Chapter 2: Departure and Arrival

It explained a lot, but Ulki didn't quite know what to think as he massaged his temples. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop; in fact, he had been waiting—even with his back turned—at the very end of the hall. There simply hadn't been anything else around to muffle the other two's voices.

Blast, Ulki thought with disgust, now I am making excuses for myself. I haven't spent that much time with Janaff, have I? But, he supposed, he really did deserve to know. Janaff couldn't have hidden it from him for long, anyway.

Ulki concurred that the human was definitely to be sent back home. The only question now was how to have it go about it his way. He unfortunately couldn't pull rank on Janaff, and although the younger hawk had offered to resolve the situation... But this was turning out more difficult than it had to be. Therefore, Ulki decided he would guarantee a zero chance for mistakes.

Yes, he had everything planned and mostly under control... Mostly.

That was, he did until his ears picked up the subtle warning within Janaff's next statement. "At the very least, this must be a three-way compromise."

The voice was quiet, but it had uttered so sharply that Ulki knew that Janaff had been deliberately directing it at him. Not only that, but Ulki could feel the other's piercing eyes drilling a hole between his shoulder blades, so how could Janaff not know?

"Very well," Ulki replied as he turned around. "Meet me before sunrise in the courtyard with Keer and the child, and we will go from there. Quite the bother, but I will arrange for our short leave."

Indeed, the next morning witnessed three misty figures reflected within the beads of dew still lingering on the leaves.

"Where are we going?" Serrai murmured sleepily from atop Keer's back. The young hawk had been questioning the same thing himself, but it didn't seem as if he was going to be answered anytime soon; his two elders were already conversing quite furtively.

Their destination within the bordering forest ended up being nowhere special. This resulted in the beorc child quickly growing bored, which unfortunately left Keer to somewhat forfeit his input for the compromise as he left to play with her.

Afterwards followed an extended lapse of time devoted to silence. Janaff then boldly ventured, "We will return Serrai in face of Begnion's royal court to ensure—"

"Absolutely not," Ulki interrupted immediately. "Do you not understand how Phoenicis will be viewed if we show up with their human in our possession? As things stand between our nations, Begnion could easily make things ugly for us in a heartbeat. And need I remind you that we may soon be at war with Kilvas?"

Janaff rolled his eyes. "I am aware of that, but how else are we to bring her back if not directly? We won't be able to sneak in without being caught."

"Ordinarily," Ulki mused, "the council could handle situations that require diplomacy, but with the sudden outrage at Serrai's presence, this is not the time to ask for their help. We are definitely on our own."

"You didn't answer the question."

But the older hawk wouldn't have been able to. At that moment, Keer suddenly came crashing through the bushes with a look of sheer terror upon his face. However, he didn't grace either of the two with so much as an acknowledgment as he continued his frenzied dash. Janaff and Ulki shot each other alarmed glances as they both began to follow; Serrai's absence was not promising.

With a few long strides, Ulki plucked Keer off his feet and rapped his knuckles smartly across the little hawk's forehead. "Now, then..."

Forceful resistance met him unexpectedly as Keer squirmed and twisted with all his might. "You don't understand! There isn't any time! They took Serrai! They're taking her towards the Hall! What if the council—" The hawk's breathing was beginning to hitch.

Ulki clutched Keer's chin firmly, forcing the child to look up as he asked calmly, "Who? Who took the girl?"

"Who?" Keer repeated, still stunned. His face soon cleared, and his composure gradually returned along with an odd air of certainty about him. "But you guys can take care of things. The council will have to listen to you."

"In reality, not likely, most especially if the matter concerns humans," Janaff put in wryly. "You might want to tell us what's going on."

"Beorc from Begnion are here—actually, more like half their army maybe—hey! Wait!" Keer got no further. In less than a second, the two older hawks had disappeared.

It was difficult to assess which laguz's wake the trees swayed more violently under. Leaves rippled crazily, complementing the branches' temporary ability to deliver a serious backlash. The entire forest seemed to shudder from the intensity of their travel.

Ulki's expression was extremely cross; the council would undoubtedly steer this situation in a less than desirable direction. He simply wanted nothing more to do with the human child. Was it too much to ask? Meanwhile, he gazed back at Janaff disapprovingly. From the looks of it, the younger hawk was going to more than likely let his emotions obstruct their ultimate goal for this mess.

Not that they would be able to make it back to the Hall in time to halt anything from taking place. ...But still better than not being present at all.

"Blast, there's no way the council is going to wait for us!"

"That much is obvious! Please," Ulki snapped, "spare me your thoughts and make more haste!"

"Well, don't shed your tail feathers over it," Janaff retorted indignantly. Nonetheless, the hawk did increase his pace with a bit of fervor. He wasn't that ignorant of how things worked. The council would see to it that, even without a current king, Phoenicis's image would stay strong, and that meant knocking Ulki and Janaff out of the picture.

Alas, the numerous human soldiers lounging outside Phoenicis Hall could not mask the fact that the main meeting room was already guarded against any interruptions. This was evident in that a couple of hawks were stationed as sentries—in their laguz forms, that was.

"Guys, wait for me!" Keer's mouth met dirt as two different hands simultaneously reached out to push his head down.

Little did he know then, he would have to crash the meeting entirely by himself as Ulki and Janaff provided the distraction. It was scary yet exciting at the same time. Should he go for a big, flashy entrance? Sneaky? Would anything even be right in this kind of situation?

But the only thing he could not be was weak.

Time expired as Keer reached the doors. There hadn't been enough of it to decide upon something. The hawk now wondered if he should at least listen in first.

"Her mother and father want her back! They have lost three years of caring for her!"

Well, that wasn't true. Keer kicked open the doors without hesitation and, fighting down tingling nerves, strode in like it was nothing. However, he was unprepared for the staggering weight of every single stare in the room—including, he realized in embarrassment, the White Prince.

"Brother!" At least not everyone felt insulted by his presence. And Serrai's voice hadn't lessened any in volume or emotion, which he was infinitely glad for.

"Even if her parents lost those years, could they even begin to care for her? Parents who had failed to cherish her since birth? Real parