Hunting for Answers [Closed]

[Khyan Nykara]

Khyan looked briefly to the Zalkyrian heir, barely making out more than the shape of his folded wings, before the prince shifted a fiery gaze toward him that sent his own stare down to the reins in his hands. In that moment, he had the strange recollection of his first encounter with Finn... When they'd danced together and the pale human shirked his kiss, for the sake of some jealous lover. Khyan had alluded to a wyrm's greed in his response, though he had no idea at the time how close to the mark he was.

As the others approached, Khyan turned his focus toward Sembling Kherdroth to better assess his character as a mount. He felt the weight of Finn at his back and heard his voice, though he kept his eyes ahead.

"I think I will err on the side of formality..." He whispered, "...until we are no longer in the royal presence. Dominus." He raised his voice to a normal volume to add,

"And may I say your Vastian has become much better than my Common, Dominus." Though, granted, Finn was fair immersed and had a lot more cause and opportunity to use it than Khyan had to use Common as an Umbrian slave. Soon, Hilana was up and secure as well. He smiled as he heard her give him leave to see them off of terra firma.

"Perge et avola!" He instructed, with a firm kick to punctuate the command that set Kherdroth bounding forward and soon skyward, on a Southeasterly course toward the wide open sea of sand that was the Atraxian Expanse. It had been so long since Khyan had taken to the air this way... The last time he'd seen the sky had been in Raithen's arms, and hadn't been the sunlit view of the Luxium he could now take in with the unique freedom of flight.

He heard Hilana's words and felt Finn tense behind him before crying out startled. Whatever she'd done, he could no longer sense her Aura, nor that of Finn, or most importantly- Kherdroth. He gasped, taken aback at the sudden handicap to his senses.

"That's a new talent, Domina!" He called over his shoulder and through the whipping winds. It seemed he would need to rely upon his natural senses for this flight, which was no simple thing when dealing with an unfamiliar mount, but he focused his mind on the task at hand.

[Hilana Chenzira]

She hung on tightly to the saddle as Kherdroth was spurred into movement by Khyan, and when those winds opened and they were launched upwards, she was pleased and content. She’d had enough lessons since her first wyvern ride with Sandworm that the feeling of moving skyward like that had become normalized to her and she could enjoy it. Hilana’s aura and symphony had been the first to disappear, and it would have been easy for both of her companions to essentially forget the fact that she was there. The Mask dissuaded anyone from looking and listening, after all. If she had not brought them into the protection of the Mask until later, then they really would have had a surprise.

But when Finn looked so startled at her, Hilana’s own expression was unperturbed, and it took a moment for her to realize why the Mesminstrel was so startled. And judging by Khyan’s comments, whatever she had done was a surprise to both of the Masters with her. That tickled some part of her, though she tried to keep it from her face. Her eyes, however, were bright. Welcome to the world of the Mundane, where there were no auras to read and no symphonies to hear. But with the whipping wind… “Spirits, please,” Hilana addressed herself to the air spirits, though her voice was quiet enough that Finn might have been able to read her lips as the gusts around them took the rest of what she said. She offered her aether to the air before Khyan, essentially making a wedge so that the harshness of the air was brushed off to the sides to divert the extra away from the three of them to make it more pleasant. This would at least allow for a more normal volume of speech rather than calling back and forth.

“I’m sorry for not warning the both of you, I didn’t think it would surprise you that way. I just wanted to make sure that we were hidden from, well, tourists.” Or anyone else. She didn’t want a tail that they weren’t aware of. Trailing attention from a distance attracted the attention of others, and the Vastiana would rather nothing compromise their cover or put them in a spot where eavesdroppers got too close. “So long as we stay nearby each other, I think it’s about 25’ or so from my testing with Hayima’el, you will also stay hidden with me from just about all things. It makes it difficult to sense those hidden with Mesmer or Semblance, or with your regular senses… creatures and people forget that we are there. But if you’ll give me a few minutes I should be able to open everyone up to each other again. I usually get it pretty quickly with Tiaz and Hayima’el and Fiya, but they also don’t have the Runes you both do.” This, perhaps, was what Vigilia Valaera mentioned when she talked of Hilana’s gift from Her Argent Luminescence and keeping the expedition party hidden. Even something as large as Kherdroth.

