PM to join Those Who Swallow Starlight

[Taurina]

Evening of the 45th of Spring 518

Taurina had found that every city had a pulse. A certain rhythm of life that vibrated through its people to its very core. Endrykas’ pulse had been fast, its sound as the beating of hooves against the steppe, always moving, always running. Riverfall’s pulse was steady and strong, never deviating from its calm thrum. Even in times of fear, of trial, it maintained that constant beat. As if knowing any change would be a breaking of all that it had worked so hard to become.

Just as the city had pulse, so did life. So did Taurina’s life. Her days had fallen into patterns since her bondmate’s return. She had something to focus on, something to do, and someone to take care of. Her days could not be spent lying listlessly on her too comfy bed poorly fighting the urge to just check out of life. Now she rose with Syna, finding food for them both and trying to keep conversation as they filled their stomachs. The Ethaefal’s mornings had been designated for training, work filling her afternoons, and the evenings spent within the apartment with Alek where they tried to find things to do so their hands did not become idle.

There was something quiet about this life. Something to knowing that most days were not going to be filled with the unexpected, and that death was not so close as the plains had always made it seem. Taurina did not hate it. She did not love it either. Somedays her heart ached so greatly for the grasses that her chest hurt and her head spun. Those days nothing could satisfy her, nothing could stop her from allowing her mind spiral down into deep dark holes. She was always more irritable on those days, more prone to snapping at whoever was unlucky enough to be around when her edge was reached.

Other days, though, she was at peace. She was able to enjoy simple things and distract herself with work or training. The training was new to her, something she had long known she needed to pick up and had tried to on the grasses. Not very hard, not as hard as she should have, but now she felt like she had a reason outside of herself for doing it. Now she had a bondmate who had decided to become a Nakivak, who was going to bear a child for one of the Akalak when the time came and she was deemed healthy enough.

The pair had not talked much on the subject. Had not talked much on any of the subjects brought up during that first day they had spent together after so much time apart in the days since. Taurina had spoken how she felt about the situation. She was unhappy and even, to a certain extent, angry. She had promised to never abandoned her bondmate, however. She had swore to that and she was not going to break it. Similarly, she had promised to protect the redheaded wolf. Protect from what, Taurina did not really know, but she was going to protect her. It had not taken long for the Drykas to realize she did not know how, had no skills in her arsenal to pull from, and that had scared her. So the training had begun and would continue for as long as she felt she needed.

“He hates it here,” Taurina murmured in her pavi accented common, her accent slowly beginning to fade as her more dominant and known language was used more and more.

Gentle fingers stroked down Starfire’s soft face, lips coming forward and brushing across the space between his nostrils. The Drykas still felt so guilty for bringing him. Seeing him here, how sad he seemed to be, made her heart hurt and her eyes turn away. She had done it. It was her fault. Yet she could not bring herself to say she regretted it. Without him… Without that last tie to home… She was unsure if she would have been able to make it here. If she would have been able to find a reason for living those first several days spent wallowing in her own self pity.

“I’m sorry my zulkina, I am so sorry,” Taurina whispered sweetly in pavi that cracked but remained understandable.

The stallion blew out a warm breath, as if he somehow understood. Taurina stroked his cheek and looked to her bondmate, offering a shadow of a smile. Dusk had already begun and they needed to be approaching home, but the Eth did not feel ready. Did not wish to leave him as she always did. As she always had to. Another thing that tore at her heart.

Usually Taurina came alone to see her beloved Stallion. Somedays she settled the yvas onto his back, gathered his mane in her hands, and rode him across grasses and streets. Some knew who he was, what they were together, but not all. Some gawked at the pretty white stallion whose rider rode like those of the horseclans, not having any idea of the bond that pulsed through them. Starfire was always restless, even during their rides. He wanted more, he wanted to be free. She had always held him back, but here it was more. In Riverfall there were more boundaries, more structure. It was no longer just her fear that dictated their speed, but buildings and people as well. Taurina found even she disliked it.

