[center][h2][color=brown][b][u]Arryn[/u][/b][/color] & [b][u]Asceal[/u][/b][/h2][/center] [hr] Arryn did not know how long he flew, nor did he know which direction. Only when he came across Dragon’s Foot again did he realize that he had circumvented the world, and he had been heading west. Arya’s betrayal and his own failure still weighed heavily in his heart, and his flying was almost clumsy, as though he was tired, but he merely felt physically burdened by the weight of his depression. It was ridiculous. Kalmar would not want him to sulk. Kalmar would expect to be told. Or for him to get her back. Or for him to explore the continent without her. Kalmar would expect [i]something[/i]. Yet Arryn could not bring himself to take action. And so, as he continued his aimless flight, he realized he had failed twice. Just then a distant light caught the falcon’s eye. Something was, rather conspicuously, racing towards him. The falcon stopped midflight, his sadness pushed aside and he became filled with alarm. Was he under attack? He set his gaze on the approaching light only to find that it was not the holy wrath of an angry god, but instead the figure of a glowing woman. Kalmar had told her who she was. Asceal. Saying nothing, he awaited her approach, flapping his wings half-heartedly to remain airborne. The Goddess seemed to notice this and slowed her approach, eventually coming to hover alongside the falcon. Her own scintillating wings beat more slowly than Arryns and she regarded him with a concerned expression. “Excuse me,” She spoke kindly, “But I notice this is the second time you’ve flown over this ocean. Are you alright?” Arryn looked into her eyes, and said nothing. A few seconds passed, as the bird considered what to do, and he knew Kalmar would not want him to show weakness. He bobbed his head in a vague approximation of a nod, but his eyes betrayed his inner sadness. Asceal met his gaze and frowned slightly, “Ah. Well then, I can tell you’re no ordinary bird. Could I ask your name?” The bird was quiet for a few more seconds, until a telepathic voice spoke. [color=brown]”Arryn.”[/color] The Goddess perked up and gave the falcon a little smile, “Good to meet you Arryn. Would you mind telling me what you’ve been up to, flying around the world?” [color=brown]”Failing,”[/color] the bird replied in a dejected tone. A pained expression crossed Asceal’s face. She sighed and glanced behind her, to some point in the far distance, before focusing on Arryn again, “I see. If you’d prefer I go I won’t linger, but I’ve found that its…” She paused and pursed her lips while she looked for the word, “Easier, to talk about these things than keep them to myself. I have an island we could go to, if you’d be willing.” The bird let out a barely audible sigh. He should have gone back to his master already, yet he could not face him. Instead he would go to Asceal’s island. Perhaps his head would be cleared once he was no longer in flight. He nodded once again. The Goddess gave the Arryn a sympathetic little smile and gestured for him to follow her. She took off in the direction of Istais, taking care not to outpace the falcon. Neither was a slow creature, though. Before long they had flown above half the world and beneath them was an island that seemed to sparkle. She landed in a forest clearing and waited for her companion to follow. Arryn perched on the low-hanging branch of a nearby tree and looked down at her, waiting for her to say something, disinterested in their surroundings. Asceal sat down on the soft grass and looked to him, “So, what happened?” Arryn sighed. He should not tell her. It was not her business, and it would be wrong for her to hear of it before his master. Yet he felt he had to tell someone, as if speaking of it would somehow relieve part of the burden. [color=brown]”I failed,”[/color] the bird repeated. [color=brown]”My pride was broken, my master’s honour was insulted, my friend betrayed me, my mission failed…”[/color] he paused and took a deep breath, [color=brown]”...and I don’t even have the nerve to tell my master about it.”[/color] “You know,” Asceal ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes, “I’ve found that pride is a fragile thing. If it being broken is failure, then I’ve failed many times already. As for honour and betrayal? Well, I won’t pretend I’m an expert on either subject Arryn.” She laid down and looked into the sky, at Heliopolis, “But I don’t think it’s failure, to be afraid.” [color=brown]”It is a failure to be unable to overcome fear,”[/color] Arryn told her. [color=brown]”I am my master’s eyes and ears. My purpose is to tell him what I have seen and heard. If I do not do that… I am failing to do the only thing he has ever asked of me.”[/color] “And you’ll never tell him?” She asked, “Or are you just taking the time you need to understand what it is you saw? Purpose is a funny thing Arryn. It’s easy to forget that you’re more than what you’re meant to do.” Arryn heard her words, but he did not seem to truly grasp them. [color=brown]”I was told to watch over her, to learn of the world alongside her, and yet she is gone.”[/color] He sighed once more. [color=brown]”I will have to tell him, and there is no question of what I saw.”[/color] The Goddess ran her hands through the grass, “It sounds to me like you did watch over her, whoever she is. Right up until she didn’t want you to. Don’t fault yourself for the actions of others Arryn.” Asceal looked over to the bird and spoke seriously, “All you can do is respond to their choices with your own.” [color=brown]”You’re right,”[/color] Arryn said, after another prolonged pause. Then, over the course of his next words, his tone would gradually rise from melancholy to anger. [color=brown]”It’s her fault. She left me to join the snake. The snake who forced us aboard his ship, who insulted us, who threatened my life, [i]who insulted my master!”