Where Lies and Truth mingle

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He said they would discuss it later. At a time that was far more convienant for him rather than doing what was needed here and now. She understood the risk, but it mattered little. The sun on her body and the warmth resonating through while she was on the team to scoop up the prince was enough to convince her that action was needed.

And the prince's life wasn't the way to do it.

There was no doubt on anyone's tongues or in their minds that she was far superior to almost all in the ways of stealth but even she knew sneaking into the city was dangerous work. Especially now that their prince was missing.

Yet, it mattered none.

The scales would bring back the strength to Mar'luin and in turn he would raise them back to their rightful roosts. Like a god he would pass judgment over those who had done wrong and spare the innocence's. While Mar'luin spoke so hastily and bitterly about the Shifters to that of the prince, she knew in her own heart he didn't mean it. He spoke from spite not from his heart.

At least she convinced herself of that.

The night was a long stretch of darkness that lead into the wastelands, the only light glimmering down from the moon's itself. Easily far better than the dank murk that was the cavern.

Wings fluttered as she scrambled across the ground on all fours, slinking by the guards that stood at the entrance of the cave with ease. If she didn't want to be detected, she wouldn't be. Her smaller nimble frame attest to such a thing as she jaunted forward on her hands and feet, loping until she couldn't see the guards anymore. Breathing came out sluggish now once she stopped holding it, ears alert as she swallowed hard and dryly. She had to get back the scales at any cost.

Even one would be enough to show the way of her people that blood was not the answer. It wasn't! Even if the prince was willing to throw his life in, it meant little once his own people would fall to those of hers. Did that not have worth to him?

It left a sour taste in her mouth. Her people were all she knew, all she remembered. They were pieces of her past, her present and her future. There was no way she could just let them throw themselves away to the shedding of cruor. It was heartless even if they had been wronged. Two wrongs don't make a right.

She knew that. Felt it.

The small pack shifted on her hip, talons picking up a handful of sand to let it drain out before she starting running like an animal on her hands and feet, wings tucked close but still open enough to gain leverage if she needed a springing flight. "Forgive me-" she panted knowing that both Yulin and the Spectre Dragon would be upset with her for taking things into her own hands, but she had little choices. No one else was willing to go.

She made her bed, now she was going to lie in it.
 
Roman waited until night had fallen, waited with absolute patience for his chance. He knew if he rushed such things, he'd be caught. There was no maybe to it. The Harpies were not stupid and they were swift creatures, many of them who would have liked to have seen him die, he was sure. And if him escaping gave them a chance to kill him...well, he didn't doubt that an 'accident' would occur. No, better to have patience and wait a night, a day, a week for the right chance then to act prematurely and risk everything.

He would only get one opportunity of surprise and Roman was going to use it well.

So he waited, and he watched and he behaved. He didn't talk to anyone, didn't cause trouble and after a time, his guard seemed to grow bored of him. What fun was a prisoner who did nothing but sit there with his head back, studying the ceiling, apparently in deep thought? Absolutely nothing and such was how Roman wanted it to look. He made different sounds, shifted here and there, let his manacles hit the stone floor every now and again to make the guard jump back into alertness, but as the night wore on, even these noises failed to stir interest. They were background noise now.

Just as Roman wanted.

It was late when he finally made his move. The guard was alert - that was something he'd give the Harpies credit for; they were very good at following orders when they wanted to - but in the wrong direction as his prisoner had been moving about a bit, but only trying to get comfortable on the stone floor.

Roman knew exactly when to start his shift, though: at the exact time the guard shift was supposed to change. The Harpy watching him had become more alert, his eyes studied down the tunnel as if he was searching, waiting for someone, anxious to be gone from here after hours of staying in one place. What he wasn't doing was paying close attention to the prisoner who'd done nothing all day. Said prisoner was doing something now, though. Roman could feel his bones shifting, snapping, organs shrinking, rearranging, fur growing, his body changing and while it was painless for him, it wasn't without some noise and the size change of his body caused the shackles to clank and clatter - but such was what they'd been doing all day as he moved, far more as he tried to get comfortable and the guard had yet to turn around.

And then all went quiet.

Roman never forgot what it was like to be in an animal form, but each and every time he went back into one, it was like there was a surprise, a new world to discover every single time. Senses and instincts flooded him, the animal side of his mind triggered to match the creature he'd taken the form of. His small, black nose sniffed at the air rapidly and he set a small set of clawed feet on one of the manacles where his wrist had been, looking around carefully for any danger.