Alekxandra had asked about Starfire, wanted to know what had happened to him and where he was. Taurina had taken her time with answering. Wondering if the predator’s presence would only cause added stress, but then she had decided that maybe another who was familiar might do the opposite. She was unsure, knowing the pairs relationship had been rocky at best during the summer and that much time had passed since then, but it was worth a shot. It was worth trying. So Taurina had brought her bondmate to the place the other remaining piece of her shattered heart resided.

“We should get going, long walk back and we do not want to be out past nightfall,” Taurina reminded her bondmate, the faded lines of her smile sad.

There was a sigh and a last stroke of Starfire’s face before a lingering kiss was planted in the middle of it. Taurina was reluctant as she pulled away, as her strider seemed to reach for her with his velvet nose. It was always hard saying goodbye. Taurina knew she would come back, was sure he knew it too, but parting would remain bitter for her. After seeing Azmere ride off into the grasses to never return… To leave her heart anywhere but within arm’s reach was difficult. Because, deep down, she feared that like with her ankal, she would wake up to find another piece missing.

Taurina walked away, her steps slow and her gaze low. The stallion called after her, the barrier between them holding firm so he could not come to her. That was the hardest, perhaps, leaving him trapped. Leaving him caged. It did not matter how big a space he had, it was not the grasses, it was not the freedom he had lived his entire life in. Taurina hoped neither of them ever got used to it. She hoped that one day they would go home and he would become just as he had always been, all these barriers forget in a tick.

“Do you think I made a mistake?” the Ethaefal asked her bondmate, her voice low as they began to make their way through the streets towards what had become a sort of home to them, “bringing him here? Coming here at all?”

The caramel gaze rose and fixed on the red head, teeth biting into the flesh of her bottom lip. The guilt and sorrow she felt was shining in those golden eyes, the rest of the world and the things inside of it forgotten. She was not watchful, was not weary, as they meandered through ever darkening streets. Was not careful to look for lights and stay out of the shadows. She should have been, should have known better after so much time here, but emotions had a way of making people forget. Of making what was important not seem to be as important as it truly was.

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

[Alekxandra Winterflame]

Bright eyes watched as lithe fingers stroked the nose of the beast before them. A familiar one, belonging to the woman she was bonded with. Well… belonging was a poor choice of words. Alek did not understand much about the Drykas or even horses for that matter, but the connection Taurina felt to the horse was similar to their own. Starfire must have felt that tether rather deeply himself, given the distance he had traveled with the Ethaefal. She had not just left her home—he had as well. Perhaps he had been willing because he could sense her pain just as she could.

The Eth was correct however in her assessment of the horse. He wasn’t used to being corralled into a small space. The smells of the city were vastly different from the grasslands. The very earth beneath his feet probably felt different. Nothing would ever be the same again for him, for either of them. The Kelvic could empathize those feelings with the horse as well. She understood what it was like to feel chained, though hers were a little more buried within her mind than the physical box the creature was living in. The silver encasing her wrist, while a physical chain to the city, was a choice she had mentally made.

Taurina was probably the only chain in her life she had no regrets having.

Regardless of the bond between the Ethaefal and the horse, it seemed he still held little favor towards her. Alek had asked about the whereabouts of the creature the evening before, mildly surprised when her bondmate stated he had accompanied her to Riverfall. She had been reluctant at first in agreeing to come along, but curiosity had gotten the better of her. She may not have adored Endrykas as Taurina did, but she did miss the grassland from time to time—minus the insects. So the two of them spent their morning apart as usual, before meeting up near the stables to visit the horse.

Alek had tried to approach Starfire, slowly, when they first arrived, but he would have none of it. Not surprising actually, seeing as the two previous times she had met him he had viewed her as a threat. She smelled like a carnivore, sometimes even looked like one. The Kelvic knew better, of course, the horse wouldn’t be a choice for prey given his sheer size compared to hers. Small game was her prey, the horse would easily crush her if she even thought to try anything. He didn’t seem to know that. He had lived his life wary of predators he didn’t know for his own safety. Coming to Riverfall didn’t change that if nothing else it probably made it worse. He was on edge, to begin with, so Alek gracefully chose to keep a distance from his stall and decidedly leaned against a post to simply observe the two of them.

