Closed A Threatening Situation

[Iosha]

Kneeling down next to a old man, Iosha could clear see the gash on his head. The old man looked up at her and said something in his native tongue, Nari. Iosha frowned to herself because she didn't understand the exotic language that consisted of sounds a bird would make. She put her blond hair behind her ears, and she lifted her right arm showing him the gnosis mark of Rak'keli. The old man smiled at her and whistled something with a nod. The konti smirked in satisfaction that her goddess' symbol was respected and recognized by most people on Mizahar. Iosha looked at his wound, and she saw it wasn't to deep; however, she knew from her medical studies that head wounds tend to bleed a lot. Luckily the man's wound was already clotted, so she just had to clean it up and bandage it. The konti put down her backpack, and she started fishing for her rubbing alcohol and a roll of gauze. Suddenly, a young man approached her and started telling her about a falling from the Nesting Area. Iosha's eyes widened for a moment, and she thought to herself, “Would the person still be alive if they fell from those heights?” The konti looked at the man and said with a nod, “Lead me to her please.” Suddenly the konti just remembered the old man, and she knelt down next to him, put her hand on his head, and said a silent prayer to Rak'keli to cleanse his head wound of impurities and to close the gash. Iosha watched her gnosis shine a bright blue, and the head of the man was enveloped by the same glow. When the light faded after a chime, Iosha lowered a her white hand, stood up from the ground, looked at the young man, and said softly, “Alright, I am ready now.”

When Iosha made it to the aeries, the place was in a state of complete disarray with crowds of people all over the place. The konti eyes immediately saw the purple skin of a Akalak. Iosha never meet or seen the male only race, but she banished the inquisitive thoughts from her head because she was way to busy to stop and chat to him. Walking over to the purple man, Iosha tied back her silver blond hair and said to him with a serious expression on her face, “Please, explain the situation in detail, and do we know if she is still alive?” She wasn't wasn't trying to be callous, but she was taught the procedure in triage in school, and in a disaster situation like this one. She didn't want to waste her time retrieving a corpse if there were still in injured people in the city. Suddenly, a stern looking man in a fancy bryda and colorful tattoos walked over to them, and he looked straight at the Akalak and commanded him to come with him. The Akalak reluctantly went with the human, and Iosha knew the purple man didn't have a choice because she was confident that the man was a Endal. Iosha stood watching them leave, and she stuck up her arm with her gnosis mark and said out loud to the Endal, “If your sister is seriously injured, sir, please take her to the Infirmary. There will be a healer standing by to help you.”

Suddenly, she was swarmed by gingers talking all at once about the situation with the fallen woman. Iosha tried to understand them, but half of them were speaking Nari, and the rest were talking in common. Iosha just stood their in silence and starting to get annoyed at the chaotic situation. The konti nerves were stretched starting to get stretched thin, and she stomped her foot and barked an order, “All of you, be QUIET!” A few of them in front of her jumped back at the sudden out burst from the “meek” konti. Iosha glared at them all, and said in a calm voice suitable of her species, “I know you all care about the well-being of the fallen girl, but I can't sort anything out when you are all talking at once.” The konti knew she needed to control the situation, so she used her a authority as a Avora to do it. She looked around her, and she saw people with minor injuries, so she decided to come up with a plan, “Alright, I am healer of Rak'keli, so I need to treat the injured around me, so while I am treating them, I want you to tell me the situation, but I only want you to come up to me one at a time.” Iosha pointed at the old man who was talking to the Akalak, and commanded, “You first. Come with me.” While the old man was talking, Iosha knelt down next to a injured woman with a cut on her hand. Iosha cradled her injured hand, both of her own hands, and said of soft prayer to Rak'keli in Kontinese. The blue light of gnosis enveloped her patient's hand for a chime, and she took away her hands seeing her hand was completely healed. Iosha smiled at the old man when he was finished and said gently, “Thank you wise one.” Iosha went to the next injured person, and she looked up at the group of people, and she pointed at one of the young woman with feathers on her bryda and vanti, “Next, you come here.” The konti repeated the process listening to people who saw the incident and treating the injured. It was efficient system, and she was able to deal with the distractions right now, so she could focus on the girl at the bottom of the cliff later.

