“I never realized how long the forest was,” Atlas said as she and Nash made their way through the forest east of Warrenfall. “We might not wanna travel to far from the city, I’m sure those kids will want the flowers back to them before dusk,” Nash stated as he started looking around for random small flowers that would work for necklaces. “Sure, this shouldn’t take too long, I know if we keep going a bit further we will reach a meadow with plenty of beautiful flowers to choose from, and I’m sure the kids will be happy with whatever we bring them,” Atlas stated before she suddenly turned around, “are we being followed?” she asked Nash in a hushed voice, causing the hot pink reosean to turn around as well, “Not that I know of, I’ve had the same feeling since we started in the forest, it’s probably just an animal of some sort.” he said to Atlas before he turned back around and kept walking. “I swear it feels like something watching us,” the ciruela female said before she turned back around to catch up with Nash.
“See here’s the meadow, and look at all the different flowers we can pick from, let’s get this over with,” Atlas said as she started carefully pulling the flowers from the ground and placing them in her satchel trying not to crush them. Nash joined in and started picking them as well when they both heard a loud thump behind them causing them to both turn to see a mutated reosean heading their way. “Where’d you come from?” Atlas asked in shock, “I knew we was being followed,” he stated to Nash who still looked confused. “Hi, I’m Bryidae, and yes I was following you all from the tree tops,” the charcoal female said with a smile, “I noticed you all picking flowers and I figured I’d help out,” Bryidae finished off. “Sure we can always use the help, we have about a dozen children wanting to make crowns back in Warrenfall, so the more help the better,” he said returning her smile, while Atlas remained silent. Bryidae’s smile widened before she walked in the meadow to help pick them, she didn’t have any sort of bag to put them in so she altered between Atlas’ and Nash's.
“I haven’t seen you around before, you knew to the area?” Atlas finally asked as they continued picking flowers. “I don’t head into the city much, I like to stay around here, much quieter,” Bryidae replied back before picking a daisy and placing it in Atlas’ bag. “Sure it’s quieter but doesn’t it get lonely?” Nash asked randomly. “Sure it does, but I’m just not a fan of cities,” the charcoal female said before she decided to take a break from picking flowers. “I haven’t seen you in or out of warrenfall, you from around here?” Bryidae asked the hot pink male. “My home continent is Thedale but I like to travel here to deliver messages and such, also to visit friends,” Nash said before joining the mutated reosean and taking a break from picking. “Atlas I do believe we have enough flowers for the whole city, maybe we should head back it’s already dusk and the forest is creepy at night,” Nash said, while giving Bryidae an apologetic smile. “Sure but I was actually wondering… I’m doing a study on flowers and since you know the forest better than me, could you lead me or point me in the direction of some fire lilies? I’ve asked around and got a confirmation that they are located in this forest but I can never find them,” Atlas finished off tilting her head to Bryidae hoping the other female would help her out.
“Are you talking about those red flowers, that are good for medicine use? Bryidae asked, “if so I think they are located near the border of the forest, east of here,” Bryidae said hoping her memory was correct, “We aren’t actually that far so I can lead you there and back to the city before dark,” she finished off. Atlas smiled, “That would be great thank you so much, Nash you can head back to the city now if you’d like,” she said to the hot pink male who shook his head almost instantly, “no way am I walking these woods alone, I’ll follow,” he said as he joined the two females who started walking. They traveled for what seemed like a thousand miles before they finally stopped, “are those it?” Bryidae asked Atlas and nudged her head toward the location of the red flowers. “Yes those are it! You saved me a lot of wandering around!” Atlas exclaimed as she carefully picked the rare flowers, “that should be enough for my study, we should head back now,” she said as she started traveling back the way they came while the other two followed quietly.
