"So, ah, your Pureness, ma'am," Uklah said as she and the four trainees approached. "That was the last one, right? So...Who's the winner?"

"What, what?"

She barely even heard her, she was too busy looking over the parchment over and over again.

"Oh...Oh, yes. It, ah...It appears as though we do have a winner," she replied, seeming to be a bit dazed with her own shock. "Go, go get Vaygar, everyone should line up for this."

She did just that, and Phillip, Vaygar, Ginger, Kludd, and then Uklah herself lined up in order from left to right, anticipating the announcement. Nyra looked over the small crowd, and then her parchment again, then back to the other owls, and she exhaled through an open beak.

"Well...The winner of the trials...The one who harbors the greatest potential, and possessing the most all around skill, taking the lead by a whopping five points is..."

Their eyes slowly grew wider, the suspense intensifying.

"...Ginger."

The owls froze, and then they all exchanged glances with one another. The four all looked to Ginger, who joined them in looking back at the Ablah General, who stared right back.

And that was Kludd, Vaygar and Ginger herself burst out into a laughing fit.

Nyra stepped back, somewhat startled by the sudden and very unexpected reaction to her announcement.

"That's your best one yet!" Vaygar hooted.

"Ha! Almost had me for a second with that one...!" Kludd added.

"I didn't know you cracked jokes like that!" the rookie chimed in.

Phillip and Uklah remained silent, and looked at the laughing crowd, then each other, then back at Nyra. The white owl raised a feathery brow in insinuation.

"...Holy hagsmire, she's serious..." the Sooty Owl whispered.

"Ha ha...Ha...That's, that was hilarious, General Ma'am," Kludd chortled, the laughter finally dying down among them. "So, now, tell us, who actually won?"

"Ginger, Kludd," she said yet again. "You can think it's funny, but this is no joke. Take a look at the scoreboard."

"Ha, but...I mean, that's...What?"

He, Vaygar, and the young Barn Owl in question all came over to peer over Nyra's shoulder to look at the parchment, Phillip and Uklah doing the same soon afterward. They all looked over the writing on the paper to meet something none of them had expected.

Ginger, whose name was the third in the column, had a whopping score of 20, with her runner-up Vaygar being a good five points behind.

"...She's not joking," Vaygar realized, staggering backwards, now entering a stupefied daze himself.

Phillip was also in disbelief. Sure, he figured that he likely wouldn't come out on top, but this was FAR beyond what he thought possible.

Uklah wasn't quite as bothered by it as the others, but still wore an expression of bewilderment.

Kludd was about to enter a panic.

"Oh, no...No, no, no, w-we need to do all that again, that...She just joined the force, she...She doesn't have what it takes, does she? She must have just gotten lucky."

Ginger was just...frozen, staring off into oblivion.

"Well...Rookie or not, young Tyto, you, ah...You seem to have emerged victorious. I don't have any choice but to uphold my promise. You, Ms. Wingren...are, according to the numbers, along with your performance, now the official leader of the trainee squadron, only under my command."

"...But..." she asked. "...How? I was...The only thing I won was the race."

"That may be the case...But I said that the owl with the most well-rounded skill would be made leader. Each of you specialize in a different field, be it raw strength, the power of knowledge or flight capabilities...But you are the one who has the most over all potential out of all. I scored all of you by performance for each trial, and, by average, you score a 4 in each course. I will admit, I...was not at all expecting this to happen, but...A contest is a contest, and I won't nullify your win just because you've just joined the force...In fact, since you are so new, it makes me wonder what those skills of your will be like ten years from now. No doubt, if things keep going this way, you could be a Pure One Elite one day, placed among the strongest of the strong."

"...Okay, that admittedly makes more sense, but...I guess...I don't know; this is kind of...overwhelming. I mean, I just got here, and I'm already being put in charge of a bunch of other owls. Like...WHO does that happen to?"

"Hmm...I do see your point. Then what say I give you the rundown on leading a squadron myself? I've been at the top of many in my day, I'll have you know."

"...That sounds...like it might work. But still. You're sure about this?"

"Quite positive. Unless, of course, you would rather I just give the position to Vaygar..."

THAT was what got Ginger to lean in the other direction a bit more.

"Ah, no, no, I didn't say that! It just...Ah...Eh...You know what? I...I guess we can give it a try. I mean...The numbers don't lie. What could go wrong?"

"Excellent. We start your leader training effective immediately."

"Now!?"

"Alright, Tytos, assemble! I've a new formation for the five of you. Now, if you'll just stand where I lead each of you..."

Nyra positioned the five owlets in another assembly; Ginger was placed in the front of the group, Vaygar to her left just behind her, Uklah off to the buff's right, and then she placed Kludd right behind her, Phillip remaining at the back of the formation. Nyra finished her work by putting herself in front of Ginger.

"Ready for takeoff, Tytos!" she ordered them, stretching her wings out. "We're going for a spot of night flight."


...


The six Tytos soared over the rocky plains of the Beaks. A small, dry shrub grew out from the cracks in the stone here and there, but the terrain was otherwise barren. The rock spires cast their shadows across the plains in the light of the moon, and while the stars continued to shine, there were less of them, now; it wouldn't be too much longer until they all faded, and the soft moonlight was overriden by the brightness of dawn.

"So...What exactly are we doing here?" Ginger asked the white owl flying just ahead of her.

"I've seen what you can do to a dummy, Tyto," Nyra answered her. "Now I'd like to see what you can do to a REAL opponent. They aren't usually out at this hour, but if I can arouse them from hiding, maybe you can show me what you can do against them!"

"Who's 'them?'"

"You're about to find out," Kludd said from behind.

The Ablah General inhaled, then emitted a piercing screech that spread across the stone fields. It didn't take long after the echoing stopped for a new sound to make itself present; fast, messy wingbeats by the dozen, and a series of caws that answered the Barn Owl's scream. A black mass formed in the atmosphere, and the mob of enemies came flying right for them.

...Crows, Ginger realized.

"That's...an awful lot of them, isn't it?" she shuddered.

"Nothing we haven't handled before! There may be a lot, but they're primitive, and frail on their own; just go right in for the kill! Alright, owlets! Ready your talons!"

The dark mass of savage birds grew closer, and every owl but Ginger herself opened their claws, ready to attack the oncoming swarm.

"Is there any particular way to do this...!?" Ginger wondered aloud in a panicked rasp.

"That's the thing," Uklah answered her. "We have to figure that part out ourselves; develop our own combat strategies. See what you can do! Incoming!"

The moment she finished was the moment one of the crows in the mob collided with her open talons, only to be grabbed by the chest and spun violently around, blood flying, before being thrown towards the ground, good as dead.

Ginger was still in a dazed state of shock, and only shakily dodged the bombardments the mob threw at her as she tried to make out what her fellow trainees were doing. Vaygar confounded his attackers with swift feint attacks before landing surprise blows to them, Phillip weaved through the openings in the mob, talons open and striking something every moment, and Uklah continued to go right for the vital areas of the birds to do them in. Kludd's battle strategy was the most brutal, by far; he had one of the dead bodies of his victims in his talons, and was using it as a flail to stun the others, and then struck them with all his strength in a single blow with his immensely strong talons while they were vulnerable. It only took him one or two hits to kill a crow this way.

Impressive... she said to herself at the sight of the brawny buff.

That was when she felt a slash from behind, hitting her just below her head and taking off a few of her feathers. The crow in question flew off before her, talons bloodied, and she could feel the scratch wounds begin to sting. This was a desperate situation, so she continued to evade the assault.

"What are you doing, child!?"

Nyra was the one who called out to her. She, too, was participating in the battle. She was swift and thorough; with every crow she killed, she use a different method of attack, whichever one worked best at the moment. The Ablah General had the element of surprise on her side, and she was the best out of anyone in this fight.

"Fight back! Kill! Show me your offensive skill!"

A deeper caw rang out among the mob from below, catching the attention of all the owls.

"Heads up, Tytos!" Nyra alerted them. "Here comes the chieftain!"

The chieftain of the mob was a raven, and was far larger than any of the crows, and far more fierce.

"Hey, now's your chance!" Uklah shouted. "Team attack!"

