Children Of The Wing

[Bedwyr]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I Want To See What's Over The Next Hill
Lutrego 26 1024

Bedwyr knelt in the dirt of one of the gardens in the station. He was checking to make sure the soil was draining well. Water could always be a problem with plants. Most people were aware of the depravation of it, but the excess of it could cause problems. As he dug into the soil he was pleased to see that it wasn’t hard, but it also wasn’t muddy or really clumpy. He smiled thinking it was a good sign for the drainage. Now there plants that liked muddy soil, but crops rarely were them. Which in most cases was good as it was good for crops to have draught resistance.

He restored the dirt to its position and then stood up brushing the dirt from his hands and then brushed it from his knees. He then stood for a moment and tried to get the worse of the dirt out from under his finger nails. It was something he was used to but drove Arianwyn crazy. They had come to a compromise on the subject and know he was in the habit of getting the worse of it out and then wash well when he could get the time.

All who knew him, knew that the Bedwyr of nineteen was much less dirty then the Bedwyr of 12. It was part of why brown had also become the normal color he wore. He fiddle with his nails and the dirt while looking over the plants. The salt from the sea below was affecting the crops but they had been prepared for that. Even on the islands with its elevation the edges of the islands had to deal with the salt. He glanced around at the others who were also working in the gardens. Mostly younger sons of farmers who took this chance to do something exciting but still put their skills to good use.

Bedwyr smiled thinking it was a beautiful sight to see the plants growing, he loved all types of plants but there was something very special about plants that were used to sustain life. He looked up at the sun and realizing it was time to meet his wife for lunch spread his wings and took off into the air.

He was right Arianwyn was waiting for him sitting on the other side of station. She was actually sitting in one of fruit trees that had been carefully transplanted into the station. Unlike her husband she was dressed in silver colored cloth. Her style was fully Hyludin but the closest description would have a dress. Her clothing was pretty though the cloth choise was practical for someone living outside of Iulure now. Her hair was braided around her horns in a fetching style. She had a basket hanging from a branch as she waited for Bedwyr.

[Kalortah]

The gardens of the expeditionary fleet were impressive, Kalortah couldn't deny. The inclusion of gardens, where all manner of avians and colors and shapes were, presented an interesting opportunity. A linguistic opportunity, to share more of the language that was half the point of the youths attending him. Kalortah was only too happy to oblige, with the aid of his unofficial assistant,

Dirwyn

. The young hyludin had pink membrane to his golden wing limbs, with silver and golden hairs shining from his head. His bright pink eyes cast about, taking in the beautiful assortment of vegetation.

Kalortah for his part had adopted a different wing color, with golden at the wing tips. The colors flaring out into colder greens, violets, and blues at the wing tips set a neat contrast to the golden feathers nearer his head. His eyes, he'd made pink like Dirwyn's, trying them on for size. The avriel was of obviously shorter stature than many of the hyludin, and even among his own kind was a small figure. But what he did have that was big, was his voice, which projected through the winds of the garden.

This was a prime teaching opportunity, and Dirwyn was helping him by translating the more nuanced concepts in Draconic. Although Kalortah by this time was able to hold full conversations in their language, it helped having Dirwyn around. He was well able to convey the deeper meaning of what Kalortah said. Especially since he'd come to know the avriel better now.

Lotema

was with them, Kalortah's life-mate, and the mother to their

child

. A child that remained in her arms, to keep her sticky fingers occupied in case a trinket caught her eye. The kleptomaniacal avriel had an arrangement with Kalortah. She was provided anything she wanted, anything at all, and Kalortah would pay for it. As long as she didn't steal. It was a hard compromise for Lotema, but sometimes Kalortah relieved her urge by sending her out to fetch something special. This alone made their arrangement palatable to her. She couldn't abandon stealing this or that, and Kalortah in truth didn't want to tame the wild urge in his partner. Her independent streak was what made their relationship challenging, and he liked that.

