She struggled under the weight of her friend, carrying only his top half, as he was taller than she was and she was still so small, leaving the other half to drag in the snow behind them. The slush and broken ice of the lake behind them, she shivered harshly against the chill and the wind, tugging him along, as best as she could as her climb was slowed by the packing snow.

There were plenty of times when she collapsed with him, falling to her knees, falling completely to her belly, but every time, she would bite back a scream of pain at the frozen daggers digging into her small frame and push herself, albeit shakily, back to her feet again.

Her braids were frozen, she could feel them scratching against the back of her neck, and there came plenty of moments, when she did fall into the snow under her, that she wanted to just lay there and be taken. It hurt, to continue on trudging through the snow, it burned, which was odd in her mind, considering it was cold snow, and she couldn't understand how cold snow could burn.

But she vowed to herself, she would save her friend this time. Zaveriel had saved her the last time they had been caught up a frozen situation, and with him as the unconscious one, she would do everything in her power to be the one to save him this time around.

The fledgling stumbled along for what felt like lifetimes, until she could move no longer, and with one final push she fell forward into the cold snow underneath her. The burning had gone away some steps ago, and now everything was just numb, her frozen eyelashes caught the white snowflakes as she stared ahead of her, wanting to keep marching on but not able to force her little body to any further.

There were blurry figures running towards them, in thick furs and leather, she felt her friend being lifted away, and something warm curl around her as she too was lifted from the cold snowy ground she lay on. Large hands pressed her to a warm body, curling her within a thick furry cloak for added warmth, and she titled her head up weakly, white-covered little eyelashes fluttering in exhaustion, and the blurry face slow, ever so slowly, came into view.

"N—Ni'?"

"W... H're…. Li'….'ne…'tay….'ith….'e…..'ow…."

She could vaguely feel him running, the jostle of his arms as he sprinted as fast as he could, to give them enough momentum to rocket into the air. Silvery wings fluttered in her peripheral vision, and the air around her hissed as they jetted into the ethereal plane, she turned her head against his chest, eyes just barely able to peek out from over the edge of his thick cloak, to see other more blurry figures soaring through the plane with them.

With her job complete, her friend having been found, both of them in safe hands, the fledgling finally let unconsciousness take her too.

…

The first thing that welcomes her back to the real world is the soft rustling sounds of multiple persons moving about, the bustling of the Infirmary drawing her from the world of darkness, and back into the present. Her eyelashes flutter open slowly, her head's turned to the side, and she sees a healer in soft pink robes bending to rub at the forehead of a bedbound warrior just two beds away from her. The second thing that welcomes her is the warmth, warmth from all around, it's under her, it above her, is at her sides, she warm where freezing had been before. From head to toe. The softness of a thick blanket rubs over her cheek when she gives the slightest of nods, and it immediately follows with the third welcoming back to reality, someone has undone her braids, she feels the fingers running through her slightly tamed curls stop their petting for a moment.

The healer in the soft pink robes sit up straighter, turning to gather up the basin of water, and their eyes meet. She gives a soft gasp of surprise, speaking words that fall on her deaf ears, its like she's still underwater, still swimming as best as she can for her unconscious friend, after having jumped into the icy waves after he'd fallen in.

"Kee'h?" someone's calling her name, she tilts her head ever so slightly again, looking down at her small hand pressed against a pale surface, a pale chest, "Akeelah, can you hear me?"

The fledgling want's to respond, but she can't take her eyes away from her hand, what's supposed to be her hand, but has turned into a lump of thick white bandages. Fingers curl around the back of her head, soft and gentle, and it pulls her away from her trance. Slowly she sits up, just slightly, to turn her head around to look at the other side.

Bright blue eyes greet her this time, concerned and elated in the same light, a warm hand presses to her forehead and she gives a soft little sigh.

"Can you hear me, little one?"

She licks her chapped and split lips, opening her mouth to speak, and it takes a few tries for the words to come out "Ra…...'aph…...Ra..Ra?"

"I guess that's better then I could ask for." The Healer brushes the backs of his fingers over her cheek, "Hang on a moment, I'll get you something to drink." He cups her cheek for a breath and steps away. Those fingers return to petting through her curls and she sighs, her eyes fluttering again, but she manages to fight off the darkness, she does not want to go back to sleep again.

A finger strokes down the bridge of her nose in a familiar way, and she presses her bandaged hand on this side of her head into the chest as much as she can "'uc…'uci….?"

"I'm here, my little nightingale, I'm right here."

She knows its him who she's laying on, and it brings her comfort knowing that her struggle is over, he's here now and he will make sure that everything is okay. He always makes everything all better again. And he's warm.

The Healer returns with a small steaming cup of warm water, it burns slightly as she drinks from it, his hand under her chin to catch any drops that might escape, but it's so refreshing, it burns and washes away the burn at the same time, and she greedily wants more that he is happy to fetch for her. Two and a half cups later, she's cut off, and sleep pulls too strongly for her to fight off this time.

