The Real Deal

Ascending Fire 8, R.Y. 769

The crash was not one of Ash's proudest moments. Repairing the heavy damage sustained during the escape from the Spiral Academy was proving difficult, and so when Ash was informed by Gyoki that he was to assassinate a corrupt Haslanti politician a mere week before the man took office, Ash was none too pleased. His own bizarre code of honor prevented him from passing off the job however, so he departed, crew in tow, on the half-repaired Geronimo. The job was tougher than expected - the politician had Exalted sponsors who quickly embroiled Ash in another sky battle. Although Haslanti sky ships were ordinarily no match for the Geronimo, in its damaged state, Ash's first-age vessel was suffering a bit. They pulled off the hit brilliantly, but it again seemed their escape was frought with more peril than they'd hoped.

---

Amidst a storm of arrows, Ash ducked a few flying projectiles and called to Moon.

"Mount the guns starboard - we're about to bank! And tell Tick to fix the fucking gyroscope; it feels like I'm trying to fly a mule!"

Moon hopped from her position on the port gun tower, softening her fall with a slight flutter of her wings. She rolled across the deck to the other side, barking down orders to Tick as she did so. Star and Sky were busy manning the light implosion bow, with Sky shooting and Star loading. Meanwhile, Moon climbed the starboard gunnery tower with her firewand and several firepots. Ash sharply banked the ship, bringing Moon directly in line with one their last two pursuers. Moon immediately heaved the firepots, all roped together, onto the opposing deck as soon as the pursuing ship came within range. As the crew scrambled to disperse them, she calmly shouldered the firewand, a large, long-range model, and opened fire, scoring a direct hit on the firepot container. The resulting explosion was spectacular, forcing Moon to duck beneath the gunnery tower's covering wall. With only one attacker remaining, Ash pushed for all the speed he could squeeze out of the damaged Geronimo. Although Sky destroyed the final Haslanti ship with her next shot, the ship's falling trajectory was not as anticipated - before descending beneath the Geronimo's altitude, it crashed into one of the hull's primary port essence drivers. The Geronimo gave a sick lurch, and although Tick seemed to have gotten the gyroscope on track, it wasn't going to matter - a ship with only one good side couldn't properly stay afloat. Ash had enough engineering intuition to suspect airships obeyed the same principle. As they screamed further away from the scene of their Haslanti hit, they also grew closer to the ground...

Ash grimaced, shaking his head.

Fucking Gyok‎i and his last-minute bullshit... We weren't ready for this. With the ship in order, this would be a walk in the park even on a bad day... Fine. Time to cut losses.

Ash called to his crew again, falling back on the unique of ability of ship captains to make themselves heard above all else even in a storm of utter chaos.

"Remember when I said it was gonna get a little bumpy? Mighta sugar-coated it a bit. If I were you guys... I'd bail... Time's a factor."

Ash gritted his teeth, tightening his grip on the wheel.

Probably unfortunately for me, I'm not.

Star and Sky scuttled from the gun tower to the nearest parachutes, while Tick had donned hers below deck and was beginning to jump. He didn't need to spot Moon to know she wasn't going to bail - as much as he wished she would, she'd go down with the ship if that's what it took. But that's why she captained this ship with him. That was her decision. And quite possibly, her mistake.

---

The descent was quick, even for assassins and thieves used to working at a fast pace. Ash tried his best to stabilize the ship while Moon scurried from side to side, making whatever adjustments she could to improve the ship's natural ability to generate lift, its essence engines now useless. Nevertheless, they could only do so much before Creation greeted them in the worst possible way.

The Geronimo plowed into the ground, ripping apart vast swaths of frozen tundra as it slid to a stop. Even Ash was knocked out by the impact, although he came around quickly, validating every rumor about sailor-talk even as he slid gradually back into consciousness and got to his feet.

"Motherfucking Haslanti shits... Gods damn the fucking... Argh. Shit damn fuck piss... assholes."

He distanced himself from the heavily damaged vessel, surveying the big picture. He sighed, living in the lingering silence for a moment before becoming fully cognizant of the situation.

Shit! Moon!

