Keyra watched as Gavyn took the swordsman off to the side and did something with is hand and sword. She then realized that Sevral's weapon had been frozen to his hand and she bit her lip as she watched the large Vall rip the hilt off his unprotected hand. Thoughts of getting him gloves for future use of his weapons came to her mind and she made a mental note to look for such if they ever came to a busy town or port.
Sevral was then returned to her, Gavyn smiling at her and saying, "Ach! Sorry, lass! 'ere be yer lad. Good's new, bu' ye may wan' ta wrap 'is 'and, in case." She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling up at him, but nodded instead at the suggestion. She would wrap it and she knew just what to put around the red skin to increase the healing process. The swordsman leaned down and offered his arm to her, which she took and allowed him to lead her up to the deck where everyone else was at.
Listening to Yo'Von's speech, she had turned her attention to the beauty of the rift around them. It wasn't often that she'd seen the rift, mostly being cooped up below deck because the ship Captain feared too much the magic that surrounded the rift. Her eyes lifted to the outpost that he spoke of, mentally taking note of that. She remembered his words about the magic below them, the swirling mass of darkness that could change people if it were allowed to. A slight shudder passed over her. However, she trusted the Captain and his ability as he steered the ship gracefully through the hanging rock cliffs.
Next to the ship, the creatures of the rift began to stir. The fish that swam through the magic bounded all around the ship, their colors brilliant and pleasing to the eye. She'd never seen such shades of colors as she watched them twist and somersault around the vessel. Keyra smiled at the display even as she felt herself slowly sinking into a very sleepy state. The Vall couldn't remember the last time that she'd gotten a good nights rest, and she certainly hadn't slept when they had been prompted to sleep by Yo'Von when they first came to the ship.
With her wing newly repaired, her energy gone from the fight with Ocenia's super power, the only thing she could really think of was her bed. However, first, she had to wrap Sevral's hand. Reaching into her pouch she pulled out the sweet flowers that she'd given to him earlier and got his attention.
"Sevral, take these, they will ease whatever discomfort you're feeling in your hand," she told him as she handed them to him. Then she dug into her pouch once more. There was a small plant in there that she knew would help heal the torn skin. A small green leaf was produced in the palm of her hand. She brought it to her lips and bit it open. The fuzzy leaf began to ooze a clear, thick, liquid that tasted dry and bitter on her tongue. She made a slight face from the taste, but didn't do anything else. Keyra took his hand and rubbed the liquid all around his palm.
Unfortunately, she didn't have anything to wrap his hand with so the best she could do was let the sticky liquid dry on his hand. Turning her head upwards, she smiled up at him and patted his hand, "There. It'll be healed in no time."
With a soft sigh, she stifled a yawn that threatened to take her and she stepped away from him. Keyra looked towards the stairs that led to the lower deck and where her quarters were. As much as she wanted to see the rest of the Rift and the ending part of the trip to Herth, her body and eyes weren't going to let her do that. Her mind made up, she looked back to Sevral.
"I'm going to rest. I'm sorry I cannot stay awake any longer. Would you wake me when we get to Herth if I'm not awake already," she said. The Vall then started towards the stairs and made her way below deck. She remembered that her weapon was in the Captains quarters, but she was far too tired to go and retrieve it. Besides, it was buried in the bookshelf and she wasn't nearly strong enough to get it out at the moment. Instead, she opened the door to her room and went straight to the cot there. The moment she lay down, she was asleep on her back. One arm up over her head, the other across her stomach. Keyra hadn't even bothered to remove any of her gold armor or belt.
With her sleep came her dreams, dreams that she hadn't had in years. Perhaps it was the Rift that caused it for she'd never slept through a Rift travel before. Not long after she'd fallen asleep she tossed around slightly from the dreams of her past.
"Momma!" she called, her high pitched childish voice carrying far across the open expanse. She ran with her arms held up over her head with a huge smile on her very young face. The child resembled Keyra in every aspect except her wings were much smaller, her hair nearly black in color with slight hints of blue and her purple eyes much lighter in color. A tall woman with brilliant white wings turned to face the child that was Keyra. Her blue hair was long, much longer than her daughters and her blue eyes were deeper than the sky. The woman was very much a Vall, aside from the wings, she also had feathers at the base of her neck, on her shoulders and around her wrists and ankles. To add to it, the wings were much larger than Keyra's and the woman could actually sustain flight whereas Keyra could only make herself lighter in body weight.
"Keyra, my love what is it?" The woman asked with a laugh.
"Look what I found!" The child replied then dug into her pockets for whatever trinket it was that she found. She then showed it to her mother who took the bright purple flower and lifted it to the sunlit sky.
"It's beautiful, just like you, my love. Do you know what this flower also is?"
The child-Keyra turned a puzzled face to her mother and cocked her head off to the side, eyes wide with interest.
"This flower eases pains, my love. If you eat it, than any ache or pain you have will go away."
