Into the Deep (Aidara)

[Sira]

Timestamp: 60th of Winter, 512 AV

Sira fiddled briefly with the collar around her neck wondering when, if ever, she would be allowed to go about the city without it again. She was standing in front of the mirror, staring back at herself with a bit of disgust. As with every winter, she'd lost a bit of weight. She was scrawny, gaunt, and in dire need of a good meal. As an endal she was fed better than most, but she was far from fighting fit. There were bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, she was still having nightmares despite the best efforts of the women at the Dreaming Lady, and her skin was a paler shade than usual due to being cooped up inside during the winter. Sira was not looking her best, nor was she feeling it. But she still had a job to do. That day she was going to be doing something different, and Sira was feeling a bit of apprehension towards the mission.

It was nothing major, technically. There had been some trouble with the dek of late, though Sira had paid it little attention. Two days ago a pair of dek assaulted an endal as he was returning from the kitchens. The dek were chased around the city, and eventually escaped into the uncharted tunnels beneath the city. For some reason it was decided that Sira was supposed to go and look for them.

Sira was not claustrophobic, she had grown up inside the mountain, but she had rarely strayed beyond that which was populated by the Inarta. Sira knew there were tunnels that went deeper, but she stayed away from those. While in Wind Reach if she wanted to see the sky she only had to walk a short distance, but the further one went into the mountain the deeper and darker they got, and the farther they got from the open sky. Plus there were rumors of Zith and other things. Sira's own experience with the Lavak beneath the mountain was proof that terrible things lurked below. She assumed being sent after the dek was just another way for the Valintar to punish her for her actions the past season.

Sira fastened her belt and pulled on her boots, slid her sword into it's sheath, and tested the tension on her bow. She gathered together all the other things she might need, things that she'd had sent up earlier that morning. She had rope, climbing gear, torches and chalk to mark the wall so she could find her way back, as well as a slew of other stuff useful to descending into the depths of the mountain. She hoped that she wouldn't need most of it, that the dek weren't stupid enough to go that deep into the mountain, but she had it just in case. But Sira was nervous.

She heard Addy moving in the other room and figured she must have gotten up. For once the healer wasn't down at the infirmary, and Sira was glad that she was home. Their relationship had been a bit strained of late, in fact it had been that way for quite some time. Ever since the incident at the Inclement Weather, if not before then. But Sira still loved her bondmate, and hoped that whatever it was that was going on, it would heal over time. It wasn't always bad, sometimes they were genuinely happy together. But there was something wrong, something that neither of them understood.

Sira was nervous about her mission, even though she knew it was probably perfectly safe. She was going alone, something she really did not want to do. Addy would of course go work at the infirmary, but for the first time in a long time, Sira could not bear the thought of not having her with her. When Addy finally came out of the bedroom she would see the fully dressed, fully equipped Sira sitting on one of the many comfortable plush couches dotting the room waiting for her. She could likely tell just by looking at Sira that something was wrong, but even if she couldn't, Sira intended to help her out.

"Addy," she said quietly, "Can you.. come with me today? I know you are supposed to go to the infirmary.. but.. I don't want to go down there by myself."

Immediately after Sira said it her face flushed with embarrassment. Sira was never scared, but something about the idea of going deep down into the mountain, so far from the open sky, just really bothered the bird inside her. Despite her obvious change in complexion, however, she did not try to take it back or pretend she wasn't afraid.

[Aidara]

One of the benefits of Sira and Addy’s new Aerie, bestowed onto them upon the birth of their daughter Natalie, was the perfectly round, deep set window in their master bedroom. Usually only one room in the Endal Aeries opened to the air, and that was normally reserved for the Wind Eagles nesting chambers. Pure luxury allowed the women not only a nesting chamber for Sira, but a bedroom that lay along the side of the mountain as well; the rest of the Aerie was built back into the stone, but it didn’t matter. They had a window. It was beautiful stained glass that depicted a woman changing into a bird and flying away on one half, while the other portrayed a small and petite silhouette in the throws of some wild dance move. Sira and Aidara.

