Warm sunlight sparkled above in the boughs of the trees, filtering in a riot of fiery colours through the turning leaves. The forest was quiet and calm, though the frequent breeze brought a cacophony of rattling branches and bowing canopies. The wind was cool against the Moon Fey's alabaster flesh, a merest hint of the algific storms lurking the mountains around her homeland. No doubt the evergreen woodland of Rilana's childhood were already garnished with ice and snow.
And it was difficult to not chafe at the seemingly infinite delays on her trek back to the walls of ice and the aurora-limned skies she was used to. Her silvery brows were furrowed in concentration as she once again extended her slender hand to offer a tidbit of meat to the baby balauradon, ready to snap it back in an instant if the dark creature lunged again.
"Sit!" She told it firmly, lifting the treat slightly so that when the creature raised its heads to follow the motion the movement would naturally shift it into a sitting position. Rewarding the accidental behaviour was the first step to making it a conscious action next time, and as soon as the animal realized that Rilana was waiting for specific things, it would begin to pay closer attention.
Training the two-headed monster was proving to be a difficult challenge, and while Rilana was not easily dissuaded from working with a troublesome charge, being forced to stop and establish some understanding with the balauradon was fraying her usual calm.
The balauradon was slightly bigger than the average house-cat at this stage and growing rapidly. It slept often and long, moreso when the moon fey kept it stuffed with food, which made it easier to travel with it concealed in a thick leather bag. It seemed to not like the cool wind blowing out of the north, which made Rilana concerned about how it would enjoy life in the Frostfell when she finally, finally, returned home.
The long furred tail swished as four eyes in two heads lifted to follow the motion of the meaty tidbit, and Rilana couldn't help but grin as the creature sat back on its haunches like she had requested. A warm glow of triumph eased some of the tension in her shoulders. One black head watched her face while the other stared fixedly at the treat in her hand.
"Good!" She cooed, offering the dried jerky to the head on the left. This was the head with venom that burned flesh, so she was mindful of her fingertips as she brought them closer, unable to help but feel a deep ache in her shoulder at the memory of where this creature's parent had latched terrifyingly onto her arm before she had mauled it to death in the form of a great snow-bear.
Unable to contain its excitement, the creature jumped forward, lunging for the treat with the wrong head! The jaws of the head on the right were secured with a simple but serviceable leather muzzle that Rilana had crafted from the supplies in her animal training kit. This mouth, the one Lord Svarak had called the "vilefang", exuded a sticky froth of putrid saliva that had a faint odour of gangrene. It was unfortunate for Rilana that the Frostfell was not home to many types of native reptiles, because experience with them may have helped her on the way to establishing a rapport with the balauradon, which was very reptilian in many of its behaviours and habits.
But the Moon Fey was a quick learner and the first thing she wanted to do was teach this creature to only use the deadlier vile-teeth when she wanted it to. Today, however, she was not quick enough to stop the impact of the smooth, muzzled snout from knocking the meat out of her gentle hand onto the leafy ground. The balauradon jumped after it with an excited Grawr (slightly muffled from the head on the right), and Rilana couldn't help but smirk a little, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement as her lips pressed into a line to stifle a soft chuckle.
It was in that moment that she felt just how much of an affection she was developing for the otherwordly beast, though it resonated as intensely unwise in her heart. It was one thing to become helplessly attached to a creature like Kona, or even the white raven given to her by the gangly old Druid in Green Falls, but she doubted that even her own people would be as accepting as a monster as dangerous as this four-eyed creature. If there was any hope for it, especially if a Bond formed, she had a lot of work to do.
Even as she reached for the baby now whuffling determinedly through the leaf litter, a loud Ker-plonk! and a splash drew her attention to the deep, slow creek beside which she had chosen to stop for lunch. Kona was sprawled languidly on a large worn rock next to the water and ripples were shivering away from where he had dropped one of the smooth gray riverstones littering the bank around him. He wasn't facing her, his white and black form turned innocently away, but she could see one of his long dark ear-tufts tilted back in her direction, and his tufted tail gave a flick.
The interruption had completely spoiled the small training session, as now the balauradon had abandoned the dropped food, or perhaps had already found and eaten it, and was now strafing up and down the edge of the water watching the ripples and the red leaves that hung suspended and drifting slowly from north to south in the greenish water.
