The Wraith's Lament: Chapter 5

Prompt: The Wraith's Lament Chapter 5

Featuring: Azeryth (Dracostryx), Kira (rider), Fenrune (Vaivern)

Wordcount: 1015

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Az shifted from leg to leg, feeling a shudder creep through his feathers. This was bad. Very bad. It didn't help that Aleksandr decided to excuse himself from this endeavour when they needed him the most - when the light mage's spark would have been most useful. But the proud feline quickly noped out of the opportunity to visit the local sewage system, too concerned about his fur apparently. In his stead, the party received the strange creature from another world that now was creeping on his left. Although, the bat-like beast seemed much more likeable (despite the grumpy attitude) than the sharp-tongued arrogant cat. Plus he had wings and a much better night vision. 

Fenrune must have noticed Azeryth's lingering gaze and glared at the stryx, before shifting his eyes to his rider, Kira, and hissing, "We have to start moving if we want to find them. The longer we wait, the longer we will be at the mercy of that stryx."

Kira flinched, snapping out of the stupor that overtook her. Az quickly glanced at his rider, sending a wave of comfort with a silent question. Kira looked somewhat lost. Admittedly, Az absolutely hated the place roo as it reminded him of his captors but occupying himself with something else helped. 

Kira sighed, before meeting her eyes with the vaivern's. "Sorry, you are right. Would you be able to guide us? We aren't exactly familiar with Sol's underground either.

Fenrune, snickered, turning around and flashing his black tail. "Of course. Follow me and try to keep up."

The vaivern surged forward, quickly picking up pace as he easily moved through the dark tunnels. Az grunted, not particularly pleased that he was now forced to hurry up. Soon the two settled into a comfortable pace; the vaivern moved with leaps while Az used any opportunity to spread his wings in the tight tunnels. Kira held on, quickly raising the fabric over her nose. To say that the sewage system did not stink was to say nothing. Both Az and Fenrune were sure that the smell won't fade away from their feathers and fur respectively for days, which only fuelled the pessimistic mood of the latter creature. The odour penetrated the very walls of the sewage. The dwindling tunnel seemed endless at this point: the party was met with the same, barely distinguishable, grizzled stone walls, with the churring sickly grey waters accompanying them wherever they went. Occasionally, they would come across a larger space, where pillars stretched to the ceiling high above their heads, holding the world above them. Still, the two creatures did not stop for a second, quickly bounding through the system with only an occasional glance sideways and a flicker of an ear to make sure they had not missed anything. The vaivern led the stryx and his rider with the expertise of someone who was used to the darkness and the hunt. The two shadows slipped above the waters, careful to not misstep in hurry. 

Fenrune jumped over yet another stream of sewage water, easily landing on the other side with a swish of his tail. A single beat of his claws against the rocks echoed before the wyvern lunged forward, making a tight turn around the corner. Azeryth grunted and made a similar leap, spreading his wings which carried him for a few sweet seconds before the stryx heavily landed on the other side and continued the chase. It was harder for the bird-like creature - the last thing he was suited for was a mad chase in close-quarters. The search was already taking a toll on the proud stryx; it didn't help that Az was objectively tired of constantly seeing Fenrune's jumping tail in front of his beak. 

Az suddenly halted, nearly sending Kira flying over his head. The stryx arched his neck and let out an angry click with his beak, before sending out a mental message to both Kira and Fenrune. 

"Stop! I refuse to be nothing but a sniffing hound on a reckless chase that would yield nothing," he snapped, not even looking at his rather bewildered rider. 

Fenrune stopped short, slowly turning around as his red eyes flashed in annoyance. The vaivern didn't seem to tire, moving with the same unwavering agility. "We won't be able to find them if we don't cover more area," he hissed, opening his wings in a silent challenge. 

Kira shook her head, glancing at Azeryth. "Az, we can't afford tauntrums. I know you are tired but we have to find Kali." 

Fenrune only scoffed, quietly grumbling, "What else did I expect from a birdbrain?"

Az shifted his neck, eyeing Kira with one eye, ignoring the annoyed vaivern. "We won't achieve anything by blindly running around the tunnels. We need to head downstream of the-"

Az broke off when a piercing crack echoed through the tunnels. The party froze still. Fenrune was first to break the silence, softly hissing, "Follow me," before slowly creeping around the corner. The bat-like creature must have detected the sound better than Kira and Az. The party etched across the barren rock floor, hope mixed with alarm flittering in their chests. Fenrune carefully peeked around the corner first, his ears turned towards the source of the sound. 

"What is it?" hissed Az. 

No reply followed and the trio stood in silence for a few more moments before Kira nudged Az forward. The stryx peaked out of the corner above the bat before snorting. His rider groaned. The rat that was munching on something spooked from the sound, skittering away. Kira slumped against Az's neck in frustration, hiding her face in his feathers, grumbling. "This was just a rat - to the love of Galyx, when would this end?"

Fenrune only clicked his teeth in dissatisfaction, before turning around and sighing. "I suppose we continue since there are no other options." The bat-like creature shifted in a fluid motion passing the stryx and his rider. "But the birdbrain has a point. We will search the downstream area - this will hopefully decrease the area we need to cover."