Rescue in the Crystal Cave!

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

Today's designated meeting place and the area of work was Sakuramori. The cherry blossoms were always in full bloom at this place, but this rather breathtaking scenery should not be deceiving, because this place was known for the danger it hid inside itself. The magic was strong here, that could not be denied.

A loud yawn escaped from the silhouette of a young man, who at the time was busy stretching his right arm into the air, while supporting the elbow with his left hand, and slightly twisting his slim waist right and left. The stretch itself was energetic and full of happy vibes, which could be seen from afar, Lyretich was in a good mood, yes - it was an early morning, as always the client liked to meet in the early times' of the day, but at this point, the young man was used to this, plus the discomfort that an early wake-up time could make was nothing compared to the eagerness of going on yet another job, together with Teresa. Even though nothing has started yet, but the young boy already knew - it will be fun, there was never a dull moment when the two of them worked together,  at least not for Lyre.

Dressed in a casual outfit of a brown oversized hoodie, that was tightly tied around the young man's face, with the purpose of hiding the messy brown hair, that he did not have time to style and some light-colored pants, as well as a pair of matching socks with sneakers, and a similar colored over-shoulder bag, Lyre was, as always, waiting for Teresa. Ah, this old lady, I should start calling her Latesa, he chuckled to himself, imagining the reaction his friend would have if he indeed would call her like that, maybe I should try it, the mischievous side, which Teresa often brought out of Lyretich, seemed to be awakened despite the Sun, that was just starting to rise, as he checked his iLac for the time.

Not many people were at the bus station, mostly only those who were hoping at being the first ones to go into the forest and possibly tame some unique wild creature of this exotic area, and well Lyre who was waiting for his companion. Lyre rubbed his eyes a bit as the rays of Sun, that was shining past the building of the bus station, were poking at his eyes, uh... so annoying, his eyes were yet to adjust to the sudden change of the very early morning, almost night-like sky to the bright and warm light of the morning, "Well, at least it seems like it will be a good day, not like we will be able to see it." He murmured to himself.

@Teresa Sinclair ● notes here ● WC:459/TWC:459

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

After waiting for around ten more minutes Lyretich's female companion finally came into the sight, not really sounding the as being even slightless apologetic for coming late, not that the young boy minded that, as he was already prepared for this kind of situation before he even decided to ask for Teresa's help. "Latesa..." he mumbled it under his beautifully sculpted nose as quietly as he could, but still loud enough for his friend to hear, yet being able to pretend that he never had said anything, as he reached for the warm beverage of the coffee that was offered to him, coffee is the thing I can always count on her for. Lyretich had the idea of stepping away and getting himself some coffee, but the idea of Teresa coming while he was away, didn't really sit well with him, he didn't want his companion to get the chance of saying that he was the one being late.

"Yeah, I am starting to feel that caves love me, " he chuckled loudly, as the older female had a point, somehow the jobs that were involved with going to caves were often allocated to Lyretich, that at this point it started to seem like destiny. Lyre gave a quick awkward side glance, before answering his friend's question. "Nope, I still didn't meet them. I was waiting for you, wouldn't it be better to go and listen to the story together. At this point, I pretty much know the same amount of information as you do and that they are located in this small village," he pointed at the picture of the map that was given to him, "so, let's go visit the couple first and hear the details." To be honest, he was just lazy to go there alone, but Teresa didn't need to know that, so while waiting for her Lyre had planned a whole speech or more like a few speeches as his answers to justify - why he didn't go there yet.

"I think I should take away your cup of coffee, what the heck did you put in it?" he just couldn't help but ask, before Lyre reached the cup, that Teresa was slowly lifting up to her lips with one of his hands and block the female's mouth from ever touching that cup as he gently lowered it down with his own hand, as the number of words that the silver-eyed woman spat was uncomfortable for the early morning. "This for sure was TMI,"he paused for a minute, pondering did the elder aunty know the abbreviation, before continuing to explain, "TMI means too much information if by chance someone here doesn't know," he quickly glanced at Teresa as both of them were making their way to the small village that was hidden somehow in between the beautiful cherry blossom trees.

