Work Text:
“Interesting…it looks like saxifrage...”
They thumb through the matted plant sprouting from the rocky crevice. What normally would be soft lilac littered about is petals of shiny violet ore. Reaching into their pocket they flip out their knife, carefully slicing a stem from the mesh to examine further.
Sunlight illuminates the petals, scattering about like stained glass. Aster goes to work sketching the basic shapes of the foliage. He can’t imagine something like this would wilt like a typical flower but it would save the trip back. He nestles the flower in the spine of the journal and carefully returns it to its place in his pack.
Aster flinches when waves crash against the cliffs. They inhale the cold bitter air to keep themself study. They are at least a good hundred feet above sea level. They are safe. It's not like the water will reach up, grab them and pull them into the glacial depths. Frigid temperatures consuming them until all functions cease to-
"Aster."
He snaps his eyes back open, momentarily blinded by the afternoon sun. He uncurls to see a tattered attired figure kneeling before him, gentle hands hovering above his form. Their face full of worry. Aster breathes out a weary smile. “Hi Lance…how’s your day going?”
They roll their eyes. They take a look around the surrounding area, scanning for any trace of the sparky blonde in charge of the visitor’s recovery. “Where’s Riley?”
Aster rises in an attempt to find his footing but stumbles when blood rushes to his head. Lance grabs his arm before he could fall. “Hey take it easy.”
He grasps the maestro's shoulder. Clamping his eyes shut when the tundra begins spinning around him. “Not here, I wanted to try going out on my own.”
Lance helps steady them, keeping a firm hand on his back in case he begins to falter again. “Did you tell anyone you were going out at least?”
Aster hesitates to answer. Progress had not been as fast as he would like it to be, but with the blonde’s help he’s been able to stray further from the base of his stage. But just once he didn't want to feel like someone was hovering over him, waiting for him to trip up…
Lance sighs, accepting the silence as an answer. With beings with such short lifespans they never understood how they could be so reckless. “Do you think you can make the walk back?”
Aster slowly opens his eyes, feeling the dizziness begin to subside, “I think so…” They take a step forward only to lose strength in their legs. Dragging the negati with him they faceplant into the white powder below them.
Lance groans as they pull themself of the ground shivering, shaking the snow off of their tendrils. They didn’t mind the cold, preferred it over the heat actually, but they would appreciate it if they weren’t wet along with it.
“Heheh, sorry.”
They look over to the human. Dusting of snow on their hair shimmers under the sunlight, glasses sitting askew like the smile on their face. Cute.
Wait. No. Stop that.
Aster sits up and rustles the drift from their hair. “Well I guess walking back is out of the question for the moment.”
Lance hums in agreement. Opening a corridor back would allow for a quick return, but that much exposure to negativity wouldn’t be wise due to the man’s current condition. They put a pin on the idea for a later date, thinking about how they might be interested in seeing the inner workers of the realm. "How are you feeling?"
Aster throws a weak gesture with his hand. The world wasn’t spinning around nearly as much but it felt like his body was being weighed down five times the normal gravity. They lean back sighing, staring off into the horizon. At least the day wasn’t a total loss…
“What were you doing out here anyways?” They’re pulled out of their thoughts when a leather bound journal is dangled in front of their face.
“And what are you doing sneaking in my bag?” Aster snatches it out of the tendrils grasp. Opening it to the page they left off on to check the condition of the flower.
Lance shrugs, “Not sneaking. It was poking out.” They inch closer to the human observing the bloom, “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
Aster murmurs, “Nice to know some things follow the rules of science here. It obviously takes nutrients from the crystals nearby. I wonder though if it still produces chlorophyll. Does it even need sunlight and water? Maybe the magical properties of the crystals provide all that as a substitute? There’s the question if it provides oxygen as well…”
Heat rises to their cheek when they hear a snort from the maestro. “Sorry, entered work mode again.”
“It’s fine. I’ve always admired humanities’ curiosity of how things worked. Your society wouldn’t be how it is today without it.” Lances rises to their feet dusting off the remaining snow of their clothes and reaches out a clawed hand.
Aster takes their hand in his, allowing himself to be swiftly pulled up to his feet, only to stumble a bit on the drift, collapsing into the negati. He pulls himself from their chest ready to apologize but is taken aback by the sight before them.
An angelic aura of light shines around the maestro’s form. The umbra intensifies the aurora of swirling colors illuminating from their body.
Beautiful.
Lance clears their throat as they steady Aster back on their feet. They hide their tendrils behind them praying that the human's insightfulness doesn't pick up on the increase of pink hues dancing around their marks. "Well then, ready for the ride back?"
Ride? Riley had mentioned a train before but he didn't see any tracks on the way to the shore…
He feels the wind shift and swirl around them. Aster’s grip on the negati’s hand tightens when he sees they’re floating over the earth below them. He snaps his head back to meet the smirk on Lance’s face. "I hope you're not afraid of heights."