Akeya silently sneaked around in her room, gathering all of the stuff she expected to need while on her trip. It was in the middle of the night, and in combination with the fact that some of the people in Blue Pegasus had quite the impressive hearing she did her best to avoid waking anybody up. It hadn’t been very long since she had returned from Whedalsin, who -after teaching her all the basics quite quickly- had told her it would be best if she continued training on her own. Even if she was slowly turning into a dragon she was still her own person, and just like each person is different they all have different ways to utilize their magic abilities. If he tried to teach her everything he knew it most likely wouldn’t be as efficient as when she developed her own magic.
Since then Akeya had tried her best to avoid letting anybody notice her new limbs, feeling that she’d be better off hiding those until a better time. The tail hadn’t been difficult, since she could just hide it underneath her cloak (she was really grateful that she had removed her clothing before trying to accept Whedalsin’s magic, even if she hadn’t known the possible side effects of doing so) but the wings took a bit more effort. Finally she had managed to fold them up in such a way that unless she was careless it would just look like she was slightly hunched over. Luckily most people either didn’t pay a lot of attention to her, or would be scared away by her now even more focused glare if they become too curious. The few that didn’t fall under either category she had done her best to avoid, although she wasn’t sure whether it had worked. The more observant people would likely have picked up on something regardless of what she tried, but she would deal with that after returning.
Finishing her packing (mostly food, she really didn’t see the need to bring anything else and she wasn’t sure whether there would be enough at her destination) Akeya grabbed the last item necessary for this training trip: a special map only Blue Pegasus members were allowed to use. It would apparently show her to make her way to the floating island Mount Helicon, the secret training and testing grounds for the Guild. Akeya hadn’t been sure where she would be able to train without being disturbed, so she had done some asking around before being told about the secret grounds. Seeing how it was a lot better than any idea she herself had been able to come up with she quickly got to work learning how to get there, getting permission to use the Sky Chart (tricky business in combination with her trying to avoid drawing attention to herself) and then making sure nobody would go chasing after her once she had left (a lot easier, since nobody really had reason to).
Putting everything in a satchel and slinging that satchel over one shoulder so it would rest on her hip on the other side Akeya looked a last time around her room to made sure she hadn’t forgotten anything before climbing out of the window in her room, from there on climbing upwards and onwards until she was standing on top of the Guild Hall, surveying the town perched upon the island around the humongous building. It really was a rather grand view, especially with the way the bright moon bathed the isle and the surrounding lake in silver light. The ninja doubted many others got the opportunity to look at Clover Town like this, and even fewer also had the advantage of her darkvision, allowing her to view the dark landscape with clarity and sharpness comparable to what most people would have during broad daylight. While she wasn’t one to be swept away by her own emotions Akeya had to admit that this place was in some ways a lot more beautiful than the village she was born in. Not all of them, but some.
She stood there, staring for a while, before shaking her head and going into a crouched position, taking off her cloak and also putting it inside her satchel. As beautiful as this place is it isn’t quite beautiful enough to make her stand there for the whole night admiring the view. Now that her cloak was no longer restricting them her wings unfurled, the dark blue scales nearly invisible against the night sky. Her tail had the same effect, curling around her legs before stretching out behind her, brushing against the roof of the Guild Hall while at the same time seeming to merge with the surrounding darkness. Akeya took the Sky Chart out of the satchel, holding onto it tightly before concentrating on her wings. Said wings stretched themselves as far as they were able, the ninja crouching even lower as she prepared for the take-off. After a couple of seconds her wings beat downward in a single mighty sweep, together with Akeya’s own jump launching her into the night.
After taking some time to stabilize herself Akeya began climbing higher, her tail stretched out behind her and acting as a rudder as her wings started flapping faster and faster, the wind whistling around the ninja and playing with her hair as she ascended, for now moving in a straight line upwards. Mount Helicon was supposed to be high up in the sky, so it would be a good idea to get some altitude before consulting the Sky Chart. Also, she had to admit that she really liked the feeling of flying at such speeds, with no restraint to how far or high she flew. The wings she was able to create before using her magic had been a lot weaker: she could use them to fly any faster than she could run, and they couldn’t carry her very far. They were only useful for getting across small pieces of difficult terrain, to evade attacks aimed at people on the ground, or to attack from an unexpected angle herself.
However these wings were a lot less restricted. Because they were real wings, not something temporarily created through magic, they wouldn’t disappear if she overused them, and they could carry her faster and farther. Of course they could get tired, but now at least Akeya felt like she could use them properly as wings, rather than another tactical advantage. She had read a lot, both at home and in the Guild, and often whenever flight was mentioned it would be accompanied by a statement how once you managed to fly things started to look a lot different than they did when you were stuck on the ground. Akeya herself had never felt such a thing with her own wings, and as such had thought it to be another example of emotional people trying to dispense their own feelings as wisdom. Now she realized that the reason why she hadn’t felt that was because her wings, no matter how useful they were, had never truly freed her from the ground, only allowed her to escape for short amounts of time. With these wings she could understand what the scrolls talked about. For somebody like the ninja, who is usually so logical and focused, it was a rather curious and confusing experience.