The journey back to the outskirts of Warrenfall was longer than they thought it would be but they managed to get there before it got too dark, “you coming in the city?” Atlas asked the mutated reosean who shook her head no, “I believe I’ll stay out here, I’m glad I was a help, if you ever decide to pick more flowers or you are looking for more rare plants you know where to find me,” Bryidae said to the other two reoseans with a smile. “It was really nice meeting you, and thanks for helping us collect the flowers, it saved quite a bit of time,” Atlas replied back, “I’ll be sure to come back and visit you, I’m always hunting flowers or any type for forage item for study purposes,” she finished off before turning and head to the city entrance. “It was really nice meeting you, maybe we’ll cross paths again someday,” Nash said with a nod, before he followed Atlas, while Bryidae watched them disappear into the city.
“Alright kids here’s the flowers, you should have plenty we had a little more help picking them,” Atlas said once the made it to the meeting spot the children insisted on, one of the kids took her bag and dumped the flowers on the ground, and done the same with Nash's back, “Thanks this means a lot, we’ll try to make you a crown since the flowers will go great with the color of your eyes,” one of the girls said with a smile while she placed the satchel back around Atlas’ neck and put the fire lilies back in it. “Sure kid, I look forward to wearing it, now if you’ll excuse me i’m going to go study this lovely flower,” the ciruela female said before turning and heading to her little hut, Nash nodded to the children before turning and following Atlas once more.
Lauren’s feathers ruffled as she flew through the farmlands that surrounded the city of Warrenfall. Her po.werful wings sent gusts of winds that rustled the grass on the ground not far below. It was a perfect day for flying with clear skies and a sun that shone brightly. Below her a herd of cow that were grazing peacefully in a pasture mooed and scrambled to shelter, startled by the large winged Vayron that flew above them. Lauren paused for a moment to enjoy the feel of the wind as it blew through her fur when she heard a voice from below call to her.
“Hello!! Up there!!” A human voice called from the farmland below. Lauren opened her eyes and looked down to see a thin farmer.
“Oh hello there!” Lauren said with a small laugh. “I’m sorry for scaring the cows!”
“Oh it’s no problem, can you come down here?” The farmer asked. Lauren seemed worried for a second as to what the farmer wanted but she nodded her head as she landed a few feet in front of him.
“Is there a problem?” She asked nervously and the farmer hastily shook his head.
“No no not at all! I have a favor I need to ask actually.” He began, and Lauren wondered what the farmer could want and she hoped it wouldn’t be anything ridiculous. “Will you deliver this gift to someone for me?” The farmer finished as he held up a bundle of shiny bronze. Lauren’s eyes widened a little with surprise at the sight of such shiny metal.
“Oh yes I could!”
“Excellent excellent!” The farmer said with a smile as he packed the bronze into a small cloth bag. Lauren picked up the bag with her strong jaws. The farmer smiled at her as she flapped her wings and took off into the sky.
“Good luck!” He called as she rose higher and higher into the air.
----
Lauren soared above the forest of Warrenfall, not far above the tall trees that covered the land. Her green eyes scanned below her in search of a certain Vayron, however she had not had any luck. The Vayron she was looking for was none other than Bryidae, a bat winged Vayron that she had met while roaming the skies. Bryidae was quite the allusive Vayron, so finding him always posed to be tricky. She was hopeful that the Vayron would hear her flying above him and come out of the shadows.
Now where is she… Lauren thought as she flew over one of her usual hiding spots, and she was relieved when she saw a blur of gray as it took into the air. As the winged Vayron grew closer she could make out Bryidaes white underside and black face.
“Lauren! Follow me!” She called as she flew down towards the ground. Lauren didn’t hesitate as she followed the fellow flyer and she folded her wings as she felt her paws hit the soft ground. The Vayron place her bundle of bronze in front of the Vayron as she eyed it curiously.
“What’s this?” She asked as she bent down to sniff the bag.
“A gift! Of bronze!” Lauren said with a smile and Bryidaes seemed happy to receive the gift from her.
The sun rose lazily in the sky, lighting up the already busy streets. Awnings of every color decorated the square, merchants hawking their wares, children running underfoot. Business was booming, the air was cool and light.
It was terrible. Malenti was a mess as he walked amongst the crowds of people. His eyes were wide as he tried to keep an eye on every angle. Bryidae put a wing across his back and tugged him closer, trying to calm her friend. His ears lay flat against his skull and he kept his head down to avoid attention, a fool's erand for a spider. Bryidae swished people away with her tail like flies.
