Sailoranzu looked to where the rock beast had fallen, then back at her
friend. An excited grin broke across her face as she grasped
Sailorninshar'
s arm at the wrist, a sign of friendship among her people. "We. we did
it!"
she exclaimed, half in excitement, half in amazement. "But what does it
all
mean? For our futures, I mean. We defeated the creature, but, what do
we do
now?" She knew that Kel had been right when she said the stones they
carried
were indicators of "the most potent of all fates." She was just worried
about what fate had in store for them.
Lost in thought, she looked at the strange outfit the priestess was
wearing,
then down at her own. She hadn't even realized she too had changed. She
glanced down at the grey-blue skirt she wore and caught a glimpse of
something else behind her. She stood there with her mouth hanging open
when
she realized what she was looking at.
"Kelley, um. are those what I think they are?" The wings on her back
ruffled
slightly as if to answer her question.
In her element, that of being triumphant leader and explaining all of
the
gods' signs to those who would listen to her sacred advice,
Sailorninshar
was forced to an unnatural mental imbalance as she, too, spotted the
wings
sprouted from her friend's back, ruffling gently in the breeze.
Incomprehension threatened to take over dark jade depths as she stared
at
the unnatural appendages, something that grew masked as a certain sense
of
distance replaced it. Retracting her hand, unconsciously sliding
Pellodino
home in the sheath on her back, she took a half step back. Gloved arms
crossed upon her front, low on her torso as though relaxed, yet
confidant of
what she was in every sense.
Raising one grey-masked eyebrow, the warrior remained calm and distant
in
terms of her features, the warm exhilaration of battle fading as the
mask of
the true leader, controlling in every sense, fell into place. "Wings,"
she
said, a hint of frost touching her tones. "To make you rise into the
sky
and mock the hard-working people of the ground..."
Raised as a true Kaeltaifan, the green-haired woman was wary of sudden
changes, especially those that occurred without her consent. It was a
trait
that each generation passed onto the next, including a taste of fine
selection towards what changes were good, and what were bad. Twin
omens
were to be smiled upon, but now the wings were making the priestess
question
the purpose of twin omens. Perhaps, as with so many tests in the past,
the
twin omens stood for the goodness of her people, versus the haughty
hatred
of the more civil clans that mocked the tribe and ways she stood for.
"Was this sort of cruel godsent plan to test my loyalties?" she asked
harshly. "By showing me the face of one who could rise above the rocks
that
are precious, and scoff the goodness that they present? Did you know
of
these twin omens, this twin test? Speak!"
The venom seeping from Kelley’s words made Kele cut short her wonder.
Kelley
’s sudden change of heart was confusing, but more importantly, hurtful.
The
little winged girl felt it as sharply as a dart through her chest. She
didn’
t know why her friend was suddenly so cold, she only knew that the
priestess
’ anger was directed toward her.
As her friend’s stony gaze met her own, Kele felt herself shrink away
slightly. She was unsure how to proceed, but the accusatory glare told
her
she needed to say something in defense.
"I didn’t know anything about a test. Before I met you, I didn’t even
know
this rock had a purpose." She took a moment to look down at the ground,
then
with a tiny voice added, "If I’ve dishonored the rocks, I certainly
didn’t
mean to. I would as soon cut off my arm as commit such a disrespect to
the
gods and their creation. The only thing I can do is try to make it up
to
them, somehow." She looked back up at her friend sadly.
Deep jade eyes narrowed as they observed the winged girl closely,
measuring
something more than just appearance. Sailorninshar, Kelley of the
Kaeltaifan people, was gauging closely the truth behind those softly
spoken
words. Many factors were weighed in her head as she stood there,
creating a
silence between them that bordered on uncomfortable. Most importantly,
each
matter she considered was put towards her final decision. According to
her
people's tradition, those who were of the sky did not deserve to rest
their
feet on the sacred ground that the Kaeltaifa made their home. No
incidences
of such occurrences were within their spoken history, but tradition was
tradition, and meant to be firmly held to, even if it dictated the use
of
Pellodino to destroy that which was unholy.
Something held the priestess back from taking the dictated choice of
action.
There was the twin omens to consider, a sign that no rock-born person
could
forget with ease. Then there was something in Kele's words that fought
against the demon's wings on her back. The rock she knew nothing
about, her
part of the twin omen, that was what held Kelley's decision back.
Certainly
the gods of stone would not bestow their powers on the unworthy, and
not
while giving them something to display proudly as the evidence of it.
After a long stretch of moments, in which nothing was said, she finally
relaxed her position, letting her arms drop calmly to her sides. "The
way
you restore the stones' faith in you is not my decision to make," she
admitted. "They clearly trusted you with their powers, in that stone
of our
twin omen, it is not my place to question them."
Kele just couldn't quite believe that the wings on her back were bad,
although that was obviously the mindset of her companion. She'd always
thought flight marked the birds as special creatures, acting as the
eyes of
the gods.
Still, she vowed that she would somehow expunge any dishonor she had
shown
the rocks and their creators. She would find a way to show them the
respect
they deserved. But until she figured out how, she would stick close by
her
friend and ask for her help. Kelley was a priestess, after all. She
knew the
will of the gods and could offer moral advice.
The little grey-haired girl looked around and realized how little time
had
been spent dealing with the rock beast. It felt like it had taken days,
yet
she knew it couldn't have been more than a few minutes. This amazed
her. She
stepped over to where the packs had fallen and picked one of them up.
"We
should probably continue our journey, shouldn't we?" She didn't want to
be
there if any of the beast's family decided to avenge it. She tossed the
bag
across her back and looked over at her friend expectantly. If this
first day
was any indication, it looked like they were beginning a dangerous
adventure
together. Her stomach lurched at the thought, but at the same time, she
couldn't help but be a little excited. But somehow she knew that if
they
stuck together, they would survive it and have wonderful stories to
tell
after.
Distaste remained evident for the feathered appendages, a blasphemous
thing
in the world of the stone plains. With firm resolve, Kelley banished
that
from her features, resuming the cool and hard look of the Kaeltaifan
yinor.
Time would tell the purpose of stone and sky merging in this girl, she
would
wait that out. Patience was within her grasp; like the stones she
respected, Kelley knew that only long hours, days, and years could
reveal
the perfection beneath the flaws. Answers easily found were the kind
scouted from above, seen from the bird's featherbrained eye and as
easily
forgotten (no insult to Kele intended).
"Indeed we must continue," she announced, moving back to the packs.
Being
still in the form of the gods forced no pause to her motion, Kelley
used to
being a tool of the beings and ready to do as they wished. Though
disturbed
by the change from her priestess garb, she would endure this odd outfit
until the gods saw fit to restore her human appearance. The calm
acceptance
of that could only be expected from one of her status.
Knowing that Kele had nothing near her practiced strength, Kelley
wasted no
time in picking up the extra packs. Then, with no second look to the
remains of their battle, she resumed their prior direction, her sense
of the
plains setting her path more true than any map could assist to (or so
she
could proclaim, even if her direction proved poor). The lively start
to the
journey had awakened an energy in her step, anticipation for the
travels
quickening her pace. Success for the Kaeltaifa and favour of the gods
awaited them, this was the course any Yinor desired. "Come, we shall
see
what tests await us!"
