Below Zero (SSoDI-N)

[DanteMGalileo]

"... I. Hate. Tropical. Weather."

Val pushed her sweat-covered bangs out of her face. Even with her passive cooling power... that had taken a lot out of her. "Look away until I tell you otherwise." When Raunen was definitely looking away, Val removed her metal corset, frowning at the amount of sweat that had built up on the soft lining. For a lack of anything better, she removed her shoulder and neck guards to undo her cape, tying the latter into a crude tube top around her torso. "You can look again."

Well, her cape was a lot cooler than the corset...

"C'mon. I can see a clearing," she said to the miniature man traveling with her. "Whatever it is, it can't be worse than that humid hellhole, am... I... right...?"

Well, Val wasn't sure what she was expecting at the end, but that certainly wasn't it...

[ColArana]

Ranuen had been surprised at how quiet the journey through the jungle had been-- well. No. Maybe not so surprised. Val hadn't seemed the super talkative type before. Even so, a briefing would have been helpful. "Tropical isn't that bad." Ranuen replied. Says the guy that was quite alright with the heat. "Honestly, the heat never bugged me much. Comes with the territory of fire magic. Cold on the other hand? ....Ugh. Nope. No way. Yikes." He replied from Val's shoulder. Though to be sure, the sweat, mixed with Val's long hair, had at least made things more interesting for Ranuen who had been forced to dodge errant strands of hair during their travels.

Though he did suppose that Val's armor made travelling in the heat very unpleasant for normal people.

"Look away? Why-- Oh." Ranuen's face went bright crimson and he hastily turned his back to Val. Not like he hadn't seen a woman before (albeit most of those were accidental noodle incidents as a result of his height that he would never talk about). But it was still an indecent thing to do! Gah! "Have you picked up any trail or something like that?" He asked of her, while staring into the jungle. For his part, Ranuen wasn't much of a tracker, though if he ever truly put his mind to it, he probably could have been a decent one. Tiny details really stood out to someone of his.... vertical disposition. He was relieved when Val told him he could look again, and turned back to her.

"Alright then." He looked Val up and down. "Creative solution. Nice." Ranuen regained his place back on Val's shoulder as they moved onwards. "Hmm.... Maybe I'm just overly sensitive to the temperature but does it seem like it's starting to get colder to you?"

And then they emerged into the clearing at the lake, and Ranuen stared in shock. "....Oh." Beat. ".....Think our white dragon had anything to do with this?"

[DanteMGalileo]

In contrast to the humid hellhole they had emerged from, with its vibrant colours, Val found herself staring at a land covered in white, the lake partially frozen over. There was a sharp decrease in temperature, causing her to high in relief as she walked forward. "Probably our dragon. That's the only thing I can think of that could cause this," she replied in response to Raunen's inquiry. Pulling off her gloves, she tapped the ice nearby, finding it easy to break. The cold water was honestly heaven on her face. "Better. ... Hang on, what is th-"

BANG!!

The magical bullet exploded upon contact with a humanoid figure, completely iced over. Val winced, seeing that clearly, it wasn't a threat to them. "Whoops. I believe I just killed a man. Again." Like it was the most normal thing in the world. Hang on, what was that on him? Was that-

"Oh gods. This was part of that fucking cult I told you about," she stated. "He's got the insignia on him. Apparently, this dragon isn't a friend of them, either..."

"Just as they ain't a friend of mine," said a voice in a hole. Val jumped, before walking up to the hole and pointing her gun down it.

"Ten seconds to untransform and come out before I shoot you, Forrest."

[ColArana]

Ranuen nodded in agreement. "White dragons are usually associated with ice, aren't they?" He inquired, wondering how well his own world's dragon lore mirrored Val's. Ranuen began to shiver slightly as the tropical warmth of the jungle was left behind. The little guy was not dressed for the cold, complete with a sleeveless shirt.

Val went out to check the ice, and Ranuen noted it was pretty easy to break. Although....

"If you want to scout across the ice, I'm probably light enough to-- wait, what is it?" He asked as he heard the gunshot, his eyes darting around cautiously.

In response to Val's comment though, Ranuen just shrugged. "Well. It happens." He replied. "Shouldn't have been sneaking up on you." This sort of thing seemed too commonplace for Ranuen. If he didn't know you, and it wasn't done out of malice or for kicks, then death happened. A bit of moral myopia but Ranuen wasn't a philosopher or anything like that so.... Yeah. When Val pointed out the cult insignia, Ranuen's eyes strained a little to look at it, boosting his sight with his magic. What was only a few meters for Val, was several miles to Ranuen after-all. "That's them huh? That's... well." Ranuen grinned. "Maybe we can find a few things out about them while we're here then~" And let loose a little more steam. Temperatures like this, Ranuen wanted to keep active to stay warm.

A voice came up and Ranuen held on tight as Val jumped, looking in the direction. "Forrest? Who's that?" He asked.

[DanteMGalileo]

"Glad to see you never change, Val. Gimme a minute. And put the gun away, I can smell it from here."