“This is the right direction. We can stay on this course for a while. There’s a turn when we get to one of the oases, but I’ll let you know when that is,” she added. Hilana started to focus on the Mask in order to work out the kinks of linking the four of them back together. That way, at least, they could feel and sense each other. It was one thing for her and her animals, but it shouldn’t be -that- difficult to work it out… She just had to let each of the other three in. She would start with Khyan, seeing as he was their pilot, then Finn, and finish up with Kherdroth.

[Pharaoh]

The prince blinked at Hilana's offered pie, and rose his gaze to meet hers, a faint bemused smile painting gold-painted lips.

"The chefs prepared a lovely dessert with them, which will be served tonight at the senatorial gathering. Safe travels." He nodded to her, before turning his focus to the final parting with Finn as the human drew his hand away from the half-elf's grasp.

"Te amo, Finn."

Arvælyn raised an eyebrow at the servus twink who rounded out their small party and, observing the note of familiarity that passed between their Symphonies, offered an arch:

"Behave." That bore vague hints of vulnerability beneath its outward severity, albeit for Finn's ætheric ears only as he stepped away.

* * *

Kherdroth was unperturbed by Hilana's magical subterfuge, as if he'd have travelled this path with or without the charges mounted at his back. Even before the Mask was employed, Khyan had the sense that the wyvern was singularly focused upon satisfying the demands of the dragon who'd seen them off. Observing their exchange had been something akin to religious fervour or a personal encounter with a beloved celebrity. Perhaps the distinction was rather thin in Solunarium.

Whatever the case, the ride was smooth and smoother still once Hilana's ministrations soothed the rancour of the winds around them. Kherdroth was strong and resolute in his mission. The passengers at his back would need rest long before the wyvern's endurance waned, so they would remain in flight until Khyan urged him to descend- whether to make camp or explore their ultimate destination.

[Finn]

Finn settled quickly, as soon as the strangeness wore off. He was glad of whatever Hilana was doing to calm the air; it made the long flight less taxing, though by the end of it, his thighs were certainly ready to stretch when he could walk on terra firma. He was mostly quiet for the entirety of the trip, his hands easy on Khyan's hips, and Hilana's on his when she wasn't fidgeting with things in her bag. His mind wandered as his eyes roved over the landscape below and the sky all around them. His senses reached out through his Rune to map the slipspace, better preparing him to hasten their return when the time came.

When they landed, he would find time to explore Kherdroth's symphony. If, Deus Aværys forbid, something happen to Khyan, Finn was the one who would have to manage their draconic companion.

And when they did land, he offered both of them a hand in dismounting before he swung his leg over the wyvern's back and slid down, his boots crunching in the gritty sand. His hand rested on the saddle for a moment as he tested his balance and his legs.

"Have you had a chance to learn the care and feeding of a wyvern, Hilana?" he asked. He wouldn't force Khyan to do it all, of course. Finn would do his share and he knew HIlana would likely want to do more than her share if it meant learning more about the magnificent creatures.

While he was nominally in charge, this was really her quest, so he was going to defer to her in most things unless her decisions were going to get them killed. And while they were in the desert, she knew more about keeping them from getting killed.

[Hilana Chenzira]

Once she got the intricacies of the Mask’s command organized, Hilana was able to get out her cloth map of this side of the Kingdom and check over Asher’s markers with the land that they were going over. During her lessons with Valerian, she had made herself do that, too once they got around to the free-flying part of her lessons. Navigating from above was a bit different than navigating from the ground, but in a way it was a sight easier. It was a huge advantage, and the girl was confident in their location. Perhaps surprisingly, she didn’t talk the heads off of either of them while they flew. She did name some spots for them, particularly oases, so that Finn had names to connect to the places with slipspace. She didn’t think Khyan would much care about places so far beyond the Sacred City, but who knew, perhaps he didn’t entirely mind to know, either. She was satisfied enough with their progress that she was content to save the Volumens for a while longer.

