Flowers For The Sky

Shed Some Light On Love

Ruby, Shala, Scarlet and Felix all sat in a small meadow, just enjoying the afternoon sun. "Where do you guys think we should go next? We have four options, so..." Ruby said. "What if we headed up to Lunal's Peak?" Shala suggested. "Getting the King of the Dragons out of the way could be nice."

"Right, but his trial changes for everybody who goes through those caves." Scarlet pointed out. "More reason to go now. Check the strange trial off the list." Ruby argued. "But the flight will probably take us until sunset, with Lunal's Peak being in the heart of Edenor." Felix said.

"Then we camp out again and head into the caves in the morning." Shala said. "It sounds like a pretty good plan to me." Ruby added. "Well, let's get flying." Scarlet said. Shala and Ruby mounted up on their dragons, and they took to the air.

They flew towards the center of Edenor, enjoying the daylight that they had left as they flew. Ruby flopped backwards on Scarlet's back, staring up at the clouds. Her hair still whipped in the wind, nearly hitting her in the face occasionally. "What are you thinking about?" Shala asked.

Ruby looked over at her, then back up at the sky. "I don't really know. Just... We've only known you and Felix for a few days, but it feels like I've known you forever. Both of you." Ruby said. "The feeling's mutual." Felix said. "We talked about it when we went looking for Rain Apples yesterday."

"It's good to know that it's not one sided." Shala added. Ruby chuckled. "Yeah." Shala lied back on Felix, sighing as she gazed up at the clouds. "This is pretty peaceful." she said. "Except for the fact that tomorrow morning we're going into another trial." Scarlet added.

"True." Ruby said. She sat up, getting back into her riding position. "We haven't gotten a break since we met." Shala said. "Right, but if it all works out, we won't have to go on anymore crazy adventures." Felix pointed out. "But I like adventuring!" Ruby said. "It's part of what makes life fun!"

Before the group really knew it, the sky was starting to turn slightly pink. "Well, would you look at that. Lunal's Peak. Tallest mountain in Edenor." Ruby said. Shala was back up in her riding position, looking at the majestic mountain. "It's beautiful." she said.

The dragons landed at the foot of the mountain, and by that time, a few stars were starting to show themselves in the twilight. Ruby and Shala went around looking for sticks to make a fire, and once they had it set up, Scarlet lit it up.

~  ~  ~

The next morning, everyone was ready to head into the caves. "Alright, we're rested and ready. Time to go see what this trial is." Ruby said. The group of four entered the caves, looking around as they went. The caves had a golden tint to the walls that was slightly reflective, making it easy to see.

"Anyone else both ready and not ready to see our trial?" Shala asked. "Yep." Ruby said. "Hopefully we get a trial without Beam Squirrels." "Beam Squirrels are the hostile creatures of light, right?" Shala asked. "Yeah. Light Wolves are the passive creatures, which is pretty unexpected." Scarlet responded.

"One of the more vicious animals outside of the elements, but the most passive animal here." Felix added. "Maybe we can get some of them to give us a little bit of guidance. You know, get us to the part of the trial that's going to get us done fastest." Ruby said. "Don't think that's how that works." Shala commented.

"Okay, you're probably right." Ruby said. They continued walking through the caves, eventually coming to a split path. "Two tunnels, four of us." Felix said. "Well, I say we go in in pairs. Me and Scarlet, and Shala and Felix." Ruby said. "No, we should stick together. We don't know what's going to be out there." Shala argued.

"Okay, if it makes you feel better, Felix can come with me and Scarlet will go with you." Ruby said. Shala pondered for a moment before speaking. "Okay. Having both of us go down each tunnel would be good." "Keep in touch." Ruby said, pointing to her earrings.

Her and Felix went down the tunnel to the left while Shala and Scarlet went down the tunnel to the right. Ruby tapped her fingers to her earring to contact Shala. "Found anything yet?" she asked. "No. Just more snaking tunnel." Shala's voice came through Ruby's earring.