This extravagance filled their bedroom with dancing rays of multicolored light at all times of day, or at least until the sun began to sink below the nearest mountain peaks. When they had first settled into their new home, Addy had sat there for bells upon bells, just watching the patterns that the tinted lights traced upon the ceiling, walls and floor as the day progressed. It was no wonder the Valintar filled his office to brimming with stained glass. It was beautiful.

Such beauty was lost on Aidara that morning, however, when a splash of green and crimson fell directly across her face while she slept, the intensity of the morning light dulled by the glasswork but nonetheless bright enough to make the sleepy Endal stir. A groan and an impatient squirm brought the little woman from her back to her side, where a bright splotch of yellow now covered the majority of her face instead.

The next few chimes were spent in tossing and turning, furs pulled up and pushed away as the little healer tried to find a sleeping position that wouldn’t be marred by the light, which was way too bright and happy this morning. “Peeeetchhhhhhhh.” Groaning into her pillow, Addy wriggled further down her bed, having found that on her stomach, the light streaming in through the window couldn’t attack her face; but it was a lost cause. Now she knew it was there, and the last tendrils of sleep had slipped away while she had tossed and turned. Even though her eyes had remained closed, Addy could see the bright spots dancing around her bed, traipsing over the furs and the pillows in their happy, colorful ways. Cheerful as they went about their nasty little game of waking her up early.

Unable to ignore the morning now that it had been shoved in her face, Addy took to sighing petulantly as she rolled out of bed and began to prepare for the day; hateful glances mixed with undisguised longing were shot at the rumpled bed where the rays of light frolicked as the little woman set about getting dressed. Normally, it was a painfully long process that consisted of picking out a pair of bryda or vinati, holding them up for consideration in the mirror, and deciding the outfit just wasn’t quite good enough for the day before starting over. Sometimes, Addy got as far as adorning herself with matching scarves and strings of beads before the wrongness of the clothes struck her.

However today, a black set of bryda that rode low on her hips and clung tightly to her thighs made the cut, coupled with a midriff bearing light beige vinati and only a thin string of glass beads for decoration. Looped loosely around her waist, the beads cut to mimic the tiny seed pearls found in the clams in Thunder Bay and the ends were knotted over one hip so that the whole ordeal tinkled appealingly with every sway of her hips. Dark auburn hair was swept up into a messy knot on the top of her head, deliberate twists here and there with the curly locks meant to hide the worst of the tangle left over from the morning toss-and-turn battle with the sun. A glance in the mirror on the way out of the bedroom earned a nod from the little woman: not perfect, but it would suffice.

Rubbing the lingering sleep from her eyes, Addy padded from the room and turned automatically towards Natalie’s room; without a doubt, the one year old would be long gone by this hour. Though technically a baby, the Kelvic child was bordering on fifteen in human years and had the attitude to boot, dreading any and all contact with her parents. Addy remembered those years well and made sure to steer clear of the little girls angst; there was only so much trouble you could get into in a city perched on top of a volcano and surrounded by a terrifyingly undiscovered wilderness, after all. No need to worry.

It was Sira’s voice that stopped her, the fingers of her left hand just about to brush open the door to Natalie’s room. That was not the voice she had expected to hear. The differing schedules of the two women had kept them out of each others way for the most part, much to Addy’s relief. She could hardly look Sira in the eye anymore, let alone have a one-on-one conversation with her. At this hour, the Kelvic woman was usually out flying, or patrolling, or something… Still, a moment was taken to peek into Natalies room and confirm that she was indeed not there before moving on.

“Sira.” Composing her expression into something neutral before she turned back around, Addy gave her bondmate a lopsided smile that died quickly on her lips. Despite their differences lately, that connection still existed between them. It was the one thing that kept the little healer from completely giving up; there was hope in that feeling of belonging that still joined them.

Unsure what to expect from the other woman, Addy listened impassively while Sira stumbled and hesitated over her words, those fierce amber eyes anything but as they skittered away from Addy’s own gaze and flittered restlessly around the room. That alone gave the littler healer pause, never mind the lilting and almost fearful hesitation that colored Sira’s tone. She was scared. This… was new.

