Fantasy Flight of the Phoenix Main

[spiralingheretic]

To her surprise, Peter was even faster than Harlow on the beams. Clearly he had taken this route in the past, because at times it seemed the kid would jump without even looking. Her worries about having to keep an eye on him were alleviated almost immediately. Even blondie was doing better than she expected. She wasn’t exactly a natural but she seemed to be able to handle herself.

Or not. Harlow winced and stopped moving when she heard a scream and then a thud from above. Her first thought was Good riddance. She briefly considered leaving her behind. Harlow was a pretty good actor. She could fake sorrow once they reached the docks. “She… fell, and there’s nothing we could do.” At this point Harlow would be holding back tears. The others would believe her. Dragonfly man would… probably believe her?

But Emaliah was a noble. It would be stupid to let such an opportunity go to waste. If she kept her alive long enough, Harlow could probably figure out a way to take advantage of that, somehow. Hold her for ransom or something, if she got the chance. Harlow frowned. She never really did the dirty work herself, just stuck around long enough for the others to get results, and then took off with all of their earnings. Okay, so maybe she wouldn’t do the ransoming herself, but Harlow couldn’t discount that some other opportunity may come up.

What was not happening is that she was having a crisis of conscience. What was not happening was that maybe she’d never actually been directly responsible for the death of the other person before, and the idea absolutely did not make her queasy. What definitely was not happening was that she felt a little sorry for Emaliah, dumped into this world Harlow got to choose for herself like a tub of icy water.

Harlow groaned and ran her fingers through her hair. Okay, fine.

Reluctantly, she climbed back up to where Emaliah was grasping to a beam, looking like she was in pain. A large part of her felt pretty satisfied to see the girl in such an undignified position, though a small part… well there was no point examining that now, was there?

“Hey princess, need some help?” Harlow couldn’t help the cocky grin that overtook her face as she held out her hand for the girl to take. “Looks like you got the wind knocked out of you.”

 

[AncientBird]

Descending deeper and deeper under the city, the pathway were full with pillar and platform. Deep drop and steep landing made making way through this place kind of difficult even for one with wings. However, the phoenix seemed to be quite prepared and knew exactly what he was doing and where he wanted to go. Unlike Jun, he was trying to hide his wings, thus his only option of traveling through this abyssal passage was to climb around all the way. It wasn't hard for Jun to keep up with him with her wing still being usable, however the girl would have to make extra caution not to get her wings tangled in wire and hitting metal piece that would alert the phoenix of her presence.

"Where is he going now?" Jun muttered to herself. Suddenly, as she was paying attention to where her target headed to, her wings suddenly hit a pipe. "Owch!" Jun cried but quickly closed her mouth and hid behind a pillar.

"Who's there?" She heard the phoenix called out. Her heart beat rapidly as if it was about to burst off her chest and sweat rolled down her face.

Perhaps if she kept quiet and stayed still, he would eventually dismissed it as fault alarm? Jun tried to look from behind the pillar but then she sensed something...

...Someone... Other than her and the phoenix...

She then sensed some sort of vibration... Clicking noise, subtle but steady, coming from lower platform, on the same level as the phoenix. Suddenly, she heard a loud thud as if something hit a metal in a quick strike. It was dark and she wasn't sure what was the source of that noise until something appeared in a spot of light down below her. A group of three people... Wearing mask and concealing outfit. One with bat's wings and the other two were moths. From what Jun could see, they were holding some sort of equipment... Something long and ended with curve tip...Crossbow...

The one with batwing was the source of the clicking noise. Echolocation, Jun had heard that some people have this ability which allow them to navigate through darkness efficiently. They must had been trailing after the phoenix just as Jun did for a while. The bat person tilted their head as they glared down at the phoenix. They suddenly lifted his crossbow and took aim. There was no more question of who these people were... They were phoenix hunters, something Jun had been expecting to see...

Featuring: BittyBobcat

 

[BittyBobcat]

It was dark enough that, for a second, Peter wasn't sure which one of them had screamed. That was, until Em dropped directly past him.

Stories flickered through his head at lightning speed. Children too young to fly, men and women with broken wings, or had even lost them altogether- Whatever the reason for their flightlessness, falling always had the same result. Yet another tale of someone's shattered body found at the bottom of the abyss to join the handful of existing ones. He could already hear the nauseating rumors. A phoenix! Dropped straight down, I'm tellin' ya. Y'now it's a shame I wasn't there, or I'd have grabbed a bit a' win and got myself a farmin' plot-

She hit another beam with a loud thud, and Peter released a breath he hadn't known he was holding.

He hopped down beside Harlow and piped up the instant she stopped talking. "We can go a bit slower if you need. No point in getting out of here quick if it means... well, you know." Peter made a downward swatting motion. "Splat." And then, because he couldn't resist, Peter gave an exaggerated bow. "And that would certainly an undignified way to go, my lady." He chuckled and stood back up straight, perching a few beams over to give her space to get up.

"We're not too far, anyway. Just a tier more and we're on dock-level." An edge of excitement entered his voice, and, after a small pause (really, Peter had tried to shut up about it, but the anticipation dragged it out of him) it became quite obvious why. "I can't believe we're gonna be riding an airship. I've always wanted to-" His wings twitched under his jacket. "I always imagined it with a bit less threats of doom, though"

"Airships must be pretty normal for you though, huh?" He hummed wistfully as Em got back to her feet. "Being rich and travel-y and all that."

~~~
A silent moment passed, and Gray released a shaky breath and drew his hand out of his coat pocket. It seemed like he was sa-

Ka-Thunk!

Something small, sharp, and quick brushed past his face and stuck into the beam behind him.

Gray didn't know whether it was a warning shot or just bad aim, but he wasn't sticking around long enough to find out. He bolted across the beams, making his way to the other side off the main pillar. Which... for all he knew was leading him straight toward them. Where were they?

A man loomed in front of him, loaded crossbow pointed directly at Gray.

Close, apparently.

Gray lifted his hands in the air, leaning back as far as he could manage without falling. "Hey now, watch where you're aiming that thing," He chuckled nervously, a drop of sweat sliding down the back of his neck. "Wouldn't want anyone to get hurt, now would we?" He raised his hands in a way that might've been considered a sign of peace if it wasn't for the menacing growl to his voice.

"I mean, surely -if you're after me- then you know what I did to the last group that cornered me, right?" A toothy grin flashed across his features, not at all mirroring the nervous way his heart beat against his chest. "Sure, you could shoot me, but I'm willing to bet I could burn you to a crisp before I bleed out and -between you and me- one of us is a hell of a lot more worried about dying."

Gray held his hands close to -but not yet touching- the tip of the hunter's crossbow. "So why don't you drop the weapon, and let me on my way."

Skies, he hoped they didn't call his bluff.

 

[LindsMagee]

Tempest gave a small nod in reaction the the introduction of Flame and Jet. Flame did not seem to have a care in the world, seeing as they were unreactive to the introductions and Jet was the one who introduced them. Tempest knew Jet's wings would be sizable considering his towering height, but she was not expecting just how expansive they were. Glancing at Lan, Tempest noticed he seemed to be in awe and a little frustrated at the sheer size of the wings as well. Judging by his clenched fist, she could guess he was tired of being humbled in regards to his height compared to others that day. Not to mention the name he was called by the the other older phoenix.

Tempest sighed when Lan took off after the two others, rocking back on her heels to prepare for taking off. Mentally preparing for the pain of flight did nothing as the first bit of wind that caught her wings seared her burns. She mumbled many creative expletives under her breath before resuming her flight. At first, she faltered, dropping about a foot, but digging her nails into her hand to distract from the burning, she continued her ascent upwards towards the others.

Lan had already begun the trek towards the docks, Flame and Jet in tow. So Tempest did her best to keep up, though she was still in the back of the group, she did'nt mind arriving last as long as she arrived. Pausing, Tempest tilted her head to the side thinking she heard a commotion from below, it looked as though Lan may have heard it as well. He ignored it and so did she, even if it was the grounded group, she was sure they could handle themselves and be at the ship in no time.

 

[ScatheAriiasqDrayceon]

Jet paused and waited for Lan to get ahead of him before falling in, holding back his suggestion of the two shorter-winged avians riding his slipstream, since he could take the hard headwind easier. Though, as he heard a hiss of pain and some... colorful expletives, he slowed, tilting his tertiaries up and allowing himself to almost slide backward, gliding beside Tempest with a tilted head and concerned frown.

"You're burned."

Flame, if their wide circling and uncaring posture was anything to go by, had already healed from the minor burns, or was just ignoring them. Sometimes he forgot other phoenixes didn't have the same abilities.

The tern dipped abruptly until he was below and to the side of Tempest, having not beat his wings once he got to what he apparently deemed "gliding height".

"You can ride my slipstream... it should help. At least, you shouldn't really have to flap too hard until we get there. Then I could take a look at those, if you like... see if I can help at all." He offered a slight, hesitant smile, perking a brow as Flame broke off to spiral into a... not the most impressive corkscrew he'd seen from them, but definitely one of the tighter ones he'd seen. Apparently, they were bored... and probably a bit unsettled with this whole arrangement.

 

[Emixlin]

Emaliah was stunned to see Harlow climb over for her. She could’ve sworn the girl was a heartless monster who wanted her dead. She stared as she talked, until Peter appeared next to her in the darkness.

She flushed red with embarrassment as Peter offered to slow down for her sake - thank goodness it’s too dark to see, she thought. She wasn’t weak or clumsy, as they were probably thinking, she just didn’t spend all her free time climbing support beams and running from people like a barbarian. As a matter of fact, it would’ve been stranger if she was confident and self-assured in this dangerous place. She was a lady with higher education, not some boorish daredevil.

Em glared at Peter as he teased her lightly, but she didn't bother to voice her complaint anymore. Apparently, everyone in the Kingdom of Amethyst abhorred her noble status - or perhaps she'd just been unlucky enough to get stuck with the lowest of the low. The merchants had liked her, after all, constantly calling for her to take a look at their wares and complimenting her dress and wings and hair all the time. No, it wasn’t the kingdom itself, just these ignorant, uncultured people.

"Airships must be pretty normal for you though, huh?" Peter hummed. "Being rich and travel-y and all that."

Em picked herself up and laughed slightly. “As a matter of fact, no, I’ve never been on an airship,” she admitted. “My daddy wanted me to stay home, where it was safe, at our estate in Gildaneth.” She began to climb down the beams again, following the steps of the others that were much more comfortably-paced now. She had to be careful not to let the long skirt of her dress or her 3-inch heels get tangled between the beams, as well. “He only let me come to the Kingdom of Amethyst because it’s my 18th birthday today. I must say this is the worst birthday I’ve ever had, though,” she grumbled. "The wings were a nice present, but the running-and-hiding-and-almost-dying, I could do without."

 

[Tapfic]

Lan huffed as he glided- only flapping his wings when he started to drift too far down. He gazed down at the ground with longing.
His stupid wings had already started to sting- like hell he would show it though.

Well besides an annoyed, but brief glance at Flame who defiantly seemed to have become bored. He bit back a sarcastic remark to himself, nope- he had to wait until they had actually done something to piss him off before he could be pissed off. Or at least he repeated that to himself as he flew.
It seemed someone else was having more trouble with their wings than he was anyways.

He barely heard the hiss of pain above the wind- but he did hear it. Lan turned his head just enough for him to spot Tempest, obviously struggling to fly through the pain of her burns.

Did he have any way to help her, he thought quietly- his expression shifting from general annoyance to soft worry. No, he really couldn't do anything about it now could he- wait he could see his house from here. Lan knew he had a first aid kit somewhere in there, considering he was always using it to patch up the neighbor's kid that liked to try and fly by jumping off their shared roof.

Dr.Kadoshi was talking to Tempest now- oh, yeah, Dr. meant doctor. Lan smacked his own hand for having such a stupid lapse of thought.

" If you're hurt you should have said something already," He chided. There was a note of irony there, considering the dull sting in his own wings.
