Winged Watcher (Open)

[Anonymous]

Above the bustling sea-side town, the winged girl perched on the ledge of a house, blue eyes guarded and watching.  Her light brown hair, carelessly pulled back in a hair tie, fought its restrictions and blew in the breeze.  Wings out to enjoy the warm, salty gusts coming from the ocean, the sunlight glinted off the feathers in highlights of red and black.  Enjoying the moment, she closed her eyes and tilted her face towards the sun's warmth.  

She was rudely interrupted moments later by the owner of the house she had chosen to perch on.
   
"Girl!  Off my house!  Does it look like a branch to you?"  

Smirking, she launched herself off of the irate man's house and over to a flag pole, landing with practiced ease and folding her wings close to her back.  Lazily, almost mockingly she pulled out an intricately detailed fan, the vibrant colors almost sparkling as she fanned herself. She ignored the grumbling man and continued her watch of the port, slightly bored.  

"Aye, there's nothing to do in a city," she mused to herself, remembering the energy and life of the road, the place she preferred to be.  But she was running low on funds, and foraging and hunting only supplemented her diet so much.  She could resort to thievery, but thought of it as beneath her.  Almost cocky with her skills, she believed in making money other ways.  But today she was up for almost anything, and if something exciting didn't come along soon, stealing wouldn't sound like such a bad idea.

[Lion]

Boy, was he really in it this time!

Ambition laced his young blood and clouded his thought as to whether or not this was a rational decision.  But it was too late.  The innate analyzing that made his people famous was lost when he chose to undertake this quest.  But he was a Wycher, a title given to the supremely gifted of his people, Zianaian priests that could perform fantastical feats and revered warriors when peace was broken.  His own gifts that marked him as the only possible choice to venture to this place called Earth; for reasons he couldn't decipher.  The only thing the priests told him were that this was a strange, wild, and wounded planet and that he should do all he could to aid it.

Before being transported, he underwent training that involved intense psychometric therapy before attempting to teleport as well as learning of the Common language.  Of course, he was quickly prepared and sent on his way.  Junta didn't expect to land in the middle of a brawl between two wild animals.  The fauna was bad enough as he evaded them quickly and took off into the underbrush, his feet carrying him fast and not caring whether or not they had noticed.

He must have walked for miles, following a faint scent of what he recognized as sea air until it became strong enough that he walked right into a city full of...PEOPLE!  Civilization at last!  Junta would have fallen on his hands and knees and thanked the ground he walked on for leading him to this place if he had but a shred of dignity left.  But he knew what really drew him here.  The water.  For all the affinity with nature Arcturians had, he knew that it was water that drew took him to the city.

Following the scents that summoned him, Junta found himself standing at the docks like a drunken fool, unmindful of the people that knocked against his shoulders.  The power was like a moth to a flame, for lack of a better cliché.  But for his first few steps on the planet that had thus far been unpleasant, water was the one familiar thing he could juxtapose with his own world.  That was until he bumped the shoulder of a particularly angry looking man.

"Hey!  Are you blind?  Watch it!"  The burly man yelled as Junta passed by.

But the Arcturian kept walking on as he hadn't heard him.

"Hey!  You there!  I asked you a question.  Are you deaf?  I said watch where your goin'!"

Still, nothing.  Junta kept a steady pace along the docks.  The reality of the situation was that, for all the man's proclamations, he did hear him.  But the power of such a stalwart natural force was almost too much for the Arcturian to resist and therefore the calls of a lone sentient being went unheard.  It wasn't until a terrible force grabbed him by the collar of his robe, yanking him in a direction away from the waters. "Wha—!" he exclaimed in thick Common.

"I'm talkin' t'ya, punk!  Come here, I'm gonna teach you a lesson!"  The man snarled and held Junta in a vice grip on his collar.

Shock and panic set in before he could hold them at bay and he found himself staring wide-eyed in quite a confusing situation.  It seemed like today would be a bad day after all.

[Sorry for taking so long.  School was a killer.]

