Soul Bonding: Aftermath

Prompt: Soul-Bonding 2

Featuring: Azeryth, Kira (rider)

Wordcount: 1010

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Kira sat on the bank of the crystal-blue river, barefoot, perched on a warm boulder. It was a sunny warm day, with just a few clouds splattered over the sky. With the sun soon setting in, Kira hoped that the warm temperatures would persist through the night. Soon after she and Azeryth escaped from the pit, the tyto quickly ran out of fuel, nearly crash-landing on a field west of the river. Although, to Azeryth’s credit, he destroyed nearly a quarter of the whole temple during their escape. The stryx in question lazily sprawled over the rocks next to her, eyes closed as he enjoyed the sunlight. 

Kira glanced at the tyto’s side, softly running her hand through the fur on his neck. It was still hard to distinguish his markings, a layer of thick dirt clinging to feathers. She was still partially connected to the tyto’s mind - an ability she had as long as she could remember. “The river is pretty warm.”

Azeryth opened one eye and snorted. “I see, my dirty state seems to be bothering you.”

Kira rolled her eyes. At least the stryx regained his sense of humour. “Haha, no, it will be easier for you to fly if you wash off all the grit.”

The tyto didn’t answer, instead of slipping into the water with a splash. A minute passed. It went well into the second. The stryx didn’t remerge. At first, Kira refused to be potentially bamboozled by her newfound and increasingly obnoxious friend, but as the seconds ticked by she couldn’t help but lean over the surface of the river. “Azeryth?”

The river suddenly exploded into a flurry of water and the smug stryx emerged. Kira stumbled back far too late and was instantly soaked to the bones. “Hey!” she shouted, more an annoyance and surprise than anything. Kira threw a glare at the bird, before surveying her clothes which dripped with water. Azeryth let out a low, purring noise, obviously laughing at the successful trick. “I can’t believe you fell for this.”

“Neither do I,” grumbled Kira, returning the telepathic message. Suddenly she leaned over the rock and scooped some water to splash at the tyto, aiming for the head. 

Azeryth blinked a few times before squinting at the girl. “You really don’t want to start this game.” 

“Watch me.” Kira snickered and splashed the water once again. Azeryth barely evaded it before chuckling and slowly raising his tail, preparing for a strike. With one swipe, a flurry of water was catapulted at Kira, who didn’t even bother to move out of the way. Instead, she suddenly lunged forward, leaping over the water and landing square on the stryx’s neck.

“Hey, that’s unfair!” Azeryth arched his neck to glimpse Kira, but the latter only answered in a smug grin. Suddenly, the stryx leaned in and before she had a chance to react, dove into the water. Despite the sudden setback, the thief clutched the feathers, unwilling to give up.

Finally, the tyto gave up and resurfaced, looking a tidbit less smug than before. With a tired sigh, he pulled himself out of the river and Kira collapsed beside. “I hate you,” she grumbled.

“I love you as well, dear,” laughed the tyto, the characteristic smugness returning in a split second. He spread all four of his wings to dry under the sun. Kira shifted to study the bird’s plumage. The tyto was simply breathtaking - soft iridescence shimmered under the sun, the amethyst tones shifting to black. As if an artisan decided to use the stryx as a canvas, beautiful symbols framing every single feather. Silver patches covered the darker parts, sprawling over the plumage like stars. “Well, and I thought you didn’t have the looks to act so arrogantly…”

Azeryth perked up, looking all proud under the praise. 

“... How do they say it? Looks excuse the lack of brains?” The stryx snorted, before lightly bumping the giggling Kira with a wing. 

He glanced up at the sky after a few seconds and murmured, “You know, I’ve been in that hole for months. I just started to learn to fly before they captured me.”

Kira set up, picking a grass stray to twirl. “That must have been tough. I’m sorry they did this to you.”

Azeryth shifted to look at the thief. “And who were you before all this?”

“Ha! That’s a very good question I can’t really answer. I was a street urchin until eight. Learned to pickpocket at four, but that wasn’t exactly an uncommon skill if you lived on the street your whole life even at that age. Then, a troop of street performers picked me up. Travelled with them until I was sixteen when they went bankrupt, then some other stuff happened for a few years and here I am again, stealing for a living.”

“But you aren’t human aren’t you?” 

“How—”

“Sensed it. Most animals are sensitive to these kinds of things, and more sentient ones especially so. You don’t have any artefacts and didn’t drink any potions, so it is safe to say that unless you are one of the few exceptions, you aren’t human.”

“I… try to keep it under wraps. I haven’t quite figured it out yet. All I know is that I can sense and enter minds.” 

Azeryth thoughtfully looked at Kira. He slowly raised his tail above her head as if trying to place his mind on something. The thief glared at the stryx, knowing all too well that he was about to rub salt into the wounds. “Don’t.”

Azeryth gave Kira toothy grin. “You are a bit short for a human.”

Without losing a beat, she smacked him, grumbling something under her breath. The stryx let out the same low harking rumble that Kira decrypted as laughter and with an exasperated sigh, slacked against the tyto’s side. His feathers dried quickly and felt good with the wet clothing. It was getting late and the cool breeze sent a shiver down her spine. It was a long day.

“I assume I am to serve as a pillow?”

“Yeh. Good night.”