Written April 10th, 2020 11:24 PM

Ailith couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. She had been there when Feyra got her stolen memories back and found out that her parents had sacrificed themselves for her survival. Obviously, Ailith was happy that Feyra had closure, but there was part of her that wished they could both be orphans abandoned by their parents, nebver knowing them, never needing them. Now, Feyra was a lady. Actually, the capital “L” Lady of Dragontower, and Ailith was still just… Ailith.

She tried not to look at Feyra differently, but now that she knew the truth about Feyra’s past, she felt disconnected. Ailith remembered the girl who stumbled across her in the forest, aiming an arrow at her chest, ready to loose it without hesitation. The girl who taught Ailith how to forage for food and who watched her back as they took turns sleeping next to their fire on their journey south. That girl felt farther away now that Ailith knew who Feyra was supposed to be.

Shaking the lingering feeling away, she stood at Feyra’s shoulder as the latter delivered a guilty sentence to Melinda Corvus with a sombre grace. When the time came, Ailith stood stood in the crowd, one hand on Gregor’s shoulder, and watched with grim pride as Feyra delivered the justice herself, quickly and cleanly. For someone so used to a bow and arrow, her family’s ancestral sword suited her and she wielded it deftly. Ailith locked eyes with Feyra from across the room, Feyra’s eyes glistening slightly. Ailith gave her a small smile of encouragement and committed this version of Feyra to memory, slowly reconciling her with the girl from the forest. This was the moment that girl truly stepped into her role as Lady Amberwood of Dragontower with stunning finesse and poise.

Written April 10th, 2020 6:42 PM

This is absolutely insane. The thought repeated over ad over in Ailith’s head as she scaled the cliff, the end of a length of rope clutched between her teeth.

Across the canyon Talus was pulling himself up, the other end of the rope gripped in one large hand. Ailith heaved herself over the edge of the cliff, puling the rope between her and Talus taut once he made it to the top. She struggled to catch her breath – the climb had winded her a little, but mostly she was trying to keep from hyperventilating.

Looking down, Ailith could see Xiv, Ace, Feyra, and their three new giant friends getting into position. They had come up with some crazy plans during their time together, but gods if this wasn’t the craziest. Off to her right, Ailith could just make out the shape of a massive bird headed straight for them – a roc. Taking a deep, centering breath, she bounced on her toes, turning her attention to Talus across the way. She could see him rolling his shoulders in preparation.

The roc was closing in now. Fifty feet… forty feet… thirty feet. Ailith closed her eyes, relying on her heightened hearing to track the roc’s progress. Twenty feet… ten feet… now! Snapping her eyes open, she leapt off the ledge in sync with Talus. She only fell a few feet before the rope caught on the roc’s neck. Ailith started pulling herself up hand over hand, ignoring the rope burns on her palms. Once she was close enough, she grabbed onto the roc’s feathers to pull herself the rest of the way up and onto it’s body, a hundred feet in the air.

Opposite her Talus clambered up, a huge grin  splitting his face. As she rose to her feet, she couldn’t help but crack a smile of her own at the joy the goliath was getting out of their current situation. Focusing on the task at hand, Ailith pivoted to where the roc’s giant wing connected to it’s body. Gripping the rope tighter, she punched straight down onto the joint. The roc shrieked and twisted in the air, trying to both shake off it’s assailants and stay aloft. Ailith must have hit her target because the roc’s left wing fell limp and it plummeted towards the ground.

She dropped into a crouch, clutching at the roc’s feathers until her knuckles turned white. She heard Talus give a whoop over the rush of air in her ears. The roc crashed into the earth and Ailith used the sudden stop to launch herself forward, past the roc’s open beak.  She hit the ground and rolled onto one knee, mind and heart racing. Turning, she saw that her friends had started in on the bird, battering it with spells and arrows.  Running forward, Ailith delivered four blows in quick succession and heard the beast give a weak croak before it’s eyes closed and it went still.

