Finding a Way Home

Saren

Saren

The Rogue Spectre
Original poster
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Looking for partners
Posting Speed
  1. 1-3 posts per week
  2. One post per week
  3. Slow As Molasses
Online Availability
Weekends
Writing Levels
  1. Advanced
  2. Prestige
  3. Adaptable
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
Genres
Fantasy (medieval or modern), sci-fi, steampunk, genres involving dragons
Saraph was cold. Winter in the human world was harsh and unyielding. With nothing but the worn and torn clothes he'd arrived with, Saraph had nothing to protect himself from the chilling winds. On top of that, he didn't even know where he was, and he was afraid to find out.

After being exiled from his home for a murder he didn't commit, Saraph had been flung down to Earth with nothing more than an unfriendly shove from someone who was once an acquaintance.

It had been torture, and it continued to be so.

Currently, Saraph was curled up in a ball in a corner, a pair of ebony wings wrapped around his torso. He'd been hiding for about a week in an alley where only dirty humans and dogs came to visit. It was behind a restaurant, so he'd been able to dig out half-eaten meals and swipe a water bottle from the delivery vehicle. However, he couldn't stay like that forever. As the snow fell, humans were always looking for an excuse to get away from it, and that often meant ducking into his alley way.

Even as the thought crossed his mind, a man speaking into a cell phone, as far as Saraph knew, was pulling his coat over his head. He glanced around as Saraph shifted to avoid the man's gaze, but he seemed far too busy to bother checking on the noise. Once the man was gone, Saraph breathed a puffy, white sigh of relief, but he knew it would be short lived as the day wore on.

As the sun crawled through the cloudy sky, Saraph thought of his predicament. He knew humans were afraid of things they didn't understand, and Saraph was beyond what most people considered normal. He was a Cloudi, a race of bird-people from an island in the sky. It was why there were black feathers in his equally black hair. The wings were a clear indication, but the sharp, partially-curved nails on his hands and feet were reminiscent of an eagle's talons. Saraph's ears were pointed, tapered about an inch out from where the normal, human ear ended. His skin was tan and his eyes were just as dark as the rest of him with an indigo tint to the irises. He didn't look like anything important with dirt smudged on his face and his thin clothing, and he wanted to keep it that way.
 
It was a blustery, cold winter day in London. Aly never liked the cold though, she hated it. She tried staying inside all the time, unless she absolutely needed to go out. Right now she was walking down the street from Starbucks with a hot white chocolate mocha in her hand. She couldn't help but smile, looking around at the white snow blanketing everything. The snow was falling and sticking to her long chestnut hair and black peacoat.

She walks past an alley where a man was talking on his cellphone. She then hears a noise and stops walking, looking down the long, dark alleyway. She hears the noise again and slowly, cautiously starts walking down the alleyway. She passes the man on the cellphone and takes out her cellphone. She turns on it's light and shines it in front of her, trying to find what made that noise.

She shines the light back and forth then sees two legs. She instantly realizes it was a homeless man and walks closer. "Hello? Are yo-" She starts to ask then stops when she shines her light higher on the man. She can't help but gasp slightly when she sees the homeless man has pitch black ebony wings. She notices feathers in his hair and eagle-like talons on his hands and feet. It was like this man stepped out of her dream fantasy world. "It's okay I won't hurt you. I just want to help." She says smiling at the winged man.
 
Saraph squinted at the light, struggling to stay out of its range. However, the young woman still spotted him. He heard her gasp, and he misinterpreted it as fear at first. Then, she spoke, her voice soft with potential aid. His head tilted to the side, a jingling sound floating from his ears. It was due to the sets of hoop earrings adorning the bottom of his ear. Hoops crafted from shiny gems, they were the most valuable things Saraph had on his person. He had a ruby, sapphire, and emerald on one side, and a topaz, amethyst, and aquamarine in the other.

None of that mattered as Saraph stared at her. She wanted to help, but there was little to suggest he could trust her. However, against his better judgement, he stood up. At full height, his body was just brushing past six feet tall, with a lanky but athletic build. There was some sort of muscle behind the long sleeves covering his arms and legs. His wing span was roughly eight feet, but it was impossible to tell with the extremities wrapped around his body.

Opening his mouth to speak, all that spilled out was a shrieking cough. The cold infiltrated his lungs and froze him, or so it felt. He was intelligent and he could speak just as well as she could, but the temperature had reduced his voice to nothing but short screeches. Finally, he settled for a nod, his wings opening to fold against his back. His hands were pale with the cold, and his eyes darted around, unsure of how to avoid the people around him so they wouldn't call him out on his strange form.
 
[sry, have this watched but didn't get a notice alert :/ ]

Aly could tell the light bothered this man so she dimmed it so it wasn't that bright. She watches him tilt his head, hearing what appeared to be earrings on both ears. She sees the gemstone hoops in both his ears, amazed at them. She realizes that he probably thinks she gasped from fear and smiles. "I'm not afraid of you." She says, reassuring him.

