Chapter 29: My Only Child

Skipper was still awake when the moon reached the middle of the sky. He knew that even though they were away from New York (and their enemies), they needed to keep on the high alert, especially now that Clopar was back. He was on watch until the two, but he wouldn't have minded staying up all night. He found walking along the beach, highlighted by the moon, and blissfully quiet aside from the waves, surprisingly relaxing.

This is a place a man can think, he thought to himself.

He looked up at the stars, and was surprised to see the full stretch of the Milky Way, an impossibility of New York.

Just as he was looking up, he saw a figure fly across the sky and in front of the moon, just for a split second.

He squinted, thinking he had seen the silhouette of a Firebird. But he shook his head and dismissed it, blaming lack of sleep for his delusions.

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"I hev never eaten so much sturgeon in my life." Mikhailov groaned as he and Isobel walked across the village. "And I am Russian, so that ees saying somethink."

They had decided to stay the night in Talamaru as they had things to do there in the morning anyway. Sequoyah had told them that they could pick anywhere in the nearby jungle to settle. There was not enough room for Mikhailov to sleep in Nyumbani, and it was best for Isobel to stay with him.

They nestled down between a low tree where there was some soft moss. They broad leaves of the tree had glowing blue stripes that gave off just enough light so they could see the outlines of what was around them. But they were not worried. Tonight, the jungle was quiet.

Mikhailov laid down, crossing his paws, and Isobel laid beside him, under his wing.

They were quiet, but Isobel's mind was busy,

"Mikhailov?" She said quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Why did you come all the way to New York?"

Mikhailov turned his head to face her. "Because that vas vhere you were, my lady. I followed vhat vas een my heart, to my Rider."

Isobel shifted to look at her Firebird. "But something happened in Russia. Khala Sequoyah told me that Firebirds and Riders go through hardships to reach each other. You know mine, but I do not know yours."

Mikhailov sighed, and his expression looked uncomfortable. "I vant there to be no secrets between us, Aysobel. But, you already know, thees ees not story vith happy ending."

Isobel nodded. "I understand. But I want to know. You and I are one and the same. Our stories are woven together, like tapestry."

Mikhailov straightened up a little, preparing to tell of his past. "Twenty years ago, een Russia, vhen I vas just a fawn, my brother and I had the rule of the tundra…"

Flashback…

A younger Mikhailov barreled through the snow, breathing hard and laughing and squealing as he chased a snow hare. His brother, Vasilyev, was in fast pursuit.

The brothers were a mere year apart, with Vasilyev being the eldest at eight.

They lived in a tight-knit community with about fifty other Firebirds, high up in Russia not too far from the Arctic Circle. Their father, a Russian, was a high ranking officer of the Aleutian Army, and their mother was also Russian, but more specifically, Yiddish.

Mikhailov and his brother, as well as all of the other young Firebirds, were able to spend their days running through the sparse forests and out on the snowy plains, chasing rabbits and scaring deer. They never had any worries, as the soldiers there would protect them. And not only that, but enemies never came there. They feared the weather too much. And Mikhailov's clan did not have much to steal anyways.

Mikhailov pounced onto the rabbit, effectively sinking his small talons into its body.

Vasilyev caught up, breathing hard as he looked down at his brother's catch.

"I caught us dinner, Vasilyev." Mikhailov said smugly. "Pazhaluysta."

Vasilyev rolled his eyes. "Don't act so high and mighty, Mishko, I bet that rabbit vas old anyvay. A newborn could have caught that."

"Then vhy didn't you?" Mikhailov retorted back playfully.

The two brothers began walking back to their clan to proudly bestow their hunt to their mother.

They passed between elders speaking and young female Firebirds watching over their babies. They saw some of the soldiers were beginning to loosely gather, perhaps for aerial practice again.

Mikhailov and Vasilyev smiled in awe at the soldiers, who were are sturdily built and looked so tall and intimidating, their wings hulking and powerful. They hoped to be like them someday, and to join the Aleutian Army.

They soon reached their mother, who was standing in the archway of their igloo-like home.

"Mamochka, look." Mikhailov set down his kill at his mother's feet.

Tzippora was petite for a Firebird, but she was strong and very beautiful. Her coat was pale and her eyes were true Russian blue, like the paint on China plates and dishes.

She looked down at the rabbit, which was surprisingly fat.

"Thank you, Mishko." She rubbed her beak tenderly on her son's head, ruffling his feathers. "The soldiers are training today, and your Ta is leading them. You should vatch."

The brothers happily ran back out to where the soldiers trained in the open field just outside of the village.

They saw their father, with his dark coat and fierce golden eyes which Mikhailov had inherited, shouting out orders to his men in clear Russian.

"Ta looks mad." Vasilyev whispered to Mikhailov, his blue eyes glistening.

"Nyet, he ees alvays like that." Mikhailov shrugged. "Besides, he has to make sure they are listening to him."

After their father, Vadik, had finished his speech to his soldiers, he turned and sprinted shortly before ascending into the sky.

His men followed suit, and soon they were engaging in practice fights, locking talons together and trying to scrape at each other's underbellies, with their claws sheathed of course. They also practiced dive bombing and free falling, as well as the famous "bullet" move, which required them going full speed before tucking their wings in and spinning repeatedly, like a bullet.

