[shishou]

Prompt four
Kalons using; elne
when you thought things couldn't get any worse.

[eltonn]

Yᴏᴜ'ᴠᴇ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪʀsᴛ ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟ!

Gale rubbed her toe where she had stubbed it on the bottom of the rock wall. The female tilted her head up to where Adelaide was hanging, 10 feet up the rock face. Mike sat at the base, attempting to cook up a meal while the pair waited for their companion to pry out the wind crystal.

Adelaide finally reached the crystal, wrapping her paw around it. A few tugs, and she looked down in exasperation. "It's stuck!"

"Stuck?" Gale echoed.

"Yes, stuck! Can't get it out." Adelaide let go, falling to the ground and landing in a roll. 'How're we gonna get it out now? And, no-- Gale-- before you try, punching it will not help."

Gale let out a drawn out 'awwww', stepping back from her position on the wall. Mike stared at the wall, not adding to the conversation.

While Gale and Adelaide brainstormed on how to get it down, Mike glanced around the room. He grinned as he noticed a pool of water behind them. "Where are you going?" Gale asked as Mike began to run in what looked like away from the group. Wordlessly, Mike jumped into the pool, getting the lower half of his cloak soaked as he rummaged around the bottom of the pool. Gale and Adelaide exchanged a glance, then watched the male proceed to get himself soaked.

Moments later, Mike pulled up a small, pale gem, a grin cracking across his face. "It was just a reflection." Gale and Adelaide burst out laughing.

[LostInTheEcho]

Day Four
Writing Prompt
Username: LostInTheEcho

Party
- Floor -

The night had gone well and Floor decided to make it an early morning. Not because he was full of energy and excitement to find the crystal but because the stupid birds would not stop singing! Before the day even began, he was moody and grumpy, screaming at the birds to 'please, be quiet'. Birds don't care about you though. No, all they care about is screaming their lungs out at four in the morning! His heavy backpack wasn't helping either. Now in hindsight he wondered if he needed everything that he'd brought with him.

It was not a happy kalon trecking through the forest that day. He was tired, sore and wanted to go home. This hadn't been the best of his ideas. It was down there with his idea to go fishing in a snowstorm. His fur had gotten stuck to the ice and his parents needed to pour steaming water over him and cut off some fur that was extra stuck to the frozen lake.

Then, no surprise, he stumbles and falls. He slowly raise himself of the ground grumbling at his misfortune and dusting himself off. He turns in search of the stone that tripped him but it's no rock he finds, it's a shiny gemstone. He quickly snatches it up in his paws before any imaginary people come and steal it. He found it. He found it! The first crystal was his, all his!

With newfound energy Floor leaps through the forest, crystal tightly pressed to his chest in his paws clutches, all the while he cackles maniacally. He probably just need some time to cool down and rest some... or a clubbing to the head, hmm...

[284]

[Lepid]

