Oooh, my gosh, it's only been almost three months since I updated? It feels like it's been sooo much longer than that to me! I'm sure you guys are...not in agreement with that, but hey! It's been busy! I participated in NaNoWriMo and was a "winner", so I've been finishing up and editing that story so that I can send it in for a published copy (whoot!), I got hired on a PetSmart as a bather (what, what!), and had been enjoying a vacation with visits by my boyfriend and future brother-in-law! Yessirrr, busy indeed!

Mihara: ...Just get on with it!

Right-o!

Fluffystuff101324: I'm glad the last chapter made you laugh! I don't think there's too many funny parts in this one, sadly... But Mihara and Sylvia are just getting warmed up! Just wait until the later chapters, it will be hilarious!

Disclaimer, blah blah blah, own nada, annnd go!

XxXxXxX

Chapter 13

Mihara awoke with a quiet scream, covered in sweat. It was still dark outside, though there was a hint of light on the horizon, indicating that dawn wasn't far off. She ran a hand down her face, fighting to catch her breath. Each night since she had been attacked and abducted, she'd been tortured by nightmares of Stasik trying to kill her and of Karoline torturing her little brother with her magic. No matter what happy thoughts she tried to think of when she fell asleep, they always came. It was beginning to take a toll on her, not always getting a good amount of rest. There came a soft knock, knock on her door, startling her.

Before she gave permission, her door opened, a dark shadow stepping inside silently. "Are you okay?" It was Ulki, who sounded tired himself.

"Y-yes… I'm sorry, Ulki. I didn't mean to wake you."

"It's fine, but it wasn't you that woke me."

Though she felt slightly relieved at the fact that it hadn't been her, she pondered, "Who was it?"

"Your brother. He has not yet had a solid night's rest since he…arrived."

"If you want, you can send him in here with me. I'm not going to be able to sleep any more, anyways…and you sound like you could use some more."

Even in the darkness, Mihara could spot the faint smile of appreciation on Ulki's face. "Thank you, Lady Mihara. He'll be right in."

Mihara wiped away the remainder of her sweat and sat up in bed. She propped her pillow up against the headrest, then set up the other pillow the same way beside her so that Shoen would have a spot to sit, if he so chose. I wonder how many nights Ulki has woken up, disturbed by the smallest noise? It seems like he would have it a little worse than Janaff would…but I guess I wouldn't really know. I guess if he's been this way all his life, he's found ways to cope with it.

Her door opened again after only a few seconds, but this time it was Shoen that stepped through with uncertainty. His eyes met Mihara's, and she patted the space on her bed next to her so that he would be more encouraged to enter. He closed the door quietly behind him and made his way across the room to her. When he stood at the side of the bed, not sure of where to sit, Mihara tapped the spot beside her again. Understanding, he slowly sat down, leaning against the pillow and bringing his legs up on the bed.

He had been given a set of evening clothes that consisted of loose black pants and a dark grey button-up shirt, though a few top buttons had been undone, and his long sleeves were rolled up. Mihara lit a candle that sat on a small table beside her bed so that they could see better in the darkness of her room. With that small addition of light, she could tell that Shoen had a restless night, as well, some sweat obvious through his grey shirt. She shivered lightly and threw her warmed blanket back over her legs as she, too, leaned against her pillow. They sat there for a moment before Mihara said quietly, "You can't sleep either, huh?"

"…Not very well." Shoen set his right leg on top of his left in an attempt to make himself more comfortable. "Why can't you?"

She shook her head quickly. "No, I don't want to complain. I don't have any right to…" When Shoen said nothing in response, she turned her head to look at him. He was looking back at her with a certain look in his eyes. It told her that he didn't mind if she said why she couldn't. Rather, with the look he was giving her, it made her want to dump any troubles she had on him. "I just… Every time I close my eyes, he's there...and so is she."

