PM to join [Enclave] Dekilicious Disorder (Azira)

[Lavira]

"Frankly, I can call you what I want until you earn a title you deserve." The teen replied immediately, grabbing for her book once more and taking it back before the other could do further. "But that is as rude and inconsiderate as you mistaking me for a Dek, Azira."

After another long pause, the woman finally said, "Meet me tomorrow morning at sunrise in the nesting aeries. You'll see an open cave on the left of the path leading up to the nests with some supplies inside. Wait there." Without any further words, she turned back to where she'd been sitting and settled again, opened the book and flicked through the pages until she came to her previous spot and resume reading, henceforth ignoring the distracting Avora.

----------------------

The next day, Lavira was up and at'm before the sun. She dressed in the loose-legged bryda she often wore in the nests and her standard vinati which knotted between her shoulder blades. Her hair was then pulled up and back into a ponytail and the pretty scarf she'd purchased last season re-donned, leaving the rusty strands hanging in the back. The outfit left her side completely exposed, puckered flesh bare as she left her bedchamber. She'd wear her sandals instead of hunting boots today.

For a moment, the woman wondered if she should stop by Kovac's room down in Darniva, but decided against it. Besides, he may be out on a hunt that day (to which she silently prayed he had more luck than some of the hunters had been having). Heading for the dining area, Vira paused to grab a roll from the basket, the bread having been picked up the previous morning after she'd returned from the hunt along with some very crispy bacon. This and the roll from the kitchens were turned into a simple sandwich, afterwhich Vira headed for the mew-room to fetch Tulaj's food for the morning.

This was gathered and put into the feeding dish and left in the center of the table for the raptor. Vira took a bite of the baconwich now and headed for Mohya's aerie. The eagle had stirred some, sensing her rider was up and about early as usual, and raised her head from the nest she shared with her mate.

"Morning, Mohya." Vira whispered so as not to disturb the other giant bird. "Any plans for the day?"

The eagle's feathers ruffled and she shook her large head. "Well, I do. I'll be back in a few bells; it's my volunteer day back at the aeries and that woman who mistook me for someone else is to meet me. I hope she's handy with a shovel and the mama birds don't throw her out." The rusty-breasted bird clucked gently back at her and impressed her trust and affection onto the young woman before laying her head back down and settling again with her sleeping mate.

Vira left after that, slipping her feet into the sandals and grabbing the pretty Bay-eagle feather hanging by the door, securing the leather to her hair this time as she hurried up to her old work location.

As she descended through the warrens, winding this way and that the intricate tunnels, she finally came to the path leading up to the nest caves and spotted one of the Dek she used to work around, one of many for that matter. Her name was Insurq and she was a few years older than Vira was (twenty something if the teen remembered). The Dek was relatively well built, but a curvature in her spine made doing some other jobs hard. However, Insurq's gentle personality and soft-spoken, approachable nature made working in the nests ideal.

It was too bad the woman had been caught up in the cruel acts of some of the Avora and Endal, her pretty face having caught the attention of some chap in his early twenties, late teens. He'd been summoning Insurq nightly for over a year, allowing her to stay in his home each night when she finished her duties at the aeries so long as she shared his bed in return. The results were obvious enough now as the Endal had unplanned fetched a child on her and subsequently abandoned the Dek to what Leth had planned. Her deformed body would not bode well when it came her time to deliver...which couldn't be much longer.

"Insurq!" Vira called, delighted to see one of her old coworkers. She stepped up and embraced the hunched woman just as she was hugged in return. "You're here early; long night? I hope you're not stressing yourself out." The two had been good friends (or as much as a Chiet and Dek could be friends, that is) before Vira had Bonded, so the Dek was not offended by the embrace nor the hand that fell upon the large swell of her abdomen.

"You're getting so big, too! How much longer do you think? Two market days from now maybe?" The Dek grinned and nodded. Insurq had already come to terms that when the babes were born she would have to hand them over to the nursery; she simply couldn't work and care for two newborns with the little she had. "I stuck a few pinions beneath the crate in Heshvala's cave." Vira cupped the womans cheek gently then hurried on to see if Azira had arrived.

