"Follow me," she said, pulling a lantern off the wall and lighting it with a spark of lightning.
She walked down the hallway to what looked like a dead end, pulled up a trap door in the floor, and climbed down a ladder. She waited at the bottom of the ladder for LK to catch up before heading down into the tunnels.
"My dad brought me down here once when I was little so I could hear the stones sing. But he's too busy being a guardian of Yggdrasil to come here nowadays and I've explored the caverns a lot since then. Ooh, watch out for that...stalactite. Are you okay?"
The portal flares as LK runs out as fast as he can, yelling the usual "Arielle's after me!", "Everyone get out of the way", and more as he follows Arielle's instructions on finding the place.
Frost yawns, staring down at the two youngsters. "Crazy kids," he mutters blearily. He considers following them, but decides not to risk annoying Lynora and goes back to sleep.
"My dad brought me down here once when I was little so I could hear the stones sing. But he's too busy being a guardian of Yggdrasil to come here nowadays and I've explored the caverns a lot since then. Ooh, watch out for that...stalactite. Are you okay?"
"Yeah.. I'll be fine. I swear that thing appeared out of nowhere." He says with a grimace. "Maybe your dad put some defenses in here or something."
"My dad brought me down here once when I was little so I could hear the stones sing. But he's too busy being a guardian of Yggdrasil to come here nowadays and I've explored the caverns a lot since then. Ooh, watch out for that...stalactite. Are you okay?""Yeah.. I'll be fine. I swear that thing appeared out of nowhere." He says with a grimace. "Maybe your dad put some defenses in here or something."
She giggled. "I don't think Dad can take credit for that one. Just watch where you're walking. There are a lot of stalactites and stalagmites through these caves. Here," she said, taking his hand. "I'll make sure you don't run into anything else," she added with a grin.
She led the way through more twisting tunnels and caverns in a path that made no real sense until she came to a small hole that looked like it went nowhere.
"We can leave the lantern up here. We won't need it down there. Come on, follow me. I know it doesn't look like much from up here, but it's worth the trip."
And with that she wriggled down the hole and disappeared from sight.
"She's getting back at me for hiding in the rafters.." He thinks to himself as he climbs down into the hole.
For a moment he encounters darkness, and the smell of damp, and then the hole opens up into a large cavern. The walls are lined with phosphorescent moss and sparkling gems. Arielle is sitting next to an underground spring that feeds into the cave.
:Shhh.: she told him telepathically. :If you stay very quiet we'll be able to hear them sing.:
Nodding, he shifts to lighten his step and sits next to her. He'd heard the forest sing before, but hearing stones? That was going to be something completely new to him.
:This is my favorite part about this place. You're lucky. They often sing, but they rarely put on such a show of it.:
:Yeah..: He thinks back, still in awe. :I can feel it.. Never gonna look at a mountain the same again.:
She smiled and squeezed his hand.
:I'm glad you understand. Ever since I first came here this is where I come when things get to be too much. Listening to, and yes, feeling, the song.....it just makes everything else seem far away.:
:A way to relax and not care, even for a little while.: His hand goes to the wolf's head charm he wears around his neck, tucked away under his shirt. :It's good to get away from it all. This cave is a wonderful place Arielle. Thank you for sharing it with me.: He squeezes her hand. :It beats the little tree-swing I made in my opinion.:
:Not at all! I loved that tree swing. You made it for me, and that makes it special, at least I think it does.:
:I'm just glad I get to share this with you. You're the only one I've ever brought down here.: She leaned her head on his shoulder. :My favorite place and my favorite person to share it with. Yep, I'd say this qualifies as a perfect moment.:
:My opinion need not be the same as yours. I think we're thinking differently about what is good when it comes to these kind of places. The tree swing was nice, but I had to make it. Nothing made, by god or mortal, is as good as something like this cave.:
:Or you.:
She blushed and snuggled closer to him. She didn't respond so much in thought as in the impression of happiness that washed through their telepathic link.
The feeling she gets back is one of embarrassment as he realizes he thought that to her instead of to himself. A rare, sappy slip up for the wolf indead.
He doesn't mind that she moved closer though.
She sat contentedly leaning against him for the next twenty minutes or so as the rocks continued to sing and then sighed as the song wound down and silence filled the glowing cavern.
"That's pretty much it for them for a while. They only sing once or maybe twice a day."
"That's too bad. Their music makes me.. I can't really think of a word. Heh, I like rock music now. That will confuse so many people."
He hesitantly puts an arm around her shoulders.
"Where to now?"
"I didn't really have anything particular in mind. I just wanted to enjoy your company for a while. And I've definitely done that," she added smiling at him and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"So I guess it's up to you."
"Well, the Grove's not safe anymore since your brothers know about it, and the Oasis and upper levels of the Eyrie aren't safe for the same reason.
"So, barring we buy our own house in the Bazaar and spend a fortune in anti-scrying and apathy magics, I guess the Club is our best bet."
She chuckled. "Yeah, somehow I don't think my parents would be very understanding of us buying a house at this stage. So, the Club it is." ;)
"Guess that's settled then." He says as he stands and helps her to her feet. She can see his eyes have changed. "Race you."
He dashes off for the portal, howling with laughter.
She shakes her head. There was just no understanding him. But it was such a relief not keeping secrets from him anymore. It was weird spending your whole life knowing who the perfect person for you was and not being able to tell them, she thought to herself as she walked through the tunnels towards the surface at a slow pace. If he got impatient waiting for her that was his problem. She'd never agreed to a race. And he was so cute when he was irritated, she thought with a michievous grin.