Jasson strolled through a canyon of gods, the mountain carved away as if it were being split in a no-fault divorce. The cliff walls were smooth with divots carved by the wind over the years. Jasson had seen a lot of natural parks online, and this felt unnatural. Too straight, too clean, even the river flowed in a straight canal.

The river roared innocently by the road as if it were saying ‘I’d love it if I could do that to a mountain, but no. It's outside my pay grade.’

Jasson shivered. The sun had risen long ago, but the mountain’s shadows kept it away like a…uh…like a dog hogging the fireplace? Jasson had never warmed himself by a fireplace before, but he got the feeling that he’d become quite familiar in the next few months.

Jasson’s little party of four had left early in the morning, having gotten a lead from Scott. Most of the Wyverns flew in from the west, and there was a large cavern that was popular among youths in that direction. There was a path along the North Road that would take them close, but it was a long trip.

They emerged from the carved canyon and entered a field of grass and sun. Jasson squinted against the light reflecting off dewed grasses.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Clara said, slowing down to Jasson’s speed, “A mountain sunrise on morning damp grass, glinting like a fortune of earth crystals.”

“I’d go with emeralds,” Jasson said, “But you’re right. I just wish it wasn’t so bright.”

“Keep your head up, Clara.” Petra said, “We never know when a monster will come.”

“Come on!” Clara said, “With a wyvern swarm and Great Fire Ape, what monster is gonna stick in this area.”

“Don't say that!” Harriet said, “I was hoping to stumble across an unexpected and powerful monster right when we think we're safe. Then we’d fight and nearly lose our lives to a foe we’d never seek out intentionally.”

“I hope not,” Petra said, “This is an initial scouting mission. We're following our first lead and getting to know the cavern systems around here. Playing it safe.”

Harriet’s face fell and Jasson stepped in to say “It's okay Harriet. The Wyvern weren't that strong, and there were so many of them! Their presence probably attracted an apex predator for food. Heck, maybe a dozen of them.”

Petra froze in place and swore, then said “Apex predator… #$%^(*! You're right! Oh #&$+!”

“What?” Jasson turned, “I thought that's what everyone thought. It's just a simple food chain.”

“A food what?” Petra said, “Anyway, I’m worried because you just obliterated the Apex predator’s food supply. They'll descend on the town!”

“Oh,” Jasson said, “Should we warn them?”

Petra looked back and frowned, then turned to Harriet and said “Your friend Scott is in charge of the defenses, right? Go tell him to stop working on our place and build defenses. Then run and catch up with us. Feel up to it?”

“It will be hard,” Harriet said, “I’m sure this challenge will make me stronger. See ya!”

Jasson watched as Harriet disappeared around the corner and back into the canyon. He didn't like how foreboding this was. Jasson closed Tiktik and opened MADaptation, preparing himself as he’d promised.

“Petra,” Jasson said, “What kind of monsters prey on Wyverns?”

“It depends on the breed,” Petra started walking again, “For night Wyverns, which are one of the weaker types, it's an open market. Greater Wyverns, Giants, Dragons…I just don't know. That fire ape might have come to eat them as well.”

Jasson nodded and Clara said “Don't worry. As long as me and Petra are together, there's nothing we can't beat.”

Petra rolled her eyes but smiled and nodded, saying “At the very least, we’ll put up one @+$+ of a fight.”

****

The entrance to the cavern was covered in graffiti and hearts, like a man with impulse control and a punch card for ‘buy ten tattoos, get the next one free’. Trash and blankets littered the ground, with no sign of a Wyvern.

“So it's this kind of a cave!” Jasson took a picture, “Let's not go in. I don't want to stumble across anything. Teenagers, you know?”

“Agreed,” Petra said, “but I do need to go in as deep as I can. We will simply make enough noise to warn anyone.”

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Clara took this as her cue to hum, and Jasson found himself trying to hum along. Their songs blended and echoed in a cavernous chorus. The song was a chirpy ditty that felt medieval in nature, almost fey-like. What would Clara sound like when she sang?

The path was obvious until the light from the entrance disappeared. Jasson turned on his flashlight (the button with a circle, not the other one) and shone it around.

“Wow,” Jasson said, “I thought that they’d slow down with the graffiti once they ran out of light.”

“They probably brought a light crystal,” Clara said, “watch out for that glass over there.”

Jasson stepped around the broken bottle and they continued their journey deeper. Occasionally the cave would split and Petra would pull out an earth crystal and focus for a few moments, then lead them down a path deeper in the earth. The graffiti thinned before they came to a yawning opening in the earth, and when Jasson threw a rock he heard a splash below.

“Water at the bottom,” Petra said, “But no sound of running water. Some kind of stagnant pool. Probably has some slimes in it to feed off the bats.”

“Bats?” Jasson said, waving his flashlight around, “What-”

Jasson caught a glimpse of hundreds of bats clinging to the roof before Petra slapped her hand over his light.

“Turn that off!” Petra hissed, “We don’t want to piss them off. Especially when we don’t know what kind of bats they are!”

“Oh,” Jasson blinked in the darkness, “Sorry.”

Jasson turned his light off but kept his phone ready, imagining a thousand vampire bats draining him dry.

“All right,” Clara said, “Are you gonna fly down there Petra?”