"You see..." Kalortah said in Draconic. "The birds of the air, sea, and land all contribute to the cultivation of plantlife. They eat the berries, shoots, grasses and seeds, and then pollinate and spread that life to other lands and places." The avriel smiled at the small gaggle of younger hyludin that trailed he, Lotema, and Dirwyn.

"One mustn't prey upon these magnificent creatures, as they are precious to Delroth. The more beautiful the bird, the more precious, naturally. Although some have been known to have greed for feathers, one mustn't steal the beauty of another creature, for the sake of shoring up their own flaws." Kalortah instructed them in Delroth's dictates, and expectations. He thought for certain there was potential in these hyludin, for worshipping Delroth. Kalortah would give Delroth the kindred spirits he deserved, if the avriel couldn't be turned back to him.

Lotema was looking very bored, as she didn't understand a lick of Draconic, or much common either. So her eyes were distracted by some beautiful trinket that was adorning a young hyludin female, who happened to be Arianwyn. Her fingers itched as she held the child, and she stole a glance to Kalortah while he was busy instructing the young ones.

Just then, as she was about to break away to meet with that young hyludin female, Boss Gosling, the goose of Draithadir, intercepted her. "HONK!" The bossy goose shouted at her, interrupting her attempt to extricate herself from the group.

This caught Kalortah's attention, and he noticed Lotema's focus on the hyludin female. "Lotema..." He said, in Lorien so she'd understand, "Come see these flowers."

Lotema sighed, exasperated. Then she moved away from Boss Gosling, and toward Kalortah. He held up the blossom for her, which he'd clipped with a small knife. This he set in her hair feathers. It matched her blue and green plumage wonderfully, as a red blossom. "We should meet with one of the gardeners..." Kalortah said, in Draconic to Dirwyn, as he turned from Lotema.

[Bedwyr]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I Want To See What's Over The Next Hill
Lutrego 26 1024

Arainwyn looked over at the commotion a distances from where she and her son were seated. Ever aware of how she looked and the fashion she presented she had designed her dress around performing her motherly blessings and so it was to the observe they couldn’t see that she was at that moment feeding her baby as she reclined in the tree. She looked over at the strangers. The population of the base was large enough that it was impossible to know everyone, but the man and woman weren’t Hyludin. The woman’s attention was drawn away as Bedwyr came in for a landing.

The young gardener landed on his feet and took in the world around him. His blue eyes saw Arainwyn sitting up in a tree a basket hanging from another branch. He didn’t see their son, but assumed he was there. He also saw a gathering among the herbs beds. Bedwyr also noticed the two who weren’t Hyludin in the crowd. He was curious though good manner taught to him by his aunts and uncles kept him from staring. He did not in passing though that there appeared to be a male and a female with a child in females arms. They did have wings though very different in appearances.

Turning back the brown clothed Hyludin walked towards where his wife was, when he heard a voice call out to him. “Are you a gardener?” Asked one young man. Bedwyr turned back to the group, secretly happy for an excuse to study them more. He recognized a follower of Draithadir. His own Arainwyn was also a follower of the Joyful Treasure, one of the lost named dragons until a few arcs ago when they were saw a new name. He wasn’t offended at the young Hyludin’s assumption since given his brown wings and garb he hinted at his own draconic patron, though like most of his family he followed multiple dragons.

Bedwyr glanced back at Arainwyn to make sure she was aware of his being called and then walked forward. He came forward and said in greeting. “Hello. I am a Bedwyr and serve as a gardener here though I normally can be found tending the crops. How might I help you?” His tone was polite as he spoke but took in the crowd. They all seemed to look at the stranger with awe, though they seemed to ignore his wife, and she seemed a bit bored?

[Kalortah]

Presently, the blue-feathered owl that was Kalortah's Tarouz familiar descended onto the avriel mortalborn's shoulder. The bird shed one of its feathers, granting Kalortah the feathergrace of Delroth's blessing, making him appear more compelling, as if it were possible. Yet he managed it, and his crowd of hyludin students began watching him with rapt attention as he engaged the gardener.