Iosha stood up from the last patient, and she turned to the group and announced, “OK, if you came here to tell me about your injured, I am sorry, but I need to deal with the person with on the bottom of the cliff now. If they are mobile take the to the Infirmary, and if they are not mobile, you need to either get them to the Infirmary yourselves, or you need to find one of the other three healers in the city to assist you.” Iosha looked at two of the largest gawkers, and saw they were wearing plain clothing, and she assumed they were Chiet, so she commanded, “You and you, I need you find a long thick rope that is long enough to reach the bottom of the cliff and long enough to tie to something up in the aeries.” Iosha clapped her hands and barked her order, “Hurry! There is a woman's life at stake here!” Iosha turned to the edge of the cliff with the same serious expression on her face. She walked to the edge of the aeries, and she looked down to see if she could spot any signs of red hair in the pile of eagle droppings. She decided to yell down to the bottom of the cliff in common, “Hello I am Iosha Moonchaser, and I am a healer of Rak'keli!” Iosha paused for a few chimes to see if the victim responds back, and she waited a few chimes before responding again, “If you are still alive, please respond?”

[Stardust]

Within the mountain, Lavira began to take in her surroundings. The ill feelings of pain, hunger and thirst tugged at her insides. The longer she tried to focus on any specific area, the more she would notice. Above her, against the rocky wall, some jagged crystals grew that gave off a dull blue glow.

Several feet away, a large, four foot tall cracked crevice in the stone wall stood, beckoning her. At it's thickest point, the crack was about a foot wide.

"Who are you?" A boy's voice echoed against the rocky walls, obviously coming from within the crack. "What are you doing?" The same voice echoed again. "Why are you here?"

After silence for a couple ticks, "Who are you?" The same boy's voice.

Above, as Iosha called down, hoping to hear the woman's voice in response, something changed. She took a step. Though she could not see the one she was searching for far below, she could feel the presence of someone. The feeling of death.

She knew what was happening. It had happened before. It was something that always caused her trouble. It was the gift of her kind. The vision hit her abruptly. There was a boy, a Yasi. She knew his name was Andry. His hair was worn tied back in a single braid. He stood near the edge. The area looked different. The boy turned, smiling widely, showing nearly perfect teeth, something that was very uncommon.

But then a moment of fear, and an arrow. And one willful hope: To Fly.

x

[Lavira]

The need for water was beginning to dig at her consciousness. Each breath brought burning pain to her throat and lungs as the sulfur in the air was absorbed. With her eyes closed, the woman tried to concentrate on something other than the pain.

When she opened them again, Syna had at last faded from sight, leaving the shadows on the crack overhead deeper and darker. Had so much time passed already? Impossible to tell, she turned her head to one side and stared at the shadows on the wall, trying to ignore the throbbing in both of her legs. It was in that thoughtful moment that she noticed a dull glow in the ceiling of this crevice she was so lost in. It had a pale quality to it, like glow worms, but the soft light, like a cloudy sky, was coming from the cores of crystals stretching jaggedly from the rocks overhead. It wasn't enough to see by, but it still had a subtle beauty about it that took the Inartans mind off the pain for a little while.

Until a voice broke the quiet.

Vira froze, her very breath held with nostrils flared and lips pursed as she strained her ears in an effort to hear the sound better. Soon after, her head turned and she saw the crack in the rockface. It was nondescript, really, just a split in the stone, no light coming from within. Except the little voice. A child's voice, really, what she guessed to be a young boys maybe. But she just couldn't be sure. With bared teeth, the woman propped herself up onto her elbows and carefully twisted. Every nerve from her middle down flared anew and it was all the Chiet could do not to collapse back against the floor and just cry.

The chances of someone actually alive down here besides herself were absurd. But the trapped often clung to the promise of salvation, and when it was offered almost within reach, the liklihood of it being something far more sinister eluded the woman staring into the inky darkness.

"Hello? Is someone there?" She called back as the little voice asked who she was. "Please, I've fallen from the city when the tremor struck. My legs are injured and I cannot walk. I need help, please." Vira paused when the voice asked its second question. What was she doing? More slowly, "I'm hurt, can you get help?" Her hope began to wane, however, as the voice asked his third question.

Why are you here?

Why...? She had explained that already. "I...I fell. Please, can you help me?"

And then the first question was repeated. For a moment, the woman wondered if she was hearing a ghost, or maybe she was in fact in a coma right now and was slowly suffocating on her own tongue while something slowly tore away the remainder of her bryda and vinati, sunk its claws into her belly and rrriiippppeeeddd....

