Once, We Touched The Clouds (Ghost_kitty & Erit of Eastcris)

He hated caves like this one, dank and damp and full of moss. The lightless hole-in-the-ground he found himself spelunking through was moist and abuzz with insects, the lichen beneath his high brown boots squelching in a disquieting fashion with every step. Thank heavens they were somewhat new and lacked holes by which moisture or chitin could intrude on his tread; such thoughts flitted through Autrin Velic's mind as he navigated the winding cavern, the light of his lantern pooling at his feet and warding away the worst of the bugs, his other hand heavy with the weight of his spear, a hefty creation forged solidly of iron from tip to butt. Autrin hated caves like this one, but he dredged it nonetheless seeking to plunder the lost wealth of the temple residing at the bottom of it, the hieroglyphs lining the walls assuring him that this was the place where, far below the surface, he could find the old Dekieri altar, and there he could potentially find a mighty haul of trinkets in gold and silver and the strange, flowing metal that looked like liquid moonlight. Of course, the Dekieri had disappeared long ago, their oligarchy and empire crumbling as if overnight; many speculated it was some grand catastrophe that drove them from power, scholars having translated the most recent of their writings as epitaphs for their nation in the face of the apocalypse. Their gods were dead, the writings said, and soon the Dekieri would join them.

Autrin wasn't interested in stuffy old men with their noses in books, however; he was after loot and treasure, ransacking abandoned locales to pay for his comfortable lifestyle. It was for that reason he picked his way down through the stone as quickly as he dared, wary of traps and of treacherous footing. He couldn't very well strike it rich if this place struck him low first. Eventually, the spelunker found himself at the end of the interminable descent, and even here the moss and bugs marred what once had been a grand hallway. Autrin didn't care much, however, barely glancing at the ruins of what had been large, intricately-carved archways and painstakingly-wrought pillars, only caring for the altar at the far end of the hall. It was upon those plinths that his prizes sat, glittering and gleaming in the light of his lantern with the promise of a good meal that night. A low whistle passed his slender, swarthy lips as his heels clicked upon the exposed rock and squelched elsewhere. The necklaces, rings, crowns and coins upon the altar disappeared into the sack he held in the same hand as his spear, the lantern being placed on an empty plinth while the treasure hunter scavenged his winnings. As the precious metal and gems disappeared, however, they revealed a far more interesting prize; a stone, blood-red and polished to a mirror shine, the size of his two fists put together. His outstretched hand recoiled at first, the stone unexpectedly hot to the touch; not enough to scald, but certainly an uncomfortable surprise. Taking the stone and packing it into his bag along with the other items, he presumed someone somewhere would pay a pretty penny for such an oddity. He also took the stone tablet which was propped up behind it, as well, knowing certain scholars would happily divest themselves a comely ransom in exchange for such things most of the time. If he couldn't find buyers, well... they were only rocks with fancy scribbling to him, and if nothing was ventured then nothing could be gained. Sometimes, he figured, you struck out.

Having found what he was looking for, though, Autrin was quick to take up his light once more and scarper with his riches, beating a hasty retreat from the cave before sun set in the world above and hurriedly trampling through the forest; the Dekieri were devious in their booby-traps, some of which only activated when the sun went down, and Autrin had no intention of being caught by them or by the creatures which prowled the woods at night. His pace slowed when he met the road, though, turning into a more even lope rather than the rushed jog he had maintained up to that point. It was with that even lope that the tall, slender man with his solid iron spear, lantern and bag of loot made his way back to the nearby town of Errest, where he spent the evening modestly; not one to count his chickens before they hatched, as it were, Autrin didn't see sense in frittering away his money on the tenuous promise that his pickings from the temple would make back the money in good time.

The next morning he planned to spend perusing the town, bag in hand, attempting to cash in his loot for a good price. But as was normally the case with plans, life had different ideas. This time in particular, it had very different ideas; awakening to the sound of creaking steel, Autrin shot awake and out of his bed in the small town's singular inn, spear in hand as his bare feet hit the floor. The grey light of pre-dawn providing sparse enough illumination that he had to squint to truly make out much. The sound repeated again, more agitated this time; a motion in the dark caught his eye. Wait, he thought; was... was the sound coming from inside his bag? Immediately he pulled open the drawstring and spilled forth the contents in as controlled a fashion as he could, the treasures falling in a nice little pile with the stone an tablet atop it. And again, the sound came, alongside a shudder in the blood-hued rock. It nearly glowed with heat, the air around it noticeably hotter for its efforts. Then, with the sound of shattering glass, a crack split the surface of the stone—no, by now it was clear this was no stone. It was an egg of some description, and as it split apart to reveal the creature within Autrin was quick to bundle the thing in the blanket hastily torn from his bed. A confused squawk protested his efforts, a scaled head peeking out from the nest of cloth and staring Autrin in the eyes.

