A Trip Down the Mountain (Closed)

[Aidara]

"Nice to meet you, for real, Silwyn." Smile was matched for smile, as Aidara could turn on the charm far better than their new companion, and the healer inclining her head as she acknowledged the dyers introduction. Sairque had popped back into the common room, stood moodily off to the side for eight whole seconds and stormed off towards Catabasis' aerie before anyone could even say a word to her. What rubbed her sister the wrong way this now? Focusing back on Silwyn, Addy mentally ticked off the answers to her questions as the replies were shot back at her. The layout of the trip was given, sans details. Okay, so no camping gear. Good enough for her. She had her list and her bow ready. As the dyer began ticking off what she needed to make pretty colored cloth, Addy inclined her head once more. "Oh, good. It doesn't seem like we're going to be fighting for any specific herb than. I'm searching for a few others." And that was that. Feeling no particular warmth towards this woman, Addy too the silence as an opportunity to once more retreat into another room. So, into the washroom she trot. Taking one of her small green towels from the rack, Addy wet it in the basin of water and began to scrub her face, mostly just to waste time, but partly because she was sitting in a dusty courtyard all day, and she could see the specks of dust clinging to her eyelashes. The click of her sisters boots into the common room once more lead Addy out from the washroom. Her bag and bow were snatched up and shrugged up and over her shoulders for safe traveling. An inquiring brow at her sister, and she nodded. No words passed between them, but she knew that Catabasis was ready. Now the question was, who would be in the saddle, and who would be dangling from talons? Well... She'd let her sister figure that out.

[Silwyn]

Silwyn watched as Sai appeared for a moment, and then disappeared again. She seemed angry, and not too friendly, and Silwyn honestly wondered what her problem was, and she didn't think it was Sai just being shy. No, if anything, Silwyn was the shy one in the bunch. But she tried not to concentrate on Sai, she was still talking to Aidara after all, and she didn't want Sai to ruin the slightly upbeat mood the two had finally gotten into, even if everything was still a little awkward. After all, she was essentially in a stranger's home.

Silwyn didn't have to wait long for Aidara, and was glad that Aidara seemed happy when she told her that they weren't looking for the same things, and wouldn't "have to fight over them." She also found it to be rather funny, considering the fact that unless you were looking for something out of season, or in the wrong place, most herbs and barks and whatever else you may need tended to be readily available, again, if you knew where to look. As soon as Aidara had finished speaking, she left to go do something. What a strange girl, Silwyn thought to herself. Well, at least it begins to make me look polite, she thought, but then again, I AM in her house. Or rather, the house she shares with Sai. Again, Silwyn wondered why the two lived together when they were so different, perhaps she should ask sometime, if an opportune moment should arise.

When Sai came back into the common area a few minutes later, Aidara was close behind. Silwyn noticed that Aidara and Sai communicated silently, with the use of their brows. But Silwyn had no idea as to what they were saying to one another. Where they talking about her? she wondered, before realizing that such a thought made her seem a little paranoid. They're probably just talking about the trip, without talking, she reassured herself, as they all stood in the common area, waiting for someone to break the silence.

[Sairque]

With no conversation to interrupt, Sai motioned to the door she had just exited.

"This way, ladies," Sai would wait for the two women to enter the aerie before following them through the door. The room was spacious, as it had to be for a bird with a 38'8 foot wing span to fly into. From his nest, Catabasis casually regarded the women entering the room. Jet black, the dark red streaking his feathers mute in the indirect light of the room, the Wind Eagle dropped his head to get a better look at the unknown woman. It was unnecessary, as his eyes were strong enough to see the faint smudge of dye staining the woman's arms that were too faint for even her to pick up.

His nest was large, composed of long stalks and feathers, a tree branch or two. After he had gotten a satisfactory look at the dyer, he stood, towering over the women and stepping toward the edge of the aerie. In the distance, snowy mountain peaks could be seen. On his back sat a two person saddle, the safety straps pulled out in preparation for the women.

I am Catabasis. What is the location you were planning on visiting? his voice entered her mind weakly, the faintness obviously not because he had a hard time establishing a presence in her mind. He knew that she had ignored the flight leader when she had asked her if she had ever communicated with a Wind Eagle before. He didn't want to deal with a hysterical human in his nest.

