Darkforces have been unleashed on our beloved characthers...Literally. I promise you'll get that joke in like a minute
Alfred was up and already starting to feel better. Upon waking up, Natalia nodded at him. "You'll be fine. The pendant is nothing but ashes now. Greg should be back in a little less than an hour or two. After that...I'm not sure. I suppose we should contact your brother first to let him know you're okay," she said. Irunya nodded. "Da. He must be beside himself with worry. I know I'm worried about Ivan," she said.
Alfred stretched, unfurling his wings. Natalia smirked as he accidentally bumped a couple of books and bowls on the table. "He's not that bad off...now that the stupid pendant is off and I can sense him a whole lot better. He's pretty sick...but I think someone's been feeding him enrgy...I don't know who. But he's safe. I know he can sense me a lot better. Mostly because I can practically hear him preparing the lecture he's going to give me when I get back," he said.
Irunya sighed. "I wonder what's going to happen to us now...I still want to be in a flock with Big Brother but I'm not sure how it will be now thathe doesn't have wings. I suppose the Baltic trio, if they come back to us, could help but...everything's so different now," she said. Natalia nodded. "Da. I'm sure I can convince them to come back. Especially Tor-" They all froze, a chill going through each of them. "What was that?" whispered Alfred.
"I don't know...but I don't like it. It felt bad," whispered Irunya. Natalia frowned and grabbed knives from Greg's kitchen before playing with them nervously. "I think we should be ready to fight if something happens. Alfred, do you need me to cover you?" she asked. Alfred shook his head and waved it off. "I'm sure it's nothing. Greg is probably already taking care of it as we speak," he said.
Greg was in the central market when he felt it, the release of shadow magic being used. A sharp chill went down his spine, raising every hair on his body in alarm. "Dimitri...he wouldn't dare…" Without another word, he started running toward his hut. Greg paid no mine to the two caped figures and a cloaked man he bumped into in his haste. "You felt it too?" asked one of the men. The other silently nodded. Emil, Lucas, and Berwald shared a glance before deciding to follow the man.
Greg bursted into the hut, startling the three avians in there. "Don't tell me you felt it too?" he blurted, panting slightly. Alfred and Irunya gave him startled and confused look but Natalia nodded. "Da. If you are talking about the sinister chill we just felt," she said. Greg's face grew ten times older. "No. No, I hoped it was something else. Perhaps after effects of healing someone," he said.
Alfred frowned slightly. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think….what is it exactly that you think is going on anyways?" he asked. Greg sighed and opened his mouth before a voice from behind him spoke first. "Yes, please explain. We felt it as well and would like to help," mumbled a quiet accented voice. Greg turned around and found the three men he bumped into standing behind him in the doorway.
Alfred lightened up when he spotted the three men. "Hey guys! What are you three doing here? Artie send ya? Greg, this is Berwald, Lucas, and Emil," he asked. Lucas nodded and Greg moved to let them in, openly staring. "Alfred...who are they?" he asked as he did so. "They're the first flock of avians I bumped into..the ones Mattie found. They were the ones that helped us find our original flock," he said.
"I suppose the capes are unnecessary if Alfred is going to just tell everyone," said Emil, taking off his cloak and stretching his wings slightly. Lucas smirked and did the same with his cape before turning to Greg. "We were sent to make sure the village is safe and I believe it is but I would like to know what that feeling was. You're not playing with sinister magic are you?" he asked. Lucas could feel a magic different from his own, and with much darker intents, at play here but he wasn't sure what kind it was. He has never encountered it before.
Greg shook his head. "No. Never. I only use my abilities to help and heal. But that chill we just felt...I believe Dimitri had just released magic from the shadow realm however," he said. Lucas frowned. "Shadow realm?" he asked. "We call it shadow magic. It's magic of the dead. I don't know how to describe it if your kind has never encountered it. Avians tend to use more of a nature magic. Shadow magic is the opposite of that," he said.
Luca's mask of indifference cracked into one of shock. "...That's impossible," was all he could say. Alfred raised a hand. "I have a question… and then some." Greg sighed. "Yes Alfred?" "What do you mean it's the opposite? What exactly does that mean? And lastly, what do we do to put a stop to it and all that?" he asked. Greg rubbed the side of his face. "Nature magic..heals and grows things. It brings people together and can be used for communication and protection.
