Closed Within Temptation (Phoenix)

[Alori Sai]

"Yea..I guess it is." she answered awkwardly.

The truth was she didn't know how she had found the cave, or how she felt about it. It was possible that she had been lucky to find the cave when she did, but she had always felt that there was something more to it. Another hand that guided her through the darkest. Perhaps it was Ivak, or another divine being, she didn't know and she doubted that Sira was interested in the details of her escape. So instead she only nodded and agreed to what the woman had already said.

Aela leaned against the wall, allowing Sira's weapons to slip from her hand and lean against the rocks behind her legs. She was still so hungry and couldn't wait to get back to the food in the bag that she held. There was a sudden familiar chirping in the near distance, calling from a tree. It seemed that Skye had returned with his own meal and was ready to eat. Glancing out of the cave to spot him, Aela slipped another piece of food from her bag and stuffed it into her mouth."It is warm here..."she finally said after being silent for a chime or two.

There was a tension between them, and one that felt much stronger now that they were so close to each other, and with Sira so close to the egg. Aela wanted to talk with the woman, she wanted to try and find a way that she could see the events from her eyes. But nothing came to mind, nothing she hadn't said already, and with no evidence or Gods to back her, Aela was on her own.

The hungry teen continued to stuff her mouth, without even looking up at Sira. The silence went on for moments before she realized that the woman wasn't talking anymore. Finally she looked up and her gaze meet with Sira's. There was something wrong, there was something different about the woman. She knew... Somehow, some way the Wind Eagle had picked up on the egg and she knew that Aela had it. She knew that Aela had lied.

The little huntress swallowed hard and her eyes widen. She knew that she shouldn't have brought the woman there. She knew what the risks were, and now she would have to pay for it. It happened by instinct then, Aela ripped her talon sword from her belt and moved from the cave wall to block Sira's way from entering deeper into the cave.

"No Sira...no, you can't."

Aela backed up more, her gaze falling away to Sira's weapons which she had left by the cave entrance. She had been so quick to stand in the woman's way of finding the egg that she forgot to take her weapons when she moved again. "I-I don't know how you know, but you can't have it. This egg, this baby..it's pure. It's not crazy like Hala, it's good and I won't let you turn it into a monster like the rest of them!"

Aela breathed deeply, her skin tingling as she felt a wave of heat wash of her as her emotions started to boil over and take control. " I won't let you take it from me...It's mine, and I'm going to raise it to be good and decent, and everything that the others aren't. There is something really wrong with our city, with the way we live and I won't stand for it anymore. I'll change it....I'll change everything, and it all starts with this egg. I know you won't help me Sira but don't stand in my way...don't make me kill you."

[Sira]

Sira listened to everything Aela said, watched as she moved to block Sira's way deeper into the cave, and listened as she claimed she was going to change things. In truth, however, she barely noticed any of it. She was more focused on the tiny mind in the back of the cave. It seemed at peace, not in distress. From what she could tell, it was not in any sort of pain.. but Sira could not be certain. She wasn't a doctor, she wasn't a caretaker of nests. What she knew she knew from her kelvic instincts, and things she'd heard the other mother eagles talk about. Finally, at Aela's last words, Sira's eyes snapped back to her.

"We don't have to fight, Aela."

Despite her words, Sira moved to grab her weapon, however, she did not draw it from the sheath. She continued to stare at the Inarta, trying to read something in her face. Her mind ran back over her words.. emotional, crazed maybe, but determined. Sira knew it was a lie.. the would have to fight. But she refused to admit it.

"I have to take that egg, Aela. It will die if it stays with you. You can barely feed yourself, what are you going to do when it hatches? It wont be able to hunt, not for a while, and do you even know how much a wind eagle eats at that age?"

Sira took a step toward the woman, still not drawing her own weapon. She truly did not want to fight, not when the life of a baby wind eagle was at stake. Whatever Aela had done, whatever she said, none of it mattered. All that mattered was getting the egg to safety.

"That egg has to come with me. I have to take it back to Wind Reach. You know I have to. Give it to me."

Her hand was on the hilt of her sword, the carved howling wolf staring up at her, waiting to be set free. Sira hoped that Aela would see reason, but she knew it was a lost cause. Aela was determined to keep the egg.. and maybe, if there were a way for her to come back to Wind Reach, Sira might let her come with the egg. But there was not. Either Aela had to give it up willingly, or Sira would have to take it by force. There was no getting around it.

[Alori Sai]

"No Sira don't..." Aela pleaded a last time. She really didn't want to fight the woman, but Sira was giving her little choice. She simply wouldn't listen to anything she had to say, just as she had refused to listen the last time that they met. There was no use, Sira was a Endal, a Wind Eagle and she held true to the name and the beliefs that went with it. She wasn't going to get through to her now, all she cared about was taking the egg away.

