Chapter 5: Written in Stone.
New chapter time! Kinda bummed I'm at my fifth chapter without a single review. But like those who know hair-jitsu, I must be patient. The four finally get to their destination, which will only lead them to another. The ancient hieroglyphs depicting the creation and birthplace of hair-jitsu… and so much more. Hopefully finding deeper lore into this follicle art will be enlightening for the foursome. And perhaps this journey will also strengthen the bonds of each of them. Troll and Tragon.
Enjoy!
Morning.
Branch and Thunder were once again the first to wake up. Thunder went off to find some fruit, so they can change it up from fish. While Branch stuck around gathering everything to pack once they have breakfast. Poppy and Storm were still fast asleep. Lucky this time Storm seemed peaceful as opposed to last morning. Branch figured maybe Poppy's positivity warded off Storm's bad dreams. Since the two slept together last night. As Branch was rolling up his sleeping bag. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw something glowing zip over the pond. But when he looked to see if anything was there. There was nothing. When he turned back around to resume packing. All of a sudden he was met with a small floating pink fire right in front of him. Shocked by the wisp, Branch tripped and fell back. Recovering from his fall, he looked up to see the pink wisp. But it disappeared.
"Maybe the fish we caught wasn't fit for eating?" Branch assumed rubbing his stomach, looking around confused.
"Is everything ok here?" Thunder returned, with fruit in his arms. "Or did you fall on your butt for fun?"
"I thought I saw something." Branch got back up.
"What was it?" Thunder asked, piling the fruit by the fire pit.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Branch crossed his arms. "Besides, I don't think whatever I saw was real anyway."
"Try me. I see a lot of weird things. I've been seeing you smile haven't I?" Thunder teased, starting to heat some fruit to make jam. That last remark made Branch growl. "Somewhat at least."
"I saw a weird little pink fire suspended in midair." Branch described. "Make any sense of that?" Thunder thought for a moment on what Branch described. "I still don't think it was actually there. Probably just a trick of the sunrises light on the pond or something."
"Maybe." Thunder was still thinking, and jamming. "I've seen more than just predators or other physical threats on my adventures." Thunder took some bread out to make sandwiches.
"What do you mean physical threats?" Branch sat by the tragon.
"I mean I've also seen a bit of magic and mystery before." Thunder explained.
"Magic?" Branch chuckled. "Right and I'm gonna pull a sawed in half magic trick." He said sarcastically, grabbing an apple to take a bite.
"As the magician or assistant?" Thunder joked. "Cause if your volunteering, I have the claws for it."
"Don't even think about it!" Branch yelled, waking up the girls.
"Could you two be any louder?" Storm snorted.
"Good morning guys." Poppy yawned, stretching her arms out. "Man despite a weird dream at first. That was my most cozy night ever!" She got up to look at Storm, who was bow stretching. "You need to come over to my Pod to spend the night more often Storm."
"Sounds nice." Storm agreed. "It does get hot in the bunker sometimes."
"Who's up for sandwiches and fresh fruit?" Thunder asked, stacking some bread and jam together, then cutting some apple slices. Poppy and Storm beamed at the breakfast.
"We are!" The girls said together, sitting by the boys to eat it.
"Let's just hope this fruit you picked is fresh and won't make us see anything." Branch took a bite of his sandwich.
"Like what?" Poppy asked, drinking some juice Thunder squeezed her. Thunder was about to answer her, to tell her what Branch said he saw. But Branch beat him to it.
"It's nothing." Branch answered, trying to dismiss the wisp topic. "Don't worry about it. Let's just eat breakfast."
Time skip.
The four of them had a pretty relaxing breakfast. The rising sun was almost as nice as the setting in the meadow. Poppy and Storm had fun with their fruit doing orange slice smiles. Thunder put some left over fruit on his head, making it seem like he had a fruit hat on. While the girls laughed with Thunder. Branch just rolled his eyes. Thunder challenged him to try doing something fun with fruit. At first Branch denied but the others pressured him into it. Giving in, Branch grabbed a few pieces of fruit and started juggling them.
Unbeknownst to them that same pink wisp was hiding behind a rock nearby, watching them. Storm decided to add on to Branch's juggling. So she flipped onto her hands. He caught on to where she was getting at. Branch took his fruit, jumped to stand on Storm's feet balancing on her and continued to juggle. The two's teamwork to perform this trick didn't just entertain Poppy and Thunder. It seemed the sight of those two working together pleased the wisp as well. Behind the rock it glowed brighter with joy. Storm noticed the glow. Unfortunately that threw her off and made her and Branch fall over. After they did, the wisp disappeared again.