“Of course,” Petra said, “You guys keep an eye out and be ready to back me up.”

“Umm…” Jasson said, waving blindly to his eyes, “Could you…do the thing for me? Please? I’d rather not accidentally step into the abyss.”

“It’s not the Abyss,” Petra scoffed, “And why didn’t you ask for me to enchant your eyes earlier.”

Jasson blushed and looked away, knowing they could see him as he said “It’s…I wanted to save you the trouble.”

After some silence, Petra said, “Turn off your crystal and I’ll do it. The light is distracting me.”

Darkness fell completely and Jasson closed his eyes and waited, trusting.

That’s odd, Jasson thought. I’m standing beside death and I perfectly trust these girls to keep me safe. When did that happen?

After another moment and a burst of whispers, Jasson felt Petra kiss his right eye. Her warm breath tingled on his nose and, now that he knew what to expect, Jasson felt himself start to burn up.

Oh, Jasson thought, oh wow. A girl is kissing me. My face. Eyes. Wow!

Petra kissed the other eye and almost seemed to linger before backing away. Jasson opened his eyes and saw Petra holding her air crystal a few feet away, her back to him.

“I’m going down,” Petra said, “Have your crystal ready, idiot. That precise burst of light would be good. You know, the one that you mutter ‘pew-pew’ when using.”

Then she jumped into the pit. Jasson opened his phone and prepared the attack, then eased himself to the edge to look over. Petra floated gently to the bottom, gracefully gliding over the still water.

“If something big happens, I’ll be jumping in.” Clara said, “You never know, and still water always freaks me out.”

Jasson thought of the documentaries he’d seen and said “Ambush predators like still water. It gives a false sense of security.”

Jasson watched Petra get closer to the water and held his breath, finger hovering above the button. He’d have to be careful not to shoot Petra but-

The water rippled.

Jasson sighted and shot before he knew what he was doing, the bolt of light burying into the water below. The water steamed and a bulbous fluid rose above. The bigger version of the slimes Jasson had hunted on his first day. It reached hungrily towards Petra, goopy tendrils rising in a sluggish stretch. Jasson fired a few more shots, but only one shot managed to connect with a disappointing sizzle.

It wasn’t enough! Petra was in trouble! Jasson switched to the Missle, ready to-

Petra simply flew away.

Fair enough. Jasson thought, relaxing away from the edge. Most things are probably faster than that sludge. Not sure what I was thinking.

“Just slimes,” Petra called as she rose up towards them, “Clara, did you see anything else?”

“Nothing like that one time,” Clara said, “Is this place good enough for you?”

“Perfect,” Petra landed, pulled out her earth crystal, and closed her eyes.

Jasson felt a soft rumble in the earth and looked over the edge to see a large platform had risen above the water.

“That’ll give me a place to think.” Petra said, pocketing her earth crystal again, “I’ll leave you two up here then. Be back in a few minutes.

Petra drifted down, landing deftly as the slimes began to inch their way onto the round platform. Then the slimes exploded as Jasson watched Petra make a ring of stone spikes in the platform surrounding her. Petra made a chair, then sat in the middle of her defensive ring and waved to them.

“GOOD LUCK!,” Clara waved back, then sat down and said, “Slimes are vulnerable to spikes, so they won’t be willing to approach her like that. We still need to keep an eye on her while she’s meditating, but she should be fine.”

“What’s she doing?” Jasson sat on a bigger rock further away from the edge.

“She’s done it a few times,” Clara said, “I don’t know how it works, but it's not something you can learn. She’s basically feeling out the stones around her, finding any nearby caverns and such. It’s actually one of the most valuable talents in the world, so don’t go telling anyone about it. Officially, we’re looking for wyverns in this cave. But Petra is going to spend this whole time expanding her view to find the good stuff.”

Jasson nodded and said “Am I good to relax then? Nothing’s going to happen?”

“Nothing that will need you rather than me,” Clara said, “Slimes rarely act as food for predators. Too much water.”

“Cool,” Jasson said, opening Tiktik.

After a few minutes, Clara sat beside Jasson and said “What’s this?”

“Oh, this?” Jasson said, “It’s an old video about a zombie toilet-with-a-head plague.”

Clara blinked then said, “What?”

“Nothing,” Jasson said, “Erm…how about some cat videos?”

“I’ve been hearing about those!” Clara said, “Did you get ahold of some? I heard it’s hard to find.”

“No?” Jasson said, scrolling until he found one, “Here. Watch this.”

“Oh? Is that-” Clara said, “Oh! Was it okay?”

“Uh, yeah.” Jasson said, “It’s a cat. Lands on its feet, ya know? Look, this one is trying to catch something.”

Clara watched and said “Oh…oh! Yes! It got it! Aww, look it’s so proud!”

“Yeah,” Jasson searched for a video and scrolled until he found it, “Here. Watch this one.”

It was one of Jasson’s favorite videos, something he’d laughed at several times. Jasson remembered showing this to Madysyn years ago. Good times.

Please laugh. Jasson thought as he watched Clara’s eyes. It’s funny, right?

“Ha,” Clara said, scooting closer so that they were touching, “It’s- oh! Hahaha! Ok. Aww…such a cute kitty- Hah! My word! Hahaha…”

Jasson grinned and leaned into Clara, swiping to a new video. She liked it!