"About the same over here." Ruby said. She dropped her hand from her earring. "Man, Shala was right. This tunnel really does snake around." Felix commented. "Well, maybe it's just dramatic buildup." Ruby said. "Really?" Felix asked. "I have no idea, I'm just trying to make a guess." Ruby said.

After a little bit more walking, the tunnel spit the two out into a large room. There was a center platform, two rope bridges and a pit beneath them that was way too deep to see the bottom of. "Oh my god." Ruby muttered in fear as she looked down at the pit. "Ruby!" Shala called out from across the room. 

Ruby looked up and saw Shala waving to her with Scarlet at her side. Ruby waved back before looking around the room. "It doesn't look like there are any other ways out." Ruby shouted. "I think this is our trial. Don't know what it means, but we can figure it out. Somehow."

Ruby stepped out on the rope bridge, holding to the rope railings as to not fall. Shala stepped out with some serious hesitation. "You're so brave. I'm afraid of heights without a dragon. Your bravery is honestly charming." Shala said. Another slat to the bridge formed in front of Shala, and she stepped forward.

"Okay, that did something. How does this work?" Shala questioned. "You'll figure it out. You've always been the smart one." Ruby said. Another slat of her bridge appeared and she stepped forward. "Wait... I think it's saying things about each other that we've never said." Shala said.

"Okay, well, here goes nothing." Ruby said. She cleared her throat before speaking. "You have blue eyes." Nothing happened. "I think your blue eyes are beautiful." Ruby corrected. Another slat of the bridge appeared and Ruby gave a small fist pump as she stepped forward.

"I like that you're willing to defend people. Back at Lilro's Lake, when you were afraid of every Mist Frog and you were weak, you still drew your sword and fought back. You always fight for what you believe in." Shala said. Two more slats appeared in front of her and she walked forward.

"We need to speed this up. Any big things that we haven't said?" Ruby asked. Suddenly, both of the bridges jolted the two girls back, forcing them to where they started. "Wait... did you just think of something but you didn't say it?" Shala asked. Ruby's cheeks turned a fiery red.

"That's not what this is about, right?" she questioned as she ran a hand through her hair. "It could be." Shala said as her cheeks turned a faint ice blue. Ruby took a deep breath. "I... love you." she said. "I love you, too." Shala said. The slats of the bridges all formed, leading up to the center platform.

The two girls walked to the center platform, and Ruby wrapped her arms around Shala's waist. Both girls had heavy blush on their cheeks, leaning in and kissing each other. They pulled away and their dragons landed next to them. "Come on. We have a flower to find." Ruby said.

She got up on Scarlet's back, and Shala got on Felix's. They saw a wall nearby start to glow, the rock disintegrating in a door shape, leading to another cavern. The two dragons flew into the cavern where they saw a field of Light Tulips and Lunal inside.

Ruby and Shala dismounted and looked up at the King. "Hello, young ones. How can I help you?" Lunal asked. "We're here for a Light Tulip." Shala said. "Well, go ahead and take one. There's no harm." Lunal said. Ruby picked one of them before holding it up.

"We need it to be shrunken down, please." she said. Lunal nodded and scraped some of the golden shimmer off the wall with his claw. He blew on it, sending it toward the flower in a glittery mist. The flower shrunk down and the mist faded before Ruby put it in her pocket.

"Do you have a faster way out of here?" Shala asked as she got up on Felix. "As a matter of fact, I do, but before you leave, I want to ask what your trial was. I never know since it changes every time." Lunal said. Ruby got up on Scarlet's back before speaking.

"It was admitting that Shala and I have a stronger connection than just a friendship." "Ah, a love trial. Not uncommon. Now, I bid you adieu." Lunal said. His wings started to glow, enveloping the four adventurers in light. Once everyone could see again, they were back outside of the mountain.

"Well, that was quick." Shala said. "It's only midday." "Right. What do you guys say to hitting Elmkir's Canyon?" Ruby asked. "Better to have it over with than prolong it." Felix said. Shala nodded and Felix and Scarlet took to the air, starting to fly towards Elmkir's Canyon.