"Human magic is more about strength, manipulation, and construction. I can heal people, sure, but my magic comes in most handy and is best used when helping make the villages or changing landscapes. I don't do much manipulation. When it's used for the wrong purposes, it can easily turn into shadow magic and warp the user. I think that's what happened to Alecai…," said Greg, starting to think.
Lucas snapped his fingers. "You were going to explain shadow magic. If he was using shadow magic, what does that mean?" he asked. Greg was already moving around the room, grabbing crystals, feathers, and various powders out of cabinets and drawers. "It can bring disease, death. I'm not as knowledgable about that kind of magic, but I know that chill. Alecai has released shadow figures," he said.
Lucas glanced over the things he was pulling out and grunted before helping Greg pull out materials. "I think I know what you're talking about. Long ago, those shadow figures poisoned enough lands to kill the ancients that were connected to them. Romulus was the first to fall. Agnes, the Kirkland's mother, was able to find a way to use her own magic to get rid of them, but the magic use was so incredible that she drained herself and passed away," said Lucas.
Alfred frowned and stood up. "So you're saying he released more of these shadow figures onto the world? Is he crazy? Why the heck is he doing all of this for? What are those figures going to do?" he asked. "The figures will spread horrible disseases through all of the villages. If they touch someone, they will become extremely sick and die, if they don't die immediately at the touch. Avians are immune to it because of their kind of magic. We're vunerable to it because we're considered in the middle of the spectrum. That, and we're pretty weak compared to your kind in terms of abilities. At least if you don't have magic, you would still have wings," said Greg.
Emil frowned. "How can we help?" he asked. Lucas glared at him but Greg quickly spoke, not noticing the lecture the younger brother was about to get. "I can create a special kind of dome that will keep them out, but that dome is still vunerable to their attacks. It'll only buy us time. The only way to truly destroy them is with iron. As for why he is doing this, he's been crazy about your kind for years. Wanted to become like you. Wanted to bend both worlds to his own whim. That and the fact that he's completely nuts makes him dangerous," said Greg.
"But why release them? ...Unless he knows Artie and Ivan are out for his blood...crap. This is our fault," said Alfred, swearing a little. Greg sighed. "Not to make you feel worse Alfred...but I think it's not just because of your friends attacking him. I think he's specifically targeting anyone close to you and your brother that might have interest in going after him," he said. Alfred's eyes widened and all the feathers on his back bristled. "Mattie. He's going after the nest and he's targeting us...We have to warn them," he said.
"I'm sure Arthurs already knows. Berwald, warn Tino. Tell them everything Greg just told us. The shadow figures may still find a way through Artie's barriers but it should slow them down nonetheless. They should still have barriers set up," said Lucas. Berwald nodded and went to sit down in the corner. Natalia twirled a knife in her fingers. "I am willing to help fight those bastards. It's been a long time since I've been given the opportunity to do the fighting," she said.
Greg smiled slightly. "Good. Irunya, you and Emil can help me set the mixtures where I need them. Lucas, I'll need your help preparing the mixtures if possible. Alfred, I need to get the others to warn the villagers and gather whatever iron weapons you can find. The barrier should keep the figures out as long as you guys keep them distracted, but I want to be sure that the villagers are protected and able to protect themselves," he said.
Alfred nodded, glancing at Emil and Berwald. "Berwald, you go with Natalia to the east half of the village. Emil and I will cover the west side. We'll meet back here as soon as we finish knocking at doors. Have all the villagers report to the market square with all the iron they can carry. From there we'll redistribute the iron and send them into the mine for safety," said Alfred. Greg nodded. "Good plan. They might resist outsiders though," he said.
"Don't worry about that," said Natalia cooly, already marching outside with knife in hand. Berwald simply nodded at them before following. Greg watches her go. "...Should we be worried about the villagers she's about to visit?" he asked. "Little sister can be very sweet when she wants to be. Don't worry about it. I'm sure she'll play nicely with them," said Irunya with a smile. Lucas and Emil glanced at each other but said nothing.
Alfred grabbed Emil's arm and pulled him toward their side of the village. "Listen kid, if anyone gives you any problems let me know. Watch out for any of the village kids, they like to pull on feathers. And if anyone resists, tell them it's Greg's orders and that the village is on lockdown. Got it?" he said. "...I'm older than you…" muttered Emil. "Great! I'll start on this row and you start with that one," said Alfred, not listening. Emil rolled his eyes but went to his designated row.
