Mattie watched them go away. "What do we do while they're gone. I have a bad feeling about Alfred…." he said. Tino glanced over at them. "You think your brother is hurt or something? If so, we should make the others aware of that," he said. Matthew shook his head. "He's not hurt….I just have a feeling that he managed to screw up our plan somehow…" he said.
Sylvia raised an eyebrow. "How so?" she asked. Matthew sighed and concentrated on his brother. "...I don't think he's at the house any more," he said. Mathias blinked. "What? Did they move him? Did they move the wings too? Crap, what would this do to our plan?" he asked. Matthew sighed and shook his head. "The idiot left on his own...I don't feel as if he's panicking about anything. Just tired," he said.
Gilbert frowned. "He escaped. That's a good thing. We just need to tell the others! All they have to worry about is meeting up with him and getting your wings now!" he said. Matthew scowls. "Knowing Alfred, he has a completely separate plan to come back and take out Alecai. I have no idea where he's going. He could get himself killed if he tries any stunts."
"I'm sure your brother knows better than that. I mean, he knew we were going to come after him," said Mathias. Matthew gave him a look. "We thought he'd stay put too. You guys don't now Alfred. He may know better but he's willing to ignore better judgement if it gets him results," he said.
Sylvia groaned. "Are you a hundred percent sure?...It could just be the start of the spell getting to you or stress about all of this. I'm sure Alfred is fine and where he needs him to be, mon ami," she said. Matthew shook his head. "N-Non..I'm sure there's something wrong. I-I need to contact him again. Make sure he's alright. If anything happens to him, it's on me," he said.
"Mathieu, you're already not feeling the best...it may not be a good idea to strain yourself in trying to contact him. Before it was necessary but right now, I'm sure the others can handle it. We don't know if straining yourself will make the spell's sideeffects worse on you. It's not safe Mattie," she said softly.
Before Matthew can argue, Gilbert jumped in. "And your brother is also being drained too by a spell...It takes a lot of energy to talk to other people when they're far away. You could not only wear yourself down or wear him donw. Both of you would have to expell some energy to keep the conversation up, even if it's only for a minute," he said.
Matthew hesitated. "I-Is it possible for me to take on the brunt of the energy loss? Arthur can cut the link between my wings and I if it gets too bad...I just need to know he's safe. I rather have my brother back than my wings," he said. Sylvia studied him for a few seconds before sighing.
"I'll give you the energy you need then...Just try not to take too long. It's difficult to extrenally facilitate a telepathic conversatin, especially when I'm not fully bonded with one of them," she said. Matthew frowns. "Fully bonded?" he asked. She waved him away. "Siblings are born with a connection. And if you're bonded to people who's already bonded to someone, but you're not bonded to them, you are a bit more sensitive to them than normal," she said.
Matthew hesitated. "But what about you?" he asked. Sylvia shook her head. "Don't worry about that. I can spare a little," she said, He nodded and started concentrating on connecting with his brother. He felt Sylvia put her hands, followed by an sudden eletrical jolt of energy. Feeling a little bit better, he used his bond with his twin to try to jumpstart a conversation.
I have like, 9% of a plan. That's something right?
Alfred could feel himself aching as they walked through the forest. So far, they've gotten past three traps but after his wings got lightly singed by a trap that threw fireballs, he was starting to get tired of being in pain...and being tired. That pendant sure was doing its job, that's for sure. "Are we almost there? I don't remember the last time I've walked this far," muttered Irunya.
"Well you have been trapped in there for a few decades, only to be let out whenver we can convince Alecai to let you out so you could walk around. It's no wonder that this is a bit difficult for the both of us," said Natalia. Alfred sighed. "But she does have a point. It's not going to be much farther, is it? The sooner we get out of here the sooner my feathers can stop standing on end," he said.
Natalia huffed. "He didn't say how long it would be before we reach the exit point. Just that the trails he mark will eventually reach the exit points," she said. "How long have we been out here?" asked Irunya. "About twenty minutes, judging by the sun and shadows," muttered Alfred. "We just have to watch where we step from here. If we accidentally brush against the net ourselves, Alecai will know about it. We'll have to use branchs to prop it up," said Natalia.
