Okay, here it is: most complete thing I've written lately. Some of you have heard pieces of it at past meetings, I believe. Here is the full prologue as of now. Printed, it's 9 pages long, so read here if you're in a patient mood. 
IT NEEDS WORK, and I'll admit I haven't looked at it in a while. *ashamed face*
Please edit the heck out of it. Thank you.
Far below, the ribbon had turned silver. Earlier in the flight, it had glinted blue, then gold. Now moonlight broke its surface into tiny diamonds that reflected the pale white light. Along the banks, hundreds of tiny green forests whirled by, giving way sometimes to the lighter shades of wide, rolling fields. Everything meshed into one long wash of colour. It may have been a landscape with distinct features when walked through, but from above, the details seemed unimportant. Especially when the flier’s thoughts were somewhere else.
Phalyn swept a damp lock of brown hair out of her eyes. It blew around in the chilled wind so common to the height they were flying. She was tempted to tie all of it back into a knot, as she usually did, but tonight she needed all the extra warmth she could get. The long braids had been undone, to lap in sweaty strands against her neck and shoulders. The rest of her body tingled with a pleasant freezing sensation, but against Phalyn’s chest, wrapped tightly around her in a shawl, was a small bundle of life, which it was her job to keep heated.
As she had done many times over the past several hours, she ceased flapping for a moment, letting herself be carried on a draft, so she could tilt her head to see the baby girl. She lay curled against the adult’s body, her eyes closed. Cheeks flushed, lips slightly parted, her breath came in the relaxed rhythm of sleep, causing the tiny form to rise and fall again and again. Phalyn unknowingly held her own breath, gazing at the perfect child cradled against her. Slowly, she brought up her right hand to touch the small face, tracing the lines of her ear, the light wisps of hair that curled on her head, and stroking her cheek. For a second, the little girl stirred from the touch of the cold finger. Her forehead creased, showing the barest line of a wrinkle, and her eyelashes, already dark black, fluttered. Phalyn whispered, “Oh,” and withdrew her hand. Except for one strong beat of her wings, she stayed perfectly still until her baby had settled again, rolling over a little to the left. Then she smiled and crooned, “Jadia.”
She liked the way that sounded. “Jaaadia,” she said softly, trying the name out again, trilling the 'a.' Laughing a little, her fingers fluttered through Jadia’s feathery hair. “Jade. Jadi...Adia...Adi...” The baby sighed in her sleep, and Phalyn grinned. “Is that what your name is?” she asked, “Are you my Adi?” She still whispered, careful not to wake the little girl, though she really did want to see her big eyes open again.
A brief shadow blocked the moon on the right, and Phalyn glanced over to see Rihenna dropping down to fly with her. The two women’s wingtips brushed in a friends’ greeting, and they smiled. Rihenna was this trip’s Third Flier, a caretaker for the new infant after the parents. It was a mostly unnecessary position, since a child’s mother and father only really filled these roles for the month after the birth, before the tribe took over responsibility for rearing it. But it was a position that Rihenna gladly accepted, for it showed Phalyn’s friendship and trust in her.
“What are you looking at?” she asked mischievously, watching Phalyn’s captivation with the baby she held.
“My daughter,” Phalyn said, straightening with pride, “Jadia.” She beat her ochre wings several times and looked over at her friend. White-blonde hair streamed free towards the cream feathers on Henna’s back, and whipped around her face as she went into a slight dive and flipped over in midair.
“The things you can do without a child to worry about,” she called up, playfully splaying her fingers to slice through the air. But Phalyn only half-smiled, and reprimanded softly, “Quiet...you’ll wake her.”
Rihenna’s eyes darkened to a more serious shade as she turned upright and rose to her earlier place. Her voice was reined in when she spoke again, “Really. I don’t understand the fascination with newborns.” She brushed closer to see the baby’s face, “What makes them so special?”
Phalyn returned the curious stare with a pensive one. “I...I’m not sure I know,” she said, and wrapped both arms around Jadia, “but it seems like, for one month, nothing else is more important. She is my life.”
This was met with a sceptical expression as Rihenna arced wide again, “How can she be your life? You barely know her!”
Sigh. “You can’t understand unless it happens to you, Henna. I don’t understand myself. Soon, she’ll be just another fledgling. But for now...she’s mine.” The words grew tender at the end, as Phalyn spread her arms out, flat against her motionless wings, and glided. Jadia lay snugly in her pocket of fabric, and her mother soared upward, above the rest of the group. There were eleven of them, not including the child. Flying in unison, they were spread out in a circle around her, with Kett, her mate, at the front. He was the only other who knew how she felt right now, and she sped up to hover above him.
“She’s mine too, you know,” he reminded her, angling his wings to reposition himself at her side. His black hair and eyes drank up the light, while a fair face reflected it at her tanned one. Kett and Phalyn were united for eighteen years now, with one other child between them: a son named Oryne, born a decade before. Both remembered his infancy for a moment, the birthing Flights they had taken for him, so similar to the one they were part of now. Looking over at Jadia, Kett found it hard to imagine caring for any other child. As it was, a wave of contentment washed over him, and he let the soft sky envelop his small family and himself in its embrace.
***
The thick, brown capes moving slowly up the mountain path were useful for two reasons, Arius mused. He and his friends had chosen them for concealment – they blended perfectly into the rock – but at this point, he was also grateful for the relief they provided from the biting wind. He noticed a few others copying his move to wrap his cloak more tightly around him, and smiled slightly. They were determined, enough to climb the slope with him in the dark, and definitely cold. Their eager, deft ascent reassured him that he had chosen the right time.
Only three days before, the group of them had been poised and ready to attack, their target a dangerous clan of cave-dwellers that was found in the sea cliffs near a human village. At least a month had been spent in planning and positioning, then at the last minute, their efforts fell short, for an impossibly larger number of the creatures had arrived; too many for Arius’ small band to defeat. While the band of men understood why they had to abandon the attempt, it left them all with the restlessness of activity snatched away from them. Arius meant to take advantage of it.
As quietly as possible, he motioned for everyone to stop, and soon his hand signal had been passed along their line. Fourteen men froze, pressing themselves against the mountain, and may as well have been boulders. Arius smiled widely, impressed with his companions as always, and silently clapped Biddom, the nearest, on the shoulder. Then he turned ahead again to feel along the rocky face in front of him. If he had his bearings correct, they were almost to the right place; just a few feet up…Ah – here! Finding a foothold, he grasped a nearby branch, wedged his foot into the crack, and boosted himself up to a convenient part of the climb that flattened out.
