PT - All 3 stages (Sorahisu, Asame, Higatami)

Purity Trials : All 3 stages
Reoseans: Higatami 17366, Sorahisu 17352, Asame 17339.


STAGE 1: Journey Trial
(Alternative prompt: ♦Along your journey, you’ll have to find shelter - and not always in the safest of places. Depict your Reosean either defending their temporary home from intruders, chasing the previous residents out, or being chased out themselves!)


Higatami hissed, crawling on the ground alongside the two Vayrons Sorahisu and Asame. She had her wings bound, because the trial they had to go through said so.
She really disliked that, and didn't wait to say it to the face of the elder that sent them on their journey.
Sorahisu and Asame had to pull her back before she could chew that elder face off.

“Ugh. I hate this.” she grumbled, tail whipping and barely missing poor Sorahisu's back.
Asame sighed: he was being the guide for them, as he has been blind traveller for a long time.
That though, was the first time he had to deal with a noisy pup like the Tyrian.

“We know you hate this. You have told us at least ten time in the last two hours.” Sorahisu quipped back, trotting ahead of the Tyrian, tired of being in a whipping tail range.
He nearly stumbled on a root, and Asame resisted the need to sigh again.

“Don't run. You could stumble and get hurt. Here in the Ebrus' forest it's easy to fall, even if you stick to the path.”

“Sorry.”

Sorahisu pressed his snout to Asame shoulder, in another silent apology. He was blinded before Asame, but at the same time he was way more inexperienced than him. After all, the jade coloured Vayron lived most of his life in a hole near a river.
The path rarely changed, and he could always feel his paws touch his own pawprints.
Sorahisu was still thinking about his past, when he received an unexpected bite on his butt.

“YEAOWCH! WHAT THE HELL HIGATAMI?!”
“You are slow! Move! I don't want to stay here other five days!”

“...We have five days anyway until the salt plains, Higatami.”

---

The same night, they had to camp in the forest, much to the dismay of Higatami, who was ready to chew through the ropes that bound her wings. Asame was trying to calm her down, but it wasn't working.

“Relax, Higatami. The beasts nearby won't disturb us.”
“And what if there is a Zataro nearby, HUH?!”

That caught the attention of Sorahisu, who jumped as if a snake had bitten him.
“A WHAT?!”
“You heard me right! I know we will be prey, and I can't even fly away like this!”
Asame, for the hundredth time on that day, sighed.
“We won't be prey. Now, gather some wood, please.”

Asame sat down, near the cloak they put on the ground to not touch the cold dirt. He was fine sleeping on wet grass, but he doubted Higatami would be willing to do that too.
He could still hear her, hissing, spitting and growling as she hauled some big logs. He decided to not say anything about the fact that they needed small pieces of wood, and not whole fallen trees.

In the end, he and Sorahisu grabbed the sticks and branches needed for the fire, while Higatami laid down on the cloak, still huffing and puffing like an angry cat.

“Food?”
“I'll go catch something. There is a river, nearby.”
Asame said, after hearing Higatami tired and pissed voice. The Tyrian grumbled, turning and slapping Sorahisu with her tail, again.
“...”
“Sorahisu, mind watch-Ergh... Look-uhm...”
“...I'll take care of the fire.”
“Yeah, that.” Asame looked apologetic, not that Sorahisu could see him. The reptile tailed Vayron was not used to travelling with not-seeing company, after all. He then left, to look for some fish for dinner.

Sorahisu in the meantime sniffed the air, trying to figure out if there was too much smoke for the fire to be 'healthy', and if he needed to puff some air on it for the flame to catch onto the newly positioned branches. He was going to take great care of the fire, he was determined to make sure the fire was not going to die on his 'watch'.
The jade coloured Vayron and the Tyrian were then left alone for a bit.
And then, the bit became a while.
Sorahisu started flicking his ears nervously: where did Asame go? He couldn't have gone too far. And the scent of the smoke would have led his way back, so... Was he having trouble with the fish?
He shifted, bumping slightly against Higatami's back.

“What now? Can't you sleep while we wait for my food?!”
“Asame is gone.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
“...Aren't you blind?”
“Ugh- IT'S A FIGURATIVE WAY OF SPEECH!”
Higatami hissed, annoyed. But before she could growl again at Sorahisu, who now had his ears folded down like a kicked puppy, she stopped.
She blindly put a claw on Sorahisu's face, missing his eye for a hair, in a shush gesture. Her feathered ears were perked, and Sorahisu could feel how tense she went.

“...Who's there! Come out at once!”