Alfred blinked. "How would he know?" he asked. "It has a magical spell on it. He was bragging about it the one time Natalia and I asked him about a prisoner who wasn't able to get away the first time Nat helped him escape," said Irunya quietly. Alfred glanced at her. "You said Alecai hadn't been able to harvest any avian wings or magic on his own," he said. Natalia sighed. "He brushed up against the net. It fried him," she said bluntly.
Alfred winced. "Oh...ouch. So no touching the net. Got it," he said. Alfred looked around and found a broken branch laying at the base of a tree. "Here, we can use this as a way to figure out where the net is without bursting into flames or something," he said. Natalia took the branch away from him and handed it to Irunya. "Let someone with two working arms hold the branch," she said.
Alfred scolwed. "I'm fine...though now that you mention it, I should probably put it in a splint. I set it as best as I could," he said, holding his arm carefully. Natalia sighed. "If you just let me heal it, we wouldn't have to worry about it. We can have your brother severe the bond later. Your brother is Arthur Kirkland, correct?" she asked. Alfred nodded and thought about it before sighing.
"I guess...but lets out of here before we try doing that. The sooner we get out of here, the better our chances of not getting recaptured or having our escape found out," said Alfred. Natalia nodded before jumping at a shriek coming from Irunya. They both spun around and found her holding a burning branch. "I think I found the net….Nata, help me find another branch," said Irunya, frantically blowing at the stick until it finally extinguished.
Natalia found a branch and ran over to her sister, careful to avoid any traps. The two sisters managed to prop a section of the net up before letting Alfred crawl through first. After he manage to stumble through, he held up a branch so Irunya could crawl through next. Then, they helped Natalia get through before carefully knocking the branches down and tossing them aside so if Alecai came by that portion of the net, no one would notice.
The trio got up and quickly ran into the forest, deciding that it was best to get away as fast as they could and take a break when they got to tired and takinging easy from there. Alfred winced with every step, his ankle not fully appreciating the fact that they were finally free. It was especially awkwared to run on one bad ankle while having told hold his arm close in hopes that he wouldn't accidentally jolt it, which he did about ten or more times. It was getting hard to hold back the tears from doing this.
To Alfred's relief, they only ran about twenty minutes before Irunya started begging that they stop so she could catch her breath. The minute the trio stopped, Irunya sunk to her knees, gasping for breath. Alfred immediately let himself drop to the ground before rolling onto his back, panting. Natalia crawled over to him and tugged on his good arm. "Give me your other arm. We still have to walk another mile before we can be sure we're out of Alecai's sight. Cant' have you limping the entire way," she said.
"I can manage another mile," said Alfred, his face getting a bit red. Natalia huffed. "I'm not risking all three of our freedom on that. I'm healing you and that's the end of it," she said sternly. He sighed and handed her his arm. She carefuly planted her hands around the break, making him supress a whimper, before closing her eyes and concentrating. "Just don't get all sleepy after this, we need you to help us find that village," she said.
Alfred started relaxing as he felt a cooling sensation go through him. He didn't even notice her set his arm and continue healing it. Natalia worked silently, moving to his ankle once his arm was somewhat healed. When she was done, there were little beads of sweat covering her forehead. "That pendant makes it extremely difficult to heal you. It's like I'm exerting two or three times the energy these injuries normally need to heal," she said.
"Sorry...I didn't think about that. You think you'll still be able to walk and fly the rest of the way?" he asked. A flash of something went across her face but she nodded. Irunya smiled as she watched the two of them. "I feel much better now. Do you two need a bit more time or are we ready to get going again? I'm sure Alecai must be at least suspicious that Natalia hasn't called for ingredients for lunch yet," she said.
Natalia nodded. "I'm okay and yes, I'm ready to get going now. You're right. We can't just stand around. Alfred, are you able to go too?" she asked. Aflred nodded and stood up, grinning at the Belarussian as he found that his ankle was perfectly fine. She gave him a brief nod before helping her sister up and starting to walk. He stumbled and quickly caught up with the two of them, correcting their course so they could get to the village easier. Alfred found that even though they heard of the village, only Nat has ever been there and that was by chance.
