Private Tales Behind enemy lines..

[Katyr]

Katyr almost immediately stiffened as the human girl wrapped her arms around him. He expected knife to fall between his shoulder blades, an arrow to somehow snap from the fields and enter his rib cage. Something, some way to kill him.

Nothing came though.

For a few moments he simply stood there, then he raised one arm and more patter Sorai on the back that he did hug her. It still felt off, but not...wrong, as it might have a few weeks before. Perhaps that was simply because of being so close to home. "I can smell the Falwood."

He said quietly, as if communicating that things were already better.

"May your journey home be a swift one." Katyr said as he took a step back, then added slowly. "I am sorry that I took you from it."

Slowly Katyr began to walk away, then stopped and turned back towards her. "Perhaps your ancestors wars are not your own after all."

The Elf said, then slowly began to head back into the forest.

 

[Sorai]

She gave a small smile and shrugged at his apology. "I'm glad that you did." she answered, a knot tightening somewhere in her chest as he turned to walk away, only to loosen again at what he said of her ancestors. She gave a friendly smile and a quiet huff, but she had never felt so ashamed of her own race as she had been these past few days..

"Goodbye Katyr.." she said quietly as she watched him walk back into the forest. She waited a little while before she turned to wander down the hill through the tall grasses, but she was in no hurry and took the time to smile sadly at the feeling of the reeds tickling through her fingers.

She wondered if she had a city left to return to. If her family had survived the battle or her home, the fires. She hoped all was well again, but she knew that something had forever changed in her. As soon as she could, she would leave the blood-soaked streets of Vel'Anir and live outside of its walls, somewhere closer to the forest where she could smell fresh air and trees, rather than smoke and filth. Perhaps a little place like the village she slowly wandered toward.

Soon she found the road, and those tending their fields stopped and straightened to look at her. A lone woman on foot was likely not a very common thing here at all, and she likely looked a little worse for wear. The quaint little inn she found was empty aside the man tending the fire and the woman cleaning the few tables they had. Both looked up at her as she stepped in, sweeping a plume of dusty air in with her.

The couple exchanged glances and straightened. "Are you lost, lass?" the older man asked.. "Are y'alright?" he added quickly as he looked over for her, pulling out a chair at the fire and gesturing for her to sit. "Fetch a bowl of soup and some bread will you Bess?" he asked the woman who quickly disappeared into the kitchen.

"Thank you." Sorai answered gratefully as she hobbled to take the seat. "I've been travelling for quite some time, I lost my horse. I - I need to get to the city. Do you know of anyone heading that way?"

The man studied her for a long moment and gave a slow nod.. "You're from the city? The noble girl? Luana? Gods girl, I thought you was dead for sure."

Sorai's brows rose in surprise and her head shook. "How'd--"

"You had people lookin' for you, M'lady, think they been all over the country by now.." his head shook and he scratched his head. "Heard it was a knife ear wh--"

"Elf." she corrected with a frown. "And he saved my life. The city was chaos, he ensured my safety. Now do you know if anyone will be travelling to the city?"

The man's brow furrowed in apparent confusion and his head shook. "Not tonight, lass, but I have a room here that you can get rested up in, an i'll get someone to get you back to the city first thing." he nodded.

 

[Katyr]

A day, that was what it took.

Katyr did not stop the whole night, not for a moment of rest or a second to take a drink of water. His mind was focused, driven, there was only one thing that he wanted in that moment. One thing that he truly needed. What he had craved for nearly two hundred years.

Yet he did not run.

If asked why the Elf could not have said why, but his steps were calm, patient. He refused sleep, and yet did not rush to the embrace of his home. Instead he enjoyed the last of his journey, moving through the lands the Anirians had stolen from his people and savoring the sounds and scents of freedom.

As dawn came the next day, the sun rising behind him, the Falwood revealed itself to him.