Shoen understood why she didn't want to say. He had endured a lifetime of their evil ways, and she had only spent a few hours in their presence. Still, in a way, it probably took more of a toll on her than on him. He had grown up with their loathing ways, and his sister had come from a place of all but pure peace, where such a horrid thing had never been heard of. It was more than likely going to stick with her for a long time. All he said was, "I'm just not used to…the atmosphere here yet. Everyone is so friendly, especially with this whole…calling me "lord". I'm not used to anything other than hatred and hostile."

"That's exactly why I don't want to-"

"It's okay," he interjected. When Mihara turned to protest, she had to catch her breath. Shoen was giving her a small smile of reassurance – a real smile! Not only that, but it startled her how much he looked like their father in that instance. Ginia had managed to trim his hair and tidy it up, but Mihara hadn't taken a good look at it yet. It was a little shorter than it had been, sweeping off to the left side, but it now seemed rather light and feathery. It almost made Mihara want to get her long hair cut, but for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to do it. Shoen then added, "While I…appreciate everyone being patient with me, I…don't want everyone walking on eggshells around me."

"Well…" Mihara paused, trying to collect her thoughts. "We only do it because we're worried about you. We don't want to push you any farther than you're willing to go right now."

He shook his head. "I can handle it."

Mihara gave an amused scoff. "I guess that's something we have in common. We're all trying to be strong, Dad included, in one way or another." After Shoen nodded in agreement, Mihara opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. Catching this, Shoen gave her his look again. She said slowly, "I was wondering…if I could ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Do you…remember anything from before them?"

Shoen froze, and Mihara immediately mentally cursed at herself, now wishing she hadn't said anything. However, to her surprise (again), Shoen replied, "There is…one thing. I was flying out in the sky. I think I was with…Dad." He hesitated, not used to the word. "I was really young, obviously. In hindsight, though…I think that memory was what kept me going. I never saw the sky." His voice nearly choked. "All I want is to fly again."

"Let's go fly tomorrow. Well, later today." Mihara beamed, trying to cheer Shoen back up. "I really want to see what it looks like here with the snow."

This brought the small smile back to Shoen's face. "It sounds like a plan to me."

"Great! Then, do you want to try and get some more sleep before the sun comes up?" Mihara leaned forward and set her pillow back to where it had been, preparing to lay back down. "You can just stay in here if you think that'll help you? Misery loves company, as they say."

"…Okay."

Mihara blew out the candle and slid back under her covers, warming back up as Shoen made himself comfortable. Mihara could've sworn that he fell asleep before she did.

XxXxXxX

Keenan sighed, running a hand down his face as he let loose a heavy sigh, looking around at the three others in the room. Ike was sitting at the small round table quietly, not wanting to invade on the conversation when he was not being directly addressed. Another man was standing across from Keenan; rather, he was pacing. King Xavier of Nylonti and the otters was running a hand through his thick, shiny brown hair, his green eyes dark with thought. In place of where normal beorc ears would be, he had small, round, furry brown ears, and he had a long, sleek otter tail extending out behind him as he paced back and forth. Lastly, across from Ike, standing, was a beautiful woman with a full figured, curvy body. Queen Laurel of Ailon and the swans had fair blonde hair, so fair that it was nearly white, that trailed down to her lower back. Her eyes were a light baby blue color, full of youth and joy. Her ears were slightly pointed, and she had white wings that were delicately folded on her back.

"What you ask is risky, Keenan," Xavier said in his tenor voice, thick with worry. "You barely even spoke to Mihara."

"He said that she was happy," Laurel pointed out in her gentle, soprano, musical voice. "She has a real family there."

"Yes, and of course that makes me extremely happy for her, but you can't judge her emotions to the entire continent or wherever she is. You said that there was a battle that was going on when you and Aislyn left!" Xavier stopped pacing and set his hands down on the table. Turning his eyes to Ike, he demanded, "Is that common?"

"In the past, it was. However, now everyone has united and is trying to make Tellius a peaceful place." Ike averted his eyes for a moment. "Naturally, there's always going to be some people that are prejudiced against laguz, but it's a small fraction of people now."

