Chasing Emerald Eyes (Sira/Closed)

[Creeper]

Timestamp: Summer 52, 512 AV Time: Just before Sunrise Location: Catabasis' Former Aerie Who: Sira Chase the Emerald Eyes at your own cost They are safe and will be back in times soon Calm your feathers, she is not lost But if you insist, I cannot stop a bird's tune The winds will not carry the perfume you seek But those of white and black and salt will sing the name Fly hard, in a manner littoral, until things look bleak A city lost, a great drowning of an even greater flame Two more days you fly, along the cold tail of a broken day When you lose the taste of fish and salt, your goal is near Fly like an arrow on a portward draft, ignore the mist so gray High above the ground, a flower blooms within a new frontier The emerald eyes will be within the central bud of the petals But do not arrive with war, for war will be met with death Cage your temper, you will be tested, so steel your mettles For if you are weak, one of you will breathe your last breath These words were ingrained into Sira's mind during a dream. In the mists of sleep, she saw Aidara looking back at her, sorrow in her eyes, before she exploded into a flock of ravens and disappeared. Each of the birds swirled around Sira, slapping her with their wings, nipping at her with their beaks, screeching, crying. As quickly as it had begun, the last remnant of the fiery crowned lover vanished, a single black feather floating down onto the stone beneath her feet, a loud cry piercing the air. The fearful cry that sunk Sira's stomach, that forced her from her slumber, the last song of a dying swan. When the Kelvic woman, and her daughter in tow, discovered the source at the edges of Catabasis' Aerie. Her keen eyes could make out her nubile lover astride a massive midnight colored bird, not an eagle, streaking up toward them. This was no bird she knew from the mountain, but it seemed that he had saved her Aidara. Until the pair soared up past the opening, a long moment where Aidara's locked onto Sira's. Fear washed over the Healer's face, as her hands were gripped white in holding the feathers of the bird beneath her. It was not the fear of a kiss with death, it was the fear of the unknown and foreboding. And the lover was gone, astride a kidnapper who flew at speeds faster than Sira could achieve, his wings flowing along every mild breeze, and tilting perfectly with the updrafts, until they were a speck in the rising sun. A single thought shot through Sira's mind, in a voice she knew belonged to the kidnapper, "Return to your time in slumber." Aidara had been kidnapped, and her captor already had a massive head start.

[Sira]

Sira watched, a wild mixture of emotions on her face as Aidara was taken away on the back of a bird moving too fast for the kelvic to have any hope of catching. Sira knew she could not catch up, and she was in fact told not to, but Sira was a stubborn one. She didn't have time to think things over. She didn't have time to ponder the dream. He was so fast, and Sira had to make haste. Without even thinking Sira was off the ledge and in the air, her wings straining futiley to catch up. He was gone too soon from her sight, no small feat considering the strength of her eyes, and Sira flew blindly after him. It was only chimes later when Natalie touched her mind. Mom, mom! Where are you going? Wait for me! Sira's resolve wavered for an instant. She couldn't give chase. She had Natalie. Sira slowed her pace and looked over her wing. Natalie was far behind, but trying to catch up. Even in her new form, changed by the magic of Ivak's release, Natalie could not hope to keep up with Sira, much like Sira could not hope to keep up with the black bird. Sira turned and circled in the air, waiting for her daughter to catch up. Natalie, go back. I have to go after her. No mom! He said not to! Petch what he said. He took Addy! But mom! The moment flashed through her mind again. Sira watched Addy fly past, watched the black bird take her up and away. She knew the bird, not personally, but by name. Wind Eagles were like kings and queens among birds, but there was one that was even higher. Sira did not know much about gods, but there were a few she did know, and some she had even seen. Eywaat was known and usually respected in Wind Reach, but Sira didn't care. What was stronger? The words of a god, or the bond of lovers, of kelvic and bondmate, of eagle and rider? Sira could not abandon Aidara. We are going after her! Sira beat her wings and she was off again, Natalie following behind. Sira had to fly slower, so that Natalie could keep up. She didn't know where she was going, only that she was heading in the direction the bird had gone. The bird she knew to be a god. Sira still did not consider the dream, or the directions she had been given. They were somewhere in the back of her mind, but Sira was not thinking about them. It was not long, a few bells at most, before Natalie began to complain. Mom, I'm tired. And hungry. At first Sira simply shushed her and flew on, but more complaints came and Sira started to understand. Natalie could not keep up the pace they were going at. For Sira, they were merely going at a brisk pace, something Sira could keep up all day if absolutely necessary, but for Natalie it was much harder. Golden eyes swept over their surroundings and Sira realized another problem, they were far out over the bay, and Natalie could not likely make it back. Sira's heart broke in that moment. She could not abandon Addy, but she could not abandon her daughter either. Addy was far beyond her grasp, but Natalie was not. Sira slowed to a crawl, drifting on a warm pocket of air. She had to get her daughter to safety. Natalie, come and land on my back. I will fly you to shore, and we can get you some food. Natalie flew over and, though it took a couple tries to get it right, managed to land on Sira's back and shift, holding on tightly. Sira changed direction, flying straight for the shore. It took some time to reach dry land, but eventually they made it and Natalie slid off Sira's back, shivering slightly before shifting back to the warmth of her feathered form. It was only then that Sira realized the depth of her rash actions. She had just led her daughter into unfamiliar wilderness with no food, no weapons, no camping supplies, and no idea where she was going. Going back was out of the question, it was too much of a risk and they might lose Aidara forever. It was those kind of moments that Sira was just glad she was a kelvic. For the next few bells, unless something interesting happened, Sira and Natalie would hunt, rest, and in the evening fly a little farther before night fell. Sira wouldn't think on the dream until she fell asleep, her daughter nestled safely beneath her wing.

