It had been quite an adjustment for Eliam since Trickster had arrived. He'd been used to just living alone, doing what he wanted when he wanted. Stacking things in his cave in whatever haphazard way appealed to him. But with Trickster around, he had to think more about others. About Trickster. The little familiar was proving to be an excellent friend and companion, and the last thing Eliam wanted was a stack of art materials toppling over onto him. That would be a bad way to pay a friend back. He especially like that Trickster didn't really need to have him say much. Really, Trickster seemed able to do the talking for both of them when required. Truly, their partnership was everything Eliam had hoped for. But it could still be more.
Eliam had been tinkering in his cave, when the idea struck him. Should he and Trickster be bonded? So he'd approached the familiar, who had quickly agreed. It would make it even easier to communicate, after all. And it would be easier to go to new places, if they knew exactly what the other was feeling. So they'd prepared for the day of their ceremony. Eliam didn't want some standard affair, in some boring grove in Homewood. He needed a ceremony with more meaning. With adventure! So together, they had trekked out into the Barrens, and found a likely cairn of rock. Eliam had brought a flower from Homewood, but even that wasn't special enough. it wasn't unique enough. It didn't tell their story enough. At the cairn, Trickster had placed his plant already, and Eliam pulled his out of his pack. A foxglove.
Before he placed it on the cairn, he closed his eyes, and pulled forth his gift. He touched the flower with his magic, turning it the exact shade of Trickster's eyes. Trickster let out an excited laugh bark. "You made it just like me! For me! Ha!" He wagged his tail, and inspected it closely. "Better get this lit up!" The fire lit, the vision took Eliam quickly.
---
Everything was dark, smokey and swirling. Eliam furrowed his brow and coughed. He looked down, and was pleased to see Trickster was right beside him. This didn't seem like a place you'd want to be alone in. Trickster sniffed the ground and then sneezed. Even the ground itself didn't seem quite right. Eliam took a tentative step forward and the ground seemed to shift and change. Where before it had seemed solid, now it had a strange spongy texture, and his hoof sunk in. He immediately looked to Trickster, but the smaller creature remained on the surface. For that he was glad. Eliam seemed to have stopped sinking, so he took another step. The spongy ground swallowed his hoof, but no more. After a few more hesitant steps, it seemed clear that whatever this place was, it was pretty barren.
Trickster pressed up against his leg. "I think we should get outta here. Not much to see or do, I don't think." Eliam nodded, looking around. It was just swirling smoke. He hook a few more steps, and the spongy ground abated, now it felt like shifting sand. What a strange place. Trickster scrabbled after him. He could tell almost before the familiar moved. Interesting.
"Hmm..." Eliam took a few more steps. "I think this place itself is bonding us." Trickster stayed close, clearly not wanting to venture into the swirling smoke.
His familiar looked up at him, and nodded. "Only way out is through, I bet. You think you could make a sculpture of this place when we're out? It's real weird." Trickster took a few steps ahead on the sandy ground, and seemed to be gaining some confidence. Eliam followed close behind, considering what sort of sculpture could capture the essence of this strange place.
The pair had made it perhaps twenty-five steps before the ground changed once more. Now it was damp and loamy. Oddly, the smell of wet loamy earth was totally absent. As Eliam thought about it, the entire place was absent any smell to him. He wondered if Trickster was experiencing the same. He could feel a new little part in his mind, and wondered if that was the bond. Eliam navigated over the loamy ground, thinking about how to capture this strange place, this strange experience. Trickster never strayed far, and was quiet, leaving Eliam to his thoughts.
Suddenly, Trickster yelped. There was a splash and the familiar returned to Eliam. "Water up ahead." Eliam extended a leg to his friend, and Trickster scrabbled up his back. Eliam wasn't sure why, but he felt that they needed to cross the water. Perhaps after making it across their bond would be complete. He waded in. Each step it got deeper and deeper, but he didn't turn away.
Just as the water was deep enough he'd need to swim the vision abruptly ended. Suddenly he was once more in the Barrens, sitting by the cairn. Now he could feel what Trickster felt. He smiled.
"I think the cairn itself is the right art to capture this place, don't you?" Trickster nodded, silently.
