Spring Has Sprung: Lady of the Marsh (March 2022)

February, the month of love and compassion, has come and gone, and with it the rest of winter and its snow. Granted, the mornings still carried a wet chill to send even the biggest of stryx burrowing deeper into their nests, while the even colder evenings often brought late outings to an end.

 

As much as Aktaion would have loved to have stayed home and slept in until the sun chased away the chill of dawn, he had bigger priorities at the moment; namely preparing for his tributes, and thus his chance to find a forever mate. The young gryph had no shortage of lookers, with his silken cobalt feathers and tropical visage, but he could never quite find the one, as cliched as that sounded (even in his own head).

 

Instead, he found solace in the advice of his good friend, a snowy tyto whose handler had no shortage of tales from around the lands. And one of those tales happened to bear mentioning of a breathtaking flower that bloomed in the gloomiest of places. Its rarity only allowed for the briefest of glimpses, usually during the first week of march.

 

Aktaion had to make haste. By the time Khione had gotten to him with that bit of info, the week was already near over. The smaller stryx had known of his struggles at finding a mate, and had apologized profusely for only just now thinking of it. He was quick to leave before dawn even broke the next morning.

 

This flower, a Lady of the Marsh, was telling. He hoped it would be the perfect finishing touch to the new nest he erected out the outskirts of his territory. He had a much more permanent nest nestled deeper in the heart of his established boundaries, but this temporary one was perfect for catching the eyes of any who happened to migrate by.

 

He flew hard and swiftly, using his natural abilities of compassing to derive which direction he was to head in. Sparse grasslands and rocky hills gave way to a tightly packed forest, the tree tops being so thick, even his eyesight couldn't see to the forest floor. He would need to find a way to squeeze himself through the interlocking branches.

 

He circled for a few moments, his size casting a decent shadow over the already darkened forest, despite the early morning sun. Finally, he settled on landing at the edge of the wood and trekking in on foot. He kept his wings folded tightly against his sides, for even on the rather squishy-soft ground, the tree trunks were grown closely together, and his talons tripped over a root on at least every third step.

 

The trees themselves looked and felt unhappy. Their gnarled trunks twisted and warped into ugly expressions, most of them coated in heavy lichen and overgrown moss. Why such a beautiful flower would grow in a place like this would forever go unanswered as far as Aktaion was concerned. Few had ever even seen the flower, but still...the few who did happen upon such a find were enough to give credit to the story in his eyes. And he supposed Khione and her handler also found credit in the story, enough so to share it with him.

 

He couldn't help the low grumble in his chest as his bright blue plumage snagged onto yet another ragged branch, its twisted fingers beckoning hair and feathers alike to come closer like an old withered witch. He kept telling himself it would be worth it in the end. Once he had the flower--or flowers if he was really lucky--then what a telling story this little jaunt would be. Any styrxess would sure to be impressed.

 

But this place itself wasn't the least bit impressive. The sunlight itself struggled to even penetrate the lowest of branches. He found himself questioning how anything grew here. And yet, maybe that's what made the flower all the more special. That it could thrive in an environment like this.

 

On his next step, his left talon sunk a little to deeply into the ground, and he had to tug and pull against the wet earth, rocking him to the side and lodging his other talon even deeper than the first. He was ready to let loose a noise of indignation when he stopped and took stock of his surroundings.

 

In front of him, for several meters lay nothing but dark green-brown waters, littered with fallen trees and their stumps, and weedy flowers. The diameter alone also had to stretch at least several more meters. This had to be the swamp. It was the only area in the whole wood that opened up enough to give some breathing space. And judging by how large it was, he gathered that on the other side had to be another tree lining, resembling the way he came in.

 

Before taking another step, he squinted, long and hard, hoping to find anything that was maybe glowing, brightly colored, or at least resembled some ounce of hope in this deteriorating place.

 

He loosed a sigh, finding no such luck.

 

Mindful of where he trode the second time around, he picked his way through the bog, shaking off a talon whenever he stepped into something too sludgy for his liking. It was already taking a lot of effort to keep his silky tails arched and carried high above the waters. He felt silly, like a displaying peacock, but he really didn't feel like preening muck out of his feathers. So he ambled through the marsh, weaving and bobbing around various debris, picking what he thought were the safest spots to step in, all the while searching for a hint of something.

 

While the sunlight still failed to reach the ground, the warmth didn't, and he could feel the humidity of the marshy area steadily rising. It had to at least be high-noon by now, and Aktaion could've sworn he's forgotten what solid ground felt like already.

 

All in all, he was getting nowhere, and his patience was wearing thin. He barely even covered a third of the place.

 

He stood in one spot, contemplating how long he should keep this on for when a familiar scent wafted in his direction.

 

"Hey, Aktaion! How is the search coming along?"

 

He nearly gave himself whiplash when he turned his head in the direction of the scent. The voice sounded close in his head.

 

A flash of icy blue through the trees revealed the very tyto who piqued his interest and sent him on this hunt. Along with her dark-haired rider, Indra. Khione paused and studied him at the edge of the swamp before dipping her way in without a second thought whilst Indra looked more uncertain from her perch on her tyto's back.

 

"Judging the state of your ruffled feathers, it's not going too well."

 

"You could say that."

 

Aktaion indeed noticed that the feathers along his neck had lifted in his rising agitation. He did his best to breathe, and smoothen them back down. "Why did you come?"

