Julian had becoming somewhat accustomed to waking in odd places, with damaged or surreal memories of his arrival there. His mind was a whirlpool at best, a maelstrom at worst. The memory that set into his mind now felt out of place; however, given Julian's inability to hold onto any but the most important memories for longer than the span of most of a conversation, he did not find this too unsettling. So he was in a new place. Big deal. The static tearing at the corners of his mind meant only one thing; find his King.
However, that would prove to be more difficult than he was ready to admit to himself. This chaos was more controlled than Paragon City, and the beast that had devoured the sun was no lion, not Rowan, not some alchemist's trick. He blinked, looking around. People. Some stranger looking than others, but that didn't matter. And sure, that man there had a tail. Julian was sure he'd seen worse. He found his bearings with more ease than was probably commonplace, and kept to the side of the road, trying to avoid the fascinated stares of the people around him.
No. This was not Paragon City, and the urge to find the King was, for once, not at the forefront of his mind. A stronger, more persistent yanking in his mind and heart and soul was becoming more evident with each passing second; there was someone else he needed to find. He tried to quell the feeling, for now; he had exploring to do, and the first step was to try and find anyone who looked half as confused as he felt.
[ 2. The Heart of Nuren ]
It still looked like it should have been cold, or musty, or damp. It wasn't. Like the Crystal Canyon that Julian only thought he might remember, there was something unreal about this cavern, like the gods themselves had dreamed them up and then stuck them here, uncertain where else to put them.
He had been sitting cross-legged in the very place he had found this egg. It looked cracked, but felt smooth and cool as the stone beneath him. The object was black as pitch, flecked with grey, exactly like the snowflake obsidian Crash had shown him after work last week. One streak of this grey had split the side of the egg, but though Julian kept checking it to be absolutely sure, he now trusted that the egg was intact... And whatever was within it, alive. Yet, he knew what was in it, as clearly as he knew he'd known a creature like it before.
"My friend," he whispered, stroking the egg, as he had been for several hours. "Please wake up."
No response. Sighing, his legs aching, Julian got to his feet. He carried the egg gently in both hands as though it was a baby bird, something fragile and delicate that may try and escape of its own will. When he managed to find his way out of the cavern, his pupils contracted, his golden eyes squinting and flinching away from the sunlight; he hadn't known the sun had risen again.
"Okay, beastie," he said, a bit irritable. He sat down again, a little ways away and to the side of the mouth of the caverns. He held the egg in his lap, determined. "Let's see if the sun will wake you up."
[ 3. Evening ]
People here were friendly enough, and that was a good sign. A kindly old man had given Julian a nice thick blanket, and one of the stalls had been selling pouches and sachels. At the news that Julian could not remember having been here before, the woman behind the table was more than willing to sell one to him at a huge discount, and Julian felt a bit better knowing that his dragon's egg was secure at his side in a nice, thick bag.
He looked around, fascinated by those who had dragons beside them, beneath them, or even on their shoulders. He hesitated to ask any of them if an egg had never hatched before. This looked to be something like a celebration. He took all food offered to him, eating with no sign of distrust and every sign of gratitude.
As he grew distracted by something that he'd never had before, some pastry full of some fruit he'd never tasted, he shoulder-checked someone and nearly dropped it. He stumbled and spun on his heel, his bright eyes wide and apologetic.
Julian | OTA | Will match format and tense!
Julian had becoming somewhat accustomed to waking in odd places, with damaged or surreal memories of his arrival there. His mind was a whirlpool at best, a maelstrom at worst. The memory that set into his mind now felt out of place; however, given Julian's inability to hold onto any but the most important memories for longer than the span of most of a conversation, he did not find this too unsettling. So he was in a new place. Big deal. The static tearing at the corners of his mind meant only one thing; find his King.
However, that would prove to be more difficult than he was ready to admit to himself. This chaos was more controlled than Paragon City, and the beast that had devoured the sun was no lion, not Rowan, not some alchemist's trick. He blinked, looking around. People. Some stranger looking than others, but that didn't matter. And sure, that man there had a tail. Julian was sure he'd seen worse. He found his bearings with more ease than was probably commonplace, and kept to the side of the road, trying to avoid the fascinated stares of the people around him.
No. This was not Paragon City, and the urge to find the King was, for once, not at the forefront of his mind. A stronger, more persistent yanking in his mind and heart and soul was becoming more evident with each passing second; there was someone else he needed to find. He tried to quell the feeling, for now; he had exploring to do, and the first step was to try and find anyone who looked half as confused as he felt.
[ 2. The Heart of Nuren ]
It still looked like it should have been cold, or musty, or damp. It wasn't. Like the Crystal Canyon that Julian only thought he might remember, there was something unreal about this cavern, like the gods themselves had dreamed them up and then stuck them here, uncertain where else to put them.
He had been sitting cross-legged in the very place he had found this egg. It looked cracked, but felt smooth and cool as the stone beneath him. The object was black as pitch, flecked with grey, exactly like the snowflake obsidian Crash had shown him after work last week. One streak of this grey had split the side of the egg, but though Julian kept checking it to be absolutely sure, he now trusted that the egg was intact... And whatever was within it, alive. Yet, he knew what was in it, as clearly as he knew he'd known a creature like it before.
"My friend," he whispered, stroking the egg, as he had been for several hours. "Please wake up."
No response. Sighing, his legs aching, Julian got to his feet. He carried the egg gently in both hands as though it was a baby bird, something fragile and delicate that may try and escape of its own will. When he managed to find his way out of the cavern, his pupils contracted, his golden eyes squinting and flinching away from the sunlight; he hadn't known the sun had risen again.
"Okay, beastie," he said, a bit irritable. He sat down again, a little ways away and to the side of the mouth of the caverns. He held the egg in his lap, determined. "Let's see if the sun will wake you up."
[ 3. Evening ]
People here were friendly enough, and that was a good sign. A kindly old man had given Julian a nice thick blanket, and one of the stalls had been selling pouches and sachels. At the news that Julian could not remember having been here before, the woman behind the table was more than willing to sell one to him at a huge discount, and Julian felt a bit better knowing that his dragon's egg was secure at his side in a nice, thick bag.
He looked around, fascinated by those who had dragons beside them, beneath them, or even on their shoulders. He hesitated to ask any of them if an egg had never hatched before. This looked to be something like a celebration. He took all food offered to him, eating with no sign of distrust and every sign of gratitude.
As he grew distracted by something that he'd never had before, some pastry full of some fruit he'd never tasted, he shoulder-checked someone and nearly dropped it. He stumbled and spun on his heel, his bright eyes wide and apologetic.
"I'm sorry! Are you okay?"