" I'm getting some things. The grounded group will take longer than us anyways," He sounded annoyed still, despite being more worried than anything.
" Don't wait up," Lan shifted his wings slightly- making a small detour backwards, and then down to ground level.

He landed without grace, skidding to a halt in a cloud of dirt- until he was standing outside his house. Small, but well maintained- save for the layer of soot that had traveled from the plaza.

Maybe landing was a bad idea considering fire was still smoldering in the not so far off distance; and the king's guards would arrive to deal with it at any moment. At least it seemed this area had evacuated already. He would be quick- Lan told himself, just a few necessities- and some burn gel for Tempest. And also write a quick "I'm not dead" note to his neighbors and the old ladies.

He grabbed his spare key from inside a fake rock and went inside hastily- emerging less than a couple minuets later with a fully stuffed bag, fitted to hang around his lower back and not interfere with his wings- and a plain wooden box, held in one arm.

The entire ordeal couldn't have taken more than five minuets, most of the time spent flying back- Lan was thankful he lived close by. Less thankful when he realized the fire was highly likely to reach his house soon- and burn up the note he had written anyways.

He sighed deeply, oh well- at least he tried.

Flying was quite a bit more difficult with the added weight, but he wasn't far from the docks. He could deal with it.

 

[spiralingheretic]

They were going a bit slower now after Emaliah’s accident, which was kind of annoying, but it was for the best really. Even taking it at a snail’s pace, they would arrive quicker than if the blonde fell again and broke a leg or something. Not to mention that Harlow was beginning to enjoy Peter’s company, at least. She’d snorted when he made the little jibe at Emaliah. Kid’s got spunk.

Harlow started when Peter asked Emaliah about traveling by airship, and she realized he’d probably lived in this same region his whole life. Her eyebrows skyrocketed when the noble girl mentioned she had never left her father’s house. How could someone live like that? Harlow had a hard enough time staying in one place for more than a couple weeks, nevermind eighteen years. It would have driven her crazy. Actually, thought Harlow, glancing at the blonde appraisingly, this does explain a lot.

“Jeez, I remember my eighteenth birthday. Well… I mean I remember waking up the day after my eighteenth birthday. Can’t much recall the details of that night, but then that’s when you know you’ve had a good time.” She winked, and then considered.

There were few things Harlow liked better than a good party. Good food, music, and folks relaxing enough to let their guard down. That’s when she did her best work.

Don’t get her wrong. She loved the dancing and the stories and the drinking as much as any other gal, but it was always much more satisfying when she left with heavier pockets than when she arrived. No reason you couldn’t enjoy yourself and earn some coin at the same time. (Well, “earn” was a bit of a stretch, but you got the idea.)

“You know your birthday ain’t over yet,” she told Emaliah. “We oughta see if we can’t throw you a little soirée once we get to the ship. Definitely wouldn’t be as fancy as the events you’re used to, but it’d be something. Everyone else could probably use a little morale boost too.” Harlow turned to the kid. “What do you think Pete? You like parties?”

 

[AncientBird]

The phoenix hunters stood there for a while, probably judging the situation against their quarry. Juniper kept watching intensely. She stayed as still as possible or her presence might be picked up by echolocation.

Eventually, the bat gave their hand signal to one of the moth next to them. The moth walked forward toward the beam where the phoenix was hiding. They took out some sort of orb from under their cloak then tossed it toward the beam. The orb collided on the ground next to the beam and immediately, it broke open and spilled large amount of cloud or dust and engulfed the entire beam and possibly, the phoenix that hid behind it. Some of the dust floated past the ray of sunlight that shone through from above, showing something glittering inside the smoke.

Moth dust... Juniper heard it from her stepfather... Many people with moth wings could produce these. Most are no more harmful than to make someone cough, but in some individual moths, these dust can cause severe irritation and even painful rash upon impact.

The bat pointed their crossbow toward the dust, waiting for their quarry to appear.

Juniper started to feel anxious. She didn't know this phoenix in person and she had no idea why he was gathering other phoenixes... But seeing him being hunted down like that... it was no different that what happened to Merlin. If there was no intervention, he could also ended up captured... And another victim would fall for this terrible trend. She had to do something...

Carefully, Juniper crept to the opposite side of the hunters. She targeted another platform a bit lower than her current one. She needed to pull their attention... The girl then spread her wings and dashed toward the platform. As expected, Her movement and the sound of her landing on the metal reached the hunters. The bat turned their head immediately, the clicking noise intensified. The 2 moths turned too, but the bat signaled one of them to stay for the phoenix. The 2 of them then started making their way toward where Juniper hid.

The girl's heart beat even faster as she clung tightly and lying flat to the platform. Did she just make a grave mistake? Juniper had no idea... It's too late to turn back now.

Featuring: BittyBobcat

 

[BittyBobcat]

Seconds dragged on like hours. The hunters regarded him with narrowed eyes, which -Gray hoped- was an expression of contemplation. The bat one gave a hand signal that he momentarily thought was calling off his lackeys, but of course Gray wasn't that lucky.

An explosion of glittering dust enveloped him, instantly forcing stinging particles into his eyes that made them water. Unfortunately, they had managed to catch him right in the middle of a breath, which sent him into a coughing fit so bad that he might as well have left his mouth open in a sandstorm.

Moth dust. Gray hated moth dust.

But, before he could make a mad dash out of the cloud and toward the thin beam of sunlight shining from above, the sound of rapid footsteps sounded off below him. Through the blurry shadows Gray managed to see between dust and tears, he watched part of the hunter's group break off to investigate. This was his chance -if he was quiet enough, he might be able to slip out the opposite way while they were distracted.

That is, if he could get his stupid feet to move.

But someone was down there. Someone who now had a group of hunters closing in on them because of him. Someone who -he guessed- had made the ill-advised decision to follow him even after he had warned them of the danger they'd be in if they did.

Really, if Gray could manage it, he would've lost his moral compass ages ago. Unfortunately, it was still going loud and strong (much to his chagrin).

Which was why -with one last longing glance toward the glimmer of sunlight- he turned to face the hunter that stood at the edge of the dust-cloud. Suppressing another cough, Gray took a few rapid steps to build speed and dove forward. Another crossbow bolt whipped past him, launching over his head and into the abyss below as Gray tackled his legs out from under him. They careened downward, stopping only when the moth slammed into a platform and was promptly knocked unconscious.

Head spinning, Gray stumbled to his feet. He snatched the crossbow that had fallen from the hunter's hands and reloaded it with shaking fingers. Gray raised the tip to line up with the leading hunter's shoulder blade -hoping to, at least temporarily, disable a wing. His vision swam, still blurry from the dust and now tilting with the throbbing pain of his head, but he pulled the trigger anyway.

Thwip!
~~~

