Citizen 1156 Harrow

Usually the best days to go out were when it was actually daytime, but Harrow didn't care for the ideal at the moment. He simply wanted space. Perhaps it was just the fact that Harrow was growing up and no longer an easily managed kid, but he swore there was something more that was causing Thusir to get gradually more irritated with his presence. He had more work to do lately, sure, but there had to be something. He was sure he hadn’t done anything recently to tick his guardian off, but who knew with him at this point. Maybe it was just a parent thing- getting more irritated the older their kids grow. But Killian wasn’t like that.

Maybe he shouldn't worry about that now, Harrow figured, raising his lantern as he pushed past thick bushes, warm coat getting caught on the edges. He was out here so late by himself so he didn't have to really think about anything other than not falling over his own feet. Ahead trees that stretched perhaps a bit too tall loomed through the darkness. The sky was extra dark tonight, just barely light enough to make out the treeline. To his left he could see the waves shimmer under the moonlight; subtly glowing and giving the water an odd metallic shine. Eerie yet beautiful. Sometimes he wondered how great life was down under the waves in the dome, being provided for and under a great watchful eye. Never needing to go hungry at night or stay vigilant of those that frequent the area. Daydreaming of the Dome was easy to do- Thusir and Killian never talked in good light about it. There were whispers from others that spoke positively, but nothing to Harrow’s face.

It would be too easy to have a simple relaxing night sitting on the beachside cliff and let his imagination run wild. Unfortunately he had already made up his mind. Some insisted there was treasure buried in the woods around these isles- more remnants of the previous society. Magical items, enchanted weapons, god powers…. Surely it couldn't hurt to check, right? It wouldn't be naive to saunter out into the woods at night? He knew most would insist it was- after all, his original ideas have always been too childish for the company he was always in. Thusir and Killian were almost never around younger rexals, and even rarer those of Harrow's age. After all, a bar and a pirate ship were no place for children. Harrow was starting to believe it wasn't an honor to be an exception. But he had to prove himself as a good asset. Both Killian and Thusir constantly had to cut off others who didn’t carry their own weight. Maybe that was why Thusir was getting so irritated with him lately- Harrow wasn’t doing enough.

Was he missing something? Usually he’d ask the question a bit more metaphorically about how others treated him, but this time he couldn’t help but let his heart drop. The chorus of animal sounds around had gone silent- not even a distant bird call could be heard. Years of advice and worry from his guardians had driven the whole idea of “never leave the house without a weapon” into him, but of course a moody teenager wouldn’t listen when they need to the most. Maybe that was why Thusir was giving him the cold shoulder. Lacking awareness for anything that wasn’t negative attention.

Regrets couldn’t save him now, however, Harrow knew that when wildlife goes silent it usually means an apex predator was nearby. So when he heard a snap of a branch and crunch of leaves not too far away, he quickly slipped down into a shallow ravine and squeezed himself into the nearest cave crack. Tumbling rocks followed, but there was nothing more beyond a barely-audible huff of air outside the cave entrance that Harrow had to wonder if he hallucinated.

Staying silent for a few minutes did nothing for the anxiety that kickstarted when he first heard the unidentified sound. Hell, for all he knew it was someone looking for him. He chanced a look away from the entrance. Ears strained and eyes aching from keeping a hawk's eye on the darkness outside, Harrow found the cave ahead widened significantly. And, if he tried hard enough, he could barely hear the bubble of a stream echo off the walls. Maybe waiting until daylight in here wouldn’t be too bad of an idea.

The longer he stepped through the dark, lantern glittering dimly, the wider the walls of the cave stretched. It was damp and a cold draft found its way under his clothes. Deeper in a stream had carved through the floor, snaking along beside the natural pathway he walked. Being so close now the water was loud. Not enough to drown out the sound of the rusting lantern hinge, but more than enough to deafen anything a touch quieter. If anyone really was out looking for him he couldn’t hear their shouts from here.

Typically a dark unknown cave was supposed to be scary, but once the scare from earlier subsided Harrow could only feel excitement. A place away from prying eyes, a place that fit what he was looking for. The Posnian Islands still haven't been explored to their fullest extent yet, and other Rexals loved to tell stories of treasure and magic hidden where others have yet to find them. Surely Harrow was finally next in line for some good karma? He was begging for something slightly better than a boring empty cave.

Harrow paused a moment to adjust the wick in his lantern, allowing for a flame just bright enough to see the cave open into an underground lake a few feet ahead. The stream beside him had prevented the sound of dripping water to reach him and there was no other source of light aside from the lantern in his hand. Stalagmites rose from the calm water, ripples from the stream entering the lake gently bouncing off the edges. Some had met with stalactites reaching down from the ceiling to create pillars. Once the cave had been empty, just barely new enough to have a shallow stream carve out the cave entrance. Harrow stepped around the lake edge, catching glitters of silver minnows retreat from the lantern light. The walls around the cave were an odd texture, layered and interrupted by various shapes of rocks.Some had a fine-line texture to them, others completely smooth, a few even resembled the shapes of spinal vertebrae crawling around like centipedes.

It was only when Harrow had to climb his way around a rock did he fully realize what he was looking at. The rock looked smooth, aged and brown- nothing like the reddish cream color or sharp pillars of the rest of the cave. When he stepped around and fully got a look, Harrow was met with the broken toothy jaw of something he didn’t quite have the name for. Hollow pits lined the end of the wedge-shaped snout, large holes hollowing out the majority of the structure, holding together with thin columns. Ridges lined the top edge, now smooth and bumpy from ages of calcium deposit over top. The biggest awe was the teeth- still sharp and gaping, fully capable of puncturing his flesh if touched improperly. Harrow was staring at a large skull, and to the side of it was the spine disappearing under an age-old landslide of rocks that had now sealed shut from the cave reformation. From what he could see, the creature had to of once been significantly taller than him- an apex predator that would have eaten a younger rex like him in one bite. And the other rocks he’d seen in the walls? Those weren’t rocks either, now that he looked at them. Piles of bones and imprints of plants were imbedded into the walls, and who knew what else beyond that. This cave wasn’t just a pretty new lake- it was an ancient graveyard.

Before Harrow decided to up and leave, he ran his hand over the skull. Most of the teeth had been sealed tight to the rest of the sight, but he managed to pull a smaller tooth from the front of the bottom jaw where the bone connecting it had split and shattered. This was to be his prize that he brought home. If Thusir didn’t appreciate the sharp tooth from a god, Harrow was happy with it for himself.

Author: undercover-fish