When Gretel finally composed herself, she showed Efron the way to Gavin’s den, hesitating at the mouth of it. I know Efron thinks he's trustworthy, but I still don't know what to expect from Gavin… If this is some ambush where he tries to hurt Efron, I need to be there to intervene.
“H-Hello?” her companion called in from outside. “It's me; I brought my friend too.”
Efron's using the same method Clay did to avoid startling Wren, she recognized. I don't think Gavin is as skittish as her; but then again, Efron has no way of knowing that. I guess it's better safe than sorry.
“Come in. Watch your step,” the turquoise electric type’s voice echoed from deep within.
Efron moved to enter, but his companion stopped him. “Me first. I don't know what steps we need to watch for, but it's dark and apparently my sight and senses are better for dark areas,” she explained. “Wait for me; I'll let you know how to navigate it.”
The green-eyed revealer nodded, retreating a few paces to let Gretel enter the den first. The mouth of it was pretty small, but she was young enough that she could walk right in without crouching. The ground was level at first, but there was a shallow trench carved into the soil that went in a straight line forward. Curious, she followed it until the little wind dragoness could feel the shift in air pressure ahead: the falling of chilly air at such a pace that suggested a gradual downward slope. That wasn't out of the ordinary, but what did intrigue her was the rising of warmth from somewhere below.
She paused at the base before a new grotto, smaller than wren’s but big enough to house multiple dragons. Gretel peered in to see a reddish light in the center. A fire? She drew in a breath and finally left the darkness of the tunnel to step into the illuminated area. Gavin was dangling the tufted tip of his long tail over Grace, who was giggling and reaching for it.
The shallow trench veered off-center in the new space; it split into two, the same short width but noticeably deeper, and ran along the dirt walls instead of the center. Gretel followed it in place with her hot pink eyes, seeing it led to a pile of rocks stacked against the back wall. She could feel a small leakage of air seep in from between them. They're blocking an exit?
“Where's Efron?” Gavin’s voice snapped her out of it.
Gretel froze. His tone was as matter-of-fact as always, and her instincts interpreted the question as a demand for her to bring the older revealer in. I don't have to do what you want, and neither does Efron! You're lucky he gave you the benefit of the doubt! she wanted to say, but stopped herself, turning her attention to Grace.
The hatchling's red eyes trained on Gretel the same way they had on Efron back when the latter had tried to avoid her. They seemed curious, but there was an eerie calmness to her that Grace hadn't had while playing just moments ago. The purple-striped wyvern studied her in the dim light of the fire in the center of the grotto that was also contained in a hole circled by rocks.
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Gretel studied her, that expression somehow familiar. Then it registered: it was the same unnatural calmness that Efron had shown via conceals when he had confronted his abusive mother. The wind dragon tensed. Is she… scared of me? Was she scared of Efron, too? Her heart sank. Wait–that sudden shift from playfulness to calmness… She's using a conceal! Is that even possible at her age?!
“Well? Is he only here to wait for you, or will he be coming in?” Gavin asked somewhat expectantly, calling Gretel out of her thoughts a second time.
She turned to him, not caring about the den structure anymore. There were more important questions she needed to ask before determining if it was safe for Efron to enter; Gavin’s answer could wait until she had hers. “Does she use conceals often?”
“Conceals?” Gavin repeated, suddenly in a more serious, lower pitch. “What is a conceal?”
Gretel froze. He really doesn't know much about revealer dragons… “I'm confused. You could tell Efron's heritage just by matching his colors to the far eastern matriarch, and you know that she was in fact a matriarch in the first place. But you don't know what conceals are?”
Gavin's yellow-green eyes narrowed slightly, and the wind type couldn't tell if he was offended or angry. “Efron's grandmother was the one who left Grace on this island. I knew she was the matriarch because she had declared it in an obvious power-trip before slashing Grace’s back and flying away to the east.”
Oh…
“I mentioned earlier that my knowledge of revealers is lacking. That is why I requested Efron’s help. If neither of you are here to offer that help, then I'll ask you both just once to leave.”
Gretel tensed. Just once? What does he plan to do if I don't?
“Well?” the electric type pressed, and static visibly sharpened his otherwise soft fur as he cracked the knuckles of his clawed hand just by forcibly flexing it in her direction.
She gulped, her heartbeat quickening from the threat of the motion. The wyvern wanted to confront him, but was scared of provoking him further. What the heck is his problem?!
“What the heck is your problem?!” Gretel blurted out, then covered her mouth with the wing of her forearm. She once again looked at Grace, realizing the hatchling had revealed her again even though the tangerine dragon remained still and calmly staring.
Gavin seemed mildly surprised by the outburst. He stopped the flow of electricity from his hand and lowered it. “I could ask you the same thing. You ventured into my home, haven't answered my question about your Efron–who I only invited here to help me learn about revealers–and now you stand there and judge me for not knowing what a conceal is. If a conceal is an ability that revealers have, then that is something included in what advice I was asking him to give me.”
Gretel was once again thrown by just how deadpan his tone was; if it weren't for the agitated twitching of his tail, she had no indicators of what he was feeling. When he puts things into that perspective, I really am the bad guy here… “S-Sorry,” she muttered. “I'll bring him in.”
She retrieved Efron from outside, guiding him safely into the grotto. Grace was kicking a pebble around with an amused grin that once again fell into a neutral frown as she looked at the newcomers.
“H-Hi, there,” Efron greeted her with rather forced optimism. The younger revealer only continued to stare at him, but her red ears did perk up with a hint of curiosity. He rubbed the back of his green ones nervously before facing Gavin. “Um… Do you still want advice?”
“Yes, if you're willing to give it,” the turquoise dragon answered.
“Alright. Well, let's start with what you do know, so I can correct or expand on it.”
Gavin’s long tail swept into a wide semi-circle around himself; it was one of the few universal body languages dragons shared, indicating respect.
Gavin’s tail is really the only expressive part of his entire body. Maybe that's what I should use to read him, since his tone of voice is so lacking in emotion.