A good night to enjoy the sweets of the land = A sort of secret code among rebellious younger flyers, used when they want to sneak off and do something forbidden without any elders catching on to their plans.

The Outsiders

It took several grueling attempts and a few painstaking moments of making an absolute fool of himself, but Vali soon returned to his brother, clasping a few scaly swimmers in his beak. It wasn't exactly his best work since the swimmers were small and not very fattening but the fact remained that large, decently sized swimmers were rare in the shallow waters that surrounded them. I'm going to kill you the next time I see you, Gale, he swore to himself.

Vali landed in a patch of sand, plopping the scaly swimmers down in front of the other male. He pushed the meal towards Orri with his beak, giving him an encouraging nod. In response, Orri merely looked down at the rather unappetizing swimmers.

"I'm sorry I don't have the kind you like," Vali sighed, lowering his head apologetically, "Someone else beat me to it, I'm afraid. You know Orri, sometimes I feel like clearing out of this forsaken island altogether."

Orri glanced at his brother, tempted to weigh in with his opinion but quickly deciding against it. It wasn't often that Vali voiced his dislike for their current lifestyle. If anything, he usually defended it, but his complaints were starting to become more frequent. Not wanting to upset his brother any further, Orri reluctantly took a bite out of the swimmer. He knew he shouldn't complain- food was food, after all. The unfortunate majority of creatures who lived in the outlands were lucky if they came across a meal at all.

Vali noticed the other's hesitation and sighed inwardly, lowering his head in exhaustion. "If you can't eat it, that's fine. You don't need to pretend to like it."

He tried to keep the frustration out of his voice for his brother's sake. The last thing Vali wanted was for Orri to feel like a burden. No one had ever called the young male a liability to his face, but actions often spoke louder than words. No one needed to tell him he was seen as dead weight, as he could tell by the way most flyers went out of their way to avoid him, and the way he could feel the weight of their scrutinizing stares on the back of his head. Even when they acted polite, Orri's sharp instincts could often decipher the truth behind the smile.

This was no different. Despite his brother's attempts to hide it, Orri still picked up on Vali's agitation. He crouched towards the ground, lowering his head in a submissive position, apologizing for his offense. "It's alright, Vali, really. I should be more grateful. I mean, it is food, isn't it?"

Vali frowned, having picked up on the quivering of Orri's voice. His brother wasn't the only observant one in the family. Having been thrust into the role of a carer as a youngling, Vali knew him the way a father would know his own son.

"Don't start, Orri," Vali warned, "it's alright. I wouldn't exactly want to eat this either, especially if I'm looking for an actual meal."

He scrunched up his beak before touching his beak to his brother's in a display of affection. "I'll go try and find some better ones for you. You are a growing flyer, after all. And with your health, you're going to need some proper sustenance."

"I'm guessing Gale took all the good scaly swimmers for himself again?"

Vali turned to see the tall and slender golden-brown form of a male flyer right behind him. He sat upon a moss covered rock, practically losing it over his own joke- which wasn't even all that funny to begin with.

"Afraid so, Scud," came Vali's utterly exasperated response as he braced himself for the oncoming headache.

"What I wouldn't give to see him choking on one of the scaly swimmers he stole," remarked Scud with a shake of his head, "the Circle of Life bites everyone in the ass at some point or another."

Vali rushed to cover his brother's ears, hissing at Scud to be quiet. "What's wrong with you? I've told you before to curb that foul tongue around my brother."

"I know what 'ass' means, Vali," Orri sighed, wriggling free of his brother's grasp, "I'm not a hatchling anymore."

"That's the problem with you shortbeaks," Vali scolded, "you all want so badly to be grown up but when it finally happens, you wish you were young again."

Scud cocked his head towards the side, hazel eyes glazed over in thought. "Wait... aren't you two the same age?"

"Now that you mention it... yes, we are. Vali just likes to act older than he actually is." Orri craned his head to look at Vali, an uncharacteristically smug grin on his beak.

"I still hatched first," Vali huffed, "but if that's how you're going to be... well, then I suppose you can bid those scaly swimmers goodbye."

Orri's eyes widened in horror. "No! Come on Vali, don't be like that, I was only joking!"

"Got you, shortbeak." The slightly larger flyer winked, laughing while tracing a claw over Orri's chest, causing the other to burst into laughter.

