Legacy LD5

It wasn’t long until Karo was ready to hit the trail again, this time with Geckina in tow. Two cybernetic creatures walking through town caught even more attention. Karo could still, not for the life of him figure out why people were so curious about it. After seeing a giant green Kangaroo today and assuming that creatures of that magnitude must be commonplace, one would think that cybernetics would be nothing to gawk at. Some seemed almost frightened by it. One person, obviously a man of faith since he was wearing a cross around his neck and brandishing a bible in Karo’s face, came running up to them and shouting. “Back you heathen of the Anarchitect!”
Karo grabbed the mans paw, he was a fox. “Listen you welp, you see this cross hanging on my neck? I’m not any sort of heathen, and if you put that in my face again, I’ll shove it up your tight little tail hole. Now I have no clue who this anarchitect is, but I assure you I have no ties to him, or her, or it. Now bugger off ya loony.” Karo shove the vulpine away, who simply pinned his ears and looked suddenly apologetic and not so brave.
“Well I saw the cybernetics and just thought. I’m terribly sorry sir.” With that the orange and black fool ran off.

Once out of town, Karo and Geckina followed a small trail through a dark wood. The trees grew in funny angles and were almost black in color. Geckina was quiet and content it seemed. She had grabbed a pistol and had it holstered on her thigh. She had swapped out her sneakers for some hiking boots that had afuzzy lining, this was driving karo nuts since he was such a footlover. She was also attractive for a lizard gal which made it all the better. Karo still couldn’t explain his attraction, but it was there and getting stronger for these different creatures and critters of the anthropomorphic animal type. She still wore the same puffy socks, they reminded Karo of a sports bar he used to visit for some chicken wings way back as a human.
He kept catching scents of her, strong ones, but they were arousing and he didn’t quite know how to hide it in this new form, though he seemed to be managing alright. They continued to move down the trail and deeper into the woods until a nasty smell drifted across their noses. “Yuck what is that stench!?”
“Smells like something big died.” Said Geckina in Response to Karo, both of them were covering their noses.
As they rounded the final bend in the trees, they were so dense they couldn’t even see through, they saw the source of the smell; a large moat like lake surrounding an old run down, burned out, half destroyed castle. The lake was strewn with the bodies of countless dead, the waters surface glimmering in a rainbow design of various toxic and flammable liquids floating there, and a greenish mist fogging the castles’ lowest parts from view. Karo could see the beginnings of a Causeway Bridge across that was half obscured by the fog.
“We’re here. I’m back. Come on Geckina, lets get a look at that bridge.” Karo said, warily heading for the bridge. He wasn’t at all settled about being back here, but the thought that Torchie may still be around was a driving force. Geckina followed without argument or comment, she was obviously scared of this place. She wasn’t her giggly self suddenly. He knew that Calypso was more sure of him protecting her than vice versa.
They made their way across and up to the large doors in front. Karo muttered to himself that the place had changed some, even if he never really saw the entrance good. He knew it didn’t have a causeway, or a moat, or trees around it. Time had certainly had some fun with this place. It seemed to still have some enchantments around it, He could sense them more than see them. The dragon inside knows they are there.
The dragon sized doors bore dragon head knockers, they were so worn that he and Geckina easily walked through a hole in them. Karo’s first thought was to go check her room, but then thought better of it, and remembered the green in the window of the tower. “Looks like we are taking the spiral stair, I have a hunch she’s up in the tower.” He said matter of fact like.
“Alright, but those stairs are pretty big.” Geckina said, tilting her head at a funny angle.
“There’s a smaller set on the inward side for smaller beings, longer but easier on us.”
“How do you know all this?”
“This used to be my home. Hundreds of years ago to you, mere weeks to me.”

