Flashback Deadly Dolphin Game

[Una Tanta]

30th of Summer 504 AV Sliding through the water easily Una stretched out on her back undulating her body as she moved through the web of coral. She was built for this. Her mother and father had the legs of fast long distance swimmers but Una's legs were short, her waist long, giving her amble flexibility they didn't share. She wove slowly around the living rock watching the anemones tickle her legs and stomach reacting to her touch as if she were food. Every part of the ocean was alive, so unlike the dead space of land. Recently, when her parents brought her to the market in Thunder Bay she was awestruck by the death. The ground was only alive with insects and grass, the air was dead except for the great Wind Eagles. Down here though there were not the smells and cacophonous music of the land there was life in the very water that moved across her every limb. She moved away from the reef to marvel at it and closing her eyes watched her fingertips glow in her minds eye. Spreading like a blanket over the reef it carved out more holes. She was careful this time, last time she had made too many and the whole shelf had collapsed. This time she gently pushed the growth apart creating a scaffold of energy for the coral to weave it's growth around. She didn't have the skill of her mother and father, she couldn't command the coral to grow a certain way she could only create boundaries and holes at the moment. She had meant to focus on the task at hand. Focus was what her parents preached whenever she began working on a project she inevitably left unfinished but a tangle of seahorses swept past her face dragging her attention away. Tossing herself after them she slid near the surface of the water Syna creating her silhouette above them. Like most Charoda she lacked focus at so young an age and even the seahorses were not enough to hold her attention for long when a mob of sparkling silver fish swam by. Their fins touched her nose making her sneeze, propelled backward by the sneeze Una couldn't resists laughing and switched courses. Buzzing after the family that wove through the seagrass together she marveled at their formation. Even more graceful than the flock of Eagles that charged overhead at times they shifted and moved with hardly a gesture. Una knew it was easy to get caught in nets when she was distracted and kept one eye alert for the almost invisible twinkle of rope the fisherman used. But a child can only focus for so long and soon she was swept up into a tumultuous group of fish, herded together by less friendly water fiends. The creatures swarmed around their sides and then slowly pushed from underneath until the fish were tossing themselves into the air to get away. The crashing of thousands of fish slapping against the water surface made Una wince. Moving among the fish Una calmly looked about for an escape. Calmly until that is she saw the teeth. The monsters of the sea moved like a net around the fish their teeth gleaming. Shrieking, Una struggled away from the creatures herded toward the top like the fish were the devious dolphins launched themselves into the air, seeming to laugh as they caught the fish midair. Their game terrified Una.

[Edric Wingard]

The sun shone brightly, its luminous rays dispersing the unfriendly shadows of darkness. They were ambitious, the little fledgling noticed, watching as they slowly but surely attempted to monopolize every nook and cranny that was within their reach. It was an uplifting sight for the bird as each glimpse of sunlight assured him that the skies were beaming and ready to accept his dancing. Glancing sideways at the bustling forms of his father and his bond mate, he took a moment to watch as they worked in seamless unison within their workshop. It was not an uncommon sight for Edric to be seen in the shop sitting on a stool, his elbows pressed against the counter as he dreamed of the world beyond his eyes. Like his mother, he craved open air and only wished that he could explore it like she could.

Alas though, as he was a sacred animal of the Inarta that instinctively enjoyed living with his colony, the little rapture’s dreams were not to be. It was a bitter concept for a child to know that no matter what they did, they would never achieve their goals, but it had been a pill swallowed long ago. Somehow he would find a compromise within himself in order to live happily in his own skin. Until then though, the little boy dreamed, his face lifted towards the sky and heart soaring. Dreamily, he reached a hand forward to play with the glass chimes that were reflecting the sun’s rays so prettily; the reds and golds of colour seeming to shimmer beneath his fingers. The accompanying bells added to the surrealism of beauty until the child was sighing, momentarily content.

It was often boring in his father’s shop as he was far too young to help with anything that they crafted there, but his dad never liked when he slipped off for too long on his own. This needled the young rapture though, as he craved the sky beneath his wings almost constantly. Ever since he was capable of flying, Wingard had begun to feel like it was truly his only outlet to freedom. Letting go of the chimes and watching as they continued to sing without his attention, he warily glanced behind him to see how the other occupants of their section of the Craft Gallery were fairing. They seemed rather immersed in what he thought looked like a difficult piece of glassblowing, so with a final glance around to ensure there were no witnesses, the boy Kelvic slipped from his stool and scampered away into the crowd and out of the Warrens.

