Blindingly bright snow accosted his face as reached the cave ledge. Once he had landed, he shook the flakes off his ebony feathers. Flying had its conveniences, but raven feathers were not suited for this level of cold and snow.
Taking refuge in the mouth of the cave, he shook himself again. This time he transformed himself. His feathers melded together and their colors changed back to that of his clothing, complete with his favorite cloak. Stretching his now much taller and human-like self, he adjusted his clothing and dusted off a few fresh flakes, pulling his cloak closer around himself.
Surely this won’t take long, Vasco, he thought to himself. A quick in and out and then I can finally return to my Estella.
He took a deep breath and turned to look at the dark cave before him with a sigh. Vasco enjoyed visiting the Amuri on a usual basis, but not when they were the last on his list to visit before he could conclude his business and go home. But now wasn’t the time for lamenting work. He needed to get professional and get this over with.
He murmured under his breath and a small, shimmering scarlet orb appeared in front of himself, illuminating the cave tunnel before him.
Hopefully he had landed at the right cave entrance. It would be his luck that he would land at the den of a family of snow panthers. Now how fun would that be?
Setting aside these concerns, Vasco continued forward with the small light following along by his side. Soon the rough natural texture of the cavern transitioned to smooth, intricate crystal tiles. The walls detail scenes from Amurian history. It was a sight he had seen countless times before, and yet it never failed to amaze him. There were few civilizations that had ever come close to the intellectual prowess of the Amuri. Impressive, that’s what they were. Absolutely impressive.
As the tunnel lightened, he waved away his little scarlet light before stepping into a wide chamber. This room was lit by the glowing of pristine pastel crystals along the walls and ceiling. Across the floor sprawled a giant white and silver spotted fur rug. Along the far wall was a long couch where one of the chief elders of the Amurians was lounging with a large book in his paw-like hands. A pointed ear flicked in his direction.
“Greetings, Tanzanite.”
Two pairs of emerald eyes glanced over at him from his book. With a grunt he closed and set it aside to stand upon his cloven hooves. “Well, if it isn’t Bertramus. It’s been ages, hasn’t it?”
Vasco lift back his hood and dusted the snow from his black hair with a short laugh. "It feels like it was only last month."
"That's because the years of time work differently for you."
"Fair enough, Tanzanite, fair enough." He looked at the grinning face of the elder and stepped closer to him. He stood at least a head taller than him, excluding Tanzanite’s helical horns from the measurement. Although Amuri are notoriously slighter in stature in comparison to many other beings, this chief elder was short when compared to his own kind as well.
"So you did get my letter?"
Tanzanite nodded, stroking his long beard. "Yes, my head of research should be here in only a moment. Would you like some cider while we wait?"
Vasco watched the elder's long emerald-striped tail twitch with a slight frown. "Might as well. I have a feeling your researcher will be bringing bad news."
"How—how did you—?" His four green eyes grew wide.
"Tanzanite, you have always been terrible at hiding your emotions. Your tail is your tell." He sighed, accepting a mug from an Amurian woman with an appreciative nod.
He looked away and sighed. His tail hung still. "Unless Larimar's findings have changed...It is perplexing news."
"My findings have not changed."
Vasco and Tanzanite turned to see the tall Amurian behind them. His stripes matched the pastel blue snow storm swirling outside. He only had his bottom pair of ice blue eyes open. Snow still clung to his fur.
"Ah, Larimar. Perfect timing."
Larimar nodded and walked over with a glowing crystal sheet. "Are you able to read Amurish, sir?"
"I know enough to get a jist." Vasco shrugged, accepting the sheet from him. He read over the sheets for a few minutes. His slight frown deepened to a grimace. "Tanzanite, your tail was right to be anxious."
"What are you going to do?"
Still studying the sheets, he reached up and smoothed back his raven hair. "I’ll have to show this to the Quaestrium…Perhaps Pulsatilla can call for an emergency hearing.”
“As I expected.” Tanzanite nodded and glanced towards the cave entrance. "However, you will have to wait until the storm clears to leave."
"Yes, it was just beginning to hail when I got here." Larimar sighed.
"Isn't hail largely harmless?"
Tanzanite snorted and shook his head. "It was the last time you were here, but it's grown deadly, Bertramus. The ice is sharp; it cuts and slices. You go out into that storm, and it will shred you worse than snow panther claws."
Now Vasco walked over and peered out the cave as well. "How long does a storm like this last?"
"Anywhere from an hour to a few days...There is no way to tell."
