[Aelwyn Darka]

Of course Aelwyn knew very well that many of the rebels, the ones nearer her age at least, went into the town of Eryger. It was dangerous, and stupid for that matter. Any one of them could be arrested for treason, or even killed. Were they idiots? Only that morning Alie had watched three youths sneak off together. They probably thought they were being stealthy about it, that no one had heard them leave the camp. Oh how wrong they were! Aelwyn had heard them leaving, their whispering and giggling...she'd merely not bothered telling them off for it. If they were dumb enough to put themselves on the line just to go into the city, than their armies didn't need them. Aelwyn certainly didn't want to be in charge of some dimwitted troops. Better to weed out the idiots now.

After her duties had been tended to, Aelwyn headed off for some time alone. It was a time of day that she never missed, one that was as important to her as anything. Every morning she'd head off for a short flight, and usually stop somewhere short of the villages. Today she let her wings still once she reached a small river. Aelwyn angled her wings, and dove smoothly towards the ground, only to level out at the last second, causing a good deal of strain on the joints of her dark wings. She winced slightly as she moved towards the river, and rubbed her shoulders absently. This was a sting of pain that she was use to. It always passed quickly enough.

Once her bare toes dipped into the flowing water, Aelwyn crouched down at the edge of the river, and wove her hands into the flow. Once her hands were cleaned of grime, she cupped them, and moved the water to her lips for a drink. Three drinks later, she'd finally had her fill. Satisfied, Alie dragged her damp hands through her long, dark tresses. The action both dried her hands off, and ensured that her hair wouldn't be as unruly for the next ten minutes. Of course the moment she took to the air once more that would be undone...but until then she could keep her windblown hair out of her face.

[Elkas Blackbridge]

Elkas was a little different from most of the Eryger citizens who had picked to fight for the rebels; instead of opting to move to the outlands and be a part of the army full time, he still lived in the heart of Kenagir, not all that far from the palace in fact. He still worked, he still saw whatever acquaintances he had before; several of them on the side of the Emperor Damian. In fact, even though he burned for the cause, he still hadn’t come out to his family about what political views he had. He crept in and out of the city in genet form, mostly during the night when he was most alert, and had so far managed to stay under the radar.

He had no real duties, which made invisibility that much easier, but it was unsatisfactory. His manner made him easily overlooked; a quiet, private type who didn’t often speak up, but Elkas was not the type to sit by idly and do nothing, he wanted to matter, to make a difference.

But that wasn’t likely to happen.

So he hung out at the camp as often as he dared, occasionally able to bring work with him, because an MIA Elkas was common enough not to be questioned, and tried to resign himself to being just another face in the war. Yeah that was going to be easy. Restless with nothing to do, he took to ‘patrolling’ the areas outside the rebel camp; confident that his shifted form was innocuous enough not to draw attention with no marks or traits to distinguish it.

The river was a favourite of his; it was normally deserted and as such a prime place for a midday dip, even if it was in animal form. El would never tell, but he loved swimming as a genet, it made him capable of acrobatics he could only dream of as a man. In that form, he had been indulging in an afternoon nap, normal for the nocturnally-inclined El, when splashing brought him to full alert. Had he been on actual patrol, he would have killed himself for sleeping on duty, but it had been a quiet week and Elkas merely peered out from behind the rock he had been sheltering behind.

There were not a lot of people that Blackbridge was fond of, but Aelwyn was in his top three. Smitten since he first laid eyes on the warchild, he’d been utterly astonished to find that not only did they have anything in common, but that a friendship had grown out of their initial brief meetings. He stood up on back feet and shifted, all of a sudden rising out of the background. He shuddered, a brief moment of settling running through him, and quietly walked the twenty or so meters between them to settle himself on the ground with a brief smile.