"Kona, being a brat isn't going to help me get this done any faster. I know you don't like her, but it's not your decision to bring her along or not.”
Deciding to abandon his feigned ignorance, the feathered and furred cat-bird rolled over and fixed Rilana with an incredulous look in his yellow eyes, clacking his beak at her and shaking his wings sarcastically. He didn't need to use words for Rilana to know exactly what he meant.
“You're right, I could have just left her to die instead of taking all this trouble, but it's not her fault some ridiculous human opened some kind of portal right over her nest and got her parents killed.” That wasn't precisely true, as she had seen the Ebon Knights cart off the male creature, but that fact was beside the point. “I do feel a bit guilty, as I'm the one who killed her mother.”
“And yes, I could just turn her loose to fend for herself, but it would only be a matter of time before she hurt someone. Her kind doesn't belong here.” Recalling the hellish, volcanic landscape she had briefly seen, “Unless we can find a volcano.” Unlikely.
Kona gave a long-suffering sort of keening and lifted himself to his paws and talons, stretching catlike on the water-smoothed granite and letting his claws scrape white lines into the rock. He stretched his wings a little and tilted his head questioningly.
“No, as much as I would like for you to fly me home this very night, we have to stop at Ebonfort first.”
The scratching of Kona's claws had enticed the balauradon into the water to try to get at the gryphon, where it floundered about noisily, splashing and snarling, the teeth of both heads bared with intense dislike of the coldness.
Kona was less than impressed, both by the amateur swimmer's efforts and by Rilana's decision to honour the request of the Lord Knight of the Citadel. By all rights, it seemed to him that his Druid had no obligations to meet, in fact had gone above and beyond to assist in saving the lives of who-knew-how-many other knights and civilians, and gone on to fear for her life in the days after for the merest infractions of being foreign and having a bird that liked to bring her trinkets. The gryphon grumbled squawkily and sat back on his haunches, looking around for any sign of the white raven. It liked to wander, gliding ghostlike through the trees and disappearing for days at a time. At first he was certain it would never find them as they continued on their way north-east, but it always returned with a secretive gleam in its eye that Kona didn't like. He was almost jealous of the bird, for it could talk aloud when he couldn't, and when it cackled madly he was certain that he was often the butt of its private jokes.
Wherever it was now, the raven was wearing a pair of white reindeer-leather jesses on its feet that Rilana had made for it. The thin strips of leather made it easier for her to work with the pale corvid, using falconry techniques, and to also signal to any observer that the bird did indeed belong to someone.
Rilana, keeping an eye on the balauradon, rifled through her loaded pack until she found the thick sealed parchment that was the summons from Lord Svarak. She hadn't opened it, of course, but checked for it often, letting her fingertips slide over the smooth paper while she considered her mixed feelings. It would be all too easy to tell herself that she owed nothing to these southlanders and was well within her right to head home. But on the other hand she was curious about the things Lord Svarak had said. He seemed quite arrogant, but he also seemed to know something that might offer an answer to her own suspicions about Frigmount and the state of magic in the world. He had also named her “envoy”, which was a puzzle in itself. She doubted she would ever be the first choice as ambassador from Frigmount of Ebonfort, but she did not wish to poorly represent her people, and wanted to find out what he had meant by that. Then there was the matter of the huge charr's unique crystalline sword.
With a sigh, she slid the letter back into her bag and began to pack up. It was time to be on the move again. The walk to Ebonfort was only a few more hours and she wanted to reach it by nightfall. Kona leaped nimbly over the creek just as his Mistress finished lashing her bow to her pack and lifted the whole thing to settle over her shoulders, wincing at the weight on the damaged side. Arrows, a few less than she had started with, rattled in a quiver on one side. Stooping, she scooped the balauradon, who grawled piteously, into its satchel and let the weight settle on her hip. The baby, now cold and wet, was all too happy to curl up and sleep.
But just before she secured the flap over the top, she noticed that the firefang mouth had something between the teeth. Prying it free and leaving the jaws to snap balefully and then relax with a yawn, Rilana lifted a chunk of onyx up to examine in a shaft of light that trickled down through the trees above. It wasn't pure black, but had a few lines of grayish colour through it. Yet it wasn't the colour so much as the shape that made Rilana lift her pale brows in surprise. The little nubs and bumps in the lump of smooth black rock were so similar to the shape of the balauradon itself that it wouldn't take much carving at all to turn it into a perfect replica of the tiny creature that had found it. Her pale fist clenched around it and she dropped it, glancing up to meet Kona's piercing gaze.