A shadow. Movement. Predator. Hawk, hawk! Run! Hide, run, hide!

Roman realized he was moving without consciously willing it when he was at the bars and his intelligent side put the reigns on the animal instinct that had come over him, soothing his little heart back into less of a frantic gallop and more into a fast trot as he looked around again, small body slipping right through the bars, his lanky, long appearance helping him to remain low to the ground, just another rodent under the earth. Black and gray fur helped.

When he'd picked the Ferret as his Chosen Form, his Uncle had been nearly disgusted, but Roman, he'd known that sometimes the smaller animals were the ones most useful and now he used such a form to slink his way past guards who were never even looking for him. He heard the alarm go up about half-way to his destination, but Roman didn't worry about it, merely going into the shadows, staying out of the way of trampling feet, continuing on his way.

He got outside easily enough, following the air currents coming into the undergrounds and he looked back at the cavern with an inward sigh. He didn't know what he was going to do about this, but he did know that he had to get back to the City and that's where he headed on his short legs until he knew he was far enough away to shift into his humanoid form before taking his hawk one.

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The sun began to gleam on the horizon as she sat a fair way back staring at the city in its pristine glory. Perched low on one of the few rocks that had jutted up from the red earth, hands gripped tightly to pinch crumbs from its surface; a mind plagued with what was right and wrong.

She didn't know how to interact with the shifters, that was known.

Had she made a mistake... should she have waited for Mar'luin and Yulin to speak to her. Yes, she should have but being locked down in that cave to know that the sun above was waiting for them all was enough to drive her crazy.

Swallowing hard, cooing sadly to herself scrolling her attention way up to the painted dappling of clouds that were colours of off pink and red and orange.

She had no idea where the scales were, not to mention how to obtain them. A perfect mess she had gotten herself into so brashly. Considering the tender gash on her arm, reminding her of her actions; the young harpy let out soft chirps. It was too late to go back now.
 
Flying at night SUCKED.

Roman hated being unable to see clearly in the dark and the lack of thermal drafts to lift his wings always brought a crankiness with it as he had to work hard to get where he wanted to go all the while hoping he wasn't going in the wrong direction. Needless to say, by the time the sun started to appear, the red-tailed hawk was tired, hungry and just wanting to get back home - perhaps even sleep if he could. He knew such was probably wishful thinking, though. All the City would know by now that he'd been taken, his Uncle would want a full accounting, Anali would hover, he'd be surrounded by guards for days to come and then there would be a celebration for his safe return.

Stars above, it was enough to make him pause mid-flight a distance away from the Aladura, his keen eyes looking to the glistening white of his home as his wings beat the stale air, not yet warmed by the earth below. He gave a screech to himself as he weighed loyalty against exhaustion. He knew which would win, but dammit it all if he just didn't want to lay down here for a while and rest before he went to the place that was supposed to provide rest but would see to it that he got little.

Such was the price of being royalty and heir both.

Roman had made up his mind to continue when his sharp gray eyes - the only thing that didn't change in any of his forms - caught sight of a grey spot on the ground that wasn't supposed to be there, the rest of the surrounding area reddish in hue. His mind instantly jumped to explanations and the Shifter dived down toward his intended target like a bullet, his wings screaming protest at him when he finally flared them up, weary already and now taking more strain.

But the hawk was now flying just above and beyond the Harpy's head and his gray eyes pierced her pale-sapphire gaze as only a bird of prey could even as he landed on the ground below the rock she perched upon. The touchdown was awkward with talons designed for gripping branches and prey, but he managed and then started to shift up again. It took time, perhaps half a minute and during such time, all Shifters were vulnerable. Some Shifters took more time than others, but Roman had been drilled into speed since he was young, perhaps about four years of age. He was a hair's breadth under twenty-five seconds and soon enough he was standing on his own two feet, looking up at Eryn with a tilt of his head, one hand reaching up to brush the dark hair from his face.

"Having some trouble deciding what to do?"

From anyone else, the question would have sounded sarcastic, mocking, but somehow Roman managed to make it sound exactly as he meant it to be; half amused and half genuinely interested in the answer.

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Ears caught the sound of whistling long before her senses had time to catch up with her. It sounded vaguely familiar though not at the same time. It wasn't until the drop of the hawk and the shifting that had the young one wilting back and alarmed all at once at his appearance.

