The wings of the Fae would never be less than magical, Jigano thought with admiration as Eliza elegantly extracted herself from the river and returned to the shore without any of the messy splashing that a human would have been forced to endure. She looked bright and in good health, something his worried gaze took note of first, checking for the telltale signs of shaking hands and bruised, weary eyes. He relaxed more easily once he had assured himself that she showed no signs of the dark illness that had swept the Greatwood.
Isuma chirruped excitedly, diving down to land upon the trembling arm he stretched up to catch her and then leaning forward to look Eliza over with wide golden eyes in her snow owl-ish face. She was the size of a small cat, though her body and ears looked like a miniature snow leopard with foretalons and wings that matched her owl face. Her primaries were striped in blues, and delicate blue accents touched her face, breaking up the white of her feathers.
"Isuma," he scolded gently, affection still clear in his voice despite the illness that lingered in his veins. "This is Eliza, the first Fae to brave the Hollowed Grounds. Eliza, this is Isuma, companion of my heart and she is very excited to meet you!" He ended on a yelp as the gryphlet wriggled eagerly and nearly slipped from his shaky arm until he made a less-than-elegant grab to catch and steady her. She reeped an abashed apology to him, but her attention was almost immediately drawn back to Eliza, clearly fascinated by the young woman and her beautiful wings.
"Amalia, who bonded the starwhale calf, she is well," he said, obliquely sidestepping himself for a moment. "There was some issue with the first Queen of the Hollowed Grounds, the one who called herself things like 'tyrant' and 'the merciless' threatening Amalia, but Zariah is gone... for the moment. So Amalia has been able to run her bakery." He paused, wondering how much to tell the young woman with the stunning dragonfly wings. It had been such a long time since they'd seen each other he didn't know what she would think, but hiding it from her could only end badly for him. If she asked him to leave, he would of course... but he hoped it wouldn't come to that.
"The others..." he began, all smiles fading to pensive sobriety as he looked over to the river and the sunlight sparkling off it with such deceptive beauty. "And myself... are not so well. The blight did not stop at infecting only plants, I'm afraid." He exhaled slowly, a sad smile touching his features as he patted Isuma with a shaking hand. "I had offered to some research for Arduinna among the human archive, but there was nothing to be found among the tracks of history. I came to the Greatwood today to tell her, but I found you instead. How have the seasons treated you since last we met?" A deft attempt to turn the conversation back to the brave and bright young woman who had been so bold in Flowerbirth. Not that he thought it would work, but he was genuinely interested to hear how she had been in their time apart.
Isuma chirruped excitedly, diving down to land upon the trembling arm he stretched up to catch her and then leaning forward to look Eliza over with wide golden eyes in her snow owl-ish face. She was the size of a small cat, though her body and ears looked like a miniature snow leopard with foretalons and wings that matched her owl face. Her primaries were striped in blues, and delicate blue accents touched her face, breaking up the white of her feathers.
"Isuma," he scolded gently, affection still clear in his voice despite the illness that lingered in his veins. "This is Eliza, the first Fae to brave the Hollowed Grounds. Eliza, this is Isuma, companion of my heart and she is very excited to meet you!" He ended on a yelp as the gryphlet wriggled eagerly and nearly slipped from his shaky arm until he made a less-than-elegant grab to catch and steady her. She reeped an abashed apology to him, but her attention was almost immediately drawn back to Eliza, clearly fascinated by the young woman and her beautiful wings.
"Amalia, who bonded the starwhale calf, she is well," he said, obliquely sidestepping himself for a moment. "There was some issue with the first Queen of the Hollowed Grounds, the one who called herself things like 'tyrant' and 'the merciless' threatening Amalia, but Zariah is gone... for the moment. So Amalia has been able to run her bakery." He paused, wondering how much to tell the young woman with the stunning dragonfly wings. It had been such a long time since they'd seen each other he didn't know what she would think, but hiding it from her could only end badly for him. If she asked him to leave, he would of course... but he hoped it wouldn't come to that.
"The others..." he began, all smiles fading to pensive sobriety as he looked over to the river and the sunlight sparkling off it with such deceptive beauty. "And myself... are not so well. The blight did not stop at infecting only plants, I'm afraid." He exhaled slowly, a sad smile touching his features as he patted Isuma with a shaking hand. "I had offered to some research for Arduinna among the human archive, but there was nothing to be found among the tracks of history. I came to the Greatwood today to tell her, but I found you instead. How have the seasons treated you since last we met?" A deft attempt to turn the conversation back to the brave and bright young woman who had been so bold in Flowerbirth. Not that he thought it would work, but he was genuinely interested to hear how she had been in their time apart.