After another twenty minutes of walking, they finally reached a clearing where they could all stretch their wings without worrying about space. Irunya let out an excited giggle. "I can't believe it...After all these years, I'm finally free and able to fly! It's been so long! Nat, do you remember the last time we've been able to fly together? What if I've forgotten how to do it?" asked Irunya in a long ramble.
Nat smiled for the first time in a long time. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it. If not, I'm sure a quick shove out a tree will be enough to give you a reminder on how to do it," she said. Irunya playfully swatted her sister. "Don't be that way. I'm sure you're right. Hopefully Vanya can get away from Alecai without getting hurt. I would hate it if he gets hurt because we escape," said Irunya, momentarily looking worried.
"Irunya, don't worry! My flock combined with Ivan and the others will be sure to take down won't let Ivan get seriously hurt. Alecai is the only one who has anything to really worry about," said Alfrd, putting a reassuring hand on Irunya's shoulder. Irunay gave him a smile. "I hope you're right. It's wonderful that so many people are willing to come together to help Vanya get out of this mess," she. Natalia and Alfred exchanged a look. "It is," said Natalia quietly.
Alfred jumped up and gave his wings a couple of flaps before hovering. "You guys thing you're able to mange it?" he thinks. Natalia nodded and jumped up before hovering next to him. Irunya needed a few more minutes to be able to get in the air, but once she was able to she gave them both a bright smile. "I miss this feeling so much. Let's get going! I want to get above the clouds!" she said.
They had just gotten above the clouds when Alfred suddenly froze and dipped. "Alfred!" said Natalia sharply, before flying closer in case she needed to catch him. He struggled to stay in the air but gave them a reassuring smile. "I-I'm fine. Mattie's trying to start up a conversation. Just...give me a second," he muttered before closing his eyes and trying to concentrate on his brother.
"I'm kinda busy Mattie. Is it important? Because this thing on my chest is still leaching on my energy so I really can't afford a social call," said Alfred to his brother. He could feel his brother groan under his breath. "Yeah well I don't want to mooch off Sylvia any longer that I have to. I'm just calling because I had a bad feeling about you. You're not hurt are you? You're still in the cellar right?" his brother asked, half frantic and half hesitant.
Alfred mentally flinched. Right. His brother had told him to sit tight. I guess you could say he was doing the exact opposite of that. Oops. His bad. "Yeah….About that…" he said. "YOU DIDN'T! YOU ABSOLUTELY DID NOT!" shouted Matthew, giving Alfred a headache. "...You're going to have to be a bit more specific," said Alfred slowly, trying to come up with a way to calm his brother down.
"Right, let me be more specific. YOU DID NOT LEAVE THE CELLAR WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE FIRST AND LETTING THE ENTIRE MISSION GET RUINED!" yelled Matthew. "I have a plan Mattie! I can't just sit around and wait for you guys to rescue me like some of kind of damsel in distress! Or even worse, sit around while my life is literally being sucked away!" argued Alfred.
"That's what I'm doing! You just have to trust that Arthur and Francis and the rest will undo everything and set it all right before it goes bad!" said Matthew. "No offense Mattie, but at least you can be sure that Artie can undo what happened to you before you end up kicking the bucket. I don't know for sure that Arthur and the other Kirklands can undo whatever magic the shaman used on me. Have they even started trying to find a way to undo it?" asked Alfred.
Alfred could feel his brother hesitate as he reconsidered what he just said. "No..but...Alfred, where are you going? Is there someone going with you in case you get low on energy? Can you trust them? How far are you going and what do you plan on doing when you get there? Alfred, you don't tend to think things through or think far enough ahead before pulling stunts like this," said Matthew.
Alfred scowled. "Of course I have a plan! I'm going to our village shaman and having him undo the spell. I have Ivan's sisters with me and yes, before you ask, they are both trustworthy. After I'm finished having that done, I'm going to have them stay with the family in the village until we can get this stupid Alecai guy out of the picture. If they feel uncomfortable staying with humans, I'm sending to our nest or the Nordic nest until we can come back with their brother and your wings," said Alfred.
