haunting the streets

death, you bring death and destruction to all that you touch

The sun rose again, and with it, came another semblance of turmoil.

The early hours had caught him staring across the tundra from the Citadel walls, grateful to be at the top of their height and prestige, contemplating next steps and solution. With Luka assaulted, a whole layer was added to their horrors and aspects, and he clenched his jaw, going through their choices and options once again –

But shouts rang out from down below, and his eyes narrowed to hear the rush of trackers making noise along the gates. Shifting back to the ground on eagle wings for half a moment, the information spewed forth was enough to make his blood run cold, another collection of shards embedded their way through his chest. Quickly taking it all in, he wrote a few notes and handed them off to a guard, instructing them to go to Evie, Sah, and several others specifically, before he took flight.

His bird forms were fast, but gods, it would never feel swift enough. Gliding over the outstretch of endless white had once felt like liberation, but now it felt like too much, too vast, too everything simultaneously, and when he eventually landed near the Fangs, and made his trek within the inner reaches, he half-hoped that perhaps they’d miscalculated. They’d seen something else.

But no – the sharp eyes of Halovians had glimpsed it true. The springs, broken, cracked, and essentially gone. A wasteland of stone and ice, chiseled away from all their aspects and dreams, left as nothing more than foundations – slivers and fractures of what they once were. The meaning was clear – no more to be healed. No more to be cleansed.

DEIMOS

...look into a wolf's eyes. You'll never be the same again.

The frantic pounding on the front door had been nearly catastrophic so soon after Luka's attack. The tracker had apologized profusely when he saw the look on the Wild Thunder's face but after the situation was explained the twins insisted, Sah sent the man off and teleported to the Fangs in a flash of lightning.

With a rumble, lightning struck the ground near where the entrance to the springs had once been. Sah scanned the destruction, ice creeping into his veins. Two back-to-back attacks, Luka, and now this? Halo and the Family had already been in conflict but the events of LongNight solidified that the war had truly begun. The Wild Thunder glanced up at the bird above him, doing his best not to project the depth of his anger and fear as he reached through the bond. Do you think it's possible for us to start rebuilding even while we're working on our current quest for Vi?The springs were decimated, and they'd clearly need to start over. It would take extensive time and effort to restore the springs and they'd likely be blocked by the Family at every turn. Sah didn't want to wait to start.

Sah

death, you bring death and destruction to all that you touch

Sah’s appearance might have settled him, if only because another’s Attuned presence meant he had to keep everything under lock and key. The reach of rage settled deeply into his chest and stayed there, a callous, hovering figure down each and every sinew touched; and then smothered. It would fester and mire there, until he had some opportunity to let them all escape, perhaps across some great, grand expanse of snow, or beating down pieces of a distant beach.

His eagle talons clutched on the edges of open crag, beak closing so it might’ve resembled his clenched jaw. A thousand calculations slashed through his brain and he could only reach and grab at several tethers at once. It was gratitude in there somewhere too, for Sah being present at all, so that they could coordinate thoughts and efforts in the midst of the heinous display. Not precisely, he reasoned first. We might be able to move the stones to re-use them. But I do not think we should restore it in the Fangs. He’d want it closer to home, within the Citadel, where they were all capable of defending it no matter the gods damned season. Time is no longer on our side, and the Family have forced our hands. A finality; a twist of the knife. I will have to plan with others, but we likely need to head to Starfall soon.

DEIMOS

...look into a wolf's eyes. You'll never be the same again.

Sah nodded, catching onto Deimos' train of thought. Rebuilding it in the Citadel is a good idea. Especially if they could figure out how to complete their current quest for Vi. The very same quest whose importance had only increased.  Sah had spent many nights awake trying to brainstorm a way to procure a creature from Stormbreak. No plot or idea seemed to have a positive conclusion. That only let Starfall

It seemed that the two hybrids were on the same page on both matters, I was thinking the same. I think we're going to need a Void Crystal to complete our quest. Maybe we can send two teams? At different times of course. I'm reluctant to leave the twins for more than a day or two but I can see if anyone is willing to join me in going. The teams would need to be spaced so that Halo remained defended at all times. The Family was sure to be furious when they discovered what was being planned and would make the most of any opening.

