Flowers and Chocolate
By: Spellcraft Writings
The evening hour furbished the skies in dazzling arrangement of roseate and lilac colors, disclosing the time to light the paper lanterns decorated by shapes of critters and fish. The blending of string instruments, flutes, and drums consecrated the senses as they joined the fragrant scents of sweet sauce pork and steamed mushrooms with chestnuts. Families, children, old and even foreigners paced among the city of Vlonqo, celebrating the harvest season under the splendor of the night stars.
Many participated in prayer outside the temples as they adorned the altars with offerings from the bountiful crops of the season. It was the end of summer, a pale glimpse of the moon showing among the twilight colors of the heavens. Every post and building was decorated in colorful paper and no corner was spared by carts loaded with delicacies that made the girl with Aurelian eyes stop briefly before a cart with pastries, baked in honey glaze and shaped in flower petals with runes scripted in the middle.
"Would you like some my dear?" The nice woman behind the tarts asked in the merriest of tones, her cheeks flushed by the festive atmosphere. She didn't seem daunted by the fierce expression the young woman transmitted, veiled by the hood of her gear.
Taken a bit by surprise she simply walked away without a word, chastising herself for drawing attention from the residents, as small as it had been. Her plumage nuzzled under her cloak while her fingers drew away a loose lock of her orchid hair.
Her arrival a few days ago matched the public celebration which usually kept guards distracted, breaking drunken quarrels and watching presentations of music and dancing.
Xayah glanced casually into the marked building noticing two guards by the entrance, one of them speaking merrily to a couple of young women dressed for the occasion; laurel wreaths decorating their glowing locks.
A small smirk decorated the corner of her plum color lips, her mission looking far simpler than she had expected.
Keeping her paced she looked back into the festival and noticed the hundredths of lives around her develop, somehow bringing painful memories that clawed inside her chest as the confident smirk faded from her face.
A few years had passed since she last remembered the embrace of her kin, or the laughter during their own festivities. She found herself surrounded by strangers, no Vastaya among the multitude that could somehow recognize the features of her people.
Xayah tore herself from those thoughts, shaking her delicate head and glancing at the sun. She had a few more minutes before she executed her plan, carefully recounting the steps she crafted after careful observation of the City Hall since her arrival.
A priest had finished casting a blessing over an arrangement of grapes and wheat, thanking the deities above and letting the hard-working families enjoy the fruits of their labor. Sons and daughters joined their parents by the altar, placing flowers and hand-made figures of wheat as an offering. The final preparations were concluding before the arrival of the night that would announce the beginning of the seven-day celebration.
Xayah was planning to achieve her mission and head toward the woods before midnight, the amulet of her kin secured inside her pocket.
A laughter from a group of children paused her steps as they ran playfully in her direction, holding bouquets and making their way to the Ionian Temple. They passed unconcerned by the dark woman except for one of them, a small thing with green eyes and a vermillion dress.
Something in the stranger's attire made her stop her rushing tracks and the young woman couldn't point out the reason, the innocent stare unsettling her.
Xayah closed her eyes and left quietly, her kin ears catching the sound of some hesitant small steps just behind her after a futile attempt to lose the girl among the crowd.
She kept being followed.
"Run along." She ordered, sounding a bit harsher than she meant as she turned around to face the human girl.
The little one kept looking into her eyes, not intimidated by the tone of the mysterious woman with sharp eyes. Xayah let a small sigh escape her lips before asking the girl to join her friends, this time in a softer timbre. The last thing she wanted was to scare her enough to make her cry and draw any more attention to herself.
It wouldn't be the first time.
"Did you hurt your wing?" She asked after a brief silence.
Xayah couldn't hid her surprise as her hands unconsciously enclosed her garments, her feathers well hidden inside her cloak while her ears rested against her hair under the hood. How the child managed to see beneath that irritated her deeply but instead she displayed a small smirk. She wouldn't be able to get rid of her so easily so she decided to share a bit of her family's stories, just enough to satiate her curiosity without giving away anything crucial. She had earned a reputation among Ionian's authorities, her face displayed among the cities' and towns' walls with a handsome reward underneath.
