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 Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 8:25 pm
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 1:40 pm
Herald 
When you come upon the scene, it is a weak and dying Herald that you find, unable even to stand. A few scattered feathers on the ground are the only remnants of the wings it once possessed. It has come to this place to die...or be saved? That, of course, is up to you.
You are alone when you find the angel. The Heralds have long gone unsaved, and though it appears to you, it does not hold much hope of living on. Near to where the two of you meet rests a grey stone slab that the angel seems desperate to reach. With your help, the Herald climbs upon it, needing something from you to save its life. What will you choose to give it? And what significance does that item hold for you? Is it a family heirloom? Something you happened to have on hand? Something you'd purchased earlier that day? A lucky charm?
You may have noticed that many details have been left off. This is because we want you to have plenty of freedom to develop the scene yourself. Consider time of day, weather, season, etc. when you post.
Thunder again. Lightning again. Chirping agai- No, wait. That was a first. Chirping, chirping... It was important. The silent alarm had become a shrill beat, pulsing in his brain. Chirping. That damne- CHIRPING!
He feet were on the floor and in his slippers before his mind had even finished registering the importance, the utter necessity of him getting his a** out of that bad and to the window. Policemen be damned; they were late anyway!
The binoculars were exactly where he left them ,where he always left them. And approximately forty-five degrees to his right he would be able to see a small hole in the bank of the river: a kingfisher's nest. He had watched the two birds as they met, courted, and eventually laid a clutch of eggs, most likely about a foot into that hole, in a cavern meant only for the mother, father, and the children that had hatched not long ago.
Though it was quickly growing darker and darker outside due to the storm clouds rolling overhead, Avery could make out small specks of color flitting in and out of the hole. It seemed the mother and father were worried, and for good reason. The river was raising, and fast. The chicks probably weren't very good flyers yet, and the strong winds would tear them out of the sky if they tried to get away. There was no way Mother nature was going to destroy these beautiful creatures just because She felt like it! Avery was prepared to do whatever it took, which meant he had to get out there. Which meant he had to find his jacket. And probably some shoes. And a flashlight... He had to get to work!
Once outside, he found himself soaked to the bones in an instant. Lightning struck, far enough away that he wasn't worried about dying any time soon, but close enough to make him jump, and the thunder was on its tail. The river bank was probably a hundred yards ahead of him. His pace was steady, his footing sure, and he reached the bank without breaking a sweat... not that he would have known if he had. The flashlight he carried (marketed as waterproof in the local convenience store) did little to pierce through the wall of rain in front of him, but he had watched these birds enough to guess where they had made their nest. Of course, he was right. Unfortunately, the small opening, just big enough for a couple kingfishers to squeeze through, was covered in mud. If he didn't do something, well... he didn't know what would happen.
The nest wasn't empty. In fact, he quickly got a face full of angry beak when he shined his light into the small opening. Fierce as ever, he could only assume the mother was protecting her young in this dire time. But where was the father? His eyes turned to sky, scanning for the bright body twittering about above him. As if in answer to his silent question, lightning struck yet again, illuminating the sky for a split second to show him something, something falling close by. It was certainly too big to be the missing kingfisher, but he spotted something eerily similar to wings in that second. The thunder that followed left the world in a state of unsettling silence. It was that same silence that allowed him to hear the thump of that same something hitting the ground. Certainly a small bird wouldn't make such a large sound?
The lance of light from his hand found its target quickly. At least, the poof of down feathers billowing from under this creature seemed to suggest it was the winged thing that had fallen from the sky. Those feathers were no match for the downpour, however, and soon the ground was littered with muddy feathers, each only hinting at their previous pearly white color. Two arms, two legs, and a head poked out of the mud, which could mean only one thing: The something that had fallen out of the sky had somehow been... human? But last he had seen it, this thing was a hundred feet off the ground, and falling fast. No way a human could have gotten up there and down again without some serious damage.
Long white hair covered a pale body, both of which were now as soaked as Avery. It seemed that under that hair was... nothing. Skin, skin, and more skin. In fact, this person seemed to be lacking... several things. But now wasn't the time to bother with that. This something had to be hurt, but it did seem conscious. Bright blue eyes seemed to relect the flashlight beam back at Avery, who lowered both it and himself in front of the something.
"H-hey, are you... all right?" he asked, holding a hand out, letting it hover over the pale body. He hadn't had real huma interaction in some time, and wasn't sure exactly what to say.
"Do you need any hel-" the something cut him short, suddenly springing to life. It wasn't the biggest change, just a twitch of the hand, but it was enough to silence the young man. The twitch seemed somehow... purposeful. The curl of the fingers suggested it was pointing towards something, but what? Him? Was this thing pointing at him? Avery shuffled to the side, desperate to escape the concentrated focus of that single finger. It worked. Perhaps it wasn't pointing at him, after all? But what could be behind him?