 

She merely blinked at him. "To help. I felt bad sending you off to find something that few have even laid eyes on. I had to convince Indra first, but once she saw how adamant I was about coming, she gave in."

 

Still, he had to be sure. "And if we find this flower, you don't want it for yourself?"

 

The horned tyto tilted her head and shook out the feathers on her neck, picking her own way through the waters to look. "I'm not really interested in nesting right now. I plan to in a few years, but right now Indra keeps me pretty busy."

 

Aktaion huffed and resumed his own search, but paused when he observed the look he was getting.

 

"You on the other wing can't wait. Has a pretty stryx caught my friend's eye?"

 

"Less chirping and more looking if you're here to help." His words carried a familiar sort of banter. "But I am older than you, so yes, my nesting instincts are just begging me to find a partner already."

 

The mirth in his voice carried easily over to her head.

 

A small splash sounded a little too close for comfort to Aktaion's liking, when Indra slid off of Khione's back to begin her own trek. The human had already resigned herself to getting dirty.

 

She was up to her navel in muck, and Aktaion would've balked until he remembered that humans had a much easier time cleaning up. He glanced at Khione and instantly regretted it.

 

Being much smaller than he was, her stomach and chest feathers were already browning, but she continued digging without a care.

 

Together, the three of them searched and searched well into the day. Indra had already retreated back to the banks half an hour ago, looking hungry and worse for wear.

 

"We're not going to find this lady of the marsh, I'm sure of it." Aktaion grumbled, giving his stiff wings a stretch with the extra room the swampy clearing provided.

 

"I hate to say it, but you might be right." The younger tyto pulled up a clump of muky flowers from beneath the waters, tilting them this way and that in her talons. "How are these even growing underwater?"

 

He shook his head, contemplating. "Maybe I'm not meant to find it. Maybe I don't really need it after all."

 

Khione blinked in surprise. "No one needs half of the things they want. Doesn't mean it 's not okay to want it."

 

"Maybe you're right. But, fancy nest or not, whoever it is I catch the eye of will be the one for me, flower or no flower." He paused and tilted his head at his own words. "Wow, I sounded pretty wise right there."

 

Khione gave an amused chirp. "I wouldn't be surprised if this little excursion was a lesson from Daius himself."

 

Daius, the god of the sun, and by proxy all that grew under it, including the flowers and this so called Lady of the Marsh.

 

Both stryx picked their way back to the bank, where Indra was waiting with a relieved smile. She felt bad that Khione's friend was empty-handed, but they could only search for so long.

 

Back at the edge of the wood, the horizon had become painted in blues and purples, a nasty wind picking up.

 

"Here. So you don't have to leave with nothing, even if it's not what you wanted."

 

Aktaion tilted his head at the muddied stryxess. Clasped in her beak was the bundle of muddy flowers. He was a little skeptical at bringing home such an ugly weed, but he knew that she was just trying to make him feel better.

 

"Thank you." And he meant it.

 

As she passed it to him, a faint glint caught his eye from underneath the mud. Maybe the flower would look nice after all. With a talon, he gently swept the flowers along the grass, dislodging most of the mud.

 

He paused. Khione held her breath. Indra leant around her stryx's neck and let out a gasp of her own.

 

The petals of the flowers were a mixture of pale blues and bright reds and deep pinks.

The iridescent colors seemed to swivel and swirl together as he tilted the bundle to get a better look. The edges of each petal shimmered under the fading sun, translucent and yet glowing with its own light as if they eld the stars of Galyx themself. There in the center of each flower were a collection of little silver beads, as if someone had delicately placed the tiniest of pearls into the center.

 

Aktaion couldn't breathe, didn't dare too, as if his breathe alone would scatter the breathtaking blooms to the high winds, a mere figment of his imagination.

 

"Lady of the Marsh." Indra whispered, too taken by the mesmerising blossom to wonder why she was even whispering. "It has to be."

 

Her voice roused the stryx back from their stupor.

 

A stupid grin overtook the large gryph's beak. He wasn't excited. He was still too stunned to be excited. How many of those weedy looking flowers had he trampled over, dismissed without a second thought. All because they didn't look like what he thought a Lady of the Marsh would look like at first glance. No wonder nobody was ever able to find such a flower.

 

No, there were people and stryx alike who did, though few. Ones who were like Khione. Who could find interest in the things most would overlook.

 

Wordlessly, he separated a couple of stems from the bundle and handed them over to Khione. Indra ended up taking them, for her stryx was still surprised.

 

"You deserve it. I never would've even considered that plant would've turned out like it has."

 

"But--"

 

"And--" he cut her off. "--it was your idea. You might not have any use for it or need to decorate your nest, but you should keep them. To remember that you actually found them."

 

"Well jeez, what do I say to that?"

 

"Absolutely nothing. Thanks again Khione."

 

He spread his wings, took a small running start, and launched himself into the air, leaving behind his friend and her rider to marvel at the find together. A fierce downstroke gave his shoulders a nice pop that stung for a moment, before melting into that warm feeling that came along with a good stretch. Sure he had a ways to go to get back home, but he knew he'd enjoy the long flight after being grounded for so long. A moment of inspiration struck him, and he gleefully climbed a little higher before pulling off a series of weaves and bobs, complicated twists and turns through the open air, feeling about as good as a sunbathing tusk panther. The flowers, which were clasped tightly in his beak, gave off their own pale glow, despite the crescent hanging in the sky.

 

Aktaion was going to do all he could to make sure the blooms lasted as long as possible.