Chapter Twenty-Something

(New laptop, still confusing)

The sun shone brightly on the small group as they hiked, failing to warm them as it battled the cold wind. Silver pulled her coat tighter around herself and complained for perhaps the thousandth time about how thin her coat was, earning an amused chuckle from Claude. They were in Ireland; on a small island near the southern coast of the country to be more precise. The island was Innish Mor, the largest of the Aran Islands an location of an ancient rock fort called Dun Anghasa. It was on the edge of a 300 foot cliff, hence the hiking.

"Have you ever been here, Claude?" Silver asked as they fell behind the rest of the group.

"Honestly, no. I never thought of visiting such places before. I'll be interested to see what this rock fort is like." Claude replied, gold eyes sweeping over the beautiful landscape.

The land around the fort really was lovely. The grass was several different shades of green, and they had been lucky to be out on a sunny day. There were piles of gray stones scattered over the land, the same types of stones used in the construction of Dun Anghasa. Silver paused on the dirt trail that lead to the fort.

"Whoa. Check those out." She pointed to a large field of stones around the looming fort.

The stones were long and narrow, stuck into the ground. It was obvious that they had been sharpened by people, and pointed away from the fort.

"Ah, interesting. I've seen those before, at other places." Claude chuckled.

"What are they for?"

"Defense. They're set up around the rock fort like a pointy wall. Invaders would impale themselves. The path we're using would be guarded, so people who lived there could get in but others couldn't. They were pretty common in ancient times, especially in ancient Europe." Claude explained as well as any expert could.

"I see. That's nifty, I guess. Come on, we're almost at the top. I want to see what the inside of this place looks like!" Silver took off running, excitement fueling her forward.

Claude chuckled and followed, passing the girl quickly and waiting for her to catch up to him at the entrance to the fort. It was cut out of the stone, and even Silver had to stoop a little to get through it. The fort itself was pretty plain on the inside: it was just a field of dry grass. The real view was that of the cliff. It was a sheer 300 foot drop into the most beautiful blue ocean water Silver had ever seen. It lapped hungrily at the jagged cliff-face, frothing white and crashing back into the blue. The scent of salt hung in the air, and Silver smiled; it reminded her of being home.

"Wow. This is lovely. Check out that drop! What a fall that would be!" She chuckled nervously, wary to even approach the cliff.

"Yes, it would be a nasty fall. You would expect for someone to put guard rails around to keep people from falling to their deaths." Claude pondered, peering over the cliff.

"Nah. That would ruin the integrity of the site. Plus, it would look awful, big metal poles around this beautiful view. I mean, do you remember when we went to Amesbury a few days ago, in England? And how stupid those rocks looked with a road run through the middle of them? I'd hate to see something like that happen to a place like this. It happens too much already. So many places could be so much more beautiful without telephone poles and roads and guard rails everywhere. It's just...sad." Silver finished somewhat lamely.

"I understand what you mean. It would be nice if we could just appreciate nature without having to put man-made things all over it. Unfortunately, that isn't going to happen. Man has already spread all over the planet, and may even reach the stars one day." Claude agreed.

Silver sighed and sat down a few feet away from the edge of the cliff. Claude stood and stared out over the ocean, eyes narrowing a little. Places like this were respected and revered less and less these days. He had seen many places vandalized by disrespectful people who didn't understand the gravity of their own actions. It was, as Silver had so eloquentlessly put it, sad. He sighed and sat by her side, leaning slightly against her side. For now, it was nice just to sit and feel apart of what was still anciently beautiful.

*Sorry I've not been posting! I've been REALLY busy with college, and I have just gotten a new job. I've also had some health issues recently, and have been trying to focus on finding out what is going on. Thanks! Allons-y~!

~Silver