When fresh air made its initial appearance in Wingard’s lungs, the boy inhaled so deeply that they threatened to burst. Coughing slightly, he exhaled, stripping as quickly as he could, not giving a damn about who was around. Considering he was so young, many adults would probably not look twice anyway. Once he stored them in a safe place so that he could return for them later, the child let out a whoop of excitement before transforming and hitting the skies. Catching a thermal almost immediately, he soared high in the sky, his wings stretching as he tilted his body and danced. Oh, how exhilarating!

Twirling somewhat majestically but more so clumsily, the rapture swooped and dove; ducked and twirled until his screams were so breathless that he found himself needing a moment to catch himself. Levelling out, he soared above Thunder Bay, content in his exercise. Taking a second to glance down so that he could see the regular happenings below, the young creature quickly spotted the shimmering bodies congregating. Mouth salivating, the little eagle forgot about his fatigue and quickly descended, the idea of such an easy hunt, exciting. Letting out a shriek of excitement, he dove; his talons reaching wide as he grasped a slippery body. Acknowledging his success, he whooped again, flicking the fish high into the air so that he could catch it. Forgoing the chewing, he consumed it whole, the body far too small to really be difficult for the growing rapture. Turning around for seconds, the bird dove again, this time feeling himself collide with the water at the unexpected weight he had suddenly collected. Slapping the fish against the surface of the bay, he flapped his wings heavily; pulling himself away from the wet surface and back into the sky. Feeling utterly laboured, Wingard headed for shore, dragging his conquest with him all the while refusing to drop the damn thing that nearly caused him to drown. It must have been the biggest fish he had ever caught, he thought excitedly as he landed, dropping the thing on the ground before touching down.

Puffing out his feathers with pride, Wingard turned back to his prey and shrieked in surprise. Stumbling away on thin legs, the rapture once again shrieked his indignation as he stared at the thing.

What was that?!

[Una Tanta]

Una threw herself into the air as high as her little legs could manage. Though she was much to large for the dolphins to bother with their presence and playful ferociousness made her sick with fear. They were like the creatures in the caves in her dreams, the ones her mother always had to rock her to sleep after. "MOM! MOMMY!" Una screamed both into the air and water. Suddenly her stomach lurched painfully as rough talons wrapped around her thin torso. Her stout body was lifted into the air away from the chirping of the dolphins. Silent she gazed up at the creature who loomed above the talons. Eyes roaming up its long legs to it's great breast, it's long wings swelled around her. The brilliant sun shone behind the great bird making the edges of it's wings glimmer while the rest of it's body was shrouded in darkness. The thing was so great and so terrifying she thought it must be Syna herself come from the heavens to save her. Landing so abruptly on the edge of a cliff Una tumbled out of the hold. Scratched and bruised she lay before the great bird and covered her head with her hands shaking, "Please don't hurt me great Syna! I didn't mean to disobey Mom! The fish just looked like so much fun!" She didn't lift her eyes to the great bird for fear she would go blind. Her mother had told her the stories of Syna, and those that went blind from looking directly at her. Tears ran through the dirt coating Unas white complexion leaving dirty rivulets along her cheeks and making her eyes red with anxiety. The shriek surprised her so much she threw herself back towards the cliff. Off balance and on her back she gazed at the great eagle whose eyes bored into hers. It shrieked again at her when it saw her face making her cry harder. Rubbing her eyes Una sobbed mercilessly. She had never seen a great eagle up close but her mom had told her terrifying stories of the winged things. "Please don't eat me..." Una whispered at the bird. Her fingers clutched the edge of the cliff and she slowly scooted her butt closer to it hoping the ledge was not too high and the water directly beneath so she could toss herself over the cliff should the creature approach. Una was the last of her parents children and they loved her desperately, so desperately they rarely allowed her to roam the bay without their supervision. Charoda had many children when they reproduced but many died as children, many more as infants, and more than half simply didn't come out of their eggs. Una felt their love, and loved them back equally as desperately. If they lost her too, Una worried what it would do to them. The eagle's gaze walked that line. It was a predator and the feral wild look never ebbed even when mothers gazed upon chicks, so hard to read all Una knew was that the creature with the giant beak and talons was gazing at her and that that gaze was not remotely friendly.

