Disclaimer: Not mine

*

Maisy nodded to the washwomen as she trotted down the row, a note for Trowa Green-eye scrunched in her fist.

The sound of weary hooves drew her notice as a tired horse plodded slowly past. Astride his back, straight and tall despite his drained face and travel-worn clothes sat a gorgeous young man. Her breath caught in her throat, and she thought she would swoon (not again, some part of her thought), when his slanted eyes caught hers for a moment, then dismissed her. His black hair, caught up in a tight ponytail, looked almost blue in the harsh light.

Maisy sighed as she watched the mare drag herself and his rider away. An odd sort of hush followed them down the street. As they left her sight, Maisy felt a stab of self-pity. Why were all these noble soldiers so handsome, when none of them would ever look at her?

She was sure someone up there must hate her.

*

Wufei dismounted from Nataku, trying to hide the weakness in his leg. It would not do for him to be seen as anything less than strong.

Striding up the hill, he strode into the largest tent, assuming that the most important man would be in there. He was right.

Heero glanced up irritably, as the intruder stalked in. Behind him, Duo twisted around on his pallet to get a better look at the stranger. Heero's hand dropped to his sword hilt.

"Yes?" he asked dangerously. The stranger glanced dismissively at him, "Who are you?"

Heero's eyes narrowed dangerously and Duo stood, ready to either restrain him, or aid his knight master. "I am Sir Heero Yuy. Who are you?" he snapped. The baka's arrogance was grating on his nerves.

"Chang Wufei, the Solitary Dragon. I bring news from Fabrisia."

Heero straightened, shoving any personal dislike into a far corner of his mind. "Then tell us your news," he said in a tone usually reserved for imbeciles. Perhaps he wasn't quite so successful at hiding his distaste after all.

A flush of anger spread over Wufei's features. "Jehon in the east has been destroyed by the Airmessens. The survivors are scattered, the buildings have been annihilated and the Airmessens are on the move."

Heero nodded brusquely, pulling a map out from the pile of parchment near his feet. Duo silently passed him a small bag, and Heero removed several colored stones from it.

"Where exactly did you say they were?"

Wufei moved closer, pausing to shoot an incredulous look at Duo at the length of his hair. Duo gave him a sunny smile. Heero made an impatient noise, and Wufei hastily snatched the pebbles and placed them exactly where he had last seen the Airmessens.

Heero frowned. He had been hoping for something like this, but now that he had it, he was more confused than ever. The stones, placed by Wufei and the others already on the map, made a pattern, but he didn't understand it, and couldn't imagine why the Airmessens would choose a shape like that.

Behind him, a shadow of worry crossed over Duo's face, as he stared at the shape formed on the map. Where had...? Oh yes.

The pebbles formed the exact shape of the little golden star.

Yet somehow, after stumbling across this odd similarity, the information slipped through Duo's mind like water, and once again, lay forgotten.

*

Duo yelped as he felt the earth below his feet slipping. Quatre grabbed his shoulder, and Duo gave a grateful smile to the little blonde.

The two squires were searching for firewood. In a camp such as theirs, fuel disappeared faster than a rat up a drainpipe. Over the past few weeks, the firewood in the area had gradually been disappearing, and they had to roam further and further out to find it.

Duo could hear the rushing water of the river as it babbled below the steep hill they were climbing. He wondered exasperatedly why Yhman had so many bloody hills. At least there was some shade on this one. A few decades ago, The deceased Queen Aiileya had ordered a timber plantation here. Currently the trees were bare, but their thick, interlacing branches provided dappled cover.

Quatre smiled at him. "So...." he said after a gap in the conversation. "What was it like in Maxwell?"

Duo shrugged. "It was... nice. Homey. Now that I think about it, it really was the perfect place to grow up, apart from my cousins. But... I'm glad I'm out of there, in a way. There is such a thing as too much security."

Quatre nodded. "I met someone the other day," he said slowly "who came from Maxwell. His name was Ariel, and he got rather angry when I mentioned you."

