Fantasy Skyheart (1 slot open)

[kase9187]

Aldaf nodded, turning to Marylka and giving a smirk.

"On you, Marylka. We'll follow your lead."

Spica gave an approving growl as she stayed alongside her fellow Skybeasts. Aldaf could feel her unease. She was worried it wouldn't be enough...

YumenoTsukishiro Saturn_moon

 

[Saturn_moon]

Marylka gave Kari a small smile when the girl came over with Zephyr seeking assistance. "Of course." Archie took an immediate liking to the gryphon as they started jumping around each other in circles, with Zephyr going after Archie's ears and Archie taking a particular interest in the other's tail. As Marylka finished fastening the last strap on Kari's armor, she paused, taking in the image of their group standing in front of the stables with their skybeasts, committing each face to her memory. Despite having known them for such a short time, they had, as a whole, changed the course of her life for good. Whether is was for the better or worse, she felt an immense kinship with the group and whatever the outcome of the mission they were about to embark on, she was certain the threads that bound them would hold steadfast.

Overwhelmed with emotion, she suddenly pulled Kari in for a quick, fierce hug that seemed to surmised her all her fears as well as appreciation for her friends. "Sorry. I got a little carried away there." She said, awkwardly pulling away.

When Gerel joined them, she merely offered him a reaffirming nod before hoisting herself on to Archie's back. Taking a deep breath in, she slowly began to swirl her arms around her, performing a dance to music only she could hear. Above them, the moisture gathered in the skies into wispy strands of silky, delicate clouds that weaved itself together until eventually forming a thin blanket of white that just obscured their sight of the rising moon. On her exhale, a puff of white escaped her mouth almost as if she was back in the snowy mountains rather that in the middle of a desert. "I can adjust the density of the clouds if need be but that should work for now."

AncientBird AquaMarie Elenion Aura explosiveKitten kase9187 Lioness075 Naberius SilverFlight YumenoTsukishiro

(And hello new friends! Damafaud Goonfire alabast )

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf nodded as the winds began to swirl around them, spiraling the wispy strands inwards and keeping it close to them without tearing apart the fragile mist.

"Gerel, you and I can focus on keeping it together and moving it."

Aldaf turned back to his team, and with everyone ready to set forth for caverns unknown, he... couldn't deny a feeling of twisted pain in his gut. Emma hadn't fought these things in bulk yet like they had.

He was worried personal feelings would make things strained in the dark. Gerel seemed off, like something was gnawing at him, and he couldn't help but think back to Leandra's hostility from a few days ago.

An image flashed in his head. Spica growled and looked back at him, and he didn't even need to feel her to understand:

"Shhh. It's alright. It won't come to that." He whispered, patting her head.

"We're only gonna get one good shot at this. Danube needs us and we can't ask Deralis to send us on a second scouting mission."

He smiled to his team. It was... a mixed expression. His smile was wide, but his eyes couldn't help but carry a twinge of fear.

"Whatever happens in there, I'm glad to have met such a band of weirdos. Let's show these undead monsters why you don't mess with amnesiacs."

Saturn_moon SilverFlight YumenoTsukishiro Naberius Lioness075 explosiveKitten AquaMarie AncientBird

 

[SilverFlight]

"Wha--oh, hi. I guess this is happening."
The look of surprise on Kari's face was unmistakable. She hadn't seen that coming, but as Marylka squeezed her tight, she returned the hug with even more strength.
"We are gonna be just fine you hear?" She said into Marylka's shoulder. "I promise I won't let anything happen to you...or any of us." She held Marylka at arm's length for just a moment, appreciating her and the rest of their friends.
Saturn_moon

"So the deathborn are scary, but I think we're even worse when we fight together, besides, we haven't even seen these teachers let loose yet."
Targus laughed heartily. "That's right! Deathborn, ha! Those dusty fossils don't stand a chance."

When Kari finally wrangled Zephyr enough to stand still and let her finish adjusting the saddle, she caught a glimpse of Gerel out of the corner of her eye, and her stomach twisted.
She'd watched him grow further and further away from the group. It was obvious something was weighing on him heavily, and when she's asked he'd deflected the question. Kari had been taught, that people would share what they wanted when the time was right, so she'd let him have the space he'd made, but it was hard. There was a whirlwind of thoughts that kicked up every time she saw him. Did he remember something that pushed them apart? Did she do something wrong? It wouldn't be the first time, Kari knew her temper wasn't easy to deal with. She'd stopped herself several times from asking again, and now it was hard just to be in the same space.
But prying now wouldn't do their mission any good. That could wait, she told herself. Whatever he felt about her now, Gerel was a part of their team, so that's how she'd treat him.
YumenoTsukishiro

Aldaf's final words made Kari crack a smile. She clapped him on the back. "Darn right. Let's go!"
kase9187

*~*~*

Keshka circled by Matthias and heard his spoken thought.
"Of course it isn't wise." She said in a casual tone. "Wise would be leaving Danubey to die, and never trying to solve the city's deathborn problem. But somehow I don't think that would sit well with you...or any of them."
She gestured as the riders began to take off. "Besides, I very much doubt Westeros is the only country being plagued by the deathborn. The more you discover about them, the better you can help your own people."
Elenion Aura

*~*~*

They had been flying for hours, far out into the desert's vast expanse. No signal had come from Keshka in that long while, as she floated lazily above them on Storm.
Kari shifted in the saddle, goggles down, trying to stretch her muscles in the dampness of the cloud. That was the problem with clouds. They were made of water.
Zephyr's wings shimmered with little drops of it, that vanished whenever he flapped. The stars were a wonder above them, many collected in a silver ribbon that stretched across the sky ahead, almost as if it was leading the way.

