Nick opened his eyes to see Midhe looking up at him with a small smile. He grinned back, and then remembered about the others around him as they turned to look at him. Only Nassir and Violet remained, whose expressions lifted at Midhe's return, but there was still an underlying grimness.

"What's wrong? And where are the others?" Nick asked. Midhe stood up, completely healed, with even her clothes mended and feathers regrown. Anyone who looked at her now couldn't have guessed the peril she had been in only moments ago.

"They've all gone to fight Anan's army." Nassir stated.

"He got through the barrier?" Midhe exclaimed.

Violet nodded. Midhe examined the mist, straining to hear or see anything in the dense fog. Very faintly she could hear the cries and clashes of battle.

"Then let's go!" She jumped into the air and flew a few feet over the water before realizing that no one was following. "Aren't you coming?"

"Midhe, we can't fly." Nick explained, gesturing to himself and Violet. "And I think Galen is too tired to pull off much magic."

"Oh, right." Midhe flew back over.

"I can take Nick." Nassir offered, knowing that Nick would be the heaviest out of the two. Midhe nodded; carrying another person is much harder than flying alone, especially when you're in untransformed state.

A flash of light hid Nassir from view as he transformed. In his place appeared a large sleek raven with strong wings and sharp eyes. Midhe watched for a moment, feeling a slight twinge of jealousy, but quickly cast it aside.

They carried the nervous siblings across the water, Nassir sometimes having to loop back around to keep pace with the slower Midhe. As they entered the mist, the moisture slightly dampened their clothes and hair. The fog became so thick that they couldn't see each other, so they listened to the muffled sound of their flapping wings to gauge where the other was. None of them spoke, mainly because it would be difficult to hear each other. This caused the group to wrap themselves in their own thoughts, hearing the just barely audible sounds of battle.

Finally they broke out into sunshine, squinting their eyes against the bright light. Screeches and screams assaulted their ears with full force, along with shouted orders from captains to the lesser ranked soldiers.

Below them an island surrounded by the misty ocean was in turmoil. Birds of all types flew through the air, dodging the debris from broken walls and the bursts of magic from Anan's magical users. Bird laguz, transformed into their mighty bird forms, tore at each other in the sky. Occasionally some would fall to the ground with a sharp cry and never rise back up. So, Anan is not the only traitor, she thought.

On the ground, a group of colorful dots identified the mages' and sages' cloaks. To Midhe's horror, she realized that they had already made it halfway to the castle. Behind the magical users was nothing but burning houses and dead bodies, along with a few of their own beorc who had fallen to a swift talon or beak.

"We need to find the King." Midhe shouted against the chaos.

"But we have to stop the sages too." Yelled Nick, his ears ringing from the war cries filling the air. Violet nodded, not bothering with words.

"Tibarn will have found him by now." Nassir stated. "You can look while the rest of us attack. First, let's drop them off."

Midhe and Nassir headed into the flurry, swerving around combatants to avoid being struck. They headed to the side of the path that the magical users seemed to be taking and flew a little ways ahead. Midhe gently set Nick down on the ground while Nassir did the same.

"We'll come and find you when we're done." Violet informed. Midhe nodded, and lifted into the air a few feet.

"Be careful, Midhe." Nick warned, concern gleaming in his eyes.

She smiled. "I've almost died once. I'd rather not repeat the experience."

"And don't forget to tell Tibarn that I'm here." Nassir said.

"Okay." Midhe rose into the air, above the houses and to the west. Nick watched her for a moment more before turning to where the sages and mages were approaching.

Midhe searched the ground below, glancing in front of her occasionally to avoid running into a battle. Even though she examined the streets for the commanding figure of her king, she couldn't help but look for someone else, someone younger with green eyes and brown hair just like hers…

She found King Einar finishing off a large owl laguz. He himself was transformed into a grand owl, his blind left eye visible. Normally he wore a bandage over it, but it must have been torn off during battle. Einar settled onto the wall surrounding his castle to gain a quick rest and to survey the war. To Midhe's relief, she noticed that he seemed unharmed.

In the corner of her eye, she could see Tibarn in his hawk form, just as magnificent and large as Einar. Even though it would be a few minutes before he reached her, Midhe relaxed a little, reassured for a moment that this situation could turn out alright.

Suddenly, her senses became alert, and she turned to see a pair of sharp talons flying towards her at alarming speed.

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