"Wow!" Child-Keyra exclaimed in her high pitched voice.
***
"Keyra," the deep voice called her and she answered. A still younger version of herself walked into the firelight of their camp. She sat and looked across the crackling flames to the man who had called her. His light colored eyes and hair were very human like. His face was chiseled, a sharp square like jaw and thick neck muscles led into his broad shoulders and well toned arms.
"You called, Father?"
"I did," his stony expression broke and he smiled at her, "You're going to have a sibling, Keyra."
Deep purple eyes widened as she looked at her father from across the fire. The shock soon faded into happiness and she too smiled brightly at him. Leaping across the fire, she embraced him, letting his strong and warm grip lift her off the ground as he stood and spun her around once. "Dadda, that's amazing!" she said, using the informal term like she had when she was a child. His deep chuckle reverberated in her chest. He let her go then and smiled down at her, his human features caught sharply in the firelight.
"When you come back from your trip to the city, you will have a sibling," then he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Pray it's a boy."
Keyra laughed as she nodded.
***
She came to dizzy, her heart slamming in her chest. The world around her spun wildly as she tried to regain her consciousness. Only having been out for a few moments, things were still completely different around her. A petrified scream erupted in the fiery haze of smoke and a setting sun. The orange rays only accentuated the burning village around her. Keyra tried to lift herself to see who it was that screamed, but by the time she got up into a sitting position, the scream had risen in a sickening, gut wrenching, wail before being cut off suddenly.
Startled, she looked around sharply, trying to see what it was that attacked her home. More importantly, she needed to know where her parents were. Keyra had decided to return to the village early, and once she'd gotten there, the attack had already begun. Something had grabbed her, a sharp burning pulsing around her waist had filled her and the next thing she knew she had been thrown to the ground like a rag-doll.
Slowly, Keyra got to her feet and started towards the lean-to that her father had built. Fortunately, the fires that had been scattered by the attacker hadn't touched the home that she'd lived in for twenty years. She came to a skidding halt next to the lean-to and peered passed the huge drape that her mother had made to act as a doorway. A huge form barreled into her, pushing her out of the lean-to. She crashed to the ground with the huge man on top of her.
"Don't, don't look, my Keyra," the trembling voice whispered in her ear. Her father pulled himself up with her, cradling her against him. His body shook, his breath trembled in and out of his chest as he rocked her. "Why? Why did you come back? You shouldn't have come back," he sobbed at her.
"Mother..."
"Don't, don't go in there, my Keyra. Don't look, you mustn't look."
She too began to shake as his words sunk in, her voice shuddered as she whispered, "Mother."
"You have to go, you have leave. It's not safe here," he told her and crushed her against him as he stood up quickly. Keyra was in a daze as he began running through the burning village. He kept her in his arms, pushing her head down against his shoulder so that she couldn't see much of what was going on. Another scream erupted from the village and Keyra took in a gasping, shaking breath.
"Dadda..."
"Hold onto me, don't look, don't let go," he ordered her. She did as she was told and clung to him like a little child even though she was a grown woman. She felt her father stop sharply, jarring her as he skidded in the dirt. Her heart hammered and she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand. Keyra's breathing shortened as she nearly hyperventilated. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the ground over his shoulder.
"What the hell..." he chocked out but didn't finish the sentence. He whirled around and dropped down, covering her as he knelt there. A second later and his body jerked, a shudder running through him as he clung to her. Over his shoulder, Keyra caught the sight of pitch black, a darkness that wasn't even penetrated by moonlight at night. She couldn't see much after that as she fell down onto her back under the weight of her father as he toppled. A sharp pain pulsed through her side and the entire lower part of her body felt warm and wet.
In shock, she trembled as she tried to move herself to look at her father better. He kept himself up over her, but just barely. He smiled down at her with blood on his lips and chin, "Stay alive."
He fell on her completely then, the heavy body unnaturally still. Keyra froze as she lay there under him, his blood soaking her in the darkness. Her own wound forgotten completely. She didn't even stop to think at what it was that had pierced her while her father had been protecting her. It was a long time that she lay there under him, stone still as if she were in a spell. In fact, she could have very well been under a spell, unable to move or call out. From under him, she could barely see over his shoulder, the dark mass had begun to move, then it disappeared leaving behind a strange feeling all across her skin. Like a residue of some sort that lingered in the air. Keyra couldn't be certain, but she almost thought she'd seen a figure walking in the center of the dark mass.
Only after the sun had long since fallen behind the mountains, the screams in the village long since dead, and the thing that had attacked them long gone, did she find the ability to move. Her voice escaped her first, screaming out in the darkness in sheer terror and anguish. She didn't remember how she got out from under her fathers cold, stiff body, but all she did remember was standing and staring at the fires that still burned, completely covered in blood. One thing ran rampant through her mind and body. Kill the one who took her life from her.
