Aviern (Avis Calvariam)

## Origin

Aviern called the Southern Icefield her home for the first of her life, but when the Icewarden claimed both her parents, she bid the bitter landscape farewell and struck out on a new path. The high winds of the Plateau weren't any more forgiving than the frost and snow, but she welcomed the new challenge readily. It wasn't long before she met a pleasant clan who allowed her to join their midst, and even less time before they made their ascent to the Cloudsong.

## Meeting the Clan

Aside from wrinkling her nose in disgust, she didn't pay much heed when the filthy and battered airship first pulled into the port adjacent to the platform that served as her clan's territory. The neighbors slowly whipped themselves and their sad excuse for an airship into shape over the next several years - and graciously kept to themselves for the most part.

She continued to ignore and avoid them until her storm seeker went missing. The bird had been a nigh constant companion for her since she first found him as a fledgling, only ever disappearing for scavenging or short gallivants with passing flocks, so when he didn't return within the usual time window her nerves ended up fried. She asked all her clanmates if they had seen him, and when the answer was a universal "no" she branched out to the neighboring clans.

He came out of nowhere and landed on her shoulder just as she was approaching The Song Bird. "Where were you?" She demanded, but he just croaked and nibbled at her ear as if nothing had happened. As she reached up a claw to stroke his feathers, she noticed a gleam near his foot. She grabbed him around the wings and pried him off her shoulder, ignoring his caws of protest. Clamped around his left leg was a shiny band marked with a string of numbers and characters and an emblem that matched the one sewn on her neighbor's sails.

Blood boiling, she tucked the bird under her arm and marched up The Song Bird's gangplank and straight aboard the ship. The vessel creaked and swayed gently, lines humming against the wind, but this quiet peace had no calming impact on her foul temper. If anything, the emptiness only served to infuriate her further.

"Who did this?" She shrieked to anyone who might be within earshot. Several moments later, the hatch lifted open and a white and green mirror squinted at her.

"Can I help you?" Contraband asked after a pause, hopping up onto the deck and creeping forward in a manner far more hostile than Aviern anticipated.
Not one to be intimidated, Aviern extended her neck, frills flaring. She held out her seeker, who lolled his head back to stare an upside down question at her with his blind eyes. "I demand to speak with the miscreant who did this to my bird!"

The mirror smirked, held up one claw in an indication that Aviern should wait, and vanished into the hatch once again. She returned moments later with a bewildered fae in tow.

His frills wilted apologetically when his eyes fell on Aviern, but before he could open his mouth to explain she'd already stomped forward, thrusting a claw towards his face and launching into her tirade.

## Life and Relations in the Clan

After collecting an audience and scolding until her throat burned, she finally paused long enough to allow Toska to get a word in. He wasted no time stumbling into an apology, insisting it was an honest mistake, and offering to remove the unwanted band right away.

"If there's anything else I can do to make up for this, please let me know." He said, and she noticed for the first time that he was trembling with wings clamped tightly to his sides.

She narrowed her eyes at him, and said the last thing anyone gathered to watch - and no doubt jump in to intervene if need be - expected. "I think you and I should be friends."

If it were at all possible, his frills seemed to droop even further. "What?"

She pointed at her bird, who had long since lost patience with her and gone to perch on the bowsprit. "I want you to teach me all you know about that one."

## The Cloudsong

A weird and cautious friendship began to grow between Aviern and Toska as she spent more and more time aboard The Song Bird. As requested, he shared his studies with her, letting her peruse the many research journals he had filled through the years. Things didn't go well when he attempted to introduce her to the onboard flock of streaks. The caretakers were even less welcoming than the birds themselves, who were all immediately on edge the moment she entered the roost. After a meaningful glare from a white spiral, Toska quickly escorted Aviern away from the flock again.

Encounters with other birds didn't go much better. She shared none of Toska's apparent skill of handling them, and on multiple occasions he marveled at the bond she had with her own seeker. "They all hate you but that one." He observed, a statement which prompted her to steal his beloved hat and hide it for an entire week.