"No Sira, I know what you're planning. You'll take the egg away and then tell them where to find me. I shouldn't have trusted you."

She could feel goosebumps forming on her pale skin, and a heat rising from within her, and even the hairs starting to stand on the back of her neck. Her throat became drier each time she spoke until she was almost choking on her words. The teen was getting flustered all over again and she could feel a blinding rage trying to take over.

"No..no, you can't have it. I will protect it, I can take care it. I know that I can! Besides...the weather is getting worse. You said yourself that you can't fly in it. You'll only lose the egg and after I've done everything in my power to keep it alive and safe. "

Aela stepped back when Sira moved closer, her small hand holding onto her talon sword tightly. Everything was going wrong once again, as it had before and anytime when she tried to fix things. "This is my egg Sira, not yours, you're not it's mother you can't claim it." The girl felt as if she was yelling at herself because Sira wouldn't hear of anything she said. She wondered if she should have expected anything different. Sira was a Wind Eagle, she wasn't human and it seemed that deep down she wasn't any different than the others.

She had been careless and allowed her emotions to cloud her judgement to the truth. The Endal were all against her and the moment that they had the egg back they would come for her and they would destroy her. "I tried Sira, I did, but you won't listen to me. So I guess...I guess there's nothing left to talk about." Aela raised her sword, reading herself to strike at the woman who stood in front of her, who stood in the way of her freedom. "I guess this is goodbye..." Aela took a deep breath and focused all of her emotions, all of her energy into her body as she moved forward, swinging her talon in an overhand, downward slash towards the woman.

[Sira]

Sira shook her head, still not wanting to fight, but she knew things were quickly going bad. Aela wasn't going to give up the egg, but then again, Sira had never really believed she would. It seemed the only way to move forward was through violence.

"I'm not going to tell them where you are."

Aela wouldn't believe her, though. She wanted the egg, and that desire blinded her to reason. Of course the same thoughts were running through Aela's head, only it was Sira who was blind to reason, but the kelvic did not think about that. All she knew was that they were drawing closer and closer to exchanging blows, and Sira still wanted to avoid that. She knew what she had to do, but her heart was still fighting it. But as Aela continued to talk, Sira's anger began to build.

"You aren't it's mother either! You killed it's mother. You took that away from it. Now it will grow up never knowing who it's mother was. And it isn't your egg. You can't own a wind eagle. We aren't pets that you can do whatever you want with."

Aela attacked, and all the talking was over. Sira's sword rung as it slid out of it's sheath to intercept the incoming blade. Metal clashed against metal, echoing throughout the cave. Sira twisted her blade around, attempting to disarm the woman and end the fight quickly. Sira was no expert with the weapon, but she knew what she was doing. Even if Aela was able to hold on, the maneuver would at least throw her off balance somewhat, allowing Sira to follow up with another attack.

[Alori Sai]

Aela grunted as she was went tumbling backwards from Sira's maneuver. The blow was strong and sent her off balance and almost took the girl off her feet. But she still had her talon sword, and acted with instinct to lift it up to block the woman's second attack which sent her backwards again and against the wall of the cave. Within mere chimes, Aela had gone from attacking to being driven back further into the cave.

"Petch!"

But the little huntress would not give up, she had to continue, she had to fight for herself as well as the egg. Sira had quickly over powered her, and she knew now that she was on the losing end of the fight if she couldn't do anything to stop the Endal. Sira was right and Aela wasn't the baby's mother, but she would fight for it as if she was, and for as long as it took.

"Don't you get it Sira? I know it's not a pet, and I know I'm not it's mother. It's mother was crazy, it was sick just like the wind eagle we found in the forest. I won't let this baby grow up to be like that, I won't! You think you know everything just because you're a wind eagle, but you don't. You're just like the rest of them...I wonder how many people you've killed." Aela took in another breath and prepared herself, summoning her courage for another round.

"If you want to kill me then try it, but I won't let you take this egg away from me!!" The girl launched herself off the wall suddenly and raced towards Sira sending a mess of red hair and metal wildly swinging at her. There was no method, nor style to her attacks, she was acting on pure emotion and adrenaline. Everything was on the line now and she knew what would happen if she failed.

[Sira]

Aela's wild attack actually made it rather difficult for Sira to defend against. She was used to fighting against more.. refined opponents. Aela managed to drive Sira back several steps before she was able to regain her footing and mount an effective defense. Sira blocked as many attacks as she could, but her real focus was attempting to deflect them out and away. It would require Aela to expend more energy to bring her weapon back in, and leave Aela open for Sira's own attacks. ..attacks which Sira did not take. There were several chances where she should have tried to turn the fight around, but Sira ignored them. Instead she remained on the defensive, shouting her rebuttal at the angry woman.

