[Official NPC]

The portal in Espur sizzled. Lightning arced across the transparent disc, which expanded rapidly from the usual four feet diameter to over fifteen in the space of a heartbeat. Thunder boomed as if from the distance. A second later, the lightning intertwined and shot straight up through the clouds, accompanied by a burst of wind as if something big and fast had displaced the air. Almost as quickly as the lightning began, it was gone and the portal returned to normal. Those cowering and huddling in safety poked up their heads and peered around, astonished - and worried. They waited for the aftershock, held their breath to see if the quake would happen again, then glanced to sea in search of a repeat tsunami. When nothing happened, they returned to the bustle of city life.

A few minutes later, the clouds of the Caspian Theatre crackled. From six hundred feet up came a bolt of lightning that smashed through the theatre's ceiling, completely and unnaturally ignoring the nearby copper roof of the taller bell tower. When the dust of the impact settled, an enormous thunderbird shuffled its cloud-coloured wings and cooed.

[Remy]

Curled up in her favorite seat of the third floor lounge, Remy idly skimmed through the pages of the large book that rested on her knee. More than three hundred pages long, the heavy volume was partially propped up by the side of the firefox dozing on Remy's lap. It was a chilly night in Espur, and as she snuggled into the blanket that tucked around her legs and upper torso, she yawned. Marco had given her the book to read as the rest of the crew worked down in the theaters. However, the book wasn't nearly as interesting as the critics claimed it to be. She'd read more than thirty pages into the story, and James Vagranto still hadn't done anything substantial.

The young Vagranto was just getting introduced to the beautiful Lydia, when a roar of thunder drew Remy's attention toward the city. Whereas the city was dimly lit by small streetlights and glows in windows, the clouds above shined brighter still. Something glowed deeply within the heavy clouds above Espur, and jagged light jolted over the skies. As the crackling light faded into the dark, Remy held her breath with suspense. Did this phenomenon mean more trouble from Acantha?

Without warning, a second boom of thunder deafened Remy's ears, and the whole room shook as something heavy burst through the ceiling. Tumbling out of her seat and into the floor, Remy was caught in a tangle of blankets, library book, and firefox. Glass had shattered to the floor, and as she blinked the dust from her eyes, she realized that some sunstones had been knocked off of the wall. Not to mention it was super cold. Wind burst through the new hole in the ceiling and whirled throughout the lounge; beneath the open night sky was a very big bird. As large creature made some kind of rumbly fluffy sound, Zee bolted from under the blankets. His red tail vanished downstairs---the abandoner---and Remy was left to cower against the wall by herself. Maybe if she didn't move at all, the thing wouldn't see her and think she was food. It was as almost bigger than her!

[Official NPC]

The thunderbird cooed, slender head bobbing and twisting this way and that to get a better look at the damage as the dust settled. The dark blues and pinkened mauves of its feathers were almost opalescent in the sunlight that streamed through the gaping hole in the roof and electricity still crackled and arced from the sunstones where they lay, half of them shattered by the power of the lightning, in the debris. The feathers around its head ruffled up like the throat of a king cobra preparing to strike, then flickered back down to smooth out along its thin neck. The hooks of its beak separated so it could shriek inquisitively, then snapped together audibly. Huge talons scrabbled for purchase on the dust and rubble scattered across the room.

Finally, it sensed another body nearby. Small, so much smaller than itself, and non-threatening. The thunderbird ruffled its feathers again, the whole of its body seeming to puff out until the giant eagle was apparently twice the size. It shrieked again, a piercing cry that reverberated throughout the theatre's upper floor.

Curious about its landing spot, the thunderbird stepped closer, cautious, the placing of its enormous talons deliberate as if it were tip-toeing. It eyed the small figure, its head twisting and turning on its neck as the feathers smoothed back, then gaped its beak wide to give a spitting hiss of greeting.