Soon after his reassuring sign down to Biddom and Claysen, the others were following him up over the ledge, each extending a hand to help the one after him up. Arius counted them as each head appeared, and when all fifteen (including himself) had made it, they spread out to the corners of the flat area and crouched down, again as close to the rock as they could get. Bows were drawn and arrows notched, each one carefully pointing his weapon down until it was needed. Pity we can’t have any kind of view, hiding like this, Arius regretted; the sweeping panorama of Woderill Valley was surely spectacular from this vantage point. Erik had the best position as lookout, he thought, perched at the very edge, and with all of the sky and landscape in his sight.
For the first few moments, the air around the small group seemed to sting them with the tension. Any purposeful mission, hidden at night, will have this effect, and each person was sure his heartbeat must be echoing deafeningly in the blackness. But as time passed, and eyes adjusted, the men began to relax, exchange glances, and smile with the relief of a plan so far perfectly executed. A few repositioned themselves to lean back on the rock behind them, and loosened their grips on their bows. They waited.
Arius alone remained perfectly tensed, listening acutely to the night’s sounds. Erik’s job was important, but sometimes these things were easier heard than seen. After all, they could look remarkably like shifting clouds…
Then the sound came to him. An almost imperceptible ruffling far above their heads, somewhat like a wind blowing through the trees. In fact, if he hadn’t known what to listen for, he surely would have mistaken it for the unpredictable breezes in the thin mountain air. Instead, Arius brought his arm down in a swift slice towards the ground, and instantly the tension in the group returned. Erik scanned the sky wildly, looking for what he now knew was there, and finally spotted them: a group of the creatures, just emerging from above a cloud. He pointed.
Fourteen bows hummed together, their strings stretched taut as the nerves of their masters. A few men sucked in their breath; this was a fairly large group of animals, almost as many of them flying as there were people in their group, waiting for the next signal.
***
Kett and Phalyn still flew in tandem, enjoying the slight mist on their faces that rose from the cloud below them. Flying straight through clouds was an excitement all its own, especially up high, since freshly drenched wings could be flung out to dry on the freefall downward, and when the time came to pull up out of the dive, all the water had been whipped out of hair, clothes, and feathers alike. Kett grinned as he remembered chasing Phalyn through a particularly nasty cloud bank, early in the days of their unity. Of course, they wouldn’t try that just now. Jadia had to be kept warm. He smiled, more softly this time.
A little ahead of them, Phalyn saw the first of the group break out of the clouds. They took a little longer than normal, perhaps, as everyone had grown a bit tired. They had been flying since dawn, as was the tradition for a returning Birth Flight, with only two stops along the way. She picked up her pace, slightly, eager to see the lights of home. None of the ground was visible from above the clouds.
Then, from behind, she heard a shriek of delight, and recognized it as Rihenna’s. Kett and those flying in back turned their heads, too. Phalyn rolled her eyes and smiled at her friend, who never failed in her determination to have a little fun. It seemed she had taken a dip into the cloud, with full intentions of the straight drop afterwards.
“Might be awhile before she catches up with us,” Phalyn murmured.
“Yes, great choice, her as our Third Flier,” Kett teased, and took hold of Phalyn’s hand, pulling it from where it had been stroking Adi’s back. He was flying directly below them again. Together, laughing, they soared out over the rim of the clouds into the open sky.
***
Just as a few more flying things came into view, Arius and his group heard a cry ring out from one of them that was still hidden in the cloud. He cursed to himself; they must have been seen. Though he had been waiting for a perfect shot at all of them, however many there were, he went ahead with the final hand signal, deftly, and in response fourteen arrows flew toward their marks.
***
“Look!” Ittria called out from the front, and pointed at a cluster of lights, finally come into view on a nearby peak. Phalyn sighed with happiness; they were almost there, and the new child would be home for the first time.
***
Below, the human men were intent on watching the flock of bird-creatures to see if their arrows had flown true. They did not notice the lone one who dove excitedly out of the clouds, snapping her wings open to dry them. Nor did she notice them.
***
The sky that had been peaceful moments before turned chaotic.
Phalyn cried with terror as Kett dropped suddenly from beneath her, having no control over his writhing limbs. Her arms instinctively went around Jadia.
***
Three or four others disappeared as they fell. What was attacking them? What was happening?
From the side, someone came towards her, spinning out of control, and they crashed into each other. The man’s face flashed past her, wide-eyed with pain, and she was wet the next moment with blood from his wing.
The silence had been torn apart with screaming, and it did not stop.
***
The animals shrieked wildly, and as Arius thought of all the innocent humans they must have harmed, he smiled with a grim sort of justice. He gave his signal again, and another volley of arrows flew.
***
Suddenly the sky around her was empty, and she was alone. Any other time, Phalyn would have dove after the limp forms that were her falling friends. Not tonight.
Her eyes snapped wide open, the world coming into sharp focus, and adrenaline shot through her mind, her arms, her wings. Everything ceased to exist, except the lights of her home ahead of her and the presence of her child beneath her.
Jadia. Jadia. The name beat a silent rhythm in her head, and she cradled her, trying to stop her crying. Only one thought prevailed: get her to safety. Must reach home. Get her to safety…
Phalyn arced even higher, to get as far away from the ground as possible. Both arms went around the infant, and both wings beat as quickly, as strongly, as they could. The cliff landing she had to reach was only two peaks away. She could see someone pacing there, waiting for them. She had to get there. She had to.
***
As the bird-things dropped like stones, like hail from the sky, a muffled cheer went up from the men on the mountain. It seemed that they had hit every one of them. For each creature, another threat removed. Another family saved from a cruel death, Arius thought gravely. His mind automatically froze, numbing him to any painful memories. With his group, he watched the spectacle, a silent scene of the dead animals in freefall, their descents twisting and spiraled because of the unnatural wings on their backs. No more would they harm humanity.
Then he saw it; the one that escaped. It had some kind of sack or growth around its front. Like a coward, it abandoned its mates to their deaths, and flew stupidly upward – there was nowhere to go. None of the others saw it, and Arius, swift from experience, snatched up the nearest bow that had been lain down and fitted an arrow to it. He took aim almost straight up. Squinted for a better view. Took a deep breath and pulled his arm back, muscles straining. Then he released the arrow, and it flew true.
***
PAIN! It shot through her body with lightning force, and she twisted involuntarily around the place where it seemed like a hole had been ripped through her. Her left wing lost all ability to hold her weight, and she dropped drastically, off-balance. Phalyn gasped for breath in the thin air – felt no oxygen come in – her face contorted with pain. The cluster of lights – home – became three clusters, swiveling and tilting before her, so she didn’t know which way was up.