She growled angrily, and Sorahisu mimicked her, turning towards the unseen and unfelt threat.
Soon, they heard footsteps.

“Hm? A friend of that other Vayron, are you?”

A dark, deep voice was heard, from inside some bushes. Higatami cursed her inability to use magic, if she had learned it before, she could have roasted the being before them.
They heard a chuckle, and the voice moved forward.

“S-stay back!” Sorahisu screamed, afraid. Higatami wanted to smack him again, his fear was starting to be contagious.

“My my, I come with good intentions... More or less. Your little camp smells of money. Give me those, and I'll leave.”
“M-money?”

Sorahisu looked lost. He knew Asame always had some coins with him, but he didn't know where he kept them. Same was for Higatami, who started to whip her tail in the air, trying to intimidate the intruder.
“Yes, money little one. I know you have some, only a idiot wouldn't carry at least a small pouch with them, hm?”
“I-I don't know where it is! I swear!”

The intruder huffed, and stepped closer. Higatami had her ears completely on him: she could hear his body brush against the wet grass, and with that, she knew it was a Vayron. A big one, unfortunately.
She hissed, puffing her body like a scared cat, but the intruder merely chuckled again. Then, they both heard a sparking sound.
“Don't make me hurt you, now. Money. Where?”

Sorahisu stepped back, his fur bristling, but before the stranger could use his thunder-like magic, a howl was heard in the distance.

“Tsk- not that one again!” the intruder hissed, and a few second after, another howl, more like a roar, was heard.
Sorahisu knew that roar: it was Asame!

“ASAME! HERE! HELP!”
“You little-”

There was a yelp and a cracking noise, then another louder yelp.
The intruder had hit Higatami with a electric shock, but then he was tackled by an angry Asame.
The two bigger Vayron started fighting, biting and sparkling.
Asame used his strong tail to whip the intruder in the face and on his legs, making him stumble, while Higatami tried to bite him every time he got close to her.

In the end, even Sorahisu somehow joined the battle: he grabbed a branch set on fire, and walked, trembling, near the ongoing fight.
Asame could hear well the crackling of the fire and its smell, so he staid well far from it, but the intruder was too occupied with the blind Tyrian and the other blind puller to notice him.
Sorahisu then charged, and with a scream, the intruder started running, his long tail set on fire.

The smaller puller let go of the flaming stick, sitting on the ground with tired and shacking legs. Higatami huffed and screamed a couple of insults against the running intrude, while Asame laughed a bit, relieved.

That night they went to sleep hungry, but at least without injuries. Higatami kept grumbling because of the lack of dinner, but not as loudly as usual: she had quite the scare, after all.


***[1318 words]***

STAGE 2: Sustain Trial

The day before, Sorahisu, Asame and Higatami had left the Salt City, Hoius. Now, it was time to walk back to North, slowly. Or, well... More or less slowly. Higatami kept flying over them, hissing and spitting to urge them to move faster: now that her wings had been unbound, courtesy of a friend of that elder, she wanted to get the thing done quicker.

Not that it was possible, though. She tried to pick both of the blind puller up, and ended up scratching all Sorahisu's back and nearly dropped them both to their death.

She just screamed a “You are just too fat!” and flew away for a few hours after trying to carry them.
Sorahisu was still angry at that, nursing his five scratches on flanks and back, while Asame just shook his head and kept walking as nothing happened. Sometimes, Sorahisu wondered if the other had already had a similar experience with another Empyrian.

* Grumble *
“Hungry, Sorahisu?”
“Ah-Ehm... Yes.”
“Hm. It is time to eat, after all.” Asame mumbled, his long and curved ears twitching, trying to hear something that wasn't Higatami flaps over them.
“We should hunt something.”
Before he could add anything, a loud and booming voice came from above them.
“BOAR! I WANT A BOAR!”
Asame sighed, tiredly “Well... Boar it is.”

---

Finding a boar was not easy. They were currently travelling in some plains, north to the salt plains and with few cluster of trees. Not really the ideal place to find wild pigs, since those preferred to live inside forests.
But, unfortunately, Higatami was way too adamant on her decision.
She flew over them, in a circle, listening to every single noise with her feather-adorned ears.
Her red eyes didn't work, like Asame and Sorahisu's, so they all could only hunt by following smells and sounds.

“Where are the boars?! HOW DIFFICULT CAN BE HUNTING FOR A FAT PIG?!”
“I can't hear anything with your shouting, Higatami!” Hissed back Sorahisu, already annoyed. If it wasn't for his growing hunger, he would have avoided asking for some food. He was fed up with the Empyrian antics.
“Maybe we should look for something else, don't you think?” Asame- the only calm and sane reosean in the group- tried again to placate the two companions. He sure didn't want another fight to break out between those two.

