Chapter 11 – On Warm Winds.

As dawn broke, Mew in the form of Pidgeot flew high up in the air, his human body still sleeping down below.

There was little that felt as liberating as the feeling of flight, the sensation that came as you let yourself float on a pleasant current. To watch the sun as it illuminated the world. All the earthly worries of yesterday seemed so far away.

I, as Pidgeot looked down at the wildling settlement, surrounded by a host far too large for the settlement itself to hold. The Giants fell asleep on any ground they found comfortable enough. The Children in their little burrows away from the open sky.

For a moment I wondered what it would be like if I had not stopped to save them all that night? It, along with my human half would most likely be in the Seven Kingdoms by now. Somewhere warm and safe, having fun discovering new powers and resting in the Water Gardens. They seemed so far away, and all though of reaching home slowly slipping from his mind. Though I admit I would never give up trying to get back home.

I noted the height of the sun and with the sun's light I could already see several figures waking up below, Nails rushing around and waking up her kin and distributing food to those that had little. I angled my wings downwards to begin to descend. It wouldn't do to wonder about what ifs this early in the journey, not when there were so many more regrets to make, not when we had to get going south soon.

I felt an updraft come and for a moment wondered if it would be a good idea to float in the sky for a moment and watch the sunrise… just a little longer.

As my human half woke up my thoughts drifted back to yesterday. It must have appeared to be a gamble to any other but it was not. Not with a psychic cat that could read intent from those surrounding it, a psychic that could stop arrows in mid-air and axes in mid swing, one that could teleport its human counterpart away from harm in an instant.

I could not stay in the sky any longer, not with the risk of my human counterpart getting stabbed from a crazy wildling.

I folded my wings and dove down, opening them up once I had reached close to the ground to slow my fall.

I transformed into Mew, teleported to my human half and took a seat on my shoulder looking at the conversation that I had joined.

"We shall come with you!" the wildling, Bolor said, barely surprised by Mew at this point. Or would freefolk be a more apt description?

"No." my human half replied. Willow nodding in agreement besides me. "We do not have the food to support you and neither will the land, we are struggling with our group and our pace as it is."

"We will find food for ourselves," came the proud response, "the land will provide for our needs if we come with you."

"You will starve." Willow said and my human half had no need to translate. She and several others had begun to learn small parts of the language from their interactions with the Giants. Not enough to tell a story like last night, but enough to insult others.

Though insulting others seemed to take up most of her time nowadays.

I reached out gently to Bolor's mind with my psychic abilities and felt the sharp spike of anger at the insinuation that they would not survive. I felt the anger quickly smothered by his fear of insulting a Child of the Forest.

The issue was a real one though, my human half refused the wildling's request to follow us and several of Bolor's kin came to persuade him to take this course of action and not leave their lifelong homes. Though I noted that no one seemed to have had informed them that they would have to leave regardless, when the Others came south.

It was not long before the argument turned into screaming. Screaming that stopped when they all found themselves covered by a dark shadow.

They looked up to see Han Gar looking down on them all with a disapproving gaze.

The Giant was surprisingly quiet when he wanted to be, and if his intent was to stop the tribe from squabbling his imposing presence was enough to make it happen.

Unfortunately, the knowledge of the Others made Bolor's offer more than taking on a few star struck tribesmen, but a humanitarian mission to ensure that they all didn't die when death marched for them. The Others were out there, somewhere. And whilst I owed nothing to these men, I tasted ashes in my mouth and remembered that I was bound by Ho-Oh.

In the end it all came down to a choice. I did not wish to kill these people, I did not wish to see them die. But I did not care for them either, not that much. Not enough to risk the lives of the Children or the Giants, or to bring their species closer to extinction. Maybe when they reached The Wall they could warn the Nights Watch, get these people some help, but not till then.

My human half refused Bolor's continued requests to join them once more and a pair of the wildlings began to fight amongst one another without anyone else caring enough to interrupt.

One of Bolor's kin stepped into the conversation and suggested, "stay with us, all of you!" All those around him fell silent. "All the Children, the Giants, you and your shapechanging beast. If you did we could take all the tribes as our own! All their hunting grounds, all their women! Their treasures and food! Everything! Make yourself into Lords."

"You would make us kneelers!" Bolor shouted. "Fool boy, who do you take us for!"

"No, it's not we who will kneel. But all the others!" he spoke like a man possessed "We will take the antler, the Mountains, even raid beyond The Wall! With the Gods by our side. Nothing can stop us." He looked at Willow, "you, your people would rise again! Think of it! Our people one again united in triumph, as it was all those years ago when the peace was first forged."

I could see the temptation in her eyes, the greed in the eyes of the wildlings. Fear in Bolor's.

I took a glimpse at his mind and saw the image of a burning home, a dead woman, dark wings.

I shook my head. "No, we are going south, not making an empire." The man's face took on a look of fury.

"Speaker of the Gods," he said looking down at Willow, "Stay with us, with you other would stay, with you we could take all the tribes of the river."

She turned to me and for a moment I saw a look of despair on her face. I could tell that she wanted to leave, but she also wanted to stay with her tribe. "If you want to," my human half said looking at her, "You and anyone else can stay with them if you want, but I'm going south." I was not here to make myself an empire. I was doing this to prevent a species from going extinct. Though I wondered if that was what I thought when I first met them all.

