Flashback Variety and Vicissitudes

Getting a feel for writing Fiachra

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This shining population center is considered the jewel of The Sylira Region. Home of the vast majority of Mizahar's population, Syliras is nestled in a quiet, sprawling valley on the shores of the Suvan Sea. [Lore]

Variety and Vicissitudes

Postby Fiachra on August 13th, 2015, 8:37 pm

Day 23, Spring, 515 AV


Bored, this day was boring. Sylaris was certainly more interesting than the Outpost, but 'Chra had found nothing worth her attention so far as she cruised the skies above the city. It was almost enough to send a curious Kelvic back to the airspace the Knights guarded so jealously. For the most part she could go where she liked, but a barely avoided arrow had quickly taught her there were some limits even she had to respect. For now. Mostly.

All right, so she'd gone as high as her wings could take her, well out of range to see what was what, but she'd not noted anything from that height worth shooting a person over. Of course perhaps there was a very small treasure there, one that she'd not been able to make out from that height. Or perhaps it was under the great big tree that took up a lot of the room. Who knew? In any case, she wasn't quite bored enough to try that again. Yet.

Instead, with a dip of a glossy black wing she headed for the Rearing Stallion. She'd gotten into the habit of carrying a single gold rimmed Miza on a thong around her neck in Raven form, slipping it off and wearing it as a bracelet in Human, or spending it. Either way. Since it was early yet, a few hours after noon, the tavern was quiet, thought there was still enough traffic that 'Chra could slip in when the door was open, landing on a convenient beam. She quite liked having a birds eye view of things before switching and getting into the thick of it. Besides, early as it was perhaps there was no one interesting here either and she'd just fly right back out again.

One of the barmaids looked up a scowl on her face, likely assuming 'Chra was escaped from the aviary and getting ready to shoo her out. The Kelvic, extended one wings and brought the other around to her chest, dipping her head. An unmistakable bow. There, now either she was a very smart escaped pet or a Kelvic. As long as she was left to do as she pleased she didn't much mind what the woman thought. Apparently the answer to that was erring on the side of caution. With a last look at the bird, the woman returned to work. Well and good.
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Fiachra
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Variety and Vicissitudes

Postby Fiachra on August 13th, 2015, 9:16 pm

There weren't very many patrons. Not surprising in a city where everyone worked. A few people getting late lunches or early dinners. A few regulars. The staff. 'Chra clacked her beak once in disapproval. There wasn't even particularly good entertainment. A musician off in one corner producing passable tunes and no more. A good show of any kind could almost always hold her attention, this did not. She fluffed her feathers in irritation, turning to face the door once more, preparing to leave.

"I used t'really be someone y'know?"

"Mm."

The slow, slightly slurred proclamation caught the Kelvics attention, and she turned, head cocking, dark eye glimmering as she eyed the man bellied up to the bar. A stocky running to fat middle aged human, his most distinguishing feature likely his missing arm.

"I was th'best damned hunter this city'd seen."

The barmaid, who'd clearly heard all this a hundred times before didn't even bother with her non-commital response this time, simply getting on with wiping down the counters.

"I was good enough, I was good enough I coulda been a knight, till that bloody winter.."

He fell silent again, brooding, apparently searching for answers in the depths of his mug. 'Chra waited, but apparently his store of words were exhausted. At least without some encouragement.
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Variety and Vicissitudes

Postby Fiachra on August 13th, 2015, 11:03 pm

"Why, what happened?"

It was likely good the man was in his cups already, otherwise the sudden appearance of a naked young woman might have come as something of a surprise. In a practiced swoop, 'Chra had launched herself from her perch, slipped the thong off, shifted, caught the mize before it hit the floor and settled herself on a stool, dark eyes on him, utterly unconcerned by her own nudity. She was nude as a Raven all the time after all.

"Yer naked."

"Yes. What happened during the Bloody Winter? You were telling a story and then you stopped. You can't stop in the middle of a story."

"Y'wanna hear my story?"

He eyed her blearily, eyes rising to her face for a moment. One hand reached over and touched a bare hip before being pulled immediately away as if scalded.

"Just seein' if you was real."


"Now are you going to tell the story?"

'Chra was being very patient, for her, but if he didn't get around to it soon she'd likely stop caring and go looking for something else. The barmaid who'd given her the dark look before and was likely the reason the man had pulled away like a scalded cat, came up from the other side and unceremoniously draped a threadbare cloak over her. It smelled faintly of dog and woodsmoke. That was fine. 'Chra didn't mind covering up when other people wanted her to, it just wasn't something that she herself cared about.
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Variety and Vicissitudes

Postby Fiachra on August 13th, 2015, 11:18 pm

"Right, the Bloody Winter, right."

He took another gulp of his ale.

"Well, fist-first of all, you're talkin' to Intarus Molora, born 'n bred here, been hunting the woods since I could walk, knew 'em better'n the back of my hand."

"The one you've still got or the other one?"

"What?"

"Which hand did you know them better than? I bet you don't even remember the hand that's not there anymore."

"I remember it every day."

