Shurima Beckons (closed)
The road behind Quinn at this point was a long one, and longer still seemed the road before her. In one hand was a large tome, taken from the Archives back home, on the birds of Runeterra. It was open to the page on Shuriman raptors for her to read as she moved. Valor, as she wandered aimlessly, scouted ahead for anything of use – water, other beasts, danger, anything that would hinder or help their mission.
Through the amounts of research she had done, she had guessed that the most similar birds to the Demacian Eagles would definitely be the Shuriman Rocs or the other tawny birds of the desert. She intended to trap these birds to watch how they behaved with Valor. So far, the falconer had been having no luck with this for the entire duration of her week and a half journey. Maybe the prey she was putting out was unappetizing? Maybe she wasn’t in the proper location.
So she kept moving.
Valor let out a shrill call, startling her out of her puzzled daze, and she glanced up. On the horizon, there was a speck of white against the sand. Clearly no bird, but if it were a Shuriman local she could ask for help, and if not … well, she’d have to see for herself.
Quinn closed the book and strapped it to her pack, then took out her crossbow, and offered out an arm for Valor with a tidbit for his praise. His real dinner would have to wait until later – they had important matters to attend to.
As she shifted her direction to go to the figure, Val hopped to her shoulder. She saw who it was once she got a little closer.
“Oh! Good afternoon, Luxanna. To be honest I wasn’t expecting to see you here either.”
It always felt stiff speaking with nobility. Crownguard, Lightshield, Laurent, it didn’t matter. It was like her lungs didn’t want to work around them.
“I’m here to hopefully trap a bird or two to take home with me. I want to study the raptors here, maybe find a way to prolong the lineage of Demacian eagles. Valor isn’t exactly an eyas anymore, and while he is imprinted on me, he is still an animal, and a fine male specimen too… so you know what’s on his mind all the time now. He’s distracted, and I aim to fix that.”
eclipsedluminance
Lux cocked her head slightly, golden locks flitting about in the dry desert winds as Quinn explained her reason for coming here. So, she wasn’t sent by Demacia, either... were they really so focused on Noxus that they didn’t even consider the newly arisen empire? Azir’s power was frightening, and, given time, could possibly conquer all of Runeterra, especially if he was left alone to do as he pleased. A slight frown tugged at the mage’s lips for a moment at the thought, before her attention shifted to the eagle perched upon Quinn’s shoulder.
Valor was a powerful animal, and Lux shuddered at the thought of being attacked by him. By beak or talon, he could easily tear her to shreds, so she was thankful that he was on her side, or rather, he was on Quinn’s side before all else, and Quinn served Demacia... She nodded slightly in understanding, “That seems to be a recurring theme in most men, regardless of species...”
Lux couldn’t help but let a soft laugh escape under her breath, before her azure gaze fell on Quinn again. “To be honest, I thought you were here scouting Shurima for Demacia, but I guess they don’t see Azir as a threat yet... I’m here of my own accord, too. I want to meet Azir, if possible, and judge his intent. And if I can’t meet him, I want to gather as much information as I can on Shurima...”
A momentary sense of wonder seemed to fill the lady of luminosity’s blue eyes as they shifted to the distant structures of Azir’s newly-risen Shurima, “The empire was buried for so long, and now it has returned..! Just think about what we could learn of the old world; customs, traditions, artwork, and so much more... It’s a rare chance to explore the past, and I don’t want to miss it.”
An idea struck Lux then, and she returned her attention to the duo before her, “Oh, I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of the desert nomads have gone to Shurima..! Do you think they might be able to help you and Valor?”