Prompt 4

Featuring: Azrael + Hera

Somehow Hera and Azrael slept very soundly in their bird nest. When Azrael woke up though, he noticed that something was…. Off. He couldn't place his finger on it and looked very annoyed. The angel sat up and as each second went on, he grew more tense and felt as if they were in grave danger. After twenty minutes had passed, he gently shook Hera out of her slumber. “Hera!” He hissed quietly as he impatiently waited for her to get up. He really wasn't liking this place now and wanted to get a move on it. “Wha..?” She spoke tiredly and was out of it for the time being until her body woke her up. Hera still sat up though and instantly woke up when she saw Azrael wasn't acting like himself. “Hey, what's going on?” She asked. Azrael looked down at his campsite and then realized what was wrong. He quickly looked back up at Hera. “We aren't at camp anymore. Something moved us.” Hera stared with wide eyes and then went to look for herself. When she looked down, all she could see was a pile of bones and little bugs crawling all over them! Gross. Azrael picked Hera up and before he could even take off, a dark Phoenix landed in front of them and roared! Hera stared, wide eyed and very scared. That is, until she noticed something sparkling on it. Before she could even get in a word, Azrael was fighting it off with his staff. He gave it a good ol’ whack in the head and it had tried to retreat. Hera looked alarmed and without warning, she ran out of the nest and jumped onto the Phoenix’s leg. Azrael immediately took off flying after her, all the while shouting at her. “The crystal!!!! It has the-“ the Phoenix angrily dived and within minutes had reached the village that they were originally after. Azrael shifted his focused for just a moment. Another wave of dark creatures had taken over and this Phoenix wasn't about to mess everything up more. Not if he had a say in it. As Hera screamed and yelled for her life, Azrael started flying in front of the Phoenix and distracting it. He would dive in front of it and kept cutting it off. Eventually the Phoenix grew angry and gave chase to the annoying angel. Azrael flew around the village. The dark alleyways, the houses, the tavern, all the while Hera had slowly mustered up just enough courage to climb onto the phoenix’s back. She watched as the crystal hung from its neck and tried to reach for it but couldn't. Frustration flashed across her face and Azrael could clearly see that she was struggling. He was also struggling and didn't know how he was going to take this if monster down. Suddenly, he had an idea though. Azrael dived dangerously close to the ground and slowed down just enough so the bird’s beak could almost gobble him up. Then out of the blue, he vanished into a sewer. The Phoenix shrieked angrily as it started pecking the hole. This was Hera’s moment! She climbed onto its neck and very, very slowly she took the crystal off and placed it into her bag. When she was sure that it was safe, she slid onto its back again and started rummaging through her bag. Azrael had popped up from another sewer and watched confused as his partner stayed on the Phoenix. What was she doing? He thought to himself and realized that he had started to worry about her and that the pair had grown closer already since the beginning of their journey. He watched as she pulled out a…. Laser pointer? Hera cried out in victory and immediately shone it in the phoenix’s eye for a moment to make it angry. Then before it could turn around and gobble her up, she shone it on the ground. The Phoenix slowly started to give chase to the pointer. All the while, Hera started targeting the other creatures that had taken over the village. One by one it gobbled them up and those that remained had left, terrified that it had turned against them. Finally Hera ran off with the Phoenix in the forest. Azrael sat there astonished and waited a few hours before Hera finally emerged from the woods. “Are you alright?” He immediately asked worriedly at the medic. Hera smirked as she pulled out the crystal. “Am I alright? IM AWESOME!” She said as she pumped her fist into the air and screamed in victory like a crazy person. Azrael couldn't help but chuckle a bit, but something still bothered him. “How did you know?” He asked curiously. “Know what?” Hera said as she stuffed the crystal away. “The Phoenix? You had a laser pointer on you.” Azrael frowned at her.

“Oh,” Hera shrugged, “I once read an article that said that stupid animals will give chase to a moving bright object. I took a risk and tried it out!” She laughed merrily as she wrapped her arm around Azrael’s waist. She had to admit, that angel was really tall. “Now c’mon! We need to ask around to figure out where the next crystal is at.” She said as she led the pair off into the tavern.

(889)

[Takk]

Yᴏᴜ'ᴠᴇ Fᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ Fɪʀsᴛ ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟ!

Ico and Ixion had been running around helping out the local bar tender as Allariia searched town for and leads. It'd been mostly quiet since her last side quest to search for messily flowers. For now, she was alone looking for any signs of the wind crystal or someone who looked like they might know the stuff of legend.
Most of the kalons here looked shady, hiding in the darkness or avoiding eye contact for some reason. After wandering for some time, our lone hero stumbles upon a fountain. It was made of stone, a dragon molded into the center and she assumed water was meant to pour from it's jaws. All was still, even the water in the fountain was still and lifeless.
Approaching it, she looks into the black water seeing her own face stare back. Any average kalon would think it a broken part of this town, but the symbolization or the dragon stood out for her. She moved so she was facing the dragon's mouth, staring at it as she lifts her staff. Closely examining the mouth, she wills the water to push it's way through.
Nothing happens and Allariia rests her staff back down against the cobble stone. Rubbing a paw against her eyes, she tries again. Pointing her staff at the head this time, she again focuses on forcing the water through. Once more, nothing happens.
Now frustrated at the stubbornness of this dragon statue, she leaps onto the edge of the fountain and shouts. "I command this water to flow once more!" There was a rumble, shaking the stone as something shoots out and smacks her in the head. Water then bursts free, aggressive at first before settling into it's calm stream.
The object had knocked her off her paws, Allariia now lay on her back attempting to recover. After a moment, she sits up and rubs the bump on her head tenderly. Glaring at the object, it was white and shiny... A bit transparent as she crawled closer to it. Reaching out with one paw, she feels the power surge through her body as she realizes what she'd found.
"I've... Found the wind crystal..!" Allariia has obtained one of the four powers she hoped would save this land.

