Rising Tide [Irka]

[Phoenix St. John]

Ever since she agreed to join her sister in the Carna Phoenix had found her life to be quite lonely. Sure, she loved to be with her sister but more often than not her sister was off on some kind of mission for the Ring, which left Phoenix to occupy herself. There didn’t seem to be anyone else her age in the Carna and a lot of the adults didn’t really have time to be playing with a child. Apparently being ten didn’t make you an adult yet, even despite being forced to grow up early. Shifters didn’t seem to get much of a childhood and that was something Phoenix had accepted a long time ago. Regardless, she still wished to spend time with her family. Phoenix wasn’t entirely alone of course, and her companion was a constant one. Bear had come with her to the Carna and refused to leave her side. Every now and then he’d growl at one of the other Ring members and Phoenix made a mental note not to trust that person. She relied completely on Bear’s judgement of character and to date it had not failed her. Without much supervision Phoenix found herself wandering through the dome quite often. She and Bear had covered a lot of territory when she had first arrived in the Menagerie so she roughly knew her way around. However, she was unaware that the park had been overtaken by Carna’s rivals, the Fulsi. So Phoenix felt quite at ease within the park, having not run into a soul the entire way there. Bear was a good watchdog and she knew he would alert her to any other creatures nearby. Perched between Bear’s shoulder blades, Phoenix ruffled her wings and twittered encouragement to her friend. He continued his walk, coming upon an old playground, complete with swings and a slide. If birds could smile, the petrel would have smiled at that sight. Instead she spread her wings and took to the air, Bear breaking into a slow run to keep close to her. Swooping down, Phoenix let her feet touch the ground lightly before she shifted back into her human form. “C’mon Bear! I wanna play,” she called out, to which he responded with a light-hearted bark. She wished he could speak to her, but Phoenix could still understand what he was trying to say. She settled herself on a swing and began moving back and forth, smile still on her face. Bear came and sat beside the swing set, his ears moving ever so slightly, clearly on alert. A few minutes passed before Bear suddenly stood up, a growl rumbling through his chest. Phoenix stopped herself and looked down at him, her brow furrowing and heart beginning to pound a little faster. “What is it Bear?” Phoenix asked in a dull whisper, unsure of how close the possible threat was. Bear simply moved closer to her and kept his eyes fixed on the bushes at the far end of the park. “Is anyone there?” Phoenix’s small voice called out, cracking on the last word as her voice shook. She placed her hand on Bear’s shoulder, feeling him vibrate as he continued to growl. Though the contact was some comfort, it did not abate the sick feeling in her stomach that was beginning to grow.

[Irka Holubice]

It had been just over two months since Irka's first day in the Dome. She'd been startled awake, finding a towering Sonja standing over her. But, despite rocky beginnings, the two quickly became friends and before Irka knew it, she was slowly falling into the ranks of the FallenRing. Although she'd never been particularly religious, Irka constantly thanked whatever heavenly beings were listening for her good luck and prayed that good fortune would continue to follow her. But Irka was smart. She knew the happy beginnings would only last so long.

The young girl was doing her best to make the most of the moment while it lasted. Sonja, her new found friend and caretaker, would march her out into the fields to collect herbs for healing and such. She would always nag about Irka paying attention to her lessons and not to pick flowers. But the quiet girl noticed the soft smile behind her caretakers eyes and the gentle centers to the harsh edges of her tone. Irka knew she was reaching Sonja's soft spot when, one night, she woke the woman to come out and watch the meteor shower with her. There was definitely a lot of grumbling. But they sat together in silence for almost 2 hours, watching the falling stars. 

Now Irka was out on her own for a bit, trying to get some space. They'd gotten in a bit of an argument a few hours before over... shifting. Irka knew she could do it. She wouldn't be here in this place otherwise, right? But she just couldn't will herself to. She'd never shifted in her life except for the day the scary people had come for her. And poor Sonja was really pushing it, obviously trying to help, but really only making matters worse. Irka had bolted away, unable to handle the pressure. 

She looked up at the sky, noticing the sun was sinking. It was past noon but not late enough to worry about darkness before reaching home. That is, of course, if she could ever find home. Irka usually had a really good sense of direction. But she hadn't quite gotten her bearings yet. It had only been two months, and she hadn't done as much exploring as she would've liked. Mostly since Sonja had given her a very intense warning not to cross into territory belonging to other rings.

But now, as the sun was sinking and time was ticking away, she found herself in a park of sorts with a playground and swings. There were some trees and lots of thick green bushes. This was definitely not home. Irka could only hope she hadn't accidentally wandered into enemy territory. That would be very not good. 

Suddenly, from several hundred feet ahead Irka heard barking and footsteps, rapidly approaching at that. Her heart started racing and, without thinking, she dived behind some thick bushes, praying again for more good fortune. 

