Felin

Third Boraloian

Kicit drew in a deep breath of the cool morning air, feeling it as it rushed through his feathers. The deafening silence of its roar quieted the world around him as he soared through the air. His eyes focused on the rising sun, watching it peak over the horizon from a point that only an Avian could claim. For a few brief moments the world was as it should be. Predictable. Safe. 

Kicit had always preferred mornings to himself. Time without the noise or expectations left him clearer, more grounded and ready to be the version of himself others expected. Before he was told of Releases and Canto’s it had been a time to imagine and meditate; of getting lost in daydreams traveling the Esurian Islands. Everything from the highest points of the Skarris peaks, to the Rock Abyss that split the island of Neuceon in two. All long memorized from the deep pages of books. But since he started his casting journey it had been replaced with mediation, study, and practice- not that he minded of course. The time he devoted to study had propelled him far further than any of his peers back at Ibbaw Flight. His teachers had told him they expected great things and he dared not let them down. 

As the sun continued to peak over the horizon Kicit scanned below for a place to land. Master Elacce had told him that there would be no lesson today and Kicit meant to use the time well. He centered on an area right outside the refuge, away from noise and eyes. With a few careful flaps Kicit gently touched onto the well worn grass. A familiar soreness filled him and he rolled his shoulders. Clearly he hadn’t been flying enough. 

“I didn’t know you could actually fly.” Kicit turned sharply, his feathers and plumage bristling before recognizing Tontashi. 

“How did I miss her?” He asked himself softly and nodded politely turning away from her. “What else would the feathers be for?” he asked. Genuinely confused how someone could think that. Tontashi said nothing and Kicit started turning away. “If you’ll excuse me.” 

“Hold it.” The command was firm, like a military commander would say to his reports. Years of being under Master Elacce’s tutelage snapped him back to her. “I’ve got a few things to pick your teeth about.” She asked and a nervous chill pooled in Kicit’s gut. Tontashi was someone who commanded presence. The way she had spoken with Master Elacce in the wake of the Adium’s Day disaster proved physical power did not phase her. “Elacce told me you both are on a diplomatic mission to Atheson… I don’t bite it. For one, why would Avians be interested in diplomacy, nobody cares about you lot and your little island.” She paused. Kicit opened his beak to speak- too slow. “And for two, why has everything seemingly gone to shit since you two arrived.” 

Danger crawled through Kicit’s feathers. He desperately wanted to spring back into the air to escape but there was a very good chance it would just make things worse. So instead, after he was sure that she was finished, he spoke in his most professional tone. 

“My Master and I are here to broker an agreement with His Majesty on behalf of the Canines.” The words had been harder to get out than he thought but Tontashi didn’t react as expected. He had thought she was aware of this but the few seconds of surprise on her face indicated that she did not. Kicit then felt his stomach drop, Master Elacce and Tontashi had a lengthy talk after she had come barging in the other night but they had taken it out of his earshot. They’d obviously not discussed their intentions. But her reaction turned from surprise to interest as she cocked her head to the side and leaned over the Avian. 

“On behalf of the Canines?” She asked, her words slow, conniving. The only thing Kicit could do was continue and try to avoid any more questions. 

“That’s correct. We have been…” he paused, “contracted to do such.” 

“Why didn’t we send our own?” She followed up but Kicit shook his head. 

“That I don’t know, only why we are here.” He said hoping that it’d be enough. At first she seemed to accept it, Kicit could tell she was churning ideas around in her head. But then he got an idea. “You were part of the Atheson Guard correct?” 

“Yes.” She nodded. “Before I was rudely kicked out. Almost lost my neck in the process.” A snarl formed on her muzzle but Kicit continued.

“As you know I’m studying Casting, did you see any during your time?” 

“No.” She responded and Kicit couldn’t quite tell if she meant no to the question or no she hadn’t. He was going to ask for clarification but she moved on, almost like she saw his misdirection. “My job now is to keep this Refuge safe and I’ve got reason to believe that one of our newcomers has made that much harder. Considering your effort in helping protect the whole town you’re lower on the list.” Kicit wasn’t sure if it was a compliment but he continued to listen. “I’m going to ask you to keep an eye on your Master Elacce.” Her eyes glanced up towards the refuge and Kicit stepped back in surprise, his feathers spreading slightly. He quickly chittered his beak. 

