The Dragon's horde--ambrose and yuuki

[YuukiHyouketsu]

Yuuki headed for a secluded spot on one side of the library. one of the studies might have been a better venue to practice in, but the library was currently quieter. she sat cross-legged on the floor with her head leaning against the shelves with her eyes closed. just how and Ketsuta done it all of those years ago? she tried to access the memory--one of many that she'd attempted to shove toward the far reaches of her mind. for a moment, she could see the dragon's horde glittering in front of her, though it seemed a bit to far away--not real enough. she tried to focus the image, shifting her view to scan the items that covered the floor.

she didn't understand why ketusta had given her the "key' to accessing the horde. though Yuuki was part dragon, she hadn't gained the love of jewels whatsoever. in fact, she had absolutely no use for most material things--what's the point of money when you have nothing to buy? still, she thought she'd at least take a peak; there may be something there that would spark her interest. and, if that failed, she would at least have a stash of possible christmas and birthday presents in the future.

she sighed and started humming to herself quietly as she hunted through the piles of treasure.

[Ambrose]

Ambrose entered the library to gather research materials-- homework had started to pile up during the break, and it was looming on him more than ever. He was never one for 'pleasure-reading,' but he could definately take comfort in the silence of the place. And so, he felt quite comfortable in his surroundings.

The red-headed boy glanced through the shelves, careful not to find anyone . . . unwanted. The list of potention people who could very easily turn the library into a battle ground was growing ever by the day. The list of allies? Slim to none. Sure, there was Haggis, but he hadn't seen him in ages; then, of course, there was Yuuki, but she had disa--

He spotted a patch of light blue up ahead admist the rows of shelving.

No. It couldn't be. . . .

Ambrose had to make sure, though. Screwing whatever assignment he had to complete for Monday, he dashed throug the shelving and towards the figure. "Yuuki?"

[YuukiHyouketsu]

Yuuki's wings were stretched out and laying on the ground comfortable on either side of her as she sat, trying to find a trinket with which she could practice when she heard Ambrose's voice.

she blinked and locked up, the feather in her hair momentarily swinging over her eyes. "oh, hello, ambrose," she replied, trying to blink some clarity into her eyes. it was like reading after a long period of time--your head and eyes feel a little groggy.

"i haven't seen you in a while. still surviving the castle, then?" she smiled kindly. he must have come to the library to work on homework, he must have cared a little...or he didn't care, which was exactly why he was doing it...sure, that last bit didn't make any sense, but it sounded more like ambrose than the prior.

[Ambrose]

"Yeah, I'm doing just fine," Ambrose reassured Yuuki with a smile-- Yuuki. He was doing more than just 'fine' now. Looming homework, the ever-vilagent Them, the shortest list of allies one could ever lay eyes on . . . He didn't care. Yuuki was back!

Ambrose glanced around a little as he spoke, careful that no one was around. The last thing he wanted was for Leon or anyone else to show up and ruin the meeting.

More importantly . . . "How are you doing?" Ambrose immediately questioned back, wanting to know all about it. "Have you fallen into any more trees?"

[YuukiHyouketsu]

Yuuki laughed lightly. "Well no, no trees this time...actually, it was ketsuta that sort of put me out of commission...or, lack thereof, rather. She left me with a little gift though."

Yuuki attempted to envision the horde at the back of her mind.

"I never knew that dragons really did keep hordes..." She murmered under her breath.

[Ambrose]

Ketsuta? Why did that sound familiar?

"Out of-- she hurt you?" Ambrose immediately questioned, his eyes flaring slightly. His anger had been pent-up for far too long. It needed an outlit, and what better use was beating the life out of an enemy of Yuuki's? Her next phrase, though, caught him off-gaurd, his anger quickly vanishing.

Dragons? HORDES? That . . . brought back bad memories. The kind that he didn't want resurfacing. EVER.

". . . Dragons don't exist," Ambrose comforted. "Never have, never will." He didn't dare mention the treasure quiet yet-- let her down slowly . . .

[YuukiHyouketsu]

"well, she's kind of dead now, whatever the heck she was...either way she used to collect a few odds and ends from villagers back in...oh, 1300, i think? her memories are cluttered, so i've lost track. hmm, i wonder if i can..."

she tried to picture all the trinkets and things in the horde. there were some poor souls' armor in the back, most likely from a very rough encounter. the horde wasn't accessible by humans, so they must have been killed in her nesting cave. Yuuki continued to scan the heaps of treasure until her eyes landed on a pretty sapphire. there. something to practice on.

she looked at her hands, and a pool of water formed there, before turning into a long gold scepter with a sapphire set in the top.

