Brink of Delusion; Crystal's Shine ((Full))

[Black Claided Cat]

Enter- Alane Shoudu

The winds started to pick up, making Alane and Maurik have to fly back up and out of the Canyon. Sand started to spray around, clouding over the sky and the inner winds of the rift. She held her arm over her eyes and nose as she buried her face in the wyrum's neck; she directed him on a path that would take them to a Ranger's Outpost that Harrier had talked about.
A sudden gust made the wyrum's wings ripple before knocking him out of his steady flow. The wyrums of the Pandemonia Canyon were built for its heavy winds, but not for sandstorms. Maurik turned downward under the command of Alane, quickly descending onto the hard ground. She lept off his back and took off his harness and bridle; giving him a hard slap on the rear to get him going. The tinkering of bells didn't stop as another powerful gust blew both the bells on the saddle and the wyrum away.

Alane made her way to the outpost, knocking on the door for the inhabitants to let her in. The winds weren't as strong as they could be, just enough to ruffle some clothes and knock down some doors. So the doors weren't barred; yet. She was ushered in and she quickly said her hellos, being familiar with most of them. She set down the saddle and bridle on an empty stool and looked around. Not seeing Harrier she asked Cadar, one of the Rangers she knew.

“Where's Har? I thought he was on rift run today.”

“He was. The kid ran out 'bout five minutes ago, no idear wear,” the man shrugged, not at all worried. Thinking he should be able to handle himself.

“Oh,” Alane just said. She sighed before sitting down in a stool and listening to the conversation the men and women were having.

Exit- Alane Shoudu  

[Draconia Crystalis]

Gio kept silent for a while as Rigo and this new ranger guided him to somewhere safe from the approaching storm. As he walked, he kept his eyes downcast, thinking about the things the woman had been saying. She really did want to kill them. Why? He had never done anything to her, and yet in the blink of an eye she was at their throats. He wanted to know why. He would occasionally glance back at her, to where she was following several feet behind them.

He had a feeling he already knew part of it. The rage in her eyes spoke volumes. Her eyes shined with the kind of malice that came only from losing what you held dearest. Gio knew that for him, that had been his family, though he was fortunate to still have Rigo with him. Maybe she had lost everything. Loss immeasurable is one of the only things that can cause a deep hatred like hers.

Gio stopped in mid-step, brushing himself out from under his brother's protective arm. Before either Rigo or the ranger could object, Gio turned around and walked straight up to the woman he had risked his life for, and would willingly do so again. He wrapped his brown cloak around him tightly to guard against the harsh winds that were ever-growing around them. The storm would hold off for enough time for him to speak, he knew it would. He stopped just five feet away from her and said, "I think I know how you feel. I don't know why it's directed at me, at us.... but I know what it means to feel loss."

A small part of his old personality was shining through. In any other case he would have been quivering with fear from the woman's very presence, but here he was, inches away from someone with every intention of snapping his neck on a whim, and he wasn't even phased. He just.... he felt that he wouldn't die. That she may hurt him, but she wouldn't kill him. He had a feeling that she had a lot of questions that he and his brother would have some answers to.

"I lost my entire family, except for my brother, two years ago. I was right there, but I didn't even have the courage to remember what happened. When the assassin struck at our manor, during my brother's ceremony, I went blank, and can't remember what happened. There's just a gap in my memory. The next thing I know, all the people I loved were dead all around me, and I was washed in their blood from the carnage. My brother had protected me, but he didn't reach his power in time to help everyone else," Gio explained solemnly, tears forming in his stony eyes. "I... no, we can understand the pain of loss. I saw, but didn't have the strength to remember and honor the deaths of my family around me, and my brother, he had the power to protect them, but couldn't reach it in time to protect them.... We have lived with this guilt for two long years, and will for the rest of our lives."

He raised his eyes to look straight into her bright, sapphire gaze, "So please, please trust us enough to talk. Please trust us enough to let us understand your pain. Maybe we can help you, and maybe you can help us."  

