Stepping stones

Honestly Taliesin wasn’t sure why they called this place ‘The Devils Stepping Stones’, have you seen the size of the beaked devil? Allure only knows he’d crush these stupid slabs of dirt like they were nothing. He scoffed as he kicked a rock over the edge of the sheer cliff that fell before him. Stone pillars connected by old rickety bridges that no one knew how they actually got here, makes sense. If it was one of the gods then he highly doubted they’d leave this bleak sky high wasteland without somewhat of a warning sign.

“I know what you’re thinking” An airy voice spoke, Tal gave a roll of his eyes and turned to his small floating companion Omen, the spirit had taken the form of a small pink wisp for now and honestly Tal didn't understand why when she could literally become a dragon he was that powerful but whatever, it’s not like he cared about his image, PfT.

“What’s that then my oh so smart spirit guide” He retorted back as he surveyed the path that lay ahead, why did LuLu want a specific flower that only grew here of all places? Show her normal stuff Sugi had said, take her to the garden. Yeah only for that annoyingly perfect mother of his to show her a pressed flower from her collection which ‘Only bloomed close to the highest peak of the stepping stones’. Allure what he’d do for his kids. 

“Some dumb remark about the Beaked Devil and him being too big to use these as stepping stones” Omen replied as she floated around Tal humming lightly. 

Stupid ball of light-

“What I was thinking is that I am a brilliant and dashing father who would do anything to see his daughter happy” He retorted glaring at Omen before looking out at the expanse of literal pillars with toothpick bridges. 

“Yeah yeah you keep telling yourself that big guy” The spirit giggled lightly. “Not just the devil thing but also denial, you just didn’t want Sugi sending someone, and I quote. More capable, then you to retrieve this” 

“It’s a fucking flower!” Tal turned and threw his hands up with a huff. “I don’t see why it’s so hard to think that I can’t get a simple poxy sodding flower” He took a step toward one of the probably ill placed rickety bridges that connected the stepping stones and began to more or less stomp his way forwards. “I’m her husband, her dark Knight here to protect her and our daughters from the fuckers who dare cross us”

“Uh huh” Omen sighed as she floated alongside him, watching as planks of wood from where he had stepped began to flake away and fall. 

“I was the most feared assassin of my time before I met her! I would take down whole criminal organisations single handedly thanks to the powers that The beaked devil bestowed upon me” he continued to rant as he carelessly made his way. 

“Yup uh huh sure-“

“I’ve killed hundreds, no if not thousands of things! I’ve saved our kids from my crazy ex and that stupid jester!”

“Tal you should really-“

“But no she still treats me like a child! Like I’m some kind of incompintant fool who clearly doesn’t have an adult brain. The fuck even is that!?”

“Watch where you’re stepping-“

“Brains grow as you get older, I’m like, older! I don’t have a child sized brain!

“Tal-“

“You know who does have a child sized brain? That dumbass Luci”

“Taliesin-“

“I mean Allure only knows because he’s tried to kill me way too many times and knows he’ll never succeed”

“Taliesin”

“And it’s because of my dumb emotional complex that I can’t kill the fuck”

“I’m just going to let this happen” Omen sighed.

“What-?” He went to turn his head to his companion having only just realised she’d been talking before he stepped out onto nothing. 

It seemed that he’d made it across and onto the next slab of an excuse of a pillar. This slab didn’t have a bridge leading elsewhere though.

Oops.

“I hate you right now” Tal grumbled as he plummeted down past the clouds that dared to form within the abyss that lay below the stones. 

“I tried” Omens ethereal voice came from above as Tal managed to right himself into not falling like a literal sack of potatoes. She’d changed forms and looked like a Finx that almost gracefully plummeted with him with her ethereal trail in her wake. 

“Fuck off you tried” He mocked her as he looked down at the ground which was now quickly approaching. “Fucking now I have to try” He grumbled closing his eyes. “And find the dark” 

As soon as he reopened his eyes every shred of darkness that lay within his plummeting grasp dove with him, a trail of inky black formed just were his tail ended, almost as if a giant raven was chasing him to the depths. The darkness, something Tal was familiar with, friends with even, home. As he hit the ground his body merged with the shadows, his whole form taking on a pure inky black for only a split second before the power almost exploded outwards and evaporated, leaving Tal to reform as it were out of the dark before they could all disappear as he emerged seemingly from the ground. 