Lucky enough for Branch, Storm broke his fall. Another upside to being furry, you make a great landing cushion. Even after the epic fail Branch and Storm had. The four couldn't help but laugh together. Even more so when the fruit Branch juggled each fell on his head. To which Thunder laughed more at. Branch got back onto his feet rubbing his head. He figured they'd eaten enough and should get to the hieroglyphs.
After they gathered their food and camp together. The four continued on their path to their destination. Much of the meadow looked a bit the same. Every now and then Thunder had trouble remembering where to go. Granted he'd only been there once and there weren't a lot of landmarks.
"Hmm." Thunder stopped by a rock to look around. "Which way was it again?" He mumbled to himself.
"I thought you knew the way?" Branch asked.
"I left a claw mark on this rock the last time I was here." Thunder pointed out, showing them where he scratched. "But from here on, I get a little turned around where the glyphs are." While Thunder and Branch got into a directions dispute. The girls either watched them silently or more often admired the scenery.
"I must say I'm surprised Thunder is getting turned around." Poppy admitted to Storm who stood there with her arms crossed. "He seems like a capable tracker and navigator."
"Oh he is." Storm replied. "Even experts have trouble from time to time."
"True enough." Poppy looked back out at the meadow. "So where do you think we need to go from here?
"Beats me." Storm shrugged her shoulders.
While the girls looked out at the fields. Poppy noticed something glowing pink nearby. When she got a good look at it. She didn't know it, but it was the same pink fire wisp Storm saw last night and Branch saw this morning. "Hey, do you see that?" Poppy asked Storm, pointing in it's direction. Storm came over to Poppy's level and squinted to see it.
"Yeah!" Storm spotted the pink glow. "Hey I think I saw that thing last night."
Poppy and Storm were spooked when the wisp suddenly zipped right over to them and halted a few feet away. But as it just floated there, they slowly let their guards down. It didn't seem to have a threatening presence in the slightest.
Out of curiosity, Poppy walked over to it and cupped her hands below it. "Hi there little guy!" Puppy greeted the little pink wisp. "Where did you come from?" The pink wisp didn't seem to have the means of answering. It just floated there.
Storm walked up next to Poppy to get a better look at the wisp. "What is it? I think is the better question." Analyzing it, it seemed to have glowed brighter when Storm walked up. She brought her hand up to it to see if the pink fire was hot. It was warm but not hot. The pink wisp out of nowhere jumped from Poppy's hands into Storm's. But it didn't float, it let itself touch her fur.
This alarmed Poppy. "Storm are you okay?!" Poppy asked, worried her friend got burned. Tragons may breathe fire but they weren't fireproof.
"Uh yeah." Storm replied mildly surprised, holding the little pink fire. The wisp didn't burn in the slightest. In fact the feeling of it was kind of pleasant and gave her a boost of energy. "I'm fine."
"It doesn't hurt?" Poppy asked, looking more curiously at the wisp Storm held.
"Not one bit." Storm brought the wisp over to Poppy. "Here feel it." Poppy was hesitant at first. "It doesn't hurt I promise. It's actually kinda nice." For all she knew it could just not hurt tragons. But Poppy trusts Storm. So she reached over and gave the wisp a pet.
"Wow you're right!" Poppy said in amazement. Like Storm said it didn't burn and it felt nice. And like Storm when she touched it, it gave Poppy a boost of energy. Poppy and Storm were completely lost on the wisp's nature. Yet something seemed familiar about it to both of them. They were snapped back to reality when they heard Branch's voice.
"What are you two doing?" Branch walked over. Seemed he and Thunder got over their dispute. He was taken aback when he saw them with that wisp. "What in the-"
"It's alright Branch, its-WOAH!" Poppy was interrupted when Branch pulled her away getting in between her and the wisp. Branch's sudden and assertive presence, spooked the wisp a bit. It jumped out of Storm's hands back into the air, floating a few feet away.
"Woah cool!" Thunder walked up and saw the wisp. "Never seen anything like that before and that's saying something."
"Yeah and it could be trouble." Branch worried, holding Poppy behind him. To which she pulled herself from him, walking back up to the wisp. "Poppy be careful!"
Poppy held out her hands toward it. The wisp jumped into Poppy's hands. "It's okay, it's harmless." She brought it over to the boys. Thunder was intrigued while Branch of course was suspicious. "Storm says she saw it last night. It doesn't even burn."