AAAAHHH!! It was too much. She couldn’t fly. Jadia. Must….Jadia. She forced a swallow, closed her eyes, willed them to open, and aimed for the middle lights. Home…my – Jadia…her thoughts became incoherent.
Uncontrolled, she started into downward circles, towards the mountain she was trying to escape. Her right wing worked furiously to keep her aloft; the left tried to beat in time, and with every downstroke felt like it might rip off – the muscle at its base had been ripped straight through. Vaguely, she noticed that it was heavier than normal. Her feathers were soaked with blood.
Rocky ridges came up to meet her, and she twisted desperately to avoid slamming into them. Always, her arms stayed around Jadia, who was crying.
Crash. Twist. Fall, bump, skid, hover, fall.
“Hush,” she gasped, “It will – oh – be…okay.”
Another rock wall came up to her right, and she closed her eyes, bracing for impact. She threw her right wing out; it clipped the ridge and slowed their plunge. As the ground rushed towards her, Phalyn did her best to land on her back, Jadia cradled on top of her. Her battered wings broke the fall, and with a last shudder of pain, she felt them crumple beneath her.
Phalyn’s chest heaved with the effort of breathing. The child’s wailing, lost to the wind before, quieted in the clearing they had landed in. The mother tried to raise her head, to see her, and couldn’t from her distorted position. Blood pooled on the grass next to her. She coughed and closed her eyes.
Jadia. Adi. A…ade…” A hand absentmindedly caressed her daughter, found no injury, stopped, content. Pain.
***
The men had watched, transfixed, as the last creature fell to Arius’ shot. It seemed to release two cries as it plummeted. And it was the only one to land on the mountain.
“Our work, as always, is well done,” Arius said to them quickly, smiling, “Tonight we can return to our homes with peace, knowing we have done our part to protect them.” The group of them relaxed, invigorated with success, and made to clear up and leave. Arius walked around the circle, making sure everything was put away and chatting with a few people now that the nervous part of the night had passed. As he helped the last man up, however, he waved them on and said he was going to stay for a while on the mountain. The others exchanged knowing, carefully sympathetic looks and nodded farewell as they dropped back to the path and started down the mountain. They knew the way home.
Claysen was the last to leave, and Arius was already standing alone to look out over the valley and sky, his muscles tensed. His friend approached and stood next to him for a few moments, sharing the silence. Then, with a glance at his face, frozen in somber reflection, Claysen clapped him on the shoulder and moved off to follow the rest. Arius nodded briefly but didn’t move.
He stayed where he was until the last human sounds had faded below him. When he was sure the others were out of earshot, he abandoned his post on the edge of the clearing and set off at a steady pace up the rest of the mountain. There wasn’t a path past where they had come, and he was the only one who really knew the area. For this reason, and for his own satisfaction, he had to do this alone.
Grasping the trees on either side of him, he made good time up the dark slope, following his sense of direction to where that last creature had landed. If he was right about the animals’ endurance – and he usually was – there was no way they could survive a drop from that altitude all the way to the ground…but to the mountaintop, he wasn’t so sure. And if there were more of those things anywhere nearby, that could somehow save this one, and find out who had attacked them…well, in any case, he had to get there first.
Keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him, he avoided any major falls or injuries on his way to the fallen animal. He also had no view of the sky, where one of the winged creatures was rapidly flying out of the valley, headed for the same destination.
***
“Phalyn!” Rihenna screamed, banking into a sharp turn when she reached the mountain, “PHALYN!”
Her voice was higher than normal, constricted by what she was afraid would turn into tears if she dwelled any on what she had seen. It was impossible.
She strained her eyes and ears for any sign of her best friend – the only one it seemed had escaped the sudden, fatal fall that had taken the rest of their Flight. A momentary wave of rage penetrated her shock – someone had done this to them! – before utter fear took over again, and Phalyn’s face flashed before her, white and full of terror.
“Pha-” she started, then her breath caught as she heard an answering cry. Immediately she whirled in the air toward the noise, and it took her a minute to realize that it wasn’t Phalyn. Oh no. She dove at the place where the sound had echoed, a rocky area just above the tree line.
Now she could see them, there on the ground at the base of a boulder. In her descent, the roaring wind drowned out any other noise. The land shot up to meet her, faster than a less experienced flier would have thought possible. Rihenna cut off her momentum with a sharp turn, and somersaulted in the air before alighting gently on the ground. She rushed at the pair, with eyes only for Phalyn.
A split-second caught her off-guard, frozen in denial at the sight of the blood and the pale, drained face on the ground. Then her legs gave way underneath her, and she crashed to her knees beside her friend. The baby’s screams, the cold air, everything around her disappeared, and her hands moved as if in a dream to check the pulse. It was there…but so weakly Rihenna couldn’t tell at first.
She tried saying her friend’s name, but nothing came out. Again, just in a whisper, she said it, and, “Please…it’s me – Henna – Phalyn, open your eyes.” Her voice broke and she was oblivious to the tears that blurred her vision and covered her cheeks.
Everything was black and cold, save the spot of warmth on her chest from Jadia and the strange white light in front of her. Why couldn’t she see whoever was talking? Was something wet on her wing? Why couldn’t she make out any words from the somewhat familiar voice? Wait…Henna…
Phalyn’s lips opened in the barest movement, and she tried to say something.
Wait. Her eyes were closed. No wonder she couldn’t see. Why can’t I open my eyes? Jadia. Henna.
Her eyelids fluttered, but she couldn’t focus on anything.
“Please…live…” Rihenna pleaded. She willed Phalyn to look at her.
I have to say something. Why…? Jadia. Ja…oh. OH, Henna, Jadia! Phalyn struggled to make sense of her last thoughts, and forced her eyes open. The white was Henna’s hair reflecting moonlight.
“Henna...love...” she strained to finish, “save-” must finish, “Jadia.”
Rihenna felt her die.
***
He knew he was getting close when he started hearing the cries. They were loud, screeching, whining sounds, nothing like what an adult human would make. Exactly like some overgrown bird of prey.
A vision pushed its way into his head: two innocent children, their eyes wide and scared, hearing some monstrous scream – sounds like these, he thought – from outside their bedroom. Their father gone, not there to protect them. Two children’s dying screams...
Arius ran faster.
The screeching stopped now, replaced by what reminded him of huge, uncontrolled sobs. For a second he slowed, thrown off-guard. Then, realising that another creature must have joined the first one, he jogged right up to the edge of the tree line and stopped.