Luckily it did not take them long, and it was usually the case that time flew by faster while having a chit chat on the road. That was pretty much what their conversation had been for the time they walked up to the village, both of them caught up with each other's lives on the small details that were left out from their usual conversation using the iLac. "The day will be really nice, but it seems you aren't fated to see it, not that I am," he tried to joke around a bit, as he heard what Teresa was up the past few days, being cooped up in her guild research facility.

As Lyre's eyes seemed to open wider, probably because the coffee was finally kicking in, they had arrived at the front door of the house that the couple, who requested their help was residing. Glancing right and left, before knocking on the door, Lyre understood why none of the big three legal guilds accepted this job. The village was very small, located in an isolated area, and well it did not look well off, or more like it looked too normal. "Hopefully they are awake already, and we aren't the weirdos for showing up so early," the young male pulled his right hand's finger together as he used the backside of his hand to knock on the door.

@Teresa Sinclair ● notes here ● WC:705/TWC:1759

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

After some walk, finally, they had reached the cave, where the supposed kidnapped child was to be. From outside the cave did not look like anything grand, a place that some mystical creatures, that the villagers held as sacred, lived, but well since the start of their companionship Lyre and Teresa always ended up in some weird caves that were hiding a lot more than it meets the eye, as such it wouldn't be too much of a surprise, at this point if indeed it was grand.

"Hm... Well, first thing first, they told us that some sacred crystal-like creatures are living in it, but as villagers are afraid to go into the cave, no one has really seen them. Hopefully, they are small and cute and we can easily sustain them, because like you said we cannot really harm them. And who knows, maybe the kiddo had just fallen into some hole and cannot get out from it," the couple had a hunch that it was possible for the playful inhabitants to have the child, but it was just an assumption, because of that the pair had to consider all possibilities. And it was very possible that the creatures were actually quite friendly.

The entrance part of the cave even inside did not look like anything special, as both of them made their way deeper and deeper into the cave, a sight to behold came into the view. The ceiling at one point was moving, or so it seemed. "I think that those things up there could be one of the creatures that were mentioned to us, called Stalactite," he glanced at Teresa, they did not seem threatening, but the sheer number of them did, "let's just try going past them and hope nothing happens", nothing much happened, but the cute things did approach them, seemingly looking for a pat, which wouldn't be all that bad, if their edges were not so sharp, "What do you think about using your shields to guard as, while we pass through this section? I am afraid if all of them come to us, I will be a bleeding mess, you might be fine tho, you have your armor," he pouted slightly, in this case, he was jealous of the older woman, because the small cuties, would not hurt Teresa as they brush past her armor.

@Teresa Sinclair ● notes here ● WC:393/TWC:2750

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

The shields were effective, Lyretich and Teresa passed thru the little, playful rascals quite fast and safely. "Oh yes, would be a very nice skill - minus the shine," it was good that he and his companion were in a cave where no one saw them, Lyre imagined the scene if anyone of his friends saw him, shining like the brightest moon thru the dark night sky - they would laugh their asses off, and make fun of him for the years to come, one hundred percent.

Well if he had confessed to Teresa that he actually had no idea where they were heading would she be mad? Lyre didn't really want to test it, so he kept quiet just quietly humming as if he actually had some idea. "This might be the right way," he looked at the older female that had a cigarette in her mouth brightly lit, he tried to sound as neutral as he could, not to raise the suspicions of his companion, about the fact of his clueless state, I hope I sounded believable.

As they neared some heightened rocks, Lyre's darkened eyes caught sight of a fox-like creature, made out of crystals, if my memory doesn't fail me, these things are very sensitive and could be aggressive, this could be bad. Luckily the creature or maybe creatures did not spot them. With a swift movement of his slander limb, slightly aggressively he threw the lit cigarette that was about to collide with the pink shaded lips, "sorry!" he apologized in a  low voice while pointing his slander finger at the monster that was on the elevated rock.

"I think we should crawl here," still almost whispering, he glanced at the direction of a lane of big rocks, that conveniently was blocking the vision of this crystal-fox. He didn't really want to dirt his cloth, and probably Teresa's old bones would not be too happy about this, but they had no idea how many of them there were, and most probably it would be the wiser choice not to known.

