//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: All the FEELZ! // Story: Eris and Umbra: Borne on the Wings of a Dragon // by ZephyrStrife //------------------------------// Eris sat on the balcony of the Lunar tower, a few floors down from Luna’s bedroom as she waited for Umbra to appear. She lets out a sigh as she looks off into the distance and just watches the lake reflect the moonlight. Coming up behind the somewhat forlorn looking draconequus, Umbra slides up behind and hugs her. “My my, Eris, you look thoughtful. Is there anything you want to tell me?” Eris sighs again, “It’s just… there’s too much order here… I may not be a full-breed chaos spirit, but even I am way too bored here…” Umbra smiles gently, and suggests something odd. “Then… why don’t we go on an adventure? Yeah! Just you and me, going on quests and stuff, like those two dragonborn we Displaced! Of course, we’ll need restriction seals so we have more fun… but that’s not really a problem, is it?” She gives him a curious look, “... how do we do that?” Umbra smirks gently, “Here’s what we do: In a few days’ time, in order to say our goodbyes and such, I warp us to a generic fantasy Universe and then I get one of my colleagues to Restrict our abilities to a conditional minimum, only to be removed gradually as we, for lack of a better term, ‘Level Up’... Sound good, luv?” She puts a paw on her chin, “Hmm…” She smiles. “Sure! When do we start?” “Wednesday, in three days. Pack what you think you’ll need, once we get there, we’ll be, in effect, stupidly powerful mortals… I’ve actually forgotten what hunger, thirst, and exhaustion feel like… this’ll be really interesting for me…” “Hmm… I think I’ll be a wizard, learn dragon magic because dragons are pretty cool.” Eris says as she hugs him. “Sure, go ahead… though you will still have some sort of your power left… probably just a natural inclination to all magic… I’m just going to revert to how I was when I was twenty one, a shadow manipulator…” “I’ll go work on a staff now, I’ve been wanting to see if I could make one for a while now anyway.” She says before she snaps her fingers to poof away. Umbra watches the cloud disperse, a smile forming on his non-existent lips, “...Goodnight, love..” WHOOSH Wednesday, day of departure Eris bounces a little on her hooves as she waits for Umbra outside of Fluttershy’s cottage, staff in hand as she adjusts her bag. Umbra slides out of the ground beside her, another shadowy figure following after. “Good morning Eris, allow me to introduce you to Landong Star-Eater, he’s our Branch’s Quantum Entanglement Officer, or Q, if you will. He’s also in charge of placing restriction seals on any Admin that wants one… I just need mine touched up, right, Lan’?” “That is correct, sir. All you need is for me to add the conditional release to your Seal, and for me to up the power.” Landong sounded very polite… almost as if he was a butler or something. Eris leans over to Umbra and whispers, “I think he’s British…” Umbra chuckles, “British in actions and accent, Filipino by race. Speaks Cebuano. Hey Lan, you ready?” “Yes sir. All things are set on my end.” Landong holds up a shadowy doctor’s bag. “Then… follow my lead!” VWORPLE X 2 Eris shuts her eyes tightly, expecting to be a little uncomfortable as she hears the rippling sound. “Eris… what are you doing? We’re here, you missed the light show…” Fun fact: The transit between Universes is a quick, swirling, kaleidoscopic light show that rarely lasts for more than a second or two. Eris blinks a little, “Oh… I… uh… I thought it was going to be like teleporting where you feel like you’re getting squeezed out a tube and find out exactly what toothpaste feels like.” She replies with a blush as she rubs the back of her head. “Well… I suppose I should have… wait… but… how did you forget? I took you to Earth a year ago, remember? Don’t you remember the sensation?” Umbra seems to be a bit incredulous that Eris could forget. “...No… you didn’t, you brought those movies from Earth for me to see, but you never took me to Earth. You said something along the lines of ‘it’s too polluted’ or something like that.” “...Oh...Remind me to take you one day, polluted though it may be, some parts are really worth it. Right! So, due to the nature of this Universe, we need to adopt more humanoid forms… don’t know why really, but I guess blending in is more important than I thought it was...’ “It quite is, sir… would you like those Seals now?” Umbra blinks. “Huh? Oh, yeah! Hold on a minute, we should at least change first to keep the magic more stable.” Saying that, Umbra’s form ripples and begins to reflect light in a way that it hadn’t for millennia. After a few seconds of rippling, Umbra’s form stabilizes, now appearing as a thin figure with pointed ears, pale skin, and long black hair framing his face. Wearing a slightly tattered black cloak with light, black armor under, he appears as a vampire… with pitch black eyes. Umbra puts his hood on and pulls up his scarf attachment, shadowing his face as his eyes begin to glow like they normally do. “Alright… well… I haven’t been corporeal in… a long time. Interesting. Well Eris, your turn.” Eris thinks for a second before snapping her fingers. Her body becomes shrouded in a soft white glow as her horns recede and her body takes proportions more like the humans she had seen in the movies. Her hips become a bit more pronounced and as the glow fades she’s wearing a simple blue robe that hangs just a little on her to make it easy to move around in. Her face took the shape of a human woman with violet eyes and she still had her normal horns, just quite a bit smaller. Her silvery hair fell in a long sweeping flow across her shoulders and framed her slightly rounded cheeks quite well. Umbra stares a bit, suddenly feeling urges he had (almost) never felt before… even when he had gone through puberty. “I...uh...wow...daaaammnn… You’re even cuter than you are normally…” ‘So cute… so pretty’ *Dude… You got it good this time.