[Remy]

The floor glittered and sparked as arcs of light jumped between the shattered sunstones. She'd have run across the floor to get downstairs, except she didn't want to risk getting zapped. Plus, there was that giant bird in the room. Its feathers were lit with a bluish tint, and it actually looked majestic even among the rubble. She didn't dare go closer to it, however, for she saw the heavy talons and the hooked beak. Hugging the heavy library book to her torso like a shield, Remy stood shakily and very, very slowly. But as she stood, a small cloth bag thunked to the ground.

Piercing eyes honed in on her, and the small vampire froze. She winced as the creature puffed up and let loose a bird cry. In her panic, Remy nearly forgot to breathe, and she pressed her flat back into the wall, almost wishing that she could sink into it. Xanth help her—even if she screamed for help, no one in the crew was a good enough hunter vampire to hear her from the basement. They should have heard the crash and they'd come up to investigate, right? But until then, Remy was all alone. Sunstones shifted under the weight of the thunderbird's talons. As the creature edged closer and its beak opened wide to hiss, Remy's stared back with wide and unblinking eyes. It almost seemed as if the creature was examining her like an oddity, or a toy. Pursing her lips, she summoned all the bravery she could muster and straightened her back. A tendril of her thoughts drifted toward the thunderbird. Maybe she could stop it if it tried anything funny.

[Official NPC]

The thunderbird's head lowered and twisted so it could eye the little girl more closely. She was a cherub and she reminded the giant bird of Xanth's form as a child god. Her colouring was nothing like Xanth's child god, and there was no oblique sizzle of power in the air around the little girl, but there was still something in her features that made it think of its creator. It chirped inquisitively, then tensed its long thin neck so it could bounce the underside of its beak - the rear side, toward the throat so it wouldn't accidentally stab her - against the top of her head several times.

All Remy would find with her prying 'fingers' was curiosity and a little fear. The thunderbird was from Xanth's menagerie and was not even supposed to be outside the temple gardens. It had no idea how it had managed to leave, or even any intention of doing so, and the unfamiliar surroundings both frightened it and piqued its interest. The little girl was especially fascinating.

Noises reached its ears and the thunderbird's large head whipped around so it could stare over its shoulder at the doorway. Beyond it, from the stairs, came the clattering of several pairs of feet racing to see what the problem was. The thunderbird shifted around and flared out its feathers, shrieking in warning, and put its large body between the intruders and the little girl.

[Remy]

She hadn't felt any harmful intent from the thunderbird, which was why she just stayed absolutely still as the creature bent its neck toward her. Their connection was amplified as soft feathers touched her forehead, and her heart went out to it as she realized how scared it was. .

Voices and footsteps stormed up the stairs. “What was that?” “Remy!?” Marco, Jack, and Adeline burst through the doorway, and suddenly the bird was shrieking and putting itself between Remy and the crew. Remy was surprised by its protectiveness. Unsure how either side would react, she yelled and tried to maneuver herself in front of the bird's wide wings, “Wait wait!”

When they saw the large thunderbird in the chaotic room, Jack ducked behind the corner, Adeline grabbed a fallen lampstand, and Marco picked sunstones off the floor. As Marco threw the first stone fragment at the bird, Remy managed to push aside the wing and run forward. Grabbing Marco's arm, she waved at Adeline to get the female vampire's attention. “Stop! It's scared!”

Instead, Marco shoved her behind him. “Damnit Remy, it broke through the ceiling!”

Unknown to Remy, Jack was channeling his thoughts toward the thunderbird. “Leave, now.”

[Official NPC]

The sudden movements and appearance of so many new bodies had the thunderbird's neck arching, its beak jawing open to release an ear-splitting shriek. It wafted its wings, not to take flight but to create a gust meant to push them back, away from the little girl it was shielding. But the little girl left him and was stolen by the man, and the other man was glaring at him like a predator accustomed to getting what it wanted. The thunderbird was reluctant to defend itself if using the wind would hurt the little girl, so it turned - awkwardly large in the small space - and crashed through furniture. Pain glistened up its legs as it knocked into a table and stomped through a small wooden chair, its wings clumsily sending a burst of knick knacks and trinkets crashing to the floor. Ever more alarmed, and desperate to leave, the thunderbird shrieked again, turned, and burst for the door - right over their heads if it had to.

