Kaetar must have somehow fallen asleep, as he was woken up again by more shouting – not angry shouting, but fearful shouting. Kaetar immediately ran above deck and was struck with powerful winds and rain. He almost ducked back under the safety the deck but there was something simply thrilling about being in the middle of a storm. For one, he never imagined that it could ever rain so much and he never imagined that the raindrops could hurt so much. The wind chilled him to the bone and within seconds, he was a wet, shivering mess of a beorc.

"KAETAR! GO BACK DOWN!" he could hear Loiya scream. He didn't know how Loiya could see him, because he couldn't see Loiya through the rain.

He respected Loiya, he really did, but he was really interested in the storm. Would he ever see one like it again? Would he ever be in the middle of one again? He climbed onto the deck and the boat tipped dangerously when a large wave hit in the side. The entire boat shook as water poured in from the side of the boat, soaking Kaetar's pant legs. "You idiot!" He looked behind and found Syrin, holding the hatch with his good arm but left his face vulnerable to the storm. "Get back under the deck or you'll be thrown off! Every man up here is risking his life to keep this boat safe for you!"

Kaetar respected Syrin also. He didn't need a third person to tell him to come down. He made his way back to Syrin. Another wave hit the boat, allowing water to flood into the deck once again. This wave was worse than the last – it knocked Kaetar off his feet and with the wet deck floor, he couldn't regain his balance. The strength of the wave also made the boat tip and before Kaetar knew it, he was sliding towards the edge. He hit the edge, which was tall enough to catch him. He scrambled back to his feet, gripping the edge with dear life. The deck hatched opened once more but Kaetar struggled to force himself to take one step forward away from the edge and towards the safety of the hatch.

Everyone struggled for the safety now. He could hear Loiya shouting and where Kaetar was, he could see him more clearly. He was in tangled up in several ropes that controlled the sails. He was holding on for his life and he his eyes constantly went back to the hatch. The crew stayed on deck but he and Loiya were the ones from the group that were stupid enough to come up – well, stupid on his part. It was in Loiya's nature to do all he could; he could not sit very well when he knew that there was something wrong and he could help fix it.

Kaetar however, was just being stubborn and curious. He regretted it. His father once said that his curiosity could get him into serious trouble, but he never treated those words like a warning.

Idiot, idiot, idiot!

But before he knew it, he was slipping again. He made a dash for the hatch but the boat was lifted by a wave and by the time the boat came crashing downwards where it was no longer supported by the wave, he was shoved back to the edge. It didn't catch him like it did last time. He only had the edge to hold onto and considering that it was flat and wet, it wasn't very good support. He screamed the loudest he's ever screamed.

This is what father meant.

He realized he hit the water. He managed to bring his head up only to be pulled down again. It was hard to breath. He coughed but only found to be swallowing water instead, which made him only cough more to start the vicious cycle again.

And suddenly, he was in the air. He felt like he was flying and he could feel something cutting into his shoulders. He looked up to see a black blob carrying him and with a smile, he blacked out.

Kaetar woke up when the sky was clear and no signs of the storm that knocked him over existed. It hurt to breathe, his shoulders hurt, and it was the pain that made him realize that he had not drowned in the ocean like he thought he would. He was far from fine, but he was alive. It made laugh with twisted joy but his body had no tolerance for it – he coughed water up and his entire body writhed in pain. He shivered despite being in the sun and he was covered in sand that he just couldn't brush off on the account of wet hands.

Beside him, he could hear heavy panting. There were black feathers everywhere and dark blue hair that freed itself from a blue ribbon was sprawled everywhere, tangled with twigs. Kaetar was surprised. The last person he thought would be there to rescue him from the water was Darius – yet there he was, and he was in even worse shape than he was. He was still unconscious, despite the visible chills that ran through his body. One of his wings was bent out of its normal position and Kaetar suspected that he must have broken it.