He had escaped.

Complexion paled dramatically, wings exploding open as if she might fly away only to be knocked back from her rock as a breeze caught her feathers and threw her right off the rock, into the ground. Wincing with a moanful whine, gathering herself up to huddle close to herself. Crouching low to the ground like a scolded pup, suddenly extremely fearful of the man in front of her eyes knowing full well that he would probably see fit to rent her very life with his own hands; the harpy creened in fright.

Shoulders slumped, eyes wide with terror, the fitting image for someone about to see death in moments.

He was strong, far stronger than her. She seen it. Clever as well to escape from Yulin and the prison and now stood here... watching her.
 
Well. That had been unexpected and Roman winced as the female fell from her perch to the unforgiving earth, instantly feeling a pang of sympathy. Damn, he'd not meant to cause that, but he didn't dare approach the Harpy, not when she looked so terrified of him and he supposed that made sense. She might have stood up for him, but that had been around her people, her safety and this was not such a place. She'd seen him kill one of her kind, had known he was to be locked up and now he was here.

Roman could easily guess where her mind had gone and he silently cursed himself for tactlessness. It astounded him sometimes how well his training worked one minute and how utterly lacking he was in the next, and as he now approached the Harpy slowly, he wished that the ease in which he'd spoken to the Dragon would come back now, but alas, it did not, would not answer his summons. He had dealt with a distraught Anali before but never a stranger, never someone who was scared of him and Roman wanted very much not to make a wrong move.

How would he ever convince these creatures not to go to war if he couldn't even convince one Harpy female - one who'd stood up for him nonetheless - that he meant her no harm?

The Shifter pushed the thought away, knowing that a negative mindset was not going to produce a confident atmosphere or help him in the least as he slowly crouched down to Eryn's level, looking at the ground and then back up to her, trying not to stare as a predator might, but interested in her reactions.

He'd had a lot of time to think during the night and while Roman knew he would not betray his people for anything, he had also acknowledged that if nothing changed, if the Dragon did not get his scales back, then there was going to be carnage. Perhaps, though...just maybe if he offered his help freely, like he'd said he would...the wrath might be averted for his people if not himself. He had to try, even if the odds were slim.

"Eryn, I'm not going to harm you. You saved my life, I would sooner kill all your enemies then see you dead."
 
Dust fluttered up when her wings gave a soft beat, slipping a foot back creening again this time at him in a pathetic display that sounded equally as mournful. The pale gems of blue widened drastically, dipping her head further once the prince had crouched down to her level. She might have been a sentient being but there were still ample amount of animal instincts that often belied her intelligent mind. Trying to appear weak, feeble and defense while making evident noises of her distraught plight came to her whether she willed it or not.

Though even as she cowered back, frilling out the plumage in defense instead of her previous warning; she was studying the man.

Locking him in memory with alert gaze. His features, curiously handsome for a breeding that was not her own. The darkness of his hair with the small beads at the end of some strands and how his gray eyes contrasted against it all making them charmingly yet fearfully curious.

Swallowing hard, dipping her chest down to press to the soil as she looked up flattening her body fully to the ground, her ears moved to show she was listening to him. He spoke of not harming her yet why would he stop before her if he did not have plans to do away with her. Surely he wished to return to his home, make an example of her for her own kin that had sought to do the same to him.

"No harm-" she pleaded forlornly, "Please... no kill. I just need to get back what was taken. Please, no harm."
 
It didn't seem like his efforts had gotten him anywhere and Roman resisted the frustration that bubbled up within him, pushing it back down again as he took a breath and resolved to try again. The noises the female was making nearly made him cringe, though, his own nature understanding them better than she might think. Yes, in this form he was perfectly reasonable, civilized, but he could remember the instincts that had coursed through him not even five minutes before. He could understand an animal's behavior such as he was now just as easily as he might in his animal forms.

And Eryn was a sad sight indeed.

It was one that Roman once more attempted to rectify, this time taking a seat upon the ground, folding his legs beneath him and setting his elbow on his knee, chin in his hand as he let his dark hair brush over his eyes again, keeping out the first bright rays from the rising dawn. He studied the Harpy, observing both behavior and beauty, committing her to memory.