Taurina’s comment about Starfire’s unhappiness went unanswered by her. Alek could feel the regret and guilt boiling through the bond. Agreeing at this point would only reaffirm her bondmate’s emotions and it wasn’t something she needed right now. Instead, the Kelvic tilted and let out a small hum. Horse and rider needed their time together. Alek was content to be silent and observe how the two leaned upon each other. Even if the horse was miserable—on par with Taurina’s own pain—it seemed her touch soothed him. Again much like their own bond, it was a point of connection to cling to. A reminder that while nearly everything in their lives had changed, some things remained intact.

It was her bondmate’s voice of reason that pulled the wolf from her musing. She was correct of course. The city, for all its beauty, was entirely too dangerous as night fell. The rumors of shadows ruling the darkness was something she hadn’t seen for herself just yet, and it wasn’t something she was actually keen on seeing either. With a grunt, the redhead pushed herself from the wall. The Eth moved away, and the horse practically keened in an attempt to call her back. The was emotions filtering through their bond she wasn’t used to, emotions she didn’t have words for. The only thing the girl knew was she needed to ease them. Alek hesitated a moment, glancing at the horse once more.

“You know this means we’re really going to need to get along.” Whether the beast understood her the wolf had no idea. Only Taurina seemed to understand how its’ mind worked. Turning on her heel the Kelvic took longer strides to catch up with her bondmate, quickly falling into pace with her. The questions caught her off guard, however. Her earlier silence hadn’t paid off like she had first thought. Her lips pursed as she went over the multitude of ways she could answer.

“Honestly? I don’t really know.” The girl shrugged her shoulders and let out a deep sigh. “I mean there are the obvious answers to that question but… he doesn’t seem like the type of animal that would have just let you whisk him away against his will. You didn’t drag him here. When you take him out he has every chance to throw you off and return.” Alek let her eyes drift to her bondmate with a small smile. “He may not be happy, but he’s willing to remain to stay with you.” In her usual habit, the Kelvic pulled her hands behind her back, her right hand holding her left wrist to pull her spine straight. The guilt weighing down their bond was practically tangible. Alek was sure she couldn’t fully relieve Taurina of it.

“He…” Her train of thought trailed off, as her eyes caught movement just behind the Eth. It was a sporadic momentary flash, as though her eyes caught sight of someone only to find nothing there. Her feet hesitated as scanned the area more thoroughly, only to find the darker corner completely still. Unease grew in the pit of her stomach regardless as her blue eyes flit back to Taurina. Shaking her head she cleared her throat. “What was I saying?” It took several ticks before her mind returned to the horse and her bondmate’s previous question. Was it the wrong choice to come?

“Whether or not the choice was right doesn’t matter now. It’s been made and there isn’t any taking it back. I mean I suppose you could go back, but the effect is still the same. It’s changed everything—or maybe nothing. I’m not sure how your family will have taken this disappearance. I know my mother and brother would have been furious.” The mention of her family only caused a dull ache to spread in her chest, instead of the furious pain that often accompanied them. The idea that maybe it wasn’t so comforting to Taurina, however, to bring up either of their families and their likely outcome of emotions came much too late.

“Sorry, I’m not much good at this.” She waved at the empty space between them. “You’d think it would be easier, trying to soothe someone’s fears.”