He knocked on the first door, an older woman answering. She narrowed her eyes at him. "I see Alfred has brought back friends. What do you want?" she asked. Emil huffed. "Greg says the town's on lockdown. Meet in the town square with all the iron you can carry in five minutes. We're evacuating," he said. "What's going on?" she asked, eyes widening. "Look, I was just asked to knock on doors. Just follow orders okay?" he said.
She pulled him into the house and began piling pieces of metal and iron pots into his arms. "It's so nice of you to volunteer to help the elderly carry their items. My grandson lives on the east side and it would take him a long walk to get here," she said. "I didn't voluent-" He was interrupted by the woman shoving a cookie into his mouth. "Such a nice young man. I was wrong about your kind. You know, I remember when I first saw a man with wings in the market.." Emil's attention wandered off as she rambled. How do I get pulled into these situations?
Alfred was not as lucky as Emil. "Ouch. Mrs. O'Hannegan. Ouch! It's me! Alfred! Ouch! Could you stop-Ow! Doing that please?" he asked the eighty year old woman who was hitting him with a broom. "I knew you were trouble when you and your brother walked in! Disgraced creatures!" she muttered as she continued hitting him. "Grandma, he's telling the truth. Everyone else is walking to the square," said a boy walking into the room.
Alfred quickly slunk away while the boy distracted his grandma and walked to the next house. He was about halfway through his half. He just hoped that Emil wasn't having too much trouble with his half. He had forgotten how mean some of these town people were. After he finished talking to the people at that house, he turned away to bump into Emil who was carrying a bag of cookies, licorice, and other treats.
Alfred eyeballed the cookies. "...Are those Mrs. O'Hannegan's cookies?" he asked. Emil nodded. "Yeah...She's a nutty lady but she makes decent cookies. Anyways, I finished my half of the evacuations. How many more houses do you have?" he asked. Alfred glanced toward the houses he just left. "That was the last one. We should get to the market center after doing a quick sweep of the houses. Don't want anyone accidentally getting left behind," he said.
Emil nodded and stretched his wings out. "We're doing that from the air right?" he said. Alfred gave him a grin. "Sure! Why not?" he said before letting his wings shoot out, nearly knocking over a small child. They both quickly took to the sky, passing over the houses. After finding that they haven't forgotten any houses or that there was no one to help get to the center. When they were done making sure the houses were clear, they flew back to the square.
Natalia and Berwald on the other hand, were having less problems with the elderly. It turns out that combined, just their faces alone are enough to scare everyone into running toward the market center. A dark smile played on Natalia's lips whenever someone tried to ruffle her feathers, both literally and figuratively. She found that people tended to just run when she smiled at them when she did that, something she found useful in the situation.
Berwald, on the other hand, wasn't entirely sure why everyone was quick to follow insturctions so fearfully when he knocked, but he didn't dwell on it. He wanted to hurry up and herd everyone to the square before the fight. If he was lucky, maybe there would be enough time for him to fly after the fight to go help Tino with the one sure to form at the Brit's nest. He just hope that Tino could hang on until then.
In record time, Berwald and Natalia were able to clear out their half of the village and flew back to the square. People had already come into the square, throwing pots and pans and fire pokers into the pile in the middle of the market square. "I wonder how soon Alfred and Emil will be here," said Natalia, looking around at the crowd. The humans were chatting to each other in low voices, glancing at Natalia and Berwald fearfully.
A child tugged on Berwald's wings hesitantly. His wings shot out and he spun around to see who had the nerve to touch his wings without warning. He blinked when he found himself looking at a boy, about twelve years with blond hair and light blue eyes staring up at him. For some reason the boy was wearing a hat from a human naval ship with matching oversized captains jacket wrapped around his shoulder.
The child shrank back from Berwald's gaze for a split second before lifting his chin. "Sorry sir...but you're a bird person?" he asked. Berwald just nodded. The boy's eyes lit up and he bounced up and down excitedly. "My name is Peter Kirkland! I'm like you!" he said. He said. Berwald's eyes widened. "What?" he asked, eyebrows raised. Peter nodded and pulled him to a nearby booth, quickly ducking down behind it and dropping the coat.
