Soaring Across Azure Skies

[jassy]

Sharptooth flyer = Ornithocheirus

A note: Italics inside quotations indicate emphasis on words, while italics outside of quotations indicate thoughts.

FF link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13940589/1/Soaring-Across-Azure-Skies

Prologue, Goodbye

The island was completely quiet, save for the melody of the ebbing waves gently dribbling onto the sandy shore. To anyone else, the roaring tide might have been something to fear. But to the island's denizens, the sound of the Big Water was quite welcome. To them, the echo of the foamy water crashing onto the sound was like the presence of an old friend who had been there through thick and thin, like the relief a nesting mother felt when she came home to hear the laughter of her young ones, knowing they were alright. The presence of the Night Circle was a welcome one as well, as its gentle glow was a sign of the arrival of a more peaceful time, during which the flyers could shun their worries and responsibilities for a while. The Night Circle could have shone anywhere, but on that specific night, it chose to cast its light on a nest within a steep cliff laying a little ways from the shore. Nestled safely inside it were two sharptooth flyers, not even old enough to have developed proper use of their wings. One youngling slept peacefully in a carefully crafted nest of leaves and grass, but the other tossed and turned so much he slept just a few feet from his brother lest he accidentally injure him in his sleep.

Then, at the edge of his consciousness, the latter flyer heard a voice. A whisper.

"Orri." A nudge, "Orri, wake up."

Orri stirred slightly, the thick cover of sleep yet to wear off of him. Before the interruption, he had been in the middle of quite the interesting sleep story, and it took him a minute to realize he wasn't in it anymore. He grunted sleepily, blue eyes almost glowing in the darkness of the cave. His dark pupils briefly transformed into narrow slits, his vision taking a moment to adjust.

"Mm... papa? What-?"

"Shhh," the male brought a talon to his beak, scooping the tiny youngling into the palm of his hand, "let's talk outside. We wouldn't want to disturb your brother now, would we?"

Orri looked towards the sleeping form of his brother, who was curled up in his usual protective position. Vali could sleep through just about anything, and didn't move in the slightest. From an outsider's view, it would seem like a typical night for a typical flyer family, save for the fact that there wasn't anything typical about them at all. After Orri and Vali's mother was taken by The Great Storm less than a season ago, give or take a few cycles of the Night Circle, their father was the only family the two boys had left.

The older gray flyer brought his groggy and still confused son to a ledge just outside their nest, the night circle illuminating their faces in a cool, pale light. He assumed a more stoic expression, refusing to let his son catch onto how he truly felt.

Unfortunately, contrary to what his father wanted, young Orri picked up something he didn't quite recognize on the elder. A scent, one of uncertainty and fear, which made the youngling feel the same.

"Papa? What's going on?" he inquired curiously, surveying his surroundings, "What are we doing out here?"

"You've made me very proud, my boy," his father crooned, "Don't ever forget that. And... make sure your brother knows too. I know him and I don't exactly see eye to eye, but I'm sure he'll listen to whatever you have to say. All I ask is that you tell him I'm proud of him."

Orri noticed the tears glistening along the corners of his father's eyes, a feeling of fear washing over him. He recoiled suddenly, like a hapless creature being backed into a corner. "Papa, I-I don't understand. Why are you acting like this...?" The question came out as a painful, choking sob.

"Listen to me, Orri," his father continued despite his son's obvious fear, "I... damn, how do I put this?" He muttered, rubbing the nape of his neck before sighing in resignation. "The reason I'm saying all this is because I have to leave Blue Haven. Tonight."

"No!" came the youngling's immediate, horrified response, "you can't! Please!"

The male didn't even make an attempt to hide his tears, as his scent already gave away exactly what he was feeling. He once again brought a claw to his beak, trying to placate the young one. If anyone, more specifically the sentinels that guarded the island during the day, were to awaken and hear them... everything would be ruined.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I really wish there was more time for me to explain all of this to you."

"But I don't understand!" Orri squeaked, his voice lowering to a quiet whimper, "Mama left us... why are you leaving us too?"

"Trust me, I don't want to." He touched his beak to that of his son's, trying to show his sincerity. But goodness, was it difficult. It was a near impossible task, coaxing his son into trusting him when he was in the process of abandoning both him and his brother.

"I'm doing this because I want what's best for you and your brother, okay?" His raspy voice quivered as he spoke, his words followed by a heavy sigh, "I'm going to find a new place. A safe place, beyond the Big Water, where we don't have to worry about The Great Storm wiping us all out. That's what your mother would have wanted for you. I know it is."

Orri felt something damp on his cheek, then felt his father's talon gently wipe his tears away. The boy hadn't been entirely convinced that he wasn't still asleep, up until now. When he felt his father's touch, he had no choice but to acknowledge the bitter reality.

"...Will you ever come back?"

"I will. I'll do everything in my power to come back for you two, and that's a promise."

That reassurance helped to ease Orri's worries, but it failed to sway him from wanting answers to the many questions that still weighed heavily on his mind.

"If you are leaving to find a safe place, then why can't you take us with you?"

His father nervously shifted his gaze towards the night sky, covered in far too many stars for him to count. Just above the horizon, he could see the faintest tint of light purple reflecting against the water. The Bright Circle would be rising soon enough. His time was running out.

"I'm afraid it's too dangerous," he explained, speaking slowly to mask the slight irritation that plagued him, "you and Vali are still very young and weak. You two barely know how to flap your own wings, let alone fly, and I don't even know what kind of dangers will be waiting for me out there. If something happened to either of you, I don't know what I'd do. But don't you worry. You'll be safe here, far safer than you could ever be with me."

He then leaned in close, his warm breath gently brushing against Orri's scales. "It will be difficult, but I know in my heart that what I'm doing is for the best."

"But papa—" Orri started, but his protests were quickly muffled as his father spoke over them.

"I have to leave now before anyone else sees me, but I promise we will meet again one day. Either in this world or the next. Do you understand me?"

Orri at first refused to meet his father's gaze, but was soon forced to look at him when he felt his beak being tilted gently upwards. "I... I understand," he finally responded, unable to tear his eyes away, even when his sobs began to hit him with full force.

"Good." The other brought his hand closer towards his beak, decreasing the distance between them so that he could give his son a parting embrace. A proper one. "You've been blessed with exceptionally strong instincts, better than any flyer I've ever seen, and I mean that. Use them, and listen to your brother. Watch out for each other."

"I will," Orri promised, sniffling while his father guided him back to the safety of their sleeping area, offering a pleased nod at his son's vow.

With a heavy heart, the lone flyer then took to the skies. He soared past the Big Water, engaged in a battle of wills with the unrelenting waves that were equipped with a mind of their own, the violent current threatening to throw his fragile body against the rocks. It was a battle he'd barely managed to win. Once he had though, he didn't dare to look back. He feared that if he did, he wouldn't be able to fight the urge to return and all would be lost.

Orri watched his only remaining parent disappear into the night, his form blending in perfectly with the night sky as if he had never truly been there at all. While the fact remained that his young son would eventually forget this moment before long, the constant and gentle lull of the Big Water served as a reminder that there was someone out there who would never forget.


Yeahhhh I realize this isn't Across The Seasons, but it is another OC centric story!  I've unfortunately seemed to hit a bit of a roadblock with ATS and where I should go with the next chapter, which is why I've set that aside for now. But this is another story I've had in the works for a bit, only my perfectionist self never really deemed it good enough to publish up until this moment. I'm also working on this in hopes that I'll be able to write a fic with more planning and world-building than my previous works. Finally, this is yet another sharptooth narrative of course, but with flyers! I've never actually written many lengthy flyer-centric stories before, so I'm sure it'll be interesting! In any case, I hope you all enjoy this tale of love, survival and adventure, and I hope to see you all soon in the next update. 

-Jassy

[rhombus]

Now this is certainly a promising beginning!  I like how you immediately bring us into the story by catching a glimpse of the main characters during a difficult moment, which provides us with both immediacy with an initial plot development and a dive into the characters so to speak.  In this case it appears that we have two young flyers who are safe on an island or other enclosed area, but who are far too young to be on their own. All the while their father must (temporarily, he hopes) abandon them for their own good. It will be interesting to see how the two flyers adapt to this loss and also to see why their father feels the need to make this journey.

All in all, this is quite a good introduction and hook for the story. 

[jassy]

Hey everyone! Before I get the ball rolling with this chapter, I'd just like to attach this mini glossary of sorts. It contains various flyer slang that you'll hear throughout the course of this story, as well as their definitions. I'll most likely end up defining the terms as they come up, but do let me know if there's something I missed! I also know I'm later than usual in crossposting this chapter to the GoF, so that's my bad. I'll be sure to respond to any reviews in the upcoming chapter since this one's already up and published on FF.net

Sharptooth Flyer = Ornithocheirus

Scaly Swimmer = A fish.

Shortbeak = Often used by older flyers to reprimand younglings, implying that their beak is still as short and stubby as it was when they first hatched. It can also be used to do some friendly teasing as well. Depends on the context, really.

Wisehead = An egghead. Someone who's a stickler for the rules and doing things the 'right way'.

FF link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13940589/2/Soaring-Across-Azure-Skies

A New Dawn

The waves of the Big Water felt cool and soothing against the gray flyer's scales- like a gentle, ticklish sensation. The current rolled towards him, soaking the tips of his wing membranes before retreating back into the depths, as if being pulled back by some unseen force. Above him, multitudes of flyers soared effortlessly through the murky air. But rather than observing them and trying to piece together how they achieved such grace in their movements, his deep blue were lost in the torrent of water and foam. Just looking at the vast expanse of blue brought back some vague yet unpleasant memories, but Orri couldn't tear his eyes away. He couldn't shake the feeling that something about the Big Water was alive, and was calling out to him.

Perhaps a small part of him actually wanted to go beyond those invisible boundaries, like his father before him. Blue Haven was... wonderful, but it left much to be desired. Life was always the same: fly, eat, sleep, fly, eat, sleep. On their little 'patch of paradise' as many called it, they were free from airborne predators, and had convinced themselves that they were the masters of their own fate. That was the sad part. A decorated trap was still a trap and Orri knew it, even if no one else did. He knew that a life where one couldn't even wonder about a better world was no life at all.

"Orri!" A distance voice echoed, barely reaching his ears. Oh, wonderful. Now I'm hearing things, he pondered silently, deciding not to give the imaginary voice the time of day.

"Orriiii!" The voice was closer now, but Orri still refused to acknowledge it. He was sure it was a figment of his imagination, and his imagination had a tendency to run away from him and do more harm than good in the process. He couldn't even count the amount of times he sensed something, was called crazy, only to be proven right later on. The worst part of it all was that it didn't matter if his instincts were right or not. To the rest of the flock, he'd always be seen as someone who would only drag them down.

He closed his eyes for a moment in an attempt to silence the voice in his own head, only to let the most undignified scream when he opened his eyes again.

"AHHH!" He stumbled back, falling over onto his haunches. It was then that he realized the source of his fear was none other than Vali, his brother.

"Finally," Vali sighed, exasperated, "Do you realize how long I've been calling for you? If the Circle of Life gave you ears then you should use them."

"My bad," Orri said apologetically while getting back up onto all fours, shaking the particles of sand and water off of his scales, "I actually heard you calling me, but I thought the voice was in my head."

Vali seemed confused for a moment, but quickly decided it wasn't worth questioning. He gazed into his brother's eyes, his own softening at the other's appearance. They were both the same age, but Orri might as well have been seasons older, as far as appearances went.

"Are you alright?" Vali questioned, visibly concerned. "You look... tired." He tried to be delicate, but he couldn't deny that his brother did indeed look worse for wear.

"I'm fine," Orri answered, once again shaking his head to clear his mind, "I think I might just be hungry. I don't believe I've eaten yet."

Vali narrowed his eyes, shooting a rather doubtful look towards the skinnier flyer. "Right, and I'm a rampaging threehorn. You're my brother, Orri, not some stranger. Now why don't you tell me what's really wrong?"

"It was worth a shot," Orri said in slight jest. He looked towards the horizon and then back at Vali. "There's something strange about the Big Water lately. It sort of feels like it's calling my name, like it wants me to follow it... or like it's warning me. I know that sounds crazy, but I really do feel it."

Vali pondered his brother's words for a moment. Orri's instincts had seldom been wrong before, but he was also susceptible to such cryptic intuitions when he neglected to look after himself properly. He remembered his father advising him as a boy that even the sharpest of senses could go awry if the body was not taken care of. Of course, their treacherous father had also left them to fend for themselves, but it was a good lesson all the same.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Vali assured him, placing a hand to his shoulder, "the Big Water is strange and mysterious, which is why we must never go beyond it. We are safe here, except for when the Great Storm comes, but even then, we can see the signs days before it happens and prepare ourselves in advance..."

He caught himself rambling and realizing that he was probably boring his young brother to tears, shook his head. "Listen, my point is that sometimes, our minds can trick us into worrying ourselves sick over absolutely nothing. It happens to the best of us. Even more so when one doesn't take the best care of themselves, like when they forget to eat, for instance."

Orri couldn't help but beam in admiration of his brother, despite the evident jab at him. He was always so strong, so logical, and so kind. He'd certainly make a great leader one day, if he was ever given the chance. "Well, if you say so, then you know I'm with you."

"There's a lad!" Vali exclaimed, playfully nudging the other male with his beak, "Now, you said you were hungry? I'll go and fetch you some scaly swimmers. Stay here, and try not to get carried away by your own thoughts." He scurried off and Orri went right back to overthinking, despite his brother suggesting he do the opposite.

At least, he was planning on doing so until Vali reappeared in front of him, stretching on all fours with a gleeful smile, torso facing the sky. "Look. We're both upside down."

An old fail safe that Vali often relied on to lift Orri's spirits when they were both younglings, Vali was both surprised and disappointed to see that the only reaction he got from the male was a half-hearted smile. Whatever was bothering Orri must have really been eating at him. Even if he wasn't feeling the best, that stupid 'upside down' joke always managed to pull a laugh out of his brother. Realizing there wasn't much else he could do, he decided to cut his losses and gave the other a loving nudge on the shoulder before setting off to find some food.


A single green eye peered through the bushes, the dark hue perfectly concealed by the shadow of the foliage. The eye's narrow, black slit trailed the area, dilating when it landed on two flyers who appeared to be engaged in a friendly conversation. Upon closer inspection, Illyria realized that she recognized the bigger one of the two, a flyer with a faded gray hide and harsh verdant eyes that looked down upon the newcomer.

Faris. As the head of the sentinels, he'd forgotten more about fighting than she'd ever know.

As for the other flyer, Illyria didn't quite recognize him. He was smaller in stature, but he carried himself in a way that told the disgruntled, older flyer that he wasn't about to back down. Scarlet eyes practically bore a hole through Faris' forehead, letting him know that his intimidation tactics were of no use, and that he'd be better off saving his breath.

"We have no place for wanderers here," Faris reiterated, repeating the exact same thing he had yelled in the other's face mere moments ago.

"No place? This island has enough room for another flock!" The wanderer exclaimed incredulously.

"That's precisely why we have no place for the likes of you. We have a peaceful life here, and we can't let every flyer that passes by eat up all of our food. They might spread word of our home, or worse, they might try to seize our land for themselves."

The smaller flyer frowned. "Well, that's not the least bit fair, is it? And you know, that sort of narrow mindedness will only end up causing you all more grief in the long run. You can't hide yourselves forever. It just won't last."

"I don't think you're in any position to be giving me a lecture," Faris hissed, "and you want fair? Well, tough shit. If you don't like how we run things, then you're free to move on. But if you insist on staying, then I can allow you to go further inland. Stay on the far side of the island, where you can't bother anyone. A fair warning though, you'd better be gone by the time the bright circle rises over the mountains, or else I'll make you leave."

With a huff and a snort, the newcomer decided to take what he could get and headed off in the other direction. Faris hummed in satisfaction, resuming the most important task of feasting on some freshly caught scaly swimmers.

A wanderer? We've never had wanderers before, Illyria wondered. It had just occurred to her that the reason behind Blue Haven's lack of visitors could very well be Faris turning them all away. Trying to visualize all the things the wanderer must have seen, it made her shake with excitement just thinking about it!

Unfortunately, in her excitement, Illyria also gave away her hiding spot. A rustle from the bushes caught Faris' attention, after which he sniffed the air and caught wind of the young girl's familiar scent.

"Come on out, Illyria," he sighed, "I know you're there."

A younger, more inexperienced Illyria would have continued the charade. However, she knew by now that trying to hide from Faris once he had her scent was a losing game. She emerged from the bushes, head hanging low in guilt and embarrassment.

Faris sighed, trying to withhold the frustration that gave itself away when he shook his head. "Illyria," he began, "How many times have I told you not to eavesdrop? It's rude, and makes a flyer seem untrustworthy."

"At least a few times every season, since I was a youngling," Illyria responded matter-of-factly, making no effort to hide her annoyance. "Many apologies, oh wise one. I think my curiosity just got the better of me."

"I know," Faris agreed with a nod, his expression more indicative of defeat rather than anger. He was no stranger to the girl's sarcastic attitude, nor did he let it get to him. "It's not your fault. You've never seen newcomers before, so I suppose it's only natural that you'd want to find out more. But I assure you, outsiders are forbidden for a reason."

"I understand," Illyria responded, nodding along to each point he made. The quicker he finished his lecture, the quicker she could leave. "So, um... is it alright if I go now?"

Faris eyed her suspiciously, slanting his head a few inches to his right side. "Well, that all depends on you. Can I trust you to keep your distance from the wanderer?"

"Of course. I promise I won't even look at him." Every word she spoke was a lie, but she'd had seasons upon seasons to master the technique of lying, specifically to Faris.

"Very well. Be careful," he reminded her, finally letting his guard down as he turned his back and gave a wave of his arm, letting her know that she was free to go.

Illyria grinned, quite satisfied with her brilliant performance. She looked back once more as extra insurance that Faris wasn't watching. Sure enough, he was busy snacking on those scaly swimmers of his. She slunk right past him, briefly making eye contact with the lone sentinel that stood watch at the entrance of the forest, right where the vegetation grew denser. The female pretended not to notice him, and the guard even seemed to do the same, much to her pleasure. Soon, she disappeared entirely, using her sniffer to follow the trail that the mysterious wanderer had generously left behind.


A cacophony of various screeches and cries filled the air, every single sound and pitch muddling together to the point that Vali couldn't tell them apart or tell what each individual flyer was even saying. However, the background noise did serve a purpose— it helped him direct his attention solely on his catch by blocking out the more sudden, raucous sounds that would usually disturb his concentration. Dark blue eyes focused intently on the water, watching and waiting for even the slightest movement...

SPLASH!

His pupil narrowing as he whipped his head in the direction of the sound, Vali watched a single scaly swimmer break the surface, leaving behind a growing trail of ripples in the water. Vali lunged forward to catch his unsuspecting prey, fully confident in his ability. It was one of the bigger ones, too. Vali couldn't believe his luck. Surely, this would bring Orri out of that slump!

SWISH!

Before he even had a chance to react, a gray-blue blur zipped past him, sweeping up the scaly swimmer in one swing. Instead of some food, all Vali got a mouthful of bitter tasting water. An obnoxious laugh echoed off of the cliffs, prompting Vali to look up at the swift thief, despite being fully aware of who the culprit was. This wasn't the first time he'd been down this path, after all.

"Gale, you slimy thief!" The male squawked, "That was for my brother! Why don't you catch your own food for a change?"