"well," she murmured. "that wasn't exactly what i was going for, but at least i got the sapphire right...anyway, some of this stuff is actually offerings from the many years of the dragon. people used to bring anything valuable they could find up to the caves and leave it there. a bit silly, i think."

[Ambrose]

Ambrose wasn't quite sure what Yuuki was talking about-- 1300s? Was the kid that old? Somehow, he doubted it. This 'Ketsuta' character, however evil she was, apparently left an inheritence, and--

That scepter. Was beautiful.

Ambrose walked almost in a trance towards Yuuki, ending up right behind her, his arms reaching around her body and towards the precious object. It was so beautiful. . . .

A part of his brain, however flooded with bliss, processed what Yuuki told him. "There's . . . more?" he gasped, barely able to talk. He was so enveloped in awe that it was almost hard to breathe.

At this point, he didn't care if Yuuki said that pink elephants could fly. The thought of dragons and their horde was far out of his mind by now.

[YuukiHyouketsu]

Yuuki's heartbeat kicked up a notch when ambrose was suddenly directly behind her, reaching around for the sceptor. she obligingling shifted it closer toward him so he could take it and examine it better.

"there's a large cavern of sorts...there may be seperate levels, but its hard to tell."

she could see the place quite clearly at this point, and a part of her wondered if she could show ambrose what the place looked like...
she watched his reaction, realizing he must have had some fetish for gold. she hazily remember talking to haggis in the summer, and that he'd promise to give anything that he found to the owner of the metal detector. had that been ambrose? the main reason why she remembered the conversation was because of how nice Haggis had been (though shy). she couldn't believe she remembered the conversation...

[Ambrose]

Ambrose reached over and grabbed hold of the scepter, not necessarily snatching it from Yuuki, though.

"It's . . . beautiful," he whispered to himself, competely entranced. It needed to be polished-- over and over and over and over. That sapphire, too.

He held the scepter close and, in the process, pratically hugged Yuuki, her wings half-burrowing into his face. That didn't matter, though.

"How do . . . we get more?" he asked, his eyes still on the shiny gold.

[YuukiHyouketsu]

Yuuki thought for a moment.
"there's quite a bit there. we could...," she sighed before turning slightly to face ambrose. "here. i can just show you." she set her hand out slightly in front of her. she figured she could summon an image of the horde in her mind, and make it strong enough so that it was visible to ambrose by touch. it would be easier than describing everything that was there to ambrose, and asking him what sparked his interest.

she was honestly curious about what drew him to gold so much, but she decided not to ask.

[Ambrose]

Before Ambrose could ask, the image of the cavern filled his vision. A few bats fluttered from the entrance every once and a while, but besides that, there was simply the gold. And, lots of it.

There were goblets embedded with small rubies around its circumference, necklaces where the smithy obviously did not know the concept of having too many diamonds, rings that glimmered in the distant sunlight . . . coins that screamed to be polished, the many years' dust paining them deeply . . .

"It's beautiful," he smiled, reaching out a hand towards the gold but not having it show up in the image-- the cavern was only a projection, after all. Still, if there was a way to gain such treasures, he would grab all of it. His Mount Rushmore horde paled in comparison to these riches, and that was saying something.

[YuukiHyouketsu]

Yuuki left ambrose to his own gazing, and did a quick scan of the horde. they were at the topmost "floor" of the cavern--the only one (save for the bottom layer) with an actual cave entrance. she peaked outside as the bats flew past her--out to a world of water. the horde was its own little island, so small that it probably wasn't even on the map ,which would be why Ketsuta had picked it. dragons had a tendency to pick a location that matched their abilities. in her case, it would be a horde surrounded by miles and miles of water on all sides.

the horde was set into a cliff that filled the island, with large waves lapping all around it. one side of the horde composed the entire south face of the cliff, and took up about 2/3 of it from south, to north. deeply set into the north-most end of the island was a lake, with a waterfall feeding from it which ran all the way back to the southern end of the island, down a slight slope before dropping steeply down the face of the cavern, leaving a slight edge on the side where the bats could slip through. the very bottom of the waterfall, however, was so thick that only someone with the ability to control water could get through that particular entrance.

a section in the middle of the floor was gone, and this seemed to be the case of all but the ground floor. Ketsuta must have used these as "shafts" to get from one layer of riches to the next, as the width of each hole seemed to be about the width of her body plus claws and wings.

overall, the place was a dream come true for a dragon like ketsuta; it was almost impossible to get inside for anyone who didn't have aquakenetic powers, or who couldn't fly. furthermore, it was set so deep in the ocean (though yuuki wasn't sure which one) that it was nearly impossible to find. it was impossible to discern any temperature at the moment, but yuuki was quiet sure that it was common for the waterfall to freeze over during colder times.

