3rd Winter 516AV
She was bone-weary and hungry. It seemed that the trek towards the Diamond of Kalea had been an endless one and given that they didn't have a wealth of food, they'd been rationing it to ensure they'd have enough no matter how long the journey took. Azira had been the main guide for this part as she had a pretty good idea where Lhavit lay and if she could only come upon her familiar hunting grounds, she could get them to where they wanted to go without Syna's aid. Still, she'd never had to travel on foot from so far afield before and each passing bell without reaching their destination was taking its toll.
Despite the grim circumstances, the huntress was happy. Not only had they escaped from a Harvest intact but they had also grown close in an incredible way. They now shared a bond that no one could interfere with and meant that they now made each other complete. The bonding was bittersweet in their current situation though. Azira had not merely bonded with a Kelvic but also with a Wind Eagle! After all these years of dreaming and wishing, she'd finally achieved her dream of becoming an Endal. However, in a cruel twist of fate, she couldn't enjoy her newly earned status. They were far from home and had no way of getting back any time in the near future. They'd gotten away from the Symenestra but not without sustaining some damage. The former Avora had cracked and blistered her fingers with her own fire reimancy, which had left them aching painfully. Bending them was a world of agony and much of the old skin layer had come off to leave raw red flesh exposed. What had happened to her was minor compared to Sira though. She knew how important it was for her companion to enjoy her true form as a dire raptor and to soar through the air but an arrow to the arm had taken that from her. What was a painful and inconvenient injury in her human form was dehabilitating to her as a bird; it made her unable to fly. The huntress had begged her not to but Sira had shifted and tried to take to the air not long after being hurt and she'd felt the agony and anguish of her bondmate. The moment that the Kelvic had discovered that her wing could not support her, Azira had known about it and felt the depths of her despair.
The new Endal glanced over to her bondmate, who walked beside her. The evening was drawing to a close and she knew that she would have to call a halt soon. It was disheartening to imagine another evening spent brooding by the fire, eating a meagre meal and tending to her companion's injury while trying to remain cheery and optimistic about the whole thing. It wasn't possible for Sira to be fooled by such a facade given the strength of their connection but it was something that remained unvoiced between them, an accepted lie that was keeping them both sane. Azira wished that they could simply go home where they could be welcomed as eagle and Endal and given the chance to settle into the new bond and the closeness it brought. Instead, they could only support each other, drawing on their mutual determination to return to civilisation. It was certainly bringing them closer but not in the way she would have liked.
As Syna began her departure from the sky, she left streaks of oranges and pinks in her wake. The heavens took on a multi-hued beauty that cloaked the mountain peaks and crested the trees of the Unforgiving. There was a slight drop in temperature as night approached but it was still pleasantly warm for this time of year with hardly a cloud to obscure the sight above their heads.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she announced aloud, her voice loud in comparison to the sounds of the nature around them. "We wouldn't normally get to see it like this, not in these surroundings, I mean. We're used to a different angle, not to mention a different altitude. I never liked how open Lhavit is but I can... appreciate the beauty above sometimes."
It was idle conversation, she knew but it seemed like a good way to coax Sira from her melancholy by reminding her of what was beautiful in the world around them. Shyly stretching her hand across to her bondmate's, she made a move to twine their fingers together. The closeness to another person was still a new experience to her but there was something both comforting and exciting about small gestures like these. Now that she'd let her voice ring out, she kept talking. It was aimless chatter, inane comments about the weather, their surroundings, the relaxation and comfort they would enjoy in the peak-top city. The words themselves didn't matter, the young woman merely concentrating on their closeness and the rise and fall of her own voice.
The sky's hues had deepened to reds and purples when her brain finally registered what her eyes had been regarding blindly. She trailed off mid-sentence and came to a standstill. She looked and looked again, staring in fact as she tried to make sense of what was before her.
"Sira," she whispered. "I know exactly where we are. We can't be more than a bell away from where they stable some Okomo at the bottom of the peak. We're almost at Lhavit!" She practically skipped forward, dashing to examine spots on the nearest trees. She moved into areas of undergrowth, parting moss and bushes and laughing happily to herself.
"Sira, we're almost there!" There was new energy to her step, a vibrancy in her features as her excitement spurred her on, following a path that she recognised.
With renewed vigour, they reached the spot in a little under a bell when they sky had darkened considerably and Syna's presence was gone. The huntress flung open the door of the little stable to see a fire burning in stone lined nooks beside each of the stalls. There were two Okomo wearing blankets that were munching away lazily on some sort of grass that had been left for them. Here was an animal that she had once dreaded the sight of but which now she hugged happily around the neck, laughter and sobs mingling as tears slid down her cheeks. The beast seemed less than pleased to have a small, dirty redhead clasping it around the neck and tugged its head back from her grasp, doing its best to back into the corner of its stall.
"No, no, it's okay! I won't hurt you! Here, have a nice treat! See, nice treats," she cooed as she gathered some treats from the recess where they were stored. The foodstuff was shoved up under its nose, almost thrust into its mouth in her eagerness but after a chime of eyeing her suspiciously, the animal nibbled at them tentatively. When it seemed placated and less wary, she made a move to collect the tack that was needed to ride the animal, including a special saddle that was specially made for the Okomo.
"Come on. If you can get the other to take some treats from you, I'll show you how this stuff goes on," she told the Kelvic with a broad smile. "Then we'll get you up on it and won't that be fun! You can have a taste of your own medicine for a change," Azira joked.
