#Summit Lake Pass

[rabbitcruiser]

Summit Lake Pass, BC

The region [British Columbia Interior], which includes the Interior Plateau as well as various mountain ranges and the valleys between them, comprises everything inland from the Coast Mountains and reaching east to the Rocky Mountains and, in the northeast, British Columbia's sector of the Prairies, the Peace River Block. "Interior" is usually and properly capitalized but turns up in lower-case in various books and magazines. The non-coastal areas of the province are considered to be "in the Interior", although the sparsely populated regions of its northern half are usually referred to only as "the North".

The town of Hope, at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley and at the foot of the Fraser Canyon, is often considered the "Gateway to the Interior" and bears an entrance arch to that effect, though in practical terms the Interior does not begin until somewhere between Yale and Boston Bar, in the Fraser Canyon, or until the summits of the Coquihalla and Allison Passes. The boundary between "the Coast" and "the Interior" along the Highway 99 corridor is nominally between Whistler and Pemberton, as Pemberton is often described as being in the Interior, but from the inland perspective it is often seen as part of the Coast because of its wetter climate and close ties to the Lower Mainland.

There are many subregions within the Interior, some regions in their own right, and although there are no precise definitions, it is often broken up informally as the Northern Interior, the Central Interior, the Southern Interior, the Northeast Interior and Southeast Interior, and these names often appear in non-governmental organizations and company names as well as in government administrative districts and ministerial regions, and in weather reports.

Source: Wikipedia

[valhikes]

Bridger National Forest, Wyoming.

Smoke blew in on the fourth day, but it dispersed again. Pointier peaks and bigger lakes on the way to Titcomb Basin, a rather popular spot.

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Studio Torino Moncenisio Prototype, 2014. A modified 981C series Porsche Cayman with styling by Daniele Gaglione. The name Moncenisio is derived from the alpine pass in Piemonte which connects Italy with France. The shade of blue developed for the Moncenisio is inspired by the reflections in the lake at the summit of the pass

[quitealotofsodapop]

Ao Lie

referencing posts like; baby Ao Lie meeting the bimawen, and Ao Lie wants to be a godfather.

I thought it would be pretty adorable if part of the reason Ao Lie is able to act a horse so well was because they were like his favorite animal as a little hatchling and while it was considered kinda weird among dragons ("Not even a seahorse? Just a... land horse???") it was fully embraced by a certain celestial stablemaster - Bimawen Sun Wukong.

Ao Lie would run off and "to be a ""play horsey" whenever he wandered away from his dad or brothers when they went to the Jade Palace for summits or banquets. He was too small to actually transform himself into a horse, but he'd turn into his noodley-snake dragon form and slink away into the stables.

Wukong likely came across the white baby dragon as he was riling up the curious horses (they all saw Ao Lie as a snake), and was like;

Wukong: "Damn, how did a baby dragon get in here? Ok little guy best get you back-" Ao Lie, hissing: "No!!! I'm horsey! I stay in stable!" Wukong, trying not to laugh: "Ok? I guess I was wrong. You're clearly a skinny white foal. My apologies." Ao Lie: :3

Even if Ao Lie doesn't remember the encounters that well, it did leave him with a positive opinion of horses, stablehands, and monkeys for some reason.

When the dragon is a teenager by the time of the Journey, all he knows about Sun Wukong is that 1: His dad and uncles don't like him, 2: He steals stuff, and 3: He's in jail. His brain doesn't make the mental connection until much later when Zhu Bajie calls Wukong a "useless bimawen!" during the Gold and Silver demons arc.

When Ao Lie first met Wukong in the stone egg au, he basically had the mental journey of; "Huh. The monkey king is kinda chubby- OMG its an egg!! Why is he walking?! Get off my back Tang monk! Don't you know mothers need plenty of rest?!"

After meeting the steed for the first time Tripitaka wonders why the "Bai Longma" is super insistent on letting Wukong ride him specifically. Remembering that the Monkey is "carrying a stone egg" (Tripitaka only knows that part and thinks its a metaphor), the monk in turn tells Wukong that he should ride instead.

Wukong, tired but still wanting to stretch his legs after 500 years under the mountain is like; "Huh? No way! I'm fine! You ride him."

After a while of Tripitaka insisting that the Monkey rides instead of him, Ao Lie gets annoyed and just sits down, causing the monk on his back to slide off into the mud. Holy cassock now muddy. Wukong gets the message but insists he'll only ride until the next village/when they get a second divine-given horse.

Zhu Bajie tries to ride Bai Longma *once* and he gets bucked off so hard he gets tossed into a lake. He swears the horse has it out for him.

I hc that this was around the time Ao Lie's older sister was having a baby, and he was really bummed out that he wouldn't be able to attend to his uncle-duties cus of his "community service" [ie. the Journey]. So he redirected some of that excitement onto Wukong, who was carrying the Stone Egg. Eggs are a huge cause for celebration among dragonkind either way since they only produce a few in their long livespan.

Wukong was a little surprised/confused by Ao Lie's doting behavior at first, but started to understand why the dragon-horse was acting that way when he spoke to Ao Moang later on during the Tuolong incident.

Prince Moang: "I must pass on congratulations. It's not common among either of our kind to behold future kin." Wukong: "Oh really? When's the last time you've seen a dragon egg?" Prince Moang: "Last year actually! Our sister Zhūlong's egg hatched around the time of your release." Wukong: "Oh. that explains why Ao Lie spoils me." Prince Moang, excitedly: "My little brother is here!? I have to tell him everything! I have woodblock paintings of the baby!" Ao Lie, running over still in horse-mode: "Show me! Show me!" Zhu Bajie, watching: "Weirdos. Its just babies. Everyone's having 'em."

And Ao Lie continues to be super doting and attentive to Wukong as the Journey continues, though he does ask after a few years when the Egg is supposed to be laid. Wukong doesn't have a clear answer for him.

After a while, Wukong says almost in jest; "With how well you've been tending to me and the Egg, I might as well make you their godfather!"

Ao Lie just *shrieks* with joy!! Yes yes yes! He would be so honoured!

Wukong doesn't even have time to explain it was a joke when the dragon hugs him, heavy tears falling on his fur.

Ao Lie: "I'm sorry. It's just that... no one at home has really trusted me with anything so important before. I know that you might... get really hurt when your Egg finally arrives and I am so glad that you trust me to care for them if you have to leave us."

Wukong realises in that moment... Ao Lie knows about Stone Eggs. He eavesdropped on a conversation held between Wukong and the Bodhisattva Guanyin early on, and silently held onto that knowledge until Wukong was comfortable sharing it with the others.

The Monkey King decides in that moment that he doesn't want to trust anyone other than the dragon prince to care for his future child. He's already proven his kind nature - and if the future Stone Monkey were to truly be born an orphan, Ao Lie would gladly help to raise them in secret away from the prying eyes of Heaven.

Unfortunately the Samadhi Fire made it so that Ao Lie would be unable to fufill this duty either...

[mapsontheweb]

This task in Finnish geography finals.

via u/PureRip3

Based on the map of the imaginary world source 1.A, choose the incorrect statement in sub-questions 1.1 to 1.10. There is only one incorrect statement in each sub-task. Some of the statements refer to items a-i on Map 1.A. Correct answer 2 p., wrong answer 0 p., no answer 0 p.

1.1 Land cover 2 p.

There is one lake in the area.

Only the northern parts of the area are marshes.

There are no surface waters in Mordor.

The area is mainly covered by forest.

1.2 Topography 2 p.

Mountains separate Mordor from the rest of the map.

Minas Tirith (a) is located in the river valley between the mountains.

Mount Doom (b) is visible from the town of Minas Tirith (a).

Edoras (c) is located on the lower slopes of the mountain range.

1.3 River network 2 p.

The Ringló river (d) flows down to the southwest.

The Ringló river (d) is not a branch of the Anduin (e).

Anduin (e) flows from south to north.

Edoras (c) is in the catchment area of Anduin (e).

1.4 Weather and climate 2 p.

The weather in the Lebennin area is often warmed by warm downdrafts.

The climate of the Lebennin region is wetter than that of the Anórien region.

The prevailing wind direction in the Lebennin area is from the sea.

The seaside balances the temperatures in the Lebennin area.

1.5 Road network 2 p.

The road from Minas Tirith (a) to Edoras (c) passes through the forest in two places.

The area between Minas Tirith (a), Morannon (f) and the northern parts of Mordor has the densest road network on the map.

The road from Edoras (c) to the Ringlo river (d) is longer than the road to Mount Doom (b).

The southern part of Mordor has a dense road network.

1.6 Interactions between regions 2 p.

The southern part of Mordor is peripheral.

Morannon (f) is a key transport hub.

Edoras (c) is the northernmost town in the region.

From Edoras (c) to Minas Tirith (a) there is both a road and a water route.

1.7 Air directions 2 p.

Minas Tirith (a) is located west of Anduin (e).

From Minas Tirith (a), the bay shown on the map is to the south-west.

Minas Tirith (a) is located east of Mordor.

From Minas Tirith (a), Mount Doom (b) is to the north-east.

1.8 Scale 2 p.

A proportional scale would be more appropriate for this map, which can be zoomed in and out.

The scale line indicates how much distance on this map corresponds to 100 km in nature.

The scale line indicates that the area shown on this map is about 350 kilometres wide in a south-north direction.

The scale line indicates that if the width of this map in the east-west direction were 45 centimetres when printed, its scale would be 1:1 000 000.

1.9 Distances and areas 2 p.

Minas Tirith (a) is about 100 km from Mount Doom (b).

The distance from Minas Tirith (a) to the sea by river is less than 400 km.