Malenti could tolerate the farmer. He was a kind old man with no ill will in his body. But here in the markets, surrounded, he felt alone and miserable, lost in the thoughts about his past. Bryidae urged him on, "We're almost there. You know the way." She was right, they had come here before but normally they traveled by night to avoid the crowds.
Most people avoided the pullers and thankfully the crowd parted enough to let them through without trouble. They finally reached their stop, a short open building, smoke always billowing out of the back stalls. The sound of hammers striking anvils rang out amongst the calls of workers and merchants.
They entered the shop adjacent to the blacksmith's pavilion, feeling a small bit of relief from the crowd. Malenti flopped onto a cushion with an audible chuff and Bryidae went to speak to the reception to inform them of their arrival.
"We need to see Rhodolite please? She is in today yes?" Bry asked the woman at the counter. They nodded in response and turned away to seek her out.
Malenti slowly unclipped the collar that strapped the pack to his back and laid it down to give to Rho when she came in. Bry sat at his side and leaned on him, her large grey wings tucked tightly at her sides. "Next time we come at night and wake her instead I think," she muttered. Malenti nodded in agreement.
They didn't have to wait long for the splashy red girl to come bouncing in, ever a ball of good energy. She looked over the two pullers and grinned. "Come on back, you don't have to stay in the lobby like cretins! Come come!" Rhodolite jokingly tugged and nipped and bustled until they were all settled in her crafting space in the back.
"Well this was unexpected. You don't often stray from the forest without a reason. What brings you here?" The gold clad vayron asked, busying herself with a craft.
"We heard there was a shortage of bronze, and as it happens, the old farmer seems to have an overstock. We decided to bring you some as we know you're always in short supply." Malenti offered her the pack with the bundles of bronze. "Please feel free to share as you see fit. We know you'll put it to good use."
Rho put down the leather helmet she was working on and looked at them incredulously. "An overstock??? Where does that old man get it all I swear!!" She jumped up and opened the pack, not believing her eyes and ears. In the pack were bundles and bundles of bronze.
"Well I never- I am going to see him right now! Feel free to stay as long as you like!"
Malenti sighed, giving Bry a smile. "I guess we should have seen that coming."
As the day was winding down to a close, Shaa was more that ready to go home. Lissana and their new friend Agnulus had started dragging him all over the place to do this or that, and he honestly was struggling to keep up with it all as he had no clue what they had done and what they hadn't at this point.
He was broken out of his thoughts with a loud crash not fat away. His companions would have had to been deaf not to hear it, and the three of them headed towards the source of the sound.
The cause was apparent. A large grey vayron with a huge pair of wings on her was struggling in a mess of poles and tent fabric and flags. With wings as big, if not bigger than her main body bulk, it was no wonder the friese had gotten tangled.
A vendor nearby was in near tears, trying not to cry in despair. His stall looked half crushed under the winged puller, and Shaa couldn't blame him. How clumsy could she be to run into all that?
Lissana was the opposite, her voice chattering in his mind about wow, what a special vay, it must be wonderful to fly!
He snorted and started to turn, intent on leaving them to their own devices, when Lissana rushed forward to help. Of course she would. The pink runner was right behind her, and Shaa knew he was resigned to helping. It didn't really bother him if they did or not, he was usually seen as a sharp edged individual, but he did hold a soft spot for those who could use his help. He was just tired.
***
Agnulus wasn't one to not help someone in need. Having the elf's help was even better, as her deft fingers were able to untangle and remove things far easier than fangs and claws could, and with less damage. It wasn't long before they had untangled the winged female, who thanked them profusely between apologies to the vendor.
"But my stall! What will I do now?" The vendor cried out in dispair, running his paws down his face.
"I can help!" The grey and white female tired to offer, but with cut off with a resounding no from the vendor.
"You're only going to make a mess of things!" He was clearly upset, and no one could really blame him. He did have his stall broken by an awkward vayron, even if unintentional.
