faderift | Bird, bird, bird

WHO: Myira and YOU
WHAT: Myira pokes around the Gallows and makes a nuisance of herself.
WHEN: Now-ish?
WHERE: The Gallows
NOTES: Myira can be a jerk? Also nudity bc baths

I. A Forest of Dead Trees

Of all the places in the Gallows, the libraries in the central tower fascinate Myira the most. She has never seen so many books basically ever. In fact, she's not really sure what a book is. She's seen writing, but never like this or all of it in one place. Sometimes she shows up here just to wander around the shelves and pull books out at random. Today is one of those days. Anyone who comes into this particular library might hear someone laboriously reading a book out loud, fumbling over words and letters. Those who investigate will find Myira sitting between the stacks cross legged, five or six books stacked around her and another open in her lap that she is painstakingly attempting to read at a glacial (and rather noisy) pace.

II. I'll see myself out

Myira is... bored. Which is probably not a good thing. She's spent some time wandeirng back and forth across the main courtyard for about thirty minutes in the summer afternoon sunlight before boredom and an itch to stretch her wings get her to retrieve her cloak from her room. A few moments later, there's a raven flitting through the air around the towers of the Gallows. She spends some time dipping, diving and generally showing off before that gets old too and she turns to other methods of diversion. She circles one tower, then another, before settling on a likely open window. She flutters into land on the window sill and looks inside, heedless of whatever she might be interrupting.

"...Nice day, ain't it?" Myira is pretty chipper for a bird that just invited herself in unannounced.

III. A clean bird is a happy bird

The bath, Myira has decided, is one of the things that humans got right. At first she'd simply drawn buckets of (cold) water and doused herself with them to try and get clean as best she could until she found out about the baths. Since then she has become a devoted attendee and can be found there basically every night the baths are open. This evening is no exception. Myira is usually the first to arrive and the last to leave. Currently, she's sitting on the edge of the communal bath, naked as anything, and letting her feet dangle in the warm water with a happy little sigh. She's leaned back on her elbows, eyes closed and kicking her legs a little to splash anyone who gets too close. After a moment, she opens her eyes and feels around beside her, then frowns. Turning her head, she calls out to anyone over by the towels and other bathing accessories.

"Hoi. Can you grab me a wash cloth. I forgot t'grab one!"

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"Oh." Myira is quiet for a moment, considering the new information she has to digest.

"That's interestin'. So you're different from humans? You look like 'em though." She's trying to wrap her head around this concept. Be gentle.

The good news is that Nari is both as patient as the day is long, and given to thinking about such things. Myira couldn't have flown through a better window on this one.

"We're same and different in a lot of ways," she says, leaning her chin on her hand and trying to explain as she might to a bird rather than a person. "Elves have eyes that are a little larger, and we can see much better in the dark. There's the ears, of course. We tend to be at least a few inches shorter, over all." She thinks of the elven rifters and amends that to "The elves native to this world, at least."

"There's much more that's the same. We can be mages too. We've got the same number of arms, legs, hands, fingers, all of that. Face in the same place." A chuckle. "Neither of us can fly. Elves used to live a great deal longer, but that was a long time ago. We blame humans for that." Nari lifts her shoulders in a gentle shrug. "We blame humans for a lot of things."

"Huh. Well I'm still learnin' the difference so go easy on me, alright? You seem like a nice one though. I'm still findin' my wings here, you know?" There's some more preening, as if to emphasize the point. She stays where she is for a long moment, then flutters over to perch on the edge of the bed. A twinge of space and magic and there's a human girl sitting cross legged there. Dark haired and bronze skinned, she wears a simple linen dress in off-white and an impressive cloak of black feathers over her shoulders. Leaning forward, Myira puts her chin in her hand.

"Old grudges can die hard. I think that's the same no matter who you are."

Even though she'd seen Sam pop in and out of forms a few times over the years since he'd learned, it's always strange to see it happen. Even stranger this time, since they seem to share more than a passing resemblance to each other in terms of colouring.

"Old grudges can die?" asks Nari wryly, nodding a greeting to the new form and then leaning her head on her hand. It's mostly a facetious question. After all, in three short years she'd gone from not seeing a human they hadn't summarily disposed of for nearly two decades to counting a few of their number as dear friends, and one of those as something... else.

"As for finding your wings, we've enough newcomers from other worlds that you should have a good leeway. If someone gives you trouble for not learning fast enough or other nonsense, there are plenty of us willing to step up and put a stop to that."

"That's the rumor I hear, but grandmothers have long memories, so maybe not." Myira laughs and flops onto her back on the bed without much ado. She seems happy to spread out and take space and generally... just be here.

"Yeah, one of th' other Rifters that showed up with me is helpin' me out with learning about humans and clothes and stuff. She's nice--a lot like a mum, honestly." Myira grins toothily up at Nari.

"And this place is interesting at least, even if it isn't home. Most of you seem real nice."

Myira's quick laughter, wide open smile, and immediate careless taking up of space combine in just the right way to remind Nari of her brothers and sisters back in the forest, which jumps the raven the rest of the way over the elf's quiet thoughtfulness and into the laid-back easy familiarity normally reserved for her close friends and family.

"Most of us are," the elf agrees. "People who've chosen to put aside their homes and families to fight for the whole of the world usually have at least one or two redeeming qualities." She pauses, looks a bit apologetic. "And you and the other rifters who didn't have a choice in the matter... well. I'm sorry for that, though I've never been given cause to be sorry about who's come through. The greater order of things seems to be looking out for us as far as the people— and birds— that tumble on through."

"Well, it's an adventure," Myira replies. She rubs at her chin for a moment. "Adventures don't really happen when you're expecting 'em, right?" She laughs. It's a genuine amusement, though tempered by a touch of awkwardness and uncertainty. This whole thing is so different from her normal experience.

"Nothin' I can do about it but see what happens, right?"

"Well that's true enough," Nari replies, raising a helpless eyebrow and ruffling a hand back through her hair. "I never wanted much in the way of adventure, but we don't pick our roads. More like rivers that way.'

Bird, bird, bird

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