“I’m sorry Tontashi but I share a special relationship with my Master and I cannot break it. The fact you think I would is…is disrespectful.” The words felt comforting to him and completely reasonable but Tontashi moved in closer, to where her black nose nearly touched his beak, she breathed her words through sharp teeth sending shivers down his wings. 

“I’ll check back with you soon.” Then she straightened up and briskly walked away, leaving Kicit’s mind rolling. He wasn’t going to spy for her, that’s completely asinine! Though, that’s exactly why he was here. The nature of their mission yelled in his head as he watched her walk the distance back and disappear into the town. He drew a shallow breath, what in the name of Riyew was going on? He certainly wasn’t going to report anything on Master Elacce to her but, maybe there was some value in not being as forthcoming with his Master as he usually was. Kicit rubbed his talons together and thought back to all the lessons that Master Elacce had taught him; keep your mind open, surround yourself with different people, experience new things. Right now, Kicit felt consumed by blackness with a small fire illuminating only one side. 

The decision had been easier than he thought, he’d take a more critical eye towards Master Elacce. Not for Tontashi, but for himself. 

***

Eight years it had been. Eight years since he’d passed his own Apprentice exam. Yet now, as Kicit practiced release forms alone on the edge of town, a frustration continued to well within him. He knew for a fact that he could out-cast any one of his old wingmates; knew the topics he was diving into were simply not within reach of most of them. Again his talon traced the impossibly intricate Release form, sighing as his angles and lines fell short of what was proscribed. He squeezed his taloned hands and tried drawing it again, the only way to get mastery was to practice more times than one thought. But as his talon failed again some growls interrupted him.

“Typical fox, blaming a Canine for all their problems. Well I ain’t gunna take that.” 

Kicit craned his neck around and there, coming from around one of the low tents that made up the hastily set up outskirts of the refuge was Kelkera. She was slowly backpedaling, both of her arms extended to keep two massive Canines at bay.

“I know what I saw.” She barked, seemingly unaware of the danger of her situation. One of the Canines rolled his neck and flashed his sharp teeth towards her. 

“I don’t care what you saw, I’m not going to take anything from a heretic like you.” The other barked, his razor teeth gnashing towards her. Kicit watched on, they hadn’t seen him. Ducking away would be easy and he’d be keeping out of any business that wasn’t his but, he paused thinking about Master Elacce’s order. Was it really worth letting her get seriously hurt or worse? Kelkera took a step forward towards her assailants, letting a growl defiantly rise from within her she wasn’t going to stand down. So, centering his eyes on the two canines Kicit began to whisper his Canto. 

Like it had so many times before the feeling of rolling energy overtook him, its unbridled power coursing through each feather like lightning to ground. A feeling of intense confidence filled the Avian as he decided on his Release. The image of the tree falling on Master Elacce filled his head as he decided what he wanted to do. Nothing too dangerous and definitely nothing to injure; only scare. With great precision his talon traced a simple small release in the air. The power centered within his chest screaming for a way out but he formed like an artisan would pottery. He gave it specific instructions, pushing his will on to it. 

His release shone in the light of the sun before quickly vanishing, followed by an intense wave of wind. It coursed through his feathers and centered directly on the two Canines who were lifted off their feet and flung back into one of the tents, collapsing it inward. Kelkera dropped her defiant stance, surprised at the sight. Of course she had not even felt a breeze. 

Kicit let out a breath and slowly made his way up to Kelkera as the Canines attempted to wrestle free from the collapsed tent. 

“You really must be careful who you anger.” He called and a stunned Kelkera turned to him. At first her face held surprise, probably over the fact that he was speaking to her, but it soon morphed into skepticism. 

“Hmm.” She said through gritted teeth and Kicit made a full bow toward her to show he meant no ill will. 

“I wanted to fully apologize for my behavior the other day, running away from your questions was no excuse and I should be better than that.” The apology certainly came from his heart over his head but with his stilted delivery in Esurian he wasn’t sure if the Vulpine would accept them. He fully knew he had not lent the proper grace towards her considering how much she had gone through to meet him. At first her face moved back to anger, with some snarls forming on her muzzle and Kicit felt the immediate need to leave. But before he could it softened and she let out a sigh. 

