Ava sat atop a crate in the basement. Jay leaned against the wall nearest to the door. He played a tune on his piccolo, swaying to the melody. Regis attended to Sherry, who still had not awoken. He exhaled audibly and sat back, coughing a bit of blood in his hands. He wiped them off and continued Sherry’s treatment. Ava’s fingers slowly pet Vae while waiting for any word from the outside.

  She waited.

  And waited.

  This entire time she had done nothing but wait.

  Ava left Vae’s side and meandered behind Regis. He panted softly as he pressed his hands on Sherry’s wound. Ava hovered a hand above his shoulder but stopped when she heard an uttered prayer.

  Ragna-ch-bufa, reki resho utaz. Perm juvok-ch-voksih wecti. Wecti shyo hereshi-ch-bufa. Wecti shyo mishki-ch-bufa. Ragna-ch-bufa, reki resho utaz.

  “Is that the Prayer of Ragna’s Flow?”

  Regis turned around to meet Ava’s eyes.

  “Yes. You know Ragnaband?”

  Ava put a tongue in her cheek and looked away.

  “I’ve read it, but I know very little Ragnaband. I heard ‘wecti’ repeated and so I assumed–”

  “You know the prayer by name. That’s more than most, Miss Sinclair.”

  Ava waved a hand and laughed softly.

  “It’s just growing up on an airship, please, no need to flatter me. You visit so many places and pick up a book, that's all.”

  Ava’s eyes drifted toward Sherry. She lay motionless, save for the slow breaths she took.

  “Is she going to be alright?”

  Regis sighed out and shrugged.

  “The shot went clean through, but she lost a lot of blood on the way back. Whoever they were, they knew to take her out first. There’s no way they would have known she’s a medic unless they did their work or got lucky.”

  Jay wandered over and stuffed his piccolo back into his afro.

  “You’re taking this entire thing really well, Ava,” he cooed. “The music must have been working really well.”

  “This is far from my first time being locked in a room while people attend to matters,” Ava chuckled. “We used to have run-ins with the Horizon Corsairs all the time.”

  “Oh, the Corsairs,” marveled Jay. “Have you ever been taken hostage?”

  “No, but there was one time–”

  Ava laughed, she covered her mouth and composed herself in an attempt to finish the story.

  “This doesn’t leave the room, Jay, but…I once wanted to run away with them.”

  Jay howled in laughter. Regis held his side and chuckled heartily with Ava before she calmed them down.

  “Mind you, I was seventeen! I had been aboard airships since I was three, and there’s nothing to do but read. I had spent my entire life just watching and watching…I just wanted to do something for once.”

  Ava sighed and shook her head.

  “Part of me wonders if I would’ve made a good corsair. Firing a PRAC for the first time reignited the girl in me that thought she wanted that.”

  The room fell silent again.

  A sudden bang on the door startled the three of them. Marlowe’s muffled voice shouted from behind the door.

  “Regis! All clear! Bring Sherry out now!”

  Regis picked up Sherry and made his way to the door. Before they trailed behind him, Jay stopped her.

  “Hey, don’t feel bad that you’ve been the observer. It’s like you’re at a zoo. And the zoo puts some animals behind glass for a reason. I wouldn’t rush to join them.”

  “Like the corsairs?”

  “Exactly,” Jay smiled, “Like the corsairs!”

  Ava and Jay shared a laugh, now alone in the basement.

  “If it means anything…I’m sure you would have made a great sky pirate.”

  Ava shook her head and rolled her eyes with a smile.

  “Remember, that doesn’t leave this room!”

  Jay crossed his heart and nodded.

  Ava extended a hand and motioned for Vae to come. She trotted over and coiled around Ava’s hand before they left the basement. In the foyer, three unfamiliar figures spoke to Marlowe and Travlack in low tones down the hall. Ava turned to see Chrissy, Nathaniel, and Neville sitting silently at the table.

  She approached her escorts but faltered upon seeing their faces. They were solemn and hardened. The triage under their eyes began to show. Jay strutted in behind Ava, knelt down, and chuckled at the pair.

  “Boshy! Chrissy! Good to see you’re alright,” Jay said, “How are y’all holding up?”

