Starring: Idris Johansson (Squishy) – 1/5/3 – Major Gain, Twister, -140 rupees Laurel Veranius (Blonde Panther) – 2/5/2 – Wind Enchantment, Renting a Flying Mount, +10 rupees –-- The world was white and empty, everything turned into a blurry mass of clouds as he fell for what seemed an eternity. The wind howled around him, making his eyes water and no doubt twisting his curls into a mass of tangles. Idris was furious. How he had gotten here? Ah yes, those buffoons down below, with their chickens. Upon Idris' answer that he was looking for magic, when asked why he was there, they had started giggling amongst themselves, dirty little hands gleefully reaching out to grab the Hylian and wrestle him into a cannon, promising that he would 'see magic, alright'. After a quick 'Good luck, mister!' and some off-key organ playing, Idris had been unceremoniously launched into the heavens. Idris would never trust clowns again. He had been falling for quite some time now. Long enough to almost consider it boring. Were it not for something rapidly coming closer. Something big. Something solid. A city. Idris could not believe his eyes. So the legends were true? There was actually a floating city, hidden amongst the clouds? He would find out soon enough if it was real, approaching the city with an alarming speed. The ground Idris could see looked very stone-like, and very unforgiving. In a panic, the mage cast Feather Fall on himself, assuring a safe landing. Although, for that to work, there would have to be something solid to land on. Too late did Idris spot the basin of water right below him. Too late did he realise Feather Fall would be useless for a water landing. What he did realise, as he plunged into the basin, was that water at this altitude was very, very cold.
The wind buffeted Laurel's face as she soared through the clouds, grateful that she had thought to tie her long, blue hair behind her head and braid it down her back. She still didn't see much -the tears that streamed down her face from the wind ensured that- but at least her hair wouldn't be reduced to a messy thorn bush again. She'd had enough of that during that one time in the mines. The enormous, golden-plumed bird below her seemed to barely be aware of the ridiculous speed with which it cut through the air, continuing its flight almost effortlessly and not paying its rider any heed unless she gave it an explicit order. In her ravenous search for information on the elemental enchantments, Laurel had stumbled across a tome describing a city called Celestia, which floated above the clouds and only appeared when certain conditions were met. Laurel wasn't sure about the alignment of the planets, but her curiosity had been piqued and she'd reached out to her contacts to help her monitor the weather conditions and alert her when the city would appear. Once an estimate date had been found, she had reached out again, to a different set of contacts, in hopes of securing a means of reaching the city. She was incredibly fond of Marich, but the fact was... he couldn't fly. So one of her friends, Alicia, had lent her her large, golden yellow Loftwing. Laurel had decided not to ask where Alicia had gotten it. As a noble of Lon Lon Ranch, the girl had a thing for exotic animals and her father moved heavens and earth to get her anything her heart desired. At least the bird was well-behaved, and soon, it levelled out, riding a thermal wind and staying mostly still in the air. It gave Laurel a chance to wipe the tears from her eyes and catch her first glimpse of it. There, not that far in front of them, hovered an enormous chunk of rock, smaller chunks clustering around it, the whole thing supporting what appeared to be a city- or the ruins of one, anyway. "So it does exist," she muttered, wishing she'd had a Picto Box on her. "And Taylor said I was chasing a fairy tale." Her resolve renewed, she urged the Loftwing on faster, no longer caring about the wind in her face as her destination came closer with every second. The bird levelled out once more, slowly gliding over the largest chunk of the city, and Laurel reached for the large, dense cloth that she had draped over her shoulders, untying it. Alicia had said that her Loftwing had trouble landing on even ground, so in order to dismount, she'd have to outright jump off of it. Finding a large, open area -most like the remains of the town square- she took the cloth tightly in both hands and swung one leg over the bird's back so she only had to leap off. Taking a deep breath, she did just that, shifting her weight forward and raising her arms. The sailcloth caught wind, pulling itself taut and increasing her air friction, slowly but surely slowing down her descent. By the time the toes of her boot touched the ground, she had slowed down a to a gentle, manageable pace, and she smiled when she had both her feet firmly on the ground. Looking up to smile and wave at the Loftwing, she took a moment to drape the sailcloth over her shoulders again and tie it up once more. Who knew if she would need it once more later? Besides, if nothing else, she would need it to land back on Lon Lon Ranch and hand it back to Alicia. It wasn't until she was finished with this and looked around the square that she noticed the large basin of water a few yards away- and the soaked, evidently displeased figure that emerged from it. Unable to suppress a giggle as she recognised him, she tossed her braid over her shoulder and walked over to him to offer him her hand. "Well," she said, "This is a surprise. Fancy meeting you here, Lord Johansson."