Peter blinked. Eighteen years? In the same house? He was already antsy staying in a kingdom that's surroundings were always changing, he couldn't imagine being stuck in a stationary place for that long. The thought almost made him pity Em. Almost (after all, a noble's estate must be positively gigantic). Still, he made the silent decision to tease her a bit less, now.

"Parties?" Peter had been to festivals here and there -people brought excuses to celebrate wherever they went, after all- but whether or not a few traditional holidays counted as parties, he wasn't sure. Participation in the event came secondary, anyway. More often than not, he was far more busy taking advantage of the loosened grip that drunk people had on their coins. "Um- yeah, I guess."

Now that he thought of it, he'd been to one real party before. "The Guard kicked me out of the last one I went to 'cause I wasn't 'proper' enough to deliver a message to any of the nobles there." Peter flashed a grin as he skipped down a few more beams. "Jokes on them, I still nabbed a whole twelve gold's worth a' jewelry."

He paused, suddenly remembering the company he held. "I'm, uh- sure they weren't related." His grin broadened in what was an attempt at seeming more innocent (but more likely came off as suspicious). "Came from some kingdom called Deneer...? Dunce? Something like that. Definitely not yours." Another nervous pause. "Well, probably. Most likely."

 

[Emixlin]

Emaliah was appalled to hear that Peter had stolen from a noble - but only for a moment. As she thought about it, she began to realize that just by looking at the attire and the survival instincts of her companions, it was pretty clear that they probably didn’t live very easy lives. Maybe stealing was the only way they could afford to put food on the table. That explained why she was so unpopular with everyone - they were jealous of her pretty clothes! Pity overcame her, and she made a mental note to donate some money to all the phoenixes before she went home. Maybe Harlow could get a proper dress to replace her unseemly trousers.

She turned to Harlow and smiled. “You’re suggesting a party? That’s the most brilliant thing I’ve ever heard you say, Miss Seaver,” she declared, ecstatic enough to address Harlow politely for once. “I was meant to attend my birthday gala at home tonight, but I suppose I won’t be there for it, so we’ll just have to have our own party on the ship.” As they made their way further and further into the abyss, Em began to list the things she would need to prepare.

“Everyone needs to wear their best... matching colors would be fantastic. Ah, it’s a shame my new dress was burned in the fire; it was the most brilliant shade of red. Perfect with my new wings. But I’ll pick some flowers, and sew them into everyone’s clothes, and we can have a floral theme! And music - do any of you know how to play an instrument? Piano would be best, or perhaps violin. I’ll be the singer if needed. And we need food as well, of course. I can bake some cupcakes, or cookies, if you prefer. What about both?! This is going to be the best party you’ve ever attended!” Em’s excitement was infectious as she planned her own birthday party. “My daddy will find us soon, and I’m sure he’ll stay for the party. He can pick up the rest of the food at a shop somewhere. All of the phoenixes we met will get an invitation, of course,” she added, as if she had any say in their presence on the ship. “And... oh, but the other nobles can’t see me anymore...” She trailed off, disappointed at the realization. “I can’t dance for them anymore... Ah, but I’ll dance for you all! You must know, I’ve won the Annual Aerial Dance Competition six years in a row now.”

Emaliah gasped as an idea struck her. “WE CAN HAVE A TALENT SHOW!” Her loud exclamation echoed off the walls, and she blushed sheepishly. “I mean... Do either of you have any talents? Can you sing, or draw, or write poetry? Of course, I’ll perform an aerial dance. My father is a moth; he can demonstrate his silk-making."

 

[spiralingheretic]

(God the kid was precious. A whole twelve gold, indeed. Adorable.)

Harlow was surprised to find herself smiling along as Emaliah took her idea of a party and ran with it. This was the first time she had really seen the girl in good spirits. She couldn’t help but laugh when Emaliah called her ‘Miss Seaver.’ It was foreign and ridiculous. No one had ever called her ‘Miss Seaver’ before that she could remember, unless they were doing so ironically.

Em went on about costumes and flowers and baked goods. “Everyone needs to wear their best,” she said. Harlow smirked. She wondered what would the girl say if she knew Harlow only owned two sets of clothes, and that her “best” was back at the inn where she had been staying (and looked pretty much the same as what she was wearing, barring that it was clean). Harlow was reluctant to burst the girl’s bubble so she let her keep going without interruption.

“My daddy will find us soon, and I’m sure he’ll stay for the party,” said Emaliah, almost like a side note, but it filled Harlow with mixed feelings. On one hand, a man like that wouldn’t take kindly to someone like her associating with his daughter. In spite of popular belief, Harlow really did prefer to lay low and avoid the attention of the powers that be.

On the other hand, an important man such as Emaliah’s father would have the resources and influence to protect the phoenixes. Not only that, but he had resources in general. Meeting him would bring her one step closer to the wealth of the topaz baron. What a fantastic heist that would be.

Harlow jumped a little when Emaliah yelled, and scanned the area. It was silly, of course. They had not yet encountered one other person on the beams. She wasn’t too concerned anyway. Even if they did meet somebody with hostile intentions, they’d outnumber them three to one. Well, two to one at least. Pete seemed pretty scrappy.

Harlow tuned back into what the girl was saying. A talent show? She laughed lightly. How entertaining that would be. She would love to see Emaliah try and coax some of the surlier characters from before onto a stage to tap-dance or do magic tricks.

Emaliah asked them about their own talents.