Of course, he didn't recognize the creature before him. No one in that world would, readily at any rate, for what stood before him was supposed to be many millenia extinct. But as evidenced by the appearance of the creature before Autrin, the Dragons, old gods of the Dekieri, were not all gone. "What... what are you supposed to be?" Inquired the oblivious hunter of the newborn creature before him. He sighed, knuckling his forehead, "What am I even doing? It probably can't speak... But still, what are you?"

A tiny blood red scaled claw emerged as the egg splitered in sequence, each crack sounding destructive but as beautiful as chords on a piano. The confused squawk came as two marine blue eyes blinked in the early morning light, hinting to more of a teal colour towards the slitted iris'. Intially it tried the scarper to the shadows but wasnt as fast to avoid the humans agility. The cloth shivered as the creature seemed to give a shaken chirp...clearly a little afriad as it curled up under the cloth and exposed its head. The body was lizard like, thin and flexible with a row of soft black spikes along its spine and two red nubs on the upper forehead.

Autrins presence was noted by the lizard-like being but so was everything in the room, from the bed to the cieling as it flicked its toungue to taste the air inbetween curious jerks of its head. A small squawk came again from it in a type of response to the spelunker. It seemed to understand itself being addressed yet could not formulate a logical, or indeed a linguistic, response. A bird chirpped out the window which caused the lizard some surprise as it uneasily scurried across the bed and right off the edge. Initally it seemed to flop onto the floor hopelessly yet it cushioned the landing via two tiny transparent wings that resembled a leathery material.

In its newer surrounding the creature begun to flicker its toungue more and curiously run around to nip and nuzzle like a puppy intoduced to its new home. It remained under the bed mostly in the most shaded parts where its long whip-like tail wriggled in delight. Oddly its eyes appeared to have a bio luminescent glow about them with a gentle ice blue giving its investigating a easier way in the shade. A creak from a floorboard made it jump. A highly curious lizard yet still so timid from its hatching.

"Whoa, there!" He said sharply, reaching out towards the little beast as it fell from its perch. His concern was needless, though, as wings unfurled from its back to control its descent. After that, Autrin simply sat back on his heels with eyes wide and head atilt. The newborn creature scuttled about the floor of his room in that inn, like a puppy being introduced to its new home; curious and enthusiastic. The crimson scales glittered softly in the light as the sun peeked above the distant horizon, dazzling the treasure hunter with their beauty. He could probably skin this thing and sell the hide for a fanciful ransom, but... the thought simply crossing his mind filled him with an inexplicable guilt. How could he hurt this thing? It was so innocent, and so unique; it felt like a crime against nature to entertain thoughts of harming it. Had it bewitched him? This little lizard was an alien creature the likes of which Autrin had never even heard about; it was entirely possible it held some sinister magic behind those sparkling azure eyes as they turned to meet his own stormy greys. A slender, tanned hand scrubbed through short-cropped black locks in an attempt to clear his mind, Autrin's thoughts racing as he thought about what he could possibly do. The scent of roasting chicken and the sensation of rumbling in his stomach gave him a good first idea; get breakfast.

He stood, lean but toned body drawn to his full though average height and long, slender arm reaching to pluck the hatchling from its refuge beneath the bed; upon touching it, though, Autrin leaped back, biting down on a yelp and reducing it to a pained hiss as the scaled hide of the thing seemed to sear his palm. Rubbing at the offending injury saw the pain rapidly fade, though, and a look down saw his flesh unmarked by the ordeal. Had he just imagined it? Once more, he reached out, and this time found the creature cool to the touch as he pulled it from the shade beneath the bed and sat it on the makeshift nest that had been made of his blankets. "Stay," he tried commanding it, "while I get food." And then, slowly, he backed away before locking the door and leaving to fetch his breakfast, hopefully before his new roommate could get up to mischief.