The first few seconds after hitting the water were a rush of pure panic. Idris flailed around, desperate to find footing or air, whichever happened first. Though air was preferable. He burst up from the water with a gasp, legs kicking out to stay afloat. Water streamed from his hair into his eyes, stinging in the cold wind. The mage swam over to the edge of the basin, spluttering and spitting out water along the way. As he hauled himself out of the basin onto the solid rock floor, he heard a voice he neither expected nor appreciated being here. He looked up through strands of wet hair clinging to his face, kicking himself out of the water to half clamber, half sprawl on the ground. Talk about undignified. Breathing heavily, Idris pushed himself into a sitting position, trying to brush his hair aside and give himself a shred of dignity. How did his peers always manage to find him in some suspicious or undignified position? "Ah, Veranius." Idris avoided her eyes at first, focusing on trying to wring more water from his clothing. "While I'm sure you already have a comment ready, I'd prefer to hear it somewhere more sheltered." He shivered. This high up, the winds were already cold without being soaked. As the mage climbed to his feet, he kept his arms tightly wrapped around himself, teeth clenched to avoid them chattering. Idris wanted to get somewhere warm. Fast.
Cheerful and cordial as ever, she thought, but she kept the thought to herself. Between having female peers pushed on him from all sides, being accused of terrorism, getting caught up in fights with giant monsters, and now somehow managing to get absolutely soaked in a basin that had all sorts of things floating in it... she felt a little sorry for the poor sod. "Of course," she said, looking around again. Close by, there was a decently-sized building the ground floor of which seemed entirely intact. "I'll try the door," she said, "follow me." She led him towards it, turning the doorknob and finding it opened without resistance. "We come in peace..." she muttered, mostly to herself, as she stepped in and confirmed her suspicions. "Here," she said, turning to Idris and letting him enter before shutting the door, "I think we're sheltered from the wind here." Walking over to a large counter in the centre of the room, she sat down on the polished wood and crossed her legs. "I was only half joking, though. I am genuinely surprised to find you here!" She laughed, but soon turned serious once more. "I never expected anyone else to not only know about Celestia but also believe it actually existed. Everyone I talked to about it seemed to dismiss it as idle fancy." Pouting for a second as she remembered her brother's taunts, she smiled again when she imagined punching him in the face and turned her attention back to Idris. "So what brings you here? It's awfully inconvenient for a place to spend your 'me' time, and I highly doubt even you are unfortunate enough to get caught up in another suspicion of terrorism. And if you're just exploring for the sake of it... well let's face it, you landed too poorly to really have known what you were doing." She weaved her fingers, resting her elbows on her leg and her chin on her fingers. "So what could possibly move you to visit the fairy tale-like City in the Sky?"
"You'd be surprised." Idris said dryly, kicking together some scraps of wood and lighting it on fire with a flick of his fingers. It wasn't much, but the faint glow of the fire at least gave him the idea of being ever so slightly warmer. He sat down next to it, carefully piling up bigger pieces of wood he could find lying on the ground. It seemed that at some point something had smashed off part of the counter. Finally satisfied with his little fire, Idris took a deep breath and sat back. He swept aside a stray curl, wincing as his fingers brushed past his eye. While the lids were not so swollen anymore- he could actually even open them again- his eye still felt tender, the bruising around it not quite yet gone. That had been twice now that he had been pelted with rupees by that fat, malicio- Idris stopped that train of thought, instead turning to look at Laurel. Was he going to explain how he got here? Was he really going to embarass himself further by telling her he had been assaulted by a pair of clowns and shot up into the sky against his will? Maybe. Maybe not. He decided not to. "Being home was a disappointment, as expected. So I left, looking for more spells to learn." It was not that far from the truth. He had heard legends of the floating city, and legends of a powerful race of mystical beings that lived in it. Idris just did not have any idea how he was going to reach it. A problem which, he grudgingly had to admit, the clowns had solved. "Seeing you came here intentionally, I assume you know about the legends surrounding this place as well? If there is any trace left of the original inhabitants' magic, I would like to find it. It seems we are... too late to encounter any remnants of the race itself. But perhaps they have left behind any artifacts."