“Well, I’m not, like, 'classically trained' as you might call it, but I do know some shanties,” replied Harlow. The pirates had taught her plenty, in fact. Though it would have to be one of the less vulgar ones, which narrowed the selection considerably. But there were still at least a few she hoped wouldn’t completely offend the noble girl’s sensibilities. Harlow wiggled her eyebrows. “I can also do a bit of juggling.”

 

[LindsMagee]

Though she thought no one would hear her cursing, Jet and Lan seemed to have taken notice of her injuries. She mentally cursed at herself for exposing her pain and making herself appear to be a weak link. Jet quickly came to her aid and offered to allow her to fly in his slip stream, and though she wanted to be stubborn and refuse help, she knew there would be no use in that. As he offered an agreeable smile and was being considerably helpful, Tempest decided to offer a small smile back and respond with a quiet "thank you", following in his slip stream. Fame seemed to be completely bored and unfazed by everyone around them, catching Tempest's eye as they did some cool flying tricks and spirals. She'd have to ask them to teach her how to do that stuff one day, she thought to herself, then remembered she wouldn't be staying with this group for long.

Flying in the slip stream was much more manageable for her, the pain calming down a bit. Lan seemed annoyed that Tempest had neglected to say something about her injuries, but before she could reply he darted towards a row of homes and told the group not to wait up. Wondering what he could possibly doing, considering the ever-growing fire and the sure fact that the King's guard would be flocking the area soon, Tempest thought it was a bad idea to separate from the group to go to what she presumed to be his home. However, she wasn't going to argue with someone she just met, and he was already on the ground at this point, so she decided to do as he requested and not wait up.

Flying in Jet's slipstream for a few more minutes without interruption until Lan suddenly appeared again, with a box and a bag with him. These items seemed to be giving him more difficulty when flying, but they were almost to the docks and Tempest was in no position to help at that time.

As they arrived at the docs, Tempest immediately recognized the ship the older phoenix described, landing a few docking spaces down from it in caution. If this was a trick, Tempest did not want to walk straight into the trap and figured waiting for the other phoenixes, the ones who left on the ground, would be their best option.

 

[ScatheAriiasqDrayceon]

Jet glanced to the side as Lan vanished, crest stiffening uneasily. Forgive him for assuming, but wings that small didn't even look like they should be getting him in the air, much less carrying him for a distance.

With a small huff (also noting that Tempest—thankfully—accepted his minor assistance), Jet whistled sharply, the sound quite loud, though not harsh, garnering the attention of Flame. The two shared a Look, and the draconic flier tucked a wing to bank hard toward the direction Lan went, never stopping but circling over a small house for a time. They didn't even really try to mask their movements, but did keep a bit further back (if just because they didn't want to get near the new people). By the time Lan had returned, they were back to spiraling lazy (for them) circles around Jet, rolling as if they had no sense of what was up or down...

Or just couldn't get dizzy. Which they could.

And they did.

And promptly ignored it.

As they approached the airship, Jet angled down, wings tucking a bit closer as he headed toward the dock.

Flame did not.

Flame landed on one of the sails out of nervousness, watching the length of the dock uneasily with a cautious eye.

Jet, however, landed behind it, cautious, but not as extremely so as Flame, ears perking to see if he could pick up any off sound.

 

[Tapfic]

By the time Lan rejoined the group he was struggling to keep his breath even- but managed regardless.
He couldn't help but let out a quiet but ragged "oh thank fuck " when the docks where finally within landing distance.

With all the grace of a gerbil that had suddenly sprouted wings; he aimed for the dock- but ended up landing directly onto the deck of the ship- first attempting to land on two feet and slide to a halt as he had earlier. This method was less effective without any dirt for him to burry his boots in. He ended up falling flat onto his face instead; holding the wooden box above his head protectively.

Lan scrambled into a sitting position; face tinged red with both embarrassment and pain, but thankfully no bruising. Hopefully no one saw? Who was he kidding someone defiantly saw- hopefully no one decided to comment on his trip at least.

He sighed in defeat.

Rather than stand, he opted to continue sitting on the deck; because he could (but mostly because he was tiered ). A moment passed before he remembered why he went to his house in the first place.

" Oh yeah," he muttered to himself- setting down the wooden box and pulling his bag open. He riffled through various items for a moment before seemingly finding what it was he needed.

He pulled a second box from the pack, this one was large, seemed to be made of metal rather than wood, and had a small latch on the front. It looked like a first aid-kit, especially considering the bold black label spelling "FIRST AID" across the top. That was a pretty big hint.
Lan thought for a moment on how he could offer the thing up without looking like he cared too much about weather or not this person he just met received proper medical treatment.

" Hey- uh- here- there should be stuff for burns- in this, If you want," he called to Tempest from where he still sat on the deck of the ship, setting the box down and sliding it closer to the center of the deck
" Ask Dr.Kadoshi to help you with it or something- i don't know."
There, that sounded disinterested enough for Lan to be content with. He punctuated the sentence by turning around, propping his head up with one arm, and laying down on the deck as he waited for the grounded group to arrive.

Come to think of it, maybe he should have been more weary of this gathering of strangers that he literally met today -now that he was an activated phoenix and all- but as it turned out; Lan was a pretty trusting fellow. He bet he could trust these guys, even if he didn't like them all that much.

 

[AncientBird]

Juniper slowly crawled backward, away from the direction of the hunters. The light was dimmed and she couldn't see them, only heard the bat's clicking noise. She soon found herself cornered to the edge of the platform. Her heart beat heavily and her eyes rapidly scanned for any sight of the hunters.

Suddenly, loud noise of wing flapping came from behind. Juniper immediately looked back and she found herself exchanging glance with one of the moth, looming behind her. Despite wearing a make to concealed their face, Juniper could see some trace of surprise and displeased from the moth as they glared down at her. "Hehehe... Hello, fellas..." Juniper spoke and grinned sheepishly, but her entire body was shaken by fear.