Kaetar dragged himself to his feet and pulled one of Darius' arms around his shoulder. He could barely lift the raven of the ground but the raven's weight on one shoulder was enough to make the prince fall flat on his butt. It wasn't going to work.

He took off his shirt and rolled his pant legs up. He even pulled off Darius' jacket, which was the heaviest thing on the shore. The jacket was heavy to begin with but now that it was thoroughly soaked, it weighed twice as much as before. With the wet shirt off his back, he could really begin to feel the sun's warmth on his back but it didn't stop own shivering. It was the most the prince could do was to warm his body and try to prevent illness that came from being cold and wet.

There were two things that he was concerned about, once he pushed their wellbeing out of his mind. Where were they? And how did Darius find him and pull him from the water? He felt bad that he put himself in a position where Darius of all people had to bail him out, not to mention that Loiya would not be handling the situation well. How was Loiya supposed to know that he survived? And how would Loiya explain that to his father? He did it to himself?

His curiosity would be the end of someone if it didn't kill him.

Darius was stirring next to him. He moaned and then lifted his head out of the sand. He smiled at Kaetar, mumbled something inaudible under his breath, and laughed.

"How are you feeling?" Kaetar asked.

"I'm not the one who should be answering that... I'm sure I look terrible," Darius chuckled and turned on his side. He grimaced in pain but he managed to get himself into a position where conversation didn't seem to require very much energy on his part. He could look at Kaetar without needing to hold his head up.

"You hurt my shoulders a bit, but I'd rather be alive with injuries than not alive at all," Kaetar mumbled, looking down at the long scratches that covered his shoulders. They were closed and already scabbed over; they were long but not deep. They didn't hurt that much, so long as he kept still. Darius chuckled again.

"Sorry, I didn't want to risk letting you go," Darius mumbled. "I got worried about everyone and decided to fly out to meet you. It's not like you would have gotten far anyway..."

"So, we're still in Crimea?" They didn't sail for long. He lost track of how long they've sailed for but he guess it couldn't have been more than two days. Of course they were still in Crimean waters! And Darius' story made sense; he must have been the bird that Loiya saw earlier, except why would he fly away? Did he not want stay with them?

"Exactly... in a Crimean beach... I would have dropped you off the boat, but you probably would have fallen off again... what were you doing out there?"

"I was just curious is all... I never been out in a storm before and I wanted to see how it was. My father never let me out if the wind was bad enough. And now Loiya thinks I'm dead," Kaetar mumbled with a frown.

"Cheer up... as soon as I'm feeling better, we'll go out and find that boat." Darius offered a warm smile.

"Isn't your wing broken?" Kaetar asked, making the raven frown.

Darius grunted as he sat up, and tried to look back at his wing. His right wing was still on the ground, while his left wing followed the movements of his body. The raven flexed his good wing, and then folded it against his body, yet the right wing didn't move. "Yes... it's broken. Do you plan on using your shirt?"

Kaetar looked down at his shirt, which was still in a pile in the sand. He had another one on the ship, so he could part with this one. He picked it up and shook the sand off. "Do you want me to tear it up? You might want it to dry first though..."

"It doesn't need to be dry. Just pass it to me," the raven mumbled as Kaetar passed him the shirt. He torn it into long strands and made a pile in his lap. Darius seemed to be relatively unharmed, aside from his wing. If anything, the raven was in pain probably because he was sore – but he would be sore too if he flew through a storm. "Come here," he mumbled as he lifted the torn strands.

"Can you help me get my shirt off?" the raven asked as he began undoing his belt. Kaetar pulled the tunic over his head and then away from his wings. He didn't have any more layers aside from his pants and boots. He gave Kaetar the long strands of what was once his shirt. Kaetar tied them together into one long strand.

"And how do I fix your wing?"

"Move it into its natural position, then wrap it so it's against my back and the shirt is around my chest," Darius mumbled. He sounded like an expert – if he was in the war like he said so, then he probably did have a broken wing here and there. He might be already used to it. Kaetar did as he told. He gingerly lifted the wing with his fingers and began easing against the raven's back. Darius hissed in pain, but he continued to move the wing despite the pain he knew he was causing. If Darius couldn't get through it, then the wing would never get better!

