Sunlight streamed into his face, causing him to stir. Opening his eyes, he immediately shut them as his senses were barraged with light. Letting his eyes adjust over the next few minutes, he examined the wall opposite him. It was a wall, like any other, but had sunlight spread across its face.
'Sunlight…' He gazed at it in drowsy awe. 'But aren't we underground?' He shifted, hearing a quiet groan behind him; he stopped, turning his attention to the source. Natalie lay there, still sleeping, her face content, relaxed, peaceful.
He pulled himself up the rest of the way, watching as she rolled into the spot he had been, soaking in the warmth from the bed. She sighed happily in her sleep, a smile creeping across her face. He felt his body retaliate to move, as he attempted to quietly head for the door of the room. Leaning forwards, he let his back legs straighten behind him, clipping the ground. Feeling the tense muscles loosen, he repeated the process with the rest of his body before ruffling his fur and carefully moving through the crack in the door.
He looked around him. The hall was filled with the morning light. The fires were out, and the cool morning air drifted from somewhere in the vast subterranean structure. Wandering down the hall the way he had come the night before, he entered the vast dining chamber. From the sealed room, light emanated through the parts bringing the ceiling and walls together. "How? How could sunlight move into a stone room? There are no windows…" He admired the massive amount of sunlight gleaming off of the intricate designs of the well-carved walls.
On the table, shadows brought the map to life, as they swarmed the indentations on the table. He leaned in to view the delicate details of the map. Dust had gathered in the places between important locations such as mountains and towns, even forests. 'It would take forever to clean' he thought, as he returned his gaze to the enlightening sunlight.
"Well, it seems like someone has gotten to a bright start." His head snapped to his right, as he saw Natalie's entrance to the room. She walked in gracefully, "Good morning." She smiled. He smiled back, "Morning." and pulled off the table. She nodded, and began to walk away, to another door, "I'll go get us some breakfast." Curious, Kaden leapt off the bench, following after her.
They had walked towards the entrance, where the surface tunnel lead off, and took their turn through the other door. They had entered a short hallway, with a single door at the end. Moving through this, Kaden released a breath in amazement. A vast kitchen lay before him, complete with cooking stations, shelves fully stocked with basic ingredients to a proper meal, and metallic surfaced stoves. The majority hadn't been used in a while, and Kaden could see the interior of the stoves. A gridded pan-like surface with a metallic pipe lay under the top of the stove. From what he had seen of this place so far, his guess was that a fire was sent to light the individual cells of the stove, thus heating the surface.
The closing of cupboards pulled his attention back to breakfast, as Natalie pulled out a fresh bowl of berries, and spilled it onto a tray, placing the bowl back into the cupboard. Feeling like he should help, Kaden awkwardly took the tray in his mouth, trying to keep it level with his teeth. It was a hard task as they made their way back, but finally, Natalie provided assistance, taking part of the tray in her mouth, as they both carried the tray to the dining chamber.
---
"It's amazing." Kaden stated, as the two ate their berries, looking up at the morning sun, now stronger as the sun rose higher to the sky. She agreed, plucking an Oran berry off the platter. "How did the sunlight manage to pass through the rock? There are no windows…?" He questioned. Some of the terminology had returned to him, very much a relief for him, as having no memory was bad enough.
She giggled, before answering his question with a wide smile, "It's daddy's work. He designed this whole place. And the town offered to help construct it as my parents were leaders of two of the best teams in the Guild. Every surface was carefully carved, rivaling the Guild. The sunlight is actually a network of tunnels carved through the stone." She cleared her throat before continuing.
"Each tunnel reflects the light in different angles, until it comes to an end, where the light passes through a tiny window. Well, that's what daddy said, anyway." She looked upon the sunlight again, content at staring peacefully into its warm glow.
Kaden blinked at her, letting it soak in, before looking once more at the sunlight channeled from the surface above. A smile crept its way across his face as he looked once more at the sunlight. How warm and inviting it seemed, as it spread across the walls around them.