  Nathaniel ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Chrissy removed a hand from her side and displayed where a PRAC had grazed her. She shrugged, putting a hand back over it and faced forward.

  “Nice scar! It kinda looks like mine–”

  Jay lifted the shorts on his right side to reveal a contorted scar.

  This marked the second weirdest scar Ava had seen on this trip. First place still belonged to the amalgamation on Nathaniel’s back.

  “Fecabre…,” Chrissy sighed. “Who did that to you?”

  “Funny enough, Chrissy, it was someone like yourself. Jade Yervite woman. A couple of weeks before I was signed to escort Ava.”

  “If she gave you that scar then she is nothing like me,” Chrissy said as she chuckled.

  “Even funnier–you’ll get a kick out of this–she tried to take me in somewhere. Broke my piccolo trying to do it and when I showed her I wasn’t budging she threw me some rev bills and walked away. For my trouble, she said.”

  Ava rearranged a hair from her forehead as she let out a breath. She found herself focused on Nathaniel’s intensifying stare.

  “But JJ ate great that night! Personally, I don’t use money. But I won’t say no to a new piccolo either!”

  Nathaniel’s gaze intensified.

  “Is everything okay, Mister Bosh?” inquired Ava.

  “Yeah…I’m just trying to remember something. It’ll be alright,” he responded. “Chrissy, how’s your cut?”

  “It’s fine,” she stated. “I just haven’t had to fight actual people in a while. I didn’t expect a squad of five though.”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you fight on a daily basis?” said Ava. “I thought a ranger’s job was largely fighting poachers and such, right?”

  “No poacher is stupid enough to cause trouble near Strohl," Chrissy answered. “Most of it is helping the DLF close resonance geysers that pop up in neighboring villages. They’re required to have a ranger with them in case the local wildlife gets involved and becomes resonant.”

  “Becomes resonant?” Ava asked.

  “What happens when an animal RIGs, essentially,” Nathaniel chimed. “When they marinate in the geyser area for too long, their body has to adapt otherwise they’ll cease to be.”

  Ava’s eyes widened.

  “Any animal?”

  Chrissy looked over at the group talking to Marlowe and Travlack before turning back around to answer.

  “Not just animals,” she whispered.

  Ava nodded her head slowly.

  “Not just animals…” she repeated.

  “But that’s why the DLF is there! I’m just on animal duty while they deal with the other option,” grinned Chrissy. “Now–if you’ll excuse me I know Nathaniel has a jar of bloom belly jelly in his saddle bag with my name on it. Neville, fuxi.”

  Neville hopped onto Chrissy’s back and rode her out the door. Nathaniel rolled his eyes and leaned back against the table.

  “I’m once again sorry, Miss Sinclair, for this detour. We should have been by the falls or the valley flower field by now.”

  “The falls?” Jay beamed, “You were planning on taking us to the falls?”

  “Yes,” Nathaniel said, taking a map and pen from his vest pockets. “Unless you want to derail me further by insisting that I use vibes to guide the way–”

  “Don’t be ridiculous, Boshy. If I knew you had that planned from the start, I would have done everything in my power to get us there sooner.”

  Ava met Nathaniel’s eyes of bewilderment before he whipped his neck back to Jay.

  “It was on the map–”

  Jay snatched the map and pen before slamming both on the table.

  “Now that I know? Oh, on my honor as a capridae we’re going to get there, and fast. Lucky for you, I know a shortcut. All we have to do is–”

  Jay started to draw on the map with passion, prattling on about his plan. Ava turned to see Nathaniel’s hand glued to his face. She heard an audible sigh as Jay finished working on the map.

  “--and boom! We’ll be there in time to make it for the capridae festival. We say hi to Cree, we resupply, I play a little music, and everything is great again! It’ll be as if we never lost the sido noko in the first place.”

  Nathaniel could not hide his fatigue any longer. Staring at Ava, he slapped his hand on the map and dragged it in front of him.

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  “Mister Bosh,” smiled Ava, “I will follow your lead. Whatever way you say is better is what we will follow.”

