Sam sighed. "Alright, follow me. We'll be at Valiente's gates soon enough," Sam said. The others got to their feet, and Sam led them through the forest. After a while the strange trees began to grow greener and more normal-looking, though upon closer inspection the whorls of bark were actually lined with what appeared to be gold. The further they walked, the more gold-splotched the trees became until they finally found themselves in the middle of an enormous, beautiful orchard. Gold apples hung from the branches of the trees, and in the distance a massive golden gate stood in the middle of a sizeable wall. Sam made his way towards it, and Argo appeared more anxious the closer they got
Orion, trailing after the group, looks at the golden apples with something akin to longing in his gaze. With a heavy sigh, he hurries to walk besides Lata, giving her a smile as he does so. As they near the gate, he pulls his hood back up, and his footsteps slow, seemingly loathe to leave the orchard.
(CA1! YOU'RE BACK!!!!!!!)
(HERE, QUEER, READY TO GO)
Orion, trailing after the group, looks at the golden apples with something akin to longing in his gaze. With a heavy sigh, he hurries to walk besides Lata, giving her a smile as he does so. As they near the gate, he pulls his hood back up, and his footsteps slow, seemingly loathe to leave the orchard.
Lata gives a small smile in return. Looking around, the area seemed to be more lively. The pass was quite tall and were she not here with people knowledgeable of this realm, it would be more than a bit intimidating.
(just gonna make a longass response out of boredom)
Sam led them to the gates, which were guarded by two men on either side. They looked relatively human at first, though when they drew closer it was evident they weren't from their strange gold eyes. "What do you want, strangers?" one of the guards asked.
"We seek refuge. We are weary and have no place to stay," Sam answered. One of the guards began to speak but was cut off by a voice from behind the gates. The guards looked towards them, and they swung open to make way for a tall, attractive man with the same gold eyes.
"Relax, I was expecting them," the man said, a lazy grin across his face. He looked over at the crowd, scanning their group for a moment before his eyes landed on Argo who was not-so-discreetly trying to hide behind one of Eriks' wings. "Hey gorgeous," the man purred before winking at Argo
Lata glanced at the man who apparently had been expecting them. Suddenly, she felt quite short next to everyone here. To be fair, she was quite young as well. It was tempting to snap at the man to cut the flirting to a minimum, but she kept her mouth shut as he was the one who seemed to be in charge.
Usually, Malachi would keep himself quiet, but he had taken sides with his Uncle Argo. If this man was upsetting him, then he wouldn't allow it for long. He was the youngest, so he really had no power in the group, so he quickly gave his uncle's hand a squeeze.
Lucy shifted her weight on her heels, crossing her arms over herself. This man had to be the ex that Argo had been dreading seeing. Though she had the urge to point out that they were just shortly passing through, she bit her tongue and decided it wouldn’t be best to let her exhaustion effect her attitude.
(my brain: why don't we cue Yeon stumbling out after him like "what the FUCK is going on")
"Bastian," Argo muttered bitterly. Bastian simply smirked before turning on his heel.
"Come along now, unless you like being eaten by the forest. I hear it's particularly ravenous lately," he hummed before beginning to lead them through the gates and towards what looked like the beginnings of a massive golden city
For the most part, Orion seems to be at ease with the man, though his eyes narrow when he mentions the forest. Like this insolent fool would know anyway. No reason to blame the forest for trying to live. Douche. With a sigh, and what sounds like a curse, Orion follows, keeping step next to Lata all the way. Not trusting the man completely, he keeps half a step behind her, so that he would be able to protect her if the need arises.
(AW THAT'S SO SWEET, WAY TO GO CAT DAD)
(we need some more angry noodle dad soon lmao)
Noticing more and more become put on edge by this "Bastian" person, Lata felt her features turn into somewhat of a scowl. She hoped Sam had been right about this place. After this long day, the young mage was eager to go home. She wished Sam hadn't needed to come back to this realm after retrieving his soul key. Things were as they were however. Continuing, Lata walked along with everyone else.
(Never gonna give this up)
(Never gonna let this down)
Bastian led them past several buildings, eventually stopping at what appeared to be a bullet train in the distance. It appeared relatively normal at first, though as they approached it became clear that what originally looked like scuffed paint was actually splotches of gold on the train's surface
"Damn, this place is fancy," Lata muttered. She almost had to squint from the overwhelming amounts of gold. Did this place really need so much? Seeing the train, it sparked her interest a bit, having never been in one before.
(lmao if you're wondering why there's so much good, it's bc Bastian's species loves gold. it's also the only thing that can kill them)
"By mortal standards, yes," Bastian hummed. As they walked up to the older train the doors slid open of their own accord. It appeared to be of a Japanese model, and Bastian led them inside while Argo rolled his eyes
Lata rolled her eyes at the mortal comment. Upon seeing the interior of the transportation, Lata seemed to enjoy looking around. She was excited to be able to ride in such a thing. She felt as if she were an important person of power or some sort. It was more advanced than anything she had ever seen. With the way the small girl was acting, she seemed as if she were about as young and innocent as Malachi, who was still with his parents, in awe of the fancy train.
(oof I was waiting for more people to start responding before I continued the descriptive stuff and then it died again)
