Count the Souls in the Wind Eagle Kelvic (Sira)

[Sairque]

The sun hung high in the air, forcing shadows to hide and condense into tight little pools beneath the stone and sparse vegetation of the mountains. By the time they made it out far enough to hunt they might have some luck, either way, it wasn't about whatever food they managed to scrounge up. Sai turned away from the majestic scene surrounding Wind Reach, crossing her arms and leaning back against the guard wall. She bounced the heel of her right boot off the toe of the left, watching the motion in between glances to Sira, who was explaining her "less direct approach."

The embarrassment wasn't missed by the sharp Endal, and it furthered the intrigue surrounding the Kelvic woman. For someone who hadn't the benefit of a refined emotional capacity, her development rather stunted due to a propensity to shove any unruly emotions, embarrassment being one of them, to the side of her conscious to make way for reason and logic, when other's showed an aptitude for dealing with their emotions, such as keeping the emotion off their face and only allowing a faint trace to weasel it's way into their voice, it elicited one of two reactions from the flight leader. Curiosity, like some rare and fantastical magic trick, or derision.

Personally, it didn't sound all that odd that she was dispatched as a scout. Catabasis was sometimes used in this manner, though more often than not sent off to hunt in the manner birds do. Swooping down on some unsuspecting mammal or fish and carting it back, struggling, to the nest. The nest being some Dek that got to dress it and do the dirty work. She probably wouldn't be given the option to do this on their hunt.

However, this other technique, mentioned with the most excitement Sira had displayed thus far, got a sharp look from Sai; a genuine smile on the Endal's face. Sira seemed disinterested in explaining this aspect of her hunting repertoire, unfortunately so, because her companion was completely interested in hearing more about it. She waved the topic off, getting to the point of the matter, her agreement to accompany the flight leader. Stated in such an eloquent way as to win her a doubtful sideways glance.

"Let's hea-r what Aidara has to add to this," her decision on their activity for the afternoon, and possibly the evening or night, cut short by the bubbly and garrulous whirlwind, known to most as Addy, bearing down on their conversation with destructive tendency. She shared an indulgently amused glance with Sira, or not, the Kelvic might not see the situation with the tolerance that Sai did.

The flight leader handled the various threads of Addy's spiel with practiced ease, sorting her desires out from her commentary and aside from anything(everything) that Sai could tease her for. Of course, it was disappointing that her study of the Kelvic was getting disrupted, and that the outing would turn into a social event instead of an examination. She didn't know where Addy got that this was an experiment. It was a hunt, or lookout duty, neither of which were terribly hard to predict. But there was no reason to turn down her sister's request, not on her end, anyway. The smile she gave Sira was acquiescent, knowing it was unnecessary to vocalize who's decision it was to have the healer ride the Kelvic.

[Sira]

Wait! I could ride her!"

The calm look that Sira had tried so hard to keep on her face during her conversation with Sai vanished and was replaced with one of outright disdain as, out of nowhere, a random stranger appeared and had the nerve to suggest they might ride her. In her life Sira had only ever willingly let one other person ride her who wasn't seriously injured, and to this day she still didn't understand what compelled her to allow that. Sira, like the Wind Eagles whose form she took, was very picky about who got to ride on her back. If ordered to carry a hunter, especially one she didn't know, she usually threw a huge fit and spouted threats of throwing the hunter or doing somersaults in the sky until the would-be rider finally declined to ride her.

The look on her face was quickly replaced with amused curiosity as Addy bounced between her and the flight leader to address the pair. It didn't take eagle eyes to tell the two were sisters. The similarities in their appearance were quite obvious, though their attitudes were different. Then Sira remembered she had seen the woman earlier, though she wasn't involved in the fight.

"I'm not really on the up-and-up of what is going on here, but I know you take the form of a wind eagle, correct? And now you're dealing with your internal remorse of wanting to be a part of a community that wants to look at you as an outsider even though you believe you truly belong?"