A sudden flash of shadow made Kari look up. Keshka was signalling. At the front of the cloud she used the mist to project a message.
"Someone getting attacked. Straight ahead!" Kari read aloud. Maybe it was Danubey, and he'd gotten out into the desert after all.
She sailed lower in the cloud, so she could peer through the mist and sure enough, she saw an explosion of sand and several figures, some of which were deathborn.

"Come on guys! Let's get'er done!"
Zephyr keened and turned into a spiral dive. They rocketed towards the ground. It looked like five deathborn. Maybe a scouting party. Kari didn't immediately see anything like that slippery spy creature, so they could probably get them all right here.
They dropped from the air like a stone, Kari readying her whip; at the last second the gryphon pulled up and Kari snapped her weapon straight through the rib cage of one. The purple orb exploded within it's chest and one deathborn was down. Zephyr levelled to the sand and dropped, sliding to a halt just in front of the deathborn's would-be victim.
"Don't you worry none. We can help you take these monsters out!"

Damafaud
kase9187 Lioness075 Naberius Saturn_moon Elenion Aura YumenoTsukishiro AquaMarie explosiveKitten Goonfire alabast AncientBird

((Free for all on the deathborn))

 

[kase9187]

One of the other deathborn weren't so lucky, with Aldaf catching sight of it.

"Spica! Tackle!" He commanded, the both of them rocketing upwards before plummeting straight down, Aldaf leaping off Spica and catching himself with the wind as she slammed into the deathborn, bones flying everywhere.

"Good job, Spica!" Aldaf laughed as she stepped on it's core, crushing it into bits. He turned, now on the ground, with a deathborn charging at him. But he'd been training for this mission.

A gust of wind whipped up around him, gathering the sand up in a shield before launching forward in a stream, the deathborn unable to evade in time and running into it head-first. The fast-moving sand eroded the old bones and eventually the skeleton collapsed, the spine and skull eaten away from the sand-blasting Aldaf gave it.

He walked over to the orb, pulsing with purple light, and he took out his dagger and stabbed into it, the light fading as it cracked.

"That was for endangering my mother." He spoke quietly, not many being able to hear him over the sounds of battle.

Damafaud SilverFlight Lioness075 Naberius Saturn_moon Elenion Aura YumenoTsukishiro AncientBird explosiveKitten Goonfire alabast

 

[Damafaud]

Faris Dimetrius

To kill with a borrowed knife​

Some fights could not be won. Faris remained unable to shake the deathborn off. He gritted his teeth, trying to think of a way to turn the situation around, but he could only despair. The empty desert and clear sky left him with little options. To trust that Selene could run for longer than the deathborn, to turn around in one last desperate bid for survival, both were options he did not want to take.

Selene suddenly growled, pulling Faris back from his spiraling thoughts. The winged panther took a slight turn for what appeared as a large patch of cloud in the sky. Moments later, Faris caught on to her intent. An avenue he did not dare to consider appear in front of his eyes. A miracle: rescuers.

"I give you my thanks, strangers!" shouted Faris as he and Selene dived for a dune, away from the battle. Excess usage of magic all day had drained him. He lay on Selene's stomach, feeling the panther's heart racing.

"You have worked hard." He scratched Selene's stomach only to be met with a growl and a displeased look. Not comfortable, those eyes said, so Faris smiled wryly and moved his eyes to the fight. Selene never hesitated to slap or tackle him whenever she was displeased with him. It didn't hurt, but still.

As he watched his rescuers fight, a strange familiarity washed over him. Then, his eyes widened in disbelief. What was the odd? Those hazy faces from those fragmented memories... Faris did not know whether to laugh or cry. He had been wondering how to meet the people in his memory was, but they came to him instead.

No, they should not be. He ignored Selene's continual low growling as he drew on her stomach to think.

Only his sister knew he was leaving for the desert, so they should not be here for him. Then what other reason could they be here for? According to Teacher Ord, they had also lost their memories, so they could be here to look for the deathborn's nest, or--

SMACK!

A black paw smacked Faris hard until his face got buried in the sand. Faris coughed tremendously and conjured a small gust to blow wind out of his eyes, ears, and nose. He smiled apologetically at Selene, who snorted and rolled over, turning her stomach away from Faris. The pair continued to recuperate in silent, watching over the battle.

SilverFlight Lioness075 Naberius Saturn_moon Elenion Aura YumenoTsukishiro AncientBird explosiveKitten Goonfire alabast kase9187

 

[YumenoTsukishiro]

It was comforting to use the magic he first became intimate with, even if it was something as mundane as helping Marylka and Aldaf maintain the cloud around them. There was a complexity to it, constantly adjusting the flow of the wind, coercing Ventra's song into a sustained note, making sure that the tiny droplets of water around them coalesced into their refuge from deathborn eyes. Working the magic helped Gerel take his mind off the doubts plaguing him about how the others would treat him. Aldaf and Marylka seemed fine with him, but what about Leandra? Caliban? Kari?

The thought of her made him ache like nothing else. In the midst of his struggle with death, there were flashes of bliss when memories of the past broke through the nothingness in his mind. These memories were tinged with the glow of autumn and the warmth of a roaring fire. Phantom touches across his arm felt like the breeze on a summer night. Eyes wandering across the other's visage, then meeting, drawing in, stopping, hesitating. Nothing more, but it left him wondering if it would've led into something... No, he couldn't let himself think like that. Better not to set himself up for more despair than he already had.