It was much too late to have noticed the second time. That the path they had been venturing on was growing ever darker. What had been brightly lit by Syna was no longer. The shadows stretched around them. The instinctive movement of the Kelvic’s hand reaching out to snatch the closest upper arm of the Eth took no hesitation. Before the two of them wasn’t just any shadow. The shape seemed to swallow everything around it, giving nothing back. It stretched across the path close to the ground, no taller than a dog though it seemed to have no definite shape that she could make out. It would have been easy to step into the twisting blackness. But it hadn’t been her eyes—at first—that had caught the attention of the shadow, but the tiniest of words caught by her ears. Nothing clearly spoken... more like the muttering of words behind a closed door. Far away and directly in her ear at the same time.

It almost seemed as if the whispers came from all angles… maybe they were. Part of the Kelvic had wished for her full canine ears, they would have picked up on the whispering much sooner. Or so she thought. Because just as her eyes had taken in the first shadow, a shifting emptiness to the left told her there wasn’t just the one in front of them. They had been too caught up in their own problems to realize…

They were being hunted.

“Rina I think we have a problem.” The words came out in a hushed breath as the wolf pressed herself into her bondmate’s side. It was both an act of comfort and an attempt to keep her close. She wasn’t a fighter, especially when it came to something like this, but it wouldn’t stop her from at least trying. The panic rising in her chest was causing her breath to labor, the only outward sign that she really didn’t know what to do.

Common | Vani | Pavi

[Taurina]

The city was silent around them as their footsteps echoed against the earth. The Ethaefal did not even notice. Did not care. She heard Alekxandra talking beside her. The words she spoke were many in number, her tone fluctuating with each one, spoken in the common tongue they shared. Taurina heard the words, but she did not absorb them. She knew what was being spoken was meant to reassure her; to let her know that things were going to be alright. She felt that through the bond. That need to bring relief to the guilt that weighed so heavy. That her bondmate even felt that need… just another thing to feel guilty about.

It was hesitancy, a sudden uncertainty settling in the pit of the bond, that drug Taurina from her spiraling mind. Her molten gaze looked to Alek and watched in confusion as the wolf in human form took in their surroundings. Had she seen something? The Drykas gaze followed, seeing nothing but the setting sun and the shadows that grew because of it. They had staid too late. They needed to get home. Taurina blew out a breath. ’Foolish. Foolish. Foolish.’

“Alek…” Taurina started before her voice trailed off and the Kelvic picked up where she had left off.

The Ethaefal sighed a heavy sigh and kept walking, plowing for home. She made herself listen a little closer now. Focus on the words her bondmate said. Focus on the sound of vacancy that filled the city. Were they really running so late that all others were locked away in whatever safety their homes could provide? A slow panic began its steady rise.

“Not my family,” Taurina snapped suddenly, “I do not want to talk about them now.”

There was a dull ache seeping into the bond. An ache that calmed the crashing waves that threatened to drown the Drykas when Alek mentioned their families. The molten gaze snapped up, locked on the redhead’s own. She understood that ache. She knew Alek had loved and lost her family too. It was one of the few things they shared, that they could really understand about each other. Yet, this day was not a day Taurina wanted to discuss her family. It was not a day she wanted to remember them. Not when she could still hear Starfire’s distressed calls at her leaving him lingering in her ears. She shook her head and looked down to the ground, nervously clasping and unclasping her hands.

“Do not be sorry,” Taurina murmured truthfully after a tick of silence, “I should be sorry. I just…”

Taurina blew out a breath, her own uncertainty beginning to settle. Words did not wish to form; yet emotions raged in spirals of chaos.

“I am no good at any of it either.”

The Ethaefal cast her gaze to the ground. In shame, in guilt, in not having anything better to say. She blew out a breath. When did communicating become so hard? Always, was the answer to that question. It had always been this hard. Taurina squeezed her eyed shut and rubbed a hand over face. A sudden panic filled the bond. A sudden fear that caused a need for flight. Taurina opened her eyes and settled her gaze on her bondmate.

“Alek? What is it?” she asked just before the woman took hold of her.

