The Wild Series: Reign of Ashes (The Grove of Wardens)

So much death... even if they were murderers and thieves...


Tyrin sighed to himself as he stepped over bodies, careful not to leave any trace. He stood in the center of the main room at the former Silver-Star Tavern, where just two days before Syrune and the two younger Phoenix had killed almost 90% of the members of four different Assassin Gangs, including all four of the leaders. However, Tyrin wasn't all too interested in the death of a bunch of thugs, even regarding who it was that killed them. Instead, Tyrin was looking for any clues that might lead him to the owl who had passed the note intended for Rinka to Syrune. 

The former King of the Council had come here to search for who was spying on the Phoenix he loved, and to clear the air about the situation with his new Lieutenant, who had just landed outside.

The Brahminy Kite landed outside of the tavern, the scent of blood filled her nostrils as she stepped passed the broken doors and fluttered over the bodies of the two birds slain by the the door; she presumed they were guards of sorts.


They seemed surprised--like they had no idea what was about to happen to them, Khiarra took note of the faces of the two bodies she had first encountered. Gouged into the floor by them two corpses were slashes. Talons, she said, probably from this Syrune character, or those two hatchlings. 


Hearing the click of another set of talons snapped her attention to the sound, and her feathered smoothed back out. "Oh, it's just you sir." She straightened out more, her amber eyes focused on the hawk in front of her. "Why have you called me to this place?"

Ruki wrote:The Brahminy Kite landed outside of the tavern, the scent of blood filled her nostrils as she stepped passed the broken doors and fluttered over the bodies of the two birds slain by the the door; she presumed they were guards of sorts.


They seemed surprised--like they had no idea what was about to happen to them, Khiarra took note of the faces of the two bodies she had first encountered. Gouged into the floor by them two corpses were slashes. Talons, she said, probably from this Syrune character, or those two hatchlings. 


Hearing the click of another set of talons snapped her attention to the sound, and her feathers smoothed back out. "Oh, it's just you sir." She straightened out more, her amber eyes focused on the hawk in front of her. "Why have you called me to this place?"

Tyrin had heard her approach, but kept his back turned as he rolled one of the bodies over to see their face. Dissatisfied with the results, he rolled the dead falcon back over and shook his head lightly when Khiarra spoke. 

"I need your help, searching bodies. The others were busy." He answered, a bit curtly as he continued his work.

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:The Brahminy Kite landed outside of the tavern, the scent of blood filled her nostrils as she stepped passed the broken doors and fluttered over the bodies of the two birds slain by the the door; she presumed they were guards of sorts.


They seemed surprised--like they had no idea what was about to happen to them, Khiarra took note of the faces of the two bodies she had first encountered. Gouged into the floor by them two corpses were slashes. Talons, she said, probably from this Syrune character, or those two hatchlings. 


Hearing the click of another set of talons snapped her attention to the sound, and her feathers smoothed back out. "Oh, it's just you sir." She straightened out more, her amber eyes focused on the hawk in front of her. "Why have you called me to this place?"

Tyrin had heard her approach, but kept his back turned as he rolled one of the bodies over to see their face. Dissatisfied with the results, he rolled the dead falcon back over and shook his head lightly when Khiarra spoke. 

"I need your help, searching bodies. The others were busy." He answered, a bit curtly as he continued his work.

The kite frowned. "You called me ALL the way out here to Light knows where here in the Muckwaters to roll over dead birds!?" She took a step over to the hawk whose back was turned to her. "You haven't spoken to me in DAYS and--" the kite let out a sigh and furrowed her brow. "Fine."

She took a deep breath, trying not to get so flustered.

"Where do you want me start?" she said, the question ended in a snappy tone.

Ruki wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:The Brahminy Kite landed outside of the tavern, the scent of blood filled her nostrils as she stepped passed the broken doors and fluttered over the bodies of the two birds slain by the the door; she presumed they were guards of sorts.


They seemed surprised--like they had no idea what was about to happen to them, Khiarra took note of the faces of the two bodies she had first encountered. Gouged into the floor by them two corpses were slashes. Talons, she said, probably from this Syrune character, or those two hatchlings. 


Hearing the click of another set of talons snapped her attention to the sound, and her feathers smoothed back out. "Oh, it's just you sir." She straightened out more, her amber eyes focused on the hawk in front of her. "Why have you called me to this place?"

Tyrin had heard her approach, but kept his back turned as he rolled one of the bodies over to see their face. Dissatisfied with the results, he rolled the dead falcon back over and shook his head lightly when Khiarra spoke. 

"I need your help, searching bodies. The others were busy." He answered, a bit curtly as he continued his work.

The kite frowned. "You called me ALL the way out here to Light knows where here in the Muckwaters to roll over dead birds!?" She took a step over to the hawk whose back was turned to her. "You haven't spoken to me in DAYS and--" the kite let out a sigh and furrowed her brow. "Fine."

She took a deep breath, trying not to get so flustered.

"Where do you want me start?" she said, the question ended in a snappy tone.