His eyes caught sight of the snuffed torches, and he shared his thoughts on the magically clean air. She laughed, shaking her head slowly, a grin plastered across her face. "No, no, it isn't magic, though it would appear so. It's actually pretty close to the windows mechanisms, as more tunnels allow the smoke out, while keeping the rain out." She plucked the last berry, giving it over to Kaden, who gratefully took it.
With a final glance at the sunlight, Natalie ended her dialogue, "We should go. We've got quite a day ahead of us." and led the way to the surface. The end of the tunnel, however, Kaden hadn't expected.
He probably should have, after seeing the basic mechanisms of the base, and exclaimed at the flat surface before him, "It's blocked…" Natalie seemed to get a kick out of watching his curiosity, a trait any Eevee would naturally have in great abundance, and gave him a gleeful look. Taking a cord in her mouth, she pulled to the side, slowly drawing it towards the middle of the tunnel. With the cord going into the wall, and immediately out a hole next to it, it was tied to a section of the blockage.
The obstacle began to shift, and rotated as she pulled towards the opposite wall. Kaden realized what she was doing, and copied her actions, pulling the circular disk out of the way. It was a door, using a simple pulley system, of which the wall they now backed had as well, likely for closing it. It had been loud, rumbling open, as the door rolled up a tiny incline. 'What else has her fathered dreamed up?' he mused, as he followed her into the forest.
---
The forest was alive with the songs of birds, and flourished with green grass and underbrush. Tall, dark trees stood proudly around them, topped by impressive crowns of leaves. It was peaceful, Kaden realized, and brought his mind at ease.
The soft tapping of their paws upon the dirt trail was too minor a disturbance to break the happy mood. But a new sound caught Kaden's ears, as he looked beyond some trees.
Entranced by the sound, he moved towards it, curious as to what it was. It was a gurgle of various pitches, as if something beyond description was rolling over the terrain. As he came into view, only one word came to mind: Water.
He quickly moved forwards, looking into the crystal clear waters before him. It was a small trail, cut into the ground. Small rocks layered the bottom as water filled it to the top. Dipping his head down, he closed his eyes, slipping his tongue into the chilled liquid. It was as clean as it looked, if not cleaner, and he happily began lapping it up.
A bush rustled behind him, causing him to freeze, his eyes wide open, his ears angled back to take in any sounds of danger. Paralyzed by fear and uncertainty, he realized he was alone. 'Where had Natalie gone?' His heart raced, as he tried to think of what to do. Should he run? Hide? Or could he possibly take his chances in self defense?
The bushes rustled once more, and his mind screamed, 'Run!' but he wouldn't move. He couldn't. Unable to move, he stood, his head dipped towards the water, not daring to move a muscle. But the sound of water being lapped just upstream of him broke his paralysis. There, beside him, was Natalie, drinking in the cool water.
He released his held breathe, his heart rate returning to normal, as the fear of imminent danger left him. "If you wanted a drink, you could have asked." She said. She wasn't as cheery as she had been earlier. "I had to backtrack, looking for you." Her tone darkened, and his ears shot back, as fear tinted his eyes. She kept her visible eye nailed on him as she continued drinking. Instinctively, he shrunk back, tail between his legs, as he backed away from her.
She sighed, ripping her gaze from him, straightening her ears from their laid back position. His, however, didn't as he cowered into a tree. Nearby, a pidgey cooed at the scene.
"Come on, we're almost there." She spoke, leaving her spot to walk back through the bushes, and onto the trail. He hesitated, but soon followed.
---
They came upon the edge of the forest, and witnessed the brilliant sun shining down upon them. Natalie took in a deep breath, releasing it. She stood there, basking in the sun for a moment, before sighing her frustration out to the winds.
Now coming to the eastern gate, they entered. Kaden kept himself close to Natalie as he looked once more at the wonders of the town. He saw much more of the town as they made their way through, towards the northern mountain bordering the town. Residential buildings were on either side of them, and strange creatures looked at them as they did their day-to-day tasks.
