ERD
There was an intimate touch to his shoulder after Ard had slowly gotten upright and found his footing, and Erd turned his head to offer his brother a hopefully reassuring grin. “It’s okay.” The confirmation and reassurance came instinctively and without thought. Ard was uncomfortable. He could see it in his brother’s expression, carried in the tension of his shoulders and the crease of his brow. He could feel it, as well, a brimming pool of uncertainty and worry building within a special place behind Erd’s heart. Oftentimes, they knew what the other was feeling or experiencing even if there was distance between them. A ‘sixth sense’, as it were, a unique bond experienced by only a rare few. “We’ll be alright. I promise.”
They had to be, right? Nothing could be worse than the cruelty they had experienced in Luminous.
“Come on. We should poke around a little, maybe find out where we are.” Ard only gave him a look before nodding in silence. It was as good a plan as any, and really, what else did they have to go off of? Not much, if he were being honest. Erd took a moment to stretch out his wings, testing them once again for pain. There was none, luckily, and the young ivory Pegasus gave himself a good shake to rid the lingering effects of the portal they had traveled through before taking a few steps forward.
Before they could make much progress at all, a dark, airborne figure steadily approached. It was far too large to be a bird even as it wheeled about elegantly within the sky, but Erd knew what it was immediately. A Pegasus. A stranger. The warlock glanced towards his brother, sharing a knowing look before rolling his shoulders and drawing himself up to his full height. They may be small in stature, but they were a quick and dangerous unit when paired together. Never mind their magic… Really, anyone would be out of their mind to mess with them, and Erd knew he spoke for both he and Ard when he said that they were sick and tired of being taken advantage of.
“Hold your ground, brother.” Ard was tense beside him, and Erd did his best to remain calm even as the earthly colored Pegasus whirled about in the air, before cresting downwards at a speedy arc and coming to a sliding stop shortly before them, kicking up dirt and grass. Her posture did not relax, and that was immediately put him at unease. Broad speckled wings of white and brown reached outwards at their full span, an unnecessary display of prowess that he, a victim of war and unnecessarily violence, did not appreciate.
As a result the two petite grey’s pressed closer together, but Erd would not let himself be daunted. His eyes, a cautious, nearly glowing turquoise, roamed over the deep bay woman who had landed, and assessed her. She was far taller than the twins, but that was nothing new. They were used to being the smallest around. The woman carried herself tall and proud, like Vreis, and there was a calculating chill to her pale grey eyes. A soldier? Maybe a sell-sword?
Then, her words. ’Hail Vespera.’
A chill went down Erd’s spine and once more he shared a look with Ard. His brother was glaring at the bay, clearly distrustful. Who was Vespera? The lord or lady of the land? A threat? Yet another tyrant upon a long list? Had they made a mistake coming here? Answers, unfortunately, could not be found by silence.
The lady went on, introducing herself in a raspy undertone that reminded him of Ard whenever his brother decided to speak. ’I am Marisol.’ A name. Okay, so… That was progress, right?
Clearing his throat, Erd decided to answer, head lifting and curiosity shining in his ocean eyes despite his wariness. “… I’m Erd,” he introduced, then nodded his head to his twin, “This is Ard. We, uh… Where are we?” Simple and to the point. That was also good, right? The sooner they found out where they were, the sooner they could make plans on where they would go. Hopefully they would find somewhere safe, somewhere that would welcome them. Maybe, dare he think it, they might even find a home.
What a wild idea.
