[Flashback] Lets go....Climb a Tree.

[Fenilen]

The man's shudders increased in intensity as the Eagle began to stare him down, looking as it it were deciding upon whether or not it should eat him. Eyes shut tightly, prayers were whispered to Priskil under his breath. Sairque's voice, telling him off, introducing him. He spoke softly and quickly. "Hello, Catabasis," a smile played its way across his face. A fake smile, but a smile none the less.

Oh, wonderful, he would have a companion for the ride. Perhaps now, he would not feel so terrified, knowing someone else was doing it with him. Ha, who was he kidding. Certainly not himself. His eyes closed for one second, and when they opened, the last thing he saw of her was her feet, vanishing past the lip of the cave mouth. The color, which had only just begun reappearing, in his face was swept away. He turned to Addy, as if to confirm that she had just done that. Instead of seeing her beautiful, comforting, familiar face, he saw an Eagle flying towards him at high speed, talons outstretched. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Instead, a look of sheer, unadulterated terror came across his features. Oof! The talons slammed into his chest, wrapping around his frail form securely. The wind from his chest was knocked out of him.

When he finally managed to draw a breath a few seconds later, Fenilen's voice was heard only for a few moments. The sounds that it did make came out as something along the lines of: "OH GODDESS OF GODDESS NO NO NO NO NO NO!" Someone was obviously not happy with his situation. Not surprising, considering he was now dangling from the grasp of an Eagle. Any other sounds he made for the entirety of the flight were droned out by the whistling of the wind. If Sairque glanced over, she would see that his face was white from fear, his eyes staring sightlessly down at the ground. Most likely, and not surprisingly, he had passed out. His legs dangled limply from the Eagle's talons. Such a sad and pathetic sight.

He returned to consciousness only a few moments before they landed. When Catabasis dropped him so that he could land, a loud oof was heard, followed by a few thumps as thuds as he rolled across the ground. Despite his conscious state, his limbs flailed around wildly, his arms slapping into the ground on multiple separate occasions. The very moment he came to a stop, Fenilen pulled his legs up into his chest, tucking his head into the cavity between his thighs and his chest. The only sound he made was a quiet whimpering, one of fear and defeat.

But his quick inventory was fine. Ten fingers were on his two hands which were on his two hands were were on his two arms. Ten toes were on his two feet which were on his two legs. Hooray! He was alive and well! He even had his head! Slowly, little by little, the Inarta began to unfurl from his ball-like form, eventually turning into, would you look at that, a sitting man. His face was still pale white from fear. His mouth opened, and after several pathetic attempts at talking, he succeeded, forming a broken and scrambled sentence that still clearly transferred his thoughts. After all, his thoughts weren't exactly hard to read, considering that his thoughts were mostly singular.

"No. Never again. Not flying back," after a couple of seconds, he repeated this message, as if he were confirming it to himself and to the two girls. Only after he got this out did he actually pause to survey the scenery.

Quite beautiful, actually. Different species of trees dotted the grassy area behind them, although most, if not all, were coniferous and not deciduous. Swaying grass covered a short distance, no more than fifteen yards, between the sand of the beach and the trees of the forest. No doubt, this was where the soil was simply too loose for a tree to take root. The grasses slowly gave way to the sands of the beach. Surprisingly, the sand was almost white in color. Undeniably beautiful. The curious boy rose to his feet uncertainly, striding slowly and uncertainly to the tree line.

"Nice shade," was all Fenilen uttered. He plopped down next to one of the pine trees, leaning against its thick trunk. Green eyes were covered by pale lids. He was alive. Now, he simply had to relax and enjoy the time he was spending with the two girls. Easier said than done. Relaxing after flying a kilometer or two in the talons of an eagle was a feet worthy of song, in his eyes.

[Sairque]

If it made Fen feel any better...Sai got dropped rather gracelessly as well. She tumbled end over end in the tall grass, finally lurching to a stop with both legs splayed out in front of her, the woman sitting, her head thrown forward between her knees by the momentum before she could stop. Her hair was a disaster, she had a dirt smudge on her face...and something smelled suspiciously like goat feces. Catabasis, fifty feet away, between the two talon passengers and the ocean, was shaking to resettle his feathers...whether Addy was off or not. And the way that the bird and Sai were looking at each other...it wasn't hard to guess the conversation. Well, it wasn't hard to guess that Sai was hearing some very unpleasant news.

You're grounded, young lady.

What? Right now? Out in the middle of nowhere?

It's only a day's walk back to the gates, Sairque. You'll be there by this time tomorrow.

Well...it certainly wasn't the first time something like this had happened. And Catabasis would be meandering along above her if anything happened on the trek home. Sai glanced around, Fen was still recuperating, Addy was wandering around. Pushing herself to her feet, the flight leader brushed off the various bits of nature clinging to the material of her clothes. Not sticking to her clothing were several little balls of goat poo, they were cheerfully dotting her lower back.

"No. Never again. Not flying back," Fenilen was swearing, his face white and a glazed over expression in his eyes. Good, he really was alive. Even if he didn't feel like it. How he could have disliked the ride was beyond Sai. She gave him a broad smile as he passed by. They got to feel the wind in their hair, they got to see absolutely everything that was going on below them, they got the exhilaration of having nothing below them but the relatively thin talons of a Wind Eagle. And how cool would it have been for Catabasis to drop them and have to fetch them again?

While he settled himself in, the short redhead headed over to her displeased Eagle to rid him of the saddle and bags. Generally, Addy helped with this part. If she was, Sai would shoo her away with a nod toward Fen. "Go relax! I'll get the picnic set up and come get you guys, I've got it all figured out!"

And she did. It would be roughly half a chime before she would return and get the two, so they could chat away and commiserate over the cheerfully inconsiderate host they were subject to. She would lead them to a little spot right on the grass line, where they were sheltered by the cliffs but could look out over the crashing waves, too. What looked to be a rain poncho, well worn thin leather, had been stretched out over the flat sand for them to sit on and keep the various bits of nature out of their meal. Their meal was extravagant in it's variety but modest in it's proportions. Sai had snagged three or four types of fruits, every kind of vegetable that Wind Reach could supply, three types of pastry, two bottles of mead, several loafs of bread, and...a lot of meat. Elk, beef, sheep, goat, rabbit, some roasted, some barbecued, some marinated and glazed. There was only enough to feed three ravenous young people, so none of them could eat the same thing.

How on earth she'd managed to keep it all neat and edible on the trip over was a mystery, but there it was, spread out before them...with no eating utensils, glasses, or plates. Really, she was a hunter not a freaking home maker.

[Aidara]

Catabasis landed rather smoothly on the grass, Addy receiving a much better landing than the other two, both of whom were sprawled across the grass. The great bird allowed her only a few moments of gloating before he shook himself, feathers ruffled, dumping her unceremoniously onto her butt. Green eyes narrowed as the woman directed a glare up at the bird, who was now clearly the one gloating as he preened his wing feathers. Rolling to her knees before standing upright, Addy brushed off the seat of her bryda as she took in her surroundings. It really was picturesque. So Sai did have a romantic side. As her thoughts fluttered around her twin, her eyes fell upon the area where she and Fen still sat. Poor, dear Fen.She was torn between pity and amusement as she watched him huddle on the ground, stammering and swearing never again. Amusement won over, and a smile twisted her lips as he eyes sparkled. Walking over to the pair, she placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Just once more. Only once more." A squeeze and she stood upright. As Sai predicted, Addy tried to help settle Catabasis in and was promptly shoo'd off back to Fens side. With a grumble and a snarky remark over her shoulder about Sai's bossyness, Addy plopped onto the soft grass next to Fen. Rather worn out from the ride, and the fact she hadn't eaten breakfast, the woman slid down onto her side, curling her arm on Fens lap and resting her head on top. It was a very comfortable, relaxed display of friendship. However, Addy had no sense of personal space anyway, so her position wasn't really all that shocking. Green eyes widened as her sister produced more and more and more food, laying it all out nicely on the sand. With her mouth beginning to water, Addy tilted her head back, a touch of Fens neck to get his attention and she smiled. "That looks delicious , lets go ruin her pretty display, and dig in!" Bounding to her feet, she held out a hand for the man.