Irka held her breath, wishing more than anything that the girl she heard and the dog with her (who's name was apparently Bear) would go away and leave her be. There was a very good chance they were not Fallen. Actually, it was rather likely. She felt herself shaking, but froze when she heard a voice call out to her. "Please go away. Please go away..." She whispered, hoping if she wished hard enough it would come true. Irka could feel her stomach in her throat. She was going to die, she was sure of it.

[Phoenix St. John]

Growling slowly dissolved into a low and quiet rumble that put Phoenix at ease since Bear clearly thought whatever was near was not much of a threat. The bushes rustled slightly and Phoenix tilted her head to the side, Bear mimicking the action and whining at his companion. He nudged her hand and she rose from the swing and started to walk towards the bushes at the other side of the park. “I know you’re there,” she called out, hoping that perhaps it would be another child like her, a friend for her to play with. Whilst she loved to play with Bear, she also would love to have some human – or shifter – friends to play with too. Bear couldn’t speak human or shiftertongue so they couldn’t communicate at all, they could only interpret one another’s actions at base level. Another human child meant proper conversation, gossiping and discussing anything and everything. Besides, the stranger may have answers to all the thousands of questions she was constantly thinking up. Stopping just a metre away from the bush, Phoenix could just glimpse the figure hiding amongst the leaves and branches. It looked small, but she couldn’t see a face and wasn’t sure if it was male or female. “C’mon, I’m not gonna hurt you or anything,” she said softly, not wanting to scare the other person again. Bear sat down beside Phoenix, sniffing at the air before pawing the ground three times. Phoenix frowned at their signal, swallowing and taking a deep breath. “I know you’re a Fallen but I won’t hurt you I promise. I just want a friend…” Phoenix’s voice trailed off and she took a step back, deciding to let the stranger decide whether to come out or not. Waiting was no fun but there was now the slight possibility that the stranger was an enemy and not a friend. Regardless, Phoenix was willing to give them a chance. Innocent until proven guilty she supposed and besides, not all Fallen were evil. It was Carna who told her they were but Fallen probably said the same thing about them. To the young girl it was a very stupid system really.

[Irka Holubice]

Irka stayed frozen for as long as she could, her heart pounding in her throat. She looked around for a possible escape, but nothing was really presenting itself as an option. She’d picked a pretty good hiding place, but a not so good escaping place. She tried to take her mind off of the fear coursing through her veins.

After what felt like years, her muscles began to ache and she knew she had to make a decision soon. She bit her lip, considering the pleading words she heard from the other side of the bush. It could be a Carna. It would be just like a Carna to lie for trust, according to some of the other Fallen anyway. Irka wasn’t completely familiar with all the smells and such of the distinctive groups yet.

That’s when she heard it. The golden, glimmering, magic word. “Friend.” Irka’s eyes shifted to the holes between the branches, trying to get a better peek at the girl and her dog. She decided to be brave and take a chance. Her legs thanking her for moving from her balled up position, she stood slightly, bent down just enough that only her icy eyes were peaking over the top of the green shrub. “H…hello.” She managed to croak out, nerves clogging up her throat. Irka swallowed hard and tried again. “Hello. I… I come in peace.” After she said it, she realized how stupid it sounded. Too bad you couldn’t take words and stick them back in your mouth.

Irka stood up a little bit more, not actually much taller than the bush itself. Now her head was in full view and her eyes darted around quickly, taking a short look at the girl and their surroundings, before locking on the huge, brown beast standing next to her. “H…hey.”

[Phoenix St. John]

A few minutes past and to Phoenix it felt like hours with her lack of the concept of time. Finally, the bushes rustled a little and a pair of eyes peeked out from over the top. Bear instinctively took a step forward, keeping himself in between Phoenix and the stranger, his ears alert and tail wagging with uncertainty. Phoenix placed her hand on his back reassuringly, a small smile crossing her face as she locked eyes with the other girl. Nodding along as the girl stumbled over her words, she giggled a little at the strangeness of her choice of words. “You’re not an alien or anything,” she chuckled back, shaking her head a little. This girl was obviously a strange one, not entirely sure of herself and certainly wary of Phoenix and Bear. They weren’t there to cause any trouble but given that Carna and Fallen were meant to be enemies it was understandable that there would be a little hesitating from both parties. Eventually the other girl felt safe enough to stand up completely, revealing the rest of herself from the cover of the bush. The two girls were around the same age and Phoenix was glad for it. There was hardly anyone young in Carna or even in the entire dome so she was willing to get any friends her age that she could, even if they were Fallen. Taking a step forward, Phoenix nodded a quick hello. “Heya! My name’s Phoenix, and this is Bear.” Her voice was high pitched but she kept it quiet out of habit. She knew better than to creep around outside of Carna territory and make a huge noise. Bear simply woofed at the other girl and then turned to Phoenix, unsure of how to proceed in such a situation. Without really thinking she stroked his fur a little and his tail wagged happily, his tongue lolling out of his mouth. Suddenly, Phoenix realised she’d forgotten her manners. “What’s your name?”