Tyrin paused at her tone, not surprised but still feeling a little guilty. He let out a sigh of his own and set his talon back down, still not turning to face her. "We're looking to see if an owl died here. Just help me narrow down which bodies are Owl and of those, we're looking for white feathers. Just tell me if you find any... you can start upstairs."

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:The Brahminy Kite landed outside of the tavern, the scent of blood filled her nostrils as she stepped passed the broken doors and fluttered over the bodies of the two birds slain by the the door; she presumed they were guards of sorts.


They seemed surprised--like they had no idea what was about to happen to them, Khiarra took note of the faces of the two bodies she had first encountered. Gouged into the floor by them two corpses were slashes. Talons, she said, probably from this Syrune character, or those two hatchlings. 


Hearing the click of another set of talons snapped her attention to the sound, and her feathers smoothed back out. "Oh, it's just you sir." She straightened out more, her amber eyes focused on the hawk in front of her. "Why have you called me to this place?"

Tyrin had heard her approach, but kept his back turned as he rolled one of the bodies over to see their face. Dissatisfied with the results, he rolled the dead falcon back over and shook his head lightly when Khiarra spoke. 

"I need your help, searching bodies. The others were busy." He answered, a bit curtly as he continued his work.

The kite frowned. "You called me ALL the way out here to Light knows where here in the Muckwaters to roll over dead birds!?" She took a step over to the hawk whose back was turned to her. "You haven't spoken to me in DAYS and--" the kite let out a sigh and furrowed her brow. "Fine."

She took a deep breath, trying not to get so flustered.

"Where do you want me start?" she said, the question ended in a snappy tone.

Tyrin paused at her tone, not surprised but still feeling a little guilty. He let out a sigh of his own and set his talon back down, still not turning to face her. "We're looking to see if an owl died here. Just help me narrow down which bodies are Owl and of those, we're looking for white feathers. Just tell me if you find any... you can start upstairs."

You can start up stairs, Khiarra mocked Tyrin in her head as she headed up the stairs but then stopped in her tracks. She turned to look at the hawk. "So what? We're not going to talk about what happened the other night?" she nearly hissed, her emotions were hard to keep in check. She as angry, and this new fire burning inside her was making it more difficult to control her temper.

Tyrin clenched his talons at first at her retort, getting a spark of frustration himself before forcing his temper to relax. The red-tail closed his eyes for a moment before opening them with a flash of regret as he scanned the floor. He turned finally to face Khiarra, feathers starting to prickle. "There's nothing to talk about. Nothing happened."

"Nothing happened?!" she said, almost in disbelief. "EVERYTHING happened!" she started taking steps towards him. "You don't understand! That wasn't just something I decided on the whim to do tha-that took every fiber of my confidence to do!" Her eye were shiny with her passion as she stared the hawk. She clamped her beak shut and closed her eyes and took a breath. "You found me scared of my own shadow and... it's complicated." She turned back to the stairs and took another deep breath. "I'm sorry about my outburst... sir..." and she fluttered up the stairs to start investigating the other rooms.

Ruki wrote:"Nothing happened?!" she said, almost in disbelief. "EVERYTHING happened!" she started taking steps towards him. "You don't understand! That wasn't just something I decided on the whim to do tha-that took every fiber of my confidence to do!" Her eye were shiny with her passion as she stared the hawk. She clamped her beak shut and closed her eyes and took a breath. "You found me scared of my own shadow and... it's complicated." She turned back to the stairs and took another deep breath. "I'm sorry about my outburst... sir..." and she fluttered up the stairs to start investigating the other rooms.

Tyrin kept his beak shut as she went off on him. He knew everything she was saying was true but... Everything was so complicated. He had no idea how to feel or react. 

I should have been more careful. I should have seen how close she was getting to me... Why, why did I let her kiss me? It makes me sick... But at the same time...


Tyrin shook the thoughts from his head, turning back to the carved countertop. He stared for a moment at the pile of overturned mugs that rested next to him. With a swipe of his wing he knocked them off of the bar with a flash of hatred. Perhaps at the mess, perhaps at himself.

After the entire first floor was checked, Tyrin began to understand how futile his task was. The owl had either left before, or died somewhere else. He toyed with the Key around his left ankle for a moment, not sure if he wanted to avoid going upstairs or if he needed to more than anything else. Eventually he steeled himself and shook his head lightly. Khiarra was his second-in-command, he couldn't risk a feud between them. And so finally, he spread his wings and fluttered up the set of nearby stairs, doing his best to avoid the dead hawk at the top.

Khiarra was carefully studying the talon marks on the neck of a dead eagle when the click of Tyrin's talons on the floor. She turned to look at him and remained silent. Her eyes were somber and her slumber posture gave away the fact she was still brooding over earlier's argument.

Ruki wrote:Khiarra was carefully studying the talon marks on the neck of a dead eagle when the click of Tyrin's talons on the floor. She turned to look at him and remained silent. Her eyes were somber and her slumber posture gave away the fact she was still brooding over earlier's argument.

