Chapter 30: Reunion and Separation

Early the next evening, the Silverwings went back to their route after spending the day before in an old beech tree.

''It's good to have you back where you belong,'' Ariel told Frieda. the joy that the old female had won back the reputation of the entire colony was still written on her face.

''And Bathsheba is back where she belongs,'' Mercury added with a smirk and glanced over his shoulder to see Bathsheba flying at the very rear end of the colony, glaring at them.

''Don't be too hard on her,'' Frieda said. ''Bathsheba believes that everything she's done was for the good of the colony.''

Mercury wanted to say something as the rumbling of water reached his ears. A smile spread across face. ''The river!'' he cried out with a joy which was replayed by the mothers and pups who, with hopeful expectations, beat their wings faster to reach the destination of their journey.

For a while they kept following the current of the river until the end came into view, pouring down into a giant waterfall.

The noisy excitement among the bats drew the attention from beyond the waterfall and another colony of Silverwings appeared, flying straight towards them.
''The males!'' Mercury announced gleefully, realizing who they were and was more than relieved to see them being alright.
Meeting in the middle, the two colonies merged into one, spiraling around each other like a DNA strand. The full moon seeming to glow brighter, illuminating them in its light while the bats squeaked happily, rejoined with their families after many months.

Chinook was also filled with joy when he spotted a male bat who looked exactly as his mother had always described him. ''Father!'' he cried out with a smile and raced towards the familiar face.

The male Silverwing who looked like an older and darker version of Chinook noticed the young one and flew down to meet him. ''Chinook! Thank Nocturna you are all safe!'' He looked up to the female leader floating beside him. ''Frieda, the skies closed to bats? Tell me you have an explanation for all this insanity?''

''Your guess is as good as mine, Hector,'' Frieda replied.

Hector frowned. ''Then let's get inside. Orion needs to hear about what happened.''

Frieda nodded. Since they reached the river, she was dying to call for a council meeting with Orion and the other male elders. Not wasting any time, she flew down to enter their winter roost, followed by the rest of the colony.

Only Chinook stood behind for a moment, looking confused. ''Hector? But I thought my father's name is Plato?''

''Ugh,'' was the first I managed to say after waking up from my slumber. My body felt heavy, and my throat was dry. Sitting up, I clasped my head and struggled to recall what had happened. It took me a moment, but eventually it all came back to me. The chase in the junkyard, us being captured by the rats, King Remus sentencing us to death with me nearly drowning in the drain and finally his brother Romulus coming to save us and then...

Thoughtfully, I looked around and spotted a fresh bandage on my wrist. ''Oh, right,'' I said, now also remembering my wound getting worse and myself feeling like shit before passing out on a pile of rags. To be honest, I was still feeling unwell, but at least better than before.

Looking more around, I wondered how long I was asleep and where my friends and Romulus were. The small chamber was pretty much empty besides me being there and still very dark, but I could still see clearly. Thinking of it it was kinda strange. I knew my eyesight in the dark got better since I met the Silverwings, but actually I shouldn't be able to see much in a place as dark as this one. If there was some kind of window like a hole in the wall where light could shine through from outside, then it would be understandable. But that wasn't the case here.

First, I'm able to see echo-projections and now I could see in sheer darkness as well without problems?! Somehow I started to believe that something was wrong with me and that that blue pearl must have something to do with it. Maybe shrinking me wasn't the only thing it did to me on that night.

Anyway, right now I found more important to find my friends and back on our route to Hibernaculum. We couldn't waste anymore time. We needed to get there fast and warn them.

I rubbed my eyes to get the rest of the sleepiness out of them and threw my blanket off me just to quickly pull it over me again, realizing I wasn't wearing anything. Feeling embarrassed, I searched for my clothes and found them in a corner, drying on a rope. By the look of it, they still seemed to be wet so I couldn't wear them. Not that I wanted to wear that pink dress any longer at all. But since I had nothing else, it was the only option for me if I didn't want to run around stark naked. Then again... Maybe I could make myself some new clothes from the rags.

With that in mind, I rummaged around the pile I sat on until I found something useful. A piece of dark brown fabric I wrapped around my body and a small black piece I use as a belt to keep my new dress in place. Then I picked up another brown fabric and with the help of a sharp piece of glass, I found in a corner I managed to cut a hole in it for my head and threw it over. Now my arms were still bare, but at least my shoulders were covered.

Just as I finished getting dressed, I heard noises coming from a corner and turned around to see Romulus crawling out of a hidden tunnel in the wall, followed by Marina and Shade.