“It looks like this trip south is going to change my life in ways I never even imagined.”
Slipping the rock into a pocket over her deer-hide vest, she reached up with both hands to wrap her arms around Kona's feathery, beaked face, burying her nose into the side of his cheek. It was quiet enough that she could feel his pulse under the tight grip of her fingers, and after a moment or two it seemed that hers slowed to match. When she finally decided it was time to bring Kona to his Mark, she found that the arcane power had already bubbled up within her. Every time she did this it became easier, more natural, and when she drew the gryphon's life-force into herself it only felt like a piece of her soul had come home. Her back tingled and twitched with the huge Mark that she had never actually seen, and when she opened her eyes Kona was no longer in front of her, though the familiar and comforting dusty feathery scent still lingered in her nostrils. In some ways, it was even more comforting than the sensation of him being part of her.
–
The next few hours passed for Rilana in quiet contemplation. There was much to think about, and much to worry over, and she relied on Kona's brash confidence. Even when she didn't agree with him, his own presence encouraged her to take a page out of his book and stand her ground, doing what she thought she ought to do. The balauradon slept, shifting occasionally when the wandering druid was forced to jostle it in her trek over the wildlands. Even this close to the Ebonfort capital, the forests were full of interesting creatures and plants. She came across several of the plants that Trix had told her about and enjoyed a few soft leaves of sweetmint she found growing in the shadow of a mossy oak tree and tucked a few more into a pocket to chew on later. A little while later she stopped for nearly an hour to watch two porcupines gambol about in the underbrush, her face a mask of awe at the rattling spikes of the weird rodents.
But eventually she came across a small dirt path that lead her to the main road between Ebonfort and Green Falls. There were plenty of other travelers on the road, and while most of them were polite enough there were plenty of eyed her curiously, their eyes tainted with suspicion more often than she would have liked. Horsed knights rode up and down the line of travelers, and while they didn't fail to note her at every pass, they didn't stop her, a fact that Rilana was most relieved for. She was polite to anyone who greeted her, but as the dark stone walls appeared on the horizon and grew closer with each step, she lapsed into troubled silence.
Just before the gate, she paused confusedly, observing for a moment as black-armoured knights directed people to either side, until she noted a knight standing in the middle of the path with his eyes locked sternly onto her face. Readjusting her pack and straightening, she moved directly towards him, though her gait was no quicker than it had been all day.
The slender moon fey sensed trouble. Or perhaps it was just that these knights were expecting trouble from her. Her jaw clenched briefly at the idea that they might think so little of her that she might assume another dangerous animal form and pose a threat to these people. How absurd! Once in front of the sergeant, she let her sapphire gaze linger over his face as he spoke. Rilana was obviously well-traveled, but not exactly road-weary.
“Indeed, I am Rilana, and I have Lord Svarak's letter.” She unslung her back and set it heavily in the dusty road at her booted feet, reaching into the top and producing the requested proof. It struck her sharply how different this visit to Ebonfort was turning out versus when she had dropped Bruin off weeks ago. She was just settling the pack over her shoulders when Nidic announced the challenge. "Spar...?"
Rilana's blinked once, her eyes watching the sergeant draw his sword, her ears full of the ringing scrape of metal. Fear clutched her heart for a beat or two, but it was quickly replaced by a cold, indignant fury. How dare he? Kona's silent voice screamed inside her head and she could almost hear his wings flapping and see his talons and beak lashing out against this mistreatment.
The knight's features twisted and blurred into a fierce feline visage, and the intimidating scream put her teeth on edge, but rather than shrug her pack and satchel off and dart to the side, her mind racing to pick the best form to fight and armed knight, she pursed her lips and her face became a mask of icy resentment, her eyes as cold as the inside of a glacier.
So instead of rising to the challenge, the moon fey stood her ground, be back straight even under the weight of a large pack and a restless baby balauradon, and as she felt the impact of the were-cat's approach shivering up through the ground, she turned her face to the side, a lock of pearly white hair falling across her cheek. She waited for the cold agony of the sword's bite, hoping that the swordsman's idea of sparring aligned with hers.
[Word count: 2889 - 2889/50000]
