Facing the Scrooms, Strix and her team must face the scrooms

[Strix Moonwing]

"Are you sure that this is the right place?" asked Strix to her two crow guides, Kari and Koji. The two had volunteered to lead Strix, Flametip, Laigon, and Darkshine to the place where the strange scrooms had been spotted.

Kari nodded. "Yes, your Highness. This the Knowing Flock's hunting grounds, also known as the Hunting River." She gestured her wing towards the wide river that flowed below. The group had perched on a nearby tree.

"Over twenty scrooms had been spotted." Koji added. He ruffled his dark feathers and grumbled. "Been scaring the wits out of all the Providers."

"Do you want us to stay?" asked Kari, those she kept glancing back and forth between the river and the Knowing Tree in the distance. It was obvious that neither of the two crows wanted to be there. They had already witnessed the scrooms firsthand.

Strix nodded at the two. "No, we can take care of ourselves. Thank you for the assistance and fly safe!" Both Koji and Kari let out sighs of relief and hurried to get back towards the Knowing Tree before nightfall, which was just an hour or two away.

Queen Strix watched them leave and looked at her team. Even now, all of them were becoming uneasy as the darkness started to settle in and a cold wind started to pick up. It seemed like the perfect time for scrooms to arrive.

[TurquoisePheonix]

"Scrooms?" Flametip asked in his usual timid voice; he had known what they were there for, but he wondered; would he see any scrooms he knew? He shook himself slightly - he would need to keep his wits about him. If there were any evil scrooms, there would be nothing they could do to stop them. He needed to see one of the scrooms to even start thinking or trying to maek any sense out of this at all...

Laigon, meanwhile, tried not to think about this, not that he could make any sense out of it, if Flametip couldn't. He instead, worried about his friend's mind; he was smart, no doubt, maybe smarter than any owl at the Tree. But, still, he had never really matured emotionally; he was smarter than most, but at the same time, extremely confused. Another thing worried Laigon as well; did he still have his weakness? Was he still terrified of blood? He remembered the first time he saw Flametip freak out about it...That was scary. He remembered how he had fainted, and had screamed in his sleep about it for weeks after...And now, how had wings completely turned red? Another experiment?

[Strix Moonwing]

Strix heard fear in Flametip's voice as he whispered the word "Scrooms". A pang of pity went through her for Flametip. His life hadn't been the easiest one so far, and it certainly wasn't going to get much better until all of this was over.

"Don't worry, guys." whispered Strix as she scanned the river's calm surface. All of them had started to speak in whisper as if the scrooms would be disturbed if they spoke any louder. All of them carried a fear for the scrooms. It was just natural to feel fear towards stuff that you held little knowledge of.

Suddenly, a hush silence seemed to fall over the land. Strix pricked her ear slits and tried to listen for any sound of comfort. A leave rustling, a wave lapping the shore, a mouse scampering through the grass. But she heard nothing. Not a sound. It was as if the wind itself and all the creatures of this earth had died.

After a few seconds of silence, a wave of darkness fell over the group. The clouds had blocked out the moon, depriving them of any light.

"They're coming." Strix said as she stared out into the darkened night.

As soon as she spoke those words, a horrible shrieking sound filled the night. It sounded like a banshee screaming of another's death. Strix winced at the horrible sound and stared out into the darkened river and gasped.

On the river's surface, pale, transculent shapes had become to rise from the water's depth. They were scrooms. Though they had a defiant shape, their bodies seemed to shift and mold itself like mist. Two dark pits with a tinge of blood red, seemed to be their eyes. They looked like no owl they had ever seen.

They looked like hagsfiend.....

[Strix Moonwing]

OCC: Sorry for the double post, but I really need to get this post done and nobody seems to want to post.