Tyrin paused after he landed, observing Khiarra for a moment to try and read her reaction. He tried his best to quell the war in his head and heart as he sighed softly, stepping over to her. What was the harm in talking?

"Hey... " He started softly, coming to stand beside her at the nearby window. "... You're right... we do need to talk about the other night... I'm sorry, really... for the way I reacted. I... Rinka is... "

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:Khiarra was carefully studying the talon marks on the neck of a dead eagle when the click of Tyrin's talons on the floor. She turned to look at him and remained silent. Her eyes were somber and her slumber posture gave away the fact she was still brooding over earlier's argument.

Tyrin paused after he landed, observing Khiarra for a moment to try and read her reaction. He tried his best to quell the war in his head and heart as he sighed softly, stepping over to her. What was the harm in talking?

"Hey... " He started softly, coming to stand beside her at the nearby window. "... You're right... we do need to talk about the other night... I'm sorry, really... for the way I reacted. I... Rinka is... "

Khiarra couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Why!?" she started, her frustration present in her voice. "You've only seen this falcon for only a few days total over the past eleven years!" She took steps towards him, her head tilted in curiosity. "Tell me, Tyrin, do you even remember why you love her?"

Ruki wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:Khiarra was carefully studying the talon marks on the neck of a dead eagle when the click of Tyrin's talons on the floor. She turned to look at him and remained silent. Her eyes were somber and her slumber posture gave away the fact she was still brooding over earlier's argument.

Tyrin paused after he landed, observing Khiarra for a moment to try and read her reaction. He tried his best to quell the war in his head and heart as he sighed softly, stepping over to her. What was the harm in talking?

"Hey... " He started softly, coming to stand beside her at the nearby window. "... You're right... we do need to talk about the other night... I'm sorry, really... for the way I reacted. I... Rinka is... "

Khiarra couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Why!?" she started, her frustration present in her voice. "You've only seen this falcon for only a few days total over the past eleven years!" She took steps towards him, her head tilted in curiosity. "Tell me, Tyrin, do you even remember why you love her?"

Tyrin was completely stunned in place. His eyes widened a bit and he looked away in shock. He had no idea what to say or how to react to such a question... and that terrified him. He didn't have an answer. The point Khiarra was getting at scared Tyrin to his core, and he couldn't phrase much of a response even in his thoughts. One whole year he spent with Rinka, and eleven he spent without. As much as he tried to deny it... the fraction seemed so small when framed in that light. Did time really erode all those memories? Had he really forgotten? He remembered so much... the prison, the map room, crashing into her and her scream at Drellan's sight... But there was so much more he was terrified that he had lost. Does love fade? He could still feel her presence... a little... 

Do I remember why I love her?


Tyrin looked back at Khiarra, the pain evident in his eyes. "I... I don't know... "

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:Khiarra was carefully studying the talon marks on the neck of a dead eagle when the click of Tyrin's talons on the floor. She turned to look at him and remained silent. Her eyes were somber and her slumber posture gave away the fact she was still brooding over earlier's argument.

Tyrin paused after he landed, observing Khiarra for a moment to try and read her reaction. He tried his best to quell the war in his head and heart as he sighed softly, stepping over to her. What was the harm in talking?

"Hey... " He started softly, coming to stand beside her at the nearby window. "... You're right... we do need to talk about the other night... I'm sorry, really... for the way I reacted. I... Rinka is... "

Khiarra couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Why!?" she started, her frustration present in her voice. "You've only seen this falcon for only a few days total over the past eleven years!" She took steps towards him, her head tilted in curiosity. "Tell me, Tyrin, do you even remember why you love her?"

Tyrin was completely stunned in place. His eyes widened a bit and he looked away in shock. He had no idea what to say or how to react to such a question... and that terrified him. He didn't have an answer. The point Khiarra was getting at scared Tyrin to his core, and he couldn't phrase much of a response even in his thoughts. One whole year he spent with Rinka, and eleven he spent without. As much as he tried to deny it... the fraction seemed so small when framed in that light. Did time really erode all those memories? Had he really forgotten? He remembered so much... the prison, the map room, crashing into her and her scream at Drellan's sight... But there was so much more he was terrified that he had lost. Does love fade? He could still feel her presence... a little... 

Do I remember why I love her?


Tyrin looked back at Khiarra, the pain evident in his eyes. "I... I don't know... "

Her expression started to soften upon seeing the fear in Tyrin's eyes. "I don't think you love Rinka anymore," she started. "I think you love the idea of her--the companionship, the need to have something to fight for." The kite took a step closer, to where they were beak-to-beak almost. "I don't know what you were like eleven years ago, but I can tell Rinka made you feel whole then. I bet you're almost an entirely different hawk now." She lightly reached out with a wing and brushed it against his. "Maybe you need someone to fit this you, not the you from eleven years ago."

Ruki wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:Khiarra was carefully studying the talon marks on the neck of a dead eagle when the click of Tyrin's talons on the floor. She turned to look at him and remained silent. Her eyes were somber and her slumber posture gave away the fact she was still brooding over earlier's argument.

