Tributes: Galyx: Aloha and Macaroon

The air was pregnant with the smell of salt. Yet, a group of four wandered idly along the seaside preparing for their journey ahead. The sea off in the distance was an off-green jewel-blue color, the sky a curtain of silk as the sun slowly began its descent into the horizon. It hung low in the sky as the atmosphere changed colors to match. Thin clouds lay low, barely viewable in their scope of vision, seemingly drifting off to nowhere. The heap of sea swelled silently. The waves gently rolled onto the sand, playing with the feathers of those searching there.

 

The task at hand today is to collect offerings for the mystical deity that is, Galyx. Macaroon, a large, rose-colored bird, with many wings, was the first to set off on her search,  slithering further into the expanse of water in front of them, looking to strike down herself an offering to Galyx. The brine of the sea soaks her feathers quickly as she moves beyond the safety of the shoreline in her search. As quickly as she enters the cold water, she disappears below it. Aloha stays where it’s safer for him, however, already clutching a small basket in his three-digited talons, and decides it’s better for him to collect the opalescent seashells left behind when the water drags back into its abyss. His cyan-colored downy tail quickly becomes heavy with the weight of the salt-filled liquid he searches in before it drags back and leaves behind a collection of expired sea life for him to choose from. He meticulously begins collecting them, rinsing the excess sand off in the seawater to only bring the best of the best. Tachi, a simple bystander, tasked with the guardianship of these birds, sat on the back of his own precious feathered creature, Mercury who found a spot to set herself atop a rocky outcropping. Her silvery feathers ruffled gently by the salty air swirling around them. They stood further up on the slope of the beach, watching idly as Macaroon and Aloha found their scores to offer up to their diety.

 

Aloha was the first to finish with his self-assigned task, proudly bringing back his cradle full of shells and other miscellaneous items, such as sea glass, and other shiny rocks. He rushes up the slight hill of the beach to the rocky outcropping that Tachi and Mercury sit upon. He shifts the basket from his talons to his beak to hold it up by Mercury’s side for Tachi to inspect. Tachi grasps the handle of the small basket and lifts it up atop his bird to sift through it with his digits. Satisfied with the sheen and lack of sand left in them, he lowers it back down to Aloha’s awaiting beak and instructs him to sit nearby and wait for Macaroon to return from her dive in the water.

 

Time passes, the sun lowering evermore, tinting the sky from its original blue to a shade of blush-colored pink before Macaroon returns. The three sitting on the rocks above the beach first catch sight of her maroon head peaking the water before the rest of her soon follows. She stops once on the sand, dropping her catch briefly to shake off her feathers of excess water before retrieving her haul and climbing up the hillside of the beach to join her companions. Once she arrives, she holds up her massive head to show Tachi her catch. Though uncertain, it might be some sort of tuna. The point was, it was large, easily bigger than the petite rider himself. It was definitely a suitable offering to the moth god for their next meal.

 

Satisfied with both of their findings, it was now time to trek off to the nearby hill to bring these offerings to Galyx itself. They all turn behind them to find the well-beaten path, lined with soft grass, that will eventually lead them to the well-known sacred stones. Stepping off the rocks and onto the well-trodden dirt, Mercury led the way, having done this before, with Aloha tripping himself over Mercury’s tail feathers, eager to follow. Macaroon trailed behind, fumbling over herself to carry her massive haul, only dreading what the uphill climb might be like.

 

Arriving at the base, the hill before them seemingly reared into the sky, looming almost menacingly before the three birds and their companion. The top of the hill was unable to be seen, only the steep climb upwards was visible. They’ve yet to see the formations up top. Mercury bristled in anticipation, having been up there once or twice before, eager to see the stones above once again. Though the path before them rears to the left and the right to make itself less of a steep climb, the trek upwards is no easy task. The path never ceases though, and they all begin their ascent slowly upwards. Often, Mercury and Aloha slow themselves down so as to not leave Macaron behind as once she was out of the water, she obviously began to struggle with the large fish. Eventually though, after quite some time, they begin to near the peak. 

 

The sun, now barely hanging over the horizon, sets the sun as a bright red, much matching Macaroon. The stones sit atop the hill, staring upwards into the sky with holes in the tops of each of them letting the crimson air through ever so slightly. The stones themselves have cracks running up the length of them, which almost seemed to glow in the now dimming light. It truly is a sight to behold. Mercury, and Tachi atop of her, stay at the ending of the path to let Aloha and Macaroon complete the rest of their tribute on their own. Macaroon, even after the hard trek upwards, was most excited to bestow her offering and with newfound vigor, ran up to the biggest stone she could find, as would suit her, before laying her fish at the base gently. Aloha seemed almost nervous at this time, now knowing where to leave his offering, trying to anticipate where would be the best spot for it to be seen. He eventually settles on the very edge of what now shows to be a cliff, behind the last seeable rock. Aloha shuffles behind it and picks out his shells, glass, and rocks one by one to stack behind the stone before he picks his basket back up to leave. Macaroon, after seeing what Aloha was doing, decides that placing her catch near the edge would be a good idea as well and picks up her tuna to bestow it at a nearby rock, close to Aloha. Satisfied with her new placement, she coasts back over to where Mercury and Tachi stand. Aloha trails just behind her, with a basket in beak, ready to leave, but Tachi insists that they stay and wait for the sun to set before leaving. The offerings lay there for the god, ready to be plucked into the sky. The sun lowers past the sea in the distance and the stars begin to shine. Only then, is it time to leave.

 

Tachi gathers the birds who have begun to explore and pick at the rocks that shine there, to see if they can pick any of the shinies from the rock as a souvenir. They failed to gather anything from the rocks though, because as soon as they broke off a piece of the crack, it lost its shine. After their escapades, and doing a once over to make sure everyone was ready, Mercury, with Tachi still mounted on her back, turns behind her and begins to lead the way back down the hill. They often cut across the grass to slide down the hill at a quicker pace. Macaroon follows them deftly, loving the feel of the grass on her underbelly as she slides down the hill behind them. Aloha, however, sticks to the path, often having to trot to catch up to the sliding birds, unconfident in his ability to safely do the same. 

 

Once they all make it to the base of the hill, the group veers off their original path onto another one on their journey home. Macaroon, now knowing the way, begins to lead the group and she skitters ahead of them, excited to have been successful today even without a trinket to take home, she was ready to go home and rest, and maybe take a bird bath too to rinse her feathers of the leftover salt residue that clings to her. Once they all arrive in the little village they all call home, they take a brisk detour to a nearby pond for the birds to rinse off in the clean water. Aloha and Mercury being the most excited by this part are the first ones in the water. Once done, they each turn their separate ways to head home for the night, the only pair staying together being Mercury and Tachi as they head home after the day-long journey.

 

Wordcount: 1509

Aloha: https://www.paperdemon.com/app/g/dracostryx/character/2091

Macaroon: https://www.paperdemon.com/app/g/dracostryx/character/9196

Mercury: https://www.paperdemon.com/app/g/dracostryx/character/1469

Tachi: https://www.paperdemon.com/app/g/pdarpg/character/9978