The girl had hit the point right on. "Yes.. I turn into a Wind Eagle. And yeah... uh, you pretty much got it right on the mark. Most people see me as an outsider even though I was born here, and have done everything I can to prove I belong." Sira shot a quick glance at Sai, not accusing or anything, but she couldn't help it since that was the exact reason Sai had been questioning her earlier. "My name is Sira, and don't worry, I would have caught the Dek. ..maybe. No sense wasting good hands, right?"

Sira glanced back and forth between the pair for a moment, unsure of herself. Addy seemed nice enough, and she didn't want to offend the girl. She hoped she hadn't seen the look on her face earlier, but if she did it was too late to worry about it. They were waiting to see how she would respond to the idea of letting Addy ride her.

"So.. I guess if you want to see how I act on a hunt, she probably shouldn't ride me, right? I mean, I usually am by myself, and besides.. I'm not very experienced at having someone on my back and I might knock her off."

Sira hoped Aidara wouldn't be offended by this, but truth be told she barely knew her and.. well, she didn't know why it bothered her so much. She had never met Cyrill before, but let her not only ride but even hunt with her, short as it was. What was it about Addy that had Sira so nervous?

"Anyway, I guess if its to be the three of us, then we should go on a hunt. The watch is usually uneventful, but if there actually were trouble I wouldn't want to be putting anyone in harms way who shouldn't be."

[Aidara]

oocWow, I'm sorry. This was way at the bottom and I completely forgot it was my turn. Plus I don't really know what to do, so I'll just make an emo filler post. "Ah...I am woefully uneducated in this eagle-y stuff, despite living with a flight leader. Wow. That's rather pathetic..." Addy was far from offended, blaming the awkwardness of Sira's response on her own ignorance. "So how can I help without getting in the way then?" It was clear that Addy was intending to be in on this no matter what protests arose. Moving from between the two women, the healer moved to the parapet where she bounced twice and pulled herself up onto the stone. Perching on the edge, legs crossed with her elbow balanced on her knee, her chin in her hand, she watched the two women carefully. Green eyes narrowed at Sai as the flight leader stood there watching Sira, who was watching Addy. It was like a gazing triangle. Sai was clearly interested in the Kelvic, and the little healer couldn't wait to see what idea the cranks in her sisters brain were going to turn out. This should be good. Swinging her gaze to the woman she knew least, Addy settled down for some good judgement taking of the woman thus far. She was beautiful, that was for sure. Addy could always appreciate a pretty face, and that face made her smile. She was well aware that she was overly attracted to....overly-attractive people. However, there was something else about Sira that made her pause. Perhaps she had endeared herself to Addy by throwing herself bodily to protect her twin, when Addy herself had been incapable of doing so. Clearly they shared the need to protect the other red haired woman. Did the two of them have some kind of..."friendship" that Addy was unaware of? Was this unusual appeal from the Kevlic a jealousy thing? Was she going to take away her sister? She couldn't! She had to share Sai with enough people as it was. Gradually, the longer Addy sat there, the more her face clouded over as she gazed down at Sira as her and Sai talked.

[Sairque]

Sharp yellow eyes drifted between Sira and Addy, mind cataloging the reactions she caught to facilitate decision making. Naturally, spending eighty percent of her time with Eagles, the visceral reaction Sira had to Addy's offer wasn't surprising but still helped put a few more pieces of the puzzle together. Judgement on the Kelvic would wait until that puzzle was flushed out and the flight leader had a decent grasp on her personality. That was still the whole point of this exchange. Sira shot her that look, and Sai was right there with her, bowing her head a tinge in acknowledgement but refraining from commenting. The important fact here was that she was currently re-evaluating her parameters for the Kelvic, and frankly, that was the only thing that mattered. She did, however, smile a bit at the assurance that the Dek would not have plummeted to become little more than a smear on the rocks below. Another piece settled into place. Another idea flared to life and Sai eyed Addy as she perched atop the parapet. Sira had said that she could catch people mid-fall.

