Plucking a stone off of the cloud ground, he admired the beauty of the stone. Would it look better as a necklace or as a bracelet? Other forms of jewelry were still more complicated than what he was capable of doing at the moment. Even with all his passion and experience, he had more to learn about his art. He placed the stone into the pouch filled with other stones. Although the jewelry maker didn't say anything, he deeply appreciated the company. Just knowing that there was somebody else with him seemed to improve his mood. Loneliness still echoed in his heart but the hole closed slightly. Caius continued working as his focus slowly became wrapped entirely around the work. He wanted to gather the best and most amazing pieces without destroying the buildings. 

Suddenly, the ground began shaking. At first the jewelry maker assumed that this was normal for a cloud. It was only when the buildings began vibrating that fear began spreading through his mind. The pickax dropped from his hand. Panic raced through his mind. His body couldn't move. Caius was still as a deer that had just been spotted. He couldn't move. His green eyes filled with terror as he realized what would happen if he didn't move. Thoughts in his mind were screaming out. RUN! Something crashed into him. He fell downwards but was facing the body that shielded him from falling stones. His eyes could see the falling rocks.

Pushing his arm out from behind the centaur, magic poured out from the palm of his hand. His fear changed from pure terror to worry for his new friend. The idea of her getting harmed was enough to make him move. Caius was not strong enough to block every stone. But he was able to open a portal underneath the largest. Any stone larger than the centaur would have a portal devour it. He didn't know where the building pieces would end up. Suddenly, he felt his mind become dizzy. No! This was the worst time for a vision. Caius fought in his mind against the vision as he tried to use his magic to protect his protector from the worst of the buildings. Once the earthquake stopped, he would be overtaken by the vision. 

Paradox braced herself as best she could. From above, she could feel the rocks raining down upon them. They pounded her back and shoulders, the hard stone banging loudly off the metal armor. Sometimes the pieces would hit her flesh and she couldn't help but grind her teeth and wince. It was like being pelted with rocks. Beneath her, she saw Caius move and extend his hand, creating a spell. Around them a portal opened up, sucking in the largest of the stones and saving them from being thoroughly flattened into the ground. Large chunks from higher up the building rained down, some of which were larger than her, these were promptly sucked into Caius's portal before they could reach them.

In no time, she felt bruises and welts from across her hide as the fragments continued to fall and at last slowed to a stop. She waited a moment before unfurling herself, careful in case any remainders were above them and hadn't yet decided to fall. After a bit of time, she stood upright, stretching her stiff muscles as Caius's portal disappeared around them. Slowly and painfully she turned her human torso to look at the damage on her back. The portions of her back where the croupiere and criniere didn't protect were covered in various bruises and knicks, some of which were starting to bleed. She gave a sigh as she made her way gingerly over Caius and turned around to look at him. He hadn't moved from they were, even though the shaking had stopped.

"It's okay, Caius," she said, trying to reassure him. "The earthquake's over, we're okay." She stretched her back legs, noticing stinging cuts along her thighs and shoulders too. No matter, she could fix herself up at camp. She turned back to Caius, growing concerned now that he wasn't moving. "Caius?" She walked towards him, standing over him and bending at the waist to look at him better. She was shocked to see his eyes go white and his body become tense. She felt a chill go through her as she reached out to touch him. He didn't respond. "Caius?" she asked again. When it was still nothing, her concern heightened. Was he hit by a stone? Was he having a stroke or seizure of some kind? Was he dying?

She hoped he wasn't suffering from any of the previous. Unsure of what to do, she carefully picked him and his belongings up in her arms and made her way slowly back to her camp. The going was difficult, the earthquake had severely damaged what was left of the city, the streets were now littered with rocks and other debris. She had to be careful, with each step, she could easily twist her leg between some heavy stones or get caught on the wreckage. By the time she'd gotten to her side of the city, she could hardly recognize it. What remained of her camp were only a scattering of supplies, some blankets, and some of her research and samples she'd collected over the course of her stay. As gently as she could, she laid Caius on the blankets and searched quickly through the remains of her supplies.

At last, she found what she was looking for, a round metal orb, about the size of a small ball. It fit easily in her palm and she could wrap her fingers around it. Pulling out her small notebook out of her saddlebag, she flipped it open to a page she had dog eared. Scanning the text, she found what she was looking for, and glancing at Caius, whispered it into the small metal orb. After a second, she threw it as hard into the air as she could. It flew high above them and disappeared in a green light. The scientists, when they had everything set in motion for her trip, decided to have an emergency beacon put with her supplies, knowing that the island was dangerous. If she needed help, she only needed to speak the spell in her booklet into the orb and it would send a message back to the mainland. With any luck, a ship would come for them in the morning. She felt they weren't welcome here anymore and the sooner they got off this cloud the better. She'd explain it all to Caius when he woke up. 

The shaking stopped and Caius dropped his hand. Magically drained, he was aware he could do no more. His body stiffened and the black of his eyes turned to white. That vision that he had been fighting took over his mind. His face was relaxed and appeared as though he was in a dreamlike state. Caius was unable to understand anything around him as his powers overtook all of his senses.

Instead of smelling the clouds or dust from ancient stones, a powerful perfume hit his nose. A little girl was holding up a bottle of perfume up to the centaur. The girl had golden blonde hair and bright sparkling blue eyes. There was a big smile on her face as she held up the crystal glass bottle filled with lavender liquid. The room around them was a small living room with a few furniture pieces. Despite the child's innocent appearance, there was something strange about her. The centaur shook her head and pushed the bottle away, instead reaching for a weapon. A high pitch laughter jumped from the girl's voice as she formed into something else. A monster or some sort of beast.

The vision appeared to be short, however the jewelry maker could never be certain how long he had been in the vision. It might be only a few seconds for him but it could be an hour or more for the world around him. Caius blinked several times as his body relaxed again. The white of his eyes returned to black. Regaining his sight, he looked frantically around to try to figure out what had happened. The sense of touch returned to his body. He gripped the soft blankets underneath him. Caius regained the rest of his senses as he pushed himself to a sitting position. Paradox! He spotted her quickly and let out a sigh of relief. She was alive. Looking around, he could see a partially destroyed campsite. The earthquake….skyquake….the shaking must have caused the destruction. 

"…Sorry." He said quietly, "I'm fine. I just had a vision into the…future I think." 

He spotted the scratches and bruises on his friend. The drops of blood sent him into a slight panic. Caius snatched his back, rummaging through it until he found a medium sized wooden box. He tore the lid off of the box and plucked out a soft rag. Taking the canteen from his supplies, he poured several drops of water onto the rag to make it damp. Turning to Paradox, he took a step towards her then stopped. 

"…..Do you mind if I help with your injuries?" He asked awkwardly. 

Paradox saw the jeweler start to stir and walked over to him as he woke up. She hovered near him until he regained complete consciousness. She felt a sense of relief as he sat upright and spoke to her. He was a seer of sorts, one who received visions of the past or future, likely both. She had read of such people in books, they were usually rare but their abilities were quite powerful, some of which being able to predict and prevent disasters and tragedies. Her ears perked forward in interest at his sudden movement as he reached for his pack and stood up. He stepped towards her and she turned her head to the side to watch him. He sought to help her and she nodded, giving him permission to assist her. Her supplies likely hadn't survived the devastation anyway.

As he worked at her side, her ears flicking backward to listen to him while her eyes remained focused on their surroundings. "I have a bad feeling about this place," she said quietly, cocking a hind foot against the other. "The earthquake we felt shouldn't have happened. We are on a cloud, it's physically impossible for such a thing to occur without outside interference. It's like an omen almost." Her ear twitched and her skin flickered under his touch. Like horses, her flesh was extremely sensitive to the pressure, even though he wasn't hurting her. It danced under his hands unconsciously.

She looked back at Caius for a moment before returning her attention to the buildings around them. She didn't know what she was looking for, but something didn't seem right anymore on this island. "I sent a beacon while you were asleep," she said. "With any luck, hopefully, a ship will be here tomorrow to pick us up. I'd rather not stay here any longer than necessary if at all possible. If there are forces strong enough to rock the entire city, I would hate to see what else they can do on a smaller level. If we can make it until dawn, we should be alright." She turned firmly this time to hold his focus, she wasn't joking around anymore. They upset something on the island, she was sure of it, and it was making a hard effort to kill them off or scare them away. They'd have to be on alert at all times now until the ship arrived.

