Welcome to Gaia! ::

There were times where the words felt hollow, her devotion to them wavering especially on days she felt most alone in all of this. Perhaps her wonder knew of her struggle and offered her sanctuary from the chaos despite her own uncertainty. But, with Kiringul with her, she wondered if they might be able to solve the mystery of Cosmos, her role in all of this. What happened in the future and what were they supposed to do going forward.

No sooner did the last word leave her lips did the pungent air of Destiny City shift. No longer did it smell like car exhaust, damp garbage in stale alleyways or cigarette smoke. Rather, the air here smelled clean, perhaps a bit salty from the ocean that circled her wonder. However… this time, rather than the feel of sand beneath her feet or the sound of crashing waves as they raced upped the shoreline. There was a more fragrant scent.

Einhornhöhle opened her eyes and was surprised to be in the field of flowers rather than the beach she was most familiar with. I wonder if it’s because I came with him instead of Sava. Even before her purification, every time she came to her wonder Ein always arrived on the beach.

A curiosity worth considering upon another visit. “Welcome to Einhornhöhle, the place that I am named after…”

Ein watched as he took tentative steps forward, found herself amused with how Kiringul’s reaction mimicked her own the first time she’d arrived. “I feel like we might be the lucky ones in that regard.”

“From the few things I understand about wonders is that each place follows a set of themes attributed to the princess each of us follow. Mercury knights have wonders that are often covered in ice or snow, while Uranus might be centered around a desert or oasis. Saturn wonders may be a place that was once haunted or still is, I’m not really sure. Not all are beautiful, and some can be dangerous.”

“One way to learn, however, is by visiting often. Eventually you may retrieve memories of the past, see visions of what life was light before. Some of us are reincarnations, like myself, while others are descendants of knights that previously guarded these locations.”

“I also know there is something regarding a Code but I don’t know much about it, never really took the time to delve into it much or find someone to learn more about it.” She’d assumed that the knowledge would come to her if she just visited her wonder but so far it hadn’t revealed anything to her.

“I mean… it could be.” She shrugged but the expression she wore looked unconvinced. “The few I’ve had have seemed pretty real to me. It’s the only reason I found one of the cave entrances along the beach.”

“Unfortunately I’m not big into spelunking and the idea of going cave crawling alone is kind of terrifying.” Sure there was a chance another memory might guide her way or reveal any hidden traps within the tunnels but that was a pretty big maybe. “I wouldn’t even know what to bring with me.” Again she shrugged nonchalantly then leaned over and plucked a single flower from amongst the ones encircling their feet.

An idea struck her, one that pulled the corners of her lips into an amused grin that would make anyone who knew her well enough back up or flee before she could so much as utter a word. Kiringul liked hiking, perhaps he might join her? Assuming he’d be brave enough to come here with her again in the near-ish future.

“In the past it may have supposed to be a secret. It was a unicorn cave, which is why when we walk around you’ll see several stone statues of them.” Most appeared to be frolicking. Others were covered in a sort of moss, while only a few had a piece of them broken or missing.

“All I can tell you is that beneath us is a labyrinth, in the center a grotto of sorts. Only three entrances and a lot of dead ends. I don’t know which entrance is nearest to us but we can walk around and try to find it if you’d like.” This field was unfamiliar to her and while she didn’t want to say anything out loud, it felt like something terrible had happened here. “Worst case scenario we get ourselves lost and I take us back home.”

Unlike a Fall corn maze they weren’t stuck here indefinitely until they found their way outside again or the sanctuary within.

“Although, I would say it’s probably safer to explore once we’re able to bring your gear since I’m not sure how to get light in the caves yet.” She recalled seeing some bioluminescent strings around the main gazebo and coiled within lamps like fairy light but how to turn them on or activate them she wasn’t sure.

“You are one of the few people I know I can count on.” Aside from her brothers, Sava was the only other one that she had once felt she could have asked for help as she, for a time, seemed equally as interested in visiting Einhornhohle, or at least the beach.

“From what I have learned, while powered, we are not confined to these uniforms.” Although there was little reason to elaborate on the specifics, she had divested herself of everything save for her cosmically gifted under garments and gone swimming in the ocean surrounding her wonder.

“We can change out of them and into something comfortable. However, the benefit of these outfits is that if anything happens to them such as a ripped seam or blood stain,” because that would happen eventually be it from a fall, a monster, or another member of chaos that she needed to warn him about before they went back home. “If you power down and back up again then your uniform will be made new again. Instant dry cleaning for your convenience. ”

“While I have no doubt that my past self could navigate the labyrinth, I’m not sure how well the caves have fared over the last several centuries which is why I’m less inclined to go adventuring in a dress.” She hiked up the hem of her outfit high enough to show the simple shoes she wore; low heel slip ons. Could have been worse, the comic tailor could have blessed her with three-inch narrow heels that sunk into the dirt and sand with every step she took.

It was at that moment Einhornhohle had the wild hair idea to share with him her cosmic gifted lingerie that often doubled as a swimsuit when she wanted to go for a swim. She’d done it once with Cavansite nearly a year ago when she’d brought the General here and they went cliff jumping. However, after considering the implications of such an act, she decided that it was neither the time nor place to partake in that particular form of show and tell.

Instead she nodded her head in agreement.

“I’ll go with you to the REI or Cabela’s to find some gear that will fit me.” Probably the only form of shopping he’d tolerate for a day since it meant he got to dress her up and drag her around partaking in his hobbies.

“One thing worth noting, before I forget, as we are now we can only visit our wonders once a month. Not that I know how… but-” Ein turned, smoothed the wrinkles out of her dress and began just walking around the field. “If we can figure out how to get stronger, we’ll be able to visit more often.”

“Only reason I bring this up is because you don’t want to waste a trip for nothing.” Her tone became somewhat somber if not serious. “Whenever I feel too overwhelmed with work, or life… Rather than calling up one of my brothers to vent or bug someone on the phone, I come here.”

“You might feel it too someday. A longing in your heart to be somewhere you can’t just simply drive or walk to. To return to a place only you can visit because it’s yours.” When left with nowhere to turn to, Melody knew to power up and come back here. Although the field was new, the soft pearly sand along the long stretch of beach often offered a measure of comfort that food or a long nap could ever hope to provide.

Being here just felt… right.

“Unfortunately. At least for now anyway.”

There was an elegance to her footsteps as she began walking towards the edge of the clearing, light footfalls as if she were trying to not disturb the lilac colored flowers which seemed to be a feat in and of itself when compared to the heavy steps that denoted her running late for work. Didn’t happen often but back in college it was a fairly regular thing that coincided with being sleep deprived.

“Trust me,” she added with a brief glance over her shoulder to make sure he was still following. “If I could come here every day then I would have sold my house and built a home here instead. It’s more peaceful here and not having to pay for property tax is definitely a perk.” Come to think of it, the temperature and weather here were fairly consistent which made her wonder if this place simply didn’t experience seasons as Earth did.