As Lyre crouched to start crawling, he hoped Teresa had heard and understood the situation and was following him, though he did utter some mumbles of complaint of again ruining his outfit, even if this time it would not be as badly damaged.

@Teresa Sinclair ● notes here ● WC:386/TWC:3726

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

This was indeed unexpected, Lyretich tried hard not to burst into a fever of laughter as that could alert whatever other creatures were lurking in this cave. "I...I will try..." he barely managed to squeeze this one sentence thru his teeth, without starting to laugh, though at this point his body was trambling hard from the suppression of his innermost desire at the moment, his eyes shining with a light of naught while he tried his best to push Teresa thru the hole. These kinds of incidents really did happen only when the two of them were together, which was a fortune and a curse in itself.

After what seemed some good ten minutes or so, finally, Teresa was pushed thru the narrow entrance, Lyre decided to follow her, luckily the hole was big enough for him to pass it with ease, unlike someone. As he was getting up, his main goal was not to look at his female companion's face, as that would be awkward for both of them, though right now was no better.

Let's pretend nothing has happened, Lyre took a few deep breaths in and out, trying to calm himself before looking at Teresa, "I think, I hear it too. Let's go this way then." His mind was still conflicted whether he should laugh now or no, deciding on the letter, he will have his good times after they finish this job, or at least until they are out of the cave, Yes, I can wait that long! His eyes shone with a strange, cheeky light.

After a bit of walk, following the trail which had some footsteps - small ones, that of a child for sure. "You were right, this is a trail a child left for sure," they both came to a halt as a crystal chamber came into sight and two voices could be heard. "I will open the door, be ready," he looked determined to fight if it was necessary as he pushed the crystal door open, to be met with two pairs of eyes.

Lyre froze. "H... hello," he tried to sound as calm as possible. Processing the fact that they heard two voices, meaning, that the other one belonged to the Crystal Fairy, as the only people and thing in the room were, the young child and the monster.

@Teresa Sinclair ● notes here ● WC:388/TWC:4679

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

"Let's see how friendly or hostile this creature actually is," he whispered softly just enough for Teresa alone to hear, in the eyes of the young wizard, the child looked unharmed, the fairy itself looked graceful and beautiful, Lyretich couldn't help but admire it for a while, as his love for beautiful things kicked in, probably not exactly at the right moment.

"Hello," the fairy responded, in a calm and graceful voice, befitting a mythical creature as herself, carefully looking at Lyre and Teresa, for sure it was assessing the intentions of the two humans before her. "We mean no harm. The child... that is in your lap, has been missing for some time now. The parents are very worried and sent us to find the child," Lyretich tried to reason with the creature, unlike others in this crystal cave, the fairy seemed to have an intellect matching that of a human, as it could understand human speech, or so Lyre had assumed to himself.

The child was quietly looking at the fairy, not sure if it could trust the two strangers in front of it, as it looked like the fairy and the small child had formed some kind of a bond. Lyretich was using the bond magic himself so he could clearly see and feel it. "I think this might be more than just a kidnapping or a missing case," he looked at Teresa, still whispering in a low yet sweet voice. "I think those two might have bonded more than we think, or the child is capable of using taming magic or a bonding one," he continues to analyze the sight in front of him. Among mages, it was not so uncommon for kids to use this kind of magic unknown to themself.

This was the tricky side of bonding and taming magic, sometimes kids would do this subconscious attracting unwanted attention from animals or monsters alike. "You see, this kind of thing happened to me too, only with stray dogs and cats. They followed me back to my house all the time, well luckily for me, my family specializes in this magic, as such I was not the first kid who had this happen to him, but this child is not from a magic family, so I wouldn't be surprised if the parents don't know about this at all," he explained to Teresa, hoping she would ease up complete.

Now the main question was who to pursue, the child or the crystal fairy.

@Teresa Sinclair ● notes here ● WC:417/TWC:5652

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

"Well, it is a case by case type of a situation. You see, in my case - I attracted animals and they followed me, it stopped when I learned to properly control my magic. Until then our mans... house, was filled with strays, but as I said, this happened to almost all kids in our family, so the people around me were pretty much used to that," Lyre paused for a little while, to take in a short breath before continuing his explanation. "In the case of this kid - I think they both feel some kind of pull or closeness? Not to the extent of just blindly following, but more like just spending time together, if that makes any sense," he wondered if his explanation was good enough, Lyretich was much more proficient in using the magic, than explaining how it works - as it came naturally for him.