She thought a moment before reaching down and undoing the belt at her hip. Attached to the belt was the sheath with her small dagger, she handed this to him, seeing as how he was unarmed. "Be careful with this," she said giving it to him. "It's freshly sharpened. I might not be near to protect you, so you have to be able to protect yourself. Use it if you have to. I don't know what we're up against, but I'd feel better if you had it with you. My bardiche would be too difficult for you to use here and I don't have anything else."

When she felt that he was done with her wounds, she turned around to inspect his work, rather pleased with his work. She gave him a soft smile. "You have a healers touch, Caius. That could prove very beneficial to us in the near future." She was quiet a moment before asking her next question. "Speaking of the future, may I ask what you saw in your vision?" She tilted her head and looked at him curiously. She hadn't met a seer before. 

After receiving her approval, he stepped closer and began cleaning the injuries she had acquired. The ones that cut through the skin had to have the tiny bits of stone taken out. The bruises needed to be cleaned too but he had to be careful to not cause her more pain. Caius listened to Paradox as he worked. She explained her worries and told him about the beacon that she had sent. He placed down the rag and went to the box, pulling out instructions for what to do next. The jewelry maker knew how to clean things but the rest of it was out of his league.

Fortunately, all healing kits came with a small paper with instructions and pictures for anybody trying to use it. Pulling out a bottle with clear liquid, he walked over to her and began to pour the medicine on her open wounds. The clear liquid would sting for a few seconds. Referring back to the instructions, he learned that he needed to use the strange bandages around the injuries. He plucked the bandages from the kit and wrapped up her leg that had a medium sized cut. The injury wasn't deep enough to cause problems but it was able to be bandaged. Caius placed the bandage back into the kit and packed everything else up. 

Looking up, he saw the centaur hand him her dagger. A smile was on his lips as he took the dagger. Yet he already knew that he would not use it. A dagger was meant to be used by somebody who knew how to use it. Caius was not a warrior. Not now, nor would he ever be. Besides…he had his own weapon secreted away within his clothes. But the centaur was clearly worried about him. He took the dagger and put it in one of his empty sheaths at his belt. The last thing he wanted to do was to upset anybody. Even if it meant carrying around a useless weapon….perhaps he could find a use for it. Cooking, cutting objects, working to make a shelter. There was a list of things that one could use a dagger for that did not relate to fighting. Paradox asked about his vision. 

"Well…" He said thinking of what he ought to tell her, "It was relating to you. A future vision of some sort. I don't believe it will be an event coming soon, although its hard to tell. But if a child hands you perfume…don't trust her. Especially if you are in a living room." 

He would not say anything more. What many people didn't realize about the future was that it could change. The future was not set in stone. It was like thousands of streams of possibilities. One thing blocking the path of a leaf travelling down the river could cause it to cascade into a different river. It was best to only say what was necessary to protect the people around him. Anything more might cause disasters. Standing to his feet, he took a look at the camp surrounding them. It was somewhat destroyed. Caius decided to work on it. Walking over to a fallen over tent, he began to put it back up. It would be a while before help came. 

Paradox looked down at the young man as he spoke. Her ears perked forward as he talked about the vision he had seen. She was partially surprised that it was about herself. She was quiet, unsure of what to say after he finished speaking and walked over to assist him with rebuilding the camp. The tent was heavy and large, big enough for her to sleep inside with room for other companions. They raised up the center pole and reset the remaining poles on the sides. The fabric was torn in a few places, but nothing so severe that it would need to be patched right away. That could be done on the mainland. 

Once they were done with the tent, she set to work picking up items and objects that had been scattered around when the rocks moved. She picked up a few books and vials, dusting them off and shaking off the loose rocks. She set these aside upon a larger stone as she kicked through the rubble. Occasionally she would find an instrument or device hidden underneath, almost always, they were destroyed or damaged beyond immediate repair. It was a shame, but such a thing happened outside of her control and sphere of influence. She didn't think it would be worth the effort to carry such an object with them when they left. 

She noticed the sky was starting to darken as the camp was slowly becoming orderly again. Carefully, she picked her way over to where she had had her campfire the night before. The remains of wood were still there and she added a few to the stack before scraping her two front hooves together to create a small streak of sparks. The fire slowly ignited and the campsite was soon cast in a warm glow. She'd have to get up again and get more wood soon, but for now, the fire would do. She looked up at Caius. "Is there anything you had in mind to eat?" She had several food items left in her pack, they would probably be alright cooked over the fire or potentially thrown together into a stew of sorts. 

