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 Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 1:23 am
Imriel sighed, shifting uncomfortably in her chair in an unnecessarily dramatic manner. The ieldi was highly irritated, glaring balefully at the scribbles on the pieces of paper sitting in front of her as if her nest of hastily written notes had slighted her in some way.
"It doesn't make any sense," she huffed, finally standing so quickly that her chair skittered out from beneath her and tipped over. Imriel frowned at it.
From the corner of the room, Twilight flicked her tail in agitation. "Calm, Imriel," the kyunru purred, her softly glowing eyes on the now pacing woman. Twilight was curled comfortably in the midst of several large pillows she'd 'borrowed' from the sitting room downstairs. This was her house after all, even if it doubled as a lamp shop. She was entitled to use them.
Imriel continued to pace, muttering to herself. "It should work.. it should.... Everything was correct.. I think so anyway. Maybe the dosage was wrong.. no. It couldn't have been, I was very thorough. Though, the azelde petals did seem a bit bruised." After pausing to consider that thought, she shrugged out of her over-robes in one fluid motion and tossed them to hang precariously on a nearby rack. Making a pained face, Imriel slowly stretched out her cramped wings. They'd been pressed firmly against her back the entire day so that they would lie flat and hidden under the robes. She glanced over her shoulder at them unhappily.
Twilight made a startled chirp of a noise. "When did that happen?" She stood smoothly and stepped off of her bed to trot over to Imriel. Her hind feet made soft clicks on the wooden floor as she approached.
"Yesterday," the ieldi replied sourly.
Imriel's wings were a mess. Several, well most, of her primary feathers were missing, and the rest had a very ragged look to them. Strangely enough, it appeared that only the flight feathers were suffering. The rest of Imriel's raven black plumage was as glossy and pristine as always. She rubbed the bridge of her nose as she felt the beginnings of a headache threaten.
"Well what happened?" Twilight demanded, making a small whine of concern and agitation. She touched one of the trailing feathers very gently with a forepaw. It immediately fell loose from Imriel's wing to land heavily on the floor. Well, heavily for a feather anyway. Startled, Twilight stepped back as several other feathers fell away, then the rest, all quite suddenly.
"Oh, lovely, Twi. Thank you," Imriel grumped.
"I- I.." The kyunru looked completely unsettled, her own wings ruffled from her distress.
"Forget it. It's not a big deal."
"What do you mean not a-"
"It's fine. I don't know what is causing it but it's not life threatening.." Imriel flexed her wings, much smaller now that they lacked the powerful primaries and many of the larger secondary feathers. They were useless now. "When was the last time I flew anyway?" she added in a quieter voice.
Before Twilight could gather herself for a response, Imriel scowled and stepped over the discarded feathers on her way to the door. She had other things to worry about. So what if she was molting? Birds did that after all. More importantly, her experiment had been a failure. A failure! Imriel didn't fail. Not with alchemy.
The ieldi stomped downstairs, moving quickly past the interior of the lamp shop where a few people were hanging about. They had to be either lounging in the cafe area or browsing the merchandise, Imriel didn't notice or care. A few of them waved at her in greeting but most already knew she wouldn't respond. She usually didn't. Whispers about Imriel's stunted wings followed in her wake.
It only took her a few moments to push past the drapery hanging across the entrance to the back hallway and approach the door that would lead to the basement. A flash of violet lit the hallway as she passed through a barrier and then a blue flash as she passed another. Without wasting any time, Imriel slapped her hand on the basement door and spoke a password in a hushed voice. The door slid open and the stairs to the basement dipped into the darkness yawning before her. She vanished into it, whispering to herself quietly.
Upstairs, Twilight started to take a few steps after Imriel when she noticed that the feathers on the floor were smoking slightly. Disturbed, the kyunru watched as the discarded feathers turned into ash...
