The sun began to set

"Have you guys seen Faris?" Venka asked the twins, they shook their heads.

"Are you worried for his safety?" Dusan asked.

"No, no not really, I trust him, it's just he'd normally come back by now."

"Maybe he's training still?" Katya added, she was busy braiding Alanna's hair, Alanna for her part was sitting cross legged, using a mirror to observe Katya's handiwork.

They all nodded. Faris had proven himself to be meticulous and studious, so they had no doubt in their mind he was likely in some way preparing for the upcoming fight. The room he shared with Venka and the twins was full of fairths and paintings and sketches adhered to the wall, mostly his, some belonging to Alanna, a few were Venka's shoddy first attempts. In a corner of the room was a stove, Faris had had that installed in order to cook his many meals and confectionaries, finding it cheaper to use his gold allotment to buy ingredients over partaking in the well-crafted but ultimately bland school meals.

"I hope he's not too stressed out." Morgan sat cross-legged leaning of Faris's bed, taking care not to create too many creases, he was perusing through Faris's fairths, he was enamored with the pictures, he was in the middle of looking at a fairth of a strange looking grey animal with a large elongated nose, 2 white long inverted fangs, and large ears on the side of its head, like flags. The animal was in the midst of walking by a large river, the background was rolling grasslands and a few trees spread about here and there. "Hmmm, Venka, what is this?"

Venka peered over, looking at the animal. "I have no idea; did he make it up?"

Dusan extended his hand to look at the picture, "Hmm, it shouldn't be an imaginary animal, everything looks natural, and it's supposedly extremely difficult to create a fictional depiction due to the amount of concentration required to make a fairth." He handed the picture back. "He has a lot of animals we find unfamiliar."

"Well he did train with a master until he was five." Venka offered.

"Five?!" Nya exclaimed incredulously. She leaned against the wall cross-armed, she was partaking of Faris's extra emergency jerky that he kept in an enchanted icebox, inside was a bowl of dough he left to chill overnight, and some fruits he got from the market a week ago were also in the cooling unit. Faris has by now consigned his fate to have his food scavenged by the voracious predators that were his teenaged friends and took to making sure he had more than was needed for himself at all times. He had the fruits for Alanna and Dusan, so that they wouldn't be left out when everyone else was snacking. Nya continued chewing on the delicious jerky as she looked up, "how much training can someone get in before they turn five?"

Venka shrugs. "I don't think Faris would lie about it, and I don't remember knowing him really or speaking to him often until halfway through my sixth summer."

"You know, he's really mature for a ten-year-old." Morgan said, "I mean, when I was ten, I don't remember being anywhere near as oriented to cleanliness."

"Yeah, and no ten-year-old boy would normally be so oriented to things like cooking and cleaning." Katya began, "Venka, are you sure he's a boy?"

"Don't be dumb," Seya announced, "He's definitely a boy."

"How do you know?" Katya asked jokingly, she paled when Seya merely winked.

Morgan leafed through more fairths, each one filled to the brim with accurate depictions of flora and fauna, and a few of people. "Hey! He's got pictures of us! Venka, Nya, Katya, me, Alanna, Dusan, Bartholomew!"

"What about me?" Seya asked hopefully.

"He's even got Ventus! Everyone's here!"

As Morgan feebly fought off an equally feeble Seya, Venka picked up the fairth of her, it was of her stuffing her face with food, she was about to put it down annoyed when she recognized the platter as the meal given to them after confronting the mages, and after she kissed him. She smiled fondly at the picture.

"Actually, he's got a lot of fairths of Ventus, close ups of the beak, talons, the wings in different poses and stuff, wow here's a really cool one of Ventus and a hawk!" Everyone stopped to see the depiction of Ventus performing an elaborate evasion technique on a hawk that had attempted to hunt him, his enchanted amulet Faris gave him shining in Faris's signature silvery color.

"The attention to light and color give it such a vibrant feeling, like I am looking out a window." Dusan looked on in awe.

"Wow, it's like Ventus is right in front of me huh…" Venka smiled, "Wait, have you guys seen Ventus?"

"Not since yesterday," Alanna spoke, pondering. "I remember Faris making a tiny satchel and putting a few papers in it, tying the satchel to Ventus and sending him off."

"Oh? Where's he going then?"

