Count the Souls in the Wind Eagle Kelvic (Sira)

[Sairque]

22nd of Fall, directly following the events in "Let It Burn"

The situation left behind in the Courtyard of the Sky hung tightly over Sairque's thoughts. The only two people who had behaved properly were Sira and Addy. The latter wasn't surprising. Aidara had spent the last seven years adhering strictly to the life that Sai lead; there was no place for in her a fight that involved caste disrespect. That's also why Sai wouldn't have lost the fight between herself and those two outsiders. It wasn't an option; for herself, she wouldn't have given up until she had won or died, and for Addy, she wouldn't have let herself be killed. Death would leave the Avora healer lost and adrift in a population that knew not what to do with the precious light she brought to their city. What had Aria to draw on when locked in combat, a knife a hairsbreadth from her throat? Sai had a empathic connection that never let Aidara further from her mind than the inside lining of her skull. Clearly, the familiar face of the healer came to mind, lightly smattered with freckles and unable to contain the delicate soul within. Sai hadn't even known she was in the courtyard with them.

Striding aimlessly down the corridors, Sai didn't see the various people jerking themselves out of her way after one look at the hard frown on her face. Yellow eyes were in the past, a past that never was. Her fingers had been wrapped around the bony wrist of the Kelvic Wind Eagle, eyes had been glued to the performance before them, lips had even been commenting on it, but her mind had been meticulously collecting all she knew about the woman and formulating the proper method to commandeer her afternoon. At the end of the show she would have said "Come with me" without looking at the Eagle and walked off. They would have walked, in silence, to one of the quiet halls with wide sweeping views of the mountains. Sai would have sat with her heels dangling over the edge of the parapet, the preposterousness of falling to her death keeping any such silly thoughts from mind. The existence of Sira puzzled and worried her, but at least she now had an idea that the woman had some loyalty to them. Something in her had told her that flight leaders don't get into fights, and that while she couldn't say a petching thing to question the higher ranking Endal, she had a responsibility to step into the situation that she was only loosely tied to.

Sai leaned on her hands, the stone parapet was cool under her palms, and her hips pressed against the stone. She had wound up at an open corridor anyway. The breeze would do more than pick up and pull at her braids, hopefully it would slowly work her dark mood loose and pull it off, too. Drag it down the cliffs of the mountain, far away from Wind Reach, and deposit in some glen where it could dissipate in peace.

[Sira]

Sira didn't know why she was following the flight leader, albeit at a considerable distance from her. Clearly the woman was in some kind of distress, but what would Sira say that didn't sound hollow. She was not good at personal conversation; she had little experience with it. Most of the time when she talked to someone it was just meaningless banter. But the look Sairque had given her demanded investigation. Perhaps she wanted Sira to follow her, or perhaps she was angered that Sira stepped into the conflict. Either way, she had to know what it meant.

Sira pondered what she would say to the flight leader when she caught up, a dozen conversation starters floating through her head. "Wow, never expected to run into a panther in Wind Reach." "That guy sure was a jerk, wasn't he." "We sure know how to put on a good show. " "Wonder where he learned to dance like that." "Weather sure has been great lately." "You should have torn her apart.." As Sira rounded the corner she stopped dead in her tracks. There was Sairque, leaning against the wall only paces away from her.

What am I doing, Sira thought to herself. This was none of her business. The woman had clearly come here to be alone, and Sira being the fool followed her to her place of solitude. She should have just let it be, but she was here now and there was no avoiding it. All thoughts of a cheesy conversation starter left her mind as she said what her heart told her she should say, "Are you alright?" She hoped her concern would not offend the flight leader, or make her look weak somehow, or otherwise make things worse than she believed they already were, but the words were already out and there was nothing she could do about it.

[Sairque]

"Are you alright?" came a voice behind and off to the side. Sairque's head whipped around, even though, technically, she wasn't sure it was herself being addressed. But alas, this stretch of walkway was empty save the two of them, and the inquirer couldn't be only coincidence.

The frown furrows on her face vanished, but the flight leader couldn't erase the hard set of her eyes or lips. There was not a whiff of the surprise she felt at the object of her musings popping up unsolicited. Thankfully for Sira, Sai was well used to having her feelings poked and prodded in a much more demanding way so she didn't draw into herself and adopt an icy exterior. Still, she straightened to her full height and turned so that just the fingertips of one hand rested on the stone wall at her side. The girl must have followed her from the Courtyard to have happened upon her after the meandering route she had taken.

"Outsiders always leave a bad taste in my mouth," admitted with a brief and wry smile. "Truth be told, until about fifteen minutes ago you did, too," she informed bluntly, eyes calculating but not entirely cold. After a second of studying the girl, wondering how she would react, if she would get offended and retreat or find it amusing, she continued. "Now, what can I do for you?"

