deercountry | Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck

"It is," he agrees and closes the gate behind them, decorated with pieces of antler at regular intervals.

On entering, the chickens realize their 'mother' is in the yard and begin to gather around them, looking for food.

"It's difficult, because he's done some bad shit, but he also saved my life when he absolutely didn't have to. I can't excuse the harm he's done, but I don't think he's all bad."

Which is pretty rich when talking about a Sith but... who knows. People change.

"No one's all bad."

At least, no one in Trench. There were, perhaps, one or two people back home who Ariadne held absolutely no hope for. But they were far away. Part of the past. And she preferred to move forward into the future with hope.

She laughed, holding up her hands as the chickens started to flock around them.

"Looks like you're quite popular with these ladies."

"Well, you know. I try."

Playful as he reaches into the pocket of the barn coat he's wearing and pulls out a handful of seed.

"Here, give me your hand."

Ariadne knew it was silly. He was only going to give her some of the seeds. But he still hesitated, before slowly raising her arm and uncurling her fingers. It wasn't Raleigh's fault, of course. He didn't know how intimate a hand-to-hand touch was for Alastrians. It was an innocent request.

Still, she had to force herself to relax.

Humans were so careless about what they did with their hands.

She would be disgusted if she knew some of the places he's put his hands.

And having zero idea what he's asking of her, Raleigh cups her hand from beneath before pouring a pile of chicken feed into her palm.

"Go on," a grin. He takes his hand back and tosses some feed of his own. The chickens flock immediately.

Those chickens did love to run.

Although the Elves of Valeria were vegetarian, they ate eggs. Which meant that every farm had chickens. And Valerian chickens were notorious for escaping their coops, being intensely loyal, and for pecking to death anyone who tried to harm one of them. Very early in her life in Valeria, Ariadne had been taught proper chicken etiquette.

Rule number one: Don't let the chickens eat out of your hand.

Smiling slightly, she bent over, scattering some feed in a half-moon around her feet. The chickens who hadn't taken off after Raleigh's offering flocked to her. And she giggled with delight. "I love their feathers," she said. "They're so beautiful."

"They are, aren't they."

Mean little ladies, but Raleigh is so soft for them. He's collected a few different breeds for laying and for meat, and a few fancy ones just because he likes them. Several of the chickens are wearing little handmade hats.

"We've got about two hundred any given week."

Edited 2022-04-17 19:48 (UTC)

"Two hundred. That's a lot of chickens!"

And, if she understood how eggs worked, upwards of well over a thousand of them a week. Given how scarce food was in Trench, that was kind of a little miracle. Raleigh and his partner were bound to be incredibly popular.

"Managing them must take a lot of time!"

Only half the hens are for laying, but they do generate an enormous amount of eggs. One way to make a living.

All the boxes by the back gate are stamped with a little logo reading The Happy Hen Company at Trenchwood Farm. He's a big believer in practicing what he preaches.

"All of it. We have some local help but it's a full time job and a half out here. Now with the gardens.. I dunno how we're going to manage."

Which explains why Raleigh is mostly quiet on the network and not seen around town too much unless it's work related or he's visiting specific people for specific reasons.

"Well, I can certainly help with the gardens," she pointed out. One of the advantages of having magical trees was that they didn't need nearly as much of her as regular trees would.

Of course, she would have made the offer anyway, even if all of her trees were normal.

She liked Raleigh. She liked trees. She liked helping. It was kind of an obvious sort of thing.

"Yeah? I'd appreciate that. You know a lot more than I do. Last month was easy, just... make something grow. Now I have to learn how to actually make things grow. C'mon," he tosses the rest of his feed.

"I'll show you around."

And it would be a nice tour if they weren't interrupted by a falling star. A bright, bright light that comes very literally to the ground before unfurling into.. a.. portal?

It was so beautiful, Ariadne forgot to be afraid at first. She'd seen falling stars before, but never anything quite like this. So big and bright and, well, close. But her instincts kicked in quickly enough and she grabbed Raleigh, using every bit of strength she could muster to knock him to the ground and try to throw herself on top of him, putting herself between him and...

And...?

And...what?

She picked up the scent of ozone and something else. Something familiar. A scent that somehow...reminded her of home.

The absolute last thing Raleigh is expecting to happen is for Ariadne to body shield him.

Her weight, however slight, is unexpected and takes him to the ground with a hard flomp and a low groan.

Seconds pass and no beast comes pouring out of the portal. No raining hellfire. No screeching death.

Raleigh gives a wheeze.

“Are you good?”

"I really don't know how to answer that question," she replied.

But she rolled off of him, landing hard on the ground, pushing herself up to look back at the portal. Like Raleigh, she wondered at first why nothing was charging through it. That was, in her experience, how these things worked in Trench and Deerington before that. And yet, this portal just sort of shimmered.

