A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows!

34 - Falling into Place

Starshine scurried along the office floor after Tad, flapping his fluffy wings to steady himself. His tiny talons scraped and skidded over Tinker's discarded paperwork, throwing the little hatchling off balance. The odd word left Starshine's beak, joined together with a garble of incomprehensible noises. The ones that stood out were 'Tad', 'play' and 'berry', but the rest just wouldn't register in Tinker's brain.

The riolu sat hunched over his desk with his head in one paw, trying to make notes for the adjustments he needed to do to his transporter device. So far he was the only pokemon to use it. However, he had the daunting feeling he'd be needing it a lot more in the near future and didn't have the confidence it could safely transport hundreds of pokemon one after the other. Not to mention the strain of sending him back and forth to gather them one by one. He'd need it to be able to cope with a large number of pokemon, and so far the maths just wasn't coming to him.

Not to mention he needed to head to Stonehaven to make sure Cleo had delivered those medicinal berries. Although he knew Cleo wouldn't leave the city in dire straits, Tinker had the strong feeling she wouldn't report back as ordered. She'd changed a lot since she'd encountered that mawile, and it left Tinker feeling very unsettled.

A loud crash caused Tinker's quill to slip across his paper, and he turned sharply to see a mound of notes and diagrams cascading down onto the little swablu. Starshine lay in a bundle of fluffy feathers amid an upturned document box, while Tad rolled around on his back in hysterics.

Skipper gathered up the box, casting Tinker an apologetic look. "Sorry, Tink. Got a li'l outta paw there."

Tad pushed himself up to look at Skipper. "That was funny, aye?"

Starshine flopped back onto his feet and shook off a sheet of paper that to him was like a blanket. "S'funny."

"So long as none o' ya are hurt, that's what counts, aye?" Skipper placed the box back where it was and ushered Starshine and Tad away from it. "Be more careful, ye wee nyaffs."

The swablu and mudkip scampered away towards the door, which was the only area of Tinker's office that was somewhat barren of paperwork and boxes. Tinker watched them for a moment then returned to his notes, resting his head in his paw again. A small sigh left him and he tossed the ink-stained sheet aside for a fresh one.

Skipper rubbed his head fin and slumped heavily onto his stool beside Tinker. "She's right, yanno."

Tinker had to turn his head fully to see the marshtomp, who was watching the two hatchlings batting a crumpled ball of paper back and forth across the floor. "Who?"

"Cleo." Skipper looked back at him and spread his flippers slightly. "She's right. Ye cannae keep the wee tyke locked up in 'ere all th'time."

Tinker shrugged and scrawled something entirely unrelated to his maths on the paper. "Well, it's our only option. We can't send him out there among the other pokemon. It wouldn't be fair."

"Neither's keepin' 'im cooped up in 'ere."

Tinker shook his head and sighed. His head had been swirling with Cleo and her nonsense since she'd left with that mawile in tow.

"I'm just sayin'," Skipper went on, "that I think it's time we introduced 'im to th'rest o' New City."

"It wouldn't go down well."

"They already know about 'im, Tink," said Skipper. "Sooner or later you've gotta let him out there. This place is 'ardly a safe playroom for a wee hatchling who's found 'is legs."

As if on cue, another crash came from the corner, and Tad and Starshine dashed away from a tumbling tower of boxes. Tinker leapt to his feet and caught the middle one before the entire thing came toppling down. When he looked up, Skipper stood beside him with the top-most box clasped in his flippers. The marshtomp steadied it and set it back in place.

"See?" Skipper gestured to the leaning tower. "Not a safe place, unless ye willin' t'clean it up a bit."

Tinker beat his paws together and returned to his desk. He couldn't deny Cleo was right. Starshine was becoming quite the hyperactive paw-full, and Tinker couldn't very well expect Skipper to babysit whenever he was busy. Skipper had his own duties to attend to.

"Perhaps you're right," said Tinker. "But I'm just not ready for that yet. Perhaps leave it until I return from Stonehaven?"

Skipper shrugged and flopped back down beside his friend. "All right, Tink, but ye cannae put it off forever."

"Like I just said, when I return."

