Frisby Writes

There was darkness. The moon that often cast its hollow light was just a sliver, hidden behind rolling storm clouds and as invisible as everything else.
It was a world of blackness, darkness, night, that blinded even the keenest of eyes.

The void of black seemed to saturate the air like a blanket and smothered out the usual sounds of the forest at that hour. The wind, as it slowly coursed through the trees, was silent tonight, as dead as the darkness was bleak. The immortals of Cabadar; the trees, would sometimes moan in agony under the burden they held, raising their arms to embrace the restless sky, season after season, but aside from that it was a cold, senseless world.

Two voices, subtle as the breeze, whispered through the air.

"A-Agnon. I...saw one of them today. I...can't say...if the vornieg saw me or not...But, its not worth the chance."

The words were hesitant in their coming, but when they came each was sharp and spoken definitively, as if what he said simply could not be false.
Immediately there came a reply.

"No!" the voice cracked. "You can't leave me Tieyr! Not, not now..." Agnon tried to counter Tieyr's air of authority, but failed. The strength in her tone crumbled into begging whispers.

There was a short pause and deafness settled itself across the minds of the two. Then Tieyr spoke. "Do you want to die, Agnon? They will kill us all if they learn that I lived."

Tension plumed and filled the darkness. Tieyr's tone had become cold and undeniably different although it retained its matter-of-fact quality. Agnon, though she could not be seen, recoiled from him when she sensed the danger in him resurfacing. In the utter blackness, she contemplated what he had left to be inferred.
The unspoken words held enormous magnitude. Knowing that she had no hope of besting his argument, Agnon quietly responded.

"Is it really...necessary?"
"Yes." Tieyr's voice was tight and sharper than usual. He was going to loose control and didn't want Agnon to be around when he did. Control did not come naturally to him and it was a fight to hold it together.
The silence was left unbroken for a long time. Agnon was suffering, but she knew it was inevitable. From the darkness beside her there came the sound of rustling feathers and a sigh.
"Agnon. You know I have to leave very soon." Curt impatience. It hurt him too, but the alternative was worth the pain to avoid.
"Fine. But...take this...with you..."
Another silence.
Then, "No! N-Not that one. It's not safe! Really, Agnon, I didn't think—"
"Please. Just...in case...It's all I can do." "Fine."
Agnon swallowed and whispered, "I love you," after his snarling retort. Teiyr didn't reply, and Agnon winced, drawing back into the familiar cradle that the tree's branches formed.

And as her eyes struggled to watch him depart, after all the trouble they went through to stay together, she wondered if she really knew who he was.

The moon had finally slipped away from the pursuing clouds and dimly glowed with its ivory radiance. It hung from its place in the chilly black sky, shedding silver light onto the sprawling rainforest beneath.
Normally the air would be thick and humid, little droplets of moisture clinging to Tieyr's feathers making them uncomfortable. Tonight the air was crisp, although he was no more comfortable; his talons were cramped miserably from carrying the object Agnon had entrusted him with.

Tieyr fumbled with the gift for a moment, startled. There was a new scent in the air, certainly not one he had anticipated. No! Not one of them! He hissed. Impaired as he was, his claws occupied as they were, he would be no match.

Neither of us will last long if I have to cart it around with me--why don't I just leave it up to...itself to stay alive?

Is it really worth it to me to tie myself up with the destiny of a place when I could just leave it all behind and forget? Tieyr shuddered. I'm losing it again. I can't...go back...to the way things were.

But that's what's happening.
I'll leave his survival to fate.

The wind gusted around him as he folded his wings and fell into a dive, his eyes open as he fought against the wind and gravity, pulling himself towards an opening in the trees. A hiss of air slipped through his beak as the endless bombardment of jagged branches tore at his wings and body, some snapping and contributing to the cracking ripple of sound. The branches fell away and the ground swept up towards him, Teiyr ripping his wings out in response. At the last second he shifted the object to his front legs, and his hind ones absorbed the impact of the landing with a dull thud. The creature's wings fell limp at his sides for a brief moment as he found his bearings and located a shrub sprouting at the base of one of the monstrous rainforest trees. With a sigh too calm for his exhilarated state, he shoved the object under it and jumped upwards and back into the air.

The smell of vorneig was noticeably stronger now, and Teiyr realized only a bit to late why. With a rippling, guttural roar, the vornieg collided with him and the two tumbled downward out of the sky, slamming into the ground one after the other.
Tieyr snarled, wasting no time to check how much the fall had hurt him, for the vornieg, the massive dragon, was already on his feet. He was watching Tieyr with caution, and he could understand why. All of Cabadar had been informed in some way or another of the death of the darkness-raiser; the lord of the shadows; Tieyr.

A few leaves fluttered down from above, followed by a twig, pulling at his attention as he tried to hold it fast. The vornieg's panting was ragged, but that was only to be expected. By his crouched stance he appeared unharmed.
Tieyr's eyes momentarily flickered to the bush where the object lay hidden. His enemy failed to miss the slight movement and lunged towards the shrub without warning. Bones and scales splintered as he intercepted the advancement, but Tieyr knew that the vornieg had smelled the object by now and that was all he needed to know.

"An egg?"

The dragon let the question sit there for a long moment before he realized the obvious. His eyes widened in shock, and Tieyr knew what was going through his mind. Not just any egg; the egg.

Not hesitating to let the dragon recover from his surprise, the bird-like creature shot forward and dove his talons into the vornieg, closing his beak over its throat and tearing as best he could. A distant area of his mind longed for the monster to needlessly suffer, but Tieyr was aware of his desire and ignored it passionately.

The vornieg snarled and spun backwards, whipping around and throwing Tieyr into a tree. However, he didn't allow the vornieg to get the upper hand; he smoothly rebounded off the tree to attack his enemy from the side this time. With a snarl, he hooked his claws through the thin webbing of its wing, tearing downward from there to render the dragon's ability of flight useless. The beast roared in agony, and whole forest trembled in response. Its anger quickly renewed the rush of battle-rage that fueled it; the dragon whipped around to close its fangs over Tieyr's throat.
The vornieg was still too slow for Tieyr, his shadowy form blurring as he descended into a mindless state, striking again and again with no difficulty. Finally, fatigued by the length and toll of the squall, the enormous dragon threw his enemy off and withdrew into the darkness of the trees, which more than willingly swallowed him up.

Tieyr stared after the vornieg for a long moment before snarling, "Get out of here, vornieg. Go back to your cave where you can grovel in the mud and tell your leader that Tieyr sends his regards." He growled and stepped forward towards the shadows where the vornieg still lay, stricken with fear. Finally the bushes rustled and the defeated creature's scent faded.

His eyes flickered again to the abandoned egg, and he slipped over to it, enwreathing it in his own feathers and some of the leaves that littered the ground. Finally, with a long sigh, he turned and fled into the lightening sky.