[s] The Wraith's Lament: Chapter One: Spook

  Ever since Aema had been dragged out of bed and brought into the arena to partake in the meeting, Aema had been in her own little world after witnessing the state Grimm had found himself in after the encounter with the Stryx. 

  Realistically, it had been pure idiocy that must have driven Reuben and Grimm after the Stryx, and insanity for going against it. They had known nothing of the Stryx and its capabilities, why it was here in the first place or where it had come from. And since they even had the very real threat of the Wraith hanging over their heads like a cloud of doom, Aema would have expected a better reaction from them than to gallivant ahead - alone and without aid - into the unknown.

  "And of course, it had been a trap," Aema scolded the air in front of her which meant getting a lot of suddenly confused and strange looks directed towards her from the other team members around her. She mouthed apologies at the others and ducked her head down in embarrassment over speaking out loud.

  The once soft grass beneath Kalani's talons suddenly began to get more brittle and start to rustle and crunch with each step she took. And with a single glance down, the tufted Harpia could see why.

  The ground here didn't have good soil and it was killing the grass that was trying to grow here, as well as the many weeds that were already browning and wilting. The summer heat from the Shepland Valley was suddenly more intense the closer they got to their destination and Kalani could feel Aema struggling to pull off the jacket she had thought would be fine to wear now that the Summer's peak heat was a faded memory.

  Boy, was she wrong.

"There it is," some of the team members gasped and pointed at the Edge of the World in a mix of horror and awe. 

  They had followed the last reported sighting of the caravans up to here and were now following the tracks that had been left behind. Footprints suggested some people were running alongside and behind the caravans and the prints of Stryx had trampled on many others.

  Now all that was left to do was to find the caravans, ensure their safety and bring them back to Sol safe and unharmed - and with the supplies intact, hopefully.

  Aema and Kalani also took a break to look over to the Edge of the World. The charred landscape was a stark contrast to the rest of Wyvera, to say the least, and Aema was a little uncomfortable when thinking about the reason why the strange Stryx would chase the caravans here. That is if they even had the intelligence to do such a thing to begin with. For all she knew, it may have just been a coincidence the caravans are here... Or perhaps the caravaners believed they would be safe at the Edge.

  When the group resumed their trek down to the Edge of the World, Kalani let out a chirp to Aema to get her attention back on track and followed after their team without much encouragement by Aema. 

  When they arrived, Aema was expecting a lot of things and had already mentally prepared herself to look only at Kalani's head and not her surroundings at the first sign of blood anywhere. But there had been nothing.

  The tracks they had been following up to this point had obviously disappeared when the charred land took over the browning greenery. Any Stryx that had been flying thus far were made to land and one of them, one of the ones that had been a little too close to the Edge of the World for anyone to be comfortable with, pointed in a direction with the information that they had seen the missing caravans. 

  Without delay, Aema, Kalani and their team carefully manoeuvred through the Edge of the World to reach where the caravan had holed themselves up... Only to find they were perfectly alright.

  No blood or gore, no groaning dying or wounded. It was a pleasant surprise for Aema but also a confusing one. At least, until they were told what had happened. 

  While reports were being made, Aema took the time to hop off of Kalani's back to look around. No signs of a fight, no signs of any form of strategic hunting parties. If Grimm was anything to go by, the Stryx that were behaving weirdly may no longer be able to think critically. 

  That was, of course, on the off-chance that this wasn't already going according to their plan.

  "Alright, we're going to partner up!" Kali's booming voice demanded attention and Aema was quick to give it. As Kali began to say names Aema watched the paired duos gather their belongings they had set down for a break and mounted their Stryx to scout the area carefully. 

  "Aema and Tazmyn, pair up! I want you two to search the Northern areas. Remember, if you see or encounter the strange Stryx you are under strict orders to not engage. I repeat - do not engage. You must retreat back here and lead the Stryx to us, if you can, where a trap will be laying in wait. 

  "If you lose your partner please light a signal flare; the nearest pair will come to your aid. That is the orange flare. The red flare is to be fired if you are on route to here and are being followed by the strange Stryx. Green is a partner down; injured or worse. The closest two pairs will come to your aid."

  "And the black signal flare?" Tazmyn asked, fondling the black signal flare that was tucked into a loop on their belt. 

  General Kali hesitated before answering, looking around at the other pairs watching her, waiting for the answer none had dared ask. "It's to signal the Wraith's coming. Please, only use this flare if you are positive the Wraith has made an appearance, not if you think you saw her..."