Strix's body stiffened with horror as she watched hundreds of the horrible shifting spirits emerged from the dark water's depths. They were not the scrooms of owls, these were hagsfiends. Gasps of shock and terror erupted from the owls behind her. They could now understand why the Providers had been too scared to come, why they had reluclently asked for the owls help. They thought that only the great Strix Moonwing, so-called destroyer of the hagsfiends king, would be able to fend off the servants he left behind. Strix had dealt with scrooms before, but never were they the scrooms of hagsfiends. These weren't spirits....

They were demons.

With a thudding heart, Strix took a stand forward. Hagsfiends or not, these scrooms were the only thing that could lead them to a cure for the sickness.

"Greetings scrooms..." she boomed, trying to make her voice overheard over the scroom's shrieking. "I am Strix Moonwing and have come for the cure!"

Suddenly the shrieking become so loud and overpowering that the owls gathered had to cover their sensitive earslits.

"Theeeee......hhhhheeeiiiiir." hissed a voice, lost in the mass of scrooms.

"Dessttttrrooyyyerrr.....haasssss....reetttuuuurnnnn."

"Jusssssttttt....liiikkkeeee....ourrrrr....kingggg...saidddd...ssshhehee....wouulllddd."

"Deliverrrrrrrr....hheeeerrrrrr."

"Desstttrrooyyyy....alllll....oottthhherss."

Still shrieking up a storm, the demon scrooms rose high about the river and, in a mass of pearly bodies, floated towards Strix and the rest her team.

[TurquoisePheonix]

"Wha- what is it? Who is the destroyer? Are you talking about Strix?!" Flametip urged; he was shaking with fear, the fear he always had, the fear that darkness would take him, or hurt him or others, as it always had, and he could never stop it...was it because he was weak? "I have to be strong...to turn around the evils I have wrought. I can't go on if I don't. I have to set this right, no matter what I feel, my feelings don't matter. Not to those who have died, not to you, Strix...nobody cares what I feel, and they have every right to think that. But that won't stop me from helping stop this..." He said. Laigon had never heard Flametip say so much. He was always overshadowed by his boisterous older brother, he was always the outcast, but he had never really seemed content with that...Laigon was proud that his friend was so motivated to help...

Flametip stepped forward, fear forgotten. "You think Strix is evil? A destroyed? That ain't right! Has Skalrdrog corrupted you? Why can't you rest?! Why can't you go back to Glaumora? Is it my fault?!" He almost seemed angry at the scrooms, all his beautiful grammar forgotten. Laigon wondered; was he doing this to go back on what he did, or was that a lie? Was he doing this for Strix? He had never, ever acted like this...

[Strix Moonwing]

Like a dark storm of screaming icy winds, the demented spirits hovered over the gathered owls. Strix almost fell off her branch as she felt the touch of their strange misty forms. it felt like the hottest of fires and the coldest of ice. A layer of frost formed on one of her wingfeathers as a scroom past by. The stars and skies weren't visible among the layer after layer of scroom.

"Spppppeakkkkkk notttttt illllll offffff ourrr kiinnnggggggg..." hissed a scroom at Flametip.

"Theeeeeeee Destroyyerrrrrrrrrr usseeeeddd darrrrkkkkk magiccccc toooo slayyyyyyyyyy ourrrrr kinnggggg."

"Ourrrrrr kingggggg shallllll riseeeeeeeeee againnnnnnnn."

"Onceeeeee theeeee blooodddddd offff the mageee..."

"Theeee bloooddddd offf the princeeeeeee..."

"Anddddd offff theeeeee hateddddddd Heirrrrrrr...."

"Joinnnnnnnn....alllll shallllll beeee rightttttttt againnnnnn. Weeeee shallllll beeee freeee..."
Strix had no idea what the spirits were talking about. Their words could barely be understood, but their meaning was clear. They wanted her blood and the blood of others too. All to bring back Sklardrog. A tremor of fear rippled through her at the thought. Never in her life had she felt so much hatred directed at her. The scrooms radiated anger and hatred as they flew. The only creature they seemed to hate more was Flametip.