"We divided our wings among each other long ago, so that we could fly together and reach all corners of the earth." The young woman answered, once again the crushing pressure hitting her chest and deciding to ignore it. "However, during the journey some of us got lost as well as a piece of each other. Now we are born with a single wing, so that we may find the one who will make us whole again."
"Are you looking for that person that has your other wing?" She asked, her eyes filled with sincere admiration.
Xayah's response remained stuck in her throat, somehow knowing that answer and a part of her fearing that she was destined to live on this earth as the last of her kin. The sheer pressure was concealed under a bitter glance, the gilt color in her eyes rusting as she looked away from the small critter.
"Go back to your friends now." She instructed, leaving no room for any more questions.
Reluctant the child looked toward the path her friends ran along, still waiting for her wondering who was the mysterious figure she was speaking to.
"Good bye bird-lady." She finally parted, walking away and letting Xayah's tension fade away before a shy tag pulled her hand. The girl only returned to offer her a beautiful small lily from the bouquet she was carrying.
A curious expression reached her graceful features, moved by the small token of kindness she received. Without words, she took the blossom from the girl, her fingers briefly hesitating before reluctantly accepting; unaccustomed to anything related to amiability.
No human had ever treated her with anything other than fear and resentment, threatened by her appearance and the purpose her mission carry. She was force to learn to deliver her message through her sharp feathers instead of words, the scars of every painful lesson carved in her skin.
After her contemplation her plumage bristle, her eyes quickly scanning the surroundings as she felt someone observing her. She spotted the guards at range, all distracted by the festivities but keeping to their stations.
'Where are you?' She asked herself as her hands reached the edge of her hood, trying to conceal her features further from those around her while moving into the edge of the square before the answer to her conjectures broke into her careful cover.
A loud sound erupted the atmosphere and Xayah's fingers instantly manifested sharp feather under her cloak while her eyes spotted the source of the noise.
A group began to expand not far from her position into a thick circle, three musicians at the edge with drums, flutes, and bells playing merrily by request of someone at the center of the spectacle.
Xayah spat a small curse in her language, withdrawing her weapon instantly as she decided to disappear into a nearby alley.
"Let's dance!" An imperious tone reached the raven's ears, something inside her stirring uncomfortably like in embarrassment. A golden reflection jumped from the middle of the crowd, too high for a normal human to achieve. Her eyes opened in surprise, amazed by something that she hadn't noticed as the familiar traces of magic reached her deeper instincts.
The music entranced her as one of her own kin danced among the public, a fan of golden feathers brushing the air while the owner's steps glided as light as the wind.
In her distraction with the human child she failed to notice one of her own tribe make his way to the square, joining the festivities and main performers. Unlike her, the dancer exposed his nature without care or concern, his Vastayan features celebrated among the public while performing complex pirouettes and carved steps of their traditional dances.
His tunic was crafted with rich materials, as bright as the same light he manifested from his feathered coat. Adornments dressed his wrists with gold bands, his hair carefully combed backwards with tones of sun-bleached blonde and a sanguine lock dyed with magic.
The sun was close to setting, somehow a cue to the flamboyant dancer to wrap up his first act to completion. Magic once again erupted from his being, his golden plumage soaked in a brilliant light that caught the attention of those scatters who hadn't approached the spectacle.
Like a peacock he displayed the fantastic arrangement of his wing, the spell charming the multitude and dimming with the last ray of sunset. His grand finale, a complex arrangement of steps performed mid-air of his own composition; something the raven-girl had never seen before.
He landed gracefully and took a bow to the crowd who screamed in excitement, cheers and claps drowning any other noise.
Xayah's fist closed in rage, her eyes glowing in white-hot fury while the skin of her palms almost broke by the pressure of her claws. The relief of finding someone of her own kin evaporated as fast as the fading light of the day.
Her life's purpose was mocked by the ridiculous display the buffoon had just performed, like an exotic creature in a circus display. A part of her screamed inside, wishing to cut his neck in a rain of sharp feathers.
The Vastaya found himself surrounded by the multitude, several human women among them asking for his attention. However, the dancer's cerulean gaze surveyed into the distance, his performance in honor of the one he graced with a smirk in her direction.
A smile that was definitely, not reciprocated.
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