Cot sat on her bed with a huff. It was super big for her but it was better than a cage. She was brought in by H'earring and was being watched constantly. For a while, Cot fumed and screeched in anger as she flew around the room. Poor H'earring had to chase her while covering his ears. It wasn't until she crashed into a wall that H'earring was able to catch her. She was now settled in the middle of the bed. H'earring was looming over her. "You know you did this to yourself." H'earring said.

Cot just simply looked up at him. "Hey, I could've done worse. You wouldn't believe the list of insults I say to anyone who makes me angry. My parents say that's not respectful, but sometimes that's not the case."

H'earring sighed. "I wouldn't be too surprised. You look like you don't let others push you around." H'earring thought for a moment, then said: "So, why do you care for Aura?"

Cot looked up in surprise. "You...actually said her name."

H'earring blushed. "Well...You were right that we can't keep calling her 'M'arrillian' forever. It can get old. Plus, I did appreciate her saving me."

Cot smiled gently. "I've always been an oddball. Even among my fellow Song Gales. When I met her, I knew what it was like to be alone."

H'earring leaned closer. "How did you meet?"

Cot took a deep breath as she began to think back to when it happened. "It all started when I lost my home. My family had a soft glen hidden from the world. It was one of the few places anyone felt truly safe from Queen Tikali. Or so we thought. We were ambushed. My parents didn't make it and I had to hide their egg, my sibling, in a place where they were safe. I started to collect some food in case it would hatch without me." She tried to keep herself from crying. "One day, I was flying in a storm…"

-Flashback (Melodalia)-

Cot flew in the wind, keeping up with its turbulence. She would have sang a song, but it would have put her and her sibling. "Come on," She said through a gritted beak. "There's got to be some food around here somewhere." She was looking at the barren ground beneath her. She knew it was too dangerous to fly any further, but if she didn't get any food for her sibling it would be too late. She searched the ground, but found nothing. I better head back, Cot thought with a sigh. A howl erupted. Cot's heart sank.

The gray Song Gale knew she would blend in well with this bleak surrounding, but her scent is no doubt being picked up by an extremely aggressive Tide Hound. They specialized in finding M'arrillians and have been known to be immune to their mind powers. They have the sharpest smell in existence. Even in the storm, they would sniff her out.

Cot frantically tried to flap in the storm, but her body could no longer keep up with the strength of the wind. She was soon blinded by a random leaf and found herself being tossed around. Her world continued spinning until she hit something hard. Then, everything went black followed by a squelch.

Cot opened her eyes sometime later. She got up slowly as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. She looked around. It was some sort of cavern. Suddenly, she saw a large form in the darkness. Pale blue eyes looking down at her. Cot squeaked and hopped backward only to gasp in pain. A strange sensation of fear and curiosity entered her mind.

The creature with the blue eyes leaned away from the was slender and heavily covered in mud. As far as Cot could make out, it was a she. She also had chains around her throat and wrists. She tried slithering away from Cot. A wave of sadness followed.

Cot looked up at her. "Excuse me, can you tell me where I am?"

The creature was silent.

"Can you talk? Or better yet, can you tell me how I got here?"

Cot suddenly had a vision before her eyes. She was slithering through the mud, but not with her own limbs. It was webbed limbs stretching out and pulling away the mud. She heard a muffled chirp and found a leaf moving in the mud. Frightened but curious, she pulled the leaves away to reveal herself lying unconscious. Carefully, Cot was picked up and left.

Cot looked up again in amazement. "You're a M'arrillian aren't you?!" She flapped over to the M'arrillian. "That's amazing. I've heard stories but I've never met one. My name's Cot. What's yours?"

-End of Flashback-

"You're extremely trusting aren't you." H'earring observed.

Cot laughed. "Well, when you've been as alone as I have, you have to have someone to trust right. It was a sure fire shot, but I decided to stick around to make sure I knew where I was. It was too late though. When I was going through the maps, I got caught by Jagos and even heard word that a Song Gale egg was found from the exact place I was hiding. My sibling was being sold into the market. We Song Gales are known to be entertainers and sometimes eaten for meat. I guess it would've happened to us sooner or later." Cot's eyes brimmed with tears. "I got locked up, but I never told them how I got here. I saw what they did to Aura when I'm not around. Then, after what I heard about the egg, I was so distraught I thought like I couldn't go on. Aura would visit my cage and just hold me. She would cry with me every day and I got better each time I was with her. I knew I had to stay. Even though her tribe did something awful, there had to be something good somewhere in this dark world."

H'earring rubbed his neck. "I guess everyone wants to find a brightside to everything. I guess you're one of them, huh?"

Cot smiled. She wiped her tears. "Well, I met you guys right. So far, you didn't treat me like an object. Just a creature that just has a weird outlook on life."

H'earring did a half-smile and rubbed Cot neck. "I wouldn't say you're super weird. At least you're making sense to the crazy stuff. Anyway," H'earring yawned. "Lord Chaor maybe a fierce warrior and gets angry a lot, but he is a good ruler. Aura will be fine." H'earring's eyelids grow heavy until he found himself asleep. Cot nuzzling close to him, finally succumbing to her own exhaustion of a long journey.

Chaor stood outside the doorway. He listened to every word that bird had said. Cot was indeed different from most creatures he'd encountered. She's very brave and strong despite the situation she's been tossed in. He knew where she was coming from. During the M'arrillian Invasion, he had to ally himself with Maxxor and Imparu in order to take down A'aune. He lost his home before, but he won't lose it again. Chaor only hoped that Aura wasn't going to be like Phelphore.

So that's a wrap for this chapter. So, who would you ship H'earring x Cot or Chaor x Cot? Let me know what you think.