“He’ll be here soon, just wait a minute!” The familiar voice of Harize shouted, a bit of a chirp hidden behind her words. She didn’t have much of a commanding tone, but it seemed to bring momentary silence. “Armony doesn’t usually call on us like this- think about it!”


    “Oh, I have, and I want nothing to do with it. He needs to quit before he gets seriously hurt, that boy,” an older member spoke up- a Loharri with a deep voice and an almost child-like face. Their oddly bright, porcelain visage curled into a disgusted look as they traced their eyes away from Harize, who was quick to respond, waving her arms frantically.


    “I know the last job went poorly, but come on, if we can get to the heart of this new- ”


    “No. The answer is no, Harize. I don’t know about the others, but I came to say my farewells, not to send more of my friends on death quests.”


    Harize’s feathers furled wildly as she inspected someone she had believed to be a loyal friend, her wide pupils sharpening rapidly, like stones to blades. “Then leave.”


    One by one, each and every member of the Sol-Flute guild left. And with their departure? The instruments that each member carried- now only bore by Harize and Armony.


    Speaking of Armony, he arrived mere moments after everyone had left, and without a word shared between the two, they nodded and buried the flutes. One after the other, they were thrown into separate holes on the grounds where the party was disbanded without so much as a word to its leader.


    “Armony, you know this isn’t your- ”


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    “Stop. Harize…” He raised a hand with a low groan before peering up at the darkness that began to leech its way into the sky like runny ink. “I have you, you have me, and we aren’t alone. I’d say that’s all that matters today. Tomorrow, when we curse ourselves for our foolishness, is when we can place the blame.”


    Armony stood with a deep sigh, twirling his own interval flute before walking off, waving for Harize to join. “We’ve got a decent walk from here to Orcoa’i. Let’s walk through the night.”


    Harize stood in place for a moment, watching as her friend wandered off in the general direction of Orcoa’i. Following after him, she nudged his shoulder to walk to his left more, her beak nodding toward the south. “I don’t know. Seems dangerous- just the two of us walking into Wha’Poa territory in the midst of the night.”


    The boy shrugged, peering back at the Kaka’u’s crown of feathers before focusing on her eyes. “We’ve not much choice. The skies are all the more treacherous- there’s no avoiding it.”


    To that, Harize’s feathers rose before resting back into unison, giving her body an almost mechanical flow. She moved with a certain amount of intention, whether in her long strides or in her small adjustments. Harize seemed to have a calculated approach to most things she did, especially when it came to interactions. Each step she took was filled with deep thought- from her hips to her knees, to her heels to her toes- she was gauging each and every movement to the T.


    Armony, on the other hand, moved with an unkempt flow, his legs crossing one another every now and again as they walked, which at times prompted him to do a little spin before keeping up his pace. His long, shadowy flowing hair gave each step an artificial sense of weight, as the curls bounced with each foot placed.


    It was as if he were dancing!


    With their plans set and their destination ahead of them, all they had left was to walk their walk. For whatever paths lay ahead cared not for talk, but for their actions. Their decisions.


    Their fate.