( figuring out the setup for this dang thing was a pain XD)

[Ambrose]

Ambrose didn't particularily care where the horde was. All that mattered was the treasure. And, there was a lot of it.

"How much . . . could you take back with you?" he asked, entranced by the shinies. He couldn't pick-and-choose-- he wanted all of it. Ambrose would have to get more room to do that, though, more storage space. He could always kick Abenzu out of his room . . .

He reached out a hand, testing to see just how 'real' the image was. Could he touch the gold? Could he feel its reflective surfaces?

[YuukiHyouketsu]

"i'm not entirely sure how much i could take back with me...that scepter that you saw was the first thing i've ever summoned from this place, except for a feather..."

she'd subconsciously put lupine's feather into the horde after ketsuta had died, and then summoned it when she was practically falling apart in the hallway.

"i don't know how much i'll be able to summon without getting completely worn out," she admitted.
Yuuki watched ambrose try to reach for their gold. of course, their bodies were really still back at the library...this whole thing was just an image in his mind. he looked like a kid in a candy store

[Ambrose]

A kid the candy store, indeed . . . A robber in the open bank vault. He was so close, yet so far away. Reaching his arm towards the treasure amounted to nothing.

He didn't want Yuuki to become completely worn-out. At the same time, though . . .

"Let's practice, then." Ambrose encouraged, not entirely sure if this was more for his own benefit than Yuuki's. Perhaps a blend of the two. "That ruby goblet towards the back. Could you grab it?" A nice addition to his collection.

[YuukiHyouketsu]

in real life, as well as the image (techincally, both could be viewed quite easily at the same time) Yuuki could be seen forming water in her hands. after a moment, it took form of the goblet, and then shimmered. suddenly, she was holding the said ruby goblet in her hands. it reflected every bit of available light in the library, its surface gleaming even after years in its prison. yuuki panted slightly, then couldn't help but give a triumphant smile. this one hadn't taken as long as the last--and her aim had been correct this time. summoning something from the horde was felt almost exactly like the old claw arcade games: you had to aim correct, and close the claw at exactly the right time, or else you got the wrong thing--or even worse, nothing....it was a good thing that she already had experience with aiming.

[Ambrose]

Ambrose's eyes lit-up when viewing the goblet in front of him. It worked. . . . It actually worked. He quickly took hold of the shiny, carassing invisible dust and dirt from its surface before placing it gently onto the floor. Yes. Yes, this would do quite nicely. He could finally sip wine like a cliched villian.

He then turned his attention back to the image of the cavern . . .

"Let's try again," he encouraged Yuuki. "There's a helmet of armour--" bintage armour, as Ambrose could tell with his apprasing mind, "--just over that crest of diamonds. Do you see it?"

"If so, then grab it," was implied. How much could they get? Ambrose had to wonder. Perhaps not everything, but . . . surely a king's ransom. Surely.

[YuukiHyouketsu]

yuuki smiled at him with a little twinkle in her eye. "you really love this kind of stuff don't you? i'm just glad i found someone with a use for it." she could tell he had an eye for things like this as well. she looked over to the armor--it had probably been frosted over at some point or another, considering that Ketsuta had frozen its last owner. yuuki shifted her wings a bit, in concentration. she looked to the helmet, imagining the "claw" reaching for it. she grimaced as it tried to get a grip on the objects smooth surface.

suddenly, with a sharp tug, the helmet came through, only to slam into yuuki's chest with a rather odd amount of force. after a slight "oomph" of surprise more than anything, she gave the odd object a humored look. who knew armor fought back?
"huh," she murmured thoughtfully, turning the helmet to get a better look before handing it to ambrose. 'i wonder how often that happens?"