Was it to protect her? To find safety in her? Taurina was unsure. Especially since she was not yet any great protector. The Eth looked both confused and concerned as she studied the panicked lines of her bondmate’s face. She followed the Kelvic’s gaze, looking to see what she saw so that she might understand what was scaring Alek so much. When she saw what it was… Taurina froze. All the other stuff, the emotions and wonderings about Starfire were chased away. The shadows were not just lurking anymore.

She knew it for what it was because it moved. Because it grew and shifted and molded itself. Shadows cast by light did not do that. They did not change because they were not animate. These were though. Somehow whatever plagued Riverfall was sentient except in that it was not. It was a nightmare. Except that it was not. This was… this was… Taurina could hear the blood pounding through her veins.

“Alek we… We need to run..” Taurina whispered as fear tightened its grip around her heart.

There were whisperings in the air that crackled like sparks of flame. Taurina could not make out what they said, but she could tell that they were getting louder. She pressed herself into Alekxandra’s hold on her arm.

“Path.. we need a path. No shadows. Find light.” Taurina managed, her molten gaze searching frantic.

The shadows were building on each other. Standing taller and three dimensional rather than just shapes on the ground. Taurina took a step back, dragging Alek with her. She refused to allow either of them to be taken today. She refused to allow these horrors to bring their end. The Akalak at the gates when she entered had told her fire and light were the only things that worked against them. Fire and Light. Fire and Light.

“… Taurina …” The voice was almost singsong as it reached out towards her like a snake trying to hypnotize its prey. “… Come here little Drykas … We want to play with you…”

The molten gaze looked towards those building shadows. Looked towards the shape they had made. It was a man standing before her. No face, no real body, just an inky shape of darkness, but she knew that man. That man ruled her heart. Her heart that ached even amongst the panic. Did they know? Or was it her own mind that created what she saw? Her own mind that took that shadowy mass and saw what she wanted to see because she saw him in everything?

Taurina shook her head. She shook her head and took another step back. She shook Alek’s grip from her arm and took her hand instead. The molten gaze glanced behind them to find a narrow path still lit by lamplight. Taurina gave Alekxandra’s hand a squeeze and then, without warning, she pulled at her.

“RUN!” she demanded, letting go of Alek before twisting her body and heading back the way they came as fast as her legs would carry her.

Darkness was creeping, shadows threatening, but Taurina kept running. She refused to be taken today. Refused to let Alek be taken today.

“Light. Light. Light.” Her voice was breathy, panting. “We must find light.”

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'

[Alekxandra Winterflame]

Alek considered it a great testament of strength when she managed to keep her mouth firmly shut as her bondmate fairly snapped in her direction. The family was a sore spot for the both of them, but sometimes the Kelvic tired of avoiding the subject. Her wounds were, of course, older but she was sure none of them would ever truly fade. Like raised scars that echoed through her soul. At times she wanted nothing more than to tell someone what her brother was like, or how her mother would tend to every insult her sisters would throw at her. It might have been time however that gave her such an insight. Not speaking of her family didn’t make things easier. They just hung in her past like ghosts whispering through the wind.

As quickly as Taurina snapped she backtracked just as suddenly. Both of them were still trying to accustom themselves to being so closely linked while knowing next to nothing of the other. Both of them were afraid to trapeze over lines clearly lined in the so-called sand, but the wolf was beginning to realize one of them would eventually have to cross those lines or they’d remain strangers despite the bond. If neither of them was willing to leave, they would just have to learn how to jump into the deep end. It was something to file away for another day, especially given her bondmate was flitting through emotions so quickly it was impossible to tamp one down and decipher what it might mean.

The shadows also made quick work of any sort of planning.

It didn’t take long for her Eth to spot just what had halted their advance. They hissed and grew in number—or maybe they had all been there before. There were words floating in the nothingness, something akin to words. The wolf’s hearing was better than most but no matter how she strained she couldn’t make anything out until one shadow seemingly targeted the Ethaefal. The shape looked nearly human as it stepped forward, whispering enticingly towards her bondmate.

