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[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

55th Fall 512AV

Mornings were used to bring some context to the beginning of his day. Some sipped tea to shake off sleep from their bones, others read or maybe sat by a warm fire; Serrif however preferred quite the opposite. His body demanded action first thing in the day; he wanted to feel his blood pumping through his veins. Feel his heart racing as the cool morning air whipped away his heat. Hear the ocean’s lull in his ears…That was what woke him up. And the fact that he had made this a kind of daily occurrence only helped him expect it every start. The sea calmed him and washed away any ill feelings with it…medicinal. It was all very medicinal.

His rhythm was steady, footfall after footfall on sandy beach line. The sand was unpacked some where he was running so it made his feet a little muffled as they hit, making his effort a little more to keep his footing nice and steady. Sometimes it was indeed a good amount of effort to keep his ankle from getting twisted. He had to keep his pace steady though else he loses his drive and rhythm. He would every now and then avoid places on the beach in his line of vision; there were places of very uneven sand that sometimes contained hidden rocks or the like. Such things he tried to avoid when he could.

Footfall after footfall his body was carried up the beach; it was in these moments that his awareness usually came to from the sleep he did get during the night. It was now that his mind seemingly switched on and he began to see things. Something about his heart beating firmly in his chest seemed to trigger this in him. Most would call this feeling unpleasant; but serif knew that sometimes unpleasant pain was needed to shake the body into where it needed to be. And these morning runs were almost some kind of ritual to him now. Sometimes he could see the footprints from the previous morning; which brought a smile to his face.

He continued until his legs grew tired, then continued a little more pressing his ability to continue further. Only through trial did one fully understand what the body was capable of. He brought himself to a sweating panting mess looking out over the ocean…he felt odd though. He turned and looked around some, nothing to him seemed out of the ordinary on first glance. But yet he still felt…like he was being watched. Was it a Glassbeak hiding somewhere? He began to look a little harder out over the terrain. His acute vision would catch one likely if it were hiding out there. All this time though he was looking at ground level…when he should’ve been looking up.

[Dust]

Dust rose early in the mornings, often well before Syna rose above the horizon -- particularly in the later seasons of the year, as days grew shorter and cooler. Some days, she dawdled about until whenever she felt like getting up... but those days were rare. Most of the time, she went out looking for something to do. In this city, it seemed like the blue-skinned men were also early risers; the white raven had flown above several as she surveyed the city and the shoreline. She had left the city behind soon enough, its streets still mostly too quiet to intrigue her; while the Akalaks were awake and active, they were largely absorbed in weapons practice of one sort or another, none of which piqued her curiosity today. The forest birds were wide awake, of course, when she flew out over the woods; Dust could hear them chirping amidst the fading foliage, unconcerned by the raven's passage. The shorebirds were also active, and she slipped down to become just one more whitish bird floating on the sea breeze -- if one distinctly different in conformation from the gulls which made up most of those numbers. It wasn't nesting season anymore; lacking any eggs the raven might steal, they tolerated her presence. She appreciated the way the wind tickled through her feathers, breathing in the tastes of salt and shore. The cliffs to one side blocked her view, unless she chose to climb higher, but Dust could see the length of the shore curving along at their feet, and the gray swells of the sea stretching to the horizon on the other side. A few birds bobbed on its surface -- a scattering of gulls close to the shore, some darker-feathered and less familiar ones further out. Other birds scuttled around on the shore -- gulls, of course, but also pipers and sanderlings, poking around the mudflats for their own breakfasts. Then there was the man. He was the only waking creature she could see that wasn't another bird, running a constant line down the shore, somewhat above the lapping waves. He didn't seem to be running from something, and she wasn't sure that he was running to anything either -- though she couldn't be sure he wasn't. The white raven angled her wings down and gradually descended, adjusting course to come in behind the runner. Though she didn't descend entirely down to his level, but mirrored his course from above. The sea wind now blew crosswise to her flight, making it a challenge to stay right on; Dust found amusement in this, and entertainment (for the moment) in the continual effort to correct her course. She also found amusement in the way he looked all around, scanning left and right and all the way behind. She had no idea what he was looking for, but chortled as her own scan of the surroundings revealed exactly nothing else there. Silly person, worried about nothing.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

The thumping of his heart in his throat could be heard in his ears as well, he had pushed himself pretty hard. Ta-thump….tha-thump….tha-thump He could almost feel his heart rate in the palms of his hands. He swore that it felt like he was literally holding his beating heart in his hands. The erratic rhythmic pulse could be felt through his entire body. Yes, he was getting somewhere….