The trees stood as tall as ever, their roots digging deep into the earth. The leaves slowly brushed back and forth within a breeze, gently dancing left and right, seeming to call to him. He came to a stop upon a small hill, watching as the sun continued to shine its light upon the forest.

"Al'en uneth sirin." Katyr said softly in his native tongue, a small smile touching his face as he looked at his home.

After so long, the moment felt like a dream.

Another long breath slowly dragged into his lungs, and then slowly he began to walk once more. He took a step, and then another, before suddenly pain lanced through him.

It was an agony that spiked for just a brief second, as though something had stabbed into the back of his skull. Almost immediately Katyr whirled around, his lips thinning as fingers tightened. The agony familiar. He knew it. He had felt it dozens of times before during the war as his companions had fallen, but...his head turned. He gazed back at the Falwood in confusion. "No."

He did not understand it, the feeling had been gone for so long, forged in old days between those who fought besides him, those who touched his magic an-Sorai.

Katyr scowled, what...what happened?

Lips thinned as his he turned once more, gazing back towards the pull he felt in the distance.

 

[Sorai]

Sorai had eaten her fill and washed the grime from her skin and hair before climbing into bed. She wore an oversized shirt and leggings, fresh clothes whilst hers were washed for her. She had no money, nor did the inkeep ask it of her, but she had paid with a gold ring likely worth the inn in its entirety.

She slept fitfully despite the comfort of the bed. She dreamt of flames, spilling out of Vel Anir and racing across the lands and into the Falwood. A knock at the door jolted her from her sleep after the sun had breached the horizon, and she rubbed at her face as she slipped from the blankets to open the door.

"My Lady. Such a relief to see you safe and well."

'I don't think you want to fall into the hands of that man...'

The memory of Katyr's warning echoed in her mind as she recognised the man who had been looking for her. Her eyes widened and she caught herself, her head shaking.. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Your father sent me after you.. He's eager to have you returned home. Come now.." he beckoned.

"My father is safe?" she asked, and nodded quickly.. "Yes, alright.. If I could just have a moment to freshen up, I'll be right down." she assured, noting how he failed to hide the irritation in his expression.

"Of course, My lady. But quickly now." his cheshire grin curled and he stepped back as the door closed with a click. Sorai backed away, her heart pounding in her chest as she padded across the room to the window and opened it slowly, oh-so-slowly. When it was wide enough for her to fit through, she quietly lifted her boots and began climbing out.

She hadn't heard the door open, nor had she heard his boots crossing the floor to her. There was only his hand in her hair, dragging her back in through the window and his voice, now gravelly with frustration. She screamed, and his hand slammed to her mouth.

"Where are you going, girl? Running back to your knife eared pet?" he sneered as he slammed her into the wall. "We can go find him together in a little while.."

 

[Katyr]

Katyr stood in place. Frozen.

He did not know how long he was there, trapped between that feeling in his head and the home that he had yearned for for so long. His fingers had long balled into fists, his eyes shut as he tried to think, focus, remember.

How many humans had he killed?

Hundreds? Thousands?

Long ago had he lost count, and longer still had he cared for the lives of their people. In his eyes they were monsters. Creatures who burned, broke, destroyed and took whatever they could whenever they could. Their entire being devoted to destruction and nothing less.

Yet she hadn't been that way. She hadn't tried to kill him. She hadn't tried to slip a knife in his throat or even push back once he had made it clear he would not hurt.

Sorai had been...

She hadn't been a monster.

Katyr's frown deepened as he stood there. Remembering all the men that he had lead to slaughter, all those who had died because of the decisions he had made. All those whom he had lost. All of them now dead because of Humanity. Half his life, wasted and taken by humanity.

But not by Sorai.

By the monster that was still chasing her.

A curse escaped his lips, and then he turned. Moving not towards the Falwood, not towards home, but the back the way he had come.

 

[Sorai]

"Get up." the man grunted, his hand clasping the back of her neck to drag her back to her feet from where she'd cowered against the wall.

