Sairque

[Sairque]

Sairque Basic Information Race: Human (Inarta) Birthday & Age : AV 487, 25 years old Gender: Female Height: 5'1 Weight: 130 lbs Languages: Nari (Fluent), Common (Basic) Physical Description Wiry and tough, Sairque waits and watches. Once a woman of action, pervasive and vivacious determination had been reshaped by the constant blowing of Eyktol sands. A natural inclination for command hides within race-trademark golden hues, a gaze that took on half again the acuity of any other human with the absorption of her Wind Eagle companion. One other vestige of her former brother, his coloring, coal black with fiery streaks, painted what had previously been average red hair. Pallid, as only those from the thinly lit northern regions could be, she hides within protective desert clothing, covering hair and skin. Aside from eyes, heavily calloused hands with perpetual hangnails are the only other clues to her physical being. Her right bears the thick matte of thin blue scars received at the claws and beak of raptors. Character Concept What she was : Pre-Spring 512 AV Profession: Wind Eagle Rider, Flight leader, Endal Coordinator Home pre-fall 512 AV: Sai & Addy's Humbly Luxurious Abode. Home as of Fall 511 AV. Office: Let's Keep Coordinated Description differences: Hair: Blood red with bright red highlights; usually worn in a braid with colorful scarves woven throughout. Three things matter to Sairque. Aidara, Catabasis, and Wind Reach. The latter two concerns are so closely tied with taking care of the first that it's not possible to differentiate from where they actually stem. Perhaps doing the most she can for Wind Reach is an innate desire, perhaps it's a means to ensure the safety of her twin. Ensuring the safety of her twin could stem from a deep rooted affection for the woman, or it could spring from an intense desire for self preservation, as there's no telling what would happen with their empathic bond should one die. A big bird once whispered that if one sister were to be claimed by Dira, that soul would return to its other half and attempt to reside in the one remaining body. Life means little to the woman on a case by case basis, a being isn't measure by their good heart or intentions. Everyone is weighed according to their ability to provide the citizens of Wind Reach with a necessary good or service that encourages a continuation of life en mass. That's why Dek are at the bottom. The most they can do for the Inarta is grunt labor, they can't hunt, they can't heal. That's why they mine. Fellow Endal on the other hand, have a shorter leash. They get a large allotment of resources, so they'd better produce a large amount of resources. Eagles can rebond, the Endal in question can be disposed of. On the flip side, she'll do as much as she possibly can to support someone or something that has the potential to be a great asset to the community. While unconcerned with the physical attention bestowed upon her by others, Sairque doesn't often initiate it. Unless the one standing next to her is from outside the Inarta. Then she's quite volatile and the touching won't be of a friendly nature. There’s no honor in being a filthy mud-grubber. Racist is a good, yet weak, adjective. Half-breeds are decided on a case by case basis. Her time is split between Aidara, duties, and rock climbing. Fist over Heart: Aidara Among the Inarta, family bonds are no bonds at all. As a child raised in the nursery with every other brat sired by people better suited to high-capacity jobs, Sai learned the down and dirty early. Competition began at dawn and camaraderie only after the last meal of the day. But there, in the back of Sai's head, in the mind of a child as brutal as any twice her size, something delicate flourished. A little girl with too much heart and not enough attitude: Aidara. The elder twin. The "weaker" twin. When Addy was happy, something light and breezy blew through the wiry fighter's spirit. Hunger gnawed twice as voraciously when the source was the birth-marked healer. Addy taught Sai a lesson few learned in that writhing mass of starvation, independence was not a gauge of worth. The younger twin fought tooth and nail for herself, but became a veritable ball of acid when her