Either way, she would make sure to take full advantage of her newfound gift. When faced with the option to stay human or turn dragon Akeya had declined the option to stay human, partly because she felt that turning into a dragon would have several quite useful bonuses besides the few she had already received. These wings where one of those bonuses, and she would treat them as such. Of course that meant she would have to practice a lot of them: to be able to stay airborne for extended periods of time, to be able to fly faster, to lose the amateurish appearance she gave according to Whedalsin. These wings were something she could, and would, train to become stronger and better. Of course that also included her tail. Honestly the difference between the magical tail and the permanent one she had now felt less impressive to Akeya than the difference between her previous wings and the current ones, but she’d still make sure to use this new tail. She already knew that the tail was actually quite fundamental for proper flight, helping you keep your balance even when in awkward positions. Besides of that it should also work for combat and utility purposes. Once again, lots of training would be required, but for Akeya that was just something to add to her list of tasks.
After finally being high enough to her liking (which partly was influenced by how long she just wanted to feel the wind flow around her as she flew higher) Akeya slowed down until she flew in place, looking down and correcting her position slightly to remain straight above the Guild Hall. While unrolling the Sky Chart the back of her mind was focused on the stray thought that it was a good thing that she didn’t suffer from fear of heights. She was already a lot higher than any building or landmark in the vicinity, and she could imagine that somebody more easily affected by heights might just lose control and plummet to their death. She’d probably have to make sure that if she ever carried somebody while flying they would have to deal with staring at such views from far above.
Looking at the Sky Chart Akeya tried to figure out where she was supposed to go next, not being used to navigating in the sky. On the ground there were normally plenty of landmarks to use, but up here most of those landmarks were too small to accurately use, besides the fact that if you’re high enough judging distance (and thus navigation) towards the ground becomes difficult. Instead she had to rely on the stars dotting the dark heavens, about the only things up here permanent enough to be used on a map. At least up here they were clearly visible, the lights that normally are present in human settlements not present to hinder the ninja in her attempts at finding her way to the floating island. After getting a bit of a grip on things the winged girl started moving, this time horizontally in search for her destination.
After some more flying (Akeya noted that her wings were becoming harder to move. If it took much longer she’d be forced to return to the ground and rest before she fell from the sky out of exhaustion) Mount Helicon finally came into sight. Gratefully the ninja made haste to reach some solid surface before she really became too tired to fly any further, not even pausing to take in the sight of the training grounds before landing and folding up her wings, panting as she fell to her knees and supported herself with her hands. As expected she would have to train a lot to be able to use these wings for long distance travelling.
After resting for a bit Akeya looked around, getting a grip on her surroundings. In the middle of the island, rising above the rest of the floating phenomenon, was the mountain giving the rest of the place its name. It looked quite imposing, with a series of waterfalls covering one side that most likely turned into the river that fed the rest of the isle. That would explain the abundance of greenery and signs of animals, although Akeya wondered where the water come from on the mountain and where it went after reaching the end of the island. On the mountain there should be some kind of sacred fountain, no doubt the source of the water, and the river might just end up falling down the side of the floating island, turning into rain before reaching the earth below. From a practical point of view, however, this meant that there should be enough food and water around here to survive for quite long, provided she didn’t get killed by some kind of monster that might make its home here away from meddling humans.
Still feeling exhausted Akeya decided that for now she would call it a day (night), searching the immediate surroundings until she found a set of trees which with some extra branches and leafs could act as a makeshift shelter. It would only last one day, but that was enough for now. Curling up inside the shelter Akeya unfurled one wing, covering the rest of herself as a blanket while she fell asleep.
Akeya blinked as she rubbed her eyes. For a moment she felt like she wasn’t where she was supposed to be, then -as tends to happen in dreams- her memories reshaped themselves. She was about ten years old, and was trying her best to avoid being sent to bed by escaping to outside and climbing onto the roof of the house she was born in. Her parents were quite lenient, but they didn’t like their child staying outside so late when each day was colder than the last. The girl herself never really could understand what they complained about: it wasn’t like she could ever remember getting sick, and living in the mountains makes you good at resisting the cold anyway. Besides, if she felt ill she could notice it herself and go inside out of her own volition. The fact that all children thought this with little success didn’t occur to Akeya. Even if it had she would have countered that she wasn’t exactly like other children. Not that she thought less of them, but they did tend to be a lot less thoughtful than she herself.
And so Akeya ended up watching the blue sky becoming darker, the sun hiding behind the mountains and spreading shadows as freely as a friendly uncle might hand out candy to the swarm of passer-by children. It was quite the astonishing sight, and it managed to keep Akeya’s attention for quite some time. It was only until the sky had become so dark as to be black (or as near as to make no difference) that the girl shook her head and started climbing down. If she stayed up there for much longer her parents would shift gears and become seriously agitated. They were already used to Akeya being rather stubborn in what she would do and when, and as long as it didn’t cause any problems or she didn’t go too far out of bounds they’d just scold her a little before leaving her be. However when she went too far out of bounds they made sure to make her understand why she shouldn’t do that, along with a strong desire not to. Lenient, but only up to a certain point.