[Azira]

The Avora sighed at the Endal's quick reply. She wouldn't easily remedy this situation, she'd offended the woman and she wasn't going to be quick to forget it. The teen snatched the book back from her as if she seriously expected Azira to continue to withhold it. As if that's likely. There isn't any reason for me to, she thought bitterly. Lavira ordered her to the nesting aeries the following morning and then promptly ignored her. The urge to read had left her, replaced with a sullen disposition instead. Sighing, she gathered the books from where she'd left them on the table and returned them to their places on the shelves. That done Azira trudged out of the library, deciding on an early night. She'd need to anyway if she was to be up at sunrise. ----------------- The teen rose in darkness the next morning, quickly slipping into her tight hunting bryda and her usual plain vinati that tied behind her neck. She tied back her fire red braids into a ponytail for once rather than her usual bun. There would be no quiver on her back today so her hair wouldn't catch in it. She slipped on her boots and left for the Communal Kitchens, feeling strangely naked without all her hunting gear. Once in the kitchens, the Avora settled for a bowl of soup and some fresh bread for breakfast. Seating herself at one of the small tables, she gulped down the soup, which she suspected had squirrel in it, and ripped chunks from her bread. Smacking her lips with satisfaction, the teen rushed out to the nesting aeries. Azira navigated the twisting tunnels of Wind Reach with ease and quickly made her way up the path to the nesting series. She stopped at the supply cave to the left of the path as Lavira had asked her to. The sun hadn't yet risen so she knew that she was early. She'd have a long wait ahead of her unless the Endal was in the habit of arriving early for things as well. She hoped that the young woman wouldn't arrive late on purpose, or worse stand her up. The Avora didn't think that that would happen seeing as the woman seemed honourable; she'd stick to her word. The teen leaned against the cave wall to wait for the Endal. She was interested to see how the woman would treat her and what sort of work she'd give her. She imagined that she'd be mucking out the nests but she couldn't be sure. She was also bursting with excitement at the idea of what she was going to be doing today. She was going to be working with Wind Eagles! True she wouldn't be riding them or bonding with them but she got to see them. They were such magnificent creatures that always inspired awe within her no matter how many times she saw them. Hopefully if today went well she'd be seeing them many times in the future. If I don't piss off, Lavira, she reminded herself. It was going to be a long day.

[Lavira]

Vira was certainly not in the habit of being late for things and just as the sun began to peak over Mt. Skyinarta's eastern face, Vira stepped into the cave, turning her head until her eye could adjust and see if Azira had arrived. "Ah, good, just in time." The teen said, striding past the other as soon as she'd been seen to grab the handles of a cart in the corner.

"Not many would stand up the opportunity to work with the eagles, even if it's not your job. Grab those bins." She nodded her head to the stack of bins near the entry. "It's bath day for the birds as we need to set them up. The mamas are completely spoiled." Pulling the cart towards the entrance, she left it sitting there and turned back in to grab the larger buckets. "There's a pipe in the wall at the first landing that we fill the water up from. The bins are put in the aeries, two for each resident. One is for dust, the other for water. The birds will use the water first; I put some special oils that they like in there. Helps keep their feathers shiny and clean. Once they finish in the water, this is dumped over the ledge in the aeries and cleaned once all the birds have finished. The dust bath we leave in till the next day. There's only two chicks right now, Heshvala's. They hatched in spring; it was a pretty big deal."

While the Endal spoke, she gathered the fine dust that was used in the bags against one wall and loaded them into the cart too. "It's a good few bells of hard labor, but I'm sure you aren't opposed to that. You do contribute too, afterall." The woman emphasized this in reminder of the rudeness from the previous afternoon.

Once the cart was all loaded up, she grabbed the handles at the front and pulled the two-wheeled haul onto the path outside. It was loaded down with close to two hundred pounds of supplies, the steel of the tins and weight of the bags of dust making for quite a load to pull. But it was something the young woman was used to, the tension in her shoulders and upper arms as she pulled the cart up the hill. When they reached the first cave that was inhabited, Vira straightened, rubbing at her side as she did so, and peeked inside. Irriama was still asleep.

Turning back to Azira, she spoke, "The mama birds can be somewhat touchy sometimes so if they're not awake we don't disturb them. We'll come back to Irriama's nest since she's still asleep. Mind your manners." She finished, grabbing the cart handles again and pulling it to the next human-sized entrance. The low clucks of another bird heard from within.