She drooped her head and Agnulus knew he had to step in.
"Hello kind sir. My companions and I can help. And if the wonderful lady wishes to assist, we'll make sure she doesn't cause any more damage."
Shaa left to fetch some new boards to replace those that had broken, leaving Agnulus in charge.
"Thank you. I'm Bryidae." The collared female introduced herself with a smile.
"Agnulus. This is Lissana, and the one who just left is her companion Shaa." Lissana waved and
The trio started making a pile, sorting what was salvageable and what wasn't, until Shaa returned with supplies. Proving he was smarter than the average bear, he brought tools and nails, some drinks and snacks, and even found someone from the costume tent to put their face painting skills to use to paint what they would put together.
***
Bryidae was more than thrilled to have help, and to try to make things up to the vendor. She wasn't clumsy normally, but the fair was so packed with people and reoseans, and she tried to keep her wings up so no one bumped into them, potentially tearing through the membrane, or hurting themselves on the claws. That went so well as most things weren't built with overhead wings in mind. Sure tyrians made their way through the fair, but there were also floating things for them to access, and on the ground they crawled with their wings down. Plus they didn't have the claws to worry about on the ends of their wings.
She found herself making good friends with her new companions as they chattered endlessly while they worked. The glowing eyed male made sure they took plenty if breaks and kept hydrated, clearly doting on them like some father figure. Agnulus had a way of making everyone happy, even just looking at the flop eared pink male tended to make others smile.
While the vendor continued to be a bit crabby, he eventually started coming around to them, and helped with repairs. He was finally smiling and laughing as the stall came back together. And in her opinion, it was even better than before. The bright colors and intricate designs made it stand out, and Bryidae used her wings to hover, putting up a new painted banner that called attention from even further away than before.
There were cheers from the onlookers as the group contemplated a job well done. The vendor thanked them, giving them all a small prize from his shop, even Bryidae herself. Clearly he forgave her.
There was still one more thing to be done though. Turning to the elf, the winged vay spoke.
"I noticed how you keep looking at me and my wings. As my main savior, how would you like a ride?"
Shaa smiled as he translated and Lissana’s face lit up. She squealed and Bryidae didn't even need to kneel down for the lithe elf to jump on. The fair was a good place to have fun and make friends, and as she took to the skies, Bryidae was glad she could make someone happy.
Nyx used her magic to float another few dummies into the ring. A mutated reosean with wings had told her about a friend that needed assistance, and provided an offering on her behalf. So Nyx took the krones and extended an offer to help yet another mutated vay with her magic. Seriously, what were the odds two bat winged vays were able to find one another? They aren’t that common.
Imagine her surprise when she found someone else at the training fields that was quite familiar. A tobiano that the winds gave her the name of, Oki, who she had assisted with some study for earlier in time.
Oki held far less reservations than the gray puller, who hid behind her wings frequently. Nyx only sighed. Se had traveled a long to come to Thedale, and Nyx wondered why she bothered if she wouldn’t make an effort.
Oki was surprisingly adept with his magic. Arcanists weren’t known for big and flashy, but he held weapons to attack with, both real and makeshift, using whatever he could get his hands on. He summoned shields and tossed them, decapitating a dummy once, and he ripped the dummy apart with his will in a rage filled fury once when Bryidae hadn’t done anything. Most of the time his magic materialized in black inky tendrils that held things, quite interesting compared to Nyx’s own where only a shimmer of magic surrounded the things she held. Nyx was running out of dummies due to him, and had started to repair the ones he had destroyed with her magic, glowing threads pulling themselves back together almost as fast as he ripped them apart.
Bryidae on the other hand held a staff weakly in her jaws, shooting out bolts of magic without any real effort behind them. She kicked up the least sand in the arena. Nyx considered she was just unaccustomed to the heat of the desert - Warrenfall is usually much cooler than Thedale - but that didn’t explain her total hesitation and reluctance.
“What seems to be the problem?” Nyx asked, attempting to be calm.
***
“I uhh, I’m afraid of being too destructive.”
