Flames, Ice, and Darkness.

[Lionthrush]

Storm Cloud flew back towards her caves.

I should probably have more Ospreys with me if I want to attack. She saw Eternal and Phoenix again, talking. Frosted Fern appeared to be hovering over a pond looking for fish. It seemed he was more focused on Phoenix, however.

"Eternal!" She called. "I need another Dark to go with me to attack the city. Would you be willing to come? Phoenix, we need you too. I think we should leave the Ice element behind to guard our country. Lava Plume may be coming."

 

Frost Fern felt like falling into the pool as three of the girls he liked left. He then reminded himself that he shouldn't like them. But he did. And always would.

Edited August 22, 2016 by Lionthrush

[Lionthrush]

((I'm not going to move either of my characters for now, until Esko has a chance. Doesn't Phoenix belong to Lava's flock? Or is she a rogue? If it's the latter, I'll make a character for Maple. Also, I think I figured out how some of the genetics for the ospreys might work, and a rough flock "caste" system. ))

 

After a little bit of nervous preening, River's anxious energy ended. "Yes ma'am, I am doing well. I have rarely wandered far from the Winter Flock's riverine forest, and never alone. I represent Thunder Snow's wish to track down where the humans are, and where they may be searching. Do you mind if I ask around?"

 

 

-----------------------------

 

"For the future, if you don't want to stray far from home, there's a slightly smaller lake out towards the volcanoes. It's off a little from the direct path. We usually leave those fish alone, but go ahead and take a few. Though, no problem coming here and chatting." Thunder Snow made the Osprey equivalent of a grin. She noticed Frost Fern watching them both but paid it no heed.

"River is by the volcanoes right now. If you pass him by, ask about them."

Everyone is in a flock, some of them are like rogues though because they don't interact with it. Ice in Winter, Fire in Maple, Dark in what's it called? Night? That seems right.

 

Also, I've been thinking about adding more elements. Someone who's the thinking about joining this group wants to make another. I was thinking every five pages we add another element. Pm me and we'll talk about you making your own, what it would be, and what powers it would have.

Possible new element: Light

Powers: Telepathic abilities, visions, maybe future telling and possibly orbs.

Flock name: Sol Flock (That can be changed, Sugar.)

Edited August 22, 2016 by Lionthrush

[Esko]

Eternal was stretching his wings out when Storm spoke to him. He turned his head and listened to her request. "Yes ma'am!" Though he wasn't familiar with Lava Plume, he never met her before. Storm must've heard Phoenix shout his name to know it. He beat his wings into the air and followed the female Dark.

 

Phoenix was a bit stunned. She had killed the human and wolf to defend the country, but an offensive on a human city?! That could really start a war! And that was the last thing she wanted. They had few numbers to begin with. Humans reproduced like rabbits.

"Storm, are you sure this is a good idea?" Phoenix asked as she followed her.

 

Alek watched that one pack return, burned and one pack member short. They were always acting like idiots, even though their master wasn't killed. After a while they reached the nearest city, embarrassed and shamed. Alek caught sight of pairs of eyes watching from the shadows, the wolves who never found masters again and became hostile. That could be him. He gulped and walked on, uncertain for his future and the futures of his packmates.

[Lionthrush]

Storm Cloud turned around in mid air. "Phoenix, I can blind half of the city in thirty seconds. Eternal can do the other half. If we stick to the trees, the only thing they'll catch is leaves. And no, I don't mean a non existent plant element. There are only three that we know of. Let's say you and Lava Plume lit all the buildings on fire. The humans and wolves are blind. Who's gonna be there to get revenge? And this isn't their revenge we're starting. It's ours. Again, if they can't attack back, who will? Blackbirds? Finches? Squirrels? Cats? I'd like to see them try. It would provide a nice meal." Getting sidetracked, she murmured, "Cats can be a little too fluffy though. A bit rough on the beak." Forgetting what her point was, she directed her bright blue eyes at her black talons.

[Esko]

Phoenix sighed. "Sounds good enough. It's gonna take a while to get here though, and it might be daytime before we reach it; you guys are nocturnal, aren't you?" She asked skeptically while flying. She still wasn't sure of the plan, but Storm made a good point. It would help rid them of a nearby threat, at least for a little while.

 

Eternal nudged his friend. "It miiiight be dawn when we get there, don't worry. It's basically like staying up late for us. It's not like we're vampires."

 

"Vampires? So you do pay attention to a few human things."

 

"I do, in fact. But you use too many human terms."

 

"So?"

 

Eternal sighed. Phoenix was too stubborn to argue with. Why did he even try?

 

---

 

Alek sat with his pack as the night pressed on, the city lit with lightbulbs. Families passed by, children running around their feet. The hunters were buying feed for their wolves, and replenishing supplies. Those noisy automobiles went down the street, and people were simply going on with their day. The masterless wolf got up and went to find Franz's mate, Magnolia. Somebody had to give her the crushing news.

[Sugar-Free]

EDIT: I work throughout the week, so except for Mondays and Tuesdays, expect me after 4:00pm.

 

((Okay, guys, I'm posting it. First time RP, so be gentle if I seem a little dumb. *sweats profusely* Here it goes...))

