In the Earth Mother's Care A Tale of the Grand Skies chapter 5 by EnviTheFool

The winds shifted as the tremendous furry ears twitched. Galleon was surprised to feel how much more vivid the sensations were in this form. Normally her craggy skin was too thick, too hard to feel the winds of the moisture of the air. All those small sensations all over her skin made her feel part of this wondrous, living world that the mortals lived in. It gave a rise to a temptation to shed away her clothes to fully immerse herself in this feeling, but she could not, not now. A bare body gave rise to many bewildering emotions in mortals, and what Galleon needed now more than anything else was for them to stay calm.

"Stillness." (I ask of you to not leave the town, for your own sakes)

Galleon's hand navigated down below and gently grasped the sky island with her fingertips, causing only small tremors. She had to remain delicate while the mortals could still be harmed. Her brow furrowed in disgust as she felt the corrupted soil, but the emotion came alongside a hint of relief. It had yet to reach the topmost layers. Sparing this town and its inhabitants would cause no issues.

"Grounded." (I also ask of you to seek shelter, and something heavy and firm to hold onto)

The Gold Dragon could hear the denizens of Solodem expressing confusion amongst themselves, to which she responded with a soft smile. As fragile as they were, mortals were clever children. They would know what to do once she started.

Galleon's right hand began to descend. The dip of her index finger, the length of which alone eclipsed the tallest landmarks of the island dug into the ground right outside the town. From there, it began to circle it as delicately as someone of her size possibly could. The tremors caused by this extraction procedure were more than enough to cause the ones who hadn't already done so to heed to Galleon's instructions and seek shelter from the artificial earthquake. It was an unfortunate yet unavoidable consequence, but mercifully it didn't last long.

After separating the town's landmass from the rest of the island, the hand suddenly retreated away. The ones who took this as a sign that everything was over were quick to return to their positions as their town became engulfed in the same radiant light that had signaled Galleon's arrival.

It was a lot to take in. As the light cleared, everyone quickly became short of breath. The few more experienced skyfarers among them quickly realized that both this and the sudden coldness to have been results of an altitude change, a concept that both befuddled and terrified them even further. But everyone was able to witness the most drastic change, and the cause of it all. Their town now rested on the extended palm of this goddess of a being. Her white glove had replaced all the grassy plains and forests. And the source of the comforting warm wind that stopped everyone from shivering in this new environment was Galleon's mouth, her every breath rattling the more feeble buildings that had already become loose from the earlier quaking.

Everyone's panic returned as the giant mouth, more than big enough to swallow the entire town whole, started to grow bigger. No amount of reassurance could assuage the primal fear that resided in every living being. But once more, Galleon showed that there was no need to be afraid. Her plush lips maneuvered so that only the very edges of her kiss made contact with the town and its landmass. A faint glow spread across the town's nooks and corners. It was similar to the ones before, but could no longer be described to have the same divine radiance that hurt one's eyes if they were to directly face it.

"Sanctuary." (I offer you a blessing of protection. You shall remain unharmed as long as you stay within the town)

The mortals would now be safe. She only needed somewhere she could place them while she worked on her duties. But where?