The Shifter shook his head, a slight smile pulling at his lips, something purposefully done on his part to convey calm. Diplomatic training - and liar training if he was honest - coming in handy. "No harm." Roman repeated back to her with a dip of his head as he moved his hand away from his chin, letting them rest loosely on his knees, somehow managing to look the royalty he was even sitting in the dirt.

"I understand you are merely trying to complete your mission. I have no desire to kill you or imprison you for that. I would help you if you allow me."

Perhaps that would get her attention.
 
Being lost in a near eternal slumber made functioning at times difficult. Parts of her that should've been stronger weren't, though then again she had always behaved in a submissive way. And it seemed to her this Prince knew the mannerisms she was expending. Perhaps if she hadn't been so fearful, she would be greatly impressed by the notion.

He sat in the dirt, looking every inch royalty with strong purpose and empowering motions, Eryn remained tight in her spot. Too afraid to make a darting dash anywhere. But it seemed to go into her favour. He repeated back 'no harm,' before doing something of pure question.

Ears flitted up in surprise, talons scraped across the earth lifting her head curiosly at the man. "Help?" she behaved like a child. Innocent and leery but easy to attract with the right noises, or a shiny pebble. He managed to get her to focus fully on him now. Pupils enlarging largely like a cats that was ready to play, her body slinked up from the ground. Plumage shifted its to come resting neatly on her back, crossing at the tips as she still remained crouched low, but up on all fours. "Help find?" she queried softly, a singsong hum in the back of her throat.

The avian was enthralled suddenly, cautious yet but curious. She inched slowly forward, daring to circle around his right closely, the whisper of light floating away from her gaze as she studied him acutely. Her nose working to catch any scent from him that might alert her to other intentions. Though with little to go on.

Eryn came in a almost full circle, pausing on his left hand side to slide her legs forward and plopped down close to him. She was far more trusting than the rest of her breeding. Something of merit but dangerous as well.


Gentle warble came from her, head tilting cutely left and right before looking the way of the Sun. Thought clearly written on her face, but it was fleeting. Pale sapphire was on him again, taloned hands reached of gently to clamp around his thigh, dropping her head to rest against his shoulder in a sign of trusting. "Help please. Need help." She spoke very minimal daring to contradict her intelligence but she was capable of speaking in full sentences. It just sometimes evaded her.

Soft cooing only firmed up her nature to trust him. Proving that she could change her mind far easier than her kin and certainly quicker.
 
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The moment those ears lifted, Roman knew he'd accomplished what he'd wanted. He watched Eryn's body language closely then, looking for signs of anger or distrust, ready to spring to his feet at a moment's notice. Fear could turn to aggression just as easily as like could turn to hate and the Shifter didn't want to assume that the now docile Harpy could not be anything but that. No, every creature had the potential to be vicious, to lash out. They only needed the right trigger and Roman did not want to be such for Eryn today.

But her large-pupiled eyes only seemed to study him with curiosity, the wonder of a child and Roman found himself wondering just how old the Harpy was. He would have guessed around Anali's age, perhaps a decade younger than him, but when she behaved as such...he couldn't accurately tell. It did not help that he had no way of understanding how Harpies aged or when they came into adulthood, how young they might before being allowed to do dangerous missions.

Not having information would drive him insane before long, but for now...

She circling him and Roman debated in that moment rising. It was a risk, a great one, to let his eyes off her, to let her go around behind him when he did not know her intentions, but it was a risk he chose to take. He wanted Eryn to trust him, so he had better start extending some trust in turn. And while it made him nervous, made the hairs on the back of his neck prickle, it also seemed to work as her form was soon close to his own, nonthreatening, sitting calmly as he was and Roman turned his head slowly to look at the Harpy upon hearing the warble in her throat, a sound he'd observed to mean only good things.

He observed her as keenly as she did him, Roman wondering at her abrupt shift in nature. He'd heard her in the underground, had heard intelligence from her lips, but here she acted very much like a youngling and he had to wonder if it was a defense mechanism of some kind. A rather interesting one, he would admit and extremely unbalancing to anyone expecting a fierce predatory response from a creature such as she. Roman was certainly caught by surprise to feel her touch him, the act alone making him start more than the cold of her skin. For the first time, his eyes widened in pure startled reaction, Eryn having caught him unprepared for this move and he stared down at her for a long, lost moment when her head followed the example of her hands.

Oh.

So he really had done something right.