  “Thank you so much, Miss Sinclair. At least I know you trust my…”

  Nathaniel’s eyes darted on the map.

  He raised his brows and went to speak, but opted to remain silent.

  Ava looked at Jay, who stood with a smile that reached from ear to ear.

  Nathaniel looked up in amazement and pointed a finger at the map.

  “How do you know this route exists? It isn’t marked on a travelers map–or any map for that matter.”

  “I’m your guide, Boshy. There’s not a place in central JJ and I haven’t been on our own feet–or hooves.”

  Nathaniel looked down at the map and back up to Jay.

  He did it once more.

  He then turned to Ava and nodded.

  “This…works. Festival aside–”

  “Which we will go to!”

  Ava stifled a laugh when Nathaniel side-eyed Jay.

  “Festival aside, this puts us at a great pace to see the rest of the region.”

  Jay turned to Ava and took a curt bow. She gave performative applause as he turned and bowed to Nathaniel as well.

  “If you think that shortcut is neat,” Jay winked, “you should see the path through mantis country–”

  “Absolutely not.”

  Nathaniel’s expression made Ava’s body jolt back. All of the light had vanished from his eyes.

  “I’m aware of the shortcut, but no. We are not in that much of a hurry where we need to visit orchid mantises.”

  Ava’s eyes lit up.

  “Orchid mantises? Like in your father’s book? The Pupil of Power?”

  “No. Like this–”

  Nathaniel pulled his collar down to reveal a scar. Jay squinted and leaned in, extending a finger to it.

  “Just a baby scar, Boshy! Seems alright to me.”

  Nathaniel pushed Jay’s finger away and covered the scar.

  “That’s the only part that got me. My father’s assistant at the time lost an arm. I bled for an entire hour before I realized I had been cut.”

  “That’s astonishing…,” Ava whispered.

  Nathaniel and Jay turned to Ava with a raised brow.

  “I meant–astonishing for a creature to have such sharp claws–”

  “Forelegs,” Nathaniel corrected. “And once they grab something, they don’t let go. So I reiterate, Jay, your first idea will work. But mantis country?”

  Ava watched Nathaniel shake his head and stand.

  “There's a reason my father went through so many assistants. Now, if you will excuse me.”

  Ava waited for Nathaniel to walk up the stairs before she spoke.

  “Are mantises really that bad?”

  “If you’re wanting to see them by yourself, absolutely. But in a group? Easy. Capridae love eating the plant on their backs.”

  Ava did a double take at his statement.

  “Power in numbers.” Jay shrugged. “No matter how cute a capridae is, an insect is an insect. The flower of an orchid mantis is just an added vegetable bonus. The scent just drives them crazy–”

  “Ahem.”

  They turned to see Xander with a sealed dossier in his hand.

  “Anyone wanna fill me in on why there are three DLF agents talking to Marlowe, five bandits tied up in the front yard, and the hole through our medic?”

  Ava and Jay turned to each other and then back to Xander. They both shrugged in unison.

  “Xander,” Marlowe said, stepping into view, “A word. But first, did you get their papers?”

  He took a folder from his pack and handed it over. She opened, inspected, signed, and sealed the folder. Marlowe gestured for Ava to take it from one of her hands as she turned back to Xander.

  “Prep emergency transport to Collumvale. Take everyone with you. Find the DLF affiliated doctor and get her treated.”

  Xander nodded and jogged out front, and then out of view. Marlowe turned to Ava and Jay, taking off her hat.

  “Miss Sinclair, I apologize you had to experience that. The DLF agents here will assure your safety for the remainder of the time you’re here in lieu of my squad.”

  “It’s fine, Marlowe. We have you to thank for keeping us safe in the first place. I do hope Sherry will be okay.”

  “She’ll be fine. The rest of you leave tomorrow morning, I’ve kept you long enough. I have to keep talking with the agents, we’ll reconvene at dinner.”

  Marlowe’s boots echoed down the hallway until a door slammed shut. Ava spent the rest of the day reading her almanac with Vae. Jay laid nearby on the couch, he lazily played his piccolo. After dinner, Ava fired on the range with Jay before coming inside. She placed the PRAC beside her book and would occasionally marvel at it while reading from her almanac. After a while, Ava dozed off, face first, into its pages.