Dizzy just from the thought, Vira reclined again, but kept her head turned towards the crack the voice had come from, straining her ears for a sign that she wasn't hallucinating or dreaming or anything like that. The spots were coming back into her vision. She'd have to stay flat for a while or the danger of blacking out again would rise.

[Iosha]

Standing by the edge of the cliff, Iosha frowned to herself when nobody responded to her call. The konti immediate thought was the victim was either dead or unconscious. As Iosha waited for the Chiets come back with the rope, she crossed her arms and thought about her next step if the patient was alive down there. Suddenly, she saw a boy standing dangerously close to the edge of the cliff and she blurted out to him, “You need to move away from there Andry! It is not safe!” Iosha blinked in confusion that she knew the boys name than she realized to herself that she was having one of her visions and the boy was dead. Iosha's eyes saddened since the boy looked no older than twelve. Suddenly Iosha gasped and put her scaled hands over her mouth when a phantom arrow struck the fearful yasi in the back as he made the motion of wanting to fly. Iosha ran to the edge to try to catch him, but when she looked over the edge the boy vanished from this existence. When she saw the moment from in the bird excrement, Iosha smiled to herself and muttered a prayer to Avalis. She raised an eyebrow in confusion when she saw the woman facing the wall, and her mouth looked like she talking to something, but there was nobody down their to talk to at the moment. Iosha muttered under her breath, “Thank you, Dira, for not taking her yet.”

Hearing foot steps behind her, Iosha turned around and saw both the Chiets standing behind her holding a coil of thick rope and a tattered backpack. The konti smiled at them and announced to the crowd of people, “OK, I need eight volunteers to help me in saving this woman's life. It doesn't matter if you are male or female. You just need to be strong enough to lower me down and pull us back up.” Iosha only had to wait a chime and eight volunteers offered their services to her. The konti smiled brightly at all of them and gave the order, “OK, I want the one side of rope to be tied to something stable and will support our weight than the other side will be tied to me.” The Chiet looked at her for a moment and sized her up and said softly, “Do you know how to climb, Avora?” Iosha shook her head, no, and the Chiet signed and said softly, “You must be a brave woman, Avora. We will tie your harness around your waist first. I need you to watch, so you can repeat it with the injured woman.” Iosha nodded and listened to him, “OK, here is the basic climbers knot.” He handed her a practice strap and said softly, “Now I want you to watch carefully than I want you to repeat it for me, so I know it is right” Iosha watched him lift up one end of the strap and looped it around the longer part of the strap, so it made a loop. Once he finished with the first step, he put the end through the loop, so the end could wrap around the loop and come up through the overhand knot. She noticed he made a even larger loop now, so he ran it along the center through the new large loop. He ran the strap up the longer strap and ran it through the the overhand knot than he tightened it into a knot. The Chiet smiled at her and said softly and holding up the knot for her to study, “This is called a water knot, and it is strong enough to hold you weight without coming loose. Now you try it.”

Iosha repeated the process of tying the knot ten times before she was able to get the approval of the experienced climber. It was horrible process because Iosha kept forgetting steps, leaving the knot too loose and having it fell apart in her hands, or the whole knot becoming a tangled mess. It was struggle, but eventually the correct was produced by her webbed hand after a quite a long curses in kontinese. The Chiet smiled at her and said softly, “Now we need to tie your harness, Avora. Now watch me.” The chiet pulled out a eight foot strap from his bag, and he started to tie both ends together into water knot till he made one big loop. He lifted up the rope loop, placed it behind him, so the top strap was around the back and the bottom strap was behind the hips. Pulling both the left and right side of the loop tightly to the front of the body, he reached down for the lower strap by the hips, pulled it up between his legs to the front of the body. He looked at her and said gently, “Avora, I need you to hand me the iron locking carabiner. It looks like a steel ring in the shape of a oval. Could you hand it to me?” Iosha fished through his climbing pack and pulled out a oval shape iron ring with a moving nut. Iosha twisted the nut and saw it moved up and down enough to open and close. She handed it to him, and he grabbed it with his free hand because the left hand was holding the three ends of the loop together. He unscrewed the nut on the ring than he slide the ends of the large rope into the ring. When all three loops were in the ring, he screwed up the nut, so the loops can't get free of the ring. He pulled the carabiner to his navel and said with a smile, “Now you have a harness. Now you try till you get it right, Avora.”