“Thank you, it would have been a bit rough to take them both.” 

“I don’t think you could have taken them at all.” Kicit added completely unaware of the unintentional slight at her, she shot him a glare but let it go and just nodded begrudgingly in agreement. Behind them the Canines had freed themselves and were about to respond in kind but after noticing the Avian they hesitated. Having heard about the power he held and witnessing it first hand Kelkera suddenly seemed not worth the effort and they turned, leaving the two alone. Kicit meanwhile, felt himself standing a little taller, projecting his power had been kind of fun and he puffed his feathers in a bit of a boast, something Master Elacce would have absolutely reprimanded him for. 

“So what is wrong with you?” Kelkera finally said. “You’ve been nothing but secretive and avoiding me, why, what did I do?” It was a fair question and Kicit struggled to come up with words. It wasn’t like he could spill his entire reason for being there but he didn’t want to continue avoiding the Vulpine, after all she had only asked for help and had even saved his life. Making his decision, Kicit motioned with his head for her to follow. 

“I’ll show you.” It wasn’t the answer that Kelkera expected and she responded with confusion but Kicit assured her that it would make sense. So she followed him far enough away from any prying eyes and curious souls of the Refuge. Once a sufficient distance away, to where it’d be hard to tell what someone was doing, Kicit slowed and drew in a deep breath, selecting his words very carefully. 

“See…” he stopped and rethought. “I…have you noticed anything weird?” Kelkera’s ears perked and she narrowed her eyes.

“You.” 

Kicit waved it away with his taloned hands. “No no, I mean,”  he drew in a breath. “Have you noticed anything weird in…emotionally charged situations?” Kelkera still wasn’t following; her face blank with confusion and Kicit changed course again. “Do you remember the attack, after I did that Elemental Combination and those Esurians charged us?” Kelkera’s eyes moved like she was thinking, no doubt going over what had happened in her head and then nodded. 

“Yeah?” She said, her face still unaware of what he was getting at. 

“And when that soldier was about to strike but then stepped away, like he were scared of you. Do you remember how you felt?” Kicit tried to be as specific as possible, it was the only way to really explain what he was after and Kelkera slowly made a nodding motion, moving her gaze down to the dirt. 

“I felt you giving me some power. I felt good. Felt strong. Like I could have done anything and then...” She recalled and Kicit clicked his beak twice. 

“That wasn’t me, I can’t do that.” She immediately shot him a pointed look, a sliver of understanding within it. He continued. “Besides, even if I could, I wasn’t in the state to Cast, could barely even walk.” He let her fill in the rest of the blanks. 

“So, that feeling, those streaks of light, that wasn’t you?” Her tone changed to one of wonder and soon her gray muzzle slowly opened and her eyes widened. “But you’re saying it was Magic?” Kicit nodded and Kelkera immediately looked to her pads, examining them as if there were some mark hidden under the fur. 

“It’s what I wanted to talk to you about, you can cast Kelkera.” She stood for a long while, staring at her pads. Kicit didn’t interrupt, he had let her process it. The words had been surprisingly difficult for him to say, this entire conversation had been in fact. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Master Elacce would find out, but what was done, was done and after some time she shot back at him. The beginnings of a growl crawling on her muzzle. 

“Why didn’t you tell me!” Her voice rose to a sharp yell and Kicit cowered slightly under the attack. He felt though that she was fully justified in her anger and he dropped his own eyes to the ground. 

“I…You can’t tell him.” Kicit finally got out and Kelkera shook her head. 

“Tell who what?” 

“My Master,” Kicit wrung his talons together and he struggled but he was already this far. “He’s the one who said I couldn’t tell you. I don’t really know why.” The broken words left his beak weak and stuttered but they seemed to get it across. Kelkera’s fur settled leaving them in silence as both waited for the other to speak. Kelkera finally broke the silence. 

“You listen to everything he says?” She asked, voice much calmer and curious. Kicit responded with a weak twill. 