"Yeah well I saw it this morning and it scared me onto my butt." Branch gave it a stink eye.
"Still don't think magical manifestations are a thing?" Thunder nudged Branch.
"Last night, this morning and now." Storm started. "Seems like a little someone is following us."
"For whatever reason it seems to like you guys." Thunder pointed out. "Never saw this thing once last time I came through here." Thunder tried to give the little wisp a pat, but it zipped away from him and hid behind Branch. Thunder was a little disappointed at it's action.
The wisp favoring Branch over Thunder did please him. "Alright it's growing on me." Branch smirked. He turned around to face the wisp. It floated closer to him, this time he reach his hand out for it to land. When it touched he felt energized. "So can we help you with something or is there a reason you've been following us?" After he asked that question, the wisp bolted into the air and jetted across the meadow.
Storm got excited at its action. "Who wants to bet it wants us to follow it?" She guessed, getting on all fours and stretch her wings out raring to go after it.
"I do!" Poppy agreed, jumping on Storm's back. "Let's go!" With that Storm took off flying after the wisp, with Poppy riding on her.
"Hold on guys wait!" Branch yelled after the girls.
Like Storm, Thunder got on all four and flared his wings ready to fly. "So you wanna walk or fly?" Branch raised an eyebrow at Thunder. "Hop on!" Branch didn't ask any questions hoping onto Thunder's back. Once Branch got a good grip, Thunder took off after the girls and wisp.
Thunder and Branch were able to catch up with the girls. They were still in hot pursuit of the wisp. The little pink fire zipped across the fields at high speed. It although stayed a speed they could keep up with.
"Swift little fella ain't it?" Storm yelled with the wind racing pass her. It felt nice to really use her wings like this. Chasing this wisp seemed like a lot of fun. The wisp seeing the trolls riding the tragons, glowed brighter and picked up speed.
"You guys got this!" Poppy cheered the tragons on. Storm and Thunder gave each other a nod. The siblings stretched and flapped their wings even harder picking up speed. Storm got a pretty good boost from the wisp when it touched her. Lucky Thunder is physically fit and was able to keep up regardless. Looking up ahead, Branch spotted in the distance a large collective of old stones and what seemed like broken walls.
Thunder spotted them too. "That's it! That's where the hieroglyphs are!" Thunder beamed at the sight of them. That's where the wisp was leading them. The wisp zipped into the ruins, while the tragons landed just outside. Storm and Thunder bent and laid down letting Poppy and Branch slide off their backs.
Branch got a good look of the ruins. "So this is the place we came all this way for?" He was interested but not all that impressed.
"Yep." Thunder answered, getting back up on two legs. "There's much cooler stuff inside." Thunder walked into the ruins, the others followed behind. The place had architecture none of them seemed all that familiar with. Poppy walked up to take a closer look at the walls. They were covered in old faded writings and paintings. Most of them were almost impossible to see. They were either scratched up, covered in moss or the painting was just too faded to make out.
"There's a lot of stuff written here." Poppy observed. "Or was, for the most part. I wonder what this place used to be."
"Well I doubt it was an ancient art studio." Storm joked, looking at some of the glyphs. She noticed something in the glyphs she saw. "Hey Poppy check this out!" Storm called her over. Once she did, Storm pointed out a painting of a troll. "This troll sort of reminds me of you. They have your same hair color."
Poppy took a closer look. "Hey you're right!" The troll in the painting did look a bit like her. They had bright pink hair. Only differences was their light blue colored skin and blue eyes. Poppy couldn't help but feel a kinship with them.
"It looks like he's with to some others… but" Storm looked at the glyphs neighboring it. Unfortunately they were scratched up and in pieces, impossible to completely make out. They could only see glimpses.
"You think they're other trolls?" Poppy guessed, trying to make out the others.
"Doubt it." Storm answered, pointing at what she could make out. "From what I can tell. Last time I checked trolls don't have fins or wings." What she could see there were two beings with those separate traits. But those were the very fragmented little things they could see. They could see other colors but nothing beyond that. Something confused Storm though. The scratches and holes in the wall didn't all seem to be from falling apart from old age. She could swear that most were from… claw marks
"Maybe he was friends with fish and flyers?" Poppy guessed. "I mean we are too. Seems not much has changed." Storm just shrugged in response. Poppy then noticed a faint glow off to the side. It was the wisp. "Look its back!" Poppy called out, gaining the boys' attention. "Hey little guy, I-" The wisp zipped away again before she could finish. "Wait!" She chased after it.