Irritation seeped into his thoughts, distracting him from himself. Gerel chuckled, then patted the side of Jeff's head. The kirin was not enjoying his wings becoming heavy with moisture. Gerel could only compare it to the feeling of sleeping right after taking a shower without drying ones hair first.

'Come on now. It's only for a little while, at least until we get to our destination. Please bear with it.'

As it turned out, Jeff didn't have to wait for long. "Someone getting attacked. Straight ahead!"

Kari's voice roused him to action. He watched her fly lower through the cloud, before rallying them with a shout. Gerel hesitated because Aldaf went ahead at once, and somebody had to work the winds to maintain the cloud, but Jeff didn't think twice. He was more than happy for an excuse to get out of this deity-forsaken moisture. With a loud neigh the kirin broke through the mist, chasing after Aldaf who had gone first. Gerel's control over the winds faltered for a moment, and he hoped that Marylka could keep the cover of mist on her own. But with three of their number breaking out of hiding in the first place, did it even matter?

As they approached, Gerel unslung his bow and nocked an arrow. The world narrowed before him, his focus sharpening to a point. Winds spoke to him, telling him of the deathborn rushing towards the one with the giant black cat.

Inhale. He adjusted his body to the right, but kept his eyes facing forward.

Exhale. He released the arrow. The winds took it as their own, guiding it towards the target, and sharpening the point to pierce through anything in its way.

He guided Jeff towards the one with the giant black cat. Flying closer, he saw the deathborn, crumbled to nothing but bones. Its core lay in the middle of the heap, itself shattered into pieces. And in the middle of that was his arrow, point embedded into the sand. Gerel smiled in satisfaction and relief. Despite his constant brush with death, the winds still listened to him, guided him and helped him protect those in need.

Speaking of which, Gerel landed near the one in need, and his appearance reminded Gerel of Ocris nobility. Too much, as it turned out; years of tradition ingrained by his mother made him bow to the person before he could stop himself. Brushing it off, he offered a hand to the person with a smile. "Don't worry. The deathborn are taken care of. Come, let's get you up."

Interaction: SilverFlight Saturn_moon kase9187 Damafaud
Tags: explosiveKitten Elenion Aura Lioness075 Naberius AncientBird
alabast Goonfire

 

[AncientBird]

Serik joined rank with the others and together, all the youths and their instructors flew out into the desert.

The night grew darker and moonlight was dimmed down by heavy patch of cloud that Marylka, Aldaf and Gerel had been maintaining since they left the city in the order to help covering them from unwanted eyes.

As usual, Valkyrie flew in the back of the group. Night time wasn’t the stork drake element and she relied on seeing other skybeast’s bodies. Serik watched at Valkyrie guiltily… He felt that he had troubled the stork drake into another night flight and the worst part of it was that he did have a solution for Valkyrie’s navigation problem, but he chose not to use it in fear that it would reveal his party in the midst of the night sky… “I’m sorry I can’t help you now, but you will love what I have in store for you. That would be for later occasion however.” Said Serik as he patted the skybeast. Valkyrie replied with a grunting noise.

Serik looked over to the cloud maintenance team. Aldaf looked as confident as usual, probably eager to try out his growing power. He had been quite helpful with crafting arrowhead from Spica’s quills, but that’s just it… Serik didn’t quite have time for any hang out. Then there’s Marylka… Serik remembered how he cut the conversation with her short several days ago and hadn’t spoken much with her after that… He felt ashamed of how he pushed her away in his desperation to prepare himself and now, he could only thought if she would still accept his company.

Then there’s Gerel… Serik finally realized how enigmatic he had become. The boy was so busy that he didn’t really pay attention to this tribe brother of his. But now that he remember, Serik recalled Gerel being very secretive and distancing himself from the group. He was never a man of attention and socializing, but something had made him drifting even further away and the two had likely never spoken at all since their last coversation during the time they newly arrived in To’bai… Something was wrong…

Just as Serik was losing in his thought about his friends, he heard Kari sounding a warning.

“Someone getting attacked. Straight ahead!"

Serik drove Valkyrie down below the cloud like the others. He could see several figures moving further away on the ground. The bright purple glow from some of the figures indicated that they were definitely deathborns.

The group darted toward the commotion and immediately attacked the deathborns as they were occupied by their target. There were five of the horrid monsters and the youths descended upon them like buzzard over marmot.

Serik and Valkyrie headed straight toward one of them that was a bit further away from the rest of its allies. The deathborn already knew of the upcoming assault and turned around to face the youths… Its big mistake was, it didn’t turn toward Serik and Valkyrie…

Serik took something from his bag. A bolas, which as soon as its emerged, starting to glow brightly like a big oil lamp in the darkness. It was the glow stone… Serik had splitted it in his preparation days ealier and crafted them into a bolas, to replace the one he lost. The three stone orbs tied to the string were much smaller than the stone they were crafted from, but they still shone just as bright, perhaps even brighter now that they were smoothed into perfectly round orb.

Serik wielded the bolas and in an instant, sending it flying straight to the deathborn like a shining comet dashing through the sky. The bolas struck and bound the monster’s front legs together, causing it to stumble and collapse by its weight on the sandy floor.

Featuring: Damafaud kase9187 Lioness075 Naberius Saturn_moon Elenion Aura YumenoTsukishiro AquaMarie explosiveKitten Goonfire alabast SilverFlight

 

[Elenion Aura]

Matthias​

Matthias and Volos inclined their heads to teacher and Skybeast respectively as they flew along beside them. He listened carefully to her words. This he thought, was wisdom. The wisdom of his elder. His teacher. He understood, and though his heart longed to see his homeland again…

”Then let us be rash.”


