Welcome to Gaia! ::

He hadn't heard her cheering for him, but he certainly noticed when she leaned over his face and greeted him. Having been a bit checked out, studying the motion of the sky above him in the way that only mental idling can accomplish, Danori jumped a bit when she spoke. Eyes widening and focusing on her, he pulled his hands out from behind his head. "Ah, hello!" Had she mistaken him for someone else? He didn't recognise her, but she seemed to be eager enough to speak to him, if she'd gone through the trouble of sneaking up on him.

Daring Do looked over towards the voice as she was spoken too. "Oh?" She realized it was probably her pitiful attempt at thieving a precious jewel that had made her stand out. She sighed, oh well, she certainly hadn't been the last to make that attempt by the look of things. "Hello Sunny Jones." That was sure a mouthful to say, but she wasn't really one to talk with a two-part name herself. "Thanks." The faun tipped her hat to the other pae. "You have a nice hat too, I am Daring Do, but you can just call me Daring if you care."

Nightwing was a bit surprised to realize as he left the fighting ring that he'd developed something of a fan club. His momentarily nostalgic attitude fled in the face of the enthusiastic teenagers on the sidelines. He allowed himself a smile, nodding to each of them in turn. "Thank you, thank you. 'Preciate it, kids." Even if I lost, he thought to himself silently.

No need to dwell on it. All the more reason to get back to his training and get back in fighting shape. This was a new land, with new creatures and new rules. Time to adapt.

Noting that the Faun teens had been joined by another female, he looked at her more carefully this time. She had no hooves, a tail, and interesting wings. They had rigid spines like his, but the membranes between them were transparent. Then again, his own wings weren't common for most Ponies either. Err...Faunies.

While he wasn't sure what she was exactly, he wouldn't be rude if she were a new friend of the teens he was currently watching over. "So, that fun aside, maybe we should get something to eat and get settled for the night? Unless you had other ideas?"

It seemed that a whole bunch of Solamir fairies had gathered themselves around the fire pit, laughing rancorously about ... well, what sounded like their adventures. They were certainly loud enough that they were impossible to miss, and they seemed to be having a lot of fun over there. Perhaps it would be a good idea to sit in and listen to them? Since they live here, their adventures could give a hint on what was up ahead on their mountain hike...

One of the Solamir laughed bawdily. "I got it from a mine of course!"

"What mine?! The one in your ear?!"

There was a loud laugh from around the campfire.

"No, no, of course not! I got it from one of those abandoned mines around the bend over there?" The Solamir gestured enthusiastically towards one of the smaller mountains, gesturing around it as if he was going around it. This seemed to make sense to the other Solamir, who all nodded. "It's a treasure chest in those mines! So much was left behind!" He laughed. "Why, I got this ruby without making even the slightest effort to get it!"

An 'ooh' of surprise followed, but a particular Solamir did not come off as particularly impressed.

The natural thing to do was to one-up.

"You did not even put forth the effort to work to get your Ruby! I say that is lazy wussy talk!" Now there was a gasp in the crowd, almost as if he had just walked over to the previous Solamir and slapped him with a glove to signify a duel. "Why, I had to fight a few hundred meters of a yeti in order to get to my mines!" His eyes flared with the intensity of the story he spun. "He was a tough one, that yeti! His eyes were deep blue like deep water underneath ice, and his breath itself was ice, coloring the air and freezing ya'! If you stood so long in his way, the icy breath could freeze your bones..."

The crowd seemed quiet, for once.

"But I was a wily one! He never suspected my presence to be the one that would bring him down to the ground! Never doubt the power of a Solamir that wants to get access to a new ancient mine!"

Cheers of agreement went throughout the crowd, glasses clinking together as they even seemed to forget about the initial given challenge. Honestly, the challenge itself was not what mattered. It seemed like they were there to tell stories that would make them considered to be great, to make them worth hearing and to retell time and time again as a sort of verbal bragging rights badge.

"Conditions can get utterly treacherous the further up the mountains we go. The snows and the blizzards beat, but we can resist. One time, while I was returning to one of the old ruins further north, there was a blizzard. Buried everything fifteen meters high!" The next Solamir grinned widely, made excited somehow by such a daunting story. "But I was not willing to be buried alive, nor was I willing to let the treasures be buried! Just with my axe and a fire burning in my lantern, I managed to pull a bag through a path I burned out of the snow!"

