Safe Travels: Safe Travels

The sun was creeping up on the horizon right above the tops of the buildings. The yellow sky turns all sorts of reds and oranges fading into a light blue color. It was a cold one. The snow was thick on the ground and the cobble stone was covered with a dusting of dirt to help with traction. Olex had melted black wax like tar on the bottom of his hooves so he didn't slip too much. He had a tunic and a bit thicker under shirt. He though didn't wear a coat too much as his fur was rather thick. He looked down the road and  lifted his bag on his back and headed over to where Clover was. He had a cloth in his hand and something was wrapped in it. He gave a soft knock at the wooden door.

"Where is it?!" Clover was frantically looking for something to pack into her back. She was tearing up her house looking for it. That something is very special to her and she never leaves the house without it. It's somewhat like a lucky charm but it mainly keeps her hope and stuff up when she is going through a rough time. Her ears folded back as she was getting upset. She gathered herself and sighed deeply trying to calm down. One of her ears bolted up as she heard the knock at the door. "Come in!" she called out hoping that the guest could hear her. She then walked to the door and answered it.

Olex was standing at the door. He heard her say she was coming and  he stayed still. His tail a cobra would wrap around his waist. His tail needed to keep warm  so it was wrapped up tight.  "morning sunshine. how are you doing?  Are you ready to go?" he asked Clover. His arm resting on the doorway..

Clover looked up at him and smiled "Oh hey! I'm sorry I'm late, I was trying to find something and it seems that I may have misplaced it.." she sighed feeling bad about it. "Oh you are welcome to come in for a little bit while I try to find it... but don't mind the mess.." the weakly laughed at the end of her sentence. She opened up the door more and invited him in. She walked off a bit looking for her precious item that she was missing.

Olex looked down at her. "its not a problem.  It will warm up the ground for them to walk." He stepped into the warm home and wondered around. He would put his hand on the  nearby chair. He wasn't able to see but he didn't want to walk into something. "can i help you find it?"he asked. THough him being blind maybe a problem.  His nose twitched at the different smells  and tried to listen for movement around.  "i got our rations on Aux for the journey to Sol." he knew it was a long fly  and some days of rest.

She sighed a bit as she was trying to think of how to have him help. "I'm not sure if you can help me find it. I'm going to check my laundry to see if I left it in my other clothes... Oh? that's good that you are more prepared than you are right now." she just rambled on as she was distracted trying to find it. She walked into her bedroom and picked up her jacket and dug around in the pockets. "AH! I found it!" she said she was very excited to finally have found it. She ran back into the living room where she left Olex and she smiled putting it in another pocket. "Hmm.. I do have a checklist and some stuff gathered.. can you think of anything else that we might need for his journey to Sol?" she asked him curiously.

Olex shuffled; he didn't want to step on anything important. He put his hands on the chair and sat down  near the edge of the  edge of the table. He curled his fingers together and  rested his elbows on his  knees. "yeah figured i have some at the house. I'm sure we  could use so why not. I got some blankets and a large tent" he would rub his chin beard.  His ears flew up. "Ohh good!" he smiled. "He stood up again. "mm do we have comfy things like pillows. umm. Maybe some vials of meds." he rubbed his chest thinking. "maybe extra blankets or two.

"Hmmm that's a good idea... Do you think between all of us that we can carry everything? '' she was a little bit worried about weighing down Jupiter, her cloudy orange chiro assuming she was going to take him since he was taking Aux and they are any odd pair just like their riders. She stood there near the table that Olex was standing then walked to her cabinets and grabbed a satchel that had some vials of medication and other magical items in it that might come in handy later.

Olex nodded to Clover. "yeah Aux she could be able to carry the heavier stuff. You can take rashions and a blanket or two?" he was thinking of weight and what would make sense.  "you bringing anything else? And i have something for ya" He would give a soft smirk to Clover. He could hear her moving around and where she was in the house.

Clover nodded and replied, "Yeah, I can carry some stuff of course." she smiled hoping that Jupiter wouldn't mind carrying stuff cause sometimes he can be picky but he won't really have a choice this time. Her ears twitched a bit when Olex said that he has something for her. "You do? what is it?" she asked very curiously as she walked over back to the table.

