PM to join Hell Hath No Fury (Aquila)

[Calters]

Calters' fingers ghosted over the depressions in his beloved ocarina. His eyes were shut, concentrating on a song that was looping around in his head. The song was loud and controlling, and yet it was comforting. It took control and allowed the listener to let go. For that, Calters loved it.

The musician bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut tighter as he focused. The song reached the musician's ears, even though it wasn't really being played. He could hear it; each note he played and each mistake he made was taken in and memorized. The practice was far from perfect but no one was listening. For once, mistakes were acceptable. His breathing grew heavier and lighter with the rocky flow of the tune and his heart pounded in his ears, the pace climaxing just ticks from the end. When his fingers finally found the last note he held the position, listening to the sound of his own breathing in the silence.

He could feel the wind kissing his ears and tugging at his wispy hair, begging him to take to the air. Syna's light dusted his furry tail, warming him and drawing him close to sleep. He knew that if he was ever to leave the cliffs of Rookery Park, he would first have to open his eyes.

At last, he looked up to find a pair of attentive black eyes staring straight at him.

"Petch!" The young man's breath caught as he laughed bitterly at himself. "Oh, Rhaus damn you, you stupid thing."

The shocker wasn't that he had an audience; he was used to being watched while he played. The thing that scared the Akvatari was that the eyes belonged to a huge bird. The Silk Gull flapped its wings and screeched back at him before taking flight and disappearing behind a sizable rock.

Still a bit peeved at being caught off guard, Cal leaned back against the messy stone bench once more and covered his eyes with his hand. Maybe he deserved a few more chimes of quiet...

[Aquila Donovan]

Smiling to herself, Aquila walked leisurely, her feet sinking in grass. The satchel she carried with her always, swung at her side. Today was one of the days she was eager to be alone. Nothing had gone right from the moment she stepped foot off her bed. From somehow managing to lose all the plants she had collected the previous day, to messing up a simple bone splint of a patient her parents had assigned to her, the day had been a complete disaster. It was as if fate was toying with her to see just how much it would take to break her.


A twig snapped under her foot, causing Aquila to jump back in surprise. Realizing what it was that had made her alarmed, Aquila looked around to make sure no one was watching her. Don’t be silly. No one is out here. She resumed her steady pace. Rookery Park had some of the best spots to simply sit and relax away from the hustle bustle of the city. Sometimes Aquila thought she would scream if she didn’t get out into the peaceful quiet.


A soothing sound reached Aquila’s ears. What…? She held her breath. Is someone else here? A good-size rock out in front of her looked big enough to hide behind. Darting swiftly behind it, she could hear the music much clearer. The melody seemed effortless, almost as if the wind and the rocks were playing it. The cold, sharp rock was at her back, reminding her that this was not a dream. Aquila shook her head to remain focused. The song was making her feel drowsy.


Then, as suddenly as she had heard the music, it stopped. The silence weighed down on her, until she felt the pressure squeezing her head.


Getting ready to face whatever had made that music, Aquila craned her head around the rock. A shock rippled through her body, landing in her stomach with a solid thud. The person had seal legs and reddish brown wings. His hand was draped carelessly over his eyes. The stranger was sprawled against the stone bench across from her.


Aquila watched him curiously, wondering what he was doing there. She hadn't seen him in Riverfall before; he was clearly not an Akalak. Irritation began to grow. She had planned on being alone, and now some guy stole her spot! Aquila wasn’t sure if she should go somewhere else, or wait until he woke up. She decided on the later, curiosity being too strong for her to leave.


His breathing seemed nice and steady, so being injured was out of the question. Aquila continued to stare at the mysterious being, half hoping, half dreading he would wake up.

[Calters]

For some time he drifted in and out of a blissful sleep, enjoying the sensation of floating without care but, as all things did, it eventually had to end. Calters' eyes opened to Syna's soft light still streaming down on him.

As serene as the nap had been, the stone bench had not been kind to his body. The hard edges of the bench had dug into his lower back, causing long and deep dents in his skin. He traced these indentions with his fingers, noting their tenderness. I must be the only one in Mizahar that can hurt himself while sleeping.

He took a moment to pout before reluctantly rising. He stretched his wings, flexing the shining material in the light breeze. It was hot outside- as it had been most of the season- so the young bard was unsurprised to find sweat collecting on his temples. Cal's hand groped his neck for his ocarina, but they were met with only air.

The bard whipped into action, faster than a man should ever move chimes after a sunbathing-nap. His hands scrambled over the bench, searching in vain. He looked under the nearest rock and in every crevice he could find. With his Akvatari's luck to guide him, Calters was unable to find the instrument anywhere.

In his panic, he was hardly able to think enough to expand his search area. He looked behind rocks he had not even passed on the way up, finding a multitude of birds, several names carved into wood, and one girl.

Calters moved back to the bench, staring down at it in confusion. Retrace your steps. Where were you last...