[Creeper]

The pair rested the spoils of their hunt in their bellies, and fell into a shallow sleep. Natalie tossed and turned, constantly crying out in pain, complaining about her back, tears flowing freely. Sira may not have been the healer, but she was the bird, and the mother, and she would be compelled to examine her pained daughter. She would discover a hard knot in her daughter's back, a bunching up of her flight muscles, strained and pulled from the young bird having to fly harder and longer than she ever had before, especially in her growing body. She would have to take it easy for a few days or risk never flying again. Sira knew this meant she would either have to wait for her to heal, or travel slower with Natalie riding on her back.

After Sira and Natalie began to travel again, it would be very uneventful, very... frustrating. Mountains. Water. Mountains. Water. By nightfall, they would set down for camp once more, Sira knowing they had to be near Denval by now. As the two settled in for the night, they would both begin hearing a man's voice in the distance, conversing.

"Varg, what am I going to do with you? You know that we can't just go visit Mura. Of course, I know about the pretty women there, but we need to figure out a way to get back to Wind Reach. You know why. Because they will starve without us. I swear, I'm the smarter one of us. Hey hey, easy easy, I was just kidding."

The voice was coming from a small clearing in the rocky shores, roughly ten minutes of a walk away. Sira recognized the name Varg, even if she couldn't seem to contact him through the means only the Wind Eagles could. Varg, and his rider Jerle, had flown from Skyinarta shortly before the mountain exploded, in an attempt to warn Denval, and the pair had never returned. After Sira, and Natalie, navigated through the sandy stones, they came across a disgusting sight, and were then buffeted by the stench of rotten flesh. There was a man, a man that Sira knew to be Jerle, sitting in the large, half buried rib cage of a creature. There were feathers all over, pieces of flesh dried and stretched to the bones, and Natalie picked up a piece of a large beak. She looked from beak to man, back to beak, and screamed her ginger lungs raw.

Jerle turned and looked at them, his eyes and demeanor calm, as if nothing was amiss, "Look Varg, we have friends from home! Maybe they can take us back! Of course that's Sira, and her daughter, who else would it be? I swear, you Eagles exaggerate your memories just to keep us guessing. Come, sit, eat, plenty to go around."

[Sira]