Amused at herself, Sai nodded in response to Sira's suggestions, which had only been followed halfway. The last bit of their exchange had cemented the feeling that Addy's entrance had completely shot her plan for the excursion, so it didn't matter one way or the other what they did. It was now a social event. Sai would be spending too much time focusing on her sister, who would throw a temper tantrum if she did anything less, to pay proper attention to all the little nuances of the Kelvic. All the pensive curiosity was released, like the last hour was a book and Sai had shut it to move onto something else. It kept disappointment and similar emotions from getting in the way.

Sai turned her face to her increasingly melancholy sister, offering a crooked smile. "Let's have a look at this technique you mentioned, the one you haven't perfected yet, and then we'll go hunting," she suggested in turn, having little interest in going on the hunt while her sister tagged along. Perhaps it had to do with the dynamics between the two, how Addy was volatile and Sai never knew what to expect the elder sister's reaction to be to her flight leader persona. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that Sira was intriguing in a far more personal way and Sai resented the intrusion. Rarely did anyone incite as much interest as the Kelvic had, and she wasn't the type to examine from whence the interest sprang. It was assumed to come from the fact that Sai didn't know which box to put the woman in. Endal, Eagle, Inarta, Kelvic. Sai wanted that puzzle finished so she could box it up nicely with a bow tie and put it away, at least, that's what she told herself.

[Sira]

Sira knew she was being scrutinized by both sisters now, though perhaps for different reasons, and it made her feel rather uncomfortable. But at least it wasn't negative attention, and she was always thankful for that. Sira stared right back at Aidara, unaware that it was probably kind of creepy, but Addy seemed as distracted as she was at the moment so it didn't really matter. After a moment it dawned on her that the idea of Addy riding her wasn't all that bad, though she wouldn't admit it now. She had already made a big deal out of it, and she wasn't about to look the fool by changing her mind.

Sira didn't snap out of her trance until Sairque mentioned her technique, which brought her back to reality in an instant. "Oh that. Uh, well, I'd have to go get my bow, but I'd be happy to show you." Sira looked around for a moment, trying to figure out exactly where they were and how long it would take for her to retrieve her bow. Luckily, they were outside which meant she could just go get it. "Uh.. wait here. I'll be right back." Sira quickly walked over to the edge and glanced down, then turned around and gave the area they were standing in a quick once over. Whispering something to herself she turned back around and pulled off her top, handing it to Aidara. "Hold these please," she said as she removed the rest of her clothing and climbed up on the ledge. "And you might want to step back."

Sira gave Addy a moment to move out of the way and then in a sudden flash of swirling light she shifted into the large gold-feathered eagle that made up her other half. Not wasting time she beat her wings and hopped off the ledge, going into a shallow dive until catching a warm air pocket and making a circling ascent toward her home in the aeries. Dust flew as Sira landed in the nesting area that normally would have been occupied by the eagle of whatever Endal lived there. Sira preferred the warm comfort of her bed, and had removed most of what made the room so inviting to the Wind Eagles. She quickly ran to her bedroom, where her bow lay carelessly on her unmade bed, and snatched it up along with a couple of arrows, which she fastened to the clips on the top of her bow, then headed back outside. She was about to take off when she thought better of it and ran back inside, searching around for something, finally settling on a couch cushion, which she grabbed and dropped on the ground nest to her bow.

Taking a deep breath, she shifted back into eagle form and grabbed the couch cushion in one talon, the bow in the other, then took off back toward the sisters. The entire flight there and back took no more than fifteen chimes, giving the Sairque and Addy just enough time to wonder what Sira was doing before they could spot her flying back their way. Sira was coming in from on high, and probably looked rather strange to anyone watching her considering the things she was carrying. When Sira was close enough she dove down toward the pair coming in far to fast for a safe landing and hurled the couch cushion at them, sending them both a message saying, "Don't touch that," before flying back up and making a long circle back around.

