Kivara Kivaran Bivouac

[canisaries]

Ben smiled. It appeared that he was pleased with the happy ending. Andre felt, though, that some things had gone unresolved... but that was life. And if this was allegedly a tale shown by a real dungeon...

"Where was the dungeon you learned this from?" Andre asked.

 

[JFought]

From where she sat cross-legged, Isidora put down her tea. Her awe at the sheer effort and spectacle of the story suppressed her desire to blurt out a Wait, that's it? when it abruptly ended. Until now, she had gotten used to the strangeness of this world serving as either an obstacle or a tool. She never thought it could be used to create something this cool.

Still, the story seemed so half-finished. What of the war? The mountain? The nidoran's mistaken purpose? So many questions left to just end on some platitude about friendship. I guess he can't help it if he can't 'see' any farther. But, if he's recounting a memory he gleaned from a dungeon, there's a high chance it's historical. She found herself pondering it, wondering too just what this dungeon might have meant by it all.

"So, why were they trying to climb the mountain in the first place?" she asked. "To 'defy fate,' sure, but what were they looking for up there?"

 

[Jackie Cat]

"...I've often wondered what the dungeon meant to say by showing it to me."

"What did you mean to say by showing it to us?" asked Laura, quietly. Then, paws tensing in her lap, "Did you think we might have some... insight...?"

She did. Or, she thought she did.

"What would you know about it, outlander?" demanded Nettle.

But she'd save that particularly hunch for the next team meeting. Best not to bring up a subject like that around these kids, maybe. Besides, it was late, and she was drowsy. What was in that tea, anyway?

"Don't worry about it," she mumbled back to the Sneasel kit.

Just an inkling of an idea about whom the rabbit boy and his pony friend were, and what became of them.

"Anyway. Thanks for the story, Alioth," she said, with a tad more volume. "I hope I get to listen to another before we have to get going."

Matthias exchanged a meaningful look with her. It looked like he'd figured it out as well.

 

[Chibi Pika]

"Where was the dungeon you learned this from?" Andre asked.

Alioth was busily putting his tea set away, but at Andre's question, he paused and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Let's see... it was many years ago, but as I recall, I'd been traveling far to the east of here, past the Tears. I don't know if you're familiar with the eastern wastes, but they can be quite inhospitable. My younger self did fancy a challenge, aha!"

He seemed to notice Isidora's clear disappointment and gave a small chuckle. "I'm of the opinion that a worthwhile journey never truly ends, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I found the tale to be half-finished myself when I first witnessed it.

"As for what the two sought, mm... the strength to make a difference in the world, I suppose. One might imagine that they found the strength they were seeking, and used it to bring peace to their home. Or they might just as well have realized the futility of their quest, and abandoned it for a humble life in a distant land."

He left the question of which ending he believed unspoken. It could just as well have been neither.

"What did you mean to say by showing it to us?" asked Laura, quietly. Then, paws tensing in her lap, "Did you think we might have some... insight...?"

Alioth finished wrapping his tea leaves and stashing them in a metal tin, and then reached a paw into the firepit and shifted some of the fire's coals so that they would burn low and even during the night, without open flame. He hummed as he considered Laura's question. "Perhaps... that it's the nature of life to be full of unanswered questions. I might never know what becomes of your own journey once you leave this place, after all. And yet, something tells me it will be just as significant."

"Anyway. Thanks for the story, Alioth," she said, with a tad more volume. "I hope I get to listen to another before we have to get going."

Content with the gently glowing coals and relative darkness that had settled into the tent, the Typhlosion made sure that each of the visitors had obtained one of the pelts before settling in on his own. "It was my pleasure for allowing me the opportunity to share tea with such fascinating strangers."