A bird's call

A BIRD’S CALL

The bird's call. How could I ignore it? I heard it and I knew I meant something, but we were following the dog, because the dog could find his track… And suddenly I realized… That was Tim, and Tim was with him. So that was the right direction.

I'm now running, forgetting how to breath, to the place where I remember I hear that call minutes ago, panting and wishing I'm not arriving too late, that I won't loose the track again. Stupid, stupid, stupid shem! Why didn't you tell me? You knew I'd never let you go alone, did you? But I want to go with you! You promised you'd never leave me!! Why? Why? Why?

I realize I'm crying while I run… and a part of me is aware that the others are running behind me, but I don't care. I need to find his track again. The dwarf's dog follows me close, but it suddenly stops when I enter the forest, whines and runs back. I know why. I have also felt it. I can't really describe it, but… I somehow know this is not the forest anymore.

But again, this doesn't matter. This is the place. He's here, somewhere. This looks like the forest, but it feels different. Things look blurry. And there's sort of a pink glow everywhere. I walk through the strange trees which are not trees, and raise my ears open in an attempt to hear him, wherever he is. And I get the prize when I listen voices somewhere from my left.

I walk towards the place I heard the voices, and behind some trees, I see them. Kyle, with his falcon Tim on his shoulder… and a woman, a human woman. My heart jumps when I see him, but it shrinks when I see the woman. I don't know her… but I think I know who she is. You shem bitch, you don't surrender easily, do you? You haunted him in his dreams, and now you want to take him away from me. Why can't you just stay dead? He's mine now. You have no rights over him anymore. 

Ngoc Trinh's beautiful depiction of the encounter between Kyle and his lost love

"Stay away from her!" I shout at Kyle, running towards him. He turns and looks at me, slowly, and I stop shocked.

He's looking at me with his whole face. With his two eyes. Without scars.

The woman also turns and looks at me. She's pretty, dark haired, and has a beautiful smile. I can understand what he saw in her. But damn it, you bitch. You're dead. I'm alive. Now he's mine, do you understand? Mine!.

"Mari?" he says, with a puzzled look. "What are you doing here? I told you not to follow me!"

I don't pay attention, I just get in the middle, between him and her, and try to push him away, hysterical. "Don't listen to her! Don't look at her!!! She's going to take you with her!!"
Kyle takes me by the shoulders and smiles. "Hey, hey, be quiet… Don't worry, I know what I am doing. She would never hurt me".

I look at the girl and my heart aches. I bet being a ghost makes her even prettier. She smiles at me, sweetly. She doesn't say a word, but she nods approvingly as she moves her arm to stroke my hair, and then touch my cheek. Her hands are cold and wet, like fog, and I shiver. She smiles at Kyle a last time, and then she turns back and starts walking away, fading while she does so. Kyle tries to follow her.

"Kyle!" I shout, but she disappears and he stops, with his hand in the air, about to touch the place where she was to be seen the last time. I see Kyle's right half face bleeding again. As if his wound was fresh. He just raises his hand, touches the blood and looks at it on his fingers, absently. Then he walks towards me and stands in front of me, as if it was the first time he noticed I was there. I'm crying.

"Are you all right?", he says softly, taking my hand.

I nod, staring at his bleeding eye. I'm about to hug him and beg him to get out of here, when he turns back and gets focused into something at our left. I follow his gaze. A white, ghostly female figure walks away, turning from time to time as if waiting for Kyle to follow her.

For a moment I think it's Lindy again, but then I realize she has pointy ears. Kyle releases my hand and steps towards her, while Tim moves his wings nervously, trying to get released. The bird likes those ghost ladies as much as I do, it seems.

"Kyle, please!", I beg again. "Don't leave me here! Where are you going? Who is she?"
But he just pushes me away and continues walking. I try to stop him, but I just could have tried to stop a flood or a flying high dragon and get the same results. I grab his shirt's neck, and I just end with his scarf in my hands. He doesn't seem to care. He joins the ghostly elven lady and walks with her… and they disappear.

Things happen slow and fast at the same time. I swear I could have stopped him, because I saw him walking peacefully as if he was just strolling. But by the other side, I seem unable to reach him, even if I am running and shouting and trying to reach him with all my strength. When he disappears, I just keep looking at the trees like a stupid.

"He must be there. He can't have disappeared like that", I mumble, and I run through the trees hoping to find him at the other side.

But what I see there are four beasts, glowing as if they had fire in their skin. The beasts didn't see me, and if I'm careful I can walk past them silently. So I try. I'm good at it. And I'm sure Kyle is behind the beasts. I hold the scarf closer, like an amulet, and I walk carefully.

When I'm at the other side of the clear, though, I hear cries and fast paces behind me. I can even swear I heard Lauren's voice calling my name, ...and the beasts heard them too, because they move towards the sound… except one, which looks directly at me. "Damn it", I spit out, and I run, run, run, and get deeper in the forest, trying to get rid of it. Too late, the beast is fast, and the last thing I hear before feeling a sudden pain in my head and fall in darkness, is a bird call again… Tim's shriek, while the falcon falls over the beast's head, preventing it to run over me and finish what it has started.

