Zulrav had returned with wrath a few days prior. The storms which had battered the mountain and caused such strife and pain for the people within had briefly lifted, giving false hope for the few days of sunshine, before returning to their earlier rage. Up near Val’s quarters, the wind could be heard howling outside, so much so that as soon as Lani entered the long hallway that lead to the Sanikas gates, she feared a pack of wolves had broken in and was preparing to rip her to shreds. The gates area was humid and a little chillier than the rest of the Volcano, but Lani had precious cargo with her, and so continued anyway. Spider, her newly named crow, was perched in the small cage she held.
Lani didn’t know enough of the Wind Reach inhabitants in order to simply ask anyone for help, or to even pay for a few lessons in keeping the new bird. Instead she found her way to Val Imsun’s apartments, hoping the well-traveled elder could help her with her new responsibility. She had been a little brash buying the crow, but the soft ache in her innards reminded her it was the right decision.
Lani rapped her gilded knuckles on the rough oak door a few times, in the familiar rhythm which signified Val that it was her presence he was to expect, and waited. She could not see the outside, as the gates were firmly shut for the winter, but she could hear the sheets of rain hailing on the stone outside from here, and found being this close to the storm was rather soothing instead of frightening. It helped that Semele’s security was sound.
”Good afternoon Lani.” Val spoke, a soft grogginess in his voice that told her had been sleeping.
”Afternoon, Val. May I come in?” She asked, raising her new crow, that huddled in its cage, to show him what she had brought. His face, which had been stiff from an afternoon nap, rose, a small twinkle of curiosity in his eye. That is why the half-blood had made such good friends with him after all, their boundless curiosity was a shared trait. Of course Val had his own crow and knew more about the creatures than she did, so unlike herself, his curiosity was not about the new responsibility of birdkeeping, but rather the reasons behind why she had chose to take on such a task.
”Of course. You will have to share with me the reasons for this decision.” He said, opening the door wider and shuffling aside so that she could duck in. Lani grinned at the man, but walked slowly, careful not to disturb the bird. The rain and thunder was still sounding outside, and while Lani knew very little of animal handling, she feared the results of scaring the crow after first meeting it.
”What a beautiful creature you have.” Val said, letting the door softly thunk closed behind him, and turning to her. The two friends were familiar enough that they did not hesitate to reach for her arm, helping stabilize it under the weight of the bird, and to softly pet the shivering creature through the bars of the small cage. To Lani’s partial surprise, the bird did not stray away from the touch, but rather looked at his finger’s curiously, as if deciding if it were food or friend.
”He is fears me. Is he scared of you not?” She asked, and Val laughed.
”Sentence order, my dear.” He reminded her, and Lani rolled her eyes, trying to remember the proper sentence order. Grammar did not come as instinctual to her as she would have liked.