“But I want boar!” Higatami, as always, was not convinced easily. Asame sighed again, and Sorahisu lowered his ears. He really liked Asame, and didn't want him to be this annoyed with them, or well, him. He could be angry as much as he wanted with Higatami.
“I-I can go search for boar over there, I can smell some... Ergh...”
“Excrements?”
“...Yeah.”

Sorahisu was not enthusiast about following that track, but it was the safer and quicker one. Asame must have heard some of his unhappiness in his answer, and gently patted the jade coloured Puller with a paw.

“It's the best track! Good luck Sorahisu!”
“Yeah! Bring back that boar!”
Higatami screamed some encouragements, flying then over the little forest where the smell was coming from.
Sorahisu curled his lips in disgust: he truly envied the one who could hunt with their sight.

With Asame waiting outside the small forest, low in the grass so the prey couldn't see him, Sorahisu started tracking the boar. Higatami kept flapping her wings over him, so it wasn't easy for him to hear something useful, like hoofs stepping on the grass.
Pointing his nose on the ground, now far enough from the excrements, he started following the scent of the boar.
After a few minutes, he started getting anxious: the tracks were fresh enough, but he couldn't find the stupid wild pig: he was sure to have searched all the tiny forest by now, and his paws were hurting from all the little rocks he accidentally stepped on.

The Vayron grumbled unhappy, while he heard another “Found anything down there?!”, shouted by Higatami.
And, all that walking only made him hungrier. He sat down, brows scrunched like his lips in a grimace: where was the boar? It couldn't have gotten that far. Or high, in the... Trees?
He raised his head, ears up and open to any sound.

'Scratching? What can scratch wood around here?'
He wondered, lifting his head.. And nearly loosing it. In a flurry of feathers and claws, a Gryphon leapt at him, screeching. He had a faint scent of blood that came from his beak, and Sorahisu realized where the boar had been “hiding”.
The puller threw himself on the ground with a loud yelp, that alerted both Asame, who was still waiting for the prey to exit the woods, and Higatami.
The Gryphon hissed, and the blind puller ran.

“HELP! HELP! G-GRYPHON!”
Sorahisu screamed, running and stumbling on the trees' roots. He heard Higatami curse above him, and Asame roaring to help him locate the end of the woods.
Behind him, the Gryphon ran and jumped, trying to capture and eat him.
Finally, the puller touched the soft grass outside the woods, feeling the green strands under his paws and not the cold ground that was in the small forest.
The Gryphon didn't stop though, and smacked him on his back, sending him flying and tumbling in the grass. Sorahisu let out a whine as the scratches left by Higatami were reopened and started bleeding, along with the new ones given by the talons of the beast.

“Sorahisu! Stay down!”
Asame was running towards him trying to save him from the 'prey', but Higatami was quicker: she swooped down, crashing on the Gryphon and sending the beast against a tree.
She hissed, landing, opening her big wings and looking straight at the Gryphon, as if she was trying to intimidate him with her burning red eyes.
The Gryphon looked conflicted. It was one against three, but that was its territory: so, fight it was.

The Gryphon launched itself on the closest enemy, Asame, but the blind vayron was ready: he jumped at the same time, and smacked the beast in the chest with his head and strong neck. Higatami then lounged, snarling, with her white teeth ready.
The Empyrian chomped on the leg, the lion-like leg, and pulled. The Gryphon tried to tear her eyes out with its claws, barely missing as Asame bit his feathery wing.
The two Reosean started pulling and shacking their head, to disorient and injury more the beast.

“Noff Forafissh!”
(Now, Sorahisu!)

Asame cried out to his companion, with the feathers muffling his words, but the other Vayron understood. He got up, and charged blindingly. Luckily for him, the Gryphon was trying to scratch Higatami again, barely clipping her face with a talon, and its neck was exposed.
Sorahisu hit it, and realizing what it was, he bit down with all his strength until he heard the crunch of the bones.
Finally motionless, the Gryphon was left on the ground with the three reosean around it.

“That was... Dangerous.”
Asame started, huffing and puffing, his fur still bristling on his back.
“Yeah...”
Higatami was silent, for a bit, then she grumbled out an insult.

“It ate MY boar! I will eat it.”

Both Sorahisu and Asame sighed, as the Empyrian buried her fangs in the stomach of the beast.
A few seconds later, she started spitting and hissing.
“Ugh! IT TASTES HORRIBLE!”