Iosha watched how quickly the experienced climber undid his harness, and handed the eight foot strap to her. The konti hand to admit that she struggled through the water knot to make the large loop. It took her five tries to get it right. When it was finished, she held the left and right side of loop behind her making sure the top of the lop on her back, and the bottom half was on her hip. Pulling the left and right side of the loop tightly around her, she held the two end of the loop with her left webbed hand as she reached down and pulled the bottom of the loop between her legs to her left hand. The Chiet handed her the locking carabiner and she undid the nut to let the three end of the loops pass through it. When they were in the ring, she screwed it back up till it locked. The process of getting it right took about five tries to get it right because she kept mixing up the hand to hold the end loops of the loops together, or she kept dropping the iron ring on the ground or all three ends of the loop. It was frustrating experience, but she eventually made her makeshift harness.

The Chiet took the end of the thick rope and tied it to the iron ring with another water knot. He put his hands on both Iosha's bare shoulders and said softly, “Good job, Konti now let me give advice on you climbing down or up the cliff.” The Chiet smirked at her and patted her shoulder and said, “There really isn't a art to climbing other than you need to work on your lower body strength and your balance. Your body will move to where you need to go, but your best ally is patience and not psyching yourself or out or second guessing yourself when you make a movement, move to a foot hold or a hand hold, or repositioning yourself to find the ideal route.” Iosha watched him take a deep breath and continued softly, “You need a find a sense of clarity, so you can think through a problem clearly and efficiently, so you don't rush though your next move. Also you need to remember you have eight people holding the rope, so you won't have to worrying about you falling to your death.” Iosha nodded and said softly, “Alright thank you for the advice. OK, I need to go down because she might need immediate medical attention in the chasm. Meaning I have to make sure. She is stable enough to transport up the cliff if not I am not sure what else I can do for her in a chasm full on bird excrement, but I need to try regardless.”

Iosha put a hand on the rope connected to the iron ring and said with a smile,“I will alert the group with one tug to hold onto the rope, two tugs will meaning I am ready to be lifted up, and three tugs on the rope means start pulling me up, so I am going to make you in charge of the group up here, OK.” When the red headed man nodded to her, she doubled checked her knot on the iron ring and walked to the cliff edge and yelled down to the injured woman, “Hello down there! I am coming down to help you!” Iosha nodded to the group to start, walked over to the edge of the cliff, and started her decent into the chasm.

[Stardust]

Lavira's need to water intensified. She was dehydrated and weak. As the poor woman tried to speak with the unseen boy, frustration hit her. Lavira knew there was little chance to survive. She was trapped, extremely hurt, far within the mountain. When she moved, more pain spread through her limbs. Once her eyes began to cloud and she rested her head, still watchign towards the crack in the rocks, a young boy climbed out.

To the injured woman, he would appear as real as could be. He was a young, red-headed boy, as Inartan as could be. “You're hurt!” He exclaimed and moved towards her in a near panic. “You're a girl!” The boy moved quickly and sat next to her, his legs crossed. As he did that her focus blurred. Darkness fell over her again. Dreams of the boy filled her mind. Dreams that he was special. Dreams that he was her friend. Dreams that he meant her no harm.

Maybe, just maybe, he could help her.

Far above, Iosha gathered people together. She was intent on rescuing the fallen girl. Luckily, many of the Inarta also wanted to help. With determination, trust and confidence, everyone knew that if they worked together, they'd save her.

They had to.

Bells passed as the woman got used to the harsh task of climbing into the deep, balancing and holding her own weight. On several occasions, why problem solving her footing and grip on the rocks, scratches and scrapes cut at her skin. Sharp pains stabbed her, but in a more annoying than threatening way. As she descended, she'd noticed beautiful crystals that grew from the stone walls, all of various colors and shapes.

Unsure of how much time had passed, Iosha was beginning to feel tired. She knew she needed to take a breathe. After a tick of hesitation, the robe caught on something, far above her. The Konti wouldn't be able to move any further down. Luckily, if she looked down she'd be able to see what looked like the ground, but unfortunately from where she hung, no girl could be seen at the bottom, in any direction.

x

[Lavira]

So thirsty...

That thought had begun to beat in her mind as she listened and stared at the crack beside her, her eyes beginning to slip shut again. Vira fought to keep conscious, but the lower oxygen content in the crevice she had fallen into along with the pain that made maintaining awareness next to impossible. It was a fight for her life, that much she knew. She had to stay awake. Someone had to come and if they saw she was not responding, they might think her dead.

