A burning smell filled the air, like ashes from a fire place.A loud splashing sound like an oar against water entered the ears of Vivian, causing her to gently stir awake.
A loud gasp shot from her, but no air exited her body as she looked around in a panicked state.
The world was filled with a red hue- no perhaps its black- maybe purple? What color is this…?
The thought filled Vivian's head, causing her to be confused, but she was quickly snapped back to reality as she watched a giant wooden oar swipe past her.
Water, or something similar to it, splashed upwards and flew at her, causing her to flinch. She rose her hands, but the water seemed to fly through them, then through her eyes and body, going off onto the other side.
Her gaze quickly shifted to follow the water, but stopped prematurely as she couldn't help but notice the giant imposing figure standing before her.
Before Vivian was a large humanoid figure ignited in frosty blue flames. It seemed to possess no proper head, and instead the flames engulfing it stretched upwards and formed a lower jaw, and above those flames was seperate flames floating, forming an upper jaw. Above these two jaws was a giant green eyeball that glanced down at Vivian.
Vivian quickly raised her guard, standing upwards and attempting to stir her heart into a rhythm, but there was no response, so instead she lashed out.
"Foul monster! What'd you do to me! Take me home at once!"
A voice resembling the cracks of flames in the wind spoke out, like a whisper being guided to her ears.
"That's not very kind. I may not know what I am, but I am certainly not a monster. I can certainly take you home though."
Vivian was instantly confused, as the horrifying giant creature spoke to her in a gentle tone.
It reached out a long clawed hand engulfed in flames, and extended it upwards into an abyssal sky of unknown color. A bell of a deep crimson color seemed to form, and it yanked a rope, ringing the bell.
The loud sound of a heart beat began to fill Vivian's ears, causing immense pain in her head and chest, as she gasped for air that didn't exist here.
"What- What is happening to me!"
Vivian screamed in pain, and the creature gently replied while rowing the giant boat they were on.
"You are dead, Vivian Criab. My one purpose is to guide you to your next stop. Originally you were going to Eogab, the Eastern Continent. There was a small place called Violet Rock, but it seems someone interfered with fate, so I had to wait for a new request from you."
Vivian heard this, and, if she had any, her blood vessels would've burst from rage alone.
"Dead? Request?"
Vivian shot her head upwards towards the creature, about to make demands, but before she could a bunch of images flashed in her mind.
She saw an assassin battling her, a blade sink into her spine, then her father sending her off.
She couldn't help but fall to her knees, taking the time to look at her hands. She didn't have any hands, nor bones, nor flesh. She was simply a consciousness floating adrift. This mysterious ferryman seemed to carry her, and prevent her from getting lost though.
"Hmm… You are hurt… I am sad now. Vivian, don't feel so sad, I've come to help you… I will give you a second chance. Someone else who has died, that's who you'll become. This is my blessing, for that's all I know how to do."
Vivian raised her head from her state of despair, looking at the creature confused. She stared at its one eye, feeling a horrifying kinship to it, as if she was staring at her brother.
She felt herself shudder, which was strange since she hadn't felt a think except emotion up until down. In fact, the shudder made her realize she could feel the warmth of blood in her body again, yet she still didn't have a body.
"We have arrived Vivian. It turns out, I have been able to give you what you want. You'll return home."
Vivian wanted to ask questions, but a severe excitement washed over her. She wasn't dead! She'd see her father and brother again, and be able to become the head of the house!
A large feeling of happiness left her, as she spoke to the creature with confidence:
"Ferryman, do not worry! I won't forget this debt, when I return I'll tell my father of you, and we will figure out how to help you!"
The Ferryman's one eye looked at Vivian, and despite its lack of pupils, or expression, it seemed to be happy.
"Thank you, Vivian. That won't be necessary, my only purpose is to guide you through these lands."
Vivian couldn't help but cling to that statement, as she looked over the edges of the large boat, and peered into the distance.
What Vivian saw was not more boats like this one, but a sea with endless ripples. She could easily tell, there were endless amounts of invisible things floating about this sea.
She couldn't help but look at herself, realizing she is currently invisible… Were these dead people?
Before she could confirm, she once again heard the loud bell, only this time it didn't make a heart beat sound. Instead it was a bell sound she was much more used to; a church bell.
Vivian seemed to blink, and for a second she saw a white blanket of snow. She began to lose her sight of the ferryman, and the infinitely expanding sea, and instead she was staring at the ground blanketed with snow.
She heard one last phrase from the ferryman;
"I'm sorry I couldn't give you exactly what you wanted…"
Then she suddenly let out a loud gasp, beginning to wheeze, until eventually a puddle of stomach acid was on the ground before her.
