Burning it Down

YOU SAID THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THE MOON IT ROSE TOO SOON AND WE'RE DOING WHAT WE SHOULD The glade doesn't burn. It is as much reassurance for herself as for him, an affirmed memory of years and year past where the glade stayed greed and lush and verdant. Though now that she thinks about it, Amalia does not know if that is a naturally occurring phenomena or a result of the efforts of those living within. Worry inches into her heart, making her nervous, too. If Amalia were human she would nibble her lips; as it is she ruffles her feathers a bit, the bloatbeetle shifting between her claws. Amalia drops her own beetle on the back of the log where the fire has yet to fully escape, a retardant against the burn to come. She sings a silent prayer as it falls, asking Mort to guide it to safety: her first kill as a shifted Attuned, and she does not yet have the animal instincts which allow her to take life without a thought. Shifting her wings she rounds back to Jigano, falling in beside him on a plume of hot air, keen eyes surveying the damage below. His request for more beetles is met with a head tilt, both silent response and tactical motion. Her senses in this form are remarkably keen, and not far away she can hear it: the rustle of wings, the buzz of the bugs. Nearer the glade, away from the smoke, she leads him toward her waiting prey. There are four there waiting, a veritable swarm. With talons outstretched Amalia dives down to capture a beetle between her claws, straining against gravity and its weight, her wings starting to burn as she pivots in the air to carry it back and around to the blaze. a m a l i a You said it's life that moves too much We're losing touch But I'm not losing you