Stealthily entering the house Akeya headed for her bed, hoping to reach it and climb inside before her parents would catch her. She didn’t expect them to be truly angry, but no scolding was still better than a small scolding. Besides, while she might try not to show it she did feel rather tired, so bed was an attractive notion for more than one reason.
Passing by the living room Akeya noticed that the lights were still on, and her parents were sitting on either side of the low table, the light casting their shadows on the rice-paper door. For now her thoughts about sleep were forgotten as a new goal embedded itself in her young and curious mind: listening to what her parents were talking about. Not exactly the most decent or sensible thing to do, but it isn’t like she would be listening to any kind of secret she wasn’t supposed to hear. If they started talking about something she wasn’t supposed to hear Akeya would immediately stop listening. Honest. Almost certainly. No doubt about it. If she could make herself go to bed before her parents became truly worried, keeping away from things she wasn’t supposed to know should be easy. Right?
Crouching near the door Akeya tried to get as close without getting in danger of doing something embarrassing that would reveal her position, which required some work, seeing how rice paper isn’t exactly the material you want to use when hiding. It has this annoying tendency to be a) fragile, b) semitransparent and c) noisy. Luckily it seemed her parents were too absorbed in their conversation to take notice, so after some more repositioning Akeya relaxed and tried to listen in.
“-and Hiun is fairly sure that it shouldn’t be a problem. It isn’t the first time that the merchants have arrived a little later than normal. Probably waiting for the recent snow to melt. Nobody likes trying to lead a caravan through a foot of snow. If they haven’t arrived or send a message at the end of this week we’ll go and see what’s keeping them. Not like we’re in dire need of new supplies either.” Kumoi Kuusai, Akeya’s father and brother of Hiun Kuusai, head of the family, sounded reassuring. He also sounded like they had already gone over this several times.
“I still am worried. The last time it took them so long was when we later learned that part of the caravan had been buried in snow. We do have more food stored now than we did back then, but every time that something happens they might reconsider going through all the trouble of getting up here. Not like we have anything to offer that they couldn’t get from a village located in a less dangerous place.” Meimei Shinkai, Akeya’s mother and originally an outsider, sounded like she was in one of those moods were she was considering the negative side more to make sure every angle was covered than because she was actually covered.
“The merchants know just as well as we do that those few times that the snow gets in a way are just bad luck. Normally it’d still be weeks before it starts snowing. Besides, we’ve had a stable partnership for years now. They wouldn’t abandon us unless something forced them to. Something harsher than the snow coming a bit earlier than expected.” Kumoi snorted. “As for last time, even without our help none of them would have died. They only said they were buried because that sounds more impressive than ‘one of our youngsters scared the pack animals with his yelling when he fell into a pile of snow and we had trouble catching them all’. If something like that was enough to make them reconsider their trade routes they never would’ve established this one to begin with.”
“You make it sound funny, but you were just as worried back then. And when you went out to see what happened to the merchants Akeya and I were also worried. I doubt she could remember you ever before having to leave the village to search for the merchants.”
“What, Akeya was worried? Besides of the fact that she seems to rarely worry, how could you tell? She trained harder than before?” Kumoi chuckled, apparently amused at the thought. Behind the door Akeya frowned: she had been worried back then, although she had hoped her mother hadn’t noticed.
“Just because others can’t tell doesn’t mean I can’t tell what my own daughter is thinking. I would be too ashamed to show my face if I couldn’t even recognize the emotions of Akeya purely because she doesn’t show them as strongly as most children her age do.” Meimei fell silent after saying that, her voice becoming a bit less heated and slower when she continued speaking. “Although it still does worry me. She doesn’t look unhappy or all that, but I don’t get why she’s so withdrawn. She gets along with the other children, none of the other adults seem to have any complaints, but she still acts as if every action requires deep forethought. Like she’s careful not to make a mistake, but to such an extend that it’s like she has made that mistake before and doesn’t want to repeat it.” Once again it didn’t sound like anything new being discussed, and honestly this wasn’t the first time Akeya heard something like this while eavesdropping. The fact that it worried her parents is something that in return puzzled the girl. It’s true that she’s not as social as most of her nephews and nieces, and that she considers the best possible course of action a lot. She just doesn’t get why it’s something that worries her parents. They made it sound as if the only way a child could be like that is if that child had experienced something bad in the past that made them afraid of encountering it again. Are children supposed to be careless and needlessly cheerful?
“We’ve talked about this before Mei. I’m just as puzzled about her...cautious behaviour. However to believe that it’s related to some accident that we don’t know about, or for it to be a reaction to outside influences, does not change the fact that Akeya has never been outside this village, and inside the village nobody has ever harmed her or even shown the slightest indication of harming her. She was already silent from the moment that she could talk, and it’s not like it became significantly worse after she started to interact more with the other adults and the children. Just because it’s abnormal doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Aside from her showing a maturity you don’t often see in children she’s as nice a kid as any parent could ask for. She’s kind, she works hard out of her own volition, she’s thoughtful, and like you said it isn’t like she looks like she isn’t enjoying herself. She just shows it less energetically. Honestly one of the few real flaws I find in her is the tendency to eavesdrop. More specifically, eavesdropping and then believing her dear old father wouldn’t realize it.”
