hi i'm doing more family time

Acheron trotted into Cepheus a little weary. The travel had taken the better part of a day, and Ursa had been huge. Cold--with deep drifts of snow and biting ice--and huge. And Acheron was still a child. Her legs weren't all that long; Pride's graceful, effortless-looking stroll hadn't translated yet, if ever it would. Hers was an ungainly trot here, a bounding rush there, or hoof-dragging complaining when her muscles began to ache. And his demeanor, as they'd passed through the snowy cave, had been annoying. Her father could be overly protective, but in Ursa he'd even been short with her--his ears and eyes on constant lookout, her own voice shushed firmly when she began to whine.

So as they left, at last, the dark and pleasantly bubbling tunnel that led here, Acheron was in a bad mood. She was cranky--weary, irritated, a little hungry. She really needed a meal and a sleep. She kicked at a rock, and when Pride softly informed her they'd arrived, she lifted pale eyes with a dour determination to be unimpressed.

Her mood fell away at once, shattered by the awe that struck her. She'd seen many of the caves--trees and rivers, forests and ruins--but nothing like this. Soft white structures stood clean and tall, perfectly formed, in the shadows of glinting void-light. The soft violet hues gleamed across a distant waterway, igniting far-off crystal sculptures in flaring color. "...Whoa," she breathed, coming to a stop, her weariness near forgotten.

Her head snapped around so hard she made herself dizzy, peering up at Pride. "Can I explore-?" she begged, at once, hoping for permission.

Pride glanced down, amused.

It was true that she'd been a bit of a, well, child on the journey here, but that was unsurprising given the fact that Acheron was, in fact, a child. Pride had taken that in stride, though he knew he'd been perhaps a tad harsh as they'd passed through Ursa. But he'd seen what sort of things lurked there, and it ate at him to know he might be risking a child of less than a cycle to such horrors simply to look at a pretty palace.

He hadn't told her that, though--had only warned her that Ursa could be very dangerous, and never to come alone.

As for Cepheus-? So long as Acheron didn't insult any Masters here--or Palace servants, or the like--it was probably one of the safest caves. "Go ahead," he answered easily. "I won't be far behind. Remember--if you meet anybody, be polite." He didn't expect her to pull too far ahead; as she bounced away, sailing over the trimmed hedges, he ambled along behind her. Magic was cast out by habit, as he'd done in Ursa: a check that no one unseen might be closing in.

"Don't go too far," he called out, an echo of parents universe-wide.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

She rolled pale eyes at him (once her back was turned, of course), but all the same, she'd come to trust his warnings. She didn't necessarily like it, but she trusted it. So for a moment she paused, magicka flickering in an attempt to raise a barrier.

With that up, she could go about her explorations without worry. (At least, that was how she saw it.) If anything did try to attack her, it'd get thrown, and then she could just bounce away!

Nothing happened, at first, so she resolved to try again--but for now she trotted down toward the river. The odors of bird and that sort of fishy smell of water drew her in; it wasn't like any river she had known. It had a floral smell--manicured lilies flowering along it edges--and was slower, gentler, than the water she had seen. Fornax had been rough and deep; Polaris was cold and she hadn't even wanted to get close. The tunnel, on the way here, had likewise seemed icy cold and strangely bare, but this water was almost decorative.

Acheron reached it and studied her reflection, sticking her tongue out at it and laughing. Then she saw the shimmer of pale scales just below, and tilted her head, watching the fish with fascination.

After a moment she pushed away, and glanced back to see Pride approaching--unhurried, idle. He wasn't approaching her to talk, she could tell. He was just sort of following along.

She turned, looking around.

Acheron's eyes settled on the crystal statues. Some of them... looked like Gembound, so lifelike despite their translucent shimmering that her hackles rose.

Her magicka flickered up, almost defensively, and her shield at last settled into place.

"Those weren't... real, were they?"

She cast a fearful glance back at Pride, though she tried to hide it. Surely they were just... gemstones, forged the way he could do-? Not... living things, stuck in rock?!

Pride blinked.

He lifted his gaze to the statues, studying them. "I do not think so," he answered mildly, but the thought was... disconcerting. Knowing the Masters of the caves, it wasn't an impossibility.