sister was involved. What Addy so subtly brought to Sai, breathing life around the edges of a stone heart, planted the seed for the little scamp's eventual concern for every single member of the population, not just those that could produce goods. Granted insight into the connection between every latrine-scrubbing Dek and every haughty Endal, this vision became conviction enough to thrust her into the fray between castes. Catabasis, a mature Wind Eagle, bonded with Sai and a rift opened between the sisters. Unyielding regarding the responsibility Endal had to the population, few could stand in the way of her will. She made flight leader and soon took even more responsibility as coordinator helping Mother Illish. The beliefs spawned by the infinitely more caring, compassionate and empathetic older twin very likely only provided a framework for her endeavors as an adult. The fuel was probably the anxious knowledge that Aidara was only a chiet, and therefore at the mercy of two entire casts above her. Through this focused and worrisome period in their relationship, their relationship hit the rocks. Sai simply had no energy to give her sister beyond succeeding at her position to keep the delicate woman safe. Or was it that they'd expanded their simple empathetic bond to the point where should one die, the other very likely would as well? Harboring this dark worry, that she only kept Addy safe not through affection but self-preservation, further eroded the flight leader's ability to function as a loving sister. When she developed an abrupt flame for a Wind Eagle Kelvic, their relationship exploded. Addy was interested in the same woman. They existed in a wary truce, Addy winning the heart of the Kelvic and Sai renewing an interest in cultivating an even stonier heart. Sira moved into the twin's aerie, Addy well aware that should she have moved out their relationship would be irretrievably ruined. Healing truly came with the birth of Sira and Addy's child, Natalie. The baby, nothing more than a toddler, was the last remnant of her sister that she saw before being ripped away by the djed storm of 512. So many things were still unsaid...and never would be. With the distance of an entire continent between them, not even that flickering sense of the older woman remained within Sai. First link in the chain:Aidara and Sairque have formed an empathic link. Without concentration, either one of can tell instantly when the other dies. With concentration and both of you within eye contact, you can experience a small feeling of the other persons emotions. Their emotions must be very strong for you to detect them. The emotion will appear powerful to you, but very blurry, so much that you can’t necessary tell who it’s directed to. Examples: Love, Hate, Fear, Lust, and Intense Happiness. Strengthening the Link: With concentration and both of you within eye contact, you can experience a small feeling of the other persons emotions. Their emotions must be strong for you to detect them. The emotion will appear powerful to you, but blurry. You can now tell who the others emotion is focused on, and in general what they desire from them. Examples: Love, Hate, Fear, Lust, and Intense Happiness. Dangers: Now that the bond has increased, if one of you should die, there is a chance that you will absorb the soul, removing the other from the Reincarnation Cycle. Heart in Fist This is where the story starts. The schism, the rupture. First came Skyinarta. Addy and Sira followed. Natalie lingered and disappeared in the night. Catabasis, mangled by his decision, lasted longest. His dying wish, to have Sai severed from her former life, pounded the last nail in. Without that, she would have kept her unwavering devotion to the city and been quite content dying during the voyage back to her people. But she couldn't just let him die, couldn't just let him go. She had to try to keep him. And keep him she did. A little piece of his soul, floating beneath her consciousness, supplanted her desire to return for his desire to start anew. On shifting sands and parched lands, she would seek out a new purpose. Something to replace bone-grinding devotion to the Wind Reach. And she would have to learn how to live as one of the unprivileged.