Akeya almost jumped back as she heard the last couple of sentences, her eyes widening as she looked around. The hallway was entirely the same as before: it didn’t look like her father used any tricks. He must have noticed her when she was still trying to find a comfortable position and only now bothered to call her out on it. Annoyed and embarrassed at being caught Akeya stood up, slowly opening the door and walking into the living room. Her parents wouldn’t appreciate it if she ran away now and tried to pretend she hadn’t been eavesdropping. She was caught, so now she would just have to pay the price for it.
Both of her parents were looking at her, her father raising one eyebrow as if asking her why she even bothered trying. Her mother just looked calm, smiling in a way that Akeya was often told was a perfect mirror of her own, even if Meimei was a lot more inclined towards smiling than her little girl. According to the other adults of the village Akeya was actually a rather fine mix between her mother and father in appearance, inheriting her father’s healthy build and her mother’s more delicate curves. She was still growing, but it already was clear that Akeya wasn’t going to be one of those thin and frail ladies. Most of her face, however, came from her mother, the most notable exception being her thin but strong eyebrows. Her hair was also obviously Meimei’s: from birth both Kumoi and his brother Hiun had hair as white as snow.
“Good evening Akeya. Care to join us?” As usual her father was taking the opportunity to make a quip and at the same time point out that Akeya is doing something she shouldn’t be doing. The only response Akeya gave him, however, was a slight nod and a burning of the cheeks, something which she couldn’t hide besides being even more obvious about it. After staring at each other for a couple more seconds Kumoi shrugged, patting the ground next to him. “Well, you might as well sit down, since you aren’t going to leave for a couple more minutes anyway. Not unless I was willing to bring one of the donkeys inside the house to drag you to bed.” At that Meimei shoots her husband a look, at which he only shrugs. Akeya on the other hand took the invitation to heart, sitting down next to her father so that she would be facing her mother. After sighing Meimei turned to her daughter, once again smiling.
“You don’t have to worry about me trying to find something in your past that doesn’t exist, Akeya. I know I sound exasperated, but every parent worries about their child. Some are just a bit more upfront about it than others.” Akeya silently nodded while once again her father raised an eyebrow. “I sense subtle criticism.” Meimei shrugged, her smile now becoming a bit like a smirk. “My, wherever could you have gotten that idea from? I was just remarking how not everybody is the same.” Kumoi rolled his eyes before dropping the subject, causing his wife to chuckle modestly. “Anyway, I’m not actually worried that you might be hiding something or that something is wrong with you dear. I’m just used to children being very playful and cheerful, so when you act so much more mature than your playmates I worry whether you’re not taking full advantage of your childhood. When you’re young you should do everything you really want to do, so that later on you don’t regret anything when you’re doing what you have to do.”
At this Akeya raised one eyebrow, mimicking her father rather uncannily. After a couple of seconds she spoke. “But what if I just don’t want the same thing as most children? I’m happy with how things are right now. I don’t see the need to do stuff without thinking ahead, and everybody who I care about knows me well enough that I don’t need to express myself any more than I already do.” Kumoi coughed at that, patting Akeya on the head. “Well, as we’ve both said it’s not like what you do is wrong or anything like that. You’re growing up to be considerate and composed, and I don’t think anybody minds that. As parents we just want to make sure that you’re as happy as you can be. The fact that you’re maturing a bit faster than most people expect from children just means that you’re maturing a bit faster. Nothing more, nothing less. Although if you want a reason to show more emotion, while we might know what you’re feeling humans are social creatures. If one of us is happy the rest also becomes happier, and the more happiness you show the stronger that effect is.”
Akeya gave this theory some thought, admitting that it does make some kind of sense. Her family was basically one big group, and most of them did seem to really like being in groups rather than being alone: Akeya was actually the most solitary out of all of them. Even their leader, Hiun, was always busy together with other people, either just socializing or together with them working on some problem. From the scrolls Akeya had read most of the time the clan leader was some old guy who acted as a stern authority, always trying to do what is best for his family regardless of how painful it might be. Hiun didn’t fit that category in two ways: for one thing, he was still rather young, his father having passed on the role of leader when he became old enough that he felt that from that point on age would only weaken him further, and probably because of that Hiun wasn’t some kind of ruler sitting atop a throne, and he did seem to be happier than the clan heads in those scrolls tended to be. Akeya slowly nodded, the girl conceding that point to her father.
“So if I showed more emotion I would make others happier. If you think that is best I will try, father. Although I still think that you two can read me well enough.” Meimei shook her head, leaning forward slightly as she looked at her daughter. “We’re not telling you to do anything dear. Showing more emotion does make it easier for others to become connected to you, but if you feel comfortable as you are now neither of us would tell you to force yourself to reveal more than you would do willingly. I hope that you manage to open up a bit more in the future, because I would love to see my little girl smile a bit more. But you really are fine as you are now. You don’t have to worry about trying to please us. Besides possibly getting rid off the habit to eavesdrop.” Both parents chuckled at that as Akeya blushed again, knowing that would be part of the repertoire for the foreseeable future. Eventually Meimei continued, still smiling. “We’d prefer it if you didn’t eavesdrop, but that’s just one habit children tend to have. As long as you are happy we’ll be happy for you and with you. And whatever happens you’ll always be our daughter.”