[Edric Wingard]

Edric was not quite sure what to do with the thing in front of him. Fluffing his feathers out protectively in order to look bigger, the eagle hopped about in agitation. From what he could see, the little fledgling realized how he had easily mistaken this creature as a fish as it seemed to have the necessary fins for classification. The thing was even pearly; a feat of genetic creation that the little eagle could barely understand. Staring at it openly, the Kelvic watched as its tear-stricken eyes widened with incoming tears that streamed down its face, while making a mucky mess of it, too. The dirt that he had thrown it down into seemed to stick to its wet body, creating a crude shield of modesty that the bird had the urge to brush away in order to study this new plaything better.

Even dirtied though, Edric could see the ethereal beauty that this creature inhabited. The flawless flesh it possessed positively gleamed as the sun struck it, glittering so prettily that the little eagle wished he could hoard its beauty all to himself. Even its pupil-less eyes that would have normally frightened the Kelvic shimmered with the water they were containing to the point that he unconsciously moved forward to see it better. Watching as the creature screamed and pulled away, scurrying so close to the edge of the cliff that Edric thought it was about to pitch itself over it, the eagle quickly backed away. He didn’t want this little thing to commit suicide purely because it thought he was a threat to it. Hearing its cries though, the rapture figured that this thing was female, so he mentally tried to address it with the new feminine term. She.

As she still cried, her tears slipping from her eyes in obvious rivulets upon her face, Edric tried to decipher the words that were slipping from her lips so quickly. Most of it seemed to go over his head, whatever words her tongue was forming unclear and unfamiliar to the Northern Kalea boy, but he caught the title or name of someone frequently. Not quite sure what she was going on about, the little eagle just wanted her to stop crying so that he could think without her high-pitch voice echoing in his head. Wincing subconsciously, Edric remember the repeated name she kept uttering and quietly, with a bit of concentration, made a mental connection.

“What’s a – a Syna?” he asked, taking a moment to wrack his brain for the proper pronunciation of the unknown person. His head quirked to the right as he looked at her, determined to make eye contact with her so that she knew he wasn’t planning on eating her, yet. Frustrated when she seemed to avoid him altogether, he puffed up his feathers in frustration before remembering that he wasn’t trying to intimidate her off the cliff. Frowning at having to show such restraint, the little child struggled to not exclaim his anger at her unwillingness to go along with his plan. Sighing rather loudly as she kept avoiding his eyes, he finally squawked shrilly, “I’m not going to hurt you, you know!”

If an eagle was capable of pouting, he most certainly would have been. Instead he had to satisfy himself with side-stepping towards her slowly, flapping his wings only to keep balance as he did so. He really didn’t want her go over the cliff and die, but she really needed to answer his question or he may change his mind.

”Fishy," He tried again, emphasizing the term in order to show that he was talking to her and using the word like a name, "What’s a Syna?”

[Una Tanta]

Una raised her eyes smearing the dirt on her face as she wiped away the tears. The creatures voice throbbed through her head both thin and booming. The common was accented with the shrill twittering of most Inarta and the raspy quality singing in her head made her shake her head as if a fly buzzed around it. Sniffing Una stood on wobbling feet, "I'm not a fish, bird. I'm a Charoda. My name is Una." She offered her shaking hand before dropping it when she realized he couldn't return the gesture. Her body still shook with the adrenaline of her fright, as such her voice trembled. She stumbled over the common a little awkwardly, only in the marketplace was it ever of use and even then her thick Char accent often made some words unintelligible. Char was a musical language, very similar to the trills of the Nari but the vowels were more elongated giving each word more time in the air than the Inarta would. No longer puffed and approaching her sideways Una decided he wasn't as large as she thought. Besides, if he could talk to her he certainly wouldn't eat her right? Nothing her mom had pointed out in the ocean as dangerous could talk to her. "Syna? Syna is her!" Una pointed at the sun that warmed the twos shoulders and made the baubles on Unas' skin lack their typical glow. "You fly under Syna everyday and you don't know who she is?!" Una scoffed bravely, "Didn't your Mommy ever tell you about her? My mommy says she's the most beautiful goddess in the heavens. I said I thought the Otani were more beautiful, but mom told me that they weren't goddesses. Ula says she is a goddess though." No longer scared of the creature and not realizing her own hunger for company she rambled on. Like most children she was terrified of monsters but once the mystery of a stranger evaporated in the light of Syna they were instantly friend in her young mind. Afterall, anything that wasn't going to hurt her was for play right? Meanwhile, Una brushed the dirt off her chest and legs trying to rid herself of the mud her tears had turned the dirt to on her face. Unlike human children she was lithe and not baby-faced. Her legs were shorter than many Charoda children but her torso was long and she easily tipped over to touch her toes picking out the stones from between her webbing. The majority of her body was smooth, without scars or wrinkles. The outside of her face was framed with the faintly glowing baubles as were her shoulders and legs decorated with them, scattered like glowing freckles.

