Eye-roll.
Actaeon tugged a bit of the girl's hair, drawing out an objection of a yelp. His impatience was evident in his snarky, sarcastic tone. "Oh, what? Really? You can't manage to decipher the ancient texts of a hidden civilization that exists dimensions apart from your own? So, you're actually quite dull, eh?" He scoffed. "Now shut it. Nobody expects you to get this on your own, you daft cat. If you listened instead of ran your mouth, maybe we'd get somewhere..."
"Play nice, brother." Artemus, seemingly amused, leaned and whispered softly against Shadoe's fuzzy ear as the other two continued fighting like cats and dogs. "It's actually nice to see him like this. You see, not many people can get brother to show his emotions so easily. Isn't it great?"
Shadoe raised her eyebrows. "If you say so..."
Artemus reached across the podium and pulled at his brother's ears, perking them straight up like a German shepherd's. "Back to business?"
The wolf shook his head hard to escape Artemus' hold and let out a snuff of a growl. "...She started it."
"Anyway, yes, this scroll does say something important. This is the first of the two seer scrolls. This prophecy is the not so fun one. There's a lot of fancy and unnecessary words mixed in, but the gist of it says something like... 'Ladida you're all gonna die.'"
"And you're telling me to be serious?" Actaeon glanced up at the skylight and sighed. "Alright then, I've got this one. Something like..." Closing his eyes and taking a breath, he started in, "'When these words are read, understood, the darkness will have already begun gathering ranks in the shadows. The horizon will blacken, the springs will bubble up bloody, no man, woman, child, or creature will be able to run; none will escape. If you fail to heed these words and do not look to the counterpart of this scroll, prepare to be yourself marred by the claws of sin and tragedy that seek to bring an end to the Light.'"
"That's basically it. The rest of that scroll goes on about all the horrible ways we're going to die and suffer. Not exactly pleasant reading."
"So... What does all that have to do with us?" Ryli, her expression skeptical but possibly slightly concerned, stared at the depressing ink letters.
"I told you to listen a while, didn't I? Seer scrolls always come in pairs. It's not like tomorrow is set in stone. Foresight and prophecy can only act as a warning- what someone chooses to do with the glimpse into the future may or may not change the course of things." Actaeon reached to a thin panel on the side of the podium, knocking it with his fist. The rectangular wood piece loosened and fell away, revealing a second tattered looking scroll within. He pulled it out and rolled it open on top of its twin."In the case of seer scrolls, two possibilities of the future are given. These types of prophecies usually only come about concerning huge events. Such as the end of the world as we know it. We're hoping this second scroll has provided us with the key we need to stop the events described in the first scroll from progressing."
Shadoe raised her eyebrows. "If you say so..."
Artemus reached across the podium and pulled at his brother's ears, perking them straight up like a German shepherd's. "Back to business?"
The wolf shook his head hard to escape Artemus' hold and let out a snuff of a growl. "...She started it."
"Anyway, yes, this scroll does say something important. This is the first of the two seer scrolls. This prophecy is the not so fun one. There's a lot of fancy and unnecessary words mixed in, but the gist of it says something like... 'Ladida you're all gonna die.'"
"And you're telling me to be serious?" Actaeon glanced up at the skylight and sighed. "Alright then, I've got this one. Something like..." Closing his eyes and taking a breath, he started in, "'When these words are read, understood, the darkness will have already begun gathering ranks in the shadows. The horizon will blacken, the springs will bubble up bloody, no man, woman, child, or creature will be able to run; none will escape. If you fail to heed these words and do not look to the counterpart of this scroll, prepare to be yourself marred by the claws of sin and tragedy that seek to bring an end to the Light.'"
"That's basically it. The rest of that scroll goes on about all the horrible ways we're going to die and suffer. Not exactly pleasant reading."
"So... What does all that have to do with us?" Ryli, her expression skeptical but possibly slightly concerned, stared at the depressing ink letters.
"I told you to listen a while, didn't I? Seer scrolls always come in pairs. It's not like tomorrow is set in stone. Foresight and prophecy can only act as a warning- what someone chooses to do with the glimpse into the future may or may not change the course of things." Actaeon reached to a thin panel on the side of the podium, knocking it with his fist. The rectangular wood piece loosened and fell away, revealing a second tattered looking scroll within. He pulled it out and rolled it open on top of its twin."In the case of seer scrolls, two possibilities of the future are given. These types of prophecies usually only come about concerning huge events. Such as the end of the world as we know it. We're hoping this second scroll has provided us with the key we need to stop the events described in the first scroll from progressing."
"'The seekers will be two of blessed royal blood and beastly being. The wraith. The titan. The found will be two from afar. One with a cool approach to danger, a cold gaze for her adversary, a frigid blade for her opponent. The other with a warm heart to kindle her flame, a fiery passion to fuel the blaze of her destructive force. Stars, Moon, Void, Sun. All four must come together to aid Light, to defeat the darkness that now threatens to smother the land.'"
"Ah..." Shadoe's eyes widened comprehensively. "We're... 'the found,' then...? I don't know about all that other stuff, but we are from afar... And you did find us..."
"Exactly." Artemus' smile lit up his face. "Our instincts helped us find you. And the fact that you two transformed is proof of your resonance with this place. Can you feel it?"
"Mm..." Reaching to scratch one of her triangular ears, Ryli nodded a bit, her bad attitude mellowing. "Well... I'm not sure exactly what I feel, but... I think we can stay a while..."
"You mean...?" Actaeon, who had prepared himself for a further fight, looked between the two girls.
They grinned and replied in unison, "Yup."
"It's no Disneyland, but we could use a vacation." Ryli drew her fingers through her jet-black hair, peering up through the skylight. The sun had gone back to shining.
"Even future world-famous rockstars need a break every now and then." Shadoe shrugged her shoulders.
"Wh-what?! You think this is gonna be a break--?! A 'vacation,' she says...!"
Ryli ignored the wolf. "Well, we'll be intruding on your castle for a while, then! Lucky you."
"Who exactly is lucky...?!"
"This should be fun!" The crown prince had joined in as well, ignoring his brother in the same way.
Actaeon suddenly wondered if the end of the world could be all that much worse than this.
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