He replied with a glare.

"All right, I wouldn't, keep going."

Was her non-nonchalant reply with a shrug. Being a nearly naked woman was probably doing more for his tolerance even than the fact that she was Kelvic.

"Right, right, where was I. It was a windy day, the snow was falling, not heavy, but it was blowing something fierce. Didn't hardly sit on th'ground, driven as it was. Most hunters would be home abed, but I'd hunted in worse, besides, winter hunting means white hides, more Miza."

He paused, looking mournfully into his empty mug.

"Terrible thirsty work tellin' tragic stories."

"You should probably buy yourself another drink."

She agreed sympathetically with a nod, making no move to act, entirely missing the implication that she was meant to buy his drink if she wanted him to continue.
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Variety and Vicissitudes

Postby Fiachra on August 13th, 2015, 11:34 pm

When the moment had stretched on long enough that it was clear the woman perched across from him, watching him intently, head cocked slightly was not going to buy him another drink, Intarus sighed and signaled the barmaid, who seemed to be fighting to conceal a smile as she replaced his mug with a full one.

"Anyway, I'm fightin' my way through the snow, if I din't know the woods so well I'd be totally lost 'cause it's nearly a whiteout with the way the snows blowin' when suddenly it switches t'hail."

'Chra made a conciliatory noise at that. Snow wasn't fun, but it was all right. Hail was miserable. Definitely something she made a point of not flying in.

"Well, I know there's a spot up ahead I can take shelter, little cave I've used before. Hadn't used it that season, but we're still close enough t'the walls most of the big nasties aren't anywhere nearby. Plus the leftover smell of old fires usually keeps critters out. Besides, there's not much in them woods Intarus can't handle."

He took another long pull.

"So I stumble in, and y'gotta remember before this I can't hear much of anythin' 'cause of how th'winds a-howlin'."

'Chra was absolutely riveted. She quite liked stories, as long as they were interesting enough, and not just about how you ought to wear pants or the like. Those stories were boring. She cocked her head in the other direction, turning her neck slightly to study him out of one eye.

"Anyway, I stumble in, and right away I know there's gonna be in trouble. The airs all a-filled with terrible snarls and growls. The wolves'd gotten bad that winter what with how cold it were. They even started hunting folks."

"Wolves ate your arm?"


She inquired, eyes wide. He scoffed at this notion.
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Variety and Vicissitudes

Postby Fiachra on August 13th, 2015, 11:44 pm

"Don't be ridiculous, there wasn't a wolf in them forests that could've got me. Not the canniest of 'em. Not dire, nor Kelvic either. As if a proper hunter, forest-born and bred don't know how to handle wolves."

He looked down his nose at her, though clearly enjoying having such a captive audience.

"Nah, they'd sniffed out a bear. It's winter remember, the bear was havin' his winter sleep when he gets woke up by these wolves settin' into him. Now a bear is an ornery creature to start with. When they first wake up y'don't want t'be anywhere near 'em. This one wakes up, great brute of a bear too, and he's got wolves tryin' t'eat him and it's still winter, so of all the angry bears ever there were this was likely the angriest."

Another drink to keep his throat properly lubricated, no reason other than that, he didn't have a problem. Not at all.

"He's already torn through some of the pack, suddenly there's the smell of a hunter, that'd be yours truly, thrown into the mix and a proper frenzy starts. I shoulda run as soon as I heard what was going on, but I stood there waiting for my eyes to adjust, tryin' t'figger out what was goin' on."

He looked shifty for a moment before continuing.

"Might've been a danger t'our great city after all. I coulda been a Knight you know. I reckoned it was my duty to find out what was what."


The change in body language was noted by the Kelvic, but it didn't particularly perturb her one way or the other, she just wanted to know what happened next.
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Variety and Vicissitudes

Postby Fiachra on August 14th, 2015, 6:22 pm

"Anyway, by now he's pushin' the lot and last of 'em back, hurt though he is. And a few of the buggers get around me, snappin' as they go, but I'm not their main concern, so I dodge 'em. Flatten myself against the wall while the Bear barrels best, set on finishin' off them what woke him up. He does, and then turns around and sees me. And he's not growlin' anymore, just kinda makin' these hurt noises back in his throat, and I can see he ain't gonna make it. He was in a right bad way, like, his insides were outside if y'know what I mean."

'Chra dipped her head once. In truth part of her was thinking what a rare treat such a thing would be, once the bear was properly dead of course. She wasn't as bad as her wild cousins, you'd not find her pecking the eyes out of newborn cattle, that was not proper behavior, no one would be pleased with that, but if something was dead and delicious, well..

"So he's lookin' at me and I'm lookin' at him, and it's like we've got this connection. I start thinkin' maybe Oriana guided me here, I can't fix this bear, but I can but him out of his misery quick and merciful like."

"You're God-touched?"

She asked with curiousity, eying him once more. Perhaps his Gnosis Mark was just somewhere she couldn't see. This would be exciting, she'd never actually spoken with anyone who was god-touched for good or ill.

