Solo Displacement

[Alyra]

91st of Spring, 514AV

"Here we are." Alyra spoke softly and through a smile. Ever since Syna had sent her back to this world 6 years ago, Alyra had been staying under another's roof. Be it as a guest in a stranger's home or a student of the College of Zeltiva, Alyra had never owned her own home. Now, as she jostled the keys to her first apartment in her hand, the Ethaefal felt and immense sense of pride. This was hers.

Alyra took a deep breath and turned the key in the lock. She was nervous, yes, but not about the fact that she was about to begin a new life (again). Instead, what brought her concern was what awaited her on the other side of the door. She was sure she would love it no matter what, that just the sheer fact that it was something she could call completely her own would be enough, but the previous owner's words still hung in her thoughts: "Just a few things, lass: I'm givin' ya two keys, one for the side door anda one for the front door. If I were ya, I'd been keen on usin' just that front one, the side one might getcha hurt. Oh, and don't pay the...aesthetics no mind; a sharp lass like yerself'll be sure to figure all that out." Alyra wasn't quite sure what would need to be "figured out", but it didn't sound too pleasant.

The door swung open with ease, causing Alyra to exhale a sigh of relief as she took the first step into her future.

[Alyra]

.

The walls that welcomed Alyra when she walked into the room were light green. The hearth before her was large, taking up almost half of the wall. Alyra walked up to the fireplace, running her fingers along the design. Her finger swept up the film that clung to the stone, and it left a line in the dust. Through that strip of cleanliness shone gold paint. The paint was worn, but beautiful nevertheless.

Alyra took a step back. Aside from the hearth, there was nothing visible. Tarps covered the sparse furniture, and what wasn't covered in a tarp was covered with an equally thick layer of dust. To her right, a bed. Like the hearth, this bed took up almost all of the wall. This time, though, it wasn't the bed's size that made the wall seem small; it was, in fact, the wall that made the wall seem small. With only 10 feet to work with, anything put on the side walls would look enormous when compared to the wall.

To her left, a rough entryway into the next "room." When she purchased the apartment, the previous owner had told her about the two combined rooms. Before, these two rooms fell at a measly 200 square feet each. When the previous owner bought both apartments and combined them into one. Unfortunately, the threshold between the two was rough. Some of the tiles around the top hung over the edge while others fell onto the floor beneath them.

"This'll be fun..." Alyra was a do-it-yourself kind of girl. If she wasn't able to find a way to fix it herself, then she would find someone who could teach her how to.

[Alyra]

.

Nash squirmed inside the bag at Alyra's hip.

"Oh, Nashie, I'm sorry." Alyra flinched, releasing the buckles on the bag. As soon as she did, she unleashed her feline friend on the apartment. The speckled cat leapt to the floor and immediately began to explore. Alyra smiled at his tenacity for adventure. It was that tenacity that kept the two together. He had a way of sniffing out lessons in disguise, small things that Alyra would overlook. While she would be stuck with her nose in a book in a the garden, Nash would be stuck with his paws in a bizarre plant; the cat pulled her attention to the more real things in their world. Unfortunately, he'd been cooped up from the world for longer than he should've been: the trek to Riverfall took much more time than expected, and she had too keep him under wraps while they travelled.

Now, the apartment faced the combined efforts of Alyra and Nash. They hit the new room full-force, with Alyra examining the thin blue paint and Nash investigating the grimy tiling. This room, just like the green one, had gold (though this gold was more subdued, with no shine) detailing. However, the blue room's detail was far more extensive; square panels lined the bottom half of the wall, with each panel holding a different exotic pattern. Some held swirls, others boasted symmetrical sectioning. As Alyra crouched and followed the paneling around the room, she felt a deep sense of awe bubbling to the surface. Somehow, the artist (and the person who decorated this wall was most definitely an artist) who painted these four walls made it so the appreciator of their art wasn't overwhelmed. Rather than finding one's eyes assaulted by the patterns, one found their mind challenged by their complexity.

The whole room was odd. Along with the panels, the whole room was shaped oddly. The dark blue paint and dingy, barely clean window along the outside wall gave one the feeling that they were walking through a tunnel. There was an bizarrely placed pillar right in front of the other door, leaving just barely enough room for the door to open. Scratch marks lined the edge of both the door and pillar; Alyra nodded now that she knew why just the green room's door was used.

Aside from the strange structure and questionable design decisions, there wasn't much else in the room to look at. The furniture in this room was also covered in tarps, though Alyra now began to remove and neatly fold them. First, there was a simple chair that appeared wicker but, upon closer inspection, turned out to be a light metal, cold to the touch. The table next to it was low to the floor, and as such served basically no purpose other than to fill space. A basic wood trunk squeezed itself next to the threshold that connected the rooms.

Standing in the doorway between the rooms, Alyra now understood the previous owner's words; these rooms would be hard to get used to, and, to those accustomed to Riverian beauty, hard to love.

[Alyra]

.