[Anonymous]

The commotion below caught her attention, and a grin lit up Bailyn's entire face.  Finally, something to do!  With a flick of her wings she took to the air, gliding over to the fight about to happen.  She landed softly behind the angry man, wings still wide to keep people away.  Quick as a flash her brightly colored fan flipped open at the man's throat, catching him off guard.  The angry man dropped the other quickly, hands grabbing at Bailyn's arms.  But for a young woman, and though she may have looked weak, Bailyn was strong, and the man's frantic grabbing at her arms didn't budge the fan from his throat.  
"Wha – what do ya think you're doing?  Let me go!"  Bailyn grinned, white teeth brilliant against her tanned skin.  
"Why were you hurting this young man here?  He didn't do anything to you now, did he?" she whispered in his ear, resting the razor sharp edge of the fan firmly against his throat in warning.  The man nearly wet himself with fear.
"He bumped me and wouldn't apologize!"  She hissed, tightening her grip on the man.  It was one of things she hated most from humanity: its inability to forgive and forget.  The town was crowded being mid-day; bumping and jostling was bound to happen.
"Idiot, that's no reason to start a fight!  Give me a reason why I should lift you up right now and drop you somewhere in the sea?"  She moved her wings into the view of the man, allowing her words to sink in.  The quick shaking of his head was answer enough, but she wanted to hear it.
"No!  No, I'll go!  I'll go home right now and not bother anyone!  Just let me go!"  Bailyn laughed, her blue eyes bright.  It was too easy sometimes!  
"Go home, tail tucked between your legs alright?"  She shoved the man away, laughing as he sprinted away from her and the young man.  With a flick she closed the fan, tucking it back into her breeches.  Her wings folded back against her back, though they still peaked above her slim shoulders.  
Returning her gaze to the young man, she eyed him, finding him unhurt but a bit shaken.
"Name's Bailyn, and you would be?"


((Don't worry, I completely understand!  Let's have some fun now, shall we?))

[hikaru.dream]

The small elf like creature slipped into the marketplace. Most didn't notice and went along with their business, but a few heads turned, wondering why such a young child with her two swords managed to look so threatening. They probably thought her around the age of eleven or twelve. She was beyond caring; that was their problem.

Someone shouted at her. She didn't bother turning her black head, and just slipped away from the man who had shouted. She could feel that he had been trying to sell her one of those things that human children liked. She didn't care for them, and she didn't really need to buy anything to eat. The 'small elf' could go on for days with just water, if she couldn't find anything to eat in the wild.
What she was looking for was something to train her skills. A job, perhaps, would be nice. Information on medicine would be even more nice, but she doubted it would work on that sickness anyway. Only one way to heal that, and to get the one way she had to be stronger.

Her sharp golden eyes picked up the sea beyond the docks and she wondered at the difference from the beaches in the Isles. It was the same large piece of water, and yet it managed to make itself look so different. Well, she was far far away from the Isles, it was the least she should expect.

Suddenly, a flash of brown caught her eye. She turned, following it with her eyes over the rooftops. She hadn't known that there were winged humans. That was interesting.

Her ear twitched, she could hear some kind of commotion. That may mean that a tavern was close by. The golden eyed girl trotted toward the noise, arriving to find that it was over with the brown winged lady looking very satisfied. She watched the fan that the human was snapping shut with interest, but then her interest was drawn to the man that human had just helped.

What was he?
He was strange. All her senses told her so. Stranger than the winged human, who did, at least, feel Earthish.

There had been a crowd gathering to look at the unusual sight, and Kei swore silently. They were probably all about to go about their business, which lead her away from the two. She didn't like crowds at all. She never seemed to be able to get used to it. Despite her relatively small size, she had never been swept away by crowds. But she wanted to avoid going against the tide as much as possible so she quickly slipped to the edge of the crowd where she could see and hear the center of attention easily.
Then, someone shoved her and not expecting it at all, she went flying into the two. Fortunately, she had managed to flip a couple times in the air and landed lightly on the ground. Unfortunately, she had used Bailyn's shoulder for support for her second flip and that turned the attention to her, which she did not like at all.
"Sorry." she said, her golden eyes flicking from one to another.

If she ever found the person that had pushed her, she would wring his/her neck.

((OoC: Still okay?))

[Lion]

So much for a farfetched idea.  As soon as he'd been snatched up by the collar the Arcturian was released.  It seemed another person had grabbed up the man and threatened him.  Well, if only his hearing was as incredible as his night vision then he might have heard what the other person had said.  Whatever it was seemed to have the desired effect of getting the attacker away from him because the larger man ran off into the distance with a look of zealous horror burning in his eyes.

