"Hi Soren. Who's this?"

Soren smiled. "This is Lunaris."

The moment Eglantine had seen the black barn owl she had liked him. "Oh…uh…hi. I'm Eglantine."

Lunaris smirked. "I know."

Eglantine thought she should have been surprised, but this owl was so strange anyway that it did not. "I've never seen a Barn Owl quite your…color."

Soren glared at her, but Lunaris brushed the comment aside. "I didn't think so. Don't be so angry at her, Soren. I know of very few who wouldn't comment. After all, we are very rare. Only live west of the Shadow Forest, in the realm of shadows. So far, you and the crows are the only ones who have not commented on my strange color."

Both Soren and Eglantine gaped. "You talk to crows?" Soren asked disbelievingly.

Lunaris chuckled. "Oh yes, they're rather talkative. We of the Realm of Shadows enjoy a kind of peace with crows, and we can fly day or night."

"And," he said, surreptitiously winking at Eglantine, "Anyone who is with us enjoys that benefit too."

Ezylryb flew up. "Yes, so I heard. They say, Lunaris, that your mother was once a normal barn owl, but when she entered the Realm of Shadows she became black as midnight."

Lunaris nodded. "That she was. I believe that she was one of my father's clients and they grew very attached to each other. Over time, they liked each other so much that they mated, even if it was only so that they could preen each other more freely." Lunaris churred. Ezylryb sighed.

"Yes, I remember your father. Bold owl. Big too. Very rare that a barn owl is about two feet tall. Must have good food over there."

Lunaris nodded. "All owls there are. In fact, every creature there is exceptionally large. Just be glad that there are no eagle owls over there. They'd be huge."

Now Ezylryb churred. "Yes, they would. Fortunately for me, your father was a powerful fighter. Not every day that a giant owl comes careening in to kill me."

Soren shook his head."Everybody really wants to kill you, don't they?"

Ezylryb nodded. " It sure seems that way sometimes. Say, where'd Lunaris go?"

Soren looked around. "I can't see him either. Oh, hi Gylfie."

The little elf owl smiled at Soren. "If you're looking for Lunaris, he's over there, chatting with Eglantine."

Soren barely stifled a churr. "Well, we won't disturb them. Right, Ezylryb?"

Even the old ryb was barely containing a churr. "Right, Soren. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some pressing matters to attend to." With that, Ezylryb flew off, churring silently to himself. Soren looked a bit confused. Then he turned his head, and as he did so, he picked up snatches of the conversation between Lunaris and Eglantine. As he listened, a faint smile twitched at the corners of his beak.

"So, what's the Realm of Shadows like?"

Lunaris and Eglantine were chatting happily away, oblivious to all around them. "It's a beautiful place, especially for owls. It's almost always dark, and when it isn't, you can still fly around, as the crows won't bother you."

"Really?" Eglantine was amazed. The crows always bothered any owl anywhere as far as she knew.

"Yeah," Lunaris replied. "but the best thing of all is the trees. You can't imagine the size of the hollows you can have there. Some of them are larger than the Parliament hollow you have here."

Now Eglantine was really incredulous. "No way! What type of trees are they?"

Lunaris churred silently; he was enjoying this. "They're called redwoods, and they're thee biggest trees around. They say that the Ga'Hoole tree is the largest ever. They're wrong; our parliament is based in a giant tree known to the Others as the General Sherman. I have no idea why they picked that particular name, but…"

"There are Others there?"

Lunaris snorted. "There are no more Others there than there are here. Extinct everywhere, or so I'm told."

Eglantine was suspicious instantly. "You mean you've…?"

"No, I'm just stating that. The Others were once the most powerful species on Earth. And the smartest. After all, they gave us our formal names."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Now let's get back to the subject. How's the food?"

Lunaris's golden eyes twinkled. "Ahh, yes, the food. You roast and cook your meat, right?"

Eglantine nodded.

Lunaris smiled. "We do that too. The only difference is the way that we cook it. We put it in a bucket filled with crushed olives or water. You can't imagine what that does to the flavor!"