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 2:08 am
Zayn shifted uneasily as he stared at the shop he had travelled so far to visit. It seemed innocuous enough - assuming one didn't know what was occurring inside, or what a travesty it was. Perhaps humans wouldn't care even if they knew, but there were other Kin to consider as well, and perhaps they would be as outraged as Odilen or as quietly worried as Zayn himself. Zayn gave his companion a worried glance, before his attention was pulled to his wandering charges, eager to take off without him. They didn't share the Ieldi's wariness of the shop and didn't understand the delay.
"Here goes," he muttered to himself.
One hand reached out from the plain brown cloak that covered his body, offered to the lady by his side, if she should choose to take it for support. The other tightened on the tiny paw reaching up to him. Together, they entered the door.
Both hands twitched as Zayn's eyes adjusted to the interior. What he wouldn't give to be able to sit in a corner and sketch this place for hours. Which had nothing to do with his desire to put off this confrontation, really... Ah well, even if Odilen could have been convinced, he doubted he would have been left in peace. A devil on one shoulder, and an angel - well, innocent - at his feet.
A few queries later and they were following in the direction Imriel had last been seen. Zayn hoped the stares they were receiving had more to do with their racial resemblances to the shop owner and less to do with anything the other shop patrons might have seen when his cloak gaped. How mortifying!
Brushing past the hanging cloth at the back of the shop, Zayn was met by an impenetrable barrier. Poking did nothing to suggest it could be broken through, or that an attempt at such would be in any way comfortable or good for his health.
"Imriel does this?" he wondered aloud. It was so different from anything else that the other Ieldi were doing. More like proper magic - or what Zayn would have considered God-given powers if the Pantheon had been sighted at all since Neru's attempts for Crystal-given power.
As he stood there, perplexed, from beneath his ankle-length cloak a bright red feather dropped. On the floor, it slowly crumbled to ash, unnoticed.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:12 am
Odilen hadn't been particularly looking forward to this either - knowing it might well end in an unpleasant confrontation - but that wasn't going to stop her from carrying it through. The souls of my people cannot be used like this. She squeezed Zayn's hand as they walked through the shop, and ignored the handful of customers that gave the pair curious looks. Odilen was grateful for the bright Ieldi's presence. She was fairly sure that she still could have confronted Imriel alone, but having Zayn with her made it easier.
Determined, Odilen had marched across the shop to the door Imriel had apparently gone through before their arrival - but was brought up short by the barrier, a soft purple light that cared nothing for her resolve and ignored her irritated prodding. "That's very inconvenient," she grumbled, releasing Zayn's hand and folding her arms in a huff. The movement shook loose a few of her own primary feathers, and she brushed them away irritably, not noticing how they crumbled to ash when they hit the ground. "You don't suppose she knew we were coming?" The eldest of the living Ieldi had always been a mystery to her. Perhaps it would have been different if Old Kyendi hadn't fallen and they'd all grown up together, but...
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 11:24 am
Twilight huffed quietly in frustration as she carefuly stepped over the ash settling on the floor and made to follow after Imriel. If her companion was going to the basement again, Twilight needed to be down there with her. Things tended to get a little out of hand if the kyunru wasn't around to act as the voice of reason....
Out of hand, Twilight thought sourly, out of the room.. out of the damn stratosphere. This whole incident with Pale went beyond what she ever though Imriel capable of. A disaster, that's what it was.
The kyunru hopped carefully down the stairs, using her two sets of wings for balance and doing her best to keep her hooves from clattering. Really the entire proccess of decending these ridiculously short-stepped stairs was embarrassing. She would have flown down but there just wasn't enough wing room. She'd have to talk Imriel into making them more four-legged friendly at some point.
As usual, Twi moved unnoticed past the common room, her height and dark coloring making her less obvious than a lot of her kin. In fact, she was so used to going about her business unobstructed that she didn't even think to pause after shoving her way through the back hall drapery. The result was of course that she collided with the folks milling about in the narrow corridor.