"There you have it." Xavier scratched his head with agitation. "If there's prejudice against the laguz that these beorc have always known to exist, how do we expect them to treat us? With violence?"

"Not if you live within the other laguz nations," Ike replied. "All of the laguz countries, except for the Serenes Forest, which is where the herons lives, have the ocean somewhere on their borders. Gallia is all forested, I doubt anyone could get into Goldoa…the Serenes Forest, which, if I recall correctly, is going to be aligned with the new Hatari, and then Altiaire. There's plenty of areas to choose from."

"Would they welcome us?" Laurel's expression displayed worry. "We wouldn't want to just invade another laguz nation without an invitation."

"I'm sure they would. I bet they would be surprised at first, but I have no doubt in my mind that they would welcome you."

Keenan said, "Our only issue is, how do we get everyone over there? That, and if we decided to relocate to Tellius, how would we know where is best?"

Ike collected his thoughts from memories of Tellius. "Well, since Ailon is mostly forested, and you're so close to the herons, I would imagine that you would like the Serenes Forest, Queen Laurel. Altiaire, surprisingly, has plenty of plains over on the old island of Kilvas, so you may be interested in that, King Keenan. For you, King Xavier, it just all depends on what kind of shoreline you prefer."

Xavier rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, where we are now, we have plenty of beach, but we have cliffs where the castle is built."

"That might also be good in Kilvas. I've only been there once, but I saw what you're describing there. The old Phoenicis has only rocky shorelines all around the island."

"Do they have an inland source of water?" Keenan demanded.

"…Yes. They do have one lake. It's a little smaller than yours."

"…I see…" Keenan rubbed the bridge of his nose and swished his tail back and forth. "If you would please leave us, Sir Ike…we have much to discuss on our own."

"Of course." Ike rose from his chair and gave an awkward bow, not sure if the customs from Tellius were the same as they were here. He left the room, closing the heavy door gently behind him. He saw that there were two young women and one man standing near each other, whispering to one another. One, he knew was Aislyn. The other young woman was Felicity, right hand to Xavier. She had copper brown colored hair that shimmered lightly in the sunlight, accompanied with dark brown eyes. The man was Adrian, right hand to Laurel. He had very long, black hair that was held back in a ponytail, and dark amethyst eyes. His wings were not white, however, they were black. When Ike inquired about them, Adrian only said that there were black swans as well as white, but said no more.

Ike walked on past them, not wanting to interrupt their discussion, and walked outside. He inhaled the chilly air deeply, wondering what they would conclude at the end of their meeting. That was when he heard a young girl's voice, filled with panic. "Ike! Oh, Ike, I need to talk to you!"

The blue haired man looked up with alarm to see a tiny sparrow flying at him. "Yune? What's wrong?"

"We have a problem…a really big problem!" she cried as she landed on the ground beside him. "It's about Ashera!"

"Ashera? I thought we…?"

"No, she didn't die," Yune answered quickly. "We are still goddesses, after all. But Ike, it's really bad!"

"Calm down and tell me."

XxXxXxX

Mihara was walking back to her room from breakfast, on a hunt to find some warmer clothes that she could change into for when she and Shoen went for a flight later. When she opened her door, she jumped to see that Reyson was standing inside. Hearing her enter, he turned with an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I didn't mean to intrude."

"N-no, it's fine… But…what are you doing in here?" she inquired slowly with bewilderment.

"I was just wanting to tell you something."

"Yes?"

Reyson glided across the room, drawing closer to her. When he stopped in front of her, she could feel her face warming under his intense gaze, and having to look up into his face only made it worse. "Well, first of all, I'm just glad that you're okay. The fact that you pulled through only proves my thoughts correct: that you are a beautiful and amazing woman."