Skipper tucked his flippers behind his head. "When are ye goin' then?"

"This afternoon." Tinker rubbed one of his ears and cast a nervous glance at Starshine. The hatchlings were watching the two adults with an avid curiosity. "The problem is, what do I do about him?"

"Aye, ye cannae take 'im with ye, right enough."

"No. I don't want to risk taking a hatchling with me. I'd be terrified of the consequences."

"I dinnae mind watchin' 'im for ye, Tink," said Skipper. "He ain't too much of a paw-full."

Tinker looked up at him, his eyes wide. "You really don't mind watching him for me while I'm gone?"

"Not at all!" Skipper laughed. "He ain't no trouble, an' he keeps Tad outta mischief. I'm sure Lily'll be delighted n'all."

"Well…" Tinker rubbed his muzzle. "With you and Lily taking care of him, then that does make me feel better."

"Wait… Ya goin' somewhere?" Tad inclined his head on one side. "Does that mean Starshine is stayin' wi' us for a wee while?"

Skipper chortled and smacked his knee. "Aye, sure enough, if Dad dinnae mind it?"

Tinker blinked his eyes a few times. "I beg your pardon?"

Starshine fluttered his wings and chirruped, flopping towards Tinker. "Dad!"

Tinker blinked again, and felt his cheeks flush. "Did he just call me-"

"Aww, c'mon, Tink!" Skipper scooped up the swablu and tweaked his beak with a claw. "He's always thought it, ain't ye, tyke?"

Starshine fixed his beady eyes on Tinker and gave a happy chirrup.

Tinker rubbed his ear and cleared his throat as he rose from his seat. "Yes, well… I had better get ready for my trip." The riolu paused by the door marked 'keep out' and froze, looking back at Skipper. "Hang on. Did you say Starshine will be 'staying with you'?"

A small smirk spread across Skipper's muzzle. "Yer a bright one, Tink. It'll be that scientist brain o'yers."

"I… I'm not ready for him to leave this office yet."

"Dinnae worry yeseln, Tink. I'm only takin' him to me 'n' my sis. He won't be gallivantin' around New City, dinnae get ye tail in a twist."

Tinker's stomach knotted but he nodded stiffly. "Okay. But if there is any trouble at all whatsoever-"

Skipper nodded. "Send word t'Stonehaven. Gotcha."

Tinker nodded in return and slipped into the room. But that awful feeling refused to lift. He deeply hoped nothing would go amiss while he was away.

...

Enigma was greeted once again by that stabbing bright light. He screwed his eyes shut and rubbed a paw over them until they finally managed to adjust. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool, and it took a good few moments for him to remember where he was.

The white walls of the Heretic lab glared back at him with way too much brightness, almost as if they were trying to oppress him. Enigma shoved himself up in the middle of his cage and dragged his claws through his mane a few times. It had been a good sleep. An odd one, but a good one. Shortly after Rio had infected him with that pokerus, Enigma had felt oddly fatigued. He assumed it was a side effect, and one he accepted. Enigma could often go several nights without sleep thanks to his insomnia. Unfortunately it meant when he did finally sleep he felt groggy and grumpy, and incredibly lethargic.

He stretched his arms out and yawned, greeted by a stinging soreness in his side. It cut him off part way and he opened his eyes wide to look down at himself. It wasn't that horrid stab he'd grown familiar with that would be followed by a racking cough. He nudged his scarf to the side and trailed his claws through his fur. It was still sore, but the bruising had faded significantly, and that nasty wound had scabbed over. He tipped his head to the side and made a thoughtful noise. Rio had said that pokerus had odd regenerative purposes, but Enigma hadn't expected it to be this quick. Surely Rio knew about it? If not, Enigma was going to use this little bit of knowledge to his advantage. If he played up that he was still sore and unable to fight then Rio might let his guard down and he'd be easy pickings.

The banette lowered his paws to his lap and had another glance around the room. It wasn't any different to the previous night, save for the raichu sat back against the cage. So he'd exchanged places with the heliolisk? Electricity danced over the thick mesh, creating a low hum. Beyond the raichu was a wall of enclosures, each one with several pokemon staring out at Enigma. No fear was reflected in their eyes. Just curiosity. He was pretty convinced they'd looked afraid the night before. What had changed?

