Suicide Archery at Sunset [Open]

[Sira]

Sira could see the uncertain look on Cyrill's face. She wondered if perhaps taking the life was in fact too much for her, but when she voiced her concern Sira laughed out loud, a sound that probably sounded rather strange considering she was a bird. Regaining control of herself Sira quickly answered, "Of course. How else would we get it back. You didn't want to drag it all the way up the mountain, did you?"

Sira cocked her head and gave Cyrill a sideways look, humor in her eyes. "Now hurry up and get on, we're not done yet." Sira walked over to the deer and grabbed it with one of her claws, then knelt down low so Cyrill could climb on her back. "Hold on tight. Taking off from the ground is a lot rougher than hopping off a cliff."

Once Cyrill was aboard Sira flapped her wings strongly, kicking up dust all around them, and jumped into the air. It wasn't difficult for her to take off even with the added weight, she had carried much heavier things before, but it she wasn't used to having someone on her back so it was likely a bumpy ride for Cyrill until they got up high enough for Sira to catch a nice air current. "You doing alright up there? We can take the long way home if you want, or if you're to cold we can head straight back." Sira didn't really want to head back, but she knew the night air could be harsh for someone not dressed properly. She would leave it up to Cyrill to decide.

[Cyrill]

Cyrill smiled as she climbed onto the eagle’s back, feeling much less apprehensive than she had the first time. At least Sira wasn’t going to jump off a cliff now. The takeoff should be easier to handle… Rather, that was what Cyrill thought before they took off the ground. Cyrill felt like…felt like… Well, she couldn’t really compare the sensation to anything. She’d never expected that being on an eagle’s back would feel so…bouncy. Her body seemed to jerk up and down in its own as Sira gained momentum, rising higher and higher. Funny, how she had always imagined that flying must be as smooth and effortless as the Endal made it seem. No such luck.

When they had finally risen up high into the air, the feeling of being jerked about subsided. She hadn’t even noticed how dark it had gotten or how cold, for that matter, until Sira mentioned it. Cyrill was wearing her outdoor clothing, but she still felt the harsh air pierce her skin. It was a matter of being unaccustomed to such high altitudes, she decided.

The sensible thing would of course be to ask Sira to head back as quickly as possible. Cyrill would go back to her warm room, settle into bed and wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and ready to work… Except, that felt terribly mundane now. She was surprised that she didn’t want to be back in her warm room, closed off on all sides and missing the pure, night air that was now filling her lungs.

“The long way if that’s all right with you,” she said feeling very much like a little kid who had just done something against her parent’s wishes. Funny, how she never experienced that feeling much when she was actually a child. She had always done what she was told with very little questioning on her part. Not a problem child like her brother… Well, it was high time she enjoyed a little adventure in her life. “Do you do this often?” she asked, an edge of wonder creeping into her voice. “Flying, I mean. Or do you stay in your human form for the most part?” Cyrill couldn’t imagine what it must be like to be able to change from human to eagle, but she wanted to know.

[Sira]

Sira was pleased that Cyrill did not want to head back right away. "It's perfectly alright with me." She glided gently through the sky, flapping her wings every so often to regain altitude, and followed the winding path of the river back toward the mountain. Normally she would have flown straight to the aeries, but instead when she neared the mountain she went down, toward the falls.

Cyrill's question was something she was used to, so she wasn't surprised when Cyrill asked it. "I spend most of the day as an eagle, out hunting. But I rarely fly like this.. just for the fun of it, I mean. Most of the time it's just work." Sira dipped into a shallow dive, the wind rushing over their bodies, and descended down to tree level, still following the course of the river, the sound of the Katshika Falls in the distance.

"I love what I do, but the life of an Endal leaves little time for play. There are a lot of people to feed in Wind Reach and it's our job to make sure we have food to feed them." They soon reached the source of the river, and Sira passed close enough to the falls for the pair to get sprayed by the mist, before rising again and circling the area. The view of moonlight glittering off the cascading falls was truly a sight to behold, and Sira lingered in the area a while before headed up toward Mount Skyinarta.

Sira circled the mountain giving Cyrill and eagles eye view of her home from all sides as they climbed higher and higher. "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go and see the rest of the world... But how could I leave such a beautiful place?" As they circled the mountain for the final time they reached the level where the aeries were, and Sira angled in toward the mountain, heading for an opening in the side of the mountain.

The opening was the Nesting chamber in Sira's personal aerie, and was decorated with various chimes and bells, dusty from lack of use. Most nesting chambers were elaborate and beautiful places, but Sira spent little time in the room, using it only as a place to land. A Dek whose name Sira could not recall was waiting for them when they landed, and the look of surprise on his face when he noticed a rider on the eagles back was obvious when they got close enough, though the man said nothing. Sira dropped the deer and landed gently just beyond it, giving Cyrill time to dismount before she shifted and received the robe the Dek had to offer her. "Thank you," she said quietly then motioned to the deer before turning back to Cyrill, leaving the drudge to deal with the kill.

