Once an isolated and dying township, an influx of academics, adventurers and thrill seekers have made Scalvoris Town their home. From scholars' tea shops to a new satellite campus for Viden Academy, this is an exciting place to visit or make your home!
Now she was asking more questions - ones he assumed meant that she was interested in helping. If the halfbreed had come this far to aid him, then certainly she meant well. A grin reappeared on his face, the solemnity of his expression falling away. "Ah can' giv' no more details, but Lip coul'." As if conjured up by the mention of his name, a second boy appeared from the trees, peering out cautiously at the winged woman. Large eyes were made larger by wireframed glasses - crooked and cracked slightly in one corner - and mousy brown hair was cluttered with leaves. He looked no more than eight or nine arcs old, small and skinny with angular limbs that dotted with freckles. Just at the base of his neck were little tufts of down feathers, betraying the little bit of avriel blood in him.
Lip, as he had been called, stared over at Nightshade for a moment longer before darting over to Barnes, and using him as a hiding spot. Again, he peered over at the woman, then looked at the older boy who chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Lip's been watchin' 'bout az long az me. But he knows more; sees more. Don't like stranger much, though." Had they been on their own, the boy might have argued that no one liked strangers much anymore, not when they brought on things like this. But they were not so Lip stayed quiet, large eyes boring into the woman. "He'll be more comf'te'ble when we back at the spot." He made a gesture for Nightshade to follow before leading her deeper still into the trees.
If it had been hot before, it was just as much so - or worse for someone unused to it - as they went. Both boys seemed unperturbed by it, Barnes softly chattering away at Lip as they walked. Until they hit a clearing. It would seem like nothing more than a campsite, a tent pitched and a fire going. But Lip took off immediately, scampering into the tent. "The others'll be back and then he'll get to talkin' jus' fine." Another grin was flashed as he arranged a log by the fire, patting the spot beside him for Nightshade. Soon enough, the leaves and trees would part as one boy after another - and a lone girl - made their way to the clearing. All tired-looking and perhaps even defeated - until they'd spot Nightshade and then it was just curiosity and caution, and perhaps a little hostility.
The appearance of Lip caused both a painful twist and a gentle warmth to spread through the chest of the half-breed. She always felt sympathy towards those with a similar mixing of blood as herself. Even if he was likely of a lesser concentration than herself, she could only imagine the problems those small feathers had made for the poor boy in growing up. Her heart ached for the boy, and it was made no better by the fact this child had likely been witness to some gruesome happenings. She watched silently as the much smaller, younger boy darted behind the older Barnes.
"A fair assumption to have. Most strangers aren't too friendly anymore," the half-breed said. Her voice was quiet, gentle in a way that spoke of arcs. Arcs spent going without meals because she didn't work hard enough. Arcs of people hissing and spitting at her for having wings. Arcs of having to earn the same basic decency that most others got for the benefit of being human. Arcs of praying for the attention of those few Immortals she adored and kept her sane. Arcs of wishing Ethelynda would tell her she was doing the right thing. Arcs of wishing for Ashan's guidance and the ability to heal her broken heart and mind. Arcs of wishing that Treid was still around so she could thank the Immortal of the moon and the ice for being her only companion longer than even her own father had been in her life. Seeing the night sky still brought that familiar breathy stir of painful memory. How far she'd gone in her life. "A fair assumption indeed, she repeated once more in a voice that was a little louder. A little braver. She was alive and she wouldn't be crushed under the weight of memories and misplaced hatred. She was better than that.
After Barnes mention of getting back to 'the spot' she nodded and followed along quietly. Her clothing hung to her skin in a way that was rather unpleasant but not unfamiliar. Though she wasn't a local by any means, she wasn't unacquainted with the areas around Etzos that were more rainforest like in nature. Rhakaros was unpleasantly close and she couldn't help but draw the connection. That, of course, didn't make things any more pleasant for the half-breed who for the most part was used to the Etzori climate. She did a good job hiding her discomfort at the very least. While sweat formed on her brow and began to drip down her face she gave little indication to the fact she cared. Her clothes felt damp to the touch, but she didn't complain. Damp meant cool, hence the body's natural defense mechanism against heat is to sweat. It didn't help much given the humidity of the area they were in, but the woman was a master of not giving a shit about her own personal health or how she was currently feeling.
If she wasn't dying, she could put it out of her thoughts and ignore it. Pretend it was normal. Her discomfort meant nothing if there was the potential people were dying.
Once they got to the clearing Nightshade didn't even have a trill to get a good look at it before Lip was darting away. Blinking once and it was like he was never there to begin with. The woman shook her head quietly. "I don't blame him," she said as she took the place next to Barnes once the log was brought over. It was almost unbearable to sit next to the fire in such weather, but she was a stubborn and endurant creature. "People can be cruel, especially strangers. If he's been seeing the same things you have then he has full right to distrust me, to distrust anyone. People are scary sometimes," she shook her head and quietly began to fiddle with one of her feathers as she spoke. "I understand where he's coming from to an extent. Half-breeds aren't looked upon too kindly. Especially my kind. You're too Avriel to be called anything but and you're too human to be anything but a disgrace. At his age, if it wasn't for my father I probably would have done the same thing in the presence of a stranger."