[Northstar.]

Prompt 4

You see, it happened like this.

Aaheru left Meredith and Luca at the tavern to handle the weasel, while he went gallivanting off to fetch flowers. After completing his quest and returning to town, the lilac kalon realized he had lost his precious teapot along the way.

It was one of his more prized possessions, though he was always open for buyers. The delicate, obsidian porcelain was hand crafted and painted with waves of gold by the emperor's third daughter some 300 years past. (He wouldn't tell any potential buyers that the third daughter had also cursed the lovely teapot, that just wouldn't do.)

So Aaheru went hunting. Through the meadow, the town, and down by the river. No hide nor hair of his precious possession. Not that he searched too hard by the river, for he was convinced the place was cursed(after the flower quest mishap). It is as nowhere to be found. Of course, the thing could have possibly walked off. After all, Aaheru didn't know in which manner the third daughter had cursed the precious pottery. Perhaps the wretched thing had wandered into the suspicious grove of overgrown trees in the distance? Aaheru trotted hastily to his destination. Once could never know what cursed teapots may do when lost.

And as he was running his toe clipped a rock, sending the lilac kalon head over heels. He tumbled gracelessly, limbs flailing like noodles, before coming to an abrupt halt as the ground rose to meet his jaw with a hard kiss.

Aaheru groaned, lifting his head off the ground to see what evil, vile pointy thing has pierced the flesh of his chin. And there it was-- all shiny and perfect and far better than some cursed piece of old pottery. The wind crystal.

"Ta-da!"

He never did manage to find the teapot.
(306 words)

[Checkinder]

Prompt Four

Yᴏᴜ'ᴠᴇ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪʀsᴛ ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟ!

Squad


As the sun rose over the sleeping group, so did Avery's temper. She still wasn't over the lack of comfortable sleep and made sure to let everyone know how she felt. Krajina and Erebos did the best they could to ignore her complaining as they prepared to set off again.
"I'm so sore.." Avery grumbled as they set back on the trail. "Hopefully we come across a village or something soon to get more supplies, and maybe sleep in an actual bed." She kicked a rock and huffed. "I've almost forgotten what a house looks like."
"It's been two days, Avery." Krajina mused, "Stop being such a drama queen."
Erebos growled in annoyance, though he really couldn't say anything to ease their nerves. It was his fault that they hadn't slept comfortably, but Avery would've probably found something to be grumpy about regardless.
Slowing his steps, Erebos let himself fall back from the others bickering. It was a rather lovely day. Not too much humidity, a nice breeze to keep the temperature from rising too terribly high. He wished he could sprawl out and take a nice nap in a patch of sunlight, but they had a crystal to find.
Crystals. Were they edible? He narrowed his eyes in thought. Really anything could be edible if you put your mind to it and didn't mind the chance of death that sometimes accompanied it. Erebos yawned. He had to agree with Avery about the town. A nice bed and some nice food would make all of them happier. And it'd help him think a little-
The ground fell away from beneath him, causing him to yelp in surprise. Useless wings unfurled to break his fall, causing him to glide awkwardly to the ground but still landing with a thud. Erebos looked around the little cavern he had landed in and his eyes widened. It looked to be a cave that led to many other caverns. He glanced up at the hole he fell in through, surprised. Any other Kalon would probably had suffered a broken leg with the height he had gone, but thankfully wings were a thing.
"Erebos!" Krajina and Avery's worried faces appeared at the edges of the hole.
"Be careful!" He called, "Don't know if more will break away!"
Exchanging uncertain glances, Krajina called, "Do you think you can find a way out? Sounds like there are a lot of passages down there!"
Giving the cavern a quick examining, Erebos replied. "Think so! Wait there!"
Leaving the two females to set up camp near the small hole, Erebos set off into one of the little passages. It smelled less earthy than the others. Perhaps it would lead outside?
It wasn't long before he saw a light at the end of the passage. 'Outside!' He thought, running towards it. Sadly, his hopes were shattered when he found yet another cavern.
"Why...?"
Erebos's gaze fell upon a crystal and his eyes widened. Quickly, he grabbed it and ran around the tunnels like an ant for what felt like years before he found a place he could crawl out of it from. It was slightly harder to find his team-mates than he originally anticipated, but he found them none-the-less.
Avery looked about ready to yell at him before he held the crystal out to her.
"You found it?" Her eyes widened in surprise. "Perhaps you aren't useless."