Rubbing his neck, Junta's eyes flashed momentarily in his direction, watching him disappear, before turning back to the one who'd taken it upon themselves to rescue him.  Of course, had he any idea what was really going on, he wouldn't have hesitated to take care of himself.  A quick zap of electricity would have roasted that human nicely.  Still, he peered at the girl with flashing golden-yellow eyes.

She was strangely dressed, at least in garb that wasn't common for an Arcturian and therefore he would consider her an outsider.  She seemed human-like for all her actions and—wings, to put it simply—yet congenial and open, ready to defend the weak at a moments' notice.  Still, as this was his first interaction with 'Earthlings' and he just couldn't quell the feeling of a separate pair of eyes upon him.

He stared at her like she was a strange scientific specimen and the words that exited her mouth took a moment to register.  Though he learned to speak and understand Common, it was still a bit raw to the ears to hear.  Junta managed as best he could however.  "Hello," he began slowly, carefully choosing his words as to prevent from appearing foolish.  "I'm Junta Vel.  Why did you do that?"  But something else added to his thick speaking.  "You...have something by your head."

[Oh no problem. And you're fine Hikaru, nice post too.  Posting order can go like this to simplify things from now on: Sparrow, Hikaru, then Me.]

[Anonymous]

Bailyn was amused to say the least.  First she helps a man with a rather angry situation, in which said man questions her intentions, and then a small person uses her as a vault.  What a glorious day this was turning out to be!  

She turned her attention first to Junta, blue eyes alight with laughter.  

"Firstly I was bored, and it looked like fun.  Secondly, I don't like stupid people picking fights over nothing.  Thirdly...I was bored."  A broad grin lit up her face at that last comment, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.  "Also, you looked out of sorts, like you didn't quite know where you were or what you were doing.  It intrigued me."

The crowd had dispersed from the fight scene, but there were still too many people close to Bailyn for her liking.  She flexed her wings, the sun glinting off the red-tailed hawks coloration.  Soon the crowd was flowing around Bailyn's wings, giving the trio the effect of privacy.  She turned her attention to the small woman, curiosity now lighting up her face.  Who was this?

"You are quite alright for using me as leverage, small one.  But what brings you to this gathering, and how did you end up in the air?"

She wasn't trying to be condescending towards the woman's height.  Old habits, from a past she can't remember, often appeared in her actions and words.  It was a term of endearment, of reverence in the right situation.  The woman was on equal terms with her and the man, as far as Bailyn was concerned.

((I'm sorry I took so long!  Where I live we've been getting piss pounded with snow and ice, and it's affecting everything.  *glares at the window*  Stupid snow.))

[hikaru.dream]

The lady, if Kei's ears had picked it up correctly, which they probably had, was called Bailyn and looked like she was rather enjoying the situation. That surprised the young warrior, and amused her. Kei was also vaguely surprised that Bailyn treated her as an adult. Although her words make her sound like a kid, what she meant was quite different and that's all that Kei ever cared about.
She stared back at those blue eyes, and studied the fan lady's face. She was beautiful, Kei had to admit. Her light brown hair reminded her of someone she had loved and left behind. She felt a pang, but kept her face immobile and looked away to the man.

The man, Junta Vel, wore clothes of a custom that Kei had not yet discovered on her travels around the Earth. And his speech had been accented like he wasn't used to Common. He paused after the fan lady had spoke, as if the speed of sound had gone all slow all the sudden. Everyone knew Common. At least on Earth they did.

What a strange combination the three of them must be, she thought. Kei knew she  looked about as strange as Junta did. And you didn't find winged humans too often.

"You can drop the polite expressions, thank you though." Kei said, realizing that they were waiting for her to say something. "I'm just a passerby. I was in the air because I didn't want to crash into you." She didn't bother to say that she had gone flying because she had been so rudely shoved. She found it a little embarrassing.

[Lion]

He didn't know exactly what to make of his observations, for here he was, encountering the two oddest sentients he'd had the chance to meet.  Not that such a concept bothered him but the mere idea of a continued conversation of any sort was almost enough to bring a faint coloration to his face.  These, er, people, definitely weren't Arcturian that's for sure.