She constantly gasped as her vision blurred and recovered rapidly, and her eyes focused on the color of her vomit.
In the middle of the vomit we're pitch black feathers, and animal bones, all wrapped up into a ball like shape. She couldn't help but feel disgusted, causing her to reel backwards.
As she did, she fell back into the snow, and felt an immense pain coming from her shoulder blades.
Like an unnatural object was connected to her, she felt her shoulder blade begin to twitch and move, causing her to turn her head.
In her vision was an extending mass of black feathers; a wing!
"What the-"
She was severely confused, and turned her head to the right, seeing yet another mass of feathers! On her back were wings!
She quickly planted her hands against the snow to stand up, and she realized something else odd; her hands were way smaller, and had dark patches that looked like rocks, or very dried wood, around the finger nails and palm.
She successfully rose to her feet and looked down at herself. She was now much shorter, only about 5'3", and she was in absolute rags.
Her shirt was oversized, and stained in snow. Her pants were covered in a bunch of mysterious stains, one of which was obviously blood, and they were tied on by nothing but a string. Finally, she wasn't wearing any shoes, but her feet were surrounded in a hard bone-like material, similar to the ones on her hands.
She still had 5 fingers, and 5 toes, but all the changes quickly made her realize the truth of the apology she heard; She was not in her own body anymore! Instead, it appeared she had been thrust into the body of a beast-kin, or more accurately a bird-kin!
She felt a wave of panic overwhelm her, as she realized this was the worst case scenario.
She wasn't panicked because she lost her body, or because she wasn't as tall or as strong anymore, she was panicked because she wasn't human!
Unlike beast-kin, humans have the potential to gain dragon's blood, and thus gain internal energy. If she was still human, even without naturally born dragon blood, she'd be able to at least try and journey to get dragons blood. As a bird, she can't do that!
She looked at her hands, and angrily clenched a fist, feeling the roughness of the skin. This must be keratin, the stuff that makes up the talons of a bird. She had seen many beast-kin of all kinds before, so she knew the common appearances of them.
She raised a hand, and traced above the bridge of her nose, down above her cheeks, and sure enough she found a rough line of keratin there too. This was the remnants of a beak. Birdkin didn't actually have beaks, but evolutionary traits left the remnants of a beak on most of their faces. It's the same for talons. Though, the keratin can grow and act as a protective material, especially on the feet.
She let out a frustrated sigh, beginning to feel like she was going to cry…
"Cry? When's the last time I felt such an emotion…"
She couldnt help but hold back her tears, trying to be strong as she felt hopeless in this moment.
She rose her hands up and looked to the sky, which was absurdly bright for her, and placed two hands upon her head, feeling her absurdly soft but thick black hair.
As she did, she violently shook her hair with her hands in frustration, and she watched as small black dots flung out.
An immediate vial reaction came from her, as she sprung to the side and covered her mouth with her hands. Her dark black eyes shrunk and expanded a few times, as she learned her vision was still very good in the worst way possible; She was looking at fleas that just fell from her hair.
She resisted the urge to let out a vile scream, something birdkin were very good at, and instead she tried to ignore the itchy feeling that engulfed her whole body.
Instantly she realized her first objective; take a shower.
She took a deep breath, and looked at the pile of bones and the fleas on the ground. Suddenly her stomach began to churn, not in pain, but out of pure hunger.
Something about the animal bones, and the fleas, looked very appetizing, and despite her mind finding it vile, her mouth was salivating.
"Had she been eating fleas and whole animals? I suppose birds do eat bugs and rodents…"
Before she was fully hypnotized by the allure of the "food," she took off, following the closest wall and leaving the alleyway.
It was only now that she began to shiver, as she entered an open street and was hit by a wave of cold, even amidst the warmth of the sun.
She looked around, but everywhere seemed rather desolate, and all the buildings were old and mossy, with stone walls that needed repairs.
She walked along the street, huddling her arms together. Cold was a new feeling for her, because she formerly possessed the blood of a frost dragon, allowing her to resist the cold.
Now, she was a bird, a creature that hated the cold. She was stuck shivering amidst the streets, looking for somewhere to buy food.
Soon, signs of life started to appear, as a very dark atmosphered marketplace appeared in her eyes.
There were vendors selling goods at stalls, a very classic market, but they didn't shout or yell for customers. Every purchase was silent, and not even the newspaper boy shouted. It was depressing.
She slowly walked through the snow, feeling the cold against her feet as she approached a baker, and rose a hand with chattering teeth and a hoarse voice.
"T-Two loafs of bread please!"