[Remy]

Remy felt remorse as the frightened creature shuffled in the tight space and crashed over furniture. Off to the side, Adeline hissed as a stained glass lamp toppled and rolled in an arc on the floor. Shattered glass mixed with still-glowing sunstones, which no doubt added to the thunderbird's pain as it stomped around.

Pushing at Marco's arm, Remy tried to say that it was an accident. Of course the bird hadn't meant to drop into the ceiling! But then Jack yelled frantically, and Remy was all but crushed against Marco as he pulled her to the side. A large force of wind left her speechless as the thunderbird chose its escape route.

“taroch dung!” said Adeline, and Remy understood why the other vampire suddenly grew even paler. The ground floor was full of windows for breaking. Breaking away from Marco, Remy gave chase to the clumsy creature. “This way this way!” If only she could get it through the grand entrance instead of a window...

[Official NPC]

Being chased, at first, only made the thunderbird feel more harried. It darted (insomuch as a bird its size could dart anywhere) down the wide staircase, tripping at the turn and almost barreling right through the huge glass panes at the end. Its claws left piercing marks in the carpet, its shrieks piercing the building and bringing curious eyes to the hallway, and thunder cracked over the theatre as if answering its churning emotion.

Then the little girl's words registered. Though it could not understand the words themselves, the tone was enough to drag its head around from its forward motion and it staggered to a halt. Its breast heaved, feathers floating loose from its broad wings where they had knocked loose in its mad dash for freedom. Its neck twisted and its head wobbled as it looked from Remy to the city street visible through the window. Eyes narrowed in confusion: Why go that way when the outside world was clearly this way?

[Remy]

“Come back!”“Remy!”“Don't be crazy!” Ignoring the others' shouts, she scampered down the staircase and reached for the bird as it hesitated from her thoughts.

She wasn't sure if her thoughts were reaching the creature---it didn't read as easily as Zee. However, she saw its hesitation as it looked from the windows and then to the doors, and she waved encourangingly. “Shatterglass, pain..” she thought in images of the windowpanes cracking into a million billion pieces that would disperse and stab the same way that the sunstones had upstairs. The bird was scared enough already and she would hate to see it get hurt some more. Besides, if it broke the colorful windows, then the theater would need even more repairs, and Marco would become Hel-bent on killing the bird.

Turning, she ran across the navy-blue carpets and toward the heavy doors at the grand entrance doors. she put all her weight against one side of the double-doors until they slid open. Surely the bird would understand her when it saw the skies through the open doors. Freedom.

[Official NPC]

The thunderbird understood pain. It had lived a sheltered life in Xanth's gardens, but it remembered the pain of its creation, and had run into Midnight's claws more often than it would have liked. (That way. That way. Go that way. Stop. End.) It had not always understood the reasoning behind Midnight's actions, but after the first time, when the shapeshifting feline had swatted a paw — claws unsheathed, so here endeth the lesson — across the thunderbird's breast to leave marks, shallow enough to heal quickly but deep enough to serve as future reminders, the thunderbird had nevertheless allowed itself to be shepherded back to the supposed and relative safety of the gardens where the phoenix and the imps had looked on curiosity and what passed for smirks in the animal kingdom.

Just as then, the thunderbird allowed itself to be shepherded by the little girl's emotions, unaware that that was what they were. The clear windows represented pain, and there was another way out; no longer trapped, it followed the little girl with tentative steps, its talons huge on the shallow steps. Carpet caught and snatched at the tips of its claws, threatening to destabilise its already precarious balance, and its wings flapped huge and heavy to shed even more feathers the colour of a thunderous sky.

Its shriek was like cut glass or shards of lightning when it stepped out of the confines of the building to relative freedom, and it chased the length of the path to street (drawing startled gasps and wide-eyed stares), then skidded to a halt with its talons scrambling for purchase to crane is head back over its body, its eyes fixed on the little girl. For whatever reason, the thunderbird was reluctant to leave her.