…

Confusion is what catches him for the first moment of his waking. His eyes flutter open slowly, focusing immediately on the white bandaged hand laying just before his eyes, and right under it is tan skin of a bare chest.

The last thing his mind remembering being the crash into the freezing water, the darkness that quickly overtook him, it doesn't come as a surprise when he doesn't know where he is for a moment, who's body he is laying pressed against, and he sluggishly struggles.

Fingers stop petting through his hair, "Za'….'aves…'t….O'ay….'t….Gabe…." but he knows that voice, he knows that name, he recognizes that ring around the hand that curls over his bandage wrapped one "..'a…..'a'e…Ga'….G'be…"

"It's me kiddo, I'm right here, settle back down for me."

A hand pets the back of his head, pulling him closer again, adjusting the blanket back over his shoulders. Bright blue eyes meet his, someone's kneeling at his bedside, familiar bright blue eyes, and his bandaged hand slides just a millimeter as he reaches for him "…'a…'ap…..R'pha….." two large, nimble hands, close around his bandaged one, lips pressing to the top, he can't feel them but he can see them, "I am here, my little messenger, I am right here." He turns slightly, for a small steaming mug he has set on the side table, "Take a few sips, for me?" Zaves nods as best as he can, which is barely a twitch, and opens his mouth only slightly to allow the warm water entrance, a hand sliding under his other cheek to catch the water that spills out.

His throat burns a bit, it hurts to breath some, but the warm water helps moisten what was dried "...'aph….R'pha….H'ppn'd?"

"We were hoping one of you could tell us." He pets a hand through his hair tenderly, smiling in that way he does when his patients feel safe enough around him to show how truly exhausted, they feel, and his eyes flutter again, "Later though, sleep for now."

…

When they both wake up again, its turned dark into night, candles flicker around their beds, around the beds of those not well enough to leave the infirmary. Akeelah knows that she's still laying on her choir master, his chest rises and falls steadily under her bandaged hands, she's still turned inwards, her eyes meet those of her friends, and she gives a small relieved smile, something he returns in favor.

Her eyes move upwards, to see the Messenger holding onto her friend much like her own master does for her, he's sleeping, or appears to be anyway, his fingers sluggishly scratching at the back of the young messengers neck. His eyes are closed though, and he's rested his chin on his dampened hair, he's either sleeping or close to falling off. She's never seen a messenger sit so still, especially the Messenger, so she knows how scared he must have been when he'd been told of what had happened, what they knew of what happened anyway.

There's talking, she can hear soft words being shared, and her eyes move from her friend's and the Messenger, to the source of the hushed conversation. She sees them, her vision no longer blurry, she's slept enough for it to have cleared, and she sees three figures.

The one she knows immediately, the same dark tone as her, curls brushed back around his ears, the golden ring around the one lobe shining slightly in the candlelight every time he moves his head, his bright electrifying blue eyes seem to glow in the dimness, like hers do sometimes. Raphael has his back to her, she can faintly see a dark green tunic in the flickering candlelight, "You think what?"

Across from him sits another, dark hair tied back, as he usually wears it. The pendant that had been made by her small hands hanging freely from the wide opening of his dark blue tunic, a ring glistening on the hand that rests stretched out on the table beside him, her eyes lock onto the sight that's so familiar, the same face that she had seen when they'd been found, the one who had reassured here that everything was going to be okay. Nisroc nodded to the Healer, rubbing at his chin with his other hand, before it returns to resting on his thigh "We think, not positive mind you, but we think the fledgling had carried him up that hill where they had been found. The lake below was broken, the ice shattered, the surrounding area of the break soaked completely, and the snow was matted as though something had been dragged up that hill. There is no doubt in my mind, that, that little fledgling in that bed over there, dragged her friend all the way up that hill before she couldn't carry on anymore." He made a hand motion towards her, too caught in his conversation to notice the eyes staring at him, "The only one with the wound to the back of the head to indicate hitting the ice itself was the messenger."

And then there's the one between them, back to the table adorned with tall thick candles, his arms crossed loosely over his chest, leaning back in his chair as she knows him to do. Dark wavy hair standing up in a naturally wild way, his own dark blue eyes shining in the flickering light of the candles he sits directly before. Michael looks between the two of them as they talk "You mean to say that this little fledgling carried him up that hill. Raphael, is that even possible, she is mighty, yes, but to drag someone twice her size and soaking wet up a hill of that size?"

"It's not entirely impossible, as completely out of minds reach as it may be, she would have been running on pure adrenaline. Human hikers have been known to break bones and still walk on them for hours before the trauma of the injury catches up to them, especially in life or death situations. If humans can do it, I have no doubt in my mind, that a fledgling angel could manage it."

"That is not all though."