"Feathers." He grumbled and turned back to them. "If it lasts for long, I'll have to find another way through it. Not that I really am in a rush…It’s just I really, really would like to get this to the Quaestrium as soon as possible."
Tanzanite patted his shoulder with his long-clawed, hand-like paw. "Well, you are an Avendia or something, aren't you? I'm sure you have a spell of some sort."
Vasco sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. "It's not that simple..."
"I'm sure it's not, but you do make it look easy."
He rolled his eyes and sat down with the cider, looking over at Larimar who was staring out the cave exit, his arms crossed over his furry, striped chest. "Thinking of family?"
Larimar glanced over at him and nodded. "Yeah. Wife and a cub." He leaned his head against the wall, looking out at the storm again. "I'm sure he and Lazuli are fine. They have plenty of stores in the pantry...it's just..." He sighed and hung his head.
Vasco smiled slightly. "You sound like you need something stronger than cider."
"I'm sure you're aware that we don't drink alcohol, sir." He chuckled dryly.
"Oh I'm aware." He grinned and sipped the cider. "Larimar, if it's snow panthers you're worried about—"
"No, it's not them. Lazuli is fantastic with a spear." He beamed for a brief second before the worried grimace returned. "It's Jasper, our son. He's the age where curiosity starts weeding out cubs. One moment he's trying to stick his tail in a socket, the next he's trying to wander out into a hail storm. Fluff, if Lazuli took a nap and he wasn't sleeping, he could be out in that ice right now. I could come home and find a small bloody bundle of shredded fur."
Vasco stared at him for a long moment, contemplative. He finished his glass of cider and handed it to another Amurian lady before standing up and walking over. "Come."
Larimar blinked and tilted his head. "Do you have a death wish? I personally do not have a death wish, sir."
He rolled his eyes as he began to spread his hands out above his head and started spanning them downwards in an arch. The air around his hands lightly shimmered scarlet. He looked at him, frowning. "Well? Are you coming with me or not?"
After another uncertain glance outside, the Amurian sighed and walked over to him. “I hope I won’t regret this.”352Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQdb9Ey2Fvw
352Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzSvhd8dsTW
“Don’t worry, you’re in great hands.” Tanzanite chuckled as he took a seat upon his couch once more.
Larimar nodded and looked up at Vasco. “What do I need to do?”352Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9p5WbarqBq
352Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2YHm8JLIT
“Simply walk through and think of your home. I’ll be right behind you.”
With one last tail flick of uncertainty, the Amurian stepped through the scarlet haze and found himself, not outside in the cold and ice, but in the entryway of his home.
Vasco stepped up beside him and momentarily placed his hand on his shoulder to keep his balance as he closed his eyes. Perhaps if he scrunched his eyes hard enough the nausea would pass quicker.
“Sir?”
He opened his eyes and smiled sheepishly as he retracted his hand from him. “My apologies.”
“Huh? Oh no, no, that was fine. I just wanted to thank you and ask if you were alright?” He tilted his head slightly.
“I will be, thank you.” He nodded and smoothed back his hair. “Threshold portals just have never agreed with me.”
“Oh, I see.” He paused and considered this. “Then perhaps—”
“—DADDYYYY!” screeched a small stripeless cub who bounded into the room and over to his side.
“Hey Jasper, I’m happy I’m home, too.” Larimar smiled and picked him up before looking again at Vasco. “As I was saying, perhaps you should rest here before you consider another threshold portal home? I’m certain Lazuli wouldn’t mind having a guest over for supper.”
“I’d hate to intrude.” He smiled politely as he noticed Lazuli enter the room. Her indigo swirling stripes were hard not to notice. “Evening, madam.”
“Pardon my eavesdropping, but it wouldn’t be an intrusion at all. In fact, it would be an honor.” She smiled at him. “It’s not often we’re visited by Avendiae, much less have one over for supper.”
Vasco inwardly sighed with an outward, polite smile. “Then I’d be honored to stay a little longer.”
Estella could wait a little longer. She wouldn’t want him to do much magic on an empty stomach anyhow. Perhaps, too, by then the storm will have lightened and he wouldn’t need a threshold portal afterall. That would be his preferred outcome anyhow.
He then lifted the side of his cloak and pulled out a bag from a concealed pocket and slipped the crystal sheet he had received earlier into it. He slipped it back into the pocket with a satisfied nod. It would be safe there, much safer than him carrying it by hand any further. Kavalan would keep it safe. As far as enchanted cloaks go, it was a responsible one.
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