Matthias was displeased. While he could not exactly deny the prudence of traveling under the cover of clouds… He did not enjoy the feeling of dampness. At least he was not wearing his furs, though by the way the leather of his tunic was beginning to bead, he felt his countenance darken to match the scene. Volos, ever the optimist, did not seem to mind. Though the smell of wet bear did nothing to elevate Matthias’ mood… Such that, when the message from Keshka came, relayed by Kari, Matthias felt almost relieved.

”Good.” He grumbled, and wheeled downward, breaking free of the cover of clouds in time to see his compatriots making quick work of a small group of Deathborn. And the one they were after… Matthias squinted, and spurred Volos that way. If it was who he hoped, this little excursion could end and they could all get back to things.

Volos landed in the desert with a mighty crash that sent plumes of sand skyward. Matthias dismounted, waving clouds of dust from his face as he strode up beside Gerel. If the Northarian thought differently of his companion now than he had when they’d first met, he did not show it. Then again, he barely looked at the younger man as he focused his attention on this newcomer.

Matthias peered down at the man and his Skybeast sprawled before him in the sand and silently prepared to be disappointed. He asked, anyway, though after taking a quick look at him, Matthias imagined he already knew the answer.

”Are you Danube?”

Despite all that, though… There was undeniably something familiar about this one… Much like… Oh. A quiet, half-realization dawned on him. Oh?

Tags: SilverFlight Saturn_moon kase9187 AncientBird Lioness075 Naberius YumenoTsukishiro
AquaMarie Damafaud Goonfire alabast ​

 

[Damafaud]

Faris Dimetrius

Sincere courtesy demands reciprocity​

As a spectator of the battle, Faris could only sigh and nothing more. No, it was a one-sided slaughter. The deathborn that chased him for hours were decimated in a matter of minutes. He had barely caught his breath when one of them landed nearby. Still, the etiquette rooted inside did not permit him to rest when the man with eyes of emerald bowed at him. Faris endured his exhaustion. He returned the smile and took his hand.

"Were it not for your intervention, my survival depends on the mercy of Ventar." Faris clasped his hands together and bowed in return. "I owe you my life, fellow strangers."

Before he could go further, the second stranger, a man tall and firm like a canyon, asked him a question that turned him speechless. Is this what it means to be fated? Is this what his deceased grandmother meant by the arrangement of the Gods? Coincidences like this made him questions many things he hadn't thought of before. Faris could only accept it with a smile and bow slightly toward the second man.

"I am Faris Demetrius, the son of Elena and Chandra Demetrius and Cowardly Young Master of To'Bai. To label you as strangers does not paint a complete picture of our relationship. Do forgive the slip of words, companions of the lost year, advance students of the academy." He nodded at Matthias to confirm his recognition.

Without the threat of death looming over every cycle of his breath, Faris had retained the grace of a child of Demetrius. His brief introduction explained his identity and their connections with unspoken proof regarding their veracity. Selene broke the flow by suddenly walking around the human to examine Jeff up close.

Selene ignored his mental command to retreat and gave an emotional feedback he could only describe as an eye roll. Faris pretended not to notice her. He's not dealing with her now.

"I ran into Teacher Danube before I met the deathborn. He is stable despite requiring medical assistance... although I should explain in full when everyone can hear it."

Interaction: Gerel, Matthias, Jeff
YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura

Mention: SilverFlight Lioness075 Naberius Saturn_moon AncientBird explosiveKitten Goonfire alabast kase9187

 

[Goonfire]

The regal thunderbird touched down and perched on the rocks. Namid wasted no time checking his map and charts, scroll after scroll unrolling for a few seconds each. History had a strange way of repeating itself, so the astronomer followed the patterns obsessively. The appearance of a certain comet supposedly heralded calamity, so Namid had set out in search of a means to proactively stop it.

Amaya cranked her head around to see her rider. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, so she gave a faint coo. Then, her sharp eyes caught figures in the distance. Her head whipped around and she let out a low, raspy hiss. That wasn’t a mere flock of skybeasts, as Namid acknowledged when he looked through his spyglass. Several more shapes soon joined the fray, slaughtering the creatures assailing the one diving. “A hunting party?” he muttered. “No... warriors.”

“Let’s go,” Namid urged, seizing the reins once more. Kicking up dust, he and Amaya took off in the direction of the band splitting themselves between the loner and the declining number of deathborn. As Amaya soared over the plummeting monster tangled in bolas, Namid drew his atlatl and readied a spear. He launched the projectile downward, so the fallen foe would be pinned between the sand and the spear. Electricity crackled among his companions black and violet feathers, making their entrance a touch spectacular.

While sailing in a wide arc, Namid gave a hand signal to imply he’s no threat to the other humans.

YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura SilverFlight Lioness075 Naberius Saturn_moon AncientBird explosiveKitten alabast kase9187 Damafaud

 

[AquaMarie]

In the air Emma carefully watched as Marylka created the cloud cover, getting help from Aldaf, and then Gerel joined in. She stared at the clouds that would cover them from other’s sights. Emma was nervous, her knuckles turning white as she held tightly to her skybeasts ranes. It was a lie, she wasn't nervous, no she was terrified, what was she even doing up here? Yes, she was a great archer and she had an ability that she had been working on since the day she found out about it back in the greenhouse. But really she did not feel prepared for this, she should have just stayed behind. The short redhead was quiet, lost in her thoughts as she looked over to the others as they flew ahead of her.

A few hours had passed and Emma had pulled herself away from the thoughts in her head. She could not get herself down thinking of such things, this group of people were her friends. Sure she really didn't know them much or have spent much time with them as they had with each other, but she did not care, they were still her friends. All she wanted to do was help and be there for them in this crazy mission.