Stunned by both the collission and the following sudden recognition, Twilight could only stare agape as she tried to right her tangle of limbs and feathers. Somehow she managed a startled "What are you doing here?" by way of greeting.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 1:36 pm
Zayn considered Odilen's question. "I wouldn't have thought her prophetic, but then, I would never have thought an Ieldi would be creating magic barriers, either. Perhaps it's meant to keep out anyone who might be overly curious?" He gestured over his shoulder at the shop centre they'd just passed through. Lots of curious humans back there.
A faint clatter of hooves was ignored, chalked up to another of his or Odilen's menagerie following them. An oversight on Zayn's part, especially regretted when something barrelled into his legs.
"Ack!" Zayn cried, his now-useless wings flapping wildly under the cloak to try and keep his balance. Once the moment of danger was over, he turned to see his 'attacker'.
He blinked at the sight of the midnight blue kyunru. Wasn't this the first of all the Kin to have arrived on this new world after the Beast's appearance on Sabilasi?
He gave a short bow. "Uh, greetings. We're here to see Imriel, if she's about? There are a few things we really need to discuss with her..."
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 4:16 pm
Odilen was well-trained - caring for Shiratori for two years had made her more than used to being run into. The response was immediate; she turned around at once and crouched down before she realized that the creature who'd collided with her was not her clumsy Pala friend but a kyunru. A familiar kyunru.
"You're Twilight, aren't you?" Odilen asked, glancing briefly up at Zayn. "It's nice to see you again." Even if she'd only really seen the kyunru from a distance, she still remembered. "I'm Odilen of the Ieldi, and this is Zayn, also of the Kin - as he said, we'd like to talk to Imriel about a matter of great importance. Would it be possible for you to guide us?" She nodded her head respectfully.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:20 pm
It took several moments for Twilight to regain her usual smooth composure, but she effected a half decent smile after the two ieldi made their introductions.
"Ah.. yes, I am Twilight.. I know of you both of course. Well met," she said, managing some sincere warmth in her voice. The kyunru bowed formally, her wings spreading just a bit awkwardly in the close quarters. After straightening, Twi regarded the two people critically, wondering what on earth they needed to speak to Imriel about. She lifted one paw for a moment, then the other, in an unconscious display of nervousness.
This really wasn't a good time for visitors, Twilight thought quickly. If she let them down there, who knew what Imriel would do. For certain, the ieldi longed to be with her kin, but she'd been rather.... unbalanced... of late.
Because of Pale.
Making up her mind quickly, Twilight motioned with her wings for them to let her through. "Yes, come, you two have just as much at stake I think. Imriel needs to hear the words of her own people."
The kyunru stepped carefully up to the first barrier and snapped all four of her wings open in a sudden rush, sweeping them abruptly up and forward and somehow succeeding in not getting them caught up on the walls. Air gusted through the hallway, carrying a scent something like that of a forest after rainfall. The violet barrier shimmered briefly, then the blue.
"I keep telling her all you'd need is a 'Staff Only' sign and maybe a keypad lock," Twilight said softly as she strode up to the back door. "But Imriel guards her secrets a bit obsessively.. Though, recently, her secrets might actually warrant a bit of caution."
The kyunru stopped then, turning her head to face them with a worried expression on her face. "What ever you see down there, remember she's your sister soul... and maybe she's just strayed her path a little."
Without saying anything further, Twilight concentrated on the door, whispering the password telepathically. It opened for them, and she hesitated for a breath before leading them into the darkness.
At first, the shadows were oppressive, but just a bit further into the basement, lights from various controlled flames on small burners and a myriad of glowing instruments and bottles filled with who knows what lit the expansive area with a lurid half-light. A whole section of the room was blocked from view by several ornate and exotic looking screens. They looked rather out of place amid the mess of books, spell ingredients, and piles of discarded paper.
Imriel was leaning over a table, her hands pressed against its metal surface so hard her knuckled were white. She only then noticed her visitors, and her eyes widened with what could be shock, fear, outrage.. or any number of emotions. She was frozen to the spot and her face was completely unreadable as she stared wordlessly at the arrivals.