When he was finished wrapping, Darius was panting but he was visibly relaxed. It was the most he had ever done in terms of nursing and treating someone – they had nurses at the castle to take care the scratched and bumps, or the more serious injuries from the military. It was the experiences such as taking care of Darius' wing that made him feel like he was growing up. He wasn't the same boy that left – sure he was still curious, and Syrin would still think he was an idiot, but he got his hands dirty and saw things he never saw before. He knew that he couldn't trust people the same way he did, and he changed his priorities.

Before he left the castle, Kaetar was focused on his own agenda. His biggest problem was that he didn't want to be a King and he hated his father for trying to teach him how to be one. That meant less visible love – as Kaetar didn't doubt that his father loved him – and being strict with the prince. In hind sight, Kaetar could see how it was important as Syrin berated him for his naiveté and his inability to make decisions that involved a little bit of risk, such as the burning of the chapel.

He felt like talking about it – he should be proud for changing, even if it was just for a bit, but the only other person with him was Darius, and Kaetar didn't know how well he could take heavy conversation. He talked out of necessity earlier, but he looked like he was going to fall asleep, and Kaetar was going to let him. He didn't want to keep him awake when he should be resting and recovering, and that also spoke true for the prince himself. He also had injuries which were not tended too. The most he could think of was to wash his shoulders, but he didn't know if the ocean water was clean and he knew that the water had salt. He decided not to risk it. He wounds seemed closed anyway; he doubted water would help.

In the end, he and Darius turn the raven's jacket into a pillow, and slept together side by side. Neither of them wanted their head in the sand, but both of them needed the sleep. Darius had to sleep on his chest, but Kaetar wondered if he didn't do that all the time already. How did a bird laguz sleep with their wings on their back? Wouldn't the wings be uncomfortable? And how did Ema sleep with her tail?

Kaetar just couldn't sleep, however. He took his head off their 'pillow' and then went around to Darius' head. He found the ribbon in the sand, and then began to work to remove the tangles and the twigs in the raven's hair. The raven, if he could help it, wouldn't be caught dead with his hair in a mess. He was probably too weak from before to care about his hair, but eventually he would be in obsessing about. Darius cared a lot about his hair.

His hair was more matted and tangled than Kaetar thought. Removing the twigs was easy enough, but when it came to trying to untangle the knots, he realized that it was very hard to do it while trying to be gentle with it. He didn't want to wake the sleeping raven at all. When the majority of the tangles had been removed, Kaetar was tired enough to fall asleep.

When he woke up again, Darius was combing through his own hair with his fingers and grimacing in pain or frustration when his fingers stopped in his hair. The air was still warm and the sun was still out, though it wouldn't be too long before it would begin to set. "There you are... we should get going and try to find shelter. My jacket still isn't dry, so we need to find a warm place if we're going to make through the night," the raven muttered, standing up. Kaetar followed him into the wooded area, carrying the raven's clothing. Both of them were still shirtless, their clothes and hair still damp, and their chests were still covered in sand.

"Awh, this is all my fault!" Kaetar exclaimed. "If I didn't go out there, and we wouldn't be here trying to find shelter and your wing wouldn't be broken."

"We can't change what happened. All you can do is learn from your mistake for next time, right?" Darius asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I know not to go out in a middle of a storm now," Kaetar mumbled, looking ahead. He could already see the tree line, and he could also see a house on the other side in the clearing. For a moment, he thought he was seeing things. It was the sun or the lack of food and water. However, Darius was staring in the same direction, his blue eyes fixated on the house. "Do you see it too?"

"I see it… unless we're both going crazy from the lack of food. When did you last eat anyway?"

"Far too long ago. I didn't eat in Toha, or on the boat, or before Toha..." Kaetar mumbled in response. He wasn't feeling that bad at all actually. He hadn't eaten in almost two days, and he was only hungry now that he thought about it.