Kumoi nodded, ruffling Akeya’s hair. “Exactly. We’ll always be your parents, and we’ll always love you. Nothing that might happen in the future will change that.”
Since then Akeya had tried her best to avoid letting anybody notice her new limbs, feeling that she’d be better off hiding those until a better time. The tail hadn’t been difficult, since she could just hide it underneath her cloak (she was really grateful that she had removed her clothing before trying to accept Whedalsin’s magic, even if she hadn’t known the possible side effects of doing so) but the wings took a bit more effort. Finally she had managed to fold them up in such a way that unless she was careless it would just look like she was slightly hunched over. Luckily most people either didn’t pay a lot of attention to her, or would be scared away by her now even more focused glare if they become too curious. The few that didn’t fall under either category she had done her best to avoid, although she wasn’t sure whether it had worked. The more observant people would likely have picked up on something regardless of what she tried, but she would deal with that after returning.
Finishing her packing (mostly food, she really didn’t see the need to bring anything else and she wasn’t sure whether there would be enough at her destination) Akeya grabbed the last item necessary for this training trip: a special map only Blue Pegasus members were allowed to use. It would apparently show her to make her way to the floating island Mount Helicon, the secret training and testing grounds for the Guild. Akeya hadn’t been sure where she would be able to train without being disturbed, so she had done some asking around before being told about the secret grounds. Seeing how it was a lot better than any idea she herself had been able to come up with she quickly got to work learning how to get there, getting permission to use the Sky Chart (tricky business in combination with her trying to avoid drawing attention to herself) and then making sure nobody would go chasing after her once she had left (a lot easier, since nobody really had reason to).
Putting everything in a satchel and slinging that satchel over one shoulder so it would rest on her hip on the other side Akeya looked a last time around her room to made sure she hadn’t forgotten anything before climbing out of the window in her room, from there on climbing upwards and onwards until she was standing on top of the Guild Hall, surveying the town perched upon the island around the humongous building. It really was a rather grand view, especially with the way the bright moon bathed the isle and the surrounding lake in silver light. The ninja doubted many others got the opportunity to look at Clover Town like this, and even fewer also had the advantage of her darkvision, allowing her to view the dark landscape with clarity and sharpness comparable to what most people would have during broad daylight. While she wasn’t one to be swept away by her own emotions Akeya had to admit that this place was in some ways a lot more beautiful than the village she was born in. Not all of them, but some.
She stood there, staring for a while, before shaking her head and going into a crouched position, taking off her cloak and also putting it inside her satchel. As beautiful as this place is it isn’t quite beautiful enough to make her stand there for the whole night admiring the view. Now that her cloak was no longer restricting them her wings unfurled, the dark blue scales nearly invisible against the night sky. Her tail had the same effect, curling around her legs before stretching out behind her, brushing against the roof of the Guild Hall while at the same time seeming to merge with the surrounding darkness. Akeya took the Sky Chart out of the satchel, holding onto it tightly before concentrating on her wings. Said wings stretched themselves as far as they were able, the ninja crouching even lower as she prepared for the take-off. After a couple of seconds her wings beat downward in a single mighty sweep, together with Akeya’s own jump launching her into the night.
After taking some time to stabilize herself Akeya began climbing higher, her tail stretched out behind her and acting as a rudder as her wings started flapping faster and faster, the wind whistling around the ninja and playing with her hair as she ascended, for now moving in a straight line upwards. Mount Helicon was supposed to be high up in the sky, so it would be a good idea to get some altitude before consulting the Sky Chart. Also, she had to admit that she really liked the feeling of flying at such speeds, with no restraint to how far or high she flew. The wings she was able to create before using her magic had been a lot weaker: she could use them to fly any faster than she could run, and they couldn’t carry her very far. They were only useful for getting across small pieces of difficult terrain, to evade attacks aimed at people on the ground, or to attack from an unexpected angle herself.
However these wings were a lot less restricted. Because they were real wings, not something temporarily created through magic, they wouldn’t disappear if she overused them, and they could carry her faster and farther. Of course they could get tired, but now at least Akeya felt like she could use them properly as wings, rather than another tactical advantage. She had read a lot, both at home and in the Guild, and often whenever flight was mentioned it would be accompanied by a statement how once you managed to fly things started to look a lot different than they did when you were stuck on the ground. Akeya herself had never felt such a thing with her own wings, and as such had thought it to be another example of emotional people trying to dispense their own feelings as wisdom. Now she realized that the reason why she hadn’t felt that was because her wings, no matter how useful they were, had never truly freed her from the ground, only allowed her to escape for short amounts of time. With these wings she could understand what the scrolls talked about. For somebody like the ninja, who is usually so logical and focused, it was a rather curious and confusing experience.
