Ash 1, 124
Kaiko would smile in her sleep having a nice dream of the sea. One where she could swim and chase the fish. It was a nice dream which was uncommon for her nowadays. But all great things must come to an end. Unfortunately for the young Rathari her dream was interrupted by a horrible sound. A sound of surprise, pain and anger. Kaiko was up, staff in hand almost immediately. The sound was something between a growl and a whimper that turned into a furious bark.Then there was a different sound: a screech. Partly confused, partly afraid, she started towards the sound only to find a large Falcon and a young wolf full on attacking one another.
It was loud and hard to actually see what was happening with the blur of feathers and fur, but Kaiko would immediately step into action. She would move in using her staff to whack the bird as hard as she could. It would make contact throwing the bird away from the wolf. A few feathers fell off as it skidded away then got up, gave a screech of defiance, and flew off. She would watch the bird fly off before looking to see the feathers. Nice black and white striped feathers with a brown undertone. She would pick one up and put it in her hair before hearing the wolf start to whimper again. She would turn and start to approach the wolf to see what damage the bird had done but the wolf would give a growl. Kaiko would stop knowing the warning. She would slide the staff into the back of her shirt holding hands down in a non threatening manner. She would start to approach again. The wolf would be whimpering on its side covered in blood. She knelt down beside it and started trying to help it but the cuts were deep, its fur wet and red. Its whimpers would grow weak before going silent. Kaiko would stay by its side as it passed away. She may not have known the wolf but it's death was still sad. She would notice the ear was ripped almost off. She would consider taking it for a totem. Decided it would be a mercy as its death would not be a complete waste. It would be a few moments before she would rip the ear the rest of the way off and put it in her pocket. She would shudder after a little grossing out at what she had done. “Sorry” she said and patted its side. She would start to stand before the quick crunching of leaves caught her attention. The sound of backing made her blood run cold. She immediately felt guilty for what she had done. She would turn and run only barely managing to get into a tree before jaws locked on her boot. Kaiko would let out a scream holding on to the tree with both hands before using her other foot to kick the creature off. As soon as released she would climb higher. Once high enough the wolf's couldn't get her she would sit on a limb. The staff made that a little uncomfortable so she carefully pulled it back out of her shirt and layed it across her lap.
Kaiko's skin would darken a little giving away the fact that she was afraid and that this fear stressed her out. She watched as the braver wolf's tried to climb the tree. With the tree limbs as they were using her staff would only result in her dropping it. She would continue to watch considering her options. She hadn't eaten anything venomous in a while so stinging would likely be pointless. Probably get her eaten. So with that her boot was the only remaining option. Luckily they couldn't get to her. They would eventually lay down below the tree. And when they did Kaiko would finally check her boot and foot. The boot got 4 good teeth marks in it but nothing broke her skin. It would however start to bruise. She put her boot back on. She would rest her head against the tree. Only to have something itch her head. The feather. A new option.
Kaiko would pull the feather out of her hair and look at it. It actually seemed formillure. She would glance down at the wolf pack to make sure they weren't trying anything before looking back at the feather. She would carefully pull her uncle's box out and open it. She would pull a feather out. The feather was the only thing her uncle had not labeled in the box. She figured now that she was stuck that comparing feathers would be a good pass of time. So she did just that. She put the two feathers beside one another and looked at them. They were the same shape and pattern but the new feather was darker and slightly bigger. She figured the old one was from a similar or younger version of the same bird. She would put the old feather back in the box before putting the box back up.
She would look at the wolf pack again. Seemed they were looking at her as well. It would be a long game of wait. She would adjust her sitting position again before taking the new feather in both hands and closing her eyes. She would open her aether towards the feather. Focusing on what the bird was like. True adding a creature to her mark was not complicated but this was the first air creature so it would take a bit before the feather started to dissolve and join the other marks on her back. She would not notice that the wolf pack finally left as she continued to focus on the feather. Unlike the others the bird would start to appear as the simple silhouette of a feather near the middle of the cluster of silhouettes. But before the ritual was complete her consideration was broken as the falcon came back. It would strike her going for her head but only hitting the hat. The hat would fall off as she moved to grab her staff but not fast enough. The falcon would swoop in again, knocking her out of the tree, and scratching her side. Kaiko would hit a few branches on the way down before finally hitting the ground on her back. Everything blurred as all the air left her. This was followed by a sharp intake of air, gasping, and lastly a coughing fit. She started to panic as she looked or more felt around for her staff. But not fast enough the large bird landed on her sinking claws in deep as it tried to pin her down. She would struggle and fight to try and get it off but between it and her loss of breath this was not a fight she would win. In her panic she would grab the bird's leg and sting it. The bird let out a cry and attacked with more furry. She would roll up using her hand and arm to protect her face and neck. It was mere moments before the bird slowed giving a weak screech. This was followed by a quick beating of wings. The bird would finally stop moving though Kaiko remained in her ball shape for a bit, eventually she realized the bird stopped attacking. She would slowly sit up looking towards the sky as she continued to catch her breath. Not seeing it she would look at her arm. It was battered and bleeding from many different scratches. The bird would give a final spasm kicking up dirt and smacking her back with its wings. Spooked, she would immediately ball back up. All the scratches burned and most were bleeding. She stayed balled up and started to cry wondering what she had done to deserve such bad luck. She was starting to think the gods hate her.
Time would pass before she sat back up and looked at her cuts that had finally stopped bleeding. She would move slowly as she grabbed her staff and got up. She would lean on it to keep pressure off the brushed foot. Everything hurt but here was not the place to rest even if she didn't want to move she didn't want to be eaten. With that thought she would look around for the wolves only to notice the bird. It's leg had swelled up from the sting. She would pick up her staff and poke it. Once it did not move, she would carefully pick it up, deciding without mercy that it was to be her food. It was an eat or be eaten world after all, and it was the one to die, not her. Somehow she survived. She had killed a bird. But it had left its marks. Marks that would not fade overnight. She turned about looking for the hat. Once she saw it she would pick it up and put it back on. She would quickly make sure she had all her stuff before she started walking. As she walked she would look for a sharp rock to use as a knife and a set of rocks that would spark. It would be nightfall before she found everything and had a fire going with two nice size chunks of meat and the legs cooking. She decided to keep a few of the feathers. She placed one in the box and a few she put in her hair. The wolf ear would also be placed in her box. After the bird stopped cooking she would eat. And after she eat she would limb into a tree and sit then leaned against the tree to rest