Rio.

Rio wasn't in the room.

Enigma chuckled and rubbed his paws over his face. So those captives weren't afraid of him? Didn't they know who he was? Perhaps not, if they'd been stuck in a lab most of their lives.

The wall opposite him parted and he looked up as a white door swung open towards him. He was expecting to see Rio, but instead a furret shuffled in, pushing a dining trolley stoked up with baskets of overripe berries. A tiny sentret followed after her and froze, staring straight at Enigma. His face split into a grin and he bounced on his tail with glee.

"Wow!" The little hatchling scampered towards the cage, and the raichu looked up with a start. "Is that Enigma?! This is so cool! How did you-"

The furret dropped her basket and lunged for the hatchling, but her paws fell short. Instead, the sentret was raised in a psychic bubble and held upside down before Enigma's cage. The furret looked startled for a moment, then she let out a sigh and pushed herself back to her feet. The sentret was carried into her paws and she took him by the scruff.

Rio appeared at her side, accompanied by the heliolisk and a grovyle. Enigma narrowed his eyes at the grass-type. By the anxious look on her face, and the nervous muttering that immediately followed her entry, he'd met her before. Yes… he remembered her. And she clearly remembered the threat he'd given her.

Apparently she'd known much, much more than she'd told him.

"Finish feeding my test subjects," Rio told the furret. "And perhaps leave Scout outside in the future?"

The furret nodded and adjusted her grip on her child so he was held in both arms.

"Aww!" he protested. "But I want to stay! Let me stay, Mum, please?"

"No." She turned and shuffled back to the door. "You're going to help Spelon and Rowlap, okay? They're on guard duty. You like that."

"But it's so much more fun in here!"

The door closed on the sentret and the furret muttered an apology to Rio and immediately gathered up the fallen berries. Rio didn't respond, keeping his full attention on Enigma.

"Sprightly kid," said Enigma.

Rio tucked his paws behind his back. "If you think that child provides a weakness in my ranks, you are very much mistaken. I couldn't care less."

The furret cast a glance in their direction. Her fur bristled along her lithe body, and she trembled from ear to tail. A small smirk tugged at Enigma's lips and she jerked her face away to continue her task.

"You're looking better," Rio told Enigma. "It works pretty quickly, doesn't it?"

Enigma's smirk fell and he sat back on his paws. "I suppose I should never have doubted you'd already be aware of that, huh?" He paused and flashed Rio a playful grin. "Oh well. I guess you're smarter than me."

Rio's ruff bristled at the mocking tone in Enigma's voice, and his twin tails swished behind him. The meowstic's icy blue eyes flashed as his ears unfurled, and Enigma was propelled to the back of the cage. Electricity surged through his body and he let out a loud yell that caused the furret to drop her basket again. The surrounding captives ducked back into their cage, their panicked voices filling the room. After a few seconds, Rio released Enigma, letting him slump back to the floor.

The banette pushed himself up onto all-fours and glared back at the meowstic. He flopped back to his bottom and adjusted his scarf, breathing heavily.

Rio tucked his paws back behind him, his face relaxing back to its calm and stoic expression. His irritation was betrayed by his swishing tails. "I've been researching this pokerus strain for many seasons now, Enigma. And with each mutation it gets faster. Not just the regeneration," he waved a paw at Enigma's smoldering fur, "but everything. The power creep, the madness."

Enigma's eyes widened. Madness? The vivid image of that whimsicott's maniacal face filling his vision popped into his mind. That severe beating from its frantic paws. The howling visage of a primal tyranitar. So that's what it was? This pokerus? Enigma closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath to steady himself.

'Oh, how much have you held back from me, Rio?'

He didn't voice the question. It was fairly obvious Rio had been less than honest. That whimsicott had originated here, in that lab. That much was obvious. That meant Rio was responsible for Boomer's demise. A low chuckle shook Enigma's chest. It was all falling into place, piece by piece.

"Has something amused you?" Rio asked. "Or do you need another reminder of your position in this place?"

Enigma fixed him with an amused stare. "Not at all. Perhaps it's that madness you were just talking about?"