[Aidara]

OOCSorry, I didn't realize it was my turn. Addy followed behind Sai and Silwyn as they moved into Catabasis' aerie. Green eyes darted over the familiar surroundings before the small woman moved towards the great bird. He had a huge eye focused on the newcomer, and a touch to Sai's link told her he wasn't conversing with her sister. Well, Addy hoped that the giant eagle was being gentle with this....weird woman. Smirking to herself, she moved over towards Catabasis' head, patting his beak and slipping him a treat while her sister wasn't looking. "I call not it on being talonized. You can pass that on to Queenie" She whispered to him, laughing softly with a final pat to his feathered nest before moving to retrieve the packs she left by the door. Bow and sack were strapped behind the saddle, a few harsh tugs to the straps ensuring that they were going no where, no matter what sort of tricks Catabasis tried while chauffeuring them around. Wordlessly, like so very many times before, Addy climbed up into the back seat of the saddle. It was almost as if the spot had been formed to her body, she used it so often. The well used, familiar strapped clicked and snapped into place, deft tugs and adjustments made while the other two women dilly-dallied. Why was she always the first one ready?

[Silwyn]

Silwyn followed the two women into the aerie where a giant eagle was waiting. She was amazed by it's sheer size, having never really gotten a good look at one before. Silwyn watched as Aidara patted the bird's beak, and slipped it a treat. The bird seemed thankful for it, and so very very tired, in a strange sort of way. Silwyn watched as Aidara climbed into the saddle.

That left her and Sai to scramble for the second spot on the saddle. Perhaps I should let Sai use it, after all, she is being kind enough to help, and it's not like I'm an eagle rider, what do I know about riding these things? But then again, what on earth does she know about where we're going? Or what we're looking for?

Silwyn's train of thought was interrupted abruptly when she felt a little tug in her brain, a voice she didn't recognize, angrily asking where they were going. It sounded tired and impatient. She looked around, puzzled, before realizing the eagle must be trying to talk to her, and she was ignoring him. Strange, she never did see its beak move.

Embarrassed, considering she didn't know the name of where they were going, just what it looked like, and roughly, how to get there on foot, she did her best to envision it, hoping that the image would be enough to give the eagle an idea as to where to fly.

Silwyn saw, in her mind's eye, a dense forest, filled with towering oaks, and maples, white birch, and pines. In the forest, small brown rabbits ran around in the underbrush, as a single red butterfly flew ahead, and nestled next to the thorns of a blackberry bush. She could smell the pine as the wind blew its scent into her nostrils, and taste the blackberries on her tongue. They were rather ripe, sweet, and juicy. The sun was high in the sky, shining brightly, but not a lot of it made it to the bottom of the forest floor, which was hard, cold dirt, and littered with a few scattered, fallen crunchy brown leaves.

Silwyn adjusted the straps on her pack, making sure it was safely secured before telling Sai she could have the other seat in the saddle, and she'd ride along in the bird's talons. Strangely, or perhaps not, Silwyn wasn't scared, in fact, she was kind of excited to be riding along in the eagle's talons, what better way to feel the wind in one's face, and the pounding of one's own heart?

[Sairque]

Catabasis gently took the tiny treat, appreciating the sentiment from the healer. Real treats were fifteen pound chunks of raw whale, but there was no way Aidara would have been able to sneak that to him without Sai catching her. Not that it really mattered, it wasn't like Sai even tried to have a say in his eating habits. If he wanted to gorge himself on whale, he better just be able to make it out on hunts afterwards.

Sairque hovered below the healer as she settled in place, just in case anything fell and she needed it handed back up. Not surprising, the elder twin strapped herself and everything else into place with little trouble. This wasn't her first rodeo. Then Sai turned back to the dyer, coincidentally right as the unruffled Catabasis finished gleaning the last few details from her and retreated from her mind. He wasn't angry or tired. He had been patient with her when he could have eaten her for ignoring his Endal rider...and no one would have said a thing. That was the prerogative of Eagles.

Sai's jaw tightened when the girl mandated the seating arrangement, and had the girl not been several strides away would have slapped her for her insolence. "You will ride where I tell you to," she bit off each word and opened her mouth to dress down the girl further but the great bird extended his wings and shrieked, interrupting. One or the other was more than enough to catch the attention of any human within a hundred yards. In the semi confines of the aerie, the piercing cry was deafening and the great gusts of air from his wings stirred up dirt and debris into stinging missiles. Sai was somewhat expecting it as he had been trying to tell her that he would take care of the dyer and she had ignored him, so eschewing the protection of closing her eyes against the grit, she turned and vaulted onto his back, getting her seat with the ease of much practice.

He felt her weight on his back and reached out with one foot to grab the dyer in his talons. The distance between them would have been great for a human, but this was a Wind Eagle. The most majestic and large of all birds. And Catabasis was one of the larger ones in Wind Reach, being almost twice as strong as the average bird. Hopefully the dyer was focusing on protecting her eyes or anything that kept her from moving around. Catching the woman wouldn't be pleasant for her, accidents could happen.