“That was a dramatic entrance” Tal deadpanned at Omen as she spoke. “What you really had to add the whole turning into literal darkness then poofing back thing? Really you couldn’t have just, I dunno, shadow shifted to the ground simply?” 

“You” He pointed at the finx who had perched themselves on what was probably part of one of these cliffs that had fallen into the same abyss he had. “Are no fun, where’s the pazaz! The style!” He grinned inwardly. 

“Yeah, I think Sugi was right” Omen huffed. 

“About what?” 

“No on who says pazaz like that, has an adult brain” 

“You little shit-“ Tal lunged forward in an attempt to grab the finx, yet completly forgot, in his own stupidity mind you, that she wasn’t actually a finx, but an ethereal being, so when she vanished he was left to slam face first into the rock she’d been perched on. 

“My point stands” She hummed as Tal groaned and rubbed his snout. 

“Yeah yeah” The Aphex grumbled as he looked around, honestly he had more than enough power to simply just, hop back up using the shadows, or summon a demon to help him but honestly where was the fun in that? He might aswell take a look down here, afterall how many creatures couldve survived that drop let alone live down here? There could be some interesting things lurking at the bottom of these stepping stones. 

Tal took to wondering, Omen had to follow him after all, she was linked to his magic and used that to take her form, thankfully she was almost like a portable light source, meaning he could see perfectly down here. He hummed as he looked around, there was a lot of bones down here from different species, some decaying bodies too that he simply stepped over. He could hear creatures scurrying around too, scavengers feeding off the carcasses that littered the floor. 

“God this is-“

“Disgusting?” Omen interjected. 

“I was going to say a treasure trove for summoning demons but sure if you only look at the negatives” he snorted as stopped in place, spotting small golden eyes peering at them from within a skull. He crouched and slowly picked up the skull, snapping it off the neck of its long dead host and holding his palm out for the creature inside to venture out. Slowly a small Gickle emerged before quickly scurrying out and up Taliesin's arm. 

“Aw he’s cute” Omen said as she transformed into an ethereal looking Gickle. The real one, a deep purple with pink hues and a white tummy had perched itself on Tal’s shoulder and looked at the glowing Gickle questionably. 

“I think he knows you aren’t a real Gickle” Tal huffed lightly as he simply watched the Gickle approach Omen cautiously. It was slow at first, practised and careful steps before it let out a tiny warcry and pounced Omens form, obviously the small creature just fell through the illusionary form but Tal caught him before he could hit the ground. 

“The cheeky bugger!” Omen was laughing now as she reformed as a Finx and hovered by Tals side. The Gickle was opening glaring at her, it’s tongue poking out slightly as it made a little grumbling noise which sounded far too cute to even be considered threatening. After it seemed satisfied with defending off Omen it scurried back up onto Tals shoulder and padded about trying to get comfy, deciding it wasn’t satisfied here it ran up onto the top of his head and settled between the rows of horns. 

“I think he likes me” Tal beamed at Omen with the same energy a child would in all honesty but he was too happy to realise. 

“Sugi will lecture you about responsibilities you know” Omen sighed as Tal seemed all too concerned with his newest friend. “We also haven’t found what we came here for, remember your daughter? The flower?” 

“Oh that!” Tal pat his cloak in search of something before pulling said flower out of his sleeve in a magicians fashion. “Pazaaaaaz!” 

“How the hell did you-“ Omen hovered over, even with the little Gickle puffing out its chest at her and making low grumbling noises. “Oh be quiet squish” 

“Hey don’t be mean to him” Tal gave the lizard a little pat, although rather awkwardly since the creature was perched on his head. “Whilst I was falling and you were busy reprimanding me I snagged this off the side of the cliff face, I guess it’s one of those kinds of plants, I’m sure Evie knows what they’re called but” he shrugged. 

“You, are unbelievable” Omen sighed.

“Thank you boo” Tal would’ve grinned if he could. “Alright, shall we go then?”

“Yeah before you get attached to anything else and decide to take it home” 

“I’m going to call him… Puff” Tal said almost triumphantly. “Because he puffs his little chest out at you and-“

“No no I get it” Omen sighed. “I can’t wait to hear the earful you’ll get from Sugi”