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 Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 9:39 am
This is a self roleplay between Anya, Sylaise Frostfeather and HÅsoku.  /   My teepee(OOC notes: The Flock referenced here is NOT the same one as in Kawani. This is a much smaller Flock that resides in other lands.
Also there is violence and mention of death in this roleplay. )
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 9:50 am
It was extremely rare these days to see the blue harpy traveling at such break neck speeds through the trees. Circumstances as they were not forced Anya to go faster and take more extreme risks than she had in years. Her body twisting and doing full barrel rolls as she brushed within a hair's breath past the large pines. Her talons locking into each one she passed forcefully to briefly to land before launching herself again in a blink of an eye. She was using her speed and agility to the best of her advantage to try and either detour her pursuers or have them injure themselves trying to keep up with her pace. However the burning ache and slight delay of her body was a rather irritating reminder to her that she wasn't as young and in shape as she use to be. She didn't have the time to waste to slow down and give her body the breather it was dying for!
Unfortunately Anya didn't have any other option but to flee like this, Even if it meant pushing her body past it's breaking point. A very gruesome horrible death was guaranteed if she was caught. Anya elected not to give the harpies behind her the satisfaction of bringing her down without a struggle. Anya had to admit though with the fact that she was outnumbered six to one against much a much younger set of harpies did stack the odds heavily against her being able to make it out of this alive. Luckily, the loud cracks and flurry of screeches of those hot on her trail was enough to fuel her fight or flight instinct to send another rush of adrenaline through her so she could push her body forward.
Why she was even in this situation was a extremely ironic tale. After weeks of loneliness and the endless thoughts of 'What ever happened to Sylaise?' had plagued her Anya had stupidly in a bout of desperation sought the help of a charitable spirit back in her home in Kawani. Honestly she didn't understand the answer that she had gotten back from the spirit in her dreams! She had asked for a simple dream to give her closure on whether or not her sister was still alive. Instead she was rattled with dreams giving her directions back to her childhood home far to the west. Hints and prods that let her know that the ice bridge that connected the two lands was for the first time in years solid enough for her to travel upon. She was told over and over that now was the time to get the closure with her sister she sought dearly and that the only way it would be given was if she went in the flesh to seek it out.
Screw the spirits, man! She couldn't stand their idiotic cryptic answers. All she wanted was a simple yes and no answer, not to go world traveling on a whim!
Resentfully Anya had finally broken and packed her supplies before traveling for weeks across the Northern Kawani lands. She had decided that she had to at least amuse herself, though, she didn't hold her hopes high on it being more than anything but a waste of her time. However, true to their word the spirit didn't lie on the land bridge being formed solid enough for her to travel on safely. Taking it as a sign Anya pressed on, making her way through the frozen tundra. Past the land bridge a nagging gut feeling guided and pushed her on through the worst parts of her long journey.
Once she arrived to her destination her plan had been simple enough. Scout in secret The Flock for intel on her sister so she could confront her privately. Anya used cream coat to her advantage and with the aid of some light colored fur wraps on most of her body to cover up not only her vibrate mane and tail of feathers but also providing much needed protection against the unforgiving weather. Anya could easily camouflage herself within snowy terrain of the territory and stay camouflaged in her hiding spots for long periods of time.
As her time gathering intel droll Anya was growing increasingly perplexed and worried. Not once in her time there had she seen or heard of her twin sister. Even if she acted as a oracle most of the time Sylaise should have fitted herself into the role of Queen of the Flock by now. Had she been challenged and over thrown? Had disease taken her? Perhaps in the never ending war with the rival Flocks and other herds around the area she had been cut down? Did the spirit really bring her all this way just for a mare long since dead? No, no. As cryptic as the spirits could be that couldn't have been the case. There must have been a reason it dragged her all the way out here.
Anya's patience was never known to be extremely lenient. In her frustration she answered the aching need within her to find answer was looking for. Another gut feeling that she could only chalk up as another sign told her that what she sought would be in the deepest part of the Flock. After a long internal battle with herself Anya's will once again crumpled to the wishes of the higher being guiding her and so she had moved herself deeper and deeper into the Flock's territory. Her goal being to reach the oracle's sanctuary set in the middle of the territory. Something told her that would be her final destination. If Sylaise wasn't there then she could safely say that her sister no longer was among the living and could go back home without any annoying 'What if's' tugging her back to this horrid place.