She was bone-weary and hungry. It seemed that the trek towards the Diamond of Kalea had been an endless one and given that they didn't have a wealth of food, they'd been rationing it to ensure they'd have enough no matter how long the journey took. Azira had been the main guide for this part as she had a pretty good idea where Lhavit lay and if she could only come upon her familiar hunting grounds, she could get them to where they wanted to go without Syna's aid. Still, she'd never had to travel on foot from so far afield before and each passing bell without reaching their destination was taking its toll.
Despite the grim circumstances, the huntress was happy. Not only had they escaped from a Harvest intact but they had also grown close in an incredible way. They now shared a bond that no one could interfere with and meant that they now made each other complete. The bonding was bittersweet in their current situation though. Azira had not merely bonded with a Kelvic but also with a Wind Eagle! After all these years of dreaming and wishing, she'd finally achieved her dream of becoming an Endal. However, in a cruel twist of fate, she couldn't enjoy her newly earned status. They were far from home and had no way of getting back any time in the near future. They'd gotten away from the Symenestra but not without sustaining some damage. The former Avora had cracked and blistered her fingers with her own fire reimancy, which had left them aching painfully. Bending them was a world of agony and much of the old skin layer had come off to leave raw red flesh exposed. What had happened to her was minor compared to Sira though. She knew how important it was for her companion to enjoy her true form as a dire raptor and to soar through the air but an arrow to the arm had taken that from her. What was a painful and inconvenient injury in her human form was dehabilitating to her as a bird; it made her unable to fly. The huntress had begged her not to but Sira had shifted and tried to take to the air not long after being hurt and she'd felt the agony and anguish of her bondmate. The moment that the Kelvic had discovered that her wing could not support her, Azira had known about it and felt the depths of her despair.
The new Endal glanced over to her bondmate, who walked beside her. The evening was drawing to a close and she knew that she would have to call a halt soon. It was disheartening to imagine another evening spent brooding by the fire, eating a meagre meal and tending to her companion's injury while trying to remain cheery and optimistic about the whole thing. It wasn't possible for Sira to be fooled by such a facade given the strength of their connection but it was something that remained unvoiced between them, an accepted lie that was keeping them both sane. Azira wished that they could simply go home where they could be welcomed as eagle and Endal and given the chance to settle into the new bond and the closeness it brought. Instead, they could only support each other, drawing on their mutual determination to return to civilisation. It was certainly bringing them closer but not in the way she would have liked.
As Syna began her departure from the sky, she left streaks of oranges and pinks in her wake. The heavens took on a multi-hued beauty that cloaked the mountain peaks and crested the trees of the Unforgiving. There was a slight drop in temperature as night approached but it was still pleasantly warm for this time of year with hardly a cloud to obscure the sight above their heads.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" she announced aloud, her voice loud in comparison to the sounds of the nature around them. "We wouldn't normally get to see it like this, not in these surroundings, I mean. We're used to a different angle, not to mention a different altitude. I never liked how open Lhavit is but I can... appreciate the beauty above sometimes."
It was idle conversation, she knew but it seemed like a good way to coax Sira from her melancholy by reminding her of what was beautiful in the world around them. Shyly stretching her hand across to her bondmate's, she made a move to twine their fingers together. The closeness to another person was still a new experience to her but there was something both comforting and exciting about small gestures like these. Now that she'd let her voice ring out, she kept talking. It was aimless chatter, inane comments about the weather, their surroundings, the relaxation and comfort they would enjoy in the peak-top city. The words themselves didn't matter, the young woman merely concentrating on their closeness and the rise and fall of her own voice.
The sky's hues had deepened to reds and purples when her brain finally registered what her eyes had been regarding blindly. She trailed off mid-sentence and came to a standstill. She looked and looked again, staring in fact as she tried to make sense of what was before her.
"Sira," she whispered. "I know exactly where we are. We can't be more than a bell away from where they stable some Okomo at the bottom of the peak. We're almost at Lhavit!" She practically skipped forward, dashing to examine spots on the nearest trees. She moved into areas of undergrowth, parting moss and bushes and laughing happily to herself.
"Sira, we're almost there!" There was new energy to her step, a vibrancy in her features as her excitement spurred her on, following a path that she recognised.
With renewed vigour, they reached the spot in a little under a bell when they sky had darkened considerably and Syna's presence was gone. The huntress flung open the door of the little stable to see a fire burning in stone lined nooks beside each of the stalls. There were two Okomo wearing blankets that were munching away lazily on some sort of grass that had been left for them. Here was an animal that she had once dreaded the sight of but which now she hugged happily around the neck, laughter and sobs mingling as tears slid down her cheeks. The beast seemed less than pleased to have a small, dirty redhead clasping it around the neck and tugged its head back from her grasp, doing its best to back into the corner of its stall.
"No, no, it's okay! I won't hurt you! Here, have a nice treat! See, nice treats," she cooed as she gathered some treats from the recess where they were stored. The foodstuff was shoved up under its nose, almost thrust into its mouth in her eagerness but after a chime of eyeing her suspiciously, the animal nibbled at them tentatively. When it seemed placated and less wary, she made a move to collect the tack that was needed to ride the animal, including a special saddle that was specially made for the Okomo.
"Come on. If you can get the other to take some treats from you, I'll show you how this stuff goes on," she told the Kelvic with a broad smile. "Then we'll get you up on it and won't that be fun! You can have a taste of your own medicine for a change," Azira joked.
Nari | Common
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