 

Username: Sugar-Free

RP name: Lustre Hoarfrost

RP gender: Male

RP element: Light

RP mate: NATM

RP crush: Possible

RP chicks: NATM

RP flock: NATM

RP flock position: TBD

RP appearance: Hoary is a subtley plumaged osprey, whose pure white feathers have a very slight pearlescent quality in correct lighting (though it would take a keen eye to notice as much.) His wings have a faint pattern of gossamer-grey dappling. His eyes are a faint seafoam green, and his legs/talons are a light grey/blue

 

Character personality: Hoary is quiet and occasionally distant, preferring to lose himself in his thoughts, the ebb and flow of existence, as if he were observing the infinite spectrum of potential futures. In moments of lucidity, he tends to take a neutral stance in discussions, as it is his belief that the lives of others should not be made privy to his opinion. He speaks carefully and concisely, and may come off as aloof and uncaring, though that is far from the truth. He is surprisingly adamant about balance and equality, and finds truth and goodness within the hearts of the most feral wolf or greedy human.

 

Hoary enjoys deep interpersonal relationships, discussions about the complexities of life, and beautiful displays of creativity.

Character backstory: Hoary remembers very little of his life up until now. He has spent most of his life drifting from shoal to snowcap, listless and without a meaningful purpose outside his incessant dreams of destiny and fate. He feels lingering attachments to phantom images of ospreys that he is certain he’s never met, and is nostalgic for a land of sweeping sun-tinged clouds and glittering autumnal silver-wood forests long gone. Though he has no recollection of such, he feels a connection not only to his fellow avians, but to the humans and wolves that endlessly plague them.

 

((BTW, I prefer the super-vague prophetic dreaming to be character-centric, if that's cool. Like, he can't tell the future, but he's driven by hazy images and unclear memories that he knows he's never experienced. It's part of his very being, and it's unique to his existence. I hope that doesn't come off as super speshul.

 

Also, an idea for Lux Flock/the Light element {is that okay?} is that they gently emanate a soft glow from their bodies, and have varying abilities for healing. Again, this can all be changed if you all aren't okay with it!))

Edited August 22, 2016 by Sugar-Free

[serce2]

(( Ohey, a new member, new flock!

What season and time of day are we in?))

 

After hearing Storm Cloud's proposal, River tipped his head in goodbye to Lava Plume. Instead of flying to the Dark Caves, which he have never explored anywyas, he decided to turn home and alert Thunder Snow of the recent development. An attack on humans is unheard of... An ominous feeling surrounded the bird.

--------------

 

"I'm losing control of both of them. At least Frost Fern catches his own fish." A swoop overhead made Snow turn around and throw her talons up before realizing she wasn't a bland osprey. She fell to the ground with a thud.

River quickly came over to help. He repeated everything back to his leader.

"They're going to attack the humans? Have they lost a chick or something? Snow huffed, beckoning River to talk in the safety of the branches. "I suppose it's too late to just keep flying back and forth. If anyone asks for me, tell them the answer is no.

River looked at Snow oddly. Too afraid to talk, but not enough to stop his curiosity from leaking. He grappled with his voice for a while, looking at the direction of the Caves, and by extension the human city far away.

"You want to go there, too?" The leader narrowed her eyes and puffed her feathers out. "Frost probably went too. He just got up and followed Storm Cloud. I won't stop you, but it's nice that you check in.

The sentinel was surprised. Snow was actually letting him go somewhere he wanted to go. He snapped up the fish left for him, gratefully leaving one behind. They were covered in sand, and salty, but a small drink from the lake alleviated his thirst.

"Wait. When you see Storm Cloud, tell her that I won't participate in any raids. My abilities are more defensive, and can't stifle the incredible, constant heat of a city. Furthermore, I have doubts the humans even know that Winter Flock exists, and if you- I mean, Storm Cloud, tip them off somewhere, bring more humans into our region, or handle my flock mates poorly, she lost an ally and a fishing outpost."

Snow flapped one of her wings toward the city, sending the last of her flock out. She huffed. Taking the remaining fish, she held it in her claws and started the slow, lonely sojourn deeper into the forest. Do humans even take bland ospreys? They're farther away, yes, but peculiar chicks come from there all the time.

Edited August 23, 2016 by serce2

[Moonlight_Eevee]

Lava Plume stayed silent. The threat of the humans loomed and she had a feeling if they didn't do something soon, one by one they would be captured. Her luck might even run out as well one day. She had her limits. She listened to Phoenix and Eternal talk. She wanted to sigh as she desperately wanted a mate. She cleared her head before those lonely thoughts crept up on her again.

 

"Do you think we should wait until nightfall to attack?" Lava Plume asked. "If so, we might want to split up before then. They might notice us hanging around if we're together."

[Sugar-Free]

((Lustre Hoarfrost))

 

Hoary awoke.

 

His head was still dreamy and languid, and his eyes were filled with the visions of four dark ospreys. Their wingbeats were in sync with the throbbing of his heart, and his mind shuddered with each. Shivering all over from a newly perceived sense of sound, he looked about, reveling in the clamor of footfall and sharp laughter. His vision cleared, and he looked up--

 

At the sight of cobblestone.

 

The throbbing shifted acutely to his head, and he angled his neck upward. A jingling noise was heard where he sensed his feet. Cuffed about his legs were solid rings of metal, the shining grey poking out between what appeared to be fleshy digits.

He shifted his wings to the best of his ability. Feathers crammed themselves out of holes in a form of netting surrounding himself. To his side, a dark-furred quadruped caught his gaze, and a menacing grin crossed its maw.

 

"So...this is my fate."

 

He carefully leaned his head downward again, and fazed back into the thrum.

