Closed A Simple Day Hunt..

[Sira]

Timestamp: 25th of Summer, 515 AV

Hunting had become dangerous. Ever since the Zith attack things had become difficult. As if landslides and earthquakes were not enough, now hunters had to worry about getting attacked by Zith in the wilderness as well. It was true that Zith were an ever present threat, but they were a minor threat. Kalea was as big place, and the Zith usually avoided the domain of the Wind Eagles, preferring easier prey. But lately things had changed. One either had to hunt in large flights of eagles and endal so that no Zith group would dare attack them, or in small discreet groups that could avoid detection, and preferably without staying out overnight. Hunting solo, even in daylight, was just foolish, and more than one hunter had already been lost to the bold Zith attacks.

"Well, at least today I'll have some company," she muttered to herself as she moved through the inner warrens toward the commonrooms where the avora and chiet made their homes. She had not seen Azira since winter, and despite the seriousness of their task, she was looking forward to seeing the woman again. Azira might not have been the most sociable person, but Sira liked her. "Plus, her bow will be good if the Zith show up."

When Sira reached the doorway that she knew to be Azira's she paused, considering whether she should simply walk in, or knock first. It wasn't that she wanted to be impolite, but normally Sira did just barge in on people. It was early, however, and what if Azira had company? Sira doubted it. Azira was attractive, very much so, but she didn't seem the type to bring home strangers like Sira did. Chuckling to herself, Sira decided to go ahead and knock anyway. Better to give the Avora a chance to ready herself for company rather than just walk in and put the woman in a bad mood.

"Azira," Sira greeted cheerfully when the door opened, regardless of what state or mood the Avora seemed to be in. "We're hunting together today. Get your stuff, I've got breakfast waiting for us at my aerie, and then we're in for a quick flight down the mountain that hopefully doesn't involve the both of us getting killed by Zith."

[Azira]

The rap at the door was unexpected. More than that it was extraordinary. Azira stared at it as if waiting for the noise to come again. She wanted to think that she'd imagined it but it had sounded too real to be a figment of her imagination. Nobody came to visit her. Ever. Well, there had been Syveris once but that had been different. She hadn't heard anything from Syveris in so long that she was becoming convinced that she'd gotten killed in the riots so many seasons ago. Lavira was gone for sure. Khara wouldn't dare knock at her door unless it was truly urgent and the huntress expected that such a sound would be timid coming from the Chiet. She was bewildered. She had no idea who it could possibly be.

Answer the petching door and you'll know!

Snapping to herself, she rose from the bed where she'd been about to slip on boots and padded over to the door in her bare feet. The door was pulled open only enough for the Avora's face to fit in the gap, not wanting to give her unexpected visitor a clear view of the inside of her room. There wasn't really anything in there but she liked her privacy all the same.

She was ready with a number of nasty remarks that she could throw at her caller but they vanished when she caught sight of Sira. She stared at her open-mouthed as the Endal told her what they would be doing. "What? Are you being serious?" the huntress shrieked, regretting her tone instantly. She swallowed and tried again, trying to modulate her voice. "What do you mean? Are you serious about this? Do I not get any say or..." she trailed off. This was an Endal. Whatever an Endal said, you went along with it because of who they were. You did not say no. Azira was tempted to slam the door in the woman's face but that wouldn't achieve anything except perhaps pissing her off. There was no choice for her in this.

She looked down at her naked feet and then back up to the woman. "I... I'll just get my boots." She sighed, leaving the door partly open as she returned to her bed. Her boots received aggressive treatment, rammed onto her feet and then secured to such a degree that the teen's ankles started to protest. Loose arrows were thrown into her quiver, rattling off one another. The rest of her equipment was collected, items thrown haphazardly into her backpack, not even bringing herself to care how things landed. She squashed the contents down, pulled it shut and threw it onto her shoulder. Azira reached the entrance in two strides, flinging the door open and slamming it violently behind her.

"If we're going hunting then we'd better get breakfast," she almost spat, setting off down the passage that would bring her up to the Aeries. She was furious, of course. Just because Sira was her superior didn't mean that she had the right to decide her plans for her. She wasn't happy about it at all. She had been going out hunting anyway but it irked her not to be making her own decisions. She didn't enjoy having her agency taken away, especially when it happened so rarely.

Well, now you know how Khara feels about being brought on hunts unexpectedly, her thoughts pointed out. That thought did nothing to improve her mood and she found that she was very much looking forward to killing something. She certainly wasn't in a talkative mood although circumstances might force her to be otherwise. Sira seemed overly cheerful after all and would probably decide that they should make conversation.