“He’s my Master, I’m supposed to.” The reasoning sounded weird said aloud. It was more of an unspoken understanding that the Apprentice did not question the Master. Sure there had been points where Kicit pondered out loud why Master Elacce did things a certain way but in the end he knew it would go the Master’s way. That’s the way it was. As time had gone on, and as he spent more and more time with the old Master he had grown more aligned with him but this was different. There was no reason to hide this fact from Kelkera. She scoffed at the reasoning but quickly moved beyond it and back to her own pads. 

“So how do I…do it?” Kelkera had seen many releases performed in the last few weeks but its terminology and exactly how to pull off a Release was a wash of speculation. Kicit regained his composure and forced his thoughts to move from Master Elacce, deciding the best way to explain. 

“No one really knows why it works, just it does,” he began. “Many Mages have studied the Legend of the Archmage to try and find answers but if there were any they took them to their grave. At its most basic level, it is thought to be not dissimilar to other natural forces that inhabit these islands. Only that it can be controlled through very specific actions called Releases. That’s where spells get their name.” 

“Is that what the drawing in the air is?” She asked, making several wild gestures with her finger. Kicit almost chucked but kept it in and nodded. 

“There are three fundamental parts of Casting, each one needs to be studied, honed and practiced. First, is Canto, a mediation of sorts to help gather the energy from around you. There are no magic words or special incantations, just mediation and what works for you. Drawing the power from the world around you.” Kicit fanned his wing out across the sky. “Second, is Release, the hardest physical part of Casting.” Kicit raised one of his talons and traced a Release in the air. “They need to be precise, exact, meticulously recreated in the air. The slightest deviation and nothing will happen.” Kicit traced one of the most basic releases, the first one he ever learned as a Student, exaggerating each deliberate line slowly. Then he retraced it and added a slight variation to one of the lines, pausing as he did so. “See, if I tried to complete this Release nothing would happen as I wasn’t completely accurate with it.” 

Kicit paused and let Kelkera think through the information for a moment. To him these were the absolute basics and had become so second nature to him that drawing it incorrectly had been difficult but it served as a good example. He remembered when learning new Releases at the start that his teachers would do the same thing. Kelkera nodded slightly with a confused understanding, he knew she didn’t really get it but continued anyway; understanding would come with time. 

“Lastly is perhaps the hardest to explain, we like to call it Will. It’s the least visible part of Casting but just as important and if done correctly any observer would not be able to tell. Essentially it's the Caster telling the spell how to do what the Release told it to do.” 

“Wait, the Release doesn’t do that?” Kelkera interrupted and Kicit clicked his beak twice. 

“No, it’s like…” he grasped around for a way to explain, finally focusing on a small rock on the ground. “Here watch me and that rock.” He spoke one of the first Canto’s he was taught, an old rhyme in Avian, and felt the energy well in him again, he then drew the Elemental Ground release to move the rock, showing each line of the Release as deliberately as possible. Kelkera watched the rock intently but nothing happened, there wasn’t so much as a shake or shutter. She shot him a look but Kicit then re-performed the actions only this time imparting his will onto the energy. Force the rock rise and shoot across the valley and out of sight in the blink of an eye. The rock immediately rose and shot away, quickly disappearing from sight. “The first one I didn’t impart any will. The energy had no idea what I meant, it didn’t know if I was referring to that rock, the ground or anything else so it dissolved.” He waved a wing out towards the rest of the valley. “But the second, I gave very specific instructions to make it shoot across the valley and well, you saw the results.” He paused but the moment he did an overwhelming sense of exhaustion came over his body. Kicit’s limbs creaked and legs shuttered. “Sorry.” He said. 

“Are they dangerous?” Kelkera asked noticing the distinct change in Kicit but the Avian shook his head. 

“It can be if you’re not aware of your limits. Casting is extraordinarily taxing on the body and you will experience pain every time you cast. But just as with anything else, the more you do the easier it becomes.” He tested his stance again. “See that was my third Release in relatively quick succession, I could do two more like that before falling. Rest is imperative to a Caster and without it, they will certainly meet an early end. The more you train the more you will be able to do.” As he explained Kicit gained a better appreciation for those who had taught him his first Releases and Master Elacce, they had to somehow show examples of Releases and not overexert themselves, a much larger task than he had thought. Kelkera tried to copy his motions with her own pad but her attempt had no definition and quickly dissolved into nothing. 