And then, a boy appeared. Woozy, the Chiet stared hard at him, but he was on her blind side and seeing him clearly was harder as she had to turn her head at a hard angle to keep him in sight. Her tongue felt leaden as Vira tried to talk again to the manifestation. "Yes, please...I need water...and help; can you help me?" He looked so real, like a Yasi fresh from Bendi. The fright in his eyes was obvious, concern. Was it for her? Vira reached a hand towards him and was amazed at how shaky it was when her monocular vision moved from the child to the quivering hand.

Vira blinked, trying to clear the spots from her eyes once more. Unconsciousness was coming fast. "Please...find help..." She sighed and the darkness came....

...And swept her up in its velvet arms. It was so pervasive and rude. It was a feeling of violation that made her unseen body squirm. Voices rose from the darkness, beckoning and sweet, yet wielding an undertone of hostility and hatred that would surely follow her up of she went to them. It was a darkness to be feared with eyes of fire that blazed somewhere, watching and waiting hungrily to gobble her up like the morsel that had fallen into its domain she was.

And then there was a boy.

Nothing particularly special, just a boy. His hair was the firey shade common of Inartans and his eyes were hopeful, or so she interpreted as the manifestation came to her. The burning locks had been tied back into a braid (perhaps he had seen a Drykas wearing them?....where had that come from? She'd never even met a Drykas before, let alone knew their fashions. Maybe in a book? Who cares, look at the boy!) and he had this whimsical sense about him, one that sung of safety and security. He did not crawl out of the crack, for Vira knew he not a monster and only monsters crawled form between cracks.

"Hi." He said to her. That single word seemed to blow the darkness away and reveal a cloud-flecked sky moments before sunrise. Vira had seen such skies before many times in Wind Reach. She rose before dawn daily just to watch the sunrises from the aeries, whose view she thought could not compare to other places in the city; they looked out at the Unforgiving like far-seeing glasses and showed a world of opportunity and freedom. It showed her the entrancing flight of the birds as they flitted from their nests to begin the day in song.

It was the world with its breath held, waiting for the moment of relief when Syna rose again and gave the world all of her light. It was a moment of impending birth and it was beautiful.

"I'm Andry." The boy said to her, smiling brightly with teeth too white. What's your name?"

This seemed an unusual question at first, the impression of it all being just a dream sitting high at the front of her mind. But what did it matter? She didn't feel thirsty now and the pain was gone. Was she even hurt? Who cared, she wasn't hurting now. "Hi Andry, I'm Lavira." Her gaze turned back to the world again and she felt her breath freeze in her throat for a moment as Syna's first rays began to appear from the mountain line on the horizon. It was literally breathtaking.

"Where are we?"

"Here." The boy replied. Confused for a moment, Vira looked again to him but something had changed. It wasn't just sunrise now; she had the sensation of wind tugging at her clothes and rapid movement. There was also a sound. She knew the sound for it filled Wind Reach often. Beating wings. Were they flying?

They were! The child sat upon the back of a beautiful red and black feathered bird, just grinning. He pointed at her and Vira looked down. She was on one too! Except that hers was black (and way back, deep down in her subconscious, the young woman was suspicious. Black was always an ominous color. It was the color of death; but what could she do presently?), the birds were exactly the same. They were flying! The teenager gasped and flattened on the birds back, both amazed and slightly frightened at first. But the fear subsided for flying...it had always been her dream, to share in what the Endal could do almost any time they wanted. To be able to climb upon the eagles back and just soar with them. Oh to have wings like them and feel the wind upon them, the rush of the air around her as she soared beside them...

How had that boy done this? It was amazing! "Wow, Andry! This is fantastic!" her mind had forgotten the situation she was in, the realness of the danger, in favor of this dream-wrought vision. It was better than suffocating, at least. And this strange little boy had done it! He'd- He'd saved her!

Sitting upon the birds back, Vira stretched her arms wide and closed her eyes just as the sun rose over the horizon and filled the area with warm light. Such relief. Such...Peace.

