Chapter 2

It would take her three days to reach the surface after a few wrong turns and another run in with the Silosrul. But this time she was able to back track instead of going through their territory, coming out on the other side of the mountains.

She emerged as Cinaku was lightening the sky; taking her first real breath of surface air in years. As she breathed deep, she tasted the frost on her tongue. The sky above was turning grey as she climbed further up, through the air shaft of an old settlement far below. Abandoned, it had been taken over by the elements and thankfully not more monsters.

Kianna finally stood on solid rock, the landscape before her stretching out as far as she could see. Still a dusky twilight, it was beautiful to her sensitive eyes. Shaking off her awe, she looked around cautiously, finally able to spread her wings wide again. With her eyes glowing crimson, she watched for heat signatures and movement, hoping to avoid a fight this close to dawn.

Minutes passed as she calmed her racing heart, listening for any movement as the wind picked up, making her shiver. Tokiu curled around her neck a bit tighter while she put up her hood, the black fur warm against her body. She had chosen a black skirt of the same fur, dark boots that came up to mid shin and a sleeveless vest. Over her hands she wore furred fingerless gloves, while beneath that black vest she had a thick black and purple shirt. From just beneath her shoulder to her wrist was covered as well as mid-thigh to shin with black cloth. She didn’t want to be restricted, even if bits of her skin were exposed in the process.

She had camped far below, changing her clothes and getting some rest before climbing up the air shaft, finding it much colder here than her home. With her body hidden in the fur and wrapped up, she hoped she had enough coverage to tolerate Cinaku even in the winter days. Tokiu shivered and curled back against the fur, trying to stay warm with his shorter fur. She had offered to give him a small sweater, but he had stubbornly refused.

“Well if you’re sure about the sweater, let’s go!” Kianna tried to keep herself calm, but her excitement bubbled through, making her giddy as he grumbled. With Rairakku in hand, she walked to the edge of the cliff she stood on, through the snow and against the wind. Carefully she extended her wings, through the slits in her clothes, taking the next cold updraft into the air.

She felt heavier up here, so far from her source of mana but not as much as she had been told. Most of her kind couldn’t venture to the surface, reduced to nothing but powerless blind infants by the suns. She turned herself away from the sunrise, looking overhead to the blue moon Miaku above them.

Only in dreams had she seen this world, her eyes wide with amazement as she reached to clutch the pendant at her throat. It had a white wing on it with a black half-moon, but in her dreams the colors were reversed. Jaska had said they found her with it and Tokiu, starving and alone on the outskirts of the major Ciasti city. But she didn’t remember that much of her life before, and nothing before she found Tokiu, not even her house or name. Only Cortaviere had come to her form that life, but the Ciasti spirit refused to speak except to say she belonged to Kianna.

Shaking her head from those thoughts, Kianna looked down below them as Cinaku began to brighten the sky and crest the horizon. But she continued on, looking for anything that was familiar from her dream. The cold air danced around her wings as she shivered, mostly gliding and riding the warmer updrafts as they left the mountain behind them soon enough. But nothing looked familiar, while Cinaku threatened to blind them from behind. Her eyes watered as the sky above turned pink, having to switch her vision to normal while her eyes stopped glowing. The runes on her wings burned dimly compared to the light around them, keeping them aloft with mana, though it was waning.

“Kianna, land.”Cortaviere’s muffled voice came through the sheath, urgent as Cinaku hit her wings, setting them what felt like ablaze. Though when Kianna looked, her wings were just reflecting sunlight, but it made her falter. She fell a few feet before spreading her wings wide again, gritting her teeth through the pain. Any exposed skin felt like it was burning as well, leaving her in agony as her wings closed again. She screamed as she fell, tears blurring her vision.

Only through force of will did she open her wings again, gliding roughly over the trees until her wings gave out completely, hurtling her into a tree. Dazed, Kianna fell through the limbs, finally landing on a solid branch as the broken ones fell around her. Cinaku burned her even here though as it raised higher in the sky, making her scramble off the branch and fall the last few feet to the ground. With her pack shredded and her half blind in agony, she crawled to the shelter of shade beneath the thick canopy and passed out.