Tyrin paused after he landed, observing Khiarra for a moment to try and read her reaction. He tried his best to quell the war in his head and heart as he sighed softly, stepping over to her. What was the harm in talking?

"Hey... " He started softly, coming to stand beside her at the nearby window. "... You're right... we do need to talk about the other night... I'm sorry, really... for the way I reacted. I... Rinka is... "

Khiarra couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Why!?" she started, her frustration present in her voice. "You've only seen this falcon for only a few days total over the past eleven years!" She took steps towards him, her head tilted in curiosity. "Tell me, Tyrin, do you even remember why you love her?"

Tyrin was completely stunned in place. His eyes widened a bit and he looked away in shock. He had no idea what to say or how to react to such a question... and that terrified him. He didn't have an answer. The point Khiarra was getting at scared Tyrin to his core, and he couldn't phrase much of a response even in his thoughts. One whole year he spent with Rinka, and eleven he spent without. As much as he tried to deny it... the fraction seemed so small when framed in that light. Did time really erode all those memories? Had he really forgotten? He remembered so much... the prison, the map room, crashing into her and her scream at Drellan's sight... But there was so much more he was terrified that he had lost. Does love fade? He could still feel her presence... a little... 

Do I remember why I love her?


Tyrin looked back at Khiarra, the pain evident in his eyes. "I... I don't know... "

Her expression started to soften upon seeing the fear in Tyrin's eyes. "I don't think you love Rinka anymore," she started. "I think you love the idea of her--the companionship, the need to have something to fight for." The kite took a step closer, to where they were beak-to-beak almost. "I don't know what you were like eleven years ago, but I can tell Rinka made you feel whole then. I bet you're almost an entirely different hawk now." She lightly reached out with a wing and brushed it against his. "Maybe you need someone to fit this you, not the you from eleven years ago."

For all that Khiarra was saying, Tyrin didn't want to listen. He did the only thing his brain would let him do to avoid that sort of question: he shut down. He couldn't even consider the possibility that he no longer loved his mate, it killed him even to think that. The more he stared into Khiarra's eyes, the more his mind went blank... and the more his mind went blank, the more he stopped thinking logically. Back to survival mode, his head was thinking without repercussions. Not about his mate or what she would think or say, but about how dazzling Khiarra's eyes looked in the midday sun. How delicately her feathers laid together to form her beautiful face...

Either gravity, fate, or some force within him began to move centimeters closer to her. She had come so close to his beak that now the distance seemed trivial. 
".... m-maybe.... "
He whispered softly, the air between them getting smaller by the second. Tyrin felt the heat flush in his face, her breath on his face, their beaks only the tiniest of space away from--

The Key around Tyrin's ankle erupted with light, humming lightly and causing Tyrin to jump a foot back with a surprised chirp. Dalkota's call.

Khiarra was startled by the sudden burst of bright light, her feathers still ruffled from the intense moment. "Well," she sighed, slightly frustrated with Dalkota for his interruption. "Duty calls. Let's go see what the gryphon needs, sir." The kite fluffed out her wings to flutter down to the tavern doors before waiting on Tyrin's orders to continue forward.

Ruki wrote:Khiarra was startled by the sudden burst of bright light, her feathers still ruffled from the intense moment. "Well," she sighed, slightly frustrated with Dalkota for his interruption. "Duty calls. Let's go see what the gryphon needs, sir." The kite fluffed out her wings to flutter down to the tavern doors before waiting on Tyrin's orders to continue forward.

Tyrin's ruffled feathers started to settle when the kite headed downstairs. Still flustered over what had just happened, he took a moment to clear his throat before following. "Dalkota should open a Rift back to the Grove if he need us this bad... let's just hope Syrune isn't stupid enough to follow that note... she never could recognize a trap." 

He sighed, just as the golden light began to shimmer around them.

A moon had passed since Tyrin's investigation of the tavern, and in the time since he had barely spoken a word to Khiarra. Her challenges to him and his mate had thrown him off balance, and the terror that anything she said could be remotely true sent him barreling into work. He had not left the Grove since then, but doubled down instead on his training of the Phoenix Guard's newest recruits, doing his best to send as many assignments as he could towards Khiarra, anything to keep her from speaking to him again. Maybe he was angry at her, maybe he was just scared she was right... Either way, Tyrin had said very little to her, preferring instead to spend his time with Dalkota. 

The Guardian of Earth --having spent a considerable amount of time with Tyrin throughout the years since they met in the Ethyrium-- was keenly aware of Tyrin's emotional conflicts. It was why he intervened in the tavern when he did. While he wouldn't judge Tyrin's choices, he knew now was not the best time to make any.... also Tyrin and Rinka were his OTP. 
Knowing he had to keep Tyrin focused on leading the Phoenix, he obliged to all of Tyrin's 'hangouts' and honestly enjoyed the company. The two friends were taking a walk beside the large central pond when Tyrin noticed something that lifted his spirits.

"Hey, your necklace is back on!" Tyrin pointed out with a nod to the gryphon, glancing down at his talons to avoid a small rock.