The five of them went right for the target bird. The raven's deadliest attribute was its intelligence, being quite a bit smarter than its underlings, and it used these wits to its advantage. It had been giving its henchmen orders from under the fight the whole time, and only emerged now to go up against the team of owls, having as much a means to defend itself as much as it could attack, and the trainees found that this was a particularly formidable chieftain, even with all of them attacking it at once.

"This is the toughest one I've seen yet...!" Uklah huffed, recovering from a wound the enemy had inflicted on her leg. "Ging', what are you doing!? Get in here!"

Ginger was busy thinking, knowing that this situation could turn even more dangerous at any moment. That raven wouldn't go down so easily. What she needed to do was...

Nyra...

She needed the element of surprise on her side if she was to go up against it in any manner...And she knew just what to do.

She let out a series of sharp screeches to gain the attention of the horde. The raven especially took interest in the solo fighter; it was alone, and therefore, an easy target.

Once Ginger saw that the mob was going after her, she stooped her wing down and went into a dive, the black blob in the sky hot on her tail. She spread her wings again, the crows following her every movement in attempt to catch up with her. The other owls watched in awe and in horror at what Ginger was trying to do.

"I hope she knows what she's doin'," Vaygar remarked. "Or it might end bad!"

"I'll see to it that they don't," Nyra assured him. "...But I'd like to see where this goes."

Ginger looked behind her every so often, gradually flying slower as she continued to evade the pursuit of the mob. The chieftain was nearly upon her, and his legion of crows had fallen somewhat behind. Now was the time; she stooped into another dive, and her pursuer did the same...

Only to be thrown off by the owl suddenly turning to face him, claws open.

He wasn't fast enough to avoid the powerful talons, and they grabbed his face, claws sinking into his flesh and blood and their sheer power crushing his head from the inside. Ginger could feel the skull fragments and brain mush together into a pulp, and blood spurted from his ears and beak, and through the punctures her black claws had made in his head.

Then, she let go, and watched as the dead body of the raven spiraled to the ground, still trailing red behind it.

The other crows tore their attention from the young Barn Owl, frozen in place at the sight of their leader plummeting to the earth below.

But their fear was quick to curdle into rage, and they came at her again, even more intent on tearing her to shreds. Without a leader, however, they were clueless on how to approach, and came at her with only their brute force.

That was when the bloodbath began; Ginger began to pick them off, using every method she'd seen used by her fellow trainees so far as they attacked. A lethal jab to the heart on one, two feints, then a blow to the head on another, a swoop and a jab on a whole array of them...The massacre continued, and the other owls watching the scene decided to get back in on the action.

"Ha!" Nyra puffed. "I had a feeling she was up to something!"

"Let's get in there!"

Kludd re-entered the battlefield in a flying charge, coming to join his fellow trainee. She had just killed another crow by crushing its heart from the outside, and had its corpse by the talons, using it as a weapon.

"This look familiar, Kludd!?"

"You're speakin' my unspoken language! Lemme at 'em!"

"You heard the owl!" Uklah hollered. "Let's annihilate them!"

Ginger tossed the dead crow to her comrade Kludd, and he grabbed it just in time to swing it into the band of five that was upon him, sending the blood of their own kind splattering across their black plumage and into their eyes. That was when he threw the body at them, then launched himself into the crows and killed them all with just a few strong grabs and stabs. Vaygar and Uklah picked off the ones that were already injured easily, and Phillip continued his flying assault. Their sheer numbers had lost their strength; without anyone to lead them, the band of crows was near helpless against the owls, and it wasn't long until the vast mob had been reduced to nothing more than a wingful of the black birds, and the few that were left finally realized they were outmatched, and fled the scene. Their fallen brethren littered the stony ground, painting the grey stone black and crimson.

Nyra let out a sharp, quip screech, then lead the five younger owls to the ground towards the palace, leaving the massacre behind. She was in absolute awe at what she'd just witnessed from them all.

"That..." she stated. "Was the finest mob session I've ever seen from you owls. And a good part in thanks to your new leader."

"You're serious about all this, huh?" Ginger realized.