The fawns watched with open beaks, wishing their own wings were strong enough to propel them through the air like that.

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Later on, when evening was approaching, the soldiers returned to the village, tired and ready to eat.

However, their rest was short lived.

An Imperial scout from the Kingdom of Aleutia, the holiest place for all Firebirds, entered the village, looking wild eyed.

He called out for Vadik, who was instantly at the scout's side.

"Vhat has happened?" He asked, concern in his eyes.

"The Westerners are planning on attacking from the south." The scout replied. "The smaller villages are at risk and low on troops. I have come to give you orders to depart immediately to help them. You will need all of your men. Your elders, women, and children will be safe as long as you keep the Westerners from coming in through the southern border."

Vadik nodded in understanding. "We vill need only a short time to pack. Vill you be travelling vith us?"

The scout shook his head. "I must go back to Aleutia to let the Tsar know you will help. Thank you."

Vadik saw him off and went about gathering his troops.

"Vadik?" Tzippora had heard everything as she approached her mate. "How long vill you be gone?"

Vadik shook his head. "Do not worry. The Westerners have tried this before. All vill be vell."

He and his troops were able to pack quickly, but he gave them extra time to say good-bye to their families, even though he was confident they would return within the week.

Vasilyev and Mikhailov looked up at their father and they clung to his front paws.

"Don't go now, Ta, you promised to take us ice fishing." They pleaded with him.

"Ve are een Russian, you think the ice vill be gone vhen I get back?" Vadik joked.

His children giggled at him and he leaned down to ruffle their head feathers with his beak before saying good-bye to his wife.

Before long, the villagers left behind were calling out their final good byes to the departing soldiers, feeling confident that all of their men would return unharmed.

They went back to eating and taking time to relax as the sun began to go down. But their feathers began to ruffle with more than just the breeze.

Something was in the air, and the females could smell it, and the elders began to grow anxious.

"Stay een here." Tzippora took Vasilyev and Mikhailov back to their home and tucked them away in a corner.

The brothers were feeling frightened now, huddling together as their mother went back into the darkness.

They were in there for only a few minutes before they heard screams and clamor outside.

Vasilyev, as the older brother, stepped into the archway, prepared to fight.

He looked back at Mikhailov, who was wide eyed. He came back and hide Mikhailov underneath some furs and soot.

"Stay een here." He whispered. "I have to go find mamochka."

Mikhailov did not protest, and he stayed stock still underneath the layers as his heart hammered away, listening to the horrors unfold outside.

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Down near the bottom of the mountain, where Vadik and his small army were, they could hear the screams that were being carried down by the wind.

They looked up sharply, stopping in their tracks.

"Eet vas a trap." Vadik said unbelievingly. "A trap! Everyone, go back-"

But before the orders could leave his beak, explosives rocked the mountain's side. Not in the village, but below it, where deep snow had been peacefully settled, until now.

Another round of explosives went off, and there was no time for the soldiers to react.

Banks and banks of snow rocketed down the mountain, drowning Vadik and the Aleutian Army in its suffocating heaps. :.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:.:

Vasilyev ran through the chaos, terrified and frantically looking for his mother.

He saw unfamiliar Firebirds, clearly enemy soldiers, flying all around and setting fire to homes and the trees.

As mothers and their children fled from their burning homes, the enemy Firebirds swooped down, working in pairs. One would knock the mother off her feet, and the other would snatch her baby.

Vasilyev looked on in horror as this went on all around him.

Countless screaming hatchlings and fawns cried out for their mothers as they were lifted away into the sky.

He saw an elder male of his clan attempt to wrestle a fawn back, but he was feeble, and another enemy jumped onto his back and snapped his neck. Any mothers that attempted to rescue their children were killed as well.

Vasilyev was being blinded by his tears of fright. He needed to find his mother.

He spotted her, and she spotted him, and they ran towards each other.

But before they could reach the other, Vasilyev felt sharpened claws dig into his scruff, lifting him off of his paws and away from Tzippora.

"Vasilyev!" She screamed, but stayed put on the ground, although everything in her screamed as well to launch into the air. "Vasilyev!"

Vasilyev was paralyzed, his adrenaline overtaking him as he only watched his helpless mother getting farther and farther away from him.

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When the intruders finally had enough kidnapped fawns, they left with their prizes. The fawns would be used in their own armies, as trained assassins and soldiers.

Tzippora walked through the village, stunned and bleary eyed. Blood had turned the white snow red as the sunset, and she tried to drown out the heart wrenching sobs of the females who had lost one, two, or all of their fawns. She staggered in the bitter cold, and back into her home.

When at first she did not see Mikhailov, her heart dropped all over again, but she saw a pile of furs move in the corner, and her youngest scampered up to her, clearly frightened.

It was now she could let her tears flow as she collapsed onto the floor, letting Mikhailov nestle into her chest underneath her head.

"Mishko, Mishko." She said through her tears over and over again. "My only son, my only child."

And with those words, Mikhailov's tears began to come as well. His brother was gone.

This chapter was much darker, hopefully not too dark. But, this is Mikhailov's story, and so now you know. Any questions, please feel free to ask, and please review!