"Legends surrounding the place?" Laurel repeated, chuckling, "the place is a legend in and of itself! But yes, I'm aware." She turned serious. Much like Idris, she had read about the now-extinct race that had populated Celestia, the immensely powerful wind magic that had been used to get, and keep, the city afloat... "The stories about the dragon that presumably ate the inhabitants are admittedly a little distressing," she said, "but the records contradict each other on this point anyway, so I decided to keep an eye on the weather conditions and fly here on a friend's Loftwing regardless." For a few seconds, she stared into the fire Idris had made, but she soon got back on topic. "It seems our goals coincide this time," she realised. "Like you, I came here in search of knowledge about the magic this ancient race used. Specifically their manipulation of wind, which they used to make the city float in midair. Obviously, I have no such ambitions of my own, but if I can extract the source magic and apply it to my weapon or a projectile... well, there is value in a good burst of wind at your fingertips on command." She hopped off the counter, holding out her hand. "Ancient artifacts are my best shot, so I'll be accompanying you in this place." A grin accompanied her words. "And no, you're in no position to refuse. I won't take no for an answer on this."
"Legends are, usually, just that. The fact we're actually here right now proves it's much more than that." Idris' clothing had started to dry, the formerly-soaked fabric now merely damp. "But I agree. Wind spells can be particularly useful, and seeing I haven't yet mastered any..." He raised an eyebrow when Laurel invited herself to come along, ready to retort when a single plate bounced and rolled across the floor, noisily falling over between the two mages. Idris jumped up at the sound, only lowering his hands when he noticed the rogue piece of tableware at his feet. The silence that followed was only interrupted by the crackling of the fire. But then, hushed whispers. Or what might have been intended as hushed whispers. "...they've heard us!" "Ooh, I hope they won't eat us...!" "Be quiet! Maybe they haven't noticed us yet!" It came from the far wall of the room, lined with shelves and stacks of crates. Or what Idris guessed to be shelves. It was hard to tell since they were covered up with ratty curtains and broken doors. Narrowing his eyes, the blonde walked past the counter, the light of the fire casting a long shadow on the shelves. Yes, the sound definitely came from the middle shelf. Idris could hear whimpering, cut off by a hissing 'shhh'. He stopped in front of the middle shelf, covered up with a set of rickety wooden doors. Some of their slats had fallen away, offering a glimpse at what was behind it, but the light was too faint to see properly. Idris blinked. Was he imagining things, or did he see something move in the shadows? He grabbed hold of a rusted handle, taking a deep breath before pulling the door open. Something burst from the shelf as it collapsed, sending pottery and more tableware crashing to the ground. Idris staggered backwards, startled, as whatever had been hiding on the shelf dropped to the ground with a 'whomp'. "Please! Don't eat us!"
Laurel jolted, herself, hands clasped over her suddenly pounding heart, when the cupboard doors were slammed open and something fell out. She was quick to recollect herself, however, since she was standing further away and hadn't gotten the flurry of feathers as close into her face as Idris had. Lowering her hands and cautiously stepping closer, she took a second, better look at the creature that had fallen out. It most closely resembled a... half-bald chicken with a human face. ...as she thought it, Laurel blinked, shook her head, and looked again. A half-bald chicken with a human face. Surely she was dreaming or hallucinating. It stood up, waddling back as it looked back and forth between the two Hylians. When she looked at the cupboard, she saw another two of the creatures sitting there, huddled together and shivering. "Oh, we're..." she tried to gather her thoughts enough to form a coherent sentence they could understand. "We're not going to eat you... We're just looking for something..." She stepped even closer, exchanging a glance with Idris. Were these the pets of the ancient civilisation? Did that mean the ancient race itself was still around, too? If it did, then they were trespassing. Not a good start to make. "Um... where are your..." she paused. 'Masters' or 'owners' seemed so crude a term to use with clearly sapient beings.
