Thar Shaddin

"Soon." Amm insisted. "Not now, but do not put it aside." She gave him a stare, a hard pinning stare like one given to prey pinned. She let him go, but now would come again and then she would learn and know to tell her people.

Food. A sole fish was not enough, he told her with his spare movements. He wasted half the fish, she saw with disgust. Strangers must not be able to eat that, then, as she could not eat all of the bones of her kills. To show him her own superiority, she went where he had spilled the tender innards and scooped them up, slurped them down. They would keep her strong.

It amazed her there were so many strangers. Inefficient. More work for her. Maybe not worth keeping around. How did they keep themselves fed, with so much waste. She had to think on that. Not for long. She had crane for a reason, and fish too; that the fish was willing to sleep so easily bespoke acceptance of Amm as protector. Good.

"What else then do you need to eat? How much? I will gather it, as is my duty."

Although she had been drifting for a few minutes now - minutes which felt like hours - once the scent of the cooking fish reached her, Arusa shot awake, sitting up and glancing wide-eyed, trying to blink the tiredness from her eyes, at Chezak as he cooked. The girl was nearby as well, signing at Chez with an impatient expression.

Must be hungry, Arusa decided, rubbing her eyes with her palms and stretching her sore muscles. When she moved her hand to see the tera swallowing fish guts she had just picked up off the ground, the elven woman nearly lost the contents of her stomach, saved only by the fact that her stomach likely contained no food - or so it felt.

She was starving. So she watched Chez continue to cook, hoping he wouldn't ask her to cook her own food. That would just be too much effort for her exhausted body.

Chezak frowned, suddenly feeling the subject of study, much as the Tera was to him. It was an odd feeling. He watched expressionlessly as Amm picked up the raw fish innards from the rock he had carefully placed them on. It didn't surprise him that the Tera wouldn't waste much of anything since they were from the swamp.

The smell of cooking fish began to permeate the air of the small clearing, complete with the smell of spices. He glanced back to see Arusa fully awake and watching his actions. He deftly flipped the fish on the rock using a fork and knife, prodding the rock with a thick branch further into the fire to sear it more.

Chezak watched Amm signing to him, frowning as she mentioned her duty to provide. He waited a few minutes to reply, concentrating on the fish to buy him some time, despite the Tera's obvious impatience in waiting for a reply. He turned and reached into his pack, slipping two plates from within. He placed half of the fish on each, then pulled a small portion of bread and cheese from his pack and placed them on the plate as well. He offered one plate to the Tera, who gave him an odd look, then stood and brought the other plate to Arusa, including offered utensils.

Without waiting for her thanks, he turned and walked back to the Tera, slipping slowly into a cross-legged sitting position, and took the second fish from her. He cleaned that one as well, placing the innards on the same rock as before, and the cut fish on the warm rock, setting it back on the edge of the fire. He finally turned to the Tera to answer her question.

We eat three meals a day. I provide for myself. When food is done, I will set traps to catch small animals for meals tomorrow. There are also plants for food as well.

Chezak stopped signing, waiting for Amm's reply.

Plants? Plant was prey food. Amm quivered disgust at the mention of actively seeking plants to eat. He was right to say he would get it. Amm would not. How disgusting strangers would eat plants. It was no wonder they were diseased.

He would fend for himself? Amm knew maybe he tried to take leadership from her. Was he trying to say he was not prey, was not pet? Instinct told her to swat him down, but head made her stay still. This might be a chance to see what he was capable of. Zuu picked her because while she wasn't the biggest she knew to stop, to think. She was better right for this. She had to keep in line.

She waved assent, and fluttered Watch Stranger, Learn Strangers down to a seated position.

"Eat, then. We move soon?"

Tera did not need much rest. They lived for a short time, but they burned very bright.

When handed the plate, Arusa remained silent, too tired and hungry to bother with the effort of thanking anyone. Besides, Chezak seemed quite happy to return to the fire and prepare his own meal, so Arusa could only assume he did not require appreciation. He was probably just feeling guilty for not being nicer to her earlier on, she continued to assume, and more than likely - in her mind, at least - driven by a combination of his inevitable attraction to her and his appreciation for her generosity in taking the time to accompany them on their travels.

