A Quiet Adventure [FINISHED]

[Harpsdesire]

From Graeme's words, Dania surmised that his thought process had been similar to her own. She was pleased that he seemed to come to the conclusion that exploitation of the spring was not the thing to do, regardless if he was motivated by desire to preserve this wondrous place, or a fear of the cat-queen's magical retribution.

Dania was unconcerned when Graeme started to undress- most cards in biped form went without clothes as a matter of course, so it was hardly shocking to see him in merely his natural coat of feathers. Still, she looked away discreetly for a moment, lest he notice her gaze and feel awkward.

Even with the known magical powers of the stream, it was cold, and Dania wasn't exactly eager to follow in the Duck's webbed footsteps. She stood at the very edge of the water, instead, attempting to be of at least a little use by holding up the lantern to throw it's light across a wider area. "Do you see anything?"

It was hard to tell if that slight glint by the rock was something under the water, or just a reflection of the lantern light over moving water. Maybe the key would be tarnished, and she shouldn't be looking for something shiny at all. She squinted, leaning forward to get a better view.

If she had to, Dania would get back in the water and feel around with her paws. They were too close to the treasure to give up now, no matter how cold the water was. Still, she rather hoped she didn't have to.

[Lucca]

Graeme got to the spot he thought he'd seen the glint, or close to it, and frowned, trying to see it again. It didn't help that the water was moving constantly and throwing back the lantern light in strange ways. It might have been pretty if he'd had the time to appreciate such a thing. He nudged the rocks aside with his webbed toes, and--there it was again! A grin spread on his bill. "Aye, lass, ah believe that ah do," he responded, but before plunging under the water, he turned and looked at Dania, as if considering something.

"Lass...d'nae worry about following me inta the water. Me feathers protect me more than your fur would you." He had seen the hesitation in her eyes, and he didn't want her to take too many risks. She'd already helped him immensely and kept him company, for which the Duck was very grateful. Turning back to the water, he took a deep breath and went down, eyes squinting under the water and hands fumbling until he took hold of something. A small, metallic, key-shaped something.

"Aha!" Springing up again out of the water, wings fluttering and glasses askew, Graeme grinned something fierce, one hand fisted into the air with what was clearly a key held tightly within.

[Harpsdesire]

Dania felt a tremor of excitement pass through her body as Graeme answered. If all went well, they could be opening up the treasure in a mere few minutes! Even the thought of passing by the Canine skeleton to get to the chest hardly dampened her enthusiasm. This sort of thing never happened to her, but here she was, about to see a mythical cache of gold with her own two eyes. Goodness, what would her parents think about this?

In the long run it would probably be better if her mother didn't find out about the whole 'secret cave/unicorn treasure' thing. Mom was a little.. fanciful in the head... as it was. Dad however, would simply have no choice but to admit that his daughter wasn't completely useless when she returned home, full of adventurous tales and probably laden down with gold. It was a heady thought, and Dania grinned to herself. This day was getting better and better.

Oh, Graeme was talking to her! Dania nodded, a little distracted, again thinking briefly what a gentleman he was, and why couldn't more cards cultivate a certain amount of civility... although such contemplations took a back seat to watching him look for the key.

When he bobbed under the stream's shining surface, Dania gave a little wiggle of anticipation-- he must see something! "Oh, the key!" She laughed out loud in triumph as she spied the small metal object in his hand. Having the key hidden in the stream may have been frustrating to Graeme, but from Dania's perspective it made the whole experience more like an adventurous story, and therefore better than if they had been able to open the chest easily right away.

Still, she was growing impatient to see what secrets the treasure chest held. She clapped her front paws together in delight, "I can hardly wait to see the treasure, lets open the box!

[Lucca]

The grin that Graeme gave to Dania upon his emergence from the water bordered on 'disturbingly obsessive'...but then, the Rat was already aware of just how much the Duck loved gold. "My thoughts precisely, lass," he said. Golden eyes still glowing more fervently than ever, he hopped back out of the water and, without even pausing to collect his jacket (which at any other time he would have been quite embarrassed about his state of undress, and in front of a woman no less!) made his way over to the chest.

Trembling with barely contained excitement, Graeme fumbled with the key for a moment, and slid it into the lock. With a satisfying click, the ancient lock gave, and Graeme threw back the lid of the chest, heedless of the way a few pieces of rotting wood came loose at the action. After all, it wasn't the chest itself that he was concerned about, but what was inside it.

And oh, though he'd been expecting it, Graeme's breath still caught in his throat at the sight of all that gold, right there in front of him! The chest was as full as he could have hoped, and he just took a moment to savor the sight, the smell, the feeling of being right...a soft, happy sigh as the Duck closed his eyes and inhaled. He could hardly wait to get home and add all these pieces to his vault! Then he could count his money again, or perhaps swim in it!