He peered out from around a pine. Only about a hundred feet away, he could see the strange shadow that was the dying animal, and another one next to it. It was hard to see, but it looked like the second one was trying to rip the first one in half or something. It kept bending low over its fallen companion and tearing at the flesh on its exposed stomach and chest. Can they be cannibals, too? Disgusted, Arius reached for an arrow and his bow, and checked the throwing knife in his belt with one hand. The strange metal glinted up at him and trembled in its sheath. He allowed himself a grave half-smile; if it came to using that dangerous new craft to destroy these things, he would do it.
As quickly and quietly as possible, he jumped out from behind the tree, planted his feet, and took aim.
***
Unable to comprehend what had just happened, Rihenna only held Phalyn closer, trying to squeeze life back into her. Both of them shook with the shuddering gasps that she couldn’t keep in. She couldn’t understand what she was seeing or thinking. Only a raw sense of emptiness that almost overwhelmed her.
And then, unbelievably, she did feel something else. As Phalyn left, a light flared on in her, tugging at her though she tried to ignore it. It was the Third Flier’s responsibility to take care of the baby if anything happened to the parents. Both of Jadia’s parents had died.
Jadia. NO! Phalyn... Rihenna’s thoughts tried to maintain their own course, their own grief, but she couldn’t shut out the pull she felt to protect the child that was now an orphan. Jadia...
Crying anew, desperately wanting to just sit and hold tightly to her friend, she instead wrenched herself away and turned to the shawl that held the baby.
“No!...No...” she cried and beat at the ground before struggling more with the knot in the fabric. Her hands shook and she could barely see what she was doing; again and again she pulled at the wrapping, trying to pull it away from the mother. Trying not to look at her white face.
She had gotten the baby turned over onto its stomach when she heard the unique sound of an arrow being drawn from its quiver. Despite herself, Rihenna froze, listening more closely, and soon the creak of a wooden bow came to her ears.
She tensed and hurled herself to one side. An arrow sang through the air where she had just been and smashed against the rock.
***
Blast! Arius ran forward a few steps and fitted another arrow; the creature had darted behind a boulder.
***
Rihenna looked around wildly. An archer! she thought, and a fiery feeling burst into her. THAT’S what happened to them. Rage flooded her mind with the sight of her friends falling, of Phalyn’s dead face, of Jadia. She bent her knees and sprang into the air, her wings snapping out as she rose over the rock.
***
Wha – there! Arius was confused until he saw it fly into the air above him. He let his arrow fly; it was a second too late, and the bird-thing was directly overhead.
As soon as the arrow was shot, Rihenna flung her wings above her head, dropping her feet-first at her assailant, and kicked the bow from his hands. Where it landed she didn’t see. She flipped over and dived at him, her face a mask of fury. They both crashed to the ground, him trying to kick her off, and her trying to attack any part of him she could get to.
Wait, Rihenna paused, reason prevailing for a moment, the sword. She blanched at the thought of using it. No. He killed them. While she still had the advantage, she shoved herself to her feet and reached into the fold of her tunic for the dagger that was only supposed to be a symbol.
***
Ahh! The monster flew at him and suddenly he was without his bow. The next minute they were on the ground, and his back shocked him with pain, taking most of the fall. He struggled to throw the thing off, and couldn’t get to his knife.
Then before he knew what was happening it was standing up again. He leapt to his feet and tore the knife from its place, throwing himself at the animal before it could react. It looked up – huge, flashing eyes and a feral shriek were all he registered – and met his thrust with some slashing thing. Talons! he realised, and didn’t understand the high-pitched ring that jarred his ears when they clashed.
Rihenna staggered from the impact of the blow, and she choked down a wave of panic. I’ve never fought before! She twisted out of the way of another swipe, then from the side desperately drove her foot into the back of his knee. It worked and he fell, but from the awkward position she tumbled down, too. They were right next to Phalyn and Jadia now; Jadia was whimpering behind her.
As he lost his footing – again! – Arius hurled the knife at creature and rolled away from it. If it had lethal talons, he couldn’t handle it alone at full strength. He clenched his teeth and tried to break his momentum and get up to run.
Seeing a flash of metal, Rihenna screamed and swung her right arm with the dagger up towards where she thought it was. They met in midair as she somewhat caught her fall with the left hand.
At the same moment he dodged behind a rock, Arius heard a terrible sound like a thunderclap echo around him. That was enough to make him scramble to his feet and run as fast as he dared to the wooded part of the mountain. Breathing hard and angry at his failure, he half-fled, half-skidded through the trees back the way he had come.
When her dagger met his, it sent a jolt through her arm from the force, and then suddenly, with a loud bang, there was nothing. She threw left arm up to protect her face and fell to the ground. The dagger dropped from her other hand.
Past her flew tiny pieces of black – she heard them whistle like arrows to land on the ground a few feet away – except they slammed into the ground with such energy that the stone moved beneath her.
Jadia screamed. One high, painful, keening pitch that went on and on, getting louder by the second.
With no time to think, Rihenna whirled around on her knees and snatched the baby up in her hands. The protective instinct had completely taken over now, and a white shield of anger rose up against her former despair. She pushed off the ground, hard.
The two soared into the sky, Jadia still screaming with some pain, Rihenna moaning and flying as fast as her wings physically allowed.
Scarce minutes later, they barrelled into the opening in the cliff. Shocked people that had stayed up to wait for the twelve to return jumped out of the way as Rihenna plunged into their midst. Jadia’s screams filled the golden-lit landing, and someone rushed up to take her for an investigation and healing.
Rihenna handed the child off, and stared blankly around her, not really seeing the flashes of concerned faces and moving mouths, or hearing their questions. She limply accepted the blanket that was brought to her and tried to give answers to whatever it was people were asking. They later told her she had looked dead herself, her face as white as her hair and streaked with dirt, tears, and blood. Now she felt nothing.
Eventually warmth returned to her limbs, and she was surprised to find that the constant moaning she’d been hearing was herself. She fell silent then, and realised everyone else had, too. Without the noise everything came rushing back. Shock, fear, pain, anger, panic, power, emptiness, despair, confusion...She clutched her head in her hands. Suddenly the world around her tilted and went dark.
Rihenna fainted into the arms of her stunned people, and was taken to her rooms to be watched over until she woke.
In another part of the cliff dwelling, a small band of fliers was sent out to find the others, and what had happened to them.
And in still another place, Jadia was wrapped in warm blankets and laid with all the other sleeping children in the Nest of the Fledglings. She seemed unharmed. The ones who had taken care of her blew out their candles and left the room, shaking their heads in mourning and confusion.