From behind Alyra came a noticeable thud. It pulled the Eth from her examinations and forced her to look for the source. In actuality, she knew what it was: Nash lost his footing, got lost distracted by something shiny, or decided to make a jump that he couldn't actually make.

"And you wonder why I keep you in the bag all the time..." Alyra smiled as she scanned the room. Nash wasn't to be found. Alyra rolled her eyes; only her cat could find a hiding spot in a room with a bed and a door. If she couldn't see him now, then he was probably under something. Alyra crouched to the ground, attempting to keep as much of herself off of the tiles as she could.

"Nash," Alyra clicked her tongue lightly as she called to her pet. "Nash come here." Alyra tugged at the edge of the bed's tarp. It was heavier than she expected, so she only managed to lift it an inch or two with her initial tug.

Unfortunately, an inch was all it needed.

[Alyra]

.

The curiosity and happiness flashed from Alyra's face as a flurry of black erupted into her face. A small creature scraped against Alyra's face with tiny talons, which caused her to throw her arms up and flail furiously. After the third or so thrash, Alyra's forearm finally connected with the small assailant; it fell to the ground on the opposite side of the room from Alyra.

"What the petch is that?!" Alyra shouted as she hurriedly backed into the wall. At first glance, it would appear that the creature from beneath her bed was a black bird. Long feathers shot from its head, framing the little head that sat upon its thin body. It was a beautiful bird, Alyra had to give it that. If it hadn't been assaulting her, she would have enjoyed to watch it.

As the bird rose to its feet, though, Alyra could see that it was actually a sort of iridescent green. It bristled its feathers and expanding its chest. Alyra froze; she was unfamiliar with bird behaviors and, as such, she was unsure what this creature was planning. She did not want to set it off. A low croak rose from deep in the bird's throat.

"What?" Alyra furrowed her brows as she spoke to the animal. She understood that she couldn't actually speak to animals, but she often did so anyway. She blamed Nash.

The bird let out a another slow call before it angrily flapped its wings. Startled, Alyra quickly jumped up onto the bed. The dust leapt from the tarp and stormed all around the room. As thick as a mild snow flurry and suffocating as a fierce sandstorm, the dust caused Alyra to launch into a brief, but severe, coughing fit.

Apparently, birds don't like coughing fits. Most likely being as startled as Alyra by the abrupt inclement weather inside the apartment, the bird took to the air. As it flung itself at the Eth, she shouted: "What do you want from me?"

Unphased by the shouting, the animal began a dive, talon-first, towards Alyra's face. Knowing nothing about self-defense, Alyra did what she thought was best at the time: pinched her eyes shut, turned her face to the ground, screamed, and began to awkwardly thrash her arms in large circles in front of her.

Alyra's strategy, unfortunately, wasn't as effective as she originally thought it would have been; it took only a few ticks for the bird to latch onto her arm. Luckily, its talons were long enough to almost completely wrap around her wrist, only slightly digging at the surface of her arm. Alyra still refused to open her eyes, which caused her to accidentally throw herself off of the bed and into the wall. All the while, Krysus's minion was starting to peck at her marble skin.

Another scream passed through Alyra's lips, this time the sound shaped into words: "Get off!" She quickly wrapped her arms around the bird and caged it with her body. It squawked in protest. Before it could raise up in arms, Alyra held onto whatever part of the bird she could. Initially, she thought the legs would be best to grab; immobilize the creature and cease its furious attacks. Unfortunately, she was only able to hold onto its face and a wing. The animal did the bird equivalent of growling, as it was the only thing it was able to do now.

Alyra smiled victoriously. This bird was the first thing she'd ever caught, with the exception of Nash (if one could call that "catching"). However, Nash was easy to take care of after the fact: just drop him in a bag while travelling, let him out every few bells, and feed him. Never did she have to worry about Nash attempting to claw her to death. Which raised a question: what to do with this bird?

[Alyra]

.

Alyra ran the list through her head:

1. Kill it. She flinched at the thought of killing another being. Not that she was particularly opposed to killing the bird after this whole ordeal, but she wouldn't know how to do it humanely. That is, even if she could catch the bird again; she would surely have to free her hands in order to kill it. Not to mention the mess... because she would have to chop its head off or something of that sort. Never would Alyra ever be able to suffocate another living thing, watch the life drain from it. She would most definitely back out before it was dead.

2. Release it. A better option, by far. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of how to get to the door without releasing the bird again. If she could put the bird into a container, then that would be a different story. Alyra was poor, though, and lacked any suitable containers. Excluding her bag, of course; she wouldn't be willing to sacrifice her favorite bag to this creature.

3. Keep it. Alyra wasn't too keen on this option, but it seemed to be her last one. At first, she planned to throw him into the other room and seal it up with one of the tarps (or all of them, just to be sure). That way, she could let in someone else to take or kill the creature through the other door. Or, if the malice left the bird, she could keep it as a pet. However, she soon remembered the quickness that the bird had moved with, and this first plan now had the same problem as the first two options: the potential for another attack.

