Chapter 2: The Village
Both stryxes decided to move carefully and by foot, as the wind was blowing only so strong that they might've not been able to reach their goal without some aerial accidents. The snow was getting more dense by the second making it difficult to see, yet none of it stopped them.
For the whole trip through the valley, Victor's beak clapped under the freezing temperatures. He still kept a jovial temper and hummed a song mixed with chirps and rattles, to the gryph's most disliking.
“Hearing a creaking trembling voice for ten minutes straight ain't in my skillset list and certainly will never be.”, grumbled under his breath the unimpressed gryph.
Regardless of Victor's annoying prestation, Mortifer kept an eye on the corva: the stryx falling under hypothermia when he still needed him wasn’t the best option for his plans. After another five minutes of walk and to both stryxes' happiness, the bottom of the mountains where the small village was established was starting to appear in their sight.
- Eulas (169)
"There it is, good sense of direction my friend!" It pained Mortifer to say such a thing, but he had to keep up his friendly facade for Victor to stick around. Victor beamed up at the gryph, who was struggling to smile back.
"Can we head down now? I'm sure the people here are friendly!" Victor asked through chattering teeth, his cheery demeanor still intact as ever. Mortifer simply nodded, standing back as the corva bolted down the mountainside towards the village.
"Come on, Mortifer, as soon as you're done here you'll never have to see the little pest again. He probably wouldn't notice if you left right now. If only this storm would just fade..." Mortifer shook out his feathers of the new snowfall, which was less gentle and began whipping around him in the wind. Despite being able to put up with a lot, he was starting to feel the storm's cold effects. His talons had gone numb, his feathers damp, and he could feel himself trembling slightly. Best to reside in the village for now, just until the storm passed.
"Onlooker, you coming down?" Victor called back, nearly at the village's edge now. Mortifer snapped himself from his thoughts and nodded, putting his smile back on. "This is going to be a long storm to wait out..."
- 6-ft-Demon (220)
At this point, Victor was fully exhausted and icicles covered every inch of his body, which made his movements irrevocably slower. Nonetheless, the joyful light in his eyes was still bright as he reached the closest house before Mortifer. While he peeked inside a window, he let out a weak harmless chirp to see if anything would react to his call. To his discontent, it was not a human who approached, but a big cat who jumped on the frame and surprised the corva.
Surprisingly enough, a hiss was heard, but it did not came from the feline: Victor's attitude and expression had fully switched to anger directed at this staring furball. He emitted a few claps before starting to hit the window vigorously and repeatedly with his beak, making the cat hiss in return.
Mortifer was slowly catching up with him, observing the scene from a distance and analyzing the other houses nearby with wonder. “*He really makes his presence known wherever he goes… Although it's what we intended to do to find shelter, this might not be the best way to approach the villagers.*” thought the gryph.
The corva had nearly started to break the window, but got stopped in his momentum when the house's door opened. Unfortunately for whoever opened it at this specific moment, a powerful gust of chilling wind slammed it back shut and some swears could be heard inside the house. Victor tilted his head and approached carefully the source of the noise, “*Friend or foe?*”, he asked himself.
- Eulas (255)
As Mortifer reached the bottom of the slope and stepped into the edge of the village, the ruckus caused by Victor was beginning to draw the attention of many. Motrifer had always preferred a more solitary approach to public situations, so this wasn't ideal for him.
As the door Victor was pounding on opened and shut again, the wind became ever stronger, forcing Mortifer to practically shout over the noise.
"Victor, let's get inside, I'm sure they have a place to keep stryx somewhere, they must. Let's go find it."
But Victor didn't budge. The little corva was intent on finding out who was behind the door.
As the door swung open again, narrowly missing Victor's beak this time, a heavily clothed figure stood inside the house. The lights flickered inside as the storm raged on, forcing the figure to turn and look inside briefly before returning their attention to the corva at their doorstep.
"You're no village stryx, are you? We've never seen you before." The figure spoke more to themselves than to anyone else. They suddenly spotted the huge gryph some distance away from the house, inspecting a rather frail-looking roofed structure set up to cover a once full cart of goods, which had lost its cargo in the storm it seemed.
"Him either, he's new. Why don't you come around back, we have a barn you can stay in for now." The figure stepped outside and closed the door tightly behind them, waving to Mortifer and motioning for the gryph to follow. Victor pranced excitedly behind the figure, while Mortifer hurried to catch up, the storm becoming a bit much for him.
The group reached the barn behind the house, only to find it full of bedding and lofts for stryx, yet it seemed empty. Motrifer cocked his head in curiosity.
"They're all out trying to gather the workers still in the mines. They'll be back once everyone is accounted for." The figure explained. "Ah, makes sense." Mortifer thought to himself.
- 6-ft-Demon (334)
Total: 978 words
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MORTIFER
LITERATURE: (978 / 100) * 2 = 19
EVENT [FoF]: +4 = 23
BUDDY BONUS: +4 = 27
FLOCKMATE: +2 = 29
PERSONAL: +3 = 32
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TOTAL AP = 32AP
VICTOR
LITERATURE: (978 / 100) * 2 = 19
EVENT [FoF]: +4 = 23
BUDDY BONUS: +4 = 27
FLOCKMATE: +2 = 29
PERSONAL: +3 = 32
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TOTAL AP = 32AP
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