a collection of tales [[ chronocompass writing ]]

The sun had just set below the horizon, leaving a fascinating glow behind. The duo of dragons on the shore were present to celebrate such a delightful event, in their own little way. Mitra and Algae were going to send off some delightful lanterns to the water - or so they hoped. Mitra, in the end, was really the one in charge of the whole endeavor - she had spent quite some time gathering up flotsam on the rocky shoreline to build these lanterns, and now, once the last rays of sunlight fully vanished into the night, it would be time to see if the things actually worked.

Ashgar's cormorant circled above, cawing mournfully. It did indeed feel like a bit of a melancholy day. Algae was draped around Mitra's neck and observing her slow work. There had been few visitors lately. Time had nearly frozen, like a sheet of ice spread across the water. Teeba and all the people of Salvus were busy preparing for trouble, and here Mitra and Algae were, building lanterns just because they could. She felt a bit bad about it, really.

There were nearly ten of the lanterns, and each one had been very carefully crafted out of all the best beach materials the two could find. They sported bright colors of orange and blue, and inside each one was a brightly lit candle, carefully put in place by Algae's small claws. It was no small attempt. Most of the day had been spent working on this odd, spur of the moment project.

"Not bad, Algae! I think we did pretty good," Mitra said. She watched as the sunlight continued to fade out into darkness. Night would be there in its entirety soon. Delightful. Algae floated off of his spot on Mitra's back and hovered in the air. He was still alert for the next cool thing to grab - there was never enough loot, in his mind, as long as one always got home safe and sound.

"I think you're right. A pity no one else is out here to see this," Algae said in that quiet voice of his, so soft that Mitra had to strain to hear. As the dusk faded entirely into the night, stars twinkling above, Algae grabbed one of the smaller lanterns in his claws and carefully brought it down to the edge of the water. At last, he let it go. The candle shifted, but thankfully didn't catch anything else on fire. We don't want the ocean to burn up!

Mitra waved a clawed hand and closed her eyes to focus. A current of water formed underneath the now floating lantern, a current that began to carry the bright object out to the open ocean. If all went well with the magic she had cast, the lantern would be carried along the water until it could bring joy by finding some other kind soul that was feeling lonely. 

With a smile, Mitra and Algae lowered the rest of the lanterns down into the water and Mitra sent each one off on its own adventure. They sat there in the dark for some time and watched as the glowing packages were carried away to greater things.

In the silence, Algae spoke. "Maybe we could make some more?"

Mitra pondered her options. "I just don't think I'd like to make lanterns all the time. But I'm sure there's a whole bunch of other crafty things we can do, just to spread some love around here. Around home."

Algae was already buzzing with ideas, and his frantic thoughts flickered in Mitra's head. "So where are we going to start?" she said.

- - - -

Mitra and Algae's next grand project was in the works the very next day. Mitra was down in the depths of the sea that whole night, exploring the water for loot, and Algae stayed on the shore to sort their new found treasures into piles. All the sand, metal, and shells the two could find was going towards their next delightful endeavor.

The sun was beginning to rise in the sky when Algae thought they had found enough. The new light in the sky shone down and reflected off the many cool trinkets the two dragons had found. There were objects of all colors, rescued from the deep. Together, they already looked quite pretty, and now Mitra and Algae were going to turn them into something even more impressive.

Algae snuck back into Ashgar's wooden home, and found a spool of thread hidden under a pillow. It was a mix of white and a light blue - perfect. The tiny dragon, careful to not wake anyone else up, grabbed the rope and glided quietly back out of the open window and out to Mitra, who was already lining up the items based on her grand new idea. "Did you get it?" she asked as Algae approached.

"I sure did," Algae nodded. "If you do the big work, I can get all the little details in." He dropped the thread in the sand and began to grab some of the tiniest shells. Together, the two dragons began to weave the pieces of metal, shell, and stone into lines with the thread Algae had found. The colorful lines of the items were quite cool - but this wasn't the end.