After all, Sira had come to her. No matter how obvious she had been about her own interest in a meeting. Had she been that obvious? The hand on her wrist, the last look before she had left, talking to her...mmnn, maybe there was just a mutual inquisitiveness between them.

[Sira]

Sira's face betrayed neither offense nor amusement at Sairque's comment, but rather sad acceptance. She was used to being seen as different or as an outsider by others, despite having been born and raised in the very halls they were standing in. She had come to accept such beliefs and ignore them when possible, trying to enjoy her life as best she could. Of course, there was always someone to remind her that she didn't quite fit in. Sira did not hold it against the woman for having felt that way about her, and was pleased to hear things had changed.

She was caught off guard by Sairque's question though, not having expected to have explained her reason for following. Somehow she just assumed she would meet up with the woman and everything would go smoothly from there, but perhaps the woman didn't actually want to be followed. "Oh.. um.. I was just.. uh.."

As Sira desperately tried to come up with an explanation for why she followed the flight leader she couldn't help but wonder the same thing herself. Sairque had not actually told her to follow her. Perhaps she was overstepping her bounds by being so bold as to assume the higher ranking Inarta would want anything to do with her. In the end, she just assumed it was because she was lonely and they seemed to have, at least for the moment, something to talk to each other about. Of course, she didn't say that out loud.

"Well, I was just making sure you didn't need anything. Um.. I can go now, if you want."

[Sairque]

The stumbling attempt at offering a reason for what she was probably now seeing as an intrusion on the Endal's privacy brought no sympathy to the features of said Endal. They remained studiously intent on Sira, although more inexplicable affection crept slowly into the hidden recesses of her being. Perhaps it hadn't been fair to put her on the spot as she had; another small smile quirked the woman's lips and she waved off the offer to vacate the area.

"No, no, I only asked to make sure that there wasn't anything in particular," Sairque explained, giving the Kelvic a beckoning nod, encouraging her to close the distance between them and join her at the short wall. Well, to most it was short, only reaching to the hips; for Sai it extended all the way to her waist. Which was nice because it provided the perfect support to lean against, draping her forearms over the top of it and resting her weight down on them. The landscape before them drawing the eye, a product of violent upheaval, naked stone peaks thrusting through the ruptured earthen skin and refusing any coating of life.

Discourse couldn't be forced between the two, obviously not with how the single question had gone, so Sai released her mind from any attempts. Playing over and over again was the scene in the courtyard; the panther-girl's attitude, the fire dancer's destructive anger, Sira's immediate reaction. Her physical reaction, the lack of verbal response. Several possible reasons for the silence came to mind, but after putting together the small hints of personality that Sira had displayed, perceptiveness, consideration, the rider finally turned to the girl, yellow eyes thoughtful and accepting.

"I know," she drawled out, looking away again and clearly formulating her question as she went. "That the thing with Kelvics is that they're animals at their core..." her fingernails were dirty, she discovered, and patted the scarf-turned-sash for a knife...which she had thrown down in the Courtyard. Accepting its loss, eyes turned back to the mountains. "But Wind Eagles aren't simply animals, they remember their past lives as Inarta," stated thoughtfully, mind still processing things as she went and trying to pick the clearest of murky paths to what she wanted to say. "I noticed that you jumped into the conflict with no prompting and on my side." Lips pursed to form more words, Sai stopped and regrouped. The two topics she had brought up weren't necessarily connected, though she wanted to tie them together anyway. The woman hadn't pointed out who had started the fight, hadn't tried to diffuse it, hadn't asked if she was doing the right thing...she had kept her thoughts to herself and that was a rare occurrence.

With a self effacing smile, amused at her own nonsensical ramblings, Sai chuckled and tried again. "Why did you react the way you did? Why didn't you attempt to steer the situation?" Now she met the woman's eyes again, with utmost attentiveness; she didn't know the answer that was forthcoming, but she knew that there were more questions to be had before she felt satisfied with the approval that had sprung up for Sira at some indistinguishable point.

[Sira]

Sira joined Sairque at the wall looking over its edge at the rocky mountains below, the sense of vertigo most people would feel non-existent in the girl who could just fly away if she did fall. Sira always took comfort in that fact, that she could just fly away if her troubles began to weigh on her too much. Not that she had any intentions of flying away, things were beginning to get interesting.

Sira turned around and sat on the short wall, a slight frown coming over her face as Sairque mentioned her Kelvic nature, but quickly wiped it from her face. Sairque, as many of the Inarta, was curious about her Wind Eagle side. She couldn't blame them for it, she was curious herself, but had little information to give. Finally Sai got to the point of the matter, why did Sira step in.