With the cool breeze whisking the heat from his skin he took a few swallows of the salty morning air and let his heart calm down some before he would take off again to do some more running down the beach. It was always beautiful in the mornings along the beach line. It felt like renewal to him. The starting of a fresh new day. It seemed even the birds were joining him this fine morning.

His emerald eyes gazed up to see what was with him this morning…and something peculiar stuck out. There was one bird that was slightly different in build from all the rest. Not a seagull…no…not a standard beach going bird either. He hadn’t seen a bird like this one before. But then again he didn’t know that much about birds either. If Raiha were here she would be able to tell him exactly what bird it was. But he knew from his usual runs that this bird was not typical for this beach.

He smiled. “Well aren’t you unusual?” He said as he made measured breaths to sooth his pumping heart. He stretched some with his hands laced together behind his head and his arms up.

He found that this helped him breathe more and opened up his ribcage to breath a little better. He continued observing that bird up in the sky. Was it a Raven or a Crow? He didn’t know enough about birds to know though. He should’ve taken some knowledge from the Raptor keeper while she was here. Well what was done was done nothing he could do about it now. The white bird seemed to be following him, struggling against the wind as he ran down the beach. Interesting…birds usually didn’t do that.

He knew nothing about birds nor falconry, and was fighting the urge to do something that could be taken as foolish. He wanted to perch out his arm like a tree branch and whistle to see if he could get the bird to land on it. But would it? Likely not. Was he literally insane? He laughed at the idea. He knew nothing of falconry so such an attempt would likely prove futile if not dangerous.

After weighing everything in his mind he came up with one conclusion…What did he have to lose honestly?

Nothing

He made eye contact with the bird and extended his right arm out at a 140 degree angle in front of him. Forming a perch for the bird; his hand made a fist and he set out a whistle to the bird. He waited to see what the animal would do. He had seen Raiha do similar things with her raptors, only they were trained to do so…and this random bird was not. But for some reason he had an idea in his head that this bird was interested in him. It behaved different tailing him and watching…it seemed different than the others. More aware…more intelligent.

[Dust]

The man stopped, and stared up at her, his expression thoughtful and, she judged, curious. Dust wondered if he was one of Kavala's people, since this was Kavala's beach -- or so she thought of it. The raven couldn't hover, as he stood and regarded her, so she swept on past the man and banked back around, lofting up on the wind as she did so. When she completed the circuit and came into view of him again, he remained in place -- but now with one arm upstretched and a summoning whistle, an invitation she had sometimes witnessed caravaners give their birds. Did he think she was a pet? Dust considered this as she made another pass around the man, remaining moderately high and wide, head cocked to this time keep one blue eye on him through every angle. The hunters with the caravans hadn't considered their birds pets, she recalled. So maybe he didn't. And he was here on the beach below the fortress, where Kavala and Tasival had been -- so the white raven thought she might give him the benefit of the doubt. She thought she could manage to fly away before he -- with no evident things except the close he wore -- could try anything tricky. So on her second loop, Dust flattened her wings and glided down, backwinging to land on his upraised fist. She wasn't used to landing on fragile skin, and her claws tightened harder than they might have otherwise before the bird quite remembered what she was about and eased her grip. But she wasn't a raptor, and didn't have a raptor's talons, a lack the man surely had cause now to appreciate. The raven tipped her head, peering down with one blue eye at his hand, then lifted her head to peer curiously into his face. She whistled at him, an upward-inflected sound suggesting a question.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

The mystery bird circled some as if it were trying to feel him out. He meant it no harm and well figured that it would likely not know he wanted it to land on his arm. I mean who could blame it? He wasn’t exactly trained at all in the art of falconry. Although would the same rules really apply here? The white ghostly bird that was following him wasn’t exactly a raptor. He really didn’t know and with Raiha gone he had no way of knowing. So he shrugged and just about when he was going to give up and continue his run the bird made a low pass and landed on his arm.

No, it couldn’t be that easy…it just couldn’t. The bird landed and then adjusted herself on his fist. Amazing…he was honestly stunned. He brought the bird down slowly so it could adjust to the shifting platform so that one of her feet was on his hand and the other around his large wrist. There it was looking at him straight in the eyes. A larger bird than he had ever seen this close before. She wasn’t a bird of prey, but at the same time she was quite large. Well for him anyway. He had never seen a bird this close. He smiled and didn’t even wince when she dug her feet in to get a good hold on him.

