The birds of expedience

The moment Rai looks back at her palm to feed the birds they are gone, vanished without a single trace or sound. Cebra was perplexed as he'd ever been now. "Bird? Uh I don't know how to tell you this but... Are they invisible to me?" Cebra kneels down to look closer but still can't see anything, just a girl with her open palms. "Um yeah everything is going to be alright with the folks over there, how are you feeling?" Concerned now with the sighting of these birds by Rai, even more she could see there physical form. Cebra didn't know what to make of this, he wanted to believe her and weird things do happen. The ambulance and authorities had arrived and were tending to the accident as well as getting statements.

Later that day...

Easter celebrations are in full swing now, the smell of barbecue in the air as the skies actually calm to a dim gray. A father tends to the grill as his children and some of the neighbors pass in and out of the one story house, the nippy air was enough for the kids to have their jackets on. Mom entertains the adult guests while the young ones run around here and there screaming and paying little attention to where they're going or what they might be bumping into. The propane tank shakes as one of the kids bumps it and gets a shout of frustration from the middle aged father on the grill.

There was a moment of confused silence that fell across the Reaver as the gears of her mind turned just a tad slower than that of the average human. Her tail lashes as she tries to make sense of the fact that she could see them and it seemed Cebra could not and the fact that they were gone in an instant. “I wouldn’t think you could. They appear how souls do. But they seem to have disappeared.” She looks around as very few things could actively hide from a Reaver’s vision, but to no avail.

Rai moves to stand before her knees lock up and refuse to budge, electrical currents that would have run down her spine to command her body, seeming to get caught in what was left of her ragged nerves. She ends up falling back on her rear, cringing at the impact on her back. She sucks in a breath, forcing herself to try again and actually managing to get to her feet this time as she dusts off her dress.

XXXX

The festivities continued but the thought of the birds still haunted the back of Rais mind. Very few things set off her vision but didn’t register as a demon, she’d only ever encountered it once or twice, but it was always through extreme consecration or the split moment after the death of some poor creature did she get to see a disembodied soul before it was whisked away to paradise- or at least that’s where she assumed they went. The crowds did a bit to shake the poor girl’s growing nerves and she found herself squeezing in close to Cebra at the disgruntled shouting of a man.

However a hotdog stand soon catches her attention. Although she could not read the signage, it was shaped oddly, with lots of spikes and a spinning piece that looked like a hot dog to get the attention of the patrons. They were advertising the “Onion-dog”, which was simply a chili dog with an absolutely obscene amount of onions. So much so the smell of onions wafts ten feet from the booth.

Rai suddenly squirts and shakes her head. “What is that and why can I smell it with my eyes?” She huffs trying to wipe the involuntary tears from her eyes. Usually she had no reaction to chemicals or poisons… but onions made her eyes well with tears.

Cebra is a bit taken back by Rai at that question "You don't have onions in Dis? I would think a pungent plant like that was everywhere. It's a plant most cultures here use to flavour their food." The thoughts of past events circulate through Cebra's mind in an ordered web, but gaps present themselves where evidence is needed. Something about these birds and these incidents is related clearly. He didn't doubt Rai saw them, as oddities occurring in this world were not an improbability so great to ignore. He makes a note to interview the accident victim and truck driver later, also the young man he viewed in the spy camera earlier.

"If you want to we can get a hot dog, though I'm not sure if you'll like how long it makes your breath foul." The wind picks up a bit giving a chill to the air, despite the amount of people present the vibe is much calmer. A couple of teens sit at a bench near Cebra and Rai, they periodically look over at the two while laughing and pointing their phone cameras. Typical weird annoying teen shit, town was full of young dumb teens bored to hell of the country life. Cebra did take note that the young man from the video was among the crowd of teens. "Well well well it's him, saves me some time. "Excuse me Rai, may I ask you to do something for me?"

“People actually eat things that make them cry?” Rai groans, giving one last wipe of the tears away with the back of her hand. Rai’s mind had begun to venture off from this morning’s events, marching onward like the orderly soldier she usually was. As one battle fades the next peeks over the horizon. And currently this battle was navigating a crowd of what had to be every person who lived in Graten Hill. Most of them were basically strangers to her… other than Darcy who gave her a wave which she reciprocated in a slow timid manner.

A small dog darts through the crowd just as she is about to process the idea of what this food stand was selling. Suddenly the incorrect gears click into place. “Ah, I don’t like the smell of the dogs. Or the idea of eating a dog with onions.” Rai was seconds away from holding her nose. Dog was considered starvation food in Dis, dirty and disgusting but apparently this world ate it on bread with the fowl onions and some pungent paste that could only be described as abominable. The cold wind falls useless against skin pale as death. Her dress was not made for winter weather as the neckline dipped just below the collar and the sleeves stopped just below her elbows, however the reaver didn’t so much as shiver. Instead she stood for a moment frozen as she studied her options, seemingly frozen in time. Rai looked in her usual ghostly fashion, lacking the sway of breath or the micro adjustments human muscles made to keep balance, rather she was like a perfectly sculpted statue that was both beautiful and unsettling. With the wind comes a much more pleasant scent. One of sugar and batter that was somewhat familiar.

“They have Tansies?” Rai asks as there was a small stand next to the hotdog stand.

“Um… ma’m. We sell funnel cakes here.” The fryman groans.

“Funnel cakes? They smell alot like Tansies. Do you have the kind with apples?”

The cook seems to be running low on patience as he checks his watch. “Look lady. I get off in 5 minutes. Do you want one, or don’t you?”

“I- Yes.” She finally decides as a paper plate full of fried batter is thrust into her hands and a few shakes of powdered sugar later and Rai had what she swore was a plate full of what happiness tasted like. It definitely wasn’t Tansies, but it was much better. “Cebra, This is my new favorite thing! It’s even better than coffee!” Rai’s tail swings from side to side happily as she pinches off more of the cake before offering some to Cebra.

Rai was far too distracted with the smells and noises to even notice the crowd anymore, and much less the teens who were just doing normal teenage things. Her slightly pointed ears perk just as Cebra asks for a favor standing at attention, yet failing to set down her plate of funnel cake just yet. “Yes. What you need?” Her accent spikes heavily half ay dipping back into Reaver tongue.