The answer was simple: a stone slab. Little more than a placemarker. But that thing that had fallen from the sky focused on it with an intensity Avery reserved for only the best books. Somehow, this marker was important to the something, which meant it probaly wanted to get there. And it seemed it wasn't about to get up and walk over there. With a sign, Avery leaned forward, hesitantly touching the thing. To his surprise, he realized his eyes were shut tightly. But nothing happened. The skin was just skin. Perhaps a bit cool to the touch, but nothing he didn't already have growing all over his netire body. What did shock him, though, was the weight of the thing. He had expected a strain as he lifted something almost as large as himself, but it was surprisingly light. It was as if... perhaps it really was flying earlier? Hollow bones would explain its light weight...
His thoughts stopped as the thing strained forward, tumbling from his arms. It hugged the strange stone as if it was a long long friend. As it did so, it turned to him. Its eyes were pleading. It needed something. But what? LIghtning again. Thunder. Lightning. Seconds passed as he looked into the things eyes. The words seemed to burst from his whole body. What do you need? Tell me what you need. Lightning. Thunder. Lightning. Those eyes flashed in sync with the storm, opening up with each strike, turning into portals. And in those portals Avery saw something. A person, a faceless entity kneeling at this stone, and offering something. What it was seemed fluid, it shimmered and it was a knife, rusted with blood, but the image rippled and it was a tiara, now a single piece of bamboo, it didn't seem to matter. In every situation it seemed to be something... ordinary, but special somehow. He knew exactly what it was this thing needed.
The lump in his pocket had been there so long the fabric of his jacket was faded in a familiar oval shape. Its weight was a constant reminder of his grandmother, who had instilled in him his love of birds, both watching and studying. She had told him as a child this egg was magical, holding the spirit of a phoenix, which revealed itself in sunlight through a warm glow. At any other time the egg was a pale blue, but hold it up to the light and it shimmered a deep amber gold, showing what Avery had later come to realize were just bubbles on the inside. His hand crept to his pocket as it normally did when he was worried. The smooth and cool surface of the crystal egg comforted him, and now he knew it could comfort this creature in some way. But was he wiling to give this strange being something so precious to him? He knew he would never see the egg again, this last memento of his long since deceased grandmother, but he also knew what she would tell him to do. So he kneeled on the wet and muddy river bank and closed his eyes.
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 5:35 pm
Herald 7.30.10
You sit inside, protected and comfortable as the weather rages outside. The evening meal is on the table, and you're filled with an intense feeling of well-being.
Your mind veers, against your will, to the dying creature that you had come across. It certainly wouldn't be comfortable tonight. What are you thinking? It's probably already long gone. But...what if it isn't?
What's it actually like outside? Do you go in search of the Herald? What do you bring to make it more comfortable, if so? Do you even find it?
In the back of an old book, worn beyond its years and not as informative as he would have liked, there was a heading that caught his eye: The Heralds. The section was short and, like the rest of the book, light on any juicy information, but the description was... exactly what he had seen. A fallen angel, dropped from Heaven to fade away on Earth. But he had found it, and made a sacrifice from his heart, which had saved it. Yet, where was it? if he had saved it, where was it now?
These thoughts, the same that had been on his mind every day since then, crept in yet again. His dinner didn't taste quite as fresh as it could have, his garden greens not as crispy. It felt as if something, something more than a crystal egg, had been taken from him. And he imagined that something was this Herald that he had managed to lose in the storm.
Reality struck him like a bolt. In fact, it was exactly like a bolt. Lightning struck somewhere in the distance as rain pelted the window overlooking the river. The kingfishers were gone now, leaving some time after the last storm, and so was that strange being and its stone slab. he had checked the next day, and the day after that, and every day since. Nothing. Never anything. Not even a single muddy down feather. Still, his body responded to the lightning as if it had struck him instead of some unsuspecting tree in the countryside. He stood, walked to the window, and grabbed his binoculars. It could never hurt to check again. It was going to get very bad very soon and he hated to imagine that frail body being thrown about by the turbulent winds.
A white shape. It didn't seem to be moving, yet it was. One second, it was close enough to almost fall in the river, the next it was blurred by the rain, only to reappear a second later several feet away. Still, it was recognizable from here and it certainly did seem to be the missing Herald. It was a chance he had to take. Going out in yet another severe storm seemed to be testing his luck, but he hoped his luck wouldn't run out any time soon.
He wasn't sure what he expected, but those pleading eyes had not been it. The book had said that a sacrifice would keep the Herald from fading away, but this one didn't seem to be any better. In fact, it was probably worse than it had been. Without a thought, Avery knelt and scooped the poor thing up, once again surprised by the near lack of real weight. This time, he wasn't going to let it fade away again. This he would care for it like the frail and broken baby bird he had first thought it was. There was no way he would let an angel die on his watch.
It was warm inside, the electric fireplace displaying its cheerful image of faux fire. Somehow, just being in the glow of that synthetic flame, the Herald seemed to brighten up himself, or herself? Itself, at least. Avery saw a smile cross its face as he settled it on his cramped couch and couldn't help but smile himself. At least he could bring comfort to this poor creature. There wasn't much more he could do, but if it was willing to eat some of his food, he would offer it. And it did eat. It seemed to love the fresh greens and crystal clear water, all he would allow himself to eat or drink. An avid bird lover, he couldn't bring himself to eat any fowl, which invariably meant he didn't even enjoy the taste of meat. Some would call him a vegan, but he really just didn't like eating anything living, labels or no. It seemed that his new friend shared similar tastes. In fact, it ate so much that there was none left for him. He couldn't bring himself to mind, though. Some warm feeling emanated from the Herald, which seemed to grow instantly comfortable in the small room, surrounded by books and taxidermied birds.
As the Herald seemed to settle down on the couch, Avery dimmed the 'fire' before moving towards his own room. As he reached the doorway, a hand reached out from under the blanket on the couch, grabbing the hem of his jacket. The creature still didn't speak a word, but its eyes said everything. They conveyed a depth of comfort and happiness Avery hadn't seen in human eyes for many years and was surprised to find in something as inhuman as he had seen.
"Goodnight to you too, my little Kingfisher."
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Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 12:45 pm
Herald 7.30.10
Time has passed, and your Herald is becoming fond of you and beginning to show affection. You two have grown closer, but that's not the only aspect of growing.
The Herald is maturing into a young child before your eyes. No longer dying and weak and no longer sexless, it now has beautiful angel white hair and dark blue eyes of unusual depth. You may have noticed that the Herald has been scratching and touching its back for a while, and now it's finally explained. The herald's wings have started to grow in.
How do you deal with the child's discomfort? Do you have any remedies to ease it? How does he/she react? How do the wings reflect the item given?
Of course, the first few days had been awkward. Avery had been forced to clothe the child in his used shirts and pants, which were several sizes too large. A few thrift stores later and the young Herald was at least wearing something his size. It would have to do for the time being, he supposed. The biggest problem had been food. In a house with no living creatures, Kingfisher had enjoyed every meal... at first. Then something must have snapped in him, because he started asking for 'fis,' which the genius Avery had been able to decipher as fish. Fish! In his house! They most certainly had faces! But, like his namesake, Kingfisher had demanded fish. At least they were cooked... and Avery never had to eat any of them.
And now there was... this. Wings. His little bird was actually growing wings! He would have cooked any amount of fish to see this. And he did. And it was good. He was able to get Kingfisher to sit still long enough for him to study the wings' properties... yet the baby King didn't seem to be enjoying his newfound gifts. Avery could only imagine having new appendages poking out of your back could be distracting, not to mention just a bit uncomfortable. The wings themselves almost brought a tear to Avery's eye. Each feather was a memorial to the egg he thought he had lost in the storm, a pale blue at first glance that reflected colors of a glorious amber, casting red and gold shadows in the child's wake. The sight of it was beautiful, to say the least, and he could almost begin to believe his grandmother's stories about the egg holding the spirit of a phoenix. Maybe Kingfisher was this same phoenix?
He told himself he had to keep Kingfisher as comfortable as possible to help in his studies of these little miracles, but deep down inside he knew it was because he was responsible for a child and it was his job to make sure that child was as happy as possible. It wasn't that the kid was cute and his heart melted every time he smiled or anything. It wasn't that at all. His heart was a stone. A melty stone. Damn, he thought, I think I'm getting attached to him...
Then he discovered the secret. The divine secret of a happy and 'healthy' young Herald: Ice cream. Better than giving a kid a lollipop after going to the dentist, or so he guessed. Kingfisher went bananas over the 'Phish Food' flavor with little chocolate fish. His 'fis foo,' as he was known to call it, could keep him occupied and smiling for... as long as Avery didn't run out. Of course, he couldn't just give Kingfisher a scoop every time he got itchy, but his favorite books (One Fish, Two Fish, red Fish, Blue Fish, nonetheless) or a good romp in the park (During which time Avery found himself yelling 'Be careful, you could fall and break something!' something he had never imagined he would be yelling at... anything.) always worked to distract him from the unscratchable itch.
And, for him, that was enough. To see Kingfisher happy was enough to make Avery happy, which was all either of them needed.
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