He could feel his brother's surprise at his plan. Alfred smiled triumphantly. And he says he never thinks ahead. How's that for thinking ahead...and being sensitive to the girls' needs? "...Fine, that does actually sound like a pretty good plan so far. But wait...what will you be doing after you drop the girls off?" asked Mattie. Alfred hesitated. "Look Mattie, don't worry. I'll be fine. I figured that depends on how low on energy I am. Listen, I have to get going. Love you bro," said Alfred before quickly cutting the connection.
Nat and Irunya were quick to steady Alfred as he suddenly felt a drop in his energy that made him forget to flap for a split second. "How much farther is this village? Do you think you could make it there?" asked Nat. Alfred ran a hand through his hair. "I can make it. You guys don't need to hold onto me. I just wasn't expecting it to drop so badly after the connection broke. And I'm sure I'll be able to get there alright," said Alfred with a grin.
Natalia gave her sister a slight frown. "If he starts struggling to stay in the air, do you think you could help me get him to the village? I don't think he's telling the truth about being able to fly himself all the way there," she asked Irunya. Irunya nodded. "If I have to I can...but you'll have to take most of the weight. My wings are still a bit weak from not using them. It'll be hard too, he's almost twince your size," she said.
Natalia sighed. "It'll be worth it though. Just remember that he's the one who'll get us out of this hell. Big Brother won't have to work for that monster any more. We can finally go back to being a flock and try to forget this ever happened," she told her sister. Irunya brightened. "You're right. He's helped us so much. It's only right that we give him the little bit of help that he needs. Vanya and him will be good friends, I know it," responded Irunya.
If he didn't have a headache before he sure had a migrane now.
Matthew slumped against Sylvia, who looked as tired as he felt. "What did he say frere?" she asked, rubbing an eye. Matthew swore under his breath, making the other two avian's brows raise. "Sheesh. I can tell where Artie's influence kicks in. Kid sure swears like a sailor," said Gilbert, leaning back. Sylvia sighs. She would have been scandalized if she hadn't heard Francis and Arthur go at it on an almost constant basis growing up.
"What did he say Matthew? And perhaps with less swearing so we can understand you better," she said, carefully running a hand through her hair. Gilbert ruffled her hair, grinning as she slapped his hand away. Matthew sighed. "S-Sorry but...maple! Alfred never thinks things through and it drives me nuts! He's always been a impuslive and a bit reckless but," he growled in frustration, "he could have gotten himself killed!"
"Out with it! What exactly did your brother do?" asked Gilbert, starting to get impaticent. Matthew huffed. "He did a jailbreak. He and Ivan's sisters are heading back to our old village. He's hoping to have the pendant removed before leaving the girls somewhere safe. He won't tell me what he plans on doing after that. How much you want to be that he's just going to fly back to the house so he could be the 'hero' and get my wings back all because he feels like he has to be the one who does it?" said Matthew, outraged.
Sylvia frowns. "Maybe we should look at the bright side here. We don't have to worry about Alfred losing his wings or being tortured by that horrible man. Maybe we get lucky and after he gets to the village, he's too weak to put himself in danger like that again. Or that the villagers convince him to stay a bit longer," she said. "Or even better, that by the time he gets all that figured out, that we already have your wings and Alecai is finally gone," said Gilbert.
Mattie sighed. "I hope you're right but...you guys don't know Alfred. He can be super stubborn. If he has his mind set on something, it'll take a miracle to keep him from trying to do it, no matter how much it puts him in danger or how bad off he is. This hero complex that he has going on is going to get him killed and I have no idea what I'm going to do if he gets killed. Besides finding away to hunt down his ghost and stranging it," he said.
Sylvia frowns. "Gilbert...keep an eye on him. I'll be back in a few seconds," she said, flapping her wings for a few seconds before frowning in remembrance and running to his room. Matthew had to catch himself when she suddenly left, leaving Gilbert to quickly put a hand on his shoulder. "Crap, Sylvia's low too… Are you alright? I should have given her energy before she helped you," he muttered.
Mattie nodded slightly. "Y-Yeah...Just stressed out and a bit exhausted. Don't worry about it," he asked, trying not to have to lean on Gilbert too much but doing a horrible job of keeping himself up. Gilbert narrowed crimson eyes on him, about to nag him about lying. "Why can't Sylvia fly?" asked Matthew quickly, before he could get an earful. Gilbert's face quickly fell, the normally easy going man looking sad.