Wondering only briefly if the plate and cutlery she had been given were truly clean before eating, Arusa glanced across at the younger girl as they each ate their meals. It was likely that the Tera did not share Chezak's high opinion of Arusa, but that was hardly a surprise.

After all, she was a shifter, if what she claimed was true; despite appearances, they could hardly be considered more than animals. This girl's odd behaviour was blatant proof of the fact. She was also an inexperienced child, from the look of her, unless her kind aged far more slowly than elves. Still chewing slowly at her meal, finally realizing that it tasted nowhere near as good as it had smelled as it cooked.

But after a while, thinking of her insignificant travelling companions began to bore Arusa, so she quickly finished her meal in silence, placing her plate to the side, and again laid her head down, dozing as she stared up at the stars.

I'll never be able to fall asleep in this dreadful place, was her last thought before she drifted off, lulled by the crackling fire and the gentle presence of the elf and the Tera.

Chezak frowned at the Tera as he began eating his own fish, then glanced back to look at Arusa. The elven girl had just settled back, her eyes drooping as she gazed up at the stars just peeking through the evening sky. He turned his attention back to Amm and signed a few sentences.

We rest for the night. We can get up early and move on. Rest for lunch and move on, usually walking from sun up to sun down. His hand made a motion towards Arusa to include her in his thoughts. She may require more rest.

He finished his meal, setting the plate beside him and retrieving Arusa's plate and utensil, then Amm's, keeping his eye on her movements to continue the conversation. Her irritation at the length of time they would be resting was obvious simply from her seated stance. He shrugged to himself, as there wasn't much he could do about that.

Chez placed the plates aside, to be washed at the little creek behind the site, where he would also refill their water.

Night closed in. Amm watched strangers eat, move, sleep. Even was she sleepy, she could not sleep. She had been without clan before -- the Tera were lonely creatures -- but not with strangers. No Tera had bedded down near those not Aniz. She had to wait. It chafed. Restricted by Strangers she twitched as she sat, but she did not move to release her energy.

She wanted home. She wanted Hozu. Clan. Marsh. Water. Wings.

The ground where she waited for them to sleep was too dry and hard. The trees were too straight, and there was not enough sky.

Zuu had told her not to be dragonfly. Not by strangers. But if they slept, if they relaxed, they would not see her. They could not tell her no. Zuu would not know. Know no, yes.

Her features warped between sulkiness and happiness, and she made the barest attempt to not draw suspicion. "We will wait as long as is necessary." She signed to Chezak when he had attention enough to look.

Yes, wait. Dragonfly wings and sky waited too.

Chezak glanced over his shoulder at Arusa, who seemed fast asleep. He nodded to himself, standing and going over to her, taking her plate, then pausing and looking down at her. The moon, just poking through a few clouds, illumined her skin, giving it a much whiter cast than it had during the day. He had to admit that it was nice to be able to spend time with an elf again, despite that this particular one had no idea who he was, and was obviously spoiled beyond reason.

He felt a small smile grace his lips at the thought, turning back to the fire and bringing the plate with him. He gathered up his own, as well as a few water flasks, and wandered down to the stream, leaving the Tera to her own devices as he first filled their water, then washed the dishes.

Minutes later he was back at the site, putting the dishes in his pack. He paused, then pulled out a blanket, deciding it was warm enough for him that night. He brought the blanket over to Arusa and gently placed it on her, then turned back to see the Tera staring at him. He shrugged offhandedly, signing something about him not needing it, then settled in to his place next tot he fire.

Chezak had rested two full nights in the inn at town, and was well rested. Elves didn't need much sleep, and he would probably spend most of the night meditating. He settled himself into his customary cross-legged position, placing hands palm up on his thighs. His eyes slipped closed, and his breathing became deep and even. He was still very aware of his surroundings, a more intimate feel for the forest around him, the ground beneath him, the sounds, smells, touch of the air as it moved, nearly alive, through the space around him.

He stayed in the same position for a very long time.