“I…” Brought up short by this vulnerable woman that now stood before her, fiddling with the collar that had been the bane of her existence for Seasons now, Addy couldn’t see the confident, sexy woman that hardly spared her a glance in return these past few seasons. No, she saw… someone that needed her. And really, that was all she needed to see.

Whatever had gotten between them was still there, no mistaking, but at that moment Addy felt herself soften. “Yes. I will go with you.” Had the moment not caught her unawares, the little woman would have had enough sense of mind to ask exactly where they were going; her communication with Sira had failed to the point that she had no idea this important event existed, let alone was to occur that morning. Instead, foolishly, Addy just stepped forward, looking as if she was going to try and hug the fidgeting woman before stopping herself and standing awkwardly with her hands clasped behind her back. “I don’t have to go in until later, anyway. They’ll do fine without me…” And the awkward silence resumed.

x

[Sira]

Aidara's reaction was... not as comforting as Sira had hoped. While she had agreed to go with Sira, there was still an awkward tension between the two of them, and one that was not so easily shaken off. Had Aidara actually embraced her, Sira likely would have melted into her arms and broken out in tears. But that had not happened, and once more the silence grew like a chasm between the two. Sira still could not make eye contact, and continued to nervously fiddle with the collar around her neck. After a moment, she nodded her head.

"Thank you," she said meekly.

Sira stood and gathered up her things, slinging her pack over her shoulder, before turning back to Aidara.

"You'll need your climbing gear.."

She did not think until after the words were already out that the climbing gear was actually Sairque's.. which meant going into Sai's long untouched room. Though Natalie had told them that Sairque was supposedly still alive, neither of them had heard from the endal since the djed storm. Sira herself had avoided Sairque's room entirely, and she had not personally seen Aidara enter either. Hopefully Addy wouldn't think anything of it, though. More emotional drama was not what they needed at that moment.

Sira fiddled nervously with the collar some more as she awaited Aidara's reaction. They could always have some gear sent up.. but the words were already out. Maybe the healer wouldn't think anything of it. Maybe Sira was just worrying over nothing. Maybe, if she was lucky, it would remind Addy of their first date and not of her missing sister, who happened to love to climb. It was a lot of maybes, but maybe if she was lucky, Sira had not just made their problems worse.

[Aidara]

Apparently, Addy was going to further extremes to avoid Sairque’s bedroom than Sira realized. The mention of her climbing gear was met with a noncommittal nod as the little woman turned and disappeared back into the bedroom that she and Sira shared. It was a few moments. Having previously dressed, Addy returned quickly with her pack, bow, and arrows. A seldom-used purse bounced against her hip, clinking noisily with every swish of her hips as the Pinions inside bounced and jostled. “I don’t have climbing gear, so we’re going to have to stop at the Market and get some.” Luckily for them, it was Market Day and even though the stalls weren’t completely set up, it wasn’t common for anyone to tell an Endal no. Especially not when they were actually planning on paying for something.

Leading the way from the Aerie, Addy essentially closed off any potential discussion on the topic as Sira was left to follow behind. “Shut the door tight. I came home the other night and it had been left wide open. Perhaps we need to have someone come check it out." Ah. They had digressed to filling the space between them with talk of home improvement. Addy inwardly cringed, but couldn’t seem to keep the words from passing through her lips. “The aerie is getting really messy. If you’re going to be spending more time out in the nest area, I might hire a Dek to come in and clean up, since I am hardly ever at home anymore to do so.” Addy was one of the only who would “hire” a Dek, rather than just order them to fulfill the task. “And then we have the other room to deal with too, I was thinking that…”

And so it continued, all the way to The Courtyard of the Sky; Addy rambling off task after task that they had wanted to complete since they moved into the new Aerie, leaving little room for Sira to respond in between the listed chores. Luckily for them both, the walk to the Courtyard wasn’t a very long one, and they were there amidst the horde of Dek and Chiet in no time. Addy stopped on the edge of the chaos, waiting for Sira to catch up as she watched the Stalls and the different booths dragged back and forth as the rings of the Market Place were constructed: Cheapest goods on the outer ring, while the more expensive stuff was saved for the center.