The couch cushion flew past the sisters and skidded up against the wall as Sira rose back into the air, preparing for another pass at the landing spot. Mentally she tried to calm herself, focusing on the task at hand. She had never actually tried this before, and she could only hope it worked out. Completing her ascent she dove back down toward the sisters again. Just before she reached them she flared her wings and kicked her talons out in front of her, throwing the bow forward. In a flash she shifted and snatched the bow from the air, almost missing it. She knew she had messed up the maneuver already, but was determined and made the split second decision to go through with the rest, pulling loose one of the arrows and firing as quickly as she could.

She missed, though Sira didn't have time to see it, and the arrow skipped across the ground and cracked into the stone wall, breaking in half. Meanwhile, Sira was falling, shifting, and struggling to gain control of herself before she smacked into a rock. She did a somersault midair, losing a few feathers in the process, before finally leveling out and fighting hard to regain some altitude. Sharp eyes searched for the lost bow and she quickly found on a rock below her. Cursing herself mentally for the epic failure, she dropped down to snatch the bow before trying again.

She should have just given up. She should have just landed and said, "See, that's what I meant when I said I hadn't perfected it." But Sira was too stubborn for that. Up she went, wings beating hard to speed her climb. Sairque and Addy probably thought she was crazy by now, but Sira wanted to prove her technique could work. She dove again, this time coming from the side. This time she dipped just below the ledge before coming right back up, using the momentum of her dive to keep moving up and forward as she shifted and fired again. This time she managed to grab the bow without screwing up and knocked an arrow as quickly as she could. Her momentum was slowing as she started to fly but she had lined it up perfectly. Sira let fly the arrow and watched as it sank itself into the heart of the cushion, a kill shot to be sure. She didn't have time to relish it as she fell, throwing her bow out in front of her and shifting again.

Everything went smoothly, just liked she had practiced a dozen times, and she snatched out with her talons grabbing the bow out of the air and circling back around one more time, this time coming in to land. Deciding to show off just one more time, Sira flared her wings at the last second and shifted mid-air, flying a few feet forward and landing on solid ground next to the two Inarta. Her knees bent and she fell into a crouch absorbing the impact of the landing, her bow clattering down right in front of her. Sira couldn't help but grin as she looked down at the bow. She had never actually hit the target before while trying her special technique, so this was a rather proud moment for her.

Taking a deep breath Sira stood up and faced the two sisters, trying to think of something impressive to say but all she could come up with was... "So uh. Yeah, that's the technique."

[Aidara]