As the hours passed Emma found herself leaning against Angus as she made tiny braids. Adding little wildflowers she would create and braided them into his mane. Emma looked over towards Kari as she said something aloud, something about someone being attacked. She stopped what she was doing and watched as Kari sailed down to the lowest part of the cloud cover. A group of deathborn were spotted attacking someone down below them. Then it happened quickly, yelling about get’er done, and off she watched everyone dived down out of the cloud cover.

However Emma never dived down, she kept herself and Angus up within the cloud cover. The large black alicorn wanted to go down there and see what the commotion was about. Emma could see this as she watched his ears twitch as he heard the sounds coming down below. She looked down at the mist down below her, hoping everyone was doing fine. Well of course they were doing fine, they were amazing, they had dealt with the deathborn before. The short girl figured it was best if she stayed up in the cover, those that went seemed to be on top of it and she would just get in the way.

Tags: SilverFlight Saturn_moon Lioness075 explosiveKitten YumenoTsukishiro kase9187 Elenion Aura Naberius AncientBird alabast Damafaud Goonfire

 

[SilverFlight]

Kari trotted over on Zephyr, once the deathborn had been dealt with. She gave the horizon a quick scan to make sure none had gotten away.
""Cowardly" huh? Don't figure many would choose that word for themselves. Why Cowardly?" She recoiled the whip and tied it back to her belt. Then the stranger said something very interesting.
"You saw Danubey?"
Kari looked up and waved as Ord circled down on his white-pink otter-dragon Pasha. The rest of the teachers descended, all save for Keshka, who was still on her job as lookout.

Kari told them what Faris had said.
"Thank the gods!" Ord said, clearly relieved. "You can tell use on the way, we have to get to him, can you fly?"

Saturn_moon Damafaud YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura AncientBird kase9187 Naberius Lioness075 AquaMarie Goonfire alabast

 

[Damafaud]

Faris Dimetrius

All good relationships are rooted in trust. ​

Faris nodded at Kari's question. "Indeed, not many would choose to do so. At least, not willingly."

The question Kari proposed was well within his expectation. No, it was in line his plan. Faris introduced himself with the purpose of raising curiosity over the peculiar title. He claspedhis hands toward Kari with a serious tone. "I was proclaimed guilty for murdering a skybeast cub in self-defense. The incident begot the title, and thus my reputation in To'Bai is far from stellar. It is impossible to not be fouled if one lives in the fish market. Captain Deralis had already given everyone enough trouble without my involvement."

He heard of the group fighting off deathborns in To'Bai. Their fighting prowess and identity were the talk of the day, but Faris was more concerned with the aftermath of the spectacular fight. According to his sister, the deathborns appeared around the same time of his disappearance. He had some suspicion regarding the connection between his lost memory and the deathborn. And if he could have such suspicion, others could, too.

His father confirmed his worry over dinner; Captain Deralis had been quite persistent about drafting academy students to help defense the city. The headmaster rebuked him, citing the need to protect children, but the group of alumni that just arrived in To'Bai... Indeed, there were many troubles. He did not need to provide Captain Deralis an advantage by announcing his relationship with them.

While Kari related his information to the teachers, Faris took the opportunity to take every one of them in. His memory fragment flashed again in his mind, each blurry figure corresponded to the individuals around him. Yes, they were the people in his memory. He was more than sure at this point, but having another confirmation was still satisfying.

"Selene and I should be able to keep up, though I doubt it is possible to fly at full speed." He looked at the stars in the sky before pointing at a direction. "Teacher Danubey is recuperating in a cave system. His skybeast is injured, but Teacher Danubey is unharmed."

Interaction: Kari, Ord
SilverFlight

Mention: Lioness075 Naberius Saturn_moon AncientBird explosiveKitten Goonfire alabast kase9187 YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf and Spica came on over, following after Kari and Ord to talk to the newcomer. He brushed some purple dust out of his hair as Spica shook it out from beneath her scales.

"Considering Spica and like, half of my friend's skybeasts, I'm... on the fence about your innocence. If anything, I'm worried about what the parent might do when they find you." Aldaf commented as Spica tilted her head like a curious dog.

"Now, what can you tell us about the caves Danube is in? And why are you alone? Was it just you and Danube?" Aldaf felt a bit bad pressing -- Faris, was it? -- for questions after just surviving a deathborn encounter, but they needed information.

Spica walked slowly over to Selene and looked them up and down. She growled quizzically, and Aldaf could feel her concern. He decided to make the concern vocal, if not just for Spica but also to put himself at rest.

"Are you or your skybeast hurt?" He turned to Kari as well. "And are you and Zephyr okay?"

Interaction: Damafaud SilverFlight

Tags: Elenion Aura explosiveKitten Saturn_moon AncientBird Naberius AquaMarie alabast Goonfire YumenoTsukishiro

 

[AncientBird]

Serik and Valkyrie landed not far away from the fallen deathborn that he lassoed down. He prepared to deal with its orb when suddenly, a spear darted out of nowhere, penetrated through the monster's ribcage and pinned it to the sand.

The boy's eyes widened as the presumed owner of the spear appeared. Although it was quite dark, Serik could make out that it was a man riding atop of a large violet bird with marvelous four wings. The cracking lightning running through the creature's body indicated that it was a thunderbird, a type of winged beast Serik had never seen before. Valkyrie seemed to be equally intimidated and in awe with this new comer as well.

