Wings Over Water

She walked gracefully, practically gliding along with her face still upturned to the navy sky, bathing in the moon’s light. She enjoyed being alone, when she didn’t have to be afraid to smile or scream. When she was in the company of others it was is she turned to stone, all the emotions brewing underneath. Swells of passion and fits of anger; they were hidden so deep but every so often there was a leak and she’d weep with sorrow or throw her head back in laughter.

But now she was walking with someone she had just met and so she was reserved, her expression stoic. Shadows passed over her face and wings; making it look like she wasn’t all there and she made sure to keep back from the other, just a few paces. Any closer and she’d be claustrophobic…

But she had to say something. On her own she was quiet, when she wasn’t singing. She spoke to the birds, but in chirps and warbles, never with words. Sometimes English, even Italian, was beyond her comprehension. Sand was clinging to her legs and already she was fighting the desire to just fly off, far away from stagnant conversations and judgment.

Ari would try, however. “How long have you been here?” She asked, watching the surf roll across the shore. There. It was a completely innocent question.

Snatching up a rock to examine it, she traced lines left by years of waves eating away at the surface. The layers left behind were different colors... brown and red and maybe even some yellow. Slipping the rock into her bag, she walked with a spring in her step. The night air was clear and inviting, sand still warm from the sun's light.

Vineda thought the silence pleasant, for being the new person in this land had quenched her fear of awkward silences. They passed, one way or another. And oftentimes the conversation was the dull part of a meeting, anyway.

But seeing that her companion was trying at conversation, she was happy to oblige. "I began my journey from my homeland over three years ago, settled a few months later. I've been wandering off and on ever since, and I ventured to meet other people maybe a month or two ago. How about you? Do you know much of this land? Have you met any equine-like creatures?" It was meant to be an easy walk, friendly. Not an interrogation or an interview. Oh but she wished she were good at putting others at ease.

Ari walked along in edgy silence. Usually she reveled in it but she was beginning to feel the other didn’t really want her around, which would make sense, obviously. As far as company went she was too muddled and introverted to be much good.

“Ah.” She had asked for the sake to escape the stifling quiet closing in and the answer was of little consequence. She sighed; Ari hated answering questions about herself. It was not something she was accustomed to and she didn’t feel herself to be of profound interest, at least to anyone else. “I haven’t been here for long, maybe a week or a little more.” She had been so lost; she couldn’t remember how she had even gotten here, to this land were everyone seemed to be as strange as she. Or were they? Maybe that was all assumption on her part.

The last question caught her off guard and she shook her head. “No, definitely not. I don’t like horses.” They were too big – with their pounding hooves, large eyes, and whinnies that to her seemed more like roars. The ones she had met had frightened her. "I have been alone except for the birds that sometimes travel with me."

Since she could not speak comfortably she began to hum a slow, mournful tune she had learned ages ago and which she had long forgotten the lyrics to. The melody seemed to work well with the rhythmic pounding of the waves. Under the light of the moon – so pale against the black sky it could have been carved from bone – she felt the setting especially haunted. Hidden in the darkness of the forests the nightingales seemed to answer her with their own song, beautiful and sad.

Vineda watched as Ari's stride became choppier and less natural. Something was bothering her. For someone who spent so much time alone and with the birds it surely couldn't be the silence, could it? No, her answer was there. This girl liked to be alone. She had intruded, stolen a listen to a song meant for no non-avian ears, and somehow trapped this poor wild thing into a torturous walk down the beach. Should she just leave now? It would be rude, but it might be much more appreciated than continuing...

No. She wasn't about to give up. She wasn't forcing the winged one to walk with her. She'd try harder.

But the sigh and the tension told her Ari didn't want to talk of herself. She gave a short answer, rather clipped, volunteering no more information than was necessary. It was a shame, for Vineda was very curious and generally friendly. And then came the other answer. Well, just because she didn't like horses didn't exactly mean she wouldn't like serians... She had planned to end up on a hill where they would be able to look down upon part of the foothills and watch some of the serians, but this didn't sound like such a good idea now.

"In this land, I've seen many beings that might be described as having horse-like traits. They are not horses... they may be similar in some ways but I urge you, should you meet one please don't write it off as such. They are mightier and more beautiful than almost anything I've ever seen before."