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 7:36 pm
Odilen listened to Twilight's words solemnly, then got to her feet as the kyunru brought all of her wings forward in a rush of air. The breeze snapped several more of Odilen's flight feathers off, and they hit the barrier and shivered to ash on contact. What on earth... They were not supposed to do that, she was sure, but then Twilight spoke again and Odilen pushed all thoughts of feathers away.
"Remember she's your sister soul... and maybe she's just strayed her path a little."
The kyunru vanished through the doorway. Odilen paused for a moment. The shadows within seemed more than just ordinary darkness, and she rubbed at her arms as if cold before glancing at Zayn. "I..." She paused, then swallowed. "I'm afraid," she admitted, turning back to look at the doorway. "What can Imriel have been doing..." Twilight's words seemed much more dire than merely Palas would warrant. Palas were many things, but they weren't serious.
Odilen steeled herself and took a step into the doorway, then another and another. Shadows gave way to a dim light, revealing Imriel's workshop, a tangle of papers and eldritch objects - and then there was Imriel herself, frozen, unreadable.
"Imriel..."
What had she done? What was she feeling? Odilen couldn't tell, only that whatever-it-was her Kin-sister knew was intense. Her white knuckles were proof of that. "It's Odilen... and Zayn, do you remember?"
She'd planned on launching into her objections to the inclusion of the Ieldi in Palas at once, but that was before she'd seen the look on Imriel's face. "Are you... are you well?" An expression of concern came over Odilen's own face. Whatever you see down there...
What were they going to see?
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 1:02 am
Zayn started at Twilight's warning, and followed silently behind the kyunru until Odilen spoke. Softly, he replied, "It cannot be too bad or surely Twilight would have done something. Even now, she's asking us to play nicely." He was trying to pitch his voice low enough for Twilight not to hear, but he doubted there was much that could escape a kyunru's acute hearing.
The workshop they entered gave Zayn a very bad feeling. Shivers broke out that had nothing to do with temperature. He sniffed at the air - nothing he recognised. Was there a sickly sweet tinge to the room, or was it his imagination running wild?
Finally he turned his attention to Imriel. Their kinswoman was tall, dark and cloaked. Also graceful, fragile and looking incredibly worn. Not the monster Zayn was expecting.
You've been spending far too much time listening to Odilen's epic tales, he told himself, if you were expecting to find a troll down here instead of an Ieldi.
When Odilen trailed off, Zayn decided to bring up their reason for visiting. Imriel wasn't looking pleased at the interruption. "Actually, we were hoping to speak to you about something important... Um, about this."
Half hidden under his cloak, a small figure was led forward, it's tiny paw in Zayn's hand. A tiny giggle filled the air, the yellow and red-striped Pala looking around curiously.
Zayn glanced back and forth between Imriel, Odilen and the pala he'd named Aurelia - he told himself it was only because it would have been rude to call her 'thing', 'it', or 'you', considering she had attached herself to him.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 1:46 am
A breath escaped Imriel in a soft rush, her body finally forcing her to breathe. It took a visible and obvious effort for the slender woman to take her hands from the table and straighten ever so slowly. By the time she stood erect, though, she'd collected herself well enough that her hands were only trembling in tiny spasms. She cursed herself for being such a wreck in front of her kin. Embarrassing, unforgivable. She took a deep breath to cleanse her thoughts. She couldn't get bent out of shape now, that just wouldn't do. She could do it later, when she didn't have an audience.
But it hit Imriel pretty hard, seeing Odilen and Zayn standing before her. They both looked vibrant and alive, mocking her and her contrivances. A cord seemed to hum in her chest, resonant and insistent, and she fought against the absurd urge to rush forward and embrace them both. She frowned inwardly at herself, not trusting the feeling one bit.