''Ugh, I'm never getting used to that,'' the small Silverwing complained, ''Isn't there an easier way to get to the surface?''

''I'm sorry Shade, but this tunnel is the only way if you don't want to be captured by my brother's soldiers again. But look, it seems your human friend has finally woken up.''

Now noticing me standing before them, Shade smiled happily and rushed over to me with Marina.

''Vanessa, you are awake. Oh, man, I am so glad. How are you feeling?''

''I'm fine,'' I said.

''You sure?'' Marina asked, looking at with concern.

I nodded. ''Yeah, uh ... for how long was I asleep?''

''The whole day,'' said Shade, ''the sun just went down an hour ago.''

''I see.''

Romulus cleared his throat, and I turned my attention to him. ''May I get a look at your arm? I want to be sure the healing paste I put on is doing its work.''

''Uh, sure,'' I held out my arm for him to check on my wound while Shade and Marina informed me about what I had missed since I passed out. Like them I was surprised to hear Romulus being the true king of the rats. And I was also astonished about the wing-like membranes on his body. But like my friends, I assured Romulus that I wasn't grossed out about it or thought he was a monster because of this, which spread a smile on the rat's face.

Eventually, he finished inspecting my wound and wrapped the bandage back around it.

''Well, it seems to heal quite well. You are lucky that the infection isn't too severe,'' he said, ''In a few days your arm should be as good as new, though you will probably keep a scar.''

''I see. Well, thank you for your help, Romulus.''

''Don't mention it. I'm happy to help,'' he replied with a smile.

''How come you even know about medicine and stuff? Were you taught by someone?'' Shade asked curiously.

''I have a friend, a grey squirrel called Mirage who knows a lot about potions and herbs.''

''Oh, that's good.''

''Maybe we will meet her on our way. Would be good in case my wound gets bad again.'' I chuckled a bit but when I saw the look on my friends face I stopped. ''Guys what's wrong?''

''Well, Vanessa...''

''We thought it might be better for you if you stay here with Romulus,'' finished Marina.

I stared at them both dumbfounded. ''What?''

''You heard him,'' she tried to explain. ''Your wrist still needs a few days until it's completely healed. If you come with us now, the wound might really get bad again and we can't be sure to meet a healer like this Mirage before reaching Hibernaculum.''

''But we are almost there, aren't we?''

Shade let out a sigh. ''All I know is that we have to find that river. It could mean that this is the last landmark before Hibernaculum, but we can't be sure of this,'' he said. ''Besides. It's freezing cold outside and you need to be in a warm place to get well again.''

''But...'' I tried to protest, but Marina shook her head. ''No, Vanessa. You are not coming with us. I'm sorry, but we talked this through. We don't want to risk your health.''

''So you want to leave me behind.''

''No. I mean we would take you with us, but we don't know how far away Hibernaculum is. But as soon as we are there we will come back and get you.''

I wasn't satisfied. After all, we've been through, they now decided to continue on without me?! I crossed my arms before my chest and showed them I wasn't happy about this at all. ''You can't be serious.''

''But they are right,'' Romulus interfered, ''I know it sounds harsh but you need to stay so I can take care of your injury and your friends need to get to the Silverwings as soon as possible to warn them for the owls and those giant rats.''

''But...'' I sighed. ''Alright.''

''Like I said, we will come and get you as soon as possible. I promise.'' Shade looked at me with a smile and I couldn't help but smiled back even though I was still unhappy about this.

''Now then, I believe you two should get going. So far there are no owls outside but that might change soon.'' Both bats nodded then walked over to give me a hug, saying goodbye plus once again promising to return as soon as they could. Afterwards they said their goodbyes to Romulus and crawled up through the tunnel in the wall.

Meanwhile, the whole Silverwing colony has gathered in the center of their winter roost.

Fathers and pups were getting to know each other while the females informed their mates about what happened during their journey, only to hear their story afterwards.

On a platform at the edge of the cave, which marked the entrance to the councillors' chamber, stood Frieda, Lucretia, Bathsheba and Aurora. There they conferred with the four male elders.

Orion, the leader, listened to Frieda's story with a grim expression. Like all elders, he was an aged bat with more gray than blue fur and a wrinkled face. Even his dark blue, almost black hair had turned silver, just like his mane. Only his wings still retained their original dark black-blue coloring.

Not too far away stood Hector and listened closely to their conversation. Chinook was still confused about the fact that his name wasn't Plato. Had his mother been lying to him or did his father had two names? Well, technically he did because every bat had as a middle name the name of their mother or father depending on their own gender. But still, this was weird.

