Private Tales Bumpy Landing

[Fynaurie]

“Oh.. congratulations! Do you celebrate it somehow?”

"Oh yes, yes we did..." Fynaurie said, trailing off. She gazed off in almost misty-eyed wonder, the memories taking the edge off the pain. It was a small and insular community. They led dangerous lives. When a recruit earned their colours then there was wine, lots of wine. And not a lot of privacy when you slept six to a barracks room.

"I'm sort of young adult, I guess. Sky Elves don't tend to live as long as most elves, I'm told. There is no magic trick to flying eagles. It is dangerous.

"How far do you need to travel across this land?" she asked.

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

Thinking about it she joked with a soft poke of her elbow into Fynaurie’s side: “Then we’re kind of the same, age-wise.” Hopefully Vaxor wouldn’t take that as an attack on its rider, because that certainly wouldn’t end well.

“All the way north, well, north-east, I assume. From what I get it’s mostly eastwards now, until the sea comes into view.” From there on it would be toward a port. If she was lucky then the ship wouldn’t be attacked by pirates and her destination -- which is home -- would be reached.

“If you would be so kind to put me down somewhere in the forest, preferably not too close to an Orc camp, I would be very grateful.” the Nordenfiir smiled, laughing a little for inviting herself for another ride while the previous one had only added to Fynaurie’s bruises.

“I promise I’ll hold on gently.”

* * *​

 

[Fynaurie]

"I'm tougher than I look," Fynaurie promised. "You're supposed to hold on tight. Vaxor can dive and catch, but only from a great height.

Vaxor wasn't paying enough attention to take the poke as an attack. He was used to Fynaurie's horseplay with others anyway. When he was being preened he mostly thought about himself.

"Why don't we stay the night here, make a fire and have food. We need to rest. If Vaxor feels ready we can fly in the morning. If the wind is good we could make it to the coast before night tomorrow."

Mikaela Ryurik

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

“Well.. alright, you’re right, but still, it wasn’t my intention to cause you pain, it’s just that..” she chuckled, slightly embarrassed about having to admit it, but feeling like she had to explain. “That was my first time flying.”

Both terrifying and, now that she was on the ground again, exhilarating. If it was with Fynaurie, who she trusted now, flying again did seem like a tempting experience. And so it definitely would be, tomorrow. Mika had to admit that her heart skipped a beat when she thought about it.

“Yes, food and sleep, good idea. Nobody would make it all the way up here in one night anyway..” she mumbled, not feeling like going closer to the cliff to make sure how high exactly they had landed.

Still having the rabbit from before in one of her satchels, she figured it might be a small snack for Vaxor, but it was better than none. For the two of them there would be some dried meat, and hardened bread, if Fynaurie would agree. If not, she could cook the rabbit first and share it with the eagle. Mikaela, being the Nordenfiir she was, could go on without food for quite a while.

“Rabbit..” she put the satchel down. “in the other one there is some dried meat and bread. Would you like to make the fire or the sleeping place?”

* * *​

 

[Fynaurie]

Fynaurie started tugging at the fingers of her glove. She pulled it free and held it out for Mikaela.

"You can give him the rabbit, but put this on first," she said. Vaxor was very careful. He was very careful for an Eagle with a forty foot wing span who could tear off an arm. The glove was heavy, thick leather. Her clothes were all designed to keep her warm at great heights and to pretect her from a gentle peck.

"Will we need a fire? Is it going to get cold?" Fynaurie was used to it being warm at night in their tower. It was far south of here. There were six to a room and often more than one per bunk if they were cold or bored. Fortunately her full flight gear was perfectly suited to the cold winds of the full altitude of an Eagle.

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

“Sure” she replied, slightly surprised. Surprise she didn’t try to hide from the Elf while taking the thick leather glove. Their hands turned out to be about the same size, as Mika slipped her fingers into the glove it reminded her of her winter clothes back home. The feeling of nostalgia rolled over her like a wave during a storm. She put it aside to handle the task ahead - feeding the rabbit to Vaxor who would hopefully not take a piece of her arm in the process.

“Well, the fire was mostly for you, I mean, I’m not sure what you’re used to.” The Nordenfiir had found these parts to be refreshing, but the jungle was smothering. The Spine had somewhat of a comfortable zone, this part probably only felt comfortable due to its height. Then again, as she watched the eagle accept the meal, she realized that if all of Fynaurie’s clothes were as thick, there was no need for a fire at all.

“I’m a bear, from the north, we’re pretty warm, and..” Returning to Fynaurie to hand her back the glove, she chuckled. “now that we’re lower than before, I don’t even see any snow. This is Summer already. I do, however, like things to be comfortable and soft.”

Offering the salted pieces to Fynaurie she didn’t comment on the fire being something she had also thought of in case the Elf had wanted to share the rabbit with her Eagle. Nordenfiir didn’t mind raw meat, or fish. Damn, she could probably kill for a fresh salmon right now.

With a heavy sigh she took out a rolled up cape of sorts, made from the thinner furs she had managed to hunt down in these lands, and sought for a place that wasn’t all stone.

* * *​

 

[Fynaurie]

It was no longer disconcerting to Fynaurie how quickly Vaxor gulped down an entire rabbit. In fact it never had. Eagles were simply part of their lives.

"So if we don't have a fire you can keep me warm then?" she laughed without any shame at all.

She went to Vaxor and started removing his hardness. It was hard work with her injuries but he needed it off to sleep comfortably. There were survival supplies in there. The dragoons were used to scouting the fringes of their territory alone.

"You don't look like a bear," Fynaurie remarked.

 

[Mikaela Ryurik]

“Ehm.. I could try? We can sleep next to each other, you seem to have warm clothes.” Mika nodded, entirely missing the ambiguity if there had been any. At least at first, after a couple of moments she wondered if it meant to be hugging each other. That she she could do, if the Elf would turn cold, she didn’t mind, but the thought did bring a faint hue of pink to her cheeks.

Offering to help with the harness and whatever came with getting a giant eagle to sleep, the Nordenfiir wondered how to best explain it to the Elf that she was a bear, but not literally a bear, yet.

“There is bear blood in me. I’ve mentioned before that this is my journey to find my other half, my connection to my soul, and when it happens, then I’ll be able to transform. Right now, I’m somewhere between a cub and an adult. Some of us never find it, they grow older and leave. I hope to not be one of those.” The thought caused her to feel sad. Again. Last time she had failed, but fourteen wasn’t considered the usual age of finding a Svalen. She had simply been too enthusiastic about it. Right now, however, it was, in a certain way, expected of her to become one of her people in every sense.

She could learn a lot and fight a lot, become a seasoned warrior as it was, but she would never be a true, full Nordenfiir without gaining her svalen, because both her parents were purebloods.

“I bet you wish I could turn already, that fur would certainly kept you warm, even in the snow.” Though she would have probably suffocated or sweated to death in this weather, had she been in a bear form.

“Do you prefer this side, or that one?” she vaguely pointed at a large unrolled fur.

* * *
Fynaurie​