The air was accommodating to her as she encouraged the spirits to continue, having worked at improving steady, sustained channelling with her tutors. The lessons had been much like her own growing up, and the end result was practicing, over and over and over again. Hilana had been taught before you didn’t just work until you got it right, you worked until you couldn’t get it wrong. Under Sentinel Ævril and Dominus Palaemon, this consistency had gotten better, and it was becoming second nature. She still had to focus on the spirits and herself, if only because she was careful with her first Rune. Still, she had no real feeling of a headache that usually warned her that she was pushing where she shouldn’t be, so the Vastiana would consider it a victory. As they landed, she thanked the elemental spirits for their assistance - there would be more for later, but now, they were down here and ready for a break. This was a new area with new spirits, but that didn’t bother her either. She had time while they were taking a rest, and if anything, she could try to make friends with the ones here.

Once they were on the ground, Hilana removed the pack with the food and drinks, and followed Finn down, landing easily on the ground. Her green skirts flounced on the landing, and she bowed to the wyvern. “Thank you, Kherdroth,” she was sure the large winged creature had no concern for her words, but she thanked him anyway. “Thank you, Khyan,” she beamed at him, getting out the water skins for them and offering them to her friends first. “Are you both hungry? I packed us food,” she grinned. Both of them were used to Hilana packing plenty of food, be it on lessons she had with Finn, or visits... but she liked to feed people. All the same, Finn had a question for her, and Hilana set the pack down.

“I’ve done tacking and grooming,” Hilana admitted. “Valerian showed me, and I’ve had the opportunity to watch some of the Golden Guard when I went to see Sandworm at her holdings. She’s one of the wyverns that belongs to the Guard, and I had my first ride on her. I bring her fish, sometimes, or organs if I’ve been around outside,” the girl was cheerful. “But would you show me?” Her eyes were bright. Finn knew her well enough to know that he had that right: give her the opportunity, and the Vastiana would jump on it and hang on for dear life. Everyone had different ways of doing things: multiple teachers meant multiple techniques, and that allowed her to get more of the tips and tricks to fill out her education on the subject matter. Either which way, she just had to keep an eye on them - Hilana didn't want any of them to wander too far and break free of the Mask's protections.

[Khyan Nykara]

Khyan hadn't felt so free since he... wasn't. During the long swaths of silence especially, he could feel as though he was alone in the skies as he had been many times before with Græcos. Then Finn's grip would tighten or an errant word would be uttered and he'd be brought back to reality. But that honestly wasn't bad, either. He was working with the beloved of the Crown Prince of the Umbrium who, if rumours were to be believed, was a far more active presence in the realm than its new draconic ruler. Such a one bore great influence... The sort that might undo great wrongs. And, based on Finn's prior statements, he still looked upon Khyan favourably. He seemed an honest sort, but those damnable Sentinel blacks obscured his Sembling from divining his veracity.

Khyan, like Kherdroth, would fly ahead until he was instructed otherwise, though the mostly-human was quicker to tire than the wyvern. By the time Hilana bade him descend his legs were sore, his head heavy and his eyes drooping with exhaustion. Dismounting revealed greater soreness than the lingering ache of remaining relatively still. His legs, too accustomed to their prior positioning, were not inclined to bend now. He limped a few steps away from Kherdroth, before plopping himself onto the ground with a heavy sigh.

"Famished." He said, stretching out onto his back. "But I'm sure I needn't worry. I've seen how much food you pack for a stroll to market. I can only imagine the sort of feast you prepared for a protracted journey abroad." Though Khyan may have been the one amongst them who'd ridden wyverns the longest, he'd relied on stablemasters to tend to the bulk of their care. He enjoyed feeding Græcos from time to time. It always felt akin to a sacrifice, as it typically involved literal lambs being literally led to literal slaughter. A greater theologian than he would need to decide whether or not the Founders were fed withal, but he still tended to pray as he delivered the prey.