"S-Stop it!" Orri managed through fits of giggles, "Vali, I'm serious! Cut it out!"

"Who's your favorite brother?" Vali added another hand to his barrage of tickles, "Tell me who your favorite brother is and I'll stop."

While the two brothers were curled up into a heap of laughter, Scud spotted Gale making his way down towards the shore, ready to feast. Curious eyes watched the male swallow his unearned catch, only for it to get caught in his throat.

"Alright, alright! It's you!" Orri cackled until his stomach began to ache, tears flowing from his eyes. "It's you! You're my only brother- just let me go-!"

Scud couldn't help but laugh at the display of absurdity. "Vali, look. The Bright Circle's barely risen and already Gale's had more than he can handle."

Vali tore his eyes away from his brother, granting him his freedom. Dark blue eyes softened in a show of sympathy towards the currently choking flyer. "Poor Gale. I suppose somebody should help the lad before he chokes to death."

Both Orri and Scud showed their agreement through affirmative murmurs and nods, despite not budging from their current positions.

Vali rolled his eyes. It was already clear exactly which one of them would end up shouldering the responsibility. "Well, don't everybody fly off at once."

While Vali made his way over and proceeded to chastise Gupta for swallowing the scaly swimmer tail-first rather than headfirst, Orri decided to busy himself with staring at the clouds.

"Orri! Orriii!"

Orri whirled around to see Illyria darting towards him, her hyperactive movements inadvertently causing her to kick sand all over the place.

"Ugh," he winced, spitting out a few bits of sand that he'd accidentally inhaled, "why are you shouting?"

"Sorry," Illyria apologized, making room for herself right next to Orri, "But there's something important I have to tell you. It's a matter of life or death!"

"No offense, Illyria," Orri started, scratching the area behind his ear with his leg, "...but I think you and I have two different definitions of 'life or death'."

She opened her mouth to defend herself, only to close it mere seconds later. She definitely had a tendency to overreact, she'd grant him that much at least. "It's serious this time, I promise you." She lowered her voice to a whisper, "I... I talked to a wanderer."

Orri straightened up almost immediately. "I really hope this is your idea of a joke," he responded with just a glimmer of concern in his eyes, "wanderers never come here. And more importantly, anything about the outside world is forbidden, remember? You could get in serious trouble."

"Ancestors, not you too." Illyria rolled her eyes, "Just listen, alright? The wanderer's name is Yarrow. From what I could gather, he's probably looking for more flyers to join him before he takes off again. Safety in numbers, you know? And he suggested that younger flyers like us should join him!"

Orri drew in a gentle, quivering gasp, basically beaming. "We could know what it's like firsthand...!"

"...A good night to enjoy the sweets of the land?" Illyria peered knowingly at her friend, a mischievous grin laying upon her snaggletoothed beak.

To the adults, specifically the ones that had lived through more than several cold times, it might have seemed like the female was merely spouting nonsense, but Orri recognized the secret riddle. "No," he mouthed, "we shouldn't."

"Oh, come on," Illyria groaned, "You just said you'd like to witness it yourself! Don't be such a shortbeak."

"What are we talking about, kids?" Scud butted in. "Up to some mischief, are we?"

"No!" Orri and Illyria exclaimed in unison.

Scud laughed, thoroughly amused by how quick the kids were to cover up any evidence of their schemes. "Oh, don't you worry. I'm no blabbermouth. I can't say the same for that one over there, though."

He pointed a talon in the direction of Gale, who was too exhausted by his ordeal to even think about eating. Vali was still occupied with lecturing him about proper eating habits, although Scud was sure Gale would have preferred choking to death.

"If you two want to sneak off then by all means, go ahead. You just haven't lived unless you've done something that's against the rules at least once in your life." He gave them both an encouraging nudge, urging them forward. "Go on. I'll cover you."

Fresh out of excuses, Orri sighed defeatedly before following in Illyria's footsteps. "I used to be such a sensible flyer..."

They approached the thicket of trees, where surely enough, one of the sentinels was standing guard. The same one from earlier, in fact. Illyria smiled and walked right past the dark brown flyer, hoping that he'd let her pass through another time.

"Hold it." He blocked the pair's way in with his left wing, "Orri, Illyria, where do you two think you're going?" A pause. "...those are your names, right?"