The moth immediately growled and tried to grab her, but Juniper was faster and in a blink, she sprung herself back on foot, spread her wings and launched into the air. As when she was thinking of any route to escape, sharp pain ran through her right wing and her body suddenly became heavier. The girl fell from the air and landed right on the floor in front of the bat who just shot her with their cross bow. The moth rejoined their companion and both of them surrounded the helpless bee-eater lying on the floor. "Ouch..." Jun cried. Her wing was hurt and the impact from her fall made many parts of her body sore, even though she didn't feel like anything inside her was broken.

"She's no phoenix..." The bad spoke from under their mask and they aimed the crossbow as Juniper. "Could be a competitor... Or just a kid with prying eyes..." The moth spoke.

But before they could interrogate anything more from Juniper, a loud noise happened. Both hunters turned toward the commotion and found out that their phoenix quarry had charged the other moth and knocked them down... And before anyone could make further move, a crossbow bolt darted through the air and went right into one of the bat's arm. The bat screamed in pain, dropping their crossbow. The other moth stepped forward to take the aim at the phoenix, totally overlooked Juniper who was still sitting on the floor next to him.

It was her chance, Juniper whipped out her leg and swept the moth's legs, causing them to lose their balance and collapsed to the floor. The moth growled furiously and tried to got up but Juniper had already scurried on top of them and started hitting with a barrage of her fist. "Ahhhhhhhhhhh!" Juniper screamed as she repeatedly slapped and punched the moth in their head, panic and not knowing what to do next.

The bat began to get their footing back and tried to reach out for their fallen crossbow with the remaining arm.

Featuring: BittyBobcat

 

[LindsMagee]

The group landed silently and gracefully...well except for Lan. Tempest watched as the phoenix slid onto the ship, face planting with a small crash. Tempest winced as she saw this, surprised he was even able to hold onto his belongings with a fall like that. Walking a step towards Lan with a hadn't outstretched, Tempest's intent was to help. But upon seeing Lan's face, which flashed with hurt and his cheeks red with embarrassment, Lan looked like the last thing he wanted was help. So, Tempest simply slightly turned and acted as if she saw nothing before Lan could see she was about to offer help.

Tapping her foot lightly against the dock every few seconds, Tempest kept watch around the dock. This felt too easy, getting to the docks without any interference seemed like a stretch as is, but sitting at the docks in almost complete silence and calm around them. That was odd. Brushing the uneasy feeling away, Tempest turned towards Lan as he said something, rummaging through his items until he pulled out a large first aid kit.

Lan offered up the kit, stumbling through a sentence about her using it for her burns and then adding in that Dr. Ka- Jet could help. Though she felt as if Lan was trying to appear nonchalant, Tempest walked over to him and lightly took the first aid kit in her hands.

"Thank you Lan" she spoke sincerely, before turning to walk back over to her place on the dock, wanting to put the burn cream on herself. After a few steps she turned back to Lan, saddling "Once we all rest up, if you have any injuries I can heal them or try to make them more manageable for you if you would like.", before continuing to her previous place on the dock. She was sure a majority of the slew of phoenixes would have minor injuries, which would be easy to manage, she already kept a mental note about the phoenix from earlier with bad burns on his wrist and hand.

Setting down the kit, Tempest knelt down on the dock to rummage through it, pulling out the burn cream. Before putting the cream on her hands, she sprayed some sanitizing solution on her hands, opting out of the obvious risk of infection. Then she extended her wings, getting to work on covering her burns. The initial touch of the cream hurt, but soon after the pain of the burns began to calm down to a dull pang. Tempest continued until she felt most of her burns were covered, then began to close the first aid kit and bring it back to Lan.

 

[BittyBobcat]

Em's excited tangent was... well, it certainly wasn't realistic, but Peter wasn't about to correct her. Not yet, anyway (doubtlessly, she'd need to cold slap of reality eventually). For now, her yammering about matching clothes and cookies hurt no one. Still, it highlighted exactly the kind of lifestyle she was used to -one that definitely didn't equip her for a life on the run (or really any life on the rougher side of things). Harsh as it was, Peter saw her being miserable at best, and a deadweight at worst.

His wonderings were -temporarily- cut short by her question about talents. Peter's first instinct was to say pickpocketing which -while true- probably wasn't an appropriate answer. "Er- No... None that'd work on a stage, anyway." He hummed absentmindedly. With a short, contemplative pause, he suddenly blurted, "Hey- um, your dad wouldn't happen to be in that one meeting with the merchants' guild, would he?"

She certainly seemed to trust her father -at least enough to assume he wouldn't be taking advantage of her newfound phoenix status. Hopefully that meant he had earned that trust. "Y'now, he'd probably keep you safer than anyone else could. Plus, the guild hall's right at dock level. Wouldn't hurt you to ask for help, right?" Peter out a careful emphasis on the 'you' and ended his sentence with a sidelong glance at Harlow, praying that she'd get what he meant.

His lies came easily as they always did. "We could drop you off there, go ahead to the ship, and tell everyone that your dad's gonna help us." He was willing to believe the noble would take good care of his own daughter, but if two other phoenixes practically fell into his lap... well, you could only trust a rich man to get richer. "Just maybe don't tell anyone about all the other phoenixes until we come back. Never know who's listening in." Assuming she kept her mouth shut, they'd be well on their way long before she began to suspect a thing.