Sah truly didn't want to leave his twins. Not now. But they'd never be safe again if the Family conquered Caido. He'd have to discuss the matter with the duo tonight. Hopefully he could convince them of the necessity of him helping.

Sah

death, you bring death and destruction to all that you touch

Good ideas seemed far more difficult to come by lately; too many felled by the wide-swinging lapses in judgement or enemies fifty paces ahead of them. Luckily, he and Sah were on the same proportions on the Starfall front now – something Deimos had calculated long into the evening after Luka had been grievously injured. No more point in trying to placate, to soothe frayed edges and nerves while the Family sought to occupy and condemn; purple parasites sinking, slithering –

He bottled that rage down again and listened, nodding his avian head. We need flowers first. That way we can take care of multiple things in one trip. Get crystals. Push back the Starfall’s onslaught further than just the beach.

He hadn’t intended to ask Sah – not after what had just occurred with his family. The same dismay haunted Deimos every time he ventured elsewhere – not for his own sake, but those of his loved ones, his friends, his region…and the ties that bound duty with love for harsher for it. I am going to talk to Sunjata, and probably Hadama. Do you know of anyone else who would be willing? It would be better to try and salvage the roses and lilies with some who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, want to launch sieges, while those more inclined to wage brutality did so.

DEIMOS

...look into a wolf's eyes. You'll never be the same again.

Sah nodded, I'm sure Elizabeth and Rhiannon would be willing to look for flowers if asked. He couldn't even picture either going to Starfall, nor did he wish too. They weren't ready. Sah didn't even feel ready. Tal might be willing to go to Starfall in the future but not now. I wouldn't even ask at the moment. Not while Alys is still healing. Luka had Soleil, and Cordelia's family to look out for him if Sah ended up having to make the trip. Apart from Tal, Sah didn't know if Alys had anyone that could support her. Losing a companion, a part of your soul, was unfathomable for the younger hybrid. The amount of pain that his friend must be in at the moment made him sick.

As he scanned the damage once more, Sah tried to think of any other names to consider. There might be others willing to look for flowers, even if they aren't from Halo. I think Nova might be willing. I've only met her twice, but I can see her wanting to adventure a little. She might even be able to convince her sister to come along too. The Wild Thunder wasn't sure how close Caly was to Nova, but she had seemed fond at least when Nova had come up in their conversation.

Sohalia also came to mind, but he wasn't sure if she was ready to do anything against the Family, even look for flowers. Not so soon after her own ordeal.

Sah

death, you bring death and destruction to all that you touch

He'd meant the notions for going back and forth to Starfall; figuring finding flowers wouldn’t be that much of a hardship, save for travel and lack of fortune. But he nodded anyway, taking in the names, giving avian acknowledgment of those healing and to save for future days. He wouldn’t have asked anyone on the mend, regardless – and most of them had families to think about. So did he. So did Sah. So did multitudes.

But they were getting to the point where there wouldn’t be kin left, if they continued the same track of ignoring, head down in the snow, and striving to better only themselves.

I think we will have plenty for the flower seeking he voiced through the bond, a long breath going through his eagle lungs again as he glanced over the stones, striving not to let the dread settle in again. Starfall concerns me the most. But I will reach out to other leaders and see what we can do.

DEIMOS

...look into a wolf's eyes. You'll never be the same again.

Sah let out a hum as Deimos spoke. Hopefully, but I'm worried about our lack of progress on that front. He still hadn't heard of anyone finding a flower outside of a quest. It was maddening. Had the Family done something to the flowers?

Nodding, the Wild Thunder glanced up at the eagle, Alright. Keep me posted if you can and let me know if there's anything else that I can do. With one last search of the area, the damage documented for future consideration, it was time to leave. After checking with Deimos one last time, Sah called forth his lighting and stepped through, appearing in a flash not far from the Citadel gates. The guards were used to the spectacle by now and hardly blinked as they let him through.

-[FIN]

Sah