'I am not like them! I don't want to kill you! You brought all of this on yourself. I let you go when we found you last time. I could have come back any time to finish you off, but instead I brought you food!"

Sira grunted as she blocked an attack that nearly lobbed her head off, then shoved against Aela's blade, attempting to throw her back. If it worked, Sira would switch back to the offensive, attacking Aela as hard as she could. The catch was, she was attacking Aela's weapon, and not her body. Every attack would be easy to block because Sira was aiming for her sword, not her body. She was trying to tire her out, to wear her arms out so she couldn't fight anymore.

"You are being selfish. If you really cared about that egg, you would let me take it so that people who know what they are doing can make sure it hatches healthy. If you hadn't been so selfish, you could have waited just like everyone else. If you were meant to have it, the it would have bonded with you after it hatched!"

[Alori Sai]

Aela unleashed her rage against Sira, every flex of her tiny muscles, with each wild swing of her arms, she fought to win. She seemed to be winning in fact, and pushing the woman back towards the entrance of the cave and away from the egg. The girl fought hard, swinging and slashing at Sira with all of her strength and emotion. She released everything she had into her efforts and for that reason she didn't notice the wear in her arms. There was a fierceness in her eyes, one not unlike the look she had when she faced off again the Wind Eagle. Aela knew that she had to win..she had to.

Sira's words didn't reach Aela in the way that she may have hoped. They only angered her more, and fueled the fire that burned inside her. She was tired of hearing about what she had done, it was over now. She was tired of being judged for what she did, when the truth was the only reason they sought her life was because she was of lower class, not because it was the right thing to do. And Sira...Aela imagined if the woman did care for her that she would have tried to help her. It was bad enough that her own people wanted her dead, but when even her friend's wouldn't stand beside her it made everything worst.

"Enough Sira!! You can't..!"

Suddenly the woman went on the offensive, sending Aela back again. The little huntress squeaked and grunted from each of the powerful blows that Sira slammed into her blade. There was a strong force behind each swing and it caused a loud clang. A vibration that extended throughout her weapon and down into her hands and wrists. Aela continued to step back, until a wicked swing by the Wind eagle kelvic sent her back against the wall again. She breathed heavily as she stared at the woman. The Inartan teen was tired, and she could feel a soreness rising in her arms and shoulders. There was a numbness growing in her hands and wrists so much so that she could barely tell that she was even holding a sword anymore.

Aela had done everything she could to fight her off and it didn't even seem like Sira was the least bit tired. The girl realized then that she never had a chance at defeating her, she never had a chance at any of it. Then Sira spoke, her words easily cutting into the girl's heart and making her cry out inwardly as loud as the muscles in her tiny body were. Deep inside, Aela knew that it wouldn't have bonded with her...she knew it. But the hot-headed teen wouldn't believe it, even when everyone else told her so, she still wouldn't.

"You're wrong Sira...you're just wrong."

It had always been her biggest fear that she wasn't good enough, that she wasn't meant to be anything more than an Avora, and now she finally had to face that truth as harsh as it was. And so Aela stood there, leaning against the wall of the cave, barley able to lift her arms and feeling her heart pounding so hard inside her chest as if it were threatening to burst. She didn't know what to do...or what to say.

It was over...

The dream had ended, and possibly the dreamer along with it.

[Sira]

Sira was growing tired, but she was more experienced than Aela was. She knew what she was doing, whereas Aela was still a novice. Sira pounded away until she had Aela pressed to the wall. She struck one final time, and when Aela blocked it, Sira twisted her sword around and around until Aela's weapon was flung from her hand. Taking a final step forward, the tip of her talon sword raised to Aela's neck. She did not kill her, but held it there, breathing heavily.

If she knew more about what Aela was thinking she might have understood better. Sira had been through something like this before.. well, not quite like this, but it had its similarities. Aidara had thought she wasn't worthy also. Her sister had put her down, and Aidara believed that she could not possibly be worthy of a wind eagle. When Sira chose her, she still had doubts, and when Sira found out she couldn't believe it. Why did people think they knew if they were worthy or not? Nobody, save for the eagles themselves, knew who was worthy. Nobody believed that a healer should be an Endal, but Sira chose her anyway. Nobody believed that a dek should be an endal, yet happened over and over throughout history. The eagles could choose anyone, and only they knew why.

"It's over, Aela. I'm taking the egg."

Sira lowered her blade and took a step back. Aela could have attacked again, but Sira didn't care. She beat her once already, and she was confident she could do it again if she had to. The kelvic turned away from the rogue Inarta, walking deeper into the cave. It didn't take her long to find the egg and Sira knelt next to it, almost reverently. Sheathing her sword, she laid a hand gently on the shell, peering closely at it for any cracks or damage. She could still feel the little mind inside, and it was still at peace. Sira wrapped her hands around the egg and picked it up, turning to face Aela once more. Tears were streaming down her face.

