Private Tales Once upon a time

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer

Fynaurie

Sky Dragoon
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Character Biography
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Caliane Ruinë

"Oh what is it?" she asked with a distinct huff.

Vaxor let out another warning and turned to circle around again. Flying a rokh involved suggesting which direction the Eagle should fly. These suggestions were often ignored. They were intelligent creatures and understood elvish perfectly well, even if the riders didn't understand them back perfectly.

Vaxor banked harshly so Fynaurie could look straight down. His patience was clearly worn thin as the angle of his wings was almost steep enough to throw here.

"Yes, I know its a fire. Several fires. A caravan. We don't need to go for a closer..."

Vaxor disagreed. With a defiant cry and a shift of his wings he set them on a gentle descent.

"Fine, fine. Have it your way. We're not supposed to both people on the road."

Vaxor's great, saucer eyes were far more sensitive than her own. He was becoming quite fed up of the fact that her tiny little eyes couldn't see that the camp was abandoned from this height. He didn't entirely understand the matters of their kind, but he was aware enough that this was a strange thing. Maybe danger.

Fynaurie was a defiant, rebellious creature and in that matter they were well matched. However, whilst her behaviour was directed up her chain of command among the Sky Dragoons, his was reserved for her. She did not always see this as an entirely fair exchange.
 
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The Avariel let out a deep, contented sigh as her wings glided into the skies her people called home. Everything from the stars winking into existence in the dusky sky, to the cooler winds that ruffled her feathers felt like the welcoming embrace of home. It had been too long since her last visit; months of travelling the Western skies and dealing with Monsters that had cropped up since the tremors caused by the two ancient dragons on the two continents.

Everything had been going a little south since then. Her own people had taken the catastrophic event as a sign to step out from the shadows and begin to interact with the world once more. It wouldn't be too long until they opened their cities doors once more, Caliane believed. The thought both excited and unnerved her. Were they ready for the world and was the world ready for them?

She was lost deep in her thoughts when the Soulfire stirred inside of her as she passed over some twinkling campfires.

The Fires are Screaming.

"Because that's not concerning..." Caliane murmured quietly and turned her green eyes down to where she could see them through the thick canopy of the trees. It was often the Soulfire even bothered to voice its opinion or information. The pair were still learning their new dynamic after it broke free of the strong mental cage Caliane had kept it in since she was little and knew how. So the fact it had spoken was not something to take lightly.

Taking a breath she tilted her wings down to land in a clearing a little away from the fires. She didn't know who they belonged to and even though tales of the Avariel returning had begun to filter along the roads it was another to come face to face with one by the light of a campfire. She kept her wings close to her back and carefully made her way towards the fires.

Nobody was there.

Caliane stood on the edge of the little camp and looked around in bewilderment. Everything else was there; the caravan, peoples belongings and bedrolls. The only thing missing was the people. She was about to investigate further when she heard the sharp cry of an eagle overhead and looked up with wide eyes to watch the Sky Elf descend.
 
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Vaxor made a soft chirrup. It was the sound he made when he was enquiring if he could chase food.

Fynaurie was sat upright, more confident in her position now they were gracefully losing altitude. She could see wings down below them. Too wide for a common Eagle.

Vaxor was an intelligent creature, but when it came to the skies he had some simple rules. If something was in his sky, smaller and below him and not one of his friends then it was potential food.

"Leave it be," hissed Fynaurie. She lost sight of the bright wings at the canopy of the trees. "Wonder what that was."

Vaxor's landing was now that quiet. He did not hunt by flying silently. A great beat of his wings to arrest the last of his momentum sent branches shaking. Leaves, twigs and detritus went following to the ground.

The clearing large enough for Vaxor was a short walk from the main road. Fynaurie slipped down and nd removed her mask.

Vaxor could stay in the clearing. If he was hungry and creatures that strayed into the clearing were making a great mistake.
 