[Azira]

The Avora was startled when the Endal finally appeared. She'd been so caught up in her daydreams that she hadn't heard the teen approaching. She gave the young woman a nervous smile by way of greeting, not wanting to appear unfriendly but the Endal seemed to have no real time for pleasantries, she was all business. She began ordering her about and explaining the work they'd be doing while moving busily around the cave. Azira didn't say a word. She wasn't going to complain or anything of that was what the teen wanted. Besides she was interested in what she was saying. She hadn't expected to be setting up the baths for the Eagles but she was interested in their maintenance so she listened intently. She picked up the bins as she'd been instructed. They turned out to be a far weight but again she didn't open her mouth. Maybe if she didn't open her mouth then she wouldn't stick her foot in it for once. Balancing the bins in her arms as she waited for Lavira to finish packing the cart, she ignored the Endal's comment about contributing instead focusing on what she'd said about the hatchlings. It was a big deal for those birds to have hatched because Azira knew that many of the birds had been lost the previous winter after the Djed storm caused the nesting aeries to collapse. She hadn't seen the damage but she'd heard that it had been devastating, so many mothers and chicks crushed under the rubble, it must have been a terrible sight. When Lavira finally finished loading the cart, the Avora followed her out onto the path and up to the first nest. There the Endal paused turning to her to explain about the sleeping Wind Eagle before continuing on to the next nest. Shifting the bins a little to get a better grip, she followed the teen. The sounds from within the new nest had her craning her neck to try to peer inside. When she realised that what she was doing might be construed as rude, she stopped, looking sheepish as she waited for the other girl to speak.

[Lavira]

When they came to this aerie from which the sounds were coming, vira poked her head in again then turned back to Azira. "Sinorrah's in and awake. All you need to do is drag the bins in and leave the dust bag just inside the entry. Stay away from the ledge, do not talk to her or her mate. You are not here to socialize, you are here to work, got it?" Once she had confirmation, Lavira grabbed the top most bin and slid it off the cart, it banging slightly against the stone as she dragged it into the chamber.

The cave was still dark, all of the nesting aeries facing outward of the mountain to the sunset so that it could utilize the warmth as much as possible. The nest was also abnormally humid and Vira murmured something to herself as she hauled the oversized pan to the little raised lip that connected to the balcony. At one side of the balcony, a pile of curtains had been folded, hoops laying atop them and a Dek lay passed out atop it.

Like the humidity, this was abnormal as well and Vira looked to the enormous, speckled bird in the stone of the nest with a question in her single eye. It was rare that an unbonded bird spoke vocally to the citizens, but Sino, as she liked to be called, had enjoyed the finer things in life and if a bird could be called educated, Sino was definitely that.

"He passed out some time ago, Lavira. You know how bad his hips are, I did not wish to move him should he be injured, though I'd smelled something funny before I roosted for the evening."

"Odd, I'll send two of the others working in the upper aeries to take him out. It was very considerate of you, Sino."

"He, like you, knows what cuts I like best; why knock good help off the ledge?" This made Vira grin a little anxiously. The eagles were finnicky creatures and it wasn't wholly unheard of for one to knock a Dek or few off the mountain for displeasing them.

"Well, it's bath day. I'll have that new lad I saw come back for the bins in the evening." The eagle clicked her beak in approval of this before curving her neck and tucking it under a wing once more.

Hurrying back out of the cave, Vira grabbed the pails and hurried to the spring to fill them. As she waited for them to fill, something up the path crashed and someone cried out; the Endal frowned and peered up that way, a moments concern crossing her face. "Hey, Azira, did you hear that?" She called to the Avora, Vira still looking up to where the sound originated from.

[Azira]

Azira nodded in acknowledgement and hurried to comply with the Endal woman's orders, carrying the bins to where she'd said and dragging in the sandbag. She knew better than to approach the eagles or to talk to them. When she'd been a Yasi and had still been hopeful about bonding with a bird, she'd quickly learned that the birds disliked her. They were a bit temperamental at the best of times but they took a particular dislike to her, never giving her the chance to show how much she could care for them. Those had been young birds and if they'd been bad then the adults would almost certainly throw her off the mountain. As soon as she was done, she stepped out of the cave, knowing that it was better to spend as little time as possible in with the birds. The Avora hovered nervously by the opening, uncertain of what to do now while she listened jealously to the other teen talking to the bird. She wished they'd talk to her but it didn't seem likely. They were too alike, both temperamental and protective of their space. Her mother had always told her that her gold eyes meant that she'd been a Wind Eagle in a past life and as a Yasi the other youths used to say that she must have been one because she what the same ill temperament. Maybe it was true, she couldn't be sure. Lavira emerged from the cave, grabbing the pails before heading to the spring. Not sure what else to do, the teen followed the Endal despite feeling a little useless. She had nothing to do and she was waiting for the girl to make some snide remark about her idleness. It'd probably be something along the lines of "Oh, have you nothing to contribute, Azira?" The woman didn't like her at all, not that the you could blame her after the way she'd been treated. It must have been very humiliating for a person of the highest caste to be mistaken for one of the lowest caste. Deciding that perhaps it would be better if she headed back to the cave, the girl headed back up the path. There was no point her standing around waiting for the pails to fill. She trudged back up to Sinorrah's cave and stuck her head in, just intending to have a quick peek. The eagle didn't seem to appreciate the intrusion however as she rose and spread her wings slightly. A low, warning chirp came from the bird's beak and Azira took a hasty step backwards, crashing into the cart that Lavira had left there. She fell, calling out wordlessly as she landed awkwardly, whacking her elbows and bringing some of the stuff on the cart with her. The Endal called out to her from the spring and Azira felt her face warm with embarrassment as she called back, "Yeah. It's just me." The teen picked herself up, wincing slightly at the pain in her elbows which she'd scraped rather badly. She'd probably have to wash the cuts but she couldn't bring herself to face the Endal woman. She was going to be furious with her. Tears rose unbidden in her eyes but she rubbed them away angrily. She wasn't going to let the idea of a scolding upset her, she'd just wait for Lavira to come back. OOC : If this wasn't what you were thinking of then let me know and I'll change it