"Of course.. I remember." The ieldi folded her arms over her stomach, not sure what else to do with them. She leaned from one foot to the other and tossed a bit of her black hair over one shoulder. She wasn't wearing her witch's hat and not having the brim to hide underneath made her feel vulnerable. "I.. I'm fine," she said to Odilen, forcing a weak smile. "Just.. some trouble with work." She lifted one of her arms from her stomach and waved her hand in an airy motion, as if sweeping the issue away.
And then Zayn said they were here about.... What exactly?
"I'm, sorry?" Imriel asked, her voice sounding just a little hollow. "I don't understand.." she glanced at the loudly colored pala that, after she watched it for a moment, actually reminded her of Zayn a little bit. "We have a no return policy," she said lamely, her slender eyebrows pinching together slightly. Her thoughts scrambled in her head, trying to catch up with the situation.
What were they doing here? She glanced sidelong at the screens hiding part of the room before she could catch herself. She was just about to suggest that they move upstairs and talk when she noticed Twilight sitting on the bottom step, making a grand affair of grooming her feathers so that her wings conveniently took up the entire bottom part of the staircase. The kyunru eyed Imriel lazily from one half-lidded eye for the briefest moment before making a small shrug and settling herself more comfortably.
Sigh.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 2:07 am
That went well. Zayn was shocked to silence as the point completely missed Imriel. Did she really see nothing wrong with the Pala? Have no clue why any Kin, let alone two of half a dozen Ieldi left in existence, would object to the misuse of souls being carried out here?
"I-I'm not," Zayn stammered, flustered. "That's not-" He scowled, took a deep breath and began again. His hands began to gesture as he spoke, movements growing wilder and his voice rose. "I doubt she'd stay behind even if I was here to leave her. Which I couldn't, because they have no common sense whatsoever. Which is another issue entirely - if you're going to butcher the Kin and then stitch them together like some kind of Dr Frankenstein for souls, at least give them some higher intelligence!"
The loud echo of the walls gave Zayn the realisation that he had been yelling by the end. Hands fell back by his sides and he tried to hide a ferocious blush. "That's... not even the point I wanted to make. And I'm yelling," he mumbled. "This is why Odilen should do the talking. I'll hold an art show full of protest pieces, stick to what I'm good at..."
He shuffled his feet, unsure if he should retreat and hide behind the much calmer Odilen or step forward and offer hugs to Imriel. "Sorry," he said softly. "I didn't think I was quite this upset..."
Truly, he'd thought he was mostly here backing up Odilen, who seemed more passionate about it than Zayn. But that rant had come from somewhere. Maybe it was due to caring for Aurelia and seeing just how far something part-Ieldi could fall. Maybe he'd been more worried than he realised all along. He just hoped that his outburst hadn't spoiled any hope of reaching through to Imriel.
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 9:49 am
Odilen winced a little as Zayn began to rant, but she put one hand on his shoulder once he fell silent again. That hadn't exactly been the best plan in the world... "I'll call you next time I need some picket signs," she told him, with a wry smile. Then she turned to Imriel.
"He means well, he just has a terrible way of putting things," Odilen said, with a small shake of her head. "But, to be more diplomatic... we are worried about the use of Ieldi souls and energies in the Palas." She glanced down at Aurelia, then back at Imriel. "But we didn't come here for lectures and witch-hunts. Zayn is just... passionate about the issue. As am I. We just wanted to talk with you about the Pala. About the Kin. About... us." Odilen hoped she was getting through. "We are family, after all." About the only family left, considering she hadn't seen any other new Ieldi since Eilonwy at Turtle's Paradise over a year ago. "I am sorry for barging in unannounced. If you need some time to think, we can go and wait upstairs or something."
She reached up and brushed some stray hair behind her ear; the movement stirred another primary feather to fall.
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 8:11 am
They were here to complain about the palas? Imriel's feathers poofed in agitation at Zayn's outburst, then settled again as Odilen spoke their concerns more calmly. She stared at them in mild confusion for a long time before finally gesturing that they take a seat at the metal table that sat between them.