At first, Sira answered as she was supposed to. "It's my duty to defend you. You were in trouble, and while I'm sure you can handle yourself I could not let that cat harm you." Sira sighed and ran her hands through her hair, looking down at the ground for a moment. "..but.. that's not the answer you were looking for, was it? You are wondering why I, a Kelvic, would leap to your defense against another Kelvic even though it was you who started the fight."

Sira hopped down from the wall, turning and looking back at the horizon. "...I am not an animal. I have no master, I answer to no one person. People say that as a Kelvic I am supposed to bond with someone, like that girl with the fire dancer.. but I have not bonded with anyone." Sira paused for a moment, her eagle eyes watching something no normal person would be able to see. "...but maybe I have bonded. Not with one person, but with the Inarta as a whole. As far as I am concerned, I am Inarta through and through. But... if it must be explained, then maybe that's it. Maybe I am bonded to you, and to every Inarta and every Eagle in Wind Reach."

[Aidara]

Aidara had stepped around the corner just as Sira was starting her little soliloquy. Boots scraped frantically against the cobbles as the healer scuttled back around the corner to hide her presence. Having used the little connection in her head with her twin, it hadn't been difficult at all for her to find Sai. Neither of the twins had really worked on trying to hide from the other, either. The best they could hope for was to go far enough away that the other wouldn't want to follow. This didn't seem to be the case, or so Addy assumed. Caught up in the shameful retreat of the fire dancer and his cat, the woman had turned to find both of the other women gone, but she could feel Sai close...and pensive? This required investigation. Apparently, her failed undercover ops hadn't dissuaded the healer to leave well enough alone. Plus, her sister had almost been disemboweled by a fowl panther. She couldn't let that happen without some attempt to comfort her. Sai might wear a tough, leathery hide on the outside of her feelings, but Addy knew she was just as vulnerable as everyone else underneath- Her position as a leader figure just didn't allow her to feel such emotions very often. "...I am not an animal. I have no master, I answer to no one person. People say that as a Kelvic I am supposed to bond with someone, like that girl with the fire dancer.. but I have not bonded with anyone." This made Addy blink. She knew little of the Kelvic people as a race, but what she did know, from the few lessons she actually paid attention too, was that they were driven to find a bond mate. Was...Wow, did she stumble into some secret meeting that she had previously been completely unaware of? Green eyes were wide as the healer peered around the corner again. Why she was being so sneaky, she didn't know. If say was paying attention at all, she would feel the surge of her curiosity, especially with not even being a stones throw away.

[Sairque]

This was a suparsecretmeetingoftheEndalClub and Addy would get shanked and tossed over the parapet upon her discovery. But not really. The healer's eventual appearance was expected; she had just witnessed her sister stare down a feline, weighing several hundred more pounds than her, in addition to it's fire wielding master. Aidara would have all sorts of things to say to her, because not only had the woman yet to accept the role Sai played in their society, but that she was also more than capable of taking care of herself. Not that Sairque didn't appreciate the concern and expect it.

Sai was oblivious to the Avora's spying, if only because the constant presence in her mind was familiar and right now she was too intent on the Kelvic conversing with her to notice the little blip that was Addy drawing near. The wind swept into the corridor, tugging at Sai's hair and meeting Sira full in the face when she turned around to look back out over their land. At the same time, the flight leader had a faint mix of relief and astonishment on her face; often, she had found, Kelvic's needed everything spelled out for them, but Sira had grasped much from the disconnected bits that had been placed before her. It wasn't that the shifting animals were dumb, they just seemed to have little concern for the human aspect of communication. The expression was fleeting, however, and only let slip due to the disorganized mass of thoughts that she'd had no time to properly formulate into something that could be used as discourse. It was preferable, after all, to lead the conversation instead of letting others have the opportunity to take that role. It wasn't so bad in this instance, and Sai felt comfortable engaging in a more leisurely interaction. Surprising, considering she had been planning on grilling the woman before the argument broke out in the Courtyard.

Still, unfocused eyes were turned to the ground, a small furrow between them as the Kelvic's words sank in. Sira had certainly behaved in ways that leant evidence to the claim that she wasn't an animal. Aria had shifted immediately, instinctively, at the threat while Sira had suppressed turning into a more powerful form; instead, the woman had pulled out a sword, a human tool created because that race didn't have any natural defenses greater than fingernails and itty bitty canines. Also, the panther, more so than the fire-dancer, but both apparent outsiders (Sai didn't know that Aria had been born in Wind Reach), had threatened an Inartan, and Sira, if what she professed was true, had sat on her desire to negate the risk to a person, one of many, of whom she was bonded, because she understood the intricacies of their social order.