Unfortunately even with the spirit watching over her journey Anya's luck was cut short abruptly with a strong wind storm forming over the territory without warning. Despite her fighting the wind with all her might she was no match for the winds that forced her to come tumbling down from her hiding spot to crash in the middle of the resting area where most of the small Flock had gathered to huddle together for warmth.
Anya's eyes widened as the startled members of the Flock stared at her. She couldn't help but snicker inside her own head at the sudden twist of unfortunate events she was suddenly finding herself in. Well, hello my amazing luck. So nice to see you rear your ugly little head again.
Anya certainly was not expecting a warm welcome when she arrived back home. After all of what happened Anya understood that if she was seen by her old flock that she would be killed on sight. Such was their laws, the ancient ways that the Flock had followed were black and white. There was no gray area to play around with. In youth Anya tore down and broke every single law the Flock held dear when she turned her back on the duty that was carved out for her since the day she was born.
Did she regret a second of it? Hell no. As ironic as it would seem to some to follow in the path laid out for her would have made her a slave sworn by duty till her dying breath. Her life, would not be her own after that point. It would belong to her twin sister and the Flock which she was expected to protect with her life. She was to be the main tool executions and was to act as warmonger for the Flock to keep the other warring herds surrounding them at bay.
Others would have seen the role as a honor and would have thrown themselves into it. Anya, however, detested the idea and openly challenged it. Why she almost was killed in the process Anya did finally win her freedom after a long hard fought battle with her sister.
That is the reason it came to no shock to her when the entire Flock shot up and launched a full attack on her once the surprise of her abrupt landing wore off.
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Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2015 10:06 am
That is what brought her to the situation she was in now. The wind storm was acting as both a hindrance and a friend to her. It had started to kick up and throw the snow that permanently rested on the ground this time of year into the air. So as much as she had to fight the winds just to gain a inch of forward ground Anya was able to use it to blend deeper into her surroundings and get a head start ahead of the Flock. Anya figured that if she could play keep away with them long enough she would be able make it into a rival herd's territory and the Flock would be forced to abandon their hunt and turn back least they risk even more trouble.
The sudden screeching war cry before a deafening crash of a harpy head first into a tree next to her after missing her target caused Anya to falter in her mad dash.
ShitshitshitshitSHITSHIT! That was way too close! Where in the great mother's name did she even come from!?
Anya's snowy white eyes dashed back and forth now that full on panic had set in. Damn this weather! Why she could make out where most of the Flock was from their endless squawks and screeches it was clear that a few of the more seasoned warriors of the Flock had pushed ahead. They were more silent than their counterparts and caught her off guard. She could barely make out a few from the blurry movements darting in and out of her field of view.
Anya knew better than to take comfort and think that those were the only few that had managed to catch up with her. There had to be some that she couldn't see. If she had to guess from her own past experience fighting with this same group they had moved so that some were tracking her from the ground and some were up higher in the tree tops.
Locking all four of her talons into the truck of a elder pine Anya's knees buckled at the weight of her body suddenly coming to a stop. A loud 'Oompf' from the force of the impact knocking out the air momentarily out of her lungs. Gritting her teeth Anya used the bent of her knees to build tension in her muscles before pushing off of the pine with all of her might sending her back into the air within a few seconds of landing in a different direction than before. She hadn't been able to see any others in that direction and if she had remembered this area correctly very soon if she kept going that way she would land herself into Griffon territory. Anya hoped that it would be enough to drive off the attack.
Her strategy did have one flaw in it. Anya excepting a pair of snowy white twins to leave their hiding spots so they could ambush her through the same trees that Anya had been heading towards.
The three harpies met head on in mid-air. The first set of white talons stabbed Anya in the neck close to her shoulder blade. The second twin wasn't able to land a blow with her talons, instead she barreled her weight into Anya's chest. The combined weight of the two harpies knocked Anya back like a rag doll. The sudden change of direction ripped the talons out from Anya's shoulder and separated her from the two harpies set on ending her right then and there.
Letting out a sharp cry Anya flailed wildly in the air desperate to get a grip on a tree so she wouldn't fall to her death.