"Well, this is my place," Sira said with a laugh. "Come on inside, lets get you out of that cold." Sira led Cyrill through a door in the side of the chamber into a candlelit hall that led to the commonroom, a large well lit room with comfortable seating and a table for dining. It was clear the room wasn't used much, as Sira was usually the only person to enter the room. When she did have guests, they usually passed right through and on into the bedroom.

"You can stay here tonight if you like. It's a long way down to the commonrooms.. I have an extra bed in there," Sira pointed to a door on the right side of the room, "And my bed is through that door." After a moment of awkward silence Sira pointed to another door, "If you'd like to wash off the bath is through there, and I can have some food brought up if you are hungry. ..If there's anything you need, just let me know." Sira wasn't used to entertaining guests, so the situation was pretty awkward for her. She hoped Cyrill would at least stay and talk a while, but she wasn't going to pressure the woman if she wanted to go. The possibility of ruining things with her new found friend was to much to risk.

[Cyrill]

Cyrill had never seen the waterfall from this angle. The water looked as if it was flying, not falling – droplets gathering together and spreading apart in one seemingly impermeable wall. The spray reminded her of floating feathers, glittering in the moonlight as they glided to the ground. She nodded in agreement, belatedly realizing that Sira couldn’t exactly see her. Indeed, Wind Reach was an amazing sight to behold. She still could not understand how some people could choose to leave it behind, especially her brother.

She was sorry to feel Sira drawing to a halt, slowing down and landing. As soon as Cyrill’s feet touched the ground, she had to mentally steady herself to keep from falling. Once she was firmly planted on the ground, she looked back at the deer. Again, a bit of pride swelled in her chest.

Cyrill followed the other woman into the spacious room. It reminded her vaguely of her own common room. However, this space was missing something… There were no people here, no artisans trading stories, nobody munching on late-night snacks… It felt lonely and Cyrill wondered how Sira managed to stay here. Cyrill wasn’t a particularly social person, but she enjoyed the company of others and often joined in the friendly gatherings that took place in the vicinity of her own room.

She flashed Sira a grateful smile when the woman offered to let her stay for the night. She had no desire to make her way through the warrens toward her own room at this time of night. “Thank you. I believe I’ll take you up on that. I’m much to dizzy from all that flying to actually attempt to walk anywhere right now,” she said with a chuckle. She felt the cold ebb away from her body, leaving her at a nice warm temperature. “Maybe I’ll take a bath before I go to bed and I’m not really hungry right now,” she added.

It was well past the time Cyrill usually went to bed, but she did not feel particularly sleepy at the moment. Lowering herself into one of the armchairs, Cyrill drew her legs up under her, making herself comfortable. Her chin resting in her hand, she look at Sira for a few seconds before asking, “Do you stay alone here? I would’ve thought there would be more people here.”

[Sira]

Sira was overjoyed to hear Cyrill agree to stay the night. She rarely had visitors, and when she did they didn't do much talking. She sighed when Cyrill asked her question, and took a seat in a chair next to her. "Oh, there are people in and out of here during the day tending to my every need... pestering me to brush my hair, put on clothes, make my food. Its really annoying, actually. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. My mother comes to visit from time to time, and I tell her she can stay, but she prefers to sleep in the nursery with the children. I guess I grew up to fast for her... and I'm an only child."

Sira shrugged, not really knowing what else to say on the subject. She didn't have any friends to speak of, and her mother was her only family. "I spend most of my nights down in the commonrooms or the baths or the Dreaming Lady. It does get pretty lonely up here I guess..." Sira sighed again then decided it was time to change the subject.

"Enough about me though, tell me about yourself. Any interesting stories from your life you could tell?"

[Cyrill]

Cyrill was tempted to ask how exactly Sira got on with her mother. It had always been a mystery to her – the relationship between mothers and children. But she refrained, realizing that the topic might not be one Sira would wish to discuss.

Interesting stories… What could possibly be interesting enough for Cyrill to tell? She worked all day and her work was certainly interesting to her, but she knew from experience that glass tended to bore people. When had her life actually been interesting? Of course, when Beck had been in it.