The scrooms circled the fire hued Boreal, hissing curses at the owl that dared to speak ill of them. They could sense something strange about the Boreal. Through his body seemed weak, there was something else....something dangerous about him.

He would be destroyed first....

"Thereeeeee issssss fireeeeeee innnnn thatttttt oneeeeeee..."

"Littttttt bbyyyyyyyy somethinggggggg....."

"Or someonneeeeeeeeeee....."

"Loverrrrrrr offff theeeee Destroyerrrrrr..."

"Heeeee shallllll dieeeeee...."
With that, the scrooms attacked.

[TurquoisePheonix]

Flametip could barely stand his ground as the scrooms attacked, knowing that he couldn't attack. His only option was to run, but as they lunger for him, he was frozen in place, unable to do anything, and a single image flashed through his mind; an image of Strix. He knew now what to do; as one neared him, he thought only of the queen, and his feelings for her. He threw out his red wings as if to fly, but what happened was not what he expected. As the scroom slashed at him, his eyes clenched, preparing for his death, the talons passed...straight through his wing. The scroom screeched in agony, it's body seeming to be engulfed with a white glow, and it was gone.

"Huh?" He asked. They couldn't slash at his wings...was it because of the tainted blood? Could a scroom, a mere memory, be weakened by it? He looked at his red wing, the white glow fading from his own wing. What was this power?

'Redemption...is this my punishment? Is my duty to destroy the hagsfiends? Is that burden my punishment? Was I given this wing...for something more? It always reminded me of the blood I spilt...maybe that won't be sastisfied until I spill the blood of the evil.' He thought. He looked back up, knowing his friends were in danger.

"Strix!"

[Strix Moonwing]

OCC: Sorry for lack of post. Been busy the last couple days getting ready for my oler sister's graduation. Had to send out over a hundred invitations. Isn't it great having such a large family? *sarcasm*XD

"FLAMETIP!" Strix screeched as the hagsfiends launched themselves at her friend. She wanted to help him, but how could she? They weren't solid beings. Any attack, any battle claw would go right through their transparent bodies.

How could you defeat a creature you couldn't touch?

Unfortunately, these could touch you back...

"Burrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnsssss!!!!"

"Huh? Flametip?" Strix gazed at the boreal's flame colored wings which seemed to spark and glow like real fire in the moonlight. As the first hagsfiend scroom slashed at him, instead of spilling blood, its ghostly talon had passed right through him as if Flametip was the scroom!

The scroom stared at his talon in surprise before writhing in pain. Its talon steamed softly as if burnt.

"Itttttt burrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnss!!!!!!!!!!!!!" It screeched before being engulfed in white light. A second later, it disappeared as if it were never there in the first place.

More scroom writhered before burning in Flametip's inner fire. Strix and the rest could only gape in amazement.

The scrooms soon stopped attacking Flametip, their hatred grown to it climax for the boreal.

"The Loverrrrrrrr'ssssss fireeeeeeeee issssss littttttttttttttt..."

"Currrrssssseeeeddddd isssssss hisssss touchhhhhhhh...."

The lead scroom glared at Flametip and then at Strix.

"Theeeeeeeee Destroyerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr lighttttttssss hissssss flammeeeeee..."

"Soooooo ittttt willlllll beeeee herrrrr blooddddd thatttt puttttssss ittttt outtttttt...."

The lead scroom hissed and launched himself at Strix.

"PUTTTTT OUTTTTTT THEEEEE FLAMEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!"

[TurquoisePheonix]

"The blood that my curse has spilt...that's why my wing's red. The scrooms...I understand now, Strix. They want reconcilation. They didn't want to die for nothing. They sealed themselves within my wing. They want me as a tool of revenge. I can never turn back on my wrongdoing. I will never be the same again. But I hope at least the scrooms in my wing can rest, even if I can't." Flametip finished. Laigon was in shock; how could Flametip do that? When even the finest of Luna's weapons couldn't touch a scroom, how could Flametip do it with nothing but his wing? He noticed then, that one of Flametip's feathers was different; at the base of his wing, a few of his feathers were normal again...