[Jest_A_Clown]

Suri was hunched over the steering wheel, focusing intently on not crashing in the decreasing visibility when a rough impact jarred his attention from the controls. He brought up a display, and was thoroughly shocked and angry with himself for letting this happen. Not only had they caught up with him, but they had launched their mooring anchor as a primitive grappling hook and latched on to his ship, slowly reeling themselves closer. Thankfully, it looked like their ship had no weapons, but the people on board did. The anchor was securely embedded in the aft end of the ship, and through the dusty sky he could see the forms of his pursuers waiting at the bow, ready to leap aboard his vessel. "Argh! They just don't give up!" he growled, and promptly released a stream of curses as several dials and monitors lit up with warning symbols. "You daft bastards punctured my fuel tank with your anchor! Now I really have no choice but to land in the middle of a sandstorm!" he seethed as he locked the steering wheel in position and began, of all things, pacing. After a small dumbfounded silence, he stated, "...wait....how do I land this thing?...AAGGHH!!!"

After he had sufficiently calmed himself, he checked the display once more. The distance between the two ships was closing as the line shortened and he could see alot of enemies on deck. It was at that point that Suri gave in to an erratic yet simple impulse and passed it off as an excuse for a plan. "If I go down I'm taking you with me!" He yelled while shaking his large fists at the display. Suri did, however, take some forethought into this though. He slowed the ship down as much as possible, the land that was a passing blur beneath him was now cearly defined as a mess of canyons and plateaus. As a last minute adjustment, he also adjusted his altitude to bring him on a downward slant with the ground. Seeing all was ready, Suri jammed the steering device, then quickly proceeded to the hatch leading outside the ship.

Once on top, Suri shielded his eyes against the flying dust and proceeded carefully to the rear of the ship, where he was securely fastened to his pursuers with a nigh unbreakable mooring line and anchor. Grinning like a madman at the audacity of his plan, he ripped up the nearest metal panel like peeling back a can of sardines to serve as a shield while he did his work. If his enemies hadn't seen him already, they definately noticed the sound of screeching metal as a large piece of the ship's outer armor raised itself to block their gunfire. They had absolutely no idea what was about to happen.  

[MadameDPomp]

Jolyre kept a light, but steeled pace behind the ranger and the Dragoni brothers. Her mind was a tsunami of rage and waves of agony would lap against the sides of her skull. Why couldn't she kill them? Because the enigma said not to; just not in so many words. And as much as Jolyre hated the entity that appeared, she couldn't bring herself to stray far from its words, like it was pulling to her. she brooded heavily on this.
Until the rag doll boy approached her for some godless reason. Did the boy want to die? She didn't mind to oblige him. Or was he simply a fool?
His story spilled out. The assassin, which she could only come to understand as her father, the whole Dragoni family wiped out and it surely wasn't done by Lord Alexei Aegis whose regal Angeal cadaver was just as dead as the Nero Angeals. How had this piteous boy even survived? What had made the older boy even choose this one to save? Jolyre hated stupid decisions. Like helping strangers fight mantis monsters.
"So please, please trust us enough to talk. Please trust us enough to let us understand your pain. Maybe we can help you, and maybe you can help us."
"Trust you." she repeated slowly, as if trying out the words for the first time. She laughed. "Trust you? Trust the boy and his brother who murdered all I had left?" Her eyes glistened ferociously. "I'd just as soon slit my own throat than trust you, Dragoni boy." she snapped.
"I've hunted dead leads and close encounters for two years. I have been looking for you...for...two...years." menacing whispers contorted her voice which was usually like the clear, low notes on wind chimes.
"I'll listen to your testimony. Your alibi." she sneered. "And even if it proves to be made of steel and true as the sun, you will still only be the brothers who murdered my father. And left me as an Angeal warrior with nothing to live for but a life of revenge and even less to lose."  