[jianwai]

Prompt Four
Yᴏᴜ'ᴠᴇ ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰɪʀsᴛ ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟ!
( 601 words ) - Hyacinthus, Araxie, Yunzhongzi

They piece themselves together with gentle, encouraging words. Even Hyacinthus spares his words, soft and sweet off his blue tongue; it is amazing that he attempts to encourage after their arguing, after the trails and tribulations faced from one another and the environment.

They will not appreciate this moment until well later into the night, when they are staring blankly at the crystal they plucked from the jaws of a gaping beast, and when they are putting themselves back together like clockwork.

Those moments will come later, first they must retrieve the crystal from the jaws of a gasping beast before they can recollect; and before they can retrieve they must climb, hence the words of encouragement from Hyacinthus -- the near mute, and the one afraid of heights but never depths ( and Araxie will argue height and depth are the same, one up and one down, and there was no reason to be afraid. Logic can not quench fear, not always, not quickly. )

The climb is treacherous, littered with shards of broken rock and shattered glass, and the crunch beneath their feat echoes a reminder that they themselves could easily end up broken-- one slip, one fall. Hence the encouragement, the soft words of: just a little higher, don't look down, and keep your eyes on the prize!

Yunzhongzi is lithe and more built to jump higher, climb faster, and reach the nooks and crannies than Araxie and Hyacinthus simply can not see-- their eyes are not trained for such a feat, but Yunzhongzi spent much of his childhood seeking. He marks each place for hands and feet with scratches of his own, cleans the rubble he can, and even on Araxie's command he does not travel too far from them. Who knows what they face in this face, the secrets lurking in the dark, and none wish to loose each other.

Araxie moves behind Hyacinthus and helps him when he stutters. Gives him encouragement, 'it is fine to be afraid, just keep moving, and don't look down'. For once Araxie relays compassion, he is not a cold and mechanical beast, but understanding of the living on personal levels. It is encouraging to Hyacinthus as they climb together, following the path laid out for them by Yunzhongzi, and he dares not glance down.

When they reach the top it is momentous.

They all breath heavy with relief, body shaking, the climb exhaustion deep within the core of their very beings-- even their bones rattled within their flesh, forcing them to lean on one another as they take their final steps towards the maws of a gaping beast.

The beast stands stalk still and painted with damp moss; she is a legendary statue, brilliant and beautiful, and they stand in awe of such a thing that protects. How long as she stood there, hiding away this crystal? A question they do not wish to ask one another in fear they ruin the symphony of dripping water and steady breathing. How long do they stand? Neither know, neither can tell, they know they stand long enough for the pain in their bodies to be ebbed away ( Hyacinthus claims the statue revives them, that her kindness washed away their pains. )

Yunzhongzi is the first and only to move forwards, he takes the crystal from her jaws, and presses a kiss to her mossy nose in thanks. Thank you, for this moment.

Then he turns his back and walks, prepares himself for the journey back down, and the two older companions follow shortly after.

Tired, weary, amazed; they are changed.

[dolly]

prompt 4

"Apollyon, is that what I think it is?", asked Roxanne approaching her winged friend. He nodded handing it to her for closer inspection.
"A crystal!", exclaimed Roxanne almost dropping it in the murky waters of the cave they stood in. She stubbled to catch it before it had a chance to grace the water. She let out a sigh of relief as she raised it back up and handed it back over to a better care taker. Apollyon took it back from her gently and placed it inside his bag.
"Not just a crystal, the elemental crystal.", he corrected much to late. "It's one of the crystals we need to defeat the darkness that plagues this area and go home!".
"Aaah! How did you even find it though?", asked Roxanne, curious to how he found such a thing in a mucky cave such as this one. I mean, they stood knee deep in yucky cave water for three hours searching for a way out and some how found a crystal needed to complete their task!
"Well it's kinda a long story but the short explanation is a monster scared me and I stumbled into a room full of traps. I went through them and it was sitting on a pedestal.", he answered shrugging.
"Aah, aah. Seems about right-.", she began before cutting herself off. "Apollyon, when did you pick it up?", she asked getting ready to run.
"I actually just got it.", he replied carelessly.
"We should run!", yelled Roxanne as the cave began to slowly collapse. They quickly rushed out of their, crystal in hand.

