Private Tales From high expectations

[Fynaurie]

Fynaurie sat upright on Vaxor's back, letting the wind steal some silver fronds of hair from her leathers. They were sent streaming behind her as she enjoyed the rush of the wind.

A shrill cry let her know that Vaxor had spotting their destination. It was too far for her eyes to revolve. She could feel his shifting posture before the change in the angle of his wings was visible against the horizon. When they pushed the limits of flying together the rider had to be attuned to everything. She still had much to learn, being in the lowest echelon of graduated sky dragoons.

She was young and impetuous by the standards of her people. Which was why she was here just after dawn. Her assignment was simple, to go and conduct some trade in the town of Iventhas, one of the few places accustomed to seeing great eagles. She had left a note to state that she had left early for Vaxor to hunt.

Vaxor was well fed and those close enough to her to know this were her co-conspiritors. She was here early to see a market. A real bustling town of outsides. A town was a big circle of buildings on the ground. Entirely unlike the three great towers like Kearth where her people lived.

"Don't you fly too close to the town!" Fynaurie called out. The grumpy retort confirmed her suspicions that Vaxor had been planning a flyby. He was well matched to her in temperament.

It took time to glide and circle down from such an altitude, but eventually she was on the ground beside the main road into town. They must have become used to rohk flying because they hadn't started shooting arrows at them.

"Go on, go tell them who is boss," she told Vaxor as he eyed some birds of prey high above. "But I'll be out this side of down before the sun is low. So don't go far," she told him. Eagles understood elven perfectly, but their minds did not work the same. Their sense of time was certainly skewed.

Fynaurie turned towards the very plain town with its half finished wooden palisades and rowdy inns. To Fynaurie, it was now a wonder of the world.

 

[Malphias]

Mal was rough. His face a grimace and his red eyes squinting at the sunlight that roused him from his coma. He'd woken on the rooftop of the brothel, his usually pristine slicked hair tousled into a state of unruliness between his curled horns and a near empty rum bottle was still miraculously gripped in his clawed hand. He pulled himself to a sitting position with an irritable groan, his eyes still half shut as he blindly patted at his pockets, from which he produced two empty vials. "Mh..Fuck." he growled, squeezing at the stiffness in the back of his neck and rolling his shoulders. He really hadn't chosen the most comfortable of beds for the night, and had absolutely no recollection of how he'd ended up here. The screams from the building underneath him woke him a little more. Flashbacks. "Mh...Fuck." he repeated, noticing the dried blood on his hands.

He wasn't generally careless, but there was such a thing as too much fae blood. One vial was always enough for him to enjoy himself, it sent him into an intoxicating state of sheer ecstasy but he retained at least some semblance of sensibility. Two though, was pure oblivion, and the come down was a very dark path indeed. There was a fuss in the brothel now, and more people were involving themselves, calls for guards. The trifling grumbled and pulled himself to a very unstable stance and edged over to peer down onto the street below, and he huffed through flared nostrils at the dramatic scenes of whores crying and hugging one another. He thought it best to stay on the rooftops as a few mounted guards attended the apparent 'bloodbath', and he staggered backward emotionlessly, swigging the last of the rum from his bottle and tossing it aside.

He might've still been hallucinating as he saw the massive eagle circle in the sky, and he watched as it glided to a land just outside of town. That was interesting. He continued along the rooftops, the buildings so close together that all it took was a stride for the tall figure to cross them. He'd heard of birds of this sort but had never seen one for himself, and so curiosity had the better of him. When the road was clearer, he dropped back down into the Main Street, casting a glance back at the growing crowd outside the brothel indifferently. He caught sight of himself in a window as he turned back however, and scowled at his disheveled reflection, quickly sorting his hair back into place and fastening his buttons. His violet skin was patched with dry blood, but he hadn't a speck of it on his clothing. He rubbed at what blood he'd had around his mouth and hands, and pulled his collar up around his neck to cover what contusions and blood were visible.

He cast another quick look around before looking back to his image in the glass, and watched as his illusion took effect. His horns appeared to evaporate, his skin turning a milky white and his eyes a striking blue. He smirked, despite how terrible he felt, he was still exceedingly handsome, and he posed for himself a little longer before straightening his jacket and making his way toward the edge of town where he'd seen the bird land. He was too late however, and arrived in an archway just in time to see the great eagle take flight again. His blue eyes fell however, to the elf that it'd abandoned, and his brow lifted curiously. He'd never played with a sky elf before. Mal rested his shoulder against the wall, his feet crossed and his arms folded as he watched her approach the town, regarding her with a charming smile.

"Pretty bird you got there, Miss...?" he smiled, hoping for her name in response, trying not to betray how close to death he currently felt.

 

[Fynaurie]

"Oh Vaxor would have liked to hear you say that," said Fynaurie with a broad grin. The first person she met and he was paying Vaxor complements. They had said this was a dangerous place and already she had met a friendly face.

"Though...he doesn't speak any human. Obviously," Fynaurie said with a roll of her eyes. There was very little that was obvious about such a statement. She was far too excited about meeting a stranger outside of a very average town.

"What do you mean by 'miss'? My human isn't very good," she apologised. Her human was in fact almost perfect.

 

[Malphias]

Malphias offered a smile warm enough that it met his eyes, 'mh, she's a talker..' he thought to himself and sighed quietly. He didn't have the energy for her sort of energy, and she had not one ounce of wariness about her ~ how had this world not chewed her up and spat her out already?.. "Obviously." he commented in response, a little confused by the statement but he left it at that.

"I mean to ask your name." he clarified, gesturing nonchalantly toward her with a hand, though his friendly smile remained as he studied her. She smelled delectable, of course, elves generally did, but apparently he'd eaten well the previous night and hunger wasn't on his mind. He was bored, and curious, and those things were just as dangerous however. "My name is Malphias." he introduced with a hand on his chest and a subtle bow toward her.

"What brings you to town?.."

 

[Fynaurie]

The man seemed nice. Tall for a human as well. She grinned back up at him, glad to find out that human towns were not as lawless and decrepit as she had been led to believe.

"Malphias," she said, trying out the name. It was a strange one. "I'm Fynaurie and I'm here to do some trading. It's the first time I've been allowed to come to Iventhas. We don't often get to go to other towns you see? Do you know where the market is?"

The constant rhythm of her voice was likely akin to a beating drum to a hangover.

 

[Malphias]

Malphias sighed and straightened his jacket, he had nothing better to be doing today, and so he offered his arm. "Well, Fynaurie. I suppose that makes it my responsibility to ensure that you're well cared for whilst you're visiting. Wouldn't want your people to think us savages." he smiled.

"Let me escort you. I should like to hear more about those birds of yours." he glanced upward.