She then watches him stand up and is shocked at how tall he was. Figuring he must be around 5'10" or 5'11" to her 5'5". He was absolutely gorgeous though despite the dirt covering his body. He really was out of her dream fantasy world. He had a lanky yet athletic build which she could somewhat see due to the dirt.

She winces slightly when he tries speaking but lets out a shrieking cough instead. If he was like anything from her dreams, he could talk. She realizes the cold was probably affecting his voice making it screeches instead. She smiles when he nods, letting her know he understood her. "It's okay. The cold affects everyone's voice this time of year." She says smiling. She watches him fold back his wings onto his back and steps closer. "You must be freezing. I can take you to my home so you can warm up. That is if you would allow me." She offers, slowly stepping a bit closer to him, looking up at him.
 
((No worries. :3))

Fighting back shivers and a need to step away, Saraph looked down at the young woman. She wanted to help him, and he didn't know why. There was no obvious reason to do so, but he was glad that she'd stumbled across him. At her offer, he gave her another short nod before his gaze lifted to the streets. There were still people milling about, and he didn't want them around. However, he knew that Aly wouldn't just be able to make them all disappear. Still, there was a shuffle as he slid snow with his bare foot in the process of stepping back. There was a jerk of his head toward the crowd, as if he was asking where they could go to avoid everyone else.

Saraph crossed his arms over his chest, doing his best to block the cold from his limbs. In his home, seasons were faintly there, but there was nothing ever as harsh as this. Snow wasn't new, but the freezing cold was. He nearly opened his mouth to say something again, but he remembered it hadn't worked well the first time, so he kept his thoughts to himself.
 
Aly could tell this man was still getting used to her finding him. She smiles when he nods, accepting her offer. She then follows his gaze to the crowded streets. She knew getting him home was going to be hard without being seen. Thankfully she knew a back way that almost no one knew about. She looks back at him. "It's okay. I know a back way to my home where no one will see you." She says smiling.

She looks at her phone, activating the GPS and looking for the short cut from where they were. She smiles when she finds it and puts her phone back on dim light. She then hesitantly takes his clawed hand in hers. "Just stay with me, these alleys can get confusing." She says, looking up at him. "C'mon." She then says, gently pulling him along as she started leading him further down into the dark alley ways to her home.

She remembered the path on her GPS and lead the winged man to her home. Guiding him through the dark turns. After a few minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the alleyway behind her house. She lets go of his hand and walks up to her back door, pulling out her keys. She unlocks then opens the door. "It's okay, you can come in. I live alone and no one will see you." She says, looking back at him.
 
Saraph didn't seem to want to touch her, and that was clear in the way he also hesitated as she gripped his hand, but he suffered in silence as they walked. The way she was taking him was free of humans and any other living thing, or so it looked in the dark. It didn't take them long to reach her home, and when she released him, he relaxed slightly. There were still fear-filled glances at the street, but the few people passing didn't notice them.

The lock clicked open and Saraph stepped inside. He could feel the warmth curling around his body, chasing the cold away. Her home was quaint, which made sense since she lived alone. Saraph moved enough so she could step behind him, and he suddenly felt dirty in the presence of her cleaner home. Arms releasing his chest, he rubbed his forearm, working blood back into his circulation. After a moment, he spoke, finding his voice again. "Thank you for giving me aid," he said, tone low from his lack of speech over the past week.
 
Aly could tell he wasn't used to being around humans but she was going to try to make him comfortable. She lets him walk into her home, closing and locking the door behind him. She then walks around him and closes the curtains in the living room just in case anyone walked by. She then turns on the lights, dimming them a bit so she didn't blind the man.

She could tell he was getting warm from how he rubbed his forearms. "I bet you feel loads better. I don't like the cold either." She says smiling. She can't help but smile more when he finally talks. His voice was just so sexy it made her heart practically melt. "Your welcome. I couldn't let you freeze to death." She replies smiling, looking at him. She can't help but be in awe as she could finally see how amazing and sexy he was in the dim light. He literally was out of her dreams. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you?" She can't help but ask, trying not to sound rude.
 
There was a minute shake of his head at her question. "I do not mind. It is expected of humans not to know what I am. I am a Cloudi. We are human, mostly, but we share equal properties with birds. This is why I possess wings and the like." He neglected to mention the penchant for shiny objects, like many birds, as it wasn't important. He started to speak again, but only a cough erupted from his throat. After clearing it, he paused to recollect himself. "If you are able to provide, I would like water. I have not had as much as I have needed from being where I was."

The wings stretched, stray snowflakes caught in the feathers scattering to the floor in seconds. He almost felt bad for wetting her floor with the frozen drops, but he was much happier to be warm inside her home. Besides, she'd let him in already, so she most likely expected her living quarters to become dirty from his presence.
 
Aly's jaw nearly falls off when he says he's a Cloudi - a half-bird hybrid - just like her dreams. One of the creatures from her dream fantasy world was standing in her home. "Amazing.... I'm sorry but I'm just amazed that Cloudi's are real." She says shocked. She then hears his request and snaps herself back into reality. "Of course." She replies. She heads into the kitchen and grabs a cup from a cabinet, filling it with water. She walks back over, handing him the cup of water. "Here. Oh and it's okay to stretch out. I don't mind at all." She says, seeing him unsure about stretching out his wings.

