Rocks, Shrooms, and Bats, Oh My! (Tiaue'a)

[Half-Pint]

Timestamp: Spring 54,512 AV Time: Late Morning Location: Just Outside The Underground Forest Who: Tiaue'a Half-Pint was studying the massive cave-in that was blocking the entrance to one of Wind Reach's most important food sources. The Underground Forest was completely cut off, and it was up to Half-Pint to clear it out. But even with Reimancy, she wouldn't be able to clear it all single-handedly, not without becoming a statue herself. So she was studying the rocks, looking at it like a puzzle. If she could collapse a few key rocks, perhaps they would all come tumbling down. There was a team of fairly useless Dek, as well as her own Chent. She had Chent clearing away the smaller rocks, while to keep the other Deks busy, she assigned them the task clearing what they could from the far end of the pile, away from her own efforts. She studied the pile with intense scrutiny, trying to piece together what would happen with the failings of each rock. She wanted to cause big effects, with little effort. Which meant she'd have to start at the bottom. She knew she couldn't clear the entire pile, that's what the Deks were for, but she could at least provide somewhat of an opening that could be used until it was back to normal. She found a particularly large boulder at the base, that seemed to be supporting a good deal of the weight. She grabbed a large chisel and hammer. She pressed the tip of the hammer against the stone, and struck it a few light times, to get the tip into the surface. Then she struck it several more times, until the chisel was driven deep into the stone. She pulled the chisel from stone, and placed it back in her pack. She then placed a single hand over the hole left behind. She willed Res to come out of her fingerless hand, in the form of a glowing, slightly lavender shade into the hole. She couldn't feel the fissure deep within the rock, but she knew they were there. No such thing as a flawless rock after all. She continued to force in Res, until the magical substance was extremely compact and able to fill the cracks deep within. She then used the outer layer of the Res to attract the stone from the rock that it was immediately touching. This resulted in small shreds of stone being carved away from the inside. She manipulated the Res to funnel it out of the hole. This began forming a pile of shavings, sand, and small rock chunks. She continued this for a full chime, knowing that the miniscule cracks within would be expanding. She then forced her Res in deeper, continuing the process until she finally felt the rock shudder, much to her satisfaction. She then transmuted the remaining Res within the stone into very dense stone as it expanded. A huge crack filled the cavern, and Half-Pint felt a drop in her energy. The large boulder cracked into roughly five large chunks. Bursting forth, toward Half-Pint herself. She stepped back, not having realized a good portion of the rocks that would collapse, would come her way. She would be a dead pile of clay in mere moments. "Hel---!"

[Tiaue'a]

It had been well over forty days and nights since they had failed. Ti`ue struggled to find the hope in the gesture of leaving Wind Reach to its ruined peace – or perhaps pieces was better suiting. Her shallow, slow breathing had been the pattern that followed her thereafter. It was depressing to see the city as it currently was. At least now they could rebuild, and maybe start anew. The question did linger in her mind though, now that Ivak was much alive, now that there was no use for the wind eagles besides the daily ways of life. Was there space in the Ukalas when the wind eagles passed on, to be born from the ashes once more, or would these numbered days be their last flights? The thoughts crushed her spirits as much as the rocks below my crush a dek, pulverize any single one of them into another mess to be cleaned by their own kin. It was rather ironic, she figured. Although many of the Inarta had let the castes be swept away with the ash clouds in the wind, Ti`ue remembered strictly the cruelty and kindness that each and every one of them was capable of, savagery amongst Endal and Dek alike. It was miraculous that they came together. It could have been her though, too crushed by a giant rock, but fate had otherwise planned against that. It seemed death came in many strange ways, unbiased of who or how. At the same time, she found greater agony in living now in the shattered remnants of the jewel city she remembered. Dira comes to us all… a strange thought. The divines seemed much more relevant now that the secret of Ivak had been revealed. Now, joining her efforts to the city, Tiaue`a assisted in some of the heavy duty work, lifting or just overseeing of events. It was more by self appointment of course; the eagles still had a duty as protectors, even if they were no longer the wardens of the djed prison. Even then she had her mortal demands to attend to, and by doing so provided for the Inarta in Wind Reach as a whole, or so she contributed. The immediate project satisfied both of such needs. The distasteful bat meat that fluttered around behind the rocks in that cavern would be an immediate resource that could at least sustain the city for a while longer before the eagles had fully recovered and could coordinate with their Endal once more. In greater distaste, Ti`ue might have been charged to an Avora’s bidding for the next few hours…or perhaps it could be days. At the visible rate, they were making no progress in clearing the large debris pile. She herself could be of no use either, with no talons strong enough to fully grasp bare boulders. The Dek were idly moving away small rocks on the side when Ti`ue noticed a shifting in the dirt. Half-Pint had been at work for the time the Dek were shifting pebbles. Only now did Tiaue`a see the effects of the Pycon’s efforts. It was coming down, it was all coming down. Whatever the Pycon had done had been set in motion long before she could realize it. From her perch she leapt off beating her wings before she dove down for the incredibly small target. She had caught foxes and things before, but with talons much smaller than her own at this time. She prayed she didn’t miss or there’d be more for the dek to recover than stones and bat meat. The top of the load was giving way when Ti`ue was upon the pycon. She had the spit second at such speeds to snatch the little architect and relocate for safety. The dek could fend for themselves. Talons forward as if to plunge deep into the flesh of a surfacing whale, Ti`ue prepared herself to snatch the pycon. Too high and she’d miss, too low and she’d crash and perhaps harm them both… Success! She felt the rocky pieces in her claws. She surfaced high into the air above the catastrophe and watched a moment in awe, circling o’er head. Only then did she check her talon and notice the contents. A rock… A rock?! She had missed, another Inartan left to die the pain ridden suffering of suffocation and compounding pressure. She was in panic before she noticed the wiggle in her other limb. Little Half-Pint was adjusting herself to catch full sight of her handy work. It must have filled her with some pride: such a small being moving relative mountains with her own power. It was no wonder she was in charge of this project though. She wiggled again, and the eagle say the Pycon give her that characteristic, yet blank, stare. Ti`ue didn’t doubt herself for a second, nope, no sir, no sir’ee! Ti`ue glanced back with a poker face before they both landed safely away from the still tumbling rubble to assess the damages.