Autrins palm was uneasily eyed by the creature as it came below to bed to bring him back up, the heat came from its belly since thats were some very unique organs worked to help keep the creature warm and would develop in future into something more. The Spelunkers leap caused the lizard to jump back to with a attempted growl that only sounded like a childs cough to human ears. After a few breaths to calm itself, the creature couldnt help but place two small claws onto Autrins palm to help lift it from under its shaded hiding place.

The two vibrant blue eyes faded thier glow, looking upon a make shift nest and then up to Autrin almost like it was trying to suggest it approved...that or it was merely confused. The command to stay only made the lizard chirp and tilt its head as if it didnt quite understand what the human male said to it. It leaned its neck forward before the door was closed as it chripped out again...then again to somehow get a response. It was no fool though.

With a small hop, the lizard left its nest and begun to pad around the bed to register everything that was in its line of sight. The spear caught its immediate attention as it plodded over, flopping off the bed again as it approached this unusal object...it gave a small nibble onto its base that caused the spear to fall onto the floor. With a rattle from the impact, the creature jumped back and raised its body aggressively. Its wings extended and its jaw wide open to produce the curious cough noise again which only succedded in emitting a puff of smoke.

Autrin, meanwhile, was hurriedly walking through the hall and downstairs to acquire the morning's meal; chicken, as he'd noticed, with leafy greens and mulled wine to accompany it. He tossed a few coins onto the table and took the plate and mug he was handed, hustling back upstairs to his room only to hear a disheartening crash as he neared the door. Apprehensive at best, he unlocked and opened it slowly to survey the damage. To his surprise, there was none; the curious critter had simply knocked his spear down from where he had leaned it against the wall, admittedly in a somewhat precarious position.

The man who'd found himself caretaker to a strange new creature sighed, setting his breakfast down on the bed before picking up the beast which seemed so determined to explore. "Didn't I tell you to stay put?" He chuckled, "Serves me right for trying to talk to a lizard. Here," he tore off a strip of chicken meat, dangling it in front of his strange companion's maw, "You look like a carnivore; seem tasty?"

The human returned only to be met with the lizard in its aggressive stance, that soon changed as it looked up and tiltied its head the same way a puppy would do if it was sat next to a mess and tired to play innocent. Oddly this time he went to pick the beast up it happily jumped into his hands as if it knew him and identified him as not a threat. It even looked up to him with those curious blue eyes which were giving a look of curiousity still, but trust as its head looked up and down him.

It nostrils flared as its attention was drawn to the food on the bed then looked up as he was placed down to see the dangling chicken meat. With a mere sniff it opened its maw to expose needle like teeth as it snapped it up quickly almost with a side of human fingertip. It shook its neck to help it down before chripping out happily and quickly eying up the rest of the food once more.

How strange it was, a little crimson lizard about the size of a kitten with leather black wings and soft black spines. Not to mention its stunning eyes that were jewels in themselves. For such a creature that had just been born it wasnt vulnerable or helpless, merely curious and wanting to learn about the world. It was even able to communicate with stares and the tone of its noises. It made another coughing noise as another small puff of black smoke came out from its mouth and nostrils.

"Belching smoke, eating meat, wings, hatching out of a rock... egg... that I filched from an abandoned Dekieri shrine..." Autrin sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair. "You certainly are an interesting little bugger, aren't you?" He fed another helping of his meal to the hatchling before running a fingertip along its back, feeling the edges it its spines and the smoothness of its scales. "Maybe once I turn over that tablet for study I can have the old windbags take a look at you, too, mh? See if anyone knows what in blazes you are."