“I see it over there.” Pointing through a booth that was being carried across their path, Addy indicated to the far side of the Courtyard where an Avora stood surrounded by boxes of ropes and pointy, scary looking hooks. Addy didn’t know his name, but he seemed to recognize them both when she and Sira approached, a smile warming his face as he inclined his head and intoned “Endal.”

“Fair day, today! Sorry, we are in a rush this morning and couldn’t wait for the Market to open.” Awkwardly unwilling to pronounce the morning a good one, Addy plastered a smile on her face, hoping it didn’t look too forced, and quickly turned the conversation from pleasantries to business. “I need a full set of climbing gear, please.” The purse that hung at her side was taken in hand and drawn open, the pinions inside clanging happily.

Whether he was surprised or not that an Endal was ready and willing to pay, the Avora didn’t show it. Instead, he stooped and pulled over a box of gear and preceded to hand it over, belatedly pausing to ask which set she would prefer. “Basic or Advanced?”

Not really sure what the difference was, Addy shrugged, glanced at Sira and asked for the basic gear. “I don’t really climb often. Perhaps later for the advanced.” Offering another smile, Addy counted out the money and traded it for the box of goods. This was handed over to Sira so that her pack could be unslung and opened, the pouch of coins disappearing inside.

“Oh well… you’re going to need to carry that in something. It won’t fit in that pack.” Rifling while he spoke, the Avora produced a fine rucksack and proffered it to the little healer. Fishing out a couple more coins, Addy took the pack and stepped away from the Avora and stooped to shove everything into the new bag, which was slung under her existing pack and secured around her waist.

“Do we need anything else while we are here? I really only have the basic survival things in here.” The backpack was indicated with a little shimmy, the loosely packed contents shifting in response to the movement. “Everything else stays in the saddlebags.”

ReceiptBasic Climbing Kit- 80gm
Rucksack- 1gm (Taken from pricelist since Market Stalls are still in the process of being updated.)

x

[Sira]

Sira did her best to carry on the conversation with Addy, which mostly involved her not actually saying anything and just letting the healer ramble on. That was their life now, it seemed. Meaningless conversation, if they talked at all, combined with indifference and avoidance. It wasn't that Sira wanted it.. but Addy seemed to want nothing to do with her anymore, and Sira did not know how to react to that. Little did she know that Addy was likely feeling similar feelings. Neither of them really knew exactly what was wrong, and neither of them seemed able to work it out.

Sira wasn't at all surprised by Addy paying for the goods. Addy always did that, whereas Sira's own gear had been requisitioned from.. well, she couldn't even remember the Avora's name. Hopefully it would be returned to the right person when she was done with it, but Sira hadn't really thought of such matters.

"Um.. I don't think we'll be gone that long," Sira answered in respond to Addy's question. "I have everything else we need, I think, so we should be fine."

She almost added in, "I hope", but she decided to leave that part out. Addy still didn't even know where they were going, in fact, but that thought hadn't occurred to the kelvic yet. She was simply operating under the assumption that Aidara knew what they were doing.

"Hopefully we find those dek soon and they don't give us any trouble."

Addy would likely have heard about the troubles with the dek of late, but it was unlikely she knew which incident specifically Sira was talking about. There had been many, so they could have been searching for anybody. But Sira was still fairly certain she was being punished, and so they were being sent to the one place she didn't want to go.

The kelvic led her bondmate deep into the city, through the Inner Warrens and into the Underground Forest. Sira paused at the entrance, looking out at the strange glowing mushrooms. Sira had never ventured into the forest, but according to the reports, the dek had disappeared into the strange domain and down one of the many tunnels that branched off into the gods only knew where. The forest was a dangerous place, and they were most likely on a wild goose chase, but Sira had her orders and she didn't have a choice. Hopefully they would find them soon.

"Well... the report said they went into the Crystal Cave... so from what I understand, we have a long ways to go."

Sira pulled out a rough map, one that made the caves look much smaller and less intimidating than they actually were, and pointed to the area marked as the Crystal Cave, showing it to Addy. It would be a few bells walk, if Sira guessed right, before they reached the cave, and then who knew how long before they found any sign of the dek.

