Stolen Scales

Chapter 17

Alai grins. "Then the shoreline it is. Let's go!"

Alai leads the small group down the grassy hill and through the city, only slowing as they approach the edges of the island. As they continue on, she carefully picks her way through the knolls and dips of the island, stepping around various places. As Kyma peers down at their strange path, she tries to see the spots Alai is avoiding. No matter how hard she looks, she fails to see any such spots, and has no idea why they are moving as they are. She calls down to Alai, who is still picking her way down the steep and almost cliff like hills on the edges of the island.

"Alai, is this the right path?"

Alai halts and turns back to Kyma. "Oh yes, I know the way like the scales on my tail." Kyma takes a step, and Alai's forehead scrunches together in worry. "Don't step there Kyma! Oh, for the sake of the tides."

Kyma has misstepped and walked into one of the patches Alai had been avoiding. At first, she doesn't realize anything is wrong, but as she moves to take another step, the ground beneath her moves. In fact, it doesn't just move. It roiles beneath her feet. Or, as close as you can get to roiling with something that isn't water. As the ground moves, she stumbles and almost falls. It finally stops, and she takes a tentative step. Instantly, the ground starts heaving again, finally succeeding in pulling her feet out from under her. She lies against the ground, stunned. A few moments pass by before she hears footsteps coming up the hill. They stop behind her head, where she can't see them.

The person speaks, and Kyma realizes that Alai came back up to help her. "Kyma, are you alright?"

Kyma swallows hard, and croaks back. "Yeah. I'm just stunned."

"Can you flip over onto your stomach?" As Kyma moves to roll, Alai hisses at her. "Slowly."

Kyma nods, and shifts her weight, moving carefully onto her side. With another moment of careful shifting, she is situated on her stomach, craning her head to look at Alai.

Alai gives her a strained smile. "Good, put your elbows beneath you with your forearms flat on the ground. Good. Don't push up." Kyma stops, having been about to try to push herself back onto her feet.

"What do I do, then?"

"Just carefully crawl over to me, staying low to the ground."

"How am I supposed to crawl like that?"

Alai huffs but lies on the ground in front of Kyma, demonstrating how to use her forearms to pull herself across the ground. Kyma imitates her, and after several exhausting minutes of pulling herself across the grassy ground, she reaches Alai. Alai stands and extends her arm out to Kyma, who takes it gratefully and rises to her feet.

"Alai, what was that?"

"It's a layer of soil across some cave systems. It's all over the edges of our island. We don't know how it came into existence, or how it behaves that way, or even why the layer doesn't fall through the caves. All we know is to avoid those spots, and we learn how to recognize them when we are young."

Kyma frowns. "How do you recognize the spots? They just look like the rest of the area to me."

Alai smiles tersely and kneels. Kyma doesn't follow instantaneously, so Alai tugs at Kyma's dress to get her to crouch beside her. She points to a spot of grass right in front of them, but Kyma fails to see any difference.

"Alai, I don't see anything."

Alai hisses at her. "Don't just look at the grass, feel the movement of the air, and look at the air in front and over the spot."

Kyma peers closer, and finally sees the sair in front of them ripple, and watches as the grass becomes darker for a moment before returning to its previous shade. She gasps in surprise, and Alai grins at her.

"You saw it."

Kyma nods vigorously. "Yes! But you don't spend several minutes looking at each spot, how do you know where all of them are?"

"With practice, you'll become better at seeing them." Her grin grows wider. "Besides, after being here for a while, you'll form a mental map of where all the spots are, so it's easier."

Kyma nods, appeased, then frowns. "If the spot doesn't fall into the caves, then why did I have to crawl to safety?"

Alai's smile lessens into a tiny frown, just the slightest downwards tug at the corners of her mouth. "The spot won't collapse by itself, but if someone is on it, it is sometimes too much and it collapses. But strangely, after it collapses, the layer has returned to the surface the next day." Then she smiles. "Let's stop dwelling on the spots for now, alright? We've got a tour to go on!"

Kyma smiles and nods. Alai stands up again, and the two carefully pick their way down the hill to where Roan is waiting with Nami and Fala. Every so often, Kyma sees a spot shift color, and it becomes easier to see as they descend the hill. She isn't sure if that is because of the lowering elevation or the fact that she might be getting better at noticing them, but she sees the shifting all the same. They finally reach the bottom of the steep hill, and Kyma looks behind her to see that the hill now appears to be a steep, grassy cliff. Her mouth drops open, and Roan turns to see her looking at the hill-cliff in astonishment.

"It's amazing, isn't it? That's what all sides of the island look like, but only some of the cliffs have access to a shoreline. Only seven stretches, in fact. Now, come on. Alai won't wait for long. She's getting too excited."

Kyma smiles, and follows Roan to where Alai is standing, a foot tapping against the rocky ground. Alai smiles and begins to walk again, her steps much faster than before. She ducks around a bend before them, and Kyma hears her footsteps stop only to be replaced by voices. They follow her around the bend to see another guard dressed in pale gray.

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What do you think of the danger spots? Also, you are welcome to suggest names for them because I can't figure one out. Do you think they'll be important later? What do you think will happen with this gray guard? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading, and I'll see you next chapter.

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.