Chapter Text
That worked! HA! IT ACTUALLY WORKED!
For the Old Ones' Sake! I swore we were done for.
That was the single scariest moment of my life! The tension was so high, the silence so deafening and the looks so incredulous. I mean, I'm used to being seen as a Mad Bird but that was something else.
When I arrived, blueprints in hand, speech ready and breathing as if I was gonna put an egg, I couldn't help but imagine the worst case scenario which, in most ocasions, would've been being exhiled, but given that sentence would come with declawing and wing-cutting as well, I didn't want to risk it. This had to work! I had to convince the Council on financing my project for "the good of The Willow". Realistically, it would be for mine and Noctis', if all went according to plan, but in the end, they didn't have to know that.
And there I was, at the core of the tree, same as yesterday, but as luck would have it, now I was on my own, in the middle stump which serves as a stage. The Council, all eight of them, on their seats above me, looking at me with cold eyes. I could feel their indifference, how I was wearing their patience thin. I wouldn't blame them, I gave quite a show the day before.
When everyone had taken their place at a Guild, I just stood there, even when my name was called.
I could've chosen a Guild, follow the guidelines, abandon my passion by conforming to the standard, but I didn't.
So, then the real conflict began as I spoke my mind, as I asked if there was another option, fully knowing there wasn't. They answered by telling me I had to pick one of many, and by choosing one, I refuted the rest.
Basically, if I picked Magic, I refuted any kind of Science Guild; and by picking Engineering, Mathematics, Physics or Chemistry, I would be denying my innate magical gifts and their benefits. My wish was never to decide, to make one absolute choice against the others, and even when faced with that decision, I didn't budge.
The Council reacted in annoyance, urging me to choose, but I didn't do such thing, instead, I began to argue, wanting to start a debate about mixing those disciplines, about reaching true progress by taking the best out of each and using them to truly step beyond normal civilizations.
Each word was met by silence, by fear, the only response I got, came from the head of the council, who silenced me by gving me an Ultimatum:
"There's no space in this tree for dellusions of grandeur based on childish dreams. You must choose a role to play, or else, exhile will be in order"
And thus, there I was again, a brand new gizmo and blueprints for, what I hoped, was mine and Noctis' only way out. The Council, once again, took their seat. Eight owls, each being a head of a guild, at the center, the head of The Willow; a pearly white tyto with golden eyes: Caellum. He was the only one I had to convince, since he always had the last word.
My heart pounded inside my chest, as my mind ran back and forth on what I had rehearsed last night. I was so anxious, I almost turned my blueprints into paper balls from just scrunching them with my claws. There was so much at play, and if I failed, I would become a ghost in No Man's land.
This had to be perfect.
Once seated, Caellum stood up, recaping what had transpired the day before, talking about me as if I was a blasphemous fool who just desacredited the existence of the Giant Owls of old. In the end, his claws pointed my way, in an atempt of humiliating me, pulling all eyes into me. Indeed, he wanted to make me budge under the pressure, to abandon my foley and choose a path, but I couldn't. I wouldn't back down, not when I had my mind in the game, ready to strike.
As he fell silent, waiting for my response. I said nothing, just showed the gizmo I had brought: a small barrel with a propeler on top. By placing an amber into it's core, it began flying before projecting a light upon the stump, creating a spotlight. What followed, was the decisive moment.
"Owls, Owlettes and members of the Council." My words loud and clear, knowing the gizmo would follow me and obey when the time was right. It's light and life giving me confidence.
"I know you came here to see me become one of you, to join a Guild. But, after giving it some thought, I came here to defend my case by placing a test on the table." The murmurs began, as the eyes of the council tried to kill me with a glance.
"I just plea you listen to me, to believe on my resolve and to trust me. I've got nothing but the colony's interest at heart" Now, my eyes were on Caellum, as my confidence took a last breath before displaying my blueprint for all to see.
Gasps filled the room as the light above me projected the schematics of the machine which would get me out of there. After some seconds of silence for dramatic effect, I knew I had to go on.
"This contraption, Owlins of The Willow, may be..." catching myself, giggling as I corrected in an arrogant display, a risky move, but one which, I thought, would sell the plan.