[/i][/color] Then the rage was gone, and his next words were hollow. [color=brown]”...then she sent me away.”[/color] Asceal’s eyes widened as Arryn spoke. She shot up and stared at him in disbelief, “Shengshi threatened you?” Arryn nodded, then decided he would tell the story from the beginning. He hated talking, but strangely enough, the words came easily this time. [color=brown]”My friend’s name was Arya. I found her lost and abandoned. I brought her to my master, Kalmar, who took her in and taught her of the world. One day he sent us to explore the continent in southeast. When we arrived, Shengshi forced us on board his ship and began to interrogate her. When he found out who my master was, he told Arya that my master’s teachings were wrong, without even knowing what she had been taught.”[/color] The anger was beginning to return. [color=brown]”I told him to hold his tongue. He called my master a barbarian and accused me of spying. I told him he had no right to speak that way of my master. He then said…”[/color] there was a pause, and for a moment the falcon became so angry that he shook, yet immediately after his tone once again became hollow and empty. [color=brown]”...he said that he would rather die and have his soul shattered before he considered my master anything above scum. Then he said he would kill me and send my body back to my master if I did not leave. I was ready to attack him… then Arya turned on me, said she would rather learn from Shengshi, and sent me away…”[/color] The Goddess was silent as Arryn spoke, her expression gradually shifting from one of confusion to anger. Eventually she pursed her lips and shut her eyes, the only sign of her inner turmoil the great clumps of grass she’d torn from the ground when the falcon finished his tale. Carefully, deliberately, she set the mutilated grass back into the holes shed torn it from. She breathed deeply, once, twice, three times before she spoke again, “I see. I wouldn’t be so hard on your friend Arryn, she may have saved your life. Had she not done what she had, you would have fought the river lord, wouldn’t you?” [color=brown]”I would!”[/color] Arryn replied without hesitation. [color=brown]”I told her to run. She could have jumped over the edge, and into the water. The lizard would have been too busy with me to stop her. Then I would have clawed his eyes out and made my own escape. Instead, she is in his clutches, which means I have failed.”[/color] “No,” Asceal spoke firmly, her eyes boring into Arryn, “You would have died. Perhaps you’d have hurt Shegnshi, but you wouldn’t have escaped. I’ve stood at the center of an explosion which would have scoured the surface of this world, and it took a thought to heal my injuries Arryn. A thought. You aren’t a match for a god, and you should be deeply grateful your friend understood that.” Arryn was silent. Perhaps she was right. Then again, Kalmar had repeatedly told him that cunning and surprise could outmatch raw power under the right circumstances. Yet nothing would be gained from arguing the point further. [color=brown]”What should I do now, then?”[/color] he asked her. “Nothing,” She sighed and pulled at her hair, “I’m going to ask you to do nothing Arryn. I know it pains you to not tell Kalmar, and I won’t stop you if you feel you must, but I will deal with this myself if you’ll allow me. Before anyone needs to die.” [color=brown]”All he did to anger Shengshi was tell the snake not to insult him ever again, and also interrupt the lizard once during a conversation.”[/color] Arryn pointed out. [color=brown]”He will not listen to words. In nature, only force is respected.”[/color] He paused, thinking further. [color=brown]”I have to tell Kalmar,”[/color] Arryn finally decided. [color=brown]”If I go back to him he will ask me, and I will not lie to him. If I don’t go back, he will seek me out and ask me anyway.”[/color] There was yet another pause. [color=brown]”My master once told Shengshi that if the lizard ever insulted him again, then the lizard would be made to answer for it. My master is not petty enough to kill anyone over this, but he once told me that he never makes threats he does not mean to carry out. So Shengshi must answer for it in some way. If you… if you can make Shengshi offer some sort of concession to Kalmar by the time he arrives, that might appease him. I will… I will delay my return, to give you time.”[/color] The bird suggested, though the mere act of even suggesting it seemed to make him feel guilty. Asceal nodded and unfolded her own wings. She mouthed, “Thank you.” And vanished with a golden flash and a blast of wind. Arryn remained for several minutes, still conflicted over his decision. Yet it was too late to change it. He said he would delay his return. And just as Kalmar told him he must always carry out his threats, he had also been told he must carry out any promises. Asceal was gone. He must be gone as well. He took flight on a course of his own, taking care to avoid flying over Kalgrun or Atokhekwoi, and he hoped that it would all work out. [hr] [hider=Summary] In a state of depression, Arryn begins looping around the continent. Asceal notices this and questions him. Noticing his troubled state, she takes him back to her island, and eventually she gets him to tell her the full story. She sympathizes with him, but assures him that Arya had not betrayed him like he originally believed. She is also worried that Shengshi’s words may escalate into a greater conflict, so she asks Arryn to refrain from telling Kalmar what happened until she can sort it out. The best Arryn can do is delay his report, and tell her that Shengshi needs to make some sort of concession if violence is avoided. The two then part ways. No MP or FP has been expended. [/hider]