"Too bad, wisehead!" Gale guffawed from the air, the scaly swimmer still trapped within his beak, "You should have been quicker! But don't worry! You know what they say- there's plenty of scaly swimmers in the sea!"

The flyer's cackles sounded through the air as he headed towards the share, presumably to enjoy his unearned meal. Vali watched him leave, scowling. From the corner of his eye he caught sight of another scaly swimmer leaping across the water, and caught it by its tail. The creature was remarkably tiny, with practically no fat on its pathetic little body. Even a hatchling wouldn't want it. Vali released his hold, letting the swimmer retreat back into the water to live another day.

A minor setback, but he wouldn't let that discourage him. He was going to find a good, appetizing meal for his brother, even if he had to circle the water until the Cold Time arrived. Shrugging off the lingering annoyance with a small huff, he reassumed his previous position, eyes watching the water for any sign of life. Only this time, he also made sure to keep an eye out for any no-good, thieving flyers as well.


Somewhere within the thicket of trees, a twig snapped. Not long after, a pale brown blur could be seen leaping from one tree branch to the other, the seemingly elusive creature using her own momentum to propel herself forward. She may not have been the strongest or the biggest, or have any redeeming qualities that would be of any use, but Illyria prided herself on how sneaky she was. Her body was so light that she could move without making a single peep, instead of lumbering around everywhere like some of the larger flyers in her flock. It was a shame that her only true skill was rendered useless, unless she actually felt like sneaking off somewhere in the dead of the night without the use of her wings.

Busy with reciting her mental monologue to no one but herself, Illyria hadn't even noticed she'd lost sight of her target. When she looked down, the alleged wanderer was nowhere to be seen. Eyes widened in surprise as she whirled her head from one end of the clearing to the other, unable to spot him. She must have been truly incompetent if she already managed to lose sight of someone who had been there mere seconds ago. The thought of looking behind her didn't even cross her mind until it was too late.

"May I help you?"

"Woah-!"

The voice that suddenly made itself known from above caused her to lose her footing, squeezing out a yelp from the female as she slipped from the branch she had been perched on. She barely managed to prevent any serious injury with a quick flap of her wings seconds before she touched the ground.

Craning her head, she turned to meet her unknown assailant. At least, she assumed they were there to kill her. The one immutable law of the outlands was to either kill or be killed, and she knew that. She looked up, meeting the curious gaze of a male sharptooth flyer. The wanderer.

"Are you alright?" The male inquired, landing right in front of her.

"Fine," Illyria answered curtly. Aside from her bruised ego, she had not a scratch on her.

"Don't feel bad," the other chortled, "It was quite clever, using the branches to launch yourself forward instead of relying solely on your wings. You just need to figure out a way to not make as much noise. I could hear you before I even saw you."

Illyria was inclined to believe that the flyer was only saying that out of pity, but one whiff of his scent suggested otherwise. "Thank you. I'm... still working on it. Clearly."

"Well, in any case, the name's Yarrow. What's yours?"

"I'm Illyria. At least, that's what everyone calls me." As a flyer who grew up without any parents, she simply had to trust that what others called her was actually her real name.

"Illyria," Yarrow repeated to himself, a wistful look in his pale eyes, "a beautiful name. So, Illyria, you look like quite the curious young flyer. Why did you feel the need to follow me, if you don't mind my prying? Don't worry, I'm not upset. I'm just curious."

"Seems to be a lot of that around here lately," Illyria remarked under her breath, earning a slight chuckle from the elder. His reaction brought upon the faintest hint of a smile on her face, as well as an increase of confidence.

"I saw Faris chew you out," she proceeded to explain, "before you, I actually never saw another outsider. But now... I'm starting to think we get more visitors than we actually know about."

"Faris?" Yarrow tapped his beak, racking his memory for a moment before he finally remembered. "Ah! You mean that savage brute? Yes, I've certainly come across his type before... always set in their ways, and trying to reason with them is about the same as talking to a rock."

Illyria snorted at the blunt yet fitting description. "Yes, that's him. But that's not the only reason I'm here. You see, I've been raised by that 'savage brute' my entire life. When I was younger I would ask him about the outside world, but he usually ignored me or he would yell at me. Either way, I never got anything out of him. So, I was wondering if you could tell me what it's like...?"

Upon seeing the almost childish gleam in the young one's eyes, the male smiled fondly. He remembered his youth well, the memories of being a swift young flyer with an insatiable sense of curiosity. He understood exactly where the young female was coming from. In fact, he even saw a little bit of himself in her.

"Well," he began, "it's quite difficult to put into words, but I will say that if you were to see it for yourself, I don't think you'd be let down. Out there, you'll see mountains that spit fire from their tops, and entire lands covered in nothing but ice, with winds that could freeze your beak off."

Illyria instinctively covered her beak, green eyes wide with amazement as she listened to each and every word he said. Faris could only imagine capturing her attention as completely as Yarrow did.

Yarrow thought he had finished listing all that he could off the top of his head, until his eyes widened in realization less than a moment later. "Oh! How could I forget? You know of the Big Water, yes? Well, believe it or not, it actually goes on forever and forever."

"What? No way, you're making that up," Illyria shook her head, narrowing her eyes in suspicion, "if the Big Water really is that huge, everyone would have sipped all the water up seasons ago."

"That's the thing, shortbeak. The Big Water is so huge, it never runs out. And it's not filled with just scaly swimmers. There's all sorts of creatures living down there in those depths! I'm telling you, it's like an entirely different world."

"Yeah, whatever. I'll believe that when I see it. " It wasn't that she didn't want to believe him, it was just that it sounded too good to be true. She'd hate to venture out there herself, only to be disappointed.

"It's the truth, young one," Yarrow insisted, "I've seen it with my own eyes. You've lived quite the sheltered life here, so I don't blame you for being skeptical. Actually... maybe it would be better for you to see it for yourself."

Dark green eyes were as wide as the Night Circle at its fullest, Yarrow's statement prompting the gobsmacked female to meet his gaze. "You mean... I could be there?"

"Well, why not?" Yarrow shrugged rather indolently, "Everyone has to leave home at some point, don't they? And in my opinion, there's no better way to make your mark on the world than setting out to see all that it has to offer."

The gleam had returned to her eyes, even if just for a fleeting moment. With the tip of her beak in her palm, she mulled over the possibility. Going beyond the Big Water? That would be an adventure for the ages, no doubt about it.

She looked up to meet Yarrow's gaze once more. "I'll be right back," she told him before tapping the lower part of her beak with her talon, "...will you still be here?"

"Of course," Yarrow affirmed, nodding his head.

Great. That was one less thing to worry about. Illyria flashed a quick grin and turned back the way she came, unable to contain her excitement as she swept through the vegetation.

As soon as she was gone, another figure drifted down from within the shelter of the trees. A flyer. He had concealed himself at Yarrow's behest, but now that the girl was gone, he could finally give the other a piece of his mind. "Damn it, we're wasting too much time. Why don't we just grab her?"

Yarrow was unable to repress an utterly exhausted sigh. "Because that would be abduction, which is frowned upon in many places, Yuri. Even if we did take her by force, three flyers don't exactly make a flock. And more importantly, I would never stoop as low as holding someone against their will."

"Y'know, I can't tell you how annoying it is when you talk like that, acting like you're the pride of every flock just 'cause you're so smart," Yuri grumbled, "I mean, every time you open your mouth, I just think to myself 'who does this guy think he is?' I mean, everyone looks up to you for no real reason except that you talk good. And you know what? You do talk good. But that's all it is. Talk."

Yarrow drew an inward breath, looking up towards the sky and wondering when his brother would get to the point. After an entire lifetime with Yuri, his long-winded rants had simply become a part of their daily routine. "Are you finished?"

"No," Yuri spat, "But there's no use in talking to you about it, so why waste my breath? Besides, what I'm more annoyed about is the fact that there ain't shit to eat here."

"I can see that." Yarrow sighed again, massaging his forehead, "Listen, I know that we don't really have a whole lot of time, but all I'm asking is for you to trust me. Once we have a decently sized group we can get out of here. We'll settle someplace safe and later on, when we're old— well, older, we can laugh and reminisce about this moment. You have my word on that."

There was a long silence after that, during which Yuri managed to scoop up a scaly swimmer maneuvering its way through the stream. Then, with the swimmer in his mouth, he gave his muffled and unimpressed response. "...Yeah, sure. Whatever."

[jassy]

A good night to enjoy the sweets of the land = A sort of secret code among rebellious younger flyers, used when they want to sneak off and do something forbidden without any elders catching on to their plans.

FF link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13940589/3/Soaring-Across-Azure-Skies

The Outsiders

It took several grueling attempts and a few painstaking moments of making an absolute fool of himself, but Vali soon returned to his brother, clasping a few scaly swimmers in his beak. It wasn't exactly his best work since the swimmers were small and not very fattening but the fact remained that large, decently sized swimmers were rare in the shallow waters that surrounded them. I'm going to kill you the next time I see you, Gale, he swore to himself.

Vali landed in a patch of sand, plopping the scaly swimmers down in front of the other male. He pushed the meal towards Orri with his beak, giving him an encouraging nod. In response, Orri merely looked down at the rather unappetizing swimmers.

"I'm sorry I don't have the kind you like," Vali sighed, lowering his head apologetically, "Someone else beat me to it, I'm afraid. You know Orri, sometimes I feel like clearing out of this forsaken island altogether."

Orri glanced at his brother, tempted to weigh in with his opinion but quickly deciding against it. It wasn't often that Vali voiced his dislike for their current lifestyle. If anything, he usually defended it, but his complaints were starting to become more frequent. Not wanting to upset his brother any further, Orri reluctantly took a bite out of the swimmer. He knew he shouldn't complain- food was food, after all. The unfortunate majority of creatures who lived in the outlands were lucky if they came across a meal at all.

Vali noticed the other's hesitation and sighed inwardly, lowering his head in exhaustion. "If you can't eat it, that's fine. You don't need to pretend to like it."

He tried to keep the frustration out of his voice for his brother's sake. The last thing Vali wanted was for Orri to feel like a burden. No one had ever called the young male a liability to his face, but actions often spoke louder than words. No one needed to tell him he was seen as dead weight, as he could tell by the way most flyers went out of their way to avoid him, and the way he could feel the weight of their scrutinizing stares on the back of his head. Even when they acted polite, Orri's sharp instincts could often decipher the truth behind the smile.

This was no different. Despite his brother's attempts to hide it, Orri still picked up on Vali's agitation. He crouched towards the ground, lowering his head in a submissive position, apologizing for his offense. "It's alright, Vali, really. I should be more grateful. I mean, it is food, isn't it?"

Vali frowned, having picked up on the quivering of Orri's voice. His brother wasn't the only observant one in the family. Having been thrust into the role of a carer as a youngling, Vali knew him the way a father would know his own son.

"Don't start, Orri," Vali warned, "it's alright. I wouldn't exactly want to eat this either, especially if I'm looking for an actual meal."

He scrunched up his beak before touching his beak to his brother's in a display of affection. "I'll go try and find some better ones for you. You are a growing flyer, after all. And with your health, you're going to need some proper sustenance."

"I'm guessing Gale took all the good scaly swimmers for himself again?"

Vali turned to see the tall and slender golden-brown form of a male flyer right behind him. He sat upon a moss covered rock, practically losing it over his own joke- which wasn't even all that funny to begin with.

"Afraid so, Scud," came Vali's utterly exasperated response as he braced himself for the oncoming headache.

"What I wouldn't give to see him choking on one of the scaly swimmers he stole," remarked Scud with a shake of his head, "the Circle of Life bites everyone in the ass at some point or another."

Vali rushed to cover his brother's ears, hissing at Scud to be quiet. "What's wrong with you? I've told you before to curb that foul tongue around my brother."

"I know what 'ass' means, Vali," Orri sighed, wriggling free of his brother's grasp, "I'm not a hatchling anymore."

"That's the problem with you shortbeaks," Vali scolded, "you all want so badly to be grown up but when it finally happens, you wish you were young again."

Scud cocked his head towards the side, hazel eyes glazed over in thought. "Wait... aren't you two the same age?"

"Now that you mention it... yes, we are. Vali just likes to act older than he actually is." Orri craned his head to look at Vali, an uncharacteristically smug grin on his beak.

"I still hatched first," Vali huffed, "but if that's how you're going to be... well, then I suppose you can bid those scaly swimmers goodbye."

Orri's eyes widened in horror. "No! Come on Vali, don't be like that, I was only joking!"

"Got you, shortbeak." The slightly larger flyer winked, laughing while tracing a claw over Orri's chest, causing the other to burst into laughter.

"S-Stop it!" Orri managed through fits of giggles, "Vali, I'm serious! Cut it out!"

"Who's your favorite brother?" Vali added another hand to his barrage of tickles, "Tell me who your favorite brother is and I'll stop."

While the two brothers were curled up into a heap of laughter, Scud spotted Gale making his way down towards the shore, ready to feast. Curious eyes watched the male swallow his unearned catch, only for it to get caught in his throat.

"Alright, alright! It's you!" Orri cackled until his stomach began to ache, tears flowing from his eyes. "It's you! You're my only brother- just let me go-!"

Scud couldn't help but laugh at the display of absurdity. "Vali, look. The Bright Circle's barely risen and already Gale's had more than he can handle."

Vali tore his eyes away from his brother, granting him his freedom. Dark blue eyes softened in a show of sympathy towards the currently choking flyer. "Poor Gale. I suppose somebody should help the lad before he chokes to death."

Both Orri and Scud showed their agreement through affirmative murmurs and nods, despite not budging from their current positions.

Vali rolled his eyes. It was already clear exactly which one of them would end up shouldering the responsibility. "Well, don't everybody fly off at once."

While Vali made his way over and proceeded to chastise Gupta for swallowing the scaly swimmer tail-first rather than headfirst, Orri decided to busy himself with staring at the clouds.

"Orri! Orriii!"

Orri whirled around to see Illyria darting towards him, her hyperactive movements inadvertently causing her to kick sand all over the place.

"Ugh," he winced, spitting out a few bits of sand that he'd accidentally inhaled, "why are you shouting?"

"Sorry," Illyria apologized, making room for herself right next to Orri, "But there's something important I have to tell you. It's a matter of life or death!"

"No offense, Illyria," Orri started, scratching the area behind his ear with his leg, "...but I think you and I have two different definitions of 'life or death'."

She opened her mouth to defend herself, only to close it mere seconds later. She definitely had a tendency to overreact, she'd grant him that much at least. "It's serious this time, I promise you." She lowered her voice to a whisper, "I... I talked to a wanderer."

Orri straightened up almost immediately. "I really hope this is your idea of a joke," he responded with just a glimmer of concern in his eyes, "wanderers never come here. And more importantly, anything about the outside world is forbidden, remember? You could get in serious trouble."

"Ancestors, not you too." Illyria rolled her eyes, "Just listen, alright? The wanderer's name is Yarrow. From what I could gather, he's probably looking for more flyers to join him before he takes off again. Safety in numbers, you know? And he suggested that younger flyers like us should join him!"

Orri drew in a gentle, quivering gasp, basically beaming. "We could know what it's like firsthand...!"

"...A good night to enjoy the sweets of the land?" Illyria peered knowingly at her friend, a mischievous grin laying upon her snaggletoothed beak.

To the adults, specifically the ones that had lived through more than several cold times, it might have seemed like the female was merely spouting nonsense, but Orri recognized the secret riddle. "No," he mouthed, "we shouldn't."

"Oh, come on," Illyria groaned, "You just said you'd like to witness it yourself! Don't be such a shortbeak."

"What are we talking about, kids?" Scud butted in. "Up to some mischief, are we?"

"No!" Orri and Illyria exclaimed in unison.

Scud laughed, thoroughly amused by how quick the kids were to cover up any evidence of their schemes. "Oh, don't you worry. I'm no blabbermouth. I can't say the same for that one over there, though."

He pointed a talon in the direction of Gale, who was too exhausted by his ordeal to even think about eating. Vali was still occupied with lecturing him about proper eating habits, although Scud was sure Gale would have preferred choking to death.

"If you two want to sneak off then by all means, go ahead. You just haven't lived unless you've done something that's against the rules at least once in your life." He gave them both an encouraging nudge, urging them forward. "Go on. I'll cover you."

Fresh out of excuses, Orri sighed defeatedly before following in Illyria's footsteps. "I used to be such a sensible flyer..."


They approached the thicket of trees, where surely enough, one of the sentinels was standing guard. The same one from earlier, in fact. Illyria smiled and walked right past the dark brown flyer, hoping that he'd let her pass through another time.

"Hold it." He blocked the pair's way in with his left wing, "Orri, Illyria, where do you two think you're going?" A pause. "...those are your names, right?"

Orri nodded affirmatively while Illyria did the talking, surprisingly chipper. "Good day, Aharon! How are you?"

"Cut the crap," he hissed, "I know you're on your way to meet the wanderer. You realize I saw you sneak off earlier, right?."

Illyria winced, clenching her fists while cursing herself for being so careless. The sentinels were loyal only to Faris, and no one else. She knew that. "...You're not going to tell him, are you?"

"Well, I didn't tell him the first time I saw you, so I won't tell him now since I'd like to keep my head on my shoulders." He bent over, looking Illyria in the eye. "So long as you two don't get caught. But I have to warn you, if Faris realizes where you are, there's nothing I can do. I'm sticking my neck out for you shortbeaks, but I'm not about to put my job on the line. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Orri answered, his body as rigid as a stick.

"Loosen up, son. Just Aharon is fine." Aharon then lowered his wing, stepping aside to let them through while scanning his surroundings. Once all was clear, he nodded to signal that they could go on ahead.

Illyria and Orri scampered into the foliage, Orri briefly circling back to the lone sentinel. "Thank you for this, Aharon. We both really appreciate it."

"Yes, yes, you're welcome," Aharon mumbled impatiently, "Just hurry and go before anyone else sees you."

"Right." Orri dipped his head respectfully, sauntering back over to where Illyria was waiting for him. Before long, both flyers had disappeared into the verdant forest, leaving not a single trace except for the very discernible footprints that were now embedded in the soil.


"Ah, I see you've brought a friend." Yarrow stepped out into the clearing as he saw Illyria approach with another flyer in tow. A welcoming smile on his face, he made his way over to the newcomer. "My name is Yarrow. What's yours?"

"Orri," he answered, still not able to muster the courage to look right at him just yet. Meeting new flyers always made Orri feel smaller than a buzzer.

The young one's nervousness was not lost on Yarrow, who chose not to acknowledge it for Orri's sake. "It's wonderful to meet you, Orri. Are you interested in seeing the outside world as well?"

Orri felt his heart drop, crouching lower and lower towards the ground. He was sure this was a trap, somehow. "Well, not really..."

"Come on, Orri," Illyria nudged him in the side, prompting him to let out a nearly comical sounding 'oof', "you can be honest."

"Vali will kill me if he finds out," Orri stated, still visibly afraid.

"Don't be so dramatic," Illyria laughed, "I mean, he goes into a tizzy if you have the smallest scratch on you! Look, I know you hate disappointing him, but you have to start living for yourself at some point."

"That's exactly right. There's really nothing to be afraid of, young one," Yarrow assured after directing an approving nod in Illyria's direction, "all we have to fear is fear itself."

"Here we go." Yuri glared scathingly at Yarrow, turning around to eat so he wouldn't have to listen to another one of his brother's cryptic riddles.