Mint's leaves stiffened and she placed a paw on Rio's shoulder. "Don't you think you're telling him too much?"

"It doesn't matter." Rio didn't take his eyes off Enigma. "It's not as if he's able to leave here."

"Yes, but…" Mint watched Rio as he reached beneath the chair he'd been occupying the previous night for a pair of cuffs. "You're dong this now?! Rio, you really should remove his memories first. This is too dangerous!"

Rio gave a sharp hiss and looked back at her. "I know what I'm doing, Mint. How many times do I need to explain things to you?"

Enigma's fur prickled along his spine. Memories? He glanced over at the other captives, who were once again peering out at them with a look of fearful curiosity.

Fearful. Rio.

Enigma was right. They really didn't have any idea who he was. And it wasn't because they'd been raised in the lab. They didn't know anything of the world beyond those clinical white walls. Rio wasn't a genius at all. He was sick. Enigma clenched his jaw until his teeth hurt, and his claws dug into the plastic base. Harlequin had been right. The world was a mess.

"You'll undergo daily training sessions," Rio told Enigma. "It will be the only time you'll be leaving your cage. And I want you to be aware that all my assistants are more than capable of dealing with you and your attacks. I have three normal-types here who aren't affected by your shadow sneak, four electric-types two of which can handle you very easily, and a sandslash who carries a very capable night slash which I think would leave you feeling very sorry for yourself." Rio straightened to meet Enigma's eye. "And he's not the only one here who knows it."

Enigma met his glare silently.

"Open the door," Rio demanded.

He handed his keys to Ray, and the heliolisk stood up straight to hide his anxiety behind a facade of confidence. His neck frill sparked and he reached for the lock. More electricity spread through the cage as the heliolisk popped the door open.

"I think you'll enjoy this part." Rio smirked at Enigma and raised the cuffs in a psychic bubble. "Put these on."

Enigma stared at the cuffs. They were made of metal, and a long chain dangled from the iron links connecting them. He glanced behind Rio, past the heliolisk's sparking body. The electric-type provided an impassible wall. Enigma couldn't even shadow sneak past him. Not with electricity running beneath the insulated base of his enclosure. It sparked along the lip of the cage where the door met the base.

"You can make this easy," Rio told him. "Or I can. Your choice."

A flurry of sparks spread from Ray's body as his frill rose slightly.

Enigma licked his lips and met Rio's eyes. "Tell me what you're doing first."

"I already told you. You'll be undergoing daily training sessions," Rio explained. "Now put the cuffs on."

Enigma stared back at him with defiance. That wasn't the explanation Enigma had wanted. He wanted to know why Rio was doing this. But Enigma knew he wouldn't get it out of him easily. He folded his paws in his lap, keeping his crimson eyes locked on Rio's.

The meowstic flexed his claws. "Ray."

Ray's frill spread out around him and lit up with a flash of electricity. A thunderbolt struck Enigma square in the chest, sending him bowling backwards into the charged mesh. He let out a cry as his limbs jerked involuntarily. The heliolisk clambered on top of him and locked the cuffs around his paws. Enigma barely had any time to push himself back up. The reptile scrambled back out, tugging the chain behind him. Enigma was yanked out of his enclosure, the cage giving him another nasty shock before he slumped to the pristine, cold, white tiles of the lab's floor.

Rio glared down at him, his face glacial. "You're mine now. You'll do exactly as I say. Now… come with me."

Enigma had no choice. Ray tugged him to his feet with the chain. The constant trail of electricity travelling through to the cuffs left Enigma's fur fluffed up with static. He staggered forwards as the reptile dragged him after Rio, following him from the room.

Enigma was dragged through an office, where Mint sat behind the desk. She watched warily as the assassin and his captors left through another door into the corridor. Its white tiled walls followed around a bend, and Rio finally came to a stop beside another room where a plusle stood waiting. Only Ray and Enigma entered, and the chain was fed through a hole in the wall. The plusle's presence became apparent as more electricity fuelled the cuffs. Once the heliolisk left, Enigma found himself alone in the room. It was as bare and white as the rest of the lab, save for one lone metal target on the far wall.

