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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 18:21:50 GMT -6
[21]
Avoiding the starfish wasn't the easiest thing to do, there were just so many, and they were so big! Not to mention they moved, which was, in Nerius' opinion, the worst part. He could see them slithering across the bottom of the pool, disturbed by the water currents of his footsteps, most likely. But at long last (not really) he was able to reach the crystal. The starfish avoided getting too close for whatever reason, and there was a good foot radius around it where there where no starfish.
That was a small mercy, at least, and no starfish reached for his his arm as he plucked the crystal out of the water. Nerius inspected his prize, the feel of magic drawing his entire focus. At least, until a starfish slithered a few of its limbs across his leg. "YEEEK!" The loud scream of surprise could probably be heard all the way to the mansion, and was enough to startle Helios into almost falling off the log.
(Nerius: 1/20) (Helios: Lv: 9, 49/50 | Lyl: 9, 49/50)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 18:32:14 GMT -6
[22]
Still holding tightly to the crystal, Nerius pulled his leg away as fast as he dared, as awful as it was to have the thing touching his leg, falling into a pool of the monster starfish would be even worse! It didn't stay stuck, at least, and he was able to shake it off with little difficultly, and as quickly as he could, while still being careful not to step on any starfish, picked his way back to the shore. Dry ground couldn't come soon enough, if he never had to see another sunflower starfish it would be too soon.
Helios had been watching him after the shriek, but soon enough, something else caught his attention. A hermit crab, scuttling around next to a tiny palm tree. It was within reach of the log, Nerius hadn't noticed it before, being too focused on the crystal. The whelp had no interest in magic, and was on the hunt!
(Nerius: 2/20) (Helios: Lv: 10, 50/55 | Lyl: 10, 50/55)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 18:39:10 GMT -6
[23]
The crab hadn't noticed him yet, and Helios crept closer, before pouncing, and landing on the unfortunate critter. Its shell protected it, at least for a little while, long enough for the scuffle to catch Nerius' notice.
"Helios, no!" he scolded the drake, scooping up the little hermit crab to rescue it. It was firmly tucked into its shell, and had no interest in pinching him at the moment. Helios was less than happy at having his 'toy' taken away, and flopped down onto the the sand with a quiet grumbling growl. Nerius inspected the little critter he held, the crab itself seemed okay, though some of the decoration on the shell was a little battered now. He'd brought a bucket for the purpose of taking home pocket pets, and put it in, safely away from the sarane. He took a moment to glance around, and in addition to the sulky sarane, spotted a tiny tree.
(Nerius: 3/20) (Helios: Lv: 10, 51/55 | Lyl: 10, 51/55)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 18:45:53 GMT -6
[24]
He grabbed the odd little plant, and in addition to the small tree, spotted a cluster of shells. Perhaps the hermit crab had been shopping for a new home? They didn't seem the right shape for a hermit crab, but they looked intact, and Nerius took them with him too, not being on the lookout for any particular shape. Nerius didn't immediately spot anything else, and once all his finds were secured, including the crystal, untied Helios from the log.
"Come on," he encouraged the still grumpy whelp, who slowly stood, and followed along, though continued to sulk. Was that a common drake thing, he wondered. Schism was the master of the sulk, even as a hatchling Helios couldn't compete. Which was a good thing, Nerius wasn't sure he could handle another whiny drake, the purple already tested his patience at times. The ribbon didn't help either, at least Helios couldn't voice his complaints.
(Nerius: 4/20) (Helios: Lv: 10, 52/55 | Lyl: 10, 52/55)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 18:51:43 GMT -6
[25]
Nerius let him sulk, and took one last look around the tide pool. Still all those freaky starfish, and.. a net, tangled in one corner. It was right next to where he'd entered, he was lucky he hadn't gotten tangled in it, but had missed it before being mainly focused on the crystal and starfish. He didn't really want to deal with the latter again, but it was right next to the edge of the pool, and Nerius was able to pluck it out of the water without getting to close to any starfish.