"I see you've now met my brother," Yarrow said in breathless exasperation, reciprocating the glare with one of his own, "his name is Yuri. He talks a big game, but he's harmless. Mostly."

"You kids should turn back right now if you don't wanna be bored to death," Yuri advised the two young flyers, not even making the slightest effort to be discreet about his lack of support for the other's plan.

Yarrow scowled at his brother and craned his neck to look back at Orri and Illyria. "Anyways... I figure I should explain myself a bit, just to clear the air, hm? If we are to survive in the outlands, or the Mysterious Beyond as many others call it, we must learn to trust each other first."

Orri couldn't help but feel like that comment was directed at him. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, taking shelter behind Illyria's forewing.

"My brother and I have been on our own for quite some time," Yarrow continued, "We chose to leave our flock, right about when we were your age, actually. We were young, eager and overconfident. What we had yet to learn was that the beyond does not discriminate. It can and will swallow you whole, regardless of how old or young you are. That's just the truth. We've seen so many wonders and we hope to see many more, but we're also looking for a place to settle down. Maybe a high, lonely place with enough water to sustain us. We were actually thinking of this place when we saw it, but... well, Illyria can tell you just how smoothly that went."

Illyria let a shrug roll off of her shoulders, a light but awkward chuckle escaping her beak. "Mhm. Faris doesn't exactly take too kindly to others encroaching on his so-called territory."

"It's just how things have always been done," Orri reasoned, coming to Faris' defense, "He's only trying to keep us safe."

"Just by that sentence alone, I can tell you have a kind heart," Yarrow pointed out, unfazed, "make sure you keep it that way, Orri. It's rare to find a soul in the Mysterious Beyond that hasn't been embittered."

"Yep," Yuri agreed through a mouthful of water, "the Mysterious Beyond will chew you up and spit you out a hundred times over. If you can keep that same attitude after all that crap, even I would be impressed."

Yarrow nodded his head, concurring with his brother's statement. "If you lose hope, then you lose. You'll just become fodder for the Mysterious Beyond, just another name. I know it sounds sappy, but hope is what kept my brother and I alive. Of course you can't survive on hope alone, but believing you can is already half of the journey."

Hope. That wasn't something Orri ever had much of, and perhaps that was exactly the problem. He dared to dream of a better place, but never dared to hope of one. With an optimistic glimmer in his eyes, he finally summoned the courage to look directly at the elder. "...Please, can you tell us more?"


Outside the thick cover of green, Aharon diligently stood guard, sending anyone who even glanced at him wrong fleeing in the opposite direction. Or at least he was prepared to do so, if it ever came to that. As someone who'd ventured off on many escapades as a young flyer, he understood what it was like, wanting the slightest taste of thrill and adventure.

Suddenly, a faint rustle from the grass caught his attention. His pupils constricted, his entire body poised to attack as he sniffed the air, trying to gauge the supposed threat. When he saw Faris emerge from the thin blades of green, Aharon felt a sense of relief, only to resume panicking less than a second later. Anyone else he could handle, but not Faris!

Regardless, he masked his panic and dipped his head respectfully. "Greetings, sir. What brings you here?"

"Have you seen Illyria?" Faris inquired, "Or Orri? Vali informed me that he turned around for a moment and Orri was gone. I wonder where they could have gotten to..."

"I'm afraid I haven't seen them, sir, I've been standing here this whole time, and they haven't passed through." Aharon remained stoic and stony faced, hoping that his superior wouldn't see through his act. If Faris found out he lied... Aharon didn't even want to think about it.

Faris paused to sniff the air. "Strange... Illyria's scent is still fresh. I know because that girl rolls around in the dirt all day, and she has a very strong scent." A hearty laugh escaped his beak, Aharon laughing along with him to guarantee that he stayed on the older flyer's good side.

The laughter came to an abrupt and sudden end when Faris' eye caught a footprint, mere inches away from where Aharon stood. Crouching over, he took a whiff of the soil. Although the footprints quickly disappeared, he could see a trail of leaves directly ahead of him. "That's Illyria's scent, alright. Looks like she went further inland..."

The realization dawned on Faris, and it took all of Aharon's willpower to remain calm and collected. The leader of the sentinels was no fool, there was no doubt that he'd already put the pieces together.

"That little... she went to talk to the wanderer! She probably roped poor Orri into it too," Faris fumed, "Aharon, follow me. I'll need my strongest sentinel in case those murderous outsiders want to try any foul play."

"But sir, my shift is nearly over," Aharon protested. He was looking for any excuse to keep the other from following that trail.

"What about it? The next flyer knows what to do when he gets here. Now come!" He began to advance forward only to stop in his tracks before letting out a high pitched screech, shouting out a single name.

"Nightwing!"

A dark blue flyer, a bit runtish in stature but a swift flyer nonetheless, swooped down. "I'm here, sir. What is it?"

"Nightwing," Faris began, addressing the other flyer by name, "Listen to me. I need you to go find Vali, tell him to come here and to wait for me. Got it?"

Nightwing nodded, setting off to carry out his orders. Left with no further delays or excuses, Aharon had no choice but to follow his superior, and to hope that Orri and Illyria had already cleared out of the area before they arrived.


Thank you all for your patience! I know this chapter took a bit longer to get released than it should have, and I do apologize for that. This semester has been incredibly hectic but I only have about two months left so I hope to get some writing in! There's not much happening in this chapter which was intentional, since it's intended to act sort of like a bridge between the previous installment and the one that's to come, and I hope you all are looking forward to that and seeing what'll happen to our hopeful, young flyers. Now with all of that out of the way, it's time to respond to some reviews!


The Rhombus:

Thank you for your helpful feedback as always! Your assessment of Vali and Orri was pretty spot on, haha. But I'm glad to hear that it kept your interest, and I hope it'll continue to do so.

[Loire]

Amazingly written Jassy! good job! It is kinda late for me here, so I only had the energy to read the prologue. And it got me hooked! your description of how to express the surroundings and characters in written words are very poetic and eloquent, which is so lovely. As for the plot, it would be as Rhombus said a very solid introduction. The sacrifice the father had to make is very touching and a good build up for what is coming next.

I'm not really a fanfic writer but rather a person who gives his OC additional background stories and is comfortable being in that place and level of writing. While reading your fanfic I realized I could learn a lot from your writing style to improve mine, very inspiring I would say. Anyhow, Keep up the work, you are doing great!   

[jassy]

FF link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13940589/4/Soaring-Across-Azure-Skies

A Conversation

The light of the Bright Circle poured in through the trees, illuminating Yarrow's aged body in a shower of warmth as he spread his wings wide, a proud and confident grin dancing across his beak. Many a times had he regaled the story of him and his brother's numerous adventures into the Mysterious Beyond, to the point he practically knew the entire tale by heart. Telling a group of eager yet naive young ones how he'd witnessed things none of them would ever believe unless they saw it with their own eyes, it was second nature to him.

As usual, Yuri took no part in the storytelling. He didn't have a flair for dramatics like his brother- he'd much rather sit the whole thing out and snack on some swimmers. This time was no different. He sat a little ways away from the group, his beak half engulfed by the babbling stream that gently curved its way around the forest. As he waited for an unsuspecting scaly swimmer to come moseying by, his scrutinizing gaze casually drifted over towards the two young bloods.

Illyria was absolutely enamored with Yarrow's tales of the outside world, dark green eyes beaming with exhilaration while she envisioned seeing it for herself. Orri's own thrill was a little bit more subdued, but make no mistake, it was certainly there. Deep within those thoughtful blue eyes, there was the slightest hint of wonder.

Yuri unconsciously smirked to himself at the sight of the fascinated pair, subsequently lunging forward and trapping the scaly swimmer in between his teeth. The poor, hapless creature attempted to wriggle free, as if he had a chance of escape. No more than a moment later all movement ceased, quickly followed by the flyer swallowing his catch in one swift gulp. The unfortunate swimmer was a prime example of the immutable fact that life could change in an instant, whether one was the hunter or the hunted. It was a valuable lesson, one that he was sure the two youngsters would never learn if they stayed isolated on the hunk of floating land they called home. Not that he wanted to be the one to teach them that lesson. He couldn't have cared less.

"...Well, I suppose that's enough of my rambling for one day," Yarrow concluded, assuming a more neutral stance as compared to his earlier, more flamboyant position. "You youngsters aren't even supposed to be here, are you? Both of you should leave before you get in trouble, but remember, you two will have to make a decision very soon. We figure it's for the best that we don't stay here for too long."

"Yep," Yuri agreed, "I was saying that we should leave right this instant, but the idiot over there wants to give you time to decide what you wanna do. In any case, we'll be gone by the time the Bright Circle rises tomorrow, whether you're coming with us or not."

Illyria grunted in both agreement and acknowledgement. They didn't have much time to decide on a course of action, but truth be told, she didn't need any. She would gladly leave this miserable island behind. Her only problem was figuring out how to break the news to Faris, but she'd worry about that later. As she turned to leave, she noticed Orri standing completely rigid, appearing to be in some kind of a trance.

The male's pupils narrowed into barely visible slits, every other muscle in his body seemingly frozen. He sniffed the air around him as if he were hunting for something, his sniffer fixated on a certain scent while he tried to figure out who or what the mysterious scent belonged to.

"Orri? Hey, Orri!" Illyria nudged him in the side in an attempt to get his attention, her tone being one of concern with just the slightest hint of annoyance. "What is it? What do you sense?"

"I don't think we're alone," Orri hissed through whispers, more afraid than concerned. "We should go."

"Duh. That's what I've been trying to tell you," Illyria quipped, pushing him forwards with her beak. She could sense Orri's palpable fear, and gave him another nudge with her forewing. "Don't worry. If we leave now, no one will even notice that we were gone."


"I can't believe this. It's absurd," Faris griped, "you raise a young flyer, you give and you give everything you can to them, and how do they repay you when they grow up? By going behind your back."

Aharon knew better than to interrupt while Faris was on one of his angry tangents, as he'd heard the same complaint from the older flyer many times before. The words were different, but the subject of his frustration always remained the same. It was always about something Illyria had done, and how he was determined to impose stronger restrictions upon the young girl. As always, Illyria got away with a warning and being confined to the nest for a few days before she rushed off to go against Faris' wishes once more. It was an endless and vicious cycle.

Faris shook his head. "I tell you, I think I've been far too lenient with that girl. I've always given her the freedom to run around and do what she wants, but I think that's done more harm than good. Of course young ones need freedom, but they need just as much structure and discipline. Don't you agree?"

"Huh?" It took the male a moment to realize that his superior was asking for his opinion. "O-Oh, yes, yes, of course! Structure and discipline are, uh... very important, sir."

A pleased grin spread across Faris' face, followed by a singular nod of approval. "I'm glad we agree. Then again, we see eye to eye on nearly everything, so it's really no surprise. You should know that's actually one of the many reasons I chose you to follow in my footsteps when I am gone. After all, great minds think alike, do they not?"

Aharon opened his mouth, prepared to agree with yet another one of Faris' statements, even if he wasn't completely sure what the old timer was talking about. "Of course—"

"Hold that thought," Faris interrupted, holding out his arm and keeping the male behind him from moving any further, should there be any danger lurking within the foliage. Cold, stern eyes remained on the thick bushel of grass that moved in steady waves, until a gentle rustle disturbed the smooth cadence. The elder stiffened, ready to go in for the kill if need be.

Even Aharon found himself waiting in suspense and anticipation. Despite his harsh and nearly emotionless demeanor, he did have a bit of a soft spot for the kids. They reminded him a bit of himself when he was younger, filled with optimism and hope. While joining the sentinels was a decision he'd made himself after he had already made peace with the fact he would never see the outside world in his lifetime, he had an inkling of hope that maybe, just maybe, it didn't have to be that way for the newer generation of flyers.

Aharon snapped back to reality when the grass finally parted and Faris unwittingly held his breath, releasing it when Orri and Illyria emerged from the green depths, the color nearly draining from both of their faces when they saw who was waiting for them on the other side. Faris immediately relaxed, only to tense up once again, the look in his eyes now more stern than defensive. He stepped forward, addressing them both.

"Sorry," Aharon mouthed to the two young flyers, briefly dipping his head in remorse before assuming a more stoic position.

"Where have you two been?" Faris demanded, pupils narrowing into thin lines. "...And don't even think of lying to me."

"Why are you so upset?" Illyria questioned, clearly having a death wish, "We were just... you know, exploring. Or something."

Right behind her, Orri could be seen smacking the palm of his hand against his forehead. For all her sneaking off and attempting to escape, he hoped that she would have been a better liar.

"Or something," Faris repeated, highly unamused. "And what do you mean by that, exactly?"

"I don't know," Illyria mumbled under her breath, "We were just wandering around, alright? Why does it even matter what we were doing?"

"Illyria..." Faris sighed, "just how big of a fool do you take me for? I know you went to go speak with the wanderer, even after I told you to stay away from him! Honestly, if you're going to blatantly disobey my wishes and then lie to me about it, the least you could do is put some effort into it."

"Well, there's actually two of them," the female pointed out, "and if you already knew where I was, then why bother asking? Do you just enjoy playing mind games?"

This couldn't be happening. Orri's was quite literally living through his worst nightmare. While Faris and Illyria went back and forth, Orri closed his eyes in the hope that this was just a sleep story and that when he woke up, everything would be back to normal. When he opened his eyes, the first thing that caught his attention was how angry Faris looked. He seemed so furious, like he might pass out from the amount of anger that currently coursed throughout his body. No one will even notice, Orri repeated in his head, recalling Illyria's words from earlier.

"I expect this sort of insubordination from you," Faris snarled at Illyria, "but Orri... you've always had some sense, at least!"

Orri wasn't going to lie and act like Faris' words didn't wound him, especially since Faris was one of the few flyers in the flock who actually treated him like he was worth giving a chance. But when he looked at Illyria, who still stood unfazed and unwavering, Orri thought about all the times she'd taken the rap for him. For his mistakes. Her reputation in the flock definitely preceded her, but it wasn't entirely her fault.

"But they're really not that awful, sir," Orri spoke up, not stuttering even once. "They just want to settle down, and live a safe, peaceful life like all of us. With all due respect... doesn't everyone deserve that?"

Faris appeared at a loss for words, opening his mouth for a mere moment before the words died on his tongue. "...Well, of course they do, Orri. But I can't risk the safety of the entire flock for the sake of two flyers."

"You say it's for the safety of the flock, but this seems pretty extreme," Orri argued, shocking Illyria into a glimmer of respect, "it makes me wonder if you're actually doing it for us, or you're only doing it to control us."

"Mind your tone, shortbeak," Faris warned, voice dripping with malice, "what would your brother think, hearing you disrespect an elder like that? I doubt he'd be happy."

"Well, you don't know my brother," Orri replied, surprisingly calm despite the threat, "he doesn't see things the way you do, and he wouldn't just get upset without at least giving me a chance to explain myself."

That last part wasn't fully true- Vali sometimes did get upset if he was worried for Orri's safety, but the young male wasn't about to falter in front of Faris, as much as the rational side of him wanted to.

Faris' eyes widened, his entire body tensing up. For a moment it seemed as if he might actually strike Orri, who braced himself for the oncoming impact.

"Stop!" Illyria screeched, her voice cracking with desperation. "Just stop it. Please. I'll accept whatever punishment you see fit, and I'm sure Orri will accept whatever punishment his brother decides for him. But you need to know that this was all was my idea. I put Orri up to it."

"Illyria, don't," Orri mouthed. He didn't want her to take the fall for him yet again. If she ended up in trouble anyways, then that brave facade he put on would be for naught.

Nonetheless, Illyria continued. "If there's anyone you should be angry at, it should be me."

"Very well," Faris muttered calmly, his voice carrying much less anger than before. If anything, he looked tired. "You, young lady, go on home. You and I are going to have a very long chat when I get back. As for you, Orri, your brother is waiting for you. And I don't doubt he'll want to have a conversation with you as well."

"Yes, sir." Orri bowed his head in submission, acting like a completely different flyer than before.

Aharon watched the two youngsters depart, a dejected sigh slipping out. Orri and Illyria had done nothing wrong, yet Faris was treating them as if they had betrayed the flock. Although, in Faris' eyes, even speaking to an outsider was probably akin to treason.

Letting out another sigh, he started to slink back towards the brush, hoping to slip away without being noticed.

"Aharon," Faris' voice echoed. From the corner of his eye he could see Aharon, making an attempt to retreat into the shadows.

"Aharon!" The elder's voice was firmer this time, and loud enough to shake some of the leaves off of their branches.

Aharon winced, reluctantly circling back to his superior. "I-I'm here, sir."

"Good," Faris nodded curtly, not even bothering to look the younger sentinel in the eye. Aharon didn't need to use his sniffer to tell that the elder was upset, the way Faris treated him like a youngling caught doing something they weren't supposed to was answer enough. "...Come with me. We need to talk."


As the day steadily drew to a close, the Bright Circle now began to gradually recede into the still waters below. The evening sky was covered in hues of orange, yellow and blue, fading into each other to create quite the fascinating mix of different colors. The rays of the Bright Circle barely reached the cliffside, the warm glow casting itself onto the form of two flyers, one laying about in the nest while the other paced from one side to the other, his movements reminiscent of anxiety and uncertainty.

Vali paced around in a circle, his movements somewhat matching the state of his psyche at the moment. He wasn't even sure where to begin- yelling at his brother would get them nowhere, but the same was true if he decided to simply brush the issue off. Or perhaps he was just reading too deeply into this. Orri was his brother, not his son. Vali had to remind himself of that fact an astounding number of times.

"Orri..." Vali released the tension that had built up in his chest with a sigh, perching himself beside his brother. "I just want to let you know that I'm not angry or disappointed with you. I'm just... I worry about you. A lot."

"Hm. You and everyone else," Orri responded through murmurs, no more responsive than he was when they got home. From where he sat, the light of the Bright Circle did not reach him, leaving his face to remain shrouded in darkness.

Vali winced, burying his beak in his hands. Others had always commended Vali, saying that he had a way with words, but he failed to see how. He couldn't even phrase his feelings in a way that didn't make his brother feel even more incompetent.

"That's not what I meant," he explained, "look, that came out wrong. What I'm trying to say is that yes, I do worry about you, but not in the way that you think. I worry about you because... well, you are all I have."

This seemed to draw Orri's attention from the ground, looking up to where he could see his brother smile briefly. Vali edged closer to the other male, joining him in the shadows.

"I won't lie to you, Orri. You're fragile. You always have been. I always worried for you and felt this intense... need to protect you, even before father left. But it definitely got worse after that. I mean, I still try to let you be on your own because I don't want to suffocate you, but I can't sit here and pretend that that concern doesn't eat at me everyday."

Orri's eyes softened, and he slowly closed the small distance between him and Vali. He listened to his brother lay himself bare, which was not something Vali did very often.

"Well," Orri started, "you're not like Faris, so I'd say you're doing a pretty good job at that."

Vali permit himself a laugh, despite the seriousness of the situation. While he tended to worry himself to death at times, Vali also had a rather unique sense of humor. It was one of the many qualities that Orri had come to admire about his brother.

"Oh, cut the poor lad some slack," Vali managed through bursts of laughter, "he's just trying to keep us all together. Sure, he may be a bit brash and unreasonable at times, but he does care about us."