Breakfast continued, ultimately turning out with lion's share of the chicken vanishing down the lizard's gullet, and Autrin puzzled out a means to keep his little companion out of sight while he took the walk across town, eventually settling on packing the creature into his sack with one last helping of meat and leaving it open enough for it to breathe. Errest was not the largest town in the world, but it was large enough that if you looked hard enough you could find just about anything; even with the sun just barely clear of the horizon, merchants and hawkers cried their wares, craftsmen busied themselves in their shops, soldiers patrolled the streets and kept down the worst of the trouble. It was a little out-of-the-way place where people came when they sought the unexplored and the unknown, the last big settlement at the time before one found themselves at the edges of the most modern maps. The old empire had records extending far beyond, of course, and any adventurer worth the name knew the geography in those wild lands of the old world long before setting foot in it, but they were places unseen in many hundred of years, with knowledge and treasures yet to be recovered by industrious youths like the earth-eyed man with hair the hue of ravens and skin the tone of dusk, a feisty and frusrating crimson lizard in the sack he carried in hand alongside his trusted weapon. He was certainly having an adventure that day, as he wound his way through the streets of Errest towards the small courtyard of the university it held; many academies sent researchers to the frontier towns, and a fair amount of wealth alongside them, to acquire whatever relics they could from those more willing to risk life and limp delving the ruins and wrecks of the world. Autrin knocked, sharp and quick, upon the weathered oaken door of the building and smiled at the familiar, haggard face of his most common associate.

"Winston!" He laughed, gesturing with the bag that was looking the worse for wear for containing his little curiosity. It had been an effort to keep the insistent creature out of view. "I have a few things you might be interested in."

"So early in the morning?" The scholar retorted tiredly, "Normally you only come here after..." The older man's jaw cracked open in an irrepressible yawn, "... after you've sold off everything you can. What in blazes do you have in that sack that could be so impor-"

Autrin shushed him and barged through as the bag began to shudder with the scaled beast's complaints once again, setting it on the floor and, scarcely half an hour after stuffing it into the bag, pulling forth the strange being which had woken him so early in the day. He and the scholar exchanged bewildered and confused stares in between curious glances at the creature. "I have this," Autrin explained, "it hatched from a stone I brought back from one of the altars. There was a tablet with it, which I also brought; I was hoping you might be able to translate it in case there was any clue as to what this thing was, exactly."

Winston shuffled by, fishing forth the mentioned slab and setting it quickly on a desk alongside many thick tomes worn from over-perusal. It was one such grimoire that the elder man cracked open, fingers tracing along the symbols and associated meanings, the rules of the Dekieri grammar and other facets of the language. While the scholar worked, Autrin occupied himself with his charge, trying to keep it from burning the place down and nipping at things it shouldn't, generally preventing too much mayhem from its wondering romp through a new place.

"Well," Winston declared, "whoever wrote this was certainly in one hell of a hurry. There is none of the usual poetic flow found in even the most dire of scripts; it reads almost like a hastily-scrawled farewell to a loved one. This is, in all likelihood, the last words of a Dekieri priest... I would like to keep this once I've finished, Autrin."

"Of course, of course, old man," the hunter dismissed him, only half paying attention. "It isn't like I have a use for it. Same price as usual."

And so it continued while the researcher worked to glean what knowledge he could of the tablet and, from it, of the hatchling.

The lizard continued to eat away at any food that was brought to it with its rather eager nipping style that almost cost Autrin a few fingers. Various times the young being tired to do something that always resulted in puffs of smoke as it made those strange coughing kind of noises. As he stroked, the lizard would ripple its spine in time to his motions and accompanied it with a happy chripping and a gentle gaze into his eyes. As they left for town it seemed happy to get into the bag especially since there was more food in there for it.

It was strange being transported around this way in a fabric container which rocked as the human walked. Then of course there was the smells and sounds of Errest, metal of soldiers armour...the different tones of voices with emotions expressed so freely through them of shopkeeps and thier customers, even the creaking of metal signs that hung above thier respective buildings. Food too! Smells that came out of homes and inns that would make the mouth water no matter the species. The little creature wanted to get out and explore this strange and brand new world.

It heard more odd noises after a echoing knocking sound joined with a conversation, this was it. The creature begun to wriggle impatiently just wanting to see exactly what was going on around it, jumping onto Autrins arm as he opened the bag. It crawlled up to his shoulder and chripped, its eyes darted around the room, new surroundings, a new human. It seemed very interested by the stone tabpet that it was found with as well as the books and papers in this room...it even begun to remain more still on Autrins shoulder as it eyed up the writings

Vocalizations escaped the old sage as he poured over his notes, "Yes, yes" this and "Hrm, mh" that for nearly an hour, accompanied only by frantic scratchings of pen to paper as Winston hastily jotted down his translation. Autrin simply kept his eye on the hatchling, not trusting it to stay as statuesque as it was the entire time. Inevitably, though, the scholar belted out a satisfied "Ah-ha!" and set his pen down with a sharp click, sanding the ink to blot it before pulling the page from his desk. "I've finished, Autrin, and I must say that what you've recovered is absolutely unprecedented."