Nari | Common

Template courtesy of Khara

[Sira]

Sira was a little surprised at the Avora's reaction. Perhaps she should have asked if she wanted to go or not. Sira figured that Azira would jump at the chance to have a partner to hunt with. Solo hunting with all the Zith around was just crazy. And this would save the huntress the bells it would take traversing the rope ladders down the mountain. In fact, Azira's reaction rather irritated her.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to," Sira said when Azira came back to the door. "By all means, waste half your day climbing ladders and fending off Zith. I'll find some other Avora to fly with me today if I have to."

Sira turned and stormed off down the hall, glaring at a dek that got in her way and sending him scrambling to avoid a head on collision with the endal. She barged through the door of her aerie when she reached it and headed straight to the nest, startling the chiet who were busy oiling and prepping her saddle for flight. Sira pulled off her clothes in a fury and shifted in a cloud of glittering, angry smoke.

"SADDLE! NOW!"

The startled pair of Inarta jumped to their feet, scrambling to obey the obviously angry wind eagle before she decided to take her wrath out on them in a more furious matter. One grabbed the saddle from the front and the other from the back, hoisting the saddle onto Sira's back with the skill of those who had done so many times before. One began working on the straps while the other moved to fill the saddlebags with Sira's gear.

"If Azira isn't here in five chimes her breakfast is yours. Mine too. I'll be eating in the field."

[Azira]

It was quite obvious that she had shattered the Endal's happy mood and pissed her off in the process. She could have just said no now that she'd been given the option she couldn't trust that the ability to choose wasn't merely an illusion. Also she might be being a bit stubborn, sticking to the original plan of action now out of principle. Besides, Sira had a point; there was no use in wasting bells climbing the mountainside ladders when she could go hunting a lot faster with the aid of the Kelvic. The damage already seemed to be done, however, with the woman storming off ahead of her with an attitude of murder about her. The huntress would have to hope that no "accidents" would occur in the air that might lead to her demise. Azira let the woman to have some space, not ready to trot immediately behind her to grovel for forgiveness. She didn't let herself slow so much that she would leave the other waiting too long though.

When she reached the various entrances to the many Aeries and found Sira nowhere in sight, she picked up the pace. She hoped that the Endal hadn't gotten too far ahead of her and that her mood hadn't worsened in the meantime.

She found the door to Sira's Aerie open and she entered cautiously, closing it quietly behind her. The Kelvic wasn't in the entrance room, not even waiting impatiently to greet her. That was definitely a bad sign. The huntress quickly found her although not in a place that she had expected. Rather than enjoying the meal laid out for her, her superior had changed into an eagle instead and Chiet busied themselves securing her saddle to her back.

The teen paused in the doorway for a chime, wondering if the raptor had seen her before she began to unload her gear so that the Chiet could secure it in the saddle bags. As she removed her pack and secured her waterskin, bow and quiver on her person, Azira announced herself.

"I won't keep you long, Endal Sira," she called, causing the two Chiet to jump as they registered her presence at last. She stepped from the room quickly. She knew that she needed to eat as quickly as possible or else her hunting companion might bite her head off. That was an outcome she'd like to avoid seeing as it would make her life a bit difficult.

The teen ate quickly. She didn't distinguish much between the different foods as they were shoved into her mouth and chewed and swallowed without really tasting it. Some grains, some fruit, some meat, all devoured. It took her less than five chimes to rush through her breakfast, the food sitting uneasily in her stomach. It'd settle down in a few chimes but she hoped that she would be able to keep it there in the meantime, especially when they took flight. Take off would jostle her terribly but if she could get through that then things would be all right.

The huntress returned to where Sira was being prepped, entering cautiously as she expected to meet the Kelvic's ire. She didn't want to act like some frightened, skulking creature but it might just pay off for the moment. If she was her usual self, or rather the version of herself that had faced Sira outside her room, then she was sure to rub her up entirely the wrong way.

"I'm ready to leave when it's convenient, Endal Sira."

Nari | Common

Template courtesy of Khara

[Sira]

Sira glared at Azira when she entered. Or maybe she didn't. It was always hard to tell with birds, especially raptors. Their expressions always looked intense. Sira did cock her head to turn one eye in Azira's direction. The chiet hurriedly finished tightening straps and securing belongings in bags, the Endal's and Azira's, and had Sira ready in just a few chimes.

"Alright, let's go," Sira said sharply into Azira's mind, lowering herself so that the Avora could climb on easily. She did not speak again until Azira was in the saddle.

