Home again. At this point, the adult bird had built a nest on her favorite perch, high above the ground within a crevice-hidden ledge that overlooked most of Polaris. With a beak tucked under wing, the sainted female slumbered, in peace after many hard days of checking on unhatched chrysalis gembounds and healing lessers. It seemed that was all there was to do, which was much better than that war that had exploded within the caves ages ago. It seemed all had fallen quiet since then, the silence sickening. With a yawn, Yinehi woke, beak clicking shut just before a shake of her head stirred up loose feathers. A stretch of wings that made her shudder pushed a groan from her throat. Giga settled back down, peering over the room she was born in. Not much had went on. Golems still came and went, but she seemed relatively unnoticed here. Maybe not forever, but for now. As it was, she needed to eat, so she stood, wobbled to the edge of her nest, and dropped down with spread wings which cupped the air of the cave. Flying was so natural now. She no longer needed to glide or start up high. She was able to push from the ground, fly intricately, and land with grace. Landing with grace was her favorite part, too. It was good to be able to swoop to the nearest deceased body and pick at it without landing face first into it like a fool. Finding bodies seemed a bit harder than usual though. Her stomach was a pit of emptiness that hadn't seen food in nearly a week, the pain growing from a dull nudge to a sharp prod. Desperation woke itself up in the back of her mind as she journeyed to the farthest corner, eyes peeled for something - anything - to eat. All she stumbled upon was a dead rat, which was more than nothing. Without an ounce of hesitation, she dropped down to it's side and began to eat, failing to look over her shoulder to be sure of her own safety. ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: words Tag:

Needless to say, Destiny was a little bit lost. After being brought home to Polaris in the hope it'd return her sight, Destiny and Fate had parted ways with the assurance that the little platypus would somehow find her way. She was beginning to regret it; she found neither her sight or her home, and although the ground felt familiar, she didn't know where to go, and she couldn't see the lights. Was this really Polaris?

Slowly but surely, she waddled forward, even though with every motion her skull, covered in opal spires, felt close to breaking open. Dizziness made her wobble and pause, she couldn't tell if she was going straight or moving in circles. Her eyes were agonized, bulging almost out of their sockets; dark tracks down her cheeks stained her bill deep red.

Just above her eyes, a tiny crown of flowers rested upon her brow; but she couldn't see it anymore. That tiny sliver of beauty she'd found in herself felt irrelevant. She felt that her wounds made her uglier now than she'd ever felt before... even with her stupid bill and stupid big feet and stupid---

A wave of pain swept over and through her as her eyes simultaneously filled with tears and began to drip thick, sticky fluid onto her cheeks. Immediately, she had to pause, shivering, shaking, trembling. I have to think happy, I have to be happy, everything will be okay, she told herself, repeating the same words over and over in her mind. Although the pain did nothing to die away, the little platypus forced herself to continue, dragging heavy along the ground.

And then her bill bumped against something soft that lay in her path.

"Mh... excuse me." she mumbled, all caught up in apologies as she struggled to back up and go around them, whoever it was. She didn't wanna be seen in a state like this.

@Gigatsuhali

The large raptor had began preening her feather between wandering around on her feet, enjoying the stretch of her legs and the ground under her scaly feet. Whilst her head was buried under a wing, tentatively grooming the soft feathering underneath, something - or rather, someone - bumped into her leg. She shot her head up with a start, blinking in confusion until a voice muttered in an all-too-familiar tone. Gigatsuhali felt her heart sink as she peered down at the poor thing whose eyes barely remained in their sockets. "Oh... oh my! Please, don't wander off, I can help you!" she gently nuzzled Destiny's fuzzy back, then inspected the bleeding wound, trying to keep her meal down as she took a closer look at the protruding eyeballs. "Yes, I can certainly help, but... I can't give you back your eyes... all I can do is make you feel better." There was a moment of pause as she considered what to do, exactly, then jogged to some nearby rocks, scraping moss from them with her beak. With some hesitance, she swallowed it down, jogged back to Destiny, then coughed it back up. It was disgusting, so easy enough to do. Within the green fungus, a very special virus dwelled, waiting for the opportunity to devour infectious bacteria. "It probably won't taste good, but eat this. I've put it right in front of you. It'll help with any infection that may develop," she said soothingly. Giga waited patiently, wanting it all to be eaten before taking the next step in encouraging the virus to get to work on Destiny's... serious problem. ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: My Muse Tag: @Destiny

Destiny paused for a moment as a voice broke through her traumatized thoughts, momentarily bringing a tattered scrap of relief to her heart- before it suddenly broke again, replaced by a strange wave of embarrassment and sorrow. "You... don't need to. I c-c... I can sleep it off. I'll be fine..." she mumbled unconvincingly, trying to lift the spirits of the other, who sounded very worried indeed. Destiny felt ashamed; she didn't want anyone to worry. I'm not worth it... "I... It's okay. It doesn't matter. You d-don't need to do.... a-anything. Nothing at all. N-n-not if ya don't wanna..." She sniffled and fought against her own mind, part wanting to give out, but the other half standing strong in sturdy pillars. She had to stay strong...