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"Sky elves?" Caliane murmured aloud to herself, her eyes tracking the eagle as it descended and then landed somewhere nearby. She pursed her lips, dithering on whether to stay in the camp or leave. If this was to do with the Sky Elves they would not take too kindly to her getting involved. The two cultures had an alliance of sorts but both were private races and their interactions were limited even if they were the only other race the Avariel spoke to during their self imposed lockdown.

After a hesitation Caliane decided to proceed anyway. It didn't look as though this was a Sky Elf camp, it looked like the Travelling People - the nomadic group who came out of the Western Deserts and travelled the length and breadth of the known world. The colourful Caravans were a sure sign as were their instruments - neither of which they would have left behind if they could have helped it.

The stew on the fire bubbled over suddenly and Cali stepped forward to remove it before it was ruined. It seemed a silly thing to worry about in the grand scheme of a group of people missing but it was the only constructive thing she could do at present.

"What happened..." after resting the large pot on a nearby stump she cast her eyes around and opened her Hunting senses. All she could smell were the scents of the people and animals they had travelled with. No signs of attack... nothing.
 
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Fynaurie wasn't very good at sneaking about at night so she did not try. She marched boldly out from the treeline and towards the caravan. The road, if the dirt track could carry such a name, was narrow. The trees had grown back over it, which was why Vaxor hadn't been able to land any closer.

Fynaurie canted her hear to one side, picking up the sound of something metallic being moved. It seems very silent but for the crackle of fire otherwise.

"Hello!?" she called out boldly, foolishly. "My Eagle is being an idiot and apparently I have to come and see what's going on here?"
 
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Caliane's pointed ears twitched at the sounds of footfalls through the forest undergrowth. It crossed her mind it couldn't possibly be whatever had caused all these people to vanish for it was making as much noise as an elephant might, but then she hadn't survived this long in the world of Groundlings to be caught unawares. Her fingers lingered on the hilt of her crystal katana she wore at her hip and she watched with her keen Avariel eyes as the figure approached the campfire.

When the light of the flame caught her face, Caliane let her hand drop. Sky Elves perhaps had even less tact at walking on the ground than the Avariel, she thought in amusement.

"Your Eagle is right to be concerned," she answered in that legendary sing-song voice the Avariel were all known to have. It was as sweet and as lovely as the evening nightingale song. Her wings spread a little, white and red feather catching the dancing flames. "These people are missing and I cannot figure out where they went," she frowned and cast her eyes around again.
 
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"Eh, probably eaten by orcs then," Fynaurie replied. She gripped the haft of her spear a little tighter and watched the treeline. The treacherous breeze started to make her think she could hear figures in the undergrowth.

Vaxor could hop along to where they were. He would still be a frightful sight to an orc or ten. He could snap off a head with his beak, pierce three goblins on just one talon. He would also be vulnerable if he couldn't take off.

And in an instant, the excitable sky elf forgot all about orcs.

"Wings! You have wings."

Fynaurie rushed forwards, letting her glaive clatter to the floor as she started to circle Caliane Ruinë

"It was you I saw! Oh they're beautiful. Extend them all the way out!" She pleaded. The plea sounded a little like a demand.
 
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"I don't think it was or--" Caliane didn't get to finish her sentence as the Sky Elf barrelled forward with an exclamation of excitement. She had been on the Ground long enough now to become accustomed to people reacting in different ways to her wings. Usually, it was with a mix of fear and awe. People were wary and stayed back even though they wanted to reach out and feel how soft they were. Very rarely did they do what this woman now did. Cali blinked and opened her wings automatically as she reeled mentally from the shock.

For the most part her wings were as white as a snow dove. It was only three quarters of the way down, near the tips and her large primary feathers that they began to blend through soft pinks, vivid magentas to finally reach the bold scarlet red shade that the very tip feathers of her wings possessed.

"Erm... who are you?"
 
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Fynaurie was quite determined in staying behind Caliane and taking a closer look at her wings. Her hands were covered in thick gloves, to shield her from the cold and the occasional nip. She gently brushed a feather with the leather fingertip just to see how heavy they were.

"They're amazing!" she exclaimed, entirely ignoring the question.