"Well I bloody thought so, until the peace was shattered by the bastard suddenly takin' a swing at me and rippin' my damned arm off!"

Only the urge to please being slightly stronger than her own tendency to do whatever she wanted and display however she was feeling kept 'Chra from laughing. He'd already proven he didn't have much sense of humour on the subject.

"How'd you get away?"
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Variety and Vicissitudes

Postby Fiachra on August 14th, 2015, 6:36 pm

"Well, it didn't hurt right away, din't even realize my arm was off, was damned sure I didn't want to be in that cave anymore, if Oriana was around, she was in a snit that day. So I ran past him, makin' for the wall. Hail's still comin' down, still can't see anything."

"You ran all the way back to the city with your arm off?"

"Ran into one of you lot part way there, good thing too, turns out I wasn't goin' in quite the right direction, plus I didn't have the sense to tourniquet my arm at th'time. Woulda bled out for sure."

"My lot?"


Again the head cock. What kind of her lot? Someone from the Outpost? A Raven?

"Ayuh. A Kelvic. The Radiant White Wolf."

"The who now?"

"She's a Kelvic what looks like a giant glowing white wolf."

"Right."

"So as I was sayin', she finds me, Gods only know how, smelled the blood probably, which is good 'cause I'm about out of my head. I remember her finding me, appearing out of the snow, even whiter than it was, and then I don't remember much 'til I woke up inside the city and found out me arm was gone. Best damned hunter, could even have been a Knight."

He reiterated, bitterly, draining his mug.

"Then what?"

"What do you mean then what? That's the end of the story."

"Tisn't."

"It bloody is."

"Tisn't. You're not dead. What happened next? If you couldn't hunt or be a Knight what did you do next?"

"I drink and teach other folks a'right?"
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Variety and Vicissitudes

Postby Fiachra on August 14th, 2015, 6:53 pm

"Teach drinking? Can't most folks do that on their own?"

"Smart ass. I pass on my knowledge, not that there's hardly any worth teachin'. The arts of the woods. How to move silently, how to track, to catch beasts by trap or bow, how to process 'em after."

"You can teach me!"

This was one of those spur of the moment statements. The kind where most humans would think a thing, stop, have a proper think about it and then speak or not. 'Chra was very bad at this. She'd had an idea, she followed through. Besides, he'd said there was hardly anyone worth teaching, that meant he wanted someone worth teaching which mean she would be doing good and pleasing him by being worth teaching. Plus it might be interesting. She'd not bothered with hunting things before. If you wanted to go into the woods you flew, that way you could laugh at and heckle those on the ground. Dropping pine-cones and such on predators was always good fun.

"You want me to teach you woodcraft?"

"Yes."

"Don't you already know it 'cause of your.."

He waved a hand at her. This took her a moment to put together.

"I know how to fly. I don't know about ground things, why would I know about ground things?"

"I suppose that makes sense.. I ain't doin' it for free."

"Oh. How much?"


'Chra had an interesting relationship with Miza. Barter made much more sense to her. She had trouble properly understanding the worth of them and tracking her accounts. She knew she needed some because she had to pay rent, because people insisted she live somewhere set. They could also turn into things she wanted, like if someone was cooking something that smelled good, or something caught her eye. Planning ahead with them was hard however. Possibly because for her there was the current moment, the nebulous past which was sort of lumped together and the future which was again, rather nebulous and hard to grasp. She could manage the immediate future, but past that was hard.
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Variety and Vicissitudes

Postby Fiachra on August 14th, 2015, 7:05 pm

"I don't- Five gold Miza."

"For five Miza you will teach me ground forest things?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Are we going now?"

"What? No we're not going now, I'm drunk woman!"

"Well perhaps you can do forest things better drunk, I don't know."

"No. Look. Meet me at the gates at 5 bells tomorrow. Bring the Miza. ..And wear clothes!"

"Okay."

There was a small pile of Miza in her terrible little apartment. Taking five out of it would not diminish it too much, so that was probably all right. She supposed she ought to get a job soon, everyone in the city was meant to have one, but they were just terrible boring. She didn't want a boring job. She'd rather live in a tree. This rebellious thought was short-lived before a semi-familiar anxiety crushed it. She could not just live in a tree. People would not approve of her living in a tree. They would think badly of her, that she did not know how to behave. You had to live somewhere.

Still, this was a later-problem, and it left her head as quickly as it had entered. Why worry about things when the now was good? The conversation was to her mind at least, wrapped up. Rising she shrugged off the cloak, folded it, walked over to the barmaid and handed it to her.

"Thank you."

It was important to thank people who helped you when they did not have to, even if you did not really need help.

With a grin she removed the bracelet tossed it and the attached Miza into the air and switched, wings beating, as she launched herself, catching it round her neck as she sped out the door once more, well pleased with herself. It had taken practice that move. She'd done it in her own little room over and over again after she'd first come up with the idea. She'd missed entirely many time, run into it half as many and on one memorable occasion had been so focused on trying to pull it off that she'd flown straight into the wall. Now she could get it almost every time, and at least catch it in her talons on the times she missed.
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