Discontinued 18+ Private Western Brisshal Birdcage

[Bluebird]

(Continued from here)

Breath returned. Color bloomed in her vision as she panted. Bluebird spread her wings, ready to force song through her burning throat. To fight or flee, to protect herself-

...The caravan leader was gone. There was no murmuring hatred. The stars were quiet as she blinked up at Ishtar, feathers settling as she took her offered hand and rose to her feet. The danger she had braced herself for had come and gone, and she was still alive. Bluebird clicked her tongue and hummed softly, working a spell to smooth away the bruises forming around her neck.

"...thank you." She was still clearly on edge, but for the moment she seemed unlikely to fly away. She let her gaze travel across the forest, looking for the shadows of onlookers or the glint of knives. Not even her enhanced eyesight caught anything. The three of them were truly alone.

Mira had often been mistaken for being naive. Ignorant. Simple. They saw her demure nature, considered her past, and thought she would be easy to deceive. But she was not stupid at all. She wouldn't have made it so far otherwise.

And so Bluebird's smile didn't reach her eyes as she spoke. Her composed demeanor allowed only a glimpse of the steel beneath the surface."I must thank you for stopping the caravan leader from causing further harm."

Bluebird looked back to the woman. She was unfamiliar, but it wasn't difficult to make the connection. "...you are the Pale Lady, then. The one who has inspired such... devotion among the Landers."

Father was gone. Sealed away, never to hurt her again. But this Pale Lady felt like an echo of his mercurial love.

It scared her.

@Ishtar

 

[Ishtar]

Ishtar smiled but said nothing at the girl's gratitude. Instead she simply floated in place, watching her regain her composure and reset her stance. There was steel there, in her eyes, just beneath the surface. Ishtar's eyebrows rose just a little, her demure mask was a very good one from what she saw through that infintesimal gimpse Bluebird offered.

She tilted her head with a smile; "I am Ishtar," She gestured casually to Jacques who stood nearby, the hatchetman lingering with his eyes fixed on Bluebird's face. "He was on the front lines against Szofrit. His wife lost her life during the battle. He is my first Archon, who received my [Touch of Mastery]."

Jacques hesitated before offering a small bow. "My lady speaks highly of you, she says you care deeply for this world and the Landers, you are a rarity among your kind," The ex-soldier said before straightening up.

He glanced at Ishtar who smiled at him and offered a coy wink, "It's fine, dearie, go make sure things are settled."

The hatchetman bowed again and turned to walk into the corrupted forest, not looking back. Alone at last, Ishtar floated up a few feet and lay down on her side as if she was on a sofa, staring at Bluebird with rapt eyes for a few moments. "You were very brave to come to this place knowing what dangers could await you, little bird, I'm very impressed," She giggled and drifted to the left, swirling through the air around Bluebird. "But why? I wonder. Curious little bird off to the serpents nest, what did you hope to gain from meeting me?"

@Bluebird

 

[Bluebird]

Bluebird nodded. She had avoided the fight against Szofrit, once the city had been calmed. The mere thought of facing the Magia horde made her throat itch with the memory of EVE's song. Even now, she brought her hand up to her neck, eyes dull with recollection. "I see. I heard that it fell into chaos - perhaps moreso afterwards than the fight itself."

In truth, she only knew bits and pieces, mostly from the angry words of Landers. Your kind betrayed us, they whispered. You chose them over us. You can't be trusted.

"In truth, I did not seek you out - it was the people in my charge who asked me to protect them on their path." Had they planned this betrayal from the start, convinced that this "Ishtar" required such a sacrifice? "In the end, the fault is mine that this occurred. I knew of the caravan's discontent, but hoped that my actions would speak for my sincerity."

If it hadn't been Ishtar demanding such things, who had convinced them? Or had they simply succumbed to their own imagined terror? "I cannot blame them, in the end. They merely wished to protect themselves."

The serpents' nest, Ishtar said, drifting with an ease that she couldn't help but envy. Ishtar was willing to bear her fangs, confident in her power. Bluebird was inclined to take her seriously.

"My name is Bluebird, one of the Starcalled." She curtsied to Ishtar, still smiling. Her instinct was to appease, to ensure that the rage she had witness would not turn her way. "I have no quarrel with you, Ishtar, I swear."

@Ishtar