I woke again to complete darkness. Sleep had moved me onto my stomach, and a clump of feathers lay dormant under my palm. Still weary, I didn't shift at all, hoping sleep would return quicker if I didn't move.

The door to my room opened almost noiselessly, to signal the change of guards.

"Is he sleeping?"

"Yes."

A hiss of disdain escaped one guard's lips, "Why isn't he dead? This was the perfect chance!"

"I couldn't do anything! The doctors flitted in here left and right. His parents, his aunt, the Royal Flight…"

"Lie! You couldn't have stretched the truth? Delayed the doctor's treatment? This was the opportune moment!"

I stiffened, trying to keep my breathing regular and lethargic. What were they talking about?

"You waited too long," spat the first voice in a low tone, "Now we have to use the fall back plan. You idiot. This would have kept any of our people out of danger!"

Desperately, I tried to fight my panic. If I got too excited, they'd see me shift and know I was awake.

"Then why don't you do it now? Nobody's here but you, and him. Look at him sleeping, it would be easier than clipping a hawk."

Oh gods, they meant to kill me! My hand clenched unconsciously, and then I froze, hoping they had not seen it. What was I to do? If I moved, they would know I was awake and kill me for what I had heard. Yet if I lay here, they may kill me anyway. Then, I felt Samka stir under my fingers. I eased my fingers tighter, trying not to give away my movement. Samka didn't like the increasing tautness, and shuffled uneasily. I pinched one of his feathers and he jerked, and I knew he was awake. He moved grudgingly, retaking his place by my head. Behind the dark of my eyelids, his warmth was a comfort.

Until I heard the sound of a knife being slid from a sheath.

Apparently, Samka heard it too. He raised his head and ruffled his feathers, tickling my skin as if to say, "I've got this covered." And sure enough, the noise stopped.

"That bird…" the second voice murmured, "It's poisonous, and very protective of the kid."

Samka leapt, and I heard his beak snap shut on empty air. The first voice cursed as the second chuckled. "Get out of here," the first, the one who had drawn his knife, sighed to the other. I heard the door click open and shut, signaling the exit, and the lone guard tossed himself into the chair by my bed. Despite my fear, I felt sleep creeping upon me again. Samka set himself by my head, and the rapid patter of his heart in my ear lulled me.

…*…

"Iza, babe, how are you feeling?"

For the first time in months, I smiled before opening my eyes. "Jezzi," I grinned, focusing on her flowing raven hair and glittering garnet eyes.

She broke open a wide smile, "The one and only!" She leaned forward, heedless of her low-cut shirt, and pressed her elbows on her knees, "How do you feel?"

"Hungry," I promptly answered. Jezzi was pure serpiente, my only cousin. A few years older than I, she was a bit on the reckless side, and, to the shock of both cultures, was courting an avian man.

She flipped her long hair over her shoulder and reached for a plate on the table beside my bed. I sat up, disturbing Samka, and took the plate into my lap. The black hawk sat by my side, eyeing my plate suspiciously. I grinned and held a morsel for him, which he accepted reluctantly. Jezzi was looking at the hawk with interest, "Do you think he can shift?"

"I really don't know," I chomped on my meal, my first in days, "He hasn't made any attempt to…"

"Too bad it isn't a girl," Jezzi sighed, getting that wistful look in her eyes that spoke of romanticism, "You two could fall in love, wed, and not disturb either culture! How lovely!" She paused, "Then again, being the same sex never stopped anyone."

I choked on my drink, spitting it over Samka and my sheets. Jezzi laughed and helped wipe my face, handing me a napkin for Samka. The little beast wouldn't hold still, and I had to press his jaw shut to keep him from biting me in annoyance. I had a feeling that he was only attacking me half-heartedly now, rather than biting me like the day of our meeting. Maybe he was warming up to me.

"It's good to see you looking so flushed," Jezzi laughed, "When they first brought you home, you were so pale! And you haven't been laughing recently."

I shrugged, releasing Samka's beak to finish my meal. Jezzi cast another look at the now-sticky bird, "Is it that much of a comfort to know there's another like you?"

I didn't allow my eyes to leave my plate, "It means I'm not alone."

Jezzi's cool fingers brushed my hair back, "Babe, you were never alone."

Not ready for her pity, I pulled away, "You don't understand."

She slipped from the chair and climbed the bed, straddling my outstretched legs and forcing me to look at her. "Babe," she breathed, "I raised you. I can read you better than you can read yourself, and I know you better than anyone. Don't dare tell me I don't understand. You think it's easy to love an avian? Even Mother voiced her disapproval. It's hard. My friends have become wary of me, and the people look at me as if I am crazy. Please don't shut me out now, not after seventeen years." She suddenly grinned, "My love is made easier because of you. You are evidence that hawks and snakes can sleep side by side." Jezzi grabbed my head between her hands and kissed my forehead, "I love you, babe, and if you are happy you don't need to explain to me. Just be happy."

I stared at her. It was common for serpiente to talk like this, to lay it out for the other. It was their culture. But never before had it been directed at me. To be honest, I didn't quite know what to do. Before I could embarrass myself, Jezzi gracefully leapt off the bed and sank into her chair, "So, what's its name?"