The blue feather, he tucked behind his ear, while the other cradled a small fruit blossom that was bursting with color and scent. "You're a cultivator here? Good!" Kalortah was considerably more friendly to those he shared the sky with, even if they were not avriel. In fact, he'd come to admire the culture of the Hyludin in his time spent in their expedition fleet. "Would you mind if I plucked this flower?" He asked, and then if allowed took the clipping with a twist of his wrist. As if it were possible, the flower once in Kalortah's possession took on an even more vibrant and luxurious color and scent. The flower seemed to burst with majestic beauty, compared to when it had hung from the branch.

This, he granted to Bedwyr, or his wife if she thought to approach the strange couple and their following. "Have you heard word of Delroth, my friend?" Kalortah asked Bedwyr, "He is the Immortal of the winds, the birds of the sky, greed and vanity." Kalortah smiled at the gardener and the woman that appeared to be his wife. "Delroth commands his followers to be their best selves, and so we strive to beautify and bring improvement to ourselves and our surroundings."

He laid a light hand on Bedwyr, if he didn't flinch backward. Otherwise, Kalortah turned to his disciples, and began speaking in grandiose terms of the gardener. "This man brings food to your table, and helps facilitate the prosperity of the garden. He is a friend of birds." Kalortah glanced at Boss Gosling, who honked skeptically. The creature was clearly of Draithadir, with golden feathers and filigree embellishments on his bill.

"And he in part makes the beauty we see around us, in these blossoms, possible."

"Can you tell us more about these trees that bear flower and fruit?" Kalortah asked in draconic to Bedwyr.

[Bedwyr]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I Want To See What's Over The Next Hill
Lutrego 26 1024

Bedwyr watched as a blue-feathered owl landed upon the winged stranger. His blue eyes watching the giving a feather to bird winged individual. Bedwyr felt his attention almost totally focused on this man before as there was just something about him, especially as he came closer to the young man and began to speak to him. He was impressed by the other man, but despite these he wasn’t total oblivious to things around him.

Bedwyr was slightly amused by being asking his permission to pluck the flower. Bedwyr nodded his head, there wasn’t any rules against it and he personally liked to collect flowers. He often gave them to Arianwyn, but plant life in general was one of his favorites. Bedwyr looked at the flowers and he saw the flower become more magnificent while the man held it. Bedwyr briefly wondered at the man’s name but didn’t interrupt. He was slightly impressed and his skin color turned slightly yellow with his awe as he was handed the flower. He wasn’t yellow but yellow pigments in his skin became more obvious.

His attention was drawn away from the flower and his skin slowly returned to its normal pigmentation. Bedwyr shock his head and said. “No.” He said but fell silent again as the conversation continued. The man explained who Delroth was. He was apparently one of the children of the Originals, one of these Immortals a kin to the Divine Serpent. Bedwyr wondered if this man know about the Divine Serpent or the Originals. He didn’t have long to pounder as he felt his attention being pulled back towards the speaker. This Delroth has some interesting things he was over that gave Bedwyr a bit of pause. Wind was good, Birds were important. Greed and Vanity gave him pause. Bedwyr listened to explanations about him wanting his people to be the best they could. Sounded like someone to learn more about.

Bedwyr blushed the pink in his skin coming out with it as the preacher complimented him on being a gardener and the importance of such a job in the world. He helped bring beauty and food. Things that Bedwyr himself believed but he personally put the actually plants as the hard workers, he just helped them along. Despite his blushing he didn’t with draw as he was touched by the man. Even with him paying attention Bedwyr was surprised when he was asked to tell them about the trees and the fruit.

This was territory he was more comfortable with and he nodded his head and pointed to one of the trees. At this point Arianwyn had gotten out of her tree and come over to join them. Bedwyr looked at the blossoms and said. “This is a cherry tree. It grows well with the cold, we also picked them because they don’t need a tone of water, actually to much water can kill them faster then to little. Which is why you will always find them in areas that will drain the water best.” He said and saw his wife’s humerus smile since compared to the other man’s talking Bedwyrs was very bland.