He wished he could ask his mother about this, but he had lost sight of her as soon as they entered Hibernaculum. He considered asking Todd or Breeze if they had seen her, but they were both busy chatting with their own parents and he didn't want to disturb them.

Looking back at his father Chinook felt tempt to fly over and get to know him like he always wanted too, but he hesitated. But eventually he made up his mind and fluttered over to greet him.

''Uh, hi dad.''

Hector turned to him and gave him a confused look, which made the young Silverwing even more insecure.

''I uhm... I'm glad to finally meet you. Mom has told me a lot about you though he had always called you Plato, not Hector like Frieda did which...'' he stopped noticing the amused look on the older males face. Before Chinook could ask what was wrong, his dad started laughing.

''What's so funny?'' a masculine voice asked and Chinook thought his eyes were playing a trick on him as a bat looking exactly like his dad flew over to them accompanied by his mother Isis.

Hector stopped laughing and rubbed a tear out of his eye. ''Oh man, this was good. Too bad we didn't bet on it Plato. Although I thought Isis told him all about you.''

''I did Hector, but it seems he hasn't listened carefully.''

Chinook returned his mother's gaze with a confused blink. What in Nocturna's name were they talking about?

''Listen kid,'' Hector said with another grin, ''I am not your dad. That's Plato here.''

''Wait what?''

Isis let out a soft sigh. ''Did you honestly forgot about your father having an identical twin brother? I believe I told you about him plenty of times.''

''Twin brother?'' Now that she said it, it was the only logical solution. Oh boy, did he feel stupid. That's what you get for not listening closely or just hearing what you want to hear. If only he had paid more attention to his mother's stories about his other male relatives instead of his father alone.

''It's alright boy,'' his uncle said, putting a hand on his shoulder, ''It was a mistake everyone could have made who doesn't know me or your dad. Hey, even your mother mistook me for your dad once.''

Isis turned red. ''That's not true.''

''Oh really? And what about the night of your first date? I think I remember clearly how...''

Plato cleared his throat, interrupting him, ''Ehm, brother. Maybe we can talk about this one other time ok,'' He gave his brother a slight glare while also turning a bit red around his nose.'' His twin chuckled. ''Whatever you say, brother.''

Mercury observed with amusement Chinooks family reunion before lifting off from his roost to look for a certain bat he longed to see for months.

It didn't take him long to find who he was looking for, and a lovely smile spread on his face.

''Icarus!'' he called out. The addressed male spun around and the same smile mirrored on his face.

''Mercury!''

Both males flew towards the other and hugged the other with their wings. Despite their surroundings, they snuggled up together and nuzzled each other. Happy to be reunited after being separated the whole summer.

''I missed you,'' whispered Icarus.

''I missed you too.''

The other male broke free from the embrace and looked at his beloved with concern. ''Say what happened on your journey? Is it true that the owls burned down Tree-Heaven? What's with the closed sky?''

Mercury placed an arm on his shoulder to calm him down. ''Slow down, I will tell you everything. And yes, Tree-Heaven is no longer. General Brutus himself ordered its destruction.''

Icarus eyes went huge. ''But why?'' Mercury let out a sigh and told his mate everything that had happened the past few weeks. He could tell by the look on his face how surprised he was to hear about the shrunken human girl Vanessa. However, he seemed more shocked about the fact that she and Shade dared to break the most ancient law. ''They looked the sun?''

Mercury nodded. ''Yes, but neither of them meant any harm. It was just a childish bet between Shade and Chinook that escalated a bit.''

''A bit?'' Icarus raised his eyebrow. ''The nursery is gone!''

''Yes, but at least we didn't lose any of us ... except for...'' Mercury trailed off and looked to the ground. Once again he worried about Vanessa's well-being. Was she ok? Was she with Shade or did they got separated? Was she even still alive? Oh, how he prayed to Nocturna that this wasn't the case.

''Mercury, what's wrong?''

''W-we lost them...'' he said, still looking down, ''We just passed the lighthouse on our way to the city when we got caught up in a heavy storm. During the turbulences Vanessa and Shade got blown off course. ... We have seen none of them since.'' Towards the end his voice changed to a whisper and he couldn't help but to let out another deep sigh. Noticing this, Icarus stepped closer and wrapped his wings around him. ''I fear I might never see her again.''

''Don't worry,'' Icarus tried to console him, ''I'm sure she is alright. Humans are though.''