 

The humans had him in their grasp. Perhaps now, the night would end for him.

Edited August 23, 2016 by Sugar-Free

[serce2]

Thunder Snow, enjoying her idyllic flight, for the first time thanked the great vultures for the night sky and her amazing stamina. The sky threatened to reveal the sun, but it was simply a distant city. Wonder if Storm Cloud's there. I'll find out if they actually decide to attack. Snow circled lazily by a lake. Trying as hard as she would, nothing except for a long-abandoned pier blocked off the star's reflection.

She knew that there were details down there. Some osprey would be sitting on a nest, sleeping and warming their chicks. Guarding them, too. Snow had no interest in losing some feathers, so she quickly glied away to a tree branch farther away. Time to wait for morning.

[Lemniscate]

((I'm thinking the Light ospreys can have different kinds of visions? Hoary has super vague prophetic ones, possibly reaching farther into the past and future, while Lucent has more direct ones which start to blur the greater the length of time from when she experienced the vision. Lucent's more vivid or overwhelming visions could be due to the suppression her visions undergo, like a dam on a river. The pressure builds up till the dam collapses, then the water rushes away really fast.))

 

Fire. The heat surrounded Lucent, closing in on all sides. Her wings felt heavy, almost as if they were weighted down with lead. Move! She commanded herself, but her wings didn't respond. Screams and the howling of wolves rang out, their pained cries so loud they hurt her ears. And then... the call of an osprey reached her ears, almost stifled by the myriad of other noises. Help! She could be rescued! Calling out as loud as she could, the thick smoke seeped into her throat and made her cough. Desperately, she tried to shuffle towards the call, but was stopped by cold steel. The sudden pain jerked her out of her vision. Gasping for breath, she nearly growled at herself. She had let the visions take over again. Where was she anyway? As her sight cleared and the details of the vision began to blur, she could see that she was surrounded by the dark fur of wolves. Chains were cuffed around her feet, their ill-fitting rings indicating that they were meant for larger osprey, not weak runts like her. A heavy metal net pressed down on her and huge, rough hands grasped her feet, their force nearly crushing her fragile limbs.

 

How had she gotten into this situation? She remembered scavenging for food, and finding a nice, fresh fish lying on the ground. It had been left uneaten, something that raised her suspicions, but the promise of having fish again for the first time in forever made up her mind. She had approached the fish to take a hungry mouthful when she let a vision slip through. Next thing she knew, she was here. Curse those visions... they were nothing but a nuisance. In fact, they were probably the reason she was stuck in this mess. Well, there was nothing she could do now. Her powers couldn't even help her escape. It wasn't like she could give others visions, and even then they wouldn't run away screaming or anything if she gave them some stupid vision. She scoffed at the thought and swiveled her head from side to side. Maybe she could find some sort of way to escape if she looked hard enough.

 

Her eyes caught sight of another bird she hadn't noticed before, seemingly a male osprey. He was pure white, though she could make out faint gray patterns on his feathers. His greenish eyes were unfocused, indicating he was either dead, unconscious, or barely conscious. "Hey, you there. Are you alive?" she called. Hopefully, he wasn't dead and she wasn't making a fool of herself by talking to a corpse. Not that she really wanted to make friends with him, but perhaps he knew something she didn't. Talking to him didn't mean she had to stick around with him later when she escaped. Correction: If she escaped. Knowing her weakness and tendency to have visions while doing important things, such as RUNNING FOR HER LIFE, the half dead osprey would probably do a better job of escaping than her.

[Sugar-Free]

(( I like your idea! That's an excellent balance for his form of sight. I dig your write up for Lucent x3 ))

 

This vision came easier for Hoary.

 

The world had bled out it's noise and color to a pure, uninterrupted white. The vision was not blank; it was full as it was empty, crowded in absence. As he became swaddled in the warm solitude, illusions of fine, shimmering, imperceptible dust fell around him; they vibrated and swarmed and drifted like fibers. The congregate was gathering for ministry.

 

Slowly, swells and forms of the invisible mass shuffled inward to their ethereal pews. He could not see them, as they were of no mortal form or representation, but he knew. He knew they were as tangible as himself--together they shifted, and they were beside him, in arms: in hands: in shoulders: in flanks: in fur: in feathers, they were there. As different as they and him were alike, they amassed--waiting, wondering, cherishing, all in anticipation.

 

At his front, somewhere he felt but did not hear, it appeared--The Drifter, modest Aurumque.

 

The gathered settled as it sat, and its service began.

 

As there was no mortal means of hearing its voice, Hoary relaxed, allowing the mere sensation of flow take him. There was no need for words; the Drifter did not come to teach or to lead, as that was not its way. It merely drifted, as its title suggested, and came to relay words that either told or joked or saddened or sobered as it rested. It was the feeling of its pure existence that brought him, his only know mortal observer, and the empyreal folk to his nomad chapel. In these moments, time passed in short bursts, each a snapshot of renewing, of another Hoary in every passing second.

 

In one of the flashes, Hoary felt the glance of Aurumque upon him---and it nodded in acknowledgement.

 

Separating a vision of itself from its celestial form, it opened its gossamer hands and brightened, until his mind was swallowed by the familiar, haunting image of a forest.

 

Crowned in golden boughs, wrapped in silver bark and stricken with brown-black stripes, the Autumnal Wood was before him, projected from the lingering aura of the Drifter. Above, the yellow-cream sky glowed, and below, the whitened grass gently swayed. From this image, a feeling of centered tickling was imparted just between his eyes. This was not as unique, as this is where his Far-sight often led him--a distant dream, lying simultaneous in the past and future.