"Strix!"

Flametip's call to the Queen jolted him back to life. He saw his friend flying to Strix's aid, keeping his body in front of hers.

"I won't fight you. It's not what I want. They want revenge, but I'm not going to fight. You can attack, but I'm only protecting. But I warn you now...you hurt Strix, and I might not be so generous next time." His voice was deathly calm. Laigon churred. "What am I, your next-door-neighbor? How 'bout fighting them and protecting us all?" He joked, trying to mak light of the situation.

"Or, we could just get out of here."

[Strix Moonwing]

Strix, too, was amazed by Flametip's transformation. No more was he the shy inventive Boreal. In his place was a flaming warrior with the courage and honor to match those of legend. A flame tipped feather softly brushed against Strix's face as Flametip stood in front of her, protecting her from any scroom's attack. Admiration for Flametip trembled in her gizzard, but Laigon's shout brought the realization of the situation back to her. There were too many for Flametip to stop alone.

"Flametip," she whispered, "Laigon is right. There are too many scrooms. You can't fight them all. We must try and escape." Her dark eyes grew wary. "I don't want anybody to get hurt...especially you, Flametip."

The scrooms continued to hiss menacingly at the small group. They knew that even though the flame-winged owl was dangerous there was only one of him and hundreds of them. The odds were against the Queen and the Firebird. It was only a matter of time before the Firebird grew tired of this mindless defending.

[TurquoisePheonix]

"Thank you." Flametip whispered, satring at the white, translucent scrooms; why were they attacking, anyway? He would need to figure out...looking at a gap in their erratic formation; already, he was thinking strategically; whether he would admit it or not, he would be a superb battle strategist. Unfortunately, he lacked the leadership skills to do something like that. He spotted a smallish hole where few scrooms were; this was his curse, his burden; why couldn't they leave his friends alone?

"Strix, Laigon...get out of here..." Flametip said, barely audible. He flew at the small gap, outstretching his wings to make them hit the scrooms, causing them to burn and go to rest permanently. The hole he had made was bigger.

"Come on!" He said, this time louder. He saw something out of the corner of his eye, and turned, just in time to get his face slashed open by the scrooms. He felt the pain jolt between his eyes; the talons barely missed his eyes. He felt numb, and began to feel dizzy...

(OOC: I'm gonna skip some time next post. Is that okay with you? Maybe have him wake up at the crows' nest? Then they can go back to Ga'hoole.)

[Strix Moonwing]

OCC: Fine with me.

The gap that Flametip had made between the hovering scrooms was wide enough for all of them to go through. Strix quickly raised a wing as a signal for the group to take off. She waited, allowing Laigon and the rest in her group to leave first. Though she did this mostly out of duty, another part of her wanted to wait and make sure that Flametip got out alright.

"Come on!" Strix heard Flametip screech, urging her to fly on. She was about to do so until a scream of pain filled the air.

"Flametip!" Strix screamed, her word echoing throughout the night along with the triumphant screechs of the scrooms. Blood ran freely from Flametip's face as he fluttered around for a second more before locking his wings and falling. Ignoring the scrooms around her, Strix pulled her wings together and fell in a dive to reach her friend. Her talons clung on to his the moment he was about to hit the ground.

The pearly white bodies of the scrooms hovered over her and seemed to close in on her and Flametip. Their bodies blocked all the star and moonlight, covering the pair in total darkness.

"Hold on Flametip..." Strix whispered, her talon tightenign with his limp on. "I won't let anything happen you..." She closed her eyes, expecting the worse as the scroom floated nearer. "Just hold on."

A loud cawing sound rang across the night and Strix's mind went blank.