He wasn't sure what he'd do with it mind you, but he found a little extra prize, another spiral shell tangled in the net. He extracted the shell, but otherwise didn't try to detangle it, putting both away in his backpack. By now, Helios was getting a little too interested in the tide pool, and Nerius led him away before there could be any starfish incidents.
(Nerius: 5/20) (Helios: Lv: 10, 53/55 | Lyl: 10, 53/55)
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Post by Nadia on Aug 13, 2020 18:57:17 GMT -6
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 20:54:21 GMT -6
[26]
Helios didn't seem bothered in the slightest by the weird sea creatures, but plenty of them were large enough to entirely cover the whelp. That was just another reason Nerius was happy to get away from the starfish, and start heading to the building once again. The path was just as rocky as it had been on his way here, and scattered with tide pools. Nerius couldn't help himself from peering into them, wary of more starfish. There were some, but they were the smaller, five legged ones. Not nearly as awful, but he'd still rather stay away from them.
Their walk to the 'mansion' continued, though it wasn't direct as Nerius was trying to find the more open beach he'd traveled first. The rocks and tide pools weren't the easiest thing to cross, but it wasn't without reward. The soft clinking of wind chimes was what Nerius first noticed, following the sound he spotted an odd chime handing from a driftwood branch.
(Nerius: 6/20) (Helios: Lv: 10, 54/55 | Lyl: 10, 54/55)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 20:59:39 GMT -6
[27]
It was hardly what he would have expected to find lying on a beach somewhere, but he wasn't complaining. It was pretty, and almost delicate looking, and if Nerius hadn't known about the magic of the mansion, would have thought it in remarkable condition for being out in the elements. He picked it up, wrapping it up before carefully putting it in his pack.
Not immediately seeing anything else, he kept walking after that, and was happy to finally find the path he'd been on before. It was just as messy as it had been, and he wasn't surprised to see Helios go right for a bit of shine. He dug at the sand to reveal more of something, it was shiny but blended in, and Nerius couldn't quite see what it was with the drake in the way. But soon enough, he left it for a brighter bit of rock.
(Nerius: 7/20) (Helios: Lv: 11, 55/60 | Lyl: 11, 55/60)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 21:17:54 GMT -6
[28]
But once the whelp moved, eagerly pawing at the shiny, but ordinary, stone, Nerius was able to get a better look at what he had. It wasn't very colorful, but it was an intact looking shell, and he was much more interested in it than the drake had been. He put the shell with the others he'd found, and after letting the drake play with the stone a little, it had improved his mood, continued on.
The pair hadn't gone too far before Nerius spotted something else, he couldn't quite tell what it was at first, his guess had been... claws? But no, closer observation showed it was a necklace of shark teeth. It wasn't colorful or shiny enough for Helios to be interested, but Nerius picked it up. Like the chimes, he wrapped it up before putting it away, but unlike the chime, he was more concerned at it damaging something else.
(Nerius: 8/20) (Helios: Lv: 11, 56/60 | Lyl: 11, 56/60)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 21:25:03 GMT -6
[29]
While he was busy, Helios had found a long piece of coral, and was currently chewing on it. It hadn't been in the best shape to start with, and after this it wasn't likely to be something Nerius would want to bring home. It kept the whelp occupied at least, and he was able to carry it in his mouth as they continued on to the large beach house that was the mansion this month.
They didn't pass anything else worth grabbing, at least for Nerius, and soon enough the reached the building. There wasn't as much mess on the beach here, and the palm trees were much larger than what he'd found before. There was more to explore outside, he was sure, but there was nothing immediately eye catching, and the 'mansion' interior had been his goal. So Nerius headed up to the front door, his drake following along behind.
(Nerius: 9/20) (Helios: Lv: 11, 57/60 | Lyl: 11, 57/60)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 21:30:46 GMT -6
[30]
He hadn't been quite sure what to expect on opening the door, but the narrow plank was not it! It looked strong enough to support him, and Nerius was glad he hadn't brought a larger pet. Helios still hadn't grown too much, and while was bigger than he had been when newly hatched, he was still smaller and lighter than Nerius.