 

As he calmly watched, the vision slowly contorted; the tree trunks bent and seeped into one another, and jerked into quick, inconsistent flapping motions. The sky plumed down to lend its color, and a couple grass blades defied the ground, and formed into crude feet and a beak.

 

The outline of an osprey wriggled back and forth in its ungainly flight, but soon steadied, balancing into a glide as it grew. Hoary stared, fighting incredulity as the form was buffeted by an unknown object, fell, and was clasped about its talons.

 

No...this isn't...?

 

He took in the strange feelings of rushing emotions and skittering attention, like a hardshell beetle desperately trying to right itself. There was never a time when a Near-sight had ever come to him. He highly doubted this would be the first. But this? This almost felt something...new. Instead of repressing the image, he let flow this new sensation, almost akin to...revelation.

 

...a...memory?

 

The form was hefted up by the legs, and dangled by nothingness. The sensations suddenly faded and left his vision sparkling. Dazed, the faint outline of the osprey lingered as he turned his head toward a new voice, one he could not perceive the chronology of...

 

"Hey, you there. Are you alive?"

 

His eyes landed on a cream-colored bird, struck across the wings in a deep color, akin to a brown for as much as he could see through the netting, and grass-white upon the beak and talons. Their eyes were too shrouded to be easily discerned in the falling evening light.

 

It was aglow to his eyes.

 

Carefully, he read the emotion in their voice, deducing that she was female, and rather rankled by her situation. There was something tasting vaguely of iron and bitter in her tone. He closed his eyes for a moment.

 

The niggling between his brow was intense, and behind his lids was an uncharacteristic brightness. Almost overwhelming, nearly painful, but jittering with ever-moving strands--

 

His mind flashed to the congregate and back.

 

He relaxed, and let the light flood his body. Suddenly, the light was only pressure, not pain. He tried to understand. When he didn't, he submitted. All would come in due time.

 

He opened his eyes and gazed at her again, allowing the sun-blindness of her being ease into his retinas. She had a complex look on her face, and the tinge of iron came again. He figured it was time to speak.

 

"Oh...excuse me. You caught me inside my own thoughts...how impolite of me."

 

Hoary breathed in and suffered a light chuckle under his bonds.

 

"I'm am very full of life. As are you, I'm happy to perceive. Were we in not so dire straights, perhaps I would've excuse my ruminations, and would have liked to speak with you sooner. Perhaps we can make time for that now, as Fate allows it."

Edited August 24, 2016 by Sugar-Free

[Lemniscate]

((lol there's Hoary who's all mysterious and calm then there's Lucent who's just this sassy snappy ball of feathers. You're making me feel like my writing isn't mystical enough. ))

 

Oh great. The other osprey was going to talk like they were telling some ancient story and had all the time in the world to use fancy vocabulary. "Mayhaps thou couldst endeavor to converse without the use of such convoluted vocabulary." Lucent snarked, sarcasm dripping from her voice. "I don't need the distraction of small talk or pleasantries. In case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly on some relaxing beach glide." Taking a deep breath and letting it out in a sigh of exasperation, she continued in a calmer voice. "Well, at least you aren't dead. And neither am I, though if we don't get out soon we might be. My chains are loose enough that I could probably wiggle out if this stupid human let go of me. However, there are still those disgusting wolves watching us. Any ideas on how we could get around this?" Of course, she wasn't going to mention the fact that she would probably experience some inconvenient vision along the way, or the fact that she was much too hungry and weak to fly far. He didn't need to know that. No one did, and no one would. As soon as they escaped, she would get as far away as she could from this fancy talking osprey at the first chance she had.

 

If she hadn't been so focused on avoiding distractions and experiencing visions, Lucent might have noticed that the other osprey emitted a soft glow like her and that something about him felt quite familiar indeed. She might even have noticed the nagging feeling that told her she should stick with him. But, as she was currently, there was no way she would ever want to pay attention to the other osprey, nor would she even admit it to herself if she did notice these things. No, she never realized that the other osprey could experience visions like herself. As it were, she might never get to.

 

The humans and wolves suddenly stopped in front of a door, before shoving it open. The rough handed human callously swung his wide frame into the door, accidentally smashing Lucent's head on the doorframe. Crying out in pain, her head throbbed and threatened to let another vision slip through. Fighting it as hard as she could, she managed to stay conscious. She barely noticed the humans taking the net off of her and strapping her down to a table. They clipped heavy chains to her neck, weighing it down and making her unable to peck at the straps holding her in place. Not that she had the energy to do so, but it would have been worth a try. "Welp, there go my chances of escape." she managed to groan out, before taking another deep breath and limply resigning herself to the chains.

 

((I'm thinking to just have the humans do random tests and stuff till the raid gets here, at which point an escape opportunity will be created. Poor Lucent, look at all the pain I put her through.))

[Sugar-Free]

((Pffft, you flatter me~ I love her! Lucy's the fire in the ashes! I love that she's grounded and jaded and not afraid to speak her mind <3 I've been sitting on that prose above all day, and if you can't tell I really just kinda sorta okay REALLY WANT TO RP I'VE DEPRIVED HALP))

 

As quickly as the bond was made, it was hastily broken. "His" human had continued on forward when her's had stopped, and he had just enough of a field of vision to watch as it brusquely entered the frame of a door, carelessly knocking her head against it.