[Half-Pint]

Half-Pint looked in horror as large rock, twice the size of her, came speeding toward her, tumbling end over end. Would there be time? She excreted a purple tinted gas from the entire front of her body, and used it to attract the rock intending to smush her. This slowed the rock as it collided with her, much slower than it had been, but enough to cause worry. She could feel herself lifted from her feet, flying backwards, when she felt something else grip her. She, and the rock, were both lifted up, by a force she could not yet see. She twisted her head around atop her body, a full half circle, and looked up, to find her face to face with a bunch of feathers. If she had a face, she would've smiled. She knew it immediately to be Tiaue'a, the Wind Eagle who had been perched nearby, that had been watching them like a hawk. She chuckled to herself at the idea of such a statement. It would be quite insulting if she had said it aloud. She twisted back around to her natural form within the claws, and escaped from the grip as they landed. She patted the large raptor on the haunch, "Thank you, Tiaue'a, you ready to hunt bats and slugs instead instead of untasty Pycons?" She walked back over to the collapsed pile and looked up at the top. The opening was just big enough for the feathered one to fly into, cautiously. Half-Pint began hopping up the pile, slowly, teetering, careful with every move, until she reached the hole. She looked into the cavern, not seeing much as the dust was continuing to settle. She would have to clear more before this cavern could be used effectively, but that would wait until Tiaue'a passed through. She took the time waiting to move out of the way, and look down for Chent, hoping he'd survived. She saw him dusting himself off in a corner, everything seeming fine. The other Deks weren't so lucky though. A few bloodsplattered limbs was all that could be seen sticking out from a large pile of boulders. More casualties from the prison break. After Tiaue'a made it through, to scout out ahead, she sat in the central most point, at the top of the pile. She was alrighty slightly fatigued from her magic use earlier, so creating earth would be out of the question. But she could still easily attract a good deal of it. She held her arms out to the side, as Res began to pour from her hands like a fountain, seeping into the readjusted deluge of stone below. She cut off the flow and waited until it had all seeped to the very bottom, and let it slide downhill, following the path into the cave. Then she charged the top and middle layers to attract earth, while the bottom layers remained mobile, so as to not attract the earth from the ground. At first the pile just shuddered, vibrating lightly. Then it shook, lurched toward the inside of the cave. Then it all came tumbling down, rolling into the depths of the cave. Half-Pint quickly released some Res and kept it in her hands, which she slapped against the rock she was sitting upon, and charged it to attract. This allowed her to stick to the rock as the pile avalanched down, her riding atop it like the goddess of a mountain. When she and her rock finally came to a rest, several yards from the entrance, the fatigue really set in. She looked back, and leapt up in the air as she saw that the entrance was a lot more manageable now. The rocks had distributed themselves out into a single layer, many rolling into the cave. She could charge Deks to come down and crush these, and turn them into a much better pathway. She turned, looking for her protector, "Well now, that wasn't so bad."