As the humming began, Vineda glanced at Ari's face. Telling herself she wouldn't have begun humming if she wanted to avoid being heard, Vineda listened. The tune was enchanting, and another treasure popped up as though answering the girl's voice. Bending down once again, Vineda picked up the shell she had spotted. It was unappealing until she flipped it over to reveal a dirty and dull abalone shell. She polished it a bit with a tiny piece of cloth she had tucked away in the bag, breathing on it to help the shine. Examining it more closely, she saw swirls of color that seemed to sway and bend in the moonlight. "Very nice," she said to no one in particular, with a small nod of her head. She held the small treasure out to this odd new friend of hers, glad to share. "I've nowhere to be tonight, so I am simply out to enjoy the night air. I really don't mean to bother you or keep you from your plans for the night." She provided an easy out should the other wish to use it.

Ari pulled at the sleeves of her shirt, hiding her hands. Had she made the other angry? She suspected so, or at least doubted Vineda wanted her around; after all, she never did anything but brood and mull in silence or make reluctant conversation. Not exactly one with evident wit or charm, that was for sure. She shook her feathers out in agitation – with herself, of course, not with the person very kindly putting up with her.

But old habits were difficult to break and the bad ones were even more inescapable, so despite her resolution to try harder she couldn’t think of anything else to say or ask, though she managed to smooth her steps so she didn’t appear quite so nervous, so utterly feral. It was impossible to keep her wary eyes still; she turned her head upward and looked at the different constellations beginning to form. Surprisingly, she could hardly tell them apart…they all looked like little blots of light to her. When she had been younger she had flown as high as she could in order to touch them, capture one and keep it. At a certain point she would be afraid at how far away the ground was, and eventually she had given up trying altogether. Was that what growing up was? If so, she felt old...

Oh, the other hadn’t given up on her yet. Ari was jerked herself out of muddled philosophies and childhood, snapped her head back to Vineda and raised an eyebrow. “If I wasn’t me, I wouldn’t believe you.” If she could be a bird in human form, there was no doubt in her mind that there could be multicolored horses running around. The thought didn’t make her feel particularly safe, but at least now she knew what to look out for. “What are they called?” She asked, grasping onto a subject to discuss. It was obvious that her companion was interested in the creatures, and since Ari had no idea what to talk about she was content to oblige.

What had gotten into her? She hardly spoke when anyone else was around, let alone sang. Her face flushed, a reaction she hoped was hidden by the darkness and she ceased the humming. “My mother has an amazing voice, it is much better than mine.” Her voice was soft but she denied herself feelings of nostalgia.

Instead she moved hesitantly over to what the other was holding up. Usually she was quite the magpie but she wouldn’t think of touching it, not while it was in Vineda’s hands. She only looked at the swirls, colored just like the sky up ahead, with a quiet inquisitiveness. When she had lived with the crows they had collected treasures like this and put them all into towering piles. Funny how things always could be linked to the past, even that little stone.

“I didn’t have any plan.” She never did. Ari quelled the urge to nod, say thanks, and disappear. That was what she wanted, what her whole body and especially her wings urged her to do. But no, not today (or tonight, rather). “And I was planning on going this route anyway, whether walking or flying.” She looked sideways at the other, tensing up. Maybe Vineda had gotten sick of her and was hoping she’d just leave. Despite her nature, Ari found herself half-hoping that wasn’t the case.

The girl was too proud to admit that for once, she needed the company of humans rather than birds.

Vineda grinned again. This Ari seemed to find herself unusual. Unusual could somethimes be the new normal here. "Believe me or no, I'm sure you'll see for yourself sooner or later. The creatures are called serians. I'm surprised you haven't come across any before now. Some can fly." This seemed like it might make them more of interest, so she thought she'd mention it. "Would you like to see some?" She knew the answer would most likely be no, but she wanted to ask just in case. She felt as though she were responsible for sharing what she knew of the area with her companion, since Ari had mentioned that she hadn't seen much of it.

When the girl spoke of her mother, Vineda noted the quiet voice and hoped Ari wasn't alone here in this new place. She talked as though she had no friends here, besides her birds of course.
She wondered if her parents were also winged-human forms and where it was they called home. Were there a people of such makeup, or was Ari unique? But she was too polite to ask. This other obviously didn't like talking of herself. Perhaps in time, she thought.

Still holding out the shell she had meant to give to Ari, Vineda realized the girl wasn't going to take it. Confused, Vineda held it up a bit higher and it practically glowed in the soft moonlight. She had looked interested, looked closely at the pretty pattern on the surface. Was there something wrong with it? Maybe she hadn't understood Vineda's intention of giving the shell as a gift.

Despite the shyness of the other, there was one thing that Vineda decided to ask anyway. "Are you here for any length of time, Ari?" She had no idea if Ari was staying for a day or two or for a longer period of time.