Search to the End

[Ranil]

This is my first character fiction. It's for my character, Aviara, who's a Harpy on a search for her sister. I hope you enjoy this first chapter.

Search to the End


Chapter 1: A Memory
When the first star emerged in the dusky sky ahead and the sun fell below the horizon, a young Harpy by the name of Aviara soared through the night time air. The sea below her was calm and beautiful, yielding many forms of marine life. Avi spotted one such creature leap in the water below, creating a splash. The creature turned out to be a large trout, one of Avi's favorite kinds of fish. She dove down as fast as her black-feathered wings would let her and let the claws on her feet grow gradually to their maximum length. Jabbing them into the water, she snatched up the trout in her feet, the claws on her big toes stabbing through the fish's flesh. Avi flew off towards the shore, flapping her wings into the blowing wind in front of her.

Landing softly on the sandy beach nearby, the young Harpy set the fish on top of a rock nestled in the sand. She kneeled over and lengthened the claws on her right hand to a great enough length, slicing the trout's head and tail off afterward. Avi began to munch into the raw fish, almost as if she hadn't had any food for more than a day. It began to remind her of a meeting. A certain meeting that had taken place right there on that exact same beach, not quite a long time ago. Avi would never forget this meeting, for it was the most joyful thing she ever experienced in her young life. It was on this beach that she had a second encounter with a young bird man. A bird man that was from a different race of bird people.

While the first encounter hadn't been very pleasant, this second one was the complete opposite. The young bird man had found her washed up on the beach after she experienced a shark attack at sea. Avi lost her bow, her most prized possession and weapon, and the bird man helped her seek it out. It was then the two began to fall in love and form a bond that they felt would last. Each helped the other with their personal problems, such as proving the bird man's innocence of a crime of which he'd been accused and the search for Avi's missing sister, Vitani.

Vitani had been missing for almost a year now, ever since their home was destroyed by a volcano. Avi was more than determined to find her, for she was the only family the young Harpy had left and was most likely the only other survivor. Their family and friends all had perished in the disaster, as far as they knew of. Avi had been on her own ever since, using the survival skills taught to her by her father. Catching fish for a meal was one thing, with using her claws as a hunting weapon was another. It was also at that time that Avi and Vitani both aquired their unusual ability to grow their claws to a great length, turning them into one of the most fierce weapons they'd ever use.

As Avi continued seeing flashbacks of her past race through her mind, she finished her supper and decided to take a stroll along the beach, using the very same path that she and the bird man had. The rock in which her bow had fallen behind was still there, and the crashing waves in the sea looked all the same as they had before. Nothing appeared to be different at all, with the exception of the writing Avi discovered was on one side of the rock. It was her name...and the name of the bird man inside a heart. The young Harpy's eyes widened some. Had the bird man been here again? Or did he write it while they were on the beach? Unsure of the answer, Avi decided to add to the writing. She used a claw on her right hand to inscribe the word "forever" after the two names inside the heart.

Avi smiled at her addition to the writing, and foresaw the bird man having the same reaction to it. She then chose to take to the air and explore the rest of the beach, parts of it that had not been seen by either of them. Flapping her wings, she soared into the night sky, using her keen sense of eyesight to get a great view of the entire area. Beautiful palm trees spanned most of the beach's perimeter, and it seemed more appeared whenever Avi flew further inland from the sea. Bushes and other beach life roamed the sandy ground below and no other humanoid creature could be seen but Avi herself.

When Avi's wings grew fatigued, she landed on a small plateau not far inland from the sea. There, she could still enjoy a great view of the wide sea ahead while staying on land. She then looked at the pendant she wore around her neck. It was the feather pendant Avi's mother had given to Vitani as a birthday gift. Avi discovered it in a forest while she was with the bird man, and recognized the hand-made piece of jewelry right away. She knew Vitani must have been there. However, the pendant was still the only clue Avi had, and it seemed as if she had lost the trail of her sister long ago. Avi knew it was a tough journey, but she would find Vitani, no matter how far she had to search. She knew one day they would reunite. However, she wasn't sure what to do next. That is, until she spotted a little town in the far off distance.



Kind of short, but I'll try to make the next chapter longer. I know not a lot happened here, but I promise there will be more action in later chapters. I don't think this character fiction will be very long, but I'll make it as long as I can. :]