[se] sitting here, wanting memories (open)

When we can’t control fire,

we name it “wild”

Everyone that knew Alina knew she never showed emotions other than anger or disgust. Everyone was also wrong: she displayed plenty of other emotions, just not where anyone could see them. So, when the time came to make lanterns for those who had passed, she gathered her supplies and her spear.

Then she flew to a remote corner of the Greatwood, one that others rarely visited for a variety of reasons. She personally had never been scared at the rumors of the monster that lived in the drop, nor did the shipwrecks deter her. Indeed, she landed by the water's edge without hesitation.

Slinging her pack to the ground and setting down her spear, she rummaged inside for the paper and charcoal she'd brought. Laying it out, she paused for a moment, smoothing the page on the rock she'd chosen for her workstation. Then she bent her head down and began drawing, the motions jerky and imprecise.

when we can’t control God,

we name it “war”

ALINA

Base Code by Sky!

Jigano wandered the Greatwood a lot less often these days, respecting the Fae desire to be left alone and keeping well clear of Sidhe Village with the Wildwood's usual assistance in keeping outsiders far from its environs. He still looked for some of his friends from time to time - Tarasha, Eliza, Hazel - and today was such a day, white fox paws barely stirring the loam as he trotted through the trees with no particular destination in mind but a hope of seeing a familiar friendly face. Isuma flitted through the trees above, a flash of white and blue amid the riot of Leafchange colors.

Of course, being the Wildwood, the trees led him not to friends already known, but a stranger hard at work upon a stone 'table.' Ever-curious, the fox paused to watch the Fae woman, taking a few cautious steps towards her as he tried to sneak a peek at what she was working on.

Alina might've known these woods well (as well as anyone could, given their mysterious nature), and she might've been a Fae and a huntress, but Jigano was just a little bit too sneaky except in the mountains. So she didn't notice the slight rustling, engrossed as she was in her work. Nor did she spot the griffin high above.

Instead, the Fae just kept making her lantern. Maybe some would have called it primitive, and it was clear she was no artist. However, as the charcoal began to take shape it became clear there was a lot of care being given to its creation: there were two myrtle trees intertwined, their roots and branches stretching across the page. Hidden in the drawing were some weapons and some animals, though one had to look closely.

Trees he could recognize, but his angle and distance made seeing further details impossible at the moment. He moved a little closer, ears half-flattened back and ready to run if Alina took offense at his presence, but his curiosity was in full force now. Nose twitching to memorize her scent, he studied the Fae warrior before turning his attention back to the paper and its emerging picture, clearly made with great attention to detail even if it was made from simple materials.

Isuma paused high above to look down, watching, hidden behind a cluster of bright yellow leaves as her companion crept closer to try and see the finer work hidden within the branches and roots. He could almost make something out, a hint of a shape beyond a mere branch - perhaps the curving line of an animal's back? - and he found himself too intrigued to look away.

Again, Alina was blind to both Jigano and Isuma. The Fae trusted in the Greatwood to protect him from any threat, and so she just continued with her work. Now that the bulk of it had been completed, she leaned back a bit from the paper. Every now and then she would fill up a blank spot, birds and spears and squirrels and arrows all hidden within the leaves.

Of course, there was only so much blank space left. Eventually, she smiled, fiercely satisfied. Wiping the charcoal on the rock, she began to shape the paper itself. Pinching and folding it, she eventually grabbed some adhesive to seal the ends together. It was a simple sphere, and she lifted it up and spun it around to check on her work.

Once the art was finished Jigano expected her to perhaps roll it up and take it with her, to give to some friend or hang from a wall in her dwelling. The shift to turning it from a flat artwork into a three dimensional one caught him by surprise and he stopped his forward slink, ears perked forward and tail wagging slightly in curiosity.

A ball? He relaxed further, sitting up and cocking his head at how the Fae craftswoman spun it. It was Isuma who chirruped eagerly and fluttered down from the leaves to investigate, intrigued by this new contraption that had caught her companion's attention and wanting to see it up close for own small feathered self.

As the griffin swooped down, Alina glanced up sharply. All she saw at first was a blur of motion in the sky, as well as something watching her from the ground, having crept up without her realizing. So she reacted on instinct.

Letting out a fierce battle cry, she dropped her lantern, which fluttered to the dangerously damp ground. Snatching up her spear, she flew straight up, though not far. Of course, as she brought her weapon into a guard position, she realized it was just a small griffin. The Fae were no strangers to companions, so she spun to face the white fox that had been spying on her. "Explain yourself." She pointed the tip of her spear at the creature.

Isuma's gentle curiosity was not normally met with such violence, and the sweet-tempered little gryphon peeped in fear and backwinged, fleeing back to hide among the leaves and away from Alina and her fearsome weapon. Jigano hadn't frozen, either; upon seeing Alina leap towards his companion he had growled and leapt up - and up, shifting into the form of a silver dragon, thirty feet from nose to tail tip and over seven feet tall at the shoulders - taller at the hips as he stretched up to growl warningly at the winged woman.