"Stay here and keep your wings out. Vaxor would want to see this! Oh don't take off around him though!"
 
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Caliane flinched as though the other elf had burnt her when she touched her wings. There were rules about touching an Avariel's wings, sacred rules that could cause the highest offense if not heeded. She had grown used to the Groundlings not knowing about said rules but she hadn't been expecting such a thing from another elf. It was instinctive therefore for the following reaction. Her wings began to glow a brilliant white like the very heart of a flame and an intense heat rolled off of her too. Her cheeks became flushed with a mixture of humiliation and anger.

"Excuse me but who exactly is this Vaxor and who, most importantly, are you?!"
 
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"Vaxor!" Fynaurie called out. She was quite ignorant of how much she had offended the avariel, of how intimately she had touched her.

A giant Eagle did not move quietly along the ground. He bobbed from side to side as he walked through the trees.

"Look, its an elf with wings!" she called out to the Eagle. "Aren't they beautiful!"

Vaxor took a few steps forward. Even hunched over, he towered above the two elves. He canted his head to one side as he peered down at Caliane.

Drawing himself up to his full height, he spread his own wings and flapped them. From tip to tip they were wider than an entire house. Those tips had been dyed crimson to match Fynaurie's livery, to mark them as dragoons.
 
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The red-head managed to bring her fiery reaction under control and the flame slowly died from her wings. The Soulfire was pushing at her skin in outrage that someone had touched her in such a manner, but Caliane soothed it along with her own emotions on the subject.

She didn't know.

Ignorance is no excuse for rudeness.

Caliane grimaced as it crackled her fathers words back at her and she dropped the argument. The Soulfire was a separate entity but still ... a part of her. It would be as useful as arguing with herself. So instead she focused her attention on the approaching eagle with increasingly widening eyes. She had never been on the ground when she had seen one of the large creatures and was glad for it; Cali had never felt so small. She took a hesitant step back.

"Very nice..." she sounded uncertain and eyed up his talons carefully which led her to catch sight of a book that lay as though it had been dropped. Considering the rest of the camp was in such good order it stood out.

"What's that?"
 
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"Oh, sorry. Didn't know if you had them..." She said.

Fynaurie offered a little shrug. She was continuing to offend the flying elf. However, her exuberance was resilient. It would take much more than that to take the edge off it.

Dropping to her haunches she reached out towards the book. She could read a little bit, but only in elvish.

"They must have been elves. It's faerie tales. Oh Caddick the giant snail. Balrass the fave switcher. Okay but where did the people..."



Quark?

Vaxor had turned to grooming his feathers. Lifting his head he had found that his passenger and the winged elf had gone somewhere.

He returned to preening.
 
The world suddenly tilted and reeled. The Spine's forest floor was swept out from beneath her feet and her stomach lurched uncomfortably as she was dragged through... something. With a thud she hit the floor then gave a yelp as she proceeded to careen down the sharp incline of a hill. Feathers plumed into the air as she crashed her way down through the last dregs of pine branches, down the sloping moor-like rocky outcrop, and landed in a heap at the bottom in the dusty mud.

Caliane groaned.

Everything swam and she daren't open her eyes. Instead she quietly went through the parts of her body which hurt in her mind. Nothing, as far as she could tell, was broken. Though her wing when she moved it felt more than a little tender. Gingerly she sat up and looked around at where she was. She could make out the hill she had fallen down and the crop of trees at the top, but it was hard to do for she sat amongst some of the tallest flowers she had ever seen and they all appeared to be staring down at her.

"How rude," one exclaimed and made her jump to her feet in alarm.
 
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"Rolling through us like..." Another one continued. They were interrupted by a shriek from above.

A small grey shape fell through the petals of another flower and landed on the ground with a heavy thud. It was Fynaurie, in all her flight leathers. She did not move.

"Owwwwww," she went, still not moving. Growing up in an eerie was tough. The eagles were dangerous, flying was dangerous and they all lived in close confines. She had broken bones on five separate occasions so far.

This still hurt.

"My petals!"