Eglantine shook her head and grinned. "No, I can't. C'mon, I'll show you the rest of the tree."

Soren churred softly. His plan was working perfectly.

******************************************************************************** Much later, Lunaris was tired. VERY tired. Eglantine really had shown him the whole tree. Then they had met a young spotted owl named Otulissa. She had seemed nice enough, until she had started yapping their ear slits off.

Lunaris had excused himself, explaining that he had flown day and night for a long time to get here. Both of them understood, and he entered his nest in Soren's hollow.

"He's an expert on moving unseen."

"I know. Under the circumstances, I'm fairly sure that he can teach the Chaw."

"When he is awake, let him know. He will be delighted to know he will be helping the Chaw of Chaws."

"The chaw will be glad to have him." The great white snowy churred a bit. "Especially Eglantine."

"Alright, you lot," Lunaris said, standing in front of the Chaw of Chaws. "I have been informed by Ezylryb," he continued, "that we need a stealth force. And I have been instructed to be that ryb."

Otulissa raised a talon. "Excuse me, what are your regulations?"

Lunaris smiled maliciously. "I was going to get to them. Number one: Listen to me. What I say may save your life one day. Number two: Raise your talon to speak; if you do not, you will be immediately, but not severely, given a flint mop. In your terms, Otulissa, keep your vocal cords from vibrating at any frequency, otherwise you will be castigated. And finally, Rule number three: Feel free to practice wherever you are; it will improve you."

Lunaris grinned at the expression on Otulissa's face. He could tell that she had been shaken by his words that were bigger than hers. "Alright, the first thing about remaining unseen. You must absolutely remain in the shadows no matter what. Do not, at any cost, glance outward to see your enemy. Use your hearing. I shall demonstrate." With that, Lunaris stepped into the shadow of a false tree that he had set up in this training/instructing hollow. Soren and the others knew what would happen, but nontheless they were still amazed that the only thing that gave evidence that Lunaris was still there was his glittering, golden eyes. He stepped out of the shadows, and they could see him once more.

"Now you try." They did. The closest one to Lunaris' results was Twilight, who's grey color blended with the shadows, making him seem to shimmer and shift, the way that Mist had back in the days before the siege. Soren had the most difficulty, as he was large and mottled white.

"Tonight's lesson is over. If you wish, you may practice here, in the hollow.

******************************************************************************** Lunaris sighed heavily. A week had gone by. One week of training in the unseen. One week of waiting for the Widower. A week of spending time bonding with Eglantine. Not that that was a problem.

Soren was happy. For Eglantine and for himself. He had never thought that Eglantine would ever find a potential mate. However, she had. And he had found one, too. He pushed the thought of her out of his gizzard and focused on camoflauge. Lunaris had taught him many things about blending in with the surroundings, rather than the shadows. This was useful in spying, as well as just having fun. He enjoyed popping out of nowhere at Otulissa. It, of course scared her half to death, but nevertheless Soren thought it was funny. He had to watch his back, though. Eglantine enjoyed sneaking up on HIM, and though she rarely succeeded, when she did she always rolled on the floor, churring like mad.

Eglantine, however, was occupied with other, more important matters than frightening her brother. She was far more interested in her instructor right now. She was chattering away with Lunaris, asking him about unseen movement and all that he had taught them so far. That and she was also asking him about the Realm of Shadows. He was eager to tell her everything he knew about his home. He had no reason not to, after all. He knew she needed to know these things, though he wasn't quite sure why.

"Aaaauuuuugggggghhhhhh!!!!!!" Otulissa screamed. Twilight had snuck up on her. Again. Gylfie sniggered inside her hollow. Otulissa was a popular target for such things. Most likely because she annoyed everyone with her incessant chatter.

Gylfie had been resting in her hollow, but now that she was up and about she figured she might as well go see Soren. The leader of the Chaw of chaws often felt lonely, seeing as most who came to see him were searching for answers, and not as friends. Gylfie would never admit it, but she too looked up to Soren. Ever since the Siege she had noticed something new in him. Something that she could not quite pinpoint. It was hard for her to say this to Soren, for she did not want him to think odd things about her.

But he was.