“How do you know what you’re doing? How many Releases are there?” She asked, a hint of frustration in her voice. 

“Seventy three.” Kicit said and Kelkera blinked. The specificity of the number threw her and she looked at him with a muddled gaze. 

“So there are only seventy three things you can do?” She scoffed, suddenly thinking it wasn’t as impressive as it looked. However, Kicit clicked his beak twice. 

“There’s seventy three basic Releases but on top of that there is an action called combine where a skilled Caster can string together different Releases for various stronger effects. But, combine is an incredibly advanced skill.” Kicit beamed slightly but Kelkera didn’t seem to share the same excitement as him and instead crossed her arms. 

“So if you can do this Combine, why are you still an Apprentice?” It was an honest question but also she had a bit of a playful mocking tone which made Kicit pull back his pride. 

“It’s a good question,” Kicit said, trailing off and looking away from Kelkera, avoiding her eyes in a flash of embarrassment. “I don’t know why, Master Elacce keeps holding me back from selecting my own Apprentice and moving to the next rank, Magus.” He said. Kelkera backed off from her tone.

“He’s holding you back?” She asked, genuinely curious about the dynamic the two shared but Kicit clicked twice and cooed slightly as if he were trying to project a smile.

“It is nothing that isn’t within his right as my Master but regardless, back to your question on Releases.” Kicit didn’t allow Kelkera to inject again to avoid the question and instead moved on to explain the Tree of Magic, the outline of basic forms that make up more complex Releases. While Kelkera had already felt like her brian was overloaded with information he explained that there were three branches or pillars of magic, Elemental, Objective and Spiritual. Each branch acts as a basis for what a Caster wanted to do; if they wanted to control one of the elements, ground, water, fire or air, the Release would be built off of the Elemental branch. If a Caster wanted to interact with the objective world, objects that already existed within the world they would use the Objective branch. Lastly was Spiritual, though Kicit didn’t bother explaining much as Spiritual was generally reserved for Masters and dealt with things that one should not mess with like darkness, light and perhaps the hardest of all Releases, mind and body, having a direct effect on one's self or others. 

“What do you mean having a direct effect on others?” She questioned and Kicit turned his head, thinking. 

“Do you remember back at your tavern, the Esurian who couldn’t speak?” Kelkera nodded. “Master Elacce had used a Spiritual Mind Release on him.” He said. Kelkera took it in. 

“Have you ever been on the receiving end of one?” A strange question but Kicit clicked his beak twice. 

“No I haven’t; but even if I were I wouldn’t be able to recognize it. Especially for any thoughts or memories.” 

***

The sun dropped below the trees, casting broken shadows on the field as Kicit wrapped up his impromptu lesson. He thought he’d done a good job, explaining the basics of what it meant to cast a Release and the feelings associated with it. Going even so far as to helping Kelkera through the motions of her first actual release, the same one he had learned first, moving the ground around them. She wasn’t able to perform it, that was still quite a ways off but he pressed on her to practice the form at the very least, until she could draw it without a second thought. He also tried to teach her some basic Canto phrases but trying to translate them from his native Avian tongue to Kelkera’s proved to be difficult and the rhymes and syllabic structure were all but lost. So he just advised her to practice meditating.  

Though as good as Kicit thought it was, Kelkera felt like she was drowning in ankle deep water. All this about Releases, Cantos, Will; it dampened her excitement of knowing that she had the power. It wasn’t until he was explaining some final meditation techniques that Kelkera finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. 

“So…” she started as he wrapped up. “Are you going to be my Master?” The words sounded odd coming from her muzzle and immediately Kicit clicked his beak twice. 

“No, Master is a rank that only the best Mage’s are able to achieve, they’re rare. As far as I know only nine exist.” Doubt creeped back into Kicit as he pondered his next words, Master Elacce’s command of not telling Kelkera rang in his head again but he pushed them down. He was already this far and there was no sense in avoiding it, besides being able to share some of his knowledge had been the most fun he’d had in quite a while. “But, I can teach you. At least a little bit before I go back to Atheson.” 

