(RQ) get me golden

She hasn’t taken into account the fact that Fox is, well, not great at traveling by skyship. And while she had experienced it briefly when they’d ventured to Torchline, this time it takes a bit longer of a recovery for him than she’d expected. Of course, Kiada’s dutiful in caring for him until the sea air? Sickness is gone, despite practically chomping at the bit to go and explore a place she’s never (and likely Fox as well) had a chance to go to. Yet, they are there on a mission too, but she figures that they might as well get two birds with one stone – exploring the Celestine and its twilight beauty alongside the enclosures with as close to a zoo as she’s ever come close to experiencing – that is, if you don’t count her gaggle of many half siblings from the world she was born into. With Fox looking a little less green around the gills, Kiada is perhaps a bit too excited about this trip. She’s come prepared with a bag with a net within to capture one of the void creatures – hoping to come across one of them in this unique part of the world, but it is mostly secondary in her mind as she takes in the twilight and grazing unicorns in the distance, half clinging to Fox in her excitement as she points out to it with a little quiet screeeee of happiness. “Look at them!” k i a d a

FOX

It's true that Fox has been feeling somewhat delicate since their arrival at Stormbreak, and while the Longheat warmth is welcome in his bones and he's admittedly curious about the city as well as the creatures they've come to look at, still his steps are a little more measured than Kiada's as they venture into the Celestine. He hasn't expected her excitement (well, he has, but not to this level), and it's with an indulgent smile that he's ferried along in her wake.

"Is this your first time seeing them?" he asks curiously, remembering Morgen and his herd of unicorns from out in King's End. It's been a hot minute since then, admittedly, and even the hunter is taken by the delicate equines as they travel. "Hopefully they aren't too hurt." He knows that's the point of the Celestine - or rather, he'd read it on a sign on the way in.

astra inclinant, sed non obligant

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

“Ones that aren’t companions, yes.” She murmurs, flashing him a small innocent smile. “I was healed by Zuriel, Deimos’ unicorn, a couple of times when I was Ascended.” That she can recall, at least, but when it came to seeing them unattached to a single person? She was immediately charmed. She knew of Morgen’s job with taking care of the herds in King’s End, but she’d only been there once and hadn’t seen any aside from his own at the time before she’d wandered away and stumbled back into the Grounds. Her attention flickers back toward the unicorns when he speaks, trying to see if she can get a decent view of them before she shrugs a shoulder lightly. “I imagine that they’re getting good care, if they are.” She squeezes Fox’s arm and offers a smile with it, before she tugs him along toward another of the little enclosures. This time, within the confines of it, she can’t quite see what it holds. “Is it empty?” She asks quietly, horned head tilting slightly. k i a d a

FOX

"Ah, that's right. I've met a few as companions as well, come to think of it." He recalls Deimos's unicorn and Noah's too, now that he casts his memory back. But Kiada is right, and there's nothing quite like seeing a herd of them roaming all together. With a softer smile, he's about to suggest finding a place for Kia to stand (or offer to give her a piggyback) to see them better, but she's hurrying him onwards before he can find the words.

Happy to walk in her wake, he also tilts his head at the empty enclosure. "It looks like it. I wonder if it's just--" He's cut off by a chilling croak of a noise overhead, and a chill shudders down the hunter's spine despite himself. Instinctively, he reaches out to slip an arm around the harpy's waist, drawing her close against his side.

Above them, a four-winged raven, dark as pitch and unsettling merely in its presence, soars lazily into the enclosure. "I think we've found what we're looking for," he mutters.

astra inclinant, sed non obligant

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

For her, it’s the only ones she’s seen – never any kind of wild unicorns. And the idea in and of itself is a beautiful thing, something she craves to be a part of (totally not because she was a unicorn once), but it does have her tightening her hold on Fox contently as they drift further into the twilit zoo. Her hold loosens when she tries to spy the creature within the empty enclosure, listening to Fox as he’s suddenly cut off and her head swings sharply toward the sound, teeth grinding and eyes narrowing with the sensation that suddenly blooms down her spine. She’s tense when Fox tucks her in against his side and she presses in equally as protective, watching the four winged raven dive down. “I brought two nets.” Kiada says quietly, slowly reaching into the bag to grab the nets, ready to be tossed and tied should they get the opportunity, and at present? It seems as good a chance as any. k i a d a

FOX

"Are you entirely sure that a net will do the job...?" Fox asks, grimacing at the raven as it whirls and soars, only to settle on a nearby fencepost. (Mockingly, if you ask the hunter). "I suppose the only thing we can do is try..." So saying, it's with a roll of his shoulders - as if that might help to dispel the unease clawing up his back - that he accepts the net from Kiada, stepping away from her as if to nonchalantly close in on the area where the raven is (obnoxiously?) cleaning its feathers.

