. . . H O W I M P O R T A N T . . .
username;; The One & Only Vapor, darling. But please, simply call me Vapor. It's so much nicer- short and sweet, that's the key, right?
name;; The name is Pentire, darling, that's (pen-TEER) to you. It means "Painted Sky", as it is what I thought of the second I saw him- the dark, painted skies.
gender;; male. right from the start, i couldn't possibly see him as anything else.
frequently dreams of;; when he acquired his feathers.
. . . I S L I F E ?
Crashing waves drummed in his ears, wet spray spattering against his already soaked black-and-blue fur. Though only a young teen, the Kia had had a life full of adventure...one memory drilled into his head, punctuated like the sharp cry of a seagull.Pentire stood slowly, jumping off the few-foot skiff to the absorbent sand below. Letting his tail brush over the dark tan particles, he squinted at the sunset- a lovely orange shade streaked the sky, riddled with flashes of coral and a deep red-violet. Far to the east the moon already shone and the sky was a dark navy, reflected in the dark shine of the sea.
Again the high, shrill wail rang in his ears- the desperate cry of a hopeless soul, lost, drowning, at sea. The Kia’s ears flicked up at the memory, then turned back to the ocean, gazing across its watery depths. He was unable to stop himself from wondering how many lives it had claimed, how many creatures had died in its cold, unforgiving waters…“Help!” The call, gargled with the saltwater beneath the child, caught Pen’s attention almost immediately. On one horizon, the sky was dark, but light suffused enough of the sky to illuminate a tiny figure, splashing around out far deeper than most Kias would ever dare to go. Confusion flashed in his amber eyes only for a moment- then he realized the horror of what had truly happened.
A riptide. The things you only ever heard about, the things you weren’t sure of even existing. He was positive now that this was the sad fate of the young Kiamara. Instinct fought with logic in his mind for an agonizing moment; yet from the moment the child had cried out, Pen had had his mind made up. He turned, silky black hair flicking out, and plunged into the freezing water.
He chuckled softly at the memory of that sacrifice. That crazy, perfect moment when he had risked his life for a stranger…yet, oddly, that was what he did. Reclining back on the still-warm sand, he closed his eyes and let the rest of the dark, powerful memory wash over him.The shock of the icy water would always be what Pentire remembered first. The bitterly cold, dark waves that splashed over him, beating him back as though trying to convince him to let the child drown. Gritting his teeth against the numbing chill, he fought back, arcing through the waves with a slicing dive. He soon felt the current of the riptide and followed it, exercising only the utmost caution to avoid being caught in its horrible wrath.
"Help me!" Fainter now, warbling with exhaustion, Pen heard the cry again. A streak of fierce willpower surged through his bones, and he pushed harder, ignoring the clouds of fatigue numbing his heavy muscles. In his attempt to get to the younger Kia, he stopped watching the riptide for just a moment- and was immediately sucked into its current.
Gasping, he floundered around, wasting valuable energy in a failing attempt to break free. Yet suddenly, he found himself face-to-face with the green Kiamara, teal eyes huge with terror. He grabbed the child's pale, sage-green paw and dragged him into his arms. Remembering all he knew about riptides, he relaxed, still holding the child tightly, and swam gently, diagonally, to shore.
Pen collapsed on shore- shivering with cold and exhaustion. The child next to him looked half-dead, and fell asleep as soon as he was rested against the sand. Standing up woozily, Pentire looked around- and spied a long, orange feather on the ground. He picked it up, tilting it to catch the last fading rays of the sun- it glinted oddly, shining bright. He rubbed it with a paw and the light disappeared, and then he noticed a thin black cord laying on the sand, where it must have been beneath the feather. Picking it up, he noted oddly that it was just the right length for a necklace. Then an odd feeling shot through him- an utter certainty that this was
his feathers. His paws tingled as the full realization sank in- he had received his feather. He was not disappointed in the least that there was only one. Smiling broadly as warmth rushed back into him, all his exhaustion banished, he shook the kid awake and carried him back to his car. Pen quickly tied the cord to the feather and looped it around his neck, then slowly drove back to town in the darkness with the moonlight to guide the way.
Good memories,
the Kia thought with a smile, standing and slowly shaking his head. Good memories.