Username;; OlympiansName;; ValentineGender;; Valentine is
a trans boy. He uses male pronouns.Treasure & Hoard;; Valentine's treasure
is his best friend, Rugby and he hoards all sorts
of fluffy things. Specifically Kittens, sweaters,
and plush animals.Art;; Sweaters & kittens
Intro, by Valentine;;
This cave may be dark, but it holds secrets you’d never imagine. It’s the home of a dragon, a bunch of kittens, and the beginning of a friendship. It’s where my saddest story ends, and a new one begins, and I wouldn’t change a thing, even if I could. So to lighten up this cave a bit, I’ll give you the knowledge you need to understand this situation, I’ll tell you a story, bring you on a fantastic journey, and in the end you won’t be quite so quick to judge, and maybe you won’t be scared of dark caves on mystic mountains. If only you’d peek in every once in a while, if only you’d open your eyes and see the truth to what you’re scared of, then you’ll realize it’s not so scary after all. And that’s what I’m here for, to open your eyes.
Rugby;;
I ran up the mountain, tears starting to well up in my eyes, flying from my face as the oncoming wind blew them off. The tears stung my eyes and made my vision blurry, and I didn’t know exactly where I was going. I just ran, I ran away from my troubles, away from others in general. I just wanted a place to be alone; to cry in peace. I didn’t want to be called a wimp anymore, I didn’t want to be teased, or told that I’m not as tough as I say I am. I just wanted to be left alone. And so I ran until I couldn’t hear any city noise behind me, and I sat down on the rocks of the mountain I had climbed. I cried loudly, the tears pouring uncontrollably down my cheeks like rivers. The tears fell from my chin into puddles on the ground, and my voice ached from the yelling I had done. I cried until I had no more tears left in me, and nothing left to cry for, and only then did I realize that I wasn’t here alone. Down by my feet was a cat that held a soft plush between its jaws. It purred softly, dropped the stuffed pet at my feet, and weaved its way between my legs. The cat rubbed itself all over my legs, purring softly the whole time. I wiped the tears from my cheeks and attempted a smile at the kitten, picking him up and stroking his soft fur. He continued to purr, and strangely, I was feeling better so much faster than normal. Cats could do wondrous things. I sniffled softly while wondering where the kitten had come from, when I noticed its little tracks and followed them just a few feet to see a large cave carved into the side of the mountain. And in that cave, was many other kittens, some of which were holding plushies between their jaws, others were wearing soft sweaters, and all of them were absolutely adorable.
Valentine;;
I was lying on the floor of my cave, wrapped up in my favorite sweater with a few of my kittens cuddled up to me at the time. And then I heard the crying. And it was something. This kid was sobbing like nothing I’d heard before, though I really hadn’t heard very much of anyone, so it was hard to say just how bad off he was. But still, it seemed to be something worth checking out, at least. So I stood up, careful not to hit my head on one of the stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and walked to the edge of my cave, peeking out at the boy. And there he was, creating muddy puddles just outside my cave. I didn’t want to startle the poor kid, and knowing me, just having him see me would startle him enough to run all the way back to wherever he had come from. So I decided to stay hidden for the time being. But… I wanted to help cheer him up somehow, even if I couldn’t do it on my own. And then I smiled, because what could possibly cheer someone up more than a kitten holding a plushie? I picked out one of my cutest, softest kittens, and sent them out towards the young boy, hoping they’d cheer him up. At first he didn’t even notice poor little Bernard, the kitten purred to get his attention, but the boy’s sobs were so loud they drowned out bernard’s affectionate comforting. So I sat, and watched, and waited. Bernard didn’t approach for fear of the boy’s loud noises, but they started to die down after just a minute or two. And then the kitten started purring again, and the young boy could hear it this time. They greeted each other, the boy stopped crying, and Bernard had done his job well. But then the boy wanted to see where his mysterious kitten had come from… and that was a little bit of a problem, since scaring the poor kid wasn’t my original intention. So into the back of the cave I went, back into the shadows where the little guy couldn’t see me. Just to watch and wait.