"I know." Orri was well aware of that fact, but intentions alone weren't enough to sway him, nor were they enough to make him stay. Faris might have actually hit him, had Illyria not intervened. Orri had even purposely neglected to tell Vali about the altercation, knowing it wouldn't have done anyone any good.

Silence reined, and for a moment, neither flyer said anything. Orri was the first to speak up, his tone of voice more appropriate for delivering news of a death. "...I'm still going to leave, Vali. I know you want to stay and it's alright if you do, I'll understand, but... I just don't see any sort of future for myself where I'm still living in Blue Haven. I'm sorry."

"Hold on." Vali shook his head, utterly bewildered by what he was hearing. "What makes you think I want to stay?"

"I don't know," Orri muttered, followed by a light shrug of his shoulders, "you're always telling me how we're safe here, and how I should do as Faris asks and never even think of the outside world."

Vali didn't really have a good response to that. It made sense why Orri might assume his brother was among the many flyers in their flock who practically kissed the ground the sentinels walked upon, even if the reality was quite the opposite.

"I say that because I want you to stay safe," he clarified, "you know what they do to those who break the rules. I just don't want anything like that happening to you."

Orri felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders, evident in the way every single ounce of tension seemed to disappear from his body. "So you're not upset...?"

"Of course not," Vali assured him, his voice so gentle it might as well have been a whisper. "Ideally, I would want you to stay here, where I know you'll always be safe. But if you absolutely insist on leaving, then I hope you realize that there's no way you're going anywhere without me."

The smile that graced Orri's face was so bright that it could have shamed the Bright Circle itself. His life had changed quite a bit in one day, but he was relieved to know that his brother would be there to help him navigate it. Delighted, he buried his face in Vali's chest, embracing the other male.

Vali gratefully sunk in, showing not even the slightest sign of hesitation as he touched his forehead to that of his brother's. "I love you, Orri."

While it was apparent to everyone else just how much his brother meant to Vali, Orri himself had never quite realized how much he longed to hear his brother say those words until he actually did. Even if the entire world was against him, as long as he had his brother's support, Orri was confident that he could weather his way through any storm. Feeling perfectly safe in his brother's company, he closed his eyes and leaned in closer.

"I love you too."


The male flyer's footsteps ricocheted off of the walls, rattling the very foundation of the nest. It felt just like the beginning of an earthshake, during those brief moments when the tremors weren't strong enough to deal any real damage but were enough to leave its victims with a feeling of dread as they waited for the earth to give way beneath their feet. The way Illyria felt, she might as well have been caught in the middle of a real earthshake. Her entire world was collapsing, and all she could do was sit there and wait for the worst of it.

The Bright Circle had just about completed its cycle across the sky, slowly retreating behind the horizon. The dim and dusky light just barely reached his face, allowing the girl to get a decent look at how infuriated he was, even if just for a second.

"Of all the foolish and idiotic things you've done..." Faris growled, "this is by far the most foolish!"

Gritting her teeth so tight that she felt they might crack, Illyria refused to look at her adoptive guardian in the eye for fear that she might burst into tears if she did. She couldn't say that his words didn't affect her even just a little bit, but she would rather keep her feelings hidden inside than ever give him the satisfaction of knowing he got to her.

Faris was moments away from launching into a litany of protests, when he noticed that the target of his lecture wasn't even looking at him. He shouldn't have been surprised- lately, trying to talk any amount of sense into Illyria was no different than talking to a rock.

"Illyria," he inhaled sharply, "are you even listening to me?"

"Obviously not," she retorted with a scoff, "come on. I thought you were supposed to be smart."

"You are out of line, little girl," Faris warned, his outraged glare practically burning a proverbial hole in the female's forehead. "You are speaking to an elder. Remember that."

His warning was only met with indifference. He raised a claw, shaking it in her direction as his roars echoed reverberated through the cave. "I'm being incredibly lenient right now but next time- the next time I hear you take that tone with me, I won't let it go!"

"Whatever," Illyria deflected, offering an apathetic shake of her head before wrapping her wings tightly around herself, trying to ease the shaking sensation that currently plagued her body. "...You know I'm not afraid of you, don't you? Your empty threats never stopped me before, and they sure aren't going to stop me now."

Faris wanted to explode. He wanted to unleash all his anger, his rage and frustrations out onto the girl. But he didn't.

He sighed, his anger finally dissipating into acceptance. He nodded his head several times, greatly exaggerating the gesture. "Well, you know what? I've done all I can, Ria. I don't really know where exactly I went wrong with you, but what I do know is that I've tried to raise you as any good father would..."

"Two mistakes," Illyria cut in, her beak quivering at the memories that were dredged up when he used his old nickname for her, "first, you're not my father. I've never seen you as my father, and I never will. Second, even if I did see you as my father at any point, you were never a 'good' one."

Faris' breath hitched slightly, the harshness of her words having a physical effect on him. He was never particularly expressive, but anyone who truly knew him could see that he definitely took the words to heart, despite his attempts to conceal it. Having known the older flyer for much of her life, the subtle changes were not lost on Illyria. But as it would turn out, she could no longer spare another ounce of her energy worrying about his feelings. Besides, he'd never took her feelings into consideration before, so she was simply returning the favor.

She expected another boring lecture or for him to raise his voice at her again. Instead, all she got from him was a sigh of complete and utter defeat. He didn't even seem angry. Just disappointed.

"...I can respect that," he choked out, "I understand I'm not perfect, and I'm sorry that I let you down. I suppose as a guardian figure, I can no longer stop you from from doing what you want. Though ancestors above know I've tried."

He chuckled wryly, almost amused by the entire situation. Illyria's priorly resentful gaze drifted up towards him, constantly trying to blink away the newly budding tears that threatened to spill over. She hugged herself, knees drawn close towards her chest as she trembled with fear. What she feared exactly, she didn't quite know.

"I'm leaving, Faris," she practically whimpered, "tonight, and you can't stop me. I'm an adult now. It's my choice." There was a hint of desperation in her voice, like she was trying to convince herself of it just as much as she was trying to convince him. Even now, after everything, a part of her still wanted to cling to him.

"I know," Faris responded in a soft, gentle voice. "Again, as your guardian, I cannot stop you from leaving. But as the leader of the sentinels, I can. By fraternizing with those no-good wanderers, you're putting the future of the entire flock at stake."

He stepped in closer, lowering his head until his pale eyes were staring directly into her darker, more fearful ones. "I say this to you not as your guardian, but as protector of this flock- I am warning you one final time to put an end to this nonsense. You might even get a lighter punishment. However, if you choose to betray us, then you and whoever else leaves will be deemed enemies of the flock, and you may never return to Blue Haven." He stepped back, holding his head high in a display of superiority over her. "...The choice is completely yours."

He looked down on Illyria, both literally and figuratively, giving a slight and formal bow of his head. "Think about it," he urged, turning his back towards her and flying into the night.

Once he was far away enough that Illyria could no longer hear the flapping of his wings, the female released the air trapped within her chest, gasping for breath as if she'd just managed to resurface after nearly drowning. Her entire body trembled, the tears she had tried so hard to hold back now flowing freely. She felt uneasy, so much so that she felt like she might end up regurgitating the food she ate, a bitter taste lingering on her tongue.

A stream of tears fell from her glistening verdant eyes, blazing with a painful rage that she'd never known. She felt her still-beating heart sink down into the pit of her stomach. While her emotions ran rampant, Illyria was suddenly bestowed with a bit of clarity, several realizations hitting her all at once. The most important one of all being her sudden awareness of the fact that Blue Haven was not her home, and it never had been.

To her, home was meant to be a place where she was loved for who she was, not a place where a single step out of line would earn her the title of a traitor. Blue Haven seemed like a wonderful paradise, but it was truly just a trap. One that she'd had the misfortune of being born into. She knew she could very well die out there, beyond the horizon, and she had made her peace with that. She'd rather her life be cut short while exploring the world's wonders instead of dying old and having accomplished nothing of any substance.

Still heaving and gasping for air, Illyria ambled towards the entrance of what she once considered her home. Moist and puffy eyes looked out towards the sky, where the blue haze of the daytime had completely fallen to reveal the billions and billions of twinkling stars that stretched on forever, with no obstacle blocking their path.

Even as she let out a calming and steadying breath, Illyria's chest still ached. Her head still hadn't stopped pounding from the force of her sobs, but for the first time in her life, she was thinking more clearly than ever before. Surprisingly, she found that she held no ill will against Faris. She was actually rather grateful to him. After all, by treating her like the enemy for simply desiring a better future, he'd made her decision that much easier.


Annnd there we have it! I'm honestly quite surprised at how quickly I was able to pump out this chapter, but then again, it is a fairly straightforward one and it was already in the works by the time I started Chapter 2. I'll admit it was pretty lax in terms of action, but it is still a vital part of the narrative, I promise! Luckily, the next chapter will definitely be a bit more action packed and I will finally be able to actually get the ball rolling with this story. Next, on a smaller and less important note, I might go back and revise/fix a few spelling errors I noticed in the previous chapters, because I honestly don't believe I'll be able to stop thinking about them until I do, haha. It's always those tiny errors that you somehow missed while proof-reading that drive you absolutely insane once you actually notice them.

Anyway, that's about all I have to say for this chapter. I hope to see you all in the next installment to discover how our main flyers get out of their current predicament, whenever that may be! And as always, I look forward to hearing everybody's thoughts!

-Jassy


@Talset thank you for your kind words! I'm glad to hear that the prologue was interesting enough to get you hooked, and I'm even happier I was able to inspire you! Hopefully I'll get to hear your thoughts more often. 

[rhombus]

My deepest apologies for not reviewing lately. Life has kept me rather busy as of late, but thankfully I had spare time today in which to catch up on this wonderful story.

A New Dawn:

Now this is a chapter that presents quite a few interesting developments. Orri is haunted by thoughts of the Big Water calling to him for some purpose, which his brother tries to dissuade him from. However, considering Orri’s connection to the unseen, I suspect he might have a valid reason for seeking to leave the island that he calls home. At the same time Illyria seems quite taken aback with curiosity at the newcomers, much to Faris’s consternation.  Yarrow seems good enough and offers the young flyer quite a lot to process about the world beyond, but Yuri on the other hand... I suspect he might be trouble going forward if his suggestion of abduction is anything to go by. I look forward to seeing how these plot developments proceed from here.

The Outsiders:

Aha!  Just as I suspected Ori and Illyria decided to check out what the outsiders had to say.  The fact that Yarrow and his brother wants additional members to join their flock is a believable story, considering that there is safety in numbers.  I am quite curious what their sales pitch is going to be exactly, though I suspect Illyria will not need much convincing.  Though, unfortunately for the four flyers, it now seems that Faris has caught their scent.  It looks like a confrontation is now in making...

A Conversation:

Now this is easily the most powerful chapter yet.  We get to see the remarkable contrast in the relationship between Ori and his brother, which is based upon mutual respect and concern, and the relationship between Illyria and her guardian.  The choice that he makes for her is supposedly for the good of the flock, but one wonders if his motives are actually based in his desire to maintain control and order.  In any case, she has been given a heartbreaking choice, and one which appears to be irrevocable. If she leaves the island then it will be for good.  I think that it is obvious which choice she will make, but in any case it will be something to behold in the chapter to come.

I look forward to seeing what you have in story for us in the next chapter.

[Loire]

Chapter 1: A New Dawn

This chapter was quite interesting and well written where it directs more towards an indepth look on Orri's yearning to set out and explore the wonders beyond his home, out to the Big Water. He seem to be conflicted between wanting to venture out as his father did and not leaving this peaceful abode which seemingly is a repetetive lifestyle, which you presented brilliantly by the way. His brother is quite against the thought of Orri leaving and it is nice seeing more of how their relationship are between them. The dialouges were very engaging as a reader and I enjoyed seeing the process till the conclusion.

We also get to meet some new faces; Illyria, Faris, Yarrow and Yuri. I liked seeing you displaying a bit of the world building where Illyria and Faris home aren't so welcoming of strangers; either you become a part of the residence or you have to leave. Faris and Illyria dialouges really exposed what character and personality they possess and how you showcased it in their conversation was well executed. Yarrow is quite interesting concerning of where you are leading him up to, he came out as nice, but Yuri's influence might bring out a nasty side of him if they conclude to kidnap illyria.

Overall this chapter is impressive and delighting, and I gotta say it again your way with words are captivating by the poetic essence you influence your writing with, which makes it moreso lovely, Nice job!

 

[jassy]

FF link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13940589/5/Soaring-Across-Azure-Skies

The Escape

Blue Haven had fallen into a quiet lull, as it usually did so once the Night Circle fully rose into the darkening sky, accompanied by an endless canopy of dancing stars. The only exception to the silence was of course the Big Water, its waves carelessly smoothing over the sand, followed shortly by the occasional splash of a shimmering scaly swimmer breaching the surface. Everything was exactly as it should have been- save for the slender silhouette of a flyer gliding higher and higher, right into the mouth of a cliff, dimly lit by the Night Circle's glow.

Vali and Orri had both elected to stay up that night, the slightly muffled dribble of the waves like a soothing melody to their ears. Vali appeared asleep beside his brother, while in truth, his mind was overactive with every single plausibility. Orri was sitting upright, his stomach churning with the weight of his decision. The realization of what he'd done had just begun to hit him, and it felt more like a punch to the gut.

He would have gone on to overthink and panic some more had it not been for the soft grunt that grabbed his attention from right outside the entrance to their nest. Orri scuffled over to investigate, nearly falling over in surprise when he saw who it was that awaited him.

"Illyria?" He was a bit taken aback by her sudden appearance at his home, but quickly helped her inside. "What are you doing here? I didn't even hear you come up."

There was a slight hesitation on Illyria's end. "Oh, well..." She didn't want to just blurt it out. She wanted to be delicate, but unfortunately, there was simply no 'proper' way to say it.

"Well?" Orri urged, features contorting into a look of confusion and anticipation. "What is it?"

"I just came to tell you that if we're going to leave, we should do it now," Illyria blurted out, despite her prior resistance to doing just that. "Time isn't exactly on our side with all of this, so I don't think we should waste it."

The brothers exchanged worried glances, clearly having the same thought- Illyria was hiding something. Orri knew the girl well enough by now to know that she would never admit to something she purposely omitted, no matter how much others pressured her. The only way to cough up the truth from Illyria was to trick her and catch her in a lie. Beat her at her own game.

"Well... alright. Vali's going to go wherever I go, so if you want to, we could leave right now." While Orri spoke, a realization had begun to dawn on him. "How... how did Faris handle the news?"

"Oh, no need to worry about him. He's fine with it," she responded, her demeanor a bit too cheerful. She winced as the words left her beak. Even a youngling could have come up with a more convincing lie.

Everything and everyone went quiet, making for an awkward and drawn out silence between the trio of flyers. Fortunately, Orri soon ended the tension with a surprisingly hysterical laugh. "...You are a terrible liar."

"Oh, give me a break." Illyria threw her hands up in defeat. "I only ever actually lie to Faris, and honestly? He puts way too much trust in me. You'd think he would have learned something from all the times I disobeyed him and snuck off. Besides, I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm a bit off my game right now."

"Seems like you're both pretty gullible, if you ask me," Orri teased, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, "like father, like daughter, hm?"

"He is not my father," Illyria hissed defensively, "he doesn't have a single caring bone in his body."

Vali tilted his head to one side, surveying the female curiously. "I take it you two got into an argument of some kind?"

"Argument is a nice word for it," Illyria huffed in response, "he might as well have disowned me. You should have heard him. He spoke to me like he couldn't trust me, like I was an enemy. I don't even like the bastard that much, but it still hurt."

"Language," Vali reminded her in a firm yet gentle tone.

Illyria, having little to no patience for any further nonsense, produced an irritated scoff. On the other hand, Orri laughed and shook his head. He understood his friend's frustration of course, but couldn't help laughing at his brother's priorities. Vali would always be Vali, no matter the situation.

It took him some time, but Orri was finally able to regain some semblance of composure. He cleared his throat a few times, attempting to appear serious. "Well, if he treated you like the enemy, then there's no doubt he'll extend that same courtesy towards anyone else who chooses to leave."

"Mm. That's true," Vali assented, "if we're going to leave, we should do it now. Do either of you know where the wanderers might be right about now?"

Illyria flashed a mischievous grin, with Orri reciprocating her expression. The latter flyer usually wasn't one who went out of his way to defy authority, but so long as he had his brother's support, Orri felt like he could do anything- including breaking the rules.

So the trio set off on their journey, a journey to change their lives for the better.


Across every single peak of the island, at the top of every cliff, a single sentinel could be seen dutifully keeping watch. The heavily built flyers, with their fearsome reputations, were spread out across every high point of Blue Haven- meaning flying was absolutely out of the question. Unfortunately, this also meant that the three flyers would be forced to travel on ground like a pack of helpless sand creepers. As creatures who were at their strongest soaring through the skies, stumbling blindly through the lumpy sand was an incredibly humbling experience.

"This is so stupid," Illyria complained, tripping over her own feet for what was about the third time since they departed, "at this rate, we might get to the wanderers by the time the Bright Circle sets tomorrow. Seriously now, how does anyone actually get around like this?"

"It's really not so bad," Orri piped up, "lots of creatures don't even have wings, they just use their legs to walk. This is probably pretty normal for them. We're just not used to it."

"Well, I'm not one of them. This is humiliating. We're flyers, not walkers, dammit."

"You know we don't really have a choice here, Illyria. If we use our wings, the sentinels will spot us for sure. Then we'll never get out of here."

"Hey loudmouths," Vali butted in, "maybe we should be a little quieter when we talk about getting out of here."

Perhaps it was luck, perhaps it was just pure coincidence. Whatever it was, something prompted Orri to chance a look towards the tip of the cliff towering directly above them, protruding outwards from a fertile moss-covered hill. When he did, he was able to notice the sentinel perched on the top scanning the perimeter, as if searching for a noise.

"Hide," Orri whispered, "Quickly!"

The three flyers retreated to the darkness of the shadows, holding their breaths for what seemed like an eternity. At last the lone flyer abandoned the search, presuming it to be nothing more than his mind playing tricks on him, and returned to his usual post.

"All clear," Vali announced before emerging from the gloom, pursued by Orri and Illyria.

"What in the world are you three doing?"

Had it not been for the severity of the situation, the reaction of the trio would have been almost comical. When the voice suddenly erupted from behind them, Vali immediately came to a screeching halt which in turn caused Orri to bump into his brother, followed by Illyria promptly colliding into the former.

Vali was the first to turn around and see who the voice belonged to, his pounding heart caught in his throat as he slowly craned his head. Then, just like that, the feeling of dread vanished and was replaced with immense relief.

"Oh, Scud," Vali sighed, his muscles relaxing at the familiar sight, "it's just you. We thought you were someone else."

The scrawny flyer was perched atop the ledge outside his home, narrowing his eyes in piqued curiosity. "Pfft. You're lucky I'm not someone else. Why, with all your babbling, I'm actually surprised that the sentinels haven't caught you yet. What are you three up to, anyhow?"

"We're leaving Blue Haven," Orri answered in a hushed voice.

"Leaving Blue Haven?" Scud nearly shouted, immediately slapping his hands over his beak to stifle his voice. "That seems a bit hasty, don't it?"

"It's not," Illyria hissed, the feelings of resentment from her exchange with Faris clearly still lingering, "...I can promise you that."

There was a visible look of concern embedded on Scud's face, but it only lasted for a second before his usual cheerful and carefree disposition returned to his face. "Well... alright. But if you guys are leaving, then I'm coming with you."

