Henry jerked awake at the hard stab at his forehead. Sitting up and immediately covering his bruising forehead, he glared down at the crow that peered up at him, clapping its beak together, almost bored at the chore. Agitated and tired, especially at the constant rude awakening, Henry swatted at the crow, only for it to easily jump, laughing at him. With wide bounds, it lazily flew to the girl. Grouchy, he laid back down, watching as the girl stretched her own body, nearly falling over when her large wings lent a little too far back. Red faced, she glanced at him hurriedly before straightening and walking off, ignoring the laughing flock around her.

She seemed more concerned about him than the twenty crows that were mocking her.

Curious. Very curious.

He twitched as another crow pestered him into moving, jumping on a branch above and scattered its loose leaves and bark onto him. "I'm moving, I'm moving," he grumbled to the bird, stumbling to his feet and trailing after her, occasionally stomping over her prints with his slightly larger feet, just for the spite of it. The crow hung back with him, jumping branch to branch and watching the girl and its flock ahead of them.

For the past few days its been like this. Trailing after the mysterious angel and the black birds, never getting close but never getting near. He slept away from her, and she never drew closer to him. It was only ever the crows that came to fetch or alert him when she was on the move. The only time the girl stopped was just to sleep, and even then, it was starting to feel like more for his sake than for hers. First two nights he stayed up as long as he could, watching her as she pretended to be asleep. He knew because the conscious can't keep their eyes closed very well. A few moments he could see the glow of her red eyes peeking out to the shadows before quickly closing again.

It was almost like she was afraid to fall asleep.

But as his throat itched and his stomach twisted and clawed at his insides, Henry couldn't bring himself to care.

For the past few days, she didn't stop for food or water; only the crows did and they traveled, ate, and drank when they could. There was a lot of food in these areas for them, and occasionally there were small streams where they would snap up some water for them. In his desperate moments, Henry drank some of the stream as well, spitting the bits of dirt and leaves that would get in his mouth.

He wasn't drinking a lot of water these past two days, and Plegians usually were good about lack of water for long periods; but food was a completely different matter. As his stomach grumbled and growled, he glanced at the crow trailing beside him, considering.

He had counted, there was a total of twenty crows in this flock with the girl. Chances were slim that she would notice one missing.

It would be simple and quick, a single cackle of lightning, or a quick jerk of of the shadows-

The crows all screeched in a alarm, jumbling around so their black bodies mingled and merged together in a wild swarm. Henry found himself on the ground, staring up at the blazing red eyes staring down at him, the girl's features disappointed, and her wings raised high above her, casting long shadows over him. "Don't," she warned with a shake of her head. The word rang through the air, soft as before, but firm and dangerous. The first word she ever spoke to him since they left the ruins.

The surprise and slight bit of fear echoed away from him as he opened his eyes and glared back at her, too hungry to be scared.

His own teachers and parents were far scarier.

"I'm hungry," he bit out, his own voice raspy from lack of use.

She arced a brow at him, her head tilting to the side curious. "Then eat," she said simply.

"What food?"

Her eyes widened a little as the problem dawned on her, looking around past the crows to the ashen forest around them. What could he eat? Nervous, her wings wrapped around her, like they were trying to hide her from the world as her shy words told the crows, "Find food please." The silent crows all looked around each other before they took off, leaving the girl and him alone.

Satisfied, she sat down, letting her wings completely encase her form as she waited. Henry stared at her for a moment, looking back up at the crows flying away, before leaning back himself and waiting.


The flutter of wings woke them from the light doze they slept in.

Eagerly looking up, they watched as four crows managed their way down, all gripping the blanket tight that looked wrapped around a lot. The girl's nose twitched knowingly as she watched the descent, her red eyes locked on their catch. Henry crawled forward, his stomach outwardly screaming with impatience, his mouth watering as they dropped the blanket to the ground.

Food rolled out from the blanket, some lying in the dirt while most lay all over the blanket. The crows themselves stood around them proudly, their chests puffed out as they preened at the praise the girl whispered to them. Reaching for the first thing he could grab, Henry tore at the bits of jerky the crows snatched up, relishing the gamey taste, but frustrated at the hardness to chew. Tearing one piece away and chewing at it, letting his saliva soften it up, he grabbed for the bread and tore at it as well, humming as the meat and bread mixed well on his tongue.

The girl watched the display with wide eyes before giggling weakly to herself. "You really where hungry," she mused aloud, more to herself and her crows than to him. The birds agreed as they cackled and clacked their beaks together, especially proud in finding food for their young entourage. Looking over the food, a delighted gasp escaped her, catching Henry's attention as he watched that she reached for the food herself.

