Day 173 | The Beginning

[notachickenhawk]

Who: Tobias and open.
Open: Open
When: Day 173
Where: Near the entrance to the Skyway.
What: A bird arrives after the end of the world.
Format: Whatever works.
Warnings: Bird with PTSD. It's a children's series!


It was early morning when Tobias wakes up. He stretched his wings, and opens his eyes, looking out at the field.

… There was no field.

Tobias stared at the space around him in confusion. Floating… in space? Was this something the Ellimist did? It would be just like him to wake him up in a weird kind of situation like this. … But if it was, there wasn't anything he could do. So he pushed off the tree and flapped, looking down at the rough path of earth nearby. He could see something, far off - it looked like some kind of small town.

He followed the path towards it, traveling quickly. The air was warm enough to give him some nice thermals, and he coasted between them until he got to the - town? It was too small to be a town. He landed on the grass near the entrance to the place, staring.

<Where am I?>

This was pretty clearly some kind of dream, so he didn't really bother keeping his thought-speak private. Anyone in the general area could hear a confused young male voice echo in their head.

Comments

[notachickenhawk]

<Nope.>

Tobias flapped his wings, rustling the grass. <I mean, I know it sounds crazy, but here we are.>

[eleccentric]

Jason glanced at the source of the noise and blinked. Yep. That was definitely a hawk. A telepathic hawk. It made him pause for a moment before replying.

"Honestly, I think I've heard and done crazier than talk to a bird," he replied, smiling ruefully. "I'm Jason, and I guess welcome to the Bastion. Has anyone told you about this place yet?"

[notachickenhawk]

<Not really. I'm Tobias. The bird thing is complicated. As is the telepathy.> Just... not a story for right now. If he determined that this place was safe, maybe he'd talk about it.

[eleccentric]

Jason just nodded at that. It was pretty clear to him that it was a touchy subject. He wasn't going to push, at least not yet.

"Well, the Bastion is the last safe place around, from what I've understood. Most of the time, people help find materials to rebuild this place. Outside is where the monsters like to roam. Be careful if you decide to explore out there. I don't know how many of them can fly, but I can tell you that there are a lot of them wandering around on land."

[notachickenhawk]

<What about where I used to live?> It couldn't all be gone. It just couldn't. He needed to find the others, to figure out what happened... something had happened. The Ellimist wouldn't be quiet for this long.

[eleccentric]

He sighed softly. This wasn't going to get easier with time.

"Many worlds got destroyed, but the Bastion was one of the few that survived. Most likely, the reason you're here is because your world met that same fate. However, anyone you knew from your world have a chance to find their way here, too. They're pretty much drawn here, like we were."

Jason just hoped that was at least some comfort for Tobias. Gods knew there was precious little of that after learning the planet you called home just got annihilated.

[notachickenhawk]

<That's... not possible. After two years... we promised we'd fight them...> It was hard to hear, but there was definite pain in his 'voice'. He gripped the ground tightly with his talons, as if he were afraid he was going to fall over. <Everyone... gone... but they had to have survived. They just... they had to.>

He rocked back and forth, letting out tiny little squawks before finally shrieking, hunkering down in the grass. *lt;They can't be all gone...>

[eleccentric]

Jason knelt down to Tobias' level. Or, well, as close as he could get. He wasn't sure how to give comfort to a bird of any species, and he wasn't sure Tobias was a physical comfort kind of person anyway. Still, the son of Jupiter did know that there was human intelligence under that hawk exterior. Words would have to be enough.

"We'll find them, Tobias. If you want me to, I'll help you find your friends. Okay?"

html is hard

[notachickenhawk]

Tobias shivered, looking up at Jason. <... Thanks.> There was something about him that reminded him of Jake. He'd have to figure something out. One step at a time. Right? Right.

it is, ugh

[eleccentric]

He nodded and smiled a little.

"I'm currently living in the Tower on the eighth floor, over in the southern part of the Bastion. If you ever need to talk or anything, I don't mind being woken up in the middle of the night."

[notachickenhawk]

<I just need a place to perch at night and some prey to hunt.> What kind of prey could he even find here? He'd have to check it out. If nothing else he could morph and eat something and then demorph, but that didn't really sound appealing.