kalokairi

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peaceful place 4 my kalon summer event prompts

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since i was unable to complete most first few days' prompts,
these prompts will be beginning from day 5; enjoy yr visit ♥ !

these are all mainly drafts, really, i'll prob. re write them
all sometime after the summer even is finished aha = w =

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i . party ii . coming up soon

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i . shiloh auber

ii . valley

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dreaming storm
it's not what you remember; the pine scent & sun shining, dazing through the trees. moreover, the trees' roots have torn themselves from the ground, across the high tops of the forest that the sky used to seep through. it's cold. not so much like winter, but it doesn't feel like summer either, just something that isn't so pleasant. you need to watch your step, as backlash from the overgrowth has broke up the ground & the dirt & the plants growing among it. you bite your tongue.
" what happened ? "

shiloh jumped on a fallen trunk, holding his cape in his jaw as to avoid ripping it on the thorns that gripped the forest. it was impossible, he thought, to somehow ever get through here. everything came to a dead end at some point or another. he lay down against his paws, comfortable was an overstatement, but he was beginning to regret the journey he'd taken with valley & needed to take a break. maybe they should just turn back; through the mountains, the caves, meadows that were nearly long as forever . . . he sighed, mourning, undisturbed.

his ears folded back slightly when he heard the trickling of water, & the creaking of wood in the near distance. was it raining ? it was. but the forest had been so blocked off that it was nearly impossible for the rain to get though. in fact, it was storming. the trees all slightly swayed, & shiloh had his eye on one that reached out of the mess of twisted branches, mocking everything below it. it seemed the storm affected it more than anything else in the forest, it's leaves violently falling out. it was almost calming to watch, in an odd way. odd, because shiloh never thought he'd miss the storms in kalokairi, but it felt like they were something he hadn't seen for a long while, after all the attacks had began. like it was comforting almost, there to remind him not everything had turned too different. his eyes began to fall. he'd been loosing sleep, so he decided to take a nap in the middle of the somewhat soothing storm.

valley, awake in a part of the forest that the storm hadn't moved over to, had been picking fresh fruits from a tree he'd spent the last while attempting to climb up onto. he & shiloh had decided to split up & look for different ways out of the mess of a forest to continue their quest. valley had found a place in the forest where most trees had fallen already, & where the bramble had come down with them. it was quite peaceful, a place that didn't resemble the rest of kalokairi's currently gloomy atmosphere. it was like the good old times.

although, the storm had been coming nearer, stronger, that tree shiloh had been watching began to threaten falling down.


crack !

both kalons jolted up in surprise, valley falling off his tree & shiloh slipping off his trunk broken from sleep onto the dusty ground. the tree parted shiloh's & valley's respective areas they had scavenged out. it opened the sky to the forest, a mist blurring the forest now. the rain came down heavier than ever. panic ensued like the several lighting bolts coming down from the clouds. shiloh scrambled to the fallen trunk, yelling valley's name. valley, a bit more calm, though he would be lying if he said he wasn't still incredibly anxious, yelled back to give shiloh a sign he was there.

" let's try & go around the trunk & meet up ! " valley's head spun, not with ideas, even though he wished that he did; but because of the sudden separation & shock. his head spun like a fever dream.
" i can't ! shiloh shouted in reply, voice seemingly heavy, " everything's blocked off, even behind me, i can't go around ! "

valley was never a leader, he'd never thought of being one either. but now he felt the need to come & protect shiloh while the storm became stronger & stronger, as it became harder to hear each other. maybe try & find any other kalons in the forest ? tough luck. go back to a nearby village ? all too far. he didn't want to leave shiloh alone, he didn't want to stand helpless either though. the storm was getting too heavy & dangerous to be alone. he'd rather finish their journey how it began, " no regrets, no going back ! " as they were strangers shaking hands knowing in the strangest way, they trusted each other.

he dug his claws into the bark of the fallen trunk, more out of a terrible feeling where his heart was misplacing itself in his chest & resting uncomfortably in his throat all at the same time; but he ending up noticing a small, dim, light shining through what looked like small delicate branches. there was hope. heaving himself up the trunk, he immediately sunk his teeth into the slight branches, that bent under his teeth. painful as it was, valley kept his grip, quickly remembering a small pocket knife he had brought along. " ah, so you do have use don't you ? " valley mumbled through clenched teeth. he let the blade cut through the branches, which left a path from valley's side of the trunk to shiloh's. shiloh, who was in complete still shock. valley jumped down & grabbed shiloh's cape, pulling him through the path he'd just cut through, while another tree fell down behind them, tearing down everything in it's way.

the two jumped through & began to regain their breath, hearts pounding but smiling at each other in the downpour. they continued on; they would get through the storm, the forest, & they would save kalokairi.