She then goes straight to her room upstairs and grabs her notebook. She walks back downstairs and flips through the pages, looking for her drawings of her dream world. She sits on the sofa and stares in awe as she finds the drawings of the bird-hybrids she dreams about. She looks at him then back at her notebook. "Oh.. My.. God.. I can't believe it." She says in shock, staring at the drawing of the bird-hybrid man she drew. "Where are you from? What's your name?" She asks, looking back at him.

[I was thinking that maybe my char could have some second sight or something like that but never known. Like she has visions of Saraph's home but always thought they were dreams. I know it's a sudden change but it would be so cool!]
 
Saraph nearly drained the cup in one gulp, and he'd been about to ask for more when she left. He waited, setting the cup on a table and continuing to rub his arms. He was warm enough now, even if he was still dirty. She came back down, staring at her notebook as if it held the greatest of information. He moved to stand near her when she looked up and asked his name and origin. After a moment, he spoke.

"My name is Saraph Vireo, and I am from the Island of Clouds. It is a floating island high above your normal altitude." He found a pen on the nearby table, reaching over to snatch it before he looked back at the drawing. It looked remarkably like him, even if some of the features were slightly askew. Still, he considered it to be a rough portrait of himself, and so, at the bottom of the page, he scribed his name in a strange calligraphic text.

"I was not meant to be here. I was cast from my home one week ago for a crime I did not commit. I wish to return home to clear my name, but I do not know how to do so."

((In relation to him or the future in general? Second sight is normally considered seeing the future, so if she's got something where she's seeing him and his home specifically, we can consider it that as well. Just wanted to clarify. :3))
 
[oh um.. whichever works! maybe of him so it works with the plot we have already? ]

Aly listens to Saraph, nodding. There's an entire island floating above her home and she never knew. She sees him look at her drawing and smiles. "I always dream about a fantasy world and I draw everything I see in my dreams in this notebook. This was from a recent dream I had a few days ago." She explains, looking at him. She watches him write his name below the drawing of the bird-hybrid from her dream.

"Really? That's horrible. Well, you can stay with me until you figure it out. I can try helping you in any way I can." She says, looking at him smiling.
 
Saraph sat back, looking down at the picture. She certainly had artistic talent, much like him. Only, hers was with her hands while his rested in his voice. Still, he was glad to have been found by a nice human who had an artistic ability. "Thank you. I will try to find a way to return home. I do not mean to impose on you." He was grateful, but he knew humans weren't always appreciative of having someone in their home, particularly someone like him.

To change the subject, he studied the drawing again. "Do you dream about these things often?" he asked, one slightly clawed hand gesturing to the paper in front of her.

((That works. Sorry for the short reply. Going through some tough shit right now.))
 
[ah it's ok :) ]

Aly smiles, looking at him looking at her drawing. She was still slightly shocked that Saraph was real, that the man from her dreams was real. "Your welcome Saraph. It's okay, I don't mind it at all. I will do anything to help you return home." She replies smiling sweetly at him. Yes, he was half-bird but he was still half-human and she was going to help him.

She watches him study her drawing more. "Yeah, all the time. I love it though, going to my dream world. I also have drawings of the island you can look at. I draw everything I've ever dreamed." She answers smiling. "Most of the time it's always good, but sometimes something bad happens. Like the other night I dreamt that the man left, now trapped in a different world for some reason." She explains.
 
Saraph flicked back between gazing at her and gazing at the drawing. She was still going to help him, but he knew that she felt so since she'd dreamed about his kind before. His legs crossed as he perched himself on the couch beside her.

"That is... Odd. I did not know humans could possess such powerful dreams that they can project a real event. You dreamed that a Cloudi, for that is what we are, left his home. I did not leave willingly, but it is true that I am trapped here. Your drawing has similar features to my own, and your dreams relay to what has happened in my recent past. In some way, your thoughts are connected to my actions. While they do not predict the future, as I have been here for some time before you had your dream, you are still connected. Have you ever consulted another human about this?"
 
Aly watches his gaze go between her and the drawing. She lets him sit beside her, looking at her drawing more.

She listens to him, trying to figure out what he was saying. Is he trying to say I'm a psychic and my dreams are actually visions? she thinks shocked. "And say what? Oh I think I'm a psychic because I dreamed that a half-human half-bird creature - which is called a Cloudi - got kicked out of his home and is trapped here until he can find a way back home but it was actually a vision and came true." She can't help but laugh. "No offense but there's no way I'm doing that. If I say that to anyone they will think I'm completely crazy and might possibly send me to a mental hospital." She says, looking at him.
 
"I... See," he said carefully. "Humans are often afraid of what they do not understand. They would not understand you for having such an ability. They would then fear you. That is why I did not wish to be found. I knew I could not stay where I was, but I feared leaving. Some other human would have found me. I do not believe they would have been as forgiving as you." His gaze dropped to his hands, the dark purple orbs studying the differences between her fingers and his.

"I feel the need to thank you again, but I understand humans are often flustered by too many thanks. Is that no longer correct?"
 
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