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It started as something very simple.
A ledge just out of reach. Needing a higher viewpoint to plot their way through some difficult terrain. A river just a bit too deep or current too fast to easily cross.
B’st happily offered his strength, height, and shapeshifting abilities to help his new companions. It was nothing at all to give them a boost up, or to have one of them piggy-back on him when the footing was treacherous. (Teaks had been wide eyed and giggly the first time she saw his crab form, barely able to ask him questions on how it all worked and what other things he could shift into.)
But he’d been thinking lately, that his companions were quite light. Easily lifted when they asked him for a boost. And as they finished setting up camp for the night, B’st found himself contemplating some mischief.
They’d set up camp in the Coral Cascades, on a treasure seeking mission from Mirna, taking refuge from a storm inside a cave behind the ruin of a house. Apparently it had been sealed at one point by solstice magic…B’st was curious what they’d found in it previously. Maybe Teaks would know…he made a point to ask the historian later, as she was busy scribbling away in her journal to record the day’s events.
Zale and Valere were staring up the wall they had set up their bedrolls next to, a wide ledge just a bit too high for any of them to reach. The ledge had a mass of twisted vines trailing down from above it, the plants swaying lightly from some sort of breeze sneaking through the cave. The two were arguing on whether something might be hidden behind the vegetation.
“It’s probably nothing, Zale.”
“No, we’ve found the strangest things hiding in stuff like that,” Zale waved an arm at the ledge, a smile starting to form on his face. “Maybe something interesting, like a chest…or more solstice writings…maybe even that crystal Mirna wants.”
“Hmm…” Valere didn’t look too convinced, though she was eyeing the ledge with a bit more interest. “It’s a bit high up. Doesn’t look like there’s good handholds to climb, and too high even if we stand on each other’s shoulders. Maybe we could shift—”
“Nope, that’s cheating.” The grin on Zale’s face grew as Valere spluttered at being interrupted.
“How is that cheating?! It’s a legitimate skill that we have access to!”
Seraï glanced up from where she was settling down to sharpen her blades, a brow raised at the bickering Warriors. She made to stand, but was waved back down by Garl.
“Don’t mind them, they’re just having fun,” Garl smiled at the two as he stirred the soup he was making. “You don’t need to portal up there, either. You’ve used them a lot while we were fighting, and you need the rest.”
“…if you say so.” Seraï settled back down, giving the two Warriors a bemused shake of her head. Garl chuckled at her expression, but didn’t offer any other explanations as to why his best friends were bickering like children.
“Then maybe Seraï, since you don’t want us to—”
“Still cheating!”
“HOW?!”
“It’s the principle of the thing! We should try without using any kind of special skills!”
“Why do you need to make it more complicated than it needs to be?!”
B’st contemplated the two Warriors, eyeing each and calculating the distance to the ledge. Zale was not the shortest of B’st’s new companions, that actually was Seraï…but she arguably was the heaviest. The Solstice Warrior would be the lightest, if not for the Resh’an Puppet…but a glance at the Puppet showed that it had settled in, and short of monsters attacking, it would stay that way until they broke camp.
Yes, with Zale it would be quite easy…
He carefully made his way across the camp to stand behind the two, trying to keep his movements as slow and stealthy as he could, deliberately choosing an angle that would keep the light of the fire from refracting through his body and giving him away. The two were still distracted by their…debate of what were allowable skills, and B’st smiled to himself at his success, looming behind Zale.
Valere was the first to notice him, eyes wide as she jumped. Zale startled with her, though was still unaware of the giant of a golem standing behind him.
“Pardon me!”
B’st beamed at Valere as he hooked his hands underneath Zale’s armpits, carefully gripping the Warrior and lifting him up with the intent on giving the young man a few hefts to get some momentum behind his throw—
—and Zale squeaked.
B’st froze.
Valere stared.
Garl, Serai, and Teaks were looking around to find the source of the loud, high pitched noise that had echoed through the cave.
“Zale…did you just—?” Valere’s hands were covering her mouth, a sharp, gleeful grin spreading on her face.
“No.”
Zale still dangled in B’st’s grip, his red face hidden behind his hands. The golem also started to smile, pleased with this new information. Judging by the absolute joy on Valere’s face, he suspected she was going to try to get Zale to reproduce the odd sound.
“Hey, don’t!”
And the blue haired woman was now poking her fellow Warrior, Zale batting Valere’s hands away as he struggled to keep from laughing. B’st was laughing himself now; despite how rosy Zale’s face still was, the young man was grinning as he fended off Valere’s attempts at poking him.
“You squeaked, Zale! You never did that when we trained!”
“So?! Stop it! Garl, help me!”
“That was you?!” Garl’s face was almost as gleeful as Valere’s was, but he didn’t move from his spot by the campfire, still tending to the group’s dinner. Teaks had turned to a new page in her journal and was furiously scribbling down into it, head bobbing up and down from looking at them. Serai seemed the most confused at it all, head tilted to the side as she watched Valere.
“Stop, Val—!” Zale was fully laughing now, his squirming to escape his partner forcing the golem to adjust his grip, which produced more squeaking. “B’st why’d you p-pick me up?!”
“Ah, I simply wished to help you up to the ledge.”
That got Zale to stop his wriggling, ignoring the next few prods from his partner, the young man turning his blond head to stare over his shoulder at the Living Glass golem. He then glanced up with narrowed eyes at the ledge, contemplating on how B’st would have accomplished it.
“But…even standing on your shoulders, I couldn’t reach…none of us could—Oh!”
“Zale?” Valere was now starting to look alarmed, as Zale started to grin. “Zale, whatever you’re planning—no, don’t!”
“Do it!”
“Zale!”
B’st gave a delighted laugh, then hefted Zale a couple of times like he originally intended. Zale whooped in glee as he soared into the air, giving a twist of his body to orient himself on the way down. Garl whooped himself as his friend neatly landed in a crouch on the ledge, and he, Teaks and Seraï gave Zale a round of applause as he stood up.
“Zale, that was awesome!”
“Good landing!”
Valere was smiling as she craned to look up to the ledge, sticking her tongue out when Zale bowed at them. He returned the face, then turned and patted at the vines. Pushing them aside revealed a narrow, dark shaft, and Zale crowed in triumph. He gathered some energy in his palm, sending the light through the revealed passage.
“Well?” Valere called up, hands now on her hips as she watched Zale.
“Something is shining back there, but I can’t see clearly. Dunno if we’d be able to reach it through this. Seems a tight fit.”
“Come down then, Zale!” Garl called up, waving a ladle at his friend. “We can eat something and get some rest. Then we can make a plan and explore tomorrow!”
“Sound’s good! Incoming, B’st!”
Zale leapt off the ledge, and instead of moving out of the way like Zale had probably expected him to, the golem caught the Warrior. Zale yelped in surprise, then squeaked anew as B’st shifted the young man in his arms and captured him again under his armpits. The golem eagerly presented him to Valere, who jumped in surprise before laughing.
“Here, Valere. You were trying to see if you could make him squeak again?”
“No! Betrayal!” Zale made a strangled noise as he tried to keep from laughing. “B’st, I trusted you!”
Valere grinned up at him, hands curling as she stalked toward the “helpless” Warrior. B’st laughed as the two proceeded to struggle, Zale squeaking as he fended her off as best he could.
He truly enjoyed these new friends.
Now…to see how satisfying it was to toss the rest of the group.