First Gifts

SUMMARY: Murder arranges a surprise gift ceremony for Erakirak, in honor of his First Flight. (emits by murder)

Erakirak has been spending the last two hours playing an elaborate game of hide-and-seek with Silverwing, made both easier and more difficult by his newly acquired ability, thanks to Pelka, to know exactly where she is at all times. Finding her, it turns out, is easier than catching her... she runs faster than he does, but he flies about as fast as she runs, but she can maneuver faster with four legs on the ground than he can with two wings in the air, so chases are a bit of a toss-up, as well as a whole lot of fun.

All good things must come to an end, though, and the pair return to the Aerie exhausted, sweaty, and content.

Murder is no where to be found, today. She claimed to have some errands to run, and things to purchase, and did not give a time when she would return. But her presence is felt, there are a few new things in Erakirak's room when he returns. Gaily wrapped boxes. Set on the table. The room is also warm, the fire having been lit and left to burn low. The place also appears to be cleaner.

It takes Rak a while to make it back to their room... he grooms Silverwing, and takes a quick rinse in the baths, and takes care of a few things, knowing that Murder will be some time in returning. He does make it there eventually though, and is startled by the presence of the wrapped boxes, and the warmth of the fire. Curious, he takes one of the boxes it and examines it.

A faint giggle can be heard. And one can almost imagine it was from the box, however the box is too small and too light to contain anything that could giggle.

Erakirak looks around at the sound, then looks at the box curiously again. Then carefully unwraps it.

It is a silver chain, delicately wrapped in crinkly paper, with an arrowhead pendant attached to it. The arrowhead is made of obsidian and carefully carved. An inscription says 'To Erakirak, love!, Murder' on the reverse side.

Erakirak makes a gleeful squeaky noise when he unwraps it, and reaches behind his neck to fasten it. The arrowhead is quickly lost in his chest-feathers, and he preens and flattens the feathers a bit until it can more easily be seen, before picking up a second box and inspecting it, trying to guess its contents before he unwraps it.

Another giggle is heard, just a bit louder, definitely not the imagination. The box is larger than the first, and weighs more. A longer, sturdier chain, highly polished but probably steel instead of silver. The chain runs through a large claw, the claw reminiscent of a large cat's claw. A small inscription in neat and tidy letters has the word Silverwing along one side, with the proper spelling of the same name in Auran on the other.

Erakirak tilts his head to one side at the giggle. "Gee, what could this be?" he wonders aloud before unwrapping it. "A backscratcher, maybe? An apple picker? Let's see!" He unwraps it and grins, and is about to put the second chain on when he notices the inscription and smiles fondly. "Thank you, Feather Fairy!" There's not really an Egalrin tradition of a Feather Fairy, but Rak learned about the Tooth Fairy myth from Murder a while ago and was charmed by it, and after he'd had his first flight the Feather Fairy had become a private joke between them. He carefully lays the chain out on the table and inspects the third box.

The third box is roughly the size of the previous one, but even heavier still. It rattles and thunks a little bit when the box is moved. It is a strange blade. It consists of a handle, a smooth, flat, black stone mounted to a metal frame. There are several small pieces that can be moved, which turn out to be a carving blade, a small corkscrew, something that looks suspiciously like a lock pick, a metal file, another blade, a mini saw, and a spork. They all fold neatly into the handle.

Erakirak considers the tool carefully. The Aerie makes lots of delicate tools and equipment, he knows, as part of its trade with Alexandria, but he's never seen anything quite like this. After a while he identifies all the various pieces, impressed with the craftsmanship, and carefully puts the item in his pack.