It was as he was mentally retracing his steps that the Akvatari recalled what exactly he had found. A girl? Cal turned and faced the only rock large enough to hide a girl of her size. He squinted his eyes in accusation. A single thought crossed his mind and burst from his mouth in a quiet whisper of fury.

"Thief."

[Aquila Donovan]

Watching in amazement, Aquila saw the sun bounce off of the stranger’s wings. It turned them into a brilliant red. The wings waved gently in the air – making them somehow appear to be as fragile as glass. Her fingers twitched, wondering what those extraordinary things sprouting from his back would feel like.


Agitated, the stranger desperately searched the area around him for something. The realization came to Aquila that he no longer carried the object that was making the dreamy music. Bright blue eyes turned on her. Her throat went dry. Well this is awkward…


“Thief,” the man with the fuzzy seal legs glared at Aquila. She puckered her lips like she tasted something sour. She was definitely not a thief. Glancing down at the ground in extreme distaste, her mind was moving a mile a minute. Who knew something could be so important to someone. He practically died when he couldn't see his instrument. The image of him scrambling to find the instrument, wild-eyed and frantic, made Aquila snort with held in laughter.


But then she remembered there was an angry seal, butterfly man ready to kill her. Swallowing hard, she hesitantly stood up, body trembling with suppressed anger.


“I am not a thief.” Aquila’s voice came out cold as ice. A thief was what Axio was. How could he just stand there and accuse her of the lowest kind of scum? “Why would I want your musical devise?” A tinge of pink spread across her cheeks. She had been caught staring at him from behind a rock. Not exactly the most trustworthy appearance. To cover her embarrassment, Aquila tilted her chin upwards in a defiant manner.


Axio. I am not, and will never be like Axio. She glared at him back, daring him to respond.

[Calters]

OOCI apologize for the super long wait. School hit hard for awhile there.

Not a thief? Not a thief?! The notion was laughable to Calters, although he silenced the urge easily with the severity of his predicament. She was spying, caught red-handed, and even knows I'm looking for an instrument, and yet she expects me to believe she's an honest girl?

The Akvatari squinted at her crouching there with her chin lifted in a perfect picture of defiance and rebellion. His distrust grew by the moment, just by watching her steely expression but he could waste no longer staring at the girl. She was unlikely to give anything up.

With a burst of air from his wings, Cal spun about and fluttered away. His hands worried at his collar, grasping for a string that was absent for the first time in a long time. He mumbled under his breath though the words were unintelligible even to their speaker. His eyes scanned the ground frantically, unable to take anything in in his panic. Perhaps if he just calmed down he would be able to think.

The musician halted and took a deep breath, working as slowly as he could manage.

In...and out.

He walked himself through the steps to relaxation but barely reached two breaths before he was struck by another idea.

"You, not-a-thief! If you're truly innocent, another pair of eyes would serve me well. Help me look! It's about this big," He held his hands up in an estimation of size without looking at the girl. "And it has holes in the top. It's a pretty red and there is a single "J" carved into the bottom. It is hanging on a string...but you probably knew that."

He hurried back to his search before he could see the thief's reaction to his petty jab. Yes, it was childish, but at his age he was not above such an insult just yet.

[Aquila Donovan]

Aquila watched his eyes become mere slits in his face. He doesn’t believe me! She bit the inside of her cheek wondering how someone could’ve stolen the instrument with her watching the man. Unless… Did I fall asleep? A gust of wind shocked Aquila. It blew her hair in her face. Hurriedly brushing her hair back, it took Aquila a moment to realize the stranger was no longer standing in front of her.


Having an idea of where he went, she shaded her eyes from the sun while craning her head back towards the sky. Sure enough, he was there flying around in circles. Even his flying seemed agitated. A feeling of remorse hit her. He had lost something valuable to him. She was all too familiar with how that felt.


Aquila was about to fade back into the rocks, leaving him to fret over his beloved object, but he came back to where she stood. But you probably already knew that… His last words echoed in her mind. Any sympathy she had begun to feel was instantly lost. Heat flushed her face from anger. If he had any sense at all, he would realize that thieves don’t normally wait around for the person to discover they’ve been robbed.


Nevertheless, she started to search the ground for places it might’ve fallen into. Maybe a bird flew off with it. No nooks behind the rocks held what he was looking for. No flash of red on the ground hinted of where it might be. I could be here forever and not find this thing.


“Hey!” Aquila yelled to get his attention. “Look I didn’t take your… whatever you call it. I have no idea where it is. If you want me to help I highly suggest some manners on your part – like not calling me a thief.” Simply saying that word left a bitter taste on Aquila’s tongue. How she loathed that name. “I was only watching you because I was wondering where the music was coming from. Honestly I don’t know how someone like you could produce a sound like that.”


She hastily stopped talking, regretting striking back at him. But he called me a thief. He deserves that. Something about his attitude got her blood boiling