Roc And Roll

[The House of Dying Lights]

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"I thought you'd summoned it." Darius' voice rang out, more frustrated and annoyed than an actual question, as if he were flinging the words as an accusation. He stood above his sister, looking down on her as if she were a failure. His anger didn't spur from the fact that he was not looking at the ancient beast, but rather that she insisted that it had been summoned from a slumber that was never to end. He had never known her to be a liar, though often times she did take the route of undisclosed information. If she hadn't lied, now it appeared to be such things unsaid that were the cause of his strange facial twitch. "Where is it?" he hissed from between his teeth.

"In Concordia, where it has been for nigh full a year now," she said in her calm, matter of fact voice. She looked up at him, light brown eyes glittering with mischief, and he could nearly hear her giggle as she continued. "Growing strong."

"Do you think this is funny?!" Darius found himself bellowing, reaching down to pull her up from the throat of the grey cloak she used to shield her fragile form from the cold. "Do you think that we'll survive long unless we can do something to put gold in the coffers?" He let her go then, turning away as she slumped back down onto her knees, her gaze moving from him to the dozens of little butterflies that had been crushed between her fingers. The ridges of her hands were edged with the slight brushings of blue powder from the wings that had been caught and crippled between her fingers.

"This beast was summoned here a while back, it's presence in the dark sleeping place is completely cold." she said, her voice holding the faint traces of her own anger, though like always it remained hidden. Shaking his head, looking to the sky, he sighed.

"The scroll says that it was locked away to keep from bringing a scourge upon the world." He opened his mouth to continue, interrupted by the peal of laughter coming from several feet behind him.

"A scourge!? I would hardly call children..."

"These children grow taller than a man in their first ten years." Darius turned back to her now. "Are you sure that the scourge it meant was a nest of eggs? Something horrible hasn't gone wrong?" With this question, she responded with a disdainful sniff as she stood, the edges of her heavy cloak trailing the ground as she wrapped it tightly around her. She moved to go back into the old ranch house, opening the creaking door with a grace that he could never quite seem to emulate, but turned back to answer her brother's question.

"No matter what you think your Raiaeran books have told you, it's hardly a match for what a summoner can feel when they call. The bird laid it's eggs here, and they're close to hatching. If you want them now, it's time. But it won't be easy."

Alone in the yard, Darius pulled his fingers through his hair. He knew taking on a protective mother Roc would be a dangerous endeavor, but then again, that's what the flyers had been for.

[sweet_oblivion]

"Well well, it seems like I have found the right place." Dino said with a slight smirk as he held a piece of paper in his hand, one that had drawn his attention with only one word. Roc. The legendary creature, able to carry off elephants high into the sky. If the stories were true, he had to at least witness such a creature before it was killed, maybe even a bit more than witness if he had his way.

He had came into ears distance while the tall black haired man was speaking about the young rocs growth rate. From what he had heard, they were at least that size from the time they hatched, but Dino had heard many other ridiculous stories about the roc, so it was possible that was untrue as well. Even so, it did not matter, studying such a magnificent creature was enough to get him excited and eager to risk his life.

"I am guessing that you are the one who put these up?" Dino questioned the man as he held the flyer out.

Genbu had come been trailing behind earlier and had just now caught up, laying down next to Dino who took a seat atop the Tortoise's shell. "So is this the guy we were looking for?" Genbu asked, receiving no response, though he could not say he was surprised. When Dino was excited about something he had a habit of ignoring anyone who was not connected to the object of his desire.

Dino was a bit curious about the conversation that had been going on shortly before his arrival. Words about summoners had been spoken, and he was beginning to wonder what part in this that girl had to play, if any. She seemed to know a lot about the matter, and if this guy had been the one who set up the flyers, it spiked his curiosity as to why he was only now gaining information about such a quest. Either way, it really did not concern Dino, so he would not bother to dig into it.

"So what exactly is this job all about?" He asked, tossing the piece of paper aside.

[Winter's Lady]

Sitting at a table as far from the blazing fireplace as she could get Isa watched the occupants of the tavern drink and boisterously interact with one another. Like any of the many other taverns she had been in, she found this one loud, stiflingly hot and filled with the rank, noisy and often violent humans. A smoky, dimly lit room filled with rough hewn tables, chairs and benches, long cleared of their splinters by the constant friction of hands, legs and rumps as they shifted, slid and scooted. The cruelty of the God that bound me into this form never ceases.

Involuntarily she felt her upper lip twitch and rise in a snarl as another drunken, odiferous male leaned drunkenly on her table and spoke. Undoubtedly trying to lure her into some human action. She rose, feeling and hearing the delicate ice that enclosed her hips and torso in a mimic of the cloth one of the women in the tavern wore, cracking and flaking. Hurriedly she fixed the minute brakes in the ice, having learned that leaving the whole of ones’ body bare was not appropriate. Thinking on the displays of behavior, the woman’s and the men around her Isa grudgingly admitted that perhaps choosing to mimic her clothing had been a bad choice.

With just the lightest touch of conscious thought her clothing began to alter. The open deep neckline that revealed what Isa thought to be useless mounds of soft tissue on her chest changed. The shirt frosted over, becoming opaque and rising to encircle her neck while leaving her arms and most of her back bare. The stiff uncomfortable long skirt melted away leaving Isa covered by a skirt of ingenious design. Tiers of hazy ice encircled her hips, dropping in dagger like points to the tops of her thighs. With a learned gesture, Isa formed one of her ice daggers and drew the tip a hair's breadth from the man’s fingertips to startle him.

“Go away.” She said simply, coldly. Standing she looked up at the much taller man and for a moment wished that she hadn’t been bound into such a tiny, perfected form. Heading for the door, she noticed a parchment tacked to a pole with a blade. Ripping the flyer down, she studied it for a moment. Unsure of what a Roc was Isa hesitated on tossing the flyer aside, the only thing that kept the slip of paper from a fiery death was the realization that gold was an important and needed thing in this world. Sighing she folded and shoved the paper into the waistband of her skirt. Feet bare, as per usual, she headed off to find this company and the man listed, Darius Jordan.

Hunting down the man proved to be a simple task. Isa found may people eager to talk to her about a man seeking to hunt Roc’s, but for all of their near useless talk not one had told her what a Roc was. Finding the old ranch house was easily done, but Isa was surprised to find a young man sitting upon a turtle in the front yard talking to another male. Out of habit, learned the hard way she formed one dagger and kept it hidden in her palm and stayed out of the way to listen.

"What is a Roc?" Isa chimed in softly, unafraid of showing her ignorance.