That suddenly made him very hungry.

"You need some food now then."

Kaetar merely nodded. They couldn't reach the house fast enough. Darius was the brave one who offered to knock on the door. It would be something that Kaetar wouldn't have minded doing, but his hunger made him feel nauseated and he didn't feel like talking. Why did he feel like this only after Darius mentioned food? Did he really just ignore it until now?

Someone came to the door, and he could hear Darius talking to them but at the moment Kaetar was only thinking about his own needs at the moment; especially now that Darius' wing was taken care of the best of their ability. "Kaetar, c'mon, they're letting us in," Darius said to him, gently shaking him. "Sorry, he hasn't eaten in a while."

Kaetar immediately smelled fresh bread as soon as he came into the house. "No, it is fine. We had people coming here with worse. I have not seen a broken wing though," the stranger mumbled, passing some of the bread to Kaetar. He felt nauseated looking at it, and he wasn't sure he could force it into his stomach, which surely shrunk in size. The prince took a bite and seated himself in a chair. He didn't want to rush anything.

Now that he had something in his stomach, he was able to think more clearly. Someone had welcomed them into their home and by the sounds of it, they weren't they only ones who came from the beach and wandered to their home all because of a storm. This person, who was a friendly, male tiger laguz according to Darius, was used to the story, and built additions to his cozy home to accommodate the fact that people always come to him. It was a kind thing for him to do, Kaetar thought.

"My name is Rykuu," the tiger started, holding out a large hand. He had blonde hair and ears, and he dressed quite casually – a red shirt and tan pants. He was tanned like Ema was and his hair was tied into a braid.

"Kaetar," the prince answered, taking his hand. He felt the tiger rattling his entire body when they 'shook hands' and he turned and offered the same to the raven.

"Darius," the raven muttered as he took his hand. He fared better than Kaetar did, despite the broken wing. He was stronger than Kaetar was and it was as simple as that.

"And that is Soren," Rykuu mumbled, as he pointed into the kitchen. There was a small teen with shirt, red hair and green eyes. He didn't speak, and shied away from view. "He baked the bread. He is very shy. He only speaks to me."

Kaetar thought it was funny that he shared a name with one of the greatest tacticians that Tellius knew – perhaps it was intentional? How common of a name is Soren, anyway? And there was a Soren, then how many Ikes were running around?

"Where does he come from?"

"Melior... his parents died in a conflict with the army."

"A conflict?"

"They did not support the new religion. It is law now. You have no choice but to believe in Ike the God. He was just a beorc. He was never a God," the tiger responded.

"So his parents voiced their opinions and were killed for it. Unfortunate," Darius mumbled. The tiger merely nodded.

"It makes it hard for laguz to live in Crimea. That is why I live out here, where no one can see me. Laguz know better... many knew Ike in person. Many fought alongside him. They have to go against better judgement and pretend to know nothing for peace. I am sorry, I talked more than I meant. You need bandages for your wing," the tiger mumbled, as he began to shift through different draws. Finally, he pulled out a roll of gauze and tossed it to Kaetar.

"Should we take off the remains of my shirt first, or just pile it on top?" Kaetar asked with a smirk.

"Take your shirt off, I'll be fine," he mumbled. Kaetar untied the shirt and let the long strands fall off. He then proceeded to wrap the new roll of gauze around his chest and wing and managed to get down all the way to the middle of his chest before he ran out of gauze.

"Feel better?" Kaetar asked.

"Lots! It's harder to move this thing, now," the raven grinned. That meant he did a good job. There wasn't much shirt to work with before and while he did the best he could do, the shirt just wasn't going to hold. On the other hand, the bandages were meant to hold and it would secure the wing until it could heal.

"How long will you be here?"

"My wing should heal in about a week," Darius answered. "Hey, does Soren have an extra shirt for Kaetar? They're about the same size."