"Eel pie?!" she exclaimed, holding up what looked like a ruined pastry. Henry swallowed his current portion, wondering aloud, "What pie?"

"Eel pie!" she repeated excitedly, her red eyes glowing as her smile grew so big, he wondered if it was going to crack her face. "Mother and I ate this all the time," she said, bringing it up to her nose and sniffing. "Its a popular treat at the ports. Which is good since they actually eat a lot of fish, and they breed worse than rabbits, and rats." She babbled on, Henry watching her curious as he chewed absently, content and happy that he had something to fill his stomach with.

"So your from the west side of Plegia," he mused, making her start a little, her eyes flickering up to him before going back down to the pie, tearing off a chuck and nibbling at it, like she wasn't starving like him despite not eating for who knows how long. "North west," she confirmed, "we were much closer to Ylisse."

Ah, that explained a bit. Plegians that were much closer to Ylisse were usually quite weird. "What are you doing in the middle of Plegia," he asked, reaching over and tearing off a piece of eel pie for himself, curious to try. If his mental map was correct, she moved quite a bit away from where she was.

"Mother said it was time to go," she said simply, watching in amusement as he spat his piece out, his tongue sticking out in disgust while the crows easily snatched it up. "Its a required taste," she offered.

"Where is your mother now?" Henry asked, glancing at her wings and wondering if it was her mother that put them there.

The girl drooped, her wings that hung up around her back fell forward and limply to the ground, scattering a large dust cloud over the food and themselves. Not that Henry cared as he tore another piece away and nibbled at it, not minding the dirt. Food was food. "I don't know," she mumbled, "I was looking for her, we... we got separated."

"By what?"

"Men."

He glanced up at her, his eyes squinting in the unnerving way that always made his mother, teachers, and classmates cringe. The girl wasn't cringing though. She was staring down at her lap where her hands and the pie sat. "Dark mages," she added at last.

His mind instantly clicked to Grimleal, the organization of dark mages that sought to revive Grima and destroy Ylisse. With the recent war against Plegia, Grimleal was as strong as ever in its support. "Did they do that to you?" he asked, eyeing the depressed wings.

The girl looked confused for a moment before it clicked in her head what he was referring too. "Oh!" she squeaked, her wings instantly wrapping around her subconsciously, like they were trying to hide her from his prying eyes. "I-well, no, they didn't. I, I was born like this. Well, maybe not born-" She pushed her wings away with an embarrassed huff, feeling a little claustrophobic in her feathery cocoon. "I don't know if I was really born with them or if I got them through magic, mother implies that they come from magic.

"I can sort of control them, but not always. They can come out on their own, especially if I'm upset or scared. I know how to use them, I can fly a little, not long, but a little; and I know how to beat people with them."

The last comment completely threw Henry off. "Beat people with them?!" he exclaimed, laughter bubbling out of his throat as the images came to mind. People swatted away by those large wings, sent flying off to the distance. He actually would really like to see that. The girl blushed at his humor, her wings slowly wrapping around her again, only to stop when Henry gently pushed them aside, enjoying the feel of the soft feathers beneath his hands. The girl watched him beneath the shadows of her wings, her red eyes bright against the shadows.

"So you're looking for your mother then? What lead you to my ruins?"

"I felt your magic," she said. "I... can sense magic, powerful magic. And my mother can use magic. I had hoped..."

That he could have been her.

Changing the subject, he asked aloud as he drew away from her. "Not going to ask why I'm following you?"

The girl shrugged in response, her wings lightly coiling up around her shoulders, behind her. "Crows have been following me for as long as I can remember. I ask and they won't tell. Or they tell me too much. I figure that it'd be the same with you. I think..."

He raised a silver brow at her, peering at her quietly before a smile quirked up to his lips and he giggled across from her, much to her curiosity. "I'm Henry. I'm... I'll help you find her. You drew me out of my own muck, so I have a bit of a debt to repay."

She looked confused, not sure what he meant but she accepted it with a small smile and nod. "I'm Robin," she said, offering her small hand to him. Grinning, he took her hand and shook.

A robin amongst crows.

What an interesting and funny thought.


i was half tempted to use my chosen name for my avatar, aeron, but i decided to stick with robin for AC

also, does anyone else reach the conclusion that robin birds are only in plegia? especially since chrom wonders if robin is a foreign name. i'm thinking it could be likely.