A study in the eldritch (Lunaraia;Pervy;MortalitasBorealis)

[Lunaraia]

It wouldn’t take too much longer before Aya would begin to corral the girls towards the corner where the shoes were being made. 30 minutes later, they were led out of the store with their new gear inside surprisingly small and light bags. “Well, that’s the clothes done, supplies we won’t have to worry about and we won’t set off until tomorrow. As such…” Her voice trailed off as the zebra wagon from before pranced up to them. Aya smiled and would herd everyone onto the wagon. “Perfect timing. Upper terrace, please.”

The zebras would set off further into the city and up along the mountain, up, and up and up, along the white stone streets and up from the more busy part of the city. “Now, because of the tides we are not going anywhere today, so I figured we might as well relax for a little and enjoy ourselves. And what better way to do so than to give you all an experience I doubt any of you have ever tried before?”

As she said so, the zebras would stop on an upper plateau, all around them were large flying balloons of various sizes and builds. Aya would motion for the group to follow her towards one of the larger ones. So large, in fact, that it was fully furnished with several comfy looking sofas along the edges of the basket and a small table in the middle.

As she neared one of the people handling the balloons, a large bearded man with a friendly smile, d dressed in an expensive-looking robe met her with a polite smile and the two began to discuss things in a language the girls could not understand. This would go back and forth for a bit, until Aya nodded and produced a handful of coins, which she handed the man, who, after counting them nodded and gestured towards the balloon.

She looked back towards the girls. “All aboard, it’s not every day you get to fly one of these. It should give us a magnificent view of both Celephais and Serannian once we get into the air.” Aila would look at Shiroi and Kuroi for a moment, then with a bit of hesitation take their hands and pull them towards the balloon. Aya would help Korrie get comfortable near one corner of the basket since it would be awkward for her given her tail and wings.

As the balloon was set loose, it would begin to ascend upwards, giving the girls a brilliant view of the city in the midday sun, the city practically glowing in white, green, and bronze. When combined with the various hues of the trees growing around the city, it created a rather breathtaking view. As they rose, a parrot would land next to Korrie and give her a curious squawk.

“Korrie the small table in the center of the basket works like the table on our ship, though only for pastries and the like, so why not offer the parrot some biscuits, just make sure they aren’t chocolate chip, as chocolate is dangerous to parrots. If Korrie looked over, she would see that Aya was feeding a parrot of her own. The twins would also be met with their own parrots, though they used Aila as a perch, though she didn’t seem to mind, even as she offered a third parrot, which was sitting on her head, a biscuit as well.

 

[MortalitasBorealis]

Time passed, and eventually the shopping was done, the group filing back out with their new purchases. Ironically, the siblings who had started the day disappointed were in fairly high spirits, Kuroi more than satisfied with the adorable apparel she was recommended and eager to put them on later, and Shiroi feeling quite warm in her heart after the casual flirting with Aila, the misgivings she was ruminating on earlier all but left behind; Korrie meanwhile, happy to be led by her leash, was left comparably bored with her disinterest in clothing besides mitigating discomfort. Still, she was content, and joined the sisters in giving Aya a curious glance when she mentions that they won’t be setting off until the next day. What’s left on today’s schedule then?

A quick ride on the zebra carriages later and they would soon find out. Kuroi was the first to spot the hot air balloons ahead outside the windows, and the air was filled with a buzz of excitement as they drew closer and disembarked to take in the view in full. Aya would be right in her assumption that none of them had been on a balloon before. Sure, all of them could fly, but it was a very different experience to be able to just relax in a basket while in the air, and the basket they were led to was larger and more extravagant than any mundane balloon on Earth would have managed.

As with their shopping, Aya handled the bartering, and the three eagerly boarded once permitted, Kuroi and Shiroi naturally sandwiching Aila on one side, while Korrie settled into a corner with Aya’s help. Then they lifted off, watching the ground recede gradually. The fact that all three had experience flying meant that vertigo was far less of an issue, and they could enjoy the view fully, one that they haven’t gotten a chance to enjoy before.

The siblings marveled at the sight of the gleaming marble buildings and the airborne city further away, the sky clear and the sun hanging at just the right place for the most cinematic lighting. This was just the kind of thing they were hoping for when they wanted to sneak out to explore on their own, a vista that made them truly feel like they’d stepped into a fantasy world. The only regret was that they couldn’t just get closer to whatever took their fancy, but they were satisfied just pointing out particularly interesting monuments to each other and Aila, as well as trying to spot the places they’ve been to from there.

Korrie was a lot more quiet in her enjoyment, but was no less mesmerized by the view. As a gamer, she’d seen and explored through plenty of fantastical realms, but doing so through a screen and actually being there for real, feeling the sun and the wind, beyond the limitations of resolution and graphical fidelity, was incomparable. She wondered how the locals would feel about such a view. Would it be like looking out at Auralis from her apartment building? If the locals of Celephais could see that metropolis she’s familiar with in this way, with its technology and different architectural style, would they be as impressed?

A flutter of movement and a squawk broke her from her musings, and Korrie turned to find a little parrot of all things perched on the basket rim. “Aww, hello~” The wyvern girl smiled and carefully reached a hand over to play with it, before Aya informed her that the table in the basket was more than just mundane furniture.

“Really? I thought that was just dogs.” Shiroi remarked, a little surprised about the factoid. Regardless, the albino conjured up some crackers sprinkled with spring onion flakes, and snapped one in half, eating one half herself and holding the other up for the nearest parrot. Kuroi conjured a cookie with hazelnuts baked in, though rather than eating any herself, she just broke off small pieces and fed them to her parrot a bit at a time, fawning over the adorable birds and how they were all perched on Aila, trying to pet it after feeding it.

Korrie watched the others for a bit, then summoned two cookies with nuts as well, holding one up in her palm for her parrot and watching it peck and nibble away.