Keeping his arm steady he looked her over. “Beautiful…” He commented this was a rare bird indeed; and even with the few he had seen this one was very different and striking.

But something wasn’t quite right here. And he couldn’t put a finger on it at first. Why would a random bird land on his hand? He had no training in falconry at all…and yet he seemed to have pricked this bird’s interest. So much so that it had against all better judgment landed on his hand to inspect him. He got the feeling that it was looking him over with those inquisitive blue eyes. There was indeed a great deal of inquiry and intelligence behind those blue gems.

Blue? That raised another important question, had he ever seen a bird with blue eyes before now? He tried to remember all of Raiha’s raptors and such and to his knowledge none of them had blue eyes…none. But then again none of them were white birds of this species either; so it may be common for this type of bird to have blue eyes…maybe.

He now recounted her whistle and it hit him. Could this bird be Kelvic? Its actions were not normal of any kind of bird he had ever seen. And its intellect seemed to be greater than any normal bird; and it seemed to be driven by questions that it wanted answered. Any normal bird would’ve written him off entirely for fear of danger. However this one almost saw him as a challenge. And decided to give him the benefit of the doubt per say.

With a smile he nodded. “Well, I am Serrif…if you were asking.” He was unsure if she was Kelvic or not. But her next few actions would tell him everything he wanted to know likely. He would watch her intently trying to decide what and maybe even who she was.

[Dust]

He held his arm quite steady, all things considered, though the raven did feel a need to partly extend her wings for balance as he brought it -- and her -- down for a closer look. She turned her head to fix one eye on his arm as it moved, but gave the impression of being not too concerned. When he continued to just study her, his expression pensive and musing, Dust began feeling more confident in this encounter. The raven lifted her head up as he spoke, beak pointing at an angle up over his head, and considered him in return. Serrif had been one of the mentioned, that other day on the beach. She remembered the name. Serrif, evidently, liked to run. And to talk to birds, which would have been another positive mark in Dust's book if she kept any such thing. The pale-feathered bird chirped at the man, then -- in another moment's whimsy -- half-spread her wings and bobbed her head, as if acknowledging his introduction with a bow of sorts. Then she gathered herself and leapt up from his fist, the wind from her beating wings ruffling his hair and clothing; the stiff feathers brushed a couple of times against arm and ear, but no more than that. But she didn't make to leave in her flight; the raven flew a few feet up and a few feet out, then swung around to loop in a circle around his position. Throughout, Dust watched the man curiously, wondering if he would continue on his run, or decide to talk more -- or do something else entirely which she couldn't predict. She made just one complete circuit, then glided down to the sand and landed a short distance away, cocking her head and regarding him with that same curious interest.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

This was becoming very interesting for Serrif, the bird perched on his fist was indeed very beautiful…and suspiciously intelligent. He didn’t know any bird that would behave this way; not even any of the raptors that Raiha worked with. No, there was something else different about this ghostly figure. Something…but he wasn’t about ready to declare it a Kelvic yet. All this could be nothing more than coincidence; stranger things had happened and as far as he knew Kelvics weren’t as common as non Kelvic animals. And just because this bird was special didn’t mean it was a Kalvic; it’s behavior could be standard for its species. And the only person that would know this for sure was Raiha…who left.

This bird pricked his interest, and as it examined him he got the feeling that there was indeed a very good level of intelligence and curiosity behind those eyes. He had no experience in such handlings of birds, and this one was proving to be very easy to handle; almost like it knew to be careful. Its grip was enough to keep it on his arm, but not overly nervous as to grip him tight and cause him to be uncomfortable. Almost like the bird was very much aware of itself in relation to him. Another suspicious activity to him; then he got even more confirmation that indeed tied it all off in his book. It spread its wings and seemingly bowed to him…he had never known a bird to do that. No, that was a human movement something not picked up easily in nature. He had come to a conclusion that this bird was likely a Kelvic. Yes, that explanation was beginning to make sense to him.

The bird produced a few beats from its wings and brushed his face only twice with its long white feathers. An experience that was neither pleasant or unpleasant as the bird took off again. He watched and it circled him again. Keeping a tight low circle, an almost predatory circle like it was still interested in him. Did it want him to continue in his run? It did seem like it to him. So he hated to keep the ghost waiting. But would it follow? He didn’t know for sure but it did seem like it would.