[Aidara]

“All the way down there? What in the whole of Mizahar could be so important that we have to go all the way down there?” Though Addy grumbled, she was the first to shoulder her pack again, settling the gear comfortably about her person as the pair set off into the Forest. Never having ventured very deep into the Underground Forest, the little healer didn’t know what to expect or exactly how nervous she should be; a bit of anxiety chewed at her stomach but it was nothing overwhelming, though it did make her a bit jumpy.

“What the petch is that!” Having reached the edge of the gloom that settled upon the passageways once one gets far enough away from the entrance, the slightest brush against her leg from whatever lay unknown in the darkness sent Addy skittering all the way across the passageway and against the opposite wall. “Something touched me.” It wasn’t a squeaked, fearful sort of proclamation, but instead a firm statement of fact. “I’m not moving any further until you get it.”

However, Addy knew that as soon as Sira moved towards the spot where she had been assaulted, it would turn out to be nothing at all, just shadows and her imagination playing her for a fool. If her bondmate moved to follow her direction, Addy would shake her head and hold up a hand. “No, no. Forget it. Lets just move on and get there.” They had already wasted half a bell and they were hardly to the Clear View Cave.

Taking the lead for a bit, the first leg of their journey was largely uneventful if you counted out the first minor hiccup; Addy kept the pair to the main path and out of the way of anything creepy or crawly or batlike. “Path” was a generous way to describe the small area that was free of fungi or other plants that liked to grow in the dark, damp environment but it wasn’t too hard to follow. They had the light of Sira’s gnosis, after all, making any kind of torch or lamp useless.

“Why don’t you take over? I reckon we’re about half way and I’m tired of being the one to pick through all the gross stuff. I’ll just mindlessly follow you for a bit.” Stopping and stepping off to the side in a small area against the wall that had less gross and squishy material than the rest of the space, Addy let Sira pass before stepping in to follow. Once behind the other woman, however, Addy couldn’t help but constantly glance over her shoulder; the hairs prickled on the back of her neck as if something was watching her.

Creepy petching place.

x

[Sira]

While Sira could indeed light up the cavern somewhat with the power of her gnosis, the couple soon found that that would not be necessary most of the time. Among the many things in the caves were the strange glowing mushrooms, which most of the time put off enough light for the pair to make their way around without any extra help. Keeping her gnosis active the entire time would have likely made the kelvic tired anyway. She had never tried maintaining it for very long, so she wasn't sure, but she knew that Addy could get tired if she healed too much, so Sira assumed her gnosis was the same way.

As they went deeper, however, entering the more narrow passage between the Clear View cave and the Vaulted Cave, Addy could likely pick up the nervousness coming from Sira with gnosis from Ivak. Sira did not like the idea of the enclosed space, especially if another Lavak showed up, and attacked them. But that was not the only thing she was nervous about. The kelvic was thinking about bringing up the awkwardness that had been between them lately, and that made her the most nervous of all.

Her nerves were temporarily distracted, however, when they came to a small cliff. If she had more room, Sira would have simply shifted and glided down, but it was dark, and the passage was too narrow for that. They would have to climb. Luckily, they had their gear. Sira began setting up her rope and harness, securing a spike in the ground and tossing the back end of the rope over the edge of the cliff. She was about to head down when she heard a strange noise.

High pitched, screeching, and the beating of tiny wings filled the air. Sira could not see what was coming, and raised her hand in the direction of the noise, her gnosis mark flaring to life. From her position behind her hand, she couldn't really make out what it was, but Addy would be able to.

Bats. Not the giant ones that were known to eat stray miners, luckily, but a swarm of bats nonetheless. Sira couldn't make it out, but Aidara would be able to see them clearly enough. And they were heading right for the couple on the cliff.

[Harrier]

Skills	Amount
Socialization	2
Observation	3
Spelunking	1

Lore

Afraid of the deep

Aidara: The Uncertain Bondmate

Looking for a Dek of Shrooms

Underground Forest: The shrooms glow!

Underground Forest: Home of normal bats too!

Additional Comments: The awkward attempts at talking with Addy were what earned you Socialization. A shame this could not be finished.

(c) abstract