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Post by Nerius on Aug 12, 2020 18:08:05 GMT -6
[9]
That would be his destination for this trip, Nerius decided. It was sure to have something interesting inside this month, and hopefully, no freak sandstorms. He'd been half expecting to be sandblasted again standing out on the beach like this, though watching the monster starfish had distracted him. Still, there was plenty of time for a sandy wind to brew up, he still had quite a walk to the building proper.
Helios had grown bored with the bit of shell, and was already starting to wander, as much as the leash would allow. It was as good a time as any to start off, the walk to the building wasn't getting any shorter, and Helios' training had held, the young sarane being agreeable enough to come along after Nerius. His training hadn't extended to learning to heel, but with the leash, that wasn't really an issue, and was reasonably behaved for walkies.
(Nerius: 9/20) (Helios: Lv: 7, 37/40 | Lyl: 7, 37/40)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 12, 2020 18:18:01 GMT -6
[10]
He wasn't in any particular hurry to reach the building, he'd arrived early enough in the day that the trip wouldn't be in a rush, and there was still plenty to see along the beach. Nerius was sure there was at least a few intact shells out here, and he kept his eyes open for items worth grabbing while he walked.
Helios was interested in his surroundings as well, though he wasn't as picky about his finds as Nerius. They'd passed several bits of beach debris, many of which had drawn his interest, but Nerius hadn't let the two of them stop, they'd never get anywhere if he did. At least there was so much stuff scattered around that there was always something new to catch the hatchling's attention. A colorful bit of shell, a shiny rock, or a chunk of coral, all things that Helios would have loved to stop and play with for a while.
(Nerius: 10/20) (Helios: Lv: 7, 38/40 | Lyl: 7, 38/40)
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Post by Nadia on Aug 13, 2020 10:22:18 GMT -6
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 15:34:34 GMT -6
[11]
Helios suddenly pulled at the leash, and Nerius realized he'd caught sight of something much more interesting than a shell, a live bird! Nerius was once more reminded of a cat, the small sarane had the urge to pounce at anything small enough that moved. It technically counted as bad behavior, but Nerius hadn't wanted to train him out of it, at least not entirely, such an instinct would be useful in a fighting sarane.
For now though, it meant he had to make sure the whelp didn't eat the pocketpet; he had, at least, been taught what it meant when Nerius told him, "No, Helios." He stopped, but clearly still wanted to go after the bird, and the creature knew it too, fluttering away from the sarane to hide behind Nerius. That was one way to befriend mansion critters, though probably not the best way, though at least this one didn't need to be carried in a bucket.
(Nerius: 11/20) (Helios: Lv: 7, 39/40 | Lyl: 7, 39/40)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 15:41:34 GMT -6
[12]
Though, with the bird having been chased away from what it had been inspecting in the sand, Nerius was able to see what it had been interested in: shells! Not the broken bits that were scattered across the beach, but a pair of intact purple shells. They were different than the ones he'd found last month, the others had been rounded and sandy colored, while these were much more colorful, and spiraled into points. They were the first decent item he'd found, and he wasn't about to leave them behind.
He walked over, kneeling down to pick one up, dusting the excess sand off the surface, and tipping it to pour out what had accumulated inside. Helios, seeing his movement, quit staring at the bird for a moment, to look at what he was doing. The colorful shells were suddenly much more interesting than the bird, and Nerius had to grab the second one quickly before Helios could pounce.
(Nerius: 12/20) (Helios: Lv: 8, 40/45 | Lyl: 8, 40/45)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 15:52:26 GMT -6
[13]
The whelp was getting bigger, and he wasn't careful with his toys, and Nerius was concerned he'd damage the shell with his rough play. Helios made an unhappy noise at having his potential plaything taken away, but Nerius wasn't about to give it to him. There was plenty of broken bits scattered around, he didn't mind if the hatchling played with those, and soon enough Helios lost interest in the shell Nerius had, and went back to exploring the sand.
It took a little nudging to get him going again, Nerius' goal was the.. building, he couldn't call it a 'mansion' this month. He wasn't sure what to call it, he'd never seen that kind of architecture in person before, and only in books since arriving at the Labs. The entire 'tropical' theme was something new to him, from the plants and animals, to the buildings and food, not that he'd seen any of the latter yet.
(Nerius: 13/20) (Helios: Lv: 8, 41/45 | Lyl: 8, 41/45)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 16:13:54 GMT -6
[14]
Would the inside of the 'mansion' match the outside this month, he wondered. It often didn't, and sometimes even seemed to be outside. Or, was outside, it was quite possible the doors magically linked to places that actually were outside, such as the pumpkin patch. This month had been described as 'tropical', but having never actually been to the tropics, Nerius wasn't entirely sure what that entailed.
He was drawn from his thoughts, and casual scanning of the sand, as Helios suddenly lunged after something, again. At first, Nerius thought it was a shell, but the shell was moving, and after a second, realized there was a crab living in the shell, and that's what was scuttling across the sand. The shell would likely protect it, but it didn't make Helios hesitate, and the young drake was eager to try to pounce on it. "Helios no!" once again Nerius was glad the whelp had some training.