The first one that spoke to him, a winged woman who seemed armed with—a fan?—was only the first to suffer under his scrutiny.  Junta first observed her with his eyes, noting things like her accent, her wings, and even the very way she carried herself.  But this only brought further questions to his mind.  She looked at bit like the man who harassed him in terms of appendages, for she too had a head, two arms, two legs, and a body.  Except he found it strange that she had two large wings attached to her back and though the designs were very appealing to his glowing golden eyes, he'd never seen such things before.  Furthermore he eyes were riveting and he found himself staring wondrously into them as if in her thrall.  Surely she was human...right?

Next came the smaller person, and his brain was engulfed in a wave of pure puzzlement.  She was very short to him, as he too had become a tower, and his expression became further screwed in deep thought.  Was this one a human?  Without thinking, Junta leaned down and patted her head slowly as if trying to size her up correctly.  When he found his arm at an approximate height, he stood back up and measured the length against his own body.  "You are very small," he noted with the purest of naïveté. "Are you human and merely small or are you of another sentient race?  And what of you Bailyn, I've never seen a human with wings before.  What do you use them for?"  He launched the questions out bluntly and without much reserve.  But the again, the statement, 'Not of this world,' wasn't all that farfetched.

[Anonymous]

Bailyn snorted, her blue eyes crinkled with laughter.  She liked this man!  He was so blunt, so honest, and so completely interesting she couldn't help but want to follow him around and see who he pestered next.  He was clearly foreign, and he almost had the feel of an explorer or scientist to him.  She fanned her wings wider, allowing them to open fully to their 14 foot span, making it a bit more difficult for people to get by.  

"I use them to fly, of course!  Why else would I have them?"  She grinned, flicking out her fan again to begin playing with the colorful object.  "They're quite useful in a fight as well.  I can knock people over with them, shield myself and others, and if things aren't looking too good, I can escape.  Neat, huh?"

She folded her wings in around the ground once more, having heard the complaints of the market goers around her.  The fan in her hands continued to flick open and shut as she moved it in intricate patterns around both hands.  She turned her attention to the small woman, still curious.  

"Polite?  I don't even know why I talk that way!  I lost my memory a couple years back, and it seems old habits from before then keep popping up in what I do everyday."  

Bailyn threw the fan in the air; blue eyes watching it twirl before catching it easily.  The sun glinted off something metallic in the fan, and her grin grew wider.  

"By the way, what is your name?  You know ours, but we don't know yours.  Hardly seems fair now, does it?"

She flashed her grin at the small woman, showing she was joking with her last sentence.  But it was true, the small woman hadn't given them her name, and Bailyn wanted to put name with face.  Old habits die hard.

[hikaru.dream]

((OoC: I'm sorry for the late response!!))

Kei stood patiently Junta patted her on the head. The sudden movement had came as a surprise. Her first instinct was to whip out one of her swords and smack him hard with the blade. There weren't many occasions when someone you just met came around and patted you on the head just to see how small you were. But she managed to keep herself quite still.
"I am small in comparison to you," Kei replied, calmly. "But one of the larger in my race." She shook her head so that her slightly pointed ears that marked her Silva Tutela showed. "Do I look human to you?" She didn't seem particularly annoyed about being asked. A sharp observer could tell that Kei was not used to talking, but her friendly tone suggested that she did not mind it.

She cocked her head, silently admired the wings of the human lady. Kei knew it was not normal for humans to have wings. She also knew that Bailyn must have gone through a lot of hard times because of her difference. She admired the wings not only for their beauty to the eye, but also for the strength Bailyn must have lived with.

"I suppose that means you're beginning to remember again," Kei said softly. "Whether that is a good thing or bad; that would be for you to decide. At least remembering is a better sensation then losing your memory." Her tone didn't change, and neither did her expression, but something suggested that she knew exactly how it felt.

She was silent a moment before saying, "My name is Kei."
Her golden eyes went carefully over the two again. Perhaps she would find a job after all, an interesting one at that.