He tilted his head to watch the other two as they spoke, his eyes drifting to Finn's profile... the pale face, the prominent jawline. He sighed quietly to himself. Famished.

[Finn]

When Khyan tottered just far enough away to take a seat, Finn grinned and assumed he would be in charge of the wyvern for a while. He began to unlash and unbuckle at various places to help the wyvern out of its harness and saddle. Despite all their luggage still attached to it, he was able to carry the sizeable mounting away from the creature and set it carefully down on a sandstone boulder. Finn had clearly been working out.

"In point of fact," he began, "he will do a lot of it himself while we are out here in the wild. I'm going to let him hunt. He might even give himself a sand bath before he returns, and then there isn't much we need to do."

Reaching out with his soul's music even as he reached out with his hand, he caught Kherdroth's attention, and formed a bond between them. Resting his head against the wyrm's horned head, he gave it leave to hunt, to feed and water itself, to groom, and all; then to return to them, to help guard, to rest. Kherdroth shuddered a bit as he and Finn took a few steps back from each other, vocalized, and then he turned carefully around and took a few bounding steps and little leaps before catching enough air in his wings to launch himself aloft.

"They don't actually need us for much unless they are kept too long kenneled." He did some stretches. "I suppose we should divvy up chores... do you want to take charge of the camp, Hilana?" He grinned and knelt between Khyan's legs, giving them some careful attention with hands strengthened from holding blades and pulling melodies out of strings and such. "Prince Khyan's going to lounge and supervise, it seems."

[Hilana Chenzira]

When Khyan and Finn had the wobbles, Hilana had to remind herself that while they had more wyvern training than she did... she’d spent most of her life on other animals and therefore they were used to different things. Either way, she grinned at the youngest member of the trio when he made the comment about food she brought for a stroll to the market, and had to cede the point. She’d packed that picnic lunch a time or four in hopes of finding him when she knew she was going to have errands to do down below in the Umbrium before Dominus Æros had been able to complete his sale and get his large, four-fingered hands on him. Then it was easier for Hilana to be able to find him and shove food at him when she went to see his dominus when she had lessons or a visit. “The Umbrium is a very vast, sprawling place. You never know when you’re going to get lost in those caverns, and therefore it is better to be prepared with proper supplies,” she said solemnly, unblinking and unsmiling, before laughing happily and passing Khyan the water skin. She had bottles in that bag too that the pair of them would doubtless like, but water first.

Hilana followed along with him as Finn untacked Kherdroth and freed him from his barding. Her eyes were wide when Finn wrangled that saddle and the equipment, and while she reached to help, it was also to help keep the straps and everything else out of the way and from dragging while the heaviest parts of the hardware were being lifted. Well, all of that made sense, and it seemed like they were going to be done for the night, too. And considering Khyan’s demolished state... well, probably for the best. She might have only figured to stop and let them stretch and rest a bit and then keep going, but... well, she wasn’t going to argue. They needed to rest, and better they do it now and hit their destination in a fresher state rather than tired and therefore ill-prepared. “Gratias,” she grinned up at the Peregrinus. When Kherdroth rejoined them, Hilana could just hide him once more. She had yet to remove her mask, and she wasn’t about to take it off. At least, not for a good long time. Preferably until they got back home, but needs must.

“That I can do,” she nodded when he suggested she set up the camp. Her larger pack with supplies for camping was brought out, and she opened that up to get to work. She was content to let the two of them do whatever it was that they were going to do, but she wanted plausible deniability in case Arvaelyn breathed down her neck about anything else. Hilana still felt the thunder, but whether that was the draconian prince’s reinforcement of his urging or her own Wildness, she wasn’t entirely sure. But she sunk her hands into the sand and moved and smoothed it for the tent, before sinking the posts down and getting their shelter put together. Her skirts swished around her feet before she twisted up the hem, gathering them to tuck into her belt so that she could scarper her way up the leaning palm to get some fronds for the fire, climbing easily and sending the fronds to the ground before releasing her grip and dropping neatly into the sands before releasing her hems from her belt and letting the billowing green fabric cover those long legs of hers once more. A small pit was moved for a latrine. A fire pit was next, and fire was started with oil and palm fronds before she set up her trusty tripod so that she could make tea.