"Now." Rio's voice was as clear as day, and Enigma found himself wondering where it was coming from. "I want you to throw a shadow ball at that target."

Enigma looked back at the solid wall behind him. Was it a one-way mirror? Whatever the case, he couldn't see that meowstic. He turned back to the target and scoffed, falling back against the wall and smoothing his scarf.

"Enigma?" Rio's voice carried a warning note. "Are you going to throw a shadow ball?"

Enigma folded his arms and stared at that pathetic target. He had no intention of entertaining Rio. He'd stand here all day if he had too.

A sudden surge of electricity shot down the chain and into his paws. He yelped, trying to shake the cuffs free.

"That was just a warning shot," Rio told him. "The next one will be a lot worse if you don't co-operate."

Enigma's lip curled back in a sneer. "I refuse to play your games, Rio!"

"Oh, this isn't a game," said the meowstic. "This is a test, and so far, you are failing."

"Test?! What kind of test?!"

"To see how much the pokerus will advance your strength," Rio explained. "It's very interesting. I think you'll enjoy it. All of my other participants have."

Participants… It was clear Rio was mocking him. Enigma would hardly call them that. He ran a paw over his face and turned back to the target. If he attacked it, then would that satisfy Rio? Or would it only serve to fuel the disease the crazy scientist had infected him with?

"Enigma," Rio warned. "Attack the target."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then you fail."

Enigma chuckled and folded his arms. "Who cares if I fail?"

"You will."

Enigma's blood turned cold and he licked his dry lips. If he didn't comply, then there was every possibility Rio would kill him. He'd already infected him. The meowstic didn't fear him at all. Or he didn't simply because he thought he had control over Enigma. Out of all the pokemon Enigma had visited for 'information', Rio had been the most fearless. Enigma couldn't deny that it actually scared him.

"How far are you willing to go?" Enigma tried to hide the waver in his voice.

"Oh, now I wouldn't provoke me if I were you, Enigma!" Rio laughed. "I'll go as far as I need to!"

Enigma examined his claws and a smirk spread across his muzzle. "You're keeping me here as an experiment. So technically, I'm no use to you dead."

"Technically you are," said Rio. "If you're dead then I don't have to worry about you. But given you are here under my control, then I suppose, as far as you're concerned, you're 'as good as'."

Enigma snarled over his shoulder, but the pokemon on the other side yanked the chain, causing him to splutter and slump back against the wall.

"Now throw a shadow ball at that target!" Rio roared.

That target… Enigma rounded on the wall, lashing out with his claws. They raked through the white tiled surface, cracking them and peeling them free, revealing the oak panelling beneath. Electricity shot through the chain, lighting it up like a torch. Enigma was blown back from the wall, landing in a sparking heap on the floor. He could hear Rio's voice commanding the attack to keep going, while Enigma jerked on the floor. It wasn't until he started coughing violently that Rio finally demanded Ray stop.

The door opened, and the heliolisk strutted in to gather up the sparking chain. Enigma was dragged to his feet and he staggered into the corridor where Rio was waiting. The meowstic's expression was livid. Enigma returned it with a vehement glare.

"I warned you not to push me," he said. "You brought that on yourself."

Enigma had had enough of this wretched feline. He twirled on the spot and with a flick of his claws sent a shadow ball right at his target. Rio threw up a light screen at the last second, and the shadow ball struck him across his left eye. He staggered back, flailing his paws to keep his balance. He shook his head and his eyes flashed as they landed back on Enigma. As Rio's ears shot upright, Enigma was lifted from the ground in a purple bubble. His joints complained as the energy crushed and twisted him in the air, and he let out a yell of protest. Rio launched him down the hallway ahead of him, and Ray had to release the chain before he was dragged along with the assassin.

Enigma struck the wall hard, knocking all the air from his lungs. He barely had time to get it back as Rio caught him in another bubble. The meowstic marched him through his office, startling Mint in the process.

"Get the doors!" he yowled.

Mint and Ray rushed to open the double doors to the lab before Rio walked smack into them. He strolled into the lab and tossed Enigma through the open door to his cell. He struck the back walls and screamed as electricity shocked every raw nerve in his body. The racket terrified the captive pokemon, and their cries and scampering paws echoed off the bare walls. Rio held him there for a good few seconds before finally letting the banette crumple to the base of his cage.