[Sairque]

Skills Wilderness Skills Hunting: 21/100 Cartography: 5/100 Land Navigation: 12/100 Wilderness Survival: 9/100 Tracking: 3/100 Medicine: 5/100 Cooking: 2/100 Animal Husbandry: 1/100 Shanking Longbow: 28/100 (10 RB) Brawling: 23/100 (5 SP) Dagger: 12/100 Unarmed: 4/100 Wrestling: 1/100 Tent Pole: 2/100 Mental Observation: 26/100 Logic: 9/100 Organization: 17/100 Planning: 10/100 Social Skills Leadership: 62/100 (10 SP) Socializing: 29/100 Rhetoric: 18/100 Interrogation: 5/100 Intimidation: 10/100 Tactics: 8/100 Pranking: 3/100 Flirting: 3/100 Negotiation: 2/100 Teaching: 1/100 Seduction: 1/100 Drinking 1/100 Athleticism Climbing: 40/100 (25 SP) Acrobatics: 17/100 (10 SP) Riding[Eagle]: 25/100 Being a Soldier Monkey: 5/100 Swimming: 1/100 Running: 5/100 Diving: 1/100 Stealth: 4/100

[Sairque]

Lore Wilderness Weather-clouds and winds Planning a long trip, Preparing properly for the trip, Learning to use a compass Learning to navigate cross lands Fixing wrong calculations Surviving flying through the storm Preparing for a long hunt Oh petch! Bear! Setting up camp Shanking Receiving First Blood Tenderness from Victory Sucker punching with a hilt Pwning would-be-do-gooders Being threatened by a magnifying glass Making the first move Being able to properly read your opponents attacks Landing a solid throat punch Not punching like a girl Coming to an enemies defense Fighting like an adult (aka stabbing away like crazy) Inarta Nuances of Inarta society and culture Asking the Right Questions of a Glassblower Worrying for her people and their well being even if she doesn’t admit it Having good taste in Giant Eagle gear Repurposing wounded/handicapped riders Making lists of people that need killing (Glav Navik, Akvin Kultra, Leo Varniak, Torc Ironwood.) Using eagles as go-betweens in silent conversations Ordering Dek Around Interrupting Mother Illish’s dinner Efficient Endal multi-tasking Social Forgiveness for Family Putting off Male Suitors Advising her sister Worrying about her Sister Sibling torture Encouraging Aidara Inadvertently calling Aidara a slut A huge aerie for Sai, Addy, Sira, Catabasis and the baby Ending the day with a little more family then when it started. Dealing With a Carelessly Brave and Meddlesome Sister Mental Plotting Mischief Being Bossy Being an utter Bitch Understanding there are reasonable limits to her leadership Instinctively understanding another’s misgivings Putting other’s feelings into clearly outlined explanations Understanding Ones Own Strengths and Weaknesses Recognizing and correcting laziness Situation assessment on the fly Snap Judgments Sorting out a clusterfuck almost instantaneously Commanding attention, Dividing and conquering individual issues within a larger problem turning off one’s emotions dealing with challenges to her orders taking charge. Exerting large amounts of patience Welcoming a new face to the ranks Taking control of a situation Taking the position of a teacher Being supportive Risking one’s life to save that of another Calming the Panicked, , Ordering Everyone Around Knowing what needs to be done Giving unclear instructions Sucking up to get what she wanted Self control Clean up clean up everybody do your share Barking orders—tenderly Prioritizing The bossy type Sarcasm Knowing how to control a crowd Putting others safety before your own Trying to save Kalea Ivak is free of his Prision Stuck in the Djed storm Losing ones Wind Eagle Overgiving Wilderness Survival- Desert Thus far unsorted Having Fun with your Eagle The taste and passion of bread Wasting food Stalking Victims Reflecting and Learning from Past Mistakes Visualizing Emotional Change Creatively Blowing off Personal Questions Changing the Subject Forthright honesty Having a panic attack Fleeing a scene Being unsettled Controlling one’s temper Beading Beads into hair Packing Up Boats for the Winter Season All Bundled Up, Climb the Beams. Not the Ropes! Close