"Flight of Memory"

* Brisa (main character/blackbird in the form of a human) and Zephyr (warlock) are two traveling companions.

* Brisa's history with Zephyr was that he freed her from a magical cage she was trapped in for an unknown amount of time. Beyond that, she has no memory of what she has done before that. All she knows is that she's a blackbird who can turn into a human and someone else owned her before Zephyr freed her.

* Now she travels with Zephyr who seems to do odd jobs that require magic; in this world, magic users are rather scarce

* They end up in a city called Whitehaven where all is not well. The city has been doing some building over a huge DEMON VORTEX, Zephyr needs to stay for a while to reseal it

* Zephyr doesn't clue Brisa in right away, at least not until he has a solid understanding of the situation. No need to worry her, after all, for this reason (being nice and fluff) and that (PLOT PLOT PLOT).

* As a direct result, Zephyr (and by association Brisa) wind up having to stay, while off-screen Zephyr clears his plans with and debriefs the city council, collects and sets up what he needs to reseal the vortex, and finally goes about doing so.

** The real problem with the vortex is due to the extensive construction that uses magic, said magic has already corroded the old seal so it's pretty far gone. Zephyr isn't confident he can make a new seal w/o consequences. He'll be able to make one, but that shit's gonna burst. In terms of Zephyr's off screen conflict with council, it's probably not one dumb person, the whole council is basically pressuring him to make the job flawless even though that's just not gonna happen

* Still, he and Brisa spend time together in the city (this is where the reader can see more of their relationship and hints of Zephyr's decidedly dark past)

* While on her own, Brisa encounters another shifter, a kestral named Anil. He seems to recognize Brisa and then asks her why she can't remember anything and then he makes her doubt Zephyr since he may be hiding something from her.


* Later the city is in danger after dealing with the DEMON VORTEX and Zephyr is forced to undo the seal on Brisa, revealing that she isn't just a simple blackbird, but rather a monster bird, known as the "Beast of Heaven." She was captured by Zephyr's old master who controlled her into doing his bidding, mainly destroying human settlements and eating humans

* In battle, Zephyr manages to hold them at bay, until the littler ones start getting tricky. This would be about where Brisa comes in, either on the moment or after watching Zephyr work for a bit first. (She'd wander towards the action because she just *knows* he's involved, and is worried about him.)

THE PAST

* In the past, Zephyr who adored his master (it was pretty much love) saw him as a true monster and is forced to kill him and he traps the Beast of Heaven; he ran away and it's only a few years later where he returns and finds Brisa as she is and frees her from the cage.

* Why wouldn't Brisa remember this? Well, she's the Beast of Heaven; that doesn't exactly invoke an "evil" feeling. So Zeph's master basically just kept her under his control, to ensure that she'd kill for him whenever, wherever, whatever. As a result of this, her memories are muddled even at that time, let alone when the story starts.

* This would even help explain how Zephyr seals the Beast of Heaven in the first place. Control magic finally wore off, and it is TIRED HOO BOY, so he takes advantage of that, lulls it to sleep, seals it off and splits.

* His guilt would stem both from having to kill his master, which Brisa likely reminds him of given that she was effectively his "weapon", and from leaving a tired and lonely Brisa in a cage for so long with nobody to care for her. The latter pang of guilt would be complicated once he learns she doesn't recall anything, meaning SHE'S BEEN IN THAT CAGE FOR A FEW YEARS, AND DOESN'T EVEN KNOW WHY. Happy feelings would not be abound, even with her gratitude for freeing her.

* After she reverts back to her human form she is angry with Zephyr for keeping those secrets from her; he simply leaves her, telling her she's free. Yeah, he splits again. It's how he did it before, and really, he probably feels like she has every right to be mad at him, both for not telling her who and what she is and for the above paragraph (cage, alone, years, etc.)

* When he leaves, Brisa realizes she doesn't have a place where she belongs, even if she can fly away and resume a life as a bird; Anil sees that she cares about her warlock companion and says that they can still catch up to him. The blackbird and kestral fly away from the city so she can be with her friend who is probably more lonely than her.

END

CHARACTER NOTES

BRISA: Our protagonist; a blackbird that can shapeshift into a human girl and suffers from missing memories. Brisa is a rather blunt and sharp-tongued individual who doesn't like staying still for long and prefers to keep herself busy. Her attitude and behavior towards most things can be described as childish although she's more observant than one thinks. She treasures Zephyr strongly as he was the one who freed her from captivity.


ZEPHYR: A warlock who seems to be well-known around the continent and goes around doing odd jobs that require a magic touch (or a big magic shove). He is sought after for his skills and due to the scarcity and elusive nature of magic users in general. Outwardly, Zephyr appears to be a cheerful and flirtatious goof all the while being a brother-figure to Brisa. The blackbird notes that sometimes he has a habit of not admitting what's really on his mind and seems to be suffering from some sort of guilt...


ANIL: A kestral, who can shapeshift into a human like Brisa. Anil and Brisa first meet in Whitehaven and for some reason he recognizes her and is immediately suspicious of the blackbird and of Zephyr. He appears to be a loner, preferring to keep to himself and observe humans from afar instead of engaging with anyone. Beneath his cold and aloof behavior, there is something sage and even warm in Anil that starts to emerge as he gets to know Brisa, taking an interest in her friendship with Zephyr.