[Fenilen]

An upset frown claimed the man's face when Addy told him he would have to go through that hell again. However, this gloom was replaced by surprise and slight unease when she eased her head into his lap. The muscles in his legs and up his entire back tensed as she settled into this position. Only gradually did he begin to relax, closing his eyes and sighing deeply. She was cute, but physical contact with anyone outside of his family was just something he wasn't used to. Maybe, eventually, the man would get used to it. Until then, he was stuck tensing at every little bit of contact with either of the twins. Finally getting used to her position, he began to catch up on things. To put things more simply, he started to fall asleep. Subconsciously, an arm draped itself protectively around her midsection again.

The soft skin of her hand on his neck shook him from his semi-conscious state. Only after a few brief moments did he realize where his arm was. Once again, his face turned red. Well, she hadn't move his arm, so it couldn't have been much of a worry. However, he removed it anyway, to allow her to rise back to her feet. When her soft hand extended to him, he took it in his, working in unison with her to clamber back up to his feet. Upon standing, he nodded to her, and set off to the tarp with her hand in his. Surprisingly, this was a conscious action.

Fenilen settled down at the edge of the rain tarp, taking in the spectacle before him. By the Goddess, how many extra food chips did she spend to put this all together? She had spared no expense, that was for certain. With a bit of disappointment, he separated his hand from Addy's, knowing just by looking at the array of wood before them that they would both need two hands available if they were to dine without any form of utensils. A few seconds after their hands parted, his hands darted for a piece of the glazed ribs. One rib was separated from the rest, gnawing the meat from the bone with extreme precision.

The moment the ribs were gone, he glanced up at Sairque, nodding appreciatively and smiling. Dexterous hands claimed a handful of small beans from the vegetables, dropping them into his mouth one by one. After devouring the beans and the glazed ribs, he sat back, wiping his hands on the sand, waiting for his two lunch companions to pick and choose what they wished to eat from the piles of food. He wouldn't exactly be a good guest if he ate everything before they got a chance to eat their share, now would he? He was, after all, only eating so luxuriously because an Endal had pooled her chips together (and most likely stolen some of her sister's) to form this bounty.

[Sairque]

Sai settled smugly onto the tarp, legs crossed but leaning away from the food to let Addy and Fen get their first few morsels picked out. Fen deserved to eat as much as he wanted, seeing as how Sai had practically tortured him on their way out...and...

"There's some really large lodgepole's over that way," head nod toward the eastern cliffs. "That I thought you guys would have fun climbing with me. I found them the other day," she tried to inform them nonchalantly. Addy was already in on the plan, and would have been better at breaking the news but Sai had lost the rock-parchment-dagger game. But it had been Addy's idea! 'Cause she was the one that had found out that Fen was deathly afraid of trees.

Trying her hardest to look innocent, the short redhead popped a small red berry in her mouth and pulled out some climbing equipment from where it had been stashed under the tarp next to her. The draws and 'biners were all clipped together in a bundle. She was serious about this.