Perhaps, if what she said was true, it was easier for her to learn social behavior having an entire population to look up to as her bondmate. Wind Eagles were tied irrevocably to Mt. Skyinarta and it's inhabitants, and it did seem strange that with two forces that seemed as though they should push the woman to bond with a particular person she hadn't bonded with any....but then again, the Eagles were known to kill those they bond with, and Sai suspected the reason behind the deaths was always tied to the greater wellbeing of Wind Reach.

If she had her druthers, they would pay a visit to the eldest Eagle and if he couldn't help them figure out what's going on with her bonding, they'd find a Kelvic that might be able to. However, she couldn't make Sira traipse all over the place to satisfy her curiosity. Well, she could, and possibly with anyone else she wouldn't have even bothered asking, simply telling them to follow her. But the Endal was satisfied with the prying she had done, nosing into the other woman's business, and her eyes were considerably warmer and friendlier when they turned to Sira's.

"We've got two options at this point. You can come hunting with me and we'll see how well you've adjusted to being both Eagle and Rider, or you can go on lookout duty with me," Sai offered, aware that she was leaving the woman with no closure on the previous topic of their conversation. Granted, there was nothing stopping Sira from asking her own questions

[Sira]

It wasn't that Sira did not have the drive to find a single person to bond with, but rather, she had found none she deemed worthy of that connection. For her it was more complicated than searching for a master, it was a search for a partner. Whomever she chose as a bondmate would not only gain a lifelong loyal companion, but would become her rider and one of the Endal. Sira was proud of what she had accomplished by herself, but she knew if she ever wanted to feel whole she would have to find herself a hunter, and this was something she did not take lightly.

Sira did not notice Aidara's presence nearby. She was too distracted by her own thoughts and the conversation at hand. The conversation which had suddenly become a request. "Oh.. well. Nothing ever happens on lookout duty, heh. Though to be honest, when I hunt with a group I take on a... less direct approach." There was a slight hint of embarrassment in her voice in those last three words, though nothing showed on her face. She had no shame in what she did, but when talking about it to another Endal, she was sometimes embarrassed. "Since I fly alone, I am usually the one who scouts ahead. I find the prey, and signal to the others. And sometime I carry some of the heavier kills home... since... I am not weighed down."

Sira's eyes shift downward as she continues. "I get my fair share of the kills.. but when the arrows start flying it does no good for me to dive in and get shot, you see. I can land and fire my own bow, but that usually takes to much time." For a moment her eyes lit up as she said the next few words, but went downcast again. "I've been working on this technique! ..but I haven't mastered it yet."

"Anyway, that's off subject. Uh, I'd be happy to do either of those things with you. Hunt or lookout.. whatever you want."

[Aidara]

"Wait! I could ride her!" From around the corner the healer popped, a bright grin on her face at what she thought was a brilliant idea. "Well, if she wants, that is. I mean, I think it would help! Oh, by the way, I was spying on your little meeting. Why didn't you just invite me, Sai? Would have made things a lot easier. Though I am starting to enjoy this sneaking around business." The innuendo was lost on the woman as she bounced happily to stand between the Endal and the Kelvic, bright eyes flickering between the two to judge their reactions. Like most things, the confrontation in the courtyard rolled from Addy's shoulders once the moment was passed, and she was back to her bubbly self. However, despite her ability to bounce back from rather traumatic experiences did not stop her from looking after her sisters health. The image of little bits of Sai scattered about the courtyard while the vile panther sat back to lick her claws still hovered in the recesses of her mind. Choosing to ignore that which didn't come to pass, Addy had decided to make sure that her twin wouldn't take out any of her stress on an unsuspecting individual. She would much rather bear the brunt of Sai's anger. It was shock that greeted the Avora when she'd stumbled upon the two women. Eves dropping was not above her, and she did listen raptly to their clam discussion. Sai took everything into calculation, her yellow eyes rather hard as she began dissecting everything about the woman from her physical appearance to trying to pick through her motives and reasons for being. A little bit much on the first date, eh? But it was exactly what Addy expected out of her sister. With a mind that worked for specifics and details, she wasn't surprised that the Endal was intrigued by the Kelvic that tossed a whole lot of the Inartian beliefs into the wind. "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? By the way, I'm Aidara. Nice to meet you, I go where she goes. I kinda wanted to make sure she wasn't going to throw a Dek from a roof because the other half of her duel cowarded out." Without missing a beat, Addy had turned from her synchronization of her sister to throw this run-on of words at the unsuspecting Kelvic. The woman could come off rather strong and upfront, but she seemed either unaware of this, or unwilling to change. However, it was all said with a smile and an extended hand as she stepped up into Sira's personal space. "Well, so, I'm coming either way. This sound's interesting, and I'd rather like to join in on the experiment!" Grinning brightly at them both, Addy just clasped her hands in front of her and bounced on the balls of her feet.