"Uh...yeah....sure...why?" Each word was sputtered with raising confusion each time a new piece of clothing found it's way into her hands. Addy watched more in disbelief than shock as Sira stripped naked, turned into like, a huge sun not inches from Addys face and launched herself from the parapet, winging away into the sunlight...It was like a fairytale, minus the fact there was no happy ending or...well. Okay it wasn't a fairy tale, the woman just happened to wing away towards the horizon. Fairytale over. Spinning slowly from the retreating form back to her sister and descending gracelessly from the stone on which she was perched, landing with a thud and a stumble, Addy blinked owlishly at Sai, before a goofy, impish grin broke her features from their befuddled stare. "Pretty with clothes on and off, eh? She also doesn't smell like a bird. Good, good." With a laugh Addy dropped the cloth she had held to her nose and dropped to sit cross legged on the walkway, absently folding the Kelvic's clothes as she hummed softly to herself. "Have you come to any conclusion, Sister Dear? I know the gears up there are crunching away, and I can feel your concentration. However, I am not a mind reader, technically. Speak up. How about our little kevlic here?" That was always something Addy did, though subconsciously, once she had come to a final decision of someone. No matter how long she'd know them, phrases of endearment wormed their way into her speech, the more comfortably they rolled from her lips...well, the more comfortable she was around the person. "I think she's nice. Even though she won't let me ride her. Whats up with that? Why not? It's not like I'm an idiot...Well, I am. But I'm not! I've kinda been around eagles for like, my whole life." A bit huffy, Addy settled back onto her hands, tilting her head back to watch the sky for their new companion, the pile of newly folded clothes balanced neatly on her knee. "I wonder what's taking so long? I'm anxious to see this experiment...OH!" Always one for superb timing, the small woman voiced her complaint around the same time that the golden speck grew visible in the distance once more. Pointing dramatically, as if Sai wasn't watching the sky just as intently as she was, Addy cried out in excitement, leaning forward and resting her elbows on the clothes as green eyes glued themselves to the swiftly approaching form. Not really sure what to expect, or what exactly was going on (as the woman was too busy staring down her sister and Sira during most of the conversation, seething between jealously and interest) she flinched away from the cushion that came flying towards them, flinching again as Sira's voice came at them, exceptionally loud. Winging around to reposition herself, Addy watched with her mouth hanging open as she dove, shifted, shot and shifted again. Confused as to why the woman rose again with a squawk. Confused, the healer glanced around. Had Sai shouted something mean, was Sira hurt? Shoot, she didn't have her medicines...oh. The arrow missed. Red hair flew around her face as her head whipped back just in time to see the process repeated, from a different angle and with success. But Sira skidded to a halt between the two women, and shifted back to her human form. Instantly, concern trickled down Addy's spine as she bolted to her feet and towards Sira's side. "OHMYGOSH Are you alright?!" As if the woman had never had a crash landing before in her life, right? Almost ignoring the fact that she was completely naked, the healers eyes raked expertly over the slender womans form, before nodding in satisfaction and flinging herself onto the other woman, in a rather releved hug. The carefully folded and tended clothes fell to the ground as she did so. "I see nothing wrong...but that was spectacular!" Addy wasn't one to gush, but that's exactly what she did now, grinning brightly as her gaze shifted from the taller woman she embraced to her sister before letting go and bouncing on the balls of her feet. "I wish I could do that."

[Sairque]

At Sira's agreement, the shorter Endal nodded in understanding. They would wait here. After watching the woman eye the edge and start removing her clothing, Sai stepped back as suggested, knowing what was about to happen. Aria's clothing had been design to come off hitch-free when she shifted, not so with Sira's. The Kelvic was taking the same path to the aerie that she would have, and her eyes lingered, much like Addy's, on the departing form. Settling in to wait, she leaned forward on the parapet again, elbows on the stone and supporting her.

With Sira gone, the flight leader mask dropped, much like Addy had to the stone floor, and a soft smile tinted her pensive features. Unaware of the expression on her face, just knowing that she felt highly satisfied with the whole exchange, thus far, she met the healer's impish grin and nodded in complete agreement of the Kelvic's physical attraction. Though it wasn't odd for her to join Addy in admiring a trim body or a pretty face, there was a light in those pale yellow eyes of hers. With the shucking of the command persona, came a shucking of the lockdown her emotions had been under and while Sai labeled her state as satisfied and happy, there were other subtle facets to be explored by anyone with a good vocabulary of emotional labels. Granted, everything here was considerably toned down and overlooked compared to Aidara's similar feelings.

"I like her," she stated at the prompting, with none of the reservation that usually guarded her claims of personal affection or distaste. Judgement of someone's character was a fluid thing, requiring adjustments be made at every exchange, and never done prematurely. There were no additions, she found, eyes dropping to the grainy stone beneath her forearms. Normally, she picked out and shared the small gestures, general actions, that led her to whatever decision she had made about a person. Nothing came to mind, she had no points of evidence for her declaration. Nonplussed, Sai looked back out to the mountains and with a momentary clenching of her jaw, slammed this book shut as well. Sira had behaved with dignity and honor in the earlier skirmish, there.