Call Leaping With Wild Abandon Inartan Monkey Bossy Britches Throwing Caution into the Wind All You Need is Skill and Luck Remind the Half Blood of his Place Reluctant Cooperation Pity is for the Weak You-could-take-your-eye-out-with-that-knife flipping practice Conceding to a duel of sorts Sizing up your opponent Giving into boredom, competition, and pride Sporting a sore butt as the badge of a rough take-off Setting up camp, Improvising when things go missing Attempting to steal prey from a predator Basking in the sunlight while flying Eagle aerobatics Feeling no shame in showing off Demeaning ones eagle Freefalling, Being a good sport when teased Being a conservative hunter Mastering a graceful cannonball Making new friends Following good health practices Offering helpful suggestions, Sharing one’s bonding story Being blunt with ones thoughts Having to deal with a snarky bird Knowing how to properly climb Feeling the muscle strain of hard work Trying to be the hero Throwing caution to the wind Bonding with Catabasis Tough Love Food Lust Having One's Byrda Nearly Ripped Off By An Enthusiastic Yasi Rallying the Troops Mizahars world record for largest human mudpie Feeling shame at being scorned for one’s appearance A long list of life lessons for such a young age Crying in public Trading vicious words with one’s “enemy” Learning how words can hurt Mistaking being soft for a weakness One tough little soldier Rising above another’s pity Accepting one’s lot in life Finding friends in unlikely places/people Doing what needs to be done Holding Secret Conversations in a crowd If in doubt – get drunk Nice Guys Don't Always Finish Last Accidentally Sexy Reluctant Social Drinker Accidentally Groped Mud Fight Feeding her starving sister Teasing your Twin Planning a major renovation Not dealing well with differing opinions Not quailing under frosty looks The sweet thrill of a task accomplished A mastery in present giving Successfully relocating the entire family That special twin bond Patience Sharing empathy Ignoring Kovac's flirting Learning as a serious student Master of a great zinger Outsnarking Kovac Taking pain like a real woman Winning with grace Being tolerant through the worst of insults Keeping your temper with an insolent woman Resisting smacking the shyke out of an ungrateful passenger ManHunting Keeping your sense of humor Life story: not much to say Kovac: Judy Attitudy Everyone has flaws Averting many crises Vengeance Coordination swift retaliation Looking out for the wounded. Savage Urchin Going to Great Lengths for Aidara Having friends to run to Soldiering on

[Sairque]

Possessions Clothing Bryda: White with green embroidery and green glass ‘scales’ at the waistband Vinati: Green halter top with tank top straps, trim in flat, scale-like glass beads Shirt: white linen Sontav: Plain leather Scarf: Orange, silk Boots: Leather, ankle Katinu: Coat, bighorn sheep skin, well taken care of Ledger 100 Gold Miza's + 500 Pinions(Fall salary) + 500 Pinions (Winter) + 500 Pinions (Spring) + 500 Pinions (Summer) -348 (supplies Compass through Daggers) 100 GM, and 1622 Pinions Abandoned Assets Heirloom: Tapestry embroidered with Eagle and family Rider bloodlines Winter boots, knee height Equipment Plain waterskin Plain leather bag Toiletries: soap, razor, brush, comb Weeks rations Eating knife Flint and steel Compass Sighting Lens Tent Silk Rope Woodsman's Axe Small Animal Snare Spade Field Healer's Kit Candles (5) Five Daggers Longbow

[Sairque]

