Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was, Nis thought with a grin of anticipation, a very handy thing to possess a signet ring. Particularly when you wanted to communicate and couldn’t be sure of where to hunt the person up. Like right now, with Joy. All it had taken was a quick message sent off.

Got something to show you up above. Bring the bikini.

And, as expected, Joy had replied and a meeting had been set up. This time, they’d be leaving from the empty shopfront a few doors down from her own little business. It really hadn’t taken much time or effort to jimmy the back door of the place open. And fortunately, there were no chaos auras to be found in the area. All she had to do was perch upon the dusty counter and wait. And as she waited, she glanced at the little shopping bag she’d brought along that contained a couple of baskets of fresh berries and a bag of little, snackable, discs of yogurt and a bottle of decent wine.

Swinging her legs a little, Nis grinned again and gave herself a quick hug. Oh, this was going to be so much fun. And a nice little palette cleanser from the last joint trip.

Hopping down from her perch, Nis reached out herself, only to pause and stare sharply at her friend. Then, she grinned and turned what would have been a normal friendly hug into a bear-like squeeze. She didn’t know how Joy had accomplished it, but she was literally glowing. Nis didn’t know a great deal about transcendence, but she knew enough to know that Joy would never be in danger of being forcibly corrupted. She was protected now. But rather than say anything, she let Joy go and reached up to ruffle the blonde hair affectionately.

“Well, I hope your curiosity can hold out a few more minutes. I’ve got a nice bottle of white with me if you’re interested later.” She spoke cheerfully, coaxingly, all the while studying the Earth knight. “You don’t look as tired, that's good. Found out any more interesting things about those blindfolds? And how’s Nail?”

Ordinarily, she would have not asked about the ghost of the Garde, but she’d met the man now and simple manners dictated a passing interest. They’d parted on decent enough terms, the least she could do was ask about him. The blindfolds were the more interesting subject anyway. At least for the moment. Privately, she was rather hoping that her own little surprises would prove to be highly satisfying distractions.

Holding out both hands to Joy, she grinned, gave the other knight a wink and closed her eyes. This was a visit home she was looking forward to.

As always, the sound of water gently lapping at sand sent an instant wave of relaxation up Nis’ spine. They’d appeared at the edge of the woods that bordered the exterior part of her lake. Crickets, or something cricket adjacent, sang in the trees and underbrush. One of these days, Nis thought, I am going to find whatever is making that noise. She’d started a little unofficial log of interesting things that she’d seen or found on her Wonder. It would be nice to be able to describe the little singers.

“Well, we have a choice,” Nis began, voice almost too casual. “Last time we entered through the cave door. We can do that again or we can take the underwater entrance. It’s your choice. Should you decide on underwater, please rest assured that I keep water proof bags out here to keep your possessions from getting soaked.” She grinned. It had taken time to figure all of this out. To dig out little hidey holes and line them properly to protect them from the elements. Make sure they were stuffed with useful things that couldn’t be hurt by being mostly outdoors. Frankly, Nis was proud of her work. Not quite as proud as she was of what she’d done inside the cave, but still fairly pleased. Really, in a way, she had Joy to thank for that. The vision of what her Wonder might have been had goaded her into making things as pretty and as comfortable as possible.

Though she continued to draw the line at weird giraffe things.

In the dim light, she could see tiny pinpricks of light darting through the dark trees. Mentally, she referred to them as lightning bugs. Nice, easy classification. Even if once you got up close, they didn’t look a thing like the lightning bugs she’d grown up with on Earth. Ah, but she was letting herself get distracted and bordering on rudeness to her guest. Turning her attention fully on Joy, Nis arched her brow in a silent question. Would it be over land or under water?

Joy was deferring to her? Well, that was unexpected, but not unwelcome. Grinning, she went to one of the little hidey holes she’d dug and rummaged a moment before withdrawing a large-ish envelope made of thick plastic and sealed like a study ZipLoc. Tossing it over to Elaine, she thought for a moment before opening her own subspace and carefully storing the things she’d brought. Only then did she power down, already clad in a two piece. Grinning, she ran her fingers through her curls.