[Harpsdesire]

If possible, Graeme was even more excited than Dania. Without even pausing to dry his feathers, he proceeded straight to the chest and it was only a few seconds more before the gold was gleaming in the lantern light after many, many years of darkness. Dania came up close (doing her best to avoid thinking about the macabre grin of the wolf's skull) and peer into the chest. There was more gold in there than she had seen in her life-- literally more shining coins in that one rotted chest than all the money she had ever previously seen, combined.

She let out a girlish a slightly embarrassing squeak of surprised delight. Real, actual, historically and intrinsically valuable treasure! Just like in books and pirate stories! She put out a claw and lightly poked a coin near the corner of the chest, just to assure herself that it was solid and real. "Woah..." She breathed, inarticulate at the sight of such wealth.

Graeme looked happy, too, and Dania did a small awkward dance of glee (since his eyes were closed anyway, she thought she could get away with it). It was his gold, really. She never would have even known she was sitting right above it if he hadn't come along and mentioned it to her. But she did help, and hopefully the refined Card would have the decency to share. He was very kind, but the look on his face when he opened the chest suggested that 'sharing' wasn't in his vocabulary when it came to gold.

She reached out and touched a coin again. Still real! And a few of them should be for her, right? Hadn't she helped with the digging and carried the lantern? Dania wasn't about to try and make off with a share of the treasure, but it was... oddly tempting to make a claim on at least a little bit of it. Strange the way the sight of so much gold affected the mind... she couldn't help but think about the things she could buy, like sweets, dresses for her mother, books... her own bookstore or library, even, with all that!

[Lucca]

So much gold...and it was all his! Every last piece of it! Graeme's hands lingered in the air above the gold, as if touching it would break some spell and cause it to vanish right out from underneath his bill. Movement made him turn his head, eyes widening as he saw a foreign paw coming right towards...-touching- his gold! He made a motion, preparing to whack the intruder with his cane, when he realized two things. First, that he didn't even have his cane on him, since he had left it outside the cave with the rest of his things, and two...that wasn't some low sneak thief, come to steal his gold...it was his partner in this venture. She deserved some of the treasure just as much as he did.

He turned to would-be attack into a friendly gesture instead, patting Dania's shoulder. A calmer smile came onto his bill, the gold fever having (thankfully) run its greedy course for now. "Ah, now Dania...we shall reap the benefits of our hard work! Come, help me ge'this gold inta..." The Duck paused, for upon looking for the burlap sacks he knows he pocketed before digging for the cave...he realized that the pockets themselves were no longer on his person.

Graeme's wings fluttered nervously as the Duck began muttering apologies, a faint flush visible beneath his white feathers. Ah, how unfortunate! He hadn't even realized he'd been half naked! But gold makes fools of all, especially him! Graeme returned to the place he'd left his jacket, shaking his feathers out on the way, and pulled the garment on quickly, hands flying over the buttons.

He tossed one of the sacks wordlessly in Dania's direction, and then turned his back for a moment to gain his composure again, running fingers through his damp mane.

[Harpsdesire]

Dania saw Graeme's eyes widen, his hand stretch toward her, and she hastily pulled back her paw, stiffening in preparation for his reaction. She didn't expect it to be at all pleasant. When he touched her shoulder lightly it was a surprise. The rat hoped he couldn't feel the tension in her shoulders. She returned his smile, nervously.

At least his shock at finding himself undressed prevented an (even more) awkward moment in which they both considered how Dania foolishly touched the gold and he very nearly made the major social mistake of smacking her paw. Instead, as he rushed to get his coat on, Dania had a moment to look at the treasure all she wanted. She even sniffed it, as Graeme had done, but found it had no scent beyond the faint whiff of dust and rotting wood.

She wasn't sure quite why he seemed so uncomfortable without his jacket, but Dania had no desire to question him on the matter. That would only embarrass him further, which would be very bad manners, she thought. She didn't even try to meet his eyes as he returned, flustered and apparently speechless.

Dania took the offered sack with a quiet word of thanks and carefully scooped paw-fuls of coins into it. If the top layer of coins was lovely, the ones below were prettier still. They gleamed with far less dust and tarnish than those directly below the decomposing lid of the chest.

She hummed softly with satisfaction, as much pleased with the adventure as the outcome. Successful treasure hunt! Dania had the gold in her hands and yet she still couldn't believe this was really happening to her.

[Lucca]

When Graeme felt it had been long enough for propriety's sake (and the knowledge that there was a full chest of gold waiting for him began burning steadily in his blood) he picked up the other burlap sack and returned to the chest, drawn like it was a magnet and he was a bit of metal. Hands fairly trembling, he picked up a handful of the lovely, lovely gold, sighing softly as he felt the cool weight of ancient riches.