  With a dismissive wave, the lurking pairs took their stuff and went on their way to their designated areas, with Aemaand Kalani, Tazmyn and their Stryx heading North, leaving behind the caravans and Taura-Naji to dig pits to trap the strange Stryx.

  "Do you think this will work?" Aema asked, her question prompting Kalani to lift her head and look back at Tazmyn for their answer.

  "I don't know. I hope so. It's bad enough Wraith could be showing up any day now - and now this? Poor Grimm... I hope Maja can find a way to help cure him."

  "I'm just glad we got him secured before he could do some serious damage--" 

  The sight of something glowing at Tazmyn's side made Aema and Kalani look twice at them. Once to see their surprised expression and again to see their sudden look of apology after they noticed Zaryeh's own face, the one who had prompted Tazmyn's trinket to glow in the first place. 

  "Aema, look... I need to- will you be OK to head on? Just for a few seconds, I promise."

  But before Aema could say, 'fuck no,' Tazmyn had already hoped down and was hurrying over to Zaryeh, glowing trinket in hand and their Stryx standing still and waiting. 

  Kalani looked back at Aema, the tufts on her head lifting like perked ears, waiting to see what Aema wanted to do.

  "Got no choice, Kalani... If we don't go we'll both get in trouble. And I've been in trouble enough for sleeping in and daydreaming during speeches." Aema folded Kalani's tufts down and urged the large Harpia forward and out of the camp. 

  Aema didn't have a clue on what she was doing so she was letting Kalani wander around, avoiding hot spots on the ground and going the long way around of toxic fumes that were rising up out of the cracks in the ground. 

  "You know," Aema suddenly said when the silence pressed against her in a way that made her skin crawl, "I normally like to think that... If I were in a horror movie I would be the first one to just 'nope' out of there. You know? Spooky atmosphere, strange creatures that come out of nowhere and attack you? Thanks, but no thanks. Goodbye, see you later. And yet... Here I am, literally on my own in a place I know dick-diddly about, looking for some crazed Stryx that could kill us and eat us... All I'm missing is the stereotypical skimpy outfit or nerdy outfit, an 'I act as if I'm innocent but really I'm a bitch' attitude and voice... And I'm that one lass that dies first in every horror movie."

  To save Aema from her own imagination that was running riot at this moment in time, Kalani made sure to find a safe spot to stop so that she and Aema could have a break. If not from searching for the Stryx, but also just to allow Aema some time to drink something and calm down. But as Aema was drinking tea from her flask, Kalani felt unease crawl down her spine like cold fingers. 

  Kalani lifted her head and looked around until her eyes settled on a dim light piercing through the rising smoke around them. At first, Kalani had found comfort in the smoke, believing it would help shelter them from view from the Stryx they were searching for during their break. Yet now, as she tried to determine what the light was, she felt as if she had hindered her capabilities tenfold. 

  The tufts on her head rose as the two glowing red orbs began to get brighter and bigger as if whatever was causing the glow was getting bigger. Carefully and slowly, Kalani stepped closer to Aema, ready to grab her and run if needs be. 

  "Kalani?" Aema asked when she noticed Kalani's stiff and slow movements. But when she saw the red orbs she felt her heart skip a beat and her blood run cold. "Oh, shit..."

  The smoke that had been billowing freely waved and waned as the owner of the two glowing orbs walked in front of it. A sharp beak opening slowly to allow something red and disgusting to drop from its blackened beak. The Stryx's head was low and its back arched, the steps it took were slow and cautious like a hunter tracking its prey. 

  But the second Kalani saw its tail start to rise she snatched Aema up by her jacket and turned to flee, batting her wings with care to hop over the molten pools that bubbled and popped from pressure. 

  Aema had no chance to scream as her jacket closing tightly around her stopped her from making any sort of noise and she was left to dangle in the beak of Kalani. Which is just as well, she supposed, as she couldn't help but notice how fast the bipedal Stryx was compared to Kalani. 

  And if it was still able to keep up with Kalani - it would have pounced on Aema the second they tried to run, never mind making it this far. 

  The only thing Aema could do while dangling was hope that the pits were ready when she and Kalani showed up with the Stryx right behind them and snapping at Kalani's talons and tail. 

  Sure, Aema could use the signal flares... But she didn't have the flares - she had the gun... Tazmyn had the flares on their Stryx.