[Lion]

"It is very nice to meet you Kei," Junta said, not smiling yet hardly able to conceal his curiosity in her appearance.  It seems that she was rather unperturbed at being probed at.  While she gave no outward signal that his curiosity bothered her, Junta felt that this was the best time to satisfy it before he did something he might regret.  "No, you don't look human.  At least not like I thought a human should look like.  You're ears," he paused bent to slightly tug at the pointy-ness of them.  "They're like mine."  Junta then pulled at his own arrow-like ear from beneath the strands of midnight-blue hair.  "And you're eyes, too.  Mine are gold as well."

He attempted to examine her eyes by peeling back the lids.  "But you are too small ..."  He withdrew a safe distance away and looked back to Bailyn.  "How can you remember if you lost your memory?"  A look of pure puzzlement engulfed his visage.  Though there were lots of things that he was encountering that were strange to him, he had a strange new fascination to learn from them.

[Anonymous]

Bailyn shrugged her shoulders, wings following the movement.  
"I don't know.  I'll be doing something, or speaking with someone, and some small snippet will emerge.  It's confusing at times, but far better than waking up in a field with wings and no knowledge of what or who I am."
She grinned, blue eyes flashing.  These two were interesting, and she like interesting.  One, it kept her busy, and two it helped her memory resurface.  She wanted to find out who she was, where she came from.  She was tired of being in the dark.
"What of you, Junta?  Are you an explorer or scientist of some sort?  You are so curious you remind me of doctors researching a mysterious case."
Bailyn looked at the crowds about them, noting many were moving towards home or food.  At the thought of food her stomach grumbled, and she placed a hand on it.
"Might we move this conversation indoors?  I'm quite hungry, and we might be more comfortable out of the street."
She looked from Kei to Junta, the intricate fan snapping shut in her hands before she slid it back into her pocket once more.

[hikaru.dream]

Kei waited ever so patiently for Junta to finish his journey around her, keeping her face impassive.  Her patience snapped, however, when he attempted to peel back her eyelids. It was very wise of him indeed to back off so far away. She could still reach him, whether he knew that or not, but he had made enough distance for her to regain her nerves.
"I'm not too small. You're too big," she explained, looking as if it was the sixtieth time she had pointed it out. Actually, it was the fifty-sixth time but round it up and you get sixty, so facial expressions aren't so off. "To you I'm small, to me you're big. Life's like that. Got it?"

Kei stared at Junta as Bailyn spoke, then added, "'Losing your memory' is a way that we say in Common that one forgot something of the past."

Bailyn grinned and Kei looked at her. Was it something to laugh about?
Shou was like that too, she would laugh when she was happy, when she was sad, or even when she was angry. It was hard to tell with some people what they really thought not because they kept their face impassive, but because of the smile on their face.

"If he's a doctor, then, seems we're mysterious," Kei muttered under her breath.
She didn't bother to look at the fan while it twirled in the human girl's hand, but she could feel and hear it, snapping shut, the opening and snapping shut again. Perhaps it was a habit for the girl to do that.

[Lion]

The hot-eyed glare he detected from Kei's internal expression was enough to knock Junta on the right side of the tracks.  The point was taken that she didn't want to be examined further and, if this rule was crossed, there would undoubtedly be dire consequences to undergo.  As it was with being more than a thousand years old, Junta may have been an outlander but he knew business when he saw it.

In the face of her question though, he felt his cheeks grow vaguely warm and replied with a solemn, "No.  I'm a...traveler.  You can well account my curiosity as to...  This is the first time I've ever been here.  There is much I don't know or understand.  But please, I am very anxious to learn about your world and will follow what you have to show me."  

He was a bit eager and child-like in his ways that he grinned a trying smile from pointed ear to pointed ear.  As much as he was curious about this world, he was just as wary; preparing himself mentally rather than spiritually and hoping that what he saw wouldn't prove to be a complete culture shock to him.

[Anonymous]

Bailyn's grin grew, her entire face lighting up as her blue eyes twinkled.  He was new!  A forgeiner, a traveler from some distant land.  She didn't quite know where her curiousity came from, but it thrilled her to find something or someone new.  The fact that he wanted to learn from them was just icing on the cake to her.
"Come, let's eat and I'll tell you all you want to know over a bowl of stew and a pint.  Sound good?"
Wings tucked tightly against her back, she moved towards the local inn, glancing behind periodically to see if they were following her or not.  Once inside, she gave the barmaid a hearty hello and followed the girl's swishing skirts to a table by the fire.  She sat nimbly, moving with an unusual grace and ease with two extra appendages sprouting from her back.  She patted the seat beside her, motioning for the two to join her.
"Junta, what would you like to know?  I think as long as you don't investigate our friend Kei here anymore, you'll be welcome to any knowledge you may fancy."

