By his word and mine alone, this is the story of my brother. I trust his word, regardless of the choices he has made and the hardships he has endured. I see deep into the heart I helped shape, and I know him to be pure. Though, pure in ways that he and his new family could never understand. He is pure in existence, halfway through a journey of searching for a purpose that others could never define for him. If only he could understand.
He spoke to me in a shaken voice, as if he once again was in the shivering cold of Broken Talon Point with his division, "Zoe…they always told me I needed to hate you."
I ignored the blood stained battle claws that adorned his feet, grabbing onto him in an effort to bring comfort, "Nix, you need to tell me what happened."
Nix's eyes glassed over once more, his entire body shaking in emotional turmoil "I…I can't."
"You must." I kept a lock on my gaze as I held onto my little brother's leg, a leg which had grown double in size since I last saw him. His powerful muscles were flexing under my toes, a stress relieving habit the Pure Ones couldn't possibly take from him. I knew it was Nix behind that metal helmet from his eyes, so alluring and powerful. They were a trait from our father that I somehow did not inherit.
In a sudden movement, Nix brought his head close to mine. A sour smell came from his helmet, the combination of iron, leather, and…smoke?
"They're all dead."
A chill rippled through my feathers as his words struck me, "Nix…who is dead?"
"Ambala is burning." He pulled himself back from me, "Everyone is gone."
This notion fell over my gizzard like a storm, my mind was unsure of where to go as I stared blankly into Nix's eyes. In a rush, I leapt out of the hollow to an outside perch and looked out to the East. A thick smoke enveloped the sky in a hellish glow of orange light in the night. With the shock, my heart fluttered as I stepped back in an effort to somehow drop to a time before this sight ever existed in my mind.
"What happened?" I called back to him. There was only the echo of my voice, "We need to go see if anyone's still in there. Mom, Dad, Sid, everyone! C'mon!"
Nix remained inside of my hollow as I motioned to him. The winds of a coming storm circled through the leaves of the tree, my feathers trembled in the cool breeze as I stared back at Nix's dark silhouette.
"Nix?" I called out, but he didn't answer. "Nix!"
Despite the overwhelming proof, I couldn't see this intimidating soldier, covered with metal and blood, as my little brother. That was not the owlet I tried to teach an openness to love, confidence in the face of challenge, or caring for those he needed him.
Nix gazed upon me through the darkness of the hollow, the red glint in his eyes brought another flutter to my heart.
Nix spoke, coldly, "Believe me. They're gone."