[Draconia Crystalis]

Gio clenched his good fist, a display that hadn't been seen from him since the incident. He had never shown even the slightest inclination of anger or audacity since that day that his confidence and his mental stability had been shattered. But hearing her words, her accusations, and hearing them come from her mouth, stirred a deep-seated spark of himself. He wasn't going to let her continue with a false impression of his character. "Only Rigo knows what happened that day," he said, the truth of her situation becoming clear from her words. She had hunted them for two years, and they had been searching for answers for two years. She said they had murdered the most important person in her life. She was an Angeal. The assassin had been an Angeal. The man had been her father. "My memories of that time are gone, as much as I wish to remember. I wish I could remember so that I could pay reverence to EVERYONE that died that day."

"But there are a lot of questions about the whole thing, don't you think? Regardless of who was killed by who, my last memory is of your father trying to kill my brother at his ceremony, but being shielded by my mother. So, there is no doubt in my mind that he was an assassin," He paused for a moment to punctuate his words, then resumed. "I wonder if that was normal, for an Angeal man to try to assassinate a Nero Angeal. Certainly it would be a black mark upon anyone's name no matter what the reason. Angeals are beings who pride themselves on honor, and yet one stooped to such a low act as to try to kill a teen-aged boy. But why would someone, who I'd assume was as proud a person as you are, do such a thing?"

He met her eyes, which spoke to him of malice unmatched, and of a deep hatred that he as well felt burning in him since that day. But the flame wasn't for the assassin, it was for the one who sent him. There had to have been someone else behind it, and he and Rigo had been traveling in search of who that person was. "We regret everything that happened that day. I don't know how your father died, but I regret that just as much, because if what Rigo and I believe is true, then he was the victim of someone's scheme, regardless of who it was who dealt the fatal blow. If what we believe is true, then your father was used as a disposable puppet. And an Angeal would follow only one of two things, the heads of government, or Glorion Crystalis itself."

He would be surprised if his words didn't piss her off more. Angeals were devoted to both their government and the church they served, and an accusation like that was quite extreme in the eyes of many. But maybe, maybe it would make her think. He wasn't sure if it was the case, but perhaps the truth had been hidden from her by the people she trusted. It certainly made sense in his own head, and he had been thinking of a lot of this for the past two years.  

[Jest_A_Clown]

Seeing that he had indeed incited retaliation from his foes, Suri hunched behind his makeshift barrier, meticulously digging into the innards of the ship's outer wiring. Finding the main conduit he was searching for, he grasped it in one hand. With his right arm buried in wiring and metal up to his shoulder nearly, the orange glow resurfaced in his chest as he began to absorb the ship's power supply. "Let's see if I can rock the boat a little." Suri said jovially, but with a wicked smile. Small beams and bullets ricocheted off the upturned metal as the Blackhand members fruitlessly tried to shoot down their target.

"YOU FOOLS! He's dithering behind cover which means we're invincible! Get yourselves on that mooring line and board his ship!" the thuggish Blackhand leader bellowed to his minions. Several gave him a wide-eyed 'are you serious?' look to which he responded only by leveling his weapon at them and raising an eyebrow. Two of the bravest henchman complied, while the other three hastily volunteered to provide 'cover fire'. The only cover fire the gristled leader cared for was the one his single-shot beam-rifle was going to provide. The second his lackeys lured that hulking cyborg out from cover he was going to nail him in the brain and take his precious Crystal for himself. With that kind of power, he'd be unstoppable, a valuable asset to the Blackhand business, which meant a lofty position in the ranks. He smiled devilishly as he readied his weapon on the railing of the ship and waited for his mark to appear, his own cybertronic eye zooming in to get a better sight in the dusty air.