The plateau south of Morannon (f), surrounded by steep mountains, is less than 2 500 km2 .

Nindalf (g) is about 3 000 hectares in size.

1.10 Elevation curves 2 p.

The highest point of the Ephel Duath mountain range (h) is about 800 m above sea level.

Nindalf (g) is less than 200 metres above sea level.

The summit of Mount Doom (b) is about 200 metres above the surrounding area.

In the mountain area designated as site (i), the western slope is gentler than the eastern slope.

[mrsniallhoran505]

Good Morning Austin Girls!

Smutty Sunday theme: sweats (ps there are so few pictures of this man in sweats. It's a shame really!)

Warnings: oral: male and female receiving, grinding, dom sub dynamics, use of the pet name princess, premature ejaculation, light bondage, mommy kink, whiney sub austin (yes this is a warning) 

It's never happened to him before, not even when he was a teen. Sure, he knew it was possible but to actually experience it himself had him feeling a bit… small. 

It was his first vacation since he started working on Elvis. He wanted to spend it with you, locked away in a private paradise. So he booked Summit Chalet, a cabin up at Big Bear Lake. It wasn't small, given only you and him would be there, but it was private and it was cozy. 

After checking in you both found which room you'd want to sleep in, choosing the one with a king bed. Unpacked your bags, got into bed, and slept for a good portion of the day. 

When you woke up you both went into big bear town to get some food for the cabin. You also wanted to map out a few activities to do together. Such as skiing, fishing, and maybe some ice skating. Austin wasn't the best on ice but he loved to watch you spin and twirl like a pro. At least in his eyes you looked like a pro. 

"Austin, babe? Did you pack the pink silk bag?" You asked while putting away the cereal you bought. 

"Can you be more specific?" He asked while he started a fire in the fireplace. 

"You know… our fun pink bag?" You gave him a suggestive smirk knowing what the bag contains. 

"Oh that bag!" He chuckled and walked up behind you. He wraps his arms around you and kisses your neck. "What kind of vacation would it be without the pink silk bag?" He smirked and gave you a light smack on the ass. 

"I hope you didn't look inside and ruin my surprise." You warned. You finish putting away your shopping then go to change into something a bit more comfortable now that the cabin was warming up. 

Austin changed into sweats and a zip up hoodie. While he waited for you, he watched some baking show on TV. He must have dosed off because suddenly you were in his lap. Nothing but a dark blue lace covering his favorite parts of your body. 

"Austin," you moaned. Your hips rock against his giving you both a bolt of pleasure. 

"Y/N, fuck angel, you look so sexy." He groaned, moving one of his hands from your hip to behind you. He quickly undid the clasp on your bra and took it off, tossing it aside. Sitting up he started to kiss and suck on your breasts, focusing on the nipple. 

"Austin," you gasped and tugged on his hair. 

"Fuck, baby do it again." He moaned, bucking his hips up against you. 

"Austin." You moaned repeatedly. It started to sound less like pleasure and more like annoyance. 

He pulled back and looked at you, frowning when he saw the annoyed look on your face. 

"Austin!" You yelled. 

Austin jumped and sat up, looking around a bit confused. 

"What? What happened?" Austin asked, looking you over. You weren't in the lace set,you had on one of his shirts and… he wasn't sure since it looked like you had nothing but it could just be the length of the shirt hiding panties or shorts. 

"You were saying my name, sounded like you were in pain. But nothing I did woke you up… so I sorta smacked you." You bit your lip hoping he wasn't mad or hurt. 

Austin could feel a bit of a sting on his face but it wasn't bad. He rubbed it and it went away so he just smiled and pulled you down on his lap. 

"I'm sorry baby… I was just having a nice dream." He kissed you softly, running his hand up and down your thigh. Getting closer to where your legs meet on each pass. 

"Yeah? And what was this dream about?" You ask while running your fingers through his hair. 

"You." He hummed. 

"Me?"

"You were in that blue lace set from our anniversary." He closed his eyes and thought about what you did that night. 

It was the first time you took control in the bedroom. You did a strip tease for him, keeping the lace on. He thought that was the extent of the 'kinky' activities. But before the night ended, he had been tied to the bed, edged through four non-ejaculatory orgasms, and learned what a rim job was. All before you properly rode him and came on his cock a few times. Since then, your sex life has really been spicy. 

"Austin.. you ok?" You asked, feeling his cock harden against your ass. 

"Yeah, just remembering that night." He shifted a bit causing you to rub against him. He moaned softly and gripped your leg a bit tight. 

"Which part? The cock ring? The magic wand? The rim job? Or the no touching rule?" You smirked listing his favorite ways to play. 

"All of it." He groaned and shifted again. You quickly got off him and moved to sit beside him on the couch. 

"Well then baby… let's see if you can be a good boy." You reach under the hem of the shirt you're wearing to take off your panties. "Stand up and put your hands behind your back. Turn." You instructed him before grabbing the scarf you discarded on the couch when you got home. You quickly used it to tie his hands together. 

"Face me, on your knees." You smirked and laid back. He looked at you with wide eyes. 

"Ba… mama, why are my hands tied?" He pouted looking at your smooth thighs, his hands flexing with the itch to touch. 

"Because baby…" you cooed, leaning up to kiss his pout. "you're gonna have to earn using your hands." You lay back and pull the shirt up before spreading your legs. 

Austin watches you, his mouth watering at the sight in front of him. He could feel his cock pressing against the edge of the couch and it takes everything in him not to grind against it. 

"Can I taste you mama?" He asked, not looking away from your center. 

"Not yet, baby." You told him before licking two of your fingers. When they are slick enough you reach down to tease your clit. Moaning softly at the relaxed pleasure you brought yourself. 

Austin whined like you were somehow hurting him. He kept squirming, pressing his hips to the couch as he watched you play with yourself. He wanted to do that. He wanted to make you moan.  

"Mama, please? I haven't been bad." He whined and tried to keep from moving so much. 

"I know you haven't, princess." Is all you said before slowly sliding a finger inside your pussy. You pumped it slowly before pulling it out and holding it up to his mouth. He quickly takes the digit into his mouth and sucks moaning around it. You push your finger a bit deep, just past his gag reflex. 

"Such a good boy." You hummed and pulled your finger out and went back to fingering yourself. Austin whimpered and sat back on his calves to watch you. It was torture. 

You got yourself close to a climax, ignoring the whimpering boy kneeling in front of you. He was sweating from holding himself back, his cock ached for attention, but he'd be good for you. 

"Mama, can I make you cum now?" He whined and fought the urge to just lean forward and dive in. 

You sat up and brought your fingers to his mouth. He wrapped his lips around them and started to suck and lick them. You pushed them deeper, slowly inching towards finger fucking his throat. 

"My pretty princess." You cooed, making him blush. You slowly pull your fingers from his mouth and kiss him softly. "Make mama cum and I'll think about taking the binds off." You lay back and spread your legs. 

Austin leans forward so fast he nearly tipped over but you caught him. Once he was steady again he started to lap at your wet pussy, moaning against you. You laid back and relaxed, letting him do what he wants. He wanted to grip your thighs and pull you closer to him, giving him full access to do as he pleased, but he couldn’t get his hands loose. 

“Mama, please untie me.” He begged before pushing his tongue into you and thrusting it. He seems to get pleasure from eating you out so he was a moaning mess. He pressed more against you, allowing him to grind against the couch and get some relief for his cock. 

“You haven’t earned it.” You say trying to hold off a moan to sound stern. 

He groans against you and uses his nose to rub your clit as he tongue fucks you. He couldn’t do everything he wanted like this but he was gonna give it his all. He dragged his tongue from your entrance to your clit. He circled it before wrapping his lips around it and sucking. You reach down and tangle your hand in his hair and pull him closer. 

“That’s it princess, make mama cum.” You moaned and gave in to him. 

He let out something that sounded like a growl before placing his tongue flat on your clit and shaking his head side to side. It was the closest he could get to rapid strokes without the use of his hands. 

When your legs started to close around his head he dipped lower to push his tongue into you and use his nose on your clit. You cried out his name and came on his tongue. He moaned and lapped at you till you started to push him away. 

“Such a good boy.” You pant and look at him. His lips are red and swollen, his face covered in your juices. “Look at my pretty princess.” You cooed and leaned up to kiss him, sucking on his tongue and making him moan. 

“C’mon on, stand up.” You waved your hand in an up motion. He managed after a false attempt. You looked him over and decided he was good enough. “Turn around.” 

He did as he was told and you untied him. “Thank you mama.” He turned to you and cupped your cheek. He kisses you softly, pulling you closer when you tried to pull back. 

“Ah ah baby… be good. Take a seat.” You nodded to the couch. He sat so fast you were afraid he hurt himself with the twist.  He looked at you before shifting awkwardly. His sweats were loose and he didn’t wear boxers, but now the sensitive tip of his cock was rubbing against the material and it was toeing the line between pleasure and pain. 

“You ok baby?” You smirked seeing how hard he was. He nodded but shifted around a bit. 

You looked at his cock before leaning forward and wrapping your lips around the head through the material. Austin let out a shocked moan and quickly gripped your hair. 

“Oh fuck mama, feels so good!” He tensed up to try and hold still. You sucked lightly and swirled your tongue around the tip, leaving behind a wet spot. You pulled off and looked up at him. He had his eyes closed tight and the vein in his neck was popping out. He looked so… fuckable. 

Before he could ask why you stopped you tilted your head and sucked on the side of his shaft, making his moan again. By the time you were done teasing him his sweats had multiple wet spots all over the crotch. 

“Mama, please.” He whined and tugged on your hair. You chuckle and straddle his lap. He quickly grips your hips and kisses you deeply. Trying to distract himself to calm down. 