After the tent was up, Paradox had asked about food. The jewelry maker stood up and walked over to his pack. He pulled out some dried fruit, a carefully wrapped loaf of bread, some dried meats and a couple of potatoes. He looked up at the centaur with a gentle smile.

"I suppose a stew will work. I have some potatoes and a loaf of bread." He explained holding up the food, "Lets go with these first since they would be the fastest to rot. The dried stuff will decay slower. I believe its because of the lack of water that they hold."

After packing up the rest of the food, Caius took Paradox's knife and began to peel the potatoes. It seemed that they would be here for a while, if not the entire night. He paused for a moment and looked at the campsite around them. The campsite had been fixed but it didn't appear safe in any sense of the word.  Understanding that she was physically stronger than him, he decided to suggest something.

"Would you mind fortifying the camp?" He asked, "I think that you are significantly stronger than me. It would be easier for you to move boulders and other stuff for barricading or making temporary walls than it would be for me."

He was a little nervous asking such a thing, especially since she had appeared to be eager to do the cooking. Caius continued peeling potatoes with the knife carefully but his attention was really on the centaur and her reaction. The jewerly maker looked for any sign of anger or any emotion that would display she was upset by the idea. The last thing he wanted was to make her upset.

Paradox smiled down at the jewelry maker as he stepped forward to help with the food. He had more food in his pack that could be used and he seemed to have the better fine motor skills between the two of them. Slowly she stood up on the broken ground, careful of the sharp rocks and handed him the supplies from one of her saddlebags. It was the last of her foodstuff for the trip. She trusted his judgment on cooking. She wasn't a big cooker anyway, if she'd had her way about it, she probably wouldn't have even started a fire. But she was aware that people were especially susceptible to the cold, at least compared to her kind, so she felt like it would be polite to have one if he felt the need to get warm.

"Here," she said, giving him the pack. "If you can manage the food, I'll start working on fortifying the camp as best I can. We don't have a lot of time before the sun sets. There's some food left in my pack, mostly a mix of things. Take what you like. I'll be over by the buildings getting rubble. Just yell if you need me and I'll come running." She turned slowly, picking her way around the loose stones. This was not a good time to twist a joint or break something by stepping on it wrong. She bent down and picked up some of the larger broken pieces of the building and set to work making a sort of semi-circle around Caius and the tent. This would keep anything from approaching to the rear at bay, or at least hopefully. Like her equine counterparts, her only blindspot was directly behind her, so she made a determined effort to protect the rear as best she could. 

She could see the sun lower in the sky as she worked, though it felt like it disappeared much faster than it should have been. She wasn't looking forward to the night here anymore, after the earthquake she was a bit shaken, in both a physical and mental sense. Something was here and it didn't like them. She didn't know what it was and she didn't want to know, but she had a feeling it would go to great lengths to get them off the island. Considering the island itself floated on a cloud, their options for escape were rather limited. Jumping off the edge, being potentially the only option would result in almost certain death from dropping from such a height. 

She was not terribly thrilled with their odds, but she wouldn't tell Caius, she didn't need him to worry about it. He seemed to be a bit on the delicate side, even for a person, which was fine in and of itself, but she wouldn't go telling him things to rile him up on purpose. Instead, she focused on the task at hand, as she pulled a large stone behind her. It was about her size and she had secured it to her body with some rope. The going was slow and tiring as she pulled it into position with the other rocks. By now, the smell of the stew Caius was cooking was wafting over to her. She looked at her handiwork, pleased with the amount of stone between them and whatever was out there, at least on their weakest sides. She would likely go back and fill in the gaps and weak spots with more stones after she ate.

She walked in the darkening sky back towards where he was crouched by the fire and some cooking utensils. Positioning herself so that she could lie down comfortably and stay out of his way, she folded her legs and stretched her hind limbs out to the side on the blue stone. "Smells good Caius," she said looking eagerly at the stew. Moving the rocks around had ignited her appetite as well as reopened some of her scabs from earlier, but she would get to them later. For now, she wanted to eat. "I look forward to trying your creation." She was quiet a moment as her eyes were drawn upward. The sun was setting, casting radiant beams of red and pink and yellow across the sky. "It is something, isn't it? The sunsets seem so beautiful up here in the clouds, more than it ever seems to be when you're on the ground."