"You don't have to do that," Vali insisted, "you don't have to leave your home just because we are."

"Oy, get a load of this guy," Scud guffawed, "I'm not doing it for you, wisehead. You'd be surprised by how many of us want out of this stupid place. Besides, I'm sure you guys could use a storyteller and someone with a sense of humor to lighten things up along the way, eh? Just let me wake up Gale and then we can go."

Scud scampered back inside, heading towards the rear of the cave in which he lived. Gale was fast asleep in a patch of dirt, his beak facing the wall of the cave with his back turned towards his friend.

"Gale," Scud whispered, stirring the grumpy flyer from his peaceful slumber with a not so gentle nudge. "Oy, lazybones. Wake up."

"Ugh... buzz off why don't you," Gale muttered groggily, his mind still lost in the fog that came with sleep. He wasn't sure who it was that dared to interrupt his beauty sleep, but he gave a dismissive wave that spelled out a clear message: get lost.

Scud let out a huff, having no time nor patience to deal with Gale's usual stubbornness. He nudged him again, with much more force this time- enough to jolt him awake.

"Ow! What the-!"

Gale awoke with a mouth full of dirt, the first thing he saw being Scud standing over him, grinning like the idiot that he was. Gale, who greatly treasured his sleep like most normal flyers, did not take very kindly to the rude awakening.

"I swear I'm going to rip your stupid beak off of your stupid face," Gale snarled, scowling at the other male. "Do you have any idea how late it is, you blathering idiot? If you want to go ahead and fly around all night then by all means, go ahead. But some of the saner flyers on this island are trying to sleep."

"No time for that, I'm afraid," Scud responded, surprisingly casual, "We're leaving Blue Haven. Right now, so get your head in the game and let's go."

The other's statement hit Gale like a rockslide, leaving him grasping for words, his beak agape in shock and disbelief. "Wait, what?! Leave Blue Haven? I don't even- have you completely lost your mind?"

Scud tapped his beak, as if he were actually entertaining the possibility. "I don't know... maybe. But never mind that. You can join me and the others, or you can stay here by yourself. Up to you."

Scud proceeded to walk away without him, leaving Gale to fret about his choice for a few seconds. A wise move, as it hardly took any time at all for the latter flyer to produce an utterly defeated groan.

"Dammit, fine! I'm coming."

Scud paused, donning an absolutely delighted grin. "Oh! There you are. I knew you'd come around."

"Don't push your luck, wisehead," Gale warned, storming off ahead of him while muttering several protests, most of them including the word 'stupid'. While he was indeed incredibly resentful that he had basically been coerced into doing something he never wanted to, a small part of him had to admit that it had been quite the clever trick.


Yuri was no stranger to the silence and tranquility of the nighttime. If he was being honest, he quite relished in it. Many feared the night, afraid of what unknown abominations might be lurking in the depths of the darkness, but not him. There were many occasions where he found himself wide awake in the middle of the night, and the only way he found peace was by laying underneath the gaze of the stars, the Night Circle watching over him. As it turned out, tonight was another one of those times.

While his brother retired for the night and caught up on some much needed rest, Yuri sat by the stream and protected their hiding place, ensuring that it remained hidden. Yarrow insisted that it would be fine, that no one would find them there, but Yuri couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. His eyesight wasn't the greatest and the dark cover of dusk made just about everything look the same, so he was at a disadvantage there. Fortunately, his sniffer had yet to fail him- he'd latched onto a scent, an unfamiliar one, and he wasn't going to sleep for even a second until he knew what it was.

Suddenly, a faint and barely detectable rustle from the bushes caught his attention. Yuri was up on his feet in an instant, ready to pounce on whatever unsuspecting fool came sauntering by.

Yarrow, being a fairly light sleeper, steadily stirred from his slumber. "Mm... Yuri? What is it? Do you see something?"

"No," Yuri answered bluntly, "But I hear something. In the bushes, over there."

Yarrow squinted and turned his attention towards the foliage, watching with bated breath, waiting for something to happen.

The bushes rustled again, and through them stepped Orri, his face lit up by the Night Circle's pale glow.

"Relax," Illyria snorted, having noticed Yuri's defensive position, "it's just us."

"And friends!" Scud added, as chipper as ever.

Yarrow breathed a sigh of relief. "You know, you really should be more careful wandering around in the dark like that. Yuri almost punched you in the gut."

Orri rubbed the nape of his neck, offering a bashful chuckle. "Yes... traveling at night on foot isn't as easy as it looks. But anyway," he cleared his throat, "we're all ready to leave right now, if you are."

Yuri eyed him suspiciously. "You're sure you weren't followed?"

The way Yuri suddenly invaded Orri's space caused the young male to instinctively back away. "I-I think so," he stuttered, "but it won't really matter once we're airborne."

"Orri's right," said Vali, coming to his brother's defense, "There are sentinels watching just about every corner of this island. As soon as we're in the air, they'll spot us for sure. Our only hope is to outrun them."

"Well then," Yarrow sighed, "We shouldn't waste a single moment more."

Sounds of agreement rippled quietly through the small gaggle of flyers, who promptly abandoned the shelter of the vegetation and headed straight for the shore. No sooner had they turned their backs and left, an unseen and mysterious figure cloaked in darkness could barely be seen shifting about.

If someone happened to come by and if they looked closely, they might have been able to spot a flyer- dangling upside down from a tree by grasping the branches with its talons. The camouflaged creature then unsheathed its wings, revealing the unmistakable but still exceptionally well-disguised form of Nightwing. As soon as he had heard what he needed to, he released his hold on the tree branch and swiftly took to the air, his dark blue hide blending in perfectly with the night sky.


Near the top of a short mountain situated in between the many taller peaks that twisted and turned across the land, seated upon the flat surface of a ledge that protruded from the mountain's face, two sentinels stood watch- albeit not quite as diligently as they were ordered to. Oran and Niro were not exactly regaled for their work in keeping watch over the island, as they had a most unremarkable tendency to slack off and fool around, even when on watch. They weren't a force to be reckoned with like Aharon, nor were they helpless runts like Nightwing, who was no good for anything but following Faris around and doing his dirty work. They received all of the hero worship without having to actually do any of the work- which was just how they liked it.

"This has got to be the most boring job on Blue Haven," Niro griped, leaning against the cold and rock-hard wall, "nothing ever happens."

Right across from him, Oran was preoccupied with grooming and preening himself rather than keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. "Better make sure Faris doesn't hear you say that, or else he'll have your head."

"Oh come on," Niro scoffed, "don't be such a shortbeak. He's not even here."

"Maybe not, but that old coot has eyes everywhere. You never know who could be listening. Why, Faris himself could be listening in on us talking about him right now!"

"That's exactly right," a familiar, gruff sounding voice cut in, inviting itself into the conversation. "And I thought you two had no brains."

The two males glanced behind them at exactly the same time. The color completely drained from their faces when they saw the very flyer whom they were dissing, standing right beside Nightwing, of all flyers. They were up on their feet in less than an instant, lowering their heads in respect.

"Anyway, I'll pretend I didn't hear whatever it was you two imbeciles were talking about," Faris hissed, "It's not like I haven't heard such things be said about me before."

"O-Our sincerest apologies, sir," Oran stuttered, lowering his body completely towards the ground in a show of complete submission. "Please, forgive us. We'll make it up to you however we can!"

"Make it up to me, hm?" Faris seemed oddly intrigued by such a proposition. "If you're really that serious about earning my forgiveness, then listen closely. I have a special task for the both of you."

"Of course, sir," Oran responded, exchanging a subtle glance of curiosity with his friend before redirecting his gaze to his superior. "What is it?"

Faris' expression hardened. "There is a group of traitors currently attempting to escape, and they've abducted Illyria. I want you two to find them and stop them. No matter what it takes."


Vali watched the ebb and flow of the waves, some unseen force pushing and pulling the water in an eternal and repetitive dance. The sight was almost hypnotizing, and the sensation of the current against his scales incredibly soothing. His eyes focused on the horizon, specifically where the water began to turn dark, and it was near impossible to tell what could be lying underneath.

"We just need to make it past that point," he explained, pointing a talon in the aforementioned direction. "The sentinels will stop following us as soon as the water starts getting deeper."

"Well, this is it," Yarrow murmured. "...I just want to thank each and every one of you for deciding to join us in this journey. Leaving your home is certainly no easy feat, and I am immensely grateful."

Yuri made no effort to hide his annoyance at his brother's dramatics, once again. "You just have to make a show out of everything, don't you?"

Vali performed a quick once-over of his surroundings before deeming it safe to continue. "Alright, let's go."

"Not so fast!"

"It's the sentinels!" Orri cried out.

Oran and Niro swooped down, each flyer surrounding the group from both ends. Niro stepped forward, releasing a high pitched screech to assert his dominance over the lower ranking flyers.

"Stop this mutiny right now, and I might consider going easy on you." He smirked, "...Or not."

"Niro, please, you need to listen," Orri pleaded, "We're not trying to harm anyone, or tarnish this flock's name. All we want is a better place, a safer place. Like my father did."

"Just let us go," Vali practically commanded, desperately trying to fight the unsteadiness in his voice. "It'll be easier for everyone involved if you do. There are more of us than there are you, even if you are bigger and stronger. I reckon it would be a pretty fair fight."

Niro did not budge a single inch while Oran stepped closer, narrowing the gap between them. They were trapped, nowhere else to go except the unknown lengths of the Big Water.

Then, just when it seemed like all was lost, Aharon descended down onto the sandy shore. The fury in his eyes was one that none of them recognized in the flyer.

"You brats!" He roared, directing his fiery glare towards a frightened Orri and Illyria, isolating them further into a corner with each word he spat out.

Illyria could feel the current rushing up against her feet as she backed away, using her wings to shield Orri while keeping her eyes on Aharon. She wasn't sure what exactly Aharon's angle was, and decided she would she see for herself. After all, if she knew, she definitely wouldn't be standing there uselessly.

"Faris nearly tore my wings off after I covered for you two! Told me to count myself lucky that I'm not stripped of my duty as a sentinel! Lucky to still have my privileges, to still have my wings! Well..."

He whirled around to face Niro, who was now the object of his frustration. "...Well, I'm sick of being a sentinel."

The triumph on Niro's face was washed away, replaced by shock, disbelief, and barely detectable pain. "Aharon...!"

Niro was now the one being cornered as Aharon chased him up a rock, towering above his fellow sentinel. Former fellow sentinel. "I'm sick of being a part of this flock, and following Faris' stupid orders all the time!"

"A-Aharon," Niro rattled, still backing away from the offending flyer, "Think about what you're doing. You shouldn't- Oran, help me!"

Oran leapt up, retaking his usual place at his friend's side. Even he was too unnerved by Aharon's brute strength to throw even a single blow. A smart choice.

"Go now, old friend," Aharon snarled, his voice eerily gentle, "or I'll kill you both."

A low growl escaped Aharon as he watched them flee, stepping down from the rock and returning to the group once Oran and Niro were out of sight.

"Faris definitely knows what you all are up to. We need to move, before they come back with more sentinels."

"Right," Vali concurred, "everyone, to the air, now!"

The urgency in his voice let every single member of their rather tiny flock know that not a moment was to be wasted. Not even bothering to warm up, they each took the skies, vigorously pumping their wings up and down, up and down.

Vali led the escape, with Yarrow and Yuri as his flankers. Towards the rear, Orri flew onwards with as much strength he could muster, but it just wasn't enough. No matter how quickly his wings ripped through the air, it felt like the horizon was growing farther and farther away, always just out of reach. He wasn't fast and light on his feet like Illyria, or strong like Aharon. When it came to flying with an audience, Orri might as well have been a landwalker who had suddenly been blessed with the gift of flight and was just beginning to learn how to use it. At least that was how he felt, compared to the other skilled and far more experienced flyers who surrounded him.

But how he felt didn't matter now. He had to stay his course, or be left behind. He flapped his wings once and then twice, attempting to pick up speed. It was right as he managed to catch up with the others when something caused his muscles to seize up. A sound, like a gust of wind traveling through the air. He glanced upwards, where there was nothing to be seen.

But there was something. He knew there was. He could feel it. Like a pair of eyes, watching his every move.

"Vali?"

"What is it?" the flyer called out, keeping his eyes focused on the path ahead.

"I... I think there's something—"

Before he could even finish, a loud "skree!" sounded through the chilly nighttime air. The piercing noise was followed by the sound of wings shearing through the atmosphere as the mysterious assailant dived down and grabbed Orri in one fell swoop.

Exclamations of surprise rippled from one flyer to the other, all of them muffled by a single, panicked screech.

"ORRI!" Vali immediately curved around, jetting after Nightwing in frantic pursuit.

"I'll handle this," Aharon intervened, following the sound of Orri's call for help, "you keep on leading the others away from here."

Orri's desperate cries could be heard all throughout the island as the distance between him and the group increased, a stark contrast to the stoic silence of his captor. While attempting to wriggle free, he managed to catch a glimpse of the obscure flyer's face.

"...Nightwing?!"

Nightwing did not respond, determined not to let anything disturb his focus.

"Let me go!" Orri demanded, kicking and squirming, which earned him nothing except the tightening of Nightwing's talons around his shoulders.

"It's for the best if you don't try to fight it," Nightwing advised, "if you know what's good for you, you'll do as I say."

"You... you don't even know me. How could you possibly know what's good for me? You're taking me away from my brother!" Orri blurted out through a torrent of angry tears. In that moment, he was willing to do anything to return to Vali and the others. Anything. Unfortunately, Orri was no good with spur of the moment ideas. No, that talent belonged solely to Illyria. Think, Orri. What would she do?

His heart began to sink as a feeling of hopelessness settled in, when he realized he was never getting out of this. He hung his head in despair, eyes floating up and landing on the sight of Nightwing's bare ankle. A spark ignited in him then, and without even thinking twice, he arched his neck and sunk his teeth into Nightwing's scaly skin.

The male let out an ear-ripping screech of pain, reflexively releasing his hold on the young flyer. As soon as Orri saw an opening, he seized the opportunity and dashed in the opposite direction, seeking refuge behind the formidable Aharon.

"You go on ahead, Orri. Catch up with the others," the male urged, "I'll hold him off."

Hesitantly, Orri scrambled to get back up in the air, retreating to the safety of the departing group. Aharon watched them leave before turning his attention back towards the dark blue flyer, dark eyes narrowed and mouth turned upside down to form a grim looking frown.

"Just let us go, Nightwing. I'm asking you, as a friend, to just allow us to leave this place. That way, no one else has to get hurt... including you."

"I looked up to you," Nightwing choked out in anger, although the moisture welling up in his azure eyes was more indicative of sadness. "All of us did. We all wanted to be like you! How can you just betray us like this?"

"It wasn't as if I planned it to be that way," Aharon explained, the words of his former teammate appearing to affect him for a moment. "If you would just step out of your own heads and see things for how they really are, you'd realize—"

"Realize what?" Nightwing asked icily. "That we should all be traitors like you?"

Aharon proceeded to rebuff the other's claim, until he realized- there was no point. What was the endgame? Them standing there, arguing for all eternity? It was already clear to him where he was needed, and it wasn't Blue Haven. He sighed resignedly, meeting the other flyer's cold, hard eyes. "...Sorry for this, Nightwing."

In the blink of an eye, Aharon came barreling at the smaller flyer with full force. Nightwing didn't have the luxury of getting a moment to process anything, as he found himself being knocked back, as if a flying rock had just rammed into him. It was no flying rock, but Aharon, that had sent him falling from the sky, leaving him too dazed to even futilely flail his wings in an attempt to get airborne once again. Nightwing watched Aharon leave him to plummet to his death, filled with an overwhelming sense of regret. The sound of air ripping through his wings invaded his ears, tears flowing freely as he closed his eyes, bracing himself for impact.

But it never came.

He felt himself falling faster and faster, and then, he stopped. He was frozen in place, and for a moment, pondered if he was dead. But when he finally managed to open his eyes, Nightwing found Faris looking down at him, supporting him with one arm.

"Nightwing," he spoke firmly, but gently, "Are you alright, boy? You still with us?"

Faris' voice sounded far away to the dark blue flyer, who was still attempting to process everything that had just taken place. Finally, after nearly a minute of squinting and blinking repeatedly, he managed to piece everything together, and regain his balance.

"Y-Yeah," he answered, flapping his wings slowly but steadily, "I-I think I'm fine. That Aharon really packs a wallop." Nightwing looked up, noticing the barely visible silhouettes of the treacherous flyers growing father and farther away. He felt his muscles stiffen and tense up, until Faris brought a hand to his shoulder.

"Forget it," he demanded, shaking his head in forbiddance.

"W-What?" Nightwing was dumbfounded. "But sir... what about Illyria? Aren't you upset?"

"Of course I am. However, they've already gone beyond our borders and it's far too dangerous for us to follow them now. I'm not losing anyone else to the Big Water." The elder gritted his teeth, shaking with rage as he turned to head back towards the island. "Tell the other sentinels to retreat. Illyria has made her choice, as have the others. Whatever happens now, it will only be a consequence of their own foolish actions."

Nightwing could tell Faris wasn't as apathetic towards the entire ordeal as he seemed, but an order was an order. "As you wish, sir."

He lowered his head and soared in the opposite direction, his superior not far behind him, a gust of wind carrying them farther and farther away from the Night Circle. And as they headed on back home, neither flyer dared to look back.


Hey, everyone! Been a minute, I know, but I'm sure it's starting to feel completely normal to some. I actually finished the majority of this chapter not long after Chapter 3 but purposely procrastinated on seeing it all the way through. It's been a very wild couple of months, and I've been through a lot, but I've finally managed to kick myself out of that writing slump and crank something out! And just in time too, as this chapter just turned a year old.    I'm actually fairly pleased with this installation, and I do hope you all feel the same. As always, I look forward to your feedback and I hope to see you next time! :-)

@rhombus - Thank you! I'm glad to hear you picked up on the contrast between Orri's and Illyria's home lives. I kind of wanted to mirror the two and show how different they are, and how it might explain why each flyer turned out the way they did. Always good to hear from you, and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter as well!

@Loire - Thank you so much!! It means the world to me that the character dynamics were engaging enough for you to become interested in the characters. Your summary is pretty spot on, although you might be surprised by a few things later on in the story.  Thanks once again for your feedback, and hopefully the coming installations are just as enjoyable for you!

[rhombus]

Whew, that was a rather tense chapter as the group finally makes their escape.  The fact that others join them on the way out is clearly an indication that the desire to leave the island is clearly there in the population, even if the one in power does not permit it as a possibility.  It will be quite interesting to see how their trek across the Big Water goes.  Is the journey as treacherous as they say, or was that just a ruse to discourage travel?  I suppose our characters (and us as readers) will find out soon enough. 

[jassy]

FF link: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13940589/1/Soaring-Across-Azure-Skies

Large Scaly Swimmer (ocean) = Ophthalmosaurus, think Mo's species!

Large Scaly Swimmer (stream) = Chinlea

Wingfire = The rambunctious and restless nature of young flyers. Specifically young male flyers who are of mating age.

Roost = Basically a flock, except much bigger in size.

What We Owe To Each Other

"They're gone. They've retreated... we made it."

Aharon's voice was as light as a feather, the pent-up tension slowly leaving each muscle in his body, no longer carrying the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. At least that's what it had always felt like. Still, if all his seasons of training had taught him anything, it was never to let his guard down. He kept his gaze fixed on Nightwing and Faris until they were completely out of his line of sight. Soon enough, they and Blue Haven both vanished into the mist.