Threads 494 AV First Glance Finished 6 Summer, 494 AV (Chemar) Chemar and Sai meet for the first time, creating mortal enemies. Oh the lessons we learn 36th Summer, 494 AV (Chemar) The differences between spoiled Chemar and urchin Sai don't seem so big when they're both on the other side of a big kid's fists. 495 AV Break and Brocolli Summer (Solo) 501 AV Enter My Ethereaum 36 Summer, 501 (Chemar) The girls experiment with Chemar's dreamwalking ability...rather unsuccessfully. 503 AV I Will Ride the Wind 20 Spring, 503 AV Sai and Catabasis bond. Repercussions 47 Spring, 503 AV Solo. Blegh. Sibling Rivalry-Part the First Finished. 36, Spring 503 AV (Addy)The beginning of Addy and Sai's furcation. 504 AV Fill the room with nothingness1 Spring, 504 AV Solo. Blegh. Misunderstandings Summer, 504 (Osami) 505 AV Home on the Range Finished. 38 Summer, 505 AV (Addy) A little archery between sisters. 507 AV Live in the Waking World 13 Fall, 511 (Chemar) Mostly Chemar invades Sai's dreams, this time Sai takes her outside the mountain and enjoys her control of their interaction. 509 AV Shooting, with a side of Friendship Finished. 22, Summer 509 AV (Fenilen, Addy) Cutie patootie! Bonding with the shy Fen. Let's Go...Climb a Tree Finished. 29 Summer, 509 AV (Fenilen, Addy) Forcing Fen to face one of his fears. Summer 510 AV Quest: Hunger Runs Deep 40 Summer, 510 AV (Renol, Fenilen, Brunhild, Rhian) Fall 510 AV Off for the Long Hunt 10 Fall, 510 AV(Renol, Addy, Kovac) Hello bear, please eat us. A Proficiency Examination in Flirting Graded. 15 Fall, 510 A.V. (Kellan, Renol, Demal, Addy, Tiradus) Let it Burn Finished. 22 Fall, 510 AV (Addy, Sira, Aria, Mathieu) Little conflict between castes, ruining the show. Count the Souls Finished. 22 Fall, 510 AV (Sira, Addy) Lots of inexplicable drama. Predator's Lessons to the Prey Finished. 33 Fall, 510 AV (Addy) Playing. Stone & Water Finished. 35 Fall, 510 AV (Iris, Addy) In which Sai should have killed Damal. The Chains that Bind 67 Fall, 510 AV (Addy, Dreamcatcher) Hunting is far preferable Finished 83 Fall, 510 AV (Addy, Delicah, Denali) Caste conflict. Trip Down the Mountain Fall, 510 AV (Addy, Silwyn, Renol) Winter 510 AV Seashells down by the Seashore 1 Winter, 510 AV (Sira, Addy) Play Time is Over, Put the Toys Away Finished 1 Winter, 510 AV (Kovac) Bonding over putting boats away for winter. Tundra said What? 1 Winter, 510 AV, Evening A Meeting about a Boy 1 Winter, 510 AV (Dreamy) Pointy End Goes that Way 10 Winter, 510 AV (Kovac, Addy) Haha, snarky pants. Near Shivias 10 Winter, 510 AV (Sari) Catching Breath 13 Winter, 510 AV (Tyrie, Nero) Outsider 55 Winter, 510 AV (Silwyn, Sira, Addy, Ulric) Don't Choke the Tuyere with the Clinker 56 Winter, 510 AV (Torc) Spring, 511 AV New Wings 50 Spring, 511 (Aiven) Riding the Wings of Vengeance 60 Spring, 511 (Tuloth) Someone killed a Wind Eagle. Now they have to die. Honey Trinity 80 Spring, 511 (Kovac, Chemar) Sexy sexy time Hunting Excursion 89 Spring, 511 Summer, 511 AV Hunting for Wings 9 Summer, 511 (Aiven) Flying for Two Sira, Addy. 10 Summer. Roadtrip to Hell Rista. 14 Summer. Snot nosed little brats. You Can't Change Your Spots 19 Summer, 511 (Lucette) Wha..you wanna touch my what? A Room With A Bob 20 Summer, 511 (Bob, Mok, Chemar) It's about time we got there 55 Summer, 511 (Ariel) Oh, the little red toy is talking, not the cat. Creep on me! Footsteps in the Mist Creeper. 84 Summer. Sai gets sucked into the deadly problem the Spires has with Mist Stalkers. Eagles are our friends 90 Summer, 511 (Darren) Thunder Gnora Quest. Gossamer. Abandoned. Fall, 512 AV Is it Getting Crowded in here? 1 Fall. Raptor. Sai plans and acquires a new large aerie for the family. It's a party E'rrybody. 5 Fall. The baby shower. Bar Diplomacy 9 Fall. Fois. New Home Smell 6 Fall. Sira, Addy. Exploring the new home. Winter, 512 AV This Ugly Inside Guest Mod: Mao. 29 Winter. Amon and Sai push against the boundaries of their relationship, Sai bitter about the scramble of life in Skyinarta and Amon her rock. Spring, 512 AV Godspeed, Wind Riders 1 Spring, 512 AV. Sai embarks with her wing to warn Kalea but gets caught in the storm and deposited in Eyktol. Mimesis 4 Spring, 512 AV(Bina) Sai deals with the death of Catabasis, and meets a few feathery locals. Dreaming to Awaken the Beast 5 Spring, 512 AV. Meeting Taln, he confesses his new identity as a velispar.