In control again, she listened to the healer's take on Sira and gave Addy a lopsided and affectionate smile. It was so like her to get bent out of shape for not being immediately fallen in love with. The momentary dent in her self confidence would bounce out, easily, if Sira reacted properly to other advances from the healer. Granted, it was all a cover up for a serious, deep rooted, insecurity, but no one knew that. Only Sai. And something she took seriously. Every man or woman that she showed an interest in was carefully kept a watch on; the risk of Addy's attachment growing into something unmanageable worried the Endal. Damage control had to be in place in the event that the other party flaked out or had a nasty streak that could get under the healer's skin too deep. Over protective, yes. But it was a fine line, Aidara still had to experience disappointments and hurt. Sai portrayed it as a high standard of her own expectations of anyone Addy got serious about. Which, it kinda was, but not nearly so self-centered as it seemed.

"She won't let you ride her because it's more intimate than taking you to bed. And she doesn't want you to die if she fails to catch you," she tried to explain in terms that Aidara could fully understand instead of mentioning things like 'pride' or 'honor' or 'shame' or 'admitting one can't be Eagle and rider, try as she might.' She had no idea just how much Sira was going to solidify conclusions regarding that last one when she returned to engage in her aerobatic archery. Speaking of, Addy pointed exuberantly out to direct Sai's attention to the raptor winging near. Only a moment later, she was careening toward the twins, to Sai's concern. The deposit and turn away relieved her, and she eyed the cushion and the bow, trying to tie them to hunting and a new, difficult technique. Was she going to try to shoot with her talons? It would be much more effective for her to design and commission a larger weapon more suited for Eagle anatomy.

And if this was the idea, Sai grabbed Addy and pulled her away so any stray arrows would have little chance of finding them, as long as the Kelvic maintained some semblance of control. Their view of the show was still primo, however, Sai knew there would be objections if she insisted they retreat to a place of complete safety. Not that she was all that worried something would go wrong, but caution was something quickly developed around the healer. Never knew when she would spot something shiny and bend down to pick it up, putting her head in the line of arrow fire.

Eyebrows jumped as Sira released the bow, hadn't seen that one coming, and then in a bright flash of magical light caught it in her naked human form. She was damn quick, that was for sure, knocking the arrow, aiming and releasing. Sai leaned over the small guard wall and eyed Sira after realizing the arrow was destined for the unyielding stone wall. Ah, the flight and fall trajectory must have been off and rushed her. A decent save, acrobatic, and the woman was going after the bow and fixing her angle. Exactly what the flight leader expected, not because of anything prominent in the Kelvic, but because she wanted to see the hunter fix her problem and display determination and high standards.

She did. Another piece of the puzzle quivered into place. Glancing at Addy, impressed, Sai nodded, "Nice." But there was a furrow between her brows, faint, not disturbing the awed expression on her features. Another piece settled in, but this was in the wrong puzzle. A puzzle that Sai didn't want to think about and didn't understand. When it was clear that Sira had achieved her goal and was coming in for her landing, a nice touch of style even there, Sai started closing the distance between them, alongside her sister. But when Aidara rushed forward exuberant and excited, happy for the woman and concerned, but with that particular quality of attraction that fairly dripped off the healer, a tendril of something unfamiliar and dark wound round the Endal's chest. Troubled, Sai used their gleeful distraction to turn and stride down the corridor the other way, quickly rounding a corner and fairly screaming at Catabasis to meet her in the Courtyard of the Sky.

[Sira]

As far as Aidara could tell there was nothing wrong with Sira. She was as fit as ever, and there was no apparent need for concern. Sira was caught off guard by the embrace, but found herself returning the hug and rather enjoying the closeness of the moment. It wasn't like she had never been hugged before, but never had anyone shown her such concern as Aidara did then, especially considering they had only just met.

Sira found herself wishing the hug had lasted just a bit longer, not only because she was enjoying it, but because just as Aidara let go Sira felt the wave of fatigue she knew would come sweep over her. Sira began to shake ever so slightly and let out a short gasp as her knees practically gave out beneath her. She latched onto Addy, putting her weight against her and steadied herself, taking a deep breath. Sira was surprised by the extremity of the fatigue. Shifting fast like that was always exhausting, and despite all her practice she had yet to overcome that obstacle, but never had it been this severe from so short a time period. Sira assumed it was because she had done it so fast and been so focused on getting everything just right. She must have used more energy than she normally would have.

