Chapter Text
*CRASH*
*CRACK*
*CRASH*
....ooooouuuch.....
Bird-thing?
Bird Thing? Good Bird Thing?
Pain! Fear! Enemy? PainRageAttack!
Bird-thing? Good bird-thing why not good? Hurt/fear/pain you?
~darkness~
----***----***----
Andrith sighed as he pored over the map before him. It had been two days since fierce storms had broken over the area, making it difficult to travel, and essentially grounding the gryphon wings. Three scouts caught by the sudden storms had straggled in, weary and bedraggled. One paired team was sheltering in place - the human partner having broken her ankle - but their location and condition was known. That left only Ordugan unaccounted for. Andrith sighed again.
The mage wars that had turned the world upside down had scattered magic, and even after three generations, there was little to work with. The great works of the past were legend, despite there being some few who still remembered the times of Great Magic. The mages had learned to work with what there was, and were clever in how they worked together, finding ways around problems. But the wilds around White Gryphon were still filled with the unknown, unpredictable and dangerous. Taken all together, seeking one lone gryphon, who may have been blown far off course, would be nearly impossible in this storm. This out-of-season, unpredicted monsoon. With its sudden ferocity, it could almost be a mage-born storm out of some old tale...
Andrith paused to examine that thought. Could it be? Surely not... Weather working on that scale would be outrageously difficult. Impossible. And yet...
Better safe than sorry he decided. Best seek out Whitewing. She always had good advice. With a grunt of effort, Andrith heaved himself up, cursing the weather that kept them grounded, the age that kept him from actively helping, and his inability to affect either.
The sodden blast of wind as he opened the door nearly changed Andrith's mind. Certainty of finding a nice hot drink and something tasty when he reached Whitewing's dwelling was all that got him to pull himself through the downpour.
Whitewing was, unexpectedly, NOT at home. Her sister, Windsong, let him in, and threw a blanket over him to prevent a chill while he dried off. Andrith was not surprised to find Kass resting before the fire. The kyree had taken a bad tumble over one of the terraces when a playful gryphon chick had accidentally hit him across the face with a wing; Windsong was a Healer, and specialized in non-humans. That Kass's heavily pregnant mate, Rhyrr, had joined him was a bit surprising. Concerned, Andrith asked what was wrong that she would climb three terrace levels in the storm to see the Healer.
Rhyrr sniffed in disdain. *Not for Healer. The pups come tonight. It is good for their father to be near.*
Andrith grinned, fluffing his feathers to finish drying and thanked Windsong for the bowl of hot tea she brought.
"You're unusually serious, Andrith. I doubt it's just this weather making your joints ache again."
"I need to conssult with Whitewing. Will sshe be back ssoon, or sshould I rrrisk my poor aching boness to sseek herrr out?" Andrith asked, grinning at her.
"She should be back in a short time." Windsong's eyes grew momentarily distant as she reached out to her twin. "Hmm.. or maybe not. She's fairly intent on what they're doing right now. You may as well wait here, though. Whatever the mage circle is working on, they won't welcome interruptions."
"Sshe iss with the otherrr magess, then. Do you know what they are worrrking on?" Andrith asked.
"Only vaguely. When I touched her thoughts just now, I caught something about the storm's eye - whatever that means."
"The ssstorm has eyesss!? Like it can SSSEE??" Andrith asked in some alarm, his earlier concern about a mage-born storm leaping to the fore.
Windsong laughed. "I don't think so. Whitewing's thoughts didn't imply such a thing. Although," she added more seriously, "the storm does seem to have guidance of some sort, so... I really don't know." The ensuing silence hung heavily until Kass sneezed, making Andrith and Windsong jump.
Rhyrr fidgeted, shifting position. *Healer, may I have some water? The pups will come very soon, and I cannot get up for a drink.*
Windsong rose, pushing thoughts of the storm aside in favor of more immediate needs.
Andrith was left to his own thoughts. Wondering. Worrying.