Sira couldn't have slept that first night even if it weren't for Natalie’s apparent distress. She couldn't get her mind off of what happened. It just kept replaying over and over in her head. Finally, when Natalie let out a cry of pain, Sira jumped to her feet and ran over. "Natalie, what's wrong?" "It hurts," the little girl whimpered, and Sira did her best to try to figure out what was wrong. It was true, she was no healer, but even the least experienced person could find the bunched up lump of muscles and figure out what was wrong. Natalie wouldn't be flying any time soon, not until she had a rest, but Sira wasn't sure they could afford to rest either. It was too dangerous to stay in one place for long, but it was also dangerous for Natalie to ride without any kind of restraints. In the end, Sira decided she had no choice but to wait a day and let her daughter rest. They stayed the night, and Sira hunted again in the morning. Natalie was already feeling better, but Sira knew it would be best to wait. They stayed a day, and camped again in the same place that night. When she finally did fall asleep, Natalie snuggled up in her mother's feathers, Sira had the dream again. Aidara, the birds, the poem, it all happened again. Sira heard the words and suddenly she was awake. Her eyes snapped open and it was daylight. Too much daylight, they had overslept! Sira quickly rose to her feet, taking care not to disturb Natalie too much, and looked around. It seemed safe enough, but she knew it would be better not to stay in one place. They had already stayed too long. Natalie, Sira whispered into her daughter's mind, watching as the little girl began to stir. Natalie, wake up. How are you feeling today? Natalie eventually got up, stretching her arms a bit. She claimed to be a little sore still, though she thought she could probably fly. Okay, we'll take it easy today. Fly short distances and take a break. If you start to feel bad, let me know right away, okay? And that was how it went. It was slow progress, but it was progress nonetheless. They flew and rested, flew and rested, and eventually the found a place to stay the night. Just as they decided to turn in, Sira heard a voice. Varg, it was a name she recognized! Varg was one of the eagles, and he had a rider. Sira couldn't sense him, but maybe he was trying to keep to himself. Or maybe he had been affected by the storm, some of the eagles had never recovered. Sira and Natalie both rushed to make their way to the duo, excited to be running into someone from Wind Reach. "Maybe he knows where Mamma went," Natalie exclaimed as they made their way to him, and though Sira knew it was unlikely, she too was hoping the same thing. Whispering a silent pray to Priskil in hopes that her daughter was right, Sira rounded the final large rock blocking her view of the campsite. What she saw stopped her in her tracks. It was... horrible. Feathers and flesh littered the ground, and a large beak that could only have been from a wind eagle lay not even two feet from where she stood. Sira's jaw dropped, and Natalie picked up the beak. Sira couldn't muster her voice at first, but Natalie's scream was enough for the both of them. The man, Jerle she believed his name was, seemed unperturbed by the sound and started talking like nothing had happened. Sira was too stunned to react at first, but Natalie's continued screams eventually snapped her out of it. The first thing she did was grab her daughter, shoving her behind her back. Stay away from him, Sira mentally ordered, wishing she had a weapon to defend herself with. For some reason the idea of shifting slipped her mind at that moment. "What happened here," Sira demanded, fearing she already knew the answer.

[Tabarnac]

Of course, the answer to her question was obvious. Varg was dead, and from the layers of gore on Jerle's mouth, on his hands and caked under his rough fingernails, it was clear that he had subsisted upon the flesh of the Wind Eagle. If necessity had demanded such of him for survival, then he had surely lost his wits, sacrificed them on necessity's alter, to live himself. Did Sira feel a wave of atavistic revulsion? Certainly Natalie, though young, had put the pieces together and responded appropriately, with screams of horror. "A miracle," he answered quietly. "We're one now, Varg and I. He's in here..." He tapped his temple with a grimy hand. "And now... and now... we're one flesh forever and ever." But when the Kelvics did not speak, his mind plunged further back. "We went down in the storms. We couldn't fly, couldn't reach Denval." He sighed, but then stood up with a purpose. "You will take us to Denval, won't you? Then we can see if they need help..." It was only then that she noticed the splotch of grey upon his shoulder, mottled into something ugly by dirt and, presumably, raptor blood. Something in her reacted to that, a pure and unreasoning hatred. Natalie must have felt it too, for she pushed past her mother, broken shard of beak in hand, charging the man with a violent vengeance.

OOCApologies for the delay, and thank you for your patience.

I'm doing the best I can to piece together what Creeper intended, so do let me know if you think I wildly miss the mark in any way. I'm amenable to changing things until I've got a firm grasp of what we're doing here. That is, I have my ideas of where we're going, but I'm not set in stone.