Regaining control of her legs Sira took some of the weight off Addy, her head still pressed against Aidara's shoulder and whispered, "Sorry... didn't expect it to be that bad. Just... give me a moment." The truth was, in part at least, that she just wasn't ready to let go of the woman, but after a moment she did and found herself able to stand on her own just fine. "Sometimes shifting like that wears me out."

Sira then noticed that Sairque had disappeared and quickly looked around for the flight leader. "What happened to your sister?" Her voice was filled with a mixture of alarm and relief at the same time. On the one hand she wondered where the woman had run off too, but on the other hand she was glad the Endal hadn't seen her moment of weakness. Somehow she felt comfortable letting Addy see her that way, despite her earlier nervousness around the woman. That feeling was still there, but there was another feeling she wasn't quite able to identify at the time. She might have thought more on it, but her mind quickly snapped back to the situation at hand. "Where did she go?"

[Aidara]

"Uhm... Let me see" Addy had been wrapped up in Sira, literally. The woman had returned her excited embrace with an equal amount of emotion and it completely threw the healer for a loop. Usually, the amount of physical contact Addy was comfortable with made everyone else awkward or uncomfortable. Almost tentatively, the small woman wound an arm around the kelvics waist. Sira had a fainting attack, it had seemed, only moments before. Mentally, Addy explained this as the reason why she wanted to keep the woman close. She was trained in....fainting attacks.... and if it happened again, well, She could do something about it! Such as...catching her? Well, the excuse was good enough for Addy, and she smiled to herself, nodded and squeezed her arm a bit tighter. She wasn't really sure why she felt like she needed an excuse, as she had fun romping with both men and women on various occasions. A pretty face was a pretty face, regardless the gender. But was this woman more than just a pretty face, and therein lies the source of her anxiety? Refusing to think too deeply about it, Addy tugged at her internal map, flicking it open and locating almost immediately where her sister was. "She's heading towards the Courtyard. She feels...upset. No, confused. No...Catabasis is going to be there. Lets go." Confused by her sisters sudden change in attitude, Addy let her arm slip from Sira's waist, catching her hand instead before bolting off towards the courtyard. By the time the two women got there, Addy was completely out of breath. Skidding to a halt, she took the moment to catch her breath, her hand over the stitch in her side as she panted. Green eyes quickly scanned the plethora of red heads before her, searching for just the right one..."There!" The exclamation startled even her as she flung a hand out towards the slender woman striding towards a more empty area of the courtyard. Taking a bit more precaution now that they were in a large crowd, and because she tried not to look too foolish in front of too many people, their pace was a clipped walk, fast enough to catch up to her twins determined stride. By the time they were in shouting distance, that is what Addy did. "Sai! SAI! Please stop, please. " Aware that she was trying to boss around a Flightleader in public, Add tried her best to keep her tone polite, but a little bit of her worry squeaked through, raising her voice an octave. The way her sister had disappeared, after being so interested and wrapped up in Sira's mystery and her performance, startled her to the core. Hardly ever did her twin react so...emotionally. Addy noted the posture of Sai's shoulders, the cadence of her walk and the way she held her back. Too Flightleader-esque after the little "meeting" they'd all just had. Biting down on her lower lip, Addy couldn't help but drop Sira's hand before Sai turned around, lowering her gaze and shrinking in on herself. Something was wrong, and somehow...it was her fault.

[Sairque]

Very little room was left for anything besides the logistics of winding through the crowd in the courtyard quickly enough to meet Catabasis on his first fly by. Granted, had she known that Aidara was being so prudent as to share what dribble of emotions were coming through, there would be a good deal more for the two pursuers to find. Unlike most determined trips through the corridors, Sai wasn't boldly trekking to her destination, instead she was attempting to quickly leave something behind. She didn't face the crowd down, she didn't expect them to move around her, it was quicker to slip through the masses. It was also easier considering how much smaller she was than the average Inarta. This person had to be skirted around, that trio would make it out of her path by the time she got there. Her boots scraped against the three steps down into the courtyard proper but the noise was lost in the lively hustle.