Idris looked at the creature with thinly veiled disgust. It was, simply put, the most unsightly thing he had ever seen. The pale, oddly shaped head and pink beady eyes, the chicken-like body. Not to mention the odd flaps of skin covering its neck... Nothing about it seemed right. With a shake of his head, Idris let Laurel do the talking. As well as it went. He cleared his throat, finishing her sentence when she drifted off. The faster they could find what they needed, the less he would have to look at these unnerving things. "We're looking for the inhabitants of this city. Mages or mystics, if we are not mistaken." The creature on the ground looked from Laurel to Idris. "Inhabitants? You mean our brothers and sisters?" Idris simply stared, gobsmacked. These things were the legendary race? Half-bald chickens? No, it couldn't be. They were too... too stupid. It cost him most of his self-restraint to stay calm and not groan in frustration. "You're the only ones that live here?" "Yes! Ooh mystic... I didn't know those below considered us that." The creature turned its head down, quietly giggling to itself, clearly flattered. Idris was not amused. "But why did you come looking for us? Could it be...? Could you have come here to fight the dragon?" Before the Hylian could even so much as open his mouth, the creature had turned back to its companions in the closet. "They're here to help us! They've come to fight the dragon!" The other two gasped and excitedly started to chatter amongst themselves. "So very brave of you!" The one on the ground quipped, waddling closer to Idris and staring up at him. "This dragon has been terrorising us for so long! Almost half us have been eaten and fallen prey to its vicious claws! And now we have two brave heroes to defeat it." Idris would've sworn the creature went nearly starry-eyed. He subtly tried to nudge it back with his boot, shooting Laurel a look that begged for help.
Oh... dear. Good thing Laurel hadn't finished her sentence. It appeared the strange not-quite-chickens were the ancient race both she and Idris had read about. They were definitely trespassing, then. Not that the beings seemed to mind- if anything, they were ecstatic to see the two. For a moment, Laurel thought that they might be as interested in learning about the Hylian Race and the world below as they were in learning their magic, but then the truth of the matter revealed itself as the spokeschicken asked them to quite literally fight a dragon. So then... that legend had been real, too. How did these things keep happening?! Once she recovered from the shock, however, she returned Idris's panicked look with a wicked smile. Beaming at the beings, she walked round to position herself behind her peer. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry," she said. "You see, down below I'm a princess of sorts. And princesses don't fight dragons." The chickens' faces fell, although a few redirected their attention to Idris, a hopeful look recognizable in their eyes. "Lord Johansson, on the other hand," Laurel continued, as she gave him a little shove to his back to present him with a flourish, "is a dashing prince and veteran monster-buster! And he will happily crush that dragon for all of you!" "Would you really?" One of the beings said, but the rest didn't wait for Idris's confirmation. Suddenly, half-bald vaguely human-faced chickens seemed to pour out of all sorts of hiding places throughout the room, huddling together near his feet in what had to be the most awkward group hug in the history of Hyliankind and twittering and chattering their thanks. Laurel took a step back to enjoy the sight, putting a hand on her face and giggling. There. That took the tension off of the entire situation, even if only for now.
"Our hero!" "A prince, come to rescue us! Can you believe it?!" "So dashing!" The chickens were now swarming around Idris' feet, all trying to get closer to their would-be saviour. Their reluctant would-be saviour. The Hylian's expression quickly went from startled, to terrified, to nothing short of murderous. He narrowed his eyes at Laurel, roughly grabbing her by the elbow and pulling her into the chicken-circle. "It appears my companion here is simply too humble to mention her experience with fighting monsters." Idris' lips were pressed into a thin line as he glared at his fellow mage. "I can assure you she is more than capable for the task, no matter what tradition dictates." This got even more cheers from the chickens. They looked like the Holiday Moblin had just dropped off all his gifts in their midst. Two heroes! Slowly, they moved backwards, giving the two Hylians more space. A dozen expectant faces turned upwards, hopeful for any response of their heroes. Idris sighed, not even bothering to hide his frustration. "Fine. Where's this dragon of yours, then?"