Either way, she would make sure to take full advantage of her newfound gift. When faced with the option to stay human or turn dragon Akeya had declined the option to stay human, partly because she felt that turning into a dragon would have several quite useful bonuses besides the few she had already received. These wings where one of those bonuses, and she would treat them as such. Of course that meant she would have to practice a lot of them: to be able to stay airborne for extended periods of time, to be able to fly faster, to lose the amateurish appearance she gave according to Whedalsin. These wings were something she could, and would, train to become stronger and better. Of course that also included her tail. Honestly the difference between the magical tail and the permanent one she had now felt less impressive to Akeya than the difference between her previous wings and the current ones, but she’d still make sure to use this new tail. She already knew that the tail was actually quite fundamental for proper flight, helping you keep your balance even when in awkward positions. Besides of that it should also work for combat and utility purposes. Once again, lots of training would be required, but for Akeya that was just something to add to her list of tasks.
After finally being high enough to her liking (which partly was influenced by how long she just wanted to feel the wind flow around her as she flew higher) Akeya slowed down until she flew in place, looking down and correcting her position slightly to remain straight above the Guild Hall. While unrolling the Sky Chart the back of her mind was focused on the stray thought that it was a good thing that she didn’t suffer from fear of heights. She was already a lot higher than any building or landmark in the vicinity, and she could imagine that somebody more easily affected by heights might just lose control and plummet to their death. She’d probably have to make sure that if she ever carried somebody while flying they would have to deal with staring at such views from far above.
Looking at the Sky Chart Akeya tried to figure out where she was supposed to go next, not being used to navigating in the sky. On the ground there were normally plenty of landmarks to use, but up here most of those landmarks were too small to accurately use, besides the fact that if you’re high enough judging distance (and thus navigation) towards the ground becomes difficult. Instead she had to rely on the stars dotting the dark heavens, about the only things up here permanent enough to be used on a map. At least up here they were clearly visible, the lights that normally are present in human settlements not present to hinder the ninja in her attempts at finding her way to the floating island. After getting a bit of a grip on things the winged girl started moving, this time horizontally in search for her destination.
After some more flying (Akeya noted that her wings were becoming harder to move. If it took much longer she’d be forced to return to the ground and rest before she fell from the sky out of exhaustion) Mount Helicon finally came into sight. Gratefully the ninja made haste to reach some solid surface before she really became too tired to fly any further, not even pausing to take in the sight of the training grounds before landing and folding up her wings, panting as she fell to her knees and supported herself with her hands. As expected she would have to train a lot to be able to use these wings for long distance travelling.
After resting for a bit Akeya looked around, getting a grip on her surroundings. In the middle of the island, rising above the rest of the floating phenomenon, was the mountain giving the rest of the place its name. It looked quite imposing, with a series of waterfalls covering one side that most likely turned into the river that fed the rest of the isle. That would explain the abundance of greenery and signs of animals, although Akeya wondered where the water come from on the mountain and where it went after reaching the end of the island. On the mountain there should be some kind of sacred fountain, no doubt the source of the water, and the river might just end up falling down the side of the floating island, turning into rain before reaching the earth below. From a practical point of view, however, this meant that there should be enough food and water around here to survive for quite long, provided she didn’t get killed by some kind of monster that might make its home here away from meddling humans.
Still feeling exhausted Akeya decided that for now she would call it a day (night), searching the immediate surroundings until she found a set of trees which with some extra branches and leafs could act as a makeshift shelter. It would only last one day, but that was enough for now. Curling up inside the shelter Akeya unfurled one wing, covering the rest of herself as a blanket while she fell asleep.
Random dream sequences are...good...
Akeya blinked as she rubbed her eyes. For a moment she felt like she wasn’t where she was supposed to be, then -as tends to happen in dreams- her memories reshaped themselves. She was about ten years old, and was trying her best to avoid being sent to bed by escaping to outside and climbing onto the roof of the house she was born in. Her parents were quite lenient, but they didn’t like their child staying outside so late when each day was colder than the last. The girl herself never really could understand what they complained about: it wasn’t like she could ever remember getting sick, and living in the mountains makes you good at resisting the cold anyway. Besides, if she felt ill she could notice it herself and go inside out of her own volition. The fact that all children thought this with little success didn’t occur to Akeya. Even if it had she would have countered that she wasn’t exactly like other children. Not that she thought less of them, but they did tend to be a lot less thoughtful than she herself.
And so Akeya ended up watching the blue sky becoming darker, the sun hiding behind the mountains and spreading shadows as freely as a friendly uncle might hand out candy to the swarm of passer-by children. It was quite the astonishing sight, and it managed to keep Akeya’s attention for quite some time. It was only until the sky had become so dark as to be black (or as near as to make no difference) that the girl shook her head and started climbing down. If she stayed up there for much longer her parents would shift gears and become seriously agitated. They were already used to Akeya being rather stubborn in what she would do and when, and as long as it didn’t cause any problems or she didn’t go too far out of bounds they’d just scold her a little before leaving her be. However when she went too far out of bounds they made sure to make her understand why she shouldn’t do that, along with a strong desire not to. Lenient, but only up to a certain point.
Stealthily entering the house Akeya headed for her bed, hoping to reach it and climb inside before her parents would catch her. She didn’t expect them to be truly angry, but no scolding was still better than a small scolding. Besides, while she might try not to show it she did feel rather tired, so bed was an attractive notion for more than one reason.