Berwald stared at the boy. "Y-You're a Kirkland….You're an avian...But how?" he asked as if the eyebrows weren't enough proof. Peter tilts his head. "I don't know what you mean by the Kirkland thing. But I'm like you! I can help you with the bad thing going on!" he said happily. Berwald frowned slightly. "Where's your family?" he asked. Peter shrugged. "I don't know. I woke up on a fort in the middle of the ocean. It took me a while but I flew over here to try to find others like me!" he said.
Berwald stares at the child a bit longer before finally speaking. "We can sort this out after the evacuation is lifted. You should meet the others now though," he said. Peter nodded excitedly. "That would be great! I would love to meet others like me! Can you fly with your wings? I'm an excellent flyer! I'm still learning but I managed to get here...though I did have to hitch a lot of rides," chatted Peter, happily standing up.
Berwald started to turn away when he felt something bump against his hand. He turned to find an embarrassed Peter quickly snatch his hand away. "...There was a spider," said the boy. Berwald smirked slightly, not that anyone could truly tell, before taking the child's hand. "C'mon. It'd be quicker if we stick together," he said. The boy's face brightened and Peter continued to cheerfully babble as Berwald navigated them through the crowd.
Alfred and Emil finally made it to the market square to find Berwald holding the hand of a child. Emil blinked. "What did Tino say about taking in stray humans?" he said slowly. Peter made a face. "I'm not human! I'm a bird person!" he said. Alfred smirked while Berwald huffed at Emil. "He didn't say anything about stray avians," he said. Emil smirked. "What's your name little dude?" asked Alfred, smiling at the kid.
"Peter Kirkland. I think that would make him your younger brother," said Berwald. Alfred blinked before grinning and ruffling the younger boy's hair. "That's awesome! But..what are we going to do with him during the attack? If the villagers find out...I don't know what they might do," he said. "I can help!" said Peter. "No," said Natalia bluntly, playing with a knife. Peter scowled. "I can help! I got here on my own didn't I?" he asked.
Alfred shook his head. "Sorry little dude, but I think we need you here...in fact, I think Greg is going to need you help him carry around the stuff for the force field. Do you think you can do that for us?" he asked. Peter gave him a look. "It's a very important job. We need it done to protect the villagers," said Berwald. Peter perked up. "Okay! I can do that! I'll meet you guys back here when the bad guys are all beat up!" he said before running to Greg's hut.
Berwald quickly stopped him. "Take this with you just in case though. For protection," he said, handing Peter a cast iron pot. Peter gave him a grin before quickly running away. Berwald turned to the others and nodded at them. "He should be safe here. Lets get the iron distributed to the vilagers and get some weapons ourselves," he said. The others blinked, a bit surprised at the slight change in Berwald but obeying nonetheless.
Once everyone was weaponized, they glanced at the clouds. "What do we do now? The forcefield isn't up yet?" asked Alfred. Emil just shrugged and cleaned the blade of iron poker against his cloak. Berwald looked up from where he was herding villagers into the safe zone. "Be ready," he said. Natalia nodded and sharpened a knife. "I always am," she said with a bit of a smirk.
"Berwald, why did you send a twelve year old over here? Also, you want to get on the other side of the gravel road that surrounds town. The shield is going up in thirty seconds. I'll be there in a few seconds after, keep an eye on Emil until I'm there," he said. Berwald just simply mentally nodded and lead the others to the opposite side of the road after all four of them double checked that everyone in the village was where they should be.
Just as they reached the other side of the road, there was a burst of light and the force field appeared. Emil raised an eyebrow at it before immediately scowling when his brother landed and ruffled his hair. "Everyone is inside. Let's make this fight quick. I want to go home and have dinner before it gets dark out," said Lucas. Emil made a face. "Don't worry dudes! We'll make quick work of this!" said Alfred. Both Lucas and Natalia made a face at his enthusiasm.
"..." Berwald just stood there, sword in hand. Lucas smirked a little at Berwald. "Don't worry. Tino is fine," said Lucas. Emil snorted. "If anything, Tino is giving them hell," he said. Berwald smiled a bit but swung around when he heard hissing coming from behind them. Figures were coming out of the shadows of the nearby woods. The smokey figures smelt like rotten eggs and where shapeless, shifting back and forth between horse, man, and magpies.
Alfred got a bit closer to Natalia. "Great...Ghosties...What if they try to eat me?" he thought to himself. Natalia snorted. "They're not ghosts. They're shadowy monsters. And if we don't fight them, who will?" she said back. Alfred jumped. "You can hear me...?" he asked. She gave him a look. "Right...you healed me…" said Alfred before grabbing his crossbow filled with iron nails. "LET'S GET'EM!" he shouted before charging at the figures.