Before the chickens could answer Idris's question, the sound of the wind picking up and howling around the building drowned out everything else. The walls shook, the doors rattled in their hinges, and the chickens huddled together, shivering. Laurel set her feet a little wider apart, covering her head with her arms in case the ceiling would come down, and waited for the wind to subside. When it finally did, she barged to the door she and Idris had used to get in, ignoring the excited and panicky chittering of the chickens at her feet. Once she reached it, she threw it open and leaned outside. "HEY!" she shouted over the wind, "ADULTS ARE TALKING!" Her response was an enormous roar, forcing her to hold on to the doorway with two hands in order to not be blown away. "Yes yes, we'll be with you in a minute- eek!" Finally, she fell backwards into the store -probably dragged back in by Idris- landing on her bum and quickly getting back to her feet. "I don't think we'll have to look far for the dragon," she said, pointing to one of the walls. "It flew off in that direction, I think that's where its nest is. Problem is, I think it knows we're here." If she wanted to discuss strategy with Idris, she wouldn't get a chance to. The chickens came waddling over once more with a roll of yellowed parchment. "It's a map!" they said, "It'll help you find your way in the city!" They started chittering about the sights to see, seemingly not realising their once-great city was in ruins. Still, Laurel figured an outdated map was better than nothing. She and Idris left the building, seen off by the waving, chittering, excitable legendary race of the sky. Once outside, she slapped Idris across the face. "That's for putting me on the spot," she said, crossing her arms. "Well then, shall we?"
"Yes, we won't have to look for it at all if it eats you." Idris said as he hauled Laurel back inside. Though he appeared more frustrated with his companions antics, the dragon had been... quite terrifying, at least. Even in the mere glimpse they got of the creature he had seen it was huge. Black scales, huge wings, probably a huge maw and enormous teeth too. The chickens skittered away screaming when it passed by, cowering under dropped pans, plates and other debris. But as soon as the wingbeats had died away, they cautiously returned. And even offered them a map. Idris listened to their nattering, mantaining a neutral face. Once, the place must have been magnificent, brimming with magical artifacts and wonderous spells beyond imagination. The creatures certainly spoke of it as if it still was that way. Perhaps there was still some trace of their magic left. There had to be, the mage told himself. After many well-wishes and cheers, they headed out, whereupon Laurel promptly slapped him in the face. "Putting you on the spot?! What about me?!" He grabbed her by the arm, jabbing a finger at her face, but quickly changed his mind. "Ugh, forget it." Idris huffed, releasing Laurel and crossing his arms over his chest. "Let's find this dragon and get this over with. This day is already turning into a disaster." Although he did quickly snatch the map from his companion, rolling it open. The parchment was tattered around the edges and the ink worn with age, but it gave an idea of the city's layout. If it hadn't fallen apart by now. Idris sighed, folding the map again and tucked it into the sash around his waist. "I will be taking this, thank you."
As expected, Idris got mad over Laurel hitting him. However, he didn't return the favour, and once he turned away to focus on the map, Laurel smiled. So there was a noble gentleman in there after all. "Well, but see," she said, her tone of voice teasing, "You ARE a dashing noble prince, and you ARE good at killing giant monsters. Don't tell me you've already forgotten the giant arachnid in those mines!" As she spoke, she made pincer-like motions with her hands. "Clop clop," she said, laughing once finished. "And look at you! You're already taking point." Turning serious again, she drew her rapier. "But enough fun and games. Let's go kill us a dragon and learn some magic for our trouble." She swished the blade out with an exaggerated overhead flourish, holding on to the sheath with her other hand. She didn't enchant the blade yet- looking cool was one thing, wasting magic was another. "Take it away, Lord Johan- OH MY GOSH!" she interrupted herself when a few fat, quadruped creature came jogging over to them. They most closely resembled tiny rhinos, large black helmet-like portions of skins protecting their heads and necks. "They're adorable!"