[Renol]

Renol and Fereo soared through the air, the wind rushing past them fluttering Renols blood red hair behind him as it whipped past his face. His feet and hands gripped the saddle tightly as Fereo spiral downwards recklessly, gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes to keep the cold wind from making his eyes water. He watched the other aeries flash past them as they screamed downwards, spiraling like a football. Renols legs gripped against the leather tighter, glad that he had fastened the straps just a hair tighter than usual. If he hadn’t the saddle would have a little give to it and that would throw his balance off dramatically as it wiggled around, not to mention he sore spots it would leave during excessive maneuvering like the two had been practicing all day.

They had taken a break once to get some food, Renol at the kitchens while Fereo went out and snagged something fresh. The meal had been a needed break to relax for a period after the intense workout that they’d been doing. The due had agreed that they needed to work on their flying skills during high speeds and fast maneuvers. Fereo needed to practice learning just how far he could push the envelope and Renol needed to make sure he could stay on the saddle while Fereo pushed as hard as he could. So it had been a day of crash dives, barrel rolls, flat spins, spiral dives and everything else the two could think of. They were trying things with and without loads of weight in Fereos talon sack and with things strapped onto the saddle. Fereo needed to know just how far he could go during any given situation.

As it were, Fereo had both wings tucked in, but for a small bit of his right, catching just enough wind to put them into a tight spiral as they plummeted towards the ground. Renol leaned down, his form hugging close to the bird to keep him from catching too much wind and ripping him off the saddle. He was sure the safety straps would hold if that happened, but he didn’t want to test the idea. And as they swept past the aeries, both Renol and Fereo heard the shrieking cry of Catabasis coming from one of the eagle homes that adorned the area.Fereo’s eyes tried to pinpoint the location as he continued to spin Wow, he doesn’t sound very happy at all… Fereo didn’t dare take his eyes away from where they were headed, lest his head start spinning worse than it was already,” I’ll take it tha that is an understatement..” Fereo waited until he was oriented properly before his wings outstretched once more, stopping the spiral almost instantly and forcing Renol’s body to rock hard against the momentum before he righted himself in the saddle. Quickly the bird leveled out and started beating his wings to gain altitude again, banking around in a tight turn to come back where they had just been past.

As the two climbed higher, they both spotted Catabasis coming from his home, bearing Addy and Sai on his back, but also a third women in his claws for some reason. Renol’s brow furrowed in curiosity as they moved towards the quartet,” Maybe someone was trying to break into their house and they’re going to drop her from mid air?” Fereo’s mood brightened a bit more, forgetting the tiredness that had been aching in his wings for a little while now Can we watch? Renol shook his head slowly for a second,” Just get closer to them, alright?” Fereo nodded in acceptance and picked up his pace a little bit more to catch up with the group.

As they came up parallel with the group Renol looked over, his right eyebrow perked in question to the sight of the woman hanging from the massive eagle’s claws,” You’re not going to drop her, are you? I mean whatever she has done can’t be worth that, can it?” He smiled slightly over to Sai, looking over her face once more, even from the slight distance between them. It had been a little while sine they had run into each other, and he had started missing being able to see her. He was defiantly glad to have bumped into the her.

OOCSorry. I didn't realise that I had butt into the middle of the posting order. I can move the post behind Addy if you all want.

[Aidara]

OOCHey Silwyn, Can you add a date to the thread? It just cant be fall of 10 thru 15, 17, 22, 35, 67. Thanks. Addy was getting really used to flying again, starting to love it actually. For the longest time after her sister was chosen by the giant bird on which they road, the woman steered clear of anything Endal. She even refused to visit Sai in the Aeries. She was stubborn and jealous. It wasn't until now, years later, she realized all that she had been missing out on. A twang of regret passed over her face, and the healer was glad her sister couldn't see. However, the wind that rushed past them swept away everything except exhilaration. The flight might have been made a little better by the fact that the dyer was hanging precariously below them, but Addy wasn't mean spirited. Had it been any other bird than Catabasis, she would have worried. He regularly carried the two women plus whom ever they decided to bring along, usually Fen (surprisingly, he eventually got over his fear of well....dangling.) Routine. "Oh ho ho, SAI!" She chuckled awkwardly, the wind swirling into her lungs and ripping away the sound before she really made it. Addy had to shout her sisters name to get her to look back. After the fact, she supposed she could have tapped her shoulder. Yelling was more fun. "Lookie who came to visit... She smiled wickedly, nodding her head towards the second eagle who swooped down next to Catabasis with easy familiarity. Both women looked over just as Renol shouted out. "You’re not going to drop her, are you? I mean whatever she has done can’t be worth that, can it?” Addy laughed uproariously. Choking again on the wind and her laughter, she was unable to respond to the man, but just lifted a hand in a friendly wave, nodded to Fereo before burying her face in her sisters hair in attempt to laugh, and breathe, easier. And along they flew, down the mountain and over the trees and rivers the peppered the valley below. It wouldn't be long now until they landed and started on their search for various, insubstantial looking plants. What fun.