But while that heated up, Hilana began to unpack the prepared foods that she’d made for the stop on top of a blanket. She knew full well how prissy Khyan could be, and as such, her tins and jars, bowls and plates and utensils were set upon the blanket with the smorgasbord of prepared food. Khyan was right: she may have packed a large lunch when she’d found him again that day in the Umbrium, but this was even more. But she knew one thing would get Khyan’s attention above all else, and that was the bottles of mead, each of them with a different label to indicate the type of fruit contained within. She lined them up before adding the cotton drawstring ball full of spices and plants and tea leaves to the copper kettle to let that steep. With luck, her friends would be ready to eat and drink. "Enjoy," she beamed at them, settling and adjusting her skirts.

[Khyan Nykara]

Khyan chuckled at Hilana's excuses.

"Indeed! I've heard they recently discovered a new chamber via the mining district..." But with a groan, he trailed off and let his eyes rest as the others tended to Kherdroth. He might have been dozing when he started at the feeling of hands upon his skin. Glancing up, his wide eyes softened toward comfort.

"Oh, Founders bless you..." Khyan sighed with relief and tilted his head back in satisfaction at the unbidden massage being plied by the bard of their party. His head lolled for a moment in idle bliss until it snapped up wide-eyed to gape at Finn.

"Your amatus can't surveil us with his, um... draconic magic, can he? I would not tempt the doom of incurring his wrath if I can avoid it." Although Khyan was fascinated by dragons and had frequented the Museum Draconum in younger, wealthier days than these, he wasn't sure of the breadth of their inherent power and he dared not attempt to Semble those at the peak of the social pyramid from his wretched place at its base.

When the time for dining was upon them, Khyan blinked at the sight of mead. It might have been mistaken for juice or some such by mundane eyes, but even passively Khyan could sense the liqueur. Perhaps it was his Semblance, or perhaps some specific innate talent unrelated to his Craft. Whatever the case, he reached for the darker hued sampling straight away and uncorked it.

"I can't believe you've been hiding this until now!" He grumbled until his grimace went away perforce as his lips were busy about the mouth of the bottle as he tipped its contents onto his savouring tongue. A few hearty gulps elapsed before he drew it away, and wiped at his mouth with the back of his bare wrist.

"Splendid."

[Finn]

"You never know with dragons," he said cryptically, but while Arvælyn's love might have made him a bolder lover, he wasn't willing to risk that love—even if he had dreamed traitorous dreams about both of his camping mates. His hands were strong, but he kept his touch mostly clinical. After a few minutes, he gave Khyan a patriarchal pat on the head and stood up to help with what he could in setting up camp. He would have chopped wood, but wood was scarce in the desert, and Hilana knew other ways to fuel a fire in the Expanse.

"I didn't know where to look for you," he said to Khyan as he unpacked things, eyes on his work. "I suppose I could have asked more questions, looked harder, but I thought that might draw negative attention to you. Æros seems like an all-right sort, though. But if you ever need out..." He glanced over at him, mien serious. "Just say the word and I will find a way to purchase you, whether to grant you manumission or... if Arvælyn won't let me keep you... find you a more suitable arrangement." His gaze softened and he looked back down at his work. Though their friendship had been that of a day, the thought of even such a friend being enslaved was anathema to all he held dear.

And yet, here he was in Solunarium. Things were different here.

When Hilana offered what he assumed was some of her mead while the kettle for tea was heating up, he glanced over at her.

"Trying to get us tipsy in the dangerous desert?" he asked with a grin. Then, as he tied off what he was working on. He got a faraway look for a moment. "Should I play pied piper and lure something fresh for us to eat?" That was one thing a Mesmer could do and, luckily, that would work so long as they were within the scope of the second sun that kept them safe from the shadows of the so-called Eclipse.