He dashed back to the wrecked ship, vaulting to the side Moon had been working on when the ship hit. It didn't take long to find her after moving aside a splintered piece of the hull, but she didn't look good. The tone in his voice was devoid of its usual wry cynicism, although noone conscious was nearby to witness it.

"Oh. Shit."

He looked quickly to the horizon, gauging the distance to the range homes. They'd covered significant ground on their departure; Ash hoped his remaining Essence could carry his message on the wind. Despite the situation, he kept a cool head as he mouthed the words clearly into a passing breeze.

"Rizuka - Ash. I'm about 30 miles south of the Haslanti border on a beeline to the range homes. The ship is down. Moon is hurt pretty bad. Come quick."

---

Ash's injuries were negligible in the scheme of things - Exalts healed bruises with surprising rapidity. Rizuka had spent the hour after their returning tending to Moon's injuries, and after finishing up, was a bit surprised to find Ash waiting in a chair in the hospital's lobby. He looked a bit uneasy, and looked up to Rizuka when she entered the room.

"... Is Moon alright?"

Rizuka sat down in a chair positioned along the wall opposite Ash. Before speculating on anything, she answered his question readily.

"She'll survive. The crash broke her left wing, although it was a clean break, so I don't anticipate that she'll have any trouble flying when it heals. She also broke her right arm badly. Other than that, just cuts and bruises."

Ash audibly took a breath, nodding as he did so. After a moment of silence between them, he spoke up again.

"Will the arm heal okay?"

Rizuka nodded, settling into the chair a bit and replying, "It should. She might have some trouble putting much stress on it for awhile, but I have a feeling she'll be able to handle a ship's wheel. Speaking of which, how fares the Geronimo?"

Ash flashed a characteristic smirk, although, somewhat uncharacterstically, it was a bit sheepish.

"... I don't know. Haven't really looked."

Rizuka smiled - she'd suspected he'd been more worried about Moon than his prized airship, but couldn't help herself from calling attention to the fact - these good-natured jests were one of the few pleasures Rizuka allowed herself.

"You'd be surprised how many of us have a bit of humanity buried deep down if the situation calls for it."

Rizuka exited the lobby, making her way deeper into the building. Ash maintained his smirk, shaking his head a little before he stood to make his exit.

---

Moon had never been in an airship crash before. Although experienced in aerial matters, Ash was a damn good pilot, and so was she - the Geronimo had simply never crashed. With that in mind, Moon had no idea what to expect of the severity. Things didn't look good. She was sure she'd died.

But something wasn't quite right. For one thing she was able to contemplate all of this, albeit hazily. Moon was pretty sure the dead couldn't do that. Unless she'd become a ghost. But she wasn't the sort.

There was a sound. A door, perhaps? Moon heard a voice, and it was one she recognized. Slowly, the picture began to paint itself, and Moon slowly opened her eyes.

Rizuka spoke gently to the stirring form.

"Good morning, Ravenous Moon, Waning Heart. How are you feeling?"

As Moon blinked Rizuka's form into focus, she tried to shuffle around a bit, quickly discovering where her wounded areas were. Although she winced, the pain was distant and dull, and she found herself feeling oddly confused. She replied hoarsely to Rizuka.

"Alive... I suppose that's a start. And... quite a bit drunk...?"

She attempted to sit up after replying, finding herself a bit more unsteady than she suspected. Rizuka smiled, easing her back into the stack of pillows.

"Relax, Moon. I gave you some opium before I set those bones - You're still feeling that. Most of your injuries are superficial. Your left wing is broken at the joint - that's a clean break, and it should function identically when it heals."

She gave Moon a moment to soak in the information, knowing she wasn't processing information at her fastest pace.

"Your right arm was broken severely and in several places. In between your elbow and your wrist there - keep it still now, that'll hurt a lot, even with the narcotics - where the bandaging is thickest, it was nearly broken off. While I was looking at the wound, I noticed something that I couldn't help but find interesting."

Although the dazed Moon still seemed a bit detached, her affixed gaze let Rizuka know she had her patient's genuine attention.

"You have hollow bones."

Moon squinted, not fully appreciating the oddity of the statement. She produced a lazy grin, remarking sarcastically, "And here I thought it was the active lifestyle and healthy eating keeping me so light."

