We Gave Them Up, We Let Them Down...

[Karina]

Karina and Ralph, atop Sascha, turned around, hoping their departure would not hurt the Golden Lance's efforts. She felt like she could not be here any longer. She knew she had someone to find... Something to do. Sascha's wings took them high, out of bow range, and they begun their journey through Bern in silence. They had almost the entire length of the country to cross, and they had to beat the snows that would close off the mountain passes.

Karina put her hand on Ralph's reassuringly, knowing any words she tried to say would be swallowed by the howling wind.

[Ralph Meglane]

Ralph sat in silence, there was nothing to say after all. Whatever it was that they were going to do, surely it was important. Even if it was only important to Karina. Sometimes in life you have to give up on things that you just can't do and return when you can.

No matter what path is taken, do whatever it is you're doing to the best of your capabilities. Bill had taught him that, and Ralph was willing to follow that rule.

[Karina]

The flight grew monotonous, and the day grew into night. Before landing, Karina took out a map of Elibe and looked at Bern. Judging on where they had started, and what landmarks marked on her map she had passes, she guessed they were about halfway to Sacae. Karina folded up the map and returned it to one of Sascha's saddlebags. She then steered her Pegasus towards a grove of pines.

Upon landing, Karina set out to find wood. It took her a while, but she found enough dry wood to get a fire going. "So, Ralph..." she began, "I feel as though I hardly know you. What of you life before now, if you do not mind my asking?"

[Ralph Meglane]

"Well, we haven't known each other long," Ralph said, "So that's understandable. I was a thief when I was younger, due to circumstances beyond my control. I went from town to town stealing just enough food to get by. In Ostia, I met a group of warriors I traveled with for awhile. It's odd, but I don't recall what happened after that. All I know is that I was asleep for three years, and when I awoke I could no longer see. I became a baker not long after.

"So what about you?" he said, hoping to hear an interesting story.

[Karina]

"Three years... Alone, dreaming, for three years. That is something I can relate to," Karina began. As she told her story, she began to play with her hair, "I lived with my family in Ilia. When I was young, too young to even remember, a blizzard destroyed my town. I was stuck under rubble, and the few other survivors thought everyone else had died. When I dug myself out, I was alone. For years, I scratched a living, not encountering another human. I remember the dogs who had survived, but not left, helping me.

"I was found six years later. Apparently, I had all but forgotten to talk, and how to act human. A doctor in Edessa decided to try and help me. He did, after three years of intense training and recovery. After that, i decided to join the ranks of the pegasi knights. I... I'm sorry if I bored you." she looked down at her bag and took a bit of bread out. using a stick, she skewered it and held it over the fire to toast it.

"So you don't know how you went blind? You just woke up that way? Maybe there is a healer out there somewhere who might know a way to help you. I... I can't imagine not being able to see..."

[Ralph Meglane]

"I see, you aren't all that different from me, are you? Perhaps it is fate that we are now travelling together." Ralph spoke, smiling. "I'm glad you asked me to come with you, it's much safer than travelling alone."

She asked about the blindness, a topic Ralph had thought about so often. "I've been many places, seeking out a healer. They've all failed, which I expected. It's not so bad once you get used to it, really. My other four senses are much greater than other people's. Also, I have Caecus for my eyes, so I am rather well off."

Just as he spoke Caecus's name, the eagle caught up with them, and landed on Ralph's shoulder. Resting its wings before the next flight.

[Karina]

Karina looked at the bird and smiled. This man and she shared a loved of animals. "It is much safer... Though it saddens me to know with all of this magic, there is none than can heal such wounds..." she looked about, her eyes resting on Sascha. The magnificent beast was grazing on a bit of moss, trying it for taste.

"Caeus. That is a nice name for a bird. Flying..." she closed her eyes, her face dreamy, "I do love it. Sometimes I think I was meant to be a bird, or a pegasus, perhaps. I am more at home in their air than on solid ground. Though it can get lonely up there."

[Ralph Meglane]

"That is why you have your pegasus, no? To keep you company on your long flights. Sure they're fine for transportation, but Pegasi have a certain bond with humans, don't you think?"

Ralph hadn't really been around pegasi much before, but everything he had been told about them always struck him as a bit odd. Like how they generally stick with human females, and generally stay away from males.

[Karina]

Karina looked over at Sascha. "She is a fine creature, but... Sometimes having a human up there with you is much more fun that riding by yourself." she looked down and started drawing in the dirt with a stick. She drew for a while, not thinking of anything.
When she stopped drawing, a rough sketch of a young man was scratched into the hard ground. With a swipe of her hand, she wiped the face away. "I... Must rest. Goodnight, Ralph." Katina smiled and walked over to Sascha. She pet the pegasus, who as sitting down by this time, and laid next to her.

[Ralph Meglane]

Ralph couldn't tell what the scratching noise was, but Karina must've heard it too, so he didn't worry about it. Caecus flew back into the woods.

Ralph slept very little, and only because he didn't have anything to do until Karina was awake again. The nightmares were fading away, now that they had turned their backs. Ralph took it as a sign that he had done the right thing in coming with Karina.

[Karina]

Karina, for the first time in a week, sleep without dreams of her brother. She woke up to the sound of birds calling out to their mates, ready to spent the day flying out of this mountain-filled land. She got up and dressed, then outfitted Sascha with her saddle, and packed the saddlebags. When she was done, she turned to Ralph, who looked like he hadn't slept much.

"Ready to go? It we fly all day, we should make it to the plains by sunset!" Karina said excitedly.

[Ralph Meglane]

"Is flying really that fast? I had no idea." Ralph said holding out his hand for whenever Karina pulled him onto Sascha. It was a real wonder, flight. Of course, his perception to everything was skewed thanks to his blindness.

He recalled that the last time he had visited the plains was his last memory with sight. That last memory was the clearest in his mind. He had gotten in a fight with Matthias, who didn't want him to come along because of his age. Then he ran and ran until the world around him grew dark and he lost consciousness.

A memory that constantly reminded him of his past self. Impatient and over-eager. It was good that he was no longer like that.

[Karina]

"Flying is the swiftest way to get anywhere, but it does have it's drawbacks," Karina said. She helped Ralph on Sascha, then strapped herself in. "Let's say, for example, a nasty wind kicked up. We would have to wait for it to die down, or else we could be driven into a mountain. It takes a long time to master flight. I'd say that even I have not yet become a master of direction and steering, though a lot of it comes from Sascha's senses."

Sascha took off, her wings beating the air until they were at an appropriate height. The pegasus flew strong and true, following the scents on the wind and her memories of past flights. She soon brought her passengers to the last mountain range before Sacae.

[Ralph Meglane]

"You can say the same of blindness, really." Ralph said in response to Karina. "If I have a bad cold and can't smell anything, that's two senses down. I haven't mastered my other senses, and so much of the knowledge of my surroundings comes from Caecus."

Much of the day went by while they were in the air. Ralph drifted asleep a couple times, resting his head on Karina's shoulder.

[Karina]

Karina and Ralph, ever held aloft by Sascha's efforts, flew over the last range and int Sacae proper. Karina looked below them, taking in the verdant grasses. From up here, everything was so beautiful. With her mind on beauty, she wondered if Ralph ever wondered what people he met after his blindness, say, herself, might look like. She thought about asking, but assumed it would be a bit of a sore spot. She could never imagine not being able to take in the sights of the world.

Karina veered Sascha downward and started to examine the plains. She knew it was a shot in the dark, but maybe the person she was looking for was heading for Bern.

OoC: I think I'm going to move into the Valorian/Chelsea thread. They haven't seemed to have moved from there.