"You're going to answer my questions, tell me where he is, and then we're going to pay him a visit. Lie and I hurt you, try to run - I hurt you, do anything other than what I tell you to do - I hurt you." he arched a brow as he pulled her back against him, a hand lifting her chin to look over her face. "Understood? Good. Let's try."

"Where is he?" he growled low, and by the venom he spoke with, Sorai couldn't help but feel there was something much more personal about this vendetta.

Her head shook.. "I don't know--" The back of his hand striking across her face was enough to send her to the floor, her head spinning. She held up a hand, expecting another.. "He didn't tell me where he was going!"

His fingers were in her hair again, pulling her painfully to her feet. He tskd and pushed her back into the dresser sending a vase smashing to the floor.

"Why did he let you live? Hm? I've seen what he can do, what he has done to OUR kind." he pushed, her bare feet screaming in pain as the glass bit into them. She was crying, and he was shaking his head in disgust. "You were fucking him, weren't you?"

When she shook her head, he hit her again.

"A liar and a whore for vermin." he grimaced, a knife slipping into his hand and pressing against her lower abdomen. "We can't have you spreading that filth now can we?”

Fear drained the colour from her face, the fresh welts and rising bruises standing out on the pale canvas.

“Stop! No- I, I’ll take you to him…” she nodded in panic, and the dreadlord’s grin reappeared in an instant whilst she tried to form some sort of plan in her mind. Even if she knew where Katyr was, she had no intention of leading him anywhere near him. Either way, this man planned on killing her, otherwise he wouldn’t have beaten a noble girl around in the first place. At least this way, she’d have a chance of running.

He allowed her at least to pick the glass from her feet before they squelched into her boots and she was marched outside. Those who saw them stared with concern, but she forced a smile at them and thanked them for their hospitality. They weren’t soldiers, they’d only be blood on her hands if she asked for help.

And so she led him back away, from them, and from the path Katyr had taken.

 

[Katyr]

Katyr ran this time.

Every step he took saw him further from the Falwood, further from home. Yet he snapped up each one in turn with another, rushing through the ancient forest and stolen boots and tattered rags. Moving with the unimpeded speed that only an elf could.

In future generations people would still speak of a blur that moved through the forest. An odd rush of wind they felt while having their back turned, or a motion that startled them and was gone so quickly that they doubted whether or not it existed at all.

By the time Katyr finally stopped, he was only a day behind Sorai and the Dreadlord who took her.

The sun crested it's twilight, and the Elf came to a stop in the little village.

His eyes were hard, and in the air he could practically feel the girls presence. One of the runes upon his flesh burned with a subtle touch, it's magic practically forcing him to continue down the street. Dirt and rock crunched under his boots, and he could feel eyes turn on him as they noticed him for what he was.

"An elf!"
"My god haven't seen one of them out here in a long while.
"Usually don't like to tread here.
"Someone should tell the Marshall."​

The words were all cut off as an Innocent farmer was lifted from the ground. As he was gripped around the throat and thrust against the heavy wall of one of the Taverns. Shock and fear flickered over his features, followed shortly by cutting confusion. "Where is the girl?"

Katyr asked, his voice seething.

"I...what gi-" Before he could finish the grasp around his throat became tighter, and almost instantly he spoke.

"A dreadlord came and took her!" He cried in panic. "To see her back to her father!"

The words came, and the man tumbled down to the ground. Whispers of a savage attacking leaving the crowd as Katyr blurred once again into a sprint.

 

[Sorai]

When she was slow, he shoved her, and when she fell, he dragged her back to her aching feet. This had been how she'd expected Katyr to have treated her, instead the elf had allowed her to rest and carried her when she could walk no more. Blood was seeping out of her boots now, leaving small droplets in the grass and dirt as she stumbled onward, insisting again and again that this was the right way.