She eagerly spoke, practically drooling at the sight of obviously stale bread, but instead of handing her the bread, the vendor angrily furrowed his brows.
"The dump is in the alley over there. Take the moldy bread, no one's gonna charge you for it. If you want better, cough up some coins."
In Eonis, the currency system is largely coin based, represented by silver. Two silver pennies would be more than enough for two slices of bread in an area like this, but Vivian didn't have any money.
She couldn't help but pause, and reluctantly turn to the alley, but with fresh food Infront of her it was hard to satiate her appetite. The alleyway had no appeal to it.
She spoke in a raspy voice, clearly having some sort of damage to her throat, be it from a cold, or an injury.
"I'll work here for two nights if you provide me bread for those two nights…"
The vendor seemed to find this funny, as he began to let out a very hearty laugh.
"You're certainly funny kid! What could a scrawny bird like you do! You've left mother's nest, and now you're trying to flock into mine? Your hollow bones aren't good for work. I wouldn't pay you, even if I could afford you."
Vivian didn't feel angered by this man at all, because she hardly could relate to the struggles of a birdkin, instead she saw him as a fool for rejecting borderline free labor. Normally people jump at this oppurtunity, so why not him?
She let out a sigh and walked away from the vendor, passing by the alley, and even more vendors. She tried her luck with each of them, but got the same sort of reply.
Once she had checked out the market, she continued walking, having long realized where she is by now.
Eonis is situated in a circular shape, with each district being a circle. Furthest from the walls, and in the very center, was the royal families land. Outside that was high nobility, where she once lived, then low nobility, then upper-middle class, then middle and low class, and finally, bordering the outter walls furthest from the gates; the slums.
Right now, Vivian was in the slums, likely located on the west side. The difference in difficulty in living could be pinpointed by how far from the gates you are. The gates possess guards quarters, so causing trouble is equivalent to asking to go to prison. With a gate located in each cardinal direction, that makes the corners inbetween them the worst living spaces.
Vivian walked along an old, unshoveled road, not seeing a single carriage, let alone an automobile, as she also heard nothing. She kept walking until eventually sounds entered her ears.
She picked up her pace a bit, and moved closer to the sounds, as voiced and cheers entered her ears. Eventually she saw the source of the sounds; a tavern!
Taverns are pretty outdated in modern times, but they're the favorites of adventurers, and also criminals. They are also a great source of food for travelers, or people hiding.
She picked up her speed to reach the tavern, wanting to see what was going on. She landed in front of the door, but several people were gathered, making it impossible for someone so short to see.
She tried to squeeze through, but struggled, and was left standing there.
Multiple times she tried to ask people, but over the sounds of the cheers, and the damage to her voice, she couldn't get their attention.
Eventually, she no longer needed to ask, because she heard a loud gasp from the crowd, and everyone split to the side.
Suddenly, flying at a dazed Vivian, was a large man.
Before she could take in any details, the man flew through the air and cracked into her, landing ontop of her.
Vivian felt immense pain, as her frail body was crushed beneath the weight of at least 200 pounds, causing her to let out a yell.
The cheers of the crowd were overrun by the loud high pitched screech of a bird, particularly the strange call of a raven.
The man ontop of Vivian suddenly covered his ears and rolled to the side, scrambling to his feet, and looking down at Vivian.
He went to throw a kick at Vivian, but before he could, a man yelled out with a delinquent tone:
"Stomp on her, and I'll do more than throw you out the tavern; I'll throw you into hell."
The crowd all turned, and a tanned skin man with ears as sharp as knives stood in the doors. He wore a poncho made of bear hide, and had a fuzzy hat on. A cigarette hung from his lips, and his feet had leather boots with spurs. His hide pants hand down to the boots, and his hand rested on a belt with a revolver. This was a gunslinger.
Vivian was in too much pain to process much, as her backside throbbed like crazy. One of the wings in her back was in immense pain, leaving her stunned and dazed.
The elven gunslinger flashed his hand over his revolver, and bit on the end of his cigarette, causing the large man to scoff and begin to walk away.
The crowd was getting ready to cheer, but the gunslinger stepped off the patio of the tavern and walked down two steps, crouching down Infront of a small raven girl.
He looked up and blew out some smoke, then extinguished his cigarette against his boot, before extending his hands out and gently scooping the girl up into his arms.
Vivian felt as a gentle touch of leather gloves grabbed onto her. The hands skillfully avoided the wings on her back, as she was flipped knee the shoulder of a man.
She was forced to hang upside down, staring at the backside of a poncho, and down at a belt with a silver revolver on it. The man holding her began to walk towards the tavern while speaking.
"This certainly isn't the environment for a little raven like you. It seems natures called me here for a reason."