Ventus was preening himself on a mat of hay, the room he was in smelled faintly of his master. His master was one of the two-legs, the two-legs destroyed his nest and almost killed him. Though this two-leg was different, for one, it had been a bit darker than the two-legs that Ventus avoided, but even then the two-leg had, nest mates that were like the lighter two-legs, they petted and preened him and gave him food, so they weren't territorial rivals. A day ago, the two-leg asked him to take something to the two-leg parents, after reading the note they gave him food, and pet him, he liked them. He didn't like many two-legs, but he owed master his life, and would help him. He observed master's nest, it was different from his birth nest, instead of hay, cut trees made up the floor, and the sides were more cut trees made up the sides and covered the sky. There was a single hole, leading outside, but he remained in, it was warm here, and safe. The owl turned to the mirror in the room, even in the gloom it's powerful eyes could make out the lightly glowing shiny strapped to him. Ever since that day and since master healed him, he got stronger, faster, and smarter, he could avoid and defeat even the most cunning of predators, and now no prey could escape his hunt unless he himself chose not to attack. And the black-wings, the dreaded enemy of his kind, they became his friends, he knew when to avoid their territories, and learned that leaving an offering in their territory made them less wary of him. Just like he could now, they recognized faces, and very few of them bothered him or croaked in his presence. Whenever Ventus accidentally entered the territory of other quiets like him, he outmaneuvered them easily, even the most experienced and biggest could not overpower him, and if he ever did get overpowered master's gift would save him. Eventually, he began to feel a warmth coming from master's gift, a great warmth that somehow kept away the chill of night, the pain of hunger, and the terror a bigger predator could fill him with. Tonight, he was going to be handed more of that white-leaf his master had given him, and he would return back, he had hunted his fill and while the black-wings back in his territory ceased to give him trouble, he tired having to deal with the new ones here, they were relentless until he entered the two-leg-cut-tree-nest that belonged to master's parents. Despite master not having feathers and not being able to use his calls, master's sounds somehow communicated to Ventus exactly what he wanted to say. Some two-legs, like master's nest mates and his parents knew this tongue, but most two-legs did not. When he met the sweet-smelling-sharp-eared-two-legs they spoke to him like that, and he was pleased that they had become nest mates with master.

"Hello Ventus!"

He turned to see the female two-leg that laid Faris, she had happy smile as she scratched him on the forehead. He turned is face to give her a better angle. Unlike master's sire his mother had an affinity with animals, and knew just what would be considered a fitting meal. She placed a note into his satchel.

"A smart bird like you is a blessing Ventus! Be sure to keep an eye of Faris now!" Haya meant it as a joke but the owl couldn't understand such nuances, as it was the ancient language when used to communicate with animals normally wasn't a command, but merely a suggestion that the animals could easily ignore. Ventus didn't ignore Faris when he offered food and promised to not be a predator because he was desperate and close to death anyways. Over time, the enchantment on the amulet changed Ventus on a physical and mental level, slowly providing the tools he needed to survive against cunning predators.

Happy, the owl had his first coherent thought, thinking of when Faris first brought him to his nest, after setting the down and giving him a blanket he wished him a good sleep and happiness, he didn't understand what happy meant, but he felt it equate to the feeling of being full, a complete meal, or defeating an interloper in his territory, or one day finding a mate, being with Faris and his fellow nest-mates made Ventus, happy, and he wanted to continue that happiness as long as he could.

"Please when you can, take this note back to my son."

Ventus experimentally hopped about a few times. Someone might joke that it seemed as if the owl wanted to make sure the note wouldn't fall off; they'd be surprised to realize that was correct. After a few more short hops Ventus nuzzled Haya's hand, turned towards the window, and flew off. Like before, the gift from his master would sustain him on his way back, and warn him of incoming predators and help alert him to prey.

Faris, he thought as he flew past the trees of Briarwood Village, friend.

As she watched him go Haya turned to her husband, "It's nice when we get letters."

He nodded, choosing not to reply over how excited his wife had been to receive the letters, and how he had to console her sobs of joy over their son writing back. He shook his head ruefully. Faris seemed to be having fun, and that was enough for him.

"He better visit soon."

"I'm sure he will honey."

"Oh! I hope he writes before that! I'll need to prepare his favorite meal!"