All in all, a flawless plan. Em would be happy, and everyone else would still be safe (or at least as safe as they could be in this situation), it was a win-win... Even if the prickle of guilt in his stomach thought otherwise.

~~~

Gray moved without thinking.

He stumbled forward and hit the bat's platform with a thump. Before they could react, Gray swung his crossbow in a wild arc that slammed into the lead hunter's jaw. They stood for one dizzying moment before crumpling to the ground. One down, one to go... Or at least that was his thought before he turned to face the mystery kid, who seemed to have the remaining moth taken care of.

"They're out cold," Gray panted, his breath still quick with adrenaline. He took a step toward the girl, but his balance betrayed him and he was forced to support himself with a nearby beam (apparently he'd hit his head harder than he'd thought). "We-" His coughing interrupted him. "We have t' go," Gray rasped, voice thick with ash and dust. Whether the statement was addressed to himself or the kid, he honestly wasn't sure.

"Hate t' ask another favor," Especially after she'd taken a crossbow bolt for him, he thought with a wince. "But m'gonna need some help back t' the ship," His words slurred with the ache in his head. "Could patch y'up there, too."

Gray paused. There was something else he should say, but his mind was starting to run like honey and it took a moment to remember it. "Thank you... for..." He gestured sloppily with his free hand to the knocked out hunters surrounding them. "'M sorry 'bout all this."

 

[Emixlin]

Emaliah's head tilted thoughtfully as she considered Peter's suggestion. Reunite her with her daddy right now? That sounded fantastic. She nodded vigorously. "Sure! Yes! I won't tell anyone about all of the phoenixes, of course." They were so close to the docks, she could already see it at the end of the haphazard arrangement of beams. She sped up her climbing a bit, eager to get back her to father.

"I'm quite sure he said he was going to the guild hall for his meeting," she continued. "I'm positive he'll be happy to help all of you, since you all helped me." She smiled reassuringly at the others. "All I have to do is say the word, and he'll find refuge for you in Gildaneth." She had zero doubt that her father would be kind and accommodating towards these strangers because he always gave her what she asked for (except when she wanted to leave home; he insisted he wanted his sweetheart to stay safe at the estate).

Her eyebrows shot up suddenly. "Oh, yes!" She rummaged in the pocket of her cardigan for a moment, withdrawing a large money pouch (encrusted in topaz, of course). "I was going to wait until we arrived at the dragonfly's airship, but I suppose it might be some time before I get back to you all." She opened the pouch and counted out 200 gold coins. "100 for you... and 100 for you." It looked as though there were thousands of gold in her pouch despite the fact that she'd already spent a considerable amount at the Diamond Plaza. She handed the money to her companions and put her pouch away.

"You two look rather pitiful and poor, so I thought this would help," she explained, not realizing how pompous she sounded. "You can buy food, or some proper clothes." She eyed Harlow's butch outfit as she said this.

Then they finally, finally reached the docks and planted their feet on solid ground. Em sighed with relief, flexing her aching fingers as she took a few steps away from the darkness. She could finally go back to her daddy and go home! She smiled at the thought. Plus, she'd done a good deed today, donating to the poor; she expected some good karma to follow her for the rest of the day.

 

[spiralingheretic]

Harlow was… torn. (It was a new feeling for her, to be sure.)

It was clear what Peter was trying to do, and for a kid it was pretty smart. Ditching Emaliah with her father would be the safest option, sure. The girl would most definitely slow them down, and she was far too trusting of the authorities. Her disdain for Harlow and Peter was clear, and Harlow had no doubt she would trust any well-dressed person with a title over them. The risk of Emaliah selling them out was pretty high.

On the other hand, leaving the noble girl behind would sever all connections to her fortune, and opportunities like these didn’t come around everyday. Emaliah was practically begging to be swindled, and who was Harlow to deny her?

It wasn’t as if she hadn’t faced danger before. At this point, Harlow was pretty much a professional at getting herself in and out of sticky situations. And hadn’t she considered it before, that she would do much better on her own than with the others? She’d only stuck with them in the first place in order to figure out how to escape without being seen. Now that she had a clear exit, what was the point of staying?

No, she decided. She would be a fool to pass up this opportunity.

Harlow’s decision was cemented when Emaliah pulled out the gold and distributed 100 pieces to each of them, saying something condescending about buying new clothes. The gold, alongside the riches Harlow had already accumulated from her past… encounters, set her far on her way to buying her own airship. Nah man, she was gonna milk this opportunity until it ran dry.

Poor and pitiful? Was that what Emaliah said? Harlow could do that, easy. Her pride was nothing compared to her greed.

Once they finally reached the docks, she made sure to make her eyes wide as she stared at the money Emaliah had given her. “Shit, princess. This is more money than I’ve ever seen in one place,” lied Harlow, trying to make herself sound as convincing and awe-struck as possible. “There’s no way I could repay you, but please allow me to escort you to the guild hall. You’ve been so generous, I would hate it if anything were to happen to you.” It had been a long time since Harlow had spoken earnestly, and she hoped that lack of practice wasn’t obvious.

Harlow winked at Peter covertly. Hopefully he would get the message and make sure the other phoenixes wouldn’t wait up for them. Oh, how heartbroken Harlow would pretend to be when they found out the others had left. “I don’t understand,” she would say with a quivering lip. “Where could they possibly have gone?”

As she planned it, Harlow had to stop herself from laughing out loud. Yes, she could do “poor and pitiful” very well.

 

[Tapfic]

Lan thought for a moment on Tempest's offer. So she was a healer? Lan had heard of pheonixes having abilities beyond just fiery wings and near complete immortality- he guessed that ment the rest of them would have some sort of bonus power too.
" I'm fine," he replied rather quickly. His lungs still stung from inhaling so much smoke and flying directly afterwards; and his wings would be sore for the rest of today and tomorrow- but overall he didnt have any injuries that required immediate attention. Wouldent want to have anyone waste energy on some sore muscles.

He lay there for a moment before getting impatient.
" Where the hell are the other guys? " he asked outloud, standing up and starting to pace around the deck of the airship- but sticking close to the others still on the docks.
" At this rate the guards-" Speak of the devil. As Lan spoke a loud bell sounded throughout the ship yard- followed closely by the voice of a monotonous woman- it was loud enough that it must have been enhanced by either her own abilities or some third party. She was repeating herself on a loop; " The docks are now entering lock down. Any ships attempting to leave will be destroyed. Do not attempt to leave the docking area until the lock down is lifted; I repeat- do not attempt to leave the docking area. "

Hopefully they were looking for the Plaza arsonist and not the pheonixes.

