[2913] [17357] A Helpful Hand [Strength]

After all of the adventures Theneras had had with Pyrrah-Vos, it had finally been time to say goodbye. The two chasers separated from one another, but it hadn’t been long until another quest arose. It felt like it had been years since the mention of the Matriarch had reached Theneras’ ear, but here it was. The clans were bustling, mentioning the work of the outsiders, the aid they provided to the grand mother of all Haedians. He couldn’t very well leave it like that, he thought. Not when the Haedians still needed the help.

That’s how he found himself hauling carts full of rocks and crystals away from the dig sites. He pushed through the weight, gritting his teeth and digging his paws into the earth beneath. Being covered by all of this- he didn’t envy the Haedian Matriarch at all.

“Here- let us get that.”

He saw their claws first within the corner of his vision, before the rest of her came into view. She leaned down, pressing a hand to his shoulder to stop him and to reach for the cart’s front. Ofcourse, she underestimated the weight, and stumbled onto her knee with an “oof” before she caught herself. Theneras felt like he could take in a deep breath once the weight was gone and looked up to the new person. His eyes scanned her form- something of an Omii- but having several different features such as scales and two large green horns. The woman noticed him staring and smiled a little as she held up the weight of the cart.

“I’m Riala— Ancalis, please, can you help out already?”

She huffed and lifted the front up high enough so Theneras could squeeze out from underneath. The darkness behind Riala shifted, like the shadows themselves transformed into something that wasn’t there a moment before. A familiar shape by now to Theneras - surely - a large dark Haedian circled round in fluid motion, his underbelly abundant with lightened gold scales. He stood over the chaser and the woman currently trying to free him, like he was assessing whether or not it was worth it. The backlash wasn’t. Effortlessly, he reached a clawed hand down under the cart and lifted.

“Look at that, we have freed the Haedian queen from beneath the rubble. Though– she is much smaller than I had imagined, and a little more… Pathetic.”

The Haedian jested cruelly, pouting in disappointment, eyes piercing through Theneras like he was a pest. Once the chaser was free, and Riala had let go with some nudging, he let the cart onto the ground.

“It would be much easier for me to help out if I didn’t have to stop and free pups from things they couldn’t handle.”

Theneras naturally scurried out the moment he could, huffing in offense- to both of Ancalis’ statements. He narrowed his eyes in recognition, even if the woman didn't come up in the memory.

“Well, I’m not going up there!”

He spoke in his own defense, a paw pointing up to the high rocks where other Reoseans were mining to try and reveal more of the Matriarch the best they could. Riala’s gaze followed his paw, and held a hand to her chin.

“I have to give him that one, I wouldn’t do that either.”

She looked back over the cart, her eye on the sparkle of some of the crystal. Ofcourse, the stories of the Matriarch and her predicament had gotten her attention, but who knew, y’know? It was from crystals such as these that Ancalis had gotten the knowledge of this form- or so he said. It intrigued her immensely, and only Theneras’ clearing of his throat made her stop staring and get back to the present moment.

“So are you helping now, then, or not? Because I was making some headway with it–”

“Oh, ofcourse!”

Riala’s hand left her chin and made some elaborate movements before a creature of pure light materialised, picking up the cart and pulling it past and along. It emptied the cart a fair distance away before returning, releasing her magic once it got close and gesturing for Ancalis to pull the cart now instead.

“Let’s all get our hands dirty here, then. The little one-”

“Theneras.”

“Theneras and I will break the crystals, and you’ll pull.”

Ancalis let out a low, exaggerated sigh– rolling his shoulders as if the very idea of manual labour was… Unfitting. His eyes flicked between Riala’s expectant look and Theneras' defiant stance before he finally sighed, again.

"This is, truly, a task befitting one of my stature…" 

Despite his complaints, the Haedian stepped forward and grasped the cart with a clawed hand. He glanced back at Theneras, a smirk playing at the edge of his lips. 

"Try not to strain yourself too much, little one. I’d hate to have to rescue you twice in one day."

Then, he turned to Riala.

"And you; if your plan was to use me as a pack beast today, you could’ve at least flattered me first. Isn’t that usually how bossing me around goes?"

Despite his grumbling, he continued pulling the cart, his tail flicking idly behind him.

“Yes, but now you’ll get the flattery afterwards. Like a reward. And I know how much you like rewards.”

Riala pointed out with a smile, walking alongside him happily. Theneras watched them as they walked past, not quite understanding their dynamic, before following. They moved towards the wall’s edge, their eyes trailing up the massive crystals and rocks that embedded the Haedian’s queen within. Theneras explained to Riala what she should look out for- the pulsing magic within each crystal and the raw energy that followed. It was different from the crystals on the surface. Those were dull in comparison. It wasn’t hard for a mage like Riala to miss, and so they began their work.

The rocks made way for Riala’s magic, crumbling to small pieces, if not to dust. The pieces that did fall, Theneras made sure to grab and placed them upon the emptied cart. It took quite a while for the cart to fill with their method of magic use, and when it was filled to the equivalent of its brim, it was hardly too heavy for Ancalis to carry it in turn. 

Riala had hardly broken into a sweat, the continuous magic use was hardly a feat for her. Clapping her hands together, she looked to the wall, and she could have sworn she saw something akin to skin amidst the wall’s rubble. Supposedly the Matriarch’s body, she thought. Theneras followed her gaze, his ears pricking forward. They were actually doing it. He had had his doubts about how much the excavation was actually helping the Haedian Matriarch, considering her size, but now they were seeing the results of their efforts. Riala turned to Ancalis, however, giving him a smile as she looked between him and the cart.

“Now my big, strong Haedian gets to show off his immaculate pulling skills, putting all of us to shame.”

She teased, moving over to him and grabbing his face with her hands, wiggling his head for a moment, smiling all the while.

“That good enough flattery?”

Ancalis gave a huff, quickly shaking his head about as Riala gripped him. He slid out of her hold and withdrew his head nearly an ungodly amount.

“No! It sounded fake, and you’re just showing me up in front of the tiny one.”

He had gestured to Theneras a final time, rolling his eyes.

“Are we done now?”

Riala laughed again and waved at him to start pulling. With much chagrin, the Haedian listened, taking the cart once more by the hand and pulling it to empty it off a fair distance further. The Scaleborne made sure to compensate his time with genuine flattery and parted ways with the small chaser for now. Theneras couldn’t help the scrunching of his face at the thought of them helping out the next time, but he wouldn’t turn up his nose to the aid, he supposed.