[néktar]

with ginko ─ the monk

the wolf and the wind: [ 2,121 ]
ginko had woken up many times during the night, he had been so uncomfortable sleeping out in the open. though he had gotten enough sleep to give him the energy to travel on his way. he spent half the morning packing up all his belongings and tearing down his makeshift tent. once he had everything stored away he emerged from the small thicket of trees and out onto the meadowy cliff side. he glanced over the forest below towards the mountains. he took a deep breath enjoying the fresh morning breeze that blew towards him, this feeling seemed to wipe away all sleepiness he had felt only moments before and he was full of energy. he was soon walking at a brisk pace along the cliff side seeing if there was a way down a path or if he had to go all the way around. he had come to a cluster of trees near the middle of the cliff, he entered them and found that his way was blocked by a large bramble thicket. he examined it, using his khakkhara to try and pull them apart but they wouldn't budge. he took a step back and looked at it, what will you do?

✧ find a different path to take.
✦ burn them.
✧ force your way through!

ginko didn't have time to look for another way around the bramble thicket, and forcing his way through would lead to a lot of unnecessary injures. he held his khakkhara in front of him and touched his thumb to his prayer beads uttering a small prayer that ignited the tip of his staff so a flickering blue flame floated above it for him to use to get rid of the brambles. he lowered his staff and began to swing it, burning a path through the thicket in a matter of seconds. he walked through the charred brambles and twisted his khakkhara in his hand dispelling the prayer flame from the tip of it. he then found himself looking dangerously over the cliff. he took a small half step back his brain lurching for a moment as if he was going to fall down it. he looked around the edge of the cliff he noticed then to the left of him that there were two poles sticking out of the ground and what seemed to be a pathway down the cliff. he stretched his neck to look down between the two poles, the pathway was what seemed like a thousand very weather torn and old wooden stairs. ginko really didn't like the look of them. what do you chose to do?

✧ go down the path, there is no other way to go.
✦ turn back, it's too risky.

ginko begrudgingly decided to turn back, the stairs were to great of a risk. if one were to break he may end up loosing his life. as ginko turned to leave his foot stepped on the very edge of the cliff and the dirt under his foot quickly gave way to his weight. in a sudden turn of events ginko was sliding down the cliff, seeming to ride on piles of loose dirt like an avalanche. he felt his heart drop once he began sliding, he kept his feet moving slightly so he wouldn't trip. his eyes were glued to the bottom of the cliff as his heart raced in his chest. please let me make it down there safely! he cried out in his mind as the dirt shifted violently under his weight. as he slide he continued to gain speed, he was at a slight crouch as though he was surfing. his tail flashed out behind him to keep his balance and he held his khakkhara out before him. as he got closer to the forest that was at the bottom of the cliff trees began to come into view as they had grown on the lower side of the cliff. at this point ginko was flying past everything, he knew he couldn't safely just stop at the bottom without a few broken legs, he looked for a way to save his ankles from a rough stop. he quickly looked around for something to grab onto, as he was doing so he was dodging trees and smacking away larger dirt clusters that were now flying at him. he was getting close to the ground now and felt himself begin to panic. he noticed there was a large log up ahead of him that he wouldn't be able to dodge in time. what will you do?

✧ do nothing.
✦ jump over the log.
✧ jump onto the log.

ginko had no choice but to jump over it, right before he was going to crash into the log he leaped over it. he landed roughly on the other side but tried to regain his footing though his momentum was too much and he ended up careening into a tree that finally stopped him. he slumped to the ground with a groan, he sat there for a moment trying to gather himself up again. his head was spinning, so much had happened at once and his adrenaline had sky rocketed during his tumble down the cliff side and it had taken a toll on his body. he took a few deep breaths and calmed himself down, once he had stopped shaking and his heart stopped pounding in his chest he took a look around him. he was at the edge of a thick pine forest, he knew he had to get through it to get to the mountains on the other side. he grunted as he pushed himself up from the tree he was leaning on. that's when he noticed he had dropped his khakkhara, he must've let go of it when he hit the tree. he looked around for it wildly, as he searched the floor for it he heard the familiar clanking of it's rings hitting each other. he looked up from the ground and saw it, in the jaws of a wolf, ginko froze as his eyes were met with the wolf's. the wolf was pure black with a little tuft of white on it's chest. it looked docile as it gently help ginko's khakkhara in it's mouth, it turned towards the woods as though it wished for ginko to follow it. what should you do?