"Emil, stay next to me!" shouted Lucas before quickly blocking a figure from lunging at his brother. "There's five of us and thirty of them," said Natalia, not even freezing up when a shadowy figure of a man appeared in front of her. She simply stabbed the creature in the stomach and kicked him away. "Twenty nine," she said plainly before tossing a knife at a different figure.
Alfred grinned and opened fire into the shawdows, killing five of the figures. "I'm winning! Got five down!" he said. "It isn't a contest idiot!" said Lucas before ducking and cutting the wings off of a magpie figure. The bird let out a squak and disapated. Emil just rolled his eyes. "You just got lucky," he said before running at a horse with a spear and catching it in the ribs.
"We should double up, just in case guys. It'd be nicer if we knew someone was watching our back," said Alfred, jumping out of the way of a horse that ran at him from behind. Natalia threw a knife and caught the horse in the neck, causing it to disappear. "Da, I suppose that's true. I guess I'll be with you," she said, walking over to pick up the knife as Alfred shot down a couple of magpies that had swooped down at her.
"I'll watch Emil," said Lucas, ignoring the huff of annoyance his little brother let out. "What about Berwald?" said Emil. "Can take care of myself. No problem," said Berwald before quickly slaying a horse shaped figure. "Point taken," said Alfred, jumping out of the way of another horse, which was promptly was killed by Natalia. Berwald just nodded, quickly killing a second figured, this once shaped like a man.
Alfred quickly took care of the bird shaped shadows, Natalia making sure he was covered as he concentrated on doing so. As the last bird puffed out of existance, Alfred's hand went to his pocket and found that he had ran out of nails. He swore, jumping out of the way of a man that jumped out of the ground at him. Natalia killed the creature. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Ran out of amo. At least I got all the birds out of the way," he muttered.
Natalia slid the handle of a knife into his hand. "Take that one then. I still have the other two," she said, quickly swipping at a horse. "Thanks Nat!" he said, stabbing a man shaped wisp. He gagged as the form disappeared. "Man, that is worse than one of Kuma's farts," he said. Natalia rolled her eyes and jumped out of the way as another horse charged her. Alfred quickly took care of it with a grin.
Emil, on the other hand, was a bit frustrated. His older brother kept turning back to make sure he was okay. Meanwhile, the shadow figures have noticed and kept trying to attack Lucas everytime he turned to check on Emil. Emil had to constantly jump forward to kill the creepy creatures. After the third time, Emil snapped at his brother. "Don't worry about me so much. I know you're concerned but I'm doing fine. I'll let you know if I need help," he said.
"You promise you'll call me if you need help?" asked Lucas. Emil quickly stabbed a horse that came up behind his brother. "I will and you will if you need help," said Emil. Lucas smirked as he quickly jumped behind his brother to stab huminoid figure. "Only if you call be big brother," he sing-songed. Emil groaned. "This is not the time," he said. "Say it. Say big brother," said Lucas.
Emil sighed. "Fine. Big Brother, we'll call each other if we need help. I'm only calling you that because we're in a life or death situation," he said. Lucas smiled. "Good enough form little brother," he said before running a sword through another horse. Emil's cheeks reddened and he decided to vent his frustration by vanishing as many of the shadowmen as possible, not meeting his brother's eyes.
Berwald, however, was having the hardest time out of the five. Because he didn't have anyone watching his back, he was constantly finding himself jumping and dodging the creatures without much time to land a good swipe with his sword. The creatures knew it too, they kept running at him from all directions, trying to back him up into the dark forest where they could take on a more solid form.
Luckily the Swede wasn't stupid and caught on to what they were trying to do quickly. Unluckily, however, he tripped over a tree root as he tried to resist their attempts to force him closer to the trees. His glasses went flying as he fell forward. Berwald mentally swore, grabbing his sword and blindly slowly swinging it in an arc around himself to keep the monsters at bay. He had to find those glasses. He wasn't sure how long the monsters would stay back before trying to attack him once they discovered he was blind with the lenses.
Berwald had started slowly backing up toward the dome before he felt a chill go through him. One of the creatures had gotten behind him and had a hand on his back, between his wings. The Swede froze as he felt his life force slowly start to drain before he heard a huge Clang! "I told you I could help! Here's your glasses mister! I got them before you could accidentally step on them!" said a young voice.