Without waiting to see if they would, she pulled a chair out for herself and dropped into it heavily.
"You don't think I haven't noticed?" she said quietly, watching Aurelia. "They're not.. I mean.. they have no.." Imriel motioned vaguely with her hands ".. they have no shadow on their souls. Like we do." Her smile was bitter. "The Ieldi are a cursed race I think.. but the Palas? They're so carefree... Yes, I guess it might be argued that their intelligence isn't as evolved, but don't they seem to be happier for it? There isn't anything that can really darken a Pala's happiness for more than a little while." Her eyes dropped and she stared at her hands. "You don't think maybe the souls might be better off that way," she asked, the question directed at herself as well. "Our people, we haven't had much luck with long term happiness..."
She looked up then, her expression suddenly angry.
"And in any case, what have you done for the lost ones?" She clenched her fists in front of her, fighting to keep months of frustration out of her voice. "I have been working tirelessly every day to find a way to bring them back." Her voice lowered as her anger diffused, she was so worn out she didn't have the energy to be angry. "Have you come to tell me my only success is a failure?" she choked, her wings trembling. "I don't know know how to bring them back... Everything I try just comes up.. empty." She made a pained face at that last statement, remembering her most recent disappointment. What would these two think of Pale?
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 12:01 pm
"Imriel..." Odilen took one of the offered seats, focusing all her attention on the other Ieldi. "Maybe we are cursed, but we're still Ieldi... still what we are. Maybe some of our Kin would choose to be like the Pala." She glanced over at Zayn's little one again before returning her gaze to Imriel. "But... I think they should have that choice..."
She bit her lip. It was obvious that Imriel's decisions had not been motivated by petty things like profit or simply the desire to experiment. "If I could dance our Kin back into existence, I would dance my feet raw," she said, simply. "I'm sure Zayn would paint like a dervish if he could paint them back. And if we can... tell us, and we will." Odilen put her hands on the table and leaned in a little, her expression radiating earnestness. "You've done more than anyone else, and we share your desire to see the Kin reborn, but I'm not sure if the Palas are the answer. But I refuse to come and tell you that and then walk away, back into my life without so much as a word. Tell me what I can do to help you, and I will. And..." She paused. "And I'm sorry. For not saying this to you sooner. I should have. Please, let me - let us - help you."
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Posted: Thu Oct 23, 2008 1:45 pm
Zayn's heart went out to Imriel as she spoke of wanting the Ieldi back. It was a dream that had haunted him since he was a child, only abating somewhat since Odilen became such a strong presence in his life. Kin were meant to be with Kin - but even kyunru and kunkuns were no substitute for another Ieldi.
Following Imriel's example, he pulled out a chair and sat close by the raven Ieldi. The less this felt like an inquisition, the better. (He'd started off great on that score, hadn't he?)
"Of course we desire a world filled with Ieldi," he said. "To think of our past family, and friends, and to know that out of an entire world, a mere half dozen now exist? It is a cruel joke, to offer rebirth but only to so few. If you knew the amount of times I had wished, 'if only there were still more Relics, or more Trees to attract lost spirits' ..."
He felt a little queasy at the mention of Trees, but did his best to hide it from Imriel in case she assumed it was an indication of distaste for more Ieldi. Of course, that queasiness was nothing compared to what thoughts of Neruheru, Siff, or - Gods forbid - the Beast brought about.
"We really should have come sooner," Zayn murmured, ducking his head in shame. "As soon as we heard where you were, we should have come then, not waited until now. It must have been so lonely." Empathy-filled eyes stared at Imriel, and Zayn covered Imriel's hand with one of his own and squeezed gently. He didn't know if she would appreciate contact, but perhaps this would be easier to bear than a full hug. "We're all family, after all, and all we have is each other. Please forgive us for leaving you alone for so long."
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