The growl buried in her chest nearly made her throat ache. It would have been far more menacing in her wolf form, but her gritted teeth made for an exceptional human one. The voice set Taurina into a panic and the Eth let go. For a tick, Alek felt abandoned as she lost her grip on the one tie left in her life, but was equally saved as the grip on her hand appeared. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could hear Taurina yell for her to run, but it fell back as a shadow shifted to her left. Nearly close enough to touch and towering over the both of them.

”Whatever are you doing down here Foxy?” The tall one cooed in a deep voice. Not one of her brother, but with enough inflection to tell her otherwise. If it hadn’t been for Taurina’s inertia pulling her hand in the direction they came from, she might have hesitated long enough for the shadow to reach out and snatch her. The Kelvic shifted barely in time to catch herself, stumbling along behind her bondmate with only their fingers tightly clenched together between them.

As the words slowly faded from the Kelvic’s mind, others filtered through her ears. Taurina was repeating the same word over and over. Light. Slowly the rumors that had been floating around the city returned to her. The shadows only withered in the light. The torch lit before them felt like a mile away though, especially as she tried to keep up. Running in her human form was clumsy, nowhere near as easy with four legs and a tail for added balance. She wouldn’t have time to shift however and letting go of Taurina just to get ahead wasn’t an option either. Her lungs were already beginning to burn with the exertion she wasn’t used to.

It didn’t help that the Kelvic wasn’t sure one could really outrun shadows. Her mind might have been playing tricks on her—or maybe it was the shadows—but she swore she felt the edges of her dress tugged behind her as they fled. Felt the darkness grow around them and the hissing louder than her heartbeat filling her ears.

And yet they made it… just barely.

The wolf pulled herself sharply to a stop just beneath the lantern that had been wavering in the darkness like a beacon. Somehow in the distance, it had seemed much larger, the span the light reached. Beneath it the Kelvic felt as if she was much too large, even being pressed up against the Eth as closely as she could. Shadows pressed around the edge of the light as best they could, but for the moment it seemed to keep them at bay.

Unfortunately, it seemed as though the rest of the lanterns along the pathway were quite spread out. Several of them dangled unlit—making the distance between them even more perilous. The Kelvic panted desperately in an attempt to catch her breath. The shadows filled the alley they had just come from, looking more like a solid mass of black mist rather than the shapes they had appeared to have been before. Alek heard nothing of her brother, just the endless hissed chant.

”Join us. Come with us.”

“We’re stuck.” The redhead stood to her full height as the pain in her ribs began to fade slowly. They had two choices as far as she could tell. Remain where they were and hope the lantern held out until the Akalak got the others lit, or make another run. The longer they waited the more likely their only path would fill with shadows and make running out of the question as well. “Do we run… or stay put?”

The question hung in the air before the Kelvic glanced upward to the lantern overhead. It was just out of her reach, but if they could snag it perhaps they could take it with them? It couldn’t be all that difficult as the Akalak had to relight them often… or at least she was fairly sure they did. “Or do you think we could reach that?”

Common | Vani | Pavi

[Taurina]

Fear clawed at Taurina’s heart as feet slammed against the ground and breath caught in her throat. There was no where to go, no where to turn. All she could see before them was darkness and a narrowing path of light with edges frayed by the building enemy. The Ethaefal was frantic in her search for light. The stable would have light, but it was too far. They would never outrun something that did not need legs to move.

Never before had she wished her magic spoke in blazes of fire rather than streams of water or rocks of earth. She did now though. She wished for the ability to create light and with it, the ability to cast out fear as shadows were made scarce. Such things were beyond her knowledge. Such magic was not yet attainable to the just competent mage.

“Light. Light.” The word thrummed in Taurina’s throat as her heart pounded wildly in her chest. “We. Need. Light.”

Alekxandra figured out the solution first, the Drykas stumbling two steps behind, and pulled them towards a rim of safety. The halo of light surrounding the lamppost created maybe a couple of feet the shadows could not touch in Syna’s fading light. It was not much, but it provided a moment to take pause and breathe. A moment to come up with a plan.