Apparently, there was a shirt. It was a plain black shirt, given to him directly by Soren. He was frowning and judging by the look on his face, he wasn't too eager to let the shirt go; Kaetar wasn't too eager to take it from him if he couldn't let it go. In the end, the timid teen let the shirt go into Kaetar's hands and scurried off into the kitchen. Rykuu was right – he was shy.

Was he scared to speak because speaking out was what killed his parents?

Kaetar put the shirt on and glanced over at Darius. The raven would have to remain shirtless – it would injure him further if they tried to wrestle a shirt on him. Either way, Kaetar was thankful for a new shirt, food, and shelter.

Kaetar fell asleep in one of the guest room – built later into the house for travelers, Rykuu told him – after he stuffed himself with food. He never ate so much in one sitting before, but then again, he didn't ever starve himself for long. He didn't intentionally starve himself – he just never found the opportunity to eat in the last couple of days. It either disgusted him too much or he just felt too sick to eat and he would have just lost it anyway.

He was woken up by someone shaking him. When his vision focused to the dark, he could see Soren's red hair. He shook him again. "I'm awake! What do you need?" he asked. Soren merely looked at them and then motioned to follow him with his hand. Kaetar shrugged and slipped out of bed. He put his boots on and trudged after the shy boy. He didn't know where he was taking him, but he was definitely curious. Why would the shiest person he ever met want to meet him somewhere out of his own free will?

Eventually, Soren lead the prince outside. The sky was dark and if it wasn't for the moon, the prince wouldn't have been to see at all. He disappeared briefly, but he came back with a bow and arrow, along with a basket. He placed a basket under a tree, which Kaetar realized was full of red fruit. Soren stood back, loaded the arrow and fired. The arrow hit the stem and the fruit fell into the basket at the bottom. He smirked at Kaetar. "That was amazing," the prince mumbled.

Soren nodded.

"Do you collect fruit all the time like this?" Kaetar asked. Communication was not out of the question with him, so long as the prince asked 'yes' or 'no' questions – he could nod or shake his head and he had no problem doing that.

Instead he shrugged.

"When they're in season?"

A nod.

"Did your father teach you the bow?"

The boy shook his head.

"Your mother then?"

Another nod. Soren then shoved the bow into his hand and offered an arrow. Now Kaetar was more confused than before; what was the real reason for the boy bringing him out here? To play with his bow and arrow? To show off? There had to be something more to this, but so long as Soren remained quiet, he would never find that reason. Instead, he had to try to interpret his actions.

Soren must have wanted him to try it or Soren must have wanted to see if Kaetar knew how to use it. The prince had seen the archer stance more than once and it was mostly when he followed his father to see how the new recruits were doing in their training. Kaetar liked being at the base, which wasn't far from the castle and went whenever his father went. He would watch them fire their arrows at targets, but watching someone do something was completely different than doing it himself, that he knew.

"I don't know how," Kaetar responded. Soren didn't take his bow back and actually offered a second arrow. He wanted him to try it – that much was clear now. Kaetar assumed the position that he watched other archers stand in and then he was lost. He managed to knock the bow, but when he fired, he could feel the string smack his arm and he instinctively dropped the bow with a shout.

Soren frowned, but remained quiet as Kaetar inspected his arm. It was red at the site but it wasn't bleeding. He almost wanted to see blood even if it made him queasy; blood almost justified the pain in his arm. "That's enough of that for tonight," the prince mumbled, walking back towards the house. Soren scooped his bow up and followed him in. Darius watched and jerked his head to the right. His bed had been moved to the main room, under the window and against the wall. The raven was sitting up, leaning against the wall, completely surround by his blankets. He looked comfortable, to say in the least – but that was good! The more comfortable he was, the better he would feel.

"Where did you go?"

"Outside with Soren. Is there something cold here? My arm hurts."

Darius raised an eyebrow. "What were you doing out there?"