"I don't think we need to break the bond. The best way would be to comply with the kid to follow us back to his parents. Then I could explain the situation to the parents, and maybe this whole situation could turn into something good," some idea started to formulate in the young wizards head about the possible ways this unusual situation would be able to bring good fortune to the village and the people residing in it.

The crystal fairy for sure had power over the rest of the creatures that he and Teresa had seen in the cave on their way here, what if with the power of this bond, they could make the cave a tourist attraction, or maybe protect the village with the power of this crystal fairy. The young boy in front of him could grow into a powerful wizard in the years to come if they could turn the tables around. And bonding with an intellectual monster at this age could only indicate the immense power that was hidden within this young child.

"Kid, what is your name?" Lyre now addressed the boy in a calm voice, in hopes of not enraging the fairy. The boy was still not sure if he could trust the two in front of him, nevertheless, in a small voice he answered, "Tommy...". "Tommy. That is a nice name. You know that your parents are worried about you. Your mom and dad sent us to find you, Tommy," Lyre was not sure, if his approach was the correct one, as he himself was just some years older than the boy. "What do you say of we go back home?" he smiled at the boy with a reassuring gesture. "N... no... if I go back, I can't meet with Tammy," the small boy answered in an unsure voice, full of worry and a hint of regret. "Why do you say so?" Lyretich paid close attention to the fairy, as it tensed slightly at the distress of its friend. "They will lock him again, forbidding him from coming here! It's better if he just stays here, I can protect him and take care of him!" Tammy - the crystal fairy explained with a slightly raised voice filled with a gist of pain.

The fairy understood well, that this was not a place for a child, but it could not bear not being able to see him, the same was with the boy. The only way out was to reassure both of them, that it would be possible to meet again. Lyre tugged at the hand of Teresa gesturing her with his clear eyes, that maybe she could try and talk to them, as she was older than him and a woman so most probably she knew how to deal with kids and maybe situations like this.

@Teresa Sinclair ● notes here ● WC:621/TWC:6726

i never told a lie, and that makes me a liar.

"Yes, I think that is a very nice idea," he looked at Teresa catching the look in her eyes, as he agreed to the woman's statement. Lowering himself on one knee to the level of the young boy Lyre spoke once more, "You see, Tommy, when I was younger I was in a similar situation. So I am sure I and this nice big sister will be able to convince your parents and the rest of people in the village," he smiled once again.  He looked up to Teresa who was extending her battle formed hand to the young child, seeing her do that an idea came into his mind.

Being born a mage wasn't the only trick up his sleeves, from his mother's side he had inherited a kind of linage that was good at... seducing people, or more like mind-controlling. Lyretich rarely used this ability, as he believed relationships should be built in a clear state of mind, not by being controlled, yet this might be a place to use it. The young wizard extended his hand in the hope of Tommy actually taking his hand, as a slight touch was all it needed to get him under his control.

The young child's eye lit up a bit, as Teresa's words, combined with Lyretich's seemed to work. The fairy was about to stop the young child when he shook his head in a manner saying a clear no, "I... I will go with them. Tammy, can you help us go back safely like you always do?" Tommy looked at his friend as he took the two hands that were extended to him, I hope we don't have to crawl thru that hole again, Lyre looked at Teresa not really wanting to get second-hand embarrassment in front of the kid. The fairy nodded, as a door opened behind her, leading directly to the outside. So, that was how the kid went in and out, avoiding all the monsters here. The young boy's hand was warm, as the three of them went by the fairy to the exit, "If you lied to me and Tommy, I will deal with you all, even if that is the last thing I have to do," the fairy warned him and Teresa in a low, but very threatening tone.

Lyretich was contemplating whether he should use his trick or no, but decided against it, as the child was coming with them without any resistance. Now their mission was to convince the adults, failing was not an option.

@Teresa Sinclair ● notes here ● WC:423/TWC:7642