Though it was, admittedly a tempting idea. My mind was filled for a moment with the idea of marking the world as mine, of laying down borders, cities and armies. Bringing forth a dynasty that would last long after I was gone. One that would name me King.

"No," Willow whispered, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked at her eyes and saw the memories of the Others hidden within them.

The speaker, still unnamed had a look of disgust on his face. One that quickly vanished to be replaced with a grin.

"Get the loot!" he shouted to a woman who ran away to collect something. He turned back to us, "I heard the story yesterday, your people came here when your ancestor guided you. Would they want you to leave? I have met the crows, heard their stories. What home would you fine south of The Wall?" One without the Others I thought, though didn't dare say so. The knowledge would only force them to come with us and it was already hard enough to deal with this group.

Though I did feel disgust at myself for condemning them to die thorough mis-information.

"And, should you stay," the woman came back with an object wrapped in cloth, "a mighty sword." And the man held a large sword, the metal of which had a distinctive ripple pattern. "The first prize of many to come!"

"Where did you get that," my human body asked whilst I continued to monitor the minds around me for ill intent, a skill that I had picked up from being an Abra.

"A mad old man, we met in the forest," he said with a grin. "A kneeler by the words he spoke. Though I would have said he was a crow with the way he acted. He was in rags! It would have been a shame for this treasure to be lost to the wood forever."

The man swung his sword around wildly and continued, "But I see now." There was a passion in his voice that made a part of me want to go with what he was saying, "We saw the red star fall in the north, then a sword of legend come to our doorstep. Now, the voice of the Gods come to stay the night with the Giants by their side and stories of times long past. At their front is a man who has a creature that even myths do not know of and wears white furs and silver scales." He looked around at his fellow villagers. "What greater symbol is there of the Gods favour! The opposite of a crow! What better to take the wall with."

He looked at me, "Though I would not call someone so dangerous a dove. A snow eagle, maybe?"

"What happened to the man." I looked at the person, I still didn't know his name. "The man who had this sword?"

He grinned, "come, I will show you," and led the way to a hut, before which a wildling with a stone axe stood guard. I wondered for a moment if I should delve deeper into the man's mind, but unlike my other abilities this was one that I couldn't practice easily for. I tried once on a rabbit I saw, it screamed. I tried it on insects and they all died. I did not know what it would do to this man.

He opened a small wooden door and let light stream into the dark room. I followed him in cautiously, Mew's cat eyes allowing me to see more than my human ones would.

Inside was an old man with a long, gaunt face. Long wisps of hair drifted out of his head, his eyes were closed. If this was a man that bough a Valyrian sword he would be either a scavenger with the strangest of luck, a Lord of Westeros, or a notorious bastard.

I noted that the prisoner was bound by his legs and arms with rope. The man waved the sword at the old man, "Here is the foul one. I wouldn't put much faith in him doing anything if that was your wish, found him walking blindly in the wood, didn't know up from down. I'm surprised that he hasn't died yet." He poked the old man two times with the sword and received no response, only blood leaking out of the prisoner's arm where the cuts were made. "See," he said.

I sensed an intent to harm and formed a barrier around myself. In the blink of an eye the old man had leapt to his feet, his bindings falling off. He disarmed the man and sliced his head off.

Once the shock of the moment passed he pointed the sword to us and spoke in a language I didn't understand.

One of the wildlings rushed in with an axe and found themselves with a sword in their chest. They fell to the ground and the old man then pointed the sword to me.

I blasted him to the wall with psychic and kept him pressed onto it. Though his hand never let go of the sword and I couldn't seem to grasp the blade with my powers.

The man continued to shout in his strange language. I took the time to skim off his surface thoughts, attribute sounds to images, emotions and strings of thought. It was easy after having done it to three separate groups.

Then I understood what he was saying.

"I am The Lord Commander of the Nights Watch! Release me now, or my brothers will come for you!"

I sighed. I did not want to deal with this.

I used psychic to move his body and told the others to disarm him. Then got the wildlings to tie him up once more.

Once that was done I transformed into a Chansey and healed the man that was stabbed in the chest. I doubted I could help the one that was beheaded.

I looked over to the old man who was watching my Pokémon body intently as it changed back to its natural form.

"Shapechanger," he whispered.

"We have much to speak about Lord Rivers," I saw him acknowledge the name, confirming my suspicions. That would likely make the sword, now in Bolor's hand, Dark Sister.

Then I heard someone rush in from outside. Turned to see Nails run in and look at me with tears falling from her eyes.

"They're gone!" she said.

"Who?"

"Root. Root and my son! I've sent riders out but no one has seen him since last night!"

I looked back to Bloodraven. He was looking at Nails and Mew with equal amounts of awe. "We'll talk later. But if you kill anyone else here, I melt your brain." Hopefully he took the threat seriously.

I transformed into a Pidgeotto and flew out of the room, quickly changing into a Pidgeot once I had flown into the open air. My human half quickly moving outside and towards Han Gar who would hopefully keep him safe.

The direwolves would be able to track by Root and the child by scent, but Pidgeot had speed and a bird's keen eyesight.

I had had a talk with Root about his feelings and got the sensation that he was depressed. I didn't think much of it at the time and assumed that in the worst case scenario he would hold till we reached The Wall. But if it had driven him to run off with the child without even consulting Nails… I hoped we could find him soon.