Desmund remembered very little about the early days of his childhood. If he had to be honest, he could not say he had very much of a childhood at all. The structure of his family was much like any other family that littered the world above and below. He had a father whom was an Earth B’alam. He had a mother whom was a Wind B’alam. His siblings, one a sister and one a brother, were of Earth and Win respectively. Nothing about any member of his family was out of the ordinary, outside of the fact that his brother was born with pure white fur. If he remembered correctly, the poor soul was also a bit sensitive when it came to being out in the sun.

His parents, may the Grand Weaver bless them wherever they were at the moment, never spoke of their past. They told no tales about their awakening or how they survived on their own. There was no grand bedtime story about how they came to meet each other, or how they know the other was their one and only. He was never told why his mother was spending him in the lower lands, or how she happened to stumble upon his father.

Truth be told he never really spent much time with his siblings as well. His white furred brother was never around all too much, and his sister always seemed busy with this and that. It did not help that she could not visit him along the floating mountains of the wind tribe, so he just eventually accepted the fact that they would never spend much time in each other’s company. The last he heard of her was that she hand found a mate for herself and they had carved 6 children together, and that all had been blessed with life. In a way Desmund was jealous of her happiness.

He wished she could find the same, but the nah he had eyes for did not see him in the same fashion, so he was just left with sad longing. Queen her name was. She was a free spirit who spent much of her time riding the winds and just allowing them to take her wherever they pleased. In his eyes she was like the sun that hung in the sky. She was like the shine that glistened off the gold of a well to do b’alam. She was as free and crazy as a wind storm taking down everything in its path. She was...she was just everything Desmund himself wished to be, but was too shy to attempt to be. He was more like snail that refused to leave its shell.

He did not understand why she chose to spend time with him. He could not offer her anything she could not easily gain from someone else, but still she returned every time to speak with him and ask him to keep her company. It took some time and coaxing, but eventually he agreed to go out flying with her from time to time. Eventually their flights turned into the occasional collection of resources, or as those in the lower lands like to call it, theft. And then, with the passing of time he found himself going on adventures with Queen. She showed him tricks to flights. She showed him how to best hide in the canopies of the trees so he could surprise his targets. She showed him lands he had never seen or heard of before. Queen showed him how to live life to the fullest, and for that he was grateful.

It wasn’t until the events within the Dark Tribe territory that he started to question his friendship with Queen.

The day had started off like any other day for the two of them. The nah had woken him up around down, and prompted him to ready himself for an early morning flight. When he had finally opened his eyes he could see a grin upon her maw and excitement in her eyes. That in itself told him that she had some kind of plan in mind, but he did not question it. Desmund just chalked it up to her having plans to take flight towards another new area, or maybe she had picked up news of merchants traveling nearby, which meant the potential for resources to “pick up” for the tribe.

They had spent the day bantering as they took flight and headed towards the north. It was not easy to coax information out of Queen, but eventually she admitted that she wanted them to head towards a place called the Dark Tribe. She knew very little about the land, but said most of the activity within the tribe took place at night. This meant it would be easy for them to sneak into the territory and see what it had to offer.

Never could he have guessed that someone he thought of as a good friend would turn against him. It was Queen’s greed that lead to their downfall.

The territory of the Dark b'alam was far different from anything that Desmund had every seen before. While other territories were lush with vegetation and had hills that went on for miles, the Dark tribe had no such thing. The lands were littered with mountains, peaks and plateaus as far as one's eyes could see. The terrain in turn made most of the land below darkened by the shadows of the mountains.

While investigating the territory they found b’alam that possessed wings that were far greater than those the wind tribe did. Large and made of leather, they allowed the much larger b’alam to launch themselves high into the sky. They also possessed large ears that must allow them to hear for miles. But even more frightening was the teeth. He did not know how or why, but he soon learned that in order to survive the Dark b’alam needed to fear upon the blood of others.

It was during their time in the darkened lands that Queen had caught sight of a b'alam that was not native to the lands. A light b'alam he believed she had called her. It was a nah that was painted with white and gold, and she walked through the darkness with such ease, as if she herself belonged there. Around her neck sat a necklace made of plates of gold that were created with the utmost care. An item of great value that Queen wanted for herself so much that she had refused to leave the area until it was in her own possession.

Little did they know though that the nah was a figure of great importance. They had come to learn that she was the mate of the Dark Tribe magus, Gabriel, and he was not one to stand around idly when something of his, or one of her own, was taken.

And so Desmund came to be trapped in his current predicament. Queen, for all her selfish nature, had flown off as soon as she had learned whom she had stolen from. Desmund himself would have chased after her, but it was already too late. He had found himself surrounded by members of the tribe with claws and fangs extended should he make a move of escape.

So, to clear his name of crime he was tasked with retrieving the necklace or facing punishment he could not even begin to imagine.