He was probably more surprised by that then he should have been and Roman swallowed a bit nervously, but a smile pulled at his lips at her cooing, recognizing it for what it was...and feeling both proud of that trust and terrified of it. He thanked the heavens his voice remained steady, though. "Help, yes. I will help you. I don't want war between our people."
 
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He would learn in time that the avian creature that she was, were close knitted beings. Constantly preening another or clinging close to accumulate body heat, the gesture was only deep in trusting. She knew no different and lead by this example as she nuzzled close. The sun rising ever more, drawing its heat over the surface, Eryn took greedy note that this Prince was unusually warm. Something she would cling too.

Looking down at the red sand, listening to him carefully, she nodded softly.

She had no desire to see two world clash in metal and blood. She did not know the morality of the shifters, but the Harpies were nothing less that devoted servants to Mar'luin. Tranquil by nature though that was clearly hard to see as numerous of her kind had wanted the prince's blood spilt. It was a heinous thought.

"No war." She repeated, shifting comfortably to draw back but kept her hands in place. If she had been malicious, she could prove how deadly even she was. A Harpies talons were famous for their power, close to a density of a diamond but she used hers commonly for scaling and clinging to stony surfaces. One could easily call Eryn a black sheep of her fold. Concentration prickled over her pale complexion, hard thought tumbling through before the young girl inched closer to him, "How fix? How find scales?" her ruse of childish wasn't real, hardly false as she wasn't overly familiar with using the common tongue. She understood it fair better than she spoke it, which was why age appeared so juvenile. Her tongue still tripped over his language. It only got worse when she was thinking hard on how her mouth work which lead her to speak very direct few words. The less she paid attention, the better her tongue worked. "I can..." Eryn paused looking back to the ground with a furrowed expression, "Can hide on tops... Roof tops." She struggled feeling embarrassed, "Moving lips to your language is difficult at times. Not used to it. Tweeters and... Creening easy." She grew a dark heat to her cheeks, yet where most would be red the blush of hers was almost blue. Their blood was am unusual color, something that was valued with apothecaries.
 
Roman had expected her to withdraw after he'd given his word to help, but she did no such thing and the Shifter almost tensed at realizing she was not going to, but he thought better of it and remained relaxed. She wasn't harming him and though he was not accustomed to physical touch of a prolonged nature, he supposed it wasn't a bad thing and continued to allowed it as it seemed to make the Harpy more at ease. In the long run, that was more important than how comfortable he was with the situation.

Her question drew him out of his musings and Roman looked back down to Eryn, tilting his head in thought as he watched her, listened, absorbing what information he could before he made any decisions. Her explanation about his own language made him smile, amused and he brought a hand up to brush back through his hair, feeling the heat of the morning start to rise, acknowledging that Eryn beside him was actually keeping him cooler than he would have been otherwise. Just as her kind seemed to have to be conscious of how cold they got, the Shifters had to be aware of how hot they got.

They wouldn't be able to stay out here for long.

"Perhaps I should try learning your language. Between the two of us, I'm sure we can communicate and perhaps confuse anyone trying to listen." It was a joke, small though it was, and Roman hoped he'd not crossed a boundary. They could hardly be called friends, not even acquaintances at this point. Partners of a mutual cause was more appropriate and the Shifter reminded himself as such, making his mind focus once more.

So much had happened in such a short time and he knew that his sudden need to be comfortable around someone, to find a connection with this Harpy was born of a growing flare of desperation that he now understood and was quickly suppressing. He took a breath before answering, knowing he had to regain his equilibrium again.

"I don't know what the scales look like or where they might be, so I think the first thing we should do is get information. I can get to the records, perhaps talk to my Uncle about what has happened without revealing that your kin have woken just yet." He was thinking aloud and Roman's gray eyes glanced into Eryn's pale-sapphire. "We might have to go about it a different way, but I don't think you can be seen, not with those wings."
 
Teasing words weren't uncommon by her, she understood but stared curiously at him nonetheless. Subtle vibrations she could feel like an aura upon the air and she retracted away to put a good three feet between them. Counting the space before she nodded having clued in to the nervousness he briefly shone. Eryn wasn't brothered by it, she simply did what she knew and in turn tried to correct it. No blame or hurt touched her complexion. Just simple bubbling wonder, kneading her fingers through the sand listening.

A frown produced on her face, "Scales look like scales." She figured though quickly realized that could be wrong. "Or not. I-" she put a hand to her chest, "Sense. Feel," fingers outstretched to the air around gesturing widely to the open space, "Difference in air. It be enough to tell, yes?" awaiting approval shone in her gaze before dropping aside.