Passing by the living room Akeya noticed that the lights were still on, and her parents were sitting on either side of the low table, the light casting their shadows on the rice-paper door. For now her thoughts about sleep were forgotten as a new goal embedded itself in her young and curious mind: listening to what her parents were talking about. Not exactly the most decent or sensible thing to do, but it isn’t like she would be listening to any kind of secret she wasn’t supposed to hear. If they started talking about something she wasn’t supposed to hear Akeya would immediately stop listening. Honest. Almost certainly. No doubt about it. If she could make herself go to bed before her parents became truly worried, keeping away from things she wasn’t supposed to know should be easy. Right?
Crouching near the door Akeya tried to get as close without getting in danger of doing something embarrassing that would reveal her position, which required some work, seeing how rice paper isn’t exactly the material you want to use when hiding. It has this annoying tendency to be a) fragile, b) semitransparent and c) noisy. Luckily it seemed her parents were too absorbed in their conversation to take notice, so after some more repositioning Akeya relaxed and tried to listen in.
“-and Hiun is fairly sure that it shouldn’t be a problem. It isn’t the first time that the merchants have arrived a little later than normal. Probably waiting for the recent snow to melt. Nobody likes trying to lead a caravan through a foot of snow. If they haven’t arrived or send a message at the end of this week we’ll go and see what’s keeping them. Not like we’re in dire need of new supplies either.” Kumoi Kuusai, Akeya’s father and brother of Hiun Kuusai, head of the family, sounded reassuring. He also sounded like they had already gone over this several times.
“I still am worried. The last time it took them so long was when we later learned that part of the caravan had been buried in snow. We do have more food stored now than we did back then, but every time that something happens they might reconsider going through all the trouble of getting up here. Not like we have anything to offer that they couldn’t get from a village located in a less dangerous place.” Meimei Shinkai, Akeya’s mother and originally an outsider, sounded like she was in one of those moods were she was considering the negative side more to make sure every angle was covered than because she was actually covered.
“The merchants know just as well as we do that those few times that the snow gets in a way are just bad luck. Normally it’d still be weeks before it starts snowing. Besides, we’ve had a stable partnership for years now. They wouldn’t abandon us unless something forced them to. Something harsher than the snow coming a bit earlier than expected.” Kumoi snorted. “As for last time, even without our help none of them would have died. They only said they were buried because that sounds more impressive than ‘one of our youngsters scared the pack animals with his yelling when he fell into a pile of snow and we had trouble catching them all’. If something like that was enough to make them reconsider their trade routes they never would’ve established this one to begin with.”
“You make it sound funny, but you were just as worried back then. And when you went out to see what happened to the merchants Akeya and I were also worried. I doubt she could remember you ever before having to leave the village to search for the merchants.”
“What, Akeya was worried? Besides of the fact that she seems to rarely worry, how could you tell? She trained harder than before?” Kumoi chuckled, apparently amused at the thought. Behind the door Akeya frowned: she had been worried back then, although she had hoped her mother hadn’t noticed.
“Just because others can’t tell doesn’t mean I can’t tell what my own daughter is thinking. I would be too ashamed to show my face if I couldn’t even recognize the emotions of Akeya purely because she doesn’t show them as strongly as most children her age do.” Meimei fell silent after saying that, her voice becoming a bit less heated and slower when she continued speaking. “Although it still does worry me. She doesn’t look unhappy or all that, but I don’t get why she’s so withdrawn. She gets along with the other children, none of the other adults seem to have any complaints, but she still acts as if every action requires deep forethought. Like she’s careful not to make a mistake, but to such an extend that it’s like she has made that mistake before and doesn’t want to repeat it.” Once again it didn’t sound like anything new being discussed, and honestly this wasn’t the first time Akeya heard something like this while eavesdropping. The fact that it worried her parents is something that in return puzzled the girl. It’s true that she’s not as social as most of her nephews and nieces, and that she considers the best possible course of action a lot. She just doesn’t get why it’s something that worries her parents. They made it sound as if the only way a child could be like that is if that child had experienced something bad in the past that made them afraid of encountering it again. Are children supposed to be careless and needlessly cheerful?
“We’ve talked about this before Mei. I’m just as puzzled about her...cautious behaviour. However to believe that it’s related to some accident that we don’t know about, or for it to be a reaction to outside influences, does not change the fact that Akeya has never been outside this village, and inside the village nobody has ever harmed her or even shown the slightest indication of harming her. She was already silent from the moment that she could talk, and it’s not like it became significantly worse after she started to interact more with the other adults and the children. Just because it’s abnormal doesn’t mean it’s wrong. Aside from her showing a maturity you don’t often see in children she’s as nice a kid as any parent could ask for. She’s kind, she works hard out of her own volition, she’s thoughtful, and like you said it isn’t like she looks like she isn’t enjoying herself. She just shows it less energetically. Honestly one of the few real flaws I find in her is the tendency to eavesdrop. More specifically, eavesdropping and then believing her dear old father wouldn’t realize it.”
Akeya almost jumped back as she heard the last couple of sentences, her eyes widening as she looked around. The hallway was entirely the same as before: it didn’t look like her father used any tricks. He must have noticed her when she was still trying to find a comfortable position and only now bothered to call her out on it. Annoyed and embarrassed at being caught Akeya stood up, slowly opening the door and walking into the living room. Her parents wouldn’t appreciate it if she ran away now and tried to pretend she hadn’t been eavesdropping. She was caught, so now she would just have to pay the price for it.