They both turned to the Power, "From what Abraxos saw of the lake, there was only one hole, from where someone fell into it and broke the ice. The rest was splintered but still intact." He made a gesture towards her silent friend, he too listening to their conversation, "With Zaves being the only one with the wound to the back of his head, it is in our opinion that he was the one who fell in. It explains why he was so utterly soaked through, but that does not explain the Baby Powers soaking."

"You mean to say that she fell in too?"

"I mean to say, from what was seen, it stands more in the way that she jumped in for her friend. From what I was told, Abraxos said there was a clear sign of a struggle around the hole, the ice was chipped in the manner that someone was using it as a leverage of some sort, perhaps as she slowly pulled her friend from the freezing water."

"You think she actually jumped?"

"Come now, Raphael," Michael turned to look at the Healer, absorbing the words of his Captain as they had been spoken, "You've seen how fearless our fledgling is. Is it so hard to believe that she would not do something so brave as to jump in to save her friend?"

The Healer shook his head lightly "More like something so foolish." But he nodded to his elder brothers point "I concede though. It is not too outlandish to think she would do something like that, she loves dearly and fiercely, she has shown more then once that she is willing to do anything for those who she considers to be her friends."

The Prince nodded, taking a more serious look, uncrossing his leisurely position across his chest, and curled his fingers instead down over his knees "But more so on an important note," he turned to look at his Power "Was it the same demons as before?"

"It's hard to say, sir, they had already been gone for some time when we had finally found them. I am under no impression that she managed that trek in a short span of time, no matter how mighty the Baby Power may be, and it is a regret that they were found so late." Nisroc nodded, a serious light haven taken over his eyes "Haniel and Puriel are investigating as we speak though. To find out what exactly happened. Until one of them are able to tell us. We may never truly know."

Raphael rubbed a hand over his shoulder, she saw his own ring, despite how faint it was in the shadows behind him "I don't think it safe for them to be going down on their own for the time being."

Beside him, Michael nodded in agreement, "Agreed, brother." He turned to his Power in turn, "Nisroc, I trust you and the Powers will be able to escort them there and back."

"With honor, sir." Nisroc nodded in affirmation "They may not be officially in our legion, but they are one of us in spirit and bond, we protect our own."

Zaves was staring at her, she could feel it, and she looked down to meet his gaze. It was a questioning gaze, a silent inquiry of 'did you really jump in for me?' and she gave a slight nod, a single blink, hoping it was enough to portray her answer to him. His smile told her that it was 'thank you, my friend' and she returned the smile 'you're welcome, my friend'. Their gazes locked for a moment and they both shared a slight flinch 'it was the same as before'. Zaveriel twitched his nose lightly 'they had been waiting for us'. He could not move, not with the Messenger being still so close to the conscious world around them, whereas her masters soft snores rumbled against her ear with every breath, so she gave the slightest of nods to her friend once again.

Had her hands not been wrapped in bandages, she would have simply reached out and tugged on his tunic, the Healer was that close to her, but alas, her fingers were currently buried in a mountain of bandages. So, the fledglings only option was to reach out, her small bandaged hand sliding over the chest of her master, away from its resting position next to her head, and pressed it into the Healers back as much as she could.

He cut himself off midsentence at the pressure on his lower back, turning to see whatever it could be, bright blue eyes widened as their gazes met, and he was quick in moving to her bedside more completely. Behind him, Michael and Nisroc, sat forward as if waiting for a command to be followed and as if wanting to see for themselves that the courageous little fledgling was again.

Raphael pressed a large warm hand to her cheek, "You're awake, little bear?"

Akeelah nodded against his hand, licking her lips as she prepared to say something, and the Healer turned for the cup he had left sitting on the table side, and pressed it to her lips for her to drink, which she did so greedily.

"The same…. The same ones…. Same ones RaRa…Waiting for us…"

"You've been awake for some time." He looked amused, it would not have been the first time she had heard conversations that they had not known were being listened in on, there was much she knew that they didn't know she did "Are you sure it was the same ones?"

"Waiting RaRa…. They were there…. Waiting…"

Michael turned to look at his Captain "How is it possible any other, especially out enemy, would know that they would have been there?" he looked back to the fledgling, his eyes having gone soft for her "There was so few who knew where they were going to be."

The Captain seemed lost in thought for a moment, smiling to the fledgling when their eyes met, and she returned it as best as she could "You are a braver soul then most of those under my command, Baby Power, you are truly one of us." He turned to address his Commander "Sir, their path was closely kept, there is only one way they would have known about this. The first time was a coincidence. But the second time, I think not."

"You mean to say you believe there has been someone sharing our secrets?" Michael looked alarmed, "A traitor among us."

"Sir, I am not one to point blame at others, you know this," The archangel nodded in confirmation, Nisroc looked concerned now, as their eyes met again "But there is one who I don't doubt would not be above sharing such things with those that would mean us harm."