Rizuka smiled as she took Moon's left wrist into her hand, feeling for her pulse. She spoke as she counted.

"Your arm is broken in three places, and two of them aren't at joints. It'll take awhile to heal; you'll have to be careful with it. Anyway - "

She let go of Moon's wrist after a few moments, standing upright again, continuing, " - you should rest for awhile; go back to sleep. When that opium wears off, we'll talk a bit more."

Moon liked the suggestion. Shifting as much to her side as much as her injuries would permit, she was already fading again as Rizuka exited the room.

---

The chirping of birds woke Moon for the second time that day. She judged it to be late in the afternoon after considering the angle at which the sunlight sneaked through the curtains covering the window. The opium had worn off, although the clear-headedness came with its downsides. Most of her body ached, and she could not find words to describe the pain in her right arm, although she suspected Ash probably could. She smirked at the thought despite simultaneously resisting the urge to cry out. Nevertheless, after a large number of gradual shifts and adjustments, Moon was able to sit up. She was using her good arm to re-arrange the blankets and pillows in a fashion more conducive to her new position when Rizuka entered the room quietly. She was carrying a steaming bowl and a steaming cup on a tray. She set it on a dresser in the room and smiled to Moon.

"I'm glad to see you're awake, Moon. You must be - "

Rizuka paused briefly and nearly snickered.

" - I was about to say ravenous, then I remembered - "

She shook her head slightly, continuing, " - anyway, you must be starving."

Moon shrugged. Come to think of it, it had been a terribly long time since she'd eaten.

"Yeah, I guess... It's hard to think about it, though. My arm feels like it's about to fall off."

Rizuka nodded.

"That's because it is. Keep it still. I brewed some willow bark tea - that will help. I'll brew some with opium later if the pain persists. I try not to administer the more potent stuff to patients too regularly - despite what Mesa might have told you, it's not good for you to be high all of the time."

Moon smirked as Rizuka walked back to the dresser and picked up the tray. She cautiously placed the tray on Moon's lap.

"But before you take anything else for the pain, you should eat - you'll feel terribly sick if you don't."

The smell of food did spark Moon's appetite a bit, and despite the sharp pain, she was able to navigate her unbroken left arm fairly well, and swallowed a spoonful of soup. Eating felt good, and she continued as Rizkua pulled one of the room's chairs next to her bed. Rizuka spoke up as she sat down.

"I mentioned this morning... I noticed your bones were hollow while treating your injuries. Did you know that?"

Moon thought momentarily, though she didn't slow down her consumption of her first meal in two days. She replied, "I didn't... I guess I always chalked up the fact that I was light, even for my size, to some magical effect of the wings. Just Wyld funny business."

Rizuka smiled and nodded in agreement, saying "That's exactly what I would've assumed too until this morning. That's just the thing about Wyld mutations. They aren't sensible. Wings? Sure. Wings are one of the most common mutations the Wyld will bestow on a person - they're rampant in dreams and imagination. Everyone's thought of having wings at some point; well, at least those of us without them."

Rizuka smiled again, and Moon joined her. Rizuka continued, "But Wyld mutations don't make physical sense. They just work - they're outside the rules of Creation by definition, and there's no reason they should follow them. So I find it peculiar that you'd have hollow bones - I sincerely doubt a force spawned of pure imagination and subsisting on an absence of logic would have the foresight to also endow you with an anatomy that made flight physically possible. Not many of us think about hollow bones."

Moon puzzled over the matter for a few moments before replying.

"... Are you saying my wings aren't a mutation?"

Rizuka shrugged politely. "I can't say for sure, but it seems to me like more went into their design than is typical of a Wyld-spawned mutation. There was... and, some say, still is a race of people created long ago by Celestial Exalted. They were winged and lived in giant floating cities in the sky. They were called the People of the Air."

Moon looked up from the soup, already mostly empty.

"I don't think I know anyone with wings... especially not family... But I guess I don't know a lot of my relatives..."

Rizuka shuffled through one of the pouches that hung from her robes and produced a small book. She handed it to Moon, who took it and set it next to her on the bed. Rizuka spoke up after handing it off.