IT NEEDS WORK, and I'll admit I haven't looked at it in a while. *ashamed face*Please edit the heck out of it. Thank you.
Far below, the ribbon had turned silver. Earlier in the flight, it had glinted blue, then gold. Now moonlight broke its surface into tiny diamonds that reflected the pale white light. Along the banks, hundreds of tiny green forests whirled by, giving way sometimes to the lighter shades of wide, rolling fields. Everything meshed into one long wash of colour. It may have been a landscape with distinct features when walked through, but from above, the details seemed unimportant. Especially when the flier’s thoughts were somewhere else.
Phalyn swept a damp lock of brown hair out of her eyes. It blew around in the chilled wind so common to the height they were flying. She was tempted to tie all of it back into a knot, as she usually did, but tonight she needed all the extra warmth she could get. The long braids had been undone, to lap in sweaty strands against her neck and shoulders. The rest of her body tingled with a pleasant freezing sensation, but against Phalyn’s chest, wrapped tightly around her in a shawl, was a small bundle of life, which it was her job to keep heated.
As she had done many times over the past several hours, she ceased flapping for a moment, letting herself be carried on a draft, so she could tilt her head to see the baby girl. She lay curled against the adult’s body, her eyes closed. Cheeks flushed, lips slightly parted, her breath came in the relaxed rhythm of sleep, causing the tiny form to rise and fall again and again. Phalyn unknowingly held her own breath, gazing at the perfect child cradled against her. Slowly, she brought up her right hand to touch the small face, tracing the lines of her ear, the light wisps of hair that curled on her head, and stroking her cheek. For a second, the little girl stirred from the touch of the cold finger. Her forehead creased, showing the barest line of a wrinkle, and her eyelashes, already dark black, fluttered. Phalyn whispered, “Oh,” and withdrew her hand. Except for one strong beat of her wings, she stayed perfectly still until her baby had settled again, rolling over a little to the left. Then she smiled and crooned, “Jadia.”
She liked the way that sounded. “Jaaadia,” she said softly, trying the name out again, trilling the 'a.' Laughing a little, her fingers fluttered through Jadia’s feathery hair. “Jade. Jadi...Adia...Adi...” The baby sighed in her sleep, and Phalyn grinned. “Is that what your name is?” she asked, “Are you my Adi?” She still whispered, careful not to wake the little girl, though she really did want to see her big eyes open again.
A brief shadow blocked the moon on the right, and Phalyn glanced over to see Rihenna dropping down to fly with her. The two women’s wingtips brushed in a friends’ greeting, and they smiled. Rihenna was this trip’s Third Flier, a caretaker for the new infant after the parents. It was a mostly unnecessary position, since a child’s mother and father only really filled these roles for the month after the birth, before the tribe took over responsibility for rearing it. But it was a position that Rihenna gladly accepted, for it showed Phalyn’s friendship and trust in her.
“What are you looking at?” she asked mischievously, watching Phalyn’s captivation with the baby she held.
“My daughter,” Phalyn said, straightening with pride, “Jadia.” She beat her ochre wings several times and looked over at her friend. White-blonde hair streamed free towards the cream feathers on Henna’s back, and whipped around her face as she went into a slight dive and flipped over in midair.
“The things you can do without a child to worry about,” she called up, playfully splaying her fingers to slice through the air. But Phalyn only half-smiled, and reprimanded softly, “Quiet...you’ll wake her.”
Rihenna’s eyes darkened to a more serious shade as she turned upright and rose to her earlier place. Her voice was reined in when she spoke again, “Really. I don’t understand the fascination with newborns.” She brushed closer to see the baby’s face, “What makes them so special?”
Phalyn returned the curious stare with a pensive one. “I...I’m not sure I know,” she said, and wrapped both arms around Jadia, “but it seems like, for one month, nothing else is more important. She is my life.”
This was met with a sceptical expression as Rihenna arced wide again, “How can she be your life? You barely know her!”
Sigh. “You can’t understand unless it happens to you, Henna. I don’t understand myself. Soon, she’ll be just another fledgling. But for now...she’s mine.” The words grew tender at the end, as Phalyn spread her arms out, flat against her motionless wings, and glided. Jadia lay snugly in her pocket of fabric, and her mother soared upward, above the rest of the group. There were eleven of them, not including the child. Flying in unison, they were spread out in a circle around her, with Kett, her mate, at the front. He was the only other who knew how she felt right now, and she sped up to hover above him.
“She’s mine too, you know,” he reminded her, angling his wings to reposition himself at her side. His black hair and eyes drank up the light, while a fair face reflected it at her tanned one. Kett and Phalyn were united for eighteen years now, with one other child between them: a son named Oryne, born a decade before. Both remembered his infancy for a moment, the birthing Flights they had taken for him, so similar to the one they were part of now. Looking over at Jadia, Kett found it hard to imagine caring for any other child. As it was, a wave of contentment washed over him, and he let the soft sky envelop his small family and himself in its embrace.
***
The thick, brown capes moving slowly up the mountain path were useful for two reasons, Arius mused. He and his friends had chosen them for concealment – they blended perfectly into the rock – but at this point, he was also grateful for the relief they provided from the biting wind. He noticed a few others copying his move to wrap his cloak more tightly around him, and smiled slightly. They were determined, enough to climb the slope with him in the dark, and definitely cold. Their eager, deft ascent reassured him that he had chosen the right time.
Only three days before, the group of them had been poised and ready to attack, their target a dangerous clan of cave-dwellers that was found in the sea cliffs near a human village. At least a month had been spent in planning and positioning, then at the last minute, their efforts fell short, for an impossibly larger number of the creatures had arrived; too many for Arius’ small band to defeat. While the band of men understood why they had to abandon the attempt, it left them all with the restlessness of activity snatched away from them. Arius meant to take advantage of it.
As quietly as possible, he motioned for everyone to stop, and soon his hand signal had been passed along their line. Fourteen men froze, pressing themselves against the mountain, and may as well have been boulders. Arius smiled widely, impressed with his companions as always, and silently clapped Biddom, the nearest, on the shoulder. Then he turned ahead again to feel along the rocky face in front of him. If he had his bearings correct, they were almost to the right place; just a few feet up…Ah – here! Finding a foothold, he grasped a nearby branch, wedged his foot into the crack, and boosted himself up to a convenient part of the climb that flattened out.