Amm stared. Crane performed a strange series of rituals that seemed like the strong caring for the weak. It was necessary to the Tera. Not always. Not normal. Too many questions crowded Amm that could not be answered, and they cluttered her thoughts. Why would the strangers do what they did? She did not know.

She was used to asking the An, other Tera. She was used to many things. Reaching down to touch the dirt, Amm forced herself to remember that she was far away from those things. The dirt was so thirsty, and she longed for wings.

All was still.

The Tera stood, but hesitated. She looked to the sky, the trees, and her two companions. They would be fine, without her. They trusted her to stay guard. She would keep watch. Above the Strangers, she twirled, and hopped. Her body remembered the change, the form, and it came without hesitation. Easy as breathing, as eating, but much more right. She hovered in her larger form. Her wings made a breathless hummmm. She instinctively triggered the mystical magic that converted the air around her to the life giving mixture of air that allowed her to stay in such a large dragonfly form.

When she moved, it was sudden and quick. She zoomed straight up. Up, and up, and up. Her wings shifted the air. Glorious! Free! Tera! She clacked her mandibles in excitement. Hunt! Fly! She was consumed with it. She wanted most to whip through the air, until she saw them. Hundreds of them. Bugs. Food. They dawdled through the air, so tempting, so stupid. She would need thousands to put a dent in any hunger she might have. That was not why she snapped to the left to gulp one down. It was as instinctual, as necessary, as flying.

She made herself a spectacle. Purple, green, red. She knew she glinted and shone, even in the fading daylight. An odd sight for Tian Xia's intelligent occupants she must have been, but she did not think in those terms. Bugs. Sky. Joy. Bird. Bird?

Feathers and hatred, death struck at her from below. She could move with the wind without thought. She was quick. She was slow. The bird could not was not used to preying on Tera. It struck at her abdomen. Thorax strike was common in marshes. She felt pain.

Anger. Not a bird she had killed. Not a bird she had seen. Why attack her? She could see every detail as she flew backwards, away. It pursued. It had strange extra parts around its feet, encircling them. They dangled and jerked. Unnatural. A wrong bird. She clacked her jaws, and flew up to dodge it. It could not turn so fast. Her wings clattered when she dropped upon it. She could not manuever her body as well.

It was hard to grip something mid flight. A bird was flexible. It twisted and turned and yanked. She wanted to crush its skull between her mandibles, but she could not grip it with great strength. She caused a gash before it broke free, injuring a foreleg in the process.

Fear choked her. She wondered if she could lose control. She was distant, almost separated. She could not hunt as a dragonfly if she was not a dragonfly. The fear was too Tera. She dropped, watchful of the bird, aiming for the camp. She wanted to make holes in it with her spear.

She was injured. Injuries between forms were never alike twice. There could be a problem.

Chezak sat, his body and mind resting, lost in the peace of the forest surrounding him. He felt Amm stand, felt the magic she used, and felt her leave ... upwards. His curiosity piqued, but he remained in his restful pose, not moving, not allowing the rest to end in order to satisfy his curiosity.

A long period of time went by with Chezak allowing himself to rest, barely aware of the feel of the forest now, deep in his trance. Something about the feel of the forest changed, but he remained seated, not allowing it to bother him.

Until it got closer. Chezak's eyes snapped open, losing the feeling of the forest, and the pain and fear emanating from somewhere above him. The sky had just begun to lighten as he scanned, looking for whatever had caused the disturbance.

A piercing shriek, a falcon's cry of rage, pain and imminent death, shattered the stillness of the false dawn. He looked up, watching two darker shadows diving out of the sky towards him. He could barely make out the two shadows, the one in front somewhat larger. He frowned, even as he reached for his bow and strung it in one smooth motion.

Sighting down the arrow, the feathers already tickling his cheek, Chezak let himself feel the target. His eyes narrowed, his vision coming clearer, the darkness fading as he allowed his eyes to slip into the infrared spectrum. He could barely make out the first, what looked like an overly large dragonfly. He had heard stories of the Tera being able to shape shift, and it made sense that they would choose a creature of the swamps. His aim shifted past the dragonfly to the falcon. Leather and metal jesses flew from the bared claws of the falcon as it dove for it's chosen prey.