"No, no, no...WILL BE the Solution to one of our problems. The Willow's Keeper is a hybrid machine made to perform maintenance on our home, avoiding cracks and pests, among other things, with minimum manual labour."
I went on into describing it's perks, what it could do, how it worked and why, despite breaking the laws of Isolated Progress, it would prove we could go beyond by doing so.
Astonished expressions could be found amongst the crowd, some incredulous, others considering what I had said, but Caellum remained indifferent, unexpressive, his eyes rarely left my demonstration. He paid attention to each word, to each thing I pointed towards, to every blueprint I showed. Even when the other council members talked between them, he stood still, silent, killing me with his gaze.
His lack of emotion almost made me bend, almost made me crack and tell what was the truth behind it. My heart beat inside my chest loudly, begging me to end such torment, but how could I? If I even dared to open my beak to squeak it all, I would be declawed and sent to die! I had to stand firm, unmovable and strong. Give them a remarkable show and hope it would work.
Once I was done, the room fell silent, everyone expected Caellum's reaction, and though I acted brave, confident even, I could hear the beating of my heart inside my head. He's unpredictable, and that scared me profusely.
He could accept, or he could deny it, and depending on how much I had angered him, it would be the severity of my punishment. He could just take my blueprints and gizmo, trashing them in front of everyone to get his point across, or he could exhile me, declawing me and cutting my wings off, here and now.
The respect everyone has on him, depends on that wild quality, making it akin to fear, except people still cheer him on, still support his decisions, as wild and violent as they may get. All those factors made my claws sink slightly into the stump as I waited for my judgement.
Finally, he stood up; his eyes menacing, cold; and his voice, booming, disrupting the silence.
"Valliant Kleeck" my name, bitter in his tongue. "Your ideas, as flowery as you have presented them, are outrageous, blasphemous!" Severe, strong; his wings opening ever so slightly, making him far more imposing. "To believe this Council will allow you to disrespect so casually the purity of our disciplines it's herecy! Worthy of exhile!" Hissing loudly, mad beyond words. Ruffled feathers over his body, another sign of his anger.
Right there and then, I thought I was a goner. Noctis and me would remain victims of our desire for freedom, wandering, hurt and weak upon talonless feet and scarred backs.
My upper claws began to fidget, silenced by the gloves keeping them from clacking over Caellum's scolding. I could feel my feathers ruffle in the back of my head, as the probable reality of it all sunk in. The murmurs around me weren't making it any better, I could barely hear them, but I didn't need much to guess what was being said.
Still, my eyes, as calm as they could be, remained on Caellum, hoping those weren't his last words, that he wouldn't condemn me to oblivion...and, surprisingly, I was right.
"But..." looking down at the schemes projected at my feet, then, up to the gizmo I had made to achieve so. "Your...interest in The Willow's overall wellbeing is...remarkable" those words, pushed trough his beak in an attempt to hide what he truly thought, somehow, proving my theory right: As long as they saw use for my crazy ideas, they would consider obliging, if only for their own good.
And, by those words alone, my breath came back, calming my fear, lighting up hope and a certain malicious compliance. I was right, and this is just the beginning.
"You may have the resources, the owlins and the time you require. If only to prove my word correct when you fail, and when it happens, you'll have two options: conform by taking part of a guild or, in case you hadn't had enough prove your madness goes beyond what we can endure, you'll have to leave this colony." Though it was softer, he still was serious, severe, unfaced, wearing his pride up high.
His arrogance knows no bounds, and his absolute belief on my failure proves it. I hate to say I'll give him a reason to be right, but I'll rather do so and live free than succeed and become his toymaker. Of course, even with my silver tongue sharp and ready to make him regret giving me the thumbs up, I managed to smile, grateful, bowing subserviantly at their benevolence. Promising, though not truthfully, I wouldn't dissapoint them.
Though I hate lying, it felt...satisfying, more so knowing I wouldn't be the only one getting away. So, now that my thoughts have been vented, I'll begin Noctis' schematics.
It'll be a crazy month, but I can't help but feel excited, to know I've outsmarted them! It's accelerating, and I can't wait to see it all done, ready to blow.