Can't Fight the Moonlight - Tribute to Nokt

To say their relationship had a rocky start was an understatement; in fact, Fynn could recall a time when all the harpia wanted was to rip him and his corva Chine a new one. Fear and intimidation was all Scoria required from others, and so help anyone who thought otherwise. But since their first meet, they had come quite far; becoming, dare he say, friends with the scorched harpia. They had a mutual trust at least, and that was all that Fynn requested of the great stryx.

But now, dusk had fallen and the time for the team to perform their ritual was upon them. Basked in the light of the full moon, the two had to wait an annoying amount of time before their second tribute could be performed, as they needed the light of the full moon and with it, the full attention of Nokt. Their patience spared and time finally given, Fynn was once again nervous about performing in front of others; would he be able to put on a show worthy of the judges’ attentions? Or would he fail, and be at the mercy of Scoria’s darkened talons?

Swallowing back fear, Fynn shouldered the chain weapon he carried with him; one end being blunt while the other held a chain connected to an interchangeable blade; a unusual weapon, though one he took great pride in using and understanding; not unlike the harpia he stood beside. Standing tall and proud, the harpia kept her fierce gaze upon the place where the sun had left, her tired eyes having slowly adjusted to the night life, but not quite being as adept at seeing during these nocturnal hours as she would have if it were the evening. Still, she stood there ready, tolerating her rider’s presence for yet another day.

It wasn’t that he was a horrible rider, or even a horrible person, after all, it was with him she learned that she could take on much larger foes; but still, it was a small stab of pride to be thinking of herself as someone’s ‘pet’; she’d be sure to show Nokt that she was only doing this out of necessity, not desire or compliance of being ‘tamed’. Turning her sharp blue gaze upon her rider, Scoria snapped her beak in anticipation.

Looking up to Scoria, Fynn nodded and offered a smile; though with the intense glare, that smile quickly retreated. Fine, no going into this as anything more than friends; his mind swirled a bit as he climbed up onto the harpia’s back, once again not having a saddle, but hoping that the bareback method might earn them some bonus points. It didn’t bother Scoria one way or another, so with a quick stretch of her wings, she allowed Fynn enough time to get settled in on her back before taking to the skies.

Without having given her any signal for such a leap, Fynn nearly fell off her back in the process, but tightly held on with his free hand; the other holding his staff and hoping it wouldn’t fall out of his grasps during this performance. Higher and higher they climbed into the night sky, barely pausing as her wings stirred up clouds and sprinkled Fynn’s hair with moisture. Shaking it free, Fynn brought the staff around to nervously begin his performance.

Now, even if the judges didn’t know this, to Fynn, the most impressive part of this performance would be that it was performed without much practice; that, or it’d be the main reason why he’d soon fail. Having always been worried that Scoria wouldn’t take well to the staff’s chain being swung around her head, Fynn hoped that this more impromptu action would go over better if done last minute. He hadn’t thought much on the plan, else he would have realized how dumb it sounded, but nevertheless, this is where they were at and he could only hope that it wouldn’t end tragically.

As Scoria spiraled upwards, Fynn suddenly felt a strong pang of anxiety. Could he really do this? Or better yet, should he? Having barely built a connection with this bird, he couldn’t even understand her at this point; which could spell for some tragedy if he didn’t perform right or accidentally cut her in the process. In reality, he could sever that thin thread of a relationship that they had, did he really want to test that?

“Quit your whining…”

In all his worrying, the sound almost was ignored and mistaken for the wind; but then it came again, louder and more fierce “Stop, you’re going to pass out if you keep acting all scared..” a voice he was unfamiliar with spoke, and with such a harsh tone, he only blinked in startled amazement that it was the harpia’s. Like his companions, he was able to hear the voice of his mounts if he was able to make a strong enough bond with them, though with how he and Scoria butted heads so much, he had almost doubted it possible; yet lo and behold, here he was with her voice in his head, loud and clear and… telling him what a wuss he was for being scared.

“I’m sorry, I’ll… I’ll stop” Fynn responded, though couldn’t help a smile on his mask. Much to his surprise, this wasn’t actually all that bad now that he realized that she as well was actually enjoying this flight; there wasn’t a strong negativity against him, nor was there any knock or reason for her to drop him form the skies right then and there. It was actually a pleasant flight so far, probably one of their best.

“Let’s do this…” Fynn smirked, and with a mighty roar, Scoria broke free of some clouds, not even flinching as Fynn brought out the staff, letting loose the chain that had been coiled inside. Though probably silent from the view down below, the air around the two clashed and clanged with the sound of metal as Fynn whipped the staff around, creating a spiral above his head.

The rest of their performance went smoothly, both finally cooperating with one another and there being little static between them. Fynn saw this moment as a breaking point in their relationship, a point in which he could actually really get to know Scoria and understand her better; and through such, be able to consider her goals and aspirations as time passed. He thought of all the obstacles they could conquer, all the trials they could face… all the food they could catch! Nothing seemed impossible on her wings, and surely she felt at least a little more empowered with him at her side. Maybe just a little.

All the same, they were a team now, and Scoria was ready to take on the world. Let nothing stand I their way, for even if it was the dead of night, Scoria the Scourge owned the sky; the clouds and the endless sea of sky were hers, and she dared anyone to oppose her on those grounds. Fynn felt this power and desire through their bond, and all he had was respect for the great stryx who deemed him acceptable enough to call friend.