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fish of the forest's river
rain dripped peacefully from the branches of trees, a few trees were recklessly knocked down, bark twisting in a dying way, giving life to the torn up ground again; a storm had just passed. before the storm, the sky had been blocked by high up branches, shiloh & valley had still been in the entrance of the forest. the storm caused them to travel, & their travels found them a nice clearing among the dark mess of a woodland. rather than a gloomy place that had likely lost hope & scared away visitors, it was almost sunny, the grass was dry, trees spread out, & the sky had room to breathe in the leaves. there was also a river flowing with the newfound breeze, which the adventurers had been taking a rest by. fish swam through peacefully, in their different colours that reflected on the water that turned it into rainbow colours.

valley's paws dipped into the river, quite happy at the time. the sound of the water calmed him. a few fish had popped out of the river to say hello, & valley pulled on shiloh's cape to get him to look at the fish. " aren't they pretty ? " he rested his face against the ground, slightly in a daze, " wouldn't it be great to be a fish ? i doubt they worry about anything, really. " shiloh was tired, not so much in the mood to be having small talk about some fish in the river, but valley's optimism was nice to hear. " you think so ? " he said in a way a father would say to his son, " even with the attacks going on right now ? " in reply & sure of himself, valley smiled, " of course ! "

the fish started to move on, although they moved away from the center of the river, like they were making room for something. suddenly, the water moved a bit more rapidly, valley sat up to look at it a bit clearer. in the distance, a long serpent-like creature slunk across the water. it had scales that shone in every colour, it was a sea-creature that knew how to be untroubled unlike like anyone else. the kalons stared with a quiet gaze as it stopped by them. it's voice was spoken in a tranquil manner, " are you two travelers ? "
valley & shiloh nodded. " we of the river can't thank you enough for helping. i could guess you've seen what the forest looks like a bit farther back. you know, it wasn't always like that. it used to look like this place, but the demons took so much energy away from this place, it couldn't keep itself up. "

the boys looked at the sea-creature sympathetically, they didn't know that what was happening in kalokairi was also affecting others who weren't kalons. " i think it's even moving over here, slowly . . . " the sea-creature sighed. " we of the river have been traveling too, we're trying to find a new place to live. " well, now it made sense why the fish had been moving so rapidly, despite their calm appearance. the river stretched out far across the forest's clearing, down into a mountainous area that was far, far away. it was likely the fish were going to go & find a new pond, away from all of the bad things that had been happening in kalokairi.

" say, would you two like to come with us ? " the sea-creature kindly offered. so shiloh & valley hopped on to the back of the sea-creature, taken down the river with all the fish, to find themselves closer to the cause of the trouble in kalokairi. they really were experiencing life from a different perspective now.

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birds ( & a missing flock )
a voice that clenches nostalgia between it's teeth; desperate for good times to stay. desperate because it knows nothing lasts forever. despite this, it's a pleasant one, because someone listening couldn't hear the bittersweet tones, only a memory.

shiloh & valley had braided a place in the forest to sleep that night. shiloh twisted a pleasantly growing grass into a nest which seemed to keep in warmth, valley, had found flowers to make the place seem nicer. typical for him & not very helpful, but really, it had helped him to sleep. shiloh didn't get a blink of sleep though, rather tired eyes & listening. listening to a voice signing from a nearby pool.

he felt there was some investigating to do, maybe it was just because he was tired, bored, but the voice wasn't coming from the pool the multi-coloured fish they were traveling with had stopped in to rest, so it was none of them. he'd taken a walk down the forest. good to note: things seemed more alive here, healthier. things hadn't hit here, at least not enough to be affecting it badly yet, so it would make sense for, perhaps stubborn, creatures to live here.

by rippling water surrounding a cave, trees growing aside it, the voice was apparent. shiloh felt achieved ! he'd figured it out ! who was in there though, could they help him & valley ? would it stop their journey because of it turning out to being a chaotic creature ? he wanted to find out, but the problem there was that the water was much too deep, & it blocked too much of the entrance to get in. the cave was probably filled with water anyways ( ─ & scary things like bats . . ! which shiloh was admittedly quite afraid of. ). so the last possible option was to speak with whatever was inside, or at least try to.

when speaking back to the whatever-it-was in the water of the cave, it seemed shocked. it's voice quickly stopped, & quickly it swam outside looking from here to there. it was a bird-like creature, white & yellow feathers & about the size of a heron. " do you know where my flock is ? " without opening it's beak, it seemed to talk, oddly worried & feathers falling out in a stress. shiloh felt bad almost, like he'd taken the poor surrealistic bird out of an important trance. it's flock ? where it went ? maybe there weren't as many things living in this part of the forest as he thought, they must have all left. except for this bird.
" ah, no, i'm sorry. " it slipped off stale from his tongue as he spoke sympathetically.

though, perhaps they'd flown off to the mountainous areas where the fish had been heading ? it wasn't too far either, the bird could probably catch up . . . & it was an idea he shared with the bird, who responded by hopping onto the top of the cave & looking towards where shiloh had been explaining. lucky for shiloh, who preferred not to speak much, they didn't have much conversation; & lucky for the bird, it flew off with a certain assurance in it's wings & lovely voice, singing away into the clouds & moonlight.

not a nuisance or quite really a help, but shiloh felt well after helping the lost bird, & could finally sleep okay.
he slept in front of the glowing & glimmering pool that night, waking up to an angry but relieved valley who scolded him for leaving him alone that night & making him get lost during a search for him.