Orri nodded affirmatively while Illyria did the talking, surprisingly chipper. "Good day, Aharon! How are you?"

"Cut the crap," he hissed, "I know you're on your way to meet the wanderer. You realize I saw you sneak off earlier, right?."

Illyria winced, clenching her fists while cursing herself for being so careless. The sentinels were loyal only to Faris, and no one else. She knew that. "...You're not going to tell him, are you?"

"Well, I didn't tell him the first time I saw you, so I won't tell him now since I'd like to keep my head on my shoulders." He bent over, looking Illyria in the eye. "So long as you two don't get caught. But I have to warn you, if Faris realizes where you are, there's nothing I can do. I'm sticking my neck out for you shortbeaks, but I'm not about to put my job on the line. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Orri answered, his body as rigid as a stick.

"Loosen up, son. Just Aharon is fine." Aharon then lowered his wing, stepping aside to let them through while scanning his surroundings. Once all was clear, he nodded to signal that they could go on ahead.

Illyria and Orri scampered into the foliage, Orri briefly circling back to the lone sentinel. "Thank you for this, Aharon. We both really appreciate it."

"Yes, yes, you're welcome," Aharon mumbled impatiently, "Just hurry and go before anyone else sees you."

"Right." Orri dipped his head respectfully, sauntering back over to where Illyria was waiting for him. Before long, both flyers had disappeared into the verdant forest, leaving not a single trace except for the very discernible footprints that were now embedded in the soil.

"Ah, I see you've brought a friend." Yarrow stepped out into the clearing as he saw Illyria approach with another flyer in tow. A welcoming smile on his face, he made his way over to the newcomer. "My name is Yarrow. What's yours?"

"Orri," he answered, still not able to muster the courage to look right at him just yet. Meeting new flyers always made Orri feel smaller than a buzzer.

The young one's nervousness was not lost on Yarrow, who chose not to acknowledge it for Orri's sake. "It's wonderful to meet you, Orri. Are you interested in seeing the outside world as well?"

Orri felt his heart drop, crouching lower and lower towards the ground. He was sure this was a trap, somehow. "Well, not really..."

"Come on, Orri," Illyria nudged him in the side, prompting him to let out a nearly comical sounding 'oof', "you can be honest."

"Vali will kill me if he finds out," Orri stated, still visibly afraid.

"Don't be so dramatic," Illyria laughed, "I mean, he goes into a tizzy if you have the smallest scratch on you! Look, I know you hate disappointing him, but you have to start living for yourself at some point."

"That's exactly right. There's really nothing to be afraid of, young one," Yarrow assured after directing an approving nod in Illyria's direction, "all we have to fear is fear itself."

"Here we go." Yuri glared scathingly at Yarrow, turning around to eat so he wouldn't have to listen to another one of his brother's cryptic riddles.

"I see you've now met my brother," Yarrow said in breathless exasperation, reciprocating the glare with one of his own, "his name is Yuri. He talks a big game, but he's harmless. Mostly."

"You kids should turn back right now if you don't wanna be bored to death," Yuri advised the two young flyers, not even making the slightest effort to be discreet about his lack of support for the other's plan.

Yarrow scowled at his brother and craned his neck to look back at Orri and Illyria. "Anyways... I figure I should explain myself a bit, just to clear the air, hm? If we are to survive in the outlands, or the Mysterious Beyond as many others call it, we must learn to trust each other first."

Orri couldn't help but feel like that comment was directed at him. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, taking shelter behind Illyria's forewing.

"My brother and I have been on our own for quite some time," Yarrow continued, "We chose to leave our flock, right about when we were your age, actually. We were young, eager and overconfident. What we had yet to learn was that the beyond does not discriminate. It can and will swallow you whole, regardless of how old or young you are. That's just the truth. We've seen so many wonders and we hope to see many more, but we're also looking for a place to settle down. Maybe a high, lonely place with enough water to sustain us. We were actually thinking of this place when we saw it, but... well, Illyria can tell you just how smoothly that went."

Illyria let a shrug roll off of her shoulders, a light but awkward chuckle escaping her beak. "Mhm. Faris doesn't exactly take too kindly to others encroaching on his so-called territory."

"It's just how things have always been done," Orri reasoned, coming to Faris' defense, "He's only trying to keep us safe."