He set off again on a run down the beach, not sure if the bird would tag along like a silent drifting ghost behind him or not. Whatever the case it was the birds choice to do as it wanted. He wouldn’t blame it for leaving and doing something else. There were indeed far more interesting things to do this fine morning. However he chose to spend his mornings getting his blood pumping through his body. It was liberating to feel this alive. Testing the body to find out just where your limits laid. Then watch as those limits continued to expand little by little to where was previously impossible to reach.

[Dust]

The man took off running again, small sprays of sand kicked up by his feet. Dust quorked once and leapt back up from the beach herself, leaving just two angular footprints in the sand as testimony to her presence. She climbed up into the sea breeze first, wings beating strongly against the air. Serrif jogged down the beach while she worked for height, but the white raven wasn't worried about the lead so obtained; it was easily remedied, given enough starting height. So she climbed a bit more. Then the white raven angled her wings and glided down towards the man, overtaking his progress and swooping past on his left, about arm's reach distant from his shoulder. Dust chortled at him, then beat her wings and pulled a bit ahead, alternately gliding and flapping to maintain more or less equal speed. She didn't need to leave him behind -- but wherever he was going, he wouldn't get there first! Though that plan worked better when she knew the destination. Still, Dust was entertained; the rest was just details.

[Serrif Von Chatlyn]

He found that this morning run was indeed turning into a very interesting start. He met a very interesting kelvic white raven; or the possibility of the bird just being very intelligent still sat in his mind. And it seemed that they were now playing a game of some kind. One that the raven was indeed winning, but Serrif didn’t mind. He found it interesting to find such a playful bird. All of Raiha’s birds were predators and it was nice to meet one that was not as task oriented bird. No, this raven seemed much more free than any of the raptors he had seen in the past.

The bird swooped over his left side an arms length away and then gained good ground in front of him. That brought a smile to his face and he began to think about what it may be like to be able to fly. There was a good amount of freedom in flight. You could go wherever you wanted as long as you had the drive to continue onward and upward. It had to be easier and likely less deadly than walking across the ground. Sure you were more visible, but there seemed to be more advantages. For instance you were far more maneuverable and could move much faster than anything on the ground.

The ghost kept a good pace in front of him almost as if it wanted to stay there but didn’t want to go too far, after all she really didn’t have any idea where they were going. But if she looked around she would be able tot tell soon enough. There in the sand were his prints from the morning before. He was following them down the beach, somehow they hadn’t been washed away just yet. Likely out of luck more than anything else.

They would continue down the beach and then stop for a breather at a piece of driftwood he had pounded into the sand upright, as a marker. That told him how far to go and if he wanted he could stretch himself a little farther. The raven however seemed content with being out front more than anything. Which he didn’t mind all that much, it seemed intelligent and would likely detect anything out of the ordinary before he would. Which was an added benefit of following her around.

He still didn’t know the gender of this Kelvic, but that really didn’t matter to him, he was having such a good time chasing her down the beach. He had to pick up his pace because the bird was moving at a somewhat quick pace. This stretched him a little but he didn’t mind it was all in the name of fun. And it seemed meeting this bird had called up a child in him; that competitive spirit to try and get out in front of her. Although that likely would not happen at all. The bird was so much quicker than he was. And far more maneuverable. She would beat him to wherever they were going, and in all honesty he didn’t mind at all.

[Dust]

Dust glanced back often to check on the runner's position behind her, making sure he didn't turn away on another track when she wasn't looking. He didn't, and she soon realized that he was following a line in the sand -- a row of footprints. As she looked down the beach, they seemed to run up to a stick stuck into the ground; maybe that was what he was running towards. She was distracted from that consideration by Serrif's intrusion into her field of view; he surged forward, running faster, clearly taking up the challenge implicit in her lead. The raven cawed once and applied herself more strongly to forward motion. She had the distinct advantage of not needing to fight against the sand, among others; Dust regained the ground she had lost to him, and edged forward again. As they approached the stick which jutted up out of the sand, the raven brought her wings in and swooped down to land upon its apex, turning about to face Serrif. She tilted her head and cawed at him again, a series of clipped sounds which bore some suggestive resemblance to human laughter. Then the pale-feathered bird shook herself, before holding her head up in a posture that human sentiments might interpret as smug.