Ray locked the door hastily and handed Rio the keys. The meowstic tucked them into his tails and shot matching glares at both Enigma and the raichu charging the cage.

"I'll be back for you in the morning," Rio told Enigma.

The banette turned his stiff neck to leer at Rio. A bruise had begun to form around his eye where the shadow ball had struck him.

"It would be in your best interest," Rio growled, "to co-operate next time."

With that, he turned and marched from the room with Ray in tow.

Enigma struggled to push himself up, his muscles too sore and stiff to obey. Once he'd managed to get himself upright he let out a sigh. It hurt to breathe. He rubbed his chest and stared defeated through the sparking mesh.

"You should just do what he says." The small voice came from the enclosure to his left. A zigzagoon peered out at him with warm brown eyes. "It's easier."

Enigma turned from the raccoon pokemon to stare at the double doors, just visible against the white wall. His eyes began to sting and water and a lump rose in his throat. He rubbed the back of his paw across his eyes and let out a pathetic groan. It was hopeless. There was no way he was going to get out of this place. Rio was much too prepared.

He sank back on his paws, and then remembering the charged cage resigned himself to curling up in the middle of it, away from the bars.

For the first time in his life, Enigma felt incredibly helpless.

...

Yurlik was not in a good mood.

He'd spent the previous night in the breeding pens, dragging females from their nests. It had been a tormenting experience. For hours he was dealing with the cries of chicks too young to leave their parents, flopping after him as he carried the frantic mothers outside. The place stunk, the ammonia fumes and damp stinging his eyes and choking his throat. It wasn't a place he liked to visit at the best of times. It was a place where new soldiers were born, and the males were fortunate enough to leave it when they were old enough to walk and speak, and fortunate to be young enough to forget about it. A strategy set in place so they grew up with no emotional attachments to 'family'. Any females were raised as helpers for orphaned chicks, then when they reached maturity were stuck in a vacant pen.

It had taken a good hour or so for Yurlik to preen the mire from his feathers. He'd barely slept during the day, and he was exhausted. He'd pawned the females off on some of his soldiers, instructing them to make sure they didn't leave the Shadow Lands. Not that they would. Not only were their wings too weak, they were petrified. Very few of them had ever seen outside, and they were a quaking mass of feathers, huddling together in the branches of the tallest tree they could find - which unfortunately ended up being his. In no mood to shoo them perchance they fled and he had to retrieve them again, Yurlik had resigned himself to sleeping near the noivern cave a good distance away. Ordinarily he wouldn't have ventured so close, but with Echo and his swarm absent he didn't need to worry. Frustratingly, the fearful caws from the females had kept him awake.

And then there was her…

Yurlik fixed one eye on the tree, its branches buckling under the weight of two hundred murkrow. And one honchkrow. It hadn't been an easy decision, but the only way to get the flock to calm was to give them someone to look up to. Given he wanted nothing to do with the flock, Yurlik had chosen the boldest female of the group and evolved her, and she'd soon managed to placate the rest into a saner level of calm. However, what Yurlik hadn't realised at the time was how fiery his chosen leader was. She wasted no time in instructing her flock into wing exercises, spending most of the day building up their strength and resting for their upcoming journey.

Yurlik landed in the large tree, causing the already overloaded branch to sway beneath his weight and upsetting the much smaller murkrow. They fled into the higher branches, gathering around the scrawny form of a ragged honchkrow. She'd managed to get herself looking tidier, but her feathers were dusty and still stuck out at unnatural angles. Yurlik found himself doubting she could even fly.

Ilana narrowed her eyes at the General and tucked her wings in tightly. "Good evening."

If words could poison then she'd definitely laced them. The corners of Yurlik's beak tensed and he dug his talons into the bark. He cast sharp glances at the rest of the flock, most of which were still quaking. Scraggly-looking females with barely any meat on them, probably too old to breed let alone fly half the way across Estellis. Others were younger, nervous, their heads jerking at every little sound. Tiny caws came from them that made Yurlik think of the hatchlings filling the breeding pens. Almost primitive, with no authority, or respect for that matter. They were more akin to pleas for help.

