Closed A Stormy Night, The Falcon's Fright

[Seran]

Timestamp: 32nd of Summer 514 AV The falcon flapped furiously as he came out of his dive to decelerate onto the ledge. His brown feathers streaked with white were ruffled and when the falcon's feet finally landed on the mossy ground, Seran collapsed in a heap. His breathing was light and rapid, and he couldn't even get up for five minutes. Despite all this, Seran was ecstatic. He'd been experimenting with high altitude flight all day, and while he didn't think he'd topped the Zastoska Mountains, that last dive had been amazing. He had retired from his flying for the day both out of fatigue and because the sun was setting. Some of the most notorious falcon hunters, such as owls, were nocturnal. Seran glanced about, opening his nictitating membranes and letting the cool air hit his face. Sol was patiently waiting where he usually grazed, although at this late hour the dun lay down in anticipation of sleep. Seran did not disagree with his horse. He shifted tiredly, and the small node of hunger in his belly grew into a raging maelstrom that made his stomach clench. Stumbling a little in the fading light, Seran pulled a blanket from his saddlebags and gently covered Sol up. His breath fogged, and that boded ill for both of them. From the saddlebags he also withdrew some uncooked gull which to his annoyance, seemed to be his main meal these days. As he roasted the bird over an open fire, Seran contemplated going down to West Street in search of a good restaurant or even just a butcher with more varied cuts of meat. The city...is not the ideal place for me I reckon. With his supper cooked and his horse tucked in, Seran crawled inside his tent. The tent itself was a good size, and sturdy enough but its real ingenuity came from the crevice it was ensconced in. When Seran had gone up into the mountains as a falcon, he'd spotted this pristine location and couldn't believe his eyes. The ledge was only jutted about 5 meters from the cliffside and it spanned about 7 meters in width, but it was perfect. When he'd finally lugged Sol up onto the grassy ledge, he noticed the crevice, like a scar from an unbelievably large sword. The tent fit and even if it hadn't, it still provided fantastic shelter against the elements. Seran sighed, his stomach now somewhat sated, and he drifted into slumber. A huge boom woke Seran from sleep, making him almost jump up in fear. He froze inside the tent, entangled in his bedroll. Quickly he discarded the fabric and set it aside. Something's bad's going on! He undid the opening flap gingerly and peered out. Nothing but a great wall of darkness was there to be seen. Has there been a cave-in? What's going on? A bright flash illuminated the tent and he could see that the wall didn't obscure all of the outside. Furthermore, he heard a neigh of terror which crescendoed with the booming echo of what he realized was thunder. Sol, the smart horse he was, had dug in to the side of the cliff with the majority of his body sheltered by the crevice. "Good boy, stay here." Seran tried to sound as reassuring as possible. Giving his horse one last scratch on the flank, a trick he'd learned elsewhere, he shifted. The storm waxed strong, cold rain pelting Seran's feathers. He shut his membranes, took a deep breath and dove off the edge. Why am I doing this? A part of him asked, to which another replied, Because next time you won't have a choice. He leveled at about 300 feet and looking up, the storm would go on for at least another couple hours. Excellent! Flexing his tired muscles, he prepared to rise up when he caught a rocky thermal. He hadn't realized how far he had flown and he was now above West Street. A morbid thought crossed his mind, I wonder whether the butcher would sell fried falcon? He shook himself and flapped hard, working for some extra altitude as he circled in the tube of rising hot air. It cut off at what he assumed was 500 feet and he was horribly close to the clouds. It would be worse when he powered through the middle of them, which he knew was where most lightening occurred. His spine tingled and he banked right, and a massive bolt of lightning speared through the air with zero regard for any bold kelvics that might be or had been there. Deaf in one ear, and the other ringing, Seran tumbled downward. He thought he smelled singed feathers on his left side. His final verdict on flying in storms; Bad, very devastatingly bad. Of course, if he'd reacted quicker he could have recovered but this thought was lost in the powerful wind that rushed about him at maximum velocity. He could fly faster than this, but he was falling. In shattered glimpses, he could tell the ground was fast approaching. A bizarre urge to shift overtook him, and he barely made out the glowing light. His vision darkened, oh sh-, and then Seran fell unconscious.

[Gyren]

The wolf sprinted toward the wild caribou prancing in the fierce storm, he'd been injured from the wolfs slash of its razor sharp claws and the wolf could tell that it was going to have to give up and surrender soon, so until then the wolf would continue to chase the stubborn being until it's end. The caribou was continuing to run as much as it could until a bang of lightning was heard and the caribou collapsed on the ground and knew that it was the end of the line, but as the wolf closed in on his dinner for the night, he noticed some thing falling from the sky and thought to him self that doesn't look like a some thing, it looked like a some one,and since he was the considerate being he was, he ran past the caribou (trying not to regret his decision from the fact that when he comes back the creature may be gone) and started for the figure falling from the sky.


