Forum Thread

Seilan was walking by himself, as he did everyday since his exile. He sighed, shutting his eyes for a moment, running a hand against his neck. He was tired of the constant travel, but it wasn't like he had much of a choice. If the Aferis stood still for too long... well one of the many predators on this planet could catch up to him. A sudden shape suddenly dropped out of nowhere in front of him, hitting the ground with a thud. Perhaps he had already been found.

The Aferis took a quick step back, eyes wide as he stared at the figure. It... wasn't like anything he had seen before. He inched closer to it, tilting his head as he tried to study... whatever it was. It looked like one of the outsiders but... also like an Aferis. What were they doing all the way out here? They weren't exactly close to any civilization, at least to Seilan's knowledge. "Hello?" He called out, in his native tongue at first. He carefully nudged one of their wings with his foot, still trying to keep his distance.

---

There was little fanfare in how the stranger had traversed the distance between two worlds, and of the details, the avian could say so little. He wouldn’t be able to recount it, not in days, weeks, or even years following the incident. But the story was, in short, some repeat of alice in wonderland. Tumbling to the ground like an apple falls from a tree, the unfortunate corvid came to rest in the soft meadow grass, wincing slightly in pain. A throbbing ache was spread profusely through his entire body, especially the arms with which he used to press the lanky cerulean bird protectively close to his form. Without arms to stop his fall, the avian was given a chance to re-orient himself after the first branch struck him in the back to badly jar him. Black wings spread wide and turned the alarming fall into a controlled glide. There were benefits to being a fellow avian, after all.

Alethea let out a small choked noise - probably from the impact of the fall resonating within her form or because Lysander was squeezing her too hard. Eventually, he let her stretch out shakily. Wings normally glossy and sleek from ample preening were bristling, shaking with the force of her entire body. She didn’t acknowledge the very-strange-avian-looking-stranger, however, because the two of them were still taking some time to collect themselves. However, when the stranger dared to come closer, the heron puffed up indignantly. “Watch it. Hasn’t anyone told you touching someone else’s wings is rude?” A narrow and cold gaze befell the stranger from the heron’s narrowed golden gaze.

Lysander sat up cradling his head. His gaze fell upon … perhaps the strangest avian he’d seen. Disparate wing colors weren’t unusual among Shaliz’na, and he was aware that there were many different avian species to come across. A bemused expression crossed his face when he noticed that the being in front of him only had one wing, and a badly mangled one at that. Oh “Who and what are you.” He asked in a calm tone, as guarded as the heron daemon. “And can you tell me - in basic - where I am?”

Seilan had quickly stepped back seeing the heron spring to life, very clearly startled by the sudden movement and sound. The Aferin's heart raced as he watched the strange creature. He hadn't seen anything like it before. It frightened him. His wing stiffened behind him, seeming to retreat into his body for a split second before trying to splay out defensively.

White eyes seemed torn between watching Alethea and Lysander, a soft white glow giving hint to the worried frown on his face. So it spoke in the outsider language. He could try to speak it for them. Seilan knew how he just didn't like to. The Aferin's frown deepened as he noticed the stranger's gaze linger on his wing for just too long, and it quickly pulled close against his back in shame, hiding it from view. He thought over what they had asked for a moment, trying to formulate a response. "I am Seilan. I am Aferis. This... is...? my home." He tried to gesture all around him to indicate the planet. He didn't know the word for it. "This."

---

Both man and bird exchanged a quizzical look at the stranger - Seilan's - stumbling speech. Not only did it appear that Basic was not his mother-tongue, but there was a chance that Basic was hardly spoken on this world at all. Lysander was no stranger to the stories of travelers stuck on foreign worlds due to a language barrier, but he hardly thought he would be caught in this situation himself. The avian wasn't bothered by the stranger's confusion towards daemons; Lysander was a foreigner after all, and not every single species manifested their daemons externally. Seilan had a daemon, obviously: an internal daemon.

Still, more concerning was the stranger's wing - and only one wing, for it appears the other had either been torn off or never existed in the first place. No, but the stranger tucked his wing away in shame, confirming the former was true. A chill ran down his spine and Alethea bristled at the very thought. Regardless of species, there was a general consensus among avian species that to touch someone's wings required their permission. It was a rule ground into Lysander as a child, and he still remembered how he was thumped good and hard by his mother for yanking his brother's wing and pulling his feathers during a fight. Either he lost the wing to a predator... or... Lysander didn't want to consider the alternative. Even allowing someone so close as to be able to cut off a wing was shocking.

He nodded thoughtfully at Seilan's words before responding. "I am Lysander Voronova." He pointed to Alethea, "This is Alethea. Your world is quite lovely, but I have no idea how I got here." He made sure to speak clearly in case the stranger was missing something, "This is not my homeworld. I would like to get home. Can you help me?"

He had watched as Alethea's feathers seemed to stand upright, taking a nervous step back. That was usually a sign of anger. Was it about to attack him? Seilan figured that it may surely he able to outrun him, given it could likely fly, and he could not. His eyes seemed glued to the heron even as Lysander introduced himself.

"Does it..." His hand mimed a sort of biting action, to try and convey what he wanted to ask, "Lysander Voronova?" Seilan took another step back just to be safe. He seemed to struggle to pronounce Lysander's name. The Aferis was also trying to process what the stranger had said. His world... home? was quite love...ly. His home was of love? The Aferis seemed to puff up pridefully as he attempted to put together Lysander's meaning. Yes, his home was of love. He thought.

But it was not Lysander's home. He wanted to go home. Seilan could understand that feeling. His wing seemed to tilt downward in a half expression of thoughtfulness. "There is outsider metal fly." He tried to explain, trying to use his hands to draw out a ship in the air. "Rest near outside Aferi home. Catch one, Lysander Voronova go home." He nodded, hoping that his avian companion could understand his meaning. Basic was such a confusing language...

---

Lysander took a patient breath inwards as Seilan stumbled on his language, eyes flicking nervously in Alethea's direction. Had he never seen a daemon before? The concept of having an invisible daemon was not new -- in fact, many nonhuman species galaxy wide shared this characteristic. But, the knowledge of having a daemon was known far and wide. It was an act as simple as breathing, and it was simply right -- like the knowledge that having a head, shoulders, wings, and talons was made him a shaliz'na. Seilan fussed over Alethea's aggression, and Lysander only shared a dry chuckle with the heron. "No, she won't bite." He chuckled, amused by Seilan's display. "There's hardly been anything to be angry about."

The concept of a daemon was hardly a complex one, but it was profound to the ordinary eye.

wip