A Nagas tale

A city hidden in ice, Juniper

The group stopped only to refuel and eat on their way to Juniper. Audrey and Troy still argued over what Troy found hard to believe. Kogen didn't bother to listen to Troy's rants and chose to listen to Yyvonne's question to his co-workers. "Are you listening!?" Troy growls at Kogen. "No, you give me a headache." He answers dryly. Audrey cackles nearly choking on her drink. "You are such a child!" Troy scolds Audrey who is cleaning up her mess. "Me? I'm sorry mister I doubt my co-worker has found a wife he likes!" Audrey retorts. He frowns "You are still a child! how would you know what I am talking about!?" He shouts. Audrey laughs "Me? a child? please! you sound more like a child than Yyvonne." She jabs. He frowns "I am not a child! I am 239 years old!" he protests. Audrey laughs louder gaining the attention of the other people eating at the dinner. " I think you two should calm down a little bit." Ulysses nervously offers. Audrey covers her mouth "Oh shit." she whispers. "Why are you laughing?" Troy whispers his demand. Audrey shakes her head "It's just funny you are 38 years older than me and still act so childish." she giggles. Troy opens his mouth but says nothing. "Oh, so you aren't a little kid?" Ulysses asks. Audrey shakes her head "Nope! I am 201 years old! it's funny when people say I am a kid based on looks alone." She answers. "Woah you were only a year old when Kogen took over the island," Roy chuckles. Audrey tilts her head thoughtfully. "Oh yeah, you are right." She mutters. "So you are a kid!" Troy barks at her. She frowns picking up a spoon full of Troy's food and shoving it into his mouth. "Shut it you baby," she grumbles. Troy gags feeling the spoon touch the back of his mouth. He pulls the spoon out of his mouth and turns away from Audrey. Kogen chuckles "Audrey, you should be more careful when feeding a baby." He jokes. Audrey gasps "You're so right!" Troy glares at Kogen before giving up on his quest to make Audrey side with him. Ulysses and Roy sigh unsure how they ended up with a rowdy bunch like these youngsters. "Ah, you guys make our old bones feel young again." Roy chuckles. Audrey turns to Roy. "Old bones?" she asks. Roy smiles at her "Well if you want to know We are pushing 1,300 years old." Roy explains with a deep sigh. "Oh, you two are still really young." Audrey giggles "Young!?" Troy and Ulysses question. Audrey nods "Yep, my grandpa is I think turning 9,000 years old this winter, and Dad I think he said 2,500 years old since March of this year." she explains. Kogen nods "I forgot that old bastard was around when mom was a kid." He chuckles Yyvonne nods with her mouth full of food. "Wow to think the three remaining Nagas drastically vary in age like this." Roy chuckles. Audrey nods "Yeah, I think my great-grandpa died if I'm doing the math right somewhere between 24,000 years ago." she explains thinking deeply. "Thats such a long time ago." Ulysses answers Audrey nods "Audrey, I have a question." Kogen pokes himself into the conversation. "hmm?" she turns her eyes to him. "If the old bastard." Audrey glares at him. "If the elder, has been alive for nine thousand years how come he hasn't remarried? Have more children?" He asks. Audrey tilts her head trying to figure that out. "Your father had three wives from what you've told me before, and they both said you should take more than one husband." He adds. Audrey tilts her head to the left and the right. "Thats a good point," she mutters. "Let me ask you, Kogen." Audrey looks at Roy. "If Audrey died would you look for another wife?" he asks. Kogen frowns "No." He answers. Roy nods "Maybe the elder was attached to his wife and refused to look for another wife after his wife died." Ulysses adds to Roy's answer. Audrey nods "I guess Grandpa is all talk no bite." she giggles. "what about your dad?" Kogen asks. Audrey nods "Well, Dad stuck around all his wives till they died before taking another so they weren't all with him at the same time." she answers. "Oh, you did say the people in that world had shorter life spans than we did." Kogen nods. "Shorter life spans?" Troy asks. Audrey nods "I learned from the ancestor Don that after he was released from his dormancy he devoured the world. Leaving behind no aura and drastically diminishing the people's lives as punishment for their hands in his clan's death." she explains. "He ate?" Roy asks. Audrey nods "This is what I learned from Don but, I have deduced that my tribe, well our ancestor really. Is a danger to the world hence why they must remain sealed away. The items used to seal them must be maintained as per Grandpa's rant. Don grew resentful of the snake tribe that hunted his children into a corner. His child, my father's friend, pleaded with Don to save him from the starvation and grief of losing his small family." she pulls out the notebook she carried with her. She sets it down and shows them the art she found within the cave. "His resentment and anger were released when his child's blood touched his skin breaking the seal." She flips the page to the notes she took down from Don's story. Roy and Ulysses look at each other before looking at the book. "So as he ate the aura of the world he punished those that destroyed his bloodline, He cursed their souls to go through a never-ending cycle of Rebirth and death. A state in which you will forget everything from your past life cursed to repeat life until you die and restart." she sighs closing the book. "I see why your family has clung to life." Roy mutters. Audrey nods "It's annoying that the leviathan has