[Sairque]

Catabasis (Deceased Spring 512 AV) Age: 19 Wingspan: 38’8 Personality: In social settings(downtime): paternal, reserved, aloof, boring Working: Focused, communicative, determined, assertive Temperament: Uneven Note: Has a weak telepathic ability but is almost twice as strong as the other Eagles An Eagle as dark as his name and twice as large. His muted black feathers weren’t attention-grabbers, neither were the uneven maroon splotches. Well, at least not all the time, like when he wasn't out in the sun. Other times, out under the sun, those maroon splotches came to life; becoming fiery red streaks, like lava boiling across his back, as though his feathers ignited spontaneously with each beam of the sun. It wasn’t the bright red markings that indicated his personality. Well, at least he didn’t think so. Catabasis was as phlegmatic and unruffled as the flat black coloring that dominated his body. He was the type who could calmly venture into the underworld if it be so required of him and come out again unfazed by the horrors. Despite being touched by tranquility at a young age, the Wind Eagle had a penchant for holding a grudge. One-time offenses could be easily forgotten, but if they started building up there was no telling when Catabasis would lose his temper. Perhaps a string of grievous offenses were the reason he killed his previous rider. Of course, he doesn’t share his reasoning. Nor does he share why he bonded with an Inarta of the opposite sex the second time around. In fact, he doesn’t share much at all. Not a very social being, not prone to volunteer his wit or opinions, join in on jokes or pranks. On hunts or jobs he communicates readily. And his Inarta, Sairque, pushes some kind of button, though, because he’s infinitely more mischievous when she’s around. It is, however, a well known fact that he hates playing fetch. And loves eating whale more than anything else. Throughout the early years of his relationship with the twins, he quietly rebuilt the door between their minds. Every night he would repair the separation between them, erosion caused by their ignorant games of playing with one another's emotions. Eventually, they did more damage and he put too much of himself into fixing the dam between them. He needed their help, finally. With much self sacrifice and strain, they saved him and he taught them not to mess around anymore. Years later, the shoddy neophyte work they'd done to repair their barriers exploded. It was only the presence of Sira that got the twins through safely. He sacrificed himself once for his rider, this small woman who more than earned his bond, so when it was time to do so again, he didn't hesitate. When he gasped his last, his beak and eyes had been sealed shut, one wing had been melted, the other broken, and his tail plumage ripped out, all in order to get his human as far from Skyinarta as possible. She was a product of a city that disappeared the moment Ivak freed himself, an ember of the past, a construct that would break under new demands. He could let her go, adrift in the rutilant desert, but as she staggered to spend his last ticks at his side, she couldn't stand to watch idle as he disappeared. She pulled his storm-severed telepathic abilities out, demanded the story of their trip, and took a little piece of him with her when they disengaged. He lives on, harbored semi-dormant within her mind, insuring her disinterest in returning home and waiting to be reborn. Djed Storm of 512: Phoenix : Catabasis knew that his life was forfeit the moment that the storm's first tendril licked his tail feathers. He knew, far beyond the scope of what any of the Inartan's could even hope to understand, what this meant for his city, for the world. He knew, without a doubt, that he couldn't let Sairque go back. She was too much a part of what was. He couldn't save Wind Reach, but he could save her. It says a lot about a person, or in this case Wind Eagle, the choices they make when death is imminent, and Catabasis was a fighter. Struggling through a war on a molecular level, struggling to simple stay in one, solid piece, the great black eagle flew further than should have been possible. In their attempt to stay one step ahead of the Djed storm, the Endal pair had ended up riding the tidal-wave as it crashed across Kalea. Neither of them felt the impact when the storm tossed them away like a bone, gnawed and stripped bare, useless. Trees, bare winter arms reaching for the falling pair, did little to break their fall as black and red tumbled together from the sky. Neither of them felt themselves scream, though avian and human voices were matched for pitch and strength, cutting off simultaneously only moments before they found the ground. § § § It was hard to tell how much time had passed when Sairque awoke; the sun was in a different place in the sky, though that gave no clue towards how many days had passed since their departure. The Storm had sped that pair along at alarming rates, a trip that would have taken a handful of days