[Aelwyn Darka]

Though she’d never tell anyone, Aelwyn missed her life pre-war a good deal. Before the fighting had broken out she’d lived in the palace. Her bed had been huge, and terribly comfortable. She’d never once needed to bathe in a river, or avoid town. There had been no secrets. In that life, she’d also had Jeren, a friend. She didn’t miss the formality of that life, or the structure really. Aelwyn loved being outside, she loved the camp and the soldiers. Leaving the Empire had changed her more than words could say. She’d gone from being a prissy little princess-wannabe, to being a trained assassin. She no longer recognized herself. Still, she missed having a real bed, she missed having people to run around and draw baths for her. It was much less pleasurable to wash one’s self when you’re freezing the whole while.

She never told anyone else that though. Aelwyn had an image to keep up. Her and her mother were the leaders of the rebel army…well…her mother was. Most people feared her by association. She had the title because she had the name. Aelwyn really did just do her mother’s bidding, she was a consultant, someone of high rank, but she wasn’t a real leader, even if she did pretend otherwise on occasion. Her mother was the leader, her mother was the one that started everything. If anything happened to her mother, Aelwyn would likely take over, but she’d need Rittin’s help for that. She didn’t have the mind for war that he did. Once in a while a good idea would strike her, but that wasn’t terribly often.

Heaving a sigh, Aelwyn dropped her hands to her knee’s and pushed herself to her feet. Once upright she stretched her aching back muscles, and rotated the joints of her wings. Pulling out of the final dive had caused her more pain than it usually did. She knew it would likely be wiser to walk back to camp after that…but she didn’t particularly want to. Aelwyn wasn’t a big fan of walking. She like flying, even if it wasn’t safe. She could be seen, she could give away everything. If one of the imperials saw her--Just do something to make her happy this once. She coached herself as she seated herself on a large rock not far away from the edge of the river.

Her clear blue eyes remained focused straight forward, watching the calm, undisturbed flow of the water. The sound of foot steps caught her off guard. Aelwyn jumped slightly, then turned towards the noise. She was relieved to see Elkas rather than someone else. There were a number of people that could have stumbled upon her that knew her as Echo, and she wasn’t in the mood to bother with that. There were also the people that would chastise her for running off alone, without telling anyone where she’d gone. But Elkas was a friend, someone who wouldn’t lecture her or expect her to be anything other than herself. A rare, genuine smile touched her full lips as she watched the familiar male near her.

“Hey El.” She greeted him softly, then smoothed her hands over the baggy, brown, knee length leggings she’d pulled on that morning. The clothing she often war was better suited for a male, but she only bothered with dresses when she was trying to impress someone. Dresses made it more difficult to fly, they could be terribly windy, and revealing…

[Elkas Blackbridge]

From his position on a relatively flat rock, Elkas stretched and spread his legs further out, planting his feet on the ground, angled slightly out, making himself more comfortable. He groped in the pockets of his black trousers, the ones with the rip at the knee courtesy of Rowan, and brought out a handful of crumpled pieces of paper and a slightly bent cigarette that he lit after a brief moment of fumbling with a match against his current seat; naps always left him a little dazed, and the way the sun was glaring above his head wasn’t helping him focus. The papers were folded in half and stuffed back in without a further glance.

It was disconcerting, this weather, this glare. The outlands had none of the factory pollution to clog up the skies, and occasionally had less overhead than the city tended to have; but one did think that when a sun shone that hard, the temperature should not necessitate a thick sweater and boots to keep warm. But instead, thanks to the wide-open expanses, the outlands were host to a biting wind that one did not find where there were buildings to break it down.

Hand to mouth now, El took a drag and let his hand drop to rest on his leg, lips curving upwards to the left as he let out a slow stream of smoke. His other hand ran through the mop of sandy tangles currently sticking out every which way. That was fine when he was on his own, but in company at least some decorum was expected. At least he was clean enough, after a long- if freezing- dip. What El hated the most about the outlands, beside the lack of hot water, was the way it managed to cover you in a fine layer of dust within moments that only a good scrubbing could get rid of.

“Sorry for startling you.” he apologized, waving a hand vaguely towards the spot where he’d popped up. “I’m not interrupting your swim am I?” It was rare to find anyone swimming really, it was too cold for one, and the river was quite a walk from the camp even on four legs. El was ready to leave if Aelwyn wanted her privacy; he personally was not shy or self-conscious in the least, but he knew that women tended to be when bathing. Best to offer first rather than being shooed off.