Both of her parents were looking at her, her father raising one eyebrow as if asking her why she even bothered trying. Her mother just looked calm, smiling in a way that Akeya was often told was a perfect mirror of her own, even if Meimei was a lot more inclined towards smiling than her little girl. According to the other adults of the village Akeya was actually a rather fine mix between her mother and father in appearance, inheriting her father’s healthy build and her mother’s more delicate curves. She was still growing, but it already was clear that Akeya wasn’t going to be one of those thin and frail ladies. Most of her face, however, came from her mother, the most notable exception being her thin but strong eyebrows. Her hair was also obviously Meimei’s: from birth both Kumoi and his brother Hiun had hair as white as snow.
“Good evening Akeya. Care to join us?” As usual her father was taking the opportunity to make a quip and at the same time point out that Akeya is doing something she shouldn’t be doing. The only response Akeya gave him, however, was a slight nod and a burning of the cheeks, something which she couldn’t hide besides being even more obvious about it. After staring at each other for a couple more seconds Kumoi shrugged, patting the ground next to him. “Well, you might as well sit down, since you aren’t going to leave for a couple more minutes anyway. Not unless I was willing to bring one of the donkeys inside the house to drag you to bed.” At that Meimei shoots her husband a look, at which he only shrugs. Akeya on the other hand took the invitation to heart, sitting down next to her father so that she would be facing her mother. After sighing Meimei turned to her daughter, once again smiling.
“You don’t have to worry about me trying to find something in your past that doesn’t exist, Akeya. I know I sound exasperated, but every parent worries about their child. Some are just a bit more upfront about it than others.” Akeya silently nodded while once again her father raised an eyebrow. “I sense subtle criticism.” Meimei shrugged, her smile now becoming a bit like a smirk. “My, wherever could you have gotten that idea from? I was just remarking how not everybody is the same.” Kumoi rolled his eyes before dropping the subject, causing his wife to chuckle modestly. “Anyway, I’m not actually worried that you might be hiding something or that something is wrong with you dear. I’m just used to children being very playful and cheerful, so when you act so much more mature than your playmates I worry whether you’re not taking full advantage of your childhood. When you’re young you should do everything you really want to do, so that later on you don’t regret anything when you’re doing what you have to do.”
At this Akeya raised one eyebrow, mimicking her father rather uncannily. After a couple of seconds she spoke. “But what if I just don’t want the same thing as most children? I’m happy with how things are right now. I don’t see the need to do stuff without thinking ahead, and everybody who I care about knows me well enough that I don’t need to express myself any more than I already do.” Kumoi coughed at that, patting Akeya on the head. “Well, as we’ve both said it’s not like what you do is wrong or anything like that. You’re growing up to be considerate and composed, and I don’t think anybody minds that. As parents we just want to make sure that you’re as happy as you can be. The fact that you’re maturing a bit faster than most people expect from children just means that you’re maturing a bit faster. Nothing more, nothing less. Although if you want a reason to show more emotion, while we might know what you’re feeling humans are social creatures. If one of us is happy the rest also becomes happier, and the more happiness you show the stronger that effect is.”
Akeya gave this theory some thought, admitting that it does make some kind of sense. Her family was basically one big group, and most of them did seem to really like being in groups rather than being alone: Akeya was actually the most solitary out of all of them. Even their leader, Hiun, was always busy together with other people, either just socializing or together with them working on some problem. From the scrolls Akeya had read most of the time the clan leader was some old guy who acted as a stern authority, always trying to do what is best for his family regardless of how painful it might be. Hiun didn’t fit that category in two ways: for one thing, he was still rather young, his father having passed on the role of leader when he became old enough that he felt that from that point on age would only weaken him further, and probably because of that Hiun wasn’t some kind of ruler sitting atop a throne, and he did seem to be happier than the clan heads in those scrolls tended to be. Akeya slowly nodded, the girl conceding that point to her father.
“So if I showed more emotion I would make others happier. If you think that is best I will try, father. Although I still think that you two can read me well enough.” Meimei shook her head, leaning forward slightly as she looked at her daughter. “We’re not telling you to do anything dear. Showing more emotion does make it easier for others to become connected to you, but if you feel comfortable as you are now neither of us would tell you to force yourself to reveal more than you would do willingly. I hope that you manage to open up a bit more in the future, because I would love to see my little girl smile a bit more. But you really are fine as you are now. You don’t have to worry about trying to please us. Besides possibly getting rid off the habit to eavesdrop.” Both parents chuckled at that as Akeya blushed again, knowing that would be part of the repertoire for the foreseeable future. Eventually Meimei continued, still smiling. “We’d prefer it if you didn’t eavesdrop, but that’s just one habit children tend to have. As long as you are happy we’ll be happy for you and with you. And whatever happens you’ll always be our daughter.”
Kumoi nodded, ruffling Akeya’s hair. “Exactly. We’ll always be your parents, and we’ll always love you. Nothing that might happen in the future will change that.”
Last edited by FilFire on 29th January 2015, 3:05 pm; edited 1 time in total