“Breathe baby.” You cupped his face and kissed him softly as you start to grind against him. You barely started before he tried to push you off.

“Fuck, fuck! Oh god no!” He groaned and actually teared up at what just happened. You look at him for a moment before looking down where you were seated a few seconds before. The wet spot where his tip was was now much bigger and Austin was red all the way down to his neck. 

“Baby? Did you… Did you just?” You look down and immediately he covered his face and you swore you heard him sniffle. 

“I’m sorry mama, I’m so sorry… I tried… but it felt too good.” He looked at you with red eyes, tears falling down his cheeks. 

“Hey hey, it’s ok baby. You didn’t do anything wrong.” You cup his cheeks and kiss him softly till he relaxes. 

“But… I wanted to make you feel good mama, I wanted to fuck you.” He sniffles. You smile softly and kiss his forehead, then each cheek, tip of the nose, and finally his pouting lips. 

“Baby… You can still make mama feel good and when you’re ready to go again, you can fuck mama.” You reassured him. His eyes lit up at that and he smiled. 

“Pink silk bag?” He asked. 

“Pink silk bag.” You confirmed. 

GMAG! Tag List:

 @pearlparty @xxindiglow @crackerbarrelslut @katsukis1wife @purejasmine @jojam10 @introverisms @pennyroyalcreep​ @woundmetender​

[mywifeleftme]

298: Wolf Parade // Apologies to the Queen Mary

Apologies to the Queen Mary Wolf Parade 2005, Sub Pop

Apologies to the Queen Mary is on the short list of ‘00s indie records that I’d consider masterpieces. The funny thing is that my list, as someone who was there (or there-adjacent), is pretty well fixed in time, whereas the consensus among Zoomer critics continues to morph in ways I’d never have figured. (Or maybe it’s not funny, really—just always how time and memory work.) In 2008, I would’ve bet my left pinkie that TV on the Radio (and especially Return to Cookie Mountain) would be the defining band of the era. Meanwhile, in 2024 the Killers are still riding the same five songs to a second greatest hits record and fifty times TVotR’s monthly residuals; the National have tween fans; and I hold a mug weird. Time clowns us all and Wolf Parade are a dad band now, owners of a few anthems from the era before genuinely weird indie bands could near the summits of the pop chart, economically compelled to continue touring small theatres together despite both Boeckner and Krug having been more invested in other, even less profitable projects for some time now.

Wolf Parade is one of those bands with two lead singers who sound indistinguishable before you know the group well, and instantly identifiable thereafter (like John and Paul of the Beatles, or Felix and Will of Chapo Trap House). They’re both yowlers who let their voices crack pubescently as shorthand for the frayed emotional spectrum they traffic in, given to barking and hooting to help drive their bric-a-brac compositions forward. Boeckner is a lanky post-punk looking fuckboy in roughly the Richard Hell mould, given to posing sweatily in torn undershirts and starting projects with a succession of raven-haired keyboard players he’s also dating. He loves motorik dance rock and Wire, but also has a substantial helping of Bruce Springsteen in his songwriting. Krug is a stocky, normal-looking guy who doesn’t really meet your eyes and self-deprecatingly called his solo project Moonface. He writes lyrics that sound like philosophy and love letters translated from an alien language, and prefers his music to both thwack and quaver.

Their similarities give Wolf Parade coherence, but much of their dynamism comes from how the two singers pass the controls back and forth. Backed by electronics tinkerer Hadji Bakara and Arlen Thompson, a drummer (crucially) capable of serving as a rhythm section unto himself, Krug and Boeckner find the perfect balance between Krug’s experimental art collective predilections and Boeckner’s slyly sexual rock ‘n’ roll heart. Krug leads with the empty warehouse strut of “You Are a Runner and I Am My Father’s Son”; Boeckner parries with the hooky acoustic rocker “Modern World”; Krug closes with the brittle seven-minute dirge “Dinner Bells”; Boeckner responds with the pinkly-hued Suicide-Springsteen collab “This Heart’s on Fire.”

Both Boeckner and Krug have made wilder, stranger music elsewhere, and there are plenty of other brilliant Wolf Parade songs to be found across their subsequent records. But Apologies remains the greatest blend of their particular talents they ever managed, a perfect example of two guys pushing each other to do their best work. With luck, a future generation will reconsider Wolf Parade and its many, many satellites (Sunset Rubdown, Operators, Handsome Furs, Frog Eyes, Swan Lake, Divine Fits…) as one of the most interesting micro-scenes the whole post-alternative rock era produced. And if not, I’ll still be here spinning the record a few times a year, believing in it all all over.

298/365

[lovedbydottore]

Our Oath Under The Stars - Zandik

tw/cw: almost none lmao ig it's just fluff, also this is like....akademiya dottore so he's still "Zandik" goofy voice man here or smth anyways have fun ig, gn!reader hairful reader 😱😱 /j, friends 2 lovers trope my love ❤️ been obsessed with stars lately so I wrote this don't mind the fact that it's kinda idk sloppy

"Archons, why does this brat need me at this hour of the night?" You grumbled, as you hiked up the mountain in a gingerly manner. Just a few hours ago you had received a letter from a certain person who you had known for quite some time, Zandik. Zandik has always been the type to push away almost anyone who would interact with him, except if it's needed for a task to be done. You were one of the only people who could stomach his childish complaints. And here you were, also stomaching your friend's request which required you to get out of bed in the middle of the night.

You sighed, looking around the mountain. The luminous flowers glowed under the moonlight, the grass waved and danced with the warm howling breeze of the night. It was silent, the crooning of a nearby lake lulled the gentle sway of the night. The moon who governed the night, peeked through the curtain of leaves as it glowed throughout the night sky, almost making the stars look invisible. Your hair danced with the gentle dance of the wind, almost as if it was leading you to the summit of the mountain.

You stopped by a lake, it's pristine waters reflecting the moonlit night, fireflies danced, glowing so brightly you could mistake them as the shining stars. You chuckled, dipping your fingers gently in the waters, feeling its sway and flow. The lotuses rippled from the light waves caused by the sudden impact of the connection of your hand and water. You smiled, parting your submerged fingers from the water and stood up, but then suddenly a voice rang from behind a veil of leaves.

"Damn imbecile, how long will it take for (Y/N) to get here?!" The voice exclaimed, a slight rasp to the tone. It was pitchy and funny sounding, enough to make you recognize who's voice this was. You laughed silently and parted the veil of leaves slowly, revealing yourself to the familiar voice, Zandik. "The "imbecile" is already here, cretin." You spoke monotonously, emphasizing that last word with a vague smirk creeping on your lips. He turned around hurriedly, his red eyes shooting towards you. His mint hair was ruffled, his eyebags were much more emphasized by the dim lighting, and that scarf..you gave him that scarf which flowed ever so lightly in the wind. He actually kept it? Your face felt warm from the thought that he actually kept that gift you gave him, it just felt quite out of character for him, almost unexpected to the point where it caught you off guard. And not just that, his beauty under the moonlight was envy worthy, you've heard whispers from women in the Akademiya that he was handsome, but you just shrugged it off and never noticed how right they were despite spending so much more time with Zandik than those women, were you that focused on your work?

"AHEM! You're staring (Y/N)." He scoffed, crossing his arms and snapping you back to reality. You instantly fixed your composure and chuckled awkwardly, avoiding his sharp gaze. He raised one of his eyebrows and stared you down, from head to toe. You felt a bead of sweat drop from your face, grumbling a few words before finally turning to Zandik. "So, why did you call me here?" You queried, your gaze focused at his eyes. You noticed his expression soften, becoming gentle. His eyes kept wandering elsewhere which made you slightly tilt your head in confusion. He sighed loudly, making you jump a little bit from the sudden loudness which didn't go well with the silent ambience.

"Come." He mumbled, gesturing you to follow him. He walked calmly as you tread right behind him, admiring the flowers as you pass by. The night fell silent, both your footsteps being the only sounds heard throughout the night. His hands brushed yours, you hummed looking at him who seemed to be avoiding your gaze. You wanted to talk yet you stayed silent. The silence was almost suffocating. He stopped in his tracks, he had led you to a clearing where you could see all of the night sky. The stars twinkled, the moon hung low in the dark skies. You could see the slumbering city just right below you. His silhouette illuminated in the moonlight, his back turned to you. He was fidgeting with his hands for a while until, finally he turned to you with a stoic impression.

His cheeks flushed a slight tint of pink before grumbling and walking close. "(Y/N).." he whispered, taking your hands and enclosing it with his cold ones. You gasped lightly, heat crawling up your face. He pressed his lips together, looking down at both of yours and his hands before reeling them close to him, pulling you along. "You..what have you done to me?" He silently spoke, his breathe tickling your ears. "You, you have captured me in your embrace, making me fragile, vulnerable. You weaken me (Y/N), you break me into tiny pieces. What have you done? What have you done to me..please, I beg you, tell me." His grip held you close, his hair hung, covering the moonlight from reaching his eyes. His tone was desperate, but you had no idea how to respond, what did you do to him exactly?

You could recall moments of him acting peculiar around your presence. Sometimes avoiding you, sometimes clinging onto you like a lost, helpless child. You do well in your studies you admit yet, you couldn't find an answer for his question, not even a single word came to your thought, not even a mutter of an answer was spoken, just pure silence of confusion and desperation. The question rang in your ears loudly like a mantra.

What have you done to me?

What have you done to me?

What have you done to me?

"Zandik, tell me, why ask someone who does not have a single idea nor answer for such queries?" You muttered, caressing his cold, rough hands before turning your gaze to him, even a passerby could confuse you two as lovers from such a stance.