 

She shrieked. A shocking snap! rattled through him, and the light behind his eyes faded into a scrambled mess, fighting itself as it went. He shook his head, and as the powerful glow disappeared, as did she. He gaped, unsure of everything that he felt.

 

He pondered these few moments as the human stopped several feet forward. Why had this happened? Why would a vision, so clear and true and self-given by Aurumque itself...why would such an obvious mark of Fate be so crudely severed? He squeezed his eyes shut again, searching through his snapshots of his vision, trying to divine an answer--find what was the meaning of this sudden flash of Near-sight, what was this shining form?

 

What is this? Drifter, why have you burdened me with this clarity, if only to black out my sight?

 

No matter how much he searched, there was no answer. The Drifter did not guide. It was not its way. But...

 

This must be your voice! Never have I been so certain...!

 

The image projected by Aurumque.

The osprey who rent back the shadows with her radiance.

The remnants of the congregate, buzzing about in the center of his thought.

 

This was no vague perception. This was not drive without meaning.

 

Aurumque, in passing, had made one of its words audible to Hoary.

 

As his mind surged with questions and theories, the human holding him, slightly more reasonable than the other, held him close to its chest as they came through "his" door. He did not move as the netting was removed.

 

The faint image of feathers bounding against a cream-colored sky consumed him.

[Lionthrush]

Frost Fern:

Frost Fern sat on a branch of a pine tree, high in the peaks. Humans were attacking again. How annoying. With a sigh, he dived down to their height. Only then did he notice the two Ospreys they had captured. Were they fire? No... definitely not dark. Ice? One of them looked a bit like it. No... then he directed his eyes towards the other. She was a pretty female. There was relief and worry in her eyes, at the same time. Frost Fern shook himself out of the normal trance he was in when in the presence of females. Some humans were beginning to notice him. He placed a large ice cube on one of the humans, as a warning. They looked discouraged, but they went on. He frowned. A dark or fire would be nice to have around. He called towards the caves.

 

Storm Cloud:

Storm Cloud flew towards the call of help, and saw everything that Frost Fern had, except, for the female, in a different way. She blinded one human and one wolf with her black fog. Now they began to get the point. But the one unblinded human was pointing a net directly at her. Definitely not getting it! She yelled in her head and dodged. She noticed a wolf run back towards the village. NO!!! She thought. The wolf would get more wolves. When the humans saw the wolves getting more wolves the humans would get more humans. This called for all the elements. She screeched loudly, calling for help.

[Moonlight_Eevee]

Lava Plume sighed as Storm Cloud flew off. There goes the element of surprise. She gets of didn't know what was going on as everything happened so fast. Did Storm even hear what she said? She sighed as she flew low to the ground. Could she make the spark again?

[Lemniscate]

((awww thanks Sugar-Free! Btw the color I use for Lucent's speech is Peru. Hope it's not too much of a controlling action if I make the NPC humans grab Hoary as well. I wanted a little bit more of character interaction between Lucent and Hoary.))

 

Lucent watched weakly as the humans squabbled between themselves, writing down things and seemingly scolding the brute who had injured her. The two smaller humans were wearing some sort of white robe and had strange looking attachments on their eyes and hands. One of them picked something up and filled it with liquid before opening the door to her room. They grabbed one of her wings and stabbed the object into it, something she normally would have protested by struggling violently. However, her energy had been nearly all spent trying to fight off the visions, leaving little to none for escape. The odd stabbing object didn't help, either. It made her feel even more tired and sluggish, making her wings seem like they were made out of rocks. A commotion outside made the brute take a few wolves and leave after grunting a few words to the small humans. They seemed to become even more frenzied, knocking over glasses full of liquid and metal contraptions. Grabbing two large rectangular objects, they scurried into her room and grabbed her, hastily throwing the chains off her head. They then made their way into the other room where they grabbed the fancy talking white osprey from earlier, speaking in a rushed tone to the other humans. The other humans sounded angry and incredulous, calling their wolves and leading them outside.

 

What was happening? The white osprey appeared to be in another half-dead trance, something she was sure was going to be a great help. Sarcasm evident. She probably didn't have the energy to fly away anyway though, and with each passing moment she drew closer and closer to falling asleep. The small humans had taken everything but her leg chains off, doing the same for the other osprey. All of a sudden, a loud osprey screech pierced through the fog of her mind. Perking up, she called out to the fancy talking osprey. "Hey! Wake up! Did you hear that cry?" Shaking her head rapidly to clear it, she tried to look out one of the windows in the building. She couldn't see anything but blue skies. The humans carrying her got ready to head outside, with the first smaller one opening the door and the second one carrying both her and the other osprey. When she reached the outdoors, she quickly swiveled her head around. The main group of humans was centered around a pine tree and were throwing nets. Was there another osprey there? Squinting, she made out two bird-shaped figures. One of them was gray, the other was pitch black. Another figure soon soared into view, this one being red and black. What were they doing so close to the humans?!? Did they want to be caught? Some of the humans appeared to be blinded, but the others were yelling and firing nets. A single rather unfortunate human seemed to be trapped in ice, its expression frozen into an ugly grimace.

 

Were they really trying to stage an attack? And why would they do that if they were indeed staging an attack? Sure, this meant that she had a shot at escape, but a runt like her was hardly worth another osprey being captured. They could save the other larger osprey, but the status of his sanity and consciousness was uncertain. Besides, he didn't appear to have any powers unless you counted falling asleep whenever he wanted and talking in unnecessarily complex ways.