***[1234 words]***

STAGE 3: LOYALTY TRIAL
♦ 'Never leave a man behind' is a mantra that is important to many in the realm - depict your Reosean bringing in their injured companion for help.

Sorahisu's wounds were not getting any better. First the cuts from Higatami claws, when she tried to pick the vayron up, and then the talons of the gryphon.
The jade coloured puller walked tiredly, huffing and puffing. He was burning hot, but still wanted to keep going. They were travelling east now, crossing mountains to reach The Silver Province, where the journey was going to end.

He couldn't afford to look weak now, to slow Asame and the annoying Higatami down.
But the pain was burning on his back. He could feel sometimes blood and maybe other stuff dripping down his spine, and he was sure both Asame and Higatami could smell the infection.
The Empyrian was, after all, very quiet. Sorahisu huffed in his mind, bitterly.

'Well, at least she feels sorry! All that for her stupid boar and her stupid haste.'

As he was thinking that, he stumbled over a rock, crashing down on the path.

“Sorahisu?!”
“Oi! What are you doing?!”
Both Asame and Higatami called for him, trying to understand what happened. Since they were both blind like Sorahisu, it wasn't easy to find out what and how it happened even when standing that close.
Sorahisu whimpered weakly, and got up. Well, more or less: he tried to get up all the way, but his back stung so bad that he remained seated on the cold, grass-less ground.

“Are you alright?” Asked Asame, tapping the other on the neck with his snout, worry dripping from his voice. Sorahisu didn't answer at first, eliciting a huff from Higatami.
Annoyed by the tyrian the vayron growled lowly.

“I'm fine. Keep moving, so we don't have to camp out too much.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Asame. I'm not weak.”
“...I never said you were.”

Sorahisu felt Higatami breath and try to say something, but then she yelped.
“Ow!”
“Quiet, you.”
Asame growled, something that was not a common occurrence. Sorahisu felt bad: he was definitely worrying his favourite companion.
But... Why was his voice sounding so distant?

---

Asame let out a worried cry when Sorahisu crashed down, again, now unmoving. He could feel the other Vayron burning, his usually cold draconic ears boiling hot.
Higatami started cursing and grumbling, but this time Asame had enough.

“QUIET!”
Higatami shut up, ears flat on her head and red eyes wide open.
“How can you be this stupid?! Do you not realize that he could die?! How do we find a healer in this stupid, forgotten, rocky place?!”
“...”
The Tyrian didn't answer, lowering her eyes and head. Asame was a calm, patient and very good guy... But apparently, not patient enough for her stupidity.
While the Empyrian wanted to talk back, she knew that this time, it was on her. Had she avoided being so stubborn on the boar, they wouldn't have encountered the gryphon. Had she kept walking without being in a hurry to go home, she wouldn't have scratched Sorahisu's back.

“...Now let's go. We need to find a more secure place for him to rest.”
“And then..?”
“And then, you WILL fly around and look for a healer, while I keep watch and tend to his injuries as I can. I sure hope you will not have any objections this time, huh?!”

Higatami clicked her mouth shut, and silently helped Sorahisu on Asame's back.
Then, they departed.
The mountains of Vitalus weren't cold as the one in Roenden, but the wind was making the injured vayron tremble on the other's back.
Asame bit back a curse, worried. Sorahisu really needed a healer, before he could get worse, or he wouldn't be able to heal completely.

“Here! There is a little cave over there, behind these rocks, I think it is empty!”
Higatami shouted, and Asame hurried over, nearly tripping on some loose stones.
The Empyrian watched as the vayron brought his friend in, placing him on a dry spot of the cave. Poor Sorahisu was still trembling, and if Higatami had her sight, she would have seen tears in Asame eyes.

“I'll go find a healer. Do you need help with a fire?”
“No, I- I'll manage. There are some trees outside, I heard them creak with the wind.”
“Ok. I'll.. Be right back.”

Higatami spread her wings, taking off. She fought a bit with the wind, growling childishly at it when the gusts sent her back or guided her away from her route.
Her research started.
For hours, she listened and listened, trying to feel the faintest scent or hear the faintest noise.
But nothing, nothing if not some mountain goats and little birds.
It was frustrating: she had made a mistake, well, two mistakes, and now it was going to be very hard to clean up after her mess.

One could argue that he gryphon incident wasn't really on her, as she only asked for a certain prey and nobody could have known that a beast like that was in those woods... But she still felt very guilty.

