ORIGIN - Welcome (Back) To The World

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"Family is good," Cadenza had sincerely agreed to their dad's statement. Even if they did not know much about many things, they knew that for certain. They intently listened to all the information that their dad had regarding their other dad.

A warrior meant one who fought, their mind told them, but their other dad fought through magic. Magic was so versatile, they were quickly realizing, though the idea of fighting (even with magic) was not appealing to Cadenza in the slightest. However, they could understand wanting to protect.

Even if Cadenza did not want to fight, if it meant protecting they could see themself doing such. Still, the idea of themself doing combat made the deer-dragon hybrid uneasy.

They wanted to meet Bone, but... They had another request for their dad too. But it could wait until after. After they were no longer stuck in water. Though, it appeared they had company now in the water.

"...Did you fall too?" Cadenza asked with puzzlement, despite having witnessed it. There was an implied question of why. After all, they couldn't have imagined their dad falling ever, until it had undeniably happened.

Cadenza bobbed an antlered head in agreement to the proposed plan as they mimicked their dad so their wings kept them afloat as well. It was easier that way. "Swim to the shore and I will follow?" They suggested, unsure of their own ability to swim without first watching their dad swim.

@Dread

For once, his shouting was sort of justified. The bay wasn't violent, but its breakers were nonetheless crashing nonstop around the base of his seastack home. Each rush of water gave a hissing roar, a spray of clear, fresh water pluming into the air. It reached nowhere near the top--his island home was quite tall, and their fall had been immense (it had stung Dread's skin, a little) but it was still loud.

"I TRIED TO DO MAGIC TO HELP YOU. BUT IT DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK AND THEN I FELL. IT'S OKAY," he added, reassuringly.

The dragon was not built for swimming, and it showed; his wings sort of floated on the surface, out to either side, while his feet doggy-paddled him rather slowly toward the shore. But he didn't sink, at least. "USE YOUR FEET TO PUSH." Odd, that he was teaching Cadenza to swim before even really to walk, but...

"ARE YOU DOING OKAY?" he called back, though his tone did not seem worried, as such. He knew they had the pendant--they weren't gonna drown or something.

@Cadenza

The hissing roar of water crashing against their home was very loud. But loud did not mean bad, as they had learned while very young. So Cadenza liked the sound of the waves. And because of their new pendant, they had no need to even think of getting water in their mouth or nose as a bad thing worth fearing. It was odd, sure, but that was not bad either. They could still breathe perfectly fine.

In truth, they were much more concerned over the idea of magic failing having the potential to cause a crash landing. "...Does that always happen when magic fails? Falling?" Because their dad had made it sound normal, and that made magic scarier than they thought to use. If that was what always happened when magic failed, which it apparently could, Pride the magic warrior must be very brave to use it in fights. Fighting was horrible, Cadenza felt, but it was also difficult. Doing a difficult task with this additional risk had to make one brave.

When instructed, they used their legs to paddle. But, it was indeed very slow. A thought occurred to Cadenza, and they pushed their wings against the currents to their sides in an attempt to swim faster. To propel themself forward.

It worked, and soon they found themself in front of their dad, looking back and seeming completely thrilled. "I like swimming! ...It is much easier than flying!"

@Dread

"FLYING IS EASIER," Dread at once responded, with a matter-of-fact tone. A split second later, he remembered that perspective was a subjective thing, and added "FOR ME," rather hastily. He did use his wings, a little, but mostly they were too broad and thin to be of use.

But soon enough he'd reached the shore, hauling himself out and shaking himself off like a dog, the fins along his neck spraying water off. He craned his neck to peer forward at Cadenza. "MAGIC IS WEIRD. ALL SORTS OF THINGS CAN HAPPEN. IT IS GOOD TO PRACTICE! I DON'T NORMALLY FALL," he reassured them. Yes, he'd half-forgotten to answer this until now but it was answered now, and he plodded up higher onto the sand. He was heavy enough that his feet sank a bit, leaving huge three-toed prints--like gigantic bird feet--behind him. "IF YOU WANT TO TRY TO FLY AGAIN, DO IT OUT OVER THE WATER AGAIN! IT'S GOOD SWIMMING IS EASY!"