such a volatile grudge against us for simply wanting to keep this world alive." she grumbles. "Audrey! if your tribe is meant to keep the ancestor sealed. How does Kogen's tribe play into the equation?" Yyvonne asks. Audrey looks at her adoptive daughter and shakes her head. "I am still not sure how the bear tribe fits into the equation because according to Grandpa and the logs of those that came before him the bears and the nagas had a mutual agreement." She explains. "How far does it go? I don't know. When did it start I have no clue." she looks at the book. "In Don's world, the bears were not a part of protecting the area. In fact, there was never any mention of bears in the area at all." She answers. Yyvonne looks at Audrey before turning to Kogen. "Do you think there is a way to find out?" He asks. Audrey nods "I want to start investigating the cave of my ancestor here." she explains. Audrey looks at the book as something nags at her. "Is something bothering you?" Kogen asks. Audrey looks at him "Well, It's been bothering me a lot since I came back." she answers. "Don's territory was much larger than ours." she mutters flipping the page to the map she'd drawn out. "The ground was made of sand too... it looked like Norsta honestly. A sun-scorched desert filled with sand and nothing more." she mutters. Her eyes fixed on the land "A forest on an Island, it is such a contrast." she mutters. "These worlds should be parallel to each other with very few differences." she frowns. Roy and Ulysses look at the map an uncomfortable realization settling into their guts. Audrey sighs closing the book "Oh well, I'll find out one way or another." she puts her book away. Roy claps his hands "Are we ready to go?" He asks. Audrey nods shoving Troy out of the booth. She follows after him with Yyvonne close behind. "You are so rude!" Troy scolds. Audrey smirks "What are you gonna do about it? cry? whine to mommy and daddy?" she asks. He frowns turning his back to her. "Alright, you two stop flirting." Roy mocks. Audrey frowns "Am not!" Troy mirrors her refusal. Kogen chuckles "They look more like siblings arguing." He lifts Audrey under his arm. "Wait let me put on my coat!" she struggles. He sets her down and lets her put on the new coat he bought her for the cold weather they have driven into. He crouches down to her size "You will get lost in all that snow." He states as he picks her up. Audrey quickly wraps her arms around his neck. "I would not!" she answers. He nods "Sure." he answers as they all pay and leave. Yyvonne was the first to jump into the snowy world around her. Audrey shivers shrinking into Kogen's neck. "How did we go from sunbaking to freezing in a week!?" Audrey protests. Kogen chuckles "This is only the outskirts of the area." He tells her. Audrey frowns nuzzling her nose against Kogens neck. He gives her a smirk "I guess you need a heater from now on." He taunts. Audrey laughs before nipping at his neck. "Hm yeah, I think I will need one from now on." she returns the taunt before kissing his skin. Kogen turns his face away from Audrey doing his best not to act on her provocation. "Will you two hurry!" Troy shouts. Kogen walks to the van and lets Audrey find her spot before he follows her in. Kogen kept Audrey close to him during the rest of the ride to Juniper. After driving another nine hours the car drives through a city made of concrete and wood. Audrey watched the world in awe. "We should eat up before we send you all to your rooms." Roy extends a dinner invitation. Audrey did not pay attention more interested in the city around her. "Do you like my home?" Roy chuckles. Audrey turns to him and nods "Yeah, it looks nice." she answers. He chuckles "You should explore it when you get the chance." He offers her the option. Audrey nods "Yeah, I'll be sure to drag Kogen with me." She answers. Roy chuckles as the driver gets them to Roy's base. Audrey tries to jump out of the van only for Kogen to catch her. She frowns looking at him "I wanted to mess with the snow." she protests. He shakes his head "With how cold you get I don't think so." He answers. She frowns "You can warm me back up later so it's fine!" she taunts "Oh my, how bold." Roy chuckles making Kogen set Audrey down on the snow. "Tag!" Yyvonne starts to play. Audrey cackles seeing Kogen's red face. She tags him "You are it!" she shouts before running after Yyvonne. Kogen covers his face struggling to restrain himself. He turns to his wife who is being attacked by snowballs. Audrey's cackles echo in the empty parking lot. He takes a deep breath "You want to play. Alright." he grumbles before chasing after Audrey. She lets out a panicked cackle as she runs towards Yyvonne. Roy and Ulysses watch amused by the three. Audrey throws a snowball hitting Kogens face "NO!" she shouts not wanting him to touch her. She trips suddenly falling face-first into the snow. Kogen laughs loudly before helping her up "You're it." he passes off the tag. Audrey frowns "T... that's so not fair!" she shouts before chasing after Yyvonne. "You can't catch me!" Yyvonne shouts quickly boosting her speed to get away from Audrey. She stops running to catch her breath Yyvonne and Kogen standing a good distance from her. Troy starts walking away annoyed with their game. Audrey smirks quickly running to Troy she shoves him into the snow. "You're it!" she shouts before running away. "What!? I don't!" Troy protests but frowns when he sees Audrey making faces at him. "you are just being a chicken because you can't catch us!" she taunts. He frowns "I can catch you!" he shouts before joining in the game.