As she was thinking about her whole behaviour, she smacked against something SOLID.
Something that shouldn't have been in the sky, for sure. She fell for a bit, with wings flapping wildly in the air, but managed in the end to flip herself right and land with only minor scrapes.

“OW! The h-”
“Are you alright?! You didn't break anything, right?!”
“Huh?! Why don't you watch where you are going!”
“Sorry! I'm sorry! I was looking at those medicinal herbs, and I-I did not-”
“Wait... Did you say medicinal herbs..?”

---

In the meantime, Asame was trying to help Sorahisu drink some water. The other vayron was terribly weak, tired from his own trembling.

“Come one Sorahisu! Drink, drink please! You need water, you are dehydrated!” he was close to start crying, again. The fire cracked in the silence, as the jade coloured vayron didn't answer.
Asame lowered his head, his ears drooping like some long loopy ears.
He was failing, both as a guide and as a friend.
As he was crying, sobbing silently, he heard a noise outside the cave, like two heavy object landing. Asame jumped, growling and with his hackles rised. Higatami was loud and annoying, and he heard two thumps, not only one.
But before he could launch himself at the intruder, he heard a gentle voice.

“Ah- Erhm... Sorry, I do not mean to disturb...”
It sounded like a young male Empyrian. One that could be a threat, since he was quite big and heavy, but his voice was far too kind and meek.

“Who are you?! What do you want?!”
“Oif-stfff gfffling af ve fealerr!”
(Oi, stop growling at the healer!)

Higatami grumbled, while holding a big basket between her fangs. The basked was filled with herbs and bitter scented roots, and the healer told her to NEVER drop it down or the ingredients might get ruined.
(He definitely did not say this after watching the other Empyrian dropping casually one of his baskets on the rocks, breaking it).

“You- A healer?”
“Y-yes Sir..?”
“... Help him, then.” Asame moved to the side, letting the healer in. The poor big guy had some trouble squeezing in the cave, but once his skin wasn't scraping the rocks he started treating Sorahisu, who was still laying unconscious on the ground.
First, he took a clean rag, dropped it in water and then placed it in Sorahisu mouth, making sure that his white tongue was in a comfortable position. Since both Asame and Higatami couldn't see what he was doing, he started talking about every move.

“He is very weak, I'm not sure he can swallow safely from a pouch. This way he can suck some water in without choking, I hope.”
Then, he grabbed a bowl and a smooth rock cylinder. As Asame sneaked behind him, anxious, the healer started grinding the medicinal herbs down to a pulp, and then placed a peeled root in a pan near the fire.

“The herbs will go on his back once I have cleaned the cuts. The root will give him some strength back.” the healer whispered, to not disturbed the dazed patient.
Once the pulp was ready, he grabbed another rag and turned to look at Higatami and Asame.

“Give me a little help now. Higatami, keep an eye on the root- ergh... If you hear the pan sizzling, it means the water is too low. Add some. And you-”
“Asame.”
“Asame. Please comfort your friend. It will be painful to scrape out the dirt and grime from the wounds.”

Asame nodded, and curled near Sorahisu, placing his head on the jade Vayron neck, where the blue meet the green.
Sorahisu let out a small whimper, and Asame breathed shallowly. He was afraid of the other not making it, but making him suffer was both scary and painful to hear.
The healer, with some alcohol started cleaning the wounds, making the patient scream around the wet rag, but both Asame and the empyrian didn't stop.

After ten terrible minutes, Sorahisu was crying and huffing, but his back looked better without the grime and the dried blood.
“Now, the medicine. How is the root, Higatami?”
“Still cooking.”
“Good. Keep an eye-”
“...You'd better avoid this much 'eye' stuff if you plan on treating more blind folks, you know?”
“S-sorry...”

The healer, still red on his white and apologetic face, stated placing the pulp on the wounds, then dressed them with some bandages.

“There. Now, he can eat the root and rest for the night. Tomorrow I'll guide you three to a small village, it will be better to make him rest on a bed.”
Asame nodded, closing his eyes and laying against Sorahisu, who was already asleep.
The healer made himself comfortable, setting his stuff away from the fire in the little cave, only to hear a huff.

“...And how am I supposed to sleep?”
Grumbled Higatami, annoyed. She was outside the cave, as inside there wasn't any space left. She had the fire before her, so she wouldn't really freeze, but...

“Just sleep on the rocks and shut up Higatami.”
All three reoseans quietened at the voice of Sorahisu, weak but strong enough to talk back to the travelling companion.

“Uff. Fine.”

***1709 words***