Suri felt that he had taken in far more than enough, enough to worry him that he'd sucked his own vessel dry, but the sensation that went along with absorbing a large amount of energy somewhat dulled his senses momentarily. Chuckling like a drunken idiot, he peeked out from his cover and ducked back to barely avoid a concentrated blast that would have sheared his head from his shoulders. "...Not a problem...." Suri said as he rolled to the opposite side of the cover and stuck his arm out, palm facing toward the other ship, and released his own concentrated blast of energy. Judging from the frustrated yells and streams of curses, it looked like he had achieved his desired effect. He had temporarily blinded them, just long enough to get rid of them.

Knowing the effect of his Blinding-Blast, Suri almost casually walked out from his cover, standing tall and with a goofy smile plastered on his face. He didn't spare a glance toward his opponents as he gripped the mooring line and anchor with both hands and breathed deeply, anticipating the draining sensation that came with releasing ALOT of energy. What he didn't notice were the two assailants hanging from the line and nearing his ship. The large doors of his chest shifted open slightly to release any excess buildup and an intense orange light flared outward through his thin vest. "HEADS UP!" he yelled hysterically as both arms radiated an absolutely powerful glow. A deep thrumming noise accompanied the glow, which spread from his arms and across the mooring line to the other ship with lightning speed. Sadly, it also passed through the two men suspended from the mooring line.

The effect was almost mesmerizing, but still horrible to watch. It was like a massive shock overloading a fusebox and blowing it apart. The two hung transfixed from the line, all their muscles forced into rigid contractions and shining with orange energy that built up and up and up until it was sparking from their mouths. The final result, though gruesome, ended with both of them exploding into a shower of orange-red aura and bits of metal. Luckily, the fools on board the other ship were spared that exact fate since they weren't directly touching the live-wire between their ships. Regardless though, the leader's eye blew out in a shower of sparks as it overloaded. His henchman experienced similar effects with their mechanical parts as well. The ship, however, was slowly overheating from the inside. Circuits were being overloaded, the engine was combusting in a firestorm of electrical energy, and various parts of the ship shut down automatically as a fail-safe that would do no good in the end. The mooring line itself was a livid wire of molten energy and when Suri felt he could release no more without causing harm to himself, he effortlessly tore the line apart. He would have shouted something infuriating at them, but he had seen the two people literally fry and explode just a few yards from him. He had caused that. He killed them.

Suri silently moved back to the front of the ship and re-entered, attempting to gain control of his severely damaged ship and avoid a fatal crash.

((Sorry to write a novel guys, but it was a really intense post!))  

[Scythe de Zaran]

The Angeal was angry, but at least she didn't make a motion toward them. Gio spoke, and to Rigo's mild surprise, the boy was much more confident than he had ever been in the last two years since the event. Was the brother that he once knew back to himself? What had that entity done? Rigo's younger brother was making perfect sense. Rigo also had his thoughts on the matter, but didn't always voice them out loud.

But it was clear from the exchange between Gio and Jolyre what the connection was. Jolyre was the daughter of the assassin, and while Gio said Rigo was the only one who knew what happened, Rigo wasn't about to say that Gio killed everyone. It wasn't really Gio, was it?

Maybe it was time to talk to the Angeal to hear her side of the story and what she knew.However, that would be done while Gio was being treated and out of hearing. Ideally. However, he still wasn't going to reveal Gio's doings.

"Let us speak of this matter later," Rigo said calmly. It wouldn't do to upset Harrier, who was offering them help. The Nero Angeal looked at Harrier. "Apologies. It seems we have some minor disagreements."  

[Black Claided Cat]

Enter- Harrier A'Cal

Harrier kept his ears on the travels behind them, polity ignoring the conversation but listening to the tone of voice. He didn't want a fight breaking out. He heard a few words such as 'assassin' and about deaths two years ago. It made him ponder; what happened two years ago? Harrier had no idea, he'd have to check up on it unless the travelers said anything.

Once the argument came to a halt, the male Angeal addressed him saying, "Apologies. It seems we have some minor disagreements."

A polite boy, he thought, reminds me of Ferrel.