  That was until she heard a scream.

  The muddied sound of footsteps became more clear as she woke up. A figure stood in front of her, unmoving.

  By the time the second scream followed she was fully awake. The figure turned out to be Jay, who faced away from her and toward the door. He held a hand out beside him as a barrier between his gaze and her. His horns were at full length.

  “Jay? Why are you in phase three? What’s going on?”

  “Just a weird feeling. Stay behind me.”

  Ava called for Vae, who appeared and coiled around her shoulders. She then reached for her almanac and stuffed it underneath her arm.

  More shouting from the outside, followed by audible rushes of wind. Ava recognized Marlowe’s voice but could not make out any words. Then all that could be heard were the sounds of crickets in the night.

  Suddenly a rush of footsteps hit the patio stairs and bursting through the door was Marlowe. She hauled two tied up bandits and tossed them on the ground in the foyer. Without acknowledging them, strutted outside and returned shortly with two more before drawing her four firearms and returning outside.

  Chrissy had said there were five of them.

  Ava counted four.

  The bandits began to argue amongst themselves, overlapping one another.

  “--told you we never shoulda taken this job, we–”

  “--it was going fine until you had us come here! Now–”

  “We lost him! And it’s your fault! That thing came back–”

  “I thought we lost it! We had to come here or–”

  They were interrupted by the violent buzzing coming from a streak of green feathers. Ava turned away at the impact through the wall while Jay shielded her from debris. She turned–

  A feathered monster was ripping a bandit apart.

  Overlapping screams filled the room as a short DLF agent tackled the beast off of the raider. She traded blows with it on the ground and threw him through another wall before following after him.

  “Cuamash! William! Valyn! Get in here, NOW!” she screamed.

  Two more agents sprinted in and ran toward where she had thrown the monster. The rest of the bandits were screaming, and Jay’s voice fell mute as she made eye contact with the wounded bandit.

  “ — — — —!”

  The blood pooling on the floor grew larger with every passing second.

  “ — — go now!”

  Their eyes were slowly closing–

  A pair of hands covered her eyes.

  “Ava, Look at me!” yelled Jay. “We gotta go now!”

  He moved his hands off her eyes and onto the sides of her face, forcing her to make eye contact.

  “That man is–he’s–is he–what’s going–?”

  “Ava, focus on me. You’re going to be–”

  The crashing of another wall could be heard.

  An ugly screech. A groan of effort. Jay and Ava turned to see a DLF agent with a spear launching himself at a feathered nightmare. They stalemated for a second before the monster threw the man outside through the rest of the wall. Then the monster turned toward the rest of the bandits.

  Toward Ava and Jay.

  It was a man.

  He dripped blood and feathers as he exhaled in pain. He extended a finger toward the group of bandits, who inched away the best they could.

  “Y-you won’t take me back. I w-won’t…”

  His pupils dilated. Ava slowly palmed the PRAC on the table and kept it behind her back.

  “I won’t let you. Not again.”

  Jay and Ava slowly moved to the backdoor. Her grip on the PRAC intensified, but no energy went into it.

  “Lanon! Lanon, please!” said a bandit, “We give up! We’ll tell Karlsen we lost you just–”

  “I need food.”

  “Wha–?”

  Lanon lunged toward the bandit who spoke.

  Shots from outside knocked Lanon into a wall beside Ava and Jay. He screeched but was stabbed by a DLF agent who wielded a flamberge, slamming him back against the wall again. Lanon grabbed the sword and pushed against her, causing both of them to tumble back outside.

  Ava never raised her PRAC during that entire exchange. Marlowe stumbled in and assessed the damage in the foyer.

  “Shit, he got another one,” sighed Marlowe. “Ava, Jay, you need to leave, now. Nathaniel, Chrissy, and Travlack are on the other side of the house getting everything ready. Jay, see to it she gets there safely. Ava, it was a pleasure to meet you. Now go!”

  Jay led Ava out the back door. On the far side of the lodge house stood Travlack and Chrissy with their weapons out. Behind them were Nathaniel, JJ, and the rest of the mounts.