She must have been finished with the days work to be out; duties that Elkas envied, but never spoke of. It may have been pride, or perhaps even just respect for a friend, but El would never have given thought to asking for a position within the army. His dignity wanted him to earn it, despite how much he wanted it. It would put him in a tricky position to be sure; his parents would be thunderstruck if he left for the outlands. His best friend would never speak to him again. And no doubt Rowan would try to join him, the stupid idiot. Little brothers were only good for worrying about if they did as they pleased, it would be much better to be able to leave the kid in the dark.

The problem was, there were highly few ways one could desert the capital and ones family to join an army of rebels against the crown in the middle of nowhere, without at attracting the attention of at least ONE person. El had fantasized about several highly amusing stories to date; that he was joining a gypsy caravan, that he was going to marry and move to the northern rain forests, or that he wanted to become a recluse in the sprawling mountains in the south. But it was only wishful thinking, sooner or later he’d be recognized by someone, and the word would be out.

[Aelwyn Darka]

The outlands were hardly an inviting place, though one could easily assume that after hearing the name of them. They did, of course, make a perfect place to hide away from the Empire. No one wanted to leave their cushy lives to go look around through this area. No one was crazy enough to live out here anyway, right? HA! Shows how much they know! Aelwyn had been living in the outlands for the past twelve months. Though she didn’t exactly like it per-say, she’d come to accept it. She was usually covered with a slight layer of dirt and dust. However, with as tan as her skin was, few managed to notice how dirty she usually was. Anyway, flying through clouds helped clean most of it off. It was the clothing that wasn’t going to come clean without actual scrubbing.

The shirt Aelwyn wore had once been white, now it was more of a light tan color. The shirt had long sleeves, an was cut rather simply in front. In the back the collar of her shirt had been cut low enough that it allowed her to wear her half form. It was difficult to get clothing that suited her purposes. The weather was cold enough these days that one couldn’t walk around in the usual, thin, low backed shirts; nor could one just pull a sweater over the top, at least, not when that “one” was Aelwyn. A sweater would need to be altered, or she’d have to shift entirely into her human form. Aelwyn had decided that her half form was her trademark. It was how people could tell who she was from a distance…not to mention she liked being able to fly whenever she wanted.

When she’d first started walking around in her half form, after a few hours with her wings unfurled, her back had ached, and she’d been forced to shift entirely into her skin in order to sleep. But now she’d strengthened her half form enough that it didn’t pain her, unless she did some stupid stunt while flying. Now, Aelwyn was more comfortable sleeping on her stomach than anything else. In that way, she was as much bird as human.

“OH! Don’t worry about it, your not interrupting anything.” Aelwyn explained. “I’m just out here taking a break from…everything. I got everything done, and I just like sitting out here.” She added with a smile. Usually it did bother her when someone found her while she was trying to relax. Usually someone barging in on her solitude meant that there was something wrong, or that they’d stare stupidly, and make her feel awkward. There were few people that Aelwyn would allow to interrupt her solitude. But Elkas Blackbridge was one such person. He was rather on the quiet side, but that suited her well enough. At least he didn’t stammer and wear his discomfort on his sleeve. If he had any discomfort in her presence, Aelwyn had never detected any of it.

“What are you doing out here anyway? It’s no where near camp, or any of the villages for that matter.” Aelwyn inquired absently, and stretched her legs out in front of her. Once her long legs had been fully extended, her feet were pressed into the mud at the base of the rock she was perched atop. She wiggled her toes in still-damp earth. That was when the rain started. Aelwyn smiled absently, but didn’t move.

Most females were raised in civilization. Most females would run for cover at the first sign of rain, as if they were made of sugar; but not Aelwyn. Once, she would have. At one point she’d been a spoiled little princess, and hated getting wet. But now, she loved it. Aelwyn had been living outside for the past twelve months. After that it was hard to be put off by a bit of water.