The wolf ran quick to what appeared to be an injured bird falling from the air, it was falling fast and yet he still couldn't decide if this bird would end up being dinner for that night, or possibly become a new friend. The bird looked injured especially on the left side. Maybe he got caught in the storm and got knocked unconscious

[Gyren]

Or maybe was finished with his life and wanted it to end as soon as possible (which he thought and hoped wasn't the case), either way he was risking his life to save this bird. He was about 50 meters away from the bird when he thought why am I doing all this for just one person, but it was to late to turn back now, he was going to save this bird even if he didn't know why he was in the first place.


The time had come and just as the bird (which he now knew was a falcon)was about 5 meters from the ground, the wolf leaped up and caught the bird In its mouth. After that he didn't know what to do with it when something important popped into his mind, it's late at night from hunting, I just saved a bird, and yet we have no shelter, so the wolf figured before the bird became concise again, he would have to create shelter. He figured no one would be around them so he started to morf into his human state and after he finished with the transformation he started on making or finding a small shelter for the night. After a while of searching for useful material for the shelter he found a cave in the side of a small mountain and decided that's where they would stay the night so he left the bird in the cave and left to find sticks to start a fire and luckily there were a couple near the entrance of the cave so he gathered all of them, took them back to the cave and took some flint and steel from his backpack and started the fire to keep warm. As the fire grew stronger and more fierce, The kelvec thought to himself Let's hope tonight won't be another rough night (other than the obvious storm happening at that moment outside) so as the night continued and he could now tell that the bird was very much alive. The kelvec hoped he would wake up soon and more importantly wouldn't slip into a coma, the kelvec started to drift of...

[Seran]

Seran started awake, he was stark naked in the middle of the forest. "What did I do...?" He picked himself up and began to pace, and then he flinched, his memory returning in a flash. Cocking his head he could hear very faintly, the hustle and bustle of Zeltiva. "I could have sworn I was going to fall into West Street." He was willing to believe that he had been fortunate enough not to fall in the street. Looking back, he noticed a sad looking tree which had a menagerie of bent and broken branches. He gave the plant a nod, and as he did so he winced grabbing his lower back. It came away wet smelling of blood and pine needles. Thus, Seran very carefully began a routine examination of his body for injuries. He'd had falls before, unexpected accidents but nothing came close to being nearly struck by lightning. Sitting in the middle of the forest, Seran concluded he had 1st degree burns on his left shoulder and upper back, as well as no less than three gashes running lengthwise from his lower-to-mid back. Nothing to laugh about, but I'm lucky enough to be alive! He was loathe to get up but he knew that he needed to get back to camp. Gasping heavily, he managed to get to his feet and he looked back into town. Would it be likely some kind-hearted soul might be willing to give him a ride back up the mountains? Seran stared for a few moments, and then broke into a fit of laughter. "Because a naked, burnt, and bleeding man staggering into town is the first person you go to help!" He was shouting at the end and he turned away and strode purposely toward the towering mountains. It was still night judging by the moonlight peeking in between rainclouds, so help would be snoring in its bed anyway, he realized. Or drunk out of its mind, he snickered. He broke once more into fits of laughter, which inwardly he thought were ill-becoming. Outwardly, he probably resembled a psychotic demon, stalking through the night. All romanticized self-observances aside, he was too tired to shift anyway. He trudged onward, a stray thought crossing his mind. I hope no animals smell my bloody battered self. That would be dreadfully unfortunate. He froze in shock. Right before his eyes lay a massive wolf, holding a bird in its maw. It seemed to have claimed the cavern behind it and Seran had no intention of disturbing it's peace. He shuffled cautiously around the creature and observed the bird it held in its jaws. It was a fellow falcon, and Seran felt a pang of sorrow in his heart as he noticed that this falcon had been nowhere near as fortunate as him. He was almost certain that the creature was dead. Especially in the wolf's ever-so-questionable "care." A streak of lightning lit the forest in a sporadic burst, and when it did, Seran's interest was certainly piqued. He could very clearly see a red and gold tattoo emblazoned on the wolf's shoulder. It seemed to be some sort of symbol, but then darkness concealed it from view. Seran's mind clicked as he thought back to a chance encounter. Yes, she'd had the same problem! Hesitantly and with great care, Seran took a step forward. "Hello? Are you smarter than the average wolf?" Seran's brow furrowed, there could be only reason a wild animal would have a tattoo...