"Samka," I replied, feeling slightly relieved. She knew I wasn't used to such blatant displays of affection, being raised partly in avian society.

She laughed, "Doesn't that mean 'pest'?" I shrugged, as if it would be obvious.

"He is a little pest. He bit me, made me chase him around the floor of my room, bit a guard, and now he's eating my food!" I yanked the plate from him, and he squeaked. I glared at him, "Mine." He snapped his beak at me, but made no move to actually hurt me. I considered it a victory on my part. Then, I remembered something. "Jezzi," I looked at here, "who was in here last night?"

"The guards."

"Yes, but who specifically?"

"I'm not sure," she tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Whoever was available probably. Why?"

"I heard something," I lowered my voice in case someone was posted outside the door, "Someone wants me dead."

She stared at me a moment, then burst out laughing, "Dead!? But you're so much better alive!"

I felt rage creep up in my mind. She didn't believe me. "I mean it! I heard the guards talking last night! There's some sort of plan taking place, and they wanted me dead!"

Jezzi had calmed by now, "The guards? Honestly, Iza, can't you be more creative than that? The guards are completely loyal to Uncle, no one would dare harm you."

"If they harm me, they jeopardize the peace," I argued, very annoyed that she wasn't taking this seriously.

"Iza, the last assassination attempt took place fifteen years ago! People are happy! They don't want to destroy the peace."

I frowned, clenching my fists. I really didn't have any proof to give her, and I doubt I could recognize the two voices if I heard them again. I did know that they were snakes, however, so that narrowed it down to one nation…

"That poison must have gone to your head, little cousin," Jezzi stood.

"I'm telling the truth!" my jaw dropped. I hadn't expected her to disregard me. Perhaps play along, but to blatantly shoot me down? She patted my head consolingly before leaving. I let a run of feathers course over my body after the door closed, venting my anger and frustration. Samka enjoyed the show, chasing the feathers up my arm. "Can you shift?" I caught him up in my hands and held him eye-level. He cocked his head at me curiously. I set him on my covers and shifted quickly, startling him.

At the stunned look on his face, I grinned inwardly. I snapped at him effectively catching him unawares and sending him scuttling backwards. Hopefully he realized I was just playing. If not, I could just fly for a guard.

He extended his wings to make himself look huge. I knew this trick, for my wingspan was actually bigger than his. I screeched impatience, and he stumbled forward, holding his wings out still, in an effort to frighten me.

One of the advantages of being part-snake was a fluidity of motion that was nearly impossible to predict. Using this, I caught him off-guard with a quick lunge that sent him reeling backwards, stunned but unharmed. Samka caught on quickly to my fighting style, however, and I couldn't get near enough to hit him again. Instead, I lifted myself into the air, catching nearly unsupportive wind currents to take me to the door. I landed on the ground, only to be knocked over by a mass of black feathers. He had followed me, trailing my pattern on the air. We tumbled now, each trying to get a decent hold on the other without injuring him.

I vaguely heard the door hinge open, and Mother's worried cry suddenly pierced the room. A golden hawk joined the fray, and I immediately drew back in surprise. Samka was just as taken as I was, and he retreated to the far corner of my bed at the sigh to her majestic presence. She shifted, and stormed over to the bed. Before she could do anything, however, I shifted in pure panic at what she might be planning, "No!" I stumbled to my feet, slightly weary after our roughhousing, "He was just playing! I started it!"

Mother paused, uncertain, "How do you know he was just playing?"

"He hasn't purposefully tried to bite me since I took him in," I argued, "He only bit the guard because he thought I was in danger. He was playing."

"He is wild."

I felt my eyes widen, "Mother! He's part of your people! He's Father's people also! He's not wild!" Unintentionally I had spit the words at her. Whether Samka knew it or not, he had just been insulted deeply. It didn't matter if he felt it or not, I felt it for him. "Just because he cannot shift doesn't make him uncivilized!" Black feathers began forming in my hair, and running over my clenched fists. How dare she? She of all people should know who was uncivilized! Her family had fought a war for centuries, with no meaning of provocation that could be recalled. Warriors were uncivilized, not a black hawk who had no family to speak of, or could not shift.

Her face drained of anger slowly, and she turned her back on the quaking bundle of feathers at my pillow. I walked over and lifted him carefully, and I held him as he tried to stop shaking. "I see you are feeling better," Mother remarked pleasantly. I nodded. "Are you well enough for a journey to the Keep?" Again I nodded. "Your Father leaves tomorrow." The unspoken hint was evident. I was to leave with Father. Mother would fly after us, leaving a day head start for us. I was not to shift, but to ride out with Father. Even though I was a bird, Mother was uncomfortable around my animal form.

My fingers laced through Samka's feathers, gripping them tightly. The poor bird pretended not to notice. Mother left my room, and closed the door gently behind her. I walked to my window and stared out, absently stroking a perturbed Samka. He shuffled his feathers and jumped from the crook of my arm. He clambered up my shoulder, using my sleeves for claw-holds, and sat on my shoulder. "You're heavy," I murmured, not really caring but just speaking for the sake of speaking. He rubbed his head against my cheek, and I allowed my black feathers to meld with his in gratitude.

A/N- Thanks to Anatis Writer for her idea for Jezzi!