The quiet answer made Oki blink. He wasn’t usually surprised by a person’s magic,any weirdness one possessed just made him file it away as a harder prey to take down, or interesting factors in experimentation. It was unusual though that someone who might have destructive powers wasn’t using them, and hiding behind a staff shooting out weak bolts. Did she not see the ease at which he tore into things?
For good measure he tore at another dummy that the opal female had brought out, using the tattered remains of the wooden stand of the last one to rip it apart. The bat winged female winced, and Nyx sighed, using her own magic to take the staff from the other female, and whack it over her head. Oki almost smirked. The big oaf that was visually the most intimidating of them all was getting beat with her own weapon. He realized he could easily file her into ‘much easier to dissect’ categories, and moved the other arcanist up into higher difficulty tiers.
“You’re not even trying.” He drawled, bored with her. Nyx was more worth his time than this worthless female. At least the opal was being useful, moving and assembling dummies so he could focus on practice. She also seemed to be controlled the sand with her magic, smoothing it out and whisking it away as her control over each grain of sand showed. Impressive.
But he could focus on more than just the dummies in practice.
He wondered if Bryidae’s wings were built like a tyr’s on the inside.
The bat winged female had no warning when he used his magic to animate some knives, aiming at delicate spots on her wings. Said wings were also blocking Nyx’s line of sight, so he didn’t have to worry about the opal interfering with anything.
***
Bryidae, while skittish, had surprisingly good reflexes. So while the female did jump when she saw something move towards her out of the corner of her eye, she noticed they weren’t anything living, and given that she didn’t have anything to stop it with, opened her maw and blasted forth fire like a dragon, calling upon the elemental powers deep within her to bring forth heat and shape it from her muzzle.
Some said she summoned the fire from a spot in front of her mouth, while others said she truly could breathe fire. After all, she did have limited success with other elements, but fire was the only one she could conjure on a whim from the center of her heart.
The blades which Oki had sent flying towards her were now melted globs of metal, which still hurt when they struck her, but with her magic, she was practically immune to the heat, and they fell off into simple plops of the ground when Oki stopped holding his control over them.
Nyx hadn’t seen the metal flying towards the gray female, but there was no missing the blasts of fire and the intense heat that swept over them. Even though they lived in Thedale, it was still possible to get even hotter, and the two lisse started to sweat more than usual. Bryidae was grateful she was mostly immune to it with her affinity for fire, or her longer fur would be sweltering.
Her blast of fire too also turned a few of the dummies to ashes, and there was nothing Nyx’s magic could do to repair them now.
“Uhh, oops?” Ignoring the looks of her companions, Bryidae just snatched the arcane weapon back from Nyx, and smiled shakily. “I’ll uhh, go back to using this okay?”
Nyx and Oki shared a look, and Bryidae had no clue how to interpret it, and resumed her bolt slinging, now thoroughly embarrassed. For all she knew, Oki was categorizing her as a lot more dangerous and interesting, and Nyx was pitying the power she was trying not to wield. Yeah, best not to think too much on it. Back to dummy training it was.
With some more practice, and more than a little coaxing, Bryidae was making a bit more headway on the magic front. Nyx was rather proud of her accomplishments, coming from a sheltered individual and showing her true skill with her magic. While she admitted being less skilled with the other elements, the bat winged vay hauled the fire out of her chest time and time again, showing a terrifying amount of power and finesse. The fire seemed almost alive with a mind of its own, but Nyx knew it was just the control of the puller.
Oki on the other hand was also improving, even if most untrained eyes wouldn’t have caught it. He adjusted marvelously well with very minor bits of guidance, Nyx’s own mastery of the arcanist magic showing through as all she had to do was give him the start of a nudge, and he figured out the rest on his own. Indeed, his tendrils were terrifyingly accurate, and strong as hell, working as both a weapon to control things, and like shields all on their own.
“Alright then. Since both of you have shown your skills through the various training sessions we have gone through, today is a test to show how much you have truly learned.” It was a cooler evening, the sun having gone down a while earlier, and within the night, Nyx held more power than anyone thought imaginable.