[Edric Wingard]

Edric watched the creature before him with an expression of utter awe. Her unfamiliar figure seemed to flow as she spoke, her webbed fingers and arms gesturing wildly as she emphasized key words in an interpretive dance that had the little Kelvic's neck hurting from trying to keep up with her. With each new fact or unfamiliar word that she uttered, Edric's head changed direction with it until it seemed that he was permanently lopsided. Like a dog watching his master drag food to and fro within his peripherals, the eagle's attention snapped back and forth with every distinct, abrupt movement she initiated. It was an instinctive action to be keenly aware of his prey's movements, but Edric found each gesture helpful when trying to determine what his Fishy was saying. Her accent was horrid.

It was so bad that at times, the little fledgling was worried that she was going to keel over and die. His Mama had always said that fish needed water to breathe and as he listened to her speak, he noted the way she seemed breathless after every word. Alarmed, Edric scooted closer to Fishy, because although she had told him she was a Char-morda or something, she was still a fish to him, and momentarily contemplated if kicking her off the cliff into the water would help. Although he was still unsure if he was going to eat her, he wasn't quite ready for Fishy to die yet and it would be no fun if she did so without his permission.

Furrowing his brow rather heavily, the eagle flapped his wings slightly as he debated with his decision. He liked Fishy, or Una as she said her name was, but he was not ready to put her back into the warm water as he couldn't observe and question her there - even if it was better for her. Squawking in frustration, he hopped closer so that his beak was mere inches from her shiny flesh and spoke, "Does Fish-Una need water?"

His natural tongue chirped the last syllable of her name, butchering the 'a' so that it sounded like a swift 'e' instead. Using his head to rapidly point at the lake, back to their cliff, and then the lake again, he continued, "Fish need water to breathe. Aren't you gunna die?"

At this distance, Edric had a better view of this new plaything, especially now that she had begun to wipe the dirt from her lithe form. It was magical to the eagle, his eyes glittering enviously as he stared at her shiny flesh and the funny little baubles around her neck. He had the insatiable urge to alleviate his curiosity by reaching forward and touching them, but somehow he knew that it wouldn't be the right thing to do. His Mama had always said that although Papa's culture deemed it alright to forgo personal space, there were many races and cultures that believed differently. Valuing her words nearly as much as he valued the sky, Edric restrained himself from moving any closer. Instead, he satisfied his urges by cocking his head around in order to study her from a multitude of angles, shifting his body around her but remaining at the same distance all the while.

As he stared forlornly at the Charoda, the fledgling waited for her answer before cutting in with more questions about what she spoke of previously. One could not be angry at the child's lack of attention span.

"What's a Charoda, and Otani? Do they only live in our Bay? Are you some kind of fish-man?"

Dragging his talons across the earth, Edric waited impatiently once again. Shiny Fishy was so interesting and new - he just wanted her to tell him the answers.

[Una Tanta]