Duo nodded. "He's my cousin. He's a real evil bastard, not literally of course. He would kill himself if a drop of common blood were to soil his pure veins!" the braided boy said dramatically.

Quatre, surprisingly, frowned. "I don't think so. I have... I suppose it's a sixth sense. I'm not boasting, honestly. I'm a very good judge of people's characters though. And he doesn't seem like such an awful person to me. A snob, yes. Sneaky, yes. Ambitious, definitely. But evil? I don't think so."

Duo wasn't so sure about that. Ariel was a jealous little sadist, and always would be.

As they reached the ridge of the hill, the two boys paused for a break. Below them, through the bleak tree trunks, they could see the twisting ribbon of the river.

Quatre stood still for a moment, his legs feeling heavy. In his country, the land was mostly flat, and he was still unused to uphill travelling. As he paused, his eyes narrowed. He could see movement, down at the base of the hill. Black... shadows? flickered through those of the trees.

Quatre's blood ran cold.

And the shadows were moving. They were too squat for deer, the only large animal in the area. And... Were those wings? "Fins," Quatre whispered, "they're fins."

"Airmessens!" Duo hissed, his hand locking around Quatre's wrist.

The squires pelted back the way they came, stumbling and slipping on the shaky soil. A rock came loose under Quatre's feet, and the blonde squire fell, and rolled through the tree trunks, until finally he collided with one, knocking the wind out of him. Duo ran after him, reaching him just as the first catlike face reached the crest of the hill.

Duo swore as Quatre stood, a little shaky but stable enough, and they resumed their flight.

The headlong race with the Airmessens passed in a blur for Quatre, and later he found it hard to remember anything. His head ached, and the world seemed to spin around him.

Duo was torn. On one hand, the army had to know the Airmessens were approaching. On the other, Quatre was moving slowly, and there was a dazed look in his blue eyes. The braided boy growled in frustration, as he raced back yet again to his friend.

Some yards away, Trowa was searching for the errant squires. They had been gone far longer than they should have been. His sensitive picked up the sound of fleeting footsteps, and then slower, more uncertain treads.

Trowa spun, just in time to see the two figures break free of the forest. The urgency in their movements bothered him, and as he approached he spotted the telltale braid. Behind them, a finned head slipped into view.

Trowa assessed the situation in an instant. Running to Quatre, he scooped up the blonde boy, and leaped after Duo towards the camp.

Behind them the lead Airmessens wasn't keen on leaving the cover of the forest. It paced back and forth on its strong legs, eyes glimmering, though it was impossible to tell where the pupil-less eyes were looking.

The three had just reached the borders of the camp when the pack charged from the safety of the forest.

Bells tolled from the makeshift watchtowers as the glimmering black creatures approached, their long strides eating at the space between them and the camp. Now that they had left the cover of the trees, it was clear there were at least a dozen of them.

Duo darted away from Trowa, and tore up the hill towards their tent. As he reached the top and pushed through the flaps, he saw Heero's sword was already gone. Grabbing his own from his blankets, Duo spun around and loped back down the hill. The women and children toiling up in the opposite direction, trying to find the safest place, were slowing him down. Duo became caught up in the flow, and was slowly being pushed further and further from the scene of battle. He could hear the roars of warriors, but the Airmessens remained eerily silent.

Finally Duo broke free of the crowd, and practically flew the rest of the way.

The Airmessens, in the short time since their appearance, had managed to destroy three watchtowers and at least thrice that many tents. Now the creatures were fighting on the ripped fabric remains, and, impossibly, seemed to be winning. There were at least ten men for each Airmessens, and hundreds more ringed the battle scene. Duo searched fruitlessly for Heero, but could see no sign of the cobalt-eyed knight.

A cry drew his attention, as first one man, then another, was thrown across the circle of watching soldiers. At once, every man turned to look at his neighbours, with one thought running through their minds. All it took was for one to voice that thought.

"CHARGE!"

