A Perfect Storm (Greathorned)

[Deleted]

Aerion flapped his wings as hard as he could, doing everything within his power to overcome the tremendous winds that continued to try and consume him. It was then that another owl came into sight and was diving towards the bundle of books. He did not recognize the other owl, it certainly wasn't one of the pack owls... and she couldn't possibly be one of the Pure Ones, they had already vacated the area. She must be one of the Guardians, on either brave enough or foolish enough to challenge the storm. At that point, Aerion gave up, he was barely able to maintain himself in the storm, there was no way he could possibly fight off one of the Guardians among all this. Unfortunately, it was at that point all his resistance failed and the storm finally overpowered him. Despite all his effort, he found himself tossed helplessly by the surging winds, as powerless as a leaf caught in an updraft. Everything spun out of control, leaving the Barn Owl disoriented and trapped, spiraling his way towards the dark depths of the sea below him.

[Rylan]

The rain beat down in a steady drum of pressure. Each individual droplet was like a shard of steel, piercing in it's icy cold touch. The wind whipped through her feathers, and Katara fought to maintain her power and control. As she dove downwards, a draft caught the male owl's wings, and her was mercilessly thrown away.

Katara guessed that it was a blessing in disguise. He would be free from the eye's grasp, the vacuum effect, left to use his own wings and fly. But Katara kept spirally downwards, the rain cutting down her vision. All she could see now were the books, their precious knowledge and all hurtling towards the eye.

If they went in, they would surely be shredded to hairs. And if Katara went in, she would be ripped and destroyed, and thrown into oblivion. Most owls would have saved themselves, but Katara could not let them go.

It was like something was pressuring her to get the books. Though no one was watching, Katara felt a presence behind her, it's sight fixed onto her. It wanted to see what she would do next, and it wanted to see her next move. Katara had never been good with people watching her. She wouldn't call it stage fright, but she was afraid of people judging her for her appearance, her actions and everything.

And this presence was judging her. If she failed, she would die. If she gave up, she felt that something just as ominous would happen to her. The only thing to do was save the books, and they were almost in her grasp.

Suddenly the air current calmed. It was alive with tension, but it did not whip her around as fast. It was like the calm in the air before the rain, or after the snow. It was alive, yet peaceful.Which was saying something. The churning mass of the eye was still dead ahead.

"That's a terrible joke," she muttered to herself. Dead ahead? Her brain was messed up. She had to focus on the books, not word play. "I hope this works," she said to herself. Steeling her mind, she turned off her brain.

Extending her talons, she reached her wings as far as they could go. As she gradually slowed, the book bag strap caressed her talon. Clamping onto it, she pushed downwards as hard as she could, wrenching herself away from the eye. The winds started up again, and she pumped her wings until she was free.

She flew through the currents, battling and twisting. Her muscles began to ache, and she slowly felt spots building in her vision. She needed out, fast. As she circled in the pull of the storm, she felt an easy current just ahead.

"Just a little further," she pleaded, forcing herself forwards. Acid began to eat at her muscles, and her brain began to shut down. "Just, a bit more. Don't fail, don't give u-"

Suddenly she burst into the easy current, and she was flung out of the storm. Her vision blacked, and her wings folded to her sides. She tried to open her beak to scream, but all that came out was a muffled cry.

She was going yeep.

[Deleted]

Aerion failed to correct himself and instead violently plunged into the rolling waves of the ocean. Immediately the owl began to panic, and he frantically flailed away, struggled to poke his head above the ways. He took a desperate breath, but he was now practically useless, a slave to the crashing waves. "Ugh... damn this... storm..." He murmured to himself before he was forced under again. He was not built of swim, so all of his effort was for naught, all he could do was force himself up above the waves and hope he would be pushed over towards the shore. With his books now completely soaked and useless, Aerion tore them off his talons, relieving himself of the load and allowing him to better keep himself afloat. He pathetically tried to push himself with his wings, but it was mostly a useless effort... it was difficult enough just to raise his now-soaked wings. He one saving grace was that he at least appeared quite close to the shore, so it should not be too long before he was free from his wet confines.

((I know this is deviating from their established story, but what do you think of them finding each other and having to wait together while their feathers dry?))

[Rylan]

(Sure, sounds good. I'm game.)

The sea was a roiling inky mess. Waves crashed against the shore, slapping it angrily. They frothed and foamed with their anger, and whitecaps peaked higher than an owl's head. The storm overhead was encouraging the sea's rage, it's air currents picking up and dropping it quickly like a hot coal. It was like a queer dance between the sky and the sea. The two could meet only briefly, and when they did their passion was intense.