"Oh, and by the way, you did NOT have a say in it, and neither did I. Until I pick a rider, The Valintar chooses who I fly with each day. I've had worthless dek shyke pigeon petchers with me all season. I was finally looking forward to something but- Did you know one of them fell off a cliff before he even got to me? Who the petch falls off a cliff? He's not dead, but couldn't fly with me."

While Sira ranted something happened that Azira would not expect, and Sira did not even realize she was doing. Her mind touched Azira's in a way that only an endal ever normally experienced. For a brief instant their bodies became one. Azira felt what Sira was about to do. Felt the aligning of tail feathers, the tensing of muscles. Suddenly she knew what to do. It wasn't a command or compulsion, more of a suggestion that her body completely agreed was the right thing to do. Azira could resist if she wanted, but her body wouldn't likely recommend it. The suggestion told her she should lean forward. Tighten her legs a bit. Relax her shoulders. Don't grip the horn too hard. Breath. Azira felt and knew that Sira was about to dive off the cliff. If she did not resist the temporary connection with the Wind Eagle, the launch would feel completely natural and beautiful, despite the suddenness behind it. If she resisted it would be far less pleasant, and a jarring and possibly terrifying experience indeed.

The connection revealed more than just what Sira was about to do and how Azira should respond. Sira's mind opened up to her in the briefest of moments. Not exact thoughts, nor exact memories. It was all emotions and feelings. Azira knew that Sira was unaware of what she had just allowed Azira to experience. Azira knew that Sira was also not actually angry at her. No, there were many feelings toward Azira. Curiosity. Lust. Genuine respect. But not anger. She was disappointed that Azira had not been as thrilled as Sira that they were flying together, but the eagle's anger went far deeper. She was angry at herself, but more so, she was ashamed that she still had not chosen a rider. Sira was not fulfilling her duty as a wind eagle. She needed an endal, and that she had not chosen one yet shamed the Kelvic beyond anything else. Azira also felt that only one other person had felt such a connection with Sira's mind, and before anything else could be gleaned, the connection ended with Sira none the wiser and they were gliding low over the ground heading toward the distant treetops and the forest beyond.

"I was thinking we'd fly North." Sira chimed into Azira's mind, her tone completely casual and all the anger gone now that she'd gotten what she wanted and they were in the air. It was hard to be angry while flying.. that and Sira's emotions could be rather childish at times, angry one moment and giddy the next. Like many of the eagles, in fact. She opened a two way connection between them so that Azira could respond and they could speak when they wanted. It wasn't anything like what happened earlier, just a simple mental channel of communication and nothing else. "We'll follow the coast for a while and then cut across the mountains. There's a valley that I don't think anyone has hunted in a while, so maybe we'll get lucky and find something good. There is a net in my bags in case we catch anything big so I can carry it home."

A few chimes later they were flying along the coast, Kalea to their left and the vast Thunder Bay to their right. Sira's eyes scanned the beach and waters as they passed beneath them, watching for signs of movement. It was peaceful for a long while and they covered quite a bit of distance before she spotted something, a glimmer beneath the surface of the water off shore, and gently angled her path of flight away from land and out towards the depths.

Azira probably couldn't see anything, though if she really tried she might spot what looked like splashing in the water. More obvious was the change in the way Sira was flying. She'd risen to a semi-high altitude and was almost floating in the air, though she still had some forward momentum going. The wind was whipping against them as Sira rode it, though her body would shield Azira from the worst of it. Sira watched the glimmering beneath the waves, waiting for just the right moment.

...

Now!

"Hold tight," Sira said as she suddenly fell into a dive. To Azira it might look like they were about to crash into the water, but Sira quickly leveled out the dive, flying just above the water. She spotted the large tuna she was after and extended her talons. With a splash she snatched the fish right out of the water and immediately started back toward shore.

They flew straight inland, almost due north, toward the valley Sira knew was in that direction. They didn't reach the valley before Sira changed direction again, angling for a nearby mountain. Particularly, for a nearby cliff on that mountain, where Sira set down dropping her prize and immediately began tearing into it with her sharp beak.

"I'll be quick. You can get off and stretch your legs if you want. We've got another half bell of flying at least before we get there."

The cliff was windy and just barely large enough for Sira so stand on, though the bird didn't seem to mind. She ignored Azira while she tore into the fish, ripping out the meat and eating it raw. The huntress was free to do as she pleased for the moment.

OOC: Because Eagles are cool that way.