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forest crystal: found !!
shiloh & valley looked up to the open sky, untouched grounds growing purely, a bunny hopped across a patch of dandelions, blowing their seeds into the wind. a few solemn trees loomed against the clouds, in a peaceful way. all around there was the scent of morning dew, in the distance, fire. a fire & smoke from the mountains that took up a vast amount of the enfolding sky. they'd gotten far, far from their village, & their journey was just picking up like a road sicknesses you'd get from a car trip that was a few hours too long. the peace here was overwhelming in a way. they couldn't remember when they'd felt something like this last.

the fish they had been traveling with started their own way, shiloh & valley were alone to travel all by themselves again. together now, it was like they were the only two other kalons existing. a strange, irrational feeling, but one that couldn't be shook.

" so . . . " valley spoke words that suddenly got caught up on the tip of his tongue, he hadn't spoken for a while, not after he & shiloh woke up to begin traveling again, when they noticed a darkness coming into shape above their camp. he cleared his throat. " remember that crystal we found in the village ? "

valley had been keeping a white crystal, one that was cold like wind to the touch, in his coat's pocket. he'd noticed it getting colder & colder as they traveled on, almost to a point of pain where he couldn't keep it in the coat's pocket anymore. this he had all explained to shiloh, & then he pitched the idea that they were supposed to find another one. it was a good idea, shiloh agreed. but the thing was, they had almost left the forest, there wasn't much time while they watched the sky get darker, not because it was getting late, but because of the power of the creatures attacking kalokairi had begun to take over it's general state. they couldn't spend so much time in the forest & risk getting caught in that storm of darkness. so they kept traveling, despite the fact valley was still oddly anxious that there was a crystal they'd skipped over the past few days.

they'd reached the border of the forest. although it wasn't really a forest anymore, more so dust & hot rocks. but in the center of the wasteland, there was a willow tree, roots tangled around it, dark leaves & a quaint glow. a glow ? the coldness of the crystal in valley's pocket faded. they found it.

the tree started to grow though, taller than any other tree the pair had ever seen, over across the sky into the foggy distance. valley didn't hesitate, running off to the willow. he quickly grabbed onto one of the branches that was still lowered against the ground, barely seconds from being lifted into the sky. shiloh wasn't so eager. he had a fear of heights, even looking up to the seemingly endless top of the tree made him sick to his stomach. valley grabbed onto his cape, as usual, pulling him onto the branch with him that as planned, took them closer to the top of the tree. although, the branch was fragile. valley pulled shiloh, still in a shocked state, into the center of the tree. the branch they were standing on moments ago snapped, falling into the midst & below of clouds.

" i can't see the ground. " shiloh had to stop his heart from stopping while he spoke the words, his tone was monotone but still a sense of dread lived on it. " don't look at the ground ! oldest trick in the book, i thought you'd know that one . . . " valley responded back, accidentally quite snarky. his paws slipped while he reached for the branch above, almost sliding down the tree's trunk, although he was saved by shiloh, who smiled at him, though nervous & beginning to guide valley to the top so they wouldn't have to keep on reaching on with their life.

the glow grew bigger, almost blinding. a dark green that tainted the colour of the clouds & sky. it would almost be beautiful, if they weren't so close to falling off the tree. " are those, " shiloh spoke after what felt like hours, eyes tilted towards a strange bright flock in the sky.

" birds ? "

they were birds with white & yellow feathers, long flowing wings, a look of serenity. & then shiloh remembered, this must have been the flock the bird staying in the pond & moonlight & voice never heard like others late the other night was looking for. it wasn't long until the birds came to shiloh & valley's side, motioning for them to trust them, to let them help them.
flying in the clouds, it was hard to see, especially so close to the lavalands where the smoke started to collide with their views. the birds seemed to know where they were going though, dropping shiloh & valley off into the center point of the tree, where the branches of the willow cradled the crystal in leaves. after jumping off the bird's backs, they coughed from the smoke & clouds caught up in their lungs, perhaps being so high in the sky took a toll on their lack of air, too.

valley reached out his paw for the crystal, glowing in all colours that a forest, if it hadn't been taken over by evil like the one in kalokairi, would look like. it refreshed his mind like someone's first intake of nature they could never remember. everything was green, everything was peaceful once again, just for a moment.

soon, the pair was on the ground again, the flock of birds flew ahead them, into the smoke & warmth of the lavalands. the tree subsided into a small sapling, innocent, as so to begin life again, & then sunk into the ground.