The stories seemed to go on in a similar vein, bragging about their experiences, but they were all very telling. They were shaping the mountains to be a place where nature was in control, and perhaps the best way to survive was to figure out how to beat nature at its own games, and figure out how to dominate the bad things that the mountains appeared to create. There seemed to be hints of another civilization that may have been once there, references to ruins and premade mines peppered throughout their stories, but it was hard to detect much about these places, perhaps because they seemed to be keeping those details to the minimum.

It certainly promised to be an interesting adventure...

Having decided to grab something to eat, Nightwing was wandering back towards the campfire assembly when the raucous shouting voices caught his attention again. Storytelling seemed to be the name of the game. Hadn't he already made a fool of himself tonight?

Though...as far as he knew, these fairies were completely making up everything they were telling. He actually had a story he could tell. Maybe if he could add some embellishments...though...really, he wasn't even sure if he'd need to if he told it right.

Waiting until the last story finished, the armored Fauny stepped into the circle. Firelight playing off the reflective surfaces of his armor, pupils reduced to thin slits beneath his helm, he cast a challenging glance around the gathering. "Yetis and snow are fine foes, but have any of you ever faced...a shapeshifter?"

He'd actually expected to be laughed out of the circle. Instead, he was surprised to note that the Solamir had gone quiet, some possibly even interested? Well, he would take what he could get. Time to set the scene.

"In the far away land of Equestria," he started, adopting a storyteller's tone and gesturing with a sweep of his arm in the general direction of their lost home, "the time had come for a royal wedding. The royal Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was to wed a Captain of Princess Celestia's Guard, Shining Armor. Plans had been made for the big day months in advance, and the entire kingdom was abuzz when the big day arrived." He didn't figure the Solamir wanted to hear about a happy, peaceful day, however, so he hurried through the set-up before he lost them. "All seemed to be going well. Of course, when all seems well, that's when you should realize that something is about to go horribly wrong."

"Princess Celestia's guards had taken patrol around the outside perimeter, but Princess Luna's Night Guard," he paused, thrusting his chest out proudly, "Were given posts within the castle. Nothing would get by us. My brothers filled the halls, watching from every shadow for signs of trouble." He paused for effect. "And trouble there was. Before the ceremony could begin, there were shouts and outcries. The princess was an imposter! I heard later that when faced with her twin, the false princess made a quick escape. Colored smoke and the distractions of a trickster, used to run away," he sneered, obviously thinking little of this act. "A coward," he confirmed to answering 'boos'.

"We were instantly on alert, but what was it we were supposed to be alert for? The princess turned the corner, entering my corridor and I stepped to block her escape. Eerie green magic surrounded her horn and I swear her eyes changed, turning green and slitted like a cat's as she laughed and continued charging forward. There was a bright green flash and suddenly it was like staring into a mirror. I was staring at myself, in full armor, rushing towards...myself. When it hit, it felt like a charge from an angry minotaur. We skidded down the corridor, locked together. I wasn't about to let it escape; it wasn't going to get past me." He fixed one of the listening Solamir's with the old 'evil eye'. "I spotted one of my brethren out of the corner of my eye and shouted for him to go alert the rest of the guard that I had the intruder held in place. His eyes flashed green, a strange smile crossing his face and I felt my stomach drop to my hooves."

He was on his hooves, moving between the Solamir fairies and Pae'il alike, crouched low and moving like a shadow amongst them. "Both ends of the corridor, more armed Night Guards, but not really Guards at all. Surrounding me and the imposter. Closing in, eerie green eyes glowing. I still had hands locked with the fake, grappling for position, preventing its escape, but it was an obviously-even match. I couldn't loosen my hold to deal with the others, else I'd lose the leader, if that's what it was. My own familiar face stared back at me with malice, lips parting with a sinister hiss and a strange dual-toned voice barked 'GET HIM!' Before I could react, two of the fake guards hit me from either side. I lost my grip on the imposter who looked like me, but before I could get hold of it again, the others were piling on me. Those I thought brothers were all turning on me, the true numbers against me were overwhelming. But, I wasn't going down without a fight. I had no additional weapon, but I had my training and my hooves. I lost count of the numbers against me, I just struck out, driving them back, knocking them off of me." He was picking up energy and volume, throwing a strike at an invisible foe, whirling to face another behind him.