Soon after his reassuring sign down to Biddom and Claysen, the others were following him up over the ledge, each extending a hand to help the one after him up. Arius counted them as each head appeared, and when all fifteen (including himself) had made it, they spread out to the corners of the flat area and crouched down, again as close to the rock as they could get. Bows were drawn and arrows notched, each one carefully pointing his weapon down until it was needed. Pity we can’t have any kind of view, hiding like this, Arius regretted; the sweeping panorama of Woderill Valley was surely spectacular from this vantage point. Erik had the best position as lookout, he thought, perched at the very edge, and with all of the sky and landscape in his sight.
For the first few moments, the air around the small group seemed to sting them with the tension. Any purposeful mission, hidden at night, will have this effect, and each person was sure his heartbeat must be echoing deafeningly in the blackness. But as time passed, and eyes adjusted, the men began to relax, exchange glances, and smile with the relief of a plan so far perfectly executed. A few repositioned themselves to lean back on the rock behind them, and loosened their grips on their bows. They waited.
Arius alone remained perfectly tensed, listening acutely to the night’s sounds. Erik’s job was important, but sometimes these things were easier heard than seen. After all, they could look remarkably like shifting clouds…
Then the sound came to him. An almost imperceptible ruffling far above their heads, somewhat like a wind blowing through the trees. In fact, if he hadn’t known what to listen for, he surely would have mistaken it for the unpredictable breezes in the thin mountain air. Instead, Arius brought his arm down in a swift slice towards the ground, and instantly the tension in the group returned. Erik scanned the sky wildly, looking for what he now knew was there, and finally spotted them: a group of the creatures, just emerging from above a cloud. He pointed.
Fourteen bows hummed together, their strings stretched taut as the nerves of their masters. A few men sucked in their breath; this was a fairly large group of animals, almost as many of them flying as there were people in their group, waiting for the next signal.
***
Kett and Phalyn still flew in tandem, enjoying the slight mist on their faces that rose from the cloud below them. Flying straight through clouds was an excitement all its own, especially up high, since freshly drenched wings could be flung out to dry on the freefall downward, and when the time came to pull up out of the dive, all the water had been whipped out of hair, clothes, and feathers alike. Kett grinned as he remembered chasing Phalyn through a particularly nasty cloud bank, early in the days of their unity. Of course, they wouldn’t try that just now. Jadia had to be kept warm. He smiled, more softly this time.
A little ahead of them, Phalyn saw the first of the group break out of the clouds. They took a little longer than normal, perhaps, as everyone had grown a bit tired. They had been flying since dawn, as was the tradition for a returning Birth Flight, with only two stops along the way. She picked up her pace, slightly, eager to see the lights of home. None of the ground was visible from above the clouds.
Then, from behind, she heard a shriek of delight, and recognized it as Rihenna’s. Kett and those flying in back turned their heads, too. Phalyn rolled her eyes and smiled at her friend, who never failed in her determination to have a little fun. It seemed she had taken a dip into the cloud, with full intentions of the straight drop afterwards.
“Might be awhile before she catches up with us,” Phalyn murmured.
“Yes, great choice, her as our Third Flier,” Kett teased, and took hold of Phalyn’s hand, pulling it from where it had been stroking Adi’s back. He was flying directly below them again. Together, laughing, they soared out over the rim of the clouds into the open sky.
***
Just as a few more flying things came into view, Arius and his group heard a cry ring out from one of them that was still hidden in the cloud. He cursed to himself; they must have been seen. Though he had been waiting for a perfect shot at all of them, however many there were, he went ahead with the final hand signal, deftly, and in response fourteen arrows flew toward their marks.
***
“Look!” Ittria called out from the front, and pointed at a cluster of lights, finally come into view on a nearby peak. Phalyn sighed with happiness; they were almost there, and the new child would be home for the first time.
***
Below, the human men were intent on watching the flock of bird-creatures to see if their arrows had flown true. They did not notice the lone one who dove excitedly out of the clouds, snapping her wings open to dry them. Nor did she notice them.
***
The sky that had been peaceful moments before turned chaotic.
Phalyn cried with terror as Kett dropped suddenly from beneath her, having no control over his writhing limbs. Her arms instinctively went around Jadia.
***
Three or four others disappeared as they fell. What was attacking them? What was happening?
From the side, someone came towards her, spinning out of control, and they crashed into each other. The man’s face flashed past her, wide-eyed with pain, and she was wet the next moment with blood from his wing.
The silence had been torn apart with screaming, and it did not stop.
***
The animals shrieked wildly, and as Arius thought of all the innocent humans they must have harmed, he smiled with a grim sort of justice. He gave his signal again, and another volley of arrows flew.
***
Suddenly the sky around her was empty, and she was alone. Any other time, Phalyn would have dove after the limp forms that were her falling friends. Not tonight.
Her eyes snapped wide open, the world coming into sharp focus, and adrenaline shot through her mind, her arms, her wings. Everything ceased to exist, except the lights of her home ahead of her and the presence of her child beneath her.
Jadia. Jadia. The name beat a silent rhythm in her head, and she cradled her, trying to stop her crying. Only one thought prevailed: get her to safety. Must reach home. Get her to safety…
Phalyn arced even higher, to get as far away from the ground as possible. Both arms went around the infant, and both wings beat as quickly, as strongly, as they could. The cliff landing she had to reach was only two peaks away. She could see someone pacing there, waiting for them. She had to get there. She had to.
***
As the bird-things dropped like stones, like hail from the sky, a muffled cheer went up from the men on the mountain. It seemed that they had hit every one of them. For each creature, another threat removed. Another family saved from a cruel death, Arius thought gravely. His mind automatically froze, numbing him to any painful memories. With his group, he watched the spectacle, a silent scene of the dead animals in freefall, their descents twisting and spiraled because of the unnatural wings on their backs. No more would they harm humanity.
Then he saw it; the one that escaped. It had some kind of sack or growth around its front. Like a coward, it abandoned its mates to their deaths, and flew stupidly upward – there was nowhere to go. None of the others saw it, and Arius, swift from experience, snatched up the nearest bow that had been lain down and fitted an arrow to it. He took aim almost straight up. Squinted for a better view. Took a deep breath and pulled his arm back, muscles straining. Then he released the arrow, and it flew true.
***
PAIN! It shot through her body with lightning force, and she twisted involuntarily around the place where it seemed like a hole had been ripped through her. Her left wing lost all ability to hold her weight, and she dropped drastically, off-balance. Phalyn gasped for breath in the thin air – felt no oxygen come in – her face contorted with pain. The cluster of lights – home – became three clusters, swiveling and tilting before her, so she didn’t know which way was up.
AAAAHHH!! It was too much. She couldn’t fly. Jadia. Must….Jadia. She forced a swallow, closed her eyes, willed them to open, and aimed for the middle lights. Home…my – Jadia…her thoughts became incoherent.
