anemoi | ☾004☽action

[[OOC: Yuri's fairy tale is The Seven Ravens.]]

[He finds himself standing in a clearing, near a well, with no clear idea of how he came to be there. He must have ventured out of the city to train in secret with his firepower, as he usually does, but now there's an aged, earthen jug in his hands, and he doesn't remember picking it up.

Suddenly, he feels compelled to approach the well with the jug. It's a perfectly natural thing to do. He's clearly meant to collect some water. His father asked him to. At that thought, he pauses, confused.]

Father?

[He doesn't remember his father, does he? Yet he feels sure his father asked him to do this, so maybe some scrap of memory has returned to him. There are some anemoi at the base of the well. He sets the jug on the edge of the well, and bends down to pick up two of the gems and slip them into his pocket, thinking, I can give them to Palom later. Unfortunately, when he straightens, he inadvertently bumps the jug with his elbow, sending it tumbling down into the well.

No, this is wrong. It's very wrong. His father will be furious with him. He has to bring the water back. He leans over, looking down into the well, but he can see nothing, only darkness below. Suddenly, he hears a man's voice, though there is no one there:]

I wish that boy would turn into a raven.

[And then he's changing, feathers sprouting from his neck and arms, and he staggers back, tries to stop it. His body glows blue and blue flames spring from his eyes, but there's nothing he can do, and in a matter of minutes, Yuri is gone. In his place, there is a large, dark bird. It opens its mouth. It speaks in a human voice.]

Father!

[The bird takes flight, heading toward the city. One might find it anywhere there, perched in trees or hopping along the ground, lost: a strange raven with green eyes, which now and then glows with an odd, blue light. It can talk. It can also set things on fire.]

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[Yuri is startled when Keith touches him that way, his feathers puffing up. He hops briefly in place. He's not used to physical closeness as it is, and it's very different in this form, with feathers all over his body.]

Ah--

All right. Yes, well, it seems easier. That was my thought. [He feels he should change the subject, focusing on the more important matter at hand.]

That makes perfect sense, actually. [It's as good an idea as any.] However, I'm not sure how to get back there. It was a very strange place, as I said. I know it was outside the city, but I'm not sure if I could find it again.

[Keith doesn't seem phased by the hopping, he simply nods, taking in what Yuri has said.]

All right, well since you agree, I think we should try! Even if we don't find it right away, maybe the walk will give us more time to think about it.

[Keith sets of, glancing over to smile encouragingly at Yuri.]
I'm sure you don't like being a bird very much, but at least you're a raven. They're really smart, and-- [On second thought, maybe he shouldn't repeat the part about being "handsome".] great birds.

[After they've come a little way outside the city walls, Keith stops to look around.]
Does anything here look familiar, Yuri?

[Keith doesn't seem to see anything odd about it, and Yuri supposes there isn't anything odd. He is a bird at the moment.]

There are worse birds to be, that's certain, though I would rather be human again. A raven can hardly be a lawyer. [He would smile, if he could.] But thank you, Keith. [He's glad, though, that the man doesn't try petting him again as he rides on his shoulder.]

[When Keith asks him the question about the area, Yuri isn't sure, at first, but at last he has to answer:] Not particularly, no. [Yet he has noticed something odd, something that definitely was not there before, rising in the distance.] Is that a mountain?

Well, I like birds, but I'd like it better if you were human again too, Yuri.

[Keith turns his head for a moment to look around and--] It is!
It's looks so white, I wonder what makes it look like that?

Yes, it's not that I have anything against birds in general.

[Yuri narrows his raven eyes.] It appears to be made of some bright, smooth material, but I can't tell from here. [It doesn't look like an ordinary mountain, to say the least.]

[And so they set off, the man and the bird. They walked for a long while, and there wasn't much to see on the way, so they talked as they went. For his part, Keith thought it was kind of great to have a brilliant, handsome, talking bird on his shoulder, but he didn't say anything about that, because he knew Yuri was sensitive about being a bird.
When they arrived at the mountain, Keith was glad that the sun wasn't high, because even in this light, the mountain was dazzling. They came close, and he put out a hand and touched the surface of what should have been the rock.]

It's glass, Yuri. All around!
What should we do?

Yes, so it is. [That was certainly unexpected. Whoever had heard of a glass mountain? Actually, it reminds him of a story he heard once, but so long ago, he can't quite remember it-- Ah, that's right, his memories have also been taken from him, so that could be the reason he can't recall.] Give me a few moments to investigate.

[Yuri flaps his wings and flies forward to examine the mountain. It is completely smooth and bright, except--] There's a hole here. [It's down near the base of the mountain, the only thing that stands out on face of the seamless glass.]

[While waiting for Yuri, Keith has been "assessing the situation", which was stressed to him in training, but also feels like the natural thing to do. When Yuri returns with his announcement, Keith reassesses before replying. This take a few moments.]

If it's some kind of keyhole, there must be a key-- but why would a mountain have a key in the first place?
I think I should look around, maybe I'll find or notice something!

[Keith does just that. But all he comes up with is a small assortment of objects: A broken comb, what looks like a thick, twisted piece of golden wire, and a smallish, whitish stick. It is in fact a bone. But Keith doesn't know this. He seems disappointed in his findings, but shows them to Yuri anyhow.]

I didn't notice anything else about the mountain, Yuri, but I did find these things in the grass. I don't know if they're going to be very useful, but I'm trying to get in the habit of collecting evidence, so I picked them up.

[While Keith investigates, Yuri does the same, until Keith has finished his task.

Yuri examines the gathered "evidence", pecking at them briefly, for lack of hands.]

It seems you've been rather thorough. [Yuri approves.]

As we have no other options, we might as well try inserting them in the lock, if that is a lock. As you say, I don't know why a mountain would have a key, but maybe there's a door here that we cannot see.

I didn't notice anything else, either.

[Keith nods. The objects in his hand don't seem much like keys. The comb doesn't fit at all. The wire goes in a little way, but it doesn't really fit, then it gets stuck, so he has to pull it out. The bone is last.
There is a click. Then, suddenly, the outline of a door appears in the smooth surface.]

Yuri! You were right! There is a door-- I guess the thing we should do is go through it.
[Keith smiles, waiting for the bird that is Yuri to fill the empty spot on his shoulder.]

[Yuri flies up and returns to Keith's shoulder. Flying doesn't seem so unfamiliar to him, for some reason, but it is more convenient to perch.]

How odd. I suppose we should.

[As they head inside, however, a dwarf appears suddenly, not a human, but a wizened creature with a beard and bright eyes. He speaks.]

[Yuri isn't sure at all what to make of this.]

[Keith may be startled, but he doesn't back up-- he does glance at Yuri, addressing the bird and not the strange dwarf.]

Do you know this man, Ra- Yuri?

Greetings. It seems I have.

[Yuri says this to the dwarf, then speaks to Keith.] I have no idea who he is. This must be part of the--story, if that's what this is.

[The dwarf turns toward Keith, then, narrowing his eyes, though not in a hostile way, just curious.]

[Without glancing at Yuri, Keith answers the dwarf, feeling as if he doesn't have to think about it too hard-- the words seem to appear in his mind.]

I've come to deliver the Raven.

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