Lovers, love, in love?

Was Zandik, in love with you? Your eyes slightly widened at the sudden opening. A sensation of butterflies swarmed your stomach, so much that it almost felt sickly. You muttered something incoherent, something even you couldn't understand. He stood there silent, awaiting for an answer despite what you said just a few moments ago, desperation was truly powerful.

"Zandik, are you in love with me?"

He raised his eyebrows, his grip tightened on yours. Love? Did he love you? Even a scholar such as him couldn't understand. How come he had never thought of such a phenomenon? Had he been too naive, short on knowledge or had he been blinded? The signs were so clear yet he never considered them, it all felt so far and vague yet it was all so close and clear. He was in love with you, (Y/N). So, so in love with you to the point where it blinded him from seeing it. His mouth slightly hung open, staring onto your features.

"I do, yes I do love you. Words such a these can never express how much I love you (Y/N)." He blurted, leaning close to you, his forehead bumping into yours softly. "Do you love me? Do you truly love me too (Y/N)?" He asked, looking deeply into your eyes which could rival the beauty of the night sky. "I.." you softened your gaze. "Yes!" You smiled pulling your hands from his grip and wrapping it around his neck, pulling him down almost making the both of you fall onto the grass. His hands crept to rest on your waist, pulling you close.

"Can I kiss yo-" before he could finish it, you connected your lips with his, connecting like puzzle pieces. He swiftly placed a hand behind your neck and pulled you closer, deepening the kiss. He sighed in satisfaction and smiled, leaning into you, tilting your head slightly to get a better angle. You chuckled and pulled him into your warmth, breathing heavily. After at least a minute, you pulled away for air. He frowned slightly as you both catched your breathe. "It would've been quite romantic to die of suffocation from your kiss." He laughed throughout each inhale and exhale. You grinned widely, chasing your breathe before fixing your posture and looking at him with sheer admiration. You smiled, caressing his cheek with your hand and placing a little kiss on his nose. "May we never forsaken eachother.." you whispered, leaning onto his chest, listening to the whispers of his heartbeat. He smiled placing a hand on your head and ruffling your hair slowly.

"Our oath under the stars"

[merlot-and-chardonnay]

A Lark Among the Wolves and Dragons: Chapter 51

Masterlist

Chapter 50

Just a heads up, I plan to incorporate a couple scenes from the Lady of the Lake novel from the Witcher book series in this chapter. Which if you're not familiar with the books, that was when Ciri was in the realm of the Alders against her will and....long story short she was kinda sorta blackmailed/coerced by Avallac'h into sleeping with the late king Auberon with the hopes of producing a child with the Elder Gene. Obviously that never came to pass and Auberon passed with Eredin taking up the mantel as king. 

I'm mentioning that here as a content warning for DUBCON in those sequences.

------------King's Landing: Flea Bottom-----------

A man of unknown history wonders the streets, fresh off the boat that had just sailed into the Blackwater Bay from Novigrad.

He keeps his hood over his head as he makes the secret knock at the door of a house at the corner. He was let in. The stranger took a seat at the table. Across from him sat the White Worm dressed in a calming dark shade of blue. She poured tea into a cup and offered to the stranger.

"I bring word from the Continent," the man speaks, "envoys from the Northern realms as well as Nilgaard are gathering as we speak. At a place called Loc Muinne. These are the names of expected participants. The list was confirmed by the Redanian spy Sigismund Djikstra."

Mysaria had a incredulous look as she accepted the list, though in truth, she knew The Redanian count's spy network to be effective and reliable, much so that she had spies of her own stationed among Djikstra's lackeys so as to keep tabs on the major happenings on the Continent (Mysaria admittedly couldn't help but smirk at the irony of an expert spy unknowingly having a spy network spy on his own).

She quickly skimmed the contents of what she read. Her eyes widening when the rest the last name of the list. "Well, well," She says in response, "It would be the little lost daughter of the Rogue prince has finally been found."

--------------Vergen-----------------

"Geralt!" Jaskier calls out as the aforementioned witcher and Iorveth run into the Bard as well as Zoltan. "Saskia disappeared," Jaskier informs, "the people are getting riled up." "Dwarves too," Zoltan adds. 

Having learned earlier what really happened, having learned that the spell Phillipa used to save Saskia's life had been modified so as to put Saskia under Phillipa's influence- and also realizing Aemma was affected by that same spell when the sorceress had ciphoned Aemma's power to make the spell work- Geralt and Iorveth now had to make the trek to Loc Muinne so as to break the spell.

Geralt made the choice to inform Jaskier and Zoltan of the situation. "But how- How did Aemma become part of Phillipa's control?" Jaskier balks. "Remember when Aemma used her gift to help with the spell?" Geralt points out, "she must've become affected by the spell's influence the moment Phillipa used her magic to channel Aemma's gift into the spell." "So...Phillipa wanted to control Aemma along with Saskia?"

"I don't think so," Geralt admits, "it was clear Phillipa wanted to bring Saskia under to influence, likely to hold more sway at the Loc Muinne summit. I think Aemma being caught in Phillipa's web was a side effect. An accident." "Collateral more like," Jaskier growls, realizing his niece was in trouble again, "that witch is going to pay for this. I should've known something was off. I saw the way Aemma looked at Phillipa when she seconded for Dethmold to be put to the sword. Just moments ago Aemma had persuaded the mob to spare Stennis so he would have a fair trial, so for her to agree with Saskia to execute Dethmold without so much as a trial? A gesture for Phillipa is all it took!"

"That bastard deserved it," Zoltan mutters. "I wouldn't be surprised if Zoltan had ordered it," Jaskier continues, "as vengeful as he is, but Saskia...?"

"Where did they go?" Zoltan demands. "Phillipa has taken Aemma and Saskia to Loc Muinne," Geralt answers, "I'm going after them, with Iorveth. Everything suggests those responsible for Foltest's death will be at Loc Muinne."

"Some still say you killed him," Zoltan points out. "I've gotta stop that drivel," Geralt nods, "don't have a choice. But you do."

"The elite of the North is gathering at Loc Muinne," Jaskier informs, "I couldn't forgive myself if I wasn't there...especially when my niece is in trouble." "She's not the only who will be there," Geralt subtly hints, "no doubt envoys from the North will be there, that much I can agree...among those is the king of Redania."

-------------the skies over the Continent------------

Vhagar made some low growls as she continued to fly, almost as if she were in mourning. Aemond had to wonder if it was her reflecting his feelings at this moment, or if she was genuinely sad to part ways from Aemma again.

The two did share some memories when Aemma was a child whenever she would go riding on Vhagar with Laena.

Now here they were flying away, back to King's Landing without the one person they were supposed to bring back in the first place. Aemond couldn't help but wonder what his mother would say.

No, he keeps shaking his head. He needed to go back. He couldn't just leave without Aemma, he needed to go back and make her see reason. This was not her home, this was not her place. Her true place was back at the Red Keep at his side as well as with his mother and his siblings. Aemma needed to support them for that inevitable day when the king would finally pass and Aegon would ascend the Iron Throne as king.

Aemond couldn't risk any of Rhaenyra's ilk making to the Continent to find Aemma and poison her against him, leading her astray to support his treasonous half-sister and her bastard sons. She needed to understand the stakes.

Aemond was about to direct Vhagar to turn around and return to Vergen with the intent of retrieving Aemma, even if he DID need to drag her back every step of the way. If he had to he would use Vhagar herself to threaten to burnt he village if only it would force Aemma to see things his way.

As he was about to give the command, the air suddenly turned cold. I mean, yeah it is cold, he's flying in the sky on a dragon not a damn airplane, but it was colder than usual. Aemond saw his own breath as he exhaled. He saw the sky darken and snow begin to fall. Something wasn't right. This change of weather was not natural, it should not be this cold enough for a snowfall. Vhagar seemed to sense something was off as well as she became increasingly agitated.

Aemond gave Vhagar a few pats, trying to keep her calm. Internally, it made him concerned that the largest dragon in the world would be put off by this supernatural phenomenon.

Suddenly a massive portal opened in the sky above them, making Vhagar roar in shock. The jerking movement she made forced Aemond to cling to the saddle for dear life. Out from the portal came forth a dragon of black and gold. It was on the smaller side compared to Vhagar, but Aemond could see who the dragon was and recognized her right away.

"Cirillia!"

The dragon in question did a corkscrew turn as she made a nose dive past Aemond and Vhagar. As she did so, her dorsum became visible to where Aemond could see Cirillia's saddle. Astride it was a woman with green eyes and ashen hair. She wore clothing similar to Aemma and had a silver sword strapped to her back...just like Aemma.

The ashen haired woman turned her gaze towards Aemma, making eye contact with the man as Cirillia continued her descent. Cirillia called out, Vhagar calling back in response.

Vhagar then turned towards where the younger dragon was landing. Vhagar!" Aemond clings to the saddle. The air felt colder then it was before-thinner, a sense of foreboding and dread filling the atmosphere. Aemond looked up to see the portal in the sky was still open. What looked like an army of horses and warriors in black armor came through. The helmets these soldiers wore were almost skull-like in appearance, as if to incite fear into whomever would dare cross their path.

Aemond felt himself becoming scared, much like that night he lost his eye. These beings had to be ghosts of some kind. Vengeful wraiths conceived of the darkest magic, darker than what his ancestors of Old Valyria would have ever dared to mess with.

Vhagar shared the sentiment, jerking more in her movements as she landed on the ground in front of Cirillia, almost if the older dragon was planning to protect the younger one. The ashen haired woman in question was nowhere to be spotted. Did she turn out to be an apparition?