Gulping, Una gazed at the massive beak looming before her. Almost as large as herself the shiny surface made her stomach quiver instinctively. Her stomach stilled only when her own reflection graced her. Pretty...she thought to herself marveling for a moment at the golden image of herself. Her trance was broken by the ricochet of sounds from his nearby beak. The voices of the sea were very low and warbling compared to the voices and sounds on land.Giggling she replied, "Just because I swim like a fish doesn't mean I am one! Didn't your mom ever teach you that things aren't always what they seem?" Hands on her hips she spoke it as her mother had, with emphasized wisdom. "I am an amphibian, I can breath water and air for life. My mom says it's because there is magic in both air and water that few have mastered in both places. She says all life needs it. She also says if you fly too high you run out of it...to keep mortals out of the gods realm. Only gods can survive without the magic." Telling the story with her limbs and fingers, sweeping them through the air to indicate the depths of the ocean, the sky, and the heavens. She told him the story hoping he would be intrigued and keep speaking to her, She had never heard such a voice before. "What's a Charoda, and Otani? Do they only live in our Bay? Are you some kind of fish-man?" He asked, the questions sounding rapid fire due to the hasty clipped accent. "I will answer all your questions oh wing-ed one but first!" She punctuated the ed, voice climbing with excitement. "A race to the beach!" The last words were screamed over her shoulder accompanied by a coquettish wink. Her feet fumbled with the ground unfamiliar with its presence and her baubles bounced with each jaunty leap. "And no flying cheater!" She hollered from halfway down the hill. Her tentacles curled back up among themselves looking very like a braid. It was a habit, a form of tensing with excitement. Was the eagle curious enough to follow her? She peered over her shoulder desperately hoping he was. The play things of the sky were much more magical than the play things at home. Her short gait left her scrambling down the winding steep path the cliff made. The trees leaned into each other away from the cliff as if some invisible force was threatening to toss them in. Toes curling into the brilliantly hot sand of high sun Una plopped herself down cross legged and lay back the rough texture burning pleasantly along her back and thighs. "If you want to hear the stories you should nestle down with me! You'll get awful tired standing there like that." She murmured to thin air, eyes shut in pleasure.

[Edric Wingard]

Fishy seemed to be very excitable. Edric watched on in utter fascination as she spoke; her hands emphasizing her speech so willingly that he figured it was a common occurrence for her. Idly, the little bird thought that she would make a wonderful storyteller, her enthusiasm with which she spoke with so inviting that the rapture found himself sinking into her words listlessly. She was as grand as the Bay itself, he thought, her vocalisations deep and sultry with a childish quality that rang truth to her under the sea origins. She was dragging him into her oceanic depths and poor Edric could do nothing about it.

She was utterly captivating to the bird. Her uniqueness was refreshing to the avian that thrived off of new knowledge, but he loved her stories more. This creature seemed to be wound together by fibers of tales that were spun to be told by such a beautiful voice. Sure, he did not understand many words that slipped from her lips in an unfamiliar tongue, but Edric knew body language and the tales she told through her form were mesmerizing. He liked her quite a lot, having staked her as his own, as children were wont to do. She was his little discovery, and the eagle was determined to play with her for as long as possible. Any thoughts about his father inquiring about his whereabouts filtered to the back of his head as Edric fluffed his wings and watched as his Fishy pranced down the cliff, winking prettily at him.

For a moment, the bird could only stare at her in astonishment. Where was Una going? He hoped that she wasn’t leaving him, especially without answering his questions, but soon he heard her calling after him to follow and all that was left was indignation at her limitation about flying. Did she really think that he could run down the cliff without falling? Squawking loudly at such a notion, the rapture ignored her demands and raced towards the edge of the cliff, plunging off of the mountain without hesitation. Quickly catching a thermal, he let out a shrill cry of excitement as he changed course to follow his Fishy down the mountainside, his lithe form soaring above her.

“I can’t run,” he called to her mentally, circling her collapsed form upon the sand, “Eagles are too majestic!”

Cackling gleefully, the rapture couldn’t help himself, falling into a complex dance of dips and dives, turns and flips as he flew through the air. Being one with the skies was celebration enough to dance, but Edric was finding great happiness with this new creature that he needed to showcase that emotion in the only way he knew how – dancing. Letting out a final ‘whoop’ of joy, the young eagle began to soar languidly as the Charoda called to him, tantalizing him closer with her promise of stories.

Easing himself down from the sky, Edric landed gently before heading over to the sprawled out Fishy. Without preamble, he settled down beside her, fluffing out his feathers as he nested, tucking his head deeply into them. With a little yawn, he closed his eyes towards what he now knew was Syna, basking in her warmth beside Una before nudging her lightly with his beak.

“Una,” he began, opening his eyes to look at her, “Stories, please. What’s a Charoda?”

Feeling like she’d answer his questions if he asked them slowly this time, Edric decided to only reiterate one at a time. Tucking his chin back into his plumage, the young eagle watched her with rapture’s attention, his stare unwavering.