He couldn't help but raise it to his bill for another luxurious sniff, eyes practically rolling back into his head...before putting it into the sack and eagerly reaching for another scoop of coins. It went faster after that, as the sack got heavier and the chest got emptier. He felt there was no need for words right now; this was a beautiful moment, and both he and Dania knew exactly what to do, so why interrupt the hushed silence of the cave, which was only broken by the quiet lapping of water against rock? They were even too far underground to hear birdsong from the forest above.

At last, the chest had been relieved of all its treasures, and sat there, a mess of rotting wood and rusted metal siding. Graeme stood up, stretching out the slight cramps in his legs, and then turned to Dania. "Ready to go?" He hefted the sack over his shoulder. It was heavy, to be sure...but he was sure he could get it to the surface, and whatever slight pain his back may suffer because of it would be completely worth it.

[Harpsdesire]

When the chest no longer held a single coin, and Graeme spoke, Dania replied softly, "I'm ready." Still, she hesitated, looking around once more to cement the image of the blessed stream, the Canine skeleton and the painted walls in her memory. This was probably the single most excited thing that had ever happened to Dania. It was not unreasonable to suspected that nothing so exciting would ever happen to her again. She would drink in this adventure fully, and store it away in her mind, a thing to remember and tell her future children, precious and treasured as the coins in the burlap bags.

She stood and hefted her sack of gold. It was rather less full than Graeme's, both because her paws were smaller than biped hands and scooped more slowly, and because she doubted her ability to climb over slippery rocks on three legs and balance a heavy bag of shifting coins at the same time. Still, she had to pull her weight, and her burden was still rather heavy. She got up and continued to the edge of the little underground stream, and paused, an idea suddenly alighting in her mind and refusing to be ignored.

The stream had no huge effect on her body, as it had little need of healing. Yet... inside... She would be prideful (as well as foolish) to think there weren't things about her that were quite damaged, indeed. She, like all of her realm, was a miserable, cursed creature. To be in constant pain from her bound leg and tail was no more than she deserved, no more than her duty, as it was the duty of every card born with a set of white wing markings. Unicorn-blessed water was surely not meant for her, too sacred, too precious for her kind, and yet... feeling reckless, Dania crouched and drank deeply from the stream.

The water was icy, and tasted as good and sweet as any pure spring water would, faintly mineral and crisp. She didn't feel any immediate effect of her boldness, but imagined the clear liquid making it's way through her, mending the broken and twisted bits of her heart and spirit, healing up all the cracks. All the times she had cried behind the bookshelves for reasons even she didn't really understand, all the times her father's face had said 'I wish you had been the one to die' without ever uttering the words, all the times she had come home to find her mother knitting little boys' clothes with no sons to wear them... in her mind the crystal water passed over those times and they became rippled and blurred.

It must have been only her fancy, maybe her desire and wishful thinking that made the change, but Dania felt lighter, just the tiniest bit. Braver perhaps, like the type of card who not only could have adventures, but did. She took another few gulps of the precious water, and with droplets in her whiskers and eyes strangely bright, she amended her statement. "Now I'm ready."

[Lucca]

Graeme nodded, an easy smile coming to his bill as it looked like they were ready to go back up and enjoy the spoils of their hunt. He began to walk back, but when he reached the stream he paused, thinking that the footfalls behind him were slower than they should be...she was dawdling, and a slight flash of annoyance went across the Duck's face. It was fine with him if Dania wanted another minute in the cavern; as he had remembered earlier, he had all day for this adventure. But he would have liked a warning that she wasn't done here! That had been why he'd asked the question in the first place.

Shaking his head, and he turned and opened his mouth to ask the Rat if she wanted more time to look around, but the words died on his tongue as he saw her...drinking out of the stream. At first, he was confused. Though the water was doubtless quite clean, owning to how close to the source they were, if she'd wanted something to drink he would have gladly provided more water with his Spade spell.

But then, he realized her actions were more purposeful. She was drinking of the stream not because she was thirsty, but because it was blessed. Tilting his head, Graeme watched thoughtfully, as he could only guess at Dania's reasons. His first thought was that she was sick with something, but she seemed perfectly healthy and had given no signs of anything being wrong with her, other than her odd binding.

...no, surely she wasn't trying to...free herself? Torquehelm and its peculiarities wasn't something Graeme often dealt with, especially not on the personal level that would allow him insight into bindings and why some Torques did away with them. Really, it just wasn't something he'd ever feel like he could say much about, though he'd been to the place and read plenty of books on the subject. Still, from what little he did understand, freeing oneself was a different process for everyone, rather like learning a new form. So who knew, if that was Dania's intent than perhaps it would help.

By the time she looked up, whiskers dripping, Graeme smiled kindly and adjusted his bag on his shoulder. "If you need more time here, that's fine. Ah'm nae tryin' ta rush you." Of course, if she still insisted that she was ready, the Duck would turn and begin the climb back out of the cave.