WetHawk
One Thousand Club
The trip down in the water was surprisingly relaxing for Valerie. She had little experience swimming, seeing as Emberhallow is a landlocked city, but that hardly mattered, seeing as it was a simple matter of climbing the rope and holding her breath. It brought her back to one of Grandfather’s favorite activities, scaling the many mountains near the capital. She had never been particularly fast or skilled at it, but she knew how to persevere like no other. Short, shallow outtakes... I have more than enough breath, I only need to make sure it is properly regulated. Her arms were growing tired, weighed down by the heavy shield on her back, but finally, she breached the surface in the cave.
Gasping for breath, the young warlock pulled herself out of the water and lay face-first on the cold ground in a rather unladylike-like manner that would cause Grandfather to roll in his grave. After a moment, she pushed herself up, her exhausted arm muscles groaning in protest as her claws scratched against the cave floor. It felt as if Virra or Magnolia, and either one truthfully would be an equally likely culprit, had jumped onto her back. “Pardon me, but would you mind...” She froze as she saw the people now accompanying her in the cave. It’s okay, Valerie, it’s fine... clearly this is some sort of misunderstanding. Then, something touched her leg, and she yelped and jumped her height into the air. Landing, Valerie looked around wildly, feeling an awkward shifting from... something on her back before she finally craned her neck back over her shoulder.
Someone shrieked. It was probably her, come to think of it. Then again, it would be almost impossible not to, staring at the large fiendish bat-like wings that had fused themselves to her shoulder blades. The wings flapped wildly in response to her panic, the powerful strokes knocking her off of her feet, and landing painfully on her long tail.
A tentative hand came up to confirm her fears, and brushed against the tip of a sharp horn. Shaking slightly, the former human pushed herself to her feet, her worry evident in her voice despite her attempts to temper it. “Okay... so I am a tiefling now... We... we will be turned back, right?”
Gasping for breath, the young warlock pulled herself out of the water and lay face-first on the cold ground in a rather unladylike-like manner that would cause Grandfather to roll in his grave. After a moment, she pushed herself up, her exhausted arm muscles groaning in protest as her claws scratched against the cave floor. It felt as if Virra or Magnolia, and either one truthfully would be an equally likely culprit, had jumped onto her back. “Pardon me, but would you mind...” She froze as she saw the people now accompanying her in the cave. It’s okay, Valerie, it’s fine... clearly this is some sort of misunderstanding. Then, something touched her leg, and she yelped and jumped her height into the air. Landing, Valerie looked around wildly, feeling an awkward shifting from... something on her back before she finally craned her neck back over her shoulder.
Someone shrieked. It was probably her, come to think of it. Then again, it would be almost impossible not to, staring at the large fiendish bat-like wings that had fused themselves to her shoulder blades. The wings flapped wildly in response to her panic, the powerful strokes knocking her off of her feet, and landing painfully on her long tail.
A tentative hand came up to confirm her fears, and brushed against the tip of a sharp horn. Shaking slightly, the former human pushed herself to her feet, her worry evident in her voice despite her attempts to temper it. “Okay... so I am a tiefling now... We... we will be turned back, right?”