The rest of the team had gathered around the deathborn's earlier target, possibly to ask for information. They seemed to be unaware of the new arrival yet. "Everyone, we got more company!" Serik called to his friends as he directed Valkyrie toward the group, as well as pointing to the thunderbird in the sky.

"He struck down a deathborn, I think he comes in peace." Added Serik.

Featuring: Damafaud kase9187 Lioness075 Naberius Saturn_moon Elenion Aura YumenoTsukishiro AquaMarie explosiveKitten Goonfire alabast SilverFlight

 

[Saturn_moon]

Marylka descended with the other teachers although she made sure to maintain the cloud cover for those who had chosen to stay above. The moment they hit the ground, Archie made a show of shaking out his feathers, covering her and everyone nearby in a shower of droplets. Marylka shot a glare at the hippogriff but any annoyance was forgotten at the sight of her skybeast's feathers fluffed up and sticking out at all sorts of weird angles. With a wave of her hand, she drew the moisture from everyone's clothes into a puddle onto the ground that was instantly absorbed into the sand.

She turned to her friends, checking to see if anyone looked particularly injured. "Is everyone okay?" Noticing the two unfamiliar faces, an earnest wrinkle formed between her brows as she considered them with suspicion. "Peace is rare commodity in these times. I wouldn't jump to that conclusion so quickly." She said in response to Serik's comment. "Seems a little too convenient that we would run into you in the middle of a desert and it just so happens you hold the information we need." Her only assurance came from the fact that the teachers seemed to trust this stranger even if she was well aware at this point that just because someone was trusted by the majority didn't always make them good. However, for the sake of time, she would let the matter rest for the moment.

"We should rejoin the others. I don't like that we're so exposed down here. Who knows how many other deathborns might have heard the commotion and are headed this way."

AncientBird AquaMarie Damafaud Elenion Aura explosiveKitten Goonfire kase9187 Lioness075 Naberius alabast SilverFlight YumenoTsukishiro

 

[YumenoTsukishiro]

Like a curtain of storm clouds giving way to the yellow sky, Gerel began to look at the nobleman -- Faris Demetrius, as he introduced himself -- in a new light. Mere minutes ago he was a stranger, but the more he talked and the more he revealed about himself, the more Gerel connected the disparate pieces of familiarity. Some of Faris' story mingled with the hazy memories Gerel had of the man. And while he wasn't surprised about Captain Deralis giving Faris a hard time, Gerel was curious about the circumstances behind the crime Faris was accused of.

On Serik's call, Gerel went into full alert. He scanned the sky for more enemies, but there was only one flying by-- a thunderbird, one of the rarer species of skybeast, much like Gerel's kirin. Hearing Serik's next words, and seeing that the thunderbird's rider came in peace, Gerel sighed in relief. Still, he kept his guard up around the newcomers, especially with the one who claimed he knew where Professor Deralis was. One couldn't be too careful, and gift beautifully presented could easily become poisoned fruit.

A gust of wind passed by him, and Gerel clutched his makeshift scarf tighter. Despite his earlier misgivings, he still couldn't dispel the worries that bubbled every time Kari jumped headfirst into trouble. He turned to the girl and opened his mouth to ask her how she was doing, when Aldaf beat him to it. Suddenly he felt redundant, and with Faris Demetrius in good hands, he decided to return to Keshka and help her keep watch.

Jeff, however, had other plans. He trotted towards a potential new sycophant and nickered, making sure to give Selene a good view of his majestic feathers. He ignored all calls from Gerel to fly back up to the sky, and even nudged (read: nearly knocked over) the boy with his beautiful behind when Gerel insisted.

Tags: AncientBird AquaMarie Damafaud Elenion Aura explosiveKitten Goonfire kase9187 Lioness075 Naberius alabast SilverFlight Saturn_moon

 

[kase9187]

Aldaf noticed the newcomer as Serik pointed them out. Seemed like they were getting a whole new group of amnesia victims...

Spica gave Jeff a look as he pranced and ignored Gerel's calls. It was a look of "Cut the bull" that only a mother could pull off flawlessly.

Aldaf turned to Kari and spoke a bit softly, so only she could hear him. "Hey, go check if Gerel's okay. Fall looked a bit rough. I'll try and bring our newcomers up to speed without divulging too much... provided they aren't just like us."

And with that, Aldaf walked over to an open bit of dune and waved to the one flying above to come on down. He elected to not shout in case there were any deathborn nearby that hadn't caught a whiff of their scent yet. He walked and stood next to Marylka.

"Marylka, need I remind you of the fortunate coincidences surrounding our Proving? I get you're cautious of our new acquaintances." He leaned in a bit to whisper to her alone. "And I agree with some of your concerns." He straightened up. "But at the moment, it seems like you both might know things we wish to know of, while we know of things that you might not. Maybe we can trade information."

He leaned over to Marylka again. "I'm sorry for breaking away from the cover so readily, by the way. If you want, I'll try to stay with you as much as possible to lighten the burden."

Saturn_moon AncientBird YumenoTsukishiro AquaMarie Damafaud Elenion Aura explosiveKitten Goonfire Lioness075 Naberius alabast SilverFlight

 

[SilverFlight]

"We're all against the deathborn here." Kari reminded them. She gave Marylka a grateful look for the insatnt drying of her clothes. It was not warm in the desert at night. "Besides, if our new friend here was really trying to deceive us, I doubt he'd have lead with being so open."

When Aldaf came up to her she shrugged. "Not a scratch on me or Zeph." But when he spoke again she shot him an annoyed glance.
"He seems fine to me." She said flatly as she watched Jeff preen, but her words under that were simply: Keep your nose out of that.

