It was a bright but blustery Leafchange day, and Tal really should have been checking on the Plaza Post Office to pick up his next round of deliveries. Instead he was leaning against the City Gates outside of the Dragon's Nest, staring morosely down the Righteous Climb while his dragon tried to coax some of the Dragoons' companions into a game of chase. The soldiers' dragons were, for the most part, better behaved and not falling for her wiles, but a few of the younger ones were clearly tempted.
The courier wasn't amused by her antics today, however, nor even distracted by them. He sighed heavily and kicked at a loose stone that bounced and rolled down a couple of the floating rocks of the various platforms making up the Climb these days until it fell off an edge and plunged toward the ocean far below. Hands jammed in his pockets, he was a picture of despondence. If there had been any justice in the world it would have been a cloudy day with a hint of distant thunder to complete the picture, but instead the bright sunshine only seemed to gently underscore his unhappiness and worry for his missing friend.
Ellyra
Ellyra was on her way, again to pick up some packages. She didn't mind the walking, or the errand, or the fresh air. It helped grow her beat on the city, and take in any of the void creatures that littered it into account. She hated them, so the little plants that pulsed a violent purple she squashed immediately, and anything bigger she avoided entirely.
As she walked, she couldn't help but look at the dragons arcing in their flying and gliding. She smiled, but paused as a familiar cerulean dragon came into view. Immediately her bright eyes flicked up and around the city's gates, looking for the man. "Hey, Talyson!" Ellyra said, waving brightly and warmly and wildly towards the courier as she hurried towards him as she finally found him, looking rather morose. ellyra fox
The voice wasn't right but for a moment the courier felt a surge of hope in his chest anyways as a woman called out to him. He whipped his head up, eyes lighting up as he turned to see who it was--
And he sagged again as he realized it wasn't Sohalia. Ellyra, however, deserved better from him. Her warmth and genuine cheer dug insistent fingers into his depression and managed to pull a wan smile and a half-hearted wave from him for the nurse who'd helped him build his post office back in brighter seasons. Before the freaky fucking broadcasts had started scaring the piss out of him at inopportune moments.
"Hey, 'Lyra," he called back, pushing away from the gate and ambling to meet her partway. "How're things goin' in Stormbreak these days?"
Her cheer and her happiness at seeing the familiar man faded away and her eyes darkened. ”Well, interesting, I guess.” She said. One arm at her side, the other reached over the grab it. ”We have a new leader and I am not sure how to feel about it.” She admitted, about Dahlia. She knew SoHalia was having a hard time in her post, but Ellyra didn’t know it was such that the woman would run away from Stormbreak and leave them at the mercy of someone else. But the nurse, admittedly, also didn’t know a great deal about politics. She had no interest in learning it, either.
”And these creatures and plants,” She then dropped her own grip on her arm to lift her hand and point at a eerily pulsing purple vine making its way up the city gate, ”just keep appearing.”ellyra fox
Tal nodded grimly, jaw tightening as they settled in to stand near each other, and he shot a glance over his shoulder at the Dragon's Nest. He was just as happy to lower his voice as he turned to look out over the Righteous Road falling away towards the ground far below. "None o' my business, prob'ly, but... I'm not happy about it," he admitted. "Soh hasn't been answerin' my letters, an' no one knows what happened t'her. No one I've been able t'ask, at least. I'm worried about her, 'Lyra. She mighta stepped down, sure, but she wouldn't have just run. She loves Stormbreak too much t'leave it like that." He was unaware of how his words were echoing the nurse's thoughts, but there was raw worry in the courier's voice as his hands tightened into fists in his pocket, as if holding tightly on to hope that the former Heart was okay. "An' what th'hail kinda name is 'th'Reaper,' anyways?"
He turned his gaze to follow Ellyra's pointing finger, and huffed a growl as he spotted the vine. "Oh f'r fuck's sake... Boreal!" The dragon veered away from a balcony that she'd been trying to land on, looking as innocent as a baby bird until she caught the thread of her human's thoughts. With a cheerful whuff! of a snort she flapped her wings, rising higher to get a good angle before she dove, breathing fire along the vine's length before disappearing over the edge of the floating island-city. "Yeah, an' they're th'worst," he shuddered. "Nothin' good ever seems t'come from 'em. Noah said t'burn 'em out whenever we can, if y'know him?" He looked back to Ellyra, brows raised at the question.
"I don't know. I've never ever seen her, but the title is pretty intimidating." Ellyra agreed. Her face twitched, easily displaying the discomfort the nurse felt about the whole transition. From Sohalia to this Dahlia woman. Ellyra had seen the notes Soh left about her, but she didn't want to think too hard. Believing that Soh had run away was better than believing the other possibility -- which was that Dahlia had killed her for slander and libel.
She tilted her head slightly, wondering how well Talyson knew Sohalia. "Who's to keep her here? You don't live here, and she doesn't have a family, per say..." Ellyra trailed off slightly and let her eyes wander away from the courier. "I'm sorry. That sounded cruel. But she grew up her whole life in the Grounds and had it really, really good there. But once all of her family died, and I left, there wasn't much there for her. Maybe Stormbreak became the same."ellyra fox
At least Ellyra seemed as uncomfortable with the new regime as he did, and Tal jammed his hands in his pockets as he sent his dragon to burn out some more of the infection that Stormbreak's new leader seemed to have some connection to, if the notice board announcements from a couple seasons back were anything to go by.
The recent spate of interest in his address drew a heave of a sigh from the courier, but he shook his head mulishly. "Nah, I get what you're sayin'. But leavin' is one thing. Abandonin' responsibilities is another entirely. So yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if she'd decided t'pull out o' a thankless job an' focus on her explorin' an' maps. But not without lettin' someone know. Anju, or Koa, or... or me." He grimaced and reached up to rub at the back of his neck, slanting a glance to Ellyra as he chewed at his lip. "So, uh. How long've y'known her?" Mention of the Grounds and Sohalia's life there had finally penetrated the courier's skull and he regarded Ellyra with new interest.
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