Mihara's face surely turned to a deep red as her heart fluttered in her chest, her stomach doing flip flops at the compliment. "Wha-what? I'm not any more amazing than any of you…and I'm definitely not that beautiful…"

Reyson chuckled. "You don't need to be so shy and modest, Mihara. You are as strong as Tibarn and you are…," he reached and brushed her hair behind her ear, and when his fingers lightly stroked along her cheek, it made her heart pound even more, "very beautiful. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all. But this brings me to my other statement." He lowered his voice to a low, attractive whisper, and said, "We were interrupted the other night. You still owe me a dance."

"I, umm…I guess I do, don't I…?" Mihara stuttered, not sure what she was supposed to say to his remarks.

"No need to be so nervous. I just thought I'd remind you." Reyson stepped back and proceeded to head for the door. "Until later, Mihara."

Once the door closed, all Mihara could do was breathe heavily and mutter under her breath, "What the hell was that all about?" She shook her head, attempting at forcing her cheeks to cool down and to get her heart out of her throat and back into her chest where it belonged. Her feet felt glued in place, preventing her from moving to find a change of clothes.

Out in the hallway, Reyson ran into Tibarn and Shoen. Tibarn raised a suspicious eyebrow at the heron prince. "Reyson. What were you doing in my daughter's room alone with her?"

"Nothing that you need to be defensive over," was Reyson's quick response. "I merely wanted to share a word with her before she set out for the day."

"Mmhmm…" Tibarn's suspicious gaze didn't falter, but he continued on past Reyson, Shoen following along. He raised a hand and knocked on her door. "Mihara? May we come in?"

"Ah, no! Wait just a minute!" Mihara called back.

It sounded like a whirl of activity in her room as she opened drawers and slammed them shut, choosing a quick outfit, and throwing it on. She chose a sleeveless light grey shirt and threw on a black waistcoat over it while she threw on a pair of longer pants. She told her father that he could enter as she then sat on the edge of her bed, working on parting her hair so that she could braid it. Tibarn and Shoen walked in, giving her a look of curiosity. Shoen inquired quietly, "Why do you look so flustered?"

"I most certainly do not," she insisted, ignoring him and continuing on with her braid.

Tibarn agreed with his son, a small teasing smirk on his lips. "You're face does look red…"

"No, it isn't!" At their similar looks of disbelief, she grumbled, "Oh, leave me alone. Why are you here anyway, Dad? Are you coming with us?"

"If you didn't mind. Shoen told me and I thought it might be a good opportunity for him to see how he feels if he transforms. If you went too far and he felt unable to make it back, I would prefer to be there to help."

"It's fine with me." Mihara smiled, happy her heart had finally calmed down. "The more, the merrier, right?"

Glad his daughter didn't reject his offer, Tibarn smiled in return. "Well, then, are you ready?"

Putting in her hair tie to finish her braid, she nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! Ready when you two are."

"Then let's head out. I've already informed Janaff and Ulki."

Mihara pointed out that they could just leave via her balcony, so she opened the door and headed outside, shivering lightly as she did so. Shoen filed out behind her, and Tibarn came out last, closing the door. With a grin, Mihara threw herself from her balcony, catching wind with her wings, and in a matter of seconds, she was soaring higher in her full form. She stopped once she felt she was high enough and turned around, waiting on her brother. Shoen looked uncertain as he jumped, stretching his wings out and flapping to gain altitude. Tibarn followed quickly behind him, even though he transformed first. He gave Shoen a nod of encouragement. The young man took a deep breath, and there was a flash of light. Mihara could have smiled when he successfully made his transformation. He was about her exact size, his body being a dark brown color. His primary feathers were a lighter shade of brown, yet his secondary feathers were solid black. His feathers were no longer dull and meager looking. They were healthy and strong, ready to be exposed to the air again. Shoen seemed happy about it, too, for he made a pleasant sound before chasing after his sister and father.

The three had no set destination in mind, so they just flew. They passed over the rocky mountains, soared along the plains and small lake, and even passed over the old, wrecked village where Mihara had met Silvan. Something had been on Mihara's mind, though, ever since she had woken back up from her attack, but it never seemed like a good time to ask her father about it. "Dad?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to the other prisoners that you captured after the battle?"