Aemond kept his hand on the sword, ready to face these monstrous wraiths if for some reason the threat of dragon fire would not be enough to deter them. 

The haunted army turned their direction towards the dragon as they made contact with the ground.

Cirillia tried to go around Vhagar to confront the Wild Hunt, but Vhagar stopped her, getting in the way. Vhagar kept her gaze on the Red Riders, making warning growls. The leader of this army removed his helmet, revealing a face with raven hair and pointed ears. "Fucking elves," Aemond mutters under his breath, having had his fill with their kind for a lifetime at this point. Eredin only made a villainous smile as he gazed onto the largest dragon in the world along with her current rider. "Zireal!" he shouts, seemingly to no one, "you cannot hide forever, daughter of Lara Dorren! Not even an army of dragons will keep you safe!" 

Vhagar made an offensive snarl in response as Eredin dared to move the Riders closer. Aemond noticed the way these elves were not even deterred by this obstacle in their place. Who were they that they could just brush off a dragon's threat with little caution?

"Hmph," was all Eredin said as he shouted in his native tongue for the Red Riders to charge.

"Dracarys, Vhagar!" Aemond commands. Vhagar did not even hesitate. Despite the threat of dragon fire looming, the Red Riders kept their pace. Caranthir raised his staff, shouting incantations to create a beam of ice to counter Vhagar's fire. Aemond went wide eye when he saw what the elf mage was capable of.

Grabbing his sword, Aemond dismounted, with the intent of charging Caranthir and destroying his staff. Before that could happen, another horse bound elf, Imerlith, charges towards Aemond with a club in hand. Aemond was quick to dodge the attack. Imerlith dismounted and kept his assault. Aemond knew dodged each blow, making certain to time his counter attack when the moment was just right. There didn't seem to be any weak spots he could exploit. Aemond then attempted to block the next attack with his sword, but Imerlith's swing was enough to knock it out of the prince's hand.

Imerlith had a wicked smile on his face, "you thought you were more than a match for me, boy?" Disarmed, Aemond turned to retrieve his sword, but Imerlith was quicker and grabbed the prince by the hair, yanking him back. "Now, now," the elf tuts, "what's the hurry, boy? Stick around, and we might make you one of our slaves. Despite your d'hoine blood, I know some pretty elven women at Tir na Lia that would take an interest in you for one night." Aemond grunted from the pain of having his hair pulled, but even the mere thought of being forced into a similar position he was in on the Street of Silk for his thirteenth nameday was more than enough to make his heart race even more than it already was. 

"Leave him alone, Imerlith!" A female voice called out, gaining the elf's attention. Looking up, a surge of light forced Imerlith back, forcing him to release Aemond from his grasp.

The ashen haired girl appeared right in front of Aemond sword in hand, ready to defend him. "You..." Before Aemond could finish saying anymore, Ciri charged at the elf. Ciri dodged every attack Imerlith threw at her, though she managed to get a few blocks and parries here and there. 

She was quite fast and light on her feet, Aemond noticed. It was really starting to hurt his pride at this point that he was knocked his feet not once, but twice this whole time he's been on the damn Continent and he's needed to be rescued first by his cousin and now a complete stranger. 

Cirillia finally managed to get around Vhagar, who was still distracted by countering Caranthir's ice beam with her fire, and charge at Imerlith, directing her own fire, to which the elf wisely dodged. 

Caranthir now created a magic barrier to shield the Red Riders from Vhagar's wrath. He now directed his ice beam at Cirillia, who cried out in agony when the icy frost struck her in the face. "Cirillia!" Aemond calls out in concern for his cousin's dragon.  Looking behind her, Ciri knew she was outmatched even with two dragons aiding her in this fight. Now all that remained options wise was to escape. Ciri muttered incantations and grabbed Aemond right as she created a portal to escape the Wild Hunt.

"You can't forever Zireal!" Eredin calls out as the portal closes in front of him and his warriors.

Ciri panted, now taking time to catch her breath, exhausted from all the running and fighting, before she turned to face Aemond, who was laying on the ground and still reeling from the fact he was whisked through a magic portal two minutes. Ciri turned to kneel so she could be at eye level with the prince.

"Where is Aemma?" She demands.

--------------Vision Sequence: Tir Na Lia----------------

Aemma stood before the giant doors, feeling tense as she steeled herself to open them. Why she felt this way, she could not say. Something was supposed to happen...

No...she was supposed to meet someone. Who? A king? Yes, that had to be it. It wasn't her uncle King Viserys, she knew that. Aemma looked around. The palace was incredibly beautiful, it was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Even the elven ruins on the Continent could not compare to its splendor.

But it didn't explain how she came to this place. One moment she found herself in a tower...the Tower of the Swallow. Next thing she realized she was trying to make her way out to go find Geralt and Yennefer and the Lady of Larks....no....no, that's not what Aemma was doing.

The doors slowly opened and Aemma walked inside. She still couldn't figure why she was feeling so tense. What was supposed to happen?

"You'll be free and may go wherever you wish," she heard a deep voice speak in the back of her mind, "Assuming you don't decide to stay...with the child."

That voice....Aemma recognized it. It belonged to a elf she saw once in her vision many years ago. What his name? Avallac'h! But why did he send Aemma here? No, not Aemma...Ciri...

Aemma looked past the expansive, luxurious, room and towards the balcony. There sat an elf enjoying the view. He was tall, possibly taller than Avallac'h, a lot more slender looking. Aemma thought back to the elves she encountered in her recent vision, Eredin and Caranthir, they both had more meat on their bones than this Aen Elle. He had long hair that reached down to his shoulders, like Aemond, but the color was pure white...almost like Geralt's.  When the elf turned to stare at her, Aemma was taken aback by eyes. Grey, aglazed, almost as if he'd been taking fisshtech recently. This elf had a young man's body...but his eyes made look old, ancient beyond his years.

This was Auberon, king of the Alders. The forebear of Lara Doren, and the one whose child Aemma was to bear....

No! Not Aemma! It was Ciri! 

Auberon then speaks towards Aemma/Ciri, "Zireal...thank you for coming...."

----------later that evening---------------

Aemma sat on at a table dinning on a simple salad for her meal. Or at least she tried to, but found she had no appetite. She was wearing a different dress to what she had worn for her first audience with the Alder king. Now here she was dinning with him for the evening...before they...

Aemma now found herself babbling, her nerves on edge, but these words were not her own, nor was this voice hers. She was talking through someone...or was it the other way?

Aemma, or perhaps it was actually Ciri, then began to recall to Auberon a story from her time in King's Landing, when she was brought to the Red Keep with the Lady of Larks, when she befriended Rhaenyra, and had sworn to the Lady Lark's daughter.

"Fascinating," was Auberon's response, "I have to wonder, whatever possessed you to style yourself as the child's protector?" Ciri found herself stuttering. Why? Why did she do that? She thought back to her time in Kaer Morhen, when Aemma was born. She thought back to that vision of the blood wrym, how that vision became a reality when the Rogue Prince invaded and threatened to have his dragon burn the place to the ground if the Lady of Larks did not hand him his daughter and return to Westeros with him.

Ciri then proceeded to tell Auberon what had transpired at Kaer Morhen and the events that followed. Part of her was stretching the story out as long as she could, possibly with hopes of delaying the inevitable. Why, though? What was the point? Ciri needed to do what needed to be done as soon as possible so as to return to her world and reunite with Geralt and Yennefer and (y/n). She needed to keep her word and help (y/n) reunite with the daughter that was ripped from her arms.

Ciri owed the Lady Lark after all for helping her escape King's Landing even though (y/n) was left behind and left to be tormented by the Rogue Prince.

Auberon had nothing more to say. Instead he got up from the table and approached his bed, "Get undressed please," he directs.

Eyes wide Aemma suddenly found herself standing up as well, doing as she was told. It felt like forever. So many damn buttons and hooks to undo. This could not go any faster. She needed to get this over and done with. The sooner this bargained was made, the sooner she could leave this horrible place and return to her family.

It annoyed her to no end how the elf seemed to be in no hurry whatsoever. Auberon was a lot older than he looks, he probably has wasn't. A hundred years is little more than a blink of an eye to their kind.

Finally Aemma stood before the Alder king naked as the day she was born. She felt completely self-conscious, hands covering her lady bits as Auberon looked her up and down as if she were some broodmare being examined before being sold to the highest bidder. Aemma felt her cheeks flame hot with embarrassment and a hint of anger. Why did she need to do this in the first place? Was the undressing really necessary. All she needed to do was lay on the bed and spread her legs and let him do his thing.

At least that is what she keeps telling herself as she climbs onto the bed, laying her back and waiting for him to join her. Auberon lays right next to her, not bothering to shed his own clothing.

He reached out to touch her, but Aemma grabbed his hand. "Why are you doing this?" "...I'm afraid I don't understand the question," Auberon tells her, "this is what we agreed to." "NO!" Aemma pulled away, grabbing the blanket and wrapping it around her.

Next thing Aemma knew she saw Ciri laying on the bed, naked as she was. Auberon laying next to her, touching her in ways that are meant to be pleasurable, but only made the girl uncomfortable. Aemma found herself trying to contain her embarrassment of this scene, realizing now why Ciri was in this position in the first place. 

 "This is wrong! Ciri didn't agree to this of her own free will, she was blackmailed! Can you not see how fucked up this all is?! What is wrong with you all?!"

