[ SRP ] The black hero

[Thalion]

Sion Total Wordcount || 1,890(So far)

He was quite certain that he had come this way once before… yes, he was sure of it. He’d passed the large rock that seemed like the sloping back of some great moss-maned monster. It was facing…north. Yes, that felt right. So this was a dead end…. A circle. Sion had walked for two sun cycles and a night cycle, stopping only once to rest his paws. They ached, deeply, but he ignored it.

Two days past, he had opened his eyes for the first time. He’d laid in silence, gathering everything around him as the words came to him. Sun. Moon. Sky. Clouds. Ground. He’d learned a few things in those silent moments. The sun moved from East to West, the wind moved in no particular pattern. He learned that the trees and boulders blocked the light of the sun and disrupted the thing he knew now to be heat. If he grew warm, he could lay in the shadow, if he grew cold, he had to seek out the sunlight. Smooth, flat surfaces worked best for that. He had learned that everything had a different scent, and unfortunately a lot of things had…flavor. Good, bad, something in between. The grass? Horrible. The rock? Worse. The roots? Tolerable. The insects? Filling….but they went down rough.

Of everything, he found water. It was…wonderful. It cooled his throat and filled his rumbling belly- but it did something…something else. It filled him, yes, but it filled him on another level. Somehow, he felt drawn to it. It felt like it was somehow a part of him. He had sat beside the small pond for…he couldn’t recall. Funny. He knew how many days he had walked, how many times he had seen that troublesome rock, he even knew east from west- but that? It seemed like it had only lasted a moment, but somehow it had lasted an eternity. He’d stared into the sill surface, studying the face that looked back at him.

Eyes. Golden eyes. He knew the name of the color…they were like the sun on a clear day. Soft, warm, and somehow…distant. He had spheres on his body- one on his forehead and one on each of his paws. They matched his eyes- or the sun… but- the sun was warm…and the water was cool and refreshing. The sun was distant, but the water was right under his paw. It moved through him while the sun only danced on his back. Then…there was his hair- silver. His body? Gold. Sun and water. Gold and Silver. Two thigs that should not exist within the same form…

He had known the name of sun and moon, grass and earth, wind and water- but what was he to be called?

Again, he didn’t know how long he had been there or how it had come to him. He was confused, transfixed, and in a way he felt almost desperate. Everything had a name- he should too. His mind and half-spirit cried out, reaching for something that he knew was there but just out of reach.

Tumult. Confusion. Sion.

That was it- Sion. His name, his identity. It seemed…sad but somehow it suited him.

He smiled a little, brushing the memory away from him. He had other, more pressing matters to see to. Like…finding out why he was on this rock. It wasn’t large, at least it didn’t feel large. He had walked from one end to the other, then he had followed the edge in a complete circle. He had doubled back around and searched the core- and still nothing. He was trapped here… but that couldn’t be it. He was here for a reason. He just…had to find out what that reason might be.


 

[Thalion]

Night. He knew the word now, and he understood far more about the dark hours than he cared to have learned on his own. The precious, warm light of the sun fell beyond the clouds, seemingly sinking into the vast sea of white, and left only a dark sky above. The warmth fled after its bright master, leaving the world cloaked in the icy embrace of the shadows. Somehow, when the sun faded the world fell into foreboding silence. Every small sound wrapped icy fingers around the throat of that fragile silence and shattered any sense of security even he had curled in the small nook he had found inbetween a crooked sapling and a tall rock.

If there was any comfort to be found in the shadow of the day, it was the countless shining bodies high above and the gentle glow of the moons. He hadn't slept for more than a few hours collectively. During the day, he forced himself to search the floating rock for some route ...away. He didn't know why, but he felt as if some unseen force was pulling him away. He didn't feel settled, it was as if staying in one place was unbearable. Even the calm little puddle that gave him a sense of belonging and ease in his awakening hours somehow ground at him now. He had to find...something. Somewhere. And only during the light of day did he feel comfortable enough to wander and search. When the night fell and the darkness came, Sion's first pririty was to duck into the nearest shelter he could find.

By night, he was too afraid to sleep long. His body forced him into nodding off on rare occassion, but he stirred at the first sound or shifting of leaves against his hide. To his credit, he managed to keep silent. He had no way of knowing that the lack of sleep was...bad. He yawned, but he didn't know why. His eyes ached, but he figured that was because of hunger. Afterall, his gut knawed and rumbled because of hungry- why wouldn't anything else hurt?

The cub sighed as the first sliver of gold brightened the horizonline. There it was- the blessed sun. Golden highlights danced along the edges of the sea of clouds below his solitary island as the fingers of the sun's rays clung to the edges of the floating boulder. He stepped from his shelter and stretched, greeting the sunlight with a wide yawn. First thing was first- he had to fill his belly. The puddle wasn't far- beyond the slope-back boulder and just to the left of the tall twisted tree. He may luck out and find a few insects for breakfast. If not... well roots weren't disastorous. He had chewed at several already and the worst that had happened was a slight headache. Perhaps that too was a side-effect of hunger.

With the warmth of the sun against his back, Sion padded west, retracing his steps. The night had left him with lingering aches in his joints and a chill that had seeped down into the marrow of his bones. He shivered as he walked, soldiering on. Every cloud that passed overhead cut him away from the warm embrace of the morning sun, sliding an icy finger down his spine. High-sun was far too far away. Only then would he be able to thaw out the ice in his veins and fill his fur with warmth. He pointidly avoided the shadows thrown across the ground by the twisted trees- what few of those there were - and the towering boulders. It threw him off of a direct path but he had nothing but time- but somehow he had no time at all. There had to be a way...

