Bird Furious

She jumped over the large chasm that had opened up in the ground and sent the blade of her morningknife at the barrier again. “Just quit chasing us!” She yelled.

“Now, you’ll need a room. Aaya—“ She nodded impatiently. “Yes, I will.” She sped into the hallway. The man sat down on the couch. “You’re Evander, right? From Norkade? I’ve heard it’s dull.” — Youre lying, you’re lying you’re lying! This isn’t happening! Get out of my head! She scrambled outside into the gardens and clutched a tree like a lifeline. You’re lying and it’s not true. He promised he wouldn’t die!

She snapped her again back to her, then leaped to her left, onto the tiny patch of steady ground tat wouldn’t break and dump any small amount of weight into fiery lava.

He sighed again. “The king is busy for the next hour, but after that, he’s free. Chat for an hour or so, then start real talks tomorrow. Is that okay?” — You’re lying, she though in panic. He could take them. He’d kill them all! That’s not true!

There’s also a wall behind you. Like, right behind you. Kealie flicked her morningknife (knife at the end of a chain) toward the witch.

“This feels so wrong,” Nayka mumbled. “Do you have any idea how much money I could have right now?” “Uh… I don’t know about this, Vance.” Her voice quivered. Watch to your left, that ground is really brittle and will break easily. So don’t step there if you don’t like lava. Off to the right, behind that witch, is a fire geyser. It’s dormant right now. And… Eej continued to explain the landscape around them and Kealie relaxed. “So, witch, what was your name again?”

Aaya returned with a noble, a light- haired noble. “Another Evikian?” He sighed. “Don’t you people ever get bored? Actually, don’t answer that. Rather a dumb question. So what are you here for? Talking about borders and alliances and all that?” — No, she replied fiercely. But… she missed him too much to pass up a chance to see him. …I don’t know. Yes, I think.

She led him into the castle after talking with a few guards, then took him to what she called a ‘reception chamber’. It was rather bare. One rug, one couch, minimal decor. “I’ll inform them of your arrival.” She swept out of the room. — She covered her ears. You don’t know anything! Get the chasms out of my head! Slink into a cave and die—you’d be much happier there. He’d never leave me… never. He won’t die either! He promised! Go away. (Would he leave me? What if he never comes back?) she shivered.

She looked him up and down warily. “Gladly.” She pivoted and marched toward the castle. — He won’t. He won’t. And he won’t die either. He promised. (don’t let him get to you. This is speculation. You’re nervous for nothing.)

The guard unfolded the paper and snorted. “You Evikians. All so presumptuous. Come in—I suppose you have to talk politics with the rulers. Aaya!” A fierce-looking girl appeared. “I will escort you.” Her voice had a similar accent to the guard’s, and her hair, too, was dark. — Of course I will. He won’t… fall in love with someone else. (Oh my gosh, what if he falls in love with someone else?)(Her thoughts she doesn’t mean him to hear, whether he does or not)

“You are dressed as an Evikian,” said a guard with coarse, dark hair and a coarser accent. “What are you doing here?” He guarded an opening in a stone wall about five feet high that encircled the whole castle. The castle was made entirely of stone, and was low and ready for attack. The towers foo were low, wide, and flat on top with those things people shoot arrows out of. — Haly almost bounced down the hallway. Tiernan was now courting Sykel. The original worry was that Sykel, being Sykel, would never be able to keep a suitor’s attention. However, since both of them were willing to compromise for Basilica, she was off the hook. Tiernan had called a meeting and pompously announced that he didn’t want Haly. She had acted appropriately crushed, and the Nolikan delegates were glad that they could inconvenience Basilica and prove that Haly’s best was not good enough for their noble boy. Things we’re going quite smoothly.

Shush. He broke a grin. “Good. Me too. I hear you have a sister?” “What? Wait, what? Uh. Yes? I do. Two of them. Hang on. Did you say…” He leaned forward. “So here’s what we do…” — Ashli had given TAAron instructions. Pass yourself off as Evander of Norkade, there to promote a connection between the kingdoms. Don’t be nervous. Be almost bored—‘I’m here because I feel like it’. Be polite, talk with people a little, but don’t reveal too much. Find that necklace, Push yourself directly east for a couple of miles to a small town called Ekhurst. On the outskirts nearest you, find the shed. There’s a griffin. All you need to do it buckle in to the saddle and Oeryn will bring you to me. She’s fast, but the journey will still probably take most of a day. Then all you have to do is sit back. Here’s a letter certifying your as an Evikian noble—it’s genuine. Hand it to the guard. LOOK BORED. And good luck. Then she’d left.