Tibarn made a disgruntled noise. "You're worrying about them?"

"No, I was just curious."

Shoen passed a look of confusion between the two, not entirely sure of what they were speaking. Tibarn replied, "They've been interrogated, trying to see if there are more of them. It seems there are, but they aren't saying where or how many. Don't let them worry you for now, though. Let's just enjoy the day."

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."

"It's nothing to apologize for."

They were continuing on their way, about to pass through more mountains when Shoen suddenly said, "Wait."

Puzzled, Tibarn and Mihara slowed their speed until they stopped moving forward. Shoen was hovering in the same spot, his eyes trained on the ground. Mihara tilted her head. "Something wrong?"

Shoen dashed towards Mihara, knocking into her somewhat painfully, shoving her out of the path of a blast of fire. Tibarn turned his gaze towards the source, which was a dragon laguz, making his way up into the air. He wasn't just any dragon, however, he was one with a purple chest. Once he was nearer, Mihara recognized his scent. He was the dragon laguz that had given her the keys to release Shoen and Jessa from their cells on the ship.

It appeared as though Tibarn were about to share choice words with the dragon, but he spoke first, "Impressive…for one who was such a cowardice laguz only weeks ago. I was hoping to just catch the princess and fight her one-on-one, but beggars can't be choosers. I will fight the entire family."

"What's the big idea?" Tibarn all but growled, flexing his talons.

"My name is Kyo, and I will be your demise, Hawk King." Kyo inhaled, then released another stream of red flame at the trio.

Flapping their wings quickly to avoid it, the three tensed. Just as Tibarn was about to charge the dragon and slash him to pieces, Mihara demanded, "Why are you doing this?! You helped me to get Shoen back!"

"You can't reason with him," Shoen responded first, his voice a little shaky. "He is only a mercenary…and he was paid to keep Jessa and I captive."

Hearing this, Mihara lined up beside her father, rage flashing in her eyes, beginning to show her red-tinted world of blood. "If that's the case, I won't hesitate to sink my talons into you myself."

A demonic smirk came to Kyo's features, and he readied his own claws. Tibarn and Mihara moved at the same time, the father going to attack from below, the daughter from above. Mihara aimed her talons at Kyo's neck, Tibarn aiming to go for his wings, wanting to knock him out of the skies. It wouldn't be that easy. Kyo reached his left claw up and met Mihara's talons, latching onto them tightly, nearly crushing them with his strength. In the same instance, after Mihara screeched in a mixture of pain and shock, Kyo swung her down, crashing Tibarn's body with hers, sending the two down several feet as they untangled themselves.

Shoen, on the other hand, was too terrified at Kyo to attack him. While Kyo had hardly attacked Shoen himself while he was captive, his presence was enough to send his mindset back to the cell, where he hadn't had a chance of escape. He felt as though all he could do was watch as the dragon assaulted his father and sister with another flame, which singed Mihara's tail feathers when she didn't move fast enough.

This angered Tibarn more, so he flew at Kyo's face, but all Kyo had to do was swat at him as though he were nothing more than a gnat buzzing around his head. Seeming like he were ignoring Tibarn, Kyo advanced on Mihara again. He spun in a circle in the air, attempting to slam her with his tail. To his mild surprise, she caught his tail in her talons and attempted at sinking them into his flesh. Before she had a chance to do so, he turned to her, reaching out and snatching her left wing. In a panic, she thought, Is he going to break my wing?!

She reached out and snapped at his claw with her beak, released his tail, and scratched at his chest with her talons. While he flinched at the small scratch that Mihara put on him, he did not release her. That is, until Tibarn came charging, tackling Kyo from the side, forcing his grip loose so that Mihara could wiggle out of it. Tibarn screamed with rage and sunk his talons into Kyo's ribcage. The dragon responded with a roar of his own, accompanied by a line of fire, which caught Tibarn's legs, burning them quickly. Wincing, Tibarn withdrew his talons and moved back. "Tell me," he said, "what do you get out of this?"