"I caught one of them beneath the chin with a kick. When he hit the wall and slid to the floor unconscious, something strange happened. He changed." He paused for dramatic effect in front of one of the Solamirs, leaning into his face. "It wasn't a member of the Night Guard laying there anymore, but some sort of strange, dark creature. Black skin, insect-like eyes and wings, but full of holes, like cheese. I only got a short look at it, then the rest were on me again. As fast as I could take 'em down, more seemed to replace them. I was facing endless odds," he cast a glance around the group, taking in the tense expressions; he had 'em.

He lunged towards a group of Solamirs, flaring his wings dramatically. "A lucky shot from behind, head spinning I dropped to my knees. Blood dripping into one eye, I was half-blind, but I staggered to my feet again despite that. I was going to take as many of those dark things with me as I could. Just when I was ready to write myself off with as many of those buggers as I could take with me, the cavalry arrived. The rest of the Night Guard had been fighting these things all through the castle, but I'd been holding the mass of 'em protecting their leader's retreat. The main one had run like a coward, but we herded up the rest of them before they could get away," he finished with obvious pride in his squadron. Seeking out the Solamir that he'd fought with earlier, he gestured towards the medal now pinned in the fairy's beard. "Got a medal for that one; bravery and honor despite overwhelming odds. Wear it with pride, friend," he chuckled, winking at the little fairy before taking a seat at the fireside and giving way for the next storyteller.

He didn't feel the need to mention how long he'd spent in the infirmary after that battle. He rather liked ending on a high note, which apparently he had managed, given some of the approving nods and even a hoot or two from the back.

Daring Do was looking over at something going on behind Sunny's shoulder as they spoke. Tilting her head to the side, she held up her hand. "I'm sorry. I'll be right back." She could hear bits and pieces of the first story, mostly treasure. Daring slowly approached, starting to hear the second story. She was very interested, while the tales were likely to be fishing tales, there was always some truth to legend and that was the part Daring Do was interested in. Of course there had to be a story where the fairy was dependent on his axe and lantern for survival. It rubbed in her loss a bit more, they were incredibly useful even if she didn't necessarily need them. Tales of mythic creatures and survival and treasure. These were her kind of fairies. Daring had just the story for them.

Daring tipped her hat down, so that the light of the fire pit created dramatic, mysterious shadows on her face, and she leaned back with her arms crossed as if she was the coolest, most mysterious thing here. "I've gotten out of worse before..." she started, her voice relaxed.

"My wings were injured from a previous expedition, and I had already traveled through miles of forest being chased by cat beasts, both big and small. I came upon an ancient temple... it looked dangerous... and it smelled like dead things. Booby traps were everywhere: flying axes, darts, giant spikes, and crocodiles and I barely escaped it all, almost trapped in my own tomb forever, but that wasn't even the worse of it. I thought it was over, I was staring at one of the most beautiful treasures I had ever seen, the legen-dary saphire statue! There's a puzzle and more booby traps of course, but I am smarter then them, easily figure it out, and collect my treasure. But that isn't even the end. The room collapses into lava! I barely make it out through a hole in the ceiling... I thought I was free..." Daring Do's voice sounded sullen before she picked up the story with more enthusiasm.

"But my treasure was snatched from me by a fearsome creature, like a giant dog, but even bigger! Sharp teeth and a tail that can strangle you with its bare fist! He traps me with every kind of trap imaginable: spiked walls, spiders, snakes, and quick sand. It is looking like the end for me, but not so fast, I'm still here. I use my hat to flick off the trap-switch and am able to break free." She explained with a touch to her lucky hat. Beat that ax and lantern-fairy. "I stole my treasure back from the evil beast... and never saw him again..." Daring finally concluded her tale. There were some exaggerations to her story, but what good story didn't have them.

Yipes had had enough. Promptly stomping over to the drunken fairies, he grabbed a bottle of their alcohol and took a big swig. And another. And another. It wasn't until he noticed the moutain spinning that he realized he might want to give the bottle back. He seemed to be drunk. Completely and thoroughly drunk.

sparrow again