A smaller hand placed the glasses in his hand. Berwald quickly put the glasses on and glanced down at Peter, who gave him a grin and was gripping the cast iron pot with a determined look in his eyes. Berwald nodded at him before quickly taking down three of the figures that had tried crowding him back into the forest. "Thank you Peter. You should go back now. It's not a good place for a boy right now," he said, seeing that they were at the edge of the forest.
Peter shook his head, giving Berwald a look that said he wouldn't leave no matter what the older avian said. "No. You need someone to watch your back. What if they knock your glasses off again or try to push you back into the forest? I promise I'll be careful! That other kid is here and his brother isn't telling him not to be," he said, pointing at Emil. "Hey! I heard that!" shouted Emil from the distance.
Berwald ducked as one of the figures swiped at his face. "Fine, but you stay close to me and you leave the big guys to me. If you even think you'll need help, you tell me, understand?" he said, not seeing much other choice considering they were in the middle of a battle and he didn't have the time to argue as he fought. Peter brightened and nodded eagerly before quickly bashing one of the figure's shins with the pot. It started hissing and jumping around on one foot. Berwald smirked a bit as he quickly finished off said figure.
Emil winced as a horse rammed into him. Lucas was there within a second, shoving the horse off and stabbing it before it could even try to drain Emil's life force. "Thanks Big Brother," said Emil with relief. Lucas brightened up and Emil gave him a small frustrated smile. That was a close enough call that Emil didn't feel too annoyed about letting Lucase hear him call him that.
Alfred and Natalia ran over to force back a couple of creatures that had tried to converge on the brothers. "We're almost there guys. Just a few more to kill and we're pretty much home free. Unless the others end up needing us that is," said Alfred. As soon as he said that there was a scream. Alfred spun around, looking for Natalia. "It wasn't me," she said, pushing back a figure with the side of her blade in hopes of keeping him from touching her.
Alfred quickly dispatched the boogey man. "Who was it then?" he asked. "There!" shouted Emil, pointing at where a horse had torn into Peter's wing with his teeth. Berwald was frantically trying to get the horse to let go while trying to keep the other figures from pushing in on them. Lucas glared before jumping in next to Berwald, muttering curses under his breath. Alfred let out a growl and ran over to help.
Natalia quickly killed the horse that was biting into the wing before helping the rest of the boys clear the remaining creatures out. "How bad is it?" asked Alfred, turning to Berwald. The poor thing was completely shocked, hands fluttering over Peter uncertainly. "It's my fault. H-He tried to push it away...I didn't see it coming and I didn't hear his warning until too late," he said. Peter was trying his hardest not to bawl.
Alfred sat next to the kid. "Hey it's not so bad. You got guts kid. That was pretty brave of you jumping in front of Berwald like that. We'll get you patched up real quick, okay? If you want, one of us can heal you. But you have to pick which one you want to do it because it creates a bond with the person who heals you," he said. Peter nodded, teary eyed before glancing at them.
"C-Can Berwald do it? T-That is if he isn't mad at me. He told me to be careful a-and I wasn't. I dropped my pot when I jumped in front of him," he said, sniffling a bit. Berwald gave him a smile before ruffling his hair. "Not mad. Thankful. I can do it if you want," he said. Peter nodded and moved carefully so Berwald could heal his wing. Berwald gently place his hand over the nasty bite and closed his eyes, concentrating on healing the boy's wing.
Within a few minutes, the bite healed to a nasty bruise. It was annoying but it wouldn't interfere with Peter's ability to fly. Peter gave Berwald a misty eyed smile. "T-Thank you," he said. Berwald smiled back and ruffled the young boy's hair. Alfred grinned and pat Peter's back. "Kid, you just earned yourself so many sweets. I'm sure we can find some candy somewhere around here," he said.
Peter gave him a happy smile and got up. "I hope you're ready for Tino when he finds out you bonded with the kid," said Lucas. Berwald gave him a look and put a hand on the Peter's shoulders. "Who's Tino?" asked Peter, looking at them curiously. Lucas sighed at the quick look of worry that flitted across his face for a split second. "Hey, now that these bastards are finally dead, we should probably contact the others at the nest and see how they're holding up," said Alfred.
Reviews are appreciated! We're nearing the end folks, but don't worry! There's still plenty more to come!