Natalie remained calm, neither turning her head, nor speaking, while Kaden remained cautious, uncertain as to what these strange beings might do. They never bothered them, and some gave him strange looks, even smiles, as the two eevees made their way to the base of the small mountain.
---
Inside, Kaden gasped in awe, 'Natalie was right. Her home does rival the Guild'. Before him was a vast chamber, with smooth walls, and bright crystals everywhere. Each crystal was a golden color, and shone like the sun. Not a wall was spared, as the crystals were hidden behind a fractured cover, spreading the light to different parts, while toning down the intensity of its light.
As they started across the room, Kaden was entranced by a beautiful pattern upon the floor, glowing in all its many colors. It was a mural, he noted, circular, with a golden border. Depicted in the middle were two creatures, facing each other on either side of the circle. On the left, a vast, multi-colored bird unlike any forest bird he had seen, spread its wings across the mural. Opposing it was a sleek creature. It was avian-like in body, but seemed more like some of the larger creatures he had seen, with a beast-like head and stubby spikes protruding from the depicted creature's back. Both seemed to be in battle, as majestic as it was. Depicted flames battled the blue waters the sleek creature wielded, clashing, but in unity. In the border, above the bird, was a strong-looking monster. Another one, sleek and graceful was on the beast-bird's side. But, beneath the clashing fires and waves, was a third, a ferocious creature with fangs.
The entire mural glowed unnaturally, and as he put his paw forwards to cross it, part of the glow was destroyed, leaving the mark of his shadow upon it. Pulling it back, as to not damage the rest of the mural, he watched the unearthly glow return like any other light.
Looking upwards, to the top of the vaulted ceiling, he gasped. The image on the floor was mirrored on the ceiling. The dome had abruptly ended in a wide, flat surface, and behind the remarkable glow of the image were the very crystals used to light the halls. He understood now. The light, cast from the crystals above, shone through the colored covers like the lights in the Guild's halls. And, with precision, the lights matched with the carving depictions, bringing it to life, causing the mural itself to glow.
He stood there, marveled by its beauty. The glass casing above, so cleverly designed, the mural before him, expertly carved to perfection, all of it amazed him. So he stood there, soaking it all in, entranced by the beautiful colors. But such a masterpiece would have a purpose, like everything did.
But those questions would have to wait, as Natalie looped her foreleg around his, and dragged him towards their left, and down the hall. Alcove after alcove passed them, as thick pillars jutted from the floor. Reaching a sun-lit staircase, they ascended.
Up the spiral staircase they went, exchanging greetings with strange bipedal guild members in passage. Higher and higher, they climbed, until the floor they had started on was many levels below them. Kaden was exhausted by the time they reached the massive doors, while Natalie seemed just faintly effected by their climb.
Letting him catch his breath, Natalie smiled, waiting patiently. Having just about collected himself, Kaden examined his surroundings. The hallway behind them was lined with windows, and featured a thin red carpet down its length. The single hallway to their right featured the same windows and carpet, before turning left, and disappearing down to other parts of the guild. The vast doors held the two creatures featured in the mural; the same two that had battled each other. But here, on this door, they faced each other, wings outstretched as to counter each others' winds. Only a decorative set of runes graced the door, other than the large handles between the two creatures. Real sunlight bathed them, as they prepared themselves to enter.
A clunking sound could be heard behind the doors, before it swung open with a loud creek. A tall, green figure, featuring a long leaf-life appendage upon its head, stood before them. Its yellow eyes looked them over, its face stern and calculating. "The Guild Master will see you now." He moved his arms in a fashion as to offer them passage, bowing slightly in respect.
Moving through the door, they entered the Guild Master's Hall, and all sense of free movement left them as the massive doors boomed shut behind them. Windows stood proudly upon their left, letting in golden sunlight, and marble pillars of an equally marble hall stood on either side of them. A rich crimson carpet was displayed between the pillars, running its length down the room. And before them, perched gracefully upon a marble throne, was the Guild Master.