[Lavira]

OOCNo, it works fine and helps me lead the thread in the intended direction

Vira, still frowning, made her way back towards the cart with the pails in tow. She could have sworn she heard something further up, not the young woman now evidently crying. "Maybe in part, but I thought I heard somet-"

There it was again, a voice, choked somewhat, came from an aerie moments before one of the giant birds head poked into the corridor, looked up the ramp, then down it and spotted the duo below. The eagle shrieked at them both, the pressure of a mind-shout causing at least Vira to wince and press at her temple with one palm. The abilities of the birds far surpassed their human counterparts; how they did some of the things they did was downright mystical.

Both would hear the bird, ~HEY! There's a drudge leaking all over my floor in here. Get her out before I throw her out!~

The mind-voice was furious and ducked back into her cave to let the pair come deal with the situation. The angry hisses that were now more apparent given the revelation could be heard even from here.

"Uh..." Vira said at last, scratching her chin a moment then glancing sidelong at the Avora. "...it's really bad form for the new Dek to get themselves killed before the birds get used to them. Come on, let's get her out." Why was there a drudge leaking in one of the mama eagles aeries?

Leaving the cart behind, she led the way up to the aerie, the odd sounds resonating out into the warren. There was a wet odor in the air as they approached the aerie and Vira stopped just at the entrance to look in before dismay fell upon her features. "Insurq!" The Dek woman she'd spoken with before reaching the supply cave was sitting on the floor clutching her thighs, the heavy curve of her spine all the more apparent as was the more delicate but still quite noticable swell of her belly.

"Insurq, what happened? Are you alright?" Vira hurried in, dropping to her knees and brushing the light skinned womans hair out of her face. The Dek looked up and gave a shaky smile, revealing pasty gums and bluish lips. "Oh sweety..."

The drudge was sitting in a growing puddle of liquid, her dark bryda stained heavily and the light smell of blood apparent in the air. It made the eagle standing over her nest very uneasy and she kept hissing and clicking her talons against the stone. Insurq spoke quietly, saying, "I was checking the vents, Lavira, and this sharp pain came over me. I couldn't stay up; I did not mean to upset her, aahh!" Her face contorted in pain and she hunched over herself again, Vira placing a hand upon her shoulder comfortingly.

If Azira had followed, the young woman would look up to her now, concerned for the drudge. It was strange that an Endal should care for such a low member of society, but then was it a surprise given the youth's appearance? She knew well how close she'd come to being like those she used to work around; had it not been her tenacity and courage in the face of this which otherwise would have broken another, Vira very likely would have become a Dek that day in the office of the Valintar.

"Azira, do you see anybody out on the path? We need to move her out and to the infirmary." Again, the Dek let out a cry of distress, to which the eagle gave a menacing step towards them making Vira flinch.