Considering pieces of herself with a heavy flutter. "Bad omen," Eryn muttered to herself, one unfolding as hands came up upon the feathered elbow and her mouth went to chew on it. A firm tug and a draw back of the appendages, like Yulin in a vivid popping light; the ivory decorated wings disappeared from sight. Though in truth, they were very much still there. Just unseen.

Remaining crouched on the balls of her feet, nimble hands came to pluck the single feather she had pulled, inching cautiously forward -aware that he did not like her being close,- only stopping once she was close and her belly pressed to the ground. Darting eyes looked up at him, to the feather and back. Lips pressed before she skittered back leaving the feather beside his knee. He may not understand, but Eryn was giving him her full trust, offering one of her own to state she would think of him as one of her own.

Diligent and devoted with no need to prove himself. It was a lawful loyal kinship she'd employ to him in this time all signifed with a piece of herself.

"How... Go inside? Where do I hide from many eyes?" she asked gently, patiently awaiting his word.
 
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He breathed a little easier when she moved back, grateful that she'd seemed to understand his reluctance to be so...familiar so soon. It was not natural to his species. They didn't take the forms of pack-oriented animals. No wolves, no lions, nor any creeping or flying creature that required groups. If they liked groups, fine, but it could not be a way of life. They were never born with a dependent form among the three they were given and they were not allowed to Choose one. Independence was important to a Shifter, a way to survive without relying on another and so even among his family, closest friends, Roman had not experienced a great deal of touch, no more than fleeting gestures of affection or more forceful ones of restraint. He couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten a hug and certainly could never remember it being more than a few moments long at most.

It was simply how life was for him and most Shifters didn't even notices the strangeness of it. Roman was not sure why he was more conscious of the process, but his Uncle had always said he had too much of his mother in him. Roman was still not sure what was meant by that, but assumed it an insult and so he did not engage his King when the subject was brought up.

Now, though, he should not have been thinking about that but rather about his new accomplice and their task. He was more tired than he thought.

Roman tilted his head, frowning himself in thought to her revelation that she could feel the scales, sense their nearness. Well, that could be useful in locating them, but might not prove easier in obtaining them even so. Still, he nodded, showing he understood and Eryn seemed to take it as approval as she focused on the second point he'd brought up....and then her wings disappeared. Once more, Roman blinked, memory coming back to him and if he'd had less training he would have hit himself in the forehead. Idiot! He'd already seen Yulin do that.

That solved the problem of the wings.

But not the problem of what this very mysterious gesture on Eryn's part meant. Roman watched her with undisguised interest, curiosity, question and he thought about telling her that she didn't have to grovel before him, but something stilled his tongue, perhaps a recognition of the fact that such an act might be required in a ritual like this...and that's what this was, a ritual of some kind. He only wished he knew what it meant for he sensed it was important and Roman didn't want to do the wrong thing, say the wrong thing and give offense.

He waited until she'd retreated before taking his gray eyes off of the Harpy herself and instead looking down to the feather she'd offered. It signified something, he knew it did, but somehow he felt that to ask would ruin the sanctity of the offer itself and so instead he reached forward and carefully picked the gray-blue thing up, trusting that it wasn't a trap of some kind or a sign of ill-will. Roman twirled it gently, admiring the designs on even one feather and he carefully tucked it into a hidden pocket inside his shirt, a place where documents of importance often went. Looking up, he would have said something - a thank you, a question maybe - but Eryn beat him to it and Roman decided to drop the topic for now in lieu of answering instead.

"I don't think you should hide."

He stood then, all grace and a mild stretch mixed with a yawn before he shook his head a bit like a horse ridding itself of a fly would. Said action required that he push his hair back again and Roman did so, looking back to his city once more and then to Eryn. "Without your wings, you could pass for one of the elven-kin, perhaps a halfbreed of some sort. If you arrive in the city with me, I will simply say you helped me escape. You will be looked on kindly then and with your presence known to all there will be little danger to you. If we tried to hide you, the chances of you being caught are high and if you are caught, I will not be able to protect you without revealing your people. Sometimes hiding in plain sight is safer than sneaking around."
 
No hiding! Such a thing was acceptable by him? It pleased her greatly to hear such a thing, raising up to straighten her back with a sense of humble importance. But she held a piece of pride to her chest for her ability to hide. She was clever in such a way. But she did not know his world either. So she would not boast her abilities.