[Aidara]

Addy didn't think all that much of it when Fen held her hand. She just smiled over at him and gave his hand a squeeze. The closer they got to the food, the faster she walked until she practically threw herself down onto the tarp, grabbing up the tastiest looking pastry and unceremoniously shoving it into her mouth. "Sorry, I'm absolutely starved." She managed between bites, polite enough to chew and swallow before talking. An impish grin at the two of them and she snagged another pastry before the first had even disappeared. "Hey, pass over some of those berries, they look delicious." A handful was grabbed and popped into her mouth. "DELICIOUS!" Addy exclaimed around the mouthful this time. Rarely did anyone ever see the woman this exuberant about food. Because she rarely was. Addy ate to live, she did not live to eat. Warm, crusty bread however....She pounced on the loaves, groaning happily as she tore into the soft center. "Fen can I have one of those...oh. Nevermind." He had demolished the ribs, but that was for the better. Addy had temporarily forgotten what the days activities consisted of, and it would be uncomfortable scaling trees on an overly full stomach. Throwing down the berries she didn't devour, Addy kicked her legs out in front of her, relaxing back onto her elbows as she watched Sai and Fen finish their meal at a reasonable, polite pace. "So darling sister of mine, what do we have planned for today?" She knew, of course, but... Well, they had to break the news to Fen somehow. "There's some really large lodgepole's over that way that I thought you guys would have fun climbing with me. I found them the other day." Addy was jealous of the straight face that Sai kept as she said this. Knowing that she was going to be on "emotional support" duty, and beginning to wonder why she agreed to this mild form of torture, Addy sat up and immediately wrapped a bracing arm around Fens shoulder, running the fingers of her other hand through his hair in what she hoped was a soothing gesture. Her gaze flickered between Fens face and Sai's, her brow furrowed as she waited for the weight of the words to hit the man.

[Fenilen]

Lodgepoles. Climbing. Tree climbing. No! No! No! No! No!!! Green eyes glazed over, pale skin went bone white, sweat glands awoke and began pumping, and stomachs began churning. It took every little bit of Fenilen's will not to vomit up the meal he had ate right there and then. Due to this intense concentration, every other muscle in his body systematically relaxed. He slumped over, only held up just barely by the arm wrapped around his shoulders. A sharp, small left his lungs as his eyelids fluttered. He gasped for a breath that simply wouldn't come. Finally, the green irises rolled into the back of his head, and the eyes closed. Wonderful. The sheer mention of climbing trees, combined with the fact she had actually brought out climbing equipment to re-enforce this statement, had simply been too much for the frightful Inarta to handle. He had fainted.

Almost twenty seconds later, he regained consciousness with a sharp breath, eyes shooting open. He took a few deep breaths, sitting up weakly. His breathing soon returned to his control, but the other symptoms of his fright still ran rampant. Fenilen shook fairly violently, his voice faint and just as shaky as his posture. "No. No trees. Trees are worst. Absolute worst," he shook his head violently from side to side, a shaky hand grabbing the left leg of his Bryda. A quick tug brought it up above his knee, revealing a scar that ran the length of the back of his calf. The relatively light color of the tissue suggested it was an old scar, but it was still not a very pretty sight.

"Never again. No no no no no," he then declared, rolling his pant leg back down. Only after a good ten seconds did his head finally stop its shaking. Sadly for him, another glance around them confirmed this was not a dream. The climbing equipment was indeed there. She was indeed serious. Priskil save him... A quivering hand wiped the sweat from his brow.

Women and their climbing. Why did all women seem to enjoy it? His sister, and now these two. In fact, these two enjoyed it *so much*, they were bringing him along with them. Why did the world hate him so? The redhead shook his head slowly in dismay as he looked at the ground, leaning into Addy's comforting embrace. A single palm found its was to the arm that was on his shoulder.

In fact, come to think of it, these two seemed obsessed with making him join in on thrill seeking activities. First, flying from the talons of any eagle,which would result in his death if he fell. Now, climbing a giant tree that would result in his death if he fell. Fen was beginning to sense a bit of a theme here. They like activities that could involve falling. Lucky him.

[Sairque]

OOCUhm...yeah, I dropped the ball. Totally thought that it was Addy's post again...