''But she so much smaller than other humans. There is no way she can survive out in the open all by herself,'' said Mercury.

''Yeah, but Shade is probably with her.''

''Maybe, but he is also young, not much bigger himself.''

''Still, you shouldn't give up hope.'' Icarus smiled at his mate encouragingly, then thought about something. ''This Shade. He is Cassiel's kid, isn't he?!'' Mercury nodded. ''I see,'' Icarus continued and chuckled a bit, ''In this case I shouldn't be surprised that the boy wanted to see the sun. His father wanted to do just the same.''

''Yeah, but he never did.'' Mercury paused for a moment, ''Speaking of Cassiel. Icarus, you were one of his closest friends. Don't you know what...'' But the other male shook his head, interrupting him.

''I'm sorry, but you know I can't tell you.''

''But...''

''Please, I promised him not to tell anyone.''

Mercury looked into Icarus pleading eyes and nodded, not wanting to ask any further instead he snuggled up to him and continued to inform his mate about the rest that had happened on their journey.

After leaving the junkyard behind them, Shade and Marina didn't spoke much during their flight through the forest. They both still felt bad about leaving their human friend behind.

''Marina, do you think we did the right thing? I mean Romulus said her wound looked better.''

''An infection does not heal over day,'' she replied. ''Besides, we talked about this. It's better for her to stay in a place where she is safe with someone who can take care of her injury.''

Shade wasn't pleased. ''I'm still thinking we should have taken her with us.''

''She was burning up when she went to sleep. And she still looked sick before we left,'' said Marina.

''You sure?'' he asked sceptically, ''I don't think Vanessa looked sick at all.''

''Because she is hiding it. Also... I've talked with Romulus about this. He said that without treatment she most likely get blood poisoning from it.''

''What's that?'' he asked.

''I'm not sure, but Romulus said that it was serious and can cause death if left untreated.''

Shade's eyes widened. ''She doesn't have this, does she?''

Marina shook her head. ''But she could get it if she came with us through this weather.''

The young Silverwing looked around and watched the soft snow on the branches of the trees they passed by while the cold wind blew through his ears. If only they knew how close they were to Hibernaculum.

As if reading his mind. Marina suggested that he should check his soundmap to see if they were still on course. Therefore, they both swooped down on a bare tree and Shade closed his eyes to call up his mother's map. Various landmarks flashed before his inner eyes. Tree-Heaven, the cathedral, the wolfears, the river they yet needed to find and then... nothing.'' Confused, he opened his eyes.

''The river ... it just disappeared. I don't get it.''

''How about we just follow it to the end and play it by ear when we get there?'' Marina proposed helpfully. Having no other idea what else they could do, Shade agreed and together they continued to look for that river that would hopefully lead them to Hibernaculum.

Little did they know they were being watched.

Gratefully I ate the berries Romulus brought me from his surface exploration. However, I did not have much of an appetite. I still couldn't believe Shade and Marina decided to continue to go on without me. On the other hand I wondered if they were right and looked at my bandaged wrist. Maybe it was better for me to stay here and wait for their return. After all, they would return, wouldn't they? The thought I might never see them again scared me so I quickly banished it into the back of my mind. No, they are my friends, they would return. ... But what if something happened to them? Gulping down the rest of the last blueberry I couldn't help but thought about the fact that they may encounter the owls or worse Goth and Throbb.

I knew even if I was with them I couldn't do much against our enemies, but three were at least better than two. Also, I was sure I could be helpful in someway. But now my friends were gone and probably too far ahead for me to catch up with them. Meaning if I don't want to freeze out there to death by wandering through the woods on my own I had no choice but to stay here with Romulus in the underground.

I didn't mind the rat. He was nice to me, and I really enjoyed his company. Though I could tell that he was happy to have some company as well. But deep down I felt unhappy.
The minutes I spend in Romulus chamber another thought crossed my mind. Didn't Zephyr predict that we'd meet unexpected allies? Maybe he meant Romulus. Or maybe Orestes, I continued to think further. After all, none of us would have thought to befriend an owl. Least of all Brutus own son. Speaking of Orestes. Had he found Ursa by now? I sure hoped so.

Disgruntled, I sighed once more and rested my chin on my hands. If there was just something I could do instead of sitting around and wait. But what? It was no use. No matter how hard I racked my brain. In the end I had to admit to myself that there was nothing I could do, except for staying where I was and wait.

Which was definitely not going to happen!

I knew it was stupid and irresponsible, but there was no way I would stay here. I started this journey with my friends, and I end it with them. Infectious wound or not.