By day's end, she had fallen one too many times, and his frustration boiled over into rage as he lifted her and slammed her back into a tree. "We aren't anywhere fucking near the Falwood, you lying little whore. I think you may need a little more persuasion.." his eyes flared with madness, and Sorai screamed at the sight of shadows twisting around him and coiling around her.

She could feel it, as though it was not shadow at all but something solid. It wrapped itself around her neck and poured into her mouth, halting her scream as it filled her lungs like thick smoke. She couldn't breathe, her eyes wide with panic until he dropped her and the shadow retreated.

Sorai dragged in greedy lungfuls of air and coughed at the sting of pain.

"If you're not going to be of use to me, I'll make sure you fucking suffer for the time you've wasted."

 

[Katyr]

"Stop." The voice came as an echo.

Shouted through the clearing of the forest, it resounded among the trees like a thunderclap.

Accented only by the swift flight of a blade.

The Dreadlord snapped away, the shadowed smoke shirking from around Sorai and wrapping almost defensively around the man. Curling as in place as an octopus might it's own legs when it was about to be attacked.

Katyr came to a stop just short of the clearing upon a small boulder.

He stood there with no sword in his hand, no daggers cradled in his palms, no bow nearby. The elf did not have a single weapon that he would have liked. He did not wear any armor. All he had was his bare rags, flickering in the slow breath of the forest.

The Elf stood and watched, glancing only briefly at the blade that now lay buried in the ground between Sorai and the Dreadlord. His attention turning towards the man who was practically snarling with rage. "I knew you'd come for her."

The man seethed, the anger almost palpable.

"You fucking knife ear." He said, stepping forward and apparently entirely forgetting about Sorai. "I'll kill you for what you've done."

 

[Sorai]

Sorai's head snapped up at the familiar voice. Tears filled her eyes and her head shook in a protest she could not yet speak. She had been leading this man away... How was Katyr here?

Not so long ago, she might have cowered behind this man had an elf stood so near, and now she threw herself across the mossy floor to wrap her arms around his shin in attempt to stop him reaching Katyr. She wanted the elf to run, she wanted him to live the life that he was owed, but he would not have come here if running was his intention. The least she could do was try to hinder the man who sought to kill him.

 

[Katyr]

Katyr opened his mouth to offer a repute to the Dreadlord, but even words were not quick enough.

Anirians, as a rule, did not speak for long. It was a fact that the Elf had learned during the second Elven War, when humanity had marched back into the Falwood and shown his people just how quickly they had developed and gained new power.

Dreadlords were interested in killing, not talking, and it seemed that this man was no different.

Whirling rushing smoke snapped out in a torrent. Slashing and hacking at the spot where Katyr had been standing just seconds earlier. It rushed over a tree that had been just behind him, the wood sizzling and the bark melting away in an instant. The tree left a simple husk of itself as the Elf moved away.

The smoke turned in an instant, pursuing Katyr and sending him rushing around the edges of the clearing. He darted away from it as quickly as he could, half turning once only for the smoke to shift faster and cut him off before he could move towards the Dreadlord.

He let out a quiet curse in elvish, and was about to try something else when suddenly the smoke faltered.

"You little bitch!" Katyr heard the Dreadlord yell, the man raising a boot as Sorai threw herself at him in distraction. His foot kicking out to strike at the Luana's face.

The moment was exactly what the Elf needed, and within the span of a breath he turned on his heel and suddenly darted towards the center of the clearing. He moved directly towards the Dreadlord, scooping up the blade that had landed between himself and Sorai.

 

[Sorai]

Sorai let out a sharp yelp. The force of the kick sent her head reeling and her body rolling a few paces out of the dreadlord's reach. She could taste the coppery tang of blood, her cheek a vibrant blush before the rising bruise and her vision blurred and darkened by black spots. She blinked through them hard as she forced her chin up, searching for the knife in the hopes that Katyr had managed to get to it.

The Dreadlord laughed, his face suffused with a coy and menacing light as he looked between them. "Well, isn't this a sweet story.." he growled, though there was nothing but rage and disgust in his eyes. "At least you can both die together."