"Aela.. I want you to know.. I forgive you for everything you did. And I hope that one day you understand that I'm only doing this because it's what's best. I wish.. more than anything, that I could bring you with me, but I can't. They'd kill you the moment they saw your face."

Sira took a few steps toward the woman, knowing that with her weapon sheathed, Aela could easily attack her if she wanted. Sira didn't think she would. She didn't think Aela would risk the egg by attacking the endal. The kelvic wished there was something else she could say. Something else she could do.. but there was nothing. It was a lost cause.

OOCOkay, I think this sets things up perfectly for Phoenix to pop in. I'm sending her a message now, so go ahead and wait for her to post.

[Phoenix]

“There is a cave here! Hurry, before the storm gets us!” The first voice was male, his call punctuating the silence that stretched between the two women, the deep tenor of his shout muffled by the wind as it whipped his words away almost before they left his lips. It sounded as if he was right outside the cave, a feat in and of itself if he and whomever he was shouting too had been able to sneak up on Sira.

“Did you check for bears? I bet there will be bears. I’m not going in until you check.” A woman this time, though she sounded a bit further off. Had the snow gotten so bad that she struggled to keep up with her heartier companion? It was hard for Sira and Aela to tell from where they stood, but it was only a matter of ticks before they heard the distinctive crunch of boots on snow right outside the opening to their cave.

“It looks empty, I see no tracks. It’s bloody hot though, there must be… Oh!” Having reached the mouth, the traveler had turned to shout at his companion before stepping inside, seeing both Sira and Aela locked in their faceoff with just enough time to avoid plowing right into them in his eagerness to escape the cold. “Well uh… It’s not empty!” Bundled in more layers than was completely necessary, it was impossible for either of the Inartan woman to make out the newcomers face as he struggled to turn back around and beat a hasty exit.

But too late. Having been given the all clear, his female companion had bustled right in behind him, blocking his escape with her equally bundled bulk. “Warmth is good, thou- Petching swords!” Having waddled around her companion, the woman’s exclamation echoed around the enclosed space, as she started open mouthed at the weapons Sira and Aela held.

“This is worse than bears!” Rounding on the man, the woman raised a mittened hand to shove at his shoulder, barely able to reach it as their snowball like figures collided with each other and sent them ricocheting in opposite directions. It would have been comical if the emotional scale hadn’t been topping out at eleven or twelve.

Able to feel the tension radiating even stronger than the heat from the geyser, it was the man who spoke first when the traveling pair recovered from their collision. “Well… sorry to interrupt…”

[Alori Sai]

"Hah!!"

Aela squealed as Sira twisted her sword around hers and disarmed the would-be duelist. With her weapon gone she was completely defenseless and pinned against the wall of the cave. She breathed heavily, barely audible sounds slipped from her parted lips as she tried to catch her breath. The girl shivered hard against the rocky wall, her gaze lowered towards the blade against her throat. With one flick of her sword Sira could end the rogue's life and surely put smiles on the faces of the other Endal and Wind Eagles who were also searching for her.

Her senses were on high, her body tense, and her mind racing. At any moment she expected it to be over and for Sira to take the revenge that her kind had wanted for so long. It was only a tick in between, but for Aela it seemed much longer. When Sira finally withdrew her sword the girl sighed loudly in relief, a sudden rush of cool took her and if not for the wall against her back she might have fallen to the ground. She knew it was over before Sira said so, and when she did, Aela could only look at her speechless.

When Sira stepped away, Aela dropped her shoulders and lowered her head. She stared idly down at her hands noticing how they shook and that she didn't even have the strength left to curl her fingers into fists. Her vision started to blur as tears filled her eyes and droplets escaped to splatter onto her hands. It was over now and with that truth there was no reason to be strong anymore. No reason to fight on when she had given all that she had. She didn't know what to think or to do. For a moment, she thought about running, while Sira had her back turned, but she knew that wouldn't save her. They would find her again just as they had before.

She looked up when Sira started to speak, seeing that she now had the egg and was also shedding tears. Aela felt a bit better hearing that the Wind Eagle kelvic had forgiven her, but in the end she didn't see how it mattered much. And so she didn't say anything, only watched the woman come closer and taking what little she had left to fight for. That was until the sudden ruckus shattered the short silence and two people bundled in fur appeared in the cave. Aela stared at them with widen eyes unable to make sense of it all. She had been hiding in the cave for over a season without anyone finding her and suddenly now it was almost crowded with people.

It was hard to make out their faces, and she hadn't heard anything they said either. The teen Inartan wondered if they were travelers, like the ones she had found in the forest some time ago. They didn't seem like Endals, but for the moment she couldn't be sure, she wasn't sure about anything now.

"W-What's going on Sira? Did you bring them?"