[serce2]

Ah! As River Current made toward the patch of light in the sky, the light from the city overwhelmed him. Some big box especially caught his attention. The osprey quickly flew onto a branch to readjust. It's... Against his best judgement, he kept looking into the lights. There was no thought of using his wings or fluffing up or preening. His head simply cocked to one side, then to the other.

The light eventually receded. After a good shake of the head, River took flight again, circling. He saw many squares, all identical and cream-colored. There was a strip of black. Amazingly, there were birds walking around. He've never seen those before! Greyish-blackish, they bobbed their head forwards as they walked. None of them flew, none of them jumped as something moved around. Definitely not ospreys.

Black flashed in the corner of his eye. Definetly an osprey. Hypnotic trance broken, River began turning his head until he heard a voice. A Red osprey seemed unhappy about something. He flew over, then suddenly widened his eyes and bowed as he recognized Lava Plume.

"I-is the raid happening? Have I come too late? River Current of Winter reporting, ma'am! Tell me what to do, I'll do it! Unless it goes against Thunder Snow's interests, ma'am."

[Lionthrush]

Storm Cloud:

Storm Cloud felt slightly better at the sight of more Ospreys, and launched her not planned attack.

(She thinks it's hers, mainly because she's a leader, but I think Frost Fern really is the one who started it.)

Her confidence gave her a great amount of power, and so the wolf pack was engulfed in her thick black mist. Frost Fern seemed to get the idea and began reaching within himself to find the icy powers Storm Cloud felt the Winter flock had difficulty summoning.

 

Frost Fern grew self conscious in the presence of a female, and so he tried to freeze half of the group of humans. He succeeded, but he was ignorant. He began to feel ill and tired that second. He hovered lazily in that spot, his eyes half closed. He could hear panicked voices all around him, but they felt faded and distant. They were in the background. He thought he could take it as a sign that the danger was far away, but of course, he was not a Light Osprey. And so the voices in which were very panicked and concerned, worried and desperate in the real world were nothing but a calm single voice encouraging him to lower his defenses and slowly beat his wings, slower and slower until he felt his feet grasp a shrub and his wings cradle his body.

 

Storm Cloud gasped as she saw Frost Fern give up. His over usage of his powers is making him INSANE! She thought.

[Sugar-Free]

Pik. pik. Plipplp.

 

Droplets of black smattered against cream.

 

Heat. The inky blobs melded into a billowing path. A flame chased it, hungrily.

 

At the very apex, a glacier shot forth, commanding all below it. And shining bright, at the pin-sharp peak of the mount, was a blinding light. It grew and grew until it blanched the parchment clean.

 

He was obsessed with this truth.

----------

 

The world faded back, and was promptly swallowed in darkness. Not too long into his clarity, the intense light behind his eyes returned, and he winced in waking confusion. Near and far, strife and frustration barked and snapped at his sensitive senses. He had returned to the fray.

 

He was being hefted along by a human dressed in white, shading their mouths with tissues. To his immediate right, jogging a considerable pace, was another human. He angled his head back and turned to face them. In its arm was the cream-colored bird, stricken in brown-black, and adorned in white.

 

This time, he would be sure to find her name. His tendency to constantly denote appearances was unneeded; he would not soon forget her.

 

Overhead, a bird-of-prey screeched, piercing the pitch and echoing off the flames. A layer of cold blew in through his feathers, bringing him closer to true consciousness. All at once, frost formed, and out of the frost shot massive spikes of ice. A wolf on his left yelped. A human tumbled not far behind--

 

He hit the pavement and rolled. So far, in fact, that he rolled over an embankment, tripping another human on his way. He heard a sharp shiick. He let the moment sink into his mind, and a realization came upon him.

 

This is an opportunity.

 

Raising up onto his feet, he fluffed himself out quickly and looked onto the street. The humans could not see him, not as if they would. There were pools of blood staining everywhere. Lifeless bodies were splayed across crystal formations: some impaled, some bludgeoned or frozen. In the middle of the chaos, his eyes drew to a perceivable glow. He absorbed its shimmering radiance within him.

 

The bird he had met struggled vainly in a red smatter, a fit of sorts taking her over. The nagging in his head grew insufferable. An acute feeling of discomfort came over him, as his aloof nature fought with his morality. Intervention was not his way.

 

He looked up, as several avian silhouettes bounded across the murk.

 

This is an opportunity.

 

 

 

 

 

He stretched out his wings in preparation. This was his first flight in what felt like an eternity, and he was comfortably fatigued from his muscles waking to action.

 

He thrust himself forward. His talons met another's. He angled high, and lifted off.

 

[Lionthrush]

Storm Cloud kept her terrified gaze on Frost Fern, then heard a sort of explosion from the city. Hoary was escaping! Of course though she thought, that weirdly colored unidentified element Osprey is escaping! But then, she looked at Frost Fern. She had to save him! without thinking, she tried to pull him into the air. She heard the humans making this strange sound she thought was laughing. One of them grinned and captured both of them tightly into the net. They stuck what looked like a pine needle made out of shiny rock approaching the back of her neck. She felt it go into her neck, and screamed in pain. They didn't do that to the sleeping Frost Fern, however. She knew she wouldn't be able to use her powers in that state of mind, and knowing that only made her panic worse. But she felt her own black mist begin to engulf her. As she fell into the hands of sleep, her mist faded away from the humans.