The army thundered forward, pinning the Airmessens in their midst. This seemed to daunt even those beings, as they began fight their way towards the edge of the camp. One by one, the creatures were felled, until the last two were mere shadows, streaking back into the protection of the forest.

Duo sat with his sword on his knees, panting. Blood dripped from his wounded hand and pooled in his palm. Something prompted him to look up, and his eyes looking instantly onto the figure of a squire, his red hair seeming strangely dull in the strong sunlight.

It was Ariel. His normally moon pale hair was dyed a deep crimson as the blood seeped from a wound on his head. The hind claw of an Airmessens had clipped him. He was not unduly concerned, as head wounds always bled more than others.

His knight-master, Sir Bredingwhaith, strode towards him. The portly knight was uninjured, and even his hair was unruffled. Ariel felt a smattering of disgust for the man, a coward and a craven. Ariel might not be the most moralistic of nobles, not by a long shot, but he despised cowards, along with tattle-tales and usurpers.

"By the gods, boy, you'd better get that head bandaged quick smart!" huffed Bredingwhaith. Ariel gave a sullen nod, and turned on his heel towards the medics' tent. Behind him, Bredingwhaith bristled at being dismissed by the insolent cur. That arrogant young cub could use some manners.

*

Heero scowled at the nicks in his blade. Airmessens were never easy opponents, and for some reason they seemed stronger when fighting in groups.

His mind was working uneasily, plotting the Airmessens positions on his mental map. They didn't quite fit the star shape, and were just a bit out of alignment. Even more troubling was their emergence from the forest. No one was sure whether the Airmessens were merely intelligent and vicious animals or whether they thought like humans. Most people tended to opt for the former, believing if they looked like animals, they thought like them.

Heero had learned long ago not to judge by appearance.

The Airmessens were forming a pattern with their attacks. They were systematically annihilating food sources. They were using political situations, such as in Fabrisia, to their advantage.

Random acts? Not likely.

Heero's head snapped up as Duo walked past. The squire hadn't noticed him in the milling men, and Heero reached out to grab his elbow. Duo winced as he swung around, Heero's eyes locking on to the bloody scratch that ran along his palm. He raised his gaze in question.

"Someone was careless with their knife." Duo said shortly.

Heero nodded, and turned towards the hill and their tent, hand still wrapped around Duo's elbow.

Once inside, Heero snatched up a roll of bandage, conveniently placed on his flimsy table, and slumped into the single chair. Without comment, Duo offered his hand.

"You were the first to see them?" Heero asked, already knowing the answer. Without waiting for a reply he continued, "They must have crossed the river at the ford. I told Treize we needed a guard post there, but 'Fabrisia is top priority...' "

Duo stared. Was Heero grumbling?

Heero continued to list all the security measures that should have been placed around the camp as he bandaged Duo's hand. Duo watched the bandage unwind with an almost hypnotic concentration. His hand was no longer stinging, and he felt detached from the situation. He wondered briefly if he had hit his head like Quatre, but quickly dismissed the idea.

Duo wasn't sure how he should react to his first real skirmish. The sudden charge of the crowd had been preceded by an almost electric tension running around the ring of watching eyes. The hunger for bloodshed had been almost tangible, and Duo had found himself caught up in the ambience.

*

Wufei frowned as he surveyed the scene of the fight. The trampled canvas and churned earth clearly marked the site. Wufei was more than a little disturbed by the regularity of the marks. In particular, the clear imprints of the Airmessens claws. That particular shape had been popping up far too often lately.

Wufei grimaced in distaste as he skirted around the mutilated corpse of one of the Airmessens. Yellow, ichorous blood seeped from the remains, and one empty silver eye stared up at him.

Turning away from the carcasses, Wufei became aware of the circumspect stares directed at him.

Shaking his head, Wufei dismissed the thoughts. He had no time for weaklings.

*

Well, this one was a little bit shorter than the rest, sorry. Thankyou to the Peace Person for betaing, and thanks to everyone else who reviewed chapter 5. That's about it. I'll try to get the next one out faster.