"But ah, that'd be r-really... nice of you. Th-thank you for... ah... asking..." the platypus gulped, her eyes burning and stinging with tears. Truth be told, even the slightest bit of comfort in this moment of sheer agony brought her almost to tears of delirious joy. But Destiny tried not to let it show. "th-thank you..." she murmured. "thank you, th-th-thank you, th-thank you, thank yo-u... thank you so, so much f-for... offering..."

she heard the talons of the bird against the ground and made to follow for a moment, afraid to be left alone in this all-consuming darkness but, sooner than she could properly comprehend, they were back.

"H-huh? Nonesense, I b-bet it's lovely," she mumbled, feeling around the ground with her bill until she felt something move, and then simply consuming it- no questions asked. The moment the taste hit her, the platypus could have choked. She kept her bill clamped shut and trembled violently all over for a moment. A cough and a hiccup were vaguely audible, then a loud gulping sound.

She hiccuped again...

"S-s-... -hic- ...I told you it would be lovely. it was lovely, truly.... -hic-... What was it?"

@Gigatsuhali

"Shh, it's okay," she cooed. The mutterings of false assurances to Giga were not unheard, but not taken into account, either. Destiny was in serious need of attention. Thankfully, she'd bumped into the right bird. With some delight, Yinehi watched as Destiny ate up the food, but could tell that the words weren't completely honest, although the golden heart of the little being warmed up the Fairy Vulture to the core. "Medicine... regurgitated moss," she said. Yinehi preened through Destiny's fur, trying to clean up the gooey clots and mess of liquid on her cheeks. As she did so, her magicka sparked from her beak, the spell that would cleanse and push forth the virus mixing into Destiny's body. When she was certain it was clean enough for the time being, she gave another look at the eyes, cringing a little. "My name is Gigatsuhali Yinehi, but you may call me Giga or Fairy... what is your name?" ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: words Tag:

Destiny heard a gentle voice trying to reassure her, and she forced open her bill into a pained grin. The blind creature was unsure of who this new company was but they were much appreciated. Their soft cooing brought some much-needed comfort, something that Destiny desperately craved. "Al... alright. If you say so. D-d-do you need any help?" she asked hopefully. Destiny swore to herself that she felt better already. Maybe it was a placebo effect. But it felt strange that someone was fussing over her like this. awkward even. Usually it was the other way around...

"Oh, how lovely! I... I never had to h-h-have medicine b-before. D-d... agh... what will it d-do?" Destiny seemed momentarily offput by the idea but quickly got over it. It'd make her better! Medicine was for the best, it didn't need to taste like honey. But that would be good. Come to think of it, it'd been a long time since she'd eaten a proper meal. In a state like this though, Destiny hadn't really felt hungry. Just... sad.

Destiny felt something hard on her face all of a sudden, and she momentarily flinched before realizing that it was her new friend cleaning the fur. "Oh, is my fur all messed up?" she asked, with a small sigh. Truthfully she knew that messy fur should be the least of her worries right now, but she did so like to keep things bright. She had a sudden thought, a little glimmer of worry sneaking into her heart for a moment. "What're you?" she asked, not impolitely. Was it a claw that cleaned her, or a bill? Did the stranger tower over her? Destiny didn't know any of this. Just their soothing voice and... she felt bad for not being able to call them beautiful. Was this what her life was gonna be like forever? And then she added as an afterthought; "I'm a p-plat'pus."

As if it wasn't obvious enough to them.

"Nice t-to meet you, G-G-Giga-t-t... Gigatsuha... G-G-Gigatsu.... Um... Oh, fairy! what a pretty name! It's so nice to meet you! Destiny stuttered and stumbled on her words but struggled to be polite even still. How... embarrassing. The little platypus just wanted to curl up and hide her silly face from the world. "Name's D-D-Dest'ny. Though I might as well be Dest'ny's P-Pawn..."

