186 Raijuu no Tsume

Aži hopped through the snow that covered the ground. He enjoyed the crunching sound it made whenever he moved about and liked how deep the winter blanket got compared to Marseille's light snow.

Now that he became bigger, Tyr stopped letting him perch on his shoulder. It had been a bit disappointing, but to cheer Aži up, Macha bought him a small belly pouch he could wear like a reverse backpack. It was made with a dark grey canvas and had golden thread embroidering their guild emblem on it. The best thing about the pouch was that it allowed him to hold his own snacks.

Taking a break from playing, he opened up the bag and brought a frozen mouse out of the pocket. A warmth gathered in his belly and he let out a small stream of fire. As the snack heated up, the grey fur burnt away, and the skin became charred. After a few moments, he gobbled it down and ran to catch up with the two. These mice tasted better than his normal slop because Macha stuffed them with shallots. After grilling them, the softened shallots made his usual fare much richer and more complex.

"How do you like them? Do you think it's worth the extra effort or should I just leave your mice the way they were before?" she asked while panting.

The other day Aži was picking food off of Tyr's plate at dinner time. This made her realized that he almost never ate mice out of his miniature fridge when they stayed at home. He always preferred to eat the cooked meat off of their plates. This led her to think about his preferences and she tried stuffing shallots into his mice to see if he would like it.

He responded by rubbing up against her leg. There was no way he wanted to go back to eating unflavored mice now that he could eat them this way. The only time he would do such a thing, would be if the small critters were still alive. Freshly killed prey tasted much better than any cooked meat he ever consumed.

Tyr moved past them. He carried a large canvas sack on his shoulder for the raijuu no tsume they would hopefully collect. He eyed Aži, annoyed that the little wyvern pretended to be so cute. His friend always acted that way whenever he was around Macha.

"Stop spoiling him. You're going to make him soft."

The cave stood just a few paces ahead, so, despite Macha sounding winded, he did not pause to let her rest. He knew the deep snow was difficult for her to trudge through, but it was a good exercise for her.

"Come on you two," he called as he stood before the entrance.

Before going in, he scanned the inside to make sure it appeared safe. Many rocks and boulders littered the ground and it had a towering narrow mouth that let in a stream of sunlight. The stone walls were a dull grey with flecks of brown in them.

Macha ran to catch up with him. She slapped his butt as she passed him.

Her giggle echoed in the cavern and she taunted, "You're the one who's going soft, my 'Cold Hearted Captain'."

She enjoyed teasing him about his former nickname from time to time because it was the complete opposite of what he acted like with her. In her eyes, most people never had a chance to find out how caring he really was.

Looking on the ground, Macha saw something glitter with the afternoon sun. She bent down to pick up the shiny object. Her eyes grew wide, "Oh!" she exclaimed and jumped back as she let it drop to the ground.

Before the object hit the ground, Tyr stood by her side.

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

She pointed to the object on the ground, "That looks like a gem. What do you think?" she asked. Although the rock looked like a diamond, she had never seen an uncut gem before.

Tyr squatted down and picked up the stone. "Looks like a diamond," he replied and nonchalantly tossed the stone back on the ground. The gem did not appear to be an amazing quality gem, and it was too small to be worth his time.

Macha's mouth dropped open when he tossed the gem on the floor as if it were trash. She picked up the jewel, and dusted it off.

She turned the gem around in her fingers, with a smile on her face. "I'm keeping it then."

Even if he did not care about the diamond, she did. If the stone was just lying on the ground, she did not see a reason leave it here.

Aži rushed past her and purred. Next to him stood another gem, further in the cave. He picked this one up and shoved it greedily into his pouch. Shiny gems were always nice to have. He recognized that he was giving in to his dragonistic side, but he could not care less.

This new discovery caused Macha to jump up and down, "Tyr, Tyr! Look. There are diamonds here." She pointed excitedly to where Aži sat, busy stuffing his second diamond into his sack.

Tyr was not impressed with the gems and thought it was a waste of energy to even pick them up.

In a dispassionate voice, he remarked, "Yes. That's nice. You two can collect them for now, but we're here to gather the raijuu no tsume. That plant is worth much more and they help people in need."

The three walked until the sunlight could not reach any further into the cave. Macha and Tyr lit the stones which hung around their neck. His necklace gave off a cold white light, but she had recently purchased one that gave off a warm yellow glow which looked more like candlelight.

The cavern lit up and Macha saw tall stalagmites rising up from the floor around them. Her eyes traveled up to the ceiling, where some of the stalagmites joined up with the stalactites that dripped down from above.

She reached out and held Tyr's hand. Scared to speak too loudly in case it caused the stalactites to fall on them, she whispered, "It's beautiful."

Tyr kissed the top of her head. "Yeah, the plants do look nice, don't they?"

He liked how the air plants floated in the air, upside down. Their base comprised of a small bubble which surrounded the short roots. This bubble allowed the plant to float in the air. The reason they grew in caves was that the cave ceilings trapped them. If they grew outside, then the sun would dry up their watery bubble or they would float away.

Only after his comment did she notice the spiky plants that hung from the ceiling. The magnitude of the stalagmites and stalactites had invaded her perceptions, making her ignore the foliage that grew around them. It was dark, so she had a difficult time seeing the plants which pressed against the ceiling.

"What are those?" she asked while pointing to the cave's flora.

"Aži," Tyr called. His voice sounded strict and commanding.

This was the reason he brought his friend along to the cave. It was easier for the wyvern to fly up and collect the plants than for him to continually jump up.

Aži shoved one last diamond into his pouch before reluctantly starting his task. His dark leathery wings unfolded as he flew up, beginning to pick only the healthiest-looking plants. When his small claws were filled, he swooped down to drop them off.

Tyr passed Macha a plant. He explained, "This is called raijuu no tsume. It creates a jolt to the brain and helps people who stutter."

A frown formed on his face and he looked up, "Don't get the appuntite himmels, only the raijuu no tsume today."

He then tossed two plants to the side. They flipped so the water bubble floated to the top. Then they drifted up to the ceiling, their spiny leaves swung back and forth.

After that, he continued explaining what the raijuu no tsume was and how to tell what made an SS grade plant. A little while later, the hairs on the back of his neck began to rise. Something did not seem right, so he paused and looked around.

Macha turned the plant over in her hand. It was light, and the leaves curved like a claw. Using her finger, she touched the tip of a leaf. It felt sharp like a cat's claw, but it was also flexible. She brought out her dagger and popped the bubble that allowed the plant to float as Tyr showed her.

The cave appeared to be safe and Tyr could not see anything out of the ordinary. He turned his attention back to the plant he held and thought, "Must be my imagination. I just came back from the war, so I'm probably too high strung."