Hee hee… on we go…
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Chapter 2: What Hawk?
Miri growled at her prisoner, and continued her fruitless questioning.
"Gods dammit!" she cried. "I don't even know your name!"
Daine blinked. "Veralidaine Sarrasri."
The girl next to Miri sneered. "Sarrasri?"
Daine gave the girl a searing look. "You dissin' my Ma?"
"Girl, I'm dissin' you."
Miri had no doubts that if Daine had had any weapons on her person right now, the girl would be now lying in a pool of her own blood.
"Why do you have to make it so difficult?" Miri said, exasperated. "It is so infuriating!"
Daine smirked. "You just answered your own question."
"You little bas-" Miri cut herself off, thinking it was no good to call her that; she'd been called one all her life. "Look," she said, lowering her voice. "You can make this easy, or you can make this hard. Which method do you prefer?"
"You know torturing is illegal!" the girl beside Miri protested. "You-"
"Shut up." Miri turned her head back to Daine. "Spill it. Not because I'm going to torture you, not because I'm horribly persistent, not because I want to waste your time. I'm doing it because I'm nosy."
Daine's jaw dropped open, and snapped shut. "Now what does you care about a bannit like me?" she grinned lopsidedly. "Why doesn't you just throw lil ol' me into the local gallows and let yourself off easy?"
"Because, 'bannit,'" Miri replied, "Since we can't prove you've ever actually killed someone, we can't give you the death sentence. So you have to have a trial, and a prison sentence. That's the price of being just."
Daine blinked. "Just? Never heard of it."
~*~
"I saw a bloody hawk, dammit!" Daine yelled. "It was black, and it was flying like a drunkard! And there were monsters flying after it!"
Everyone snorted. "I saw it, you mother-fuckers!" she yelled again, louder. "There were big monsters flying after it, with steel wings and claws, and human bodies! They felt wrong!"
Everyone continued not to heed her, thinking it was just an attempt to escape. Daine threw her head back and screeched. Everything made of glass shattered. From Drona's beads to Tarlian's glasses, they all broke at that instant. Everyone looked at Daine, who was still howling at the top of her lungs.
A flash of bright light came in the air, blinding half the Riders. Screeches almost as harsh as Daine's tore the air, causing everyone to press their hands over their ears. Five things dove from the trees, swooping in on steel wings. One dove down, raking Drona's head. Her screaming merely added to the noise.
"Archers!" yelled Evin, picking up his own bow. They shot arrow after arrow, eventually bringing the monsters down (and losing all their arrows). Throughout the whole ordeal, Daine just sat there, looking smug and telling everyone 'I told you so!'
Soon four smelly carcasses were rotting in the sun. The fifth was hovering beyond shooting distance, one arrow oozing black puss stuck in her eye. Her crown of black stone glinted in the sun, and a vicious scowl marred her face.
"You'll all answer to the justice of Zhaneh Bitterclaws!" she screeched. "Your faces are imprinted in my memory!" with a final scream, she winged off, the archers shooting after her. Miri turned back to Daine.
"Is this what you want, girl?" her voice wavered. "Did you call these… these monsters?" Blood dripped down her forehead from the gauges in her skull.
Daine smiled, almost sweetly. "No, dear girl, I did not summon the Stormwings. You are the ones who did not heed my warning, and now your companion in dead."
Miri turned around to the stretcher carrying Drona's body. It was mangled, bloody, and with large chunks ripped out of it. The Rider girl took one look at it, and rushed over to the bushes to heave up her lunch. Daine sat at her pole and smiled, inhaling the fresh air. "Beautiful day to be alive, isn't it?"
~*~
"She's disgusting," Miri snarled to her Leader. "She saw Drona's body- and she smiled. She's a sadist, Evin."
Evin shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't credit that, Mir."
Miri whipped back to face Evin. "Why? Do you have fancies of bedding her, dear Leader? I thought better of you than to become infatuated with such a bitch."
And Evin was infatuated. And Daine did nothing to discourage his infatuation. She flirted with him, flaunting her curves like a prostitute. Which might very well be one of her careers.
"Not all people are anti-socials like you, Miri." Evin growled back.
"I should think you'd like to do a bit more than socialize with her."
Evin's face turned red. "Get out! I am Leader and you shall do as I say! The girl is not to be killed, and you had better shut your mouth before you get demoted from Second!"
Miri, contorted with rage, stormed out of the tent and grabbed her mare. "That's it." She hissed. "Get out of my way. I'm going for a ride." The Rider tending the mounts backed off, and Miri kicked her horse into a gallop.
She wove through the trees as if chasing outlaws, keeping her head low and trying not to think about anything but riding. The bastard! He didn't know what he was doing- the girl was dangerous. And all he wanted to do was get laid. Miri finally slowed down the tiring mount when she got to a clearing. Jumping off, she looked around her and sat down on a flat rock to the side. It's not fair, she thought, putting her head in her hands. Why did the girl have to come along and screw up everything? And Evin…her hands balled into fists. All he cares about is Daine's smooth features, not what's inside. He doesn't even care that other people, good people, want him…She stifled a sob. I don't need him. He's just a shallow little mother-fucking asshole… but deep inside, she knew that wasn't true.
"I hate him!" she yelled into the woods. "I hate him!" her voice echoed into the trees, silence following. Silence broken only by- something. Miri strained her ears, trying to hear it again. A soft whimper- like bird.
Following her ears, she wandered through the forest. She had to backtrack a few times, and came to a halt at a hollow log. Bending over, she peered into it to see a black hawk lying in it.
"How strange," she told it. "I've never seen a black hawk before." She tentatively held out a hand, and the hawk wiggled towards her. She pulled it out of the log, wondering at it. Daine had spoken of a hawk, a black one. She'd been telling the truth. But the hawk's wing was held at a funny angle, and Miri could see it was broken. From its unsure stance, it was sick as well.
"Poor little birdie…" she cooed to it. The crack of twigs behind her made her start, before she saw who it was. "Onua!" she cried. "What are you doing here?"
Onua pointed a finger at the hawk. "Looking for that."
Miri narrowed her eyes. "What would you want with a hawk?"
Onua narrowed her eyes right back at Miri. "He is a mage."
Miri stared incredulously at the raptor in her hands. "You're kidding, right?"
"He must have been trapped in hawk form. Give him to me, I need to heal him." Miri shrugged and handed the bird over to the horsemistress. "Whatever."
Onua gave a little smile. "Say hello to Numair Samal
Miri's jaw dropped to the forest floor. "That's Numair? Gods, Onua, why didn't you tell me?"
"It's supposed to be a secret."
"Supposed."
"Goose."
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