Once the lines of shell had been woven, Algae and Mitra tied them onto circles of rope. They were able to make perhaps three or four with everything they had gathered up. Mitra lifted one of the shiny creations into the air, and the many objects that made up the item clinked together, making a pretty sound. "Wind chimes. Nice, aren't they? Who are we going to give them to, you think?" she asked, three eyes admiring her latest creation.

"Hmm." Algae wasn't large enough to lift up an entire set of chimes, but he held on to one of them anyway and pondered their options. "How about the people in the hatchery? Do you think they'd like that?"

Mitra smiled, and nodded. "That sounds nice. There have been so many eggs sent their way lately, too. They must need some cheering up." She picked up all of the chimes, as quietly as possible, and Algae fluttered up to land on her shoulder.

"Let's do it. But sneakily. I don't want anyone finding out it's us handing out all these gifts," Algae added as the two began the walk up the mountain to the hatchery far above. The path was fairly long, and the walk took perhaps an hour or two. Trying to be quiet really slowed them down, but at last, they made it to a higher point on the mountain, and to the grand Tsotska hatchery itself. Near silently, the two were able to hang the wind chimes up around the place. 

Algae took a moment to greet some of the eggs in the hatchery, still waiting for riders. But, at last, the two headed back down the mountain, at a far faster pace than before. The skies shone bright as the duo headed back home. There was hopefully a little bit more good in the world, now. It wasn't enough yet, though. Mitra and Algae weren't even close to done yet.

- - - -

Next, the delightful dragon duo ventured to a different island. Tsotska De La Mer was delightful, and it was home, but only so much was present here - for new items, and new creations, they would have to travel somewhere else. Thus, their adventure would take them to the isle of the T'terre. The bird folk of the planet were quite strange - Algae didn't think he'd ever get used to seeing griffins everywhere and not dragons - but they had treasure to find, and the waters next to this different island held just what Algae and Mitra needed.

Mitra carried a bag filled with a whole bunch of bottles. There wasn't any way to carry their intended treasure beyond a container, after all. As the two landed on the shore of the T'rerre island, Algae rushed straight over to look at the sand. Sure enough, it was perfect. Full of so many different colors - and all the two had to do was gather it.

The waves from the ocean crashed up on the shore as Mitra unloaded the bottles. Algae grabbed one with his small claws and glided down to the dark sand by the water. He started to scoop it up into the container. Much of it slipped between his claws, but he managed to get enough in and cork the bottle. Mitra joined him, and together the two gathered all the sand they possibly could. After several hours, when all of the bottles were full and back into the pouches, Mitra declared their work complete. The two dragons gathered up everything they had brought and traveled through the chronoscape, back towards home.

Once they arrived back near Ashgar's wooden shack, Mitra and Algae set up and put their latest creations together. They layered together different colors of sand and added in small shells. Slowly, the bottles turned into beautiful containers filled with different layers of sand and shell and stone. They were quite pretty, in their own individual ways. Now to deliver these new gifts.

Mitra and Algae went to many different random houses around the island and delivered packages of bottles outside the doors. They were sneaky, as always, and were careful to not get spotted as they left their gifts at random doorsteps. This was a top secret mission, after all.

Perhaps 30 bottles filled with color were given out. There were a great many people who the dragons thought would appreciate the gift. But, at last, their latest project was complete, and their job was done. The duo returned home, exhausted from all their hard work. Mitra walked back down the mountain, Algae falling asleep on her back. They traveled down until dirt beneath them turned to sand and stone, and Mitra pushed open the creaky door that labeled home. Mitra found a comfortable corner, lifted a blanket over her and Algae, and simply admired the sound of the ocean outside.

Ashgar looked up from where he'd been writing in a book. "So where have you two been?" he asked, curiously. 

Mitra smiled and winked with two of her three eyes. "Oh, out and about. But be quiet, Algae's sleeping."

"I'm not asleep," Algae said, sleepily. Ashgar laughed, and Mitra cherished the sound.

"I'm glad that you two had fun out there. Just let me know next time you go somewhere new, okay? I was worried that you both had gotten lost, or hurt," Ashgar admitted. The scratching of his pen in his book paused. "Hey, have those wind chimes always been there?"

"Yeah, sure," Mitra said, dodging the question, and smiled. Looks like their plans had gone quite well, in the end.