“Kay. Now…” she circled her horse around as she dug into a bag, then consulted a compass. “This way.” She rode off at a canter into a forest. — “Because…” What do I do now? What do I say, how do I lie, how can I make him let us be? I need to lie, I need to lie, I need to lie. But when she opened her mouth, the truth spilled out—how Basilica couldn’t possibly stand against a kingdom like Nolikar, how desperate they were, how she was so scared that the time she’d bought them wouldn’t be enough, and how sorry she was for deceiving him. He sat in silence, taking it in stone faced. “You did it for Basilica,” he said slowly. “Your kingdom.” ”Y-yes…” her heart was in her mouth and pounding at a million miles a minute.

“Good,” she told him. “You ride with your knees. That’s how you stay on. Steer gently—pull the reins left if you want to go right, right if you want to go left. Nudge his sides with your heels to make him go faster, but he should follow me.” She kicked her horse into a walk. Todo, TAAron’s horse, followed. — Please? ”It’s… yes.” She looked down at her hands. “Why, then?” He asked, confused. “Why accept the betrothal?”

“Yes. From the left side.” (Don’t remember if it’s left or right) Ashli vaulted smoothly onto hers—Kerdoc. — Get out of my head, she thought fiercely. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she replied, somehow without stammering. “Evander. It’s Evander?” she opened her mouth, then changed her mind. “Um… no?” She offered weakly.

She laughed. “Perhaps.” She saddled two mounts, one a handsome black stallion, and the other a gentler brown gelding. “You take Todo. Kerdoc is mine.” — “Evalyn, can I talk to you?” Haly swallowed. “Uh, yeah.” Tiernan came in and sat down on a couch, then beckoned her over. Once she sat (hesitantly), he spoke again, softly. “There’s someone else, isn’t there?”

She nodded, eyes gleaming. “Incredible.” She started down the hallway , then out the castle and to the stables. “We’re going to teach you to ride now.”

Ashli watched with wide eyes. “Well,” she said finally, “We should probably go now.”

A huge involuntary grin spread across her face. “Wonderful! Sykel was right. However, I must travel with you a few days. That means horses. You’re welcome to ditch it after the castle, but horses at first…” she approached. “How did you do that? That was amazing. Are you from the west?”

She blinked. “What? You… can’t ride a horse? We’ll have to teach you. No noble anywhere can’t ride a horse. What do you mean, push yourself?”

The ChoSen Is aMazIng!!!!!!! (love the prof pic Tani)

“Nolikar,” she corrected. “Find the wooden necklace—the king will keep it close. Be polite, but unworried, as Evika often is. Have an… ‘I’m here because why not’ sort of attitude. Steal the necklace and head directly east with your horse. You’ll trade mounts for a griffin there, after which you’ll fly to the pass between Evika and Nolikar, where I’ll be waiting with the army. Hopefully. Then you give me the necklace, we wait, and we battle when Nolikar arrives. I’ll get you up to speed on the basic geography and stuff.”

You did right. This is what had to happen. Even though she really believed that, it was still disturbing to flip to where her involvement ended… and find blank pages. None of TAAron’s thoughts. Nothing Haly had said. Only her own perceptions of that one scene when she’s given him the Permissive… and then nothing. Essa watched TAAron whirl away in the shards, satisfied. My work is done here. She pulled another Permissive out of her pocket and left. And that’s where the words ended. Another reader from her organizations would be able to read more, but her involvement had closed that channel off completely for her. “Essa! How are you?” A blonde girl with a short-in-front, long-in-back haircut peeked around the corner. “You’re Haly’s caseworker right? How’s she doing?” ”Shes fine,” Essa replied. “In a tangle with a political marriage and such.” ”You’re reading her book?” It was highly unusual to read a book, unless you were the caseworker. Which Essa was, but she could no longer read the book. “Yes,” she lied. “Do you need something?” ”Nope. I know I don’t work here anymore—I’m just looking around.” She smiled and left. Essa stared some more at the empty pages. Worth it, to avoid that ending. Ah, but was it? Was the new one really any better? I’m going to drive myself crazy speculating and all that. Theres. No. Way. To. Know. You got involved, you pay the price. I guess I’ll have to give up being Haly’s caseworker.

“I’m certain. For one, you have strange magic, Sykel says. She can read it in your music. And for two… keeping you a secret will be hard with Tiernan around, and you and Evalyn stuck together when he’s not around.”