Staggering back, she felt her heart lurch at the knowledge that they had just ambushed this poor, huge, definitely-would-have-killed-them creature. Her ears were roaring, but she could just make out Talus and Ace exclaiming with excitement, Feyra investigating the body, and Xiv asking if anyone minded if he took a talon or two. Ailith stumbled a few steps away before vomiting on the canyon wall.  Still listening to her friends excited chatter she sat heavily on the ground and laid down, closing her eyes and smirking shakily to herself. She just took down a roc, right out the sky, single-handedly. That was almost as cool as punching those dragons or that shark that one time. She laughed quietly to herself. If only Amos could see her now.

Written April 8th, 2020 10:12 PM

Ailith could just make out the outline of Xiv illuminated by the torch light at the end of the tunnel. She let the current of the river take her closer, clutching the rope that tethered her to the rest of her party like the life line it was.

If she stretched out her hand, fingers grasping desperately, she could almost grab Xiv by the back of their cloak. She surged forward, her fingers finding purchase, only for Xiv to jerk with the force of two crossbow bolts hitting them where their breast plate didn’t quite cover.  They went limp, their grip on the mouth of the tunnel going slack. Ailith heaved them towards her, looping her free arm around their narrow chest.

Frantically, Ailith gave three sharp tugs on the rope, praying to the gods Talus got the hint and started reeling them in.  They man with the crossbow was lining up to take another shot when a bolt of necrotic energy hit him square in the chest and two arrows flew past him into one of his companions. Ailith could only assume Ace and  Feyra were behind her, providing some much needed back up. The spell didn’t deter the man for long though, as he squared up and fired a bolt directly at Ailith.

Acting on instinct, she let go of the rope, her hand darting out to catch the bolt, quickly whipping it back towards its owner hitting him in the shoulder. Her hand found the rope again as she and Xiv started being carried away by the current, and she started kicking, trying to get them to Talus and safety before Xiv expired in her arms.

Ailith felt when Ace sent some of her healing energy towards Xiv – they started thrashing against her, clawing and hissing, trying to get back to the men who had ambushed them.

“Oh no you don’t” Ailith gritted out, tightening her hold on them. “Don’t be stupid.”

They finally reached the end of the tunnel where Talus was waiting, holding the other end of the rope. Ailith clambered out, soaking wet and dragging a drenched and still hissing Xiv with her.

As she emerged into the room, she saw that four men had beaten them there and were standing on the  opposite side of the room. She dumped Xiv on the ground unceremoniously.

“Stay. Here.” She said forcefully before running towards the men. she dropped into a defensive stance, swaying slightly on her feet, waiting for one of the men to make the first move.

The men advanced, swinging at her with their swords. She dodged the first swing but took the others full on. Ailith pulled out her cane and delivered a few blows herself, feeling the diamond at the tip pulse with energy before it released and shattered the chest of the man in front of her.

She whirled away, running to where Talus now stood, battling a couple more men. She took a deep breath as she stepped next to two of them, flanking one with Talus. The man in front of her hit her in the torso with his sword while the one to her right shredded her arm. Ailith saw Talus get hit by another assailant and knew even as he uttered a desperate “no, no, no!” that Talus’ attention was now elsewhere and she was alone.

The man in front her grinned before slicing into her rib cage. She stumbled, hands trying to stop the bleeding before blackness took her and she fell. After what felt like mere seconds, Ailith opened her eyes to find the man who felled her dead beside her. She winced as she pushed herself up, glancing over to where Xiv had their arm outstretched, the needle they had thrown her way still lodged in her arm. Feyra and Ace were keeping their distance as well, barraging the remaining men with spells and arrows.

Ailith turned her attention to the man next to her, obviously the leader of the group. Growling, she swung the cane, hitting him in his knee and causing him to stumble. She brought the cane up in the same motion, hitting him square in the jaw. She saw panic light his eyes as she dropped the cane and curled her hands into fists.

Ailith delivered a brutal blow to his right cheek followed by a vicious uppercut. “Don’t fucking touch me friends,” she snarled, her words punctuating each blow. The man fell to the ground as Ailith stood above him, bloodied and panting with effort. She looked around at her friends – all safe for now.