"Just by that sentence alone, I can tell you have a kind heart," Yarrow pointed out, unfazed, "make sure you keep it that way, Orri. It's rare to find a soul in the Mysterious Beyond that hasn't been embittered."

"Yep," Yuri agreed through a mouthful of water, "the Mysterious Beyond will chew you up and spit you out a hundred times over. If you can keep that same attitude after all that crap, even I would be impressed."

Yarrow nodded his head, concurring with his brother's statement. "If you lose hope, then you lose. You'll just become fodder for the Mysterious Beyond, just another name. I know it sounds sappy, but hope is what kept my brother and I alive. Of course you can't survive on hope alone, but believing you can is already half of the journey."

Hope. That wasn't something Orri ever had much of, and perhaps that was exactly the problem. He dared to dream of a better place, but never dared to hope of one. With an optimistic glimmer in his eyes, he finally summoned the courage to look directly at the elder. "...Please, can you tell us more?"

Outside the thick cover of green, Aharon diligently stood guard, sending anyone who even glanced at him wrong fleeing in the opposite direction. Or at least he was prepared to do so, if it ever came to that. As someone who'd ventured off on many escapades as a young flyer, he understood what it was like, wanting the slightest taste of thrill and adventure.

Suddenly, a faint rustle from the grass caught his attention. His pupils constricted, his entire body poised to attack as he sniffed the air, trying to gauge the supposed threat. When he saw Faris emerge from the thin blades of green, Aharon felt a sense of relief, only to resume panicking less than a second later. Anyone else he could handle, but not Faris!

Regardless, he masked his panic and dipped his head respectfully. "Greetings, sir. What brings you here?"

"Have you seen Illyria?" Faris inquired, "Or Orri? Vali informed me that he turned around for a moment and Orri was gone. I wonder where they could have gotten to..."

"I'm afraid I haven't seen them, sir, I've been standing here this whole time, and they haven't passed through." Aharon remained stoic and stony faced, hoping that his superior wouldn't see through his act. If Faris found out he lied... Aharon didn't even want to think about it.

Faris paused to sniff the air. "Strange... Illyria's scent is still fresh. I know because that girl rolls around in the dirt all day, and she has a very strong scent." A hearty laugh escaped his beak, Aharon laughing along with him to guarantee that he stayed on the older flyer's good side.

The laughter came to an abrupt and sudden end when Faris' eye caught a footprint, mere inches away from where Aharon stood. Crouching over, he took a whiff of the soil. Although the footprints quickly disappeared, he could see a trail of leaves directly ahead of him. "That's Illyria's scent, alright. Looks like she went further inland..."

The realization dawned on Faris, and it took all of Aharon's willpower to remain calm and collected. The leader of the sentinels was no fool, there was no doubt that he'd already put the pieces together.

"That little... she went to talk to the wanderer! She probably roped poor Orri into it too," Faris fumed, "Aharon, follow me. I'll need my strongest sentinel in case those murderous outsiders want to try any foul play."

"But sir, my shift is nearly over," Aharon protested. He was looking for any excuse to keep the other from following that trail.

"What about it? The next flyer knows what to do when he gets here. Now come!" He began to advance forward only to stop in his tracks before letting out a high pitched screech, shouting out a single name.

"Nightwing!"

A dark blue flyer, a bit runtish in stature but a swift flyer nonetheless, swooped down. "I'm here, sir. What is it?"

"Nightwing," Faris began, addressing the other flyer by name, "Listen to me. I need you to go find Vali, tell him to come here and to wait for me. Got it?"

Nightwing nodded, setting off to carry out his orders. Left with no further delays or excuses, Aharon had no choice but to follow his superior, and to hope that Orri and Illyria had already cleared out of the area before they arrived.

Thank you all for your patience! I know this chapter took a bit longer to get released than it should have, and I do apologize for that. This semester has been incredibly hectic but I only have about two months left so I hope to get some writing in! There's not much happening in this chapter which was intentional, since it's intended to act sort of like a bridge between the previous installment and the one that's to come, and I hope you all are looking forward to that and seeing what'll happen to our hopeful, young flyers. Now with all of that out of the way, it's time to respond to some reviews!

The Rhombus:

Thank you for your helpful feedback as always! :) Your assessment of Vali and Orri was pretty spot on, haha. But I'm glad to hear that it kept your interest, and I hope it'll continue to do so.