The knife was placed deep enough into the potato to cut off the skin but still would not cut through the vegetable. With every movement, Caius worked carefully but efficiently. Soon the potatoes and become bare, ready to be cooked. Caius placed the potatoes on his bag and set up a pot of water on a medium sized fire. He returned to his rock seat and continued with the vegetables. His hands moved swiftly as they began slicing up the potatoes into neat little cubes which fell into the pot of water. The water hadn't been too hard to find. Since clouds were made up of water, he was able to find a smaller piece of cloud and drain it. The water started boiling. He added some spices and mixed up the stew well. Soon they had some delicious soup to have for dinner. 

Despite his calm appearance, Caius was well away of the danger. He had chosen not to think about it. This wouldn't be the first nor the last time that danger lurked in the shadows. A smile was on his face as he stirred the pot. The jewelry maker's thoughts wondered from place to place. When one thought left his mind, there were thousands more to come and replace it. He continued stirring until he finally noticed that the protection surrounding them was almost done. Paradox had done well to fortify the area. Almost too well. Although he did appreciate the protection, he also became slightly concerned about the fact that it would become more difficult to flee. Then again, they were on an island in the sky. Fleeing wasn't exactly the best option. 

"Thank you Paradox." Caius softly responded with a small smile. 

Paradox  walked closer so Caius set out two bowls with spoons. Picking up her bowl first, he poured her a good amount of soup and handed her the bowl. Her eyes had been drawn upwards to the sky. Caius looked up himself and spotted the radiant beams of warm colors blasting through the sky. The clouds had turned to shades of pink, orange, and yellow. The sky had transformed into a mixture of purple, blue, and pink. Whomever came up with the designs of the sky ought to have been proud, for it was a masterpiece. After the lovely viewing, Caius returned to pouring himself some of the soup. 

"Paradox, if you don't mind my asking, why did you want to come here?" He asked, "I mean what makes you interested in the city?"

Paradox gratefully took the second bowl from Caius when he offered it and a spoon. The soup was thick and filled with chunks of food. She was looking forward to eating it and smiled at him. She walked a little way over and carefully straightened her legs beneath her. She set her soup bowl down for a moment so she could take off her armor. She put the pieces of metal to the side, allowing herself to stretch out some, before coming back to the soup. She ate it slowly as she took in the sunset. She bent her knees and flopped onto the ground, leaning comfortably on her right side.

She flicked her ears back as Caius asked her a question. She turned to look at him and gestured to a smooth stone next to her for him to sit with her. She waited for him to settle in before speaking.  "I was sent to the island by a group of researchers to look at the city," she said between bites of food. "I've always had an interest in research and have been involved with a few research groups in the past. It's a relatively cost-effective means to get to exotic or out of the way places, that, and I get paid to be here and collect samples. Though, I can safely say I've been to more dangerous places than this before."

With a sigh, she watched the sun fall below the horizon of the sea and disappear. "What about you, Caius?" she asked him. "How did you end up here? Not many people choose this area to visit." She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, true to her equine heritage, she took slightly longer than a person to adjust to the dark or bright light. In a moment, she'd be able to see him in better clarity, though tinted as was usually typical when it was night time. The colors would become muted and the shadows would be more pronounced. They'd have to be more careful now, the place had a strange feeling about it at night. She wouldn't tell him right away, he seemed like the nervous anxious type already. 

Still, even without saying anything, her ears swiveled back and forth, betraying her unease as she focused on all the nearby sounds. She stood up and extended a hand to take his bowl. Picking her way back to the fire, she poured some water out of her canteen and washed the bowls and spoons, putting them on a warm rock a short distance from the fire. They'd be clean and dry come morning for when they would eat their breakfast. She added some more wood to the fire and looked at Caius. "I think we should be getting ready to sleep, we'll have to be up early tomorrow." She slipped into the tent and pulled her spare bedroll out of her saddlebag. She rolled it down on the floor on the other side of the tent. She didn't know if Caius had brought extra supplies with him, but the rocks here weren't the most comfortable to sleep on. Quietly she went and laid down on her blankets on the opposite side of the tent. She turned and rested heavily on her side and waited for him before falling asleep.