Let's Explore a Bit
Aldryn yawned, his mouth stretching as far as it could. He blinked many times and had to wipe the crusties out of his eyes. He stood up and like a cat, gave a big stretch.
He was surprised for a moment at the smell of smoke. But he quickly remembered that he had discovered a coalite in his cave the night before. It seemed to really like burning things so he had given it some branches and dried leaves from the nearby forest. They now functioned as a makeshift fireplace. He named it Coalton.
Coalton stared at Aldryn and Aldryn stared back. The angry little thing was hard to read, but from the lack of branches and leaves, he guessed that it wanted more stuff to burn. Shrugging to himself, he set off to go get more flammable materials. But before he could exit the room, he noticed Coalton jumping up and down. Returning to him, Aldryn tried to guess what the coalite wanted. They stared at each other again. Aldryn guessed the little guy might want to accompany him. He wasn’t sure if they were being companionable or wanted to set the forest on fire.
They left the cave via the waterfall entrance as Aldryn had still not learned to fly yet. Following the little river that spanned the canyon's length, he hummed to himself. He didn’t have any musical capabilities, but he was trying.
Suddenly, Aldryn heard the whoosh of wings. Looking up, he saw a flash of purple and white cross over the ravine. Excited, Aldryn hurried to the series of ledges that let him exit the canyon. Hopping up easily, Coalton clung to his back with fury.
Reaching the top of the cliff, Aldryn looked around. He almost immediately spotted the light purple geode flying high in the sky. With lots of eagerness, Aldryn yelled out to them, “Hey! Over here!” He had a big grin on his face and he was practically jumping with glee.
The vespire noticed him, circling a few times before landing. Aldryn immediately noticed the size difference although they were a few yards apart. The other geode was much, MUCH smaller than him. Familiar sad feelings welled up in Aldryn. Although he had lost his memory, he was sure he had felt this self-consciousness before. He curled into himself, retracting his wings and trying to look as small as possible.
“What do you want?” The other male asked in an annoyed tone. Aldryn recoiled, he hadn’t expected this. He had thought they would be best buds right away and he would make his first friend since losing his memory. But instead, it seemed he had started on the wrong claw.
“I’m Aldryn,” He said, trying to sound friendly. “I live near here and thought it would be cool to talk to you.” The other vespire seemed perplexed for a moment. “You’re wasting my time on a whim then?” He seemed like he would fly off at any moment, but instead, he said, “I guess you can call me KT.
Aldryn was surprised, the other young one had seemed too peeved to further the conversation, but there he went giving his name. A broad grin spread across Aldryn’s face.
“So have you ever seen a waterfall cave?” Aldryn said excitedly. He nearly broke his hunched-over position but reminded himself quickly. “You don’t have to do that Aldryn. That whole crouching thing. It looks weird.” KT said not at all kindly.
Aldryn straightened to his full height, maybe it wasn’t as obvious as he thought it was. Or maybe KT had the confidence that he simply didn’t care. Either way, Aldryn was happy.
KT added, “No, I’ve never seen whatever a waterfall cave is. I guess you could show me if it doesn’t take too long.” Aldryn didn’t pick up on it, but there was a bit of interest in KT’s face and body language.
“It’s down in this ravine over here, You could fly there but I’ll have to use the steps down,” Aldryn said. KT sneered but waited patiently as Aldryn descended the ledges into the ravine. Once in the canyon, KT tried to hold back his marvel at the hidden paradise. Greenery lined a small river that ran through the center of the gorge. The walls were sheer, except where Aldryn had made his way down, and they were covered in orange and tan striping.
“Isn’t this awesome?” Aldryn said to the geode. KT responded with an appropriate, “I guess.”
They made their way along the river before eventually arriving at the cave in question. Its huge spanning mouth was covered only slightly by a picturesque waterfall. “Wow,” KT muttered. Aldryn snickered at the drop in character on KT’s part. Together they made their way into the yawning entrance, KT flying in and Aldryn stepping up the river stones.
“I haven’t actually looked through all of the tunnels,” He said with a hint of sheepishness. It could be dangerous after all. KT didn’t seem particularly put off by this though. “Which ones haven’t you looked in?” Aldryn pointed and immediately KT set off, his small, lean form casting a long shadow on the tunnel’s entrance. Aldryn followed, a bit worried about the one he hoped to call his friend.
The long-winding tunnel was lit by glowing veins of ore in the walls. Aldryn had already tasted them, but they weren’t anything special. He had hoped they would taste spicy. He told this to KT, but KT just rolled his eyes.
Eventually, the tunnel widened, and the ceiling immediately made a precipitous rise until it was completely gone from view. The only thing visible was the long, light-blue stalactites hanging down. Matching them were stalagmites rising from the ground. Together they almost looked like teeth, ready to chomp the two geodes up.
The two were stunned into silence, not that they had been talking anyway. The distinct sound of dripping water echoed throughout the room. After enough time that Aldryn felt awkward, he said softly, to not disturb the atmosphere, “Isn’t this cave awesome?” All KT could say was, “Definitely.” Broken from their stupor, the two began to step into the large room. All the while, their claws echoed through the room.
The teeth of the cave changed color throughout the room, from light blues to light purples and even pink. Some glowed softly, while others didn’t. Then, when they reached the back of the room, they found what appeared to be stalactites that had fallen. In them was something that shined. Aldryn licked his lips. Using his claws, he unearthed a huge cluster of crystals. “Jackpot,” KT said. They looked at each other, both wanting the crystals for themselves. Aldryn reached out and slowly grabbed the calcite before trying his hardest to break them in half. But instead, part of crumbled to dust. He frowned. “Sorry,” He muttered. Then, mustering all the will in him, he handed the crystals to KT. KT looked surprised for a moment, before taking the crystals. “You want me to have this whole thing?” KT asked Aldryn. Aldryn nodded solemnly. “As long as you promise to be my friend.” He said with a chuckle. KT, surprised once again, grinned. “Fine, but no take-backsies.”
Together they exited that part of the cave. They had a long drink of water after so much exploring. KT, trying to be kind and not eat in front of Aldryn, decided to set off. They both said goodbye and Aldryn made sure KT promised to come and visit him before he left. Aldryn then heard a gruff little “Hurrumph,” from his back. He had forgotten all about Coalton. This would be a trend going forward.