“It is quite all right, thank you. If it were under any other circumstances I would never have intruded. But seeing as your companion,” Harrier said, indicating to the injured one, “is in this circumstance, I dare say I'm happy to.”

They approached the steps leading up the the ledge, nearing their destination. With a few good minutes to spare, the storm hadn't pulled in fully; but it would still be some trouble to walk through the winds.

“I grew up in a family of ten, so I'd say I'm use to arguments such as these. But in no were near the same topic,” he added as an afterthought, and realizing that he was getting completely getting off track asked, “Can he tackle the winds on the ledge fine?”

He was still worried about Giovanni, he still looked in pain; and this would not be the first time a ranger found injured travelers in the canyons. The problem was getting them back to an outpost in time, depending on the injury and whether or not the ranger had something to treat it with.

Exit- Harrier A'Cal  

[MadameDPomp]

One million angry retorts rushed Jolyre's mind. One trillion actions attacked it. Tell him she was Lady Jolyre Aegis, Commander among the Angeal, and sworn to the Glorion Crystalis. Rip his throat out. Drive the point home that he was a worthless murderer. Break his spine in two.
She would've settled for any. The words were fire on her tongue when Rigo came and cut her off.
Did he not hear his brother?
This insolent boy was slandering her father, her race, and everything she stood for as a daughter and an Angeal.
Oh wait. He was a murderer, too. He wouldn't care.
"Minor disagreements" she scoffed. "You. Killed. My. Father" Jolyre said, emphasizing every word.
"Oh, but don't worry, it's just a minor disagreement." she snapped to the ranger.
She realized the Rigo was right. To scare the ranger off now would be suicide in these wind-riddled ravines. Although, if she died, it would extend the Dragoni boys' life expectancies, she was sure. She stormed away from them and started up the steps.
"Let's get across this godforsaken ledge so we can settle this minor disagreement." Jolyre said coldly, loud enough for them to hear.  

[Jest_A_Clown]

After a few more futile minutes of piloting, it was apparent his ship was fried. Besides the fuel tank being punctured by the still-embedded anchor, Suri had absorbed too much power and had doomed his ship to crash. He pulled up one flickering display to show the ground beneath him as it sped by, coming closer and closer while shutting off all systems that had nothing to do with flight. He took a surveillance of the ship and found the rear end was emitting a smoke trail black as night, without fuel his ship was burning up and the engine was dying. The dust storm was sweeping in, and he was about to crash in the wind canyons of Tylem, with no idea of what to do other than survive.

The display showed alot of wind-swept land and rocky canyons rushing by. At one point he was sure he saw a group of travellers past beneath his vision, but then they were gone and replaced by yet another canyon. A chilling thought occured to Suri just then. "Hadn't considered that not only might I be crashing...but that I have a decent chance of crashing straight into a canyon wall instead of flat ground." he thought morbidly. "Oh joy." he remarked in a dead tone. He was now coasting on the winds and though he was slowing down, it would still be a rough landing.

All of a sudden, his display shifted from the ground beneath him to further up near the horizon. In the distance he could see a group of buildings. "An outpost! Perfect!" he exclaimed with short-lived joy as he tried to steer his ship in that direction and found that he would be missing it by alot. No power meant minimal steering and the winds were buffeting his ship like it was nothing...which at this point it was nothing. There was some light to the situation however, even though he was missing the outpost by miles, he was not going to be crashing into canyon walls. The land around the outpost was fairly solid and flat and he wouldn't have too far to walk. "Better buckle up" he said gruffly as he strapped himself into the pilot's seat.

Using the last of his power to try and slow the speeding craft down, the ground rushed up to meet the crippled airship in a blur, tearing apart what was left of the ship and scattering debris across the windy landscape with a loud crash.