 

Storm Cloud woke to a blinding light in one eye. Then the other. Then the first eye again. Back and forth, until it suddenly stopped. A young female human came over and seemed to attack the others. She waved her hands at them and cooed like a Mourning Dove at them. She was not saying coo, however. She was saying shoo. That made no sense to Storm Cloud, but fear overcame her thoughts as she looked softly at her and whispered strange words that made no sense to her:

"Shhh. It's okay, birdy. Don't be afraid. We're not going to hurt you."

An older human turn to her and smirked. He said more things that Storm Cloud couldn't understand:

"You trying to make him go to sleep by himself? That's impossible. He won't calm down. He doesn't have feelings, he's just a dumb bird."

The other humans fur on top of her eyes fell down. Is that anger? She thought. She was sure of it when her feet fell heavily on the ground and her face... well, Storm Cloud didn't know how to explain this. It wasn't feeling, because humans obviously didn't have feelings, right? Again, she forgot all his thoughts when they began to come closer, due to even more terror.

Edited September 9, 2016 by Lionthrush

[Lemniscate]

((Read my mind on what I wanted to happen there, Sugar-Free))

 

Soaring. For but a moment, she was airborne, confused and alarmed. She hadn't seen the human fall, nor the spikes of ice stained with blood. Flapping her wings reflexively, she could not see a sharp spike of ice close by, too close. Her right wing sliced across its surface, halting her clumsy attempt at flight and bringing her down in a pool of red. Pain shot across the surface of her wing as bright red blood trickled down, mixing with the duller red of the previously spilled blood of humans and wolves. A second passed as she registered the injury, shock rendering her immobile. Get to the ice. her mind commanded, instinct taking over. Scrabbling at the ground in an uncoordinated attempt to right herself, she finally managed to get a foothold and flip over. Pressing her wing against a relatively clean patch of ice, her mind began to recover from the shock. Almost instantly, a vision took over, taking advantage of the gap in her mental defenses.

 

There was something different about this vision. She had subconsciously braced herself for even more terrifying scenes of burning and destruction, but none came. Instead, she was in her home forest. Songbirds chirped and a soft breeze billowed through her feathers, imparting a relaxing atmosphere. Tentatively, she allowed herself to relax. A voice came from behind her... belonging to the white osprey? She couldn't make out his exact words, but they were spoken in a gentle tone. She caught a feeling a warmth and welcoming, but why? What did she and this ball of white feathered fancy speak have to do with each other? A thought passed into her mind, but as quickly as it had come it was dismissed. He couldn't possibly be a vision experiencing freak like her. Her parents were as normal as could be, perhaps even too much so. Besides, there were only three elements. What would experiencing visions even fall under? The Inconvenience element?

 

Shaking her head, she felt the vision disappear as a pair of talons clasped her own. For the first time, she didn't immediately try her best to forget about her vision. Instead, she pondered on the meaning of it, barely noticing the pain in her wing or the two ospreys being captured. Wait... two ospreys being captured? What? Snapping her head back to where she had seen them, she focused on the humans. She saw them stabbing the black osprey with another one of the pointy objects and take them into a shiny enclosure. It growled and began to move, almost as if it were alive. Its appearance didn't change, however, with the exception of four circles spinning rapidly underneath it. Propelled forward by the black circles under it, the shiny enclosure sped away. Mentally noting its position, she focused on committing it to memory. Of course she wasn't going to attempt and rescue them, but the information could be of use to those who cared enough to go and risk their lives saving the two birds. It was as much of a return favor as she was willing to make. With her return to reality, her wing began to ache. The blood loss made her a bit dizzy, and she soon fell asleep after making sure her grip on the white osprey's talons was tight.

[Esko]

((Zoom zoom jesus))

 

Eternal didn't feel very confident in his blinding-ability. Storm was better at that than him. Much better. He was better at seeing in the dark than depriving others of sight. But he had to do this. It was his order. Of course, he could always chicken out. He could always back down and fly to the farthest cave that existed in Geyser and rot away until the wolves finally hunted him down. Or maybe he could take chances and explore the oceans beyond. He always wondered if there was anything else.

 

But he wouldn't. He would be brave. For Storm Cloud. For the Ospreys.

 

He gave Phoenix a nod, and both took a deep breath. There would be a lot of death on their account. Phoenix dove to deal physical pain, and he readied himself for giving mental torture. While Storm took care of one wolf pack- Come on, I need you now more than ever! -he concentrated on the dark clouds that would roll out and block the sight of everyone. Every child. Every pup. Eternal gulped, not sure if he was ready to become the killer. But he worked his magic, pulling out every drop of energy he had.

 

Meanwhile, Phoenix unleashed a burst of flame.....

 

 

Before destruction would commence, Alek was making his way through the streets before he came to a series of tents. A few brutes were growling and tearing at a carcass of some sort of prey animal. They caught wind of him and their fur prickled.

 

"Hey, you!" The biggest one barked. "What makes you think you can trot over 'ere?"

 

"I'm here to see Magnolia." Alek responded, ignoring their nastiness. They had every right. He could have been some stupid brute strutting around.

 

"Why?" Another snarled. "Who are you?"

 

"Aleksander, younger brother of Franz." The name of his late beta shut them all up. "He...can't see her anymore." The tone of his voice made the others assume the worst. They let him into the queen tent.

