*Clink*

A pebble bounced of the marble floor. Razar froze. It seemed like nobody had heard, but the raven still berated himself for being clumsy. It would not do to be caught now. It would not do at all. What he was after was far too valuable.

He told himself to relax.

'After all,' he thought 'I've been trying to find the far-seer for three nights in a row now, and they haven't got the lightest suspicion.'

He wore his stealth gear: a simple loincloth to protect his pride, a harness for storing the plethora of weapons he liked to keep on his person at all times, and soft shoes, which provided padding for his claws on the stone floors of the eagles' spires.

Suddenly, he heard voices ahead. Around the corner came two eagle night guards, preceded by the nimbus of warm light from their torches. They chatted away, keeping their voices low as they exchanged gossip. Quick as a shadow, Razar slipped into an abandoned room and locked the door behind him with a decrepit bolt. He winced as the lock creaked.

"In there!" said one of the guards. The raven heard the clanging of metal as the armoured birds hurried to his hiding place. Looking through the keyhole, Razar saw the left guard, the shorter of the two, reach out for the door handle. He gripped it and slowly turned. There was a sharp 'snick' as the mechanism inside worked. The guard applied pressure once, twice. But the bolt held.

"You're seeing things, Egral. This part of the library has been abandoned for decades." Spoke the taller guard and gestured with his torch. "Come on."

"I guess you're right." Said Egral, and he leaned in to also take a glance through the keyhole. Razar whipped his wing across the opening, blackening it. He heard the sound of two pairs of footsteps outside, as the two guards resumed their chatter.

The raven took a deep breath and stood with his back to the door, sliding into a sitting position. He looked up.

To his left, he saw bookshelves piled high with dusty tomes. The right wall was equally covered, though a doorway bisected the shelves. The floor was a checkerboard of brilliant white and azure tiles. From the low celling hang a simple yet ornate lamp, which was unlit. Against the far wall was set a curtained bed, which seemed to Razar to be a little out of place. Next to it was cut a rectangular, undecorated window, through which light from the full moon flowed into the room, giving the raven the ability to see, though colours were hard to distinguish. From around the door, a thin halo of yellow torchlight was visible, though it did not reach into the room.

Razar rose, and walked casually over to the window. The view was incredible; before him, all of Chima was laid out like a black-and-white map. The moon shone so strong as to produce shadows, which gave the world their depth. Though he was near the base of the spire, he could still see as far as the crocodile's swamp. His own scrapyard was blocked from sight by the hulking magical monolith known as Mt. Cavora. Silently, he slid one of the panes of glass aside and took a deep breath of the fresh, icy air. He shuddered with bliss as it permeated his lungs.

For a while he stood there. As he was about to turn and leave he heard a rustling sound. He thought it came from the bed. Drawing a wicked, curved dagger, he gently pulled the drapes apart, then jumped back. Inside he saw Eris, princess of the eagles, lying face down between the sheets. She appeared to be entirely naked, though her bottom half was covered. She hugged her pillow furiously, and seemed to be shaking.

Embarrassed, the raven averted his gaze, as his breath caught, and his heart started racing. Thinking quickly, Razar managed to overcome his shock, and decided to cover his friend up as much as he could, then leave. He reached out to pull her blankets up, but something stayed his hand. His heart pounded as though it was trying to rip free of his chest.

'WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?' he thought, furious at himself, turning away. He on the windowsill for a while, legs dangling free. He knew what was wrong with him. He was developing a crush. This wasn't the first time this had happened. A few years ago, he met a raven girl, Rakun by name, and found her incredibly cute.

The thing that astounded him was that he was having those same feelings for Eris. Princess, warrior and eagle. But most importantly of all, one of his best friends. He started pacing up and down in an attempt to calm his feelings. In doing so, he stubbed his toe on a book, producing a dull thump. He danced around swearing under his breath.

Eris' breathing caught, and she stopped shaking. Slowly, she let go of her pillow and sat up, keeping herself covered with her sheets. She reached for her dagger, but quickly stayed her hand when she realised who it was.

"Razar?" she asked, incredulously.

The raven froze and turned to face her.

"Well, this is awkward." He said, scratching his head.