As Kari watched both the strangers there was something nagging at her memory. Something familiar about both of them.
"I think we can trust them." Kari said. "At any rate, the longer we're out here the more chance we have of being discovered, I know the desert's a big place but we have no idea how many deathborn are prowling out there. Like Marylka said, our best chance is back in the sky."

Ord agreed with that and once they were ready he lead the way back to their formation in the sky.
Saturn_moon explosiveKitten Damafaud AncientBird kase9187

Before they left the ground Kari turned Zephyr towards the proud kirin and his rider. She had told Aldaf to stay out of it, still, for everything they had gone through together before he started avoiding her, she felt compelled to ask:
"Hey Gerel, You all right?" YumenoTsukishiro

Rhyne hadn't left the sky, instead he was questioning the new rider on the striking blue thunderbird, his white alicorn keeping level with the other skybeast, just close enough for conversation.
"Not really a good time for leisurely flights." He called.
Goonfire Elenion Aura AquaMarie

 

[Elenion Aura]

Matthias​

”Agreed.” Matthias rumbled gruffly whilst Volos sniffed around and huffed contentedly at the sand dunes beneath their feet.

While ordinarily Matthias would have agreed — and a small, paranoid part of him still somewhat did — with Marylka’s caution around these new, albeit peculiarly familiar faces, the prospect that at least one of them knew the location of their quarry was enough for Matthias to set his skepticism aside. For now.

”Then let us be on our way there immediately.”

Matthias and Volos mounted up and leapt clumsily back into the skies, joining the remaining of their party.

”Which way to the cave system?” Matthias called out to the newcomer, expecting that he’d lead the way… And he did his best to hide his small modicum of disdain for the man with, apparently, more titles than years.

Tags: SilverFlight Saturn_moon kase9187 AncientBird Lioness075 Naberius YumenoTsukishiro
AquaMarie Damafaud Goonfire alabast ​

 

[Goonfire]

Someone riding an alicorn had matched Namid and Amaya’s pace, encouraging them to pick up the pace. “I’ll catch up, then. But first, we should leave no survivors.” He dove into a quick downward spiral. The impaled deathborn twitched and struggled against the atlatl spear. Their grand landing kicked up more dust. From within the cloud came the noise of bone cracking from a sharp blow. Namid bludgeoned the creature with the pommel of his staff, crushing the chipped orb after four thrusts through its rib cage. A flash of lightning then illuminated the dust cloud before it parted, rider and skybeast ascending rapidly to meet their potential companions.

The astronomer furrowed his brow at the sight of them. Every day since that lost year, he struggled to recall facts and events, only to be greeted with a mental block. Still, he knew these faces; they proved knowing and remembering were two separate concepts entirely. “Every face here is familiar; perhaps all our paths cross again, as though fate weaves a helical pattern,” he called out with certainty. His voice was calm, but possessed volume befitting a sound orator. Clutched in his left hand was the staff Astrophel, the atlatl secured on his back. A few suspicious looks prompted him to explain. “I am Namid, an astronomer and resident of To’bai. I’ve come following both an omen and the trail of Teacher Danubey.”

SilverFlight Saturn_moon kase9187 AncientBird Lioness075 Naberius YumenoTsukishiro AquaMarie Damafaud alabast Elenion Aura

 

[Lioness075]

Leandra’s mind had drifted on their journey into the desert. She contemplated how things may turn out for their small band and what their actual chances of success would be for this mission. Thus far, they had achieved quite a few supposedly unachievable feats, so Leandra had to admit to herself that the odds may be better than she could even imagine.
Gliding in the cloud and enjoying the soothing moist air that he was more used to back home, Falarion sighed and closed his eyes to enjoy the moment. His calm emotions drifted into Leandra’s being and she soon found herself relaxing a bit herself.

Unfortunately, relaxation only lasts for so long with this group. Next thing Leandra knew, her friends were diving out of the cloud to go rescue another Rider and his Skybeast. Before Leandra got a chance to properly react or even command Falarion to come out of his peaceful trance, the fight was concluded and now there was another Rider with a highly unusual Skybeast of his own.

Seeing as she was not the only one to hesitate to join the fray, Leandra was considering staying up here in case more Deathborn attacked, but she was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt an intense eagerness and excitement well up from Falarion. In a flash, they were diving out of the cloud and Leandra yelped before struggling to get a grip on her saddle horn. Leaning forward and squeezing her eyes shut, Leandra felt tears rush out of her eyes and fearfully wondered what had just come over Falarion.

Seconds later, she heard the signature wind clap of Falarion’s wings extending and easing his descent. Except they were still booking it. Leandra opened her eyes in time to see Falarion flying straight at Jeff with little intention of stopping.
“Woah, Fal, sto-“
Abruptly, Falarion landed in the desert sand and kicked up a small wave of it to either side, as he slid right into Jeff’s side with his own hip, promptly sending the poor Kirin tumbling head over hoof. As Leandra tried to come to terms with what the heck was happening, Falarion turned sharply and halted himself before staring intently at another winged panther across from them. He slowly spread out his wings to their full length, proudly showing his colors. He put one paw out in front of himself and then bowed tilting his wings forward for the other panther to get the full effect of how amazing his own beauty was. Sure, it was nighttime, but he was still determined to wow this new beauty joining their group.

In the meantime, Leandra was stuck on his back and still clinging to the saddle horn for her dear life. Slowly, she looked up to see she was now practically amidst everyone and Falarion was bowing to another winged panther. Leandra then saw the newcomer near the panther and she felt her cheeks turning red from the sheer embarrassment of this situation.
At a complete loss for words, Leandra face palmed and muttered, “Idiot,” under her breath. So much for a cool introduction like the others.