He stepped closer, hooves clicking softly, to inspect them; his pale form twined through the garden, as perfectly formed as though he were merely decor that had been placed here, with little more purpose than a Hellswan. But such thoughts didn't occur to him. Instead he studied the crystal. At length he shook his head, glancing back to Acheron. He could only repeat his assumption: "No, I don't think so. Is your shield up?" he added, voice a mild fluting.

It wasn't related to the crystal thing; he merely wished to check. So far as he knew, nothing much was likely to happen to them, here.

So long as they kept in line.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

Well, that wasn't totally reassuring.

"I don't think so?"

Acheron winced, and turned away. Her gaze lingered on the crystal statues, studying them, and after a moment she shook her head. "Well, I hope not," she declared, at last, and stomped away with far less grace than displayed by her lifegiver.

"My shield is up," she replied, and followed up with the childlike huff of an irritated toddler. Then she bounded away, a spark of magic driving her leaps higher. She sailed over a hedge, and bounced between some vines, ignoring the half-amused, half-reprimanding tone of her father asking her to wait.

Instead, Acheron found herself in a sort of little hollow: a seating area, wreathed in by foliage, settled with little benches and an alabaster table.

Her eyes were wide with wonder as she nosed around, looking at it all. Why was all of this here?

The click of her father's hooves approaching were (though Acheron didn't know this metaphor) not unlike a benign version of a horror movie villain's inexorable approach. It was like she couldn't get away from him. With a huff of irritation, she looked around, and wondered with a spark of mischief if she couldn't outwit him after all.

With a spell he'd taught her, too!

She focused for a moment, playful and rebellious both, drawing on her magicka. I'll split in two and send one running off where he can see it, she decided--then maybe she'd at last get a few moments free from that damned parental supervision.

It worked flawlessly--at least, on her end; she couldn't tell yet if Pride would fall for it. But a doppleganger Acheron came leaping from the foliage, and she sent it bounding off down the lanes that threaded through the gardens, out of sight toward a distant flower-blooming tree.

It wasn't that she didn't like her dad. It wasn't even that she wanted to escape him, as such, or even that he was all that overprotective--even when he was.

She was just a kid who wanted a few moments of potentially deadly freedom, that was all. Was it too much to ask?

Pride sighed a little. He'd always been a fairly obedient child--at least, in terms of being attentive and respectful--so Acheron's determination to leave him behind confused him to some extent.

She vanished into a thicket of vines, and at first--struggling to pick his way past a hedge without damaging it--he lost sight of her.

Then he saw her bounding off again. He had no reason to imagine this wasn't actually his daughter, so he set off, grimacing, pacing hurriedly after her.

"Acheron-..." he called out, half-exasperated now. Well-... He had told her she could explore, after all. With a shake of his antlered head, he lurched into a trot, struggling to keep up.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

She waited, peering mischievously between the vines, until he'd drifted off out of sight; her own magic she'd let fall as soon as the double had passed around a bend.

Acheron then slipped out of her little hidey hole, and ran the other way--streaking along a well-manicured walkway of white stones to rush toward the Palace.

She didn't know what goodies might lay within--didn't know about the food, the theatre, the paintings and the music. She did know that she could now smell something distinctly tasty, and hunger rumbled at her belly.

A few magic-infused bounds had her at the palace entrance, and soon enough she was sniffing among the columns, little tail wagging behind her. She followed the scent of food, hooves clicking quickly on the tile as she ran for it.

"-Hello?" she called, at last, giving up finding her way through the labyrinthine halls on her own. She paused, head cocked, as she heard her words echo on the stone.

Pride paused, frowning, as he realized that his child was nowhere to be seen. Where had she run off to? He'd rounded this corner, and--nothing. Nostrils flared, head dipped, but he could catch no scent of her.

His eyes narrowed in confusion.

By the time he found her--guided by his magic, and rushing through Cepheus--she was lying beside Nedies' kitchen. Pride was just a touch horrified, but she was safe, so--that was good.

One reprimand later, and she'd roped him into going into the theater--which someone, in the last twenty minutes, had apparently told her all about.

"Very well," he conceded, at last, "but please... do not run away from me." He didn't know what dangers she might run into alone, but Acheron was proving hard to even keep tabs on--let alone keep safe.

red deer img credit - dan seagrave

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