After a long hour of climbing the long winding stair, and looking out a hole in the wall from an ancient blast that somehow still left the staircase itself in tact, they came to a door. Although large, the door was considerably worn, to the point it was falling off it’s hinges. Slipping through the cracks and holes in the door was a simple matter. Karo and Geckina entered into the room at the peak of the tower; inside there was a large bed with a green scaly tail limply hanging over the side and gently twitching. This made Karo smile, he knew that tail.
Geckina was looking all about, wide eyed, obviously in aw of the experience. Her eyes and head darted around the room; from the big dresser, to the mirror on the far side, to the window. Karo distracted her by telling her to climb up on the dresser while he got Torchie’s attention. “What? You’re going to climb up there with that dragon? It’ll kill you, you’ll be breakfast. Calypso told me all about the dragons of old and most of em now aren’t too friendly.” Geckina whined with considerable concern.
“She, will not and cannot harm me. I was her pet/slave/friend a long time ago. This dragoness is not dangerous, the only concern is that she will not recognize me in this new state. Go climb up onto the dresser there and powder your nose or something, you’re part gecko so a climb like that shouldn’t be hard.” He knew she was part gecko from an explanation he’d gotten from calypso before they left. She was also partially veloci-raptor, and partially Anole. Yet like many of the reptilians Karo had seen on this strange world that has bound his destiny with its own, she had mammalian structures on her chest and bore a mammalian type internal systems.
“No, but how are you getting up there onto her bed yourself? Mister smarty roo, you crazy fool. I dunno why you want to climb up there and pester a dragon anyway.”
“Simple, I’ll walk.” Whit this said, Karo simply put a foot up on the vertical surface of a bed post, balanced on his tail to put the other up there, then made his way up as easy as if he were walking on a horizontal surface. Geckina only wide eyed at this, and then quietly made her own way up onto the dresser top.

Karo emerged onto the bed spread. It was Torchie alright, He couldn’t forget those feet. She was sleeping on top of the covers. The small in comparison, kangaroo began walking the length of Torchie’s form, all the while he could here her mumbling in her sleep. Much of the mumbling was about him and was accompanied by sharp cringes and twitching movements. She was staying primarily in the fetal position, hugging something tight, a stuffed animal, a stuffed Kangaroo. Her snout was poking at its pouch, then frowning and moving away, then repeating said action. It became obvious to Karo that she was searching for him in her sleep, and in the place he normally slept, in that plush kangaroo’s pouch.
While standing there watching her, and feeling sorry for her, Karo noticed that Torchie had not seemed to age much, her scales were still as shiny as ever, and her hair still golden blond and radiant. He looked her up and down and could not figure out how she’d stayed so young, perhaps it was simply that dragon magic was that strong.
Karo had to figure a way to get her to wake up and not try to kill the stranger that appeared before her eyes. She could not hurt him, this much he was certain of, the magic’s that tied him to her were still in effect as far as he could tell, and since he is still able to walk up vertical surfaces, that was enough proof for him. Then it hit him, the pouch, the kangaroo’s pouch.
Karo slipped in, in between Torchie’s twitches. He could see Geckina across the way on the dresser cringing and obviously convinced Karo was going to be eaten or something. But Torchie brought her snout in again, and this time a smile crossed it and she nuzzled into him. She snorted then though, something was a miss, there was fur where there should be scales. This woke her up.
Torchie’s eyes went wide down at the little Neon Kangaroo in her stuffed animal’s pouch. “Wha… You’re not Karo, who are you and what are you doing in there!?”
“Milady, are you Quite sure I am not your beloved Karo? Many years ago for you, you sent me off to keep me alive. Barely alive I landed back where I started, but years past. A trio of Kangaroo’s and one blue wolf brought back my livelihood into the embodiment of this Kangaroo. Wouldst that I know of your kangaroo’s pouch were I not the Karo you know?” Karo said, looking straight up into her wide dragoness eyes.
Torchie, stared back. She was obviously calculating, and weighing the facts. This little Kangaroo knew how to get her attention and sat here with no fear of her. This was Karo Hardskale, her toy, her slave, her truest friend. And He was also her Brother by the rights of the name given to him and bloodline inherited through her own family’s laws so many years ago. By the fact he had slain her brother, father and most of the evil kin she had, he had claimed the right and throne of this castle. Torchie could feel it now, this had to be Karo because her heart was suddenly free and felt reunited. One thing remained to be seen, After she had sent him off all those years back, knowing he would come back one day because she knew how the wormhole worked, she had pledged that when he did that she would give up her size and be at the same height as him. This pledge was made and sealed on the tear that fell from her eye and splashed on him.
As Torchie thought this, she slowly realized that she was standing now, on her large bed, and looking up at the kangaroo in her stuffed kangaroo’s pouch. The stuffed animal that was now more than twice her size. She smiled up at Karo “It has to be you then. I missed you so much.”
Karo climbed out of the pouch and down to Torchie. They Hugged tightly together, Geckina had mad her way swiftly over to them as well and joined in. she was a bit quicker than Karo originally gave her credit for. As the three sat there reminiscing and explaining the events of things to Geckina, suddenly they heard loud shouting coming up the stairs.
“Torchie! We’re coming up, get your ass out of bed!” The sounds of hooves could be heard clopping closer as well as faint padded footfalls alongside them.
Torchie gasped “oh no, Nelly and Clover, they’re giants to me now.

Eeeeee, no, no, can't leave it hanging at THAT point...need more, more MORE!