"Helped you escape?" Eryn repeated, "Helped Prince escape... Okay." repeating it again with a firmness as if she accepted it without doubt, the woman slowly rose up to her height. Watchful as always. Thin pupils seeing further than most, she was looking towards the city. "What is it I... Need to do to not-" a pause trying to find the word, "Not make big commotion. What Prince need me to behave like so not to bring curiosity to either?" she struggled but felt better about getting it out.

"No blood shed," Eryn shook her head, "Keep lives safe. All lives."
 
Roman gave a faint smile to her repeated utterance of what he'd already said, but listened carefully as she worked to say something that was obviously important to her. Once the Harpy had gotten it out, the Shifter understood the importance of the question itself and he gave Eryn a slightly raised brow, impressed already with her quick mind. If there was anything Roman liked about people - people that he actually liked and they were few - it was intelligence and Eryn was proving to be quite clever indeed.

And she was just as determined as he was to find another way to go about this between their two peoples. Her escape into the night proved as much, just as his offer to help the Harpy sealed his own resolve.

Gray eyes looked over the female and Roman let his eyes linger on her form for a moment before coming back up to her face. All that was in his eyes though, was speculation, a searching expression as thoughtful as the furrow on his brows. There was no lust, hardly an awareness of what he'd even been looking at as his mind was entirely focused on other things at the moment.

If he gave himself time and the ease to look at the Harpy in a different way he would have become aware that she was attractive, desirable and worthy of a lingering gaze for other reasons entirely, but for now, he was entirely oblivious.

"You look elven enough, but if you can keep yourself from your own speech, that would be beneficial. And you just remain upright, no crawling or climbing of walls. I know it's unfair to ask of you, but if you don't want it known what you are, to draw attention to yourself, you must try and remain inconspicuous." Roman tilted his head, thinking further along such lines and his gray eyes finally lit up as if he'd discovered something that would solve every problem, but such was how Roman behaved with any situation he could come up with a solution to.

"We could say you were a prisoner, too, that way if you behave in any way that is questionable, we can simply blame it on trauma from your time spent in captivity. You could have memory-loss, too. It would make you shyer, more timid about speaking and if anyone asks about your past, you simply can't remember it."

The Shifter gave the Harpy a half-questioning, half-hopeful look, seeking her approval of the idea.
 
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Knitting her hands into the other while he gave her a study over, she remained still knowing well enough he was giving her the once over to decide what she had asked. There wasn't much else for her to think about for it. It was nothing more than an objective that required an watchful scanning eye. And she was fine with it.

Eryn listened closely once he had stopped giving her the eye and began to explain, asking her to play a part of an elf instead of what she was. He said that once already and she knew vague knowledge of the high borne class. But the idea that she was held captive seemed to intrigue her brilliance that gleamed in her gaze. She understood the notion very well.

"No climbing," she began listing things off for herself as if to verbally write it down in her mind. "No creening or crawling. No wings," tilting her chin up to him, Eryn nodded to his idea. "Yes. Will do best at all." Ugh she hated this communication gap. Yulin mastered it with ease and she still struggled with the basics of it all. She felt like a wobbling baby and it earnestly frustrated her but she would come to strength that in time as well. It was merely waiting for time to do so that was annoying.

"What about-" Absently she went to move the appendages that were hidden and stopped, knowing that she had to look natural, not peculiar. "Relative. Yours... King... won't he know of kin?" fingers moved to smooth along her hairline to the soft scaly look that braided there and covered nearly most of her skin beside her face, neck and torso. "Can't hide all of me, Prince. Don't want to have you in grave trouble either. Is not risk?" moving her chin in point towards the direction of the city, she began to walk that way figuring they could move while they spoke. She wanted just to keep the sun on her back as long as possible as well, warm her skin. "Must not have any touch-" Eryn ran a hand over her the leather arm band that went from her wrist all the way up to her shoulders. "No one touch right? Harpies cold... will alert."
 
Roman nodded slightly to her questions, the thoughtful, pensive look returning again even as he walked, pace languid. He still was in no rush to get back and until they both felt semi-confident of the roles they played in their plan, he was sure that Eryn wasn't anxious to get to Aladura either.