The scene began to change, become distorted, almost as if there was an overlap. On the other side of the bed, Aemma saw two figures materialize. As they became more visible, Aemma recognized them to her mother and father. She saw Daemon shove (y/n) onto the bed, her mother having a look of terror in her eyes as Daemon pressed her down on her belly, pulling at the laces of the back of her dress, practically ripping them. "Father, what are you doing?" Aemma calls out, though he did not seem to hear. "Father, stop!" Aemma pleads, "YOU'RE SCARING HER! CAN'T YOU SEE MOTHER IS FRIGHTENED OF YOU? LEAVE HER ALONE! FATHER!"

"You must choose..." Avallac'h's voice sounded, causing the two scenes to freeze in place. Eyes wide, still wrapped in the mink fur, Aemma turned to see the aforementioned elf, a look of regret in his eye. "You..." "You must choose when the time comes," the Elf sage speaks once more, addressing Aemma directly, his voice becoming distorted by the joining of a more feminine voice, one that Aemma recognized to be her cousin Helaena, "hand turns loom. Spool of Green, spool of Black. Dragons of flesh...weaving dragons of thread...."

"A Dance of Dragons," Aemma heard Cedric's voice, "you must learn to understand this power to possess...it will help you understand your past, as well as determine the course of your future, and the future of your family, especially if any of them are to survive the Dance that is to come."

Aemma saw a brief flash of a woman with long silver blonde hair and violet eyes. Aemma recognized her to be Valyrian, A Targaryen even, but Aemma did not recognize her. Surrounding the Targaryen were three dragons, one black, one green, and the other golden white. "The mother of dragons," a faint voice whispered, which was more than enough to scare Aemma.

"I don't understand!" Aemma exclaims in confusion, "I...I don't even know what this Dance is! No one has even been able to properly exclaim my gift. Why I can see peoples' past, why it keeps connecting me to Ciri! WHY AM I LIKE?!" 

Aemma now saw the the scene before her fade away once again until her vision turned white. Aemma became scared and turned each way she could. 

Then her vision turned black Aemma saw no more.

-----------end of vision sequence-----------------

Aemma bolted up from a bed.

Why was she in bed? When did she go to sleep?

Last thing Aemma remembered was she and Saskia following Phillipa through a portal, Phillipa having every intention to take the two to the Loc Muinne summit. Aemma could still remember Phillipa talking to her telepathetcally, going over what demands were going to be made at the summit, which included the recognition of Upper Aedirn as a separate governance and the restoration of the Conclave that was dissolved 16 years ago following the Thanedd coupe.

Aemma knew Phillipa's reason for that was so the Lodge of Sorceresses would be acknowledged and given the power that was due to them.

But she doesn't remember anything after that.

"What...where am I?"

"It's alright, princess," a male voice catches Aemma's attention. Aemma turned to see a man dressed in royal attire, having chestnut hair that reached down to barely the top of his shoulders.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you princess," he speaks, "I had hoped I would've been able to meet you six years ago, that is if your father had agreed to my terms for a betrothal." "Betrothal?" Aemma frowns a bit before it clicked. Six years ago when she remained in King's Landing while her father's family flew across the Continent without her. One of those places included the kingdom of Redania.

"You're...you're the king of Redania."

The king makes a small smile in response, "King Radovid V," Radovid introduces, "you're the oldest daughter of Prince Daemon Targaryen...by the Lady of a Larks."

"You...you knew my mother?" "I had the pleasure to meet many years ago for a brief time," Radovid tells her, "I was a fan of her work...I was also a great fan of her brother's work.

Your Uncle Jaskier."

Chapter 52

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

"A harbinger of happiness in the little things"

🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞

The shabby and slightly worn hooded cloak still served its wearer well, protecting his body from the small raindrops that would turn into a downpour in a few minutes. Isaac slowly stretched his arms, tired from holding the hilt of his sword, and yawned lazily, still in no hurry to hide under the roof of the Adventurer's Guild. Something about the rain was, to him.... soothing.

In his home area, The Continent of Galdora, where practically all the terrain is a damned desert, you don't encounter any rainfall, and time passes differently here. Even in the Castle Village, thanks to the magic of their talented witch, there is always a perpetual spring. No snow, no hail, no rain. None of that. When you live and train under a dome for most of your life, even a little rain can cause delight, or at least surprise.

The earthy and piney smell all around, the drops that drum incessantly on the roof of the small cabin, the noise of leaves and rustling in the grass, where small animals and birds hurry to hide from the rain in burrows and tree hollows....

An unpleasant tickling sensation on the index finger of his right hand.

Isaac lifted his hand to see the cause of the itch and saw a small insect with a red body and black dots. A ladybug, if he's not mistaken... A strange name, Isaac thought.

Apparently, like all other insects, the poor thing was trying to escape the rain, and thought it would find the shelter it needed under Isaac's cloak.

The scarred adventurer was about to flick the annoying bug away with a wave of his other hand, but he stopped himself at the last second, scrutinising the ladybug. Curiosity got the better of him, because it was only the second time he had seen this unusual insect in his entire life.

The first was a few weeks ago, when being in the same place he was now, he had met a Farmer that had wandered into the Adventurer's Summit.

The spring sun shone brightly, but it seemed that the Farmer's smile shone even brighter. Carefree, humming to themselves a tune unfamiliar to Isaac, they said hello to him and headed downhill towards the mountain lake. One hand busied itself with a large basket, stuffed to the top with various mushrooms and wild apples. The fruit had the same red-black dots that the scarred adventurer had failed to see properly. One of those dots was on the Farmer's arm as they cooed wonderfully to the insects as if to a playful puppy.

Ladybug, saviour of all gardeners and farmers, harbinger of happiness and good news, a great creation of Yoba itself... Isaac snorted at all the compliments that the Farmer kept showering on the strange bug. It's just an insect, what's the point? Why such joy at the sight of this bug, why such a ringing laughter that got further and further away from him. Why this beautiful smile...

Why all this...

Isaac was pulled out of his warm memories by the intensifying downpour, and even his old but trusty cloak could not protect him from getting wet. The ladybug, also sensing the intensifying rain, quickly sought refuge on Isaac's arm from the droplets that were hitting his skin.

The look in Isaac's dark eyes softened. He placed his free hand over where the bug was crawling to protect it from the rain and quickly walked over to a nearby blackberry bush to gently place the ladybug under the large green leaves, where the little ladybug could survive the heavy rain.

🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞🐞

I blame this beautiful song, which I randomly found on YouTube and couldn't resist writing another one-shot about Isaac. Because even though I love the misery of this bitch adventurer, fluff is more dear to my heart 💕

[rabbitcruiser]

Pinetree Lake, BC (No. 2)

The region, which includes the Interior Plateau as well as various mountain ranges and the valleys between them, comprises everything inland from the Coast Mountains and reaching east to the Rocky Mountains and, in the northeast, British Columbia's sector of the Prairies, the Peace River Block. "Interior" is usually and properly capitalized but turns up in lower-case in various books and magazines. The non-coastal areas of the province are considered to be "in the Interior", although the sparsely populated regions of its northern half are usually referred to only as "the North".

The town of Hope, at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley and at the foot of the Fraser Canyon, is often considered the "Gateway to the Interior" and bears an entrance arch to that effect, though in practical terms the Interior does not begin until somewhere between Yale and Boston Bar, in the Fraser Canyon, or until the summits of the Coquihalla and Allison Passes. The boundary between "the Coast" and "the Interior" along the Highway 99 corridor is nominally between Whistler and Pemberton, as Pemberton is often described as being in the Interior, but from the inland perspective it is often seen as part of the Coast because of its wetter climate and close ties to the Lower Mainland.

There are many subregions within the Interior, some regions in their own right, and although there are no precise definitions, it is often broken up informally as the Northern Interior, the Central Interior, the Southern Interior, the Northeast Interior and Southeast Interior, and these names often appear in non-governmental organizations and company names as well as in government administrative districts and ministerial regions, and in weather reports.

Source: Wikipedia

[thechembow]

The Loneliest Road

Oct. 16, 2023

From Carson City to Salina, Utah, we completed our gifting of US Highway 50 today, the loneliest road in America.

There was only light DOR in the morning which was transmuting quickly. There were very few "planes" all day on the entire drive and they were all struggling, with short trails, some curving and breaking. There were areas where there had been recent rain in Nevada, and even green grass in some places.

As we got closer to Utah, we saw very defined stumps of ancient silicon trees. The destruction was very complete here. The land was open and desolate this whole trip. There were few towns and they were over an hour apart at times. There were also few cell towers, but what there were are gifted now, and many more towerbusters were thrown in between.

The road was relentless, with one summit and wide valley after another and the several hundred miles seeming to last forever. The towns we passed through were weathered old west towns which maintained their history in the bleak landscape. The land will transform and re-green this winter and spring, with snow and new lakes forming following this gifting.

[gravelish]

Snoqualmie Pass

2 July 2023

Today’s ride might have just been a simple 40-mile out and back, but I decided to throw in an additional loop that added 20 miles, including the only really hard climb of the day. I parked at Rattlesnake Lake/Cedar Falls and began pedaling around 8:00. I was back to the car by 2:30 and back to Seattle by 4:00, with a stop for a burger and a shake in North Bend.

It’s 20 miles of easy railroad grade to the summit at Hyak, including the 2-mile tunnel at the top. I considered turning around and heading back, but opted instead to check out a new route (for me) around Lake Kacheelus to the east. I crossed I-90 to Gold Creek and then followed Forest Road 8432, which parallels (sort of) the interstate on the hillside north of the lake. It climbs steeply almost 1000’ toward the trailhead for Margaret and Lillian Lakes before eventually descending back down to the paved Kachess Lake Road. Then it’s back across the Interstate and a mile or so on the Stampede Pass Road before returning to the rail trail (10 miles east of Hyak).