Uncontrolled, she started into downward circles, towards the mountain she was trying to escape. Her right wing worked furiously to keep her aloft; the left tried to beat in time, and with every downstroke felt like it might rip off – the muscle at its base had been ripped straight through. Vaguely, she noticed that it was heavier than normal. Her feathers were soaked with blood.
Rocky ridges came up to meet her, and she twisted desperately to avoid slamming into them. Always, her arms stayed around Jadia, who was crying.
Crash. Twist. Fall, bump, skid, hover, fall.
“Hush,” she gasped, “It will – oh – be…okay.”
Another rock wall came up to her right, and she closed her eyes, bracing for impact. She threw her right wing out; it clipped the ridge and slowed their plunge. As the ground rushed towards her, Phalyn did her best to land on her back, Jadia cradled on top of her. Her battered wings broke the fall, and with a last shudder of pain, she felt them crumple beneath her.
Phalyn’s chest heaved with the effort of breathing. The child’s wailing, lost to the wind before, quieted in the clearing they had landed in. The mother tried to raise her head, to see her, and couldn’t from her distorted position. Blood pooled on the grass next to her. She coughed and closed her eyes.
Jadia. Adi. A…ade…” A hand absentmindedly caressed her daughter, found no injury, stopped, content. Pain.
***
The men had watched, transfixed, as the last creature fell to Arius’ shot. It seemed to release two cries as it plummeted. And it was the only one to land on the mountain.
“Our work, as always, is well done,” Arius said to them quickly, smiling, “Tonight we can return to our homes with peace, knowing we have done our part to protect them.” The group of them relaxed, invigorated with success, and made to clear up and leave. Arius walked around the circle, making sure everything was put away and chatting with a few people now that the nervous part of the night had passed. As he helped the last man up, however, he waved them on and said he was going to stay for a while on the mountain. The others exchanged knowing, carefully sympathetic looks and nodded farewell as they dropped back to the path and started down the mountain. They knew the way home.
Claysen was the last to leave, and Arius was already standing alone to look out over the valley and sky, his muscles tensed. His friend approached and stood next to him for a few moments, sharing the silence. Then, with a glance at his face, frozen in somber reflection, Claysen clapped him on the shoulder and moved off to follow the rest. Arius nodded briefly but didn’t move.
He stayed where he was until the last human sounds had faded below him. When he was sure the others were out of earshot, he abandoned his post on the edge of the clearing and set off at a steady pace up the rest of the mountain. There wasn’t a path past where they had come, and he was the only one who really knew the area. For this reason, and for his own satisfaction, he had to do this alone.
Grasping the trees on either side of him, he made good time up the dark slope, following his sense of direction to where that last creature had landed. If he was right about the animals’ endurance – and he usually was – there was no way they could survive a drop from that altitude all the way to the ground…but to the mountaintop, he wasn’t so sure. And if there were more of those things anywhere nearby, that could somehow save this one, and find out who had attacked them…well, in any case, he had to get there first.
Keeping his eyes on the ground in front of him, he avoided any major falls or injuries on his way to the fallen animal. He also had no view of the sky, where one of the winged creatures was rapidly flying out of the valley, headed for the same destination.
***
“Phalyn!” Rihenna screamed, banking into a sharp turn when she reached the mountain, “PHALYN!”
Her voice was higher than normal, constricted by what she was afraid would turn into tears if she dwelled any on what she had seen. It was impossible.
She strained her eyes and ears for any sign of her best friend – the only one it seemed had escaped the sudden, fatal fall that had taken the rest of their Flight. A momentary wave of rage penetrated her shock – someone had done this to them! – before utter fear took over again, and Phalyn’s face flashed before her, white and full of terror.
“Pha-” she started, then her breath caught as she heard an answering cry. Immediately she whirled in the air toward the noise, and it took her a minute to realize that it wasn’t Phalyn. Oh no. She dove at the place where the sound had echoed, a rocky area just above the tree line.
Now she could see them, there on the ground at the base of a boulder. In her descent, the roaring wind drowned out any other noise. The land shot up to meet her, faster than a less experienced flier would have thought possible. Rihenna cut off her momentum with a sharp turn, and somersaulted in the air before alighting gently on the ground. She rushed at the pair, with eyes only for Phalyn.
A split-second caught her off-guard, frozen in denial at the sight of the blood and the pale, drained face on the ground. Then her legs gave way underneath her, and she crashed to her knees beside her friend. The baby’s screams, the cold air, everything around her disappeared, and her hands moved as if in a dream to check the pulse. It was there…but so weakly Rihenna couldn’t tell at first.
She tried saying her friend’s name, but nothing came out. Again, just in a whisper, she said it, and, “Please…it’s me – Henna – Phalyn, open your eyes.” Her voice broke and she was oblivious to the tears that blurred her vision and covered her cheeks.
Everything was black and cold, save the spot of warmth on her chest from Jadia and the strange white light in front of her. Why couldn’t she see whoever was talking? Was something wet on her wing? Why couldn’t she make out any words from the somewhat familiar voice? Wait…Henna…
Phalyn’s lips opened in the barest movement, and she tried to say something.
Wait. Her eyes were closed. No wonder she couldn’t see. Why can’t I open my eyes? Jadia. Henna.
Her eyelids fluttered, but she couldn’t focus on anything.
“Please…live…” Rihenna pleaded. She willed Phalyn to look at her.
I have to say something. Why…? Jadia. Ja…oh. OH, Henna, Jadia! Phalyn struggled to make sense of her last thoughts, and forced her eyes open. The white was Henna’s hair reflecting moonlight.
“Henna...love...” she strained to finish, “save-” must finish, “Jadia.”
Rihenna felt her die.
***
He knew he was getting close when he started hearing the cries. They were loud, screeching, whining sounds, nothing like what an adult human would make. Exactly like some overgrown bird of prey.
A vision pushed its way into his head: two innocent children, their eyes wide and scared, hearing some monstrous scream – sounds like these, he thought – from outside their bedroom. Their father gone, not there to protect them. Two children’s dying screams...
Arius ran faster.
The screeching stopped now, replaced by what reminded him of huge, uncontrolled sobs. For a second he slowed, thrown off-guard. Then, realising that another creature must have joined the first one, he jogged right up to the edge of the tree line and stopped.