"You are not even aware of what you are capable of. You haven't even had out-and-out battle training yet, and you killed nearly as many crows as anyone else. Perhaps you would have exceeded them, had you not started so late...And your strategy. Distracting the head of the enemy force and downing it, so that its followers are left confused and vulnerable? A stroke of genius. That little maneuver may be what made this assault on the crows the fastest and bloodiest I've yet seen from all of you. Young Ginger, I believe that you are exactly what this force needs; someone with a bit of everything; strength, speed, wit. You've even got the charisma!"

"I do?"

"More than you even know...However, you must harness these traits, and learn to use them to their full potential in order to be an effective leader of any squadron. I will continue to take you through personal training, Tyto. Each and every night, you will learn more about what exactly you're made of, and just what you can do. I'll call you back into the training grounds tomorrow evening, and we can begin. Understood?"

"Yes, General Ma'am," she nodded, a smile inching its way across her beak.

"Excellent...You know, I had a feeling about you the whole time that you were more than you made yourself out to be."

"Did you feel it in your gizzard?"

"...That is exactly right," the Ablah General answered. "...Alright, owlets! Today was fairly eventful, so I will dismiss you all early. Free flight."

They all nodded and agreed with this eagerly.

"Oh, and Ginger," Nyra reminded her, readying to take off and leave her trainees to their own accords. "Just make sure you don't let your position get to your head, am I clear?"

"Yes, General Ma'am," she nodded again.

And with that, the white owl spread her wings all the way and took into the slowly brightening sky.

"Hey...Good work up there, team," Ginger said to her fellow Tytos. "If we impressed her, then we MUST have been good."

"You're in a good place with her," Uklah smirked. "That means good things for you, if ya keep it up."

"Hey, mate," Vaygar added, stepping up to her. "Eh...Sorry 'bout the whole thing during the last competition with me knockin' you of course. Guess I got my comeuppance for it in the end, though, eh?"

"Ah, no hard feelings. Hey, I should really thank you; if not for that stunt, I wouldn't have gotten the position."

The other owls laughed at this testament, and the Grass Owl rolled his eyes in an amused manner.

"Heh...You ain't so bad. I could get used to this, really...So, Phillip. What say you and I spar on the half spire?"

"Figuring from what went on tonight, I'd say my talons could use more of a work out...I'll take you up on that."

"Cool. Catch you guys later!"

Vaygar flew off towards the plateau, the Sooty Owl close behind him. The three Tyto Albas stood in a group by themselves.

"Nice flyin' out there," Kludd said to the proclaimed leader of the squadron.

"Thanks."

"So, um...I figured I came off as...sorta weird earlier today, and I wanted to, like...apologize for that, you know?"

"Not a problem; never really came to mind much."

"No? Oh. Good. So...We get the night off in three more days, so...I was planning on heading over to the oasis to see if there were any scuppers blowing. Does that, uh...interest you at all? Like, riding them, I mean?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"That's okay, you didn't have to...Wait, what?"

"I said sure."

"Oh. Oh...Well...That's great. Em...I'm gonna head off and see if I can get on the action on the half spire. You two comin'?"

"I dunno. I'm kinda beat. Maybe tomorrow. I think I'm gonna go see if I can find something for my gizzard to grind."

"Alright, then. Uh, see you later, Ginger."

"See ya."

He turned and flew off to join his two other companions. Ginger and Uklah took off for the palace.

"Well...That was all, uh...entertaining, wasn't it?"

Uklah didn't answer her right away, instead flashing a cynical grin her way, making an...odd face.

"...What?"

"I should have known why he was acting all weird around you back in the trainee hollow."

"What do you mean by that?"

Oh, good Glaux. She's oblivious, Uklah smirked, resisting the urge to laugh out loud.

"Eh...I'll let you figure it out yourself. Ey, come on. There might be some mice pokin' around the crevices. After that, how about I give you that promised tour of my hollow?"

"I like the way you think," Ginger complimented. The two of them flew into the massive opening that served as the main entrance to the palace. As they did, Ginger realized...

This palace, and the Owl Kingdoms as a whole, as well as the other Pure Ones...

This was her home, now. And they were her friends.

She was among some of the greatest legions of owls she could ever have known of. Training with them. Fighting with them.

One of them.

Oh, I think I'm going to like this place...