" Damnit, " Lan muttered. He dropped his pack on the deck, and hoped onto the docks. About
half a dozen guards began to mill about; making sure noone left the docks, and serching for the culprit.

 

[ScatheAriiasqDrayceon]

Jet took a moment to check to make sure Tempest could work with her burns and that Lan was okay before closing his eyes, focusing on what he could hear. He half-spread his wings and fanned the feathers out, primaries longer than he was tall feeling out the air around him. He could just detect the electricity of the people who got too close, but stamped down the urge to reach out and pull from it, ears twitching minutely.

Flame picked up what he was doing soon after and followed suit, though they didn't close their eyes nor did could they reach out and feel the energy seeping from the people around them. But they could hear, and their sense of smell was much better than Jet's...

Even though they didn't use it much.

He heard the footsteps before the guards came, hissing at Flame, who took that as their signal to glide down from the top of the airship and flip upside-down to cling to the keel of the hull, hiding under the dock. Jet slunk over to the other two phoenixes, feathers sleeking anxiously as he glanced at their wings, praying to the skies above that the soot stayed in place.

 

[LindsMagee]

Tempest nodded at Lan as he denied her healing, saying he'd be fine. She began tapping her foot again while looking around, waiting for the other group of phoenixes to appear at any second. But minutes passed and they did not. This caused her to feel some apprehension, the longer they waited for the others, the more dangerous the situation got. Hell, as far as Tempest knew the phoenix hunters and the king's guard would pounce on them at any second. Lan seemed to share the same concerns and as he voiced them, an alarm began to blare followed by a woman's voice. Tempest mentally cursed at their situation and stood alert, moving even further from the ship so as to not give any signs which ship the group wanted to board.

From the corner of her eye she witnessed Flame quickly drop down from the airship and hid themselves under the dock. Then, from her peripheral, Lan and Jet moved closer until the trio was standing as a unit ready for the confrontation of the guards. The guards were avidly searching the area, even going as far as searching some of the more suspicious ships. In no time they would reach Lan, Tempest, and Jet, and she only wondered what they would ask or do to the group.

Sneaking a glance to everyone's wings to make sure they were still covered in soot, Tempest noticed a few spots on Lan and Jet's that revealed their phoenix status, but they were so small it would be hard to tell from the distance the guards were at. She also took note of her own blue and silver wings peaking through the soot because the burn cream seemed to have wiped some away. Thankfully she noticed before the guards were too close and began to send her invisible smoke towards the guards. When they inhaled it, they would see the illusion Tempest created, an illusion that covered the spots not covered in soot on the three phoenixes' wings. Because it was a small illusion, Tempest still has the energy to carry it out, she only hoped the guards would leave after a few minutes just in case her illusions faltered.

 

[Tapfic]

Lan stiffened when a pair of guards began to approach the docked ship, two men- one with wings of a starling, the other a locust. They each stood tall, wielding sabers marked with the king's crest. Their faces cold and stern as they stopped to question an old merchant woman who had been ready to fly back to the grounded kingdoms, she seemed not to care much about the fire or the guards.

The guards finished their questions and took a quick look through the woman's bag before continuing down the line towards the ship. Okay okay okay, don't be suspicious, Lan thought to himself. He stood stiff by Dr.Kadoshi and Tempest- folding and unfolding his arms as though he couldn't tell which was more natural. He eventually decided to keep his arms crossed and tap his foot anxiously as the two approached. The whole thing really made him look quite a bit more suspicious- but he was nervous.

The men where now each standing only a couple feet away from the group, the starling held a clip board and pen while the Locust kept his hand on the hilt of his blade. Their expressions intense and steady, the starling's serious gaze only broken for a moment when his eyes widened and his brows lifted glancing at Dr.Kadoshi. Lan guessed it was because the guy was fucking huge. Neither of them seemed to bat an eye at the glowing spots peaking through Lan and Tempest's wings. Spots which Lan himself only realized where there just now- well, it would be fine probably. These guys most likely weren't on the look out for phoenixes at the moment, and didn't bat an eye to anyone's wings ( except for Dr.Kadoshi's but he wasn't a phoenix, he was just a fucking giant, so Lan decided it was fine. )

" You lot have names? " The locust asked, but it didn't really sound like a question. In fact it sounded very rude and dismissive.

Lan did have a name, but as it turned out, he didn't like the guard's tone of voice- so of course he decided to make it difficult for them. His worried frown tugged itself into something more closely resembling a scowl, and he opened his mouth before his companions could answer.

" Yeah, we do, you wanna guess them or are you gonna ask us what they are like a normal person ?" He replied, anxiety immediately replaced with annoyance as he gestured to the locust with his pointer finger- an action reminiscent of a grandmother scolding a child for using a rude word. The man did not seem pleased by the response. The starling wrote something on his clip board.

" Names, " the guard ground out, this time it was certainly not a question.

Lan did not like this motherfucker, he decided. He silently glared up at him with distaste, without giving his name.
He defiantly would have gotten into some trouble for the rude action, had the guard not been under the impression he was a child.

 

[AncientBird]

It took a while until Juniper noticed that the moth she was on top had already been knocked out by her storm of fist. "Oophs... That was unexpecting..." Juniper mumbled at herself, she was never a powerful fighter before, thus knocking this person out was a new thing for her. Then she noticed the phoenix had already knocked out the bat as well and was standing right next to her, albeit seemingly exhausted or dazed, possibly by the moth dust earlier.

"We have t' go," Said the phoenix as he panted and coughed. "We? What do you mean we, and where-" Juniper replied but her word cut short as the phoenix spoke up again. "Hate t' ask another favor, but m'gonna need some help back t' the ship,"

Ship? What ship? Juniper was confused. Did the phoenix want her to help him get to a ship? Possibly, as it's clear how much the dust moth had caused him. "Could patch y'up there, too." Continued the phoenix. So he offered to help with her wound from the bolt as well? Juniper was not sure how she would reply... Still she had something she want to ask him, so it might actually be a good idea to go along.

Suddenly, Juniper heard footstep echoing from far away, as if someone is hurrying their way. Be it more hunters or town guards, the situation wouldn't make any difference. "Uh oh, I think someone is coming." Juniper said as she slowly got up. The sore from her fall and the pain on her wing ached but she grinded her teeth and fought it, eventually stood up straight again. "Alright, let's go with whatever you say... But my wing is hurt. Would we be alright on foot?" Juniper asked while looking back toward the footstep noise anxiously.

Featuring: BittyBobcat