"Her feathers still haven't grown in yet….She can still glide from higher places if she jumps and all that. I know it's driving her crazy. She's still a little jumpy from what had happened. That's part of the reason I decided to stay here...she'd be too worried about me and if I got hurt she'd come after me. She'd have thebutt of whoever decided to hurt me and my own for getting myself into danger," he chuckeled a little.
Sylvia came back with an armful of pillows and blankets, making Matthew jump when she seemed to suddenly appear at his elbow. Gilbert chuckled at Mattie's confused look. "Sylvia, what are you doing?" he asked, wondering if he was lucky enough to have two siblings that were nuts aside from the ones who raised him. "Making you comfortable. Move over for a second," she instructed in an no argument allowed kind of way.
She spread out the pillows and the blankets, making a nest of sorts. Gilbert pouted. "Why don't you ever make a nest for me?" he asked. Sylvia flicked his shoulder. "I would if you wouldn't insist on having a pillowfight every time I try," she said. Gilbert smirked. "I can't resist it Liebe just like I can't resist you," he said. Her cheeks turned a bit pink. "Fine, when we get home I'll make you one but no pillow fights," she mutters. He grinned.
She finished making Mattie a nest and forced him to rest in it, insisting that Matthew shouldn't try to contact Alfred to try to stay put in the village after the pendant is taken off. "Matthew, I'm sure if you two were as close to your village as you say, they'll try to convince him to stick around. I'm sure Alfred would hate it if he comes back to find you half dead or worse just because you strained yourself on his behalf," she said.
Matthew tried not to blush as he was pulled over to the nest and forced to rest. Gilbert chuckled. "I know you're worried about him but don't smother your brother. I'm sure Artie and Francy-Pants want him in one piece when they come back," he said. Sylvia rolled her eyes, before rubbing her right eye tiredly. "Don't worry mon chou. I just don't want him passing out on me or hurting himself," she said. Matthew sighed. "I'm sorry Syl...I shouldn't have used you for energy," he said, seeing how tired he is.
"You and Alfred are both my brothers. You need my help, I'm going to give it to you. Just promise me you're not going to overreach yourself by constantly checking in on him. I can see that he's reckless and a bit impuslive but...I know he isn't stupid. You two didn't come this far on pure luck. He won't throw himself in danger just because. He knows how worried you would be if he did that," she said.
Matthew forced a smile before groaning and running a hand through his hair. "I wonder how bad off Alfie is and how close the others are to the hosue," he said. Gilbert frowned. "That reminds me. If Alfred isn't there, one of us should probably let the others know not to storm the cellar of the house. They're going to have to come up with a new plan. Maybe we can have that team fly after Alfred and get them to a safe place," said Gilbert, sounding like he's picking apart the situation.
Sylvia nodded but sighed. "They were going to use the wings as a distraction so they can save him….but wait...what if the shaman doesn't know they're gone yet?" she asked. Gilbert's eyes lit up. "That gives me a great idea! If he hasn't figured it out yet, that means they can play it like they're really there for Alfred when they're really trying to get to the wings!" said Gilbert, kissing Sylvia on the cheek and running off.
Gilbert ran over to Tino. "Tino, tell the other Nordics to head to Alfred and Matthew's old village. Have them be ready to find Alfred and the girls and jump in if anything goes wrong. Alfred and Mattie might be sure that they won't be hurt by that shaman but it's good to have back up ready to spring to action if anything happens. Tell them to stay hidden until they know that Alfred and the girls are safe. I need to contact the others while you do that. Mathias, you stand 'guard' since Sylvia and Mattie are low on fuel and Tino and I will be occupied," instructed Gilbert.
Tino nodded and immediately sat down and got comfortable before dazing off into space. Mathias jumped up from his spot and grabbed his battle axe, rushing to the center of the ledge, alert for any threats or anything out of the ordinary. Sylvia watched them silently as Matthew started to doze off. She pulled a dagger out of her boot and leaned back, figuring that two sets of eyes keeping watch was better than none.