"Wha- oh! Yes, it is." Dalkota shrugged with a smile, his cheerful dad-like voice bellowing with pride as he raised a paw to his chest. Hanging from a white-gold chain around the gryphon's neck were several small charms that resembled a key-ring. One, the largest, was a square piece of gold metal. The center of the square was missing a chunk that seemed to fit the Soul Key around Tyrin's ankle. Beside it, a small copper spyglass covered in runes. In addition, the chain also held several other trinkets, including a red feather in a tiny jar, a small dragon's tooth, and an insignificant plain silver rectangle.

"The Guardian's Tools," Tyrin quoted with a hint of admiration. "What, you gonna put your armor on next?" 

Dalkota's chuckle rumbled in his throat. "Perhaps... maybe not today." 

The pair stopped by the water's edge, and Tyrin looked back at his friend. He was quiet for a moment before he looked back to the pond. The gears turned in his mind as he wondered about the Guardian fetching his tools. "... You're going back again?"

Dalkota didn't answer at first, breathing deeply and poking the water with an absentminded paw. He watched the ripples move to the edges of the pond before clearing his throat. "Soon. But not yet. I won't leave till everyone is back here and safe... but after that, I'll need to try. It's been three seasons since the last time I updated the Hierarch's about Agathar's breech. With any luck, they may assign me some more help. I hope, at least, it works out as well as last time. They granted us the right to a Phoenix Guard, after-all.... maybe they'll let me use something else too. We have a lot more at our disposal, if only they'll give me access to the other artifacts. Maybe make some Frost-Hounds."

Tyrin churred, "Yeah, Drellan with Ice Magic. That'd be a sight! His mate's got a frigid enough heart to begin with." 

Dalkota snorted. "Don't talk bad about my Najmah. I have seen literally thousands of wolves hold their own in combat-- none of them compare to what she can do when family is on the line."

"Yeah, she's alright... She got warmer after Raiya." Tyrin admitted with a shrug.

A small cry echoed through the night as a tiny falconet fluttered through the breeze. The small bird landed in a nearby bush to be eye-level with Dalkota, because on her own she would barely be up to Tyrin's thigh. The Collared Falconet, a fiesty little demon named Ki, looked on at the pair with a hard look on her face.

Ki folded her wings neatly before speaking. "Tyrin, Lynn finally managed to find that thing you asked him to find..... a moon cycle ago....." the little bird ruffled up a bit. "You probably have another moon cycle to get back to camp but I figured you'd want to know." Ki ended her statement with a nod before staring back at Tyrin, the look on her face was one of angst and seething determination and it was hard to tell if she was purposely scowling or not.

Ruki wrote:A small cry echoed through the night as a tiny falconet fluttered through the breeze. The small bird landed in a nearby bush to be eye-level with Dalkota, because on her own she would barely be up to Tyrin's thigh. The Collared Falconet, a fiesty little demon named Ki, looked on at the pair with a hard look on her face.

Ki folded her wings neatly before speaking. "Tyrin, Lynn finally managed to find that thing you asked him to find..... a moon cycle ago....." the little bird ruffled up a bit. "You probably have another moon cycle to get back to camp but I figured you'd want to know." Ki ended her statement with a nod before staring back at Tyrin, the look on her face was one of angst and seething determination and it was hard to tell if she was purposely scowling or not.

A churr formed in the base of Tyrin's throat as he regarded the little bird, his eyes bright as he shook his head. "I don't even remember what I asked him for..."

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:A small cry echoed through the night as a tiny falconet fluttered through the breeze. The small bird landed in a nearby bush to be eye-level with Dalkota, because on her own she would barely be up to Tyrin's thigh. The Collared Falconet, a fiesty little demon named Ki, looked on at the pair with a hard look on her face.

Ki folded her wings neatly before speaking. "Tyrin, Lynn finally managed to find that thing you asked him to find..... a moon cycle ago....." the little bird ruffled up a bit. "You probably have another moon cycle to get back to camp but I figured you'd want to know." Ki ended her statement with a nod before staring back at Tyrin, the look on her face was one of angst and seething determination and it was hard to tell if she was purposely scowling or not.

A churr formed in the base of Tyrin's throat as he regarded the little bird, his eyes bright as he shook his head. "I don't even remember what I asked him for..."

"I believe it was something regarding dragons or Shades or..." Ki let out a frustrated huff. "I don't even know."

Ruki wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:A small cry echoed through the night as a tiny falconet fluttered through the breeze. The small bird landed in a nearby bush to be eye-level with Dalkota, because on her own she would barely be up to Tyrin's thigh. The Collared Falconet, a fiesty little demon named Ki, looked on at the pair with a hard look on her face.

Ki folded her wings neatly before speaking. "Tyrin, Lynn finally managed to find that thing you asked him to find..... a moon cycle ago....." the little bird ruffled up a bit. "You probably have another moon cycle to get back to camp but I figured you'd want to know." Ki ended her statement with a nod before staring back at Tyrin, the look on her face was one of angst and seething determination and it was hard to tell if she was purposely scowling or not.