"Ha!" Aharon bellowed with a certain bravado that was unfitting of his usual conduct, "look at the cowards run! I would have never guessed that the leader of the sentinels was so afraid of getting his wings wet."

"Well, we are past Blue Haven's borders," Vali stated, "they wouldn't dare follow us past this point."

"No turning back now," Illyria reflected, seemingly to herself, but her words resonated with everyone. They were all traitors to their home flock, and what was done was done.

It was then that their current reality began to suddenly sink in for Gale. If he wasn't awake before, he certainly was now. Perhaps it was the fact that they were abandoning everything they'd ever known, and heading into completely unknown territory, but he was beginning to panic— just a bit.

"I shouldn't have done this," he murmured. How was he going to survive? And more importantly, how was he going to find a mate? The only female among them was Illyria, and he'd rather dive beak-first into a fiery pit than ever attempt the challenge of courting her. And he was sure the feeling was mutual.

Suddenly, at some point during his self-reprimand, he remembered who was really to blame. He whirled around to stare Scud in the face. "Why did you let me do this?"

Scud resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Leave it to Gale to start panicking at the worst possible moment.

"Gale," he crooned, "Gale, eyes on me. Listen, you're just psyching yourself out, it's not nearly as bad as you're making it out to be. We'll be just fine."

At that moment, trying to get though to Gale was about the same as talking to a rock. He was scared, and understandably so. "I don't know, will we?! We just left our home-! Left Blue Haven! We just-"

Yuri was just about ready to punt Gale halfway across the Big Water, and made no secret of it. He whipped his head around, and scrunched up his own face to mimic Gale's. "We just- We just- Why don't you just shut your miserable yapper before I just lose my damn mind?"

"Yuri!" Yarrow hissed, "ancestors above, have you no heart? These poor young ones have probably never even left their island before and now, they're taking a huge step and leaving behind the safety of everything they've ever known. And if I recall correctly, we weren't exactly the pinnacle of bravery the first time we set out on our own."

"Hmph!" Yuri tore his scrutinizing glare away from Gale, who was finally beginning to settle down. "Maybe you weren't, but I sure didn't get my wings in a knot."

Yarrow rolled his eyes, flashing a knowing smile at his brother. "Sure you didn't."

Orri had yet to speak up or voice his feelings on the matter, and he probably wasn't even going to bother. He was always sort of a background character in large groups, and he was sure this would be no exception. Blocking out the scattered chatter around him he remained silent, eyes scanning the water's surface for anything interesting... or delicious. He focused on his own reflection on the water, anticipating even the most subtle of movements...

SPLASH!

Orri gasped, scarcely managing to savor the all-too-brief moment the unknown blur breached the water's surface, leaving behind a trail of water and foam before disappearing back underneath, shielded by the watery barrier.

"Did anyone else hear that?" Orri asked hopefully, eyes wide and fixated on the now still and quiet water.

"Hear what? The splash?" Gale responded dryly. "It was probably a scaly swimmer. You do realize we're surrounded by water, don't you?"

Orri chose not to indulge him with a response, instead only briefly scowling at him before resuming his vigil. He watched the vast expanse of blue for what felt like an eternity, and was just about ready to give up. Perhaps it really was nothing more than just another scaly swimmer. What a shame.

Suddenly, a loud splash, about twice as big as the one he'd witnessed before, ripped through the stillness of the waves. Emerging from the water was something that resembled a scaly swimmer, but much bigger, with a remarkable tail that on its own could create a small wave. The creature sang some sort of melody that consisted entirely of clicks and whistles. It was like nothing he'd ever heard before.

"By the seven—!" Scud exclaimed, "Did you all see the size of that thing?"

"What in the world was that?" Vali questioned, almost in disbelief of what he had just witnessed.

"Large scaly swimmers," Yarrow answered, "There's a lot of them out here."

"Scaly swimmers?" A flash of recognition could be seen lighting up Illyria's face. "You mean like the ones you told us about?"

Yarrow beamed, the smile he gave the young flyer absolutely radiating with warmth. "The very same. They usually travel in groups, searching for food, so we should see more of them right about... now!"

Another splash followed his words, succeeded shortly by a cacophony of clicks that ricocheted off of the surrounding cliffs. The large scaly swimmers that now surrounded them came in about every shape and color imaginable, and for the flyers who had never ventured past the safety of their shallow waters, it was quite a spectacle to behold.

"Amazing," Illyria remarked breathlessly, unable to peel her eyes away.

Yarrow took a moment to examine the magnificent scaly swimmers, eyeing their movements closely.

"Chances are good that they're heading towards a food source," he pondered. "If we follow them, we can potentially save ourselves a few days of wandering around aimlessly. Just be careful to maintain a safe distance. We don't want to scare them off."

"Right," Yuri asserted, "Let's go then." He flapped his wings, allowing the thin membranes to carry him effortlessly through the air as he glided across the water's surface.

Yuri's decisive action then prompted the others to do the same. With their old lives far behind them, they charged headlong towards the unknown, disappearing into the horizon.


A symphony of distant sounding splashes could be faintly detected underneath the early glow of dawn, fighting and clawing its way through the cover of the night. Beneath the slowly receding shadows however, flashed the unmistakable, silvery sheen of a scaly swimmer. The gleaming scales seemed to form a long and linear trail, making a beeline straight for a small island. And not far behind the swimmers flew Yarrow, followed by his rather odd 'flock'. If one could even call them that.

At first glance, the island didn't seem to have much to offer besides a nice, long shoreline and a couple of trees spread out amongst the moss covered rocks. However, a much closer examination revealed to Yarrow that there was more to the floating patch of earth than met the eye. Seemingly hidden away behind the smaller rocks were a few streams and ponds, which meant one thing: food.

"We're going in for a landing!" Yarrow squawked to the rest of the group, gracefully swooping downwards and providing quite a demonstration. As he drew closer to the earth, he released his resistance and let the wind slowly guide him down to the loose and untrodden sand.

Yuri was the first to follow suit, although not before he took another chance to scoff at his brother's thinly veiled attempt at showing off.

"Ancestors be good... always trying to prove something," he mumbled grouchily with a disapproving shake of his head, flying down with significantly less grandeur.

Upon sticking his own landing, Scud relished the feeling of sand beneath his claws. After flying for so long, the cold, hard ground was a sight for sore eyes. Almost immediately the flyer collapsed, allowing himself to be drenched in the coarse sand that lined the shore.

"This place is just like Blue Haven," he exclaimed in awe and wonder, flexing his talons and letting the sand slip through his fingers, "bit smaller, though."

Yuri couldn't help but sneer. Had these runts never stepped a single foot outside of their nests?

"It's called an island ," he explained, "there's millions more just like it."

"Oh, great," Illyria groaned, "More islands. Just what I needed."

"Well, we're in the middle of the Big Water," Orri attempted to explain, "it's not like the nearest flock is just a hop, skip, and a jump away."

Normally, Illyria was appreciative and understanding of Orri's attempts to offer some insight. But right now, the only response his 'infinite wisdom' elicited was a thoroughly unamused leer in his direction.

"Hey, Orri? The next time I want a pointless and mind-numbing lecture from you, I'll be sure to ask you for it, okay?"

Yarrow could see that everyone was getting a little bit agitated. Not that he blamed them of course, it had been a long and weary journey already, but Yarrow well knew that childish squabbles like these could sometimes be a flock's undoing.

"That's quite enough, you two," Yarrow interjected, chancing a brief glance at the others. "All of you. It's been a long night, and I believe the fatigue may be getting the best of us. Why don't we settle down, and rest our aching joints for a while?"

Luckily, there was no protest to that suggestion. Thank the ancestors. The Bright Circle was now rising, its light creating the most beautiful sparkles on the surface of the water, like stars in the night sky. In an attempt to shield themselves from the light, most of the group sought refuge underneath the shade of the trees.

Yarrow spotted Scud making an attempt to try and curl up next to Gale, who promptly pushed him off, much to the other's chagrin. The elder withheld a laugh, finding a perch of his own to nestle upon as he watched the beginning of yet another beautiful day.


Orri couldn't sleep. He wasn't sure whether he was just nervous or excited, or if it was just the fact that for the first time in his life, he was slumbering in a completely different nest. Regardless of the reason, he now found himself wide awake while everyone else was sound asleep. Almost everyone.

Tired blue eyes briefly scanned his surroundings, almost missing a glimpse of Yarrow perched upon one of the taller and more jagged rocks. Looked like Orri wasn't the only one having trouble. Now, Orri was confused. Surely, Yarrow was used to sleeping somewhere new each night, as well traveled as he was.

Well, he was going to find out. It wasn't like he was going to fall asleep any time soon. As quietly as he could, Orri crawled through the sand, making his way towards the new flock's self-elected leader. He grabbed onto a piece of jagged rock, frantically flapping his wings to maintain his balance.

Yarrow had noticed Orri well before he made his way to the top, and peered curiously over at the struggling flyer. "Young Orri, what are you doing awake?"

He extended his hand, pulling him up with ease. "You should be asleep."

"Oh, um... I couldn't sleep," Orri admitted sheepishly before perking up, "But I could ask you the same thing. Why are you awake?"

"Ah, that's right. First time away from home. The first night's always rough." Yarrow nodded in understanding. "As for me, well, I'm just keeping watch. Last time Yuri stayed awake and watched over us, while I rested. I'm just returning the favor. After all, that's what we do in a flock, isn't it? We take care of each other."

"I guess," Orri responded, a bit uncertain. The only flyers who ever looked out for him were Vali and Illyria. If taking care of each other was what a flock did, Orri had yet to see it for himself.

Yarrow took note of the young one's introspectiveness, as it reminded the old flyer so much of himself. "So, Orri... what's on your mind?"

"Hm?" The question caught Orri a bit off guard. "Oh, nothing much, really." A lie. "Well, I'm just not that tired. I guess... I'm kind of excited? I don't know."

Yarrow chuckled softly, careful not to wake the others. Oh, to be young again. "I understand. I remember it well, being your age and full of wingfire. I couldn't wait to strike out on my own, to woo a girl I fancied and eventually have a family with her."

Orri stayed silent, and allowed the old timer to reminisce on his past. Something told him that the hopes and aspirations Yarrow once had remained just that, never truly coming to fruition.

Yarrow laughed wryly, although the sorrowful look in his scarlet eyes betrayed his unbothered facade. "Oh, the circle of life plays such cruel jokes on us sometimes, doesn't it?"

Orri could only manage an empathetic smile. Clearly, the old timer did not end up where he thought he would.

"Take it from an old flyer like me," said Yarrow, turning towards Orri, "if you think your life is going to go a certain way, you're wrong. The circle of life is mischievous, and loves to play tricks. You won't always end up where you want to, but you will always end up where you need to."

Orri hesitated a moment before speaking, not wanting to potentially offend Yarrow. "Do you... regret how things turned out? I mean, I'm sorry if I'm out of line for asking, but I was just wondering... are you satisfied with where you are?"

"Young Orri, I have many, many regrets," Yarrow replied, his voice heavy with the weight of his guilt. "...I didn't go after the girl I loved, I didn't appreciate my mother and all she did for our roost... there are so many things that I wish I could undo. But you have to understand one thing, shortbeak. The past is in the past. You can always go back and dwell on it if you like, but no one is there anymore. What's truly important is who you are right now. So yes, I would say I am satisfied. Although it's not what I planned, I believe I've made a fine life for myself. And that is all that matters."

Orri had gained a bit more than he bargained for with that answer. He hadn't exactly asked Yarrow for his entire life story, but in all likelihood, this was probably the first time in many cycles that the old flyer was able to get those feelings off his chest. Not to mention it was a valuable lesson, all the same. Orri's father never dwelled too much on the past either, at least when he was still around.

Explains why it was so easy for him to leave.

As he became lost in the maze of his thoughts once more, Orri found his gaze wandering absentmindedly towards the horizon. Laid out in front of him were the shimmering waves of the endless Big Water, the humming tide like a gentle melody to his ears. It was the Big Water, the same one he saw everyday on Blue Haven. Yet, seeing it from a completely different point of view, one from which he was free to fly off into the distance if he wished— made it that much more remarkable.

"You know, I could never imagine waking up everyday and having a view like this. I don't know what it is- maybe it's the comfort of knowing that you're free to go wherever the wind takes you, but it's all so... beautiful. Don't you think so?"

Surprisingly wistful words from a flyer his age, Yarrow noted quietly, although he didn't exactly disagree with Orri's sentiment.

Yarrow sighed, resting his head on his talons, "Well, I'll be honest, I haven't really ever had the chance to stop and admire the beauty of the world. Not much time for looking or listening when you're preoccupied with keeping yourself and your kin alive." He pauses, taking a moment to lift his head and do just that— to look and listen.

"But yes," he acknowledged at last, "It is very awe-inspiring, being able to hear every living thing breathing... reminding us that no matter how lonely we may feel, we are never truly alone."

"Well, that wasn't really the point I was trying to make. Kind of makes the whole thing feel more creepy than beautiful, if you ask me," Orri replied, softening his response with an awkward laugh. "Although... I suppose it is a bit reassuring, when you think about it. Knowing that you'll never really be all on your own out here."

"Mhmm," Yarrow hummed in agreement, "just try and make sure you don't get so lost in admiring the beauty that you forget to stay aware of your surroundings. You aren't exactly in Blue Haven anymore."

"I know," Orri mumbled bashfully. He was sure he'd be hearing more of that one.

A moment passed in complete silence, until Yarrow suddenly gasped and nearly jumped, as if recalling something important. "That reminds me, I've been meaning to ask— I assume you lot have no real fighting experience. Is that right?"

Orri's response came in nothing more than a shake of his head. "We never really felt the need to, and nobody told us we should, so..."

"I figured as much," Yarrow mused with a stroke of his chin, "in any case, you'll need to know. At least the basics."

"Well, do you think that maybe you could teach us?" Orri inquired innocently, "I think you'd be a good teacher. Well... as good as we can get out here, anyway."

As much as Yarrow tried to repress it, he couldn't help but laugh at the implication. He slapped his hand over his beak immediately after, feeling bad about so callously quashing a young flyer's hopes like that.

"Sorry, sorry-! I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that... I'm more of a flight type of lad." He flapped his wings for emphasis. "If you get what I mean."

"Oh. I see." Orri understood perfectly, that much was obvious from one glance at his disappointed face.

"Don't be so blue, young Orri," Yarrow hopped down from his perch on the rock and circled his wings around the smaller flyer. "Listen, if you want to learn to face your opponents head on, your best bet is talking to Yuri. I've never known him to be one to back down from a fight. There's no one more suited to the position than him."

"Yuri? You mean your brother?" Orri repeated, his features contorting in a way that would make one think he just smelled something rotten. "Are you serious?"

It dawned on Yarrow right then what the problem with his suggestion was. He'd seen his brother pounce other flyers just for looking at him wrong. "Ah. Good point. Tell you what, I'll spare you the trauma of talking to Yuri, you just worry about getting enough sleep. You'll need that rest for your lesson."

The light made somewhat of a return to Orri's face, although he still didn't look entirely thrilled about having to spend a prolonged amount of time with Yuri. But Yarrow did have a point. He wasn't in Blue Haven anymore. The old rules no longer applied, so the best course of action was to listen to those who knew better— like Yarrow.

"Thanks. I appreciate it," he said with a slight dip of his head. "Well... I'm going to try and get some more sleep while I still can."

"Hm," Yarrow chortled gently, resting his head as he clambered back onto the rock, "That sounds like a good idea. Sleep well, Orri."


Most flyers got up along with the bright circle, beginning their day the moment the bright circle's rays peaked over the horizon, turning the mountains red like fire. But this particular flock would be rising with the night circle, having spent much of their day recuperating from the long and tiring journey, while also preparing for the arduous trek that still lay ahead of them.

Yuri was the first to rise, having gotten used to carrying on through several sleepless nights, and therefore used to awakening earlier than most. The nighttime air was strangely warm, leaving his throat parched and desperate for hydration.

"Ugh... damn it," he rasped, forearms sifting through the sand as he made his way over to the nearest source of drinkable water, a rather pathetic watering hole located near the trees, where patches of green began to overtake the barren sand and replace it with vegetation. No sooner had he reached his destination, Yuri wasted not a single second and immersed the lower half of his beak in the cool and still water.

The relief was both immediate and immense. Very few things compared to that first drink of the day. Or night, in Yuri's case. He probably could have remained like that forever, had his wandering gaze not caught Yarrow's reflection in the water.

"Good morning!" Yarrow chirped, his enthusiasm doing very little to improve his brother's attitude. "Hope you slept well."

"It's night," Yuri snarled through clenched teeth, taking a second to splash some water on his face, effectively waking him up. "And I slept just fine. Now what do you want?"

"Straight to the point, I see," remarked Yarrow, who was hoping to ease Yuri into his offer a bit more gradually than that. "Very well. I'll keep this short and sweet. I need you to teach the younger flyers to fight. Nothing too outrageous, just some pretty basic techniques."

"What?" Yuri jerked around so quickly his neck could have snapped. "You must be out of your damn mind. Why in the world would I want to help a bunch of overgrown eggs help themselves?"

Yarrow would have been lying if he said he hadn't been expecting that kind of response from Yuri. For as long as he'd known him, Yuri had always put himself first, always looked out for "number one". But Yarrow wasn't ready to call it quits just yet- all he had to do was speak Yuri's language.

"Well, I was just thinking- I'm sure that one day, we'll end up needing their help to bail us out of a sticky situation, right?" Yarrow began circling him like a predator. "I mean, it's just bound to happen sooner or later, isn't it?"

"Yeah?" Yuri eyed his brother suspiciously. He had that stupid look on his face, the kind he had when he was setting a plan in motion. "What are you getting at?"

All of a sudden, Yarrow stopped in his tracks. He retraced his steps and circled back over to Yarrow, leaning in closer and closer until their beaks were mere inches away from each other. "I'm saying that if we help them now, they'll owe us in the future."

Then, he pulled back. "Besides, if we want this entire... arrangement, to work, we all have to be on board. Including you."

While Yuri could definitely take his brother in a fight, it was undeniable that Yarrow could outwit him any day. This was another one of those days; where brain triumphed over braun, and Yarrow's infallible logic left Yuri fumbling for a counterattack.

"...Dammit, fine! Send the runts over." Yuri huffed, the flame in his crimson eyes hot enough to burn a hole through his brother's head, if looks could kill. "You're so annoying when you get all preachy, you know that?"

"I know," Yarrow laughed, ignoring the murderous look on Yuri's face, "but you won't regret this, I promise you."


The night was no longer young when the others finally began to stir. The line where the sky met the Big Water was invisible now, the only thing separating the two being the small, rapidly fading, twinkling lights that dotted the sky. The culmination of the waves crashing onto the shore muffled all else, but what rudely woke them up was the sound of Yarrow's screech piercing through the air.

"Rise and shine, everybody! No time for laying about. Come on!"

Orri was the first to do as told, for he had already been clued into what Yarrow was going on about. He gave his sore limbs a nice, long stretch, shaking the fatigue from them.

"Seriously?" Illyria groaned, falling face first into the sand. "Whatever it is, it can't wait a few more minutes?"

"Afraid not," replied Yarrow, using his own body to prop her up. "Yuri is going to be teaching you young ones to fight, and he is not a patient flyer."