“I was hoping it would be the underwater route. It’ll take a few minutes to swim out to the entrance and the water’s chilly, so don’t feel like you have to go hard. Once we get to the passage, just follow the lights. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. It’s a slight lung strain, but quite worth it, I think.

With that said, she began wading into the lake, gasping softly at the cold. Well, she could let herself acclimate while Elaine changed. Once she felt like she wasn’t as cold, she swam lazily to the passage entrance. They would have to dive a little to get inside, but from there, it would be fairly hassle free. Inhaling and exhaling a few times, Myth finally sucked air into her lungs and dove, swimmingly unerringly towards the entrance to the passage and then into it. As she swam, she glanced over her shoulder at Elaine, nodding encouragingly. Despite being powered down, she moved as if she belonged, clearly confident. After a few moments, a dim glow began to slowly illuminate the tunnel, growing brighter until it became clear that the lights Myth had mentioned weren’t lights in the traditional sense. Rather, they were hand sized, star shaped, silvery blue flowers that glowed. Each flower was attached to a tangle of vines that grew along the walls of the cave, though not so much that they impeded movement.

The glow deepened as they exited the tunnel, Myth swam up, towards a soft, warm, amber light. Below, more flowers floated serenely within the massive lake, simply floating in graceful patches that left very little of the water dark. Emerging from the water, coughing and gasping, but also laughing, Myth waited for Elaine to emerge. The flowers had been surprise one. The second surprise was how much she’d managed to accomplish within the caves themselves. Rock and clay shelves had been added to the rough walls, most of the surfaces covered in safely contained candles. Where Myth had been able to reach the ceilings, golden lamps hung, some holding more candles, some clearly a type of oil lamp, though the oils used didn’t smoke. Alcoves had been cleared out and cleaned up, colorful bits or fabric of pillows festooned about while actual furniture was tucked into the larger rooms. There were even hints of painted color upon some of the walls.

Grinning, Myth flipped onto her back, lazily floating towards the sandy shore, only occasionally kicking. She heard a soft, echo-y sploosh sound and fought to keep her face from giving away the next surprise. Tiny, excited squeaks were barely audible over the sound of lapping water. Oh, this was going to be so ******** good. But rather than spoil the fun, she glanced over towards Elaine.

“Well? What do you think?”

Smiling with a hint of apology in it, Myth swam over and treaded water. She appreciated the compliments more than she would have thought. But she couldn’t resist letting a little bit of teasing creep into her voice. “Well, it was the best way to show you the flowers. Next time you’ll know not to defer to me. But you’re right, we’ve been busy up here.”

The we had had just the teensiest touch of emphasis put on it. From where she floated, Myth had seen the small wake within the water that was fast approaching and she wanted to give Tagg time to get close enough, but without scaring Elaine out of her skin. To buy herself a few more seconds, Myth went on, “Really, some of the credit should go to you and those blindfolds of yours. I suppose I was inspired. Though I’m still trying to figure out if I can get a boat up here…”

The wake was much closer now and with her hands hidden under the water, Myth snapped her fingers, trusting that Tagg would hear and obey. They’d spent time on this trick. Tagg knew what needed to be done. She only hoped that he wouldn’t be so excited by the prospect of NEW FRIEND that he forgot. Fortunately, she noticed a trail of bubbles near her and after a second felt the soft, warm brush of a tiny, furry body. Letting her body dip a little deeper into the water, she felt tiny, hard claws against her skin and Tagg climbed onto her shoulder, his face half hidden in her sodden curls. He’d been very good so far and she was proud of him. If he could have only contained himself for a few more seconds to give Elaine time to really notice him, it would have been better. Alas, excitement won out over learned trick and the slick otter kit chose that moment to grip Myth’s ear in one little paw, rear up and let out a Very Excited Indeed series of squeaks, chattering happily at both women.

Laughing a little helplessly, Myth did her best to affect an air of formality.

“Elaine, this is Tagg. Tagg, this is my very good friend, Elaine.”

Feeling very satisfied with Elaine’s response, Myth grinned and motioned that they should head for the shore. But first, she disentangled Tag from her hair and gently set him atop Elaine’s head. Where he promptly chittered curiously and began nosing though her blonde hair.

“Not a summons, no. Tagg isn’t attached to this place, though I think he prefers it due to the lake. Remember that wisp that was following me around? Tagg came from that. I still don’t understand how, but I’m not super keen to question anything that gives me otter kits.”

By this point, she was staggering onto the dry sand and chose to power up, finding herself nice and dry in the process. “Oh, this is better. Much easier than toweling off. Still…” Nis balanced wobbly on one foot and then the other as she pulled her boots off. Beckoning Elaine to an alcove littered with pillows and throws, Nis sank down. “Sit, sit. It’s safer that way because once Tagg sees his treats…” she let her voice trail off in warning. Then, she reached for the bag she’d stored in her subspace, withdrawing it. And, true to her words, the shimmering otter kit’s head shot up, whiskers quivering with interest as raspberries (amongst other berries) and yogurt treats were revealed. Soft squeaks burst from the tiny body as the otter began to tippy tap upon Elaine’s head. Laughing, Nis offered the other woman a raspberry.

“Go on, give it to him. Surefire way to get him to adore you forever.”

”Well, look at that,” Nis said softly, watching the wisp with interest. She hadn’t really met anyone else before this with one and hearing that one had become a little octopus was fascinating. Did that mean every wisp became an aquatic critter? And if so, why? She’d be very interested to see what this one turned into later down the road. In the meantime… “I don’t remember Tagg being so, uh… territorial? When he was still a little wispy guy. I mean, I keep saying he, but he’s not really either. He just feels like a he.”

She watched the kit fondly as Joy offered him the treasured raspberry, the tiny paws darting out to grab the treat and bring it back to his face where he proceeded to devour it, mussel stained faintly pink. The wisp didn’t seem to bother him either. He simply looked up from his berry, watched a moment and then chittered at it. Nis got the distinct impression that Tagg was telling the wisp to chill while also being slightly smug about his perch. Once the berry was gone, Tagg squeaked and clumsily slid down Elaine. Now that he was drying, his fur was beginning to fluff back up.

“That’s his way of demanding a cuddle,” Nis said, chuckling. “He likes to be held. He also likes his paws tickled,” she offered. As enamored as Elaine seemed, Nis was happy enough to let her monopolize the kit for a while. Especially with the way the other woman was considering all the cute animals that might appear. Sure, she had Pal, but Pal took energy to manifest and as far as Nis could determine, Tagg simply was, no energy expenditure needed.

“Those all sound pretty good,” she agreed. “But I would probably hurt myself laughing if that little guy of yours turned into a tinier version of Pal. I wonder what Peticru would think if that happened.”

Honestly, she’d pay good money to see how Peticru reacted to any critter that appeared from the wisp. She’d only really met the little dog once or twice, but she had a solid gut feeling that the poor little thing would be highly alarmed by anything not Elaine shaped.

Not at all minding being approached by the wisp, Nis held up her hand, the way one would invite a butterfly in. She remained still and calm. If the wisp wanted to say hi, it could. And if not, well. That was fine too. She was easy going. Besides, she had the mental image of Pal and Petitcru together playing and really. It was all very cute.

“I would not have expected that, honestly, with as nervous as the poor girl was when I saw her. But that’s great that they get along. It makes things easier for sure. If he,” she suddenly jerked her head towards Tagg, “tries to n** at you again, just tap him on the nose. Those teeth are sharp and I don’t want him thinking it's okay to bite.” And, as if the otter had heard and understood, it ducked its head, hiding behind his paws as he churred and squeaked. Nis chuckled. Then sighed. “I haven’t been able to clock just how smart he is yet. But I’m guessing roughly parrot? Like the little parrots. I’ve managed to teach him a couple of little tricks. And if I wasn’t sure that you’re right about Petitcru being afraid of him, I’d be begging for a playdate.”

Turning, she grabbed the bag of yogurt treats and tore it open, taking out a tiny handful of small, fruit-smelling discs. Passing them over to Elaine, she grinned. “He can have those, but make him ask nicely. He knows he’s supposed to pat that round little stomach of his if he wants a yogie. Also, I’m still processing the idea that the giraffe lamp was my brain finding a way to insert Pal into things. Not that I’m doubting you, but goddamn. Brains are ******** weird.”

Leaning back into a pillow, Nis thought how peaceful and nice this all was. They all needed more downtime like this.