Pterano meant no harm. All he wanted was a chance, a chance to prove that no job was too big for him, a chance to convince everyone he was capable of being a leader. But that wasn't how it turned out, much like all of his schemes. He was still regarded as a ne'er-do-well, a wild, crazy flyer who never thought things through; a pompous, stuck-up, self-centered jerk with absolutely no sense of responsibility. Pterano snorted in mid-air, staring gloomily ahead into the dusky horizon as the Bright Circle lowered itself before the sister circle took over her nightly duties.

It had only been a little over a month since his banishment, but it seemed to Pterano that he had already waited out five cold times in the Mysterious Beyond. He was still with the far walkers, figuring it better to stick with greater numbers while he abided to his punishment. Now they were traveling along dry plains. Pterano had cut off from the group upon entering this oasis and settled himself in a tree a ways off. It wasn't that he disliked the company, but he had been feeling rather restless on the road and preferred to keep to himself. The other far walkers gave him a wide berth under these circumstances; really, under any circumstances. Pterano wasn't very popular around here, but the old flyer didn't really mind. It gave him time to think: about his banishment… about that idiotic Stone… about Rinkus and Sierra, his two henchmen that he hadn't seen since his banishment and hoped he never would.

Rinkus and Sierra, Pterano mused absently. Rinkus was naive, borderline clueless, and easily manipulated. Pterano wouldn't hesitate to land a hard whack on Rinkus' head for one of his stupid moves, but Sierra was different. Being at least six seasons younger and bearing an awful temper, Sierra made a nasty foe. Pterano remembered one such incident when the two had a disagreement, which quickly escalated to a full-blown duel. Both of them ended up winded and nearly knocked senseless from repeated wing-blows, but Sierra, youth still somewhat on his side, kept getting up and coming back harder until Rinkus leapt in-between the dueling flyers and insisted they stop. Pterano couldn't help shaking one nagging thought: Sierra had nearly beaten him. But aside from all the drama, Rinkus and Sierra had made good enough stooges.

Then the two had ditched him when he had returned to the Great Valley to seek the strange new Stone of Cold Fire. He blamed those ratty Rainbow Faces for spinning all that fancy-talk about the oh-so-magical-and-wonderful stone. Tripe! It was all frivolous tripe, and he was an idiot for listening. But he couldn't forget that feeling he had, that stirring deep within his gut, that churning desire to go after that stone and claim its powers for himself.

Well, that plan had worked out fabulously. Not only had Rinkus and Sierra turned their backs on him at the last possible moment, but the Stone had also turned out to be a fake. Pterano sighed, hidden within his wings. Nothing had changed for him: he was still banished, but his sentence had been reduced somewhat. 'Five cold times' is reduced? Well, at least he had been forgiven. And by whom? That oaf Topps still hates my guts, and I'm pretty sure Old Man Longneck would have rather my sentence be a lot longer.

Pterano's eyebrows lowered in a pensive frown. Had there been any good that had come out of that episode…? Of course, seeing his nephews and nieces again! In their eyes, he was a hero; a brave and bold individual. A minute grin tugged at the corner of his beak. Petrie, his favorite nephew, still believed in him. The little flyer was convinced that Pterano, regardless of the fact that he had a hand in that little swimmer Ducky's kidnapping (and not to mention that long-ago episode of leading half the herd into a deadly nest of fastbiters; the reason he was banished in the first place) could still change for the better. He had witnessed it himself, when his uncle had saved Ducky from a perilous fall.

Obviously, having 'good' inside you is not enough. Pterano grunted. But what else can I do?


There ya have it! You can also find this fanfic on the Gang of Five forum: .net