[CC] Grand Display - Ruin

Meiron easily made his way through the cave, it wasn't the first time he'd been down this way, though, it was the first time he'd been heading towards the immense underground lake that was to be the setting for Ruin's flexibility trial; his ears pricked as the sound of water grew ever more noticeable. even over the footfalls of the three dragons Ray and Teo were accompanying Ruin, though, unlike the youngster, they had plans to go explore the cave system itself. Ruin was confused, he couldn't see how an underground cave was a trial at all, especially for an earth hybrid like himself.

All at once, the tunnel opened fully, revealing an immense cavern, a light glow coming from the ceiling, either from a glowing insect or a moss, none of the three awestruck dragons knew; what it did was light the area, revealing the inky black waters of the massive underground lake; the calm surface rippled as a head appeared, the small white dragon eagerly waving a bluefin at them all before paddling towards the shore as Meiron reached it, her star pearl just above her. "Well...good luck." Ray said, brushing against Ruin and padding around the lake edge, Teo too nodded, sympathy in his eye. This trial was challenging. "Hah, don't get lost now." The storm hybrid responded watching the other two fade out of sight.

Ruin's approach to the lake was slow, one, the closer to the water he got the larger and more imposing it seemed, and two.... he couldn't tell how deep it was either, the light barely touching the surface. "Hello there, I'm Popple. Don't worry, you won't be going too deep, the area where you're at is shallow, so just inch in and get used to the feel." The small dragon chirped at him reassuringly, her confidence a boost, and, Ruin assumed this was not the first time she'd assisted another dragon in a trial. Carefully he placed the tip of his wing finger in the water, it wasn't cold, in fact, it was quite pleasant. Just at that point, Meiron floated past, the navy cat seemingly unfazed by the waters... in fact, he seemed to be enjoying it. Snorting at the sight, Ruin waded into the water, carefully feeling the fine water bed below him. It didn't take long for the waters to cover him, sinking into the thick fur around his neck, his head and shoulders still above the waters. "You okay?" Popple asked, Ruin nodded, it felt odd. "Okay, I'm going to swim out a bit, and I want you to swim to the star pearl and then back to the 'shore'." The cheerful dragon said, easily wading through the waters a fair distance away. She waved a fin at him, and the dark form of Meiron floated past. Ruin took a deep breath and pushed off, the waters flowing around him as he did so.

Popple watched the larger male, just in case he truly started to struggle, at the moment he wasn't making any progress, still splashing about in the shallows, but she didn't pressure him to head out, just waited. Meiron opened his eyes when he got splashed. "Just imagine you're flying." he offered mentally paddling away a bit, before relaxing again, effortlessly floating along the dark waters. Ruin panted, back legs kicking as he tried to keep his head above the water; but he didn't hesitate in trying, his wings flaring as he 'flapped', he didn't get anywhere, but no longer was he struggling to keep his head above the water. He watched as Popple paddled further out, noting how she moved her fins... in some aspects his wings were fin-like. Determined now, he moved them, not up and down, but forward and back, rotating them. It wasn't easy, and already he could feel the muscles burning from the unusual motions, but he was making progress, and he did everything to not think about the fact he could no longer feel the lake bed beneath his hind feet. Finally, he reached Popple and she grinned at him. "Want to try further out?" She asked, at his nod she slipped into deeper waters, watching the youngster proudly as his motions became smoother, bit by bit she led him around the lake, until judging he'd done enough, and finally led him back towards shore. Ruin hobbled out, panting from the excursion, but shook himself, water flying everywhere, including over the still floating cat, and earning a glare from his rider. Popple inched up next to him as he rested, waiting for the adventuring pair to return.

While both Ray and Teo were tempted to look around the lake area, they didn't want to disturb Ruin, so by the time the youngster had inched into the water, they were off down a connecting tunnel, the earth pressing close to them both, but in a familiar and comfortable way. "Doesn't seem to be a mining tunnel at all." Teo commented whiskers twitching as he led the way. "Who knows then, maybe there are some gemstones lying around." Ray responded, shifting her wings along her back slightly. It would be great if there were some precious stones around, who knows they may even bring back some for Meiron... after a snack or two should they find them. Teo snorted in amusement. After a few dead ends, the pair eventually came to another cavern, this one far smaller than the other one, but still large enough that Ray could unfurl her wings. "Look" She said, catching the others attention, here and there a gentle glimmer from stones of some sort caught what little light there was. "Ladies first." Teo said, bowing much to the amusement of his partner; there certainly seemed to be enough to go round.

Stuffed with gemstones (both literally from all the snacking and from as many as they could carry), Ray and Teo made their way back to the large underground cavern, grinning at the sight of the puffed-up Ruin, his fur having fluffed out as he dried; beside him, Popple snoozed, and Meiron, well the cat was busy stretching. "You two look as puffed up as Ruin does, and he has fur." Ruin snorted in amusement at the comment, while Teo and Ray just looked smug. "Did you bring some for me?" the hybrid asked, grinning as they nodded. Well, he wasn't going to turn down a snack or two.