TRC - Searching for the Sky Ch. 15

"Are we good now?" asked Kal.

"I suppose," mumbled the gorgon. "But I'm still pissed at ye."

"Fair enough. Why was the tent sealed?"

"Ria did that, seein' the sky wasn't helping me get over my fear."

"Fear?" he asked. Kal noticed that as she calmed her dwarvish accent faded some.

The gorgon blushed, "I haven't been outside since you left."

"You're scared to go outside?"

"Maybe ya shoulda' warned me that the sky could pour down water and make flashes and giant booms that Ria called 'thunder.' Stuff like that doesn't happen underground, even in the largest caves."

"You had a storm after I left?"

"Aye, that's what Ria called it."

"Just wait, in a few more weeks the water pouring down will freeze and turn from rain to snow. It will cover everything in a blanket of white and be biting cold as soon as you walk outside."

"And you dragged me up here to deal with all of that?" she stared at him in silence for a moment. "No... No... Absolutely not. Get the rock girl back here tell her to find me a new home. I am not going to spend the rest of my life wondering if I'm about to get pissed on by whatever lives up in those 'cloud' things."

"Nothing lives in clouds except maybe a sylph but those are extremely rare. Clouds are just water mist way up in the sky," offered Kuto.

"'Water mist?'" Sera asked. Kuto just stared at the woman, dumbfounded.

"Oh my, I really didn't think this through very well," said Kal. "I've got a feeling I owe Ria as much of an apology as I owed you. Where is she by the way?"

---

Kal was correct, Ria was just as pissed at him as Sera had been. He cut off her tirade upon noticing the look on the gorgon's face falling further and further into shame with each tribulation the sprite described.

With Ria still fuming at him, Kal stepped outside for a few minutes to clear his mind out in the crisp autumn air. The trees outside were already beginning to turn varying shades of orange and yellow. Down in Telsin, there was only been the occasional splash of color peppering the forests.

He heard someone exit the tent behind him. "I really managed to make a mess out of this didn't I?" said Kal.

"Yup," replied the harpy, stepping up beside him, "but try not to beat yourself up too much about it. Without bonding her to you, there's no way you could have known how little education she had about the surface world. Do you think she will change her mind and travel with you?"

"Hard to tell since she's mad at me right now, but she will need to overcome this fear of being outside before leaving is even a possibility." He checked the position of the sun. "The gates on the dwarven kingdom don't close until sundown and I still need to talk to someone about making a way to get up to Felli's before I continue on. When are you planning on leaving?"

"Tomorrow, maybe later if you need me to stay."

"Think you could make it a bit longer? You have a knack for describing things in a way that other people understand. Either that or you just dumb things down enough that I can keep up."

"Organize."

"Eh?"

"I don't 'dumb things down' I just organize what I'm trying to say into something easy to understand."

"Whatever it is, I was hoping you could coach me on how to speak with them tomorrow. Then maybe leave afterward?"

"You just want me to fly you around so you don't have to walk everywhere."

Kal chuckled, "That transparent, am I? I'll admit that was part of the reason I was hoping you might stick around."

She smiled up at him. "I like being able to see your thoughts, it's good to know that isn't the only reason you want me around," she said, giving her tail a shake.

"You'll have to forgive me for looking forward to having some alone time without being up in a tree or sharing a bed."

Kuto glanced back at the tent, "You aren't exactly her favorite person right now, not that I can imagine she's very fun to cuddle with." The harpy shivered, "Most birds have an innate distrust of snakes. I'd imagine we aren't on their menu very often but they're opportunists, eggs and chicks learning to fly are easy pickings. That fear was passed on to us harpies, so don't be surprised if I'm not very friendly towards her."

Kal nodded before leading them back inside.

---

The mage and harpy's plans came to a screeching halt the next morning.

"We are heading up to speak with the dwarves about some work I will need doing in the future," Kal explained to Sera as Ria was in the library collecting the drawings he and Kuto had made last night. "If all goes well we should be back by this afternoon," he said as Ria joined them.

The gorgon watched as he turned and began walking towards the door, the bird-girl beside him and the sprite on his shoulder. There was no embrace, no kiss goodbye, he was just leaving with the harpy who looked up at him with her big, adoring eyes.

He wasn't coming back this time.

The bird-girl was going to run away with the only man she had developed any kind of real feelings for, and this time he wasn't coming back.

The rational part of the gorgon's mind fought against these thoughts, but they became louder and louder with each step he took across the green carpet.

His foot came to rest on the bottom step.

"No!" she screamed, her voice filled with the fear of being abandoned again. "You can't take him!"

Mage and harpy both turned to see what was wrong. Kal ducked behind his arm when he saw Sera's eyes flash. The mental shriek from the harpy as her body locked up told him that he hadn't been the gorgon's target. Kal spun and caught the Kuto as she fell, gently laying her on the floor and being careful not to damage any of her feathers. She hadn't even had the opportunity to look surprised.

Kal glanced up to see a look of horror and regret on the gorgon's face at what she had just done.

At that moment, he didn't care.

Kal's speed rune shone bright and his hand closed on the back of Sera's neck nearly as fast as she could blink. Pushed forward at what felt like an impossible speed, a second later she was sailing out the door to the tent before bouncing along the ground.

When she came to a rest, the gorgon scrambled to her knees, staring up into the sky with fear etched on her face. Kal's voice drew her attention.

"You hurt one of mine, I don't need your venom that bad. Goodbye Sera."

The flap to the tent closed and sealed even as she made a stumbling run towards it.

Sobbing, she fell against the entrance, begging for forgiveness and begging to be let in as she looked up at the terrifying blue dome above her.