Cadenza seemed to enjoy it, even, which was good; he eyed them, thoughtful. "BLIGHT LIKES TO SWIM TOO. HE IS MY SON'S SON." (Sort of.) "HE WENT TO A CITY UNDER THE OCEAN ONCE. NOT THIS OCEAN."

With that random bit of information imparted, he turned and waddled a little off.

"TO FLY FROM THE GROUND, I RUN FIRST!"

Dread demonstrated. First, he turned back toward the water, having gotten up toward the treeline far enough to give himself plenty of room. He started off at a slow wing-walk, waddling tipped-forward with his wings used as forelimbs. He then broke into a strange, bounding sprint, the way a dog might run if its front legs were massive wings, and then--when he'd picked up speed--leapt skyward. Wings snapped out, billowing as they caught Leo's warm air, and a few beats swiftly carried him skyward.

"IF YOU GET UP HERE AND YOU GET CONFUSED ABOUT LANDING, JUST GO INTO THE WATER!" he yelled down.

@Cadenza

Cadenza was almost sad to get out of the water. But their attention was quickly grabbed by the answer regarding magic, so they did not mind as much as they could have. Magic indeed sounded very weird. Even a little scary with its unpredictability. But their dad said practicing it was good. So they nodded their antlered head decisively. "I will practice magic," They stated, musical voice firm in their decision.

Oh! At least one of their siblings had a child? That was fascinating! About equally as fascinating as the idea of an underwater city! More family was very very interesting, always, but underwater cities were awesome sounding. It was hard to decide which was more interesting.

But for now, flight!

They observed the running with keen eyes, not wanting to miss a single thing about this take off. Then, when their dad had taken to the air, they attempted to mimic the movements. It seemed this time, without as many distractions, they managed to not only get into the air but stay there and fly well. More than well.

They understood suddenly why their dad had said flying was easier than swimming. They still enjoyed swimming, but with flight there was nothing to fight against. The air was their friend and they loved it. "Dad! Look! I'm flying!" They called out, absolutely thrilled, not even wavering in the air as they spoke.

@Dread

Dread banked, curving smoothly toward Cadenza in the air, though nowhere near close enough to collide or startle them. He just studied them for a moment, an experienced eye picking out the way they handled every movement and shift of air. Good, he thought; flying seemed natural to them. Which made sense, given that they were a dragon.

"YOU ARE DOING VERY WELL!" he roared, his voice echoing in a twinned screech and bass rumble like a crack of thunder. There was absolutely no need for him to be this loud, but he was that loud anyway. His followup shouts, at least, were a little quieter: "IF THERE ARE EVER STORMS, IT WILL BE HARDER TO FLY! OR HARD WIND! LOOK AT TREES AND GRASS AND WATER BEFORE YOU FLY SO YOU KNOW IF IT WILL BE HARD! -BECAUSE WIND MOVES THEM," he explained.

He hoped they understood what he was trying to get across: that harshly swaying trees or bent reeds or frothing waves would indicate stronger winds, and thus, more difficult flight.

Oh, and one other piece advice he offered retrospectively: "AND DO NOT FLY UNTIL YOU ARE EXHAUSTED! THEN IT WILL BE TOO HARD TO LAND!"

@Cadenza

The loudly roared praise from their dad heightened their delight further still. Cadenza wanted to keep flying forever.

Still, as they flew they made sure they listened attentively to the advice from their dad. Winds could be harsher than this, which would make flying more difficult. That made sense to them, though it was hard to imagine that when it was so easy in this moment.

It had been all kinds of stormy on the day they had first hatched, they remembered. That would have made for a difficult day to fly, maybe? From the sound of it, at least.

As for the last bit of advice, well. They realized suddenly that they were already beginning to tire. It was their first successful flight, and they could only keep this up so long. But, buoyed by their gained confidence from said success, they decided they would land on the ground instead of in the water. Maybe on the sand? It looked soft.

It was not as soft as it looked, but they managed the landing successful regardless. They turned their antlered head towards their dad in excitement. "Dad! I landed!" They exclaimed, despite it being obvious already to any observer.

Their confidence led them further now, to ask a question they had been hesitant to ask before but had thought of. "Dad, can we go to Orion, together? So I can meet Pride?" They blurted out.

Nerves set in immediately after they spoke, though. "Is that okay...?" The meeting with their other dad, the going together, all of it really. Sure, their dad had sounded okay with it, but...

It seemed Cadenza was prone to occasional anxieties.

@Dread

He landed beside them a moment later, touching down and then rocking forward, landing on his wings. "A GOOD LANDING!" he bellowed, directly at his child.

As for travel-?

Dread considered. "ARE YOU TIRED YET? WE CAN GO. BUT IT IS A LONG WAY. WE CAN WALK--I HAVE TO WALK IN TUNNELS," he explained. "THEY ARE TOO SMALL TO FLY." An annoyance, but it was what it was.

Which was mostly very anti-climactic when Dread got into a huge fight, went to make a dramatic exit and had to land and walk.

"MAYBE DRINK SOME WATER BEFORE WE GO." It was unusual foresight, on his part, but the way was long, and none of the caves en route were known for fresh, flowing water.

@Cadenza

Praise from their dad raised their spirit, as before. Cadenza was doing good! Their dad said so, so it must be true. They trusted their dad before anything else. "I could not have done it without you," They stated, sounding absolutely certain in their lyrical words.

Truth be told, they were a little tired. But this felt more important than any tiredness. They had another dad. Pride. One whom they had never met, though it was true they had only been awake for a very limited time altogether.

"I can go," Cadenza told their dad, hoping that they were speaking the truth here. They were only a little tired, though, so they imagined they would be able to make it there.

Obligingly, though, they first went over to drink some water. Then as soon as they had gulped enough down, their antlered head turned back to their dad. "We can go now, then?" They felt a mix of excitement and nervousness.

Then they mentally paused as something else occurred to them, and Cadenza fixed a stern look on their face. "You need to drink water, too, if it is a long way," They declared, musical voice set on this idea. It was important for their dad to take care of himself, too.

@Dread

'I could not have done it without you.'

Dread stared, for a moment, nonplussed--uncertain what the correct response to this was. "OKAY," was what he eventually settled on, with a mental shrug.

"WE CAN GO NOW," he agreed. And then--Cadenza was telling him to drink water. Again he was a little blankly confused; it wasn't often that anyone told him to do anything (or rather, suggested it strongly) and Dread had to pause to consider. Ah. I should drink. They're right, he realized.

"OKAY." This bellowed for the second time, he swiftly wing-walked over and dipped his head down low. He drank like a bird: filling his mouth, then tipping it quickly back and gulping the water down with the aid of gravity. Rinse, repeat.

Once he'd had his fill he turned, nodding. "IT WAS A GOOD IDEA. NOW WE GO THIS WAY," he said, and pointed his snout toward Tunnel D. "THERE ARE TWO WAYS BUT THIS ONE GOES TO THE SNOW CAVE AND THAT IS WHERE BONE MIGHT BE." She wouldn't turn up--though Dread didn't know this at the moment, of course; the white dragon would be far too busy aiding Order and the Hive. "THEN THERE IS POLARIS, WHICH IS FULL OF MAGIC, AND PAST THAT IS WHERE PRIDE LIVES." He paused, then, eyeing Cadenza sidelong. "SHOULD WE WALK OR FLY, FOR NOW?" he asked.

That much, at least, he could leave to them to decide.

we can make a new thread in one of the caves along the way or right in Orion? I don't mind either way!
@Cadenza

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