By the time he reached the small puddle his throat was sticky and dry and the sun was just peeking over the edge of his island. Without regard for the cold, the cub nearly threw his head into the puddle to draw in mouthful after mouthful of cool, refreshing water. It hit his gut like a frozen boulder but the feeling of fullness was all he could think about. He had to cool his throat, moisen his mouth, and fill that aching, empty belly of his. He nearly drank himself sick. Sion sat by the pond, panting as dribbles of water ran from his whiskers and the fur around his maw down into the puddle. The surface eventually cleared and grew still once more.

He groaned and stepped back from the water, feeling rather like a bloated tick with a gut full of water sloshing around, he staggered to the nearest twisted tree and leaned his shoulder against it. Desperation was dangerous. Lesson learned. A wicked thirst wouldn't always be quenched by quantity and a full stomach wouldn't always be satisfactory. He'd never make this mistake again.

He didn't know when he had nodded off, but the sound of a particularly strong breeze rattling the branches above him woke Sion from his dazed exhaustion induced nap. He put a paw to his head and blinked roughly to clear his vision. After gaining his bearings, the cub rose to his feet and glanced skyward. High sun...he'd been out for a few hours.



 

[Thalion]

Aeode Wordcount || 590 (So far)

So...he was alive.

Aeode hadn't had any particular direction that morning, she simply needed to stretch her wings. The Pagoba Leader would be holding rites soon to decide who the first gatherers would be. They needed to be swift, cunning, agile, and able to carry a good deal through the air on the strength of their spine and wings. She was hardly the most ambitious, but she did want to give herself a fair enough shot at the position. It sounded like a chance to find a place among her feathered brothers and sisters. It sounded...exciting. Exceedingly exciting. Of course, there was the added bonus of having a little fun with the sad little wingless ones of the land.

How fortunate that the opportunity to prematurely harass a wingless presented itself to her. He was a cub, sure, a newly woven, sure, and it was an easy target- of course...but no one learned to fly by taking a big leap. No- they had to make little easy flaps, moving from one little target to the next, stretching out the distance and growing their confidence and strength before they could actually fly. This wide-eyed unfortunate little thing was her branching lesson.

The cub was just beginning to stir, moving from one side to the other. He looked like he'd just woken but the dirt in his fur said otherwise- he'd been around for a while. He looked skyward, his golden eyes roaming for a moment. The odd, almost adult-like maturity in his eyes startled her. For a moment, it was like she was staring down her senior rather than her junior.

Outrageous.

The older b'alam dropped down to the earth, electing a yelp from the hapless cub. She offered little explanation or warning. The cub stood frozen and she lept forward, swiping a paw outwards. The cub jerked, too slow, and was easily flipped into the air. He pawed at the air desperately as confusion washed over his features. Aeode slapped her two front paws together, pinning the cub between them by his bloated little belly. He made an uncomfortable sound, flushed, then burped out a mouthful of water.

...Oh gross.

"Augh- you wingless certainly are full of surprises, aren't you?"  

[Thalion]

Sion ||

He was trapped...

Sion couldn't form words, and it was the very first time he had heard anyone else speak. The words were unsettling, spoken in a tone that he somehow registered as unkind. Certainly, her actions backed up his assumption but there was a terrible resentment thinly veiled in the female's voice.

So this...was one of him? It looked like him- mostly. The face in the puddle had ears, fur, nose, maw, and a lot of features that this other being held in common to him. The spirit...it was different. Vastly different... and she was big- very big. Her two paws- which he was unfortunately trapped between - were nearly the size of half his own body. All that aside, she had two appendages that he certainly hadn't seen on himself. They were like an extra set of limbs but the fur seemed...longer, softer, but somehow much stronger. They fanned out like two great branches filled with the thickest, most powerful leaves he had ever seen. What were they?

And then she squeezed. His bloated belly could barely hold itself steady. Excess water boiled out, warm and vile, all over his maw and over the paws of his captor. Clearly this disgusted her. Sion himself felt...ashamed? Disgusted with himself, certainly, and a little sick. That wasn't a sensation he would appreciate experiencing again.

The female asked something- wingless? Is that what he was? It didn't sound like a...very kind word. Maybe he was? Maybe he wasn't.

"I don't understand-", He spoke, somehow, and understood the words coming out of his mouth. Oddly, his voice didn't sound nearly as horrible in his ears as hers had. Instead, it was soft, patient, and...lighter? He didn't have much time to ponder it. Whatever he had said had clearly offended, or irritated, his captor. Rather than spending the effort on holding him off the ground, the female drove him down to the ground and pressed him against the earth.

He felt like his little ribs were going to crack- ribs. Okay that was a new word. The female was glaring down, her eyes meeting his. Contempt, disgust, and offense boiled with a glaring heat that somehow made the sun feel cold. What had he done?! Why was she glaring at him like that?!  

[Thalion]

Aeode ||

He didn't understand?! Were wingless this dense?

Rather than have the thing squirt up all over her again, Aeode pinned the little being to the ground and locked eyes with him. If he knew what was good for him, he'd look away. Only equals within her tribe were allowed to meet each other's gaze for too long. Of course- the tribe was made up of equals. Only those who had been disgraced somehow...or lowly were considered lower. Of course- that included those from the lowland. At least that's how she had interpreted it. It made a horrible lot of sense. If they couldn't naturally get up into the high places, they were by nature looked down upon by those high above them.

But the cub didn't look away. His gaze, frustratingly bold for someone eating dirt, was unrelenting. She glared, waiting, and in turn he simply stared back, demanding an answer. Insolence!

"What are you doing up here, squirt?" She growled, pressing a little more into the cub. She let up just after he squeaked, jerking slightly to shift his elbow away from his ribs. "This isn't your place- did someone drop you off here? You must have been exiled from down below. No Weaver would be so...stupid or cruel to throw you up here."