Hyak was busy with families out walking or biking, many to the tunnel. The final 20-mile ride down from the pass was fast — 15-20 mph all the way on a gentle downhill grade on good dirt and gravel. There were plenty of other cyclists and hikers, but they were spread out and most of the time it was very quiet. There were the usual clusters of climbers on the cliffs at the trestles above Exit 38. The parking lot at the bottom had been pretty quiet in the morning, but cars were parked on the road for half a mile when I headed out (mainly for the lake and the hike to Rattlesnake Ledge, not for the rail trail).

This ride is a great reminder of now nice it is that the I-90 corridor has been kept fairly free from large scale development (Mountain to Sounds Greenway). The highway is never out of earshot, but it’s usually out of sight. It’s not wilderness, but it’s not bad, especially for being an hour from downtown.

I talked to a young guy at the bottom with a loaded bike. Turns out he was five days from La Push and eight weeks from his home in New York State. I always find it inspirational to chat with folks doing these long rides! It’s also a reminder that today’s ride was on the Great American Rail Trail, a somewhat aspirational concept since large segments remain incomplete or at least hard to ride, but the basic idea is that if you want to ride from coast to coast, this isn’t a bad route to take.

[imbananasfordananas]

hiking goals for 2024

climb 250,000 feet of elevation

more long trail runs

journal on runs

donate 1% of the vert I do in June to the Trevor Project

routes to choose from:

The Enchantments

Timberline Trail

Floral Park Traverse

Grand Canyon R2R2R *

King's Peak

Teton Crest Trail (all the way this time) *

South Ridge of Superior with Sabrina and Maia

West Slabs with Sabrina and Maia

Nebo with the Gals

Whitney Mountaineer's Route

Annual Grandeur 10K Day *

Grandeur West 24 Hour Effort

Grandeur Loop x 3 *

Timpanogos Sampler Out and Back    Timpooneke Trailhead -> Summit -> Aspen Grove Trailhead -> Summit -> Timpooneke Trailhead

Cottonwood Traverse (10K)

American Fork Twins to the Pfeifferhorn Saddle

Cottonwood Ramble Route (at least AF Twins to Big Cottonwood via South Ridge of Superior, maybe all the way to Millcreek) (10K, depending)

Beatout exit via The Notch

Box Elder Figure 8 (10K)

Backpack Gannett

Sundial Peak

Timpanogos Traverse   North Timp -> Timp -> South Timp

Cardiac Ridge Traverse  Superior -> Kessler (Northbound)

Cardiac Ridge + Superior via the South Ridge Linkup

Monte Cristo via Mill B South Fork (Lake Blanche Trail)

Cardiff Pass to Red Pine Lake Trail

Wildcat Ridge Traverse

Olympus via North Face

Olympus Double Feature

Olympus + Grandeur Peak via West Face

Olympus + Grandeur Peak via West Face + Kessler

Cowboy Scramble

Backpack in Great Basin

Scope parts of the Millwood route

Run commute

[archersxartxblog]

Master Post

See I told you I was working on it. :)

Chapter 25

"Snee" the Lady of the Cliffs huffed a bit as she pulled her Warden to a safer location, as he slowly started coming round.

She wasn't even sure what had happened. 

One moment, they had been slowly sneaking their way towards the summit of the mountain, and he had been fine. The next he suddenly stumbled before collapsing, nearly falling down the side of the Cliff.

Luckily, Sneasler had caught him before it was too late.

"Wha…where…" her Warden’s voice drawled sluggishly as he came to, glancing around as if trying to remember where he was. "This isn't Gear Stati…" The words died on his lips.

but Sneasler paid him little mind as she continued to check him over, in search of the cause of his sudden collapse. It would do no good if that were to happen further up. Besides, He would come back to himself soon enough.

After a short moment, Ingo forced himself up into a sitting position and brought a hand to his forehead, pushing his hat up in the process and gently batting her claws away from his face. “Apologies, Lady Sneasler,” he muttered, rubbing at his temples. “It would appear that I once more have become derailed.” 

He paused, letting his hands fall back to his sides as he took a moment to just sit with his eyes closed.

“But we have a schedule to keep.” his eyes snapped open and his hands came up to his hat, adjusting it as he attempted to stand.

But Lady Sneasler was having none of it, as she pushed him back down. She wasn’t about to let him continue this climb until she knew the cause of his earlier collapse. She would not be able to forgive him, let alone herself if he managed to accidentally fall off the mountain and leave his kits parentless.

“My Lady, please.” once more he pushed her claws away. “I appreciate your concern, and need to complete all safety checks, but…” he looked up at her, his frown pulled tight. “And I do not say this lightly…”

“This way! Quickly now! We can’t afford any damage to the supplies until we are at the summit!”

The two quickly ducked low into some bushies, watching as a large group of humans dressed in bright red carried large crates up the steep sloops of the mountains. Leading them was none other than the owner of the Wallflower, Beni.

So more and more followed.

“I am far less concerned about my safety, and far more worried about what is happening at the Summit” Ingo continued, looking towards the sky and the seemingly ever-growing rift. “And what exactly the Commander hopes to accomplish with this small army of his.”

The Lady of the Cliffs couldn’t help the growl that passed through her teeth. She hated to admit it, but her Warden was right. 

These Galaxy humans were coming in mass. 

But what could they hope to do when they could barely help the frenzied nobles?

“Come, let us move with swiftness, not haste.”

“Snee”

—

“Are you sure you’re alright? Cabala’s camp is not far from here, it would not take long to get there from here.”

Ingo looked up at the clan leader as they moved quickly across The Mirelands. 

This wasn’t the first time Lady Irida had asked him if he wanted to head to the old healers rather than the next lake. He was honestly starting to wonder if she wanted to leave him there because he was slowing her down.

He didn’t even remember passing out. 

All he could recall was the battle with the Alpha Goodra and waking up in the Mirelands while being carried on Irida’s back.

Apparently, during that time he missed, he’d spaced out for several minutes and then collapsed with no answer as to why.

Honestly, Ingo was tempted to blame the whole mess on Mesprit, as legendary Pokemon tended to do as they pleased most of the time and it wasn’t all that strange for psychic types to mess with the minds of others.

“I’m fine.” he finally answered, holding his hood in place and the wind picked up a bit. They couldn’t risk getting caught by the Galaxy team now of all times. Even if their numbers seemed to be shrinking. “But thank you for your concern.”

“You are a member of the Pearl clan, as its leader it is my duty to care about the well-being of all who wear our crest,” Irida stated proudly, her head held high, as the child had suggested otherwise. Yet a smile still crept onto her face as she looked down at him. "But even so, I am glad you are okay. I don't think I'd be able to face your father if anything were to happen to you or your brother."

Ingo let out a low hum at the mention of his twin. "Speaking of which…I would like to get back to Emmet as soon as possible." They were starting to get closer to the lake. "I'm more worried about him, then I am my own health."

"Do the two of you not like being separated for too long?"

"N-no…well yeah. But we're able to get by if we have to. we've been apart before." The boy answered with a strug. "But that's not what I'm worried about."

"Your brother is a skilled Pokémon welder. Both of you are," Irida stated. "I am sure he is fine, besides Akari is with him. He couldn't be in safer hands."

"But Akari has other things to worry about right now." Ingo added, keeping his focus on the lake. 

Just a little further.

"Besides, it's not her I distrust."

The waters edge was only a few feet away, and Ingo reached for Gyarados's pokeball to help them get across the water, only to be stopped by a hand resting on his shoulder.

"Ingo"

The boy nearly jumped at the stern tone in the young woman's voice, as he slowly turned to look back at the clan leader behind him.

"You and your brother don't seem to trust Volo. Please do not try to deny it." Irida stated plainly, looking down at him. "Back at the Fabled springs, and at the retreat, then again after you collapsed back at the lake. You and your brother act differently around him." The grip on his shoulder tightened slightly. "To my knowledge you have only just met Volo. And while I know that I have not interacted with the two of you much since you came to us, but not once have I received a report of you two acting like this towards someone new." she paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "So what is going on between you and the merchant?"

Ingo's frown tightened as he forced himself to look down towards the lake. "I-I don't know…I could be wrong…I don't really have any proof…"

"As the leader of The Pearl clan, the safety and health of my people are my top priority." Irida spoke gently. "And I know the Pearl clan has not been kind to your family, but so long as you wear that tunic you will always be a member of the Pearl clan." Ingo dared a glance back up at the young woman, only to see her give him a soft smile. "So Please, if something is bothering you, do not be afraid to speak up."

The boy bit his lip, his nails digging into his palm as he clenched his fists. 

Was it really okay? Even if he and Emmet were wrong?

He didn't want to risk accusing someone without any evidence. That was currently what was happening to Akari, right?

And now really wasn't the time to draw riffs in the sand.

But…

Their Uncle always encouraged honesty, and that seemed to be all that Irida was asking.

"O-okay, I'll tell you."

—

Akari took aim and tossed the balm as hard as she could, not even bothering to check if she hit her target before reaching for another balm.

That definitely wasn't the hardest challenge she'd faced since she came to Hisui, after all, she'd been doing this with the Nobles practically since day one. 

Plus, She just needed to hit the Pokémon in the cave once. 

Easy.

At least Azelf wasn't trying to kill her like the nobles had been.

But this was definitely more… physically involved than the last. 

She almost goes as far to call it frustrating.

Worse still, Irida and Ingo still hadn't arrived yet. poor Emmet had been rather upset about it, but the kid had been doing his best to put on a brave face. 

Though she had been unable to check on him since the challenge started and he had been rather quiet. Not that Emmet being quiet was all that strange.

Emmet…

If what Mesprit said was true, was there another Emmet out there? 