Alarmed, Sai looked from Fen's slumped body to her sister's juice smeared face. Indelicately, a de-meated rib bone was taken up and used to verify that the boy was indeed unconscious. After only three pokes to the man's bony shoulder, his eyes fluttered open and he started shakily exposing himself to the two innocent girls. Sure, they try to do something nice for the lad and he immediately starts pulling off his pants. What kind of girls did he think they were?

Sai, leaning forward on one hand, used the other to trace the rough scar he had rolled up his bryda to show them. Fingers still curled innocently around his calf, she looked up at him. So delicate for an Inarta. Such a rare gem, chipped of the roughage that surrounded most of the redheaded population.

"That's it? This is why you're scared?" She asked hollowly, staring at him with one brow arched. Now, there simply wasn't enough time in a life to have such a silly fear as one of being in a tree, or one of heights. Frankly, the latter was just silly considering where they lived and how they survived.

"All right, laddie, up ya pop," she ordered cheerfully, gracefully rising to her own feet. The climbing gear, borrowed from some friends, was all stuffed back into the leather satchel and slung over her shoulder. Catabasis shook and lumbered up to hop away and take off. A hand was held out to help him to his feet, or, if he wanted Addy to drag him up, that would work, too. Either way, the sister's would get him up and heading along the beach toward several monstrous trees. If he needed some more coercing, it would be left to Addy. Sai had things to do!

She was eying a younger one with relatively low branches. She would hoist herself up that one to scamper along until she could make her way to the lowest branches of a larger one. After she set the anchor system, either Addy or Fen could then scale the trees in complete safety. Now. The leather satchel was deposited at the base of the tree so the flight leader could kneel and begin assembling her equipment. After sliding on a harness, a loudly jangling mess of equipment was hooked on to it. Sai slung a thick coil of rope across her back and studyied the trees for a long moment. Easier than pie.

Kind of. There weren't any branches until about ten feet up. But! There was this great cliff face that she could use! It was so craggy and uneven that even Fen and Addy would be able to ascend without problem. There were big jugs for hand holds and sharp edges to stand on, it only took a little coordination and balance to make it the point where the first branch came within reach. Holding herself to the cliff face with one hand, her feet conveniently in line with it, she reached back and got a good grip on the rough branch. It was slightly too large to clamp her fist around, but she could curl her hand over the top and it would be just fine. Fen probably wouldn't have a problem with it.

The branch ran almost parallel with the face, slowly angling away to meet the trunk of the tree. When Sai kicked her feet away from the cliff she swung off the branch one-armed like a monkey, but Fen and Addy could stand on the cliff until they got both hands on it. Hand over hand, bobbing up and down, she made her way to the stronger, thicker part where she could pull herself up on top of the branch. That was probably the hardest part. Standing safely, one hand pressed against the trunk, she waved down at her companions.

OOCFigured I would stop here, let Fen object, Addy console him, give Fen the opportunity to refuse and run away. Then in the next post finish setting up the rope to make Fen feel safe.

[Fenilen]

That's it? This is why you're so scared? The words echoed in his head, taunting him. She was calling his fear illogical, saying that he had no reason to fear climbing trees because of something so minor. But she didn't understand! It wasn't minor! She hadn't been there! She hadn't been the one that fell from the Redwoods his sister so loved! She wasn't the one who's sister had scaled Redwood trees to escape him, abusing his fear because she was the only one who knew it!

The man was pulled to his shaky legs by Sai's firm hand, but he did not move from his spot. Like, at all. Green eyes stared at the tree without seeing. They were really actually seriously going to make him climb that tree. It wasn't a cruel joke. They weren't playing with his emotions. They, or maybe just Sai, he couldn't tell, were dead set on making him scale that tree. The churning feeling in his stomach returned, threatening the safety of his Brunch. No, he wouldn't vomit. He wouldn't appear weaker than he already had. He had to be strong! He had to show them that he could conquer his fears!

