Username;; Divantae
Aki Name;; Etney
Nicknames;; Etty, Et
Gender;; Female
Sexuality;; Bisexual
Age;; 34 (if human)
(Age in story;; 23)
Snap! Etney huffed to the ground, her wing making some unholy noise and her mouth responding with another. One of her friends fell in front of her, hearing the troubling pitches, but swiftly regained footing and called to the others urgently. Struggling, Etney's wings flailed and her legs attempted to recollect onto the earth, but the pain was unbearable in her right upper wing. Suddenly, many Akis gathered around her, aided her in standing up, some adults, some kids, and some strangers. "No time to waste," she thought anxiously, limping with a few of her friends. After the surprise and unknown siege of her hometown, it was hard to tell what came next. She was so young, surely the adults should have a handle of this? But alas even the elders wore dark and worried expressions, making praying symbols and the shaman herself quivering in fear at every turn. It was quite apparent Etney was slowing everyone else down; she guiltily glanced around at everyone, wishing to not be like this. Biting her lip, she struggled quicker towards her once neighbors, the shaman finally finding a place big enough to hide in. Sighing, Etney thought, "Thank goodness, a break." She nearly slipped down the hole shriveled with roots and decay after her superiors and peers.
The sky above was ash, the rain not daring to extinguish what fire was there. After many minutes to get settled and many aged remedies tried onto her wound, her wing was no better. The shaman finally attempted to snap it back into place, but the bone would never find its socket and with each movement her eyes squinted uneasily. Setting her head on the dirt floor, she eyed the fire in the middle of the hole, keeping many cold souls warm enough to last the night. "Back there... What happened? To think that our hideaway can be so easily tracked and destroyed..." Etney frowned until the shaman appeared at the flames and beckoned her over. Doing as she was told, she sat next to her, the rough and ragged female with many feathers and destroyed cloth wrappings and a bone piercing in her ear. Although the shaman was the oldest in the group, she could pack a fight like any other.
"We know of a solution to your troubles, apprentice Etney, but I promised myself I wouldn't wish it upon you before anything else. I do believe your bone cannot be fixed without its aid, though," the shaman addressed directly, a few Akis gathered about the fire, eyes widening with wonder and some fear.
"If it can help, yes, I agree," Etney replied, a bit uneasily. From the looks of it she wasn't sure at all, but she wouldn't be able to fly if not.
Blinking slowly, the shaman nodded and quickly opened a book to a certain page with gibberish all over it. Etney recalled that it was a book of witchcraft and other sorts, but the shaman never shared it in her life time and refused to let anyone near it, hiding it away in her treetop den.
"Listen, Etney, this won't be painless, but it shouldn't be worse than me fiddling with your bones back and forth," she started.
"Do it, before I regret."
Collecting a single peculiar orange feather, the shaman spoke the gibberish language and propped Etney up, placing the feather on her head. The other Akis chanted around the flames, watching after the ritual, amazed that the shaman would hide away such a book. However, Etney blinked rapidly and fell over unconscious, the shaman making sure she didn't get burnt by the fire.
For quite a while, darkness greeted Etney, but then came a grand kingdom of black ash pillars and great flame birds twirling around in circles, over and over and over. It was hypnotic and she could feel herself becoming dizzy by just watching, so she looked away from the tempting beauties. Focusing, Etney stared in amazement as she felt herself move forward, her legs making the decisions for her. The more she walked, the more pillars and birds emerged, all leading up to a great pile of ash on a throne.
When she gasped in astonishment, only ash came out, flowing slowly over to the pile and forming a spark that exploded on the throne. Rapidly, a huge flame bird unfolded in front of her, its eyes of blue variation. Its eyes adjusted and widened to her, obviously not expecting a mere Aki in the world of fire birds. "Mortal, I am Phoenix. What brings you?" its mighty caw shook the pillars, disrupting the swirls.
"I-I-" she couldn't form any words, she didn't know what to think of this. Why would the shaman hide such a world?
"Speak now," it screeched.
"Yes," Etney bowed her head, "My wing is broken. I need to fix it." She spread it, wincing from the pain.
"Aah. What will you repay in my services?"
"Excuse? I do not have anything, great bird," she piped out.
Phoenix took a moment to stare down at the tiny Etney, its eyes turning to slits. "Very well, we shall make a deal. How about..." it rested a claw on its mighty beak. "How about you do my bidding? All you have to do for the rest of your life is on every full moon you find all the ash you can gather and put it in a clearing. That's all, nothing more, nothing less."
"Well, that's easy enough. What would you do with the ash?"
"That is my concern only, I assure it isn't anything devious. The flame birds have been trapped down here, always going in circles in life," it proclaimed. "Do we have a deal?"
Etney looked at her wing. Was this what the shaman wanted? She assumed yes and replied with a mutter of, "We have a deal."
Personality wise, Etney is really calm and collected. She can put herself down quite a lot, especially if guilty. Etney tries to put on a brave face in front of her group mates though, if she were to look solemn or guilty she would leave her group unprotected. Her group is her number one priority; they're like her family and she'd do anything for them to make them happy and safe. This Aki loves to play games with her group mates, sorts of hide-n-seek and sometimes tag like a bunch of little kids. Due to the weight put on her by the debt she owes to Phoenix, Etney doesn't have any serious romantic relationships (she flirts at times though), unless she is absolutely sure she could trust someone enough to not do anything to anger Phoenix. It's also important to note that Etney cares quite a lot of what others think of her and she rarely forgets anything, always feeling compelled to repay someone for help.
Likes;;
-Sarcastic humor
-Flames/fire
-Jazz music
-Nature
-Literature
-Quills/feathers
-Fish
-Nighttime
Dislikes;;
-Rock music
-Dessert foods
-City settings
-Messy fur
-Desert settings
Currently, Etney is a sort of shaman of her own, living by lakeside bordering a forest with a small group. She was given the witchcraft book by her old shaman, but she does not use it unless she absolutely needs to contact Phoenix, whom meets her in her dreams occasionally. Etney will not let anyone mess with her book nor her ritual every full moon, knowing a deal is a deal and not wanting her inferiors worrying about Phoenix or things greater than themselves. Etney is very guilty she has to keep secrets even with the ones she absolutely trusts, but she doesn't want anything bad to happen.