 

[Katyr]

Katyr shifted, the knife now in his hand as he turned on his heel to once again face the Dreadlord. Eyes flickered to Sorai for just a brief second, but he knew there was nothing he could do for her in that moment. Nothing that wouldn't put them both in danger.

The Dreadlord had to die first.

No answer was given to the man was the Elf once again launched himself forward. He moved with the same impeccable speed, darting at the man just as another snap of smoke rushed towards him. He kicked off a small boulder, cutting to the side.

The smoke pursued him, and once again he turned.

Every time he moved the strange shadowy smoke followed, relentlessly directed by the Dreadlord. Katyr grit his teeth, and then spun one last time.

This time he turned into the smoke. Rushing in a single instance and throwing himself against it. As he passed through, he could feel pain lance over his entire body. The smoke etching at his skin, tearing away layer by layer until finally he burst through it.

The dagger flipped over in his palm, the skin on his hands torn away to a bloody red as he stabbed the blade directly into the Dreadlord's chest.

 

[Sorai]

Sorai let out a gasp in horror at the sight of Katyr's body passing through the smoke. "No!" she bleated, trying to pull herself up, though she only managed to get to her knees by the time she heard the Dreadlord's breath catch. Time stopped for a moment whilst the Dreadlord and Sorai tried to catch up and understand what had happened. Shock twisted the man's face as he stared at Katyr, and then at the blade protruding from his chest. Sorai didn't breathe until the moment he fell to his knees.

She moved then, rushing toward the elf in panic, in case he too might fall. "Katyr!"

 

[Katyr]

He felt his knees buckle out from beneath him, pain lancing through every fiber of his being as he half collapsed besides the Dreadlord. His fingers slipped from the blade that had buried itself within the man's chest, and as he fell Sorai barely managed to catch him. Her arms grasping at his back, steadying him, but incapable of holding his weight after the sickness she'd suffered through so recently.

The Elf fell to the ground, far more gently as Sorai guided him to the rough earth beneath his feet.

She would see just how hurt he was. The flesh which had been stripped away from him glared with a bright red, blood trickling from a thousand wounds, some spots burned so deeply that the white of his bone presented itself.

A struggled rasp echoed from his throat, his eyes half glazed over, they too scorched from the smoke that he had thrown himself through.

"S-So"- The word was lost in his throat, blood dragging between his teeth as he opened his mouth to speak. Head shaking as she clutched him. Pain screaming through him as he felt himself slowly beginning to fade.

A struggled breath filled his chest, forced through a scorched and burnt throat. "I didn't..."

Katyr croaked, a mangled hand slowly reaching up, struggling.

"I didn't think I'd find you." He said softly, his chest rising and falling just the slightest bit. Struggled breaths dragging into his chest as he continued to speak, as if he needed to get the words out. "I didn't think I'd-"

A pained cough echoed through him, Katyr's body violently shaking as Sorai held him. Blood pooling within his mouth and spilling from his lips. "I didn't think I'd want to."

Katyr admitted quietly. "Bu-"

Another wracking cough interrupted him, strangled him as he struggled to take yet another breath.

"I'm glad." His bloody hand reached up, gently caressing her cheek. "I'm glad you're alright."

 

[Sorai]

Sorai didn't take in the true extent of his injuries until she was holding him, until she could feel blood seeping from his wounds and into her clothes.. There was little she could do to hide the fear she felt when she looked over him, frantic with panic and her eyes filled with tears.

Her head shook as he tried to speak.. "Shh. Don't talk.. Let me.. do something.. I can do something.." she trembled out, her hands shaking as she tried to stem some of the bleeding, but there were so many wounds and she didn't know where to start..

"You were supposed to go home." she scolded, her tears flowing freely now, the words he managed to rasp out at her causing something in her chest to crack painfully. She leaned into his bloody hand, gently holding it against her bruised face with her own..