Val frowned at the voice in the hole, but for the sake of getting this encounter over with, she put away her cane-gun, motioning for Raunen to stand down as well. The ground near the hole shook, and there was the sound of something rising up from the depths. A pair of green eyes stood out in the darkness of the hole, followed by a snake-like head, mouth full of sharp teeth. Slowly, the creature emerged, revealing itself to be a dragon of sorts, covered in purple scales, yellow-green feathers sprouting from its neck, and green, feathered wings and a tail. Propping itself up on its midsection, it towered over the two humans.

There was a burst of smoke around the snake-like dragon, prompting Val to cover her nose and mouth. When it cleared, where the dragon stood was a teenaged boy, easily taller than Val despite his slouching. A long mess of dark brown hair trailed down his back, turning blonde in the back. His eyes were green, and a number of piercings were visible. Reaching into a dirty-looking hoodie, he pulled out what seemed to be a cigarette and a lighter. "So, Val... what brings you here?" Lighting the cigarette, Forrest placed the rolled-up thing in his mouth.

Val cringed slightly at his breath, taking a step back. "Investigating a dragon attack. What brings you here? Somehow, I doubt you were taking a bath." Putting it mildly. As Forrest took a puff of his cigarette, she quickly explained to Raunen, "This is Forrest. Autumn dragon. Not fond of my brother. Or of cold places. Or of baths. Don't get too close to his mouth and don't accept anything he offers you."

Either Forrest had not heard that remark or didn't care, releasing a burst of smoke into the sky. "Lookin' for some exotics 'round here. Of course, I doubt there's any left, what with the fuckin' impromptu winter. Had to hide underground, ya know? Don't wanna freeze."

[ColArana]

Ranuen had yet to actually draw his blade but he did relax a hair, on Val's shoulder, while watching Forrest emerge. "Another tall person? Come on..." Ranuen grumbled, noting the height of the dragon-person. He listened to Val's explanation of Forrest and glowered at him. "Then what are you sticking around here for?" He asked. "Go on then. Shoo." He muttered. "Unless you happen to have seen another dragon around here besides you."

[DanteMGalileo]

"... The hell is this yappy little thing you have?" Forrest raised a pierced eyebrow at Raunen. When he walked up, Val took another step back. "Y'know, I ain't much of a man-eater, unlike some of my kind." At this, Val tightly gripped her gun. "But you smell like you could make a nice snack if I tossed ya in some rosemary and thyme and roasted you over an open flame for a few minutes." Forrest made a dark chuckle, only stopping when Val fired her gun at him, narrowly missing his crotch.

"Insult my brother's spirit again and I won't miss," Val snarled. "Now, I'd suggest answering my questions, unless you would like to become a tote bag or whatever is in vogue now." Forrest groaned, but nodded his head. "That's what I like to see. Now, you said you were here gathering plants. What kind of plants, and for what reason, Forrest?"

"Jeez." Forrest's heads were above his head, cigarette sticking out of the side of his mouth. "Was lookin' for a few things I could possibly cross-pollinate the stinging nettle of fish to make it smell less like low tide and, y'know, maybe be edible. There's a few geranium dioxide's around here, so..." Reaching into his hoodie, he pulled out a flower with multiple blooms, carefully preserved in a small container. "Then that big honkin' white thing showed up. Looked pretty fuckin' pissed off at somethin'. Like, what? Did someone kill her clutch or somethin'?"

Val shook for a moment.

[ColArana]

Ranuen's glare intensified at Forrest as he referred to him. "This yappy little thing is going to kick your ass to the other side of the island if you keep that up." He growled out.

He was very happy that Val seemed familiar enough to handle him, and looked at her appreciatively. "Big honkin' white thing, huh?" Ranuen, being on Val's shoulder felt her start to shake, and steadied himself, taking a glance at her. Wait, what was that...? He thought for a moment. Probably wasn't due to the cold, that was his problem, not Val's. He looked back at Forrest. "Anyways. Why don't you be useful and tell us which way you saw the thing go?" He suggested.

[DanteMGalileo]

"If the yappy little thing keeps yapping, he will soon find himself in a new career. Namely, food services," Forrest shot Raunen a deadpan frown, licking his lips. "Anyways, if ya wanna suffer death by ice and or pissed-off dragon..." He shrugged, pointing back towards the rainforest. "It flew thataway. Looked like it was heading towards the rocky temple thing."

Val gave a curt nod. "That was easy. Now, why did you hesitate in saying t-"

"I wouldn't head that way if I was you, though," Forrest interrupted, reaching for a fresh cigarette with shaking hands. "There's some really big nasty thing in that there temple. Big black thing. Dragon, by the stench, but he ain't any type of dragon from our world... why that look? ... The hell's your bro at? What, he give up guarding you after daddy vanished?"

Val looked down, not wanting to give Forrest the pleasure of seeing her face. "Flint... he..."

[ColArana]

Ranuen crossed his arms with an eye twitch. "I'd be sure to give you the worst stomachache of your life. I don't digest well." He snarked back. Ranuen had been fortunate with his recent grouping of companions. He had a lot of trouble avoiding snark-to-snark combat, which was a problem when the size difference between himself and whoever he was arguing was something usually pretty easily taken advantage of.