[Ambrose]

"Of course I do," Ambrose immediately replied, grinning with the prospect of riches. Yes, he would 'use' all of these . . . or, just save them in his room and polish them daily. "The helmet?"

He watched in awe as Yuuki 'grabbed' the suit of armour's helmet and gave it a light tug--

WHAM. That was unexpected.

"Are you all right?" is what Ambrose should have asked, but the sentance became mangled by what was really on his mind. "Is the helmet all right?" As Yuuki handed it over to him, he rubbed on the shiny metal using the edge of his shirt, making sure all smudges were removed. Gaining riches was one thing, but if they were going to be damaged in the process . . . Well, he didn't want such a thing to hang over his head.

[YuukiHyouketsu]

yuuki looked to the helmet with a light chuckle. "i don't think it hit all that hard. i wonder why it was such a pain to grab in the first place." she cocked her head slightly to the side, her eyes sliding over the piles of treasure...wait, what was that...? she could see a little charm bracelet from where she sat. she leaned forward slightly to get a better look. two dragons, a blue and a read, were twined around each other, and there were little purple roses, snowflakes, and flame patterns all around the bracelet. Yuuki's mouth formed a slight "o"; the dragons were made of ruby and sapphire, and the surrounding trinkets were made of Alexandrite--the kind speckled with an all manor of purples, pinks and blues, and all the while, the bracelet itself was silver.

a little gasp slipped past yuuki's lips, and before she knew it, she was holding the little charm bracelet in her palms, without even remembering conjuring it.

[Ambrose]

Ambrose breathed a sigh of relief. The helmet was undamaged. Good--

That charm bracelet. When did Yuuki. . . ? Of course, the 'when' didn't matter, nor did the 'how' or 'why.' Only the 'what.' Only the bracelet.

It was so shiny. He didn't even notice Yuuki's own interest in the object . . .

"Hey," Ambrose said, entranced by the new treasure just as much as he had been by the scepture and the helmet. "You . . . should hand that over to me." After all, Yuuki was just practicing. She didn't really want all this stuff.

(( Oh, dear. > <; ))

[YuukiHyouketsu]

her eyes suddenly began to well up with tears a little as she stared down at the bracelet. she looked down, her hair sliding in front of her face as she gripped the thing in her hands. jeeze, some part of her wanted to hat the necklace, and the other part.... happy late valentines day, Zigg..... a tear slid down her cheek, her hand still locked around the bracelet.

she looked up at ambrose then, her eyes probably still a tad red and tear-filled.
"er--sorry, ambrose, i think this may be the one thing i'll have to steal...," she gave a little quiet hick-up as she sat there.

[Ambrose]

Why the hell was she crying? It made no sense. Also, her keeping a treasure . . . They had a deal. They had a deal. Even if it was Yuuki, she had no right to break such agreements. Expecially when dealing with treasure.

"You really should give me that," Ambrose insisted. "Really. I'll take good care of it. All of the treasure," he reassured.

He didn't understand the hesitation. Ambrose was the perfect owner. He should keep it.

[YuukiHyouketsu]

Yuuki frowned and pushed her hair out of her face, brushing away the one tear in the process. maybe it was better if Ambrose held on to it. she trusted him, after all. she turned toward him slightly, planning on giving it to him...that is, until the dang bracelet burst into flame. the fire licked up her arms.

" chikushō!"she yelped. when she looked back down, however, the bracelet was gone. what the hell was that?? she rubbed her raw wrists--wait, fire.

it dawned on her, then. "that....that bracelet wasn't from this horde," she realized. that was why she didnt' even remember really summoning it--because she didn't.
"wait--but that means...." yuuki quickly stood, and vaulted over a pile of treasure. she wasn't entirely sure what she was looking for, exactly, but she would know it when she saw it....there!!

in front of her were two dragon figures. they were made as the same stones as the bracelet, though while the blue and red dragons were made of sapphire and rubies respectively, it was their eyes and claws that were made of Alexandrite, and their teeth were made of silver. she scooped them up, and then turned back to Ambrose.

"the bracelet, unfortunately, isn't mine to give...but...do you think you could take care of these for me?" her tone of voice revealed how special the figurines must have been to her.

(if you would like them to be standing on platforms, they would be silver as well. you can pick their size or pose, just as long as the two figures can be turned so that they are facing eye to eye. i'm not really sure what ambrose's tastes are so you can decide the specifics...hooray for improvising!!)

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