[Una Tanta]

From her hot bed Una gazed up at the brilliant swoops and dives of the eagle. His golden brown feathers flashing under Syna. She hated having to bribe him to play with her but her sisters were too boring, they never wanted to explore or think about anything besides boys and magic. Hurumphing at the thought Una turned her attention to the eagle. Feathers puffed out, beak buried in them Una giggled. He looked like a toy, not a giant gorgeous beast all puffed out like that.

"What's a Charoda?" He asked, his voice booming inside Una's head. It sounded like the large boats who thudded through her home with the rise and falls of screeing seagulls. Grinning and drew small circles in the sand as she spoke. It was a simple question, with a complex answer. One at this age, she hardly knew how to answer.

"We're creatures of the god Laviku." She decided to settle on describing the common Charoda, "We have finned ears," She motioned to her own, "Fins or tentacles on our heads, and webbed feet. We usually live in the ocean because Syna drags the water from our skins. Which is itchy and can hurt us." She added akwardly. She had been about to tell him that it killed them but her father had very sternly told her not to tell anyone things like that. She awkwardly covered up the stumble blushing bightly as she lied.

"We are amphibians," She stumbled over the word slightly this time. Though it was something she had learned from a young age, it wasn't an easy word for her young mouth to form. "So we can breath air and water, we have gills and lungs. We are usually green or blue. I've never seen a green Charoda but my dad is blue. Me and my mom are white because we were bred for deep sea life. These baubles glow in the dark. See?" The young white creature rose and walked slowly toward the bird.

Pressing her head into the crook of his wing and blocking the remaining patches of light. Una gazed up into the eye. As his eye leaned down into the opening, as big and wide as her torso she shivered at his closeness. The baubles along her cheek, and the edge of her face glowed a pale blue light. Wiggling her nose the baubles danced across her face making the light across his feathers bubble and dance. His brown feathers glowed faintly green in the blue light.

Backing away she plopped down on her tuckus again, wiping the itchy sand off of her back and arms as she thought. "We also have magic, magic no other creature in the world has." Una grinned up at the bird. "We can grow coral. We can make it do whatever we want and make massive houses out of it. There are hundreds of kinds of coral in the ocean and each has strengths and weaknesses, my mom says. We learn those so we can use our magic and make living art." Una puffed her chest out proudly. She couldn't make herself as big as the wind eagle but her body still swelled with her glee.

"What about you? My mommy tells me about the Wind Eagles but even SHE has never met one. What do you do? Why do the Inartans worship you? Do you fly into battle often? What kind of things do you fight?" Her mother had told her about battles and killing, and it had honestly never interested her. She thought it was dull compared to the infinite possibilities of art. Finding out that battles often destroyed art had horrified her even more. However, her and her sisters would often compete and these competitions sometimes degraded into hitting and tussles.

She couldn't explain the frustration that led to violence, nor the humiliation that came after losing control. Were warriors always that frustrated? Una thought it was exhausting and couldn't imagine living her entire life frustrated. Una often tried to cover up her own humiliation after fights by describing them in exaggerated detail and pride with others she was scared to show how humiliated she was. Was that how the Inartans felt?

[Edric Wingard]

As the girl pressed her head into the folds of his feathers, lifting his wing to create a darkened cavern within its depths, the eaglet found himself squawking in an undignified manner. Pulling away slightly, his feathers fluffed up in defense as he stared at her in surprise; his frame unused to another’s touch. He would never say that his father was rough with him, but being brought up in the Inartan culture meant that children were often left to their own devices and usually only felt the touch of another if they were being reprimanded for acting out. Thus, as he watched her with an unblinking stare, studying the way she smiled so innocently up at him, the girlish giggle tingling in her throat and tickling his ears, Edric realized that his new friend had no intention of hurting him. Taking a quiet breath, he dropped his stance of wariness and relaxed back into her touch, muttering a quiet, “Gentle, Fishy,” in a curt explanation of his withdrawal before allowing her to maneuver the frame of his wing once again.