"Poppy wait up!" Branch went after her, Storm and Thunder followed behind. Going after the wisp again, they passed by many other glyphs but none of them were readable. The wisp went around a corner and when Poppy did too, the wisp disappeared once more.
"Where'd you go?" Poppy called out for it. But it was nowhere to be seen. Now that she noticed, she was lead into a room. This room seemed like the most held together and maintained out of the rest of the ruins.
"Poppy we really should stick together." Branch caught up, with Storm and Thunder close by. "You can't just run off on your own like that."
"You're right. I'm sorry Branch." Poppy apologized. "But look." She pointed out the many hieroglyphs that the room held.
"Ah yep this is the place." Thunder clarified, walking up to one of the walls. "This wall painting is what clued me to the place where hair-jitsu was created." The glyph in question did seem to have a map of sorts. It was a little hard to figure though, from what the others could see at least. While Branch took a closer look at the map with Thunder, Storm and Poppy looked around the other glyphs.
"Huh what's this?" Storm noticed something in the glyphs. But the rest was covered in vines and moss. Storm used her claws to slash and pull away the vines. Then to take care of the moss, she took one big breath and let loose her fire breathe to burn the moss away. That got the others' attention.
"What are you doing?" Branch walked beside her. Storm brought her finger up indicating for him to wait.
After a few seconds Storm gathered she blew enough fire to burn the moss off. She didn't want to blacken whatever glyphs were under. When she stopped and the flames diminished, the four were in awe from what they saw. They didn't juat see trolls using hair-jitsu, there were tragons too! It looked kinda like the trolls were teaching tragons hair-jitsu. It also looked like tragons were protecting trolls from some predators and enemies.
"The trolls knew tragons before you guys?" Poppy was taken aback. She also saw this flower symbol off to the side. It was the biggest thing standing out among the rest of the paintings. A troll was on one side of it and a tragon was on the other. The troll in the painting was the same blue skinned, pink haired troll from the other glyph. The flower painting had six petals, each a different color. Blue, red, purple, yellow, pink and orange. "What's this?" Poppy asked the tragons, pointing at the flower hoping they might know what it is.
"Oh I may not be an adventurer, but even this I know." Storm said, walking up and placing her claw on it. "It's the ancient symbol for hair-jitsu."
"Hair-jitsu has a symbol?" Branch asked. "How come you guys didn't tell me?" He questioned Poppy and Storm.
"Don't look at me." Poppy waved her hands defensibly. "I didn't know either." The two trolls looked at Storm waiting for her answer.
"I know cause it was one of the things mom and dad taught us." Storm answered, referring to her and Thunder. Who nodded to confirm what she said.
"How come you guys seemed to have been taught more than us?" Branch asked. It did seem the tragons knew a bit more about the ancient troll art of hair fighting. Which was perplexing since they weren't even trolls. Although considering their parents taught them, and their parents before them. Connecting that to this new hieroglyphs. Maybe their tragon ancestors knew their troll ones. Their friendship seems to have existed before it even began.
"We just were." Thunder shrugged. "Our rents never really got around to all of the details. But even though we never finished our training." He turned towards a boulder, flipped over and used his hair to smash it to pieces. "They still taught us plenty."
Poppy and to a lesser degree Branch were impressed by Thunder's show of strength. Poppy looked over and noticed the wall across from them. It was also covered in vegetation. "Hey can either of you burn the plants off this wall too?" Poppy walked up to the wall in question.
"Can?" Storm said dramatically. "You doubt our abilities?" She said sarcastically. Storm walked over to the wall taking a deep breath. She of course waited for Poppy to step aside, before she let lose her breathe of flame.
After a few seconds Storm stopped, letting the flames extinguish. Revealing what was on the other wall. These ones showed more tragons than trolls. The first part of the glyphs showed the tragons and trolls living together and having fun. The second showed them bowing to each other and then the tragons leaving.
Thunder noticed below the paintings there were writings and inscriptions. Unfortunately like some of the glyphs, they were faded or falling apart. He stepped forward to try and read them anyway. "Hmm." Thunder took a moment to read what he could.
Branch caught on to what he was doing. "Can you read it?"
"Yes I can read it." Thunder answered. "But it's very old. I can only make out a few words." After reading the last writing he could, he looked back up at the paintings. "From what I can tell troll and tragon used to live together. But for some reason the tragons left and went off into the world."
