Breanne wobbled a bit as she made the shift from hovering in zero gravity to standing on firm ground. She probably would have fallen over, if Tess hadnât been there to catch her. The ancient being had a lot more practice with such thing, and Breanne was grateful for her help and guidance. They were standing outside a very ornate gate that gave you the impression that while extremely well crafted, and definitely made with decoration in mind, it could stop you getting through it, or really anything. That is if you got past the dozens of very heavily armed guards, Breanne squeezed Tessâ hand to get her attention, and whispered out of the side of her mouth âAre you sure this is the right placeâ Â Tess did her best to suppress a laugh âyes, Iâm sureâ. Silently they walked up to one of the guards, there was no verbal communication, but Breanne watched in fascination the series of gestures the two passed between each other using their fingers, a series of symbols, interspersed with a twist of the wrist or a click of fingers. Through this silent conversation, the wish to enter must have been conveyed because the gates swung open silently. So silently that Breanne didnât even notice that they were open until Tess made one last gesture to the guard, who returned it, and pulled Breanne through.
After passing through the gates, the two wanderers found themselves inside a long hall way, lit by pale lamps that seemed to blossom out of the wall in flower like patterns. Breanne watched the patterns of light and shadow they cast on the floor, dappling the grey stone. âSoâ Breanne began, still staring at the floor âare you going to tell me what weâre seeing this time, or is it another surprise?â when she looked up, Tess was smiling that winning smile âtheyâll all be surprises, that I promise. It shouldnât be far nowâ. Breanne didnât know what to say; technically Tess had answered her question, though it was the most obscure way to say no Breanne had ever heard. She made a mental note to remember to try to apply that to something (or more specifically someone) in her real life, it had been quite brilliant. Despite Tessâ reassurance, the hall way appeared to have no end, at least not one that was visible to Breanne. Briefly she wondered if there was a secret door somewhere in the rock, she had always wanted to go through a secret door, it was one of the many strange things Breanne had no reason to want for, but did and couldnât explain why. Breanne often felt she had too many of these, and wondered if that should worry her.
She didnât get the chance to finish that thought, before she saw a pinprick of light ahead of them. It was a very bright light, and Breanne had to use her free hand to shield her eyes, the other still firmly locked in Tessâ. Breanne had expected her hand to get sweaty at some point, especially since they no longer inhabited the vacuum of space. But it didnât, there was only the solid weight of Tessâ hand and that bizarre tingling feeling that seemed to envelope her hand, and which (slightly disturbingly) had started to travel up her arm. When they finally made it to the end of the tunnel, Breanne found that it opened up into a large cave, its high arching ceiling stretching out high above them. Breanne gave Tess a quizzical look âquestion, why didnât we just warp here?â Tess mealy shrugged âI like talking to people, and pleasantries are important. At least they are to meâ. Breanne refocused her attention on the cave, or rather the contents of the cave. The entire chamber was filled with giant crystals.
Giant, multicolored, natural and carved crystals, more than Breanne thought could be in one place at once. Very carefully she approached a large, rose colored stone, putting her palm to the stone. It was cool to the touch, translucent; it warped what lay beyond it, elongating it and covering it with a pink tint. There were  words carved into some of the crystals, words Breanne couldnât understand, one stone, made out of what Breanne thought was obsidian, was carved to resemble something  a crescent moon, overlooking a city made of a dark blue stone she couldnât name. Several different stone grew in an outcrop near the center of the cave, carved into a two person bench, which Tess carefully guided her charge towards. They sat, their eyes roving over the beautiful structure before them, this place that was built by nature and the careful, precise hands of a visionary who had an image of gorgeous design locked away in there, now turned into a reality. Admittedly, it was very impressive, but Tess was determined to step it up a notch, after all this wasnât going to happen again in the humanâs life. It was statistically improbable at least (and more than likely impossible). Tess moved Breanneâs hand to her shoulder, earning her a questioning glance from her companion, Tess was finding more and more that this particular human preferred to communicate with facial expressions and only resorted to words when a look couldnât convey her thoughts. It was rather entertaining to watch.
Now with both hands free, Tess raised them and clapped once. Immediately the lights posted throughout the room went off, reminding Breanne of a movie she watched when she was very young and couldnât remember the name of. With the electric light gone, the cave was filled with a more natural, gentler light. Some of the crystalâs glowed with a brilliant light, neon greens and pinks accompanied by dark purple and splashes of amber. Tess heard a satisfyingly surprised gasp next her, and the hand that now rested on her shoulder tightened. âWoahâ was Breanneâs only comment as Tess pulled her to her feet and lead her through a different part of the stone garden.  Breanneâs eye was caught by a piece that was the perfect balance of the glory of nature, and the skill of living creatures. A copper flower, not unlike a rose sat on top of a mass of red and gold crystals. Each stuck out in a different direction, fusing and breaking away from each other, perfectly pointed, they gleamed in the light of their neighbors. âThis is incredibleâ Breanne breathed, trailing  one finger over the delicate petals of the rose, noticing the small white diamonds sprinkled on some of the petals to look like dew  âwho built this place?â. Tess shrugged âI donât know, I only found this place a couple hundred years ago, and by then it had already been around for ages, and people had forgotten who built itâ
âDoes  that happen very often?â  the question caught Tess off guard, she stared at Breanne, a little surprised That I find new places?â that seemed like a silly question to Tess, the universe was a big place, and even she hadnât seen all of it. Breanne just shook her head âPeople forgetting placesâ and that struck a cord in Tess she had forgotten existed.  Her entire job, part of the reason she was still here, was that someone would remember the treasures left in existence. Her life was long, and she saw entire species come and go in the blink of an eye, she treasured what people left behind, tried to preserve everything they were, remember them because sometimes there was no one left to remember. âYesâ Tess managed at last âIt does happen sometimes, but we do our best to remember them and what they stood for. Even if we can only guess at what their lives might have been like, itâs better than not knowing they were here at all right?â a small smile spread over Breanneâs face as she turned back to the stone âYesâ she murmured, almost fondly âI suppose you're rightâ
