Songs of Reamere: Part 1 - A Voyage East

Halcyon tucked his head under a wing, pulling at a stray feather that twitched against his skin. Among him were other small stryx, huddled close against the oddly chilly morning of spring. When he brought his head back up, it smacked into the chin of a corva, who squawked with surprise and nearly sent the white hawk stumbling away as he flapped his brown wings.

Halcyon chirped aggressively, lunging to give the corva a nip to show him what's what, but his handler tugged at his lead.

"Shh! No fighting, now," said Nicole, glaring at both stryxes. "Hyphen, stop overreacting."

Hyphen hid under a wing and toddled off, sitting away from Halcyon, who was giving him a deathly glare. Halcyon turned his gaze to his handler, who was making a checklist in her notebook, counting off a pile of cargo that she left just outside the loft, where the birds were all huddled against the chill. They'd been forced outside since they only got in the way as they pecked curiously at their handler as she ran all over the place.

He knew something was happening. Something big- something he was picked to help in. It made the other birds a little jealous, which made *him* feel a bit prouder of it all. He was going where no one else could! Halcyon puffed his feathers a bit at the thought.

Despite all that, there was a lot of prep to be put into it. Nicole was running back and forth for the past week picking up all sorts of things- bags of dried meat, clothes, and water; tracking supplies and maps of all sizes; extra gear for Halcyon for what he assumed was for a colder climate. He never had to put on much other than his saddle and lead, so he was curious about what else he had to wear. If it itched as much as pesky stray feathers did, though, then maybe there would be problems.

He peeped softly as Nicole ran past again, and she stopped, giving him a curious look. He clicked his beak and lowered his head, tapping a foot on the ground and pointing it towards the bags of things. Nicole tilted her head.

"Oh, don't worry Hal, I don't need help right now. I'm just recounting things." She tapped the journal she was writing in with the end of her pen. "This is all going to a caravan that's going east, too."

Halcyon blinked but didn't do anything else, merely letting his handler get back to work. A caravan, huh? So it was something even bigger than he'd imagined. The only thing he ever heard was something about no fish appearing at sea. Something was eating them or, probably, making them get scared away.

The distant flap of wings caused all the birds to raise their heads, watching a dark shape fly down. It was a chiro, a rider on its back as the two landed near the loft. The other birds around Halcyon whistled with curiosity, a few sitting stiller than before with wariness. From the corner of his eye, Halcyon saw Hyphen peek over the huddled crowd with a puffed chest, like he wanted to fight the newcomer. The white hawk and a few other stryxes who caught sight of Hyphen all gave a judgemental look, and Hyphen lowered himself back down in dismay. 

Nicole turned at the sounds and burst into a smile, running up to the rider as they jumped off their stryx. The two people hugged, and Nicole gave the chiro a pat on the nose.

Halcyon didn’t know who they were, but if Nicole was friendly with them then he'd just watch. 

“Phil! I’m glad you could make it. So you’re coming along?” Nicole asked as she pulled back from the embrace.

Phil, a long-haired, muscular man, gave a hesitant shrug. “Maaayybeee…? I think I’ll be able to help carry out your things here at most, but my flock partner recently got a few new clutches and I don’t know how many of us there will be to help take care of ‘em.”

Nicole flicked off a stray puff of fur that had stuck to Phil’s gear, frowning. “Mm. Alright, I understand.”

“But-” Phil put his hands on Nicole’s shoulders and turned her around, walking them both towards her group of stryxes that were all watching curiously at this point, “I got you a little something for your bird to help you both out.” Nicole shot him a suspicious squint, but followed along.

“Something for Hal?” she said, which caused Halycon to perk up. He chirped, stepping forward, too eager to sit still any longer. He sniffed Phil when he got close, messing with his hair despite the protests of both people, and though his suspicions had hung since he first came, it all dissipated when he smelled a treat that appeared in the man’s hand, and he ate it faster than a flash of lightning.

“Gets them every time,” Phil muttered with a laugh as the hawk gulped down the treat. “Well! C’mere lil’ guy, got something for you before you go.” Halcyon squatted down so he was closer to the man’s height, watching him reach into a small pack on his side and pulling out a leather bag the size of three human hands.

Nicole let out a gasp, her brows turning down as she started to say, “Phil, no-”, but Phil apparently didn’t listen as he opened the bag, revealing a shiny set of gold-colored talon guards, sharpened as if made the other day. Halcyon’s eyes widened at the sight of something shiny, and he reached down to peck at them.

Phil pulled them away from the hawk’s grasp, earning a sad peep. “Nuh uh, these are for wearing, not eating- oop!” Phil was interrupted as Nicole came forward and punched him in the back, her expression furious.

“Now why’d you go and get that? I know where those are from, and they’re way too expensive to be a gift-”

“It’s too expensive only because you think getting anything for yourself is a crime,” Phil mocked, sticking his tongue out. He ignored Nicole’s offended gasp and turned his attention to Halcyon, who was still processing the gloriously shiny objects he was being shown. “Here, bud, some snazzy talons for you to fight off those nasties in the east.”

Halycon turned his head, focusing one eye upon the set of weapons. They were beautiful indeed, simple but intricate as the hawk noticed the fine carvings and detail put into the metal and leather putting together the whole thing. He glanced up at his handler, Nicole, who was watching now with her arms crossed. It seemed like she wasn’t going to step in- it was his choice to take the gift.

Well, that wasn’t much of a dilemma. With a happy chirp, Halcyon swooped his beak down and snagged the talons, lifting them up as they clinked together like a chime. Paul let out a laugh as Nicole groaned and rolled her eyes.

Regardless of Nicole’s feelings, Halcyon knew he’d need these. He didn’t hear much of the oncoming mission, but the fact that he was going alone was going to be new to him. He turned around to the rest of his flock, all the stryxes that had inched closer to see the spectacle, and they all cheered at his new item. He was going to miss them, he knew, even the annoying Hyphen. But he knew this was going to end well.

It had to.