The relic hunter looked at his associate askance, uncertain if his old friend was jesting or if his little... "pet"... was as unique as first impressions would imply. "Don't look at me like that," Winston chided, "I'm being perfectly serious! This tablet, it is indeed the last words of a Dekieri priest. A high priest, the Archbishop himself in fact." The words danced meaninglessly through Autrin's mind, the hierarchies of a dead empire's church lost to him. "According to this, your scaly friend there is named 'Scala', or 'The Blaze of Dawn'. And—this is the interesting part—she is supposedly the last of the Dekieri's old gods." The researcher's wizened old face lit up like a child in a sweets shop, "Something that we call a Dragon! Just think, Autrin; you have a creature long thought to be extinct perched on your arm, a living sample for study!"

More meaningless drivel to him; Autrin wasn't exactly a learned man. He could read and write and perform arithmetic, sure, but life with his nose in a book never really appealed. He wanted the thrill of the unknown, to wander into sights unseen and challenge the unexplored. These events, though, were something different; this was a mystery that ate at him in an entirely different way. "You mean to tell me," he said after digesting the information for a time, "that this little thing is one of the old gods?" He gestured to the creature, to the Dragon named Scala, for emphasis. "I've seen rats bigger than this infesting those ruins, Winston. You must be joking."

Winston simply shook his head in response, "That's just because she's a newborn, Autrin. She'll be the size of a horse in a few months, and the size of this academy in a few years. The Dekieri worshipped the Dragons for their size, majesty and unfathomable power. Show some respect."

Rather than showing respect, Autrin simply picked up the Dragon hatchling and peered into its eyes. "Size of a horse, huh? Suppose you'll be pretty hard to hide soon, won't you... Scala?"

The heat returned to his palm again. This time, rather than a searing agony, it was... more a calming warmth, like sunlight on a summer afternoon. It was accompanied by an odd tingling that slowly worked its way up the treasure hunter's arm, and just when he was growing concerned that he'd been poisoned, it stopped. His eyes wide, Autrin held the Dragon in one hand to look at his other one, finding a small patch of scales on his palm, the same hue as the hatchling he held. Peering at Scala's flank revealed they hadn't simply molted off, and no amount of scrubbing would remove them. It was as if they had grown from his own flesh. "I don't suppose," he said, showing the oddity to his friend, "that you know anything about this?"

"I... Why, I'm afraid I don't." Winston stared, mildly flabbergasted. "But if I had to hazard a guess... it bears a similarity to what the Dekieri describe as 'the highest of blessings'. It seems she's chosen you, Autrin, though for what I cannot say."

The spelunker arched an eyebrow, stroking the Dragon's head with a fingertip as he tried once more to speak to it. "Well," he said simply, "shame you can't talk. Just what is it you want?"

The dragon seemed to show signs of behaving as the old man wrote away to formulate his studies. It did begin to scurry down Autrins arm as it looked over what Winston wrote before it looked over more books, it was strange but this little being seemed fascinated by this room despite its new age. As the old man finished, it jumped in surprise and ran back up to Autrins shoulder as if spooked by his outloud reaction.

Scala remained giving quiet chrips and looking around yet its deep sapphire eyes darted looks to Winston the moment he mentioned key words; Dekieri, Scala, 'Blaze of Dawn', Dragon. Even if the old man spoke nonsense her responses somehow added weight to his claims. As he gestured to Scala the tiny lizard sniffed at his finger and almost tried to lick it affectionately. Being born into the world for just a few hours she had already shown signs of obidience and loyalty towards Autrin.

As the spelunker picked her up she happily complied and looked softly into his eyes with a few chrips accompanied by twitches of her head. Her eyes locked to his as the strange tingling heat came to her belly, in an instant her eyes gave a shimmer as the effects became apparent on Autrin. It appeared Scala recognised what she had done as her toungue flickered gently on the small patch of scales, looking up with what could be seen as an apologetic look. She read it as forgiveness when the human male stroked her head with a finger, upon hearing his voice she gave a small chrip except this time it had a rougher undertone to it. It wasnt expressing anger though...rather its as if she was trying to communicate, the same type of chrip followed.