[hikaru.dream]

As Bailyn smiled as usual, Kei frowned just a tiny bit. She was thankful for the lady's hospitality, but frankly, she disliked human buildings. Not all, of course, but they just seemed to be cramped and smelly. Especially pubs.
But of course, it would seem rude if she didn't follow the other two, and being rude was something she did not like at all. It was one or the other.

She followed them.

She must have looked like a child with two dangerous looking swords, because humans kept on giving her looks. At nineteen, she still considered herself a child so perhaps that's why she looked like she didn't care at all. Or maybe she was just used to it.

Kei sat down on the offered chair, careful to keep her discomfort out of her face.

[Lion]

Not that Junta had much of a choice to respond before Bailyn hurried off in the direction of something he figured might be a 'bar'.  The word itself was strange to him and yet, stranger still, was the building itself once inside.  What a mess!  Junta had never seen so many out of place people at one time—though the irony beheld that he was the most out of place of them all, for the clothes of an Zianaian Wycher were an outlandish combination of robes and armor.  Smoke coming from the ends of burning sticks in people's mouths made him cough hard and still he ventured closely behind Bailyn, careful not to bump into her wings.

When they were seated, he jumped a little at the coldness of the chair beneath his bottom.  When he recovered, he softly apologized and watched the patrons within give him vaguely interested looks.  He wasn't that outlandish was he?  Still, he quelled the shivers driving up his spine and turned to Bailyn. Pointing to the burning sticks with smoke emerging from their ends, he asked solemnly, "What might those be?"

[Anonymous]

Bailyn looked to where he was pointing, smiling through the smokey haze.  She could tell both of her new friends were uneasy about the place, and she had to agree.  Most human dwellings annoyed her.  They were never big enough, often cluttered with foul people and dust collectors, and had far to many ways to trap someone.  But she knew the owner of this place, and the barmaid was an old - as old as two years of memory can be - friend of hers.  She often got a great deal for meals, and a fair rate for lodgings if she wanted a bed to sleep in instead of a tree or the docks.

"Well, that man, the one with the patch over his eye is smoking a cigarette.  See how's it's very slim and mostly white?  The gent beside him is smoking a cigar, which is much fatter, brown, and lasts longer.  They also smell and taste better, if you ask  me."

She looked up as the barmaid came back over, setting Bailyn's usual pint in front of her and a couple glasses of water in front of the other two.  She didn't want to assume their drinks and end up offending one of them.  What if one of them had sworn off booze?

That didn't stop her from ordering food for them, though.  There was only one good thing to order from this place.

"Three bowls of lamb stew and a loaf of bread, please."

The barmaid nodded, returning to the kitchen to get the order.  Bailyn looked at her two new friends, the smile still firmly in place on her face.  When their food came she broke the loaf into three pieces, handing them each a chunk.  She tucked into her stew, the rich flavors playing over her tongue.  

"Any other questions?  From either of you, I don't mind answering."

[hikaru.dream]

The smoke of the 'burning sticks' was making her eyes water and throat sore. She was used to the fresh, clean air of the forest, not to some smoky human building. But she was determined not to show that the smoke was hurting her. There worse things in the world. Like a couple boulders falling on top of you.

All the same, Kei was grateful for the water. It didn't taste as good as water she usually drank, but it wasn't all that bad. At least the cold liquid cleared her throat somewhat of the smoke.

Bailyn always had that smile on her face, Kei thought. She was vaguely wondering whether it was a smile to hide emotions or just a genuine sign of happiness when the food came.

Lamb stew, Bailyn had said. Kei wasn't particularly a fan of meat, but the winged lady seemed to like it and had gone out of her way to order it for them. Kei bowed her head slightly in thanks to the lamb who had given its life and picked up her spoon. Gingerly, she lifted the stew to her lips and found it delicious.

"Where can I find a job?" Kei asked quietly. "I don't need the money, I need the experience."