  “Ava,” Jay called, “Just keep–”

  The wall behind them exploded. Lanon skidded to a halt on all fours and vibrated intensely as he scanned his surroundings. Jay ushered Ava behind him.

  “Ava, walk backwards. Keep your eyes on him.”

  They took two steps before a voice called from behind them.

  “Lanon!”

  It was Chrissy.

  Ava started to charge her PRAC.

  “Lanon,” pleaded Chrissy, “You need to stop! I don’t know what’s going on, but if you continue they’ll kill you!”

  Jay and Ava took a couple more steps back.

  Tck.

  “Lanon!” Travlack called, “Stand down! Now!”

  Lanon took one step forward.

  “You want them to take me back. I’m not going back. I’m not going back there! He made me this way! I’M NOT GOING BACK THERE! YOU WANT THEM TO TAKE ME BACK-!!”

  Lanon tore at himself. His feathers grew faster than he could shred them off. Travlack ran forward and stood in front of Ava while Chrissy moved to pull Ava backwards. Ava never took her eyes off of Lanon. She watched an entire new coat of feathers adorn him seconds after he clawed off the last bit of himself.

  “I NEED MORE!”

  A charge.

  A drawn PRAC.

  A hand clamped around a wrist.

  A raised shield.

  A shared strike.

  It had all happened at the same moment. Lanon charged forward and Travlack raised his shield in response. Jay’s hand forced the barrel of Ava’s PRAC to face the ground.

  Chrissy moved from behind Ava with speed she could not comprehend.

  Lanon was sent skidding back. Chrissy’s hooks caused him to howl in pain as he regenerated again.

  Thmp. Thmp. Thmp. Thmp.

  Ava put a hand to her chest.

  But her heartbeat did not match the one she was hearing.

  She looked up to see a hot pink glow come from Chrissy’s chest. All the veins in her arms, neck, and legs were visible as the dust beneath her rose.

  Marlowe and the three DLF agents emerged from the house. Though Ava could see they were injured, their posture remained tall. They ran over to the group and formed a wall between them and Lanon.

  “Miss Sinclair, sorry we never introduced ourselves. I’m William Grellen. The shorter woman is Uriel and the other is Valyn. You’ll be expected to file a report on this incident once you return to Strohl.”

  “Now’s not the time, William,” Valyn sighed.

  “Paperwork can wait,” Uriel remarked. “We gotta get this guy subdued quickly.”

  “Lanon,” William called, “By order of the DLF I am telling you to stand down. We won’t hesitate to use lethal force.”

  “And as for you, Ranger, drop your RIG,” commanded Valyn.

  “I-I’m fine!” Chrissy heaved.

  “Valyn’s right,” Uriel added. “You’re too wounded. Drop it now or–”

  The pink glow was gone. Chrissy fell to the floor without a sound.

  “ –you risk that,” groaned Uriel. “Marlowe, we’re going to get serious now. Get them out of here now. Fikash!”

  Ava felt the reverb through her entire body.

  The shock of these three DLF agents simultaneously entering RIG shook the ground, knocking Ava to her hands and feet. Jay lifted her up and ran toward the mounts. She saw Marlowe hoist Chrissy over her shoulder and followed behind.

  Jay put her down and ran toward Marlowe. He took Chrissy from her and laid her over JJ’s back.

  “JJ, lead us out of here!”

  JJ snorted and trotted off into the darkness. Nathaniel followed after. She gave the command for her capastra to follow and it shot off behind Nathaniel’s. Behind her she heard Travlack give the same command. The sounds of combat died down behind them and soon the only sound Ava heard was the thumping of hooves into the night sky.

  Language Translation:

  Ragnaband:

  Ragna-ch-bufa, reki resho utaz. Perm juvok-ch-voksih wecti. Wecti shyo hereshi-ch-bufa. Wecti shyo mishki-ch-bufa. Ragna-ch-bufa, reki resho utaz.

  "Mighty Ragna, hear my prayer. Let healthy blood flow. Flow into strong hearts. Flow into strong minds. Might Ragna, hear my prayer."

  Cuamash!

  Fikash!

  Kutaxia:

  Fuxi