Quickly, I glance through the chamber to make sure Romulus hadn't returned yet. Fortunately, he had used the main entrance to check the underground. So I would not accidentally run into him on my way to the surface.

I got up and hurried to put on my shoes, which were dirty and brown from the mud. Then I checked my white cloak and noted with satisfaction that it was almost completely dry. Only the fluffy edges on the cape and the hood were still a bit damp. Wasting no time, I pulled it from the rope and put it on.

Shortly before the tunnel entrance, I hesitated. It was not very nice of me to leave without saying goodbye to Romulus. But he would most likely not let me go, so I had no other choice than to leave quickly and secretly. But then something else occurred to me.

Almost automatically my hand grasped the pearl necklace which I still wore around my neck.

It didn't mean much to me, but it was still a nice accessory and I didn't have a better farewell present. So without thinking any further about it, I took the necklace off and put it neatly on one of the fabric piles. Then I turned back to the tunnel entrance, and with a silent farewell to the true king of the rats, I started my ascent to the surface. Thereby I swore to myself that, should I ever see him again, I would apologize for my disappearance.

It took him the complete day, but eventually Orestes reached a mountain range in the eastern valley. From his excursions with his father he knew that there had to be a cave somewhere nearby. He hoped to find Ursa in there, or at least a hint of her current whereabout.

Breathless, he finally caught an entrance between the snow-covered rocks and landed in front of it. Orestes didn't dare to fly straight inside, not knowing what was waiting for him. Instead, he carefully peaked inside. ''Hello?'' he whispered into the dark. ''Is anybody there... Ah!'' Without warning, something furry attacked him. Teeth and claws dig into his feathers and pushed him to the ground. The young owl tried to defend himself, but he was outnumbered.

''Guys, what are you doing? Get off him!''

Almost instantly, the crushing weight of his attackers took off and Orestes sat up to catch his breath and inspect his body. Except for a few lost feathers, he seemed to be fine and not seriously injured. Thank goodness.

"Say, what's the matter with you all? Don't you have eyes in your heads? That's Orestes. General Brutus' son.''

Orestes looked up and saw a bunch of forest critters huddled together in the cave. One of them a female white rabbit was snarling at a raccoon and a fox.

''It's bad enough his dad banished us. We don't need more trouble hurting his son.''

The two animals hung their heads in shame.

''We are sorry,'' they said. ''We thought it was someone dangerous.''

''What is he even doing here?'' a deer spoke up.

Everybody stared at him, causing Orestes to feel nervous. ''I...uh... I'm looking for Ursa.''

''What business do you have with her? Did Brutus send you?'' the racoon asked him distrustfully.

''No, my father has nothing to do with this. I need to find Ursa because Vanessa and Shade need her help.'' The other animals looked at him with surprise.

''You know Vanessa and Shade?'' the deer asked.

Orestes nodded. ''They are good friends of mine together with Marina Brightwing.''

The raccoon didn't seem to believe him. ''Why would you be friends with them? You are Brutus' son and he is the one who is after them.''

''So?'' Orestes frowned at the mammal. ''He might be my father, but I'm nothing like him. Unlike him, I want this stupid war to end before everything gets worse than it already is.'' He looked at them all. ''Please, just tell me where Ursa is and I'll be on my way again. I won't tell anyone that you guys are here. I promise.''

''Ursa left yesterday before sunrise, we haven't seen her again since,'' the she-rabbit told him.

''Oh,'' Orestes heart sank. ''Do you know where she was going?''

The rabbit thought for a moment. ''Not exactly. But she said she wanted to help stop this war as well. Though we have no idea which way she went.''

''I see,'' he said, ''Well, thank you for telling me anyway.'' The female white black bear must be looking for Shade, for that he was sure. If only he had been faster, he may wouldn't have missed her. How should he find her now?

The river!

Of course. Orestes eyes lit up. If Ursa was looking for Shade and Vanessa, then maybe he should just fly back to them as well.

Without further ado, the young owl said his goodbyes to the critters and flew back out into the night. Hoping to find his friends or Ursa.

AN: And there we go chapter 30 ^^ I hope you enjoy it.

I couldn't decide which name I should choose for Chinooks dad. The one he has in the books or the one they gave him in the series? Therefore, I thought of something different and made them twins. :D

Also, yes Mercury has a male mate in my story. Why? A: Because I can B: Because I want to ^^ xD

The reason I choose Icarus to be his mate was, I had no desire to come up with another OC of mine so I simply choose an already existing character from the books. Besides, he will play a major role later on.