Cyrill leaned back in the armchair and began to talk, “I grew up with my twin brother, Beck. He and I – we were very different. He tended toward the dangerous, the funny, the risqué… I was the quiet one, the one who actually followed the rules. He loved to plan and execute these elaborate plans. He’d managed to pull off some prank or other with every Master who he was assigned to during our Yasi years. I never participated except for this one time… ” Cyrill smiled, recalling the memory. “When we were ten, Beck had to complete some assignments for one of the chefs. Now, the man was pretty horrid to my brother – made him wash all the dishes left over from the group dinners and sweep all the kitchen floors at least twice per day. So, Beck spent a whole week trying to come up with a way to get back at him. He took note of the way the worktables in the cook’s private kitchen sector looked – they were long and were essentially blocks of wood, with large compartments in them for storing dishware. He also noticed that the cook had this habit of laying out the ingredients on his worktable one by one. Like, he’d pick a vegetable out of a crate in front of him and turn around to put it on the table. Then, he’d do it again for every ingredient."

“So, one day the cook was supposed to prepare a dinner for a small group of Endal, including a fruit salad. Beck and I got a list of the ingredients that went into the salad and brought two of each. Then, we each hid underneath a long worktable in the cook’s private sector of the kitchen –I at one end and Beck at the other. When he started taking out the fruits for the salad, he followed his routine. So, he’d put an apple on the end of the table under which Beck was hiding and turn back around. Beck would reach up and take the apple. At the same time, I would put an apple from our own collection on the other end of the tabletop. Every time the cook turned, he didn’t seen the ingredient exactly where he put it, but a few feet over. It infuriated him to no end – he must have gone through half of the ingredients before he realized it wasn’t just him being clumsy. The next time he turned, Beck and I crawled out through the door that faced the man’s back.”

Cyrill smiled sheepishly at the end, realizing how foolish the story might sound to someone who hadn’t been there – hadn’t seen the priceless look on the man’s face. It had been a long time since she recalled one of her brother’s escapades. It felt good to remember him again.

"Unfortunately, that's pretty much the only interesting event I can recall. My life is much less exciting than I'd like it to be," she added with a shrug.

[Sira]

Sira smiled as she listened to Cyrill's story. It may not have been the most exciting story, but she could tell it meant something to her. Sira had no siblings, so she always loved hearing about other people's siblings. It was just another thing that made her different from the rest of the Inarta, since many of them were twins.

"It was a wonderful story. I'm sure it was hilarious to see the cook's reaction. I don't really have any stories like that, simple yet still interesting to hear. I grew up so fast I didn't have time for the usual mischief and pranks the other kids had..."

Sira yawned and stretched her arms, rubbing her eyes a bit. "I'm getting kind of sleepy, and I have to hunt in the morning. I hate to say it, but maybe we should call it a night. I'll probably be gone when you wake up, but feel free to stick around a while if you want. I can have some breakfast brought up to you, and you can use the bath if you like." Sira felt a bit awkward. Most of her guests were just in and out, but tonight was much different. "So... I guess goodnight. If you don't mind, perhaps we could see each other again soon. I'd love to go flying again, maybe in the daylight. I could take you on a tour of the mountains. We could practice your archery some more."

[Sira]

Before heading to her room Sira stepped outside, leaving a note for whoever would be by in the morning to bring up extra food and draw a bath for her guest. Even if Cyrill declined, she wanted everything to be available to her. Sira didn't have many friends, and wanted to give Cyrill a reason to come back. After that was taken care of, she bid her guest goodnight then headed to her room. She wouldn't sleep much that night, it was only a couple hours from dawn and she would be out on the hunt by the time the sun rose above the mountains. Sira's sleep was filled with visions of flying, a rider on back and all the other Endal finally respecting her as one of them.

[Cyrill]

“Sleep does sound like a good idea,” Cyrill admitted, already feeling the heaviness of her eyelids. “And I’d love to go flying with you again," she added. "Today…it meant a lot to me."

Cyrill rose from the armchair, stretching her arms behind her back. It had been a very productive day. For once, that feeling of productivity didn’t come from working with glass. The idea surprised Cyrill – glass meant everything to her. It was hard to believe that she could get that warm, accomplished feeling from another activity. “Goodnight, Sira and thank you for letting me stay the night,” she said before she entered the spare bedroom.

Lying in bed, Cyrill felt strangely weightless. With her eyes closed, she could almost feel the fresh air against her face again.

FIN

[Dreamcatcher]

. Character: Sira Experience: +5 Socializing, +4 Hunting, +2 Acrobatics, + 1 Body Building, +1 Wilderness Survival Lore: Changing fast into a Eagle, Carrying Someone Character: Cyrill Experience: +5 Socializing,+3 Riding [Eagle], +2 Archey, +1 Hunting, +1 Wilderness Survival Lore: Seeing the Unexpected Additional Note: Also the both of you get three days worth of food tokens for your kill. If you feel that I missed something please PM me with the details on what I missed and I will review it. .