"I got the list of what we need to get in Sol. And then what we can bring back home" he would give a low hum. He had the towns folk write down  things he may bring back. "its nothing crazy. just breakfast and " he would hand her the wrapped food. "its carrot cake." he smiled. Once she grabbed the carrot cake he took out another lil bag. "I got us amulets too. So we can talk to each other on our birds.. it gets windy so we may need to communicate" he  gave her a purple amulet and he got a teal one. " I figured Purple would work well. " he held it up. He would put it in her hand. HIs hands were very warm. As he looked down to  her. She was so short but he didn't mind.

Clover smiled at the gift of the carrot cake, "Aww it's very cute. Thank you so much. We will take it with us and we can share it." she said happily. She was in awe with the amulets. "Wow, that is such a good idea...do I owe you anything for it? It's so pretty." she added holding the jewel part in her tiny paws staring into her own reflection that was at different angles.

Olex smiled and heard her tone in her voice. He wished he could see better details of the world other than infrared. At this time of year there was a lot of blue with spattering of warm heat going about.  He shook his head. "no just don't lose it. '' he winked. He would show her his and put it back under his shirt. "you ready to go?" He leaned down, got his bag over his back and adjusted it.  He tilted his head a bit.

"I will do my best to not lose it." she replied in an excited happy tone in her voice. She took a deep breath then smiled, "Yes, let's go on our adventure!" Her tail wiggled a bit with happiness like a dog would. Her red eyes sparkled with determination wanting to make this trip a memorable one for sure.

Olex fixed his bag and headed out almost walking into the wall but he caught himself before then. He moved over to the side and  headed out. The sun was rising and the warmth hit his face. He hummed warmly. "Is jupiter ready to travel?" he asked looking back. His hooves made soft clamping noises as they headed down the cobblestone to where their stryx were. The town people were starting to gather outside and get their stalls already for the morning bustle.

Clover's foot steps were quiet compared to the clopping noise of her best friend's hooves against the cobblestone pathway. Clover nudged his side a bit with her elbow with a friendly laugh, "What do you mean by ready to travel? I'm sure he will be ready to go". She then watched some of the other townsfolk walk around carrying various items getting ready to start their day. Clover's nose twitched as the smell of fresh bread wafted by as a baker was selling their baked goods outside of the bakery.

Olex looked down not that it mattered. "get rested for a few days and get hydrated?" He was thinking how they were to prepare to travel. He used the sense of where the  stables were from movement memory. Which was  a hazard when people changed things or put stalls in his way. The warm and cold shapes he saw helped as well.  His nose went to the warm bread but ignored the urge to grab. "it's getting busy this morning" he would smile. The stables that came up were large and made out of stone and timber. They were quiet as most were sleeping at the time. His hooves were the noisest things that likely woke the stryx  up. He looked into  the stall with Aux. She yawned and rolled. Her head perking up as she looked at Olex. She scooted closer to Olex and pressed her beak to his hand to show she was there. "ya ready girl?"

Clover smiled as they got closer. She was up and ready to go. She seemed to just be happy no matter what time of day. She went to Jupiter's stall and peaked looking around "huh? He isn't in his spot" she scratched the top of her head a bit thinking of where that chiro would be. Jupiter was actually snuggled up in Aux's feathers snoring his little head off not bothered by her moving. He must have had a nightmare and found someone he trusted to be with.

"hey Clov... i think they like each other" he chuckled looking back to her and pointing to the two. Aux though didn't want to move as Jupiter was snuggled up. She had her wing over him like a warm soft blanket. "Aux he's gonna have to wake up soon.. we need to get going" He smiled at her. Aux shook her head and muttered something back at Olex. She went and started to preen Jupiters thick neck fur. Olex exhaled longley and opened the door to the stall and stepped in. He didn't like to pull her out but he might have to soon.

"Hmm?" Clover turned her attention to the two stryx. " That's a turn of events, he used to be scared of her" she laughed as she followed Olex into the stall. "Welp, let's wake up three sleeping princesses". She was referring to Jupiter. Jupiter felt the preening of his fur and he stated to wake up feeling groggy. He didn't want to get up yet.