taking only hours. Pain like nothing she had ever felt before was the first and only sensation the hard woman felt when she came too. Fire seemed to sear through her veins, engulfing her senses until her mind could do nothing to process a thought or a movement, leaving the woman prostrate on the ground, a heavily feathered wing the only cushion between her abused body and the ground. Consciousness didn't last long before the inky fingers of painless sleep engulfed her once more. The second awakening was much easier. The pain had dulled to an excruciating throb everywhere, but her mind seemed to be working again. A cursory glance of her surroundings showed an open nothingness, a vast expanse of sand around her. The ability to lift her head and further explore was still beyond her; Sairque was left to lay and wait, more helpless than she'd ever been in her entire life. As her body recovered, the Flightleader had more than enough time to assess the situation. There was a strange absence in her mind that took only a few chimes to place: Her sister. The connection with Aidara was completely severed. Thoughts of her twin bridged a mental gap to something equally disturbing: Natalie. Her niece had been with her, in her pocket when the storm caught them. Was she even still alive? But a bigger hole was there, in the center of her mine, of her being. A big, black, feathered hole. Catabasis. If the other discoveries didn't spur Sai into adrenaline-enforced action, this did. The great Wind Eagle was only a few feet away, sprawled in the sand and unmoving. Next to him was his saddle, torn from his body and shredded past salvaging. Sai's packs were still there, along with all her survival gear and, as luck would have it, her coin purse. It seemed the Storm had no need for material things. Instead, it had stolen everything that really mattered. When Sai reached Catabasis's side, she would find him breathing but barely. One of his wings was bent backwards under his body, clearly and completely broken. The storm hadn't been kind to him, either. The changes he had been forced to endure on a cellular level left him mutated and horribly disfigured; his tail feathers were completely gone, the rounded nub where they were supposed to be was covered in a fluffy black down. The un-broken wing was still the right shape, but the feathers seemed to have fused into one solid mass; even if both wings were undamaged, he wouldn't be able to fly. Probably the worst, however, was the damage to his face. Those fierce yellow eyes were gone, replaced by the same kind of scaly skin that surrounded all of his orifices. His beak was fused shut, still sharp and deadly but never to open again. Worst of all, his telepathy was non-existent. Only by sheer determination would Sai be able to reach into his mind and pull his voice out. Catabasis would be able to recap their flight, how they had fallen over the Unforgiving at one point and laid there for bells, unable to move until a monstrous creature, spawned by the storm, had come sniffing around. How he sent Natalie back home while Sai was unconscious and how he picked himself up despite the pain, grasping Sai in his talons and flew back into the storm in order to get away from the beast. He would tell how they were tossed around like a bottle in the sea, lucky to be a live though no longer in Kalea. However, it couldn't last forever. Just ask quickly as speaking drained Catabasis of the last of his strength, so did keeping mental connection drain Sairque. He was dying. They both knew it, just as surely as trying to hold on to him would kill the stubborn Flightleader. Knowing Sairque almost better than she knew herself, Catabasis would pull away from the connection as he faded, breaking it for her. Unwilling to let go, just as he had predicted, Sairque fought with everything she had to keep Catabasis with her, clinging to his mind with a tenacity unmatched. As the great Eagles body failed, so did his strength. Like a game of tug-of-war, Sai started gaining ground, pulling her companion back to her as best she could. There was a snap in both their minds, Catabasis using his last breath to caw in pain, and his heart stopped. The mental connection was abruptly severed, the force of it laying Sai flat on her back again. Her head reeled and felt too full, those empty holes now filled with a new presence, one that had been there for years, yet was completely new. In her struggle to keep Catabasis with her, Sai had, upon his death and the final severing of their bond, pulled a part of him into herself. The feeling of sharing her head lasted only a few chimes before it faded, leaving her completely alone. To Sai, it would seem like her emotions flooded her with memories of Catabasis, overwhelming her with his feelings and his thoughts in such an intense way that she had to be dredging up everything she had remembered of him all at once. Though he was still there, Saique had no idea. The Wind Eagle faded back into her unconscious, a small part of him living on inside of the