[TurquoisePheonix]

"Don't worry. His injury's serious, but it's treated. But it'll probably leave a scar." Flametip heard. He felt dizzy; his eyes were unfocused as he opened them. His wings...they gave off warmth. His eyes focused. He saw Laigon, speaking to a crow. He wondered what happened...he remembered...the scrooms sliced his face, and Strix...He began to panic. Where was Strix? He began to get up, before he saw himself in one of the Other's mirrors that the crow had placed in her room. There was a long scar running down his face, from just above his left eye down to just below his right- that had been close- if the scroom had been on aim, he may have been blind in both eyes.

"Strix...is she okay?" Flametip said in his new voice; more confident, but still calm, even and quiet, though here it was shaky; was she okay? Laigon nodded.

"I think she's worried about you..." Laigon replied. He gestured behind him, at a hole in the crow's nest only just big enough for an owl. "She's waiting outside."
Flametip nodded, immediately flying out of the smallish hole; his wings hurt, but they felt warm; had he gone yeep? He looked at them; there were a few feathers back to normal colored plumage; by doing this, were his deeds being repaid? He spotted his queen, sitting on a branch; were they alone? He flew up next to her...

"Could I protect you?" He whispered.

[Strix Moonwing]

"So he is going to be alright?" Strix asked her crow friend, Kari, her voice lined with concern. It had been three day since the night of the scrooms. Both Strix and Flametip would have been killed if Kari and her mate, Koji, hadn't come and helped the two out. Strix had recovered the after one day, but Flametip was still out cold.

Kari smiled warmly at the queen. "I assure you, Your Majesty, the healers say that the scroom warrior shall be alright. He's just sleeping and recovering now."

Flametip had become quite famous among the crows now. Since their return, rumors of how Flametip had produced fire to destroy the demon scrooms to save the queen had spread from beak to beak. Some of the crows had even begun to believe that Flametip wasn't an owl at all, but a phoenix in diguise. Kari's mate, Koji, immediately scowled at the idea. He already wasn't too fond of owls;calling them phoenixs was just plain yoicks in his opinion, though he too (even without admitting it) was impressed by what Flametip had done.

Noticing that Strix was still worried, Kari patted the queen's talon. "How about I leave you and go check with the Healers?"

"I'd be grateful if you did, Kari. Thank you." Strix said, truly grateful for the companionship of the young Provider.

"No problem." With that, Kari flew into the air and shot towards the Healer's hollow, leaving Strix by herself.

Alone, Strix sighed. At the moment she truly wished to be home, back with her children and the ones she loved. A cold breeze ruffled her feathers, chilling her and making her even more homesick.

"Could I protect you?"

Strix jerked around, surprised at hearing Flametip's voice. Hearing it and seeing Flametip well again warmed her up greatly.

"Flametip!" She whispered, her eyes warm. "You're alright." Blinking, she smiled at the boreal and said, "I think you've already protected me, Flametip....thank you."

[TurquoisePheonix]

"Yeah. I did." Flametip said quietly, feeling the wound on his forehead. He realized how stupid his statement sounded, and he shrugged, not really caring. He moved forward, about to embrace her, but remembered what happened last time. "Sorry. I really care about you, Strix. I just don't know what I would do if anything happened to you. He traced his wing along what was now a white-ish scar. No feathers were there, and they wouldn't grow back there, either. "This scar could've been yours. You should be beautiful, like always, not have scars or get hurt, right?" He asked. Flametip sighed; he wanted to go home, to his friends...but they were off on an adventure, too. He looked at his wing, where a few of the red feathers in random places had been replaced with normal feathers; each person killed by the Curse-of-Flesh had found recompense by killing an evil scrooms. Would he be able to pay back the evils he had created? Could he ever fix it?

He thought of Strix. 'I'll protect you, Strix. Forever, if I can.' Flmaetip thought to himself, thinking.

"Strix, I love you, but I...can't."