After that, she fell silent. Memories, too many to count, of trying to get herself to look human or normal spun around her head. Memories of nearly being drowned in the river because the older kids thought it would be funny. Memories of coming close to losing her life over nothing more than a couple of feathers. It wasn't like she didn't look human. She looked plenty human. But people always called her Avriel, as though her Avriel blood trumped that of her human blood. She could rant for hours on the topic if given the breath and the chance, but now wasn't the time to linger of such things. Forcibly she shifted her attention to the task at hand. Figuring out more information about what was going on in this damn place.
She felt the hostility long before he saw the confusion and curiosity in the eyes of those who eventually appeared. Her mind was trained to pick out hostility in a crowd, to know when there was danger. Trained to be able to protect herself against the racism and hatred of the Etzos people. It was easy to feel the smallest trace of hostility as it bore into her very being, and she had to actively hold back the sigh that wanted to escape her lips. All the time she'd spent building up a reputation in Etzos, of course, meant nothing in Scalvoris. She wasn't their hero. Wasn't their champion. Still, she wasn't also a hero of Etzos either. Pulling on her old memories she was able to draw out the easy going and hard to insult persona that she'd worn all those arcs ago in order to guard her heart against the unprecedented hatred of those who knew no better.
Her eyes flicked towards Barnes, waiting for him to explain.
"S'all right, fellas. She's a good 'ne." Barnes's assurance seemed to work on most of them but not others. It was the girl that spoke to Nightshade, the boys lingering back. Lip seemed to make for her, stopped by the same glare she was soon leveling at the halfbreed. "What do you want? Why are you here? Barnes, what did we say about you bringing strays here? And a grown-up at that." There was a nasal quality to her voice, making it sound all the more grating as it rose in octave with each word. The displeasure was clear on her face, bushy brows red and matching the mane of hair pulled back. Strands of it stuck to the nape of her neck. "Why don't you go back to the city. There ain't a place for you here."
"Ah'm sorry, miss. She don' mean it."
"Oh, I sure do, Mr. Barnabas." She threw down a stick in what looked like a fire pit, ashes from previous fires piled up. "I mean every last word I say to that bird and don't you go changing it."
Clearly, the hostility the mixed blood had felt had come from the girl. The same one she hadn't seemed to pay much attention to when she first appeared. Dull grey eyes glared over at her before she stomped off into the tent Lip had disappeared into. It seemed all would be quiet, Barnes approaching Night once more, before the girl reemerged with a knife in hand. Drastic measures were being taken.
"She's probably some no good member of the Church. She better get out of here and keep her mouth shut, or else." Perhaps the girl would appear much more threatening if she didn't have to stand a bit on her toes. Knife aimed at her throat and a horde of children watching on, Night certainly had some explaining to do.
There was something to be said about Night's nature. When she chose to so be, the woman was practically unshakeable. Very few things scared her, and even fewer could actually throw her offbeat. A child wielding a knife was certainly new but it wasn't drastically different from what she already dealt with. It was like dealing with a tiny bandit who had a chance of being reasoned with. The woman stared down the girl evenly. The only girl, the special snowflake, the defender among those who were defenseless. There was a small twist of familiarity in the back of the woman's mind, but she pushed it away from the time being.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know what you mean by the 'Church'. I have no idea what it is, but if it's the group that's been murdering children then I can assure you on my life and my honor as a shieldbearer then I most certainly not a member! I'm not even from Scalvoris, I just recently flew in from Etzos," she said, keeping her tone as even a possibility. The ending of her phrase took on a strong, empowered kind of conviction. She tilted her left hand slightly so that the shield was a bit more on display than the moments before. Given that it was the mark of an Adored, it was too personalized and distinct to he faked. Not that Celarion could really be faked, the ring of glowing light quite blatantly sitting around her arm.
She didn't make any sudden movements to try and get the girl to put the knife down. Instead, she just stood, making direct eye contact with the small one. Her disposition and how she acted, that would be her defense. Her honesty her shield. If the little girl actually did attack her than she could defend herself. She might get hit a little, but she could mitigate damages enough that it wouldn't really matter. No, what mattered more was earning the trust of this child.
"I mean no harm. I am of no danger to you. I'm a half-avriel, my entire life I've dealt with asshole adults trying to kill me. Drown me, bludgeon me, stab me. I survived. I wanna make sure others do that same," she said in the softest and most gentle tone she could possibly summon. It would be entirely up to the child if the half-breed was to be trusted. If she decided that the half-breed wasn't, then Night would defend herself and try to prove herself, but hopefully, the child would see reason. Hopefully, the child would see the fact that Night could have killed her without a second thought if she had the impulse. She was good enough with a blade, a lot faster too.
