The wind's embrace (Private Anila)

It was a mixture of thankfulness and malaise that plastered itself on Ardent’s maw as she took her first step onto the beach, the sand still warm even in the early dawn light. Turning her serpentine neck to glance behind her, she realised her thankfulness was twofold. Not only was she at the ocean’s doorstep, she was safely out of the great forests that dominated much of Earthwing territory, which had been a cause for endless trepidation. Turning her neck back towards the ocean as she took a step, she paused. After such a time under the welcoming shade of interwoven trees, she had failed to notice the faint shimmer in the distance at first, a sure sign of land. Her natural interest and curiosity piqued, she unfolded her large wings and gave a few experimental flaps, wincing only slightly at the pain that radiated from under her left wing. Tucking her wings once again to her side, she cast her gaze across the beach, looking for some permanent or tidal crossing, of which there was none. Making a small sound of frustration, she walked to the water’s edge, and placed a paw in, the temperature on the colder side, but bearable. Steeling herself, she waded into the shallows, a pained whimper escaping her maw as she felt the salt water lapping at her many smaller wounds. If this is what only scratches and small cuts feel like… she thought to herself, her gaze slowly trailing back to her left wing. Taking a deep breath, she dropped to her knees, only her neck above the water.

Letting out a loud cry of pain, she quickly snapped her maw shut at the sound, the sound seemingly echoing around her. Lifting her wing slowly, as she stood, she curled her head around to check. Staring for a second, she snapped her wing down and rapidly turned her head to the landmass on the horizon, breathing heavily. What had originally started as a large gash had quickly degenerated in the last several days, now obviously infected, with large, angry red lines radiating from the area, a sure sign of blood poising. Oddly enough, the pain had died down in the early hours of the morning along with her fever, which was a small gift, and the infection obviously hadn’t reached her flight muscles yet either, but did cause some mild pain. Bracing herself again, she dropped back into the water and sat there for several minutes, a combination of whimpers and tears escaping her as she felt the salt water do what it could to clean the wound. Standing as she felt the pain abate, she walked back to the beach, and once again gazed at the semi-distant landmass.  She had heard tales of a land where there were floating mountains, across a strait, and that’s what her destination had been the entire time. Now that she was close… Well. She couldn’t stop now.

Taking another deep breath and slowly exhaling, she took a running start, and leapt into the air just before the edge of the water. Flapping her wings quickly, desperately, she slowly began to climb, with no small amount of help to numerous updrafts and the wind. First a hundred metres, then two hundred, then half a kilometre upwards she soared upwards, free. Smiling brightly, she let out an excited roar, quickly speeding over the water. After several long minutes, the smile began to falter, as she realised two very important things. The sky had failed to brighten in the last half an hour, and the landmass was barely any closer. Glancing towards the sun, she paled as she saw large storm clouds, lightning visible in their depths, but muffled by the cloud mass itself, rapidly closing the distance to her, advancing the same way she was travelling. Fear gripped her throat and she forced herself harder, throwing her body through the air, all pretence of calm and happiness gone, replaced by fear and an all-consuming need to escape. Managing to stay out of the storms grip for an hour, she was approaching the landmass that, unknown to her, housed the Lightwing and Skywing tribes. Angling downwards towards the beach, she gave a triumphant roar, that was almost instantly snatched away by a viciously howling gale, which threw her upwards into the sky, hundreds of metres in less than a minute. Unable to do anything to combat the violent side, up and down drafts, she let out a distressed cry, even as the wind plucked her from the sky and sent her plummeting towards the ground, the world around her going dark.

Ardent had quickly consigned herself to death, marvelling at the beauty of the storm even as brought her quite literally crashing towards the end of her life. Closing her eyes and stopping her pointless attempts at fighting the storm, she gave herself completely to the free fall, finding it almost enjoyable, in its own horrifying way. At least I went out on my own terms… that’s something… she thought grimly to herself. Holding her breath as she neared the ground, Ardent prepared for impact, only to be snatched from her fall by something.

Feeling her breath leave her as he freefall was abruptly halted, Ardent could do nothing but shiver in Anila’s grasp, the combination of violent wind and cutting rain especially effective against her small Firewing frame. Out of more instinct then anything, she tried to somehow get closer to Anila, wriggling and moving softly in her paws, before falling still, her fall having taken its toll. Going limp in the Skywing’s paws, Ardent failed to hear the first question asked by Anila. As she felt the wind suddenly… stop, she sighed in relief, the shivering stopping momentarily. Lifting her head and opening her eyes, she looked down at the paws wrapped around her, holding her high above the ground. As she gazed towards the ground, she heard a voice question her, her mind working at a glacial pace as she tried to string together an intelligible response.

There was a certain… quality about the mysterious voice she could only assume belonged to the dragon that was currently holding her in the sky. Feminine, there was a hint of command, or power that seemed to permeate it. Coughing loudly as she tried to speak, Ardent took several large breaths before speaking, her voice strained and quiet, but not quiet enough for Anila to miss it, completely honest in her response. “I… I wanted to see th… the floating islands…” she finished with a sigh, dropping her neck to face the ground, the shivering returning, now fortified by the returning pain in her side.

(Regretfully abandoned due to inactivity of the other party.)