SilverFlight YumenoTsukishiro Damafaud

 

[YumenoTsukishiro]

"Gah!" Gerel nearly stumbled into the sand from Jeff's sudden (and completely uncalled for) entrance. Apparently since there were new skybeasts among them, the flamboyant skybeast felt the need to strut and show-off. There was a time when Gerel thought that the kirin, a skybeast from legend, was dignified, noble, and even aloof in how it carried itself. To see someone who reminded him of his avga egch, the one with the flashiest and most colorful of tapestries in her yurt, shattered many preconceptions and made Gerel question whether his knowledge of the world was sound.

With Jeff preoccupied, Gerel was stuck on the land, at least until everybody else decide to take flight once more. He was about to look over his equipment when someone asked,

"Hey Gerel, You all right?"

Strange how a sound could warm his weary bones while freezing him where he stood. He turned to the voice a second too late, locking eyes with the woman he avoided the most all this time. He wasn't choking on anything, yet he felt suffocated. The world began to narrow before his eyes. The sand beneath him seemed to shift and wobble. Or was it his legs?

Still, Kari talked to him first. Still, she cared enough to ask. The least he could do was push past the nausea and answer.

"Kari... I-- OOF!"

Fate was fickle like that. One second Gerel was getting over the wall he built to reconnect to someone important, the next there was a mass of midnight scales and colorful feathers crashing into him. The world spun before him, and for one wondrous moment there was nothing but the canopy of stars in the night sky. And then he was flat on his back on the sand, with a flustered and ruffled Jeff lying next to him.

The kirin stumbled and struggled and stood back up with a whinny, trying to salvage a bit of dignity by holding his head high and pointedly ignoring the two sky panthers preening. Gerel just lay there, staring upward, and marveling at how beautiful it all was.

With the weight on his heart feeling less heavy, Gerel turned to Kari and smiled. "Yes, I'm... I'll be alright."

Interaction: SilverFlight

Tags: Elenion Aura Saturn_moon AncientBird Naberius kase9187 Lioness075 alabast Damafaud AquaMarie

 

[Damafaud]

Faris Dimetrius and Selene

An upright beam worries not of a crooked shadow​

Everybody wants to be a panther​

"I was only proclaimed guilty of the crime. I did not murder a skybeast, much less a cub." His throat tightened despite all effort to remained unaffected under the topic. The accident was a lasting shadow in his heart, one so large he had to bring it up before they heard of the news from someone else. Faris took a deeper breath. "I was looking for traces of the culprit when I ran into Teacher Danube. It was all by chance. The accident was years ago, so I was more worried about how much was left from the event."

The city drove the cub's mother away when it kept attacking humans. Geomancy sparked a hope in finding the truth behind the accident. He found a broken blade, blood speckling its body, buried deep and far from the city. It was a faint clue, but one nonetheless. His personal investigation must be shelved there for now. His encounter with Teacher Danube and the deathborn denoted something more urgent and immediate. Of course, not all went smoothly.

Marylka, as she was called, did not trust him as readily as some. Faris shot Kari a grateful look at her vote of confidence. Still, he feared no suspicion. He who was upright feared not a crooked shadow. "The cavern should not be difficult to find. I will gladly answer any questions as we travel."

The group soon readied to embark. A thunderbird and the man on it briefly took Faris attention, but as hes turned to call Selene off whatever she was up to, he immediately lost that train of thought. The Estendorian that first greeted him was pinned under his skybeast. In the kirin's place stood a black panther, proudly spreading his wings apart in its full splendor.

What happened at the brief moment he wasn't paying attention? He asked Selene.

Selene never met a kirin before, but upon seeing Jeff preening and showing off, she lost interest. Not so different from how those skybeasts at the race track showed off at the podium. Horse, fancy horse, flying horse. But horse. If Faris hadn't greeted the horse's partner so politely, she didn't mind smacking some humility into the horse's annoying face. Inconsiderate toward its partner, too.

Then, like an answer to a prayer, a dashing shadow bumped the vain, garish horse aside. The clumsy thing tumbled onto its partner, but no one cared about the loser. The hero had Selene's interest. He was a black panther, muscles sleek and lean but with strapping vigor thriving over. His vibrant wings spread in a wonderful showcase of beauty and elegance. The flustered human on his back only improved her impression further. She approved of some meddling of their human partners. Yes, it must be said black panthers were superior to horses after all!

Listening to a rough rendition of Selene's opinion through their link, Faris was speechless. Didn't the kirin and winged panther did the exact same thing? How did one sound so awful and the other became a hero who could do no wrong? Biased. Selene was completely biased.

"Come, Selene. You can converse with your new friend at another time." Faris gave the disheveled Leandra a sympathetic look. Selene had ignored him to chase after something before, too.

Faris rubbed the panther's neck, gently coaxing her to heed. Though reluctant, Selene let Faris got on. Just as he settled, Selene suddenly spread her wings with force and crouched down. Faris' expression changed. She threw a smug look at Falarion before soaring high and fast, not forgetting to do an unnecessary somersault before slowing at the front of the group. Faris could do nothing but hold on to dear life. He laughed feebly at the group once Selene stabilized. "I think Selene will not have problem maintaining her speed."

Do not attempt so again! He chided Selene mentally.

Selene responded with the emotional feedback equivalent of an eye roll.

Interaction: Aldaf, Marylka, Kari, Gerel, Matthias, Jeff, Falarion

Mention: kase9187 Saturn_moon SilverFlight YumenoTsukishiro Elenion Aura Lioness075
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