Slowly, uncertainly, inch by inch, Fenilen neared the tree. After his first few steps, he closed his eyes. Don't think about where you're going, think about... He couldn't couldn't come up with anything soothing or pleasing to think of. Damnit. If it wasn't for the rustling and clanking of Sairque's climbing equipment, the uncertain man would have walked head first into the tree. Instead, he stopped a foot or two behind the source of her noise, and opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the ten feet of sheer tree. Instead of continuing to look at this sight, which was quite frankly terrifying, his gaze was averted to his feet. Ah, much better. It was amazing what the sight of his own feet planted on familiar, solid ground could do for his fears. Shame they wouldn't be there for much longer. The man began, quite literally, quaking in his boots. The jingling started up once again, and he saw Sai's shadow move as she began to scale the tree. Curious eyes glance upwards.

He regretted it five seconds later, when he watched her fancy display of her climbing abilities. Wonderful. He was going to be up there in a minute or two, if it progressed at this rate. Deep breaths. Calm yourself, Fenilen. It wouldn't be that bad. He wasn't free climbing this time, there were safety harnesses. He wouldn't fall like he had when he was eight. He would be safe. He would survive! He would conquer this fear!

But what if the harness failed? What if he fell, and it didn't catch him? What if he died here, just because he was trying to impress his friends? Was it worth the risk? Was that fear worth facing? Damn it, Fen, stop thinking of the negatives! He approached the tree, placing a hand in a handhold. Eyes glanced up the side of the tree one more time.

Hm. Maybe he shouldn't go second. He backed off, feeling a great weight on his chest being relieved as he did. A pale arm waved to the tree, and for the first time in a few minutes, he spoke. "You can go first, Addy," a pleading tone was in his voice, suggesting that it was more of a helpless plea than kind offer.

[Aidara]

"Oh, Fen, dear. I thought you were taking off your pants." Aidara laughed, a friendly shove to the man's shoulder after he finished displaying the scar. Sai's response was condescending enough. Addy now got to play cleanup. She kept her voice light and a smile on her face as she spoke. "It'll be okay, Fen. We'll have a lot of fun. Sai won't let anything happen to us. And Catabasis will catch us if anyone falls." Even to her ears, the last part sounded completely ridiculous, but maybe in his unstable state, the idea would sound comforting. Addy stayed seated as her sister gathered up her gear and trotted over to the immense tree. Gaze followed Fen has he staggered uncertainly after, pausing every few steps and taking one backwards before continuing, as if each step was one foot closer to his demise. The woman couldn't help but laugh quietly to herself at the sight. Pushing herself to her feet, brushing crumbs and pieces of fallen pastry off her front, Addy trotted to catch up to the hesitant man. She slipped her arm under his and wrapped it around his waist. Pulling him close against her own tiny frame, they walked towards the tree together. "You can do this, Fen." She whispered to the man, a hand reaching up to pull his ear closer as she spoke. Her arm gave a quick squeeze around his waist again before they set off together, careful not to hug too tightly- he looked like he was going to vomit. They stopped at the base of the tree, and Fen studiously examined his feet. Addy examined them too, wondering what exactly was so interesting about his sandles. Hm, perfectly normal looking to her. Capturing his chin in her fingers, she made him look her in the eye. "Can you go first, Addy" The pleading in his voice melted her heart. Why where they doing this too him again? Oh, right. Face your fears. Her head swivled to gaze up at the monkey, I mean her sister, that swung from the branches above. "Yes, hun, I will go first." Placing her fingers between her lips, Addy let loose a sharp whistle, similar to the one she used to call in her falcons. "Sai! Get down here before our boy passes out again!" They needed to get their safety's on, after all, and Addy wasn't good enough to do so without her sisters assistance, as she didn't spend her free time climbing rocks and getting splinters. Ugh, splinters. Maybe she should have brought some gloves.