"You need to stay with me, until we find you a healer.." she frowned at him, glancing around them as though one might suddenly appear in the forest and thicket around them.. "Just, try to breathe slow. I-I can cauterise some of the wounds..I-I just need, to get a fire.."

 

[Katyr]

Katyr's head slowly shook from side to side as Sorai began to protest, her strangled cries echoing through the small clearing. His fingers dragged slowly over her cheek, arm shaking as what little strength he had left began to fail him.

His palm fell, leaving a trail of crimson on her olive skin. A small cough racked his chest, his eyes closing for a brief moment as he fought away the pain that lanced through him from even the smallest movement. "Maybe I wasn't supposed to."

His voice sounded pained.

"Maybe I wasn't supposed to make it." Katyr's voice echoed quietly. "I've killed so many."

There was a distance to his voice, his eyes looking at Sorai but at the same time staring past her. "So many."

Tears slowly began to ebb within his eyes. Rolling slowly down his cheeks. "But I've saved one."

A small smile tugged at his lips. Slowly his hand began to crawl up his chest, fingers dragging his palm upward as he reached and grasped Sorai's fingers. His palm dragged over hers until it settled fully on top, and his head shifted ever so slightly so he could look her in the eyes.

"I hope that's enough." Katyr's voice was a bare rasp, and for just a brief moment Sorai would feel a sting of pain. A flash ran over the runes on the Elves' hand, and the tattoos upon his palm began to move and shift, dragging onto Sorai's skin and settling in place there. "Please."

He begged quietly. "Tell them what happened to me."

Katyr's voice broke. "Tell them..."

He trailed off, the smile tugging at his lips again as he looked at her.

"I made my choice." His fingers squeezed hers. "And I made the right one."

 

[Sorai]

Her brow furrowed at him when he shook his head at her, and her own head shook at him when he spoke again. "Don't talk like that.. You're going to make it home, you deserve to go home." she argued with a sob.

"You saved me more than once." she corrected and watched his hand settle on hers and gasped quietly at the sting of pain. Teary eyes widened at the sight of his tattoos shifting onto her skin, and a fresh sob wracked her as she gripped his hand and shook her head frantically.

"No.. Take them back, please... I don't want to go home, I want to stay with you. You can't leave me here on my own." she begged him, her hand pushing the bloody strands of hair back from his face and around his pointed ear.

 

[Katyr]

"Shh." Katyr quieted her, the smile still playing across his lips. His fingers squeezed hers, grip weak, but just strong enough that she would feel the comfort of his touch. "It's okay."

He told her softly. "It's okay."

"You're not alone." Katyr said, his fingers dragging over the runes now settled within Sorai's skin. "You'll never be alone."

It was hard to say why, but the words rang true even as elf continued to fate. "I promise, I'll always protect you.."

The smile creasing his lips softened as he looked up at Sorai, as he watched the tears gently roll down her cheeks and tumble down to his. "Who would have thought."

Katyr said quietly, his voice rasping as he struggled to speak.

"A human, showing such amity for an elf." His voice began to fade. "How lucky I am to see it."

His eyes began to fall close. "How lucky I am, to be that Elf."

 

[Sorai]

Sorai tried to smile through her tears. Even as he lay here dying he was trying to comfort her.. She had known the moment she'd set eyes on him that there was nothing she could do for him, but it hadn't stopped her hoping. He was so much stronger than she was. Magic ran in his veins, and yet what good was it if it let him suffer and die?

His promise broke her heart just that bit more and her head shook as she listened to his voice soften and fade, frowned as his eyes drifted. "N-no you have to stay awake. Katyr.. Please don't leave me." she wept, her breathing panicked as she reached her hand to his face, stroking at it insistently.

Lucky. He had been anything but lucky. Humans had taken so much for him, and now such a short time after finding his freedom, they had claimed his life. Despite everything they'd done, he'd been willing to die to save her life. Anger burned through her, and her hands trembled with it amongst her grief.

