Day Three
Jangling bells and the scrabble of claws through the leafy mulch of the forest floor presaged Athosar's arrival. As he emerged into a clearing lit by brilliant starlight, he only then saw the Starbear that itself was raising its head in a 'hmm?'ing query to see what on earth all the racket was. The Tundra skittered to a halt, leaving long furrows in his wake. Rather a bit like that meteor had through the forest, oh no don't don't think don't think about THAT...
Reduced to the sounds of a hatchling, he trilled and rumbled, quivering, until the Starbear trundled up and, blinking sleepily, reached a paw up to tap him on the snout. *boop!* Somehow, the rosy scent of the bear's paw-pads against his nostrils brought Athosar back to his senses.
"I must go tell the others! S-Somebody! Somewhere!" he told the bear. Sleepily, the ursine agreed, and looked skyward, as if to say,
looks like good flying weather...
With a grateful nod to the bear, Athosar spread his wings, and took gratefully to the open skies above.
The next light that he saw was the proper glow of civilization! Below, hundreds of dragons gathered, the noises of their celebrations and the many-colored lights of their booths and encampments creating a warm, roseate aura. Somewhere, down there, were his clanmates. Oh, how he longed to see them again, and tell them what he had come across! They would know what to do! He landed on the outskirts, and intrepidly began to make his way through the crowds, nostrils working as he sought out familiar scents.
Alas, the throngs of dragons proved to be just as baffling as the maze of trees had. Even if he -had- a map of the layout of all the various camps, he could not have hoped to make what he saw jive with the staid and orderly representation on paper. Dragons jostled and bumped and shoved him -- all good-naturedly, but Athosar's head drooped lower and lower, sounds of frustration rumbling in his throat.
At last, the crowds thinned enough to reveal a booth proclaiming INFORMATION. Oh, thank the Eleven!
Yet, it was the Pearlcatcher behind the booth that was asking the questions, once he got there. "By Arcanist's splendid shiny hat! Are you alright? You look like you've done some stuff and seen some things!" she exclaimed. Before he knew it, the tale was tumbling out of him.
"And...and...I just really think that dragons w-who are -good- at looking into this sort of thing should...look into it," Athosar stammered, at the end. Thankfully, the Pearlcatcher was in complete agreement with him, vowing to pass his tale on to the proper authorities. Her show of sympathy didn't hurt, either.
The Tundra was turning to face the crowds again, trying to rustle up enough courage to throw himself into the middle of all that again, when he felt a touch to his shoulder. His work was not -quite- done. Radiata needed help -- and somehow, his aid was a foregone conclusion, and it was just a matter of -how- he helped her.
He pondered his choices. Already frazzled and overstimulated, he had no desire to go back into the crowd, anyway, let alone to go talk to more strangers. And he found that part of him quailed at the thought of approaching the Wardens -- they sounded very much like Arao, and he could only imagine how gruff the Mirror would be when he found out that Athosar had seen a perfectly good monster and -run away- from it. He shook his head vigorously, so much so that Radiata backed away, fearing that she had pushed him too far.
"I-I'll go to the Library," he said. "It sounds quiet there...and I could use the break. Show me the way?" He smiled weakly, as Radiata obliged.
Starfall Celebration
Blackberry brandy, shaved coconut, crystallized sugar, and a dash of pink pepper.