The barest of moments had passed between Chezak awakening from his rest to the arrow feathers slipping past his fingers gripping the bow stave. It would have been a simpler shot had he felt he could just kill the falcon, but the jesses meant it was a trained bird, which meant it was expensive and likely to bring trouble they didn't need.

The arrow sped past the diving dragonfly, slipped past the wide target of the falcon's chest, and contacted the leather jesses. It slowed the dropping falcon just enough, throwing off it's dive to allow the dragonfly to get to the ground. Chezak dove over to cover it, feeling the wings of the falcon beat against his back as it pulled out of it's dive. The bird was trained well enough to not attack him, despite the frustrated shriek of hatred at the loss of it's meal.

His eyes followed the fleeing falcon a moment, noting the arrow still trapped in the jesses of the bird. Unfortunate. Chezak turned back and looked down at the dragonfly, seeing something in it's eyes, an intelligence alongside the pain. He frowned, then took a pebble and tossed it at Arusa.

"Arusa! Wake up! We have a little trouble here."

In all truth, he hadn't the slightest idea what to do. He hoped the Tera would be able to shift back to her humanoid form with minimal issues.

It was the falcon's shriek that woke Arusa, slowly, thinking she had simply dreamed the cry. It wouldn't be the first time she'd awoken from nightmares about being carried off by giant birds of prey, sometimes with two heads or covered in spiders or some other nonsense. This time, it was only a vague cry, and she laid there still, wondering at the cold and glad it had been only a dream.

Then something hit her, hard.

She shot upright into a seated position, leaning on one elbow while she raised the other arm in front of her, breathing hard, waiting to see what jumped out of the flickering shadows at her. It took a moment for the noise to overcome the blood pumping through her ears and the sound of her heavy, shaky breath.

"...a little trouble here."

It was the elf. The other one, from her dream. No, no, no. She shook her head, pushed the discomforting thought aside, and turned towards the voice, sighing with relief when she saw that it was only Chezak nearby, crouching over... "What..." she breathed, too quiet to be heard. She raised her voice a little, "What are you doing?"

She ran her hand over her face, brushing loose hair out of the way, rubbing her eyes. Then, squinting over at the elf, she finally noticed the... thing huddled beneath him. It looked like a giant insect, its eyes huge and terrifying, but even in the firelight, the colours were... "Tera," Arusa whispered, as she unsteadily rose to her feet. She knew it was the Tera. She had seen them in paintings and books and even owned jewelery made from the shinier parts of them.

Brushing the grass from her clothes, Arusa moved closer to the elf and supposed Tera, stopping just a couple of steps away and crouching to take a better look.

Hurt. Pain. Fear. Shapes rolled and moved, perfect vision told her with precision. She could not shield those eyes. She feared for wings, for duty. Honor. Zuu. Bad Amm. Terrible Amm. She had disobeyed. She had shamed herself.

Heaviness overtook her. Crane! He was not careful of her wings. He had saved her. Confliction. Hurt. Shame. Her wings buzzed warning beneath him, need to escape overwhelming any reluctant gratitude. She was weak, he a bird-stranger. Why not finish her? Why not? She buzzed her wings. Get off! Go away! Bird strike, bird call . . . injury, death.

She had shamed clan. She could not would not let them use her dragonfly to their wishes. Zuu had warned her. Warning, telling.

She felt a wing bend.

She changed.

Heat, flicker quick, and she felt her discarded skin in Eyropa, where she'd left it, knew it and its magic had tried to heal her. Couldn't. Aniz Tera did not heal on their own.

Quivered pain. She lay facedown beneath Crane. Her blood, dark and almost oily looking, left her with warmth. Her hip, her hip was lanced! Not so bad. She felt air on her back. Wrong air. Bad air. Stinging air. Dumb Amm. Dumb, impossible Amm.

She felt lightheaded, but she didn't make a sound. She had done enough. Her body tensed in warning. She wanted Crane's shadow and presence away.