He peered out from around a pine. Only about a hundred feet away, he could see the strange shadow that was the dying animal, and another one next to it. It was hard to see, but it looked like the second one was trying to rip the first one in half or something. It kept bending low over its fallen companion and tearing at the flesh on its exposed stomach and chest. Can they be cannibals, too? Disgusted, Arius reached for an arrow and his bow, and checked the throwing knife in his belt with one hand. The strange metal glinted up at him and trembled in its sheath. He allowed himself a grave half-smile; if it came to using that dangerous new craft to destroy these things, he would do it.
As quickly and quietly as possible, he jumped out from behind the tree, planted his feet, and took aim.
***
Unable to comprehend what had just happened, Rihenna only held Phalyn closer, trying to squeeze life back into her. Both of them shook with the shuddering gasps that she couldn’t keep in. She couldn’t understand what she was seeing or thinking. Only a raw sense of emptiness that almost overwhelmed her.
And then, unbelievably, she did feel something else. As Phalyn left, a light flared on in her, tugging at her though she tried to ignore it. It was the Third Flier’s responsibility to take care of the baby if anything happened to the parents. Both of Jadia’s parents had died.
Jadia. NO! Phalyn... Rihenna’s thoughts tried to maintain their own course, their own grief, but she couldn’t shut out the pull she felt to protect the child that was now an orphan. Jadia...
Crying anew, desperately wanting to just sit and hold tightly to her friend, she instead wrenched herself away and turned to the shawl that held the baby.
“No!...No...” she cried and beat at the ground before struggling more with the knot in the fabric. Her hands shook and she could barely see what she was doing; again and again she pulled at the wrapping, trying to pull it away from the mother. Trying not to look at her white face.
She had gotten the baby turned over onto its stomach when she heard the unique sound of an arrow being drawn from its quiver. Despite herself, Rihenna froze, listening more closely, and soon the creak of a wooden bow came to her ears.
She tensed and hurled herself to one side. An arrow sang through the air where she had just been and smashed against the rock.
***
Blast! Arius ran forward a few steps and fitted another arrow; the creature had darted behind a boulder.
***
Rihenna looked around wildly. An archer! she thought, and a fiery feeling burst into her. THAT’S what happened to them. Rage flooded her mind with the sight of her friends falling, of Phalyn’s dead face, of Jadia. She bent her knees and sprang into the air, her wings snapping out as she rose over the rock.
***
Wha – there! Arius was confused until he saw it fly into the air above him. He let his arrow fly; it was a second too late, and the bird-thing was directly overhead.
As soon as the arrow was shot, Rihenna flung her wings above her head, dropping her feet-first at her assailant, and kicked the bow from his hands. Where it landed she didn’t see. She flipped over and dived at him, her face a mask of fury. They both crashed to the ground, him trying to kick her off, and her trying to attack any part of him she could get to.
Wait, Rihenna paused, reason prevailing for a moment, the sword. She blanched at the thought of using it. No. He killed them. While she still had the advantage, she shoved herself to her feet and reached into the fold of her tunic for the dagger that was only supposed to be a symbol.
***
Ahh! The monster flew at him and suddenly he was without his bow. The next minute they were on the ground, and his back shocked him with pain, taking most of the fall. He struggled to throw the thing off, and couldn’t get to his knife.
Then before he knew what was happening it was standing up again. He leapt to his feet and tore the knife from its place, throwing himself at the animal before it could react. It looked up – huge, flashing eyes and a feral shriek were all he registered – and met his thrust with some slashing thing. Talons! he realised, and didn’t understand the high-pitched ring that jarred his ears when they clashed.
Rihenna staggered from the impact of the blow, and she choked down a wave of panic. I’ve never fought before! She twisted out of the way of another swipe, then from the side desperately drove her foot into the back of his knee. It worked and he fell, but from the awkward position she tumbled down, too. They were right next to Phalyn and Jadia now; Jadia was whimpering behind her.
As he lost his footing – again! – Arius hurled the knife at creature and rolled away from it. If it had lethal talons, he couldn’t handle it alone at full strength. He clenched his teeth and tried to break his momentum and get up to run.
Seeing a flash of metal, Rihenna screamed and swung her right arm with the dagger up towards where she thought it was. They met in midair as she somewhat caught her fall with the left hand.
At the same moment he dodged behind a rock, Arius heard a terrible sound like a thunderclap echo around him. That was enough to make him scramble to his feet and run as fast as he dared to the wooded part of the mountain. Breathing hard and angry at his failure, he half-fled, half-skidded through the trees back the way he had come.
When her dagger met his, it sent a jolt through her arm from the force, and then suddenly, with a loud bang, there was nothing. She threw left arm up to protect her face and fell to the ground. The dagger dropped from her other hand.
Past her flew tiny pieces of black – she heard them whistle like arrows to land on the ground a few feet away – except they slammed into the ground with such energy that the stone moved beneath her.
Jadia screamed. One high, painful, keening pitch that went on and on, getting louder by the second.
With no time to think, Rihenna whirled around on her knees and snatched the baby up in her hands. The protective instinct had completely taken over now, and a white shield of anger rose up against her former despair. She pushed off the ground, hard.
The two soared into the sky, Jadia still screaming with some pain, Rihenna moaning and flying as fast as her wings physically allowed.
Scarce minutes later, they barrelled into the opening in the cliff. Shocked people that had stayed up to wait for the twelve to return jumped out of the way as Rihenna plunged into their midst. Jadia’s screams filled the golden-lit landing, and someone rushed up to take her for an investigation and healing.
Rihenna handed the child off, and stared blankly around her, not really seeing the flashes of concerned faces and moving mouths, or hearing their questions. She limply accepted the blanket that was brought to her and tried to give answers to whatever it was people were asking. They later told her she had looked dead herself, her face as white as her hair and streaked with dirt, tears, and blood. Now she felt nothing.
Eventually warmth returned to her limbs, and she was surprised to find that the constant moaning she’d been hearing was herself. She fell silent then, and realised everyone else had, too. Without the noise everything came rushing back. Shock, fear, pain, anger, panic, power, emptiness, despair, confusion...She clutched her head in her hands. Suddenly the world around her tilted and went dark.
Rihenna fainted into the arms of her stunned people, and was taken to her rooms to be watched over until she woke.
In another part of the cliff dwelling, a small band of fliers was sent out to find the others, and what had happened to them.
And in still another place, Jadia was wrapped in warm blankets and laid with all the other sleeping children in the Nest of the Fledglings. She seemed unharmed. The ones who had taken care of her blew out their candles and left the room, shaking their heads in mourning and confusion.
» Starlets<3
» Halloween meeting with scary black kitty cats
» The Awakener(s) Chapter 2
» The Awakener(s) Intro and first chapter
» Life the abstract thing
» Under the Weather
» Vita
» Sappy Love Poem #153