Having to remind himself to breathe despite hunting things literally being his job, Fox creeps closer until he's within range, and then swipes at the bird with his net. It, of course, takes flight with its four wings only a second before the net comes down, and its cawing sounds suspiciously like laughter. "Fuck," Fox hisses. "It's coming your way, watch out!"

astra inclinant, sed non obligant

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

“Do you have any better ideas?” She asks with a small amused smile, even as the raven mocks them from a distance. They’re supposed to bring it back alive, right? It seems to make the most sense to her that they’d have to try and flail the nets around in the hopes of capturing it rather than just shooting at it to take it down – as she’d honestly prefer. As Fox takes the net and steps away to close in on the area the raven has chosen, Kiada winds around the other way, getting a bit of distance in case the creature tries to fly toward her to get out of it. Her eyes are bright and calculating, a predators focus despite the outward feelings (she thanks the bullshit she went through in the Rift to prepare her for ominous birds with multiple wings and bad vibes). Fox’s warning is heeded quickly, and rather than trying to swipe the bird with her own net, she bunches it up to try and launch at the four winged menace, hoping to throw it in a way that it’ll tangle the bird up and drop it to the ground. k i a d a

FOX

Evidently, Fox does not have any better ideas, and if his performance thus far is anything to go by, he's not all that good at this idea either. Still, if Kia asks later he'll claim he was her dutiful distraction in this whole situation, especially as the raven swerves towards her with wings spread wide.

Luckily for both of them, the harpy is a good deal better at snatching up live corvids than Fox is, and the net snatches around the raven in mere seconds. Squawking - and causing the hunter no small amount of dread - it flops to the ground and tries to writhe and free itself from the net. "Nicely done," Fox quips, grinning and stepping forward.

He doesn't want to touch the thing, and so he's careful to pick it up by the net as if it's in some sort of sack, holding it aloft before them. "As pets go, I think we could do better," he admits.

astra inclinant, sed non obligant

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Hey, if nothing else, it’s evident that the two of them make a fine team. And he can wax his poetics over her capturing the four winged bird from lining it up precisely like a four person game of billiards. For now though, Kiada watches with a rapt focus of a predator as the raven swerves toward her and she launches the net, watching as it wraps around the bird and her stomach sinks in dread at odds with the elation and the bright squeal of excitement that leaves her. She approaches shortly after he does, watching as he lifts it up and she rummages around in the bag she’d brought with them, searching for a blanket or large towel to wrap around the outside of it, along with a spool of twine to ensure that the bird can’t escape on the trek back to the Grounds. “I think I prefer dogs.” She says, wrinkling her nose as she wraps the blanket around, cautious in ensuring she doesn’t get nipped, even as her stomach sinks even more. “Or cats. Actually... Anything but a shitty bird like this.” She muses aloud, looking up at him with a glimmer of amusement in her gaze. k i a d a

FOX

"I definitely prefer dogs," Fox mutters, though that's likely due to his Fyrhund shift, in all honesty. Still, he patiently holds the net aloft until Kiada can wrap it in the towel and the twine, and he can practically feel the animosity oozing out of the creature within. Wrinkling his nose, nonetheless the hunter lets his shoulders sag with a sigh, and he steps close enough to Kiada to slip his arm around her waist.

"Do you think we ought to get a birdcage for it while we're here?" he asks softly. "Mainly because, uh... I don't think I can stomach another trip on a skyship before tomorrow. If we stay here overnight I might be able to pluck up the courage." With a self-deprecating smile, he's sure Kiada will also appreciate not having to hold his hair while he throws up again any time soon.

astra inclinant, sed non obligant

Code blatently stolen from queen of codes, Sky!

Tension oozes from her body the second that Fox’s arm wraps around her waist, relief swelling through her now that they’ve captured one of the beasts without getting bit or scratched, even if the sensation from the bird was uncomfortable at best. The idea of a cage, though, melded in with a short quick trip to the stores and plazas and shopping that she admittedly was too excited about, has her flashing him a bright grin. “I wanted to take a look at the shops anyway, so staying for a night sounds perfect.” She reaches up to cup his cheek, pressing into his side gently. Her arm slips around his middle as she collects the bag and hauls it up, capable of taking care of that while he holds the bird in the bag, turning them around to head back the way they’d come, intending to get the cage and perhaps a few new pieces of clothing (and maybe slipping away for a moment to get a few finer things to surprise Fox with at a later date). - FIN <333 k i a d a