"Well, I don't need to learn to fight," Vali explained, surprisingly alert for having awoken just a few moments before. "I know enough to defend myself."

"And I was a sentinel back on Blue Haven," Aharon chimed in, "not much action, but the other sentinels didn't respect and fear me for no reason." He seemed especially proud of that fact.

"Alright," Yarrow gave in, nodding his head before shifting his attention towards Gale and Scud. "What about you two?"

"Oh, yes, I was a legend back home!" Scud proclaimed, "got plenty of good ones in. You don't need to worry about me."

Yarrow's unimpressed glare spoke loud and clear, letting Scud know that he would really have to sell that claim. So, with a single swift movement, he coiled his arm around Gale's neck, pretending to strangle him while ignoring the very descriptive and specific threats leaving the other flyer's mouth. "See? A legend."

Almost everybody had the same reaction to their antics, either sighing in exasperation or just flat out ignoring them, as Yarrow did. He turned his back towards them, instead facing the only two remaining victims: Orri and Illyria.

"I suppose that just leaves you two, then. Go freshen up and grab a drink. Yuri will be expecting you."

"Fine. Let's just get this over with," huffed Illyria, having a general sense of apathy towards the entire idea. Then, she noticed that Yarrow didn't seem as laid back as her. He actually looked more concerned.

"What is it?"

"Oh, nothing," Yarrow assured her, "just... good luck. You'll need it."

"Ah, I get it." Illyria looked over at Orri, her voice only one pitch above a whisper. "...We're going to die out here."

"Uh..." Orri wasn't sure how to respond to her sarcasm— or at least he hoped it was sarcasm, so he only responded with an uneasy chuckle.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Yarrow barged in, laughing in an attempt to diffuse the situation. "You won't die, Yuri isn't that bad. I would get a move-on though, if you have any desire to see tomorrow."

Orri didn't need to be told twice. He took off in a hurry, Illyria not far behind him. As soon as they were in view, they noticed that Yuri had positioned himself underneath a thicket of trees just a few steps ahead. Once they were close enough, they could also hear Yuri yelling at them to move their sorry tails.

Orri flapped his wings once for some added momentum, his quickening pace only spurred by the urgency in Yuri's gruff tone. He only stopped when he saw that Illyria was moving as fast as a herd of farwalkers- who typically had no other speed apart from "wander".

"Do you have sand in your ears?" Yuri's voice boomed, "I said move it!"

"Could you move any slower?" Orri hissed at Illyria, dragging her along.

"I could," Illyria replied coolly, "and if you keep trying to rush me, I will. Stop getting your wings in a knot. He's all talk."

"But he-"

"Illyria, Orri! If you don't start running over here, I promise you I'll give you a damn good reason to run!"

"Come on!" urged Orri, grabbing her by the wrist and forcibly pulling her with him. "Now's not the time to be acting like a wisehead!"

He hated being so forceful, but he also knew Illyria. He knew that if given the chance, she would do the exact opposite of what she was told just to prove a point. So, with a loudly protesting Illyria in tow, Orri dashed across the grass like his life depended on it, skidding to a halt just a few inches shy of Yuri.

"We're here," Orri greeted, his voice quivering with his undeniable fear of the older male, "...sorry about the wait."

He glanced at a scowling Illyria, who snatched her arm away with an indignant "hmph!". What happened next was far from what either of them expected.

Yuri flung himself right in front of their faces, screaming at the top of his lungs. "That's strike one, you runts!"

The sheer volume of Yuri's gruff voice prompted Orri to instinctively flinch and hide behind Illyria, who refused to take Yuri's nastiness sitting down.

"Huh?!" She retorted, matching his tone with an equal shrillness, "that doesn't make any damn sense! You never even—"

"Imagine if you were being chased!" Yuri interrupted, "You'd both be dead! Orri, you left Illyria behind. Which means that if you two were being hunted, a sharptooth would be sinking their teeth into her neck right now! And what are you doing, hiding?"

He yanked Orri out from behind Illyria by the scruff of his neck. "No female is going to look twice at a male who'll be depending on her for protection."

"Hey! You leave him alone!" Illyria snarled, baring her teeth. She clearly wasn't above fighting Yuri, if it came to that.

"And you!" Yuri swiveled his head towards Illyria, the object of his frustration now the young girl who seemed insistent on defying him every chance she got. "I know you don't like me very much right now, but your constant disregard for orders will land you nowhere except in somebody else's stomach. While you're here with me, you are to do exactly as I say, is that clear?"

"Very," Illyria acknowledged with a disingenuous smile that fell the moment Yuri turned his back.

"Good."

Yuri turned, flapping his wings a short distance until there were a good couple of feet in between him and the two young flyers. Across the stream, the ill-defined silhouette of Yarrow could be seen watching them from a safe distance. Yuri either didn't notice, or just didn't care one way or the other.

"Since I assume neither of you have ever had to actually defend yourselves in a fight, I'm going to start with the basics. As flyers, you likely won't have to use them much, but they'll come in handy in a pinch."

Orri found himself nodding his head every couple of sentences, trying to show that he was present and focused. Beside him, Illyria was uncharacteristically stoic, not breaking eye contact even once.

"Fighting is different for flyers than it is for landwalkers, so the usual rules don't always apply. The three critical spots are still the same, and these are going to be your neck, belly, and head. But you two have to remember- you're flyers. You have wings. Use them. When it comes to fighting an enemy, especially one that has several extra pounds on you, your wings can be your biggest strength. You can use them to shield your weak spots, or even as added momentum to make your attacks have even more of an impact. Now, with all that said... I want you to hit me."

Yuri propelled himself a few inches into the air, positioning himself with his springs spread far apart, as if daring them to attack. He was completely laid back, in stark contrast to Orri and Illyria, who were anything but. "Go on," he tempted, "free shot."

Like a sharptooth drawn to meat, Illyria promptly took the bait. "Hmph. I thought you'd never ask!"

Fueled by the other's insistence, Illyria allowed her wings to carry her higher, until she was face to face with her opponent. She focused directly on his exposed neck, a clear target in her mind and a rough idea of how she intended to strike. Flapping her wings, she went flying at him with full force, a hint of a small smirk on her face. It was plain to see how eager she was to finally land a hit on the flyer who'd been nothing but a nuisance to her from the moment she'd met him.

Her excitement turned to surprise, however, when Yuri danced out of her path at the very last second. His evasive maneuver transitioned into a charge as he pounced on her back, sending her flying towards the trees instead. Orri watched the scene unfold, in awe of Yuri's skill and prowess. He'd made the first strike without even having to lay a single talon on Illyria.

"Ow..." Illyria wasn't actually hurt, but her pride certainly was as she made the humbling flight back down to the ground. She tried to appear unfazed, but Orri could tell she was definitely a bit out of her depth.

"And that takes me to my second point," Yuri stated very matter-of-factly, "you shouldn't rely solely on your wings either. You came at me too fast. You couldn't even control where you were flying. Right now I can't blame you- you don't have enough experience to anticipate what I just did. But most enemies will be able to anticipate very trick you throw at them. And there's no doubt they'll try and throw you off course, like I just did."

"Great," Illyria murmured through gritted teeth, still reeling from how easily Yuri turned the tide on her.

"But there is a way to combat this," he continued, "Illyria, take a quick look around you. What do you see?"

"Huh?" Confused, Illyria briefly scanned her surroundings, her bewildered gaze returning to Yuri after a moment. "All I see are a bunch of trees. I don't get how that's supposed to—"

"Exactly," Yuri said with finality, "you should make a habit of knowing what's around you at all times. You can always use your surroundings to your advantage somehow. Now Illyria, I want you to come at me again. But this time, rely a little less on your wings and a little more on what's already around you."

Still processing her swift and immediate defeat, Illyria begrudgingly took to the air once more, finding a perch on the bark of a nearby tree. Then, using the tree as a launching point, she repeated her previous maneuver, her movements noticeably sluggish. Bouncing from branch to branch as she dodged the older flyer, she let the air do most of the work until she found herself directly behind Yuri. The moment an opening presented itself, Illyria fluttered her wings and propelled herself forwards to pounce on the male flyer. As gentle as it was, this one offensive move threw him off balance, and he nodded in approval.

"Hm. Not bad. You're fast and light on your feet, so that'll come in handy. Orri- your turn."

Orri was caught off guard, having been dreading the moment he'd have to go up there and show off what he had, which wasn't much. Not to mention there couldn't have been a worse time for him to admit that he'd never fought. Sure, he bit Nightwing, but that was in self defense; an action born purely out of a moment of desperation. But to make the conscious decision to use violence against another flyer... he could barely stomach the thought.

"Well?" Yuri's impatient voice broke into his silent musings, forcing him out of his own head and back to reality. He whipped around to exchange glances with Illyria. Her eager eyes, as viridescent as the trees around them, both encouraged and reassured him.

"Um... alright."

Yuri reassumed his position in midair, while Orri hesitantly flapped up to meet him. Images of Illyria's flight pattern flashed through his mind as he attempted to repeat her maneuver, using the trees to spur himself towards his target. Everything was going just as planned. So far.

But just as he was about to make contact, he suddenly flinched and froze in his tracks. All he could do was watch helplessly as the talons on Yuri's feet soared towards him, stopping just an inch away from the young flyer's neck.

"What in the world was that sorry display?!" Yuri bellowed indignantly, "that was pathetic! Were you not paying attention just now?"

Orri was stumbling over himself in his desperate effort to manage a response. "I was, but I just-"

"Hesitate like that in a real fight, and it'll be the last thing you'll ever do!"

"I'm sorry," Orri whimpered, backing up further, "it's just that my gut said-"

"Then use your head!" Yuri rudely cut in, advancing towards the frightened young flyer. He stopped about midway before he reached him, scoffing in disgust as he circled back. "What was Yarrow thinking, asking me to mentor you two? Illyria at least has the basics down, but you, Orri? You'll be lucky if you even last a week out here. Perhaps I should save all of us the time and leave you to the sharpteeth, since you hate the idea of even landing a scratch on them. How does that sound, Orri? Since you can't fight, you can at least do the flock some good and give the sharpteeth something to chew on!"

With each cruel word that left Yuri's mouth, Orri felt smaller and smaller. He shrunk back, eyes cast shamefully towards the ground. He couldn't bring himself to even look at him.

Illyria wasn't sure what she was thinking, or if she even had been. All she knew was that she couldn't stand to watch Yuri bearing down on her friend, and couldn't care less if she'd end up regretting what she did next.

Creeping up behind the gruff old flyer, she ungrounded herself for just a moment, the rippling of her wings traveling through the air. Immediately after, came the slashing of her talons- just barely making contact with the nape of Yuri's neck.

"Illyria, don't-!" Orri couldn't bear to watch. There was no way this wasn't going to end in disaster. Illyria would never able to get the best of Yuri. Not only was he far more experienced, but with his brute strength, he'd be able to stop her in her tracks. Easily.

Except, he didn't.

Eventually, Orri could no longer handle not knowing. He lowered his wings away from his face, gawking at the sight before him in stunned silence. Not only was Illyria standing her ground against the brutish flyer, she'd surprised him enough to make him loose his footing. By then, enough of a ruckus had been made that it started to grab some unwanted attention.

"Get away from him!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs, not even batting an eye at the fact that she'd just raised a claw against Yuri. In that moment, it didn't seem like any consequences existed for the girl. All she cared about was getting her point across.

"Just who do you think you are? I don't give a damn if you're older than us, more experienced than us, it still doesn't give you an excuse to treat us like a pile of rotting clubtail shit. We'll do whatever you say, but if you want our respect, you're going to have to give it first."

"You kids..." Yuri groaned, irately spitting out some of the sand that went flying into his mouth, "you want everything just handed to you. If you're not willing to put in the work, you won't last a day out here!"

"Oh, shut up!" Illyria groaned, rolling her eyes. "I think I've already shown you that I'm willing to work. But if you ever lay a finger on Orri or any of my friends, we're going to have a serious problem. You understand me?"

Orri could practically feel them scowling at each other. And although he expected it, he couldn't help but flinch when Illyria exploded again.

"Say you understand! Say it!"

She braced herself to land another strike, to show that she meant what she said. But before she could deal any further damage, her focus was interrupted by Yarrow physically inserting himself between them.

"Illyria, take it easy," Yarrow coaxed gently yet firmly, effortlessly pushing the female flyer back. "I think that perhaps we both just need to calm down—"

"Both? I'm completely calm," Illyria responded, her eyes wide with a ferocity that hardly suited someone who was 'completely calm', as she put it.

"Just... take a deep breath for me, hm?" Yarrow requested. Although he was smiling, the exasperation in his voice was obvious. "Training is over for today. Look, I think we're all still trying to get used to each other, so let's just forget what just happened here, okay?"

"...Fine. I'm sorry," Illyria relented at last, although it came out less like a genuine admission of guilt and more like a forced apology.

"Well, I ain't," Yuri spat, dusting the sand off of his scales. For a moment, Yarrow could already feel a headache coming on, anticipating yet another brawl that he'd have to break up.

"I haven't met many flyers who could get the best of me like that," Yuri carried on, "especially not ones as young and inexperienced as you, Illyria. I'm impressed."

"Wait, what?" Illyria prided herself on her unshakable resolve, but was so blindsided by the praise that it didn't even occur to her to satisfy her own ego by confirming his statement. Back on Blue Haven, a move like that would have earned her a stern lecture from Faris and several days of being confined to the nest. She expected something similar to happen, but instead, Yuri was commending her on the way she attacked him.

"Yuri, are you alright? Did you hit your head on the way down or something?" Even Yarrow seemed concerned by his brother's sudden change in attitude. Yuri? Paying someone a compliment? Something had to be wrong.

"Just fine, Yarrow," Yuri affirmed without looking at his brother, keeping his eyes on the girl in front of him. "Listen, there's going to be times where you and your friends will be out there on your own, and you'll be faced with a threat. In this case... I was the threat. You saw your friend might be in danger, and you struck without thinking. You got me good."

Having recovered from the initial shock, Illyria returned to her usual, spunky self. She held her head high, and flashed a self-assured, little grin. "Oh. Well, thank you."

"Your form is still a bit sloppy, but I can see you have what it takes," Yuri said, nodding approvingly at the young female. He whirled around to face Orri, his demeanor changing completely.

"As for you," Yuri hissed, causing Orri to instinctively back away in fear, "you'll be lucky if you can even get your wings off the ground."

"Yuri!" Yarrow growled through gritted teeth, causing his brother to turn around. "I said that's enough."

Yuri stared at Yarrow for a moment, contemplating whether it was really worth it to challenge his brother right now. Yarrow looked like he might teach Yuri a lesson himself if he didn't do as told. Yuri wasn't exactly sure of his brother's limits, and to be honest, he really didn't want to spend today finding out.

"Whatever," he sighed, dropping the subject and brushing shoulders with Yarrow as he walked past him. "What are we going to eat? I'm starving."

Yarrow scowled at Yuri as he passed him, making sure Yuri knew that he did not approve of his conduct thus far. Not that it mattered. He shook his head in disgust, sauntering over to where Illyria and Vali were helping Orri to his feet.

"I'm sorry... about him," Yarrow said with remorse, rubbing the boy's shoulder. "That's just how Yuri is. He doesn't mean any harm, really, but he's also never been one to worry about what others think of him."

"It's okay," Orri assured Yarrow with a meek smile, "he wasn't exactly wrong. I've never been the strongest, or the best at... well, anything. I can't be mad at him for telling the truth now, can I?"

"Orri..." Vali cut in, stopping when Orri glowered at him.

"Now listen here," Yarrow said, urging Orri to look at him, "of course you're not the best or the strongest at anything. No one is. Not when they're as young as you, anyway. You idolize your brother so much, but I'm sure that even he has his shortcomings. So try and give yourself a bit of grace, okay?"

"Okay," came the boy's halfhearted response. Orri didn't really believe a single word that left Yarrow's mouth, but nodded along anyway. The sooner he finished coddling Orri, the sooner Orri could leave to wallow in his own self pity. "But I just really want to be alone right now, so... can I go?"

"Certainly," Yarrow granted, although the quick glance he exchanged with Vali hinted that even he had his doubts.

With nothing else keeping him there to humiliate himself any further, Orri dipped his head and retreated towards the thick foliage, where nobody could bother him. Nobody except for Vali, of course.

"I'll handle this," Vali promised Yarrow before taking off after his brother.


Finding Orri wasn't difficult. There were many occasions where Orri had been the victim of Gale's abrasiveness and Vali would later discover his brother hiding beneath the shelter of the towering trees. Vali simply headed towards wherever the vegetation seemed to be the densest, knowing that was the only place no one else would even think to look— making it the perfect hiding place.

Vali soon arrived at a clearing, where at first, he couldn't see anything. But when he listened closely, his ears picking up the sound of muffled sniffling, he knew he was close. He looked up and lo and behold, there Orri was, cowering in shame on a tree branch.

Vali flew up and perched himself right next to him, letting the silence in the air simmer for a bit until he finally spoke up. "Hey. You okay?"

"Fine," Orri answered without even meeting his brother's gaze.

"Yarrow's right, you know," Vali continued, "I know for a fact that you have plenty of other qualities that make you a valuable part of our flock."

"Like what?" Orri ventured, finally daring to look at Vali.

"Well, for one thing, you—"

"Besides my instincts," Orri interrupted, "what, besides my instincts, are valuable?"

Vali went quiet. Orri knew him well. Perhaps a little too well, as Vali found himself fumbling to think of his brother's other positive attributes.

"Well... you're incredibly patient and understanding, especially to those who don't deserve it." Vali knew it was a weak and shallow response, concocted out of thin air when he couldn't think of anything else. He tried to sell it with a smile and an eager nod, but Orri was having none of it.

"So... nothing that's actually useful to anyone," he huffed, appearing more disappointed than hurt. It wasn't that he was upset with his brother for coming up with a lie to make him feel better. No, he was more upset with himself for being so pathetic that Vali had to stoop that low.

Vali was at a loss for words. It seemed the more he tried to improve his brother's mood, the more he messed up. He sat there in silence for a moment, trying to think of something, anything, he could say to help his brother out of the hole he'd dug for himself.

"Okay," Vali acknowledged breathlessly, "In that case... what do you think you contribute? And don't say nothing, because every member of a flock brings something, no matter how weak or how strong."

Now it was Orri's turn to be speechless. "I... I don't know. I mean, we've lived on Blue Haven all this time, and I never really felt like part of a flock until now."

"And that's okay," Vali reminded him, "you're still very young, but I know you'll figure it out."

Orri couldn't help but laugh, even in spite of how low he was feeling. "Vali, we're the same age."

Vali gave him a puzzled look, wondering what that had to do with anything. "So?"

"So... you're the same age as me, and you've already accomplished so much more. You've earned everyone's respect without even really having to try. I don't know. I guess we're just too different. You're a leader, someone other flyers can rely on... and I'm just the guy who can only only hope to be as great as you."

"Orri, that's not true," Vali protested, his voice firm, yet beginning to waver.

"Vali, just stop," Orri pleaded, "I'm not trying to get you to pity me. I don't want you to make me feel better, or to tell me it'll all be okay. I'm just telling you how I feel, alright?"

Vali began to extend his arms in an uncertain attempt to embrace his brother, but ended up retracting them when he realized it would only aggravate him further. Yuri's reprimand earlier had clearly unearthed some deep rooted insecurities in Orri, and right then, Vali swore he would wring Yuri's neck the next time he saw him.

