recognized the name of the Windsinger. It was one of the few deities names she remembered from her lessons besides the Shadowbinder. When she had been younger she sometimes wondered if he heard her singing and thought that one day if fate allowed she’d like to visit the Windswept Plateau and hear what sort of music they made there. She doubted Rey caught much more of it.
“So you’re from the wind flight,” she said, grasping on to the one thing she was sure of.
The dragon opened his bright green eyes, “Yeah, that’s right. I figured I’d just like wander the world and see what happened. The winds go everywhere why shouldn’t I?”
“Would you like to come home with us?” asked Lyra. If nothing else she wanted this strange green dragon to stay a few nights. He could tell her stories of his home, perhaps if she was lucky teach her a few songs.
“Sure, sure,” said the dragon pleasantly. He stood up, seeming nonplussed at the fallen trunk and branches that had fallen on him even as splinters hung to his mud-stained vest. Lyra wondered exactly how long he’d been meditating there or if he’d even noticed when the tree fell.
“What are you doing?” whistled Rey with quiet urgency.
Lyra turned to lead their guest back to reconvene with Larkspur. “I’m inviting him to stay for a little bit, no harm in that.”
“We met him moments ago, how do you know he isn’t dangerous?” demanded Rey.
“If he’s dangerous than Larkspur will say something. Besides, you know it’s dangerous to be alone out here.”
“Is that some sort of like secret code you guys talk in?” asked the dragon, plodding placidly behind, stretching out his legs to place his feet in Lyra’s prints.
“Um, no,” said Lyra, “It’s just how we talk.”
“Wow, that’s like really cool,” said the dragon. “Anyways, since I’m staying with you guys and everything for a while, I’m Ulysses. Do you folks do names?”
“Is he stupid?” asked Rey, pointedly not looking behind him.
Lyra ignored him, and instead gave their names to Ulysses. He seemed surprised to find them so ‘normal’ as he termed it but Lyra had no gauge for what he meant by that.
Fortunately for her, and much to Rey’s increased indignation, Larkspur did not find anything objectionable about Ulysses though he was too busy fussing over his cuttings and samples to be particularly critical. MaryLou didn’t see any harm with Ulysses staying either when they returned to the lair, so the matter was settled and Rey went to go complain to his snails while Lyra did her best not to bombard Ulysses with questions.
Ulysses, however, appeared to have the patience of a stone and answered all her questions with good humour, though Lyra didn’t always understand all of his answers. She quietly determined she would spend some time with MaryLou in the library brushing up on her draconian. He even asked some questions of his own, though he seemed more happy to let Lyra talk where ever her thoughts took her.
By the time the moon was high in the sky, Lyra was exhausted though her store of questions wasn’t. She was fascinated by Ulysses talk of a great floating city called the Cloudsong, his travels across The Sea of A Thousand Currents and his tales of a giant rampaging three headed monster reanimated from the corpses of dead dragons. Still, she could barely keep her eyes open, so she offered to find Ulysses a place to sleep before she went to bed herself.
“I don’t, like do that,” he said, “so no need to fuss.”
“What?” said Lyra, certain she had misheard.
“I don’t sleep,” Ulysses said cheerful. “Trade for not flying I guess. I’ll likely just meditate in the garden ‘till the mists like, clear a bit.”
“Oh okay,” Lyra said. She had thought sleep was a thing all dragons did, this just made Ulysses more mysterious to her.
As she curled up in the little hollow she’d constructed for herself near the entrance of the lair, Lyra couldn’t help but hope that the wind didn’t blow Ulysses elsewhere too soon. The world was so wide, and who knew what else he had seen. Lyra went to sleep dreaming of a never ending storm over endless water, and at the centre one bright green eye.
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oooooh someone's crushing bad!
Also Larkspur's and Penthesilea's nest hatched today, unfortunately, neither child survived. So both the pale girl and the screaming pink boy are up for grabs if anyone's so inclined:
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