Beyond the event horizon, there was a pale yellow mountain path. The stone was studded with little red stars. Rubies. Around the highest peak was a cloud, shaped like a perfect circle. A halo crowning it.

Ariadne's eyes widened. "I...I know this place..." She knew it, but she couldn't believe it. "That...that's the Temple of Flame..."

"Is that your world?" asked as he gets himself up and dusts off. He fell clumsily but isn't hurt, just dirty. Nothing new, there.

The scene beyond looks like something out of a movie, which isn't that surprising if it is Ariadne's home. Everything she's told him so far has been fantastical.

Though.. that doesn't mean it's all good news. This month has been dark and in his experience that isn't a good thing. This could be a trap.

He stops just beside her, wary.

"What happens at the Temple of Flame?"

As if hearing his question, the scene on the other side of the portal trembled. The mountains in the northern part of Valeria were always known for being a little volatile. You had to watch yourself, keep a shield over your head in case of falling rocks. Especially close to the Temple.

From the crater, in the highest peak, a flash of ruby red shot up into the air. It was a long, snake-like figure--red with a yellow belly--with two arms, each with three sharp talons. The dragon had wings of fire, coming out of the top of its head.

Honestly, the aerodynamics made no sense. But dragons were magical. They didn't always have to make sense.

"That," she replied. "That happens at the Temple of Flame."

It's incredible to see but Raleigh, out of habit, takes a step back and to the side lest the dragon come careening towards them.

In his defense, he hasn't had the best of luck with large reptiles.

But still, that thing isn't a kaiju, it's a god damn dragon and that is rad. Unless that fire dragon comes for them in which case very not rad.

He is very torn between preparing for a fight and cooing in awe like a little kid.

"Do... you think it knows we're here?"

"I...don't know."

It was said that Alastrians were descended from dragons. And if so, it would follow that dragons had an acute sense of smell. But Ariadne had no idea if scent traveled through a portal like this. Could anything go through?

Cautiously, she stepped forward reaching out to touch the event horizon.

It was like a pane of glass. A window. She couldn't press through.

What would she have done if she could? The question was bewildering. Could this have been her chance to go home? Would she have taken it?

It is, if nothing else, a moment of reflection. Ba-dum-tish.

Ariadne's hand can't pass though but that doesn't mean Raleigh trusts it. Last time the sky was black for a month nothing good happened and thinking you're safe is the easiest way to be in intense danger around these parts.

He wets his lips and comes back in to see the view.

A beat. He lifts his hand.

(Don't do it, Raleigh.)

Another beat. He taps the window.

Dragons were a bit like hornets. If you left them alone, they were more than happy to leave you alone. But if you started poking around, trying to get their attention...

The dragon's head whipped around, the wings of fire streaming behind it like a little girl's braids. Its eyes were an electrifying shade of green, almost like traffic lights. Covering its face and horns were silver scales, with faint cracks that allowed more green light to escape.

It almost looked...wounded. Like someone had taken a hammer to its snout.

"Well...we know it can hear us," Ariadne said nervously, taking a step back from the portal.

Anxiety leaps into Raleigh's throat, otherwise he'd answer. That was stupid, that was such a stupid move, what the fuck were you thinking, Rals. That dragon looks bruck up and and it knows they're here. You absolute idiot.

"We should run," he finally manages, putting himself between Airy and the portal as if his own squishy human body can do anything against a fire dragon.

He'll still die trying though, and summons huge balls of flame into his fists.

"Raleigh! No!"

It was a dragon. Did he really think that fire, of all things, would hurt it? Well. Then again, he probably didn't have dragons back home. At least, not the type she knew best.

The dragon itself almost looked amused. If dragons could look amused, which she wasn't entirely sure about.

It seemed to decide that if Raleigh wanted to posture, it would as well. And with a deep breath, the dragon bellowed out a long, stream of smoke that drifted through the portal itself. All the way to the other side. It was harmless, just smoke. But it seemed to promise...

...more.

Too late.

And boy that scared the shit out of him.

Raleigh's stomach drops through the floor and he reaches for Ariadne's arm to tug her back. If the smoke can come through the portal then, in theory, so can the dragon. And Raleigh doesn't have enough time to scramble the jaeger to fight one.

"We gotta move, cmon-"

Ariadne took half a step to follow, Raleigh, but when she looked back into the portal, she hesitated.

The dragon was drifting in the air, regarding the two of them thoughtfully. It didn't seem aggressive. More curious. Perhaps watching to see what they would do.

"Wait," she said, putting a hand on Raleigh's shoulder, pulling him back. "I don't think that it's..."

Upset? No way to know. But it wasn't charging them either.

The look in response is slightly panicked.

"Airy..." He hates this. He hates this.

"No offense but I haven't had good luck with giant lizards. If that thing follows us through then we're releasing havoc on the whole city."

Some nights, I stay up cashing in my bad luck

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