She was right; they couldn't hide all of her and up close, she certainly didn't look like any creature he'd ever seen. How could they explain that? Genetic mutation? A crossbreeding of a species across the great water? Or perhaps the wisest course would be to say nothing at all, to feign ignorance and let people think twice about asking for Roman had learned that if he acted like everything was normal, most people assumed it was. It all lay in how one presented the information sometimes. For the general population of Shifters, this would work.

For his Uncle...perhaps it would, perhaps it would not. Roman had no way of knowing just what Sione might know of Harpies. Did he know just the stories of their past? Did he have a vague idea of a legend that held truth, was he charged with watching for this far-off day when the Spectre Dragon might emerge again? Or did he have details? Drawings? Was he actively guarding and plotting against this race?

He didn't know and Roman loathed not knowing.

The Shifter waited on that question, pondering it over and over even as he answered Eryn's last question, not looking to her but out to the distance, to the horizon beyond his city, distracted but actively working toward a goal, too. "Shifters hardly touch each other. They most certainly will not touch you, especially if you show aversion to such a gesture." Hard to believe when he remembered what she'd done not five minutes ago, but for some reason, Eryn had decided to trust him, he was sure that didn't expand to his kin this early on.

Roman stopped walking then, working his lower lip between his teeth as he debated something and then finally spoke, his gray eyes focusing once more on the Harpy. "As for the King...I don't know how he will react to you. I don't know if he will recognize you for what you are or not. I wish I did know, Eryn, that I could promise you'll be in no danger, but I can't."

And that was the truth of it. No more, no less.
 
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"No touch?" she squeezed her hand shut as she examined it curiously. It struck her as peculiar but she sensed there were many others who were like harpies that did not root together. Then again she had noted how warm the prince was so perhaps that was the reason they did not cluster together. But it seemed unusual to the girl. "I try." she admitted, "Used to being others. Yulin and many, keep warm underground. Freeze otherwise."

As he stopped so did she, brushing the tip of her boot in the dirt with bright wonder half tempted to root around in it and give herself a dust bath merely because it felt good but that seemed redundant. Specially since she was dusty already.

Ears moved forward stretching out to their sides to frame her expression with bright innocent curiosity, eyes shifting slightly to watch his own. "Okay." Eryn accepted the knowledge of possible danger with ease, almost too easily. But she had gestured she'd trust the prince with no questions the moment she gave him her feather. She would not make a question to it and take all he said with patience that could rival the mountains roots for eons. It seemed the information of being noticed by his uncle played very little importance to her, almost as if it wasn't that much of a problem when it could be. Accepting the death that could come so suddenly with no worry.

That was her loyalty already to Roman. She would not falter from it.
 
Okay.

That was all she said and Roman waited for more, waited for the 'but' on the end of that statement, for the questions or protests, for any doubts or....anything, but nothing came. Just that simple acceptance that made him reel whether he wanted to or not. Okay. That was all she felt she needed to say? The Shifter almost frowned at the notion, but the voice in his head that was constantly correcting everything he did told him that to do so would be rude. She handled things differently than he did, that did not make it wrong and it didn't mean she was being stupid. It just meant she was different and as the Prince of his people, he needed to show the best of what the Shifters could be - and that included accepting.

But OH, how it did not make sense to him!

He swallowed down his unease over the situation, though, and nodded, looking back to the city once more before he looked to Eryn again. "I'm going to shift now. When I do, I won't be able to talk to you, but it will only be until we get to where we need to go. Just stay on my back and you'll be fine."

The Shifter gave the Harpy what he hoped was a reassuring smile before he closed his eyes and let the animal form he wanted take over. He distantly heard the sound of snapping bones and other such noises that one never quite got used to, but it didn't hinder or bother him and Roman found himself growing, on all fours now until the process was complete. He opened his eyes then, blinking once, twice, getting used to the new way his eyes functioned. Ferrets, hawks and tigers all had forward-facing eyes, just as his humanoid form did, but a horse was a prey animal and to see out of eyes that were facing away from each other was always just the slightest bit disorienting at first.

Still, Roman had done this many times and he got the hang of it again quickly as he flicked his black tail and shook his mane out, giving a snort to rid his nose of the dust his hoof had picked up as it pawed the ground, getting used to the feeling of being in a form he'd not taken for quite some time, having no reason to.

He turned his head slightly after a moment, though, a gray eye in a black face catching sight of the Harpy, studying her for just a moment before he nickered gently, assuring her that everything was fine.

Black-horse.jpg
 
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