“Uzima’s very possessive,” the Akontak explained as she walked, knowing the Kelvic could hear her even as she winged overhead. The sense of hearing on these birds was phenomenal.
“Even though you’re bigger than she is, and you could probably pluck and truss her like a roasting chicken, she would still pick a fight with you.” She pulled out the first mole, the one that Uzima had caught and maimed, holding it up to the bird. Uzima let out an approving screech and sunk her beak into it, beginning to rip and pull to get at the moist morsels of flesh she wanted. It was her reward for a hunting session well done. They had to keep the pastureland clear of menaces that would ruin a horse’s leg, after all.
“That’s why I clipped the leash to her jesses. Besides, once we’re out of this stand of trees… one little hawk can attract a lot of attention from bigger predators.” They left the trees and moved into the open grasslands, Raiha’s long legs picking up the pace. This wasn’t a good place to be caught in, she knew that much. She kept an eye on the eagle overhead, and from the shadows on the ground. By the time they’d covered the half a mile or so to where Laeraix had cached her belongings, Raiha had put the remainder of the mole back in the pouch, now that the goshawk’s crop full. Uzima ruffled her feathers as Raiha paused to get a closer look at some sort of herb that caught her eye. That was ribwort, a dark green, slender herb with lance-like leaves sticking out of the grass, the long stalks protruding from the undulating blades of grass. Each of the stalks was capped with a single, dense, cylindrical cap – that was the flower, with the tiny, yellow filaments that seemed to dance around the cap. The whole thing would have to come up – every part of the ribwort was usable. Poultices, tea, syrups… it worked as an antibiotic, and helped to soothe coughs and to clear up insect bites, stings, and itchy rashes.
So while Laeraix got dressed, Raiha dug up that plant with one hand while Uzima complained about being jostled. The Akontak made a face at her goshawk.
“You’re fine,” she told the bird with a smile.
“Just let me get this out…” she had a bit of dirt on her blue-skinned face when the Kelvic addressed her, and she smiled at her.
“Remember where I was?” she stood up, holding the plant with both hands, Uzima inspecting the fronds with disinterest.
“I was maybe five minutes outside of it, so we’re maybe ten chimes away from it,” she grinned.
“But we’ll go back there, and I’ll show you around. I think you’d like it to see it. I sleep in the mews with Asim. He’s a Kelvic bear I met in the Sylira region when I was traveling from Zeltiva to Syliras. He and I bonded recently. He can be a bit of a grump… but you get used to it.”Between the pair of them, Raiha trimmed her step a little bit to enable Laeraix to keep up. With her long legs, she covered a lot of ground quite quickly. She knew it could be difficult for others to keep up with her, and she didn’t know just how much time this one spent in her two-legged form. But they crossed the grass quickly enough, and Uzima seemed to warm up to Laeraix, now that she was dressed and carrying what was, to the goshawk, a big stick. Raiha’s calm demeanor probably didn’t hurt, either.
“We’ll put Uzima in her flight so I can show you Sanctuary… and I can put the ribwort up, too,” she grinned a little, hoisting the plant she had dug out.
“I like learning to help others with herbs,” she confessed.
“Kavala, the Konti who runs Sanctuary, is a healer as well, and likes to dispense syrups and such around Riverfall when she hears someone with a cough, so it’s useful to always have what we can find on hand… here we are,” they’d reached the stand of trees where Laeraix had first come across the odd-looking girl.
“Just beyond here are the pastures for the horses and the cow… but groundhogs and gophers will tunnel out here, and then move further in, so I like to start watching for those tunnels here besides those that pop up in the pastures. If a horse breaks a leg… we’re in trouble,” she explained.
“This way.”She climbed over the wooden rail fence when they got to it, keeping her balance easily enough. An enormous dog, white with grey patches on it, came charging out of nowhere, racing easily enough around the horses, baying at the top of his lungs.
“Shush,” Raiha told the dog, shaking her head at him.
“This is Diallo,” she introduced him to Laeraix. The dog was eying her almost suspiciously, but Raiha gave him a light shove with her leg.
“Stop that. She’s a guest. Be nice.” He wound himself around and between Raiha’s legs, and she shook her head at him. But the dog did calm down, as if Raiha’s telling him that she was allowed to be there was all that the dog needed to know. He came over to sniff at the Kelvic, nosing at her hands and feet before turning to follow Raiha as she went through the pasture.
“This is just about all Kavala’s herd, but my mare is in there somewhere,” she explained to her guest. They cut through the pastures until they came to another wooden fence, and upon scaling that one as well, they found themselves in a courtyard.
“Here’s the mews,” she led Laeraix up a flight of stairs and into the second floor. There were some rows of flights on either side, and in two of them were birds.
“They’re recovering,” Raiha explained to her, making her way to the end, where there was an enormous bear dozing beside a low-slung bed.
“Found one in the water by the river… silly boy didn’t realize to be wary of the spring floods. He’s just a baby. The other one had a run-in with some sort of predator. Torn up and broken wing, but he’ll pull through. When they’re healed up and they can make it on their own, they’ll go back out.” There was more furniture, but not much – a hammock in the corner, a table with chairs, some rather filled shelves, and a chest of drawers. But hanging from the ceiling were different types of plants in various stages of drying. Still, it smelled earthy and clean, almost like a forest with the wood and the plants. The plant went on the table, and Raiha put the pouch with the moles beside it before taking Uzima to the flight closest to the bed.
“This is where I sleep, most nights,” she explained.
“Some nights we go out, or sleep in the pastures. I like to go swimming sometimes at night,” she explained, grinning a little sheepishly at that. Uzima settled on a perch, fluffing her feathers, pleased after the morning’s hunt and exercise to take a break. The look she gave Laeraix, though, told her to be nice to her falconer, or else so help her, she’d take one of those fingers clean off.
“Well, on with the tour,” Raiha grinned at her after sticking half a mole in each of the flights with the other recovering birds who didn’t seem to mind being waited on. With that, Raiha took Laeraix back out of the mews, into the courtyard, and through the place, though Kavala’s room she left alone. That was Kavala’s after all. But they went through the different buildings, from the stables to the mews to the smithy, and everywhere else. They eventually ended up back in the courtyard, Diallo having followed them just about the entire time.
“That’s about it,” she smiled a little. She was clearly proud to live there, and pleased with the work they did.
“What do you think? I can show you Riverfall, if you want.”