Olex crossed his arms over himself. "you know what would be funny if we found an egg later" he chuckled though not serious as there would be nothing to come of it.  He moved to Aux and scratched her neck. AUx gave this loud huff and nudged softly  at Jupiter. She would slowly get up and stretch with a large yawn. SHaking her body off. "go stretch and get ready for flight Aux" he patted her shoulder. She would nudge Jupiter once more and nudged Clover before she would move out of the stall and get her morning wing stretch.  His hand went onto Clover's back and patted her softly. "what are we going to do with our kids" he chuckled

Clover looked up at Olex and laughed "man they are something else! Those silly love birds" she added as they walked out of the stall. Jupiter walked groggy behind the two riders. He opened up his mouth for a big ol yawn. He then opened up his leathery wings standing up on his feet and flapped a bit trying to wake up. He hated mornings.

Olex looked out as Aux was stretching her wings and she took off into the distance. It looked like she was getting some water in the nearby river. He looked back to Jupiter."You think he should jump on the back of her and we can just ride together" he chuckled. He wasn't sure how much weight  Aux would comfortably fly with.  He headed for the  stable and got out the packs h e was getting ready to throw on Aux.  Auxesia  came back with a bit munching on something and landed. SHe dropped down a goose for Jupiter to eat as she  moved to Olex  and laid down so the harness could get on.

Clover smiled and replied "No joke" she then put her hands together over her head and stretched herself. "I think once he eats something he'd come around. It always makes him a little bit too flip is his sleeping schedule. '' Jupiter did a happy food dance, him prancing in place, as Aux offered him the goose for breakfast.  He happily chirped as a thank you and started to eat it. Clover walked over to where his harness was hanging and she grabbed it and walked back to him so that she too could put it on him.

Olex  smiled at Clover. "i'm sure he will wake up. soon" he  fixed the harness on Aux  he was tightening it and pulled on it a bit. He felt that it wasn't going anywhere he patted the seat and nodded. He put the packs on and strapped them in and the rolled up soft blanket like material right behind him. Making sure he had anything in arms reach. It would be a pain to have to keep landing to grab something out of a pouch. "give me your head Aux." He would wave her down and he put the reins in her mouth. She rolled her tongue on it in annoyance but she was used to it. He then put on a heavier jacket to be sure he was warm in the higher climates.  He gave Aux a soft pet. She would head over to Jupiter and clover inspecting the items on him.  "aux it's  just a harness. He is fine" he would snicker a bit.  "you  have a good coat for flying high?" he asked in a worried tone

Clover put on the harness/saddle onto Jupiter but he was being whiny and not cooperating very well. "Jupiter! Come on, you will still get to be with your girlfriend!" she frustratingly said to her orange cloudy chiro. He mumbled in acceptance as he let her put the tack on along with her pack and some other goods. "Jesus...." Clover sighed as she pulled down her cheeks with her hands. Jupiter nuzzled her head on her neck as he was apologizing to her. He licked her face trying to get her to laugh and he succeeded in doing so. Jupiter looked over at Aux and was delighted to see her. Clover turned her attention to Olex and she replied "OH! Yeah I do!" she then dug around in her pack and pulled it out and put it on. "Thank you for reminding me.. not sure why I didn't already have it on."

Olex  gave Clovers shoulder a warm squeeze. "remember to speak into the gem.I may not see well but my hearing is great"he winked.  His winks. "let's get going." his large hand slid from her shoulder. H Is other hand went out . Aux came over and got close. He climbed up and got settled. "after you my lady" He gave a soft grin.  He figured Clover can get them on course to go and he would have aux follow for the most part

Clover nodded, "I will try to remember that" she weakly laughed as she walked Jupiter a bit and then lifted herself up and climbed onto Jupiter's saddle. "You ready Jup?" she asked him as she petted behind his soft leathery ears. He chirped with glee as he was getting excited to go. "Well then, lets go!" she shouted all excited. Jupiter spread out his wings and then ran and took off into the air

Olex sat back and waited for Jupiter to fly. He heard the flapping of the wings and taking off. He gave Aux a bit of a soft kick and she went forward and joined after. He hung on tightly as they were ascending to the sky. Her wings are large and hitting a beat . She tried to keep behind Jupiter using her large wings to soar high.She kept close to jupiter.  Olex's mane was flailing in the wind. He put a cloth up over his mouth to shield the wind from hitting his face.