Perhaps it was a subconscious awareness of the healer's presence earlier; while she hadn't been paying attention to the little blip that was Addy, her brain was still logging all that information. Sai needed a way to disappear and her mind latched onto the awareness that Aidara had been sitting on the wall running the parameter of the Courtyard before the scuffle broke out. Catabasis was about fifteen seconds away, dropped low and gliding parallel to the wall. Though they never actually formulated words to coordinate their efforts, each had a clear picture of what was about to happen. Whereas Addy had searched for a low point and struggled to pull herself atop it, Sai headed straight for whichever segment was closest to her, undaunted by the height extending far above her head. There was a crate, the kind that held large vases safely for transport, and it would boost her up the necessary foot and a half to close the distance between her fingertips and the shelf of the wall.

"Sai! SAI! Please stop, please, she heard, the imploring voice cutting through the general noisy fuzz of the crowd in its command. Yellow eyes turned skyward. Catabasis' wing tips fluttered into sight over the top of the wall, and she watched him fly the entire length of the courtyard, eyes zipping along the wall where she knew his head was on the other side. Escape escaped. Because she was running. Heat flared in her chest, the source of which was now somewhere behind her. Frustration burned up her spine and blended with the dark mass settled resolutely in her chest. The only outcome of which was a freezing confusion that blinded her to the plethora of options available upon continuing her ascent and then commencing a friction-free descent. The earlier schematic-like figuration of her thought processes was shattered beyond restoration.

Spinning on her heel, the Endal scanned the crowd until her tempered eyes lit upon the chagrined healer. Immediately, Aidara's emotions flared to the forefront of the flight leader's awareness. Confusion, guilt, concern. Her own befuddlement grew and she couldn't understand why herself or Addy felt this way. Nor did she know what to do. Inside, panic stirred, anxiety overwhelmed. On the exterior, Sairque cooly met the twin's eyes, a faint clenching of her jaw the only sign of discomfort. But verbal composure couldn't burst through the shell of emotional turmoil, all she could do was stand tall. Addy had come after her, she was the one seeking audience; Sai lifted her eyebrows in invitation. It was a tenuous hold on control, this silence. Catabasis wheeled overhead, waiting. The air moving freely on the other side of the wall beckoned, escape beckoned.

Sira's presence finally registered and the panic multiplied. Eyebrows furrowing, she turned her eyes back to Aidara. There was no control over the flow of emotions through their bond. Help. Pride protested any show of weakness in front of everyone except Addy, and this rampant flurry of anxiety was most certainly a weakness. She had to escape. And the one person she wanted to run to was the same one she wanted to run from.

Behind Aidara, the flurry of activity resumed. The first step was the hardest, but she took it. She wanted to run the other way, scale the wall and disappear, but she needed her sister. The only woman in the entire mountain that could pull apart the tangle inside her and brush it all out into a neat pattern, each strand given a name and a reason. The only person that Sairque could even let see that there was a problem. The only woman in the mountain that could explain how Sai had quickly become captivated by Sira and the subsequent flailing attempt at escape. Right. Aidara would be able to fix all of this. She knew all about this stuff. Sai's business was in death and subsequently indirect life, and Addy's was purely about the vivacious interactions between people.

She closed the distance between them, glancing up at Sira, a tell-tale tightening of her chest-interpreted as embarrassment over her earlier inexplicable flight, before settling on her elder sister. "I have to go," she informed her, like she couldn't figure that out from the way Sai had disappeared earlier. Like Addy couldn't read her like a book. So she was completely counting on Aidara not backing her into a corner and pinning her down in front of anyone. Especially not Sira. Who, after their chat, engendered in her a sense of casual ease that didn't help matters at all.