"So our people used to live together. Then they just left?" Poppy summarized. "But why? They looked like they were having fun together." If other tragons were like Storm, then they'd be very loyal. Storm's father lived where Troll Village stands with his family. Then he met Storm's mother. It seemed tragons do still live out in the world. As Storm's family line must have lived on since whatever time these glyphs were made. "Well I'm sure whatever it was, it was for a good reason. Right?"
"I'm sure it was for A reason." Branch said. The third and final glyph on that wall caught Branch's eye. Walking over he saw six more tragons. But something was different about them. Not only were they very different from each other, from their wings to their horns. Each of them had their eyes glow a different color. Just looking at it he could tell they were powerful. But Branch couldn't help but wonder who they were. Why their eyes glowed and what their purpose was. Obviously since they're painted here the way they are, they were important. Maybe Storm or Thunder might know something? "Hey! Who are these guys?" Branch point out the glyph of the six tragon.
Storm and the others came over to see them. She tried to think if she knew them. "Branch you deserve to know the truth." Storm said with a serious tone. Branch and Poppy by Storm's tone got very interested in what she was going to say. They were on the edge of their seats. "And the truth is… I have no idea." Well that hope for info crashed and burned. "I've never seen them before in my life. Hey that one looks kinda like me!" Storm pointed out one of the tragons. When the other looked they were surprised. She was right. Besides their ears and the fact their colors were different. Their colors were still bright and vivid like her and Thunder, their wings were the same shape as the two and their horns were just like Storm's.
"Maybe you guys are related to that tragon?" Poppy guessed.
Thunder held his chin, thinking. "Maybe. This place is definitely more than a few hundred years old. The family tree of whoever that tragon is would be long. But no ones to say for sure if we are." He placed his claw on the fall, looking at the other tragons besides them.
Storm noticed the other tragons painted as well. "Well we definitely aren't related to those guys. Their wings and ears are totally different. Wait, does that one have fins for wings?" Storm squinted at the tragon whose eyes glowed blue.
"As interesting as this is." Branch started. "This just seems to be raising more questions. That definitely won't be answered standing here." Walking back up to wall with the map. Branch began writing it down to take with them. "I think its better we follow this thing's directions and hope we get the answers along the way."
Thunder chuckled at Branch's impatience to get moving. "I guess you're right."
"Yeah it sure beats standing around, staring at a wall and playing guessing games." Storm agreed.
"What about when we play Pictionary?" Poppy joked at Storm's remark. Rather than point out the differences between this and the game. Storm just laughed at Poppy's joke to humor her. But then Poppy thought she should do something before they leave. "Hmm, before we go. If you guys could give me a minute. I'd like to make a quick scrap of these paintings." She got out her scrapbook supplies to make illustrations real quick.
"Ugh fine just make it quick." Branch groaned. Of course she wants to make a scrap of them. But he figured at the very least they might come in handy later.
To help Poppy make them faster, Storm stepped in to help her. Luckily Poppy being able to speed scrapbook and Storms help added on. It didn't take them long to make one of each glyph. With the girls having finished copying the paintings and Branch having written down the directions they needed. The four of them had no reason left to stick around this place.
After exiting the ruins Branch took a close look at the map to see where they had to go next. "The map says we have to head east toward the coast to reach our destination." Branch looked up at the sun's position to determine their direction. "The sun rose from that way, so that's where we need to go." Branch pointed their way forward, leading the way to their heading across the meadow.
"We'll have to be careful." Thunder suggested as he and the girls followed Branch. "Wherever we're going, I've never been before. From here on out we're going completely into the unknown." He made sure to hide it, but Branch got nervous at that fact.
"This is so exciting!" Poppy squealed. "I can't wait to find this place! Who knows what we'll find?"
"Only one way to find out right?" Storm smiled. She was just as excited to see what they'll find. They found so many mysterious and fascinating things already at this point. Those things are probably just icing on the cake compared to what their destination might hold. "Let's see where this map leads."
As the four continued on their way to find the place of hair-jitsu's creation. The pink wisp reappeared behind them, watching them the whole time. The wisp began covertly following them as they made their way.
To be continued.
Well that's the end of that chapter. I hope a few pokes at a certain sequel were able to be noticed. I think I did well at the mystery element regarding the wisp and what those tragon hieroglyphs depict. Don't worry. The meaning of the tragon glyphs will be explained later when they get where they're going. Just wait.
Please leave a review.
Purple-Eyes Out!