Her blood curdling screams and wild antics stopped in an instant when she crashed into a enormous branch. A series of sickening cracks followed her body as it bent over the branch. With the momentum of her fall carrying over it wasn't long before she was once again plummeting uncontrollably.
When she finally hit the ground her body was bounced back up. Her body was forced into a barrel roll before it hit the ground again only to be bounced like a toy back into the air. When her limp body landed into the ground one last time it skid for a couple of feet before slumping in a bloody, crumpled heap in the large snow bank her landing had made around her.
Anya's bloody lips parted as she let out a pained shriek. Her legs twitched as she instinctively tried to get up, to keep running from the danger she was in. She managed to lift herself partly up before collapsing with another scream as her broken bones were pushed more out of place at her frantic tries to get up. Craning her neck down she tucked her bloody muzzle into her twisted leg, trying to ease the pain with pressure.
Her breathing was getting more shallow and labored, each breath little more than a wheeze as blood was starting to fill her chest cavity. She had lost the breath anymore to waste screaming or fighting. All she could was lay there and feel her own life force spill into places it shouldn't have been. On the ground, in her chest, in her throat. It seemed her blood was everywhere but where it should be! Anya didn't have the strength to pay any attention to the dark shadows circling over head of her, watching to see if she was going to pass away on her own or if they were gonna have to finish the job.
Huh, So this is what dying felt like? This chilling numbness washing over her? Alright, she could roll with this. Heh, So this must have been what the spirit wanted for her after all.
Well, when she got to the afterlife she could properly thank them for leading her on this merry little journey to her death.
She found herself feeling detached from it all. Her mind drifting back off to her real home. Images and memories of familiar faces flashed in her mind. Her darling girls Kaia, Nakita. Her ever growning babble of grandchildren! A weak smile formed on her face as she thought back to them. They had brought her so much joy and pride watching them all grow up. They....they would be okay without her. She was thankful for that at least.
Anya thought back to all of the friends she had made on her journey. Cult, her best friend and partner in crime for many years and her gruff mate Maddox who was a delight to tease for her. Her son-in-law, Tut, who why they butted heads a number of times had made mutual agreement to get along for Kaia. Not to mention the countless crazy family members that Anya had gotten to know from the brief visits she made to visit her daughter up there. The gray scholarly stallion Wystan who she shared many nights with when she was younger. She had treated him so poorly, but yet he taught her so much. She wished that she could have made some sort of amends with him. Her mind even went back to the strange blue kirin Nikandros that she had met in the great Kalona war and by chance or perhaps by fate she kept running into whenever she traveled to and from her home high in the mountains. Tried as she might she could never manage to get him off of his damn lake.
So much she had left to do, so much left unsaid. A bubble of anger formed deep in her chest as hot tears welled up in her eyes. She wanted to be back home for this, dammit! Never in a million years did she want to die in this frozen hell! There was a reason she left this cursed place in the first place! She never should have returned, spirits, lost siblings, closure be damned. None of it was worth this price. Gods, all she wanted was to be home. To be there to tell her loved ones how much she cared about them all. If she was going to die Anya to be at home so she could see everyone again, to feel their comforting warmth around her instead of the soulless n** of the snow. It felt so wrong to her knowing that her soul wouldn't find rest in the lands that she had developed such a deep connection to.
A choking cough ripped her from her thoughts. Closing her eyes tightly she winced at the stabbing pain in her chest. All she could focus on was the burning feeling in her chest and throat. The foul metallic taste of blood taking over her senses. She didn't even know how but it was everywhere! It flowed out of her nose, it was coming out of her mouth, and it flowed constantly out of the countless cuts and gashes all over her body.
Letting out a wheezy sigh she let her head lull to the side into the snow. Opening her eyes she casted her gaze up to the heavens. Everything was getting more fuzzy and her vision was darkening. She couldn't hear any other sounds other than the crackle and harsh wheeze of her own breaths slowly drowning her.
Well, Sylaise. Looks like I will be meeting up with you again after all. I was hoping it would be differently though. I had planned so many time for this to go way differently. What a shame it wasn't meant to be.
With one last cynical smile forming on her face Anya closed her eyes and let herself drift off into the darkness that had been creeping up on her.
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