That hadn’t been the flight she wanted to take, having not accounted for Cinaku burning her that badly. But as she lay there, Tokiu stayed awake, unable to venture past the safety of the hood. Their pack had been dumped by the tree still green with life, while the brothers of that tree sheltered them. Others had no leaves, but these somehow thrived in the cold. It made the Korra wonder what kind of world they had stumbled into, this burning and bright place they were now trapped in.

As the hours passed, Cinaku would taunt Tokiu. Even as a group of mercenaries came crashing through the woods, he could do nothing but watch from the safety of her hood. She was well hidden in the shadow of the trees, but it did nothing to save her.

One of the males spotted her, rushing to her side to turn her onto her back and look her over. She wasn’t badly injured, just a bit scraped and bruised. They had wings and pale skin, like those Kianna described constantly in her dreams and the one holding her had green eyes. His pale silver hair was short with a few long braids framing his face as he grew more excited, calling to the other two in his group.

One pulled out a small box, but as Tokiu started to pounce, he withdrew. He smelled herbs, ones he knew for healing and pain that Jaska had taught them. They took off Kianna’s gloves, smearing a mixture of the herbs onto her wounds, bandaging them with obvious care. Their silver armor glittered in Cinaku’s light, now directly overhead. But it didn’t bother them as they scoured for her pack, gathering up her belongings while they talked to each other.

From their tone, it was obvious they knew each other well and were excited about the girl lying before them. But from the way the braided haired one tended to her wounds, he cared more like a brother to her than a stranger looking to hurt her. Tokiu thought it best to bide his time, watching them as they brought forward her scattered belongings, putting them carefully back in her pack.

The one that was caring for her started to remove his gear, shield, armor, spear and axe while another picked it up. With him unarmed, he had another pick up Kianna and placed her across his back so he carried her piggy-back style. They acted as if they all knew her from somewhere, but Tokiu wasn’t sure. He had never come in contact with surface dwellers, but with Cinaku up, he was forced to sit and wait.

It was slow going as they walked back the way they had come, the other two flanking the one carrying her. The one on the left had short blonde hair with gold eyes, with a long braid down his back covered in beads and feathers. While the one on the right had silver hair like the one carrying her, but his hair was long still with a few braids in it that were dyed green like his eyes.

The one on the right carried a bow and a quiver with no armor while the one on the left carried a massive sword, making Kianna’s odds of escape go down further.

Tokiu had his own injuries though, as he watched from her shoulders, grimacing at the bright light to his sensitive eyes. One paw was bruised and he thought it fractured while his tail had a few broken quills. Thankfully he hadn’t spiked anyone with them, but in his current state he couldn’t fight or carry Kianna.

Grumbling at his own failures, he saw them all look up and wave, saying something loudly to their companion who cheered. But this new friend didn’t land, instead disappearing over the trees with a purpose. Whether good or bad, Tokiu could only wait and see.

It was late in the day when they finally stopped at a camp that was manned by two more of their companions. With the excited words between them, the two companions saluted the one carrying Kianna before they took flight and disappeared from his sight. Carefully Kianna was set down soon after, while a fire was made and the short haired one disappeared.

As the afternoon went by, Tokiu remained still while Kianna leaned against a tree near the fire while the other two continued to talk and pack up the camp. Sticks were placed around the fire by the one that had carried her, the other rolling up tents and supplies.

The short haired one came back shortly after that, fish in hand that were skewered and roasted before the fire, torture to the poor Korra. His stomach growled, but he remained within the safety of her hood as the men ate and talked while Cinaku finally started to set.

It wasn’t long after the last ray of light vanished that Kianna started coming to, but Tokiu nuzzled the back of her neck, trying to soothe her. She froze, trying to keep quiet while the pain in her hands, wings and legs ignited. The fall hadn’t broken anything, but Cinaku had burned her pretty badly. Though they had patched her up and they were in the shade, it still hurt.

“Don’t move, just look like you’re still out. I don’t know if they’re enemies or not, but they bandaged you up and sent others ahead, probably to the main force to inform them of your capture.” She flinched inside, her spirits dropping at the bad news. Her pack was nearby, but Rairakku wasn’t. Her weapon was probably still up in the tree, hidden in the branches when they collected her stuff.