Fynaurie lifted her head slowly, silver hair escaping her hood in long wisps. She did not look fully awake.
 
Caliane's eyes flickered from the tall flowers to the sky elf lying face first on the grass then back again.

"W-we're sorry..." she stuttered and rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. The etiquette on apologising to flowers had been missing from her schooling. The flowers did not seem impressed with her attempts either and she got the distinct sense they were tutting at her and shaking their heads.

"What even are they, Marigold?" one flower asked an other in a theatrical whisper. Though, given their size it probably was a whisper.

"I'm not sure, Rose. They look a little like... witches but with point ears instead of hats," the yellow flower leaned down suddenly and a whiff of pollen blew into Caliane's face making her sneeze. "What are you?"
 
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"We're elves," Fynaurie said sharply. Her voice was much more clear than her eyes. The world span again so she settled for pushing herself back onto her rump.

"I think I hit my head..." She murmured.

"They can't be elves. You can't be elves."

"No elves are much, much smaller."

"And they have little bells on their booties!"

Fynaurie squinted, hoping that the daydream would disperse.

It didn't.
 
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Caliane gracefully knelt beside her fallen comrade, her wings fanning out around her like a feathered cloak. She pressed the back of her hand to the other elf's forehead to take her temperature and chastised herself internally for not paying better attention in the basic medic lessons Hunters were given. It wasn't the first time she had had such a conversation with herself either.

"I think you have a little concussion," Cali confirmed, lips pressing into a thin disapproving line. She was trying to block out the flowers voices but their debate amongst themselves over what an elf was was getting too much. Whilst they were distracted she cupped a hand under the Sky Elfs elbow and gently helped her to her feet.

"Let's get out of here..."

Wherever here was.
 
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"Is that why I'm seeing talking flowers?" she asked hopefully.

Fynaurie found her feet quickly. It was not the first time she had fallen from a height at all. The life expectency of her people was significantly shorter than most elven races and not because of their biology.

"Did someone attack us?"
 
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"No," was the simple answer to both her questions. The flowers they encountered as they continued through the meadow and came out the other side were no longer interested in the new strange elves walking through their midst. Their chatter had turned back to the every day gossip of flowers. Whatever that was, Caliane wondered in detached bewilderment. She couldn't quite work out what had happened. One moment they were in the clearing talking about --

Caliane stopped dead.

"The book. You read something in the book," she turned towards the Sky elf and held her firmly by the shoulders. "What did you read?"
 
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As they walked Fynaurie found her balance and then her feet. She still felt nauseated with every movement but at least she could walk on her own.

They were reaching the end of the field of giant flowers. There was a clearing ahead, but beyond that dark trees towered overhead.

"The books...yes...it was a collection of old stories for children. It was open."

The clearing wasn't a clearing. It was a well worn dirt track.

"It was on a picture page. It was..."

Fynaurie stopped rather abruptly.

"It was..."

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"Caddick the Giant Snail?" Caliane finished in a faint murmur as said giant snail came into view. It was far larger than she had imagined when listening to the stories as a child, bigger than a house that was for certain. Its shell was just like the story said; light up with warm candlelight and from within came the sounds of music and laughter.

"The tea party...?" it had been a long time since she had read the fairytales of young elves. Her wings spread and without much thought to the fact her companion couldn't fly she took off in a powerful downbeat of wings.
 
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The great head slowly turned towards Fynaurie. With a disgustingly loud sound, it's two eye stalks extended fully. It's single foot kept it moving at a literally snail's pace. Scaled up, it was more like running speed.

Fynaurie glanced upwards, but she was mostly frozen to the spot in fear. She had seen dragons up close and felt nothing but excitement. At least once past the point of deciding they weren't going to attack.

"Yeah, course you fucked off," she muttered about Caliane.

She felt sick to the stomach watching it roll onwards, certain she was going to be suffering a mucus coated death.

"Woah down there!" came a voice. "You shouldn't take the Malicious Forest on foot. Hop on!"

"Hop on?" She said to herself so quietly that there was no chance anyone atop the shell would hear.
 
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