Nyx easily held the attention of both pullers, although Bryidae seemed more excited and Oki bored, even if his eyes were on her and he was clearly listening.
“We’re holding a battle session, and the both of you will attack me. Any questions before we begin?” Full on battle worked best after the sun had gone down after all, as it would easily build up a sweat, and Bryidea’s fire would heat them even further - Thedale was no place to be fighting with fire under the hot sun.
Oki shook his head, clearly far more interested as his eyes glittered - Nyx wouldn’t be wrong to say they shone with bloodlust.
Bryidae hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Are we attacking together or taking turns?”
The opalescent female just grinned. “However you desire.”
***
Oki didn’t wait any longer, and decided he would go first. If the bat winged puller wanted to attack with him, she could, but she better not get in his way.
He didn’t give the runner a chance to prepare herself as he drew on the magic within him, drawing forth the inky tendrils that he controlled and lashing out. A sparkling shield, starry like her hide, burst into existence, blocking most of the attacks, as she nimbly dodged the rest.
That was okay. He was just warming up, growing hotter in the desert air.
Bryidae also seemed to have gotten over the initial shock of his explosive attack. Her hesitation though was filed away, something easy to take advantage of and get the upper hand against the elementalist. She swung her staff expertly, making symbols and casting through the arcane weapon, shooting bolts of refined fire not unlike that which she breathed.
Nyx seemed to have an answer for everything, and was always one step ahead of them. It made her dangerous. Oki had no clue what sort of power she had, and was no closer to understanding it than the day he met her.
That didn’t mean he would let that get in his way. He pulled on his tendrils, shaping them around her shields, doding the bolts from Bryidae, weaving them in a dance to which only he knew the steps of. The black, inky strands of his magic did their best to get past the opal’s defenses, and when that didn’t work, they grabbed and pulled at her shields. The tendrils snatched debris around the arena, clumps of sand, bits of rock, and tossed them around. They even whipped up the ground, attempting to create a miniature sandstorm like those that often raged outside.
Oki held more than a few tricks up his sleeves, and he demonstrated a lot of skill holding control over so many tendrils individually.
***
Bryidae knew that brute force wasn’t going to get their way here, although Oki had the right idea. He was causing more problems than it should be possible to deal with. But Nyx seemed to shine with an inner light - whatever strange magic she had only grew stronger under the starry skies, and Bryidae hated to become her enemy. The runner seemed almost as if she was not made for this planet, her movements faster than the eye could follow, her shields popping into existence with a reaction time that seemed impossible.
Yes, Bryidae would be terrified if Nyx was doing more than just defending against their attacks.
Still, Bryidae was’t pulling her own weight, and while Oki was summoning tendrils left and right, she on the other hand was still slinging her staff. Sure she was extremely skilled at it, but it wasn’t enough.
She pulled on the fire in her chest and exhaled like a mighty dragon. The flames swirled in front of her for as long as she pushed out air, and her staff continued to swing and shoot bolts of pure energy. It was a dangerous weapon, if obvious, and even Oki had glared at it warily from time to time.
She of course had to stop to breathe, but the flames jumped forth again eagerly as soon as she could expel them. Theoretically she could expel them at any point, but it was more of an aesthetic thing with her, quite like the dragons she loved, or the gargoyles that she was nicknamed after.
Unlike a dragon, she controlled the flames once they left her maw, directing them under her guidance to wherever she desired. She wound them around the tendrils that Oki created to strike at Nyx, even if the runner was never where the fire ended up. It made shapes that shouldn’t be possible, and was directed with such finesse that it wouldn’t even singe any fur should she not want it to.
When the heat from the desert air grew too hot combined with the gray puller’s fire, Nyx called the fight to a close, somehow stopping both of the pullers from being able to summon their magic.
“Go forth. There is nothing else I can teach. You both have mastered your magic more than the average person.”
She smiled, and her pelt glittered like the stars that adorned it, and vanished.
The pullers looked at each other and shrugged. Bryidae would need to head back home to Warrenfall after all, and Oki had experiments to return to. All in all it had been a successful time training out in the desert. Who knows where any of them would go after that.