~*~*~*~

It was midday, or a little past, when a large white falcon swooped down and landed on the windowsill of the Dubrinsky Mansion. The safeguards crackled and the falcon had to jump into the air to avoid being burned. The bird cried out indignantly as it quickly flapped backwards.

After a moment the window opened and Garm looked out. "Ah, I thought I smelled a barbequed bird." He said with a smile.

I was not injured. Awyn said.

"You'd think after all these years you'd have learned to not land unannounced at a Karpatii home. Come in already, Awyn." Garm said stepping back so that the large bird could fly into the study where he landed on the headrest of a large wingchair.

So, I could have been more careful, it would take more than a single safeguard to injure me for any length of time. Awyn replied before hopping down to the armrest of the chair. I take it the Karpatii are sleeping then?

Garm nodded. "I'm actually rather surprised they didn't demand we leave their home but I suppose these are different times than what we are used to."

Where is Leif? Awyn asked as his body started to change. The sound of cracking bones and stretching muscles filled the library as the bird slowly shifted into the winged man.

The lycanthrope sighed a bit. "He left this morning. You know how he gets when he's upset. Promised he'd be back before sunset though. For whatever that's worth." Garm said as he took a seat on the couch.

"So he's still pouting then." Awyn said looking out the window. "I feel sorry for him. Having to deal with his fear of confinement after all this time."

Garm shrugged a bit. "It is what it is. We could no more change the circumstances that we could when it first happened. But don't worry, Leif will be fine. He always is, after all."

"Any word from the others?" Awyn asked glancing around the library carefully.

"Kekoa's been complaining all day about the children that he's with. Raidne…well, its Raidne after all. She complains about everything. And Ishild is being her usual quiet self. Don't expect to hear anything from her until she's here." Garm answered as he lay down across the couch casually.

Suddenly both of the Ancients looked up and to the East. They could feel a rumble of something waking up. The two of them exchanged a look and Garm smiled a bit. "And that would be Afalia waking up."

Deep in one of the few bamboo forests left another rumble shook the ground and scared all of the creatures from the area. Slowly several bundles of bamboo cracked and began to weave themselves together. The ground rumbled again as the roots of the bamboo pulled themselves from the earth.

Finally a girl about twelve or thirteen was standing amid the torn ground and twisted bamboo. She looked around with yellow eyes. Her short green hair framed a wholly innocent face as she smiled widely. She held out a hand and the leaves of the nearby bamboo shivered in greeting. "Hello my dears." She whispered to them.

Afalia! Leif cried in her mind. I was hoping you'd wake up soon!

Leif! I've missed you! Afalia replied before spinning on her bare heel. As she spun the leaves from the nearby plants began to whirl around her until they formed a rough semblance of a sundress.

Afalia, I am going to wake up Andamion. He is in-between you and Karpatiia, our meeting place. You are welcome to join me should you so desire. Phai said offered. At least then you would have an easy trip to where the others are.

The young-looking ancient frowned a bit as she considered. Okay, I'll meet you there. She said before starting to make her way through the bamboo. The plants bent and twisted as she passed by, leading her towards the edge of their forest. The creatures that had fled while she woke were slowly starting to come back.

Suddenly Afalia burst into a run, her image blurring slightly at the amount of speed that she was using. Her bare feet didn't make even the slightest indent on the moist ground and she was virtually soundless as she ran. The plants swayed slightly as she ran past.

Afalia came to a sudden stop and peered down a small cliff at where a small camp had been made by what looked to be poachers of some sort. Her mouth curled into a small smile and she spread her energy out to the nearby plants. The plants creaked and groaned as she urged them to grow larger. The humans looked around uneasily as the forest continued to make strange noises caused by their sudden growth spurt.

Afalia jumped down and landed in front of the men. "Hello there." She said happily. The two men exchanged bewildered looks. "You're not supposed to be doing that." She added pointing to where an animal skin was stretched out on a wooden frame.

The men got to their feet clearly not intent on having anything peaceful happening since they grabbed their weapons. Afalia tilted her head in confusion at the strange tube-like things. "What are those?" She asked curiously. "I don't recognize them from before…"

Suddenly there was an explosion and Afalia jerked backwards. She frowned and looked down at her chest, which had a large hole in it. Thick green liquid oozed out of the wound and Afalia looked back up with an angry expression. "That's not nice at all."

The forest exploded in a flurry of action. More of the loud shots echoed through the bamboo followed a moment later by screams of horror and pain. The screams continued for several minutes until the forest fell eerily silent. The bamboo creaked and groaned as Afalia began to continue on her way through the forest.