"What do I do with you then?" Alyra sighed, scanning the room for more choices. There were the tarps. She could always wrap him up in one of those. They were heavy, though, and the bird might try to escape, thus hurting itself in the process. There was the chest, but it was closed. It would need to be opened before the bird was placed into it, and both Alyra's hands were currently occupied. Not to mention the fact that she would have to get over to it first...

"Actually..." Alyra nodded, putting more thought into the trunk plan. She could still walk and hug the bird, solving the distance problem. The issue of opening the chest could, most likely, be solve by kicking the chest open. Alyra didn't remember there being a lock or latch on the trunk, so it would probably work just fine to kick it until it opened.

Satisfied, Alyra nodded once more. It would be tricky, but she had faith. If not in her plan, then in the speed at which she could run out the door if it failed.

[Alyra]

.

Alyra pushed against the wall, using it to keep her balance as she stood up. When she was standing--or standing as much as she could while still keeping the bird wrapped tightly in between her chest, arms, and thighs--and sure that she had a steady footing, she began to waddle her way across the room. Her body was folded over so that she was less half of her normal size, which made her pace slower than usual. That, and she could only move her legs from the knees down. She moved carefully and slowly until she finally made it to the trunk.

Too tired to use the wall for balance again, Alyra just let herself drop to the ground. Her rear hit the floor with an audible thud, causing Alyra to groan. Thank Syna it's daytime, or else that would've bruised for seasons. As she lay on her back, legs pressed to her chest, Alyra took the time to catch her breath and recollect her energy. She also noted that she hadn't seen Nash since she had let him out to explore; Alyra laughed lightly at the cat's cowardice, hiding from a bird.

A few chimes later and Alyra was ready for action again. She slithered her arms around the bird, hugging it in a very tight hug while still keeping its beak restrained. She placed her feet shoulder-width apart on the lid of the trunk. The first push was useless, as it only pushed the trunk closer to the wall. Sighing, Alyra readjusted herself for the next try. The second attempt was slightly more fruitful, pushing the lid up successfully. Unfortunately, Alyra didn't position her feet correctly, so she had to drop the top, sending dust and dirt all over the place, again.

"Come on," Alyra grunted. "Go." Placing the ball of her feet onto the top edge of the lid, Alyra pushed with a groan. As the top of the trunk slowly rose, she rolled her feet along the front of the lid. By the time the lid was half way open Alyra's heels were on the bottom edge of the lid. She kicked the lid up against the wall, smiling as it stayed open.

She stood, and quickly thrusted the bird into the trunk. It landed on its back, giving Alyra just enough time to slam the lid shut. Alyra sat on the trunk, leaning back against the wall as she let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Now you show up!" Alyra laughed as Nash slowly walked over from beneath the bed. "Don't worry, Nashie. I've got everything under control." As the feline approached, Alyra's smile dissipated. "Nash!"

[Alyra]

.

Alyra sunk to the ground, whisking the cat up into her arms. He had multiple cuts on his front paws and chest. From the positioning of the cuts, it looked like Nash had been investigating when the bird attacked him. There were three shallow horizontal cuts on his front left leg, which Alyra presumed came from Nash pawing at the bird one too many times. What really concerned the Eth, however, were the two deeper cuts that ran over across the cat's chest. It was no longer bleeding, but the hair around the wounds was clumped with dried blood.

Alyra rushed over to her bag and began to dump things out onto the floor. She no longer cared that the thickest layer of dust was now weaving its way into her clothes; she needed something to wrap her little friend up in. She wasn't quite sure why, but it seemed to be the thing to do. When she found her red coat, Alyra folded it into a thick square and placed Nash inside. He nearly drowned in the fabric, but at least he would be warm and safe.

As Alyra leapt to her feet, she heard the bird squawk from inside the trunk."Shut up!" She delivered a swift kick to the side of the trunk. "I'll kill you, you piece of absolute shyke!" Alyra spat the words at the bird as a promise. If Nash died, Alyra would swore she'd kill that bird dead where it stood. She had no mercy left for it.

Alyra locked the door behind her, rushing down the footpath. She wasn't sure where she should go, but she knew she needed to be somewhere. It didn't matter how long it took, how far she would have to run, how much she would have to pay...Nash would find treatment, even if it killed Alyra in the process.

[Ragdoll]

Grade Awarded!

Skills

Skill	Points
Observation	4
Animal Husbandry	2
Blind Fighting	1
Planning	1
Unarmed Combat	1

Lores

• Location: Home
• Layout: Home
• Damn Birds
• Protecting Nash from Harm

Loot

Well...you've got a bird in a trunk now. What are you going to do with that?

Injuries

Scratches: Three long but shallow scratches on her wrist from where the bird grabbed her. They should heal up in about ten days time, barring infection.

Comments

This thread was a LOT of fun to read. I can't help but feel bad for Nash! Get well soon, kitty.

Don't forget to edit your grading request! Though I try my hardest to award you what you deserve, I may occasionally mess things up! If there's something you'd like to discuss about your grade, then please don't hesitate to send me a PM and I'll be happy to work things out with you.