When she was satisfied and stuck her head back in-between his feathers, jiggling her pretty baubles, the eaglet let out a gleeful screech when they emitted a light glow. Determined to see them from a better angle, he tucked his head close to hers, brushing her soft flesh with the bristles upon his face. The sensation sent an unconscious shiver down his spine and the eaglet couldn’t help but look up at his fishy and wonder what she thought, too. She seemed undeterred by his closeness as she continued speaking about her race, her quick speech overwhelming his senses as he attempted to decipher all the words spilling from her lips. She spoke so quickly that he really was having a hard time of it, but from the way she swung her arms around extravagantly as she talked, the Kelvic felt like he was able to understand her. When she looked up and made eye contact with him, Edric was again reminded about how close they were.

Glancing back down again at the glowing baubles, he remembered his earlier inclination to touch them. Back then, she had been new and unknown, but now that she was invading his space, didn’t he deserve to do the same? Besides, he thought childishly, his beak moving down to stroke the pretty things that made her so different, she was his, after all. Touching the baubles gently, the eaglet let out a quiet squawk of delight when they jiggled at his touch, their glow flitting across his feathers and creating shadows upon their enclosed features. Moving forward again, he stroked them eagerly, rubbing his beak against each one and watching as they responded to his touch. The rubbery texture was so new to him; the fish he usually caught scaly and rough. But this blubbery-like sensation was delightful and the oversized bird wanted to roll in it and keep it as a pillow. Idly, he wondered if the rest of her felt just like her jewels, but before he could investigate, his fishy pulled away, her mouth yammering on once again.

Somewhat distracted by the new question that was overtaking his mind, the instinctual bird followed her retreat until he was once again close to her; removing any of the distance that was between them. Her speech about Laviku and the oceans was rather intriguing as he had no familiarity with any of those terms, but each answer she gave simply brought more questions to the forefront of his mind. Frowning inwardly, the eagle narrowed his eyes in frustration. It was annoying that he couldn’t understand all these things his fishy was talking about! Glancing back at her slyly, Edric felt some bitterness grow within him at his need to find answers relying solely on the Charoda beside him. Couldn’t he figure stuff out on his own, too? Watching her baubles sway with her unconscious movement, his golden eyes began wandering over the rest of her body, his mind once again thinking about that rubbery texture earlier.

“What’s coral?” He asked; his voice distracted as he rested his beak gently against her flesh, this time rubbing his full head over her shoulder, “How can plants make houses?”

Letting out a little sigh when he realized that she was just as soft all over, the eaglet plopped his head against her tiny shoulder like an obscure version of a dog and continued to rub his feathered head against her. Content for a tick, he idly wondered how else his fishy was different from the other fish. Figuring that she’d only answer his new questions if he answered her own, the eagle let out a rumbled screech of contentment before starting the tale of their origins.

“We’re special to the Inarta because we were raised from the ashes of their people,” he recited, the natural chimes and chirps of his language crystal clear in her mind, “When the Valterrain occurred, the gods asked for the Inarta’s help and the people gave it freely, sacrificing their life to the gods. As the bodies of many dirtied the floor, the gods were determined to reward the race that dedicated their lives to the skies by finally giving them what they always coveted – an escape from land. Thus, their dead were reborn as Wind Eagles, a majestic creature whose wing span blackens out Syna’s reign and frees the people from their earthbound chains.”

Having stumbled over quite a few of the words as he had conversed within her mind, the eaglet still distracted by the flesh beneath him, he idly stated, “We’re gifts from the gods, Fishy. We’re special. ”

There was a definite note of pride in his voice as he spoke that was obviously misplaced considering that the young rapture had not participated in any sacrifices or quests, but it was present nonetheless as he recited a story he had heard since fledging. The storytellers of Wind Reach spoke so passionately about his origins that the Edric could not help but feel special; knowing that the Inarta praised him and respected him just because of what he was. Rubbing his head against Fishy once again, the eaglet’s one track mind finally came full circle again as he thought about Una once again. He knew that she had called herself an amphibian, but why were they so different from fish? He realized now that their textures were different and that she wouldn’t die out of water, but what else was there to know? She seemed smarter than the silly animals that wiggled in his talons when he caught them, and she had pretty baubles that he still found himself staring at covetously.

But what else was there?

Staring at her flesh again, the eaglet cocked his head to the side as his tummy rumbled. Glancing at her, he looked back down at her shoulder, and then back at her face again. Slowly, as if his motions were hindered by the weight of time, Edric leaned in, opening his beak and closing it shut.

Around her shoulder.

She didn't taste that good.