“Alek, you alright?” Taurina asked through panted breaths.

The Drykas hugged her small body to the lamppost with one arm and wrapped the other around her bondmate. She held both with a tight and locked grip, as if not even the gods could force her to let go. She almost dared them to try. The caramel gaze lifted to the sky to find Syna’s light quickly fading. Too quick for comfort. Soon her body would change and while that was not a problem, night was when the shadows really liked to play.

The chanting hummed low in the air as shadows came together and slowly closed in around the scared bondmates. Taurina caved inward as their whispers brushed against her ears in a continuous stream of false promise and constant request, trying in vain to somehow hide from them. The Ethaefal was lost on what to do, how to get away. She had promised herself that this was not a problem she was going to run into. That she would be smart enough to stay out of the streets come nightfall. The problem with such a plan was that life and monsters were not always so predictable.

“We need to get away from them. We need to get home,” Taurina whimpered out as a fear made tremor shook through her bones.

Alekxandra was talking, pointing out how very stuck they were before asking if they should run or try and come up with a plan. She pointed out the lantern full of light hanging above them, musing after whether or not they could reach it. The Drykas rose her gaze from where it had fixed on the edge of their circle of light to the lantern hanging in the sky. It was not one that had been melded to the lamp post, but instead hung from a hook. There were two, one on each side and Taurina thought that maybe they could get one. Hold it out in front of them to scatter shadows as they made their way to some place better lit. Or use the fire within it to somehow create something bigger and destroy the shadows that surrounded them.

“Fire is the only way to destroy them I think,” Taurina said softly, lowering her gaze to her bondmate, “we can get it, but we are going to need more height.”

Taurina gnawed on her lower lip as she looked at the Kelvic then to the lantern then down at herself and back to Alek again. The lanterns were high up, hanging even taller than the Akalak’s who lived in this fine city. Alek was taller than her, but she was taller in her ethereal form. Alone neither would be able to reach, but together perhaps. If they stack themselves up and reached, hopefully having enough strength to lift the object of metal and fire and glass, and enough balance to get it safely to the ground where they could use it.

“I have a plan. Probably a stupid one.” The Drykas took charge as her grip tightened just slightly. “I stand on your shoulders and get it then pass it down to you. Maybe we can use the fire to create something bigger, get rid of them all, or just get out of here. We will figure that out after we get it down here.”

Taurina released the lamppost, but kept her body pressed tight against it and did not release Alek. She reached down to her feet and began to pull off her shoes, thinking it would help her stand on the Kelvic’s shoulders easier if her feet were bare. Probably help her balance as well. Her caramel gaze rose back to the sky to gauge where Syna was, how longer they had before her shift. It would not be long, Syna was low, at this rate she would shift in the middle of her plan. Fingers froze around the worn leather of her boot.

“Never mind,” Taurina spoke soft, shaking her head, “change the plan. You get on my shoulders. Ten chimes, maybe fifteen I’ll shift. You get on my shoulders. We’ll be taller. Take your shoes off.”

The Ethaefal let go of the Kelvic and pulled her own boots back on. She held onto the lamppost and stroked her fingertips down the bumpy metal. There was nothing to hold onto, nothing to grab should Alek fall except for Taurina herself. They needed to be careful. They needed to be sure that they did not just push themselves into the shadows’ grip instead of finding a way to stay out of it.

Time seemed to pass slow as Taurina watched Syna finish her descent. For a handful of ticks time froze as the Ethaefal’s skin turned opalescent and her body took on its ethereal form. She stood tall, beautiful, sturdy, like a statue with ebony horns dipped in violet crowning her head on either side. Her indigo gaze settled down on her bondmate and she nodded once before kneeling low so the wolf could climb on.

“Work fast, work careful. We’ll be alright,” the Ethaefal encouraged, her voice steady and sure despite the sharp talons of fear squeezing around her heart.

Common | Pavi | 'Thoughts'