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heated situation
" okay, what the heck did they do to our map ? " valley asked through confused teeth; he & shiloh's map had been singed at the sides, ironically enough in the parts that could have guided them around the lavalands. he brushed off the ashes while shiloh looked through a hole in the map straight into valley's eyes, then took the map out of his hands to look at him properly. " i told you not to take out the map, a piece of paper, out while we entered this place. "

" sorry, i didn't know that there were dragons that liked to play pranks on kalons here ! " he huffed back to the irritated mage. usually the two didn't get so heated in their conversations, however, they were lost. lost in a place with fire burning in the walls, a place they'd only heard about in legends. the two had found the lavalands after a few nights of traveling.

when they'd gotten there, they decided that the best way to go would be through a cave in the entrance of the lavalands, as the other entrance seemed too dangerous with all the lava covering it. the problem was, there wasn't much light source in the place, they'd taken many odd turns & twists. their only hope for directions was a few small dragons they came across on their way, which they had asked about directions; though when passing their map to the tiny winged lizards, the dragons blew a fire on their map & ran away laughing.

the only thing that was guiding them now was the lava that seeped through cracks in the stone walls. though it was almost unsettling to know they were right underneath an ocean of lava, they would have likely never found their way through without it. tunnels among tunnels, holes in the floor & ceiling that they had to look carefully for, it all seemed oddly like a planned out maze for travelers. what bothered the two the most was the warmth of the place, inside such tiny tunnels, the heat was kept in & became much hotter than usual. at times there were floods of smoke, which valley & shiloh had to run away from, considering it would block up their view & lungs. there weren't many ways to deal with it, except for finding an exit.

" maybe we should go somewhere else shiloh, it's really warm right here. like, warmer than it usually is in this tunnel. " valley suggested, leaning against a stone well that ended up burning his back slightly, causing him to jump away from it. " yeah, maybe . . . " shiloh muttered back, although he jumped up another hole that was in the rock ceiling. he hadn't been paying attention to valley after what had happened with those dragons. it was some of the first conflict the two had ever shared. valley just followed him, too afraid to be left alone after the incident in the forest. he was right though, it really was hotter than usual, by now they could practically hear the waves of lava flowing above them.

something was new though, up in the hole they just jumped into was a room of crystals, crystals making up nearly everything, even the walls. it glistened purple against the kalons, the warmth reflecting off them almost burned a hole into their shirts however. " sure is . . . pretty. or whatever. i don't really see any beauty when i feel like i'm gonna pass out. " valley murmured, mostly speaking to himself considering shiloh was no longer listening to him. a dizziness haloed around valley; & with that, he found out that the crystals were fragile to the touch. he'd smashed right into one, breaking it to pieces. he lay down while his head hurt. shiloh, tying his cape around his waist as to not burn up, suddenly got an idea. what if they tried breaking the walls made of crystal ?

" what are you doing ? . . " valley looked up to shiloh who was now breaking through the walls with only his paws. & it had worked, shiloh really had broken through the walls made of crystals; revealing a land much more vivid than the tunnels.

sure, it was still very hot out there, but after getting out of that place they were quite grateful for the heat subsiding a little.

[Guest]

oops so i missed the lavalands prompts but mayb i'll do them later, this starts a few days after they find the fire crystal though ;;; v ;;



( falsely;) without company
shiloh ran his hands through the lace of his cape, tying it back on while he sat down with valley by a clear pond. the air was cold, & was a deep change from the warmth that spit at the pair in the lavalands.
valley pulled out their half─burned map; subconsciously running his paw down the paper edges. " looks like we're in crystal cove. " his voice echoed against the desolated walls of the cave, being one of the only sounds beside the peacefully running water. the two enjoyed the silence, it was something ethereal, surreal, & rang through their ears in a fever dreamish way. shiloh caressed the ends of the bow he'd tied on his cape, crystals glowing coldly against his face, " how far are we from home ? "

valley laughed, " you're homesick already ? "
" kind of, " shiloh responded under his tongue, taking in the cool air.
" i mean i don't know how long we've been gone, but still, it feels like months,

" if we're too far away, what if we get lost ? "

" we aren't too far away, so don't worry about it too much. "
valley was uneasy at the thought of his older friend becoming worried that they would get lost. against his breath he lied, about a false sense of security. truth was, they were nowhere near from where they'd started. they'd traveled through the entire dying growth of the forests, across the flaming mountains & undergrounds of the lavalands, where they were now bordering the ocean; the edge of kalokairi's island. now they were on their own, & the feeling was thickened by the empty echoes in crystal cove.