[Iosha]

The crew on top of the cliff lowered Iosha down ten feet into the air, and she noticed the cliff was only three feet away from her, so the konti reached out with her right hand, grabbed a hand hold in the rock, and pulled herself close to the cliff face. When she found her foot hold, she took a deep breath and reached out for a hand hold slightly lower than herself. At first she was having difficulty grabbing onto it because her fingers kept slipping off the crack, but eventually she was able to grasp the hand hold with her right hand. Looking down at her feet, the konti noticed a out crop of rock jutting from the cliff, so she stepped over with her right foot, but she miss judged the distance of her foothold and lost grip of her hand hold and fell forward. Luckily, the Konti fell towards the rock out crop, and she was able to catch rock out crop with both hands. With her feet dangling in the air, Iosha heard the Chiet yell down to her to find a foot hold and to continue her decent. Feeling the burning in her shoulder muscles, the konti muttered to herself, “Easy said than done...” Iosha looked down and saw another rock out crop below her, so she relaxed her arm muscles and reached out and placed her feet on the surface. She took a deep breath when she felt the rock was stable. The konti looked under her hand hold and looked for one lower than herself and reached out to grab it. Once again it took a few times to get her fingers into it, but when she was able to grasp it. Iosha let go of the out crop above her and pulled herself to the cliff. She waited for the crew to give her more slack before she continued her decent down.

Resting against the rock, Iosha felt the stings, aches, and burning of all the minor injuries. She suffered during her decent. During a bell of climbing, Iosha must have slipped a half a dozen times causing scraps and cuts all over her body. It was unpleasant feeling not being able to treat them at the moment, but she needed to get down quickly, or she might be pulling up a corpse. Iosha reach down with her foot and placed it in a shallow crack in the rock. She looked to her left and saw the rock was smooth, but to her right, the black rock seemed to be a layered. Holding onto the hand hold with her left hand, she reached out and took hold of rock, but it crumbled in her hand causing her to slip slightly and scrap her elbow. She pulled herself back and found a hand hold below the black rock. Still holding the hand hold with her left hand, Iosha stretched for the crack and her webbed hand grasped it as hard as she could before releasing her left hand to grab the hand hold too. The konti blew a piece of white hair from her face, and looked over and saw a small ledge large enough to sit comfortably on for a break below, but she would have to jump for it. Iosha felt them give her about ten feet of slack enough rope for her to make the jump, so Iosha looked at the distance between her and the target, and it must be only seven feet away from her. Iosha turned her head to the ledge, bent her legs, and lunged for the rock. Iosha must have dropped seven feet to her right and landed hard on the stone. She crawled to cliff and rested her back against the rock.

When Iosha gathered her breath, she continued her decent down the side of the cliff. The konti noticed a series of brilliantly color crystals around her. If she had time to admire them, she would of tried taking some of them, but she knew time wasn't her friend at the moment. Iosha decided to avoid the sharp crystals since she didn't want to cut her hand on them. Iosha decided to use them as foot holds if they looked sturdy enough, but she didn't stay on them for long periods of time since she did not know how sturdy they were. Feeling the muscles in her legs and shoulders start to protest, the konti stopped and rested her head up against the cliff. She noticed the crew wasn't giving her anymore slack, and she looked up and saw the rope was wrapped around a crystal about six feet above her. Iosha looked down and saw the floor of the canyon was below her; however, the Inarta woman was no where to be seen. Iosha closed her eyes and growled to herself in frustration. Knowing, she needed to loosen the slack on the rope. Iosha looked up, grabbed with her right hand onto the hand hold above her, pulled herself up, and grabbed the hand hold above that one. Iosha repeated the process till she had enough slack to unwrap the rope from the crystal. When the konti saw that she had enough slack to continue her decent. She yelled back down to canyon floor, “My name is Iosha Moonchaser a healer of Rak'keli. Please give me any signs that you are down there.”

[Stardust]

In the dream, Andry smiled. His smile was infectious and genuine. He was happy. He wrapped his arm around her and laughed. “Lavira, this... if only for a while is what it's all about...” As he said that the dream began to shift, change ever so slightly. The atmosphere got heavy and then Andry grabbed ahold of Lavira tightly in the dream. They were no longer in a familiar area. So much darkness, yet flashes of light. “Stay down!” He cried, worry in his voice. Something happened suddenly.

The bird beneath them turned to dust.

They fell.

And fell.

And fell.

Lavira awoke with a start, sweating, breathing heavily. The boy, Andry stared at her all the while, worry clear on his face. He moved towards her carefully. “Are you okay?” He asked. “Are you going to... join me.... here?” The way he spoke gave off so many emotions. So much pain and longing. “It's okay if you do, you know...” He sighed. “It's always okay.” There was a moment of silence.