From beneath the wrecked remains of the fuselage, Suri tried to maintain conciousness. The impact had really knocked him a good one. One of his arms was on fire, thankfully it was metal and not flesh. His legs were trapped beneath some larger debris, and he felt like he had been beaten with stones all over his body along with being gouged at by glass. Giving off a more than sufficient blast of energy with both arms, he sent the debris trapping his legs flying high into the sky. Standing shakily, for his legs were still mostly flesh and blood, he surveyed the scene while patting out the fire on his other arm. "By the Crystals, I made a mess....now...which way was that outpost?" he groaned as he scanned the horizon, as far as he could see through the dust anyway. The storm would be full upon him soon.  

[Draconia Crystalis]

Gio gritted his teeth in frustration as the Angeal woman simply brushed his words meaning away. She was more pissed at him, and it didn't surprise him, but that didn't mean he liked it. He had tried to get her to see the situation in a different light, the light he had been seeing it in for the last two years. Seeing it any other way would have destroyed him, either putting him in an even more delicate mental state, or making him turn out like her. He didn't want to be just a seething mass of hatred and vengeance. That kind of life was empty of meaning, and he wanted more than anything to find the "meaning" behind what happened those years ago. He wanted to know who was responsible, why it happened, and that way he could find justice his own way. This Angeal woman, however, was ready to start a bloody slaughter of her own, without even thinking about how strange the circumstances surrounding her father's death had been. Rigo may have been the one who killed her father, but it was by no means his fault. It had been self-defense, and someone else had to have orchestrated that event that caused the three of them to lose so much.

He watched as she walked around him, brushing past him violently as she stormed to the outpost. In frustration, Gio called after her as she went, keeping his voice as calm as possible, "And I'm not 'Dragoni boy'! My name is Gio, Giovanni Finito Dragoni!" He paused for a moment, then added, "I hope I can learn your name too. I don't care if you think of it as simply knowing the name of the vengeance that shall be brought down on me, or whatever way you have to think about it. I want to know more about you. I want to know how I can help you."

After he finished, he followed a considerable distance behind her, this time not so certain about the feeling that she wouldn't kill him. Something in him was saying she wouldn't, but her eyes, her voice, her entire soul seemed to burn with a flame of the opposite intent. She was something to be feared, that was certain, but at the same time, there was a majesty about her that made him willing to dare against it. It didn't feel right for her to harbor this kind of blackness inside her. Maybe it was because she was the Bearer of the Crystal of Light. It didn't seem to fit her at all, this darkness she carried inside of herself.

Thinking back, he had been a whole lot braver just now than he had been in the past two years, and he had no idea why. He could still feel his cowardly instincts inside of him, berating him for his suicidal actions. He didn't want to get hurt, and didn't want to die, of that he was certain, but at the same time, he was beginning to realize something. He really wanted to help her, and he wanted to do anything it took to reach that point. If he had to let her kill him, then he would willingly do so. It was a last-resort option in his mind, but an option nonetheless. He didn't want her to keep chasing a revenge with such anger and hatred in her heart.

Gio was snapped out of his thoughts as he heard an incredible sound, an enormous rumbling and screaming of metal on rock. The rumbling turned into an abrupt shockwave as what he would guess was something very large fell to the earth somewhere near the outpost. "What was that?" he wondered aloud.  

[MadameDPomp]