Flightleader. Overgiving hit shortly after Catabasis faded away, leaving the Flightleader just as vacant mentally as a Drudge. It wasn't permanent, though it would take weeks for her mental capacity to return to normal. The storm, though it had rolled on past them to other parts of Mizahar, had still left traces of Djed around Sai and Catabasis. During their mental struggle and eventual absorption of part of Catabasis's soul, Sai began to change. Her hair darkened, losing it's red hue. It became black instead, with red streaks. Her eye sight grew slightly sharper, allowing her to see half again what a normal human could. And finally, as if for a farewell present, Catabasis left Sairque with a particular repulsion to cooked meat. Bond Story : The story was typical of the Inarta; mostly factual with a few minor points smudged along its journey from mouth to mouth. “The kid was weak.” As though that mattered. “No one noticed him carrying the fledgling. The path to the Edge,” because Edge of the World is three words too long, “was empty at that time, dusk. Sairque saw the boy walk right up to the point, carrying some bundle carefully in his arms. He stopped a few inches from the edge,” a few inches is all an Inarta needs, “and threw the bundle off. "When it plummeted immediately, he stepped forward, misjudging the amount of inches he had to spare, right off the cliff face. At the same time he stepped forward, the bundle, which had a good fifteen foot start on the boy, squawked. It was a fledgling golden eagle, its wings still disproportionately small to its heavy young body.” Because the listeners needed to know that that bird was dead before it had ever been allowed the joy of breeze surfing. “But Sairque was beating them both in the race to the bottom.” Here is where the kids always interrupt with ‘She jumped!?’ and the storyteller, begged to tell a bonding story by the runts in the first place, shakes his head and glares at such a thought. “She pounced. Jammed hard into the East Face Crack, facing not the canyon but the cliff, she let go with her hands and fell backwards.” It was always this dramatic. “When her body was horizontal with the spot where her feet were planted on the rock, she pushed off as hard as she could and shot straight backward. She barely had time to twist around before she was plunging head first down the canyon after the kids who seemed determined to get as much screaming out of their systems as they could before the ground pulverized their bodies. "The flailing kids were slow, they could do nothing less than stave off death for as long as possible, and Sairque reached out for the boy first. He was sweating so badly that her hand slicked right off his arm as she plunged past.” Not true. “The fledgling was so scared that he bit clean through her hand when she tried to grab him next.” ‘But she got him, right? She saved the bird, right?’ The kids ask, like all three of us hitting the ground at the same time would have saved any of us. “No, she couldn’t use her mangled hand, blood ribboned up from the wound in a useless rope, and she couldn’t twist around fast enough to grab the bird with her other hand. There was nothing she could do.” ‘They died?!’ Clearly not. And I did grab that damn bird despite his attempts to fend me off. “But she’s smart, that one, and flattened herself out with her arms and legs spread as far apart as she could make them. It slowed her down enough for the boy to fall straight onto her stomach and then the bird fell straight onto his, like a stack of blocks.” There’s always a collective sigh of disappointment here. ‘Well, where does Catabasis come in?’ “Oh, Sairque got lucky this time. Against all odds an Eagle caught sight of them and dove to their rescue. It shot down so fast that its wings started burning. Caught between death by ground splatter and burning alive, Sairque curled her body around the kids’ to protect them from the embers.” That’s just silly. “Catabasis locked his talons around the precious bundle and snapped his wings out to catch the life giving wind and swoop out of the dive into a desperate climb away from sure death. Catabasis wasn’t impressed with the chiet girl’s heroics. He trapped Sairque against the ledge with her talons, one poised above Sairque’s esophagus to silence her forever should she answer incorrectly.” Funny, I’m pretty sure we weren’t using our vocal chords to communicate. “Catabasis stared into the girl’s very soul when he asked ‘How do you figure that three deaths would benefit the community more than two?’ Sairque stared back, her yellow eyes fierce on the golden slit-pupil one hovering over her. "She said, ‘I am Inarta. I am Endal. If I fear the sky beneath my feet, who here will not? If I value my own life above that of my people, who here will not?’ The impertinence of her answer, of her caste declaration, was mulled over by the fierce bird…but it rang true (still faulty of logic, but true) and Catabasis knew he had met the one Endal who would earn the honor of his bond habitually.”