"I tried a bow and arrow for the first time and it hit my arm, and it really hurts! Ah! It's bruising!" Kaetar mumbled as he stared down at his own arm. His arm was going from red to a soft purple colour already.

"I didn't know you were interested in the bow," Darius mumbled, grabbing his pillow.

"I'm still exploring. If I can do magic I might choose that but either way, I want to be able to do more than contribute finances to the group," Kaetar answered with a yawn. He was tired, but he wasn't sure if he would be able to fall asleep, not with his arm turning purple.

"The finances are really important though! Just don't point that bow at me," the bird smirked. Kaetar was confused; why would Darius ever be afraid of an arrow? He seemed to understand his confusion, but before he could say anything, Rykuu walked into the room.

"It is because arrows hurt one of the bird tribe hurt more than a sword will... unless it is that special sword," he growled.

Kaetar knew what the special sword was. It was a Laguzslayer, a blade especially designed to cut into the flesh of a laguz. They were red and twisted – they never did really look like the type of weapon that they were supposed to be. They were eventually outlawed in Crimea, and Daein was working to outlaw them now as well, as their laguz population was beginning to rise. If it wasn't for his father discussing it in his presence, then he would have never known about these weapons and he only shoot

"I know those," the prince mumbled, just so the tiger didn't have to waste his breath.

"I don't care if you use the bow though," the raven shrugged.

The tiger disappeared momentarily and began shifting through his draws again. Once he came back, he put an orange pendant into the raven's hands. Darius gasped. "I haven't seen these things since the Mad King's war! It's real treasure, you should keep it. I'll be fine, I'm a good raven!"

"What is it?"

"It's called a berocguard… it protects us, but it's a long story," Darius explained. "That means it won't hurt too much if you accidentally shoot me! Ema would be jealous, but it would just be better if she didn't know that these things are still around."

"Hmm… who is Ema?"

"She's one of our friends. A cat laguz to be more precise," the raven answered, tossing the pendent back to the tiger. Rykuu shook his head and then shrugged as he placed it back into the drawer.

"Hrm… we of the beast tribe do not have to worry about simple bows like you do. Fire magic is troubling," Rykuu mumbled, shifting back into the conversation of weaknesses.

"So… if someone shot you with a Laguz Bow… would that instantly kill you?"

Darius seemed surprised, and then he laughed. "I know you're curious and all, but there are something that people don't feel like answering. I don't even want to think about it."

Kaetar shrugged; he wouldn't force Darius to answer a hypothetical question anyway. Rykuu looked down at him, and patted his back. "You look tired. You should go back to bed. I will be making sure that Soren goes to bed as well."

"Just one more question – is Soren named after Ike's tactician?"

"I do not know. You will have to ask him yourself," the tiger answered. Kaetar decided to leave it at that, and he climbed into his borrowed bed.

A week passed quickly. Every day, Kaetar woke up, ate, and then practiced with the bow until lunch. Then he took some time to sit down, think, or simply talk to anyone who felt like listening. Soren spoke a little – he had a high pitched voice that Kaetar didn't expect. He only spoke to give more detail instructions to Kaetar, ones that he couldn't describe with gestures. For instance, the prince had no idea that gripping the bow tightly actually affect his aim until Soren finally spoke and corrected him. Kaetar wasn't sure if it was because Soren was frustrated enough to speak or if he was warming up to Kaetar and he was comfortable enough to speak, just like he spoke to Rykuu.

The prince was starting to get used to the bow. He could always use more practice, but he was no longer missing all the time – he hit about a quarter of all targets. It was pathetic by military standards and if he was in the military he would no longer be in the military, but Kaetar couldn't deny that he was proud of himself. He thought that he was stuck with magic simply because his strength was not up to par to use anything else, but now he could feel the soreness in his arms that came from strain of using them. Kaetar could eventually have some muscle tone – or in the very least, his arms wouldn't look like mere sticks. It was something that he was looking forward to. He wanted to badly show everyone how he was coming along.

