Reevesbane by K. Vale Nagle

Author:K. Vale Nagle [Nagle, K. Vale]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781643920184
Publisher: STET Publishing, LLC

23

Snowfall

Piprik resisted the urge to wipe the white feather paint away from his eyes. His bones ached in the cold air. He’d forgotten Snowfall was so tall. The last time he’d come through taiga territory, he was fleeing for his life, trying to locate the fisherfolk villages. This time around, he was able to take in the sights. The sights, in this case, being spring snow.

“How’re you holding up, ‘Lei’?” he asked Levin. They were waiting to see if they’d be allowed use of a nest here to begin their search.

“So far, so good.” Her chest feathers were a mix of red and blue, all hints of green gone except for her tail. She wore a pair of petrel gryphon flippers that had no traction on the ice. She kept scratching at where one of Tresh’s necklaces irritated her neck. Naya had added what she called decorative netting to Levin’s harness to make her look more fisherfolk.

“You look ferocious,” Piprik said. “Like some sort of deep sea padfoot.”

“All I need is a raft,” Lei laughed. Her voice was a little scratchy. Despite Naya’s assurances that male and female opinici both had a wide vocal range, Lei had spent the flight trying to adjust her voice to sound more like the only male peafowl she’d spent any time around, Impir.

Quess and Naya were busy discussing trade deals with Younce across the amphitheater. The leader of Snowfall kept looking over and squinting at Piprik as though trying to work something out.

Quess finally left the negotiations and padded over to Piprik and Levin.

“How’s it going?” Piprik asked.

“Well, he finally figured out who you were,” Quess said. “Though he has no clue about Lei.”

Levin puffed up her chest with pride.

“Actually, recognizing you is what changed his mind,” Quess continued. “He hasn’t forgotten you stitching him back together after the Battle for Sandpiper’s Dune. Since he doesn’t have any offspring, you can use the cave next to his, Mignet’s old quarters.”

“What do the other taiga gryphons think we’re doing here?” Lei asked.

“Trade,” Quess said.

The peafowl opinicus nodded. “Oh, that’s a good ruse.”

“It’s not a ruse.” Quess opened a satchel full of salt. “I expect you to sell as much of that as you can.”

Piprik ran a talon through the salt. Ocean salt was much higher quality than what the blue opinici’s saltworks produced. “This gives us a reason to be at the Crackling Sea or New Eyrie. Good thinking.”

From the east, several weald gryphons arrived to speak to Younce. Piprik saw the familiar outlines of Kia’s vibrant colors next to Zeph’s copper hawk browns. They caught Quess’s eye and changed direction.

Zeph started to speak, then recognition flickered in his eyes when he looked at Lei.

“Hello, Reeve’s Bane,” Quess said. “I don’t know if you’ve met Lei and Pip? They’re islanders from Ashfoot Isle, and they’re here on a trade mission. For Lei here, it’s his first time coming north of Luminaire.”

Zeph looked confused, but Kia caught on.

“Lei, Pip,” she said with a bow. “Welcome to the taiga.

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