[Azira]

This time Azira heard it, the sound of a voice, oddly muffled, coming from one of the aeries. She glanced up in the direction of the sound and then at Lavira. She would have moved towards it but she knew better than to approach another one of the birds alone. If something, or someone, had already antagonised the Eagles then it was a truly terrible idea to go near them.  Amazingly, one of the great birds poked its head out of its aerie and screamed mentally at them. The girl winced at the sheer force of it but she heard the words it was communicating. Someone was "leaking" in there with it. She assumed that someone was bleeding and she wondered if the bird had caused an injury to one of the Dek. Sure enough, Lavira said as much and Azira followed her up to the bird. The smell hit her first, the metallic tang of blood mixed in with the smells of the birds. The Endal immediately rushed in, calling a name and dropping to her knees beside a Dek woman. The woman was heavily pregnant, her spine curved in an odd way. Azira realised that the woman was deformed, that would probably cause her problems giving birth. There was blood staining her clothing and blood was pooling around her, a lot of blood. She knew that that couldn't be a good sign and she was trying to remember if she'd ever read anything about difficult labour. A memory rose from gods' knows where from a time when her mother had been alive. She could remember a woman, a friend of her mother's no doubt, who had begun wailing when day while visiting them in their rooms. She'd only had a vague idea of what had been happening at the time as the woman had clutched her swollen belly and collapsed. Her mother had told the woman to breathe deep and some men had carried her off to the infirmary on a wooden board, something Azira had thought of as very funny. Her mother had scolded her for laughing and told her that she would understand someday herself. This was as good a day as any. She darted back out into the passage on the Endal's orders, glancing up and down it but it was deserted. "There isn't anybody around," the Avora called. "I can run up and look for someone but that will only waste time. We'd be better moving her ourselves. Have you anything in the cart that we could slip under her to support her back if we carried her? Like a wooden board or something?" she asked. "We could manage her safely between us." She hovered uncertainly in the doorway, allowing Lavira to make the decision.

[Lavira]

Petch...

The thought rang through her mind like a bell in a temple and seemed to stir the wind eagle still resting in her aerie at home. Vira looked back to Insurq and then over to Azira. "We'll have to do it on our own. Go empty the cart, I can lay her in there once that's done." She said, "Leave the supplies against the wall, it can be taken care of later." Turning back to the Dek, the Endal wiped her hair away again, smiling gently. "Insurq, sweety, we need to move you into the warren. This may not be comfortable but bare with me as much as you can, okay?"

The Dek nodded, biting her lip. "Go, Azira, I don't exactly know much about births and judging by the look on your face I imagine you do not either. We'll have to get her to the infirmary; I'll have the cost taken out of my pay for the season." There really wasn't that much blood at the moment, it just looked like it because for one, the aerie was still very dark, and the drudge was wearing dark clothing. The fluids just had the smell of blood because that's what birth fluids often smelled like!

"Ok, here we go." She said to the woman after Azira left to clear the cart out. Insurq slipped her arm around her neck and clutched tightly as Vira slipped her own arm around the womans shoulders and beneath her knees. "On three. One...two..." She steadied herself and then rose as smoothly as she could with the sudden weight of the pregnant woman in her arms. "Three!" Insurq screamed, setting the eagle into a new frenzy to the point that she charged at the Endal and Vira lurched back against the wall, pressing the woman in her arms to it to protect her. "Hey! I'm going!" She shouted back at the screech, hurrying as quickly as she could once the bird stepped away, still hissing and clacking her beak threateningly.

Insurq huddled against Vira as she walked, finger clutching the half-blind womans shoulder and groaning. It must be painful for her to act so and the teen sympathized with her distress, kissing her temple soothingly. "Easy, Insurq, almost there." She proclaimed, exiting the aerie now and waiting to see if Azira was ready.

[Azira]

The cart! For petch sake, she'd never thought of using the cart. She couldn't think straight with this woman oozing all over the floor, gasping and crying out. It was making her feel more than a little uneasy. Azira didn't like this at all, didn't want to be anywhere bear this but what could she do. The Avora stood frozen in the aerie entrance, hypnotised by the scene before her until Lavira snapped at her to go. Jumping a little at the woman's tone, she ran for the cart. She began to unload it as quickly as possible while also being careful with its contents. The Endal woman seemed well composed in this stressful situation but her concern and worry for the woman was evident. She knew this Dek woman, this comely dame who'd no doubt been used by some Endal or Avora and tossed aside when he grew bored with her, or maybe when she became pregnant. The connection between them made the Avora wonder about Lavira's background as she continued unloading the cart. If she could get the woman to warm to her and didn't offend her any further then perhaps she might be able to ask her one day. Now didn't seem like an appropriate time. Screaming, flapping wings and the sound of the other teen's voice came from the aerie, adding to the Avora's already growing uneasy. Finishing unloading the cart, she brought it where it was needed as quickly as possible just as the Endal led the Dek woman out. "Do you need a hand getting her in?" Azira asked, stepping forward as if to help support the woman. She paused and looked questioningly at Lavira as if seeking her permission.