Sen stuck close to her friend as they moved through the Underground. Quietly she spoke. "So, you got any experience with these war machines? I don't really know much about them, just their original use and that I should get out of their way." She chuckled.
Yag chuckled. {Well, they aren't any more fond of me than any other wayfarer, but I've actually been able to outmaneuver one that saw me. Don't want to have to do it again though. It was a close call.} Yag and Sen clung to the sides of the tunnel and made their way carefully and quietly around the machines. One threw its beam directly over their heads but fortunately didn't lower it and see them.
They arrived at the end of the tunnel before the downhill slide to the platform where they would once again meet with their ancestors. Yag was hesitant to meet with Tepeyollotyl again, but he didn't have much choice. {You ready to slide down?}
"Yeah." They leapt off the edge together. Using Tepeyollotyl's scarf, Sen pushed a little faster out of fear of the Guardians. Both patrolling entities spotted them and zoomed after them, but as always, the spirit of their ancestors blocked them.
"Yeesh," Sen panted, tripping over her scarf. She shook the sand off, made sure Yag was behind her, and walked towards the statue. She didn't notice her legs were shaking until she sat down.
She appeared next to her ancestor in the white void. Sen looked expectantly up at her mentor. The spirit continued to stare upwards and Sen began to grow worried. "Elder…"
The ancestor turned and looked at Sen with a sad look in her eyes. She blinked, and suddenly her look was of determination. "Go." Sen nodded once.
She woke up feeling refreshed, her earlier fear transforming into energy. She stood quietly, waiting for Yag to wake.
Yag sat down next to Sen and closed his eyes. A sick feeling grew in his stomach as Tepeyollotyl materialized in front of him. Walking up to him Yag spat, {So what was that all about, huh? Why were our people fighting? And where we're you?} Tepeyollotyl looked away from him and started to walk off somewhere. Seeing red, Yag leapt at him. {YOU COWARD! Tell me what happened!}
In a flash, Tepeyollotyl spun around and knocked Yag back, his teeth bared and his stance wide. The energy of his ancestor emanated so strongly that Yag cowered where he had fallen. He forgot just how strong Tepeyollotyl was.
{{You fool. You think I did NOTHING to save my people? You think I just sat back and watched as my family was killed? OF COURSE I TRIED TO HELP THEM! I worked hard to find a way to win the war! My efforts to be able to flip the switch on our ferality were wondrous, but in the end I couldn't make them stronger! And you know what I had to do?}}
Tepeyollotyl rushed to Yag and towered over him, ears back and growling. {{I was forced to leave them. The other leaders all left once the fight could not be won. We all did.}}
Roaring in Yag's face, Tepeyollotyl dissipated, transporting Yag to another glyph wall. This one showed the ancestors all running out on the fighting, escaping behind buildings and sneaking out to the desert. Tears were already streaming down Yag's face from when his ancestor dominated him, and seeing his people dead and shredded to bits on the field of war as his ancestor fled was too much for him. He got up and started running, running as fast as he could on his all fours. No….it can't be! He didn't want to believe that his ancestor could just leave them, or hell, even do something like "flip the switch" on their ferality.
Tepeyollotyl materialized in front of Yag and he came to a screeching halt. Unable to speak, Yag simply whimpered back tears. He could sense an overwhelming feeling of regret and sadness coming off of his ancestor in huge waves.
{{You may upset with me, Yaguareté, but at least you don't have to spend all of eternity wallowing in the consequences of your own sins. Now go. I hope we do not have to meet again in the Tower, for I would hope you might stay there this time.}}
Yag woke up from the meditation, the tears drying on his face. Unemotionally, he stood up and looked at Sen. {Are you ready to go?}
Sen kept her gaze on the ground as the pair headed into the Tower. She no longer tried to hide the fact that she was worried, and she could sense Yag both tensing and relaxing as they entered the large chamber.
She took a deep breath as a draft of cool air hit her. The sight of the giant structure made Sen's neck hurt from looking at it. It was a while before she spoke, knowing Yag wouldn't move.
"….Mari and I played here for a long time, the last time we were here. It's a wonder you didn't notice us. Or maybe you did, I don't know." Then she cast her eyes down, not wanting to expand on the subject and desperately trying to change it. "The whale is my favorite part of this Tower. We should go visit it," she suggested. But for some reason, her heart was heavy, and she sighed.
Yag stayed silent as they headed to the first platform and glyph wall. He faintly remembered the memory Sen brough up, but seeing as he'd seen a lot of wayfarers pass through the tower, it was only a vague memory. Chiming together, Sen and Yag floated as the goo began to rise. Yag didn't look at Sen. He didn't want her to see the deadness in his eyes, the utter defeat he felt at his ancestor's sheer power.
His ancestor…..he didn't even know what to think.
On one hand, he sympathized. It was hard enough to watch the glyphs of his people being annihilated, and he could barely stomach the idea of watching it first-hand, let alone by his own doing. But on the other hand, Tepeyollotyl abandoned his people when they needed him most, and what's more, now he was messing with Yag on an entirely new level. What do you want from me? You know I'm not going to stay in the Tower forever! So what? What will you do to me then?
The two climbed the tower until they reached the whale room. Sen appeared to brighten up when she saw the whale floating around the ceiling, but Yag couldn't feel happy. Instead, he sat down in front of the glyph and closed his eyes. He felt a lump forming in the back of his throat, and the more he tried to push it down, the more he felt it coming up. Beginning to shake, Yag quickly stood up and leapt behind one of the large carpets hanging from around the edge of the room, desperate to hide. Cowering in a corner, he grabbed his head with his robe hands and shut his eyes tightly, tears beginning to stream out of his eyes.