* Reasoning says in Umbra’s head with a feeling like a nod. *And half of your work is already half done, she wants you so badly.* ‘Can’t argue with that logic. I’ll take it slow, though I might speed it up a little...’ *Also can’t argue that logic, go get her tiger.* ‘Here we go...’ “Alright, then, Lan’, if you’re done with the Seals?” “Right away, sir. Here you are… simply place them somewhere on your bodies to activate them. You’ll end up restricted to about 20% power, Lady Eris, and sir, you will revert to your beginning state with only the barest amount of Admin abilities, mainly to remove the seals. Is this acceptable?” “Yeah, great work, Lan’... just… in the event that I get called away on an emergency, I want the Seals to release as soon as I’m called.” “Of course, sir.” Moments later “Here you are, sir, milady. If there’s anything else?” “That’s all, Lan’. Thanks for this, by the way.” “Of course, sir.” With that, Landong Star- Eater disappears and the two are left alone on a forest trail, in a clearing. Eris hugs Umbra’s arm again and nuzzles her cheek against him. “This feels even better… now you’re warm.” Umbra chuckles and pulls her in tighter. “Yes, I suppose hugging a cold mass of shadow can only feel good on a summer day… or if you have a headache…” The two start strolling down the path, hoping to find their way to the nearest town, Fiore, if the infodump was correct. The entire journey Eris doesn’t leave his arm, making her usual purring sounds as she walks alongside him. “What kinds of things are we going to be doing in this world? Slaying a lich? Stopping a sorcerer from making an entire kingdom disappear? Or are we going to be helping solve a bunch of Survival-Horror quests that would put even the most insane mind to shame?” She asks eagerly. “All of the above, of course! We’re still immortal, we have more power than many of the other heros in this Universe, and most of all, we’re here to have fun!” Umbra sweeps his arms out in a grand gesture, illustrating his point. “Awesome! I can’t wait!” She squees. The sun begins to set, casting a beautiful amber glow across the landscape. Eris gives a yawn, “Uh… Umbra… Can we get some *yawn* rest?” Umbra looks up, noting for the first time that he’s actually also tired. “Huh...wow...I *yawn* haven’t been tired in so long… just a little longer, I still have a subspace pocket and I have a lot of money from this Universe… the town of Fiore is just ahead… just a couple more minutes, then we can find a place to stay the night…” He loses his posture some for the first time. “Man, I’m tired…” “You know… I do have a spell called ‘Leomund’s Magic Hut’... We could use that to rest up for the night.” Eris offers. Umbra stares at her, somehow more piercing with an actual face. “Why didn’t you tell me that earlier?” “I… I was tired…” She replies with a shrug. “...Well, as long as there’s a reason… Cast away, wizard girl.” Umbra leans against a tree and idly carves random runes into it with a shadow blade protruding from his finger. ‘This forest really is quite nice… though, I wish we didn’t ‘port in so close to sunset...’ Eris nods a little and points a seemingly-fragile hand towards a nearby clearing in the trees and lets her spell go. With the sound of a *pop* like a bubble a cottage appears in the clearing, making Eris’ jaw drop in surprise. “Ooh… I like that one…” “It does have a rustic charm to it, yes… great, let’s head in and turn in for the night.” He didn’t have to tell Eris twice as she began pulling him into the roomy cottage. “Whoa, hey! Slow down! I’m actually a little fragile like this!... oh wow… this is a really nice cottage…” The cottage itself is fairly sparsely furnished, only a small kitchen, a king sized bed, and a bathroom inside, with a living room connecting the other rooms to the door. The detailing in the walls, however, is what drew Umbra’s eyes. Intricate knotwork and runic carvings over many surfaces combined to create an immensely beautiful display. It was enough to make any art collector cry. Eris smiles and pulls him over to the couch, “See… We could even live in a place like this and I’d be happy.” “Maybe I’ll make a house like this back home… but for now, let’s just go to bed, I’m tired, you’re tired, and really, we have time to sleep.” That said, Umbra drops his pack by the bed and flops in, fast asleep nigh immediately, having not slept for about… a really, really large percent of his life. Eris practically leaps into the bed next to him, giving him a hug and nuzzling into his back with a smile. Smiling in his sleep, Umbra shifts towards her and, after a few minutes, Umbra winds up on his back, holding Eris, who snuggles into his chest. The next day Waking up was an interesting experience for Umbra, moreso in a corporeal form. The first thing he noticed was the warm light softly diffused into the room, adding an atmosphere of peaceful lethargy. The second was Eris, slightly rumpled from sleep, snuggled into his chest. ‘I… I could really get used to this...’ Bracing himself for a difficult choice, Umbra steeled himself for an action that he really did not want to do: waking up the adorable girl lying on top of him. Nevertheless, he pressed on, lightly shaking her awake and stroking her hair. “...Hey, Eris… it’s morning… get up sleepyhead…” She groans a little and buries her face deeper into his chest and tightens her grip on his shirt as she tries to stay asleep, “Tell Celestia she needs to not get up early then…” She complains. “Luna’s night is better… means more sleepytime…” Umbra chuckles, “C’mon, if you don’t wake up, we might not be able to do any questing today.” Eris lifts her head with a frown, her hair was a bit disheveled and she had a frown instead of her usual smile. “Morning should fall somewhere around noon… and then end the day at nine…” “...Well, then you’d be complaining at noon…” Logic: It ruins your arguments. “No, because then I would have more sleep… And sleep makes me beautiful.” She says as she sits up and stretches, getting a few pops as she arches her back. “Guess I can’t argue with that…” Logic: Still ruining arguments. Even if it is flawed. She smirks at him and gets out of bed to grab a set of clothes to begin changing. Umbra can’t help but to stare, but quickly regains his self control and looks away. He then also gets out of bed, really only using his shadow powers to fix his clothing, having not undressed the night before. Once she’s done changing she lets out a happy sigh, “Alright, lets have some breakfast and go.” Umbra nods, and opens his subspace pocket (the pack is really just extra clothes… and toiletries), rifling around for a moment before ejecting a whole breakfast spread, tables and tableware included, out into the cottage, which has mysteriously expanded to accomodate. Items include, but are not limited to: Waffles of every kind, Pancakes, bacon, eggs, orange juice, milk, tea, coffee, rolls, rice, dumplings, miso soup, meat buns, bean paste buns, strawberries, oranges, apples, bananas, blueberries, smoothies of multiple flavors, cake of different types, PBJs, BLTs, and various other sandwiches. All in all, a massive breakfast feast fit for a king. Eris looks at the spread in surprise, “Umbra… We only needed breakfast… not a meal to last us through an apocalypse…” She chuckles. Umbra rubs the back of his head sheepishly, “Heh heh, just wanted us to have some variety, after all… well, go on, dig in!” He sits down and starts grabbing bits of as much as he can eat, enjoying the feeling of actually having a real stomach again. And a real mouth. And a real… everything really. Eris sits down next to him and nuzzles his cheek, “U-Umbra…?” She asks shyly. Umbra looks up from his–balanced and well made– breakfast, looking over to Eris. “Yes, luv? What’s up?” Let us also note that Umbra has immaculate table manners, because that sounds like a thing worth mentioning. She bites her lower lip and looks down shyly when he responds. “Well… I… Uh… I…” She stutters, not quite finding the words to fit her feelings. “Hmm? You don’t have to go on if you don’t want to… but still, why haven’t you eaten anything?” Umbra’s concern shines through much more clearly when he has an actual face. She gets a little bit more nervous, poking her two index fingers together as she tries to find the words to say. Finally she swallows her fear and leans over to him to whisper, “...C-can… I have a kiss?” Umbra starts massively, eyes widening as he almost spit-takes. Though, copying Anton Ego from Ratatouille, he decides to swallow instead. “I… what brought this on? Mind you, I suppose you can, but still, why?” Eris takes a deep breath, “It’s because… Well… When I’m with you I’m just, so happy… It’s as if I couldn’t possibly have a bad day whenever you’re around… This journey even has so much chaos that I wouldn’t want to share with anyone but you…” Umbra leans back and pulls Eris into a hug. “Same here, love. Now, you said something about a kiss?” Her pale cheeks take on a pinkish tint as she slowly leans forward, closing her eyes as her hand caresses his cheek. Both lean in slowly, almost hesitantly, their lips meeting in the middle. And as soon as contact is made, an instantaneous change takes place; now they are frenzied, kissing like no tomorrow, feeling a release of feelings that had festered and grown for the past three years. When finally they break their kiss Eris is panting hard and looking at Umbra with a smile of pure bliss. “All these years… you felt the same way as I did, didn’t you?” Umbra’s response is simply to embrace her closer, “Of course I did… I just didn’t act like it, now I regret not doing this sooner… Now come on, love, we’ve got a busy day today, eat up so we can get to questing.” Eris nods and sits up a bit straighter in her chair as she eats her breakfast, almost constantly missing her mouth as she keeps stealing glances at her man, the one man that truly made her happy. “I notice that you seem to be having some trouble there… would you like me to feed you?” Eris nods with a deep blush as she can’t help but keep her eyes on him. Reaching over, Umbra takes her fork and feeds her slowly, stopping to steal a kiss after every few bites. It takes time, but the two eventually finish, Umbra stowing away the remnants in his pocket as they prepare for the rest of the day. With renewed vigor they both make their way off to their first town in this new world, and their first steps in a beautiful relationship.