Arusa came over and crouched nearby. The dragonfly fluttered weakly beneath him. Chezak glanced down, the helplessness he felt at the strange anatomy before him an odd feeling, beyond anything he was used to feeling. He didn't know where to begin to help the Tera, and his only thought was a hope that Amm could shift to her humanoid form so he could help her.

The dragonfly shimmered in the dim light thrown from the fire, as well as the lightening sky. Chezak squatted back on his heels, away from the Tera as she went through her change. The dragonfly's body changed, melted ... wings shrank into the long torso, which then broadened into the back of the Tera. Her arms seems to separate from the back, legs elongating from the segmented thorax. Her head shifted, hair sprouting, mandibles pulling back into the dragonfly's face, features shifting into Amm's. He could read the pain in her eyes as he leaned forward again, looking over her body to see where the wound was.

Blood oozed from Amm's hip, from a deep puncture. White bone gleamed in the firelight. The beak, he thought. A long, shallow slash ran diagonally across her back, from her shoulder blade nearly to her wounded hip. Chezak looked to Arusa.

"Can you heal?" he asked. "Magically?" Even as he asked the question, he stood and moved swiftly to his pack. He rummaged quickly through, listening to Arusa, pulling bandages from within. He also pulled a salve in a small jar that would help heal the wounds. As Arusa finished talking, he turned and knelt before the Tera again.

"Don't worry, Amm. We'll help you," he murmured, then set the salve down, tucking the bandages under an arm, before signing the same thing to her.

Arusa's eyes widened as she watched the thing slowly deform, her hand flying up to cover her mouth as she gasped. She felt as though she might be sick seeing the grotesque form between girl and insect, but could not tear her eyes away as the thing gradually changed itself into the Tera they knew. Gods, shifters are disgusting.

Seeing the wound, the blood, and even a glimpse of bone through the torn flesh, did nothing to ease her turning stomach. Arusa could not decide whether or not she was relieved to see the girl, rather than the insect, lying before them. The Tera's face was twisted in a pained expression, and with good reason. The wound looked awful.

"Can you heal? Magically?"

Arusa glanced up at the elven man, staring uncomprehendingly while her mind tried to make sense of the words. Then she frowned. "What?"

He was already moving about the place, probably looking for something to patch up the girl's wounds, and started taking things out of his pack. He seemed to know exactly what to do. Arusa, on the other hand, was caught between too many emotions, not able to decide what to think, to feel, to say... Her eyes darted between Chez and the girl.

"I... I, I... No, I've... W-why would you think that?" She paused for a moment, took a deep breath. Chez muttered something to the Tera about helping her, and Arusa simply felt lost. It felt strange to say it, but she really had no idea what else she could say. "Do you need help? Can I... Can I do anything?"

Slowly, she stood, waiting for a response, an order, something... She clenched her fists unconsciously and stared down at the girl, her horrible injury, and the way Chezak moved so smoothly, so calmly, like he had been here, in this situation, many times before...

Despite the inappropriate timing, Arusa was, apparently, struck by her envy. Realizing that only made it worse. She should be the one doing all the right things. She was the graceful one. She was more intelligent, more knowing, than this simple, though experienced, old man. But all she could do was stand there, like an idiot, and wait to be ordered around.

Amm wanted healers. She wanted water, sky, reeds. The calming thrum of wings to soothe. She was numb. Flaming. Cold. Flavors of pain fanned through her, so she tasted them all in turn, and quivered a response one fraction at a time. Her self felt spans away, as if she stared into the face of dragonfly-self. An. Home. Sharp disappointment sopped at the pain. She deserved it.

Shock was apart of it, when she opened her lips to force sound. "Healer." She said, and her voice was kin to the twisting feeling in her face. Expression. Tera were so open, so clear. So unlike strangers. "Need healer." Her breath left her lips like bubbles. She had enough in her to feel pinpricks of exasperation at Crane. Fussing, touching. Proper Tera did not leap at a chance to touch. Eyes touched form. That was enough. Did Crane know that? Did Fish? Fish knew better than to touch.

She felt dizzy. She tried to stand up when Crane left her alone. She was perplexed when the pain insisted she stay prone. She blew a noise through her lips, an aimless insult. Rude. She was rude. She was mindless enough to fault the strangers for it.