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Jerkchicken
DojiBoy
Woosh.
What was it? Lady Amira paused on her trail, her silhouette still against the soft light filtered through the leaves of the garden trees.
Another woosh. This time, a leaf slowly descended from below, landing softly on the fair serpent’s head. How peculiar. Then...
CRASH!
In a flash and a blur, there was a heap of colours and feathers; all the hues of a rainbow, presented before Amira. It had nearly hit her! The naga gasped with a shocked frown before settling into a defensive position as she realised what the creature was. Amira moved back as her guards rushed forward, rushing past her with their spears pointed at the small harpy. The bird was saying something, pleading perhaps, but Amira didn’t want to listen. She hadn’t come across a harpy in nearly ten years, and it was not by sheer coincidence. To see one now… it… it brought up some painful memories the fair lady would rather forget for the rest of her days. So it was to be expected that she felt little more than suspicious of the bird’s intentions.
Motioning for the guards to step aside without lowering their spears, Amira slithered forward, towering over the creature. It looked innocent, but looks… they could fool you. Amira trusted no harpy.
Looking the cowering being in the eyes, Amira willed magic to help her coax an honest answer out of her.
“State your purpose,” the serpent ordered with a cold, matter-of-fact voice. “Who sent you? The truth,” Amira specified, her tongue wrapping around the words firmly, almost in a hypnotising manner. The way she pronounced the letter ‘s’ in particular stood out, signifying her snake-like qualities.
Triko carefully peeked up from behind her wings, blinking a few times as the scary looking snake-people stopped approaching. “Ah! No… I didn’t mean to land here!” She cried out. ”I… I… I fell asleep! And… And…” The poor bird stuttered, eyes frantically darting between the three naga.
Sensing that she was at least out of immediate danger, Triko quickly got onto her knees and bowed her head. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She whined. ”Please dont kill me! I’ll be on my way if you let me go!” The poor thing’s stomach decided now was an excellent time to rumble loudly.
Amira looked at the scared little bird with a cold glare before sighing reluctantly.
“She’s telling the truth,” the light naga stated to her guards. Not like she had any choice. Still… even after knowing the harpy wasn’t there with ill intent… Amira couldn’t bring herself to trust it. Just seeing the feathers and clawed feet made the fair snake remember things she’d rather forget.
From Triko’s perspective, the bird would soon see the guards lowering their spears, and another one of the guards going to Amira to whisper something into her ear. Amira seemed to be listening before frowning and giving the guard a look, which prompted the guard to bow and apologise. After a brief pause, Amira sighed again, seeming to be in a battle with her own mind.
“You are hurt,” lady Amira observed then, lowering herself closer to the harpy while still maintaining an air of superiority to her stance. She was trying - and perhaps failing a bit - to see past her personal issues on the matter, concentrating on trying to help the bird. “And, you are hungry too, it appears. Murai, please fetch this girl something to eat while I mend her wounds,” Amira ordered. The armoured, dark gray female naga nodded and slithered inside the building.
Amira turned her attention back to the bird, her expression a weird mix of tense reservedness and gentle calmness. “The fall hurt you. Will you allow me to heal you?” It wasn’t really a question.
With the excitement dying down, Triko became painfully aware of her wing’s condition. Wincing, she tried to move them, but it was becoming increasing more difficult; probably hinting at several fractures. “Euhm… O-okay…” She cooed meekly. The way the scary naga-lady was talking reminded Triko of the Owls back in her nest. They too had a way of asking things in a way that made it impossible to say no.
Carefully, the little harpy shuffled a little closer. ”Ow… I’m really, really, really sorry, lady! I really didnt mean to crash into your pretty garden.” She mumbled. ”Oh! My name’s Triko by the way!” The way she pronounced her name was less like pronouncing a word, but more a bird-like chirp.
Amira kept her cool as the bird apologised over and over. She kneeled down to her level, her snake-like body curling behind her.
“Not my garden,” Amira replied with a voice just a bit softer than the one she’d used before. She made sure not to look at the bird - Triko - in the eyes. She didn’t want to face the harpy’s gaze. “Now… Triko,” Amira repeated the name in her thick naga accent, “This may sting a bit.”
A nearby garden fountain’s water began glowing and floating towards Amira. Her gray eyes lit up in a ghostly glow, the water circling around her palms as she whispered some words in naga. Then Amira pressed her hands to the wounds on the winds, causing the glowing water to enter the wounds and fractures, healing them slowly.
”You should be feeling better in a few hours.”
The harpy’s eyes widened as she watched the swirl of magic lazily float over towards her. ”Whoaaaaaa! You know magic?” She cooed excitedly, because letting out a quick yelp as the cold water worked its way past her feathers and into the damaged areas. Biting her lower lip, Triko squirmed and whimpered; tears welling up in her eyes as the healing magic began the painful process of mending her broken bones.
Triko looked back up at Amira with big, wet eyes. ”Mn... T-thank you!” She managed to chirp in between sniffles.
“Not so much magic as just… this and that,” Amira replied as she concentrated on finishing the healing. Just as she was wrapping up, the other naga guard returned with a hesitant look and a piece of bread: “I uh… milady, I didn’t know what uh… harpies eat, so I just thought… bread is kind of like seeds and birds eat seeds, right?”
Amira bit her lip to keep from smiling at the guard’s lack of knowledge.
“Thank you. Do you eat bread, Triko?” Amira asked the rainbow creature, reaching up to receive the bread and giving it to Triko.
Triko eagerly nodded her head, her stomach rumbling loudly. “Mmhmm! I like bread!” She chirped happily, before eagerly digging into the offered piece. Even if it was just plain bread, after days of just fruit, it felt great to finally eat something hearty. The piece was gone within seconds.
“Aaaah, so much better!” The harpy cooed, smiling up innocently at the towering naga. “Thanks! Pretty snake-lady!” Even her wings started to hurt less, though it would definitely be some time before she’d be able to take off again.
Amira was used to hearing compliments, but they were usually empty words. Hearing Triko eat the bread with such joy and then thank her with such innocence, however… it made it very hard for Amira not to grow a soft spot. Maybe the harpykind had changed in ten years. Maybe.
Or maybe this particular harpy was just something else. She certainly had the most colourful rainbow feathers.
”I... You’re welcome,” she simply answered with a small smile neither of the guards saw. After being so immersed in her work for years, it was nice to actually help someone.