A churr formed in the base of Tyrin's throat as he regarded the little bird, his eyes bright as he shook his head. "I don't even remember what I asked him for..."

"I believe it was something regarding dragons or Shades or..." Ki let out a frustrated huff. "I don't even know."

"Yeah, he probably...." Tyrin trailed off, his gaze focusing past Ki and Dalkota and towards the pool of gold liquid he had started staring at. He straightened as he watched, something catching his eye. His churring and laughing stopped. The cheery demeanor draining rapidly from his eyes. 

"Dalkota." 

Tyrin moved slowly past the two, stepping over to the water's edge. Reflected in the pool were the usual images of different events occurring all over the world, but Tyrin's eyes were locked on a particular scene within the swirling waters. He called the Guardian over to see, his eyes never moving, but the feathers on the back of his neck began to prickle and stand.

Reflected in the water were images of Thornbrook, the wolves, a desperate Najmah, Korra running, and then the object of Tyrin's growing fear. Feathers prickling, Tyrin stared down in shock, his breathing picking up.
"That can't be real." He breathed, shaking his head slightly. "That can't be here!"

Dalkota stepped beside Tyrin, staring down at first in confusion, and then in horror. "A Kahiir?! Why didn't we see this before?! How could we not be watching?!" 

Tyrin flexed his talons into the dirt as he watched Spindle scream and tear through the swamp. "How did it get here?" He asked through a gritted beak. "There haven't been anymore Rifts from the Ethyrium... Agathar must have brought an egg with him... it still looks young, nowhere near the size of the one we killed-- but that took a legion of Gryphons, we're not--"

"Calm down. We can--" Dalkota started, but Tyrin quickly interrupted. 

"Calm down?! If that thing gets fully grown, we won't have to worry about the dragon anymore! I'm getting the Guard. We're going to kill it, now!" Tyrin's terror had turned to rage. "I did not come back to watch my people--"

"Tyrin!" Dalkota shouted sternly, stamping a paw on the ground. "Control yourself! Look! They're leading it to the tar pits! They can do this!"

Tyrin's eyes snapped back to the pool, watching intensely.

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:

Jaystep wrote:

Ruki wrote:A small cry echoed through the night as a tiny falconet fluttered through the breeze. The small bird landed in a nearby bush to be eye-level with Dalkota, because on her own she would barely be up to Tyrin's thigh. The Collared Falconet, a fiesty little demon named Ki, looked on at the pair with a hard look on her face.

Ki folded her wings neatly before speaking. "Tyrin, Lynn finally managed to find that thing you asked him to find..... a moon cycle ago....." the little bird ruffled up a bit. "You probably have another moon cycle to get back to camp but I figured you'd want to know." Ki ended her statement with a nod before staring back at Tyrin, the look on her face was one of angst and seething determination and it was hard to tell if she was purposely scowling or not.

A churr formed in the base of Tyrin's throat as he regarded the little bird, his eyes bright as he shook his head. "I don't even remember what I asked him for..."

"I believe it was something regarding dragons or Shades or..." Ki let out a frustrated huff. "I don't even know."

"Yeah, he probably...." Tyrin trailed off, his gaze focusing past Ki and Dalkota and towards the pool of gold liquid he had started staring at. He straightened as he watched, something catching his eye. His churring and laughing stopped. The cheery demeanor draining rapidly from his eyes. 

"Dalkota." 

Tyrin moved slowly past the two, stepping over to the water's edge. Reflected in the pool were the usual images of different events occurring all over the world, but Tyrin's eyes were locked on a particular scene within the swirling waters. He called the Guardian over to see, his eyes never moving, but the feathers on the back of his neck began to prickle and stand.

Reflected in the water were images of Thornbrook, the wolves, a desperate Najmah, Korra running, and then the object of Tyrin's growing fear. Feathers prickling, Tyrin stared down in shock, his breathing picking up.
"That can't be real." He breathed, shaking his head slightly. "That can't be here!"

Dalkota stepped beside Tyrin, staring down at first in confusion, and then in horror. "A Kahiir?! Why didn't we see this before?! How could we not be watching?!" 

Tyrin flexed his talons into the dirt as he watched Spindle scream and tear through the swamp. "How did it get here?" He asked through a gritted beak. "There haven't been anymore Rifts from the Ethyrium... Agathar must have brought an egg with him... it still looks young, nowhere near the size of the one we killed-- but that took a legion of Gryphons, we're not--"

"Calm down. We can--" Dalkota started, but Tyrin quickly interrupted. 

"Calm down?! If that thing gets fully grown, we won't have to worry about the dragon anymore! I'm getting the Guard. We're going to kill it, now!" Tyrin's terror had turned to rage. "I did not come back to watch my people--"

"Tyrin!" Dalkota shouted sternly, stamping a paw on the ground. "Control yourself! Look! They're leading it to the tar pits! They can do this!"

Tyrin's eyes snapped back to the pool, watching intensely.

Ki hopped over to the pool and peered into the image the others were watching. "It looks like a bug," her voice was heavy with how unimpressed she was. "You know I eat bugs."