(Nerius: 14/20) (Helios: Lv: 8, 42/45 | Lyl: 8, 42/45)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 16:20:43 GMT -6
[15]
Helios listened, but still, that was probably something Nerius realized he should train the drake out of before he grew to his full size. It was kind of cute, when he was going after a hermit crab, but it would be much less so if at full size he tried to pounce on someone's pet. As it was, he already had to keep a close eye on the whelp, all it took was a few seconds distraction.
But that was a concern for another day. Nerius supposed it was possible to train a pet here, but there were so many new sights and smells that he doubted Helios would stay focused for a training session. Besides, his main goal here was a search for magic, the mines were better for raw power, but for odd trinkets, the mansion had more. Not to mention, the interest of the entire area being saturated in the magic that made it change with the seasons.
(Nerius: 15/20) (Helios: Lv: 8, 43/45 | Lyl: 8, 43/45)
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Post by Nadia on Aug 13, 2020 16:26:32 GMT -6
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 17:07:01 GMT -6
[16]
The mansion, it seemed, was jealous of his belief that the mines held more power, for no sooner had Nerius thought that did he sense the unmistakable presence of magic. It had that sort of hollow thrumming, not unexpected, as far as Nerius knew, elemental crystals weren't found at the mansion, only what were known as remnant crystals.
Suddenly much less interested in the beach debris, Nerius headed in the direction of the crystal. It was technically a detour to the cabana, but it was also one of his main hopes of things to find, and was a much higher priority to reach than the building. Helios didn't sense anything unusual of course, and was confused as to why Nerius was suddenly walking with more intent. He would have preferred to stop and investigate every little bit of shell, or potential pocketput, but his training held, and he came along after Nerius.
(Nerius: 16/20) (Helios: Lv: 8, 44/45 | Lyl: 8, 44/45)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 17:15:19 GMT -6
[17]
Nerius followed the feel of magic, it wasn't far, he could tell that, but the terrain wasn't the easiest to cross. The sandy beaches weren't a problem, but the large, course rocks required some scrambling over. They didn't seem to slow Helios, or at least, not as much as the did Nerius, the sarane's sturdy claws were well suited to climbing. Nerius was less skilled at this, though at least it didn't require the scaling of any vertical walls.
Still, he wouldn't have gone this path if it weren't for the pull of magic, but after scrambling over a particularly rough boulder, reached a large tide pool. The crystal was in the pool, not the ideal place, but at least it wasn't buried under a massive driftwood log or something equally difficult to move. Standing at the edge of the pool, Nerius looked to see if he could spot the crystal itself.
(Nerius: 17/20) (Helios: Lv: 9, 45/50 | Lyl: 9, 45/50)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 17:43:46 GMT -6
[18]
The crystal was easy to spot, it glowed with an inner light, and was easy for Nerius to see even under a foot of water. Unfortunately, he could also see what else was in the pool, dozens of sunflower starfish. They all had far too many legs, and some of them were massive, four feet across; they were large enough to eat him! Eat, by puking up their stomachs over their prey, half digesting it, before slurping it back up. Nerius shuddered in disgust, not wanting the creepy things anywhere near his body.
And if it had been anything else, Nerius wouldn't have found it worth it do descend into starfish hell, but for magic? There was no way he was leaving it because of some freaky sea critters. He didn't want to bring Helios in with him though, or anywhere near the pool, really. Many of the starfish were larger than the whelp!
(Nerius: 18/20) (Helios: Lv: 9, 46/50 | Lyl: 9, 46/50)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 17:49:39 GMT -6
[19]
Nerius looked around the area, for more than just an excuse not to have to look at the sunflower starfish anymore. He spotted a large driftwood log, and walked over to it, that would do to tie Helios' leash to, at least while he went in for the crystal. The sarane watched, but didn't seem to mind, and was soon more interested in trying to climb the log. Tugging on the leash first to make sure it wouldn't come loose, Nerius turned back to the tide pool.
Ergh it was filled with those horrible starfish, and he could even see some of them slithering around across the rocks. There was no way he was taking off his sandals, the thought of one of those things crawling on his bare skin, brrr. Fortunately he was wearing something a little more suited to the beach than he had for his last trip, and getting his sandals wet wouldn't harm them.
(Nerius: 19/20) (Helios: Lv: 9, 47/50 | Lyl: 9, 47/50)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 18:05:38 GMT -6
[20]
The water was shallow enough, and Nerius was wearing shorts, so the rest of his cloths wouldn't get wet, even if bare legs meant his skin was more exposed to the starfish. Nerius scanned the pool, looking for the side closest to the crystal, and walked around to that side. Ugh, there really was no more putting it off, he just needed to wade in. With the horrible starfish, and it's little tube feet.
Carefully, he dipped a toe into the water, and when no monster starfish make a move for his foot, slid the rest of the limb into the water. It wasn't as cold as he would have expected, but that really wasn't the major concern. Carefully, he picked his way across the pool, careful not to step on any starfish. Helios had been clambering his way up the log, and was now surveying the area from his perch, though he wasn't interested in Nerius or the pool.
(Nerius: 20/20 +Added!) (Helios: Lv: 9, 48/50 | Lyl: 9, 48/50)
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Post by Nadia on Aug 13, 2020 18:17:18 GMT -6
There's a net in the water, with a shell tangled in it! Be careful you don't get caught in it.
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