A woman's voice echoed against rock walls. “My name is Iosha sha sha sha Moonchaser er er er er healer of Rak'keli keli keli keli. Please give me any signs that you are down there there there there there there.” The voice echoed over and over again.

Lavira wasn't alone. Hope hit her. But where was this woman? Was this woman real?

Meanwhile, as Iosha continued to descend the rock side, the crystal that the rope was wrapped around fell towards Iosha, point first. As if fell, a whistle cut through the air. They hit the ground below. The crystal hit the ground immediately in front of the Konti, sparing her life by mere inches. Along the way, the crystal had cut the rope, causing no serious injury to Iosha, but no real escape upwards. As the konti began to take note of her surrounding, she would see several small caves within the rocks. Some big enough to fit through, others too small.

There were several different choices to take. Which directions would be best? Iosha would hear voices, slight but still definite voices protruding from one cave specifically. The cave was lined with small, smooth crystals, cool to the touch. It appeared to go straight into the mountain.

The ground began to shake again, trembling ever so slightly. As it shook, Andry began to glow, the color of his clothes, his skin, his hair all becoming brighter than before. He looked around, as if scared, but then looked at Lavira and smiled, the same smile from the dream. A smile of happiness, hope, of anything good. "You'll be okay." His body changed, the colors flashed and he literally exploded outwards, the colors touching Lavira's skin, giving the Inarta strength. The sound of a popping explosion bounced off of the walls of the caverns.

x

[Lavira]

Startled back into consciousness again, the young woman rolled to the right some and heaved, one hand pressing against her chest as her stomach constricted to force up the little contents within it. Her body felt drenched and clammy where it wasn't in constant pain (though she'd begun to notice some of the worse spots had begun to deaden; maybe her mind was trying to block it out on some subconscious level, who knows!) and her head swam in discomfort. It was hard to concentrate over the trickle of water in the distance somewhere and the low rumble of the earth beneath her.

When the heaves stopped and she laid back again, the boy was back and Vira leveled her single eye on him, uneasy and unhappy; especially when he asked if she would join him. It was then the teen realized what he was: a ghost. The unpleasant thought that he may have possessed her slipped through her disoriented mind and she frowned at the entity. She was about to reply when from above a sound resounded. It bounced off the rocks and crystals in the little cave and in it there were words. Someone named Iosha....a healer...was she alive? The flower of hope that had begun to wane in her breast suddenly burst open and tears of joy rose to her green-gold gaze as she turned to the crack she'd slid down and into this pit.

I'm down here! Her mouth worked to shout but all that came out was a croaking whisper and a gag.

Come on, Vira, you need to get their attention. If you can't talk, can you scream? Turning her head from the crack above, she searched again the ground around her for anything that could be used to get this saviors attention, let her know she was alive. The Chiet spotted a stone a few feet out of her reach on the other side of the ghost that had found its way into her company. Looking first past and then at the boy, Vira grit her teeth and tried to speak, but again, the hoarse croak and wordless breath was all that could be managed this time. Her only choice was to move, and that...well, that was going to be painful.

It took several breaths to ready herself as she lay back on the stone, steeling her mind for the agony she was soon to put herself through. It was either this or die knowing salvation was within reach, knowing she could have tried but could not find the courage to endure to get the help she needed. With one final, large inhale and a look towards the stone, Vira put all of her strength into her arms and shoulders and rolled.

The twisting motion felt like it had torn her side completely open and then simply blew up her left leg. The scream rose in her throat but her hoarse voice made no sound to release it. She was now laying on her left side with her face planted into the side of her dirty arm. The smell of earth and blood and sulfur filled her nose as she bit at her bicep, trying desperately to keep hold of consciousness this time. Only when the woman felt a brief lapse in the pain did she reach with left hand and pull with all her might, her right foot bending slightly in an effort to push from behind. The effort made her break out in shivers and collapse barely six inches later, sobbing and trembling. The spots were all over her vision, but Vira refused to pass out again, she refused to.

Why did Valintar Kaden put you Chiet? It wasn't because he pitied you...now push, Lavira....PUSH, you have to let them know you're alive. Prove him right, prove your worth and fight, FIGHT. Come on....PUSH!