 

Inside was a bloated female with a white coat and a small tear in her ear. She laid there happily, looking at her soon-to-be pups and likely fantasizing of a family with the love of her life. Franz had so much in it for him. Why wasn't it me? Alek stood there as the fae saw him. Her ears perked up.

 

"Alek? This is a surprise." She yawned. "Is Franz back yet? How did the hunt go?" Her expression was excited at first, but then the happiness slipped away as she saw his face.

 

"Magnolia...." He sighed. "Our master is dead." Alek saw her gasp. The thought of the Great Hunter Dorrick being killed was a preposterous notion. "And....so is Franz. He tried to kill the osprey that killed our alpha...I'm sorry." But the dismay in her eyes would never be fixed with even a million apologies. He saw all her dreams shatter before her eyes.

 

"No...he isn't dead!"

 

"I wish he wasn't." But Magnolia buried her muzzle in her paws and her body heaved with sobs. Aleksander turned around and padded out of the tent, his head hung low. And then he thought he heard flapping. He looked into the sky to see birds. Ospreys. And his eyes might have been deceiving him, but he saw the bird that killed his brother.

 

Oh no.

 

He ran back into the tent faster than he entered the first time. "Magnolia! We're in danger! We have to run!"

 

"Huh?" She lifted her head from her paws, her eyes bloodshot. "How?"

 

"Ospreys. They're coming to attack us, and they will kill."

 

"I don't believe you."

 

"You have to!"

 

"Why?"

 

"For the sake of Franz's pups!"

 

That got her to get up and wobble out of the tent. That's when the city began to light on fire. Her eyes widened, and she ran as fast as possible with her big belly. The blinding clouds were headed through the streets, engulfing all humans, children and wolves. There were screams of fright and pain, as the blinded were being burned alive.

 

Eventually, Magnolia and Aleksander made it far enough away. They stopped by a stream, and had no choice but to watch the mass-killing occur.

[serce2]

The lights of the city burned even brighter. Everything was on fire. River jumped back, and asked Lava Plume, "What's going on? I, I thought we were just raiding!" Instinctively, the Ice Osprey tried to chill the flames. What felt like imaginary tendrils sprouted from his back and lazily made it toward the fire. As River bounced up and down and around, some sped up slightly and started to wrap around some far-away burning wood.

No effect. Every time he felt the chill reach the flames, it warmed up and didn't stay a chill anymore. The whole forest is gonna burn down why didn't I take Snow she has good powers I can't can't can't. His own powers dissapated as he kept pacing from one branch to the other. Every lightning storm, some stupid tree like this catches fire and then I'm half-dead and Snow yells at me because I got too close. This wasn't a simple tree he was trying to put out anymore, but it felt exactly the same. Past failures began to bubble up, and River stopped watching entirely.

One of the weird birds flew up. "M̢̡҉y̷̨͜ ͏n͡es̡ţ̷́ ̵į̶s̨͜͠ ̴̛͟g̶oì̧͏n͘͠g ҉t̛͘o͟ ̶b҉u͏ŕ̴͠n! ̕͠H͏̷É̴͠L͢͞P̷!͟͏̕" Only "help" was understandable, high and alarming. The rest is lost in coos.

"What should I do?!" River yelled, pacing even faster. The recoil of weird-dove made him stop, watching as it flew toward the flames. I'm killing a family. I'm kill... help help help save save save, when did a dove become braver than me.

"Somebody..." He started soft, unaware of his own voice. He couldn't be soft. This was life-or-death. "Somebody tell me how to save that dove!"

Edited August 27, 2016 by serce2

[Sugar-Free]

Hoary's wingbeats became surer and less strenuous as he caught a current in his favor. The two ospreys shot up through and above the darkness, bodies glowing against it, leaving a hole in the murk where they left. He looked down for a moment to check on his guest, unable to discern her state of mind. Her eyes were closed, but she did not appear lost in a fit. Sighing, he leveled and glided away from the village, unsure and unconcerned of the direction he would go. True night was upon them, and he had neither the strength nor the eyes to fly much further.

 

He reached out into the wilderness in his mind, trying to feel for glimmers of safety. Though he had traveled nearly all of creation, the world never left its mark; he was a denizen of another existence, drifting and ebbing through past and future. The mortal present would only become clear to him over years, where moments experienced in them would be tangible only in visions.

 

There was but the tiniest shelter.

 

Making his way through the broad-leaved forest of the human vale, he soon settled in a spot where no star or moonlight touched. In their delicate state, obscurity was their only hope. He unclasped the osprey and set her down gently in the plush grass depression. He looked her over, carefully, and tried to settle her into a comfortable position with his talons and beak. He came across the cut in her right wing, dangerously close to a tendon. He sighed again, exhaustion settling in his bones.

 

"Were I more crass a bird, I'd say you were too much trouble for what you're worth..."

 

But he knew that it wasn't the truth. Were she of no importance, he would not have swayed from his oath of passivity. Splaying a few primaries over the reddened wound, he coaxed the warmth of the Autumnal Forest from his mind, spreading it into her body and willing it to accept. The oozing blood stopped, and the wound slowly sutured together. He slouched from the exertion--he rarely imparted this gift, and ever rarer did it take. Aurumque's Gift was as aloof as the existence that granted it.

 

He settled down next to the osprey, tucking his wings and settling his head. The chorus of insects droned around him. He listened. Soon, he drifted down into dark dreamlessness.