But getting him to want to cross could be the issue, Nerius wasn't sure how he'd take the narrow path and sharp dropoff. He hadn't seemed to really care yet, and was still more interested in the coral he was chewing on. Nerius carefully walked across the plank to the other platform first, the leash was long enough Helios could remain on the other side. Once he was confident he wasn't going to fall, he called to the drake, "Helios, come here." The whelp walked closer to the plank, before pausing to peer over the edge.
(Nerius: 10/20) (Helios: Lv: 11, 58/60 | Lyl: 11, 58/60)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 21:36:37 GMT -6
[31]
"Come on," Nerius encouraged, and Helios hesitantly put a foot on the plank. Nerius was glad to see it didn't creak or shift under the weight of the whelp, he suspected that would have scared him. As it was, the young drake found the plank, secure enough, and slowly, carefully, crossed over to the other side.
"Good job buddy," Helios had obeyed, but clearly hadn't enjoyed the experience, and Nerius couldn't really blame him. They'd likely have to cross it again on the way out, but for now Nerius hoped that was the last of the planks. He couldn't rule that possibility out though, one side of the platform was lined with the usual doors, but the other was still a sharp dropoff. There was water below, at least, Nerius could hear it, and saw it when he carefully looked over the side. It looked deep enough to be safe, but it was still quite a drop.
(Nerius: 11/20) (Helios: Lv: 11, 59/60 | Lyl: 11, 59/60)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 21:42:46 GMT -6
[32]
Not to mention, Nerius could swim, but the whelp couldn't, and he was still small enough that the water was much deeper than he was tall. Nerius would rather keep him away from the edge of the platform, and Helios agreed, the whelp was standing as far from the edge as the leash would allow.
There were plenty of doors to explore, and Nerius was sure at least one of them wouldn't involve any sharp drops. And indeed, the first door he opened had no planks or platforms to be seen. Unfortunately, it was also completely filled with water, which somehow didn't flow out the door, and that wasn't any better. Helios still couldn't swim, after all. The gold whelp had been fine on the beach, but was ill suited to exploring any but the most shallow water, and Nerius wondered if perhaps he should return again with a more aquatically inclined pet.
(Nerius: 12/20) (Helios: Lv: 12, 60/65 | Lyl: 12, 60/65)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 21:52:08 GMT -6
[33]
But for now, he'd keep going with the drake. The next door Nerius opened led to an area filled with tall tropical trees, so thick with foliage that he couldn't tell if it was indoors or not. Plants tended to catch his interest, and there didn't look like there was any deep water to give the whelp trouble, so Nerius chose that door.
As leafy as it was, there was a winding dirt path leading to.. somewhere, so he wasn't terribly concerned about getting lost. That was always a potential pitfall of the mansion, but at least this room wasn't a bigger risk than usual, even with all the plants. He could hear birdcalls in the distance, and so could Helios, and the drake's attention was aimed at the branches. Neither of them had seen anything yet, but Helios instinctively recognized the sound, and the potential for something to pounce on caught his interest.
(Nerius: 13/20) (Helios: Lv: 12, 61/65 | Lyl: 12, 61/65)
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Post by Nerius on Aug 13, 2020 21:57:53 GMT -6
[34]
He really was as bad as a cat, and Nerius could only shake his head at the whelp as the two of them continued along the winding path. The birds were getting louder, but so too was the sound of something else. As they got a little closer, Nerius realized it was the sound of waves hitting rocks. That didn't mean a lot though, as he'd heard that sound the entire walk along the beach, and hadn't ever actually seen the ocean.
There were birds flitting through the branches now, and Helios was starting to tug on the leash again, making Nerius tighten his grip to make sure the hatchling didn't pull away. He was glad he did too, when the path suddenly opened up to a sheer drop down to the ocean! It was a good hundred feet down to the water, the steep cliff offering little to slow a fall.
(Nerius: 14/20) (Helios: Lv: 12, 62/65 | Lyl: 12, 62/65)
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