She looked up at the pair. "And what if the panther can't do it? That face doesn't scream 'I have the confidence to do this' to me... unless your super special Guardian powers can sense something I clearly cannot."

Tyrin stared down into the glistening waters of the vision pool with a frenzied gaze. Seeing the Kahiir in the land he was bound to protect shook his resolve in a number of ways, but Dalkota was right. It was small, much smaller than the goliath they had slain together years before. As the building panic began to wane, the hawk allowed his eyes to wander slightly from the scene of Korra running and over to other pictures shimmering in the golden waves. In another scene he saw a small hollow burning with violet fire and crumbling into its branches. A sharp sting of despair took hold of Tyrin as he looked again a few feet away to another scene. This time he witnessed a starving, skin and bones lion cub crying out for its parents. But no one came. In another vision a pair of weathered wolves struggled and lost in a fight with two Shade bears. Here in another, a black falcon screamed and flew to her dying mate, tears falling into his open wounds as she cradled him.

A hopelessness rose in Tyrin’s chest as he looked out at the sea of the animals he was failing to protect. The Council’s great King stood comfortable and safe as he watched the world crumbling beneath the golden waters. His talons slowly sunk into the ground, and his shoulders fell the more he witnessed. He saw a horse desperately dig at a long dried riverbed, a mother fox watching her cubs starve every morning. The strangled cry of a barn owl’s lost parents. Friends losing friends. Mothers and fathers had become so no longer. Children screamed for parents, and Shades answered the cries with pain. The midnight sobbing of a mate with no better half. The shriveling of once beautiful forests. The icy embrace of a once warm den. The coldness of grief where once there was hope.
Tyrin watched the rising tides of despair edge closer, lapping at his talons while someone around him started speaking. He heard none of it, he was miles away staring into the void of his failures. The images flashed all over the pond, jumping from heartbreak to heartbreak until one nearby settled on the fight between Rinka and Zarrock. Tyrin watched the fire spreading through the city. The Alpha Shade roaring and biting at his mate. Everything was happening at a whirlwind pace, and at the same time everything seemed to stand still. He watched the events playing out in the pool around him, but he was frozen with an anchor of sadness. Look at what happened to this place. This beautiful, vibrant land decimated before Tyrin’s very eyes. It had been happening for years, slowly with each passing day. Each sunrise the people hoped less and less for Agathar’s demise. Each moon passed overhead with renewed despair. And through all of it, Tyrin had watched.

His head clouded, Tyrin stepped away from the pool. He couldn’t bear to keep focus on it anymore. He didn’t hear what Dalkota said as he made his way back to his little hollow in the corner of the Grove, but nobody tried to stop him. The Fireblood, the Council’s King, the Protector of The Wild and the once Hero of the Pridelands stepped into his hollow and pulled the moss door shut to the world as he had done for years. The great King stood in his dim hollow and closed his eyes to the hopelessness and cries that rang in his head. He had done his best, hadn’t he? He had listen to the guidance of his Guardian and friend. He had searched for those willing to fight and become a Fireblood army. He had gathered his strength and waited for the right time to strike like they had all agreed…. But for what? There was nothing left to save anymore. Agathar had already won.

Tyrin opened his eyes, spilling tears out onto the hollow floor. The sadness began to make way in his heart for frustration. Why had he waited so long? Why did he let it come to this?! He blamed Dalkota for an instant, and Khiarra for another, but it passed. The rage building in his heart told him the truth. This was his fault. Agathar, the Shades, the usurpation and destruction of the Council. He could have stopped it. He could have fought every day since his second chance and he could have faced them himself… but he was terrified. He was so unbelievably, ashamedly, scared. His entire life he took the blow for others. He took the blame for Syrune’s antics as a hatchling, he had flown into danger countless times for his friends, and he had felt death more times than any soul should. If there was one thing in this world that scared him now, it was feeling it again. Tyrin was terrified to die, horrified to think about the place he would end up. The void called to him in nightmares every night and so he had allowed himself to pander to and fro, wasting years he could have been fighting. He could see it in Dalkota’s face. In every lecture about waiting, the Gryphon hoped Tyrin would defy him. Each stern voice a secret plea for action. The broken hawk looked over to the corner where is Ethyrium armor and twin talon-swords lay, a snort coming from his beak at the joke the dusty things represented now.

The would-be King hopelessly sunk into his nest. What was he supposed to do now? Wasn’t everything over? Tyrin curled in on himself when he felt the weight around his ankle. Confused at first, the hawk looked down at his talons and realized he was still wearing the Soul Key. He stood up and made his way over to the table beside his nest and with his beak, pulled the Key off his talon and sat it down beside him. He stared down at the rune filled edges, and ran a talon slowly over the ridges where the power sources connected. A soft smile formed at the corners of his beak as he looked down at the small thing. Each weathered scar on the golden surface sprung a memory to life for the hawk. This little thing, the reason for it all. Tyrin thought about the day he met Rinka and Drellan, and the jaguar Azula. How they kept their quest hidden at first. He thought about the look on Zarrock’s face when he found out he had cornered a Phoenix and he chuckled. He remembered Azaelic the Eagle, and how he always seemed to have an answer. He thought about Drellan falling from the ice bridge and how he and Rinka lit the way out of the cave with the light of his crush for her. So many things came to mind as he stared down at the Key. He recalled the aftermath of the battle in the snow, how everyone was happy for that short while. K’Nova’s prison, the Summer Festival, his first kiss in the Map Room. Rinka firing a human weapon in the Council’s marketplace.