"Anyway... thanks for trying," Orri sighed resignedly, "but I really just want to be by myself right now. If you don't mind."

"Okay," Vali reluctantly agreed, "I'll be right down if you need me."

Orri simply gave an apathetic nod, looking on blankly as Vali dove off the tree branch and down towards the stream below, perhaps to catch himself a snack before heading back to the others. Orri had very rarely actually seen Vali in action when it came to catching scaly swimmers, as he realized while watching his brother anticipate the perfect opportunity to swoop in.

From the corner of his eye, the male flyer noticed the glimmer of something silver swooshing about underneath the water's still surface. Vali held his breath, waiting until it got closer and closer...

A loud splash suddenly erupted from the stream, disturbing the quiet tranquility of the water's surface as Vali maneuvered his body in all sorts of directions in his pursuit of the evasive scaly swimmer. But somehow, the swimmer managed to stay just out of his reach, disappearing into the cascade of water and foam, effectively eluding him.

"Damn it!" Vali thought he was whispering under his breath, but the sound of his cursing carried well into the trees above.

Intrigued, Orri descended to the earth, joining his brother by the stream. "You can drop the act, you know."

"What act?" Vali asked without looking back, shaking off the water droplets.

"Yeah, right. You're pretending to be bad at catching scaly swimmers to make me feel better. I told you, I don't need your pity."

"I wish that was an act," Vali scoffed, "that bastard was slippery. The scaly swimmers back on Blue Haven were way slower."

"Looks like these swimmers don't just stay in shallow waters," Orri theorized, examining the way the scaly swimmers swam out to the open sea, "they're probably used to dodging much bigger predators than us."

"Ugh. I'm so hungry," Vali whined pitifully, and he was never one to whine. It looked like being away from Blue Haven was finally starting to get to him.

"Here. Let me try something," Orri offered, which Vali gratefully accepted. Anything to get Orri's mind off of earlier's debacle. Not to mention Vali would finally have something to fill the empty hole in his stomach, so everyone won.

Carefully and quietly, Orri crept up towards the edge of the stream. The water was serene and quiet once again, and he could see the gleaming silver silhouettes of numerous scaly swimmers swirling around underneath the surface. He remained frozen like that for a long time, much longer than Vali felt was necessary.

Then, Orri saw his opening. A lone scaly swimmer moseying by, unsuspecting of the threat that lurked above. Right when the creature paused to feed, Orri forcefully dug his beak into the water, snatching up the scaly swimmer before it even had the chance to flee. It flapped around in the throes of Orri's beak for a moment, until finally, all movement ceased. He plopped the swimmer in front of Vali, who stared at his brother, slack jawed.

"Well damn, shortbeak," Vali exclaimed, playfully bumping their shoulders together, "if I knew you were this good at hunting, I would have had you catch all those scaly swimmers by your damn self!"

"But I'm really not that good," Orri disagreed, nudging his brother back, "I guess I just got lucky this time."

"Still," Vali insisted through a mouthful of meat, "seems you're not as useless as Yuri thinks you are."

The moment Yuri's name left his mouth, an idea seemed to suddenly dawn on Vali. His abrupt silence gave way to a brief pause as he grinned slyly, as if he knew something Orri didn't.

"Listen. Just hold on, I'll be back," Vali told Orri, bubbling with as much excitement as a hatchling on their star day. "I just got the greatest idea ever. I have to tell the others."

"Wait, what?" Orri stared back in bewilderment. "What idea?"

"Can't tell you."

"What?"

"You'll find out!"

"No, wait! What are you- Vali!" Orri tried futilely to call after his brother, but it was no use. Vali had already zipped away, heading off to set his mysterious plan in motion, no doubt. And all the while, Orri could do nothing except sit there and wonder what exactly his brother was up to.


Orri had never been one to distrust his brother's advice, or to go out of his way to deliberately disobey Vali. But after waiting for a decent amount of time, Orri decided he'd had enough. He'd had a very long and hard day— or night, he should say. Everybody, including his own brother, was treating him like he couldn't be trusted to do anything except stand there and take up space. Even if they were right to do so, Orri at least wanted to know what exactly he had done to warrant that kind of treatment. So, as daylight finally broke through the clouds, Orri made his way back to the others.

When he returned, the sight that greeted him was not a surprising one. The rest of the flock was simply lounging about, carrying on like he didn't even exist. Even Vali didn't seem to be doing anything important— just chatting away with Yarrow. Orri didn't expect a grand welcome of course, but some acknowledgement would have been nice.

He had the urge to give each of them a piece of his mind, but stormed up to Vali first , practically flinging himself in front of his brother's face. "Was this your big plan?"

Almost immediately, Vali tried to placate him. "Orri, just listen—"

But Orri didn't want to listen. Not now. "If you didn't want to be around me, you could have just said so instead of coming up with the worst lie I've ever heard!"

"It wasn't a lie, you runt," Yuri's familiar voice sounded from behind him, sending a chill up Orri's spine.

Regardless of the fear that Yuri's mere presence instilled in Orri's very being, the boy mustered the courage to turn around and face him. "What are you talking about? Can somebody please just tell me what's going on?"

Yuri traded brief glances with Vali before addressing Orri. "Your brother was just telling Yarrow and myself that you can be quite the skilled little hunter. I don't really believe it, but hey, I've been wrong before."

Before Orri even had the chance to ask, Vali butted in and elaborated further. "So, I proposed a contest. Specifically, a scaly swimmer hunting contest. Whoever has the most valuable contribution wins. Winning is usually a good incentive for most flyers to do their best, and regardless of who wins and who loses, I think we'd all benefit from it."

Orri narrowed his eyes, still perplexed. "But I told you, that was just a one time thing! I don't even know if I can do it again. Besides, who would I even be going up against?"

There it was again- that shrewd little grin. "Well... what about Illyria?"

"Illyria?" Orri blurted out, much louder than he intended, sparking the interest of the flyer in question.

Vali shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, why not? You two make a pretty solid team, so it'd be interesting to see what happens when we pit you against each other."

Illyria then strode right up, carrying herself with an unshakable confidence. "You boys talking about me? Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear- something about a competition?"

"No, no, it was nothing," Orri attempted to lie, but judging from the smirk on her face, she'd already heard what she needed to.

"Well, you know I'm always up for a chance to show off," she piped up, "what do you say, Orri?"

Orri blanched visibly, as much as he tried in vain to hide his visceral reaction to her proposal. Not only was Illyria known for being ridiculously competitive, she was also notorious for not knowing where to draw the line.

He inhaled, attempting to speak up in protest, but decided to save his breath. He could tell when he'd been beaten. "...Well, it's not like I have a choice, do I?"

Vali looked proud as he patted his brother on the back, ushering him towards the stream. "Now we're talking."


Orri's gaze fixated on the swollen, shallower waters that churned against the rocks, fighting to escape into the vast depths of the Big Water. The frothing current was unpredictable, always shifting, always changing. Orri had gotten lucky when he caught that scaly swimmer for Vali. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to perform the same trick a second time. He was being set up for failure with this contest, and of course, everyone was gathering round to see him crash and burn a second time.

Vaguely, he wondered if other flyers went through life feeling so nervous about everything. Illyria certainly didn't— she'd always been able to grab life with both claws, ready to take on whatever it threw at her. Trying to be discreet, Orri peered over his shoulder and tried to gauge her state of mind. Illyria was sitting not far from him, examining her talons as if they were the most important thing in the world. She didn't seem worried at all, or at the very least, she was good at not letting it show.

Orri debated whether or not to talk to her for a moment, until he threw caution to the wind and did it anyway. "Hey, Illyria?"

Illyria didn't look up. "Yeah?"

Orri inched just a bit closer to her. "Who do you think is gonna win?"

That seemed to do the trick. Her neck jerked, green eyes staring into Orri's blue ones. She held his gaze for what felt like a long time before producing an incredulous scoff. "It's going to be me. Obviously. The winner's not going to be an idiot, you know."

Had it been anybody else, such words would have scathed him. But it was Illyria, and Orri knew that this was just part of their usual banter. In all the time he'd known her, she was always such a breath of fresh air. Going out of her way to build him up while others sought to tear him down.

"Hm. You're right," Orri agreed, suddenly taking on a more serious and grim disposition, "the winner can't be an idiot. But... also, you're not, because you're an even bigger idiot than I am."

Illyria sat up straight, utterly baffled as she scrunched up her beak. "...Huh?"

"I mean, you know, the winner can't be an idiot," Orri clarified, "you just told me that."

Illyria nodded, indicating that she was following him so far. "Uh huh..."

"But you're more of an idiot than I am," Orri proceeded, "which means you just contradicted yourself, right?"

Illyria didn't respond, only stared blankly back, his logic already lost on her. "...Huh?"

Aharon, who had the misfortune of standing right behind them, had been listening to them go back and forth for what felt like ages. For a while it seemed like the conversation might actually have been going somewhere, but those hopes were soon dashed when the interaction just became an exchange of "huh"s and "what's".

"I've had enough of this," Aharon grumbled, shaking his head. He quickly approached the pair, greeting them both with a good smack to the backs of their heads. That ought to slap some some sense into them.

"You're both idiots," he announced, settling their disagreement for them while ignoring their pained cries. "Now focus up. We're starting."

"Okay, okay," Illyria griped, smacking his hand away in defiance. With a slight huff, she rose to her feet and strolled right past Orri, taking a moment to bump her opponent's shoulder.

"Hey, good luck," she said, feigning an earnest smile, "...you're gonna need it."

Orri gave her jab at him no acknowledgement, simply brushing it off while he braced himself. He chanced one last look at Illyria, who seemed so sure that victory was going to be hers. Like it was all a game. He supposed it was, to her. But not to him. For Orri, this may as well have been his only chance to prove himself. He focused his intense glare onto the water before him, breathing in and out.

The excitement in the air was palpable. Orri could feel it, and he was sure Illyria could feel it too. The others surrounded them in somewhat of a circle, scattered across the trees and the grass, while keeping their eyes peeled. Amidst the thumping underneath his chest, Orri could hear a variety of voices.

"You two better catch us lots of scaly swimmers now, you hear?" Scud's cheerful voice rang out. He was happy so long as he was being fed.

"This is so stupid," Gale could be heard complaining, as usual, "have either of them even hunted before?"

Luckily, Vali's encouragement drowned out all the negativity. "You can do it, Orri! Kick her ass!"

"You're overdoing it," Aharon wearily advised the overenthusiastic flyer, "let's take it down a notch."

Eventually, it was Yarrow's authoritative voice that brought everyone's focus back to the task at hand. He stood on the opposite side of the stream, situated right in front of Orri and Illyria.

"Before we begin, I'd like to go over the rules." He looked at Illyria, and then at Orri before continuing. "...There are no real rules, just like there wouldn't be any rules in a real situation. But the winner will be decided based on what you've caught in the short amount of time you'll have."

"How much time are we going to have?" Orri inquired curiously.

The older flyer smirked. "That's for me to know, and for you two to find out."

Orri sighed in defeat. Yarrow's answer was about as clear as he excepted.

"Ready?" Yarrow's voice boomed, prompting Orri to forget about any questions or anxieties he might have had, and to just focus on doing his best. "...Go!"

Illyria dove right in, nothing more than a faded light green blur as she scooped up scaly swimmers by the mouthful. She was fast, faster than Orri could even fathom. While she'd already gathered a sizable amount just a few moments in, Orri was still attempting to catch his first. Frantic blue eyes scanned the water, his body chasing the numerous scaly swimmers that fled Illyria's grasp, although his beak didn't quite get the hint.

"Damn it!" He cursed as he desperately flapped his wings, twisting and turning, the water sloshing all around him. All to no avail. He just wasn't as fast as Illyria. And just like that, there came those old feelings of inadequacy, rushing back to him like the stream. Not that they ever really left.

Despite the roaring of the foamy current blocking out nearly everything else, some noises still bled through. Like the unmistakeable sound of Gale scoffing in disgust, as if he'd just confirmed something that he already knew. Orri stiffened, physically feeling all the scrutinizing eyes on him. He began to falter, and with him, the violent current dissipated until only small ripples remained. He knew this was a bad idea. He never would have agreed to it, had he not secretly wanted to prove himself to everyone. And now, they would lose even more respect for him.

While standing there uselessly, he caught a glimpse of Illyria. She was still going at it, not lifting her eyes even once. The water around her was volatile and eruptive, never staying still for a moment. The cascade of small waves created such a disturbance that she couldn't even see anything heading her way, not until it got trapped in the current.

Orri then looked out towards the Big Water, specifically homing in on the point where the stream met the sea, the undertow dragging in any creature that happened to swim too close, intentionally or not.

He became lost in the blue murkiness, feeling the Big Water calling out to him. Just as he did that morning. Hazily, Orri thought that he should focus on trying to not make a fool of himself, but something out in the sea felt alive. And close. Maybe he was crazy, but he'd had this feeling before. On the day they left Blue Haven. Some intangible force screaming at him to pay attention.

So, he did. He focused on the gloomy depths, waiting for something, anything. And then, he saw it. A dark shadow, resembling a scaly swimmer, but far bigger than any scaly swimmer he'd ever seen— heading straight for an unsuspecting Illyria.

As soon as he put two and two together, it was like Orri snapped out of a trance. He solidified his stance, using his wings to levitate himself into the air right as he sunk his teeth into the creature, yanking it out of the water. The sheer force created an explosive splash powerful enough to send the smaller scaly swimmers flying into the air.

All eyes went on Orri the moment he forced the large scaly swimmer out of hiding, sending droplets of water splattering everywhere. Even Illyria had to stop what she was doing to take it in. It was definitely a scaly swimmer, she noted, judging from the way it thrashed around in Orri's mouth as he fought to maintain his hold on his catch. In an attempt to give himself the high ground, he slammed the swimmer against the grass, holding it down with one foot, piercing through its iridescent scales with his talon. Within moments, the scaly swimmer stopped moving altogether. Orri released his grip, stepping back to examine his prey.

It was a long while before anyone else said anything. Everyone was too busy gaping at the now dead scaly swimmer that lay in front of them. They'd never seen one so big. Ultimately, it was Yarrow who broke the stunned silence.

"Alright, time's up!" He stated with a bit too much enthusiasm, knowing there was never really a set time limit in the first place, apart from whenever he damn well pleased. "Orri, Illyria, you both did good."

No one was listening to a word Yarrow was saying, still marveling over the scaly swimmer that looked like it was enough to feed an entire roost. The scaly swimmer that was now theirs.

Yuri staggered forward, struggling to close his agape jaw. "By the seven! Shortbeak, this is enough to feed us for an entire week! How did you...?"

"I... I don't know. I thought Illyria might be in danger," Orri admitted shyly, too embarrassed to look his friend in the eye. "I've never seen them that big before, and she didn't see it coming. So I..."

"Protecting those close to you can be a powerful motivator," Yuri said in an uncharacteristically sagely manner, "see? I knew you had something in you."

Illyria was happy for Orri, truly, but she had never been one to accept defeat with grace. "Uh, hello? What about me? I caught a lot of scaly swimmers! Orri's catch isn't the only one that'll keep us fed for a good while!"

"That's true," Yarrow conceded, "then again, you can't really judge the weight of a contribution when it comes to living in a flock. Each and every contribution is equally important, and when you start keeping score, well... that's when we fall apart."

Orri whirled around to face his brother, who beamed proudly, as if he had foreseen the outcome.

"So, was this your plan all along?" Orri asked in exasperation, although the smile on his face said otherwise, "to prove that we're all equally good at catching scaly swimmers?"

Vali shook his head, unsurprised that his brother somehow managed to miss the entire point. "It's not about the scaly swimmers, Orri."

"Yeah, yeah, nobody cares about any of that," Illyria butted in, voicing what they were all thinking, "what we want to know is, who won? This was a contest, wasn't it? There has to be a winner, no?"

With Yarrow being somewhat of the undeclared authority on the matter, everyone looked to him for an answer. The male flyer held his breath, keeping everyone in suspense for just a moment longer.

"Well... neither of you," he stated, delivering his verdict, plain and simple.

"What?" Illyria gawked in disbelief, "what do you mean, neither of us? I ought to kill you for making me waste my morning!"

"Wow, I didn't realize you were so busy," Aharon commented dryly, warning her to curb that rogue tongue of hers.

"It's as I said," Yarrow began to explain, glossing over her comment, "in a flock, there is no weighing one contribution against the other, deciding which one 'wins', which one is more valuable."

"Wait, wait, but what about earlier?" Illyria pressed, "you said the winner would be whoever had the most valuable contribution. Did you just happen to forget about that bit?"

From right beside her, Aharon could be seen massaging his forehead, wondering if she was really this dense. "That was the entire point, shortbeak."

"...Anyway," Yarrow resumed, "what I'm trying to say is that both you and Orri did well, because you both have different strengths. We flyers have always been able to rely on our wings to get us out of a jam, but that won't always be the case out here. Illyria, your strength and agility would be good in a fight, yes, but strength alone isn't enough. You need wits, and you need to think about what effects your choices will have. Because sometimes, instead of flying headlong into a fight, a flyer needs to wait for the right moment to strike— like Orri did. Both are vital in order for a flock to prosper."

Illyria and Orri looked at each other, coming to an unspoken understanding. They never actually fought or outright disagreed, but with her eyes, Illyria apologized for any grief she might have unintentionally caused her best friend.

"Ah, damn it," Yuri grumbled, muttering every foul word underneath the Bright Circle as he approached them. "As much as I hate to agree with the wisehead... he's right. That was a damn impressive stunt, Orri. I guess you are good for something."

Yarrow blinked at him, unbelieving of what he'd just heard. Yuri, saying sorry? Was the world ending?

"Don't look at me like that," Yuri griped, flicking his brother's beak before shifting his gaze towards Orri himself. "Besides, what do I know? Between Yarrow and I, I've always been the braun and he's always been the brain. And I may be strong, but I sure wouldn't know what to do with myself if it weren't for Yarrow's annoying need to be right all the time."

"That's Yuri's way of apologizing," Yarrow explained to Orri. If he knew anything about his brother, it was that expressing remorse was not his forte. "He lets you know he's sorry for hurting your feelings by hurting your feelings some more."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Enjoy your fun while it lasts, wisehead," Yuri quipped dismissively, decisively shoving Yarrow out of the way before shooting him a grin. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood."

As he closed his arms around Orri and Illyria, Yuri proceeded to project his voice towards the rest of their odd little flock. "Now... who wants to help me decide what to do with all this meat?"

The gleeful yet affirmative cacophony of screeches and squawks that answered back all echoed the exact same sentiment— after a grueling first day in the outside world, they were finally going to feast.


Well, that took longer than it should have. I have a bad habit of saying I'll get chapters posted soon, and before I know it, it's been a whole year since I updated I've actually had this chapter finished for a little over a month, but it's college application season so you know how that goes between that and working, I just haven't had the drive to hop onto my computer and start formatting and proofreading. But make no mistake, this is one longfic I will see through to the end, given that I have an outline for the entire story this time and am not just playing it by ear. So regardless of how long it takes, I can promise there will be a conclusion to Orri and his friends' journey! Anyhoo, time to get to the reviews!

@rhombus: Great to hear from you again! Glad you enjoyed that last chapter, and that you could feel the tension! This chapter contains a bit less action and focuses more on character development, but I hope you'll enjoy it all the same!