"A chance for a real fight."

"What is the point?!" Tibarn moved to be in front of Mihara, his eyes narrowed dangerously. "You assist humans to capture and kill your own brethren-!"

Apparently tired of talking, Kyo opened his mouth to unleash another stream of fire when he suddenly grunted in pain. Turning his head, his eyes landed upon Shoen, whose own eyes were flashing with anger. Without even knowing what had come over him, Shoen charged at Kyo, turning his solid fear into fuel. He sunk his talons into Kyo's unguarded back and latched on. "You will not control my life anymore…," he said, his voice low and almost chilling to hear. "You won't take anything else from me. Not anymore."

Kyo glared at Shoen for a moment before thrashing about, loosening Shoen's grip. He flapped his wings and took to higher in the sky. "If the son fights as well, now, then I will have to come back." With his eyes on Mihara, he vowed, "Another time, Hawk Princess."

As he started to fly away, Tibarn had more than half a mind to chase after him, but when he saw the fearful look return in Shoen's eyes, he calmed slightly. He looked to Mihara. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she insisted quickly, heading over to Shoen. She glanced over him quickly, and he appeared to be unharmed. "Shoen…?"

"I'm okay." His eyes spoke another story. His body was still trembling from what he had just done.

Mihara shook her head, and then reverted back into her half-form, making sure first that Kyo was not going to return. "Come on. Let's land."

Listening to his sister, Shoen also let go of his full form and followed her down to the ground below. Tibarn remained in his full form, keeping an eye out. It did not look like the dragon would come back, but he wasn't taking any chances. Once his children touched the ground, he did as well, his body towering over them protectively. Mihara slowly approached Shoen, and the younger sibling looked to his sister. She had a few scratches on her, some bleeding more than others. He noticed that she was limping, but she looked unconcerned about herself. He looked to his father, to the fewer scratches he bore, and the burn on his legs. He continued to shake, and a knot formed in his throat. "Why… Why couldn't I do anything sooner…? You're both hurt…"

This stunned Mihara to stop in her tracks. Even Tibarn's watchful eyes stopped scanning the skies to look at his son with a mixture of confusion and concern. Mihara shook her head with a dry, humorless laugh. When Shoen was about to ask her what was wrong with her, she engulfed him in a tight embrace. He jerked at first, but forced himself to relax. She buried her head into his shoulder and said softly, "You idiot. We're fine. Don't worry about us. Don't blame yourself."

"But-"

"He kept you prisoner," she interrupted. "It's only natural for you to be scared. But I promise…" Her grip tightened on him, and Shoen looked at her with puzzlement. He could feel his shoulder getting wet from her tears. Why was she crying? Did her wounds hurt more than she let on? "I'll kill him myself for what he did to you."

It was hard for Shoen to wrap his mind around this…environment. He wasn't used to having others looking out for him. He was used to being on his own. He knew that he could trust Mihara and Tibarn, but…it just felt…strange. …Stop thinking about it so hard, he scolded himself. He slowly wrapped his arms back around his sister, embracing her back as Tibarn watched over them with a tender gaze.

XxXxXxX

Man, so many questions! What is UP with Kyo? What's the news Yune has about Ashera?! And I promise it's wayyy different than before (insert evil laugh here)! Why is Reyson being all flirty-flirty with Mihara?! Oh, wait...guess that's not much of a question...

I'll do my best to work around my scheduling and keep on chugging out chapters for my loyal amigos y amigas! If you want, I have also joined under my new screen name, which I'm sure you've spotted, Rebel-Of-Reality! There, I will be posting the chapters of my completed NaNo novel for feedback and criticism, so if you want, feel free to check it out! If not, you will be forced to leave a review here! Toby will possess your computer and-!

Mihara: You're going to threaten them with a movie ghost? You haven't even seen that movie. You just make the joke because it freaks your friends out.

Me: ...So what? Anyways, see you at the next chapter, everyone!