A Perfect Storm (Greathorned)

[Deleted]

"I'm sure you have probably heard of my, the name's Aerion, the prime example of the Tyto species!" Aerion remarked, giving a cordial bow. No matter the situation, Aerion couldn't help but throw out some self-praise, which generally made other owls more annoyed than anything. But he didn't particularly care, he saw himself as the greatest owl alive and all other owls should acknowledge that.

Dimitri narrowed his eyes at the other Barn Owl. "No, I have no idea who you are, no do I know why you think you have to right to just strut up here and talk to me. Unlike you, I have important matters to attend to and don't have time to make small-talk with every random Barn Owl in the Pure Ones."

"Of course, I am quite aware of what an important mission you have before you, for that is why I am here. I have come to inform you that, for reasons that have not been made clear to me, the owl who was supposed to lead the infiltration team has delegated that duty upon me. As a result, I now have far fewer owls at my disposal and must request that you extend your diversion for a tad longer."

That revelation suddenly peaked Dimitri's interest; Katara had willing bowed out of the operation, something that ignited a fire in his chest. "So, Katara has abandoned her duty to the Pure Ones... well this is quite an interesting development," Dimitri remarked, a grin forming on his face. "She just happily gives me evidence of her incompetence..." Dimitri stepped over and looked down at the owls assembled for his diversion. "I cannot promise you anymore time than initially allotted, but I can promise you that these owls will be pushed to the breaking point," Dimitri remarked and turned back towards the other owl. "We shall see just what the Pure Ones are capable of..."

[Rylan]

((Nice post. I'm not going to put an RP post next, as my involvement isn't really necessary until either Katara rescues Aerion and the books from the storm, the two pack owls are needed or both. Please, continue your posting.))

[Rylan]

((I'm just posting to bring this back to the top of the list))

[Deleted]

"Well, then I hope the the Pure Ones live up to their legacy, it would be such a shame to bring any dishonor to the legacy your predecessors had worked hard to build," Aerion said and proceeded to leap off the cliff and head up into the sky. He glanced down at the assembled owls, but didn't pay them any mind, he had to remain focused right now. He was about to waltz right into the Great Tree, something not so easily done. If everything went as planned, their names would be infamous across the owl kingdoms.

Aerion had a different goal, however. Sure, he certainly cannot deny the appeal of being known as the owl who snuck in right under the beaks of the Guardians, but he was far more obsessed with the potential hoard of knowledge that those owls held. Other books were not easy to locate, most were so degraded that they fell apart in his talons. He was lucky, where he had grown up, the cold temperatures had significantly slowed the degradation of the books he had access to, but in places like here, with so much vegetation and varying weather conditions, not many remains from the Others were around, and what was there was either notoriously difficult to access, or had long ago been picked clean by other creatures long ago. He could only hope that the Guardians, being owls who valued knowledge as he did, had managed to get their talons on some of the remaining books and had maintained their condition over the years.

[Rylan]

((OOC: Do you want/need me to write an RP post next? I don't feel as though the plot requires a post from me yet.))

[Deleted]

By Aerion's own count, it had taken him over an hour before he spotted the silhouette of the great tree far off in the sea of Hoolemere. Of course, he had purposefully taken a much longer route to the island, preferring to skirt along the shores of The Beaks instead of flying directly across the sea. He now flew in a western direction, heading towards the backside of the tree, directly opposite of where the rest of the Pure Ones were to strike. He skimmed along the surface of the water, trying to keep himself blended in with the moonlight reflecting off the surface. From right here, the moon shone brightly from the sky, but dark clouds had moved in on the west and would soon be on top of them very soon. Aerion was not particularly interested in being stuck in a storm and was now determined to move even faster than before. He had resided to accept the fact that he would not be able to take as much as he had initially wanted, so now only the most important books too priority. He rotated his head from side to side, keeping a watch on the sky above him for any sign of other owls. He hadn't spotted the other owls who were suppose to assist him, so either they hadn't arrived yet, or had successfully remained concealed since they had arrived.

((As there is no mention on the site of where the Pure One's Headquarters is actually located, my description of his location and journey might be incorrect.))

[Rylan]

((That's fine, GD is free willed like that. I make the HQ out to be like in the badlands canyons, but others see them as in a forest, etc. It's cool. I'm excited for the actual storm! Keep up the good work.))

[Deleted]

Aerion landed on the edge of the island, quickly ducking out of sight and tried to remain silent as he moved along the ground. Although owls were not really built for crawling around on the ground, aside from Burrowing Owls, Aerion had decided not to fly straight to the hidden passage, choosing instead to sneak up from ground-level, which would be less-expected and obvious than flying. He remained silent and moved ever so slowly, he could see a few owls far overhead, indicating that the rest of the Pure Ones had either not arrived yet, or these owls had been specifically position here for any surprise attacks. If worse came to worse, he could potentially take them both out, one perfectly angled flight could bring both of his talons within grasping reach of both owls and he could quickly dispose of them afterwards. But, of course, that was a distraction that he would prefer to avoid, he did not have the luxury of time to waste time dealing with other owls. The question was, then, just how much longer would he have to wait before the Pure Ones finally arrived?

[Rylan]

(This will be short)

The two pack owls emerged from behind Aerion, all but silent. One clicked his tongue stump to let Aerion know that they were already there, awaiting his orders. They tightened the straps on their mouse leather book bags, standing on the ground.

[Deleted]

Aerion turned as the two Pure Ones emerged from hiding and a shiver ran up his spine. For someone like himself who made an effort to present himself properly, the ragged, almost moth-ridden appearance of these owls made his squirm. Which, admittingly, was probably the entire point, so at least they were successful at that. "The Pure Ones haven't arrived yet... I don't know what's taking so long, but make sure the two of you remain hidden for the time being. Owl are still flying overhead; can't let them catch on to what we're doing," he told him, keeping his voice as low as possible to hopefully allow the waves crashing against the shore to drone them out. He extending a wing forward and up towards the base of some roots, where a small, almost invisible tunnel laid. He knew of dozens of tunnels that crisscrossed the tree, but this one in particular seemed to have been left in disuse. The Guardians were probably confident that no other owls would ever attempt to attack the tree again, not after the Pure Ones failed siege many years ago. Of course, that meant a lone individual owl, such as himself, could potentially sneak in, assuming of course that they avoided the patrols. He had thus purposefully left in order to coordinate his arrival with the changing of shifts as well as the adjourning of classes. With so many owls going and coming, no one would have a second thought about questioning a lone Barn Owl. In fact, the experience had made him accept the fact that this plan was superior that what was put for previously. By being the lone owl, he was able to sneak in far easier than a large group would have.

[Rylan]

(Would you like to skip forwards in the storyline to the post where Aerion is fleeing the Tree, the Guardians chasing him into the storm? I personally feel like skipping forwards to the climax of the thread would be better for everyone, as Aerion would be fully fledged into the Pure Ones (having the history enough to RP elsewhere) and courting Katara. Maybe it's that I'm just having a lack of patience for GD being slow right now and wanting to get things moving. Your choice.)

[Deleted]

(Yeah, that would be for the best, it is becoming difficult coming up with good posts when I really don't have anything to respond to.)

[Rylan]

(Alright, would you like to make the post when he's fleeing the Tree? Or do you want me to post next?)

[Deleted]

((I'll go ahead a post, just give me a little time.))

[Rylan]

(Ok, I eagerly await your post.)