The mental encouragements gave her a sliver of strength as she again reached with left hand, pushed with right foot, and then added to the effort by reaching with her right hand, too. Her whole body was on fire, that silent scream belted from her lungs. Screaming like that wouldn't get their attention but the rock would.

I want to live.

The rock was just out of reach now and with sobbing efforts, her face scratched from pulling along the stone to get at it, she stretched till she was sure her shoulder would pull from its socket. "I...want....to....live..." a breathy whisper and then sheer relief as her fingers closed over the rock and pulled it to her. She had pulled the stone in close to her chest now, sobbing and crying and laughing at how this so simple success. I am stronger. I will live.

Though it hurt to roll back onto her back again, Vira did. As she did so, the stone raised to begin pounding at the floor beneath her, Andry had come back into focus over her again. Her smile faltered. He appeared brighter, more solid almost, and the colors of his form more intense. And then...the world was gone, faded into white behind an explosion of colors.

[Iosha]

Looking down at the floor of the ravine, Iosha noticed she was about ten feet from the bottom of ravine. Suddenly, she heard a loud crack and the rope jerked violently before it started to free fall to the bottom of the ravine. When Iosha hit the ground feet first, she stumbled forward a bit before she fell forward into the muck. She looked up dripping with eagle excrement on her face and saw a crystal about the size of her chest land inches from her face. The konti quickly scrambled backwards from the rock formation. She started to shake in terror at her near death experience for a chime or two. Iosha stood up out of the muck and looked over at the pile of rope at her feet. Iosha said softly to herself in Kontinese, “Good idea, Iosha! This is what you get for being a hero.” Iosha looked around at her surrounding and noticed the wall at the bottom of the cave was covered with sharp colorful crystals, but the bottom was covered in a soft layer of dried and moist bird excrement. The konti immediately thought it was a waste that the Wind Eagle attendants were shoving bird shyke into the ravine because it had a unique definitive a natural beauty to it. She looked around and noticed the bottom of the ravine was littered with caves opening both big and small going into Mountain Skyinarta.

Iosha walked around the ravine and noticed there was no signs of the Inarta woman anywhere in the immediate area. She was curious if the woman crawled into one of the caves for shelter. Suddenly, she heard a faint sound of voices coming from inside one of the caves. The konti ran to the edge of the opening to listen inside, but she didn't hear anything. Iosha finally decided to take a better look and venture into the cave. The konti closed her eyes and pictured a tiny flame in a void of darkness, and she started feeding the flame all her anger, fear, sadness, and other emotional distractions into the flame. She started to feel a calm wash over her mind. The konti extended her hand and started to summon her inner djed into the palm of her hand. The djed created a sphere of milky white liquid called res in the palm of her hand, so with her will, she moved the ball effortlessly above her hand about a foot. Iosha immediately noticed some pebbles on the ground rolling towards her feet, so the konti looked at the sphere willed the Res to burn. Suddenly with a quick flash of light, the small ball of Res ignited into a ball of fire hovering above her hand. Iosha could feel the heat of the flame burn hotter with each passing moment, so she extend her hand away from her body with the orb of flame.

Iosha walked into the dark cave and noticed the ball of light illuminated the underground structure quite well. As she walked through the cave, the light from her ball of fire dance and shimmered on the wall of crystal. The konti wished Cephei was here to see it, but she knew her first love was safely in Riverfall at the moment. Iosha felt a small tremor and braced herself on cool crystal with her webbed hand. The ball of fire struggled the maintain it shape during the tremor, but Iosha stared at it and said in kontinese, “Stop it and behave!... What am I doing here, Rak' Keli?” The ball of fire once again took it's rigid sphere shape at her command, and she continued down into the cavern. When Iosha came into a large chamber, the Konti heard whimpering to her left, so she turned in the direction and saw a laying up against the wall. Iosha immediately ran to the girl and knelt down in front of her with the ball off fire burning above her hand. The woman was a bloody mess from first glances, and the konti knew her leg shouldn't be protruding like it did. The konti smiled at the woman, brushed the hair from her eyes like mother, and said in common, “There you are my wounded bird. I promise I will protect you.” When Iosha willed her djed to dissipated in her hand, the small light went out around her. The konti could only hear the faint breathing of the girl and her own breathing for a chime. Suddenly, there was loud explosion in the darkness behind her, and Iosha's first though was to shield the woman's body with her own from the blast.