“Why would you want to go there…again?” Kelkera asked as they started making their way back to Refuge. 

“My Master and I are on an important mission and it must be completed.” Kicit responded in his well rehearsed tone but he did think back to the encounter on the bridge before the city then the Talor and the young teen that had escorted them out. Then he pictured the two other soldiers he’d killed wondering if it had been one of them.

“Did your Master say you couldn’t say what it was?” She pressed. 

“Yes, he alwa…” He didn’t have time to finish before Kelkera cut him off. 

“Why? It seems every time you’ve talked about him it’s been complaining about his decisions and how he runs everything about your life. What does he know that’s so important to keep from you?” Kicit fell silent, rolling over the words in his head and matching them with whenever he had spoken of his Master over the last few weeks. But, the backdrop of years of training and Master Elacce watching out for him and teaching him secrets to Casting, there had to be a good reason for most of it. He clicked his beak twice. 

“It’s…not my place to say. He has been odd the last few weeks but that shouldn’t discount years of being under his wing. He’s never steered me wrong.” His blue feathered head dropped to the ground as they walked, almost in shame. 

“Then why tell me anything?” Kelkera grunted. 

“I…i just want to show him that I can.” But the moment he said it Kelkera stopped in her tracks and Kicit immediately knew he said the wrong thing. 

“That’s really all I am to you, some sort of thing to use? What the IS wrong with you?” She barked and before Kicit had a chance to try and fix it Kelkera raced away, leaving him behind. He didn’t bother trying to catch up to her, for one he was still exhausted from the Releases he’d performed and the other, he wasn’t sure what he’d even say. Dejected, Kicit made his way back to the refuge, eyes centered on the ground. He honestly hoped it would be a relatively quiet night but before he had a chance to even step into the refuge he was stopped once again by Tontashi. 

“There you are.” She snarled. Kicit looked up from his study of the ground and shot her a stare of indifference, a sigh leaving his beak. 

“I don’t have anything to say.” Kicit grunted and moved to walk past the Canine. But instead of moving past she reached out and grabbed one of his winged arms, squeezing her pads tight and letting her claws dig into his thin scaly skin and damaging some of his feathers. Kicit instantly tried to jump back but she was much stronger than him and quickly overpowered his attempts. 

“You’re not going anywhere.” She growled. Kicit squirmed trying to free himself but then of course, a Release! However, before he had a chance Tontashi slapped a pair of crude cuffs on his wrists and then forcibly wrapped his talons with a sticky resin soaked parchment which hardened almost instantly preventing Kicit from moving any of his fingers. With his talons completely frozen in place and wrists bound he was completely at the mercy of the Canine who stood over him, a sneer in her teeth. 

“What did I tell you just this morning!” She barked in complete command of the situation and motioned to two other guards, a Cervine and Amphibian, to hold Kicit tight. “And you go and attack two Canines?” 

“They were going to hurt Kelkera!” Kicit shot back, emotion now getting the better of him as his bindings became tighter around him. Tontashi leered. 

“Did they?” She asked. With as much confidence she exuded it was still an honest question and Kicit desperately wanted to say yes! But it would be incredibly easy to disprove so instead he sank his head.

“No…but if you heard what they said.” He tried to add in a weak attempt at a follow up. 

“You used a Release against two Canines for just talk? Do you know how dangerous that is!” She shot back but Kicit couldn’t believe what she was saying. He knew his command over his Releases and never would have caused lasting damage to them. 

“I blew some wind in their face!” He cawed, “Nothing more. When I cast a Release I know what I’m doing.” Tontashi seemed to ponder him for a moment, but whatever she was thinking quickly passed.  

“Should I ask about what you did to your own Master’s wing?” She growled and Kicit immediately recoiled. He stammered a few tweets but Tontashi wasn’t in the mood for listening. “Go tie him up near the other.” She commanded. At once the two guards started to drag him towards the central square, jerking on his wings and forcing out some feathers. He glared at Tontashi but she drew in a deep breath and settled. She almost looked relieved. Had she been scared? Of him? He couldn’t think too much of it as the two militia members pulled him through the Refuge. 