Tyrin let out a hearty laugh, the tears in his eyes no longer of sadness. It all seemed like ages ago… When his laughter died down, Tyrin thought for a flash that he was back in his hollow at the Council. He turned with a smile to call Fin over… then he remembered. His smile faded, and he set the Key back down on the table, the rush of shame coming up his throat again. What kind of king—no, what kind of friend hides in his hollow?

The feeling in his chest came again, this time the swelling shame and despair had mixed into something else. Through it all, the memories, the hopelessness, something else had formed in his heart. A renewed sense of purpose. Determination. Tyrin straightened his back and stood tall for the first time in years. Determination. He held on to the as he walked to the hollow doors. He burst through into the sunlight, the others still gathered by the pool. Power in each step, Tyrin came to the others but no one spoke until he started. “Dalkota… I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am for your wisdom and guidance. You have cared for this land and looked out for its people more than anyone else who could claim to do so, more than me. Thank you for your suggestions, but I’m finished with your plan. I’m not going to spend one more day staring into this pool and watching my failures reflected back up at me.”

Dalkota did not speak, only a glimmer of surprise shone in his eyes as he let Tyrin continue.

Tyrin spoke again, looking out at the pool as his frustration with himself climbed out again. “ Look at this! Look at what we allowed to happen! Every day we could have been fighting, every night we could be rescuing those in need. Every single life down there that has been lost the past three years is on us. We spent so much time trying to win so perfectly, that we almost lost everything worth fighting for! Agathar is sitting up in his Spire thinking he won a long time ago, and we have done NOTHING to show him otherwise. We have what—seventeen Phoenix ready to fight? We saved the world before with three! You’re the Guardian, you know it better than we do. You know what we can do, you know who we are! All this waiting does nothing but give him time to hurt more of the ones I’m supposed to protect! That dragon thinks he’s beaten us, that his Shades cannot be stopped, but nothing is unbreakable! This land has protected itself from much worse than a single dragon, and we’ll do it again. The humans thought they could rule over us too, and we fought back. In the vines that crumbled their cities to the waters that drowned their homes, the wild has always won. We don’t get to sit in a magical Grove and watch it all play out. We are the wild now! We do not give up, and we do not surrender! I didn’t come back here to watch a bunch of lizard-worshiping shadow freaks take over everything that I love!”

The red-tailed hawk’s mark began to glow through his talons, and the rising fires in his eyes brightened. “I am Tyrin, King of the Council and son of Na’thain. I am the last Fireblood and the Protector of The Wild, and I don’t need a long winded plan or an army—I need my friends!”

King Tyrin unfurled his wings and locked his eyes on the exit platform in the center of the lake, a burning purpose flaring in his eyes.

“Khiarra, get my sword.”

Khiarra's eyes flickered up at the hawk before her. She felt her spirit swell with hope.... she hadn't felt that feeling in what seemed like eons. Her eyes were soft with admiration and shimmered with unspoken pride. She acknowledged Tyrin's command and fluttered off to Tyrin's hallow to retrieve the sword.

Ki's eyes burned with unwavering fire as she beamed up at the hawk as Khiarra had returned with the sword. "Just point in the direction of the bad guy, your Majesty. We're ready to make some heads spin."

Ruki wrote:Khiarra's eyes flickered up at the hawk before her. She felt her spirit swell with hope.... she hadn't felt that feeling in what seemed like eons. Her eyes were soft with admiration and shimmered with unspoken pride. She acknowledged Tyrin's command and fluttered off to Tyrin's hallow to retrieve the sword.

Ki's eyes burned with unwavering fire as she beamed up at the hawk as Khiarra had returned with the sword, helmet, and the rest of his armor. "Just point in the direction of the bad guy, your Majesty. We're ready to make some heads spin."

(If anyone else has a Phoenix they want to RP, now would be a good time to intro as I'm leaving it unspecified how many are coming.)

King Tyrin gazed fondly at the dusty gold armor and wiped a section clean with his wing. The fire would do the rest. In quick pace like he did so long before, he donned his helmet and fastened on the chestpiece, talon guards, and the rivet of small shoulder guards that descended down the ridge of his wings. He hooked his armored talons around his sword and a flicker of gold light shimmered down the edge as he split the sword into halves for each talon. As he did this, his mark shone under the gold plating, and the platform beneath the group of Phoenix came to life. The air around them shimmered and crackled as the exit portal began to charge.

"It may be a while before we can return here. Dalkota will need time to form a reliable rift home. I hope you all understand that... If anyone wants to stay here, now's the chance. But if you stay... we're going to war."