"Such a strong name for one so pitiful." Jolyre replied, not looking back at the foolish boy who followed her.
"And furthermore, the only help you'll ever be to me is giving me peace when your cadaver is in a box being mourned by your people...whoever that may be." she added.
How did a human end up in a family of Nero Angeals anyway?
She decided she didn't care.
What did he have to offer her in the end? As for her name, well, he'd know that soon enough. She'd carve it in his body when she was done.
For a fleeting moment, her posture softened and she winced at the severity of her thoughts. Alexei had never meant for her to turn out like this. A bitter, cold, angry warrior. The perfect soldier; fueled by rage and adrenaline and pride. A Knight of the Glorion Crystalis. She wore the crest on a simple brooch, that kept her cloak fastened.
As a child, Jolyre had planned on being a soldier, but even this was far from what she'd imagined. Then again, she'd always had Alexei behind her, telling her what it was like, how Angeal soldiers should be. "...And when you grow up, and your wings are full and feathered, you'll stand tall and you'll stand proud. The most beautiful Angeal knight in all of Lamina and even the Glorion Crystalis." he told her, lifting her up under her arms as she laughed. Her mother stood behind him, smiling at them.
And so Jolyre had been. The proudest, the strongest, the best at everything she touched. She made sure of it, for her mother and father. Tears came to her eyes.
She shook them away and went rigid with enmity again. It seemed resentment had consumed her heart, soul, and life. Now she couldn't escape.
A loud screaming crash forced her from her flashbacks and antagonized thoughts. It hit with such an impact that it rocked the canyons. Even with the wind storm forming, she could see the dust that arose from the crash. Forgetting her plight momentarily, the becoming woman, the compassionate Angeal, took over. She had to help whoever was on that ship. She ran up the steps, some 2 and 3 at a time. The ledge did look formidable, but she swallowed her fear. Slender fingers gripped at ravine rocks as she sidled as fast as she could. The wind threatened to pull her from the ledge.
It all happened in a matter of seconds. Jolyre's boot slipped on a loose rock. No sound escaped her, she was too caught off guard. She knew enough to twist around and her hands caught the ledge. Looking down, she immediately regretted it. Rocks and ledges poked up and out everywhere, but not for a good fifty feet.
If she made it out of this, Jolyre swore she'd never come back to Tylem.
Ever.  

[Scythe de Zaran]

Rigo nodded to Harrier's question of whether Gio could tackle the winds fine. However, the Angeal immediately cut in. Perhaps, he had downplayed the situation a little, but it would do no good to be distracted until he got to a safe place, especially with the impending sandstorm. Angeal or Nero Angeal, wind was not their friends when it came to wings.

Unfortunately, Gio and Jolyre continued to banter despite what Rigo had said about leaving the matter for later. He was hoping they would take the hint. It just wasn't a convenient time. Then again, when was? It was awkward.

There was a sudden loud tremor followed by a shockwave that would have blown Rigo off course if his wings were out. Jolyre was off in an instant, running toward the noise. However, Rigo saw her body fall. He shook his head. It wouldn't be right. They both needed answers. "Gio, stay put." Against logic, Rigo spread his wings and dove toward Jolyre to catch her before she hurt herself upon impact with the jutting rocks and ledges. It was a risk with the winds, but Rigo managed. "Let go!" Rigo called out to Jolyre. "I will catch you. Quickly!" He was just below her, but he wouldn't be able to hold the position for long because of the wind.  

[MadameDPomp]

Jolyre reached for something more substantial to grab hold of. There was nothing so kind. So this is how she was to die. Not with a battle cry, but the thud of a body hitting rock, not be heard among the howling winds. Desperately clinging to the rock with cramping, weakening fingers, she tried in vain to climb back up.
To fall was to die. To unfurl her wings was to get smashed into the face of a cliff. Oh Tylem, the Land of Choices.
Just as she found them, too.
It was amazing how long those seconds seemed. Like she'd been dangling there for years.
She closed her eyes until a voice below told her to let go.
That seemed stupid. Opening her eyes, she saw it was the older Dragoni boy.
Catch her!? Yeah. That seemed valid. Because she was honestly going to fall willingly into the grasp of a murderer.
She looked at it twice for a moment. What choice did she have?
Any idiot who had his wings out at moment like this either wanted to die or was truly sincere.
If this is a bad suicide/murder attempt...I will haunt these lands til the end of days she thought bitterly
Against every emotional warning in her brain, Jolyre's fingers unlatched from the ledge. She fell, hoping it would be the arms of her father's killer she landed in, rather than a vicious outcropping of rocks. If there was one thing Jolyre hated, it was irony.