"Well," he grunted, "at least you're looking more organised."

"That's more than we can say for your lot," said Ilana. "What happened? Did you lose them all?" She caught Yurlik's glare and straightened. "You must have if you're desperate enough to gather us together."

"They aren't my orders." Yurlik's voice carried a warning note that unsettled the murkrow but washed over Ilana like air. "Lord Hydreigon needs eyes further south, and my flock is on a much more important mission looking for the cocoon."

A smirk tugged at Ilana's beak and she gave a single dry laugh.

Yurlik ruffled his feathers. "Watch that attitude, female. If it weren't for Lord Hydreigon's orders you wouldn't even be seeing outside! Now, you will submit to authority or-"

"Or what?" Ilana inclined her head on one side. "You'll snap our necks? When Lord Hydreigon needs us? I hardly think so."

Yurlik hissed and spread his wings slightly. "I'm going to make this quick, then I'm having nothing more to do with you. You've heard of Harlequin and Enigma, I assume?"

"Names, yes," said Ilana. "Word does get around in the breeding pens. Although I've never seen either of them."

A few of the other murkrow shook their heads, avoiding Yurlik's gaze.

Yurlik smoothed out his feathers and huffed. "Well… just on the off-chance you haven't a clue, you'll be looking for a banette and a zorua. The latter is a little… unusual in appearance."

"Black with blue markings," said Ilana matter-of-factly.

"And blue eyes," Yurlik added, although Ilana didn't appear surprised. "They were sent to search for a whimsicott-"

"Which killed Boomer."

Yurlik's feathers bristled again and Ilana shrugged.

"I told you," she said. "The walls practically talk, and there isn't much to do other than raise chicks and listen into conversations." She paused, watching Yurlik seethe. "I know much more than you think."

"Then why am I instructing you?! Find them! And bring that whimsicott back here, dead or alive. I couldn't care less." He waved a dismissive wing. "And if you hear anything, report back to one of my murkrow. I don't want to see you again. Any of you."

Ilana didn't move. She stared down at him from her perch, while her murkrow shifted uneasily.

"What are you waiting for!?" Yurlik barked. "You're a honchkrow now, so do your job and lead your flock!"

"Really?" Ilana spread her wings and lowered her head towards Yurlik. "Is that what you do? Because I don't exactly see you out there, leading your murkrow. Is that why you've degraded your pride by putting females in your flock?"

"You are not in my flock," he hissed.

"Then why are you giving me orders?" Ilana chuckled at the rage behind Yurlik's eyes. "I've probably done more for these birds in one day than you've done in your entire lifetime."

Yurlik let out a loud caw and leapt up towards her, flapping his large wings. The murkrow surrounding Ilana bolted into the higher branches, and the honchkrow followed. Yurlik landed where she'd been perched, talons spread. He flailed his wings to gain his balance and leap up higher, but the branch buckled beneath his weight. With a snap, it gave way and he dropped back down into an ungainly heap on the thicker branch below.

Ilana laughed, spreading her slender wings to keep her balance. The spindly branch swayed from side to side while she kept a tight grip with her talons.

"I see!" she crooned. "Just like I guessed! You're too fat to fly!"

"I can fly just fine!" Yurlik barked.

"Well!" Ilana beat her wings and rose from the tree. "I guess I'd better find these missing assassins! Come on, girls. Before he gives chase." She cast a glance back at the honchkrow General. "Not that I believe he can."

Yurlik leapt from the tree, darting after the females. But Ilana lead them away ahead of him. Their flight was ungainly and erratic, and a couple dropped from the sky to the ground. Ilana ignored Yurlik, instead darting after the fallen birds to right them back into the air.

After a few feet, Yurlik gave up, landing heavily on the stone wall on the edge of the Border Woods. He panted to catch his breath, watching the murkrow flock as it vanished over the canopy like a black cloud. Twice the size of his flock, at least.

He ruffled his feathers, muttering under his breath. Deep down, he feared he'd made a huge mistake appointing that female as leader.

...

Thanks for reading! Please R&R! =D