I think there's a legend about that, she thought bizarrely, her mind slowly awakening. Her wings were glued to their sides still, her talons clenched. She could see the waves and their fury, and it did not dawn on her that she was going to hit them until the salty spray rushed up and stung her eyes.

Panic began to fill her mind. Desperately she tried to unfurl her wings, but it was no use. They were glued. She pushed at them, then paused in her struggle. Down below, in the waves was that foolish barn owl that Katara had risked her life for. And still might be risking it, as she was going down.

Suddenly her wings unfurled. She tried to flap, but the sea had hold of her now. She was immersed in a white cap, a huge wave. Her open wings had only condemned her farther, as her feathers were now totally soaked and useless.

The things that had always helped her before, had always caught her, had been rendered useless. Now, all she left was her brain to get herself out of this mess.

"HELP!" she cried, panic overcoming her. Quickly she shut her beak, throwing Panic from the reins. She whipped around, desperately searching for anything that could help her. A little farther away, a piece of driftwood waited for her, calling her name. She tried to paddle over, but behind her rose a huge wave.

She turned slowly, hoping against hope that it wasn't what she thought it was. The wave picked her and the piece of driftwood up, and her head submerged. She flailed, trying to get a hold of the wood somehow, and forced her head above the surface.

A little bit in front of her, she saw the other owl. He was attempting to be pulled to shore, and the wave had helped him. They were almost there, and she kicked her talons in vain. She had no more energy, and no more ability to swim. The water had drained her energy and will from her, and now she could just see her salvation.

"I hate the water," she muttered. As she kicked, her talon brushed up against something. "AIIIIIIIEEEEeeeeeEHHHHHH!!!!" she screamed, launching herself over the piece of driftwood. Whatever had hit her talon had scared the jeebies out of her. Flailing her talons, the thing hit her again. Mass panic filled her mind, when her talon hit it yet again. It was slimy and wet, but gritty, and there was certainly a lot of it.

Katara smacked herself in the head, and stood up. The waves only came to her chest, and there was solid ground under her talons. It seemed she had found a peninsula under the water. "Hey," she said to the other owl, getting his attention if her earlier screams hadn't. He was still trying to paddle, not realizing the ground.

Of course the did, she thought to herself. The whole tricking TREE had heard her probably. She took a step forwards, towards shore, then plunged into the ground. The sand seemed to suck her down, and water filled her lungs. She forced another breath in, and struggled. But the more she struggled, the more she sank.

What is this stuff? She wondered.

Then her head went under, and only a wing was visible.

[Deleted]

Aerion dragged his water-logged body onto the shore, coughing furiously as he gasped for breath. He was completely soaked, making any attempt to fly a pointless gesture. As humiliating as it was to be completely helpless at this point, what was worst was that this entire endeavor had been for nothing. Everything they had tried to accomplished had been lost during the storm...

After taking a few minutes to regain his composure, Aerion was alerted by the frantic calls from the other Barn Owl, the one he had presumably seen in the storm. Apparently they had been caught up in it as well and had been plunged into the sea. He didn't immediately move to go and help it... after all he was pretty sure it was one of the Guardians. Ultimately, despite his reservations, he went over and grabbed it's wing with his talons, helping the owl back up onto the beach and out of the path of the relentless sea. He pulled the owl up until they were up and away from the water and close to the edge of the forests, somewhere that was at least remotely safe.

Aerion didn't say anything, he just watched as the other owl regained it's composure, not letting his guard down. Obviously he could probably deal with the owl if he had too, but he wasn't about to make friends with a Guardian. Of course, there were more important things to consider, the sun would be rising very, very soon, leaving him an easy catch for the various creatures that hunted in the morning. All he could hope to do right now was find some hollow to hide out in and wait until he dried out.

Aerion didn't wait for the other owl, he left it on the beach and ventured into the nearby woods. While completely soaked, he had little chance of flying anywhere, so his only hope was to find some hole somewhere he can hide in until he dried out. Lucky for him, in only took a few minutes before he came across a large log that was mostly hollowed out. It was a little small for him, but he managed to cram himself inside and hide away from any prying eyes. Now all he had to do was wait...

[Rylan]

(I have lost my creativity due to school. It will be over in a few days, I'll be writing better quality posts when I have nothing hanging over me. Could I possibly ask you to write a post where he crawls into a cave or something? I'll make Katara follow him.)

[Deleted]

((Alright, I'll go back and edit the previous post.))

[Rylan]

((Thank you so much. I promise to make a great post when school finishes for winter break.))