Beginning Anew

Vision obscured into darkness as limbs flailed unsuccessfully from being bound. Further and further she fell into the depths of the unknown. The weight of her wings secured too tightly for herself to try and relieve from being pressed onto her back forcibly. Mouth opened to voice her plight yet water filled her lungs. A scream of anguish and anger was quickly silenced. Her attempt was futile to have a taste of air once more as her body became more sluggish as time passed.

“Excuse me?”

The voice of a man — the baritone notes had her assume as such — reached her pointed ears. Valiska was not sure if it was reality or just an auditory delirium to her desire for needed help. Ears caught the sound of the shuffling of footsteps that neared her position. A sharp intake left her in a fit of coughing to expel the water from her lungs. Her effort to move her body was fruitless as she felt the dirt press against her cheek as she felt the lower half of her body was still submerged into the body of water. Her shoulders tensed as she was left in such a defenseless manner as she could feel the man looming over her. Foreign hands gripped under her arms that pulled her some distance from the water before positioning her in a sitting manner with her legs outstretched off to the side. A frown pulled at her lips as a hand fingered through her ombré tresses without consent.

“Your, uh, blindfold, Miss.”

She assumed he caught her expression as he stumbled over his words. With a brief nod, Valiska pulled at her bottom lip with her teeth. A second later the cover over her eyes loosened to fall into her lap. Lashes fluttered as eyelids blinked to adjust to the change of light. Duel irises scanned over the man for a moment before she twisted her torso to her left to showcase her bound hands and wings. “My hands as well.” The man’s eyes widened as he reached forward to undo the bindings, but stopped short as he gazed at the wings at closer inspection. Valiska turned her head over her shoulder to observe him only spacing out. A quick exhale of breath through her nostrils, the woman flexed the muscles of her back in order to force her wings to move. Luckily, the water seemed to have caused the binding on her wings to weaken that she was able to free the appendages by herself, albeit on a few tries. Her energy felt sapped just from such a task that left her panting. “Now, if you would.” Her tone snappy as she glared at the man that left him scrambling to do so. With her hands free, she brought them up to examine. A click of her tongue, Valiska tried to rub the soreness of her wrists away. “Who are you?”

“Nobody of importance, Miss. We should head to the Guild with no delay if you are capable now.”

A grunt left her lips as she agreed on not pressing the matter of knowing his name. It would just be something to forget later on. Her hands reached down to her ankles to get rid of the restraining fabric. She ripped off the fabric and angrily threw it out of her sight. Her lips pulled into a thin line as her toes dug into the earth. They even dared to leave her without shoes. “The guild, what is that? What—where am I?” Her eyes fleeted around at her surroundings to know she was not on familiar ground.

“The guild—The Adventurer’s Guild; they can answer any questions you have, otherworlder. We are in Myrtle Village.”

Her brows furrowed to showcase her confusion which deepened the more he spoke. She brought her right hand up to brush her wet strands that stuck to her forehead away from her face before grasping all the hair to pull over her right shoulder. Her left hand came underneath the right to wring out the excess water to dribble onto the ground and try to release any tangles. “Otherworlder,” A soft murmur as fingers faintly brushed against her clothing that was flush to her skin. A gasp left her lips at the realization of none of her weapons were upon her body. She checked once, twice, thrice, as if it would appear beside her in her grasp. Breathing quickened while she turned over to her hands and knees to look behind her. Her gaze caught the waters of the pool she had come from along with the indentions of her body being maneuvered from the pool. “Shit!” A hiss of frustration left her lips with a flicker of her serpentine tongue. The sound of the man clearing his throat reached her tears which she greeted with a glare.

“L-let’s get you to the guild now, yes?”

With an inhale through her nostrils the smell of flowers seemed to calm her nerves, for the moment. A slow exhale of breath from her mouth as she closed her eyes momentarily. Hands clenched at the dirt before she wiped her hands against the front of her clothes. “Fine.” With a huff, Valiska extended out her right hand to the man, palm facing down, a silent order in pulling her to her feet. The man obliged, her nimble fingers grasped his forearm as she rocked her heels forward to stand on her feet. Legs wobbled under the pressure of her own weight; she quickly wrapped her left arm around the man’s shoulder to steady herself. “Mm,” A click of her tongue against the roof of her mouth. The man seemed rooted in place from her quick movement. A raise of an eyebrow as she had to slightly hunch over to be eye-to-eye with the man from the height difference she posed. “If you would lead the way.” A wave of her right hand in front of herself in addition to her words.

“Ah, yes!”

The man seemed flustered but she stayed silent on the fact as she focused walking beside the man. She grit her teeth as the strength of her body felt weakened significantly. Several grunts left her lips in annoyance of her body’s condition that she needed the man’s help just to get to their destination. Even the weight of her wings on her back held the two up for some time. The wings caused her to drag her feet even slower than she was used to. Valiska has trouble even to lift them accordingly that she just gave up for the time being.

“Here we are, Miss.”

Her eyes focused in front of her as they stopped momentarily. “Really?” The little hut in her vision caused her nose to crinkle unconsciously as they walked the few more steps leading to the door. “Very well,” Valiska released her hold on the man with a sigh as she gradually bent her knees in a squatting position before her rear touched the ground. Just the walk left her tired as was seated on the ground and ran her fingers through the grass at her sides. Her focus shifted to the area around the shack, and when she glanced upward to look for her guide, he was gone. A smack of her lips as her eyes narrowed before she reached to behind her left side to slowly pull on the wing to stretch it fully at her side to strain its muscles. A grunt from the soreness before she repeated the action to the right wing. “Hey!” The woman called as she pinched the bridge of her nose with her right hand. Valiska doubted she could get back up with the ache traveling throughout her body. Pathetic.