[Azira]

The Kelvic's gaze looked sharp but Azira found that she was still in possession of her head so she figured that everything would be all right. The other might be displeased with her but she wasn't likely to make her life difficult because of it or so the huntress hoped. She waited for the Chiet to finish, the bird's amber eye remaining fixed on her until everything was packed up. Sira was obviously keen to take to the air as almost as soon as she was ready, she urged Azira to climb onto her back. The teen was quick to oblige, using the straps of the saddle and the Kelvic's wings to help her up. She settled herself down, Sira continuing to talk as the huntress prepared herself for flight. She'd thought the Endal was annoyed so she hadn't expected her to be particularly talkative. Except that she launched into an explanation of why this hunt had to happen and the huntress braced herself for a long rant.

Something changed though.

As Sira talked about dealing with foolish riders, something happened in her mind. The connection to her mind through which the eagle talked to her seemed to deepen. The teen gasped as the connection became deeper and deeper and expanded until the line that separated between the two became blurred. What the Kelvic felt, Azira felt except she still had a sense of herself, however vague. Somehow she knew that this connection was abnormal and it was like nothing she'd ever felt before. This wasn't simple communication, this was something far more deep and complex. It felt right though. It filled her with strange sensations like having control of feathers and muscles that were foreign to her. Some things felt more familiar, like the way her body wanted to shift into a new position. It was because of the connection but it wasn't compelling her to readjust herself, merely suggesting it.

Something told her that it would be right to follow the suggestion so she did. The Avora allowed her shoulders to relax as she leaned forward, tightening her legs' grip on the saddle. As the sudden launch from the Aeries came, a sigh escaped the girl as she discovered the true beauty of flight and found that she had been yearning to take to the air and feel the wind rushing against her feathers - Sira's feathers rather. She laughed breathlessly, marvelling at the link of which she had inadvertently become a part. The Endal hadn't done it intentionally, that much was clear because he could feel it through the connection. She could feel more through it as well, including a feeling towards her that had her blushing, lust. The huntress had never imagined that the Wind Eagle might be reciprocate Azira's attraction to her. Other feelings were there as well and they were received and interpreted in a matter of ticks. She wasn't angry at Azira although she was disappointed by her reaction.

It was a unique connection and only one other person had experienced it. Could it have been Aidara, Sira's Endal? Was that what a bond felt like between Endal and rider? There was no way that the huntress could know what that was like and although Sira had said she was considering her as a rider didn't mean that she was extending that sort of connection to her.

As abruptly as it had begun, the special link between them came to end. All that was left was a faint copy of that connection, the far more simple one used in communication but without the true mind sharing that had occurred mere moments before. Now that she was aware that such a connection could exist between them, its loss left her feeling hollow. She could still pick up on a brightness in the raptor's mental tone but it just wasn't the same.

North sounds good. You know the Unforgiving better than I, the huntress returned, sighing mentally at the loss she still felt. She wondered immediately afterwards if the Kelvic had heard it. Sira's plan did sound like a good one. The eagle knew what she was doing and the huntress trusted her to be left well enough alone. For the time being, the girl would just enjoy the scenery flying by beneath her. The inhospitable mountainous landscape of the Unforgiving, which within a few chimes gave way to the jagged cliffs of the coast and the waters of the sea, light dancing off the many waves. It wasn't often that she had the opportunity to view the majesty of the sea and so she leaned to one side to appreciate it more. Sometimes things could be seen moving in the water but unless it was big, she doubted that she'd manage to see a disturbance today, not from this height.

The other's flight pattern changed, the powerful beating of wings becoming more of a hover as Sira rode the wind.

The warning came abruptly but Azira was quick to comply. Her body leaned as close to the eagle's body as she could as they dove sharply, heading straight towards the water. She hoped that the Kelvic had a plan in mind because the huntress didn't want to end up in a watery grave. Again her flight changed as she pulled out of the five, flying close to the water's surface. There was a splash and then they were flying away from the sea, the rapid speed returning as they headed inland. She craned her neck over the side to see what it was her ride had caught but she couldn't see anything.

Sira found somewhere to land, a loud thump proceeding her own landing by ticks before she began to tear into whatever it was she'd caught. The Avora dismounted carefully, mindful to keep out of the range of Sira's beak as it tore enthusiastically into the raw fish. The teen looked on with a mixture of fascination and mild disgust. Fish weren't something she came in contact with that often and so she had a hard time trying to work out what it was, a task made all the more difficult because of the fast disappearance of identifying features. Although they were on the ground now and away from the whistling of the wind, she chose to continue to communicate solely by mind. What sort of fish is that? she sent curiously. Do you not mind that it's raw? You could have had food back in your Aeries that would have been more... palatable, I imagine, so why didn't you?

The girl couldn't restrain her curiosity, her desire to learn overshadowing any grumpiness she might have tried to hold on to for the sake of principle.

Nari | Common

Template courtesy of Khara