Kicit flushed with embarrassment as curious eyes watched the small procession. There wasn’t anything worse to him, he’d entered the town as a powerful Caster and now was being dragged through the dirt no different than a criminal. Whispers echoed through the narrow streets as other Beasts gawked at the sight of the Avian being dragged. 

As they approached the central square Kicit tried to get a glance at where he was headed. They were pulling to another post that had been driven into the ground a few paces from where the Esurian was. Once close enough the Cervine used his boot to kick Kicit’s already weak legs and he collapsed to the ground to which they took no time in securing him tightly to the post. Both of them gave him death stares before turning their backs and walking away while Kicit writhed on the ground trying to right himself. After a few moments of struggle and noticing a few stripped feathers he quickly stopped, realizing that there was no way he would be able to force it. He tested his talons again but they were effectively hunks of rock preventing the slightest wiggle of movement. Around them some brave onlookers tip-toed up to him but once he gave them a look they retreated.

“Now what could you have done?” A high voice broke through the commotion of whispers and Kicit arched his neck over to see Sullin, still affixed to his post wearing little more than rags and a half smile on his face. Kicit kicked his still free feet and right himself and clicked his beak in response, saying he was in no mood to talk, not that Sullin would have been able to know what he meant. “Must’ve been quite the thing surely.” He said but Kicit avoided his gaze and instead took in what was around him. 

Fortunately there had been a bit of work done since Sullin had been tied there. Probably realizing that they needed at least something to protect prisoners from the elements, a thin roof, held up by poles no thicker than a feather, protected them from the sky. The dirt around him had been baked in the sun and packed down from the constant pressure of Beast’s going about their business. But it didn’t stop loose dust from getting kicked up at the slightest disturbance leading to a constant irritation to Kicit’s eyes that he couldn’t wipe away. 

“It doesn’t get better.” Sullin said, a hint of humor in his voice. Kicit shot him a glare through his watering eyes not appreciating the attempt. “Just gotta bear through it, though still better than how they treat prisoners in the Atheson dungeons.” Sullin’s eyes dropped to Kicit’s bindings and his face widened in surprise. “Wow! That’s quite the lock down, saw it a few times at Atheson for Mage’s that they worried would be able to draw releases so small that just holding their wrists wouldn’t be enough. They must really be worried about you.” He said. This did peak interest and he attempted to wiggle his talons but there was no give. 

“You’ve seen this?” Kicit asked. Sullin nodded quickly. 

“Oh yes yes yes, I’m quite surprised to see it used for an Apprentice yes!” He cocked his head to the side. “Now you’ve got me quite curious, what can you do? What has your master taught you?” The question threw Kicit for a bit of a loop, it seemed that this Esurian knew a bit about Magic and Atheson. Ever the planner Kicit began to form an idea, this could be an opportunity. 

“I am well versed in the first two branches of magic.” Kicit said but quickly followed it up without giving Sullin a chance to respond. “How do you know about all of this? Did you do something in Atheson?” Sullin’s eyes shot up as he rolled to the side. 

“Ah yeah, that’d make sense. Bet you’re quite the impressive Caster.” He winked sending a bit of a flush through Kicit. “But I must confess my knowledge is really paltry in the matter. I was an aid to a professor at Rusia a lifetime ago but most of that has been lost. It seems holding certain views in the wrong cities is a ticket to the streets.” He nodded slightly and shrugged. “Now this Master of yours, considering your predicament.” He nodded his head towards the bindings. “Why aren’t you a Magus yourself, or even a Mage?” Kicit instantly recoiled and wanted to turn from the Esurian. 

“I don’t know.” Kicit responded, a slight hesitation in his voice. “He would say he still has things to teach.” Sullin made a face like he was thinking and raised his eyebrows. 

“It sounds like to me he’s trying to hide something from you, but I don’t really know.” It was something Kicit knew already but hearing three people in the same day voice it had brought the uncomfortable truth bubbling to the surface and Kicit felt like it’d be something he’d have to confront. The only response he could make was a curt nod as the last slivers of sun dipped over the horizon descending the Refuge into darkness.