story ;;
"Birds?" Nyiri repeated dryly. "You're looking for some birds?"
"Not some birds," Nausicaa bit. "
My birds."
"Uh-huh. That sounds... lucrative."
Nausicaa sighed and produced a leather bag from beneath his jacket, held it up for Nyiri to see. It bugled oddly with coins, and clinked when Nausicaa briefly shook it.
"How much do I have to pay you, Mr. Nyiri? I need to go to South America, and for that I need a ship."
Nyiri straightened some, his interest reluctantly piqued. Eyeing the bag he said, "South America, huh? How'd your birds end up there?"
Nausicaa's expression smoothed out, and he thrust the coins into Nyiri's hands. "It's a long story," he said, moving past Nyiri to board his ship. "I'll tell you on the way."
....
The weather stayed in their favor for the duration of the journey, and lent speed to their sails. Nyiri had dismissed the majority of his crew in the last port, and ran only a skeleton operation; so oftentimes he had Nausicaa keep him company on the bridge, where he badgered the man for the story behind his birds.
He told Nyiri crossly that someone had obviously stolen them, and that whoever it was had imprisoned them in South America. He had no real answer to Nyiri asking how exactly he knew they were in South America, when he did not even know who had taken them, but he insisted they were there nonetheless.
He went on to say that he had only thirteen birds, a truth that Nyiri laughed at. Nausicaa waited for his guffawing to peter out and explained mildly that in ancient Greece thirteen was a lucky number, and that it was in fact the number of the gods.
"Thirteen of anything is a good sign," he said absently, looking wistfully to the sky as he had for the last three days. "So yes, I have thirteen."
Nyiri considered him out of the corner of his eye. Nausicaa's mood had been mercurial since he'd come on, and despite the limited size of Nyiri's ship he did occasionally lose Nausicaa for hours on end. He had no idea where the man got off to, or what he was doing. He'd politely ignored any and all questions about where he'd gotten the gold he'd paid Nyiri, or what he did when he wasn't chasing down pilfered budgies, but Nyiri had appraised the coins himself and was satisfied they were genuine so tolerated the man's odd tendencies.
(If he found it strange that seagulls or pelicans or rooks landed on railings beside Nausicaa sometimes, and that Nausicaa always bent down to speak with them, he was being paid well enough to ignore it.)
...
They landed at the Chilean coast four days after they'd left dock. Nausicaa scarcely waited for the ladder to hit the sand; he leapt overboard fearlessly, trudged through the surf and across the beach. Nyiri had to half-run to catch up with him, groaning when he fell into step.
"You're not even armed," he said. "What are you doing?"
Nausicaa paid him no mind. He seemed unerringly to know where he was going, and moved gracefully through the thick brush that sprouted at the edge of the forest. When they entered the trees he stepped nimbly, his boots scarcely swishing against the roots and leaves.
"Nausicaa-" Nyiri began, and then startled when a loud voice called, "Naus! Over here!"
Nausicaa broke into an eager run, Nyiri close on his heels, and they climbed through a particularly thick grove until they hit a clearing. Emptied by man, studded by cut trunks, it boasted only a tall metal cage. Inside the cage sat some birds; birds that upon seeing the two of them broke into a ruckus, flinging against the front bars to perch there and shriek.
Nyiri looked surreptitiously for whoever had spoken, gun drawn, as Nausicaa pried the cage door open. The birds came flying joyfully to him, landing on his shoulders, arms, head; bright jewels of color against the black of his jacket, chorusing their greetings. Nyiri, seeing no one, frowned and looked back to Nausicaa. The latter was quieting his birds with gentle murmurs and softer hands, and they preened beneath his fingers.
"The woman who caught you," he said softly. "Where is she?"
Nyiri's eyebrow went up. He glanced behind him, as if expecting to find someone there, and jumped when a small voice said, "Only twenty feet north, Naus."
Nyiri stared disbelievingly at the unnaturally violet parakeet nestled into Nausicaa's braided hair. "You-Nausicaa-
what?"
Nausicaa smiled. "My birds," he said, "Are far more than just birds."
The budgies led them to a small house built among the trees, the birds taking turns at the front of the flock, trading gossip and chirps in equal measure. The longer Nyiri studied them the more he realized how unreal they looked. Their colors were far too vibrant, their eyes bright and intelligent. The thirteen of them were in the various shades of precious stones, emeralds to amethysts to rubies to quartz. The sun, when it struck their feathers, refracted in prisms.
"What exactly
are your birds?" Nyiri asked.
Nausicaa laughed a little, shook his head as though sharing in a private joke. There was a moment of silence, until, "Do you know what psychopomps are, Mr. Nyiri?"
"Things that guide souls?" Nyiri said uncertainly.
Nausicaa smiled again, indulgent. "That's right. And sometimes psychopomps work with reapers."
"Reapers?" Nyiri echoed, frowning. "But that's..." Nausicaa continued smiling, his gold eyes warm with humor. Nyiri gaped. "Are you serious? A reaper?"
"The woman who stole my birds, I took her wife a few weeks back." Nausicaa pet the violet budgie, who had remained sure-footed in his braid. "She was very sick. The wife saw me then, saw my birds. I suppose she must have realized what we were."
"Are you going to kill her?" Nyiri asked.
Nausicaa burst into surprised laughter. "Of course not, Mr. Nyiri. It's not her time. I'm merely going to ask her not to do it again."
misc ;;
Nyiri is owned by me! [
character page]
art credit ;;
[top left pixel by
Shalmons on DA]
[top right pixel by
Abwettar on DA]
[bottom pixel by
IceTigris on DA]
龙
龍