What is happening to me?
Sen stood quietly in place and slumped. She heard Yag dive behind one of the carpets and she assumed he was crying. I'll give him some space…
She gazed around the room and finally settled on the glyph. She stared at it but didn't really see anything. After a while, she turned slowly and headed toward Yag. She crept up to him but made sure her presence was known before speaking softly.
"Yag… are you okay? We can leave, if you want. I'm sure there's other fun stuff we can do to take your mind off things."
Yag's emotions got the better of him and he jumped up and leapt at Sen, hugging her tightly as he cried. He didn't really mean to get so huggy all of a sudden, but the feeling of being near his friend made him feel better and not so alone. He quickly backed off and blushed a bit, embarrassed for the sudden assault. {S-sorry about that….} he snivled a bit.
{I….I just don't know what to think about anything anymore…. I mean, how could my ancestor just leave behind his people like that? I know he died later, or otherwise the Tower wouldn't be his….} A thought popped into Yag's head. {Hey, would you like to see where I used to stay in here? It's quite a climb and I'll have to help you since it was made for only me, but we could do it.}
Sen knew any further discussion of his people would not be a good idea. Instead, she wriggled about in excitement. "Yeah, of course I want to go see it! Are you kidding? I've always wanted to fully explore this place but the endless flying usually wins me over and I forget what I was doing," she laughed. Humor usually helped her companions out when they were down. It also distracted her from her own thoughts.
"Hmm….but it is quite a climb, like you said," she mused. "Oh! Maybe your ancestor's scarf will help me a little. You'll have to lead the way, though." And so Sen started to inch backwards, allowing Yag room to pass through the large carpet and back into the whale's chamber.
Yag wiped his eyes and shook himself out a bit. They bade the whale farewell for a spell before heading out the room. Yag pointed up a ways. {There's a crack off in the wall up near the ceiling on the other side of the tower. You might just be able to jump your way up and across, but I'll chirp periodically just to make sure} Leaping off the ledge to the tower itself, Yag landed on the wall of the tower and gripped into it, making his way up rather quickly. It had been a while since he had last been here, and he was excited to see his home again. As they made their way up the tower, Yag briefly lost his footing before getting it again. I'm getting rusty…it's been a while since I really climbed anything…The two wayfarers arrived at the top of the tower, and the crack was much more visible. {When you reach the crack, get your hands into the crack. Don't try and grab around the edges, since chunks will break off.} He chirped loudly for her before getting into a run and leaping up towards one of the small shrines before kicking off and diving into the crack. He had practiced many times on the aim, but he knew Sen hadn't been there before so he stuck his head out to catch her just in case.
Sen looked at the crack in doubt. Yeah, sure, this'll be a snap. Easy.
She crouched low, trying to imitate Yag and how he gathered strength before leaping. As she leapt, she realized she was going to fall. She just didn't have the same leg power as he did. Hurriedly she flapped her cloak to gain more height and Tepeyollotyl's scarf chimed in, boosting her to the edge of Yag's home. Using the scarf's power, she was able to control where she landed with a little more accuracy. Yag reached forward in case she fell again but she hastily stuck her cloak hands into the crack and steadied herself using the walls.
With a grunt, she hauled herself in, and promptly fell on her face. "Urrrgh…..I did it!" she mumbled into the dirt. She got up and rearranged her cloak. "Hmm. Okay, now show me around!" Sen exclaimed, smiling with her eyes.
Yag smiled and looked about his home. It was a rather large round room that was about 7 feet tall, so only the tallest of wayfarers would have difficulty standing upright if they were to be there. Two thirds of the room floor was covered in about a foot of sand, but on roughly a 6 square foot section of sand opposite the door was a thick blanket that covered the sand. {That's my bed. The best part about the sand is that it's actually quite soft, and the blanket prevents me from getting sand in all the wrong places while I sleep.} Yag led her over to the left. A small shelf had a few jars resting on it. Inside were a bunch of tiny fliers floating about in a large group. {I usually eat regular ones, but these are for healing wounds and, if necessary, emergency rations.}
The other side of the room had some blankets stacked up. {You can use some of these to sleep on. I usually use them for when it's cold.} Pointing up to the ceiling, Yag chirped softly and additional lamps lit up. One was already lit when they had come into the room, which Yag likely forgot to turn off before leaving. With all the lamps lit up, the hole in the ceiling where the light came through could be seen and was obviously shaped to be like Yag's symbol.
Yag walked over to the folded blankets and grabbed a few, unfolding them and laying them down gently on top of the sand. {You can push the sand around under the blanket to change how it is underneath you so you can get comfortable.} After setting up the blankets, Yag yawned and plopped down on his bed. {Sorry for not being a great host…it's just been a long…..hell I don't know how long we've been up. Anyway, I'll see you whenever we get up. Just chirp loudly enough to turn off the lamps when you're ready to fall asleep.}Curling up, Yag closed his eyes and immediately went to sleep. Being back in his home, Yag's dreams were blissful and uninterrupted by nightmares.
It really had been a long day. Sen didn't blame Yag for falling asleep so quickly, and especially in his own home. She carefully arranged the blankets, which were incredibly soft, she noted. She sat on the pile and looked at the fliers that Yag kept in jars. Where's my own home? Sen thought. Do I even have one? That tower in the desert, I stay there a lot, but I don't always stay there. I don't think I'm…meant to have a home. I'm supposed to keep moving to get to that mountain, to see the Elder and Mari again.
She felt it best just to sleep, and chirped the lanterns off. It took a while, but soon she fell asleep.