"Katyr?"

 

[Katyr]

No answer came from his lips.

The slow and shallow rise and fall of his chest finally stopped.

His eyes, still open, stared into the distance.

Sorai was left with the only the sounds of forest, and a promise that he would always protect her.

A promise that would be kept.

The tattoo on her hand pulsed, and slowly grew.

A piece of him that she would always carry.

 

[Sorai]

The silence that came with death settled around her despite the forest going on around her. Only her own choked sobs disturbed it as she pleaded to whatever God would listen to grant her miracle and bring him back. He didn't deserve this, to die for her after everything her people had put him through and everything they'd already taken from him. The guilt crashed down on her so suddenly that she clasped a bloody hand to her mouth for fear she might vomit. Her hand was quickly soaked with tears whilst her other reached out shakily to close the lids of Katyr's staring eyes.

Panic seeped into her chest, reality, into her mind. She was alone, and lost, and utterly hopeless. She was alive now only because Katyr had kept her alive. She wished she weren't - she wished he'd gone home, and it was she instead who had died here to keep him safe until he got there. Fear gripped her, and she crawled to the dreadlord's lifeless body to grip the handle of the blade that protruded from his chest. She yanked at it, tugging it free of his ribs and holding out her arm underneath it's crimson edge, closing her eyes and trying to keep her shaking hand steady.

She flinched at the sharp sting as the blade cut into her skin, awaking her senses. She hadn't cut deep enough to cause any real damage, and she cried a little more at the shock of what she'd been about to do. Shame crashed down atop the guilt.

He died to save you..and you were about to take it from him..

"I'm taking him home. And I'm leaving you here to rot, and be forgotten.."

Sorai looked down at the Dreadlord, her body trembling with rage. The blade rose and fell back into his chest with a scream of rage. One single blade to the heart was far too good for him, and she hoped some part of his consciousness was still there, still able to feel it when she brought the blade down into his chest again, and again, until his blood soaked her and the leafy ground, until she collapsed with exhaustion.

She crawled back to Katyr and curled up beside him to cry until she was numb and sleep took her.

 

[Myr]

The sound of a chirping echoed out above Sorai. The soulful cry of a songbird calling out even as she sobbed, her wracking cries long muted against the body of her fallen friend. Sorai's softly sleeping figure now laying in place.

A flap of wings echoed out over her, frantic and quick.

The little songbird floated over her head, darting to and fro until it landed upon a rock just short.

There it sat a moment, pecking at the rock. An echoing sound like ringing calling out before the bird's head came up, staring at the sleeping human. It's head turned, and then once again the bird bent down and tapped on the rock.

For a moment longer it stared, then as if annoyed peeped once more.

It bounded from the rock, bounding forward in great hops until it landed on Sorai. Peeping and flapping it's wings.

 

[Sorai]

Dark and bleary eyes slowly blinked open under a brow furrowed by confusion and irritation. The sounds had penetrated her sleeping mind, echoing down the dark hallways of her consciousness until they woke her. She wasn't ready to be woken, nor would she have had the songbird not landed upon her hip as though insisting that she wake.

Sorai stared sleepily at it for a moment whilst she came around, whilst she was reminded of where she was, and what had happened. She was aware of Katyr's lifeless body next to her, and that of the dreadlord some feet away, but she didn't dare look and wipe clean the hope that it had all been some terrible nightmare. Her eyes drifted closed again, her mind seeking a little more darkness and silence.

 

[Myr]

The little song bird bounced up and down on Sorai's hip. Bounding up and down with a twittering flap of it's wings. Every time it landed, wings fluttered quickly, head quirking to the side as it tried to gather the humans attentions.

From it's throat echoed a chirping song.

Quick trills, followed by another hop and flap up it's wings. Slowly climbing up Sorai's body and demanding her attention as some sort of living alarm clock might.