What happened to him?

Did that mean there was another Emmet out there missing his brother too?

Was he Ingo's man in white?

And if Lil Ingo was Warden Ingo, then was Warden Ingo okay?

Did he collapse as well?

Or was he okay?

What about Lil Ingo?

"You appear distracted… Perhaps you wish to stop." The lake guardian taunted, stopping for a moment to regard her.

Akari didn't even dignify that with a response, instead taking the opportunity to chuck another balm at the pokemon.

"Then we are to continue."

Akari gave a sharp nod, taking a brief moment to lightly smack her cheeks, before she reached for another balm.

She needed to focus.

The faster she got this done, the faster she could move on to the next lake, the faster she could fix the rift and get things back to semi-normal. 

She missed again.

She grabbed another.

Then she could focus on finishing the pokedex, which tied into what Arceus wants her to do.

Missed.

Then she could worry about what Mesprit told her.

Another miss.

Then she could worry about how to get everyone home.

Missed again.

She just had to do this.

Missed.

Just one hit was all she needed.

Missed.

Just one.

Missed.

Then she could worry about the possibility of her uncle and his 'son' being the same person.

Missed.

The balm hit the ground in front of the lake guardian. the Pokemon looked down at the little bag before looking back up at her, tilting its head.

"Are you sure your heart is truly in this?" 

Akari stopped for a moment, looking around at the balm bags that littered the cave floor, then back at Azelf.

Why couldn't she do this?

She'd hit abras just about to teleport before. She caught Starly flying through the air. She managed to calm the fast and furious Lord Arcanine.

So why couldn't she do this?

Azelf wasn't even out of breath.

"Perhaps you wish to stop?"

Her chest was heaving, and her throwing arm was sore from overuse…

Maybe she just needed a…

"You can do it Akari! You Got it!"

Akari gasped.

–

“Come on, you got this.” Akari whispered as she handed over another Pokeball to the ten year-old crouched next to her. The boy was panting hard, she could easily see his hands shaking with frustration. All around them were broken Pokeballs from failed attempts at a catch. A frustrating scene for any pokemon trainer. “Can’t give up now.”

She had only known the twins for a day and a half, and already she had decided to take the two under her wing. Taking them out into the fieldlands to get them used to catching pokemon in Hisui, much like Rei had done for her.

A feat she found easier when they separated.

 As it turned out Emmet seemed to enjoy teasing his older brother, and as quiet as Lil Ingo was he could be quite…vocal when he was worked up. 

It had taken both her and Rei to pull them apart before one of them got hurt.

So after sending Emmet off with Rei, Akari had handed the remaining brother a pokeball and set off to find a good pokemon they could start with.

The twins were amazing battlers, if Akari didn't know any better she might have thought they were gym trainers. But she almost expected as much from Ingo's kids. 

But as she looked around at the broken pokeballs that lay scattered around them, she was starting to wonder if there was a reason the two only had one pokemon each.

Akari was willing to give the benefit of the doubt, the pokeballs of this time were very different. They weren't smooth, they were smaller and fit awkwardly in your hand, and they were slightly heavier making it so you had to adjust your aim accordingly.

But she couldn't help but wonder if Lil Ingo was capable of hitting the broadside of a barn. Maybe Litwick had been a lucky catch, or he had befriended the pokemon beforehand.

When the ball remained in her hand, she looked over at the kid.

Lil Ingo's face was almost impossible to read, even his father's face held more expression. But there was almost something sad about his body language, his hands shaking, his face downcast as he panted, and that ever present frown pulled even further downward. 

She really couldn't blame him, this had to be frustrating.

"You can do this, Ingo." She whispered again, taking the kid's hand and gently pressing the ball into his palm. "You got this." 

Ingo turned to look up at her, his mouth opening as if to say something but the words seemed to die on his lips.

"Just Breathe." She added, forcing the boy's fingers to curl around the ball's surface. 

She turned his attention back to the pokemon in front of them. A Goomy that had wandered in from the Mirelands. 

Ingo hadn't been sure about catching one but Akari needed one for her pokedex, so she would hold on to the pokemon for now.

"Just breathe. And wait for the right moment." She couched, placing a hand on the boy's shoulders, carefully adjusting his stance.

They sat and waited for several moments watching the goomy slowly move about the grassy field, until finally Ingo let the ball fly.

Akari flinched slightly when she saw the ball hit the ground with a crack before splitting in half and startling the pokemon but luckily not scaring it off.

But it was close. Only a few inches off.

She could feel the boy’s shoulders tense under her hand and she gave them a gentle squeeze. “It’s okay, just try again.” she pressed another Pokeball into his hand, glad that she had made a bunch of them beforehand. “Just breathe and focus on the Pokemon. There’s no rush.”

Once more she watched as the kid lined up his shot, before letting the ball fly once more.

-

turning around to see Irida and Ingo had finally joined them, though how long the two had been there she really didn't know. 

Ingo was several steps closer than the others. his brother held tightly against his chest, but his eyes were locked on her. "Just breathe, Akari! You got this! You can’t give up now."

Almost on instinct Akari took a deep breath, and suddenly it felt like a fog had lifted.

Letting her shoulder relax, the teen let out a content sigh, before turning back to the guardians on the lake.

"So, are you giving up?"

"Not a chance!" a smile spread across her face as she reached for another balm.

Slowly, Azelf started to move around the cave once more and Akari carefully tracked its movements around the cave.

She slowly took a breath in, waiting for her moment before tossing the balm… only for it to once more hit the ground. 

But it was close, closer than all her other shots. Only inches off.

“It’s okay! Just try again!” she heard little Ingo echo her own words back to her as she reached for another balm, adjusting her stance. “Just breathe and focus on the Pokemon. There’s no rush!”

Once more she watched the lake guardian closely, adjusting her stance and weighing the balm in her hand as she lined up her shot before throwing the balm once more.

The satisfaction was instantaneous when she watched as Azelf recoiled from the hit, letting out a small cry of surprise. She couldn’t help but give a small little fist pump as the lake guardian shook its head. All of her missed shots and distracting worries no longer seemed to matter as Azelf flew over to her.

“You have proven your unyielding willpower. Now take this piece of the spirit to bind the world once more.”

Slowly her prize floated down towards her, and Akari reached up and took hold of the fang, clutching it to her chest.

—

“That looked exhausting…but now we only have one more lake to go.” Emmet could vaguely make out Lady Irida’s voice. His ears were still ringing from his brother’s yelling, but that was okay.

“Bravo! You did it, Akari!” he almost flinched as his brother cheered right next to his ear, but at least that meant that Ingo was close.

“Thanks, that was harder than I thought it would be.”

He guessed that that meant that Akari had done it then, so they could move on. 

He wanted to congratulate her, to join in on the bravos his twin was throwing her way. But he was so tired, and he didn’t want to pull away from his brother’s shoulder.

Everything from the past little bit had started to blur. The only things that seemed to stand out in his mind was the rising panic of having to hold onto his brother or risk losing him, and the voice in his head that seemed to try to encourage him to let go.

“You're tired, why not let go?”

“He’ll be fine, just let go?”

“Your arms must be getting sore, just let go?”

Just thinking about it made him tighten his grip on his brother, fearing that if he didn’t Ingo might disappear then and there.

So he just remained where he was, listening to the voices of the others around him.

“The two of you really took your time getting here.” he heard the merchant speak up, and Emmet tried not to cringe. “Any longer and we probably would have been halfway to the next lake before you got here.”

“Yeah, I was starting to get worried?” Akari added. “I hope everything is okay?”

He felt Ingo open his mouth as if he was about to say something, but he was cut off by Lady Irida. “Yes, everything is fine. I’m afraid we were side-tracked slightly but all is fine.”

“I see.”

“Well, as long as you're okay. How is Emmet?”

Ingo’s arms tightened around him slightly, adjusting his hold as Emmet pressed his face further into the plush fabric of his twin's hood. “I think he’s fine, just tired.”

“If you want, I can take you both back to retreat.” Emmet’s grip tightened despite the protest of his arms, at the sound of Volo’s words. “I’m Heading that way any-”

“No!”

Emmet’s eyes shot open at the intensity of that yell. Even Ingo went tense.

But Irida quickly cleared her throat, regaining her composure. “No. Young Ingo and I were speaking of this on the way here. They will travel with me.”

“I’m sorry Lady Irida, once again I have to point out that that would put you in a dangerous spot.” Volo argued. “I’m sure it was fine traveling with one of them, but both will definitely be noticed by one of Kamado’s flunkies.” 

“Perphase if we were traveling by foot, but young Ingo has tamed a powerful Red Gyarados, whose scales match the red sky.” Emmet heard the pearl clan leader reply, noting the slight aggressive tone she was using. “Gyarados are known to fly around the tops of the highest waterfalls, and seeing as we are heading to the Icelands it would be faster to fly.”

“Fly?”

Emmet wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that idea.

“Yes, Akari has the assistance of Lord Braiary and we will use Gyarados. It would be faster from up and besides there even if we were spotted there would be little the commander and his men could do about it.” Irida explained further, and Emmet couldn’t help but notice that Irida had failed to mention how Volo would follow them.

Not that Emmet would mind if the merchant was left behind.

“I see…” the Merchant sneered.

“I guess that makes sense.” Akari agreed. “But what about Volo?”

“Surely, he has a pokemon of his own capable of flight or knows of another way of getting to lake Acuity.”

There was a moment of silence and Emmet could feel the tension before Volo finally spoke up.

“Of course. I’ll meet you all there.” 

Emmet could only see Volo move towards the cave exit, but his view was blocked by Irida standing between the merchant and him.