41 Swimming (2/2)
”If I still have to explain it to you, then you should have already understood it.” After another sigh, Lino followed Yabang who continued walking, ignoring them. Tang'ga soon ran behind the two again to stubbornly ask for a proper explanation. And the three walked back with one still subtly insulting the other.
Noon came and the five children and one dragon were together again to eat their lunch. As usual, Maga was happy beside its two friends especially since it was left alone in the cave all morning. It was tasked to safeguard their things left inside the cave though that was not really necessary since the area surrounding the cave already protected by its 'mist'. Therefore, it spent most of its time waiting while swimming in the lava pool.
Contrary to what Tang'ga assumed, Ling could really swim in the lava without hurting himself. After their meal, the others watched as the boy removed his shirt and trousers to take a dip in the pool in only his undergarments.
The area looked almost the same as the previous cave near the village. It has a high ceiling where the lava was falling from, then reaching a slab of protruding rock serving as a pool and the lava kept flowing to the dark gorge below. The area where the pool and ground surrounding it was big enough to fit Ling's family's house.
A cheeky grin was Ling's only response to the gasp of Yabang and his friends before he swam to where Maga was waiting, near the other pool side's edge.
Despite the many years they have known this, Ling and Rin could still not explain the reason why Ling was not hurt by the lava. As an experiment, Rin actually tried to dip the tip of his finger into the pool but the finger was immediately scorched. Fortunately, it only took a few seconds for Ling to heal it.
What Rin felt when he touched the lava was worse than touching a flame or being scalded by a boiling water. For Ling, it was the same as taking a dip in a warm bath but the liquid was more dense than actual water. Kind of like jelly.
Ling also realized that the lava was working like the life 'mist', able to reenergize him after a dip. Later, he noticed that, the same as Maga, he was absorbing the lava like 'mist. Though, he was disappointed when it did not increase his growth.
Despite their inabilty to enjoy the pool, the other children decided to stay in the area to rest before another hunt. Like in the previous cave, the area where the pool was situated at was warm though not scorching hot for the rest of the children to suffer from.
Rin was talking to Yabang about their previous experiences with Maga while Lino and Tang'ga were looking around the cave. They weren't able to go too near the pool but they were curious about the lava, where it kept falling from and where it was going together with the mist coming from everywhere even from the forest.
The red ones coming from above were flowing slowly to the pool and the edge below that, same as the flow of the lava. The green life 'mist' on the other hand was trickling more slowly from outside.
Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, a loud rumble was heard from somewhere below them. This was then followed by the shaking of the ground, with small rocks falling from above. To the children's relief, it was not a strong one, unlike the time when the cave entrance in the previous cave was blocked by fallen rocks.
These past few years, it was not too surprising for the Mal'it Clan to experience earthquakes. Intermitent quakes would happen any time of the day. However, as the cave was closer to the volcano, the shaking was more felt by the children though this was still considered a weak one.
After the earthquake, Rin released a breath of relief and his eyes naturally looked to the pool where he had last seen Ling and Maga to check on everybody. To Rin's surprise, the rock slab serving as the pool was now half its previous size and his two friends were missing from their previous spot.