I wake up at the inn, on my own bed. I don't seem to have any injuries, but Lauren, who has been by my side all this time, says they found me unconscious in the forest, and that it has taken me three days to wake up. Adrienne is also in the room, while I can see Håkan and George sticking their heads at the other side of the door, and even the newcomer dwarf, the one with the lazy dog, leans against the corridor wall with Tim on his arm and petting him with a caring look. The poor bird has a broken wing, and somebody has healed it carefully and in an expert way. I bet it was the dwarf, he seems to have a good hand to deal with animals.
"Is he back?", I ask, hopefully, even if I already know the answer. They shake their heads, ashamed as if it was their fault. I look down, to my hands over the bed sheets. Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn shem. I hope I didn't lose you too. Because if you leave me too, like my sister did, like everybody I care for in my life does… I'm not sure if I'll be able to overcome it. Not this time. Not if it is you.
Time passes. Lauren says I can get up and join them to have lunch together, but honestly, I'm not hungry. Even George's happy potatoes aren't appealing to me. I just want to go back to my room, and stay there, looking through the window, waiting for him to come back. He said he'd do, didn't he? "Don't follow me, just wait", said his note. I ripped the part which encouraged me to share a room with Adri while he was away. I didn't even like the idea, it would make me feel even worse. For once in my life, I want to be alone. If he's not by my side, I want no one near. I know it is unfair for our friends, they're worrying, and I see on Lauren's concerned eyes that she wants me to eat more, to be with them… to smile a bit. But I just can't. I just look through the window, holding his red scarf, with Tim perching by my side, following my gaze and hoping the return of his master the same way I do.
Finally my patience gets a reward, and Tim sees him before I do. His wing now allows him short flights, so he flies from my shoulder, and I see him greeting a lonely figure which approaches the inn. I wish I could fly like him, but since I can't, I get up and run downstairs, meeting a excited Lauren in the way, who was coming to tell me the news.
When I arrive to the inn's entrance, I see Kyle standing tall amongst all them - well, amongst all but Håkan -, rubbing his cheek and staring at Adri. I bet she has slapped him and I love her for that. When they see me coming, they back a bit and leave the way clear for me to run and glomp on him, crying and laughing at the same time, and punching his chest like punching a wall while I shout at him "Never, never, do this again to me, okey? Never!!!"
He just holds my wrists and smiles sadly while looking at me straight in the eyes. His face is the same again, no restored eye, no fresh wounds. I wonder if I dreamed that. He leans down and kisses my forehead, and I just get closer to him, and hug him, and cry of anger and happiness at the same time, while he mumbles a lame excuse.
"I had to do it, Mari. I'm so sorry… But now I know where Lirya is… or at least I have a clue… and I hope you'll forgive me and come with me to find her"
"Are you kidding?", I shout at him, between sobs, and he hugs me back and strokes my hair. "Of course I'm coming with you. I'm coming with you even to the loo, now, because I don't trust and I fear you'll do this stupid thing again". He giggles, but says nothing. "Where's she? Where do we have to go? I'm ready to go to the end of the world with you."
"Oh, you won't have to go that far", he chuckles. "Only to Orlais. To Val-Royeaux".

__________________________________________________ _________________
(Excerpt from Kyle’s old note)

The wheel of time continues spinning
I remember the old days, when I used to stumble
When my friends left me and everyone kept away from me
And only my mom was there to support me,
To help me find enough strength to return home.
I close my mind and go back to the old days
And mom is the one who fills them.

You were there to teach me how to walk
You cared for me, every single moment.

I regret not having given you anything for all your love
And thus I love you so.
Mom, walk with me, because the road is lonely.
You told me: "Your road will part in many ways,
and sometimes the path will be sad,
but don't let it release your rage.

If you stumble, just continue walking,
Raise your head and don't look back
Become a man, full of will,
Overcome all sorrow and keep walking
And even so, you still think I am a little child.

BONUS

Yep. This is what we do during our free rp sessions : :

I imagine other people doing serious stuff...we go shopping and cut the guys hair : P (BUT IT'S SO FUN!!! :dummy

The artists: *SoniaCarreras's Marilyn and my Lauren.
The victims: *Abadir's Håkan and ~ErasedCitizen2's George.

But they're so pretty now :la::la::la:


1. Håkan's haircut. Already depicted in *emedeme's deviation (link above) Nuff said.
4. One of my favourite moments during the "Kyle's run" improvised quest... A Rage Demon attacks Lauren, and Håkan runs to save her, rodeo style. The Rage Demon didn't see it coming...



Featuring :iconabadir:'s Håkan (back in the Circle tower after one of his "experiments") and :iconsoniacarreras:'s Marilyn.

Have I mentioned she loves frogs?

Well I've wanted to draw Kyle for some time now...and since today it's :icondoctorwho173:'s birthday!! :dummy:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TRINH! :cake:

Meeeeh! I've always imagined Kyle as a handsome guy, but I can't unsee him in her own style or Sonia's, this pic took me longer than expected because I erased one line for every two new ones : :

Oh. Tim was a must :meow:

yeah...ah..he wears travel clothes and that cloak because it's a...winter and the group is travelling, not because I couldn't draw his arm. Not at all :cough: