Fairyland Chronicles - Character Side Stories

[Summerstream]

((Slightly late!))

“Ngh...”

The first words Summerstream murmured as she came to were in response to the pain in her body. She held her side and bit her lip as she slowly sat up and looked around the room she was in. The acrid smell of the nearby town filled the air, leaving much of the area covered in soot. Confused, Summerstream slowly got to her feet after putting her glasses on, gritting her teeth, and walked to the nearest window. Cranes dotted the skyline, and to the distant northwest, she could spot the smog cloud that could only belong to one city

“...This... Isn't the fort.” Summerstream shook her head, and returned to sitting on the edge of the bed, drawing in and out shaky breaths as she tried to control her trembling. “..Shit... The... last thing that I really remember is Cynbel... Doing something...”

What had he done though? She scrunched her face with concentration, recalling faintly that she had been in and out of awareness for the past few days. Sometimes there was someone standing over her, and at other times she had been alone. A new wave of pain came, and she hugged herself, gritting her teeth once more as she tried to take deep breaths to relax.

“....Right... The seal...” Summerstream looked around the room for an object, anything really. She found a rock near her and tested its weight in her hand, continuing to breathe deeply to help with the pain she was in. She tossed the rock lazily into the air and tried to push it with a small gust. It propelled towards the door, which had the unfortunate timing of opening just then. Summerstream gasped a little and clenched her teeth.

“Oof!” The voice sounded, male, “Finally awake, I see?” The fairy walked into the room, rubbing his stomach, speaking with an aggravated voice.

“Oh. Er... Sorry, Cynbel.” Summerstream said as she unclenched her teeth. She shook her head to clear her vision a little. She breathed in deeply, and slowly blew out the resulting air to calm down again. “I, um... was testing something.” She pushed her tangled bangs out of her face, revealing the lotus-shaped mark just a finger width above her eyebrows. She blinked at Cynbel. He looked relieved at her sitting up.

“So the seal really is gone, good.” Cynbel stated, walking in and sitting on an old table. “How are you feeling?”

Summerstream hesitated to control her breathing for a moment before she replied to what Cynbel asked her. “I'm... In pain, but I'm okay.” She spoke through clenched teeth, and breathed out through her nose. “I'm... whole again... and I'm alive. Thank you for this, really. I'm... Glad that the automation didn't take your life.” She got to her feet and started to walk towards the door, limping. Summerstream had her eyes closed when Cynbel took her arm to steady her. She heard Cynbel chuckle as he took a bit of her weight until she got her mind off of the pain.

“No problem. Let's just get you back to the fort.” Cynbel responded, summoning a portal nearby. He helped her inside it before following after. Desert sand buffeted them for a short distance before they entered the protected garden of the fort.

“It's okay to leave me here. Vinda should be nearby.” Summerstream said, holding onto a tree for support. Cynbel shrugged at her, then left after.

Summerstream sighed, blowing out the air she continued to draw in deeply to help her bear the pain. “...I feel whole again at least.” Summerstream murmured, before she walked towars the center of the southern garden. She heard a small kree and shuffling of feathers before she made it all the way, and her grand peco, Vinda, stepped out from under the foliage, her eyes bright, and her feathers ruffled only slightly. Summerstream chuckled weakly.

“I'm sorry girl, I don't have any oranges.” She spoke as she walked over to the paitently waiting grand peco, and patted her on the head, “I'll give you a bunch tomorrow.”

“Kree!~” Vinda flapped her wings at her rider and headbutted her. “Honk!~”

“Silly peco. You look so much healthier now... I'm glad.” Summerstream combed her fingers through the war bird's feathers. She started to remove the broken and mangled feathers, depositing them to the side.

“Hey, you're alright! I was uh... A little worried when Cynbel said you were gone.” Summerstream looked over her shoulder at the voice, her eyes narrowed. It was the newbie, Seikakuna. Summerstream gritted her teeth, then looked back to the peco she was grooming.

“Oh. Hi, Greenie.” She responded dully, occupying herself with the task of removing the feathers. There wasn't much to remove, but the motion of combing the feathers with her fingers was therapeutic for her. She let herself space out as the huntress talked, only responding when she needed to. Summerstream was thankful when the huntress left her alone with her bird. With a pat on the bird's flank, she smiled to herself.

“Its almost time for the raid, Vinda. Are you ready to run freely like the wind?” Summerstream asked the grand peco, moving to stand in front of the bird, gritting her teeth, and forcing a smile. She would see, tomorrow, if Ezekiel would spar with her. Then, she would know where she needed to be at for the raid in two days time. Her grin became a smirk as she watched her grand peco.

“Honk!” Vinda replied, flapping her wings at her rider.

“Let me get you some oranges then. Let's go for a ride tomorrow so we are fresh in our tactics for the biolabs raid. We'll have to be ready to defend Lucretia.” Summerstream patted the bird on the beak before she turned to go to the bar and get some oranges for the peco.