[Elkas Blackbridge]

With a wide yawn that made his entire body shudder, El slid down the rock to lie back against it, legs sprawled over the pebbles and sand that made up the banks of the river. “Good.” He replied succinctly, as always, relieved that he didn’t have to make the trek back to the camp. He had only just woken up after all, and a tired El was a lazy El. It was a lot calmer out here, and possible to find an actual moment of peace and quiet. At the camp there was always commotion and people bustling around, even on the best of days. The city he had grown up in had become dirty and noisy in Elkas’ eyes, compared to the freedom of the outlands, and apart from time spent at home, he hung around there less and less. The river had become one of his favourite places to go when he needed to get away.

That wasn’t to say that he was unhappy with the interruption of his impromptu doze; he really did enjoy Aelwyns company, probably the most after Brand. Ah, Brand. Now there was a relationship Alie would be better off never knowing of. Actually, one could say the same about his relationship to Alie regarding Brand. Well, Elkas sure knew how to pick his friends. Not that he had many; Rowan was being kind when he called El ‘socially-inept’. There was hardly any ‘social’ to speak of. And he preferred it that way. Most people got the wrong impression of Elkas, thinking he was shy or unconfident. The opposite was in fact true; it was due to his confidence that El didn’t feel the need to validate himself with an enormous social circle. Plus, people generally got on his nerves.

Slipping out of his thoughts again, El opened his eyes and stuck the half-smoked fag in the corner of his mouth, wrapping hands behind his neck to lift his head into a position where he could actually look at Ael, instead of rudely staring up at the sky. Ugh, he wouldn’t have wanted to stare at the sky anyway, far too bright. He wasn’t surprised at her question, it was legitimate after all. They were literally in the middle of nowhere. He shrugged in response and squinted, freckled nose wrinkling up. “Wasn’t much else to do. Thought I’d have a look around. Then I had a swim.” He grinned. “Then I slept a bit, there’s a bit of a hollow under that massive rock up the river, perfect for a smallish mammal to hide in.”

Though really, it was no wonder that the kid was so tired during the day, considering his utter insomnia during the night. It was like twilight hit a switch in him; as soon as the night air hit El he woke up like a feline on catnip. Ridiculous. If El had been forced to take on a normal job, one with regular hours, he’d have been out of it within a week for sleeping on the job.

The first fat splash of rain to strike Elkas was dead on target; hitting him on the tip of his rather long nose and making him jump. The second made the cigarette he’d plucked out of his mouth fizzle and go out. He flicked it over his shoulder with a disgruntled huff. It was almost finished anyway, but it was his last until he went back into civilization and bought more. When the drops started coming down in earnest, El pulled his knees up. He loved precipitation in general; he just enjoyed it more when it wasn’t as cold. And Aelwyn seemed to be enjoying it, which made the soon-to-be-utterly-bedraggled kid laugh. She looked the picture of a street urchin in her soiled clothes and tangled hair; a far cry from what she must have been used to in the old days.

It was pleasing in a way, to be able to see her like this. Not many had the honour of having seen the warchild let down her guard and be normal for a while. He wondered if she missed it. Her old life. Some would say that it was a stupid question; who wouldn’t love living in the palace? But El wasn’t so sure. Money didn’t make you happy. It was true that Elkas wanted to matter; he wanted to have clout, and to have people listen to him when he opened his mouth to speak. But money? Food and shelter was one thing, but having an overflow was useless unless you did something good with it. He’d be just as happy living in his parents’ old house.

But he didn’t ask. That was Elkas, he didn’t pry. He didn’t say much in general. It turned some people off, classing him as dull or uninteresting. Not that El cared. He said what he needed to say, and he found that it was true, what they said. Actions spoke louder than words, and a picture did paint a thousand. So that’s what he did. He painted, and sketched, and did what he thought, instead of saying it. It worked for him.

“Care to join me for a light dip, warchild?” El drawled, raising his voice to be heard through the rush of rainfall as he raised one hand to gesture towards the sky, an impudent grin on his face.