[Silwyn]

Silwyn felt a great burst of wind hit her as soon as they had started to fly. It was both terrifying and exhilarating, mainly exhilarating, considering she had always been a bit of a daredevil. She loved being able to look down at the ground beneath her, and watch it get farther and farther away, smaller and smaller.

After a few minutes, Silwyn watched as another eagle and its rider approached. It was happening at around the same time that the bird's talons started to dig into her more and more. She felt as though he was trying to be gentle, and she appreciated that, but talons are talons, and nobody's perfect, so he did scratch her upper right arm up a bit. Oh well, she thought, as long as she got what she needed, it didn't really matter. Wounds would heal with time, even the ones that bled a little.

Trying to distract herself from the slight pain in her arm, Silwyn listened carefully as the voices around her spoke, something about dropping her, hmmmmmmmmmmm.... interesting, she thought. Hope they know if they did so, she'd come back and haunt them. Of course, she'd never be able to dye again, and that would be awful, but at least she could make someone else's life miserable.

[Sairque]

Silwyn didn't know how close she was to getting her wish. The flight leader was fairly growling, sitting perched tensely on Catabasis' back, which the bird then took as encouragement to fly quickly and deposit his burden as fast as possible. Granted, he also wanted to drop the insolent wench, because squishing her in his talons would be too messy, and be done with the whole affair. Who was she to assume that he had wanted to give her a ride anywhere having only just met her? Without conscious effort, his talons tightened. Even though she didn't want her bad mood to be shaken so quickly, being highly offended at treated like a common coach, the appearance of Renol and Fereo, with their congenial personalities, in addition to the tinkling laughter coming at her from the rear, Sai couldn't stop the faint smile from crossing her lips. She sat back, holding on with her thighs and twisting around to give her sister an indulgent smile. Yes, yes, Renol, the strapping Endal, had come to visit. "Hey boys! We could play catch with her on the way back if she doesn't mind," Sai knew for a fact, having ridden talon side, that the girl couldn't hear a word anyone on the back of the Eagle said. The wind was just too bad, hell, it was hard even hearing Renol's deep shout. But still, she wasn't going to torment the dyer with any more talk of killing her. It just wasn't proper behavior for her. The healer and Endal on the other hand... "Why don't you come out with us today?" she called out at the same time Catabasis invited Fereo. Addy and Silwyn were too much for him to deal with on his own. The two Eagles swept up around the mountain, Catabasis leading the way as he put the dyer's narrow view of her spot in a larger picture of the region. Various drafts were caught and slid out of until the pair smoothed out over the twin lakes, Shivias and Kanti. Kanti was hidden beneath a fog of steam, the volcanic heated lake obscured while the cooler Shivias was crystal clear. Silwyn would get her first view of the bottom of the lake, several hundred feel below water level. The glacier melt-off provided clean water, and due to the cold nature, nothing blossomed to obscure the white lake bed. The crystalline blue water was so inviting, and Sai had found herself, more than once, tempted to leap from the back of Catabasis and dive into the depths. Which would be a most unpleasant experience...but, it still occurred to her every time they flew over. Catabasis dipped, and Renol would know what he was doing, to the disgruntlement of the women, the edge of the platea was approaching where the waters of the lakes plunged down a massive waterfall to crash into the Sanikas River so far below. The women all got a fine, chilling, mist coating when he followed the path of the water and dove over the edge. Sai, and Addy, naturally, leaned back to keep balance and then had to hunker down when he didn't pull out of it as expected. Despite being moist and cold, there was a thrill of exhilaration to the maneuver and Sai let out a whoop. Above the tree line, Catabasis leveled out, always with a careful glance to check Fereo's position. This was a short leg of the trip. The spot that Silwyn had shown Catabasis was only roughly a mile, as the crow flies, from the falls, and there was even a meadow large enough for both Eagles to land. Swooping down low, the dyer was dropped gently, but she was still holding all the inertia so she would probably roll and bounce along for a little while. When he had come to a stop, immediately preening some feathers in need of adjustment, Sai hopped off, rolling to absorb the shock and coming back up to her feet. "Be right back, Addy, gonna go make sure Silwyn is still alive." She waved to the other Endal while jogging back to check on their charge.