[Sira]

It did take Sira a moment or two before everything fully registered in her head. Of course she knew the truth the moment she saw the scene, but she didn't want to believe it. What endal would do such a thing to his wind eagle? What Inarta, period, for that matter would do such a thing to a wind eagle. It didn't make any sense. Natalie was the first to snap out of it, just as Sira noticed the splotch of grey as well. She didn't know what it was, but it ignited something inside of her that she couldn't control. A pure, animalistic rage came over her, just as it had apparently done to Natalie, and Sira was only seconds behind her daughter in her mad charge. She still didn't shift, but that was only because even despite her rage, her motherly instinct told her that shifting right next to her daughter would only hurt her. Instead Sira ran at the man and began clawing at him with her nails, punching with her fists, kicking with her feet, and biting with her teeth. Somewhere beneath all the rage, Sira's rational mind had finished processing everything. It understood what had happened, and understood what the punishment needed to be, so it did nothing to stop the rage Sira had flown into. Sira's concern for her daughter was enough to at least put herself between the endal and her child whenever she could, though Natalie would not allow herself to be blocked off for long. Both the kelvics wanted only one thing, to tear the man apart. OOCYeah.. I have no idea what Creeper had planned, other than of course Sira eventually getting to the Spires and finding Aidara. ..if that was ever part of his plan. That's Sira's plan, anyway.

[Tabarnac]

An Endal would have fought for his life, but an Endal would not have been able to stomach the flesh of his bonded for survival. Therefore, perhaps, in the mind of a Kelvic, this was no Endal, but a monster twisted by the wild djed and circumstance. As if spurred on by the shared rage of mother and daughter, crows and carrion feeders began to circle above, awaiting their chance to feed upon the wreckage that had been Jerle. Sira couldn't know how long she lost herself to rage, but time only seemed to make sense again when she saw Aidara's face flash before her mind's eye, and then, as if a dam had been broken, a flood of instances where Aidara had healed bodies, the opposite of what Sira was doing now. When she looked down, her hands were covered in blood and things at which she oughtn't look too closely. Perhaps it was the bond with Aidara that called her back, but little Natalie had no such safety net, and looked about ready to eat her kill with abandon. Note : Feel free to fill in how Sira reacts to this. I am going to skip ahead to keep things rolling right along. In the end, of course, they could not stay there. The carrion birds were territorial about scraps, and some of them eyed Natalie with rather too much interest for Sira's liking. And so the journey continued, though she was inexpressibly tired between the traveling and the emotional journey she was on as well. She felt called forward by her bond to Aidara, called backward by her bond to the mountain, and burdened by the daughter who ought to have stayed at home, but she knew her path. When they finally found what ought to have been Denval, she knew there could be no survivors, but she could not help investigating the strange scene, and she needed to rest. What had one been an industrious settlement was now something like a circular atoll attached to the rocky shore. Coral had grown up around the blast radius, and within, the water was strangely colored. The rocky land surrounding it was strangely lush, where its old citizens had been forced to labor diligently and beg the help of Bala to scrape out its subsistence. "Mama, I'm hungry," Natalie announced as soon as they had landed.

[Sira]

In truth Sira would not have had any qualms about eating her prey, for that is what the man had become when he turned on his eagle and his people, but something about it just didn't feel right. Maybe it was a little bit of Addy rubbing off on her, or maybe she sensed the horror Aidara was going through so far away, but whatever it was that drew her out of her instinctual rage, it also brought back Sira's logical mind. This man was insane, had gone insane. There were many warped creatures, caused by the storm and Ivak's release, and Sira had refrained from eating any of them. They were unnatural, and she didn't know if they were safe to eat. What if this man was one of those djed-warped monstrosities? What would eating him do to her, and to her daughter. "Natalie, stop!" At first her daughter did not respond. She pulled out a chunk of what looked like intestine and was about to bring it to her mouth, but Sira slapped it out of her hand and drug her back. Natalie squirmed and fought for a few moments before her mind seemed to return to her somewhat. "But mooomm, I'm hungry!" "You can't eat him, Natalie, he's not safe. We.. we need to get out of here." Sira eyed the birds above, sending them a psychic warning not to dare approach. She knew they were hungry and she wouldn't risk one of them take a chance with her daughter, small as she was. Whether or not the birds would heed her warning, she didn't care. She knew they needed to move on, and with one final look at the corpse, she led Natalie away from the clearing and they both flew away. --- "I'm hungry too, darling. Give me a few chimes to rest, then I'll go find something for us to eat." Sira glanced out at the ocean, hoping that it was as bountiful as the Thunder Bay was, and that she could catch a tuna or dolphin or something of that sort for them to share. Sira wanted to check out the area first though. It didn't look like there were any survivors, but other things could still be present. The wilderness around Wind Reach had seen many strange things since the storm, and Sira did not want to encounter any such creatures with her daughter. Coral had grown up around the crater, and the water inside was a strange color that Sira did not trust. "Natalie, don't drink any of the water," Sira muttered as she wandered the area. The lushness of the land did not really strike Sira as odd, she knew nothing about the land before the storm, and if anything it was a welcome sight. Healthy land usually meant there would be healthy animals, and if she couldn't catch anything on the water, she might be able to find something edible on land. After a few more chimes of looking around Sira determined the place was probably safe enough to stay at for a while and rest, though she was still wary of the water. "Natalie, let me know if you see any animals drinking the water, okay? If you do, call me so I can look at them. If they aren't sick, then we might just be in luck." OOCWasn't entirely sure what to do, so hopefully this works.