[Tiaue'a]

Tiaue`a peered into the innards of the mountain and its winding ways. The light penetrated only so far, a distance she dared travel alone, but no further. Eagle eyes only helped so much in darkness. She saw the towering mushrooms all around her illuminating the cavern further back. The glow of the fungi only reached so far up though, and that was her particular problem. The confines of a cave were bad enough, not to mention the mass of bats she knew lurked her, from years of experience. There was no telling what the djed storm had done to life in the Underground Forest as it had done to the world above. The light that guided her was fading, and the lamination of the cavern began to take over. She heard the screeching of bats so vaguely. They were sharp, shrieking echoes that bombarded and rebounded against the seemingly endless walls of the cavern. She never imagined herself working in here. By preference, Ti`ue had always kept to the outside world in her hunt. The threat of enormous sea monsters breaking through the ocean’s surface and swallowing her whole was better than being trapped in the belly of a mountain. She could always go up outside, but not here. Tiaue`a glided back, but not before noticing the shifting of the ceiling. The collapsed wall must have startled whatever was up there. How many? It wasn’t a fact she wanted to discover alone. She’d felt lonely enough after the failure of the Wind Eagles, but she was trying to put that behind her. Ti`ue landed near the pycon, Half-Pint if she recalled properly, and one of the younger mushrooms. The spores were fresh and brilliant in their light. Ti`ue started to beat her wings against the air between herself and the shroom, as well as rub herself against it as necessary. She’d be a flying lantern in no time. She had almost failed to acknowledge the pycon, but she did remember. Her nerves were getting the better of her was all. Now wasn’t the time to be bitter. The thoughts of the eagle, vaguely reminiscent of her voice and some screeching of the birds of prey, resonated against the forefront of the Pycon’s mind for her to receive or displace. No it wasn’t. You’re welcome, by the way. This place bothers me. No amount of food will still me now. Have you ever… I mean, you probably have never tasted the meat from here, being a pycon. There’s better, out there, but if we are desperate then what will come will come. The mushrooms glow on their own, all the way back as I could see. It’s not very bright, but it will help us see what we need to. I want to see if this is enough before we go on. Ti`ue eyed the pycon with her intense eagle look. It was only natural, although, to some irony, it showed the sternness she presently possessed. She started to take off, taking the moment to hover. I’ll go to the top. Tell me if you can see me when I return. There are things crawling on the ceiling. I’ll try to stay away. The rock startled them. Her back rolled as she swept the wind beneath her wings and took off for the ceiling. The climb was easy on thickened air, and she was reaching the peak of her flight. She only saw a few yards ahead, to be generous. The glow that radiated away from her body gave off a false light. The room only seemed lighter around her body, but all she saw was blackness. Closer still, she found the roof of the cavern and followed it deeper inward. She peered back to the spec, Half-Pint, only distinguished by the rocky ruin that was once the pycon’s little mountain. It was funny. She turned back and screeched. The giant bats hollered in response and broke wing in all directions around her. Some bodies swept against her and the glow of the mushrooms was carried off. The specs that stuck to them fluttered around wildly against the black background of the roof. In that moment, Ti`ue twisted her body, a rapid stride. Her wing broadened and pushed herself back and she fell as gracefully as she could. She caught herself upright and heading for the cavern entrance. They were on her tail, so many of the dark monsters. Her whole body undulated with the force of her chest and wings against the gentle breeze entering the cave. The precision of her aim took her right past Half-Pint, leaving a trail of the glowing dust in her wake. Ti`ue was blinded by the light of the sun and only brought herself to the safety of the sky by instinct and experience. Ti`ue squinted to the sky and gathered her senses. It was relatively quiet about her, no screeching that was. Her heart pounding, eyes racing around her for a hint of the bats, Ti`ue was panicked still. Only after finding herself high in the sky and without pursuers was she settled. Not much, but she could bring herself to reenter the cave. She didn’t like the cave, especially the bats. Ti`ue glided back to the cavern entrance and fluttered her wings to a hover before landing behind the little-mighty pycon. She didn’t look at her, rather Ti`ue just stared away from Half-Pint back into the expanse of the cave, over what mushrooms she could. Knowing well enough the pycon figured what the dek did not, Ti`ue gave Half-Pint a slight glance, only to return her gaze seconds later. Her beak was tight, and wings unmoving. Ti`ue was afraid! Nah, nah-nah, nah-nah nah!

[Sphinx]

Thread Award! Character Name: Tiaue'a Skills: Acrobatics +3, Leadership +1 Lore: I DON'T HAVE ANY HOPE, Newfound Faith, Claustrophobia, Fear of Bats Notes: Fancy flying, taking charge Nah, Nah-Nah Nah-Nah Nah! Was there space in the Ukalas when the wind eagles passed on, to be born from the ashes once more, or would these numbered days be their last flights? I appreciate that phoenix reference there. It made me smile. Also, your character is so dark and depressing. I like it. She seems almost suicidal and hopeless, but is stronger than that. Half-Pint retired, so her grade has gone unsaid. If she returns and wishes to view her grade, I will post it for her. If you have questions, concerns, or comments about my grading, please don't be afraid to PM me.