✧ grab your staff from the wolf and run.
✧ try to reason with the wolf to give you back your staff.
✦ follow the wolf.

ginko didn't have the strength to fight off a wolf if he were to try to take the staff by force, and he didn't think the wolf would understand him if he spoke to it. he slowly got up and nodded at the creature, it seemed to understand the gesture and fully turned and padded into the forest. ginko followed behind it, close enough to keep an eye on it but not too close as to touch it. he glanced around the dimly lit forest, as they traveled it seemed to get darker and darker, at this point ginko almost lost track of the wolf. the twists and turns that the creature took made ginko walk faster as to keep up. then all of a sudden the wolf took a sharp right turn behind a boulder, ginko lost sight of him at this point but turned the boulder anyway knowing it might be the end of his life. but he was met with the wolf sitting on a flat stone with the khakkhara laying neatly at it's feet. ginko approached it calmly and leaned down slowly to pick up his staff. at this moment his eyes met the wolfs, the wolf was calm as a the eye of a storm. once ginko had the staff in his grasp the black wolf turned and looked to an entrance of a dark cave that seemed to glitter like the night sky. ginko took a few steps towards the cave past the wolf then stopped. what will you do?

✧ go inside the cave.
✦ ask the wolf a question.
✧ leave.

ginko believed that the wolf could understand him well enough for him to ask it a question, but as he turned around to speak he saw that the wolf had gone. all that left in it's place was deep set paw prints in the stone. looking have been carved there by a master carver. ginko felt slightly disturbed at how the paw prints were exactly where the wolf had been sitting. he took a breath and looked once more to the cave, deciding it would be best to go inside. after all, he had no where else to go. ginko entered the cave slowly but found himself once more sliding down a mossy path though this was much shorter and less steep then the cliff. he hit the floor with a thumb that echoed throughout the cave. ginko's eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the cave and saw that there was a narrow path way before him and what seemed to be a crack in the wall up ahead that shown brilliantly with light. he couldn't go back the way he came as the slope was covered in moss so he decided the only way out was forward.

he walked towards the crack slowly and once reaching it he peered through and stone pillar that had something set on top of it that reflected the light coming from a hole in the ceiling. it was to bright to look at for very long. ginko gazed around the cavern to avoid burning his eyes, he noticed the pillar was in the middle of a grassy patch that was surrounded by clear blue water, around that was a half moon of grass that he would come out on if he went through the crack in the wall. ginko stepped back and sized up the crack deciding he would fit through it if he took all of his stuff off. he pulled off all his bags and threw the through the crack as well as his cloak, though he kept his khakkhara next to him as a safety measure. he himself then stepped through the crack in the wall, easily sliding his body through it and coming out on the other side. he looked towards the pillar and noticed now what was sitting on top of it, it was a pure white crystal that seemed to take the form of what appeared to be a wing. ginko's heart fluttered while he looked at it. his head snapped away from it soon after though as he heard the clicks of claws on stone floor. he looked towards another pathway that had much dimmer light coming from it, and standing at the end of it was the black wolf though all ginko saw was its silhouette. ginko blinking once and it was gone again. he looked from the exit to the pillar. what will you decide to do?

✦ get the crystal and leave.
✧ leave immediately.

ginko gathered up his belonging once more placing them on his person where they belonged. he stood up slowly with his khakkhara in hand. he couldn't take his eyes off of the crystal, it was the reason that the wolf brought me here, is it not? he thought and took a step towards the edge of the pool. ginko looked at the width of the water and decided he could make it in a simple jump. he backed up and took a running start, using his staff to push him up higher he launched himself over the watery gap. he landed on the patch of bright green grass with a gentle thump. he looked at the crystal before him and gently picked it up, surprising it was a lot lighter then he had imagined. as he grasped the cold crystal a breeze blew in from the exit, it seemed to whisper something to him as it danced across the grass, rippled the water and blew past him. it blew up flower petals from below his feet, ginko was unable to make out what the wind had whispered to him, then everything was once more still. maybe one day he will find out but for now he jumped back across the water and walked out towards where he had seen the wolf's silhouette. he pushed out into the sunlight once more as he placed the crystal safely in his bag that hung at his hip, he raised his head to the tall trees surrounding him, wondering where this journey will lead him next.