Isuma scrambled to give Alina wide berth as she dodged through branches to perch between the dragon's curving horns, puffed out to almost twice her normal size in distress. Only once the gryphlet was in a place she deemed safe did she give a plaintive trill to try and de-escalate the pending violence. Jigano rumbled reluctant agreement, fighting the dragonshape's swift rage and urge to violence as he slowly settled back on his haunches and curled his head down to indicate the lantern and its precarious position upon the ground.

When the fox shifted to a dragon, Alina didn't back down. She simply shifted her grip and her position, rising into the air so she was in a position to jab the creature in the eye if necessary. Of course, it proved unnecessary for now, seeing as the dragon seemed to just be protecting the griffin.

The huntress' eyes flicked between the two of them. Scowling, she lifted her spear, seeing as neither of the creatures had proven violent, just curious. "That's not an explanation." Still, she swooped down to rescue her paper, which had the beginning of water beginning to seep in from the outer edges.

Snarling in annoyance, she waved it in the air to try and dry it, setting her spear back down as she did. "Fucking outsiders." It came out muttered under her breath, just for her.

He was glad to see the spear lifted out of threat position, and Isuma made a grateful reep towards Alina at the truce they seemed to have reached. The dragon rumbled agreement at the Fae warrior's statement, but given his lack of ability to chat without transforming into a far more poke-able shift he remained as he was for the moment.

He was glad to see the artwork rescued, and though the winged woman continued to grumble - he couldn't quite catch the words so much as a grumpy tone - he allowed some of the tension to relax from his body as he tilted his head to the side to watch her drying the lantern. A concerned note rumbled from his deep chest as he settled down nearby, stretching out between the trees a more respectful distance away while Isuma began to inch down his face to perch near the end of his nose, watching Alina with fascination once more.

Not particularly enjoying the audience, but not quite willing to turn her back on a potential threat, Alina settled for turning to one side. Thankfully, the paper wasn't bad. Still, she made an unhappy sound at the interruption.

Bending down, she picked up some wire along with the adhesive. Running the wire along the inside, unmarked side of the paper, she shaped a small cage that the paper would fit around. There were two pieces of wire hanging down from the bottom, which she ignored for now.

Like she considered doing with the dragon and the griffin. However, even she wasn't quite willing to leave them in silence, not when she saw an opportunity here. "You're an Attuned, right?" More powerful than most, though she still glared as if to dare the dragon to disagree. "Want to help me with a task from the old gods? I need to collect pieces from all the races. Hair, fingernails, that sort of thing, though I imagine a scale or some fur would do the trick as well."

He watched with blue-opal eyes as the woman went back to work, curious as to what she would do next. The wires had his eyes widening in understanding as he peered at the continuing construction on the lantern, its shape becoming more supported as she wove the cage, though he had to guess what was happening within the paper given that her hands were hidden by the art and paper.

He inclined his head slowly with an amused rumble of agreement at Alina's supposition, Isuma peeping excitedly at the ride. Her fiery glare in spite of her size reminded him of Bobi and he felt a momentary pang of loss at the reminder of another lost friend. That the glare came with a belligerent request - demand? - for a physical part of himself earned a curious croon, a request for more information if she cared to give it. He only gave feathers and scales to those who were close to him and had earned such a gift. For a stranger to want it, using the name of the old gods without any other detail, he was intrigued.

And more than a little wary.

Parts of himself could be use in divination magics on his world. It wasn't the sort of thing to give lightly, even if the magic of Caido was different than he was used to. There were too many unique magical abilities - and abilities about the other races - that he didn't know about yet.

Once the wire was in the shape Alina wanted, she focused on those two hanging wires from earlier, setting the paper on the rock as she did. Reaching into the pack she pulled out a small candle holder. Take the wires, she twisted them around it, making sure it was secure before picking up the paper again as a stray gust of wind threatened to steal it away.

She eyed the dragon warily at its rumbling. When no body part was offered she pressed her lips together. "I'm putting together protections for the portal around the Mathair, so that none may pass through the area easily. It requires a piece from every race, presumably for identification purposes." If this Attuned knew anything about the Fae, he'd know she was speaking the truth.

He was a quiet audience to her artistic endeavors, answering her questions as best he could in his current shape but otherwise leaving Alina to work at her own pace and without interruption. Isuma made no more moves to approach the belligerent Fae, content to perch on her companion's snout and peer from a safe distance as best she can. She did peep in concern as the wind threatened the lantern, shifting her weight as she prepared to go rescue it, but Alina had it under control and the gryphlet settled as the Fae made her displeasure known.

The explanation was welcome, and Jigano tilted his head in acknowledgement - Isuma fluttering to keep her balance as he did - but what he knew about Fae was that they were very good at twisting and hiding the truth to suit themselves.

He crooned thoughtfully at her words, but there were already problems that he could see with it... problems from the perspective of an Outlander and a human that he suspected meant nothing to the Fae, based on his experiences with Delah. His tail twitched thoughtfully, sweeping fallen leaves aside from the scale-feathered length as he watched the craftswoman, curious as to whether her lantern would fly.