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Dark Wings, Darker Words

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:icondonotusemyartplz:

Featuring Aytan
Winter, Year 760 of the New Age
Close to the Main Glade, Glenmore

Hours of flying passed, and Acka's wings were aching by the time he reached the mountains, but he refused to land and rest, instead soaring higher and higher over the peaks, taking advantage of the updraft generated by the great rock formations. On his back, the blood of his friend was drying, stiffening his feathers and making it harder for him to keep flapping his wings, but still he persisted, determined to get back to the green kingdom. He alighted momentarily on a rock, twisting round to pry the feathers he needed free from the sticky blood, then glanced back at Blackwood for a moment more before flapping his wings and taking to the sky once again, letting the wind howling through the mountains carry him back towards his home.

He flew through the night, and a pale dawn was breaking as he left the mountains, emerging over forests of oak and birch, though the snow made it look no different to the dark firs he had left behind in Blackwood. He dove lower, skimming the treetops and glancing through the branches in search of places he recognised; the treetops would have been unfamiliar in summer, nevermind shrouded in the white snows of winter.

There! A huge mass of branches erupting from the canopy; the Great Oak. Acka knew little of its significance in terms of culture, but he did know that it was where many fawnlings would be gathered, regardless of the season or time. Sure enough, as he drew closer, he began to see flashes of brown and red and black on the ground below; fawnlings moving towards or away from the tree. The clearing around the tree soon opened up below him and he swooped around the tree, trying to spot a familiar form among the masses below him. Alighting on a tree at the edge of the clearing -- he knew better than to land on the Great Oak itself -- he scanned the clearing more carefully, finally spotting what he was searching for: the huge red form that was Aytan.

*   *   *

Aytan jumped as something hit his rump, and he twisted round to see a magpie peering up at him with beady black eyes. Several of the Guards clustered around him chuckled at his reaction, but soon fell quiet as they noticed their Captain wasn't laughing along with them.

"Acka?" Aytan asked quietly, stretching his nose out to sniff the bird. The stench of Blackwood still clung to the bird, along with something more metallic.

"What's on his back?" One of the younger Guards whispered to his neighbour, then looked fearful as Aytan turned to eye him before looking back at the magpie. The bird turned slightly, chirping uneasily, revealing some dark red across his back.
 Blood.

"Guards," Aytan said slowly, turning to face those around him. "Excuse me for a moment." He waited for the Guards in front of him to move aside before he marched off into the trees, waiting until their words had faded into silence before stopping. Acka fluttered up into a nearby tree and croaked sadly down at him.

"Acka," the stag asked, taking a half step towards him then stopping. "Where's Lia? Did she come with you?"

The bird said nothing, only turned to show the stag his back for a moment before turning again.

Aytan's ears flicked backwards. "Is that hers?" He asked, swallowing hard and trying to ignore the queasiness he was beginning to feel.

Akca nodded once.

"Where is she?!" The red stag demanded, ears now pinned against his neck. The magpie shook his head, and Aytan faltered, staring up at the pied bird with wide eyes. "No..." he murmured, shaking his head.

Acka only croaked sadly, watching the stag quietly as he simply stood in the snow, staring off into the distance.

"Lia's dead," he said, stating rather than questioning it. He glanced up to the bird again. "How?" Acka had, of course, no way to tell him, and simply squawked at him. "Was it a Blackwood? Did Skoll hurt her? Or Hagen?!"

The magpie shook his head furiously, so much so that he threw himself off balance and barely avoided falling off the branch he was clinging to.

"No? Good..." Aytan said quietly, sighing shakily, before glancing back at the glade, still visible through the trees. "Good..."

Acka chirped reassuringly, fluttering down and landing on a rock by Aytan's shoulder and rubbing his beak against the stag's fur as affectionately as he could manage. The Captain looked down at him with a soft smile, sighing again. "Was she happy when she.... when she..." The magpie nodded slowly, not breaking eye contact.

Aytan sighed again, then turned back towards the Great Oak with a huff. "You have my thanks, Acka," he said gruffly, then walked back towards the Guards he had left behind. "Guardsmen!" He barked at them, then was gone into the trees, leaving the magpie alone on the rock.

The bird hopped down from where he was perched and immediately rolled over into the snow, twisting and writhing in an attempt the get the blood that he had tolerated off his back. When he stood again he left a pink patch in the whiteness, and he ruffled his feathers in satisfaction, before darting up between the trees and swooping away from the Oak, back towards the mountains he had so recently passed over and what little family he had left.

So! Acka has come to tell Aytan the sad news about Lia. I wasn't quite sure how Aytan would react to this, so I suppose I just went with that and had him not really reacting at all. He's very much a tough-guy when it comes to these situations, and is far more likely to just take it out on some Guardsmen, then show the emotion later on when he's alone.

On a slight note, this should lead to some more RPs between Aytan and fellow Guards, since now he's more likely to throw himself into his work rather than focus on family things since it might remind him too much of Lia. So, if you have any Guard characters who need some training, drop me a note!!

Art, characters (C) me
:iconfawnlings:

:icondonotusemyartplz:
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bovidaeloony's avatar
*hugs the big red bear*