"Woo hoo!" Clover exclaimed as she threw her arms up in the air as they were soaring in the bright blue sky with some giant fluffy looking clouds that looked like you could take a nap on. Jupiter shook his head a bit, shaking the fur on his neck. He flapped his wings and soared hoping they'd get to their destination at a decent pace.

Olex lifted his head letting the rather cold air hit his face and mane.  He managed to wrap  a shawl around his head to muffle out some of the heavy winds.  As they flew throughout the morning the sun rose more into the sky warming them up better.  Aux  turned her head a bit letting the dark unders  soak up the sun.  He took the necklace and he spoke softly into it. "do you want to land? We've been flying for some hours. We can grab lunch before flying some more before dark" He would ask.  Aux would drift closer to Jupiter and dipped right under him.  She let her large wings carry her and tried to limit her flapping.   They were above  land that was half planes and the other half  turned into a forest and a river was making its way out of the trees into the open plains.

Clover's ears went into their alert position as she heard Olex's voice and was very confused. She then remembered the necklace. It looked like the jewel was glowing when he spoke. She then spoke into hers as well, "Yes, that sounds like a brilliant idea! I'm starving" she playfully whined. She leaned out and pat Jupiter on the neck to let him know that they should land. Jupiter nodded and gradually started to fly down making sure he wouldn't throw Clover off of him

Aux would start to descend near a clearing next to the forest. She did a large circle to slow down  as she landed and did a bit of a bounce. "we need to work on that Aux'' Olex grumbled a little bit. As Aux came to a stop she laid down to let Olex slide off.  He lifted his head in the air to give a long sniff. Taking his bag from the saddle and taking out some rations he had. Dried salted meat and sausage and a few veggies. He heard Jupiter move and he  paused as he didnt want to be  ran over.  "we should be able to fly a bit more. maybe tomorrow night we should be there" hee thought as long as they didn't get lost in the mountains. " we can set camp later at the bottom of the mountains'' He leaned against Aux but stretched his legs.

Jupiter landed pretty quietly as he glided down. He folded his wings to his side and shook his fur again. Clover dismounted and stretched her arms above her head. Clover looked over at her friend and walked towards them. Jupiter did as well and laid down on his belly by his friend Aux. Clover then reached into one of the saddle bags and pulled out some of the food that she brought to eat too. "That sounds like a good idea, hopefully we can either pitch our tent somewhere or stay at an Inn.. if there is one" she said as she sat down

Aux was rather happy at the moment  and moved to Jupiter. She took her large beak and started to preen the fur on Jupiter's neck. Resting next to him.  Olex stood up since Aux apparently had other plans then just to sit with him. "Hmmm we can see if the map has something. " He figured that would be best but thought there was a lack of villages on the route. But  don't let the blind Chimera lead the way. "If there is, we can get a room. Lessen the cost as we  get to Sol. He munched on some of the meat. The warm air hit his face and he could smell the pollen from the  flowers in the air.  He fought the sneeze he had in his mind. "maybe we can hunt right before we camp so these guys can get some food. Unless you think this is a better place?"He  tried to listen to nature to hear what's about.

Jupiter loved the grooming and attention he was getting from his very best friend. He snuggled up all close to her and nuzzled her. Clover nodded, "Yeah looking at the map would be wise. I'll get out. "Clover went to her bag and dug around until she pulled out a map. "Ah, there we are" she walked back over to Olex and opened it up. "Oh hunting would be fun.. or even fishing. I hear a river nearby. We could also get some water and boil it for drinking water too if we are running low."

Aux was working on the knots the wind  blew in Jupiter's fur. She was meticulous and rolled them against her beak.   Olex waited to  Clover to return and  his head lifted and turned slightly to the left listening to his surroundings.  He did hear the rolling of the river and some small animals that were moving about. He wasn;t sure at this distance how big they were.  "we can send the children to go out and grab something while we  sanitize some water" he looked down at Clover seeing if s he liked the idea as well. "did i ever tell ya your the best at reading maps" He smiled big with a slight chuckle.

Jupiter just leaned against the beautiful gryph stryx just loving the rest that they were getting over a long flight. "The children huh?" Clover said a bit out loud. "I guess they can act like kids huh?" she laughed just picturing the stryx has babies being all cute. Her attention was brought back to Olex when he complimented her. Her face turned a bright red, "I'm not that great at reading maps.. I guess I have gotten better over the years of us travelling together."