@Gigatsuhali

"The medicine will keep your eyes from becoming infected," she explained softly. A lot of questions from such a wounded thing. Giga had to smile a little, nuzzling Destiny again. So strong for something so small. Giga admired the strength. After a ruffle in her feathers, she nestled down next to Destiny. "Your fur was just a little matted, but it's better now. I... I'm a vulture. A type of bird that scavenges the dead." It was, honestly, very odd to explain such. Regardless, she owed the truth to those she helped. Especially when who she helped was unable to see the world around her. Here, the bird had been watching and waiting for one who needed her. It was unfortunately to have found what she was looking for. A lost soul whose own gem was turning against her. It was heartbreaking and the fairy couldn't even fathom the end it may lead Destiny to. "Destiny is a beautiful name... although I disagree about you being a pawn. Life is... weird, really. I am here for you, though. No matter what, all you have to do is call for me and I'll be there for you, one way or another," she said. "Do... do you have anyone you'd like me to find? A friend or lover?" Something more familiar to comfort the odd duck might make her feel better, although the virus was sure to be thriving by now. ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: Sorry it's crap Tag: @Destiny

Destiny gave a slight nod of understanding in response to Fairy's words, only to pause as it caused her head to spin despite her lack of sight. Standing stock still for a moment, she lay down on the ground, splaying out her flippers. "That's good. I b-b-bet infection would be really, really bad there..." Destiny murmured, with a small shiver running over her body at the thought. She knew what infection was. She hadn't been properly injured herself except for tiny cuts and scrapes but when they hurt, they hurt.

And there was something about the memory of maybe a tiny accidental poke in the eye or a bit of dust or even an eyelash... Destiny couldn't help but think an infection in her eyes would be downright agonizing.

Another little shudder as she returned herself to the conversation. "Thank you for f-f-fixing it up, then... that was very n-nice of you!" Destiny said, politely. She didn't seem too fazed by the vulture's explanation, dipping her head only slightly as though lost in thought. "O-oh, that's good to know!" she exclaimed, forcing a smile. She gave a tiny, morbid chuckle. "Maybe you'll end up eating me somed-d-day, huh?" Though she fell silent a moment later, wondering if this was uncalled for or sounded like an insult rather than a self-depreciating joke. The look on her face said it all; it was impossible to hide her emotions any more.

Destiny listened intently to the vulture's words as they first disagreed, and then went on to reassure her. Slowly, Destiny gave another nod of her head, heavy with opal spires. "Th-thank you..." she whispered yet again. "I... I owe you a lot. I was r-really scared." she admitted genuinely. Perhaps it was a placebo effect or the virus beginning to work, but the little one felt as though the terrible pain had died away somewhat.

"I d-don't think so... I... I... I don't know..." truthfully, there were many in the caves Destiny wanted to see. Too many, in fact. She didn't want to give Fairy a big list of names or just be a bother. Destiny felt like a little bit of a bother already... But as she thought deeper, she realized there was one she wanted to see again. Someone she'd met twice before, who didn't yet know. Maybe they needed to know first. she didn't know. Destiny wanted to see everyone again. But they were the one to break the silence as she set out looking for precious company. "If you c-c-can- y-you don't need to th-though- there's an old friend I wanna see again."

She hesitated, again, not wanting to send the vulture on an errand mission.

"He's called Atsila... Big ol' elephant. You'll know him when you see him I think... Haven't met any other elephants." She raised her head, ever hopeful.

But maybe it'd be better off looking for her old burrow first, come to think of it. Then at least she'd be safe.

@Gigatsuhali

Poor Destiny's appearances continued to make the bird feel heartbroken. It seemed like there might not be any hope for those protruding eyes, as crystals nudged them from their sockets. It looked horrific, painful, and almost gave her a sense of nausea. There wasn't much she could find to say to Destiny; not until she finally spoke of a giant beast called an "elephant." The Fairy looked around them, then looking into the bacteria in the room, fidgeting at the roar of sensory feed coming from them. Nothing that appeared to be an elephant towered among the light and shadows. It appeared the bird would have to take flight and find him. An idea that made her feel a bit nervous, as she didn't want to leave Destiny behind in such a state. Still, if she was to find this elephant, she best do it now. "I have no abandoned you, Destiny... I'll be back with Atsila." With a spread of her wings and a grunt as she heaved herself into the air, Gigatsuhali took off, rushing to find the longed-for-friend of Destiny. ---- "Speech" Thoughts OOC: -exit- Tag: @Destiny