[Tabarnac]

Occasionally they would hear a loud plop from the lagoon behind them, but never caught any leaping fish actually at it, and as they wandered away from the shore, the splashes became less and less noticeable, replaced instead by rustles in the foliage, and the buzz and whine of insects. Their sharp eyes would catch sight of things now and then, but things were never quite recognizable. There were differences that made them other, sometimes too large, or the colors were wrong. But they seemed to be easy enough for a hunter to catch. "Mama," Natalie said intensely, tugging on Sira's arm and pointing toward a stream burbling happily down toward the water. Two goat-like things were drinking there, both as green as poison. One looked up and then the other, huge eyes blinking placidly at them before going back to the water. "Water's safe," she announced proudly. And certainly, upon closer inspection, birds bathed in an eddying pool, and drank from the same water. A hare blinked blood-red eyes at them from the shade of a bush, a long, thin tongue washing its... fangs? Things were definitely strange here, but water and meat could be had. It wasn't until some time later, when they were resting, that Sira noticed that things had gone terribly calm. That never boded well. But even as she was listening intently, a voice cracked through her mind like a whipcrack. "Sister. UP!"

[Sira]

Sira was more than a little wary of all the strange animals and insects that were in the area. It was true that she had seen some disturbing creatures around Wind Reach, but never so many in one place. Rabbits weren't supposed to have fangs, she was fairly certain. And goats weren't supposed to be green either. But the animals themselves didn't appear sickly.. and they wouldn't be able to survive without at least drinking water, much less continue their flight across the continent. Sira knew they needed food, and she knew she couldn't deprive her daughter any longer.

"Alright, dear.. let me taste it first, and then you can drink your fill."

Sira approached the stream, keeping a safe distance from the strange goat things. She didn't know what they were, and didn't feel like angering them if they were aggressive. When she reached the water she knelt and gathered some in the cup of her hands, sipping carefully. After a few sips, she scooped up some more and took a large gulp. Natalie stood behind her, watching impatiently, and when Sira's stomach didn't immediately start to hurt and she didn't change a strange color, the kelvic nodded to her daughter and the little girl immediately ran forward and dunked her face in, drinking directly from the stream. After staring in shock for a moment Sira let out a laugh and did the same thing.

After they had their fill of the water, Sira decided to find them some food, even if it was just a little. She didn't trust the strange green goats, but decided that the smaller critters would be safe to eat. Granted, she had no way of knowing if that was true or not, but they had to eat something.

"Alright, Natalie, lets catch some dinner. Stick to the small stuff. I know it isn't as filling, but it's safer, okay?"

After the little girl nodded her head in understanding, Sira quickly shifted back to her wind eagle form and Natalie to her kestrel. Hunting small game as a giant bird was more than a little annoying, but Sira was an expert hunter and had no problem catching a few rabbits and squirrels. As she hovered a short distance above the ground she spotted one rabbit darting across a field. Was it the same strange fanged one she'd seen earlier? Sira wasn't sure, but it didn't matter. Suddenly she dropped out of the sky, talons extended, and snatched the rabbit right off the ground. The little rodent was quickly crushed beneath the strength of her talons and stopped struggling almost immediately. Sira added the rabbit to the pile she and her daughter were forming, and when they had captured enough to fill them both, they returned to the pile and had a small feast.

It wasn't until some time later, after their bellies had been filled, and they were both about ready to take a nap that Sira noticed the silence. It wasn't just that it was quiet, quiet was peaceful, but that it was silent. Even the birds had ceased their singing, and when that happened, that almost always meant trouble. Sira was already in the process of getting up when the voice cracked through her mind like a whip and after that she was on her feet in an instant, her golden eyes scanning her surroundings for any threats and, just as importantly, the source of the unknown voice.

OOCWow, I completely forget about this thread. Sorry about that!