But Forrest gave them the tip and Ranuen looked into the distance. ...And his face went a little pale. "....Rocky temple thing? Oh..." His blood began to surge again. "Val... That temple. That's where I first met that thing." He mentioned to her. "That's... And coupled with his description. It's gotta be him." He murmured to Val. His eyes snapped to Val seeing her look down, and decided to offer Val respite, by hopping off her shoulder, and landing between her and Forrest. Still at his ant-height, but that was also intentional to try to get Forrest looking down, rather than at Val until she had a moment to compose herself.

"Well anyways, you've told us what we need to know, you got what you came for, and it's hella cold here, so why don't we just go and part ways now, huh? Go bugger off wherever it is you came from." He stated in an annoyed tone of voice. The annoyance was not hard to put in, considering what they'd just been told. Vutezoth was there. Right there. Injured and weakened from the fight. And yet... Ranuen knew that if he tried a round 3 with the dragon there wouldn't be a round 4 for him and Val. They stood no chance. The bastard was right there and he was powerless to do anything about it. I'll make sure we avenge you Flint...

[DanteMGalileo]

"Yeah, I know when I ain't wanted, and don't act like I haven't eaten things far more toxic than you. Fugu, for one. That was fun," Forrest added with a chuckle, staring down at Raunen. "Oh, so you know that thing? Old friends? Fircaan scam chain letter sender and victim? Or just two things that really, really fucking hate each other?"

"I'd file it under the last, and you can count me," Val snapped, looking up with a surprisingly stoic expression, prompting Forrest to follow her upwards. "That thing killed Flint. I want revenge. I don't... think I have... family anymore, unless..." She looked off to the side.

"... I see." Forrest sharply exhaled through his nostrils. Reaching into his hoodie again, he pulled out a torn scrap of paper, handing it to Val. "I'm gonna find someplace a li'l bit warmer. Try not to die." With that, he jumped into the hole, followed by a small burst of smoke and something moving below...

"... What is... oh, no..." With the autumn dragon gone, Val scooped up Raunen, letting him see the paper, written in her language. "It says the following. 'If you see them, they can hear you. If you hear them, they can see them. Never go to their land. If you do, they can touch you.' That... that's something..." She actually sat down at this. "They're called The Visitors. They're said to be from a place beyond the scope of mankind..."

[ColArana]

Ranuen bit his tongue, unwilling to admit the relationship between himself and Vutezoth was, as much as he hated, and wanted to break the dragon; from the dragon's perspective, likely more akin to that with a somewhat annoying mosquito. Not that he'd say something like that out loud. Damn, he'd fallen behind. Before he might have hoped he'd at least qualify as a wasp or hornet or something. Why am I comparing myself to insects? He thought briefly and grumpily.

At Val's declaration, Ranuen looked back at her, relieved, but unsurprised that she'd rallied so quickly. And he completely agreed with her.

Regardless, Ranuen was relieved that Forrest had left and let Val pick him back up and check the paper. He couldn't read it, but with Val translating he understood it. "...Well that's f*cking ominous." He admitted. "Have you heard of these things before?" He asked. "Do you know anything about them?" Ranuen studied the parchment as if by staring at it long enough he'd understand it. "Their land.... Which from the context... it doesn't sound like it's on the island. I'm sure a rumor or something would have cropped up if there's a land that people don't come back from or something like that. Plus that beyond the scope of mankind thing..."

Ranuen was a little hesitant to say the name that Val had informed him of. As if by saying the name, he might attract unwanted eyes.

[DanteMGalileo]

"No use trying to hide," Val admitted, removing her books to soak her feet in the cold water. Ah, that's what she needed before they went back into the hot hellhole. You'd think it'd be a little cooler now that it was night, but no. "Even if you didn't see or hear them, chances are they'll pick us both up through me anyways."

Might as well put Raunen on equal footing with her. "I read about them. They can see and hear me. But I haven't been to wherever they originate from... at least I think I haven't..." Sighing, she placed a hand in the water, splashing her face. "... I don't like the uncertainty. It scares me." Okay, let's find a new topic. "... What do you reckon my brother's doing now with the demon girl and the wool-headed kid?"

[ColArana]

Ranuen frowned at Val's comment about no use trying to hide. "Not great at hiding anyways." He admitted. Pfft. Semi-lie. Ranuen would be great at hiding if he ever actually cared to. Instead he chose to battle his problems head on. Whether he was normal height or not. Whether it was a good idea or not. He gave Val a strange look when she said she only thought she hadn't been to wherever "they" were from. Wouldn't you know? He wondered in his mind, but didn't speak it aloud. "I understand that. ...Uncertainty is definitely something that worries me as well..."

So he was more than happy to change gears when Val switched things over to a.... happier...?... topic...? 

"You know him better than me." Ranuen admitted. "But from what I gathered from my few meetings, he's probably keeping an eye out for both of them. ...And possibly encouraging and or trying to convince them them to go and rip someone's head off. Something about him struck me as him being the type. But maybe I'm far off the mark there."

He shifted a little to keep his balance when Val splashed the water on her face. Damn cold!