Rugby;;
I stared in awe at all of the cute little kittens. Why they were all in a strange cave on a mountain was a mystery to me, but it really didn’t matter. Because they were there, and they were cute, and they were a brilliant distraction from my previous emotion. I was smiling then, and this time it wasn’t on purpose. I was smiling uncontrollably, and it was wonderful. I sat the kitten down with its buddies and walked further into the cave, the kittens rubbing against my legs some more, like a fuzzy blanket by my feet, a sea of kittens in sweaters. But there was something else here, something watching me, waiting; I could feel it. It wasn’t like the kittens, it seemed darker somehow, and it must have been coming from the darker half of the cave. I thought about going back there and discovering what it was, this feeling of being watched, but it could be dangerous. I scratched the closest kitten on the head before turning towards the back of the cave, slowly walking deeper in, staring into the darkness, watching for movement. And then I saw it; a darker shape just slightly outlined by a hint of yellow light, it seemed to be another parra. “U-um, Hello?” I called out, a slight stutter in my voice from the little bit of nervousness that was welling up inside me. I didn’t know who it was, or what they were doing here, and hiding in the darkest depths of a cave on the top of a mysterious mountain, well, that didn’t really spell out ‘friendly’. I heard a bit of shuffling, and then the mysterious parra revealed themselves, stepping from the darkness and into the light where I could see them. They were tall and dark, with webbed wings and large horns, their eyes were piercing and full of many years of worry. And I was terrified.
Valentine;;
The boy seemed to love all of my kittens, he had a ridiculous smile on his face, at least. But he was still curious, and he wanted to see me. When he called out, I knew it was time to meet him, my cover had been blown. So I stepped out of the shadows, and immediately a look of horror spread over his features. So, here we go again. I sighed, then attempted to calm him down. My expression was nothing but sympathy, and a bit of disappointment, and my stance was open and inviting. I hoped the sweater I was wearing helped too, but then I realized that it had gotten torn in my attempt to get to the back of the cave quickly, so it was probably only adding to the scary look of me. “Please, don’t be afraid.” I said softly, “I don’t mean to harm, only help. Those kittens, they belong to me. And I was the one who sent Bernard out to comfort you.” I sighed, having already given up hope just as I always do; they only ever see the dragon in me. But then there was a quiet sound that came from the boy, a response; “Bernard?” He asked. I smiled and looked up at him, nodding. “Yes, the kitten that walked up to you, his name is Bernard. They all have names, each and every one of them.” The boy smiled, and he didn’t look quite so scared anymore. “I’m sorry mister, for how I acted when I first saw you. It’s just not what I was expecting, and the stories that people tell of dragons are always scary ones. But I shouldn’t have been so quick to judge, you can’t be too bad if you have all these nice kittens.” I smiled, and I swear I was about to cry, the tears were welling up in my eyes, but they didn’t spill over. “That’s alright, it happens a lot. And what you said just now means more than you could ever know.” The boy smiled, and I was glad he was okay with me, the first parra to ever say that he wasn’t afraid. I crouched down to be closer to the little pup’s height, and looked him in the eyes. “Well little one, now that you know my kitten’s name, how about I know yours?”
“My name is Rugby, what’s your name?”
“Valentine, though you can call me Val, or whatever you want, really.”
“Why do you live in a cave?”
“I think you can answer that by yourself, little one. If everybody reacted to seeing me just as you did, how easily do you think I could live in town?”
“Oh… yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
We continued chatting for quite some time. I asked him why he was crying on the mountain, he asked me why I’ve got all my kittens, I told him about how I came to get them, and how they choose not to leave even though the cave has no door. We learned a lot about each other that night, he keeps coming back to spend time with me. He showed me that I can make friends too, if only I’d try. And so thats why, even though I have all my hoard of fluffy things, Rugby will always be the thing I treasure most.
