4 Voice
#4 of Voice
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"To the mountain, child. There, destiny lies."
Giarien regretting sleeping on the branch. She had perched the whole night, a skill that many dragons and avians had, and her legs were sore. Her clawed feet were tense from clutching the branch all night, her tail as well as it had anchored her to the tree. Worst of all, it was cold, and difficult to move her limbs.
From afar she could see a speck flying towards her. Hunter, she supposed. She grabbed her bag and things. The speck came much closer, and she almost gasped at how elegant the bird looked as he glided swiftly towards her. She hadn't been able to make out details in the dark, but he was gorgeous. His feathers were primarily brown, but he had dark green accents. Cream-white hollow circles patterned his wings and sides. His beak was short and relatively close to his face. He outstretched his claws and landed silently and practicedly on a branch near to her, calling out sweetly, "Honey, I'm home!"
She couldn't help but stare at him for just a while. Unlike dragons, avians did not have their arms separated from their wings, and it looked very limiting and odd to her. Any creature without independent arms did look odd to her, though. The aquatics she did not envy, for she could only wonder how they were able to grab anything with their webbed hands. His body was in good shape, and Giarien imagined that he was probably popular among the village girls. He smirked and raised a brow. "More handsome in the daylight, eh?"
She did not bother lying. "Yes, you are very beautiful."
"Not the same thing, but I'll take a compliment in any form." He winked, unbothered by her choice of adjective. He lifted a finger as if to say 'oh!' and doffed a backpack. He fished around in it and pulled out a small decorated wood cylinder. It had been carved with forms of birds, and the top and bottom were capped with a grey metal, steel perhaps. "Here." He handed it to her.
"What is this?" It fit in her palms, and she bounced her hands in the air to gauge its mass. It was heavy, but she felt like she needed to treat it with utmost delicacy.
"It is a charm of protection. The village sage gave it to me when I told him that I was headed to the mountains."
"Is it not for you?"
He shrugged. "It is, but I'm experienced enough with the wild. Keep it in your bag, proximity should be enough for it."
"Thank you." Giarien placed it carefully into her bag, making sure to separate it from her food. "By the way, Hunter, have you brought food for yourself?"
"Why of course! I can share of course, I brought dried meats and bread."
"I don't eat meat, but I wouldn't mind having some bread. I'll share some of my plant-things with you. We should eat before we head off."
"You don't eat meat? I thought that dragons were carnivorous." The two sat down on the thickest of branches and rummaged through their bags for the appropriate food.
"Winged monsters do tend to be, don't they? Land dragons were of mixed diet, either omnivores or herbivores. Most dragons nowadays are racially ambiguous, and so diets vary greatly. I happen to be unable to stomach meat." Giarien made a disgusted face to illustrate her point.
"I never did know much about dragons. The avians are similar, I suppose. Out in the civilized lands and nation-states there are songbirds and birds of prey, but most avians in the danger zone are a mix of many species and diets. I enjoy insects, standard meat, grains, fruit, everything really. Interesting how these things work. Here." He broke a loaf of bread in half and gave it Giarien. She accepted it gladly. She hadn't had flour in a long time, and so hadn't made bread. Perhaps when she returned home she would have to engage in trading more often, with the nearby avian village even.
Giarien gave him a bag of dried fruits and nuts. "This is also good trail food if you want to save it for later."
He tossed a large handful into his beak. "I'll keep that in mind."
As they ate they discussed small things, like trade and intermixing within species. While grandiose, Hunter did prove to be thoughtful on such matters, even if he inneuendously asked about intermixing between species.
When they were done they packed away everything and stood.
Hunter spoke softly for one moment: "You know, you don't have to come with me. I know that this is important to you, but there's no need to risk yourself. I can go by myself to save the voice."
Giarien shook her head. "I have to help. It's dangerous even for you alone. I've been hearing the voice from the mountains for years, I would hate to abandon it in its time of need. If the voice speaks again, that might help us somehow. We must make haste as well, we have until midday tomorrow." The mountain was not far away, but they would need to discover an entrance. Giarien did not even know if there was an entrance on the mountain. Perhaps there was some obscure tunnel in the forest, or no tunnel at all. She only hoped that they would not have to climb to the apex of the mass, and that the entrance was not on the far side.
"A valiant cause which I will not deny you. Then let us descend." Hunter jumped out of the tree and glided towards the white rocky fields. Giarien did the same, but less elegantly and for a shorter duration of flight. Once she had landed in a dirt clearing at the edge of the forest, Hunter made circles over her head before grounding as well. If only she were of the flying type of dragon. The mountain was almost half of the sky now. It was hard not to feel small under its stature. Giarien gulped, only hoping that her abilities were significant enough.