"I brought you something to read while you're recovering. There used to be a variety of different human-like races, each with additional qualities that their Exalted creators found practical, beautiful, or both. This is a River-tongue translation of an ancient medical text; it has lots of information on these races - in particular, it's where I learned how to mend a broken wing."

She smiled, gesturing to Moon's delicately bound left wing.

"I wouldn't pretend to know what happens when these species interbreed, nor do I know how these qualities are passed from parents to children, but this book might shed some light on the issue. Make sure you finish that tea. I'll come back this evening with stronger tea if you're still hurting."

Moon smiled as she picked up the book and looked at the cover. She smiled and looked up.

"Thanks Rizuka."

---

Later that evening, Ash rapped lightly on Moon's door.

"Come in," a voice replied. Ash entered and shut the door quietly behind him. With his characteristic smirk, he pulled a chair out from the room's table and sat down. Moon was reading a book she had open on her lap and sipping from a cup of tea with her good hand. She looked incredibly relaxed.

Ash smirked, noting her demeanor.

"How ya feelin', kiddo?"

She smiled, leaning her head back into a propped up pillow.

"Right now? Not too bad!"

Ash leaned forward and tilted open the lid on the tea jug sitting on her nightstand. Sure enough, the sweet, pungent scent of opium emanated from the reservoir.

"I see Rizuka's giving you the good stuff. You shoulda bailed, ya know. For fuck's sake, you can fly! Don't you think you should be last person to get banged up in an airship wreck?"

Ash, of course, genuinely appreciated her help, but that wouldn't stop him from giving her a hard time. Moon replied with the selfless zeal he'd come to appreciate his co-captain for.

"Hey, cap, bones grow back. First-Age airships don't. That wreck could have been a lot worse. You don't want me to save the ship, don't bring me on board."

She grinned and took a sip of her tea, maintaining eye contact with Ash throughout. Ash smirked and said, "Yeah yeah, I know, captain goes down with the ship, all that stuff. Still, I mean, really... It isn't worth your life."

It was clear Ash wasn't entirely comfortable with the sentimental undertone of the conversation, but in some sense, that made it all the more sincere. Moon's counter was spoken in good humor, but it was clear she found it valid.

"What about yours?"

Ash shrugged, replying, "Hard to say what my life's worth." Ash too replied in humor, although his tone was just somber enough to suggest more than jest.

The silence hung uncomfortably, with Moon unsure how to reply. She finally broke the silence by changing the subject.

"So... Get this," said Moon, who forced a little enthusiasm into her voice in an effort to overcome the depressing end to their previous topic of conversation, "Rizuka thinks my wings are more than just mutation."

Ash, equally averse to the idea of burdening an injured Moon with his own nihilistic thoughts, decided to help himself to a bit of the tea; there was nothing quite like opium to get past an unfortunate moment. As he filled a cup, he looked back to her with a quirked brow, appreciative of the change in subject.

"Whaddya mean?"

Moon shrugged, still unused to the idea that such motions would be quite painful for a few weeks to follow. After the subsequent wince and a joking suggestion by Ash that she not overexert herself, she continued.

"Apparently my bones are hollow. I didn't think much of it when Rizuka first mentioned it, but after she elaborated, I think she's onto something."

Ash replied only with a fleeting "Huh..." as Moon continued her explanation.

"The Wyld, almost by definition doesn't play by anyone's rules --"

"-- Something we can relate to," Ash interjected, with a smirk. The tea was potent and left even Ash feeling a buzz shortly after his first few sips. They both chuckled, although the joke would hardly have been funny without the narcotics.

"-- Anyway, when someone picks up a mutation from exposure to the Wyld, say, wings," Moon continued, as she pointed with her unbroken arm to her unbroken wing, "It typically just works, laws of physics be damned. But for a person to have hollow bones suggests that there was a bit more... forethought than the Wyld is used to."

Ash placed his cup of poppy tea on the end table and stroked his chin as he contemplated what Moon was saying. In his studies of First Age aerial technology, Ash had read scattered bits about the People of the Air, winged mortals given wings by their Exalted masters. He (and most scholars, to Ash's knowledge) thought them long extinct, but could their traits have survived, passed down through generations of interbreeding?