Seasonal Skill Prompt, Summer - Year 15

Recently Hyperion had spent some time with a couple seasoned explorers and that had changed his outlook on adventure. How long this new structured approach lasted was anyone's guess, but for now he was committed to exploring properly. On his to do list was a map and ink, and finding someone to teach him how to better understand the weather, read the sun and stars, and navigate difficult terrain. He'd also decided he wanted to explore as much of Boreas as possible. The goal was simple in theory but difficult in application; this land was far bigger than he ever would have guessed had he not talked to other travelers. There was a lot of land to cover from coast to coast and a lot of packs to navigate around along the way.

Today he was visiting an island; the only one the South had to offer. It was a neat little place overrun with plant life that hid what looked like the ruins of an ancient civilization. Of course it was the ruins that interested him the most. The beach was sunny and all, and the inland was heavy with summer blossoms, ripe fruit and verdant hills, but none of that was really Hyperion's thing. He could find all of that just about anywhere. The ruins, however, he found immensely fascinating and was drawn to them like a moth to flame. He zeroed in on the largest building and made a beeline for it. Even from a distance he could tell it was massive. The sides of it were lined with perfectly smooth, flat panels of opaque... something. They were grimy and many were broken to reveal rooms beyond, but the ones that were intact were like nothing he'd ever seen before. He could see himself in their sea salt and dust encrusted surfaces almost like he was looking at his reflection in an undisturbed pool of water. Hyperion ran a paw down one of the panels that was eye level. His paw slid slickly across it; taking with it not only years of grime but his reflection as well. He peered through the 'clean' surface and marveled at his ability to do so. How fascinating!

After some time spent fogging up the windows, Hyperion slid over to an opening and padded inside. Much like a cave, the inside was noticeably cooler than the outside. A bit damp too. The floor, littered with sand and moss, was as smooth as the opaque panels on the outside of the structure except in certain areas where soft rectangles of some kind of material had been laid down. Now, who knew how many years after being laid, the pieces of fabric had lost their softness and were a bit crunchy. The moss seemed to prefer them to the smooth surface too, so they were heavily coated in places. They were weird to walk on as well; though the surface may have been crunchy, in places where water had gotten to them the inside was a bit squishy. So as his weight was placed upon it, first it crunched unappealingly then squished and occasionally bubbled as small amount of water were forced out from under his weight. All in all it was a bit gross.

There were oddly shaped pieces of furniture littered around the room. Well, he assumed it was furniture as it had the look of something that might be comfy, like beds or something. There was only one flaw in his guess and it was that the pieces were too small to stretch out comfortably on. If he climbed up on one he'd almost have no choice but to just sit there. While that may have been nice for his behind, what was the point of that furniture? Who would want to sit somewhere and do nothing? It seemed like an odd thing to waste time crafting on, but what did he know. It wasn't his civilization.

From the lobby he drifted down a dark, windowless hallway. Roots or vines snaked through the porous ceiling. In places white rectangles had fallen from the ceiling and lay broken on the ground below. Hyperion stepped on one of the broken pieces and was surprised when it crumbled easily. He stepped on another and found it to be wet. That one didn't crumble and instead coated his dark toes with a chalky white substance that, when sniffed, stank of mildew and nothing else. He was baffled but unworried about it. It was like mud or something. All he couldn't really figure out was why someone would use it to insulate the roof since it was so flimsy and gross.

He stopped to peek into one of the open rooms. Now here was furniture he understood the point of! There, against one wall, was a giant spongy rectangle. Hyperion leaped onto it with abandon and was pleasantly surprised to find it soft and springy. There, along the other side of the room was more of the smooth, sea through wall. Beyond it was a clear view of the ocean. Oh man, he was going to have to remember this place. This would be the perfect spot to bring a girl. A nice date on the beach, watch the sunset from the window, and then, of course, a finale on the bed.

Overjoyed with the springiness of it, Hyperion hopped up and down a few times. He was elated to find that the surface seemed to be tossing him upwards as he went higher than he guessed he would. How marvelous! Yes, the girls would love this.

Hyperion leaped from the bed and padded back out into the hallway. Peeking in the other rooms revealed quarters very much like the one he'd been in so he didn't poke around them. Instead he walked to the end of the hallway and was surprised to find a room with a giant pool of water in it. This room was different than the others. It looked more natural to him. Unlike the floor of the lobby, this floor was lined with stone. The walls too. He dipped a toe in the water and was surprised to find it to be warm. The builders had built a room around a hot spring? He may not have understood the rhyme or reason for a lot of the things they'd done, but this one he could appreciate! How nice would it be to have a warm soak any time you wanted no matter the weather?

From this room he stepped out of a broken pane of glass and found himself in a clearing. Alright, his place was great. If he had to pick one place to come back to over and over again, you know, a home or whatever, this would be it.

WC: 1,132