At the moment Desmund found himself cautiously flying through the night sky towards the border that separated the Earth tribe from the Water tribe. Earlier in the day, while he had chosen to rest at the base of a large tree, he had spotted a water nah with a brown pelt and striking spots of black and orange. Kahlana or something close to that sound he believed her name was. It did not matter much though. What did matter was that she had seen the item which he currently sought after. The necklace of the mate of the magus of the Dark tribe. She claimed to have seen it around the neck of a light b'alam who apparently lived in a cave a ways past the border. Many had seem him around a cave carved into a small hill along the cliff side. Hopefully the information was correct or he would find himself wasting his time, again. Nothing annoyed him more than a false chase, but he could not risk ignoring a potential lead. He needed to retrieve that necklace if he wanted to keep his own neck uninjured.

With a quick look below, Desmund could see his destination in the distance, however he saw no sign of movement around or within the cave. He hoped that the occupant had not fled, but was simple away or resting at the moment.

Within a few moments the winged b'alam found himself standing at the mouth of the small cave. His large ears could pick up on the sound of faint movement within, so something, if not the occupant, was inside the cave at the moment.

'Come on, Desmund. All you have to do is simply ask the tah for the necklace. I am sure if you explain the situation he will be more than willing to hand it over. And if not, well, you just do what your tribe is known for. Just sit, wait, and steal.'

Just as he was about to take a step forward the sound of movement caught his attention. The shrubs that lined the forest to the east started to shake. His senses told him it was something rather large, so it was definitely not a bork or a wotter of some kind. Desmund did not have to guess though because a light b'alam fitting the nah's description emerged from the shrubs. If the look upon the other's face said anything, it was that he was not surprised to find Desmund in his home territory. And if the blood upon his maw and claws could say even more, well, Desmund hoped he was just a sloppy eater.

"Uh," the wind b'alam could not bring himself to say much as he continued to stare at the pale figure who stared right back with an unblinking expression of, well, he could not figure out what the other could be thinking. "Um, I do not mean to distrub you in your own home, stranger, but you are in possession of some property I have been asked to retrieve. You see, t-that necklace, the one you wear around your neck, it belongs to the leading family of the Dar-"

Desmund's words stopped as he saw the look upon the other tah's face turn to one of amusement as he continued to stare him down. The look within the other's eyes, it was not normal. No. It was as if the other was silently challenging him, as if daring him to step forward to take the golden necklace from him.

With a feeling of unease he watched as the other work on licking his paws and face clean.

“Stranger! Did you not hear a word I just said, or have you made a choice to ignore me? I will not ask you again. I need you to cooperate and to turn that necklace over to me so I can return it to its rightful owner.” Desmund stared down the tah standing before him. He would not allow his chance to slip through his paws. No. He needed to finish his mission here and now, and no close eared tah would stand in his paw.

The past month or so had been hard on the wind triber. He had agreed to set on an adventure what a nah that he had, at that time, seen as a very closer friend. Maybe even more. Queen and himself had always spend their free time flying the skies and seeing where the wind would lead them. Sometimes the days had been spent just flying and enjoying the scenery. Other times they were lead to unseen territories and new treasures to take back to their tribe.

That one day however, the day that had changed everything for him but left that remorseful soul unscathed, had left Desmund stuck in the mud of the lower lands. Never did he think he would be caught attempting to stealing an item that belonged to the mate of a magus of all things. Sure, wind b’alam were known for taking what did not belong to them, but most were smart about the things they snatched. A trinket here and an apple there. Small things that carried importance to a tribe that were unable to produce necessities of their own.

They should have been smarter. They should have been more patient.

No. Desmund should have been smarter. He should not have followed after Queen with such blind faith.

So now the wind triber found himself with claws out and teeth bared towards one he knew nothing about other than the fact that he was harboring the necklace Desmund so desperately needed. If he wanted any chance of clearing his name and escaping punishment he needed to retrieve it and return it to the Dark Magus Gabriel.

A flinch ran through the red b'alam's body as the pale figure finally returned his attention to him.

“I am warning you, stranger,” the tah whispered while attempting to harden his glare. He needed to seem like he was able to back up his threat, but such a task was easier said and done. His kind were not known for their strength due to their small size and fragile bones. Wind b’alam almost always chose flight over fight. “I will not hesitate to attack should it come down to it.”
Kojo chuckled to himself as he watched the red b’alam that had entered the territory not too long ago. He knew what the other b’alam wanted, and it would be easy enough to just hand the item over, especially since Kojo had put no worth towards it. But there was no fun in that, and the light b’alam was all about finding things that could entertain his highly chaotic nature.

“Now now now, little birdie. You cannot expect to just waltz into my home and start making demands of me. No no no. That is not very polite of you.”

The pale b’alam quickly shook his head while taking a steps towards the other. Though the smaller b’alam was trying his best to put on a brave front, Kojo could easily see that he was fearful. The bared fangs and claws meant nothing with his body told all through the stuff stance. He could see that his body was trying to pull itself inward. He could see that his eyes, though glared, held fear and uncertainty.

Grinning, Kojo held his head high and puffed out his chest to mock the wind b’alam with the necklace that currently hugged his neck.

“If you want it so bad, little birdy,” the larger b’alam took a step forward and readied himself for action. “Then why not come and get it!?” with that said, Kojo leaped towards the wind b’alam, claws extended and teeth ready to bite down.

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