Even Darius seemed impressed. For the most part, Darius spent the week on his bed and rarely ever came out. When he did however, he watched with a grin that stretched from one ear to the other and clapped loudly when Kaetar hit one his targets. If Kaetar was to be stuck with anyone else, he was glad that it was Darius. He could only imagine being stuck somewhere has critical as Syrin, as irritable as Ema, or 'Serious Loiya', though he wouldn't mind being with Nicholas. The raven and the mage were easily the most cheerful people in the group and could make any situation better with their personalities. He wasn't sure about Misha, however. Nothing really struck personality wise to him yet, but he only knew her for about a day before he went out in the storm.

When the week passed, Darius left the house when Kaetar was practicing. The prince didn't make anything of it – he was so used to living in the home now that he lost track of time and didn't realize that it was time for Darius to test his wing out. "Hey Kaetar! Can you help me get the bandages off? We need to catch a boat before Loiya decides to follow you into the ocean!"

Kaetar dropped his bow and ran to the raven. Darius had everything he couldn't wear with him, including his ribbon, and he was unfolding his clothes as Kaetar unraveled the bandages. He was careful not to tear them – if his wing was still broken then it would be handy to keep them.

That proved to be unnecessary. As soon as the raven had the room to spread his wings, he took off. It was weird to watch him fly in his human form; he typically walked, and when he did fly, it always seemed to be in his laguz form. He did fly when he was carrying Loiya out of the forest, but that didn't make it any less weird now.

Soren simply stared. He looked mesmerized by Darius' tight circles and he didn't seem to snap out of it until the raven landed on the ground with an excited shout. "You're leaving," the shy boy mumbled. It surprised Kaetar when he spoke, simply because he never expected it.

"We have to find our friends. They think I'm dead and I need to clear that up. Do you understand?"

Darius was busying himself with his putting his clothes on. It must have felt great to put any article of clothing back on after a week of wearing pants and bandages.

Soren nodded.

"Oh, I have been meaning to ask you something! Are you named after-"

"Yes… after the great one's tactician," the boy answered in a dark tone.

Was he blaming Ike for the death of his parents? After all, if Ike wasn't forced on everyone, then Soren would still be with his parents. For a moment, Kaetar couldn't blame Soren for putting someone at fault – but at the same time, Ike didn't ask for any of it. Ike didn't strike Kaetar as one who needed to be better than other people in order for him to feel satisfied with himself. The prince wanted to say something but he didn't know what Soren's boundaries were – was it alright to talk about his parents? Was it alright to bring up a different perspective? Kaetar somehow gained a bit of favour with Soren and he wasn't ready to test the waters and risk that relationship.

"I heard shouting. Are you leaving now?"

"Yeah, we have a boat to catch! Rykuu, when I transform, can you put Kaetar on my back?"

"Won't you get tired?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry," Darius mumbled. Yes, he was definitely hiding something from Kaetar – again. Did people just not trust him?

"Wait... Kaetar..." the boy mumbled suddenly.

"What is it?" Kaetar asked.

"Keep this and promise you'll come back one day," Soren muttered, handing him a bow and some arrows. It was different from the bow that he had practiced with. The bow in his hands looks brand new.

"He made it himself. Take care of it," Rykuu mumbled.

"Soren... I'll definitely come back," Kaetar answered with a nod. Rykuu lifted him up, and Kaetar waved to the tiger and his quiet boy as Darius fly away.

I don't have any new excuses for not uploading in a while, but I am in fact alive. It's just busy.

Anyway, as far as research goes, I tried my best. I looked up how to take care of a birds wings tips on shooting an arrow while trying to stay away from the fancy new... mechanical bows? I did this research a while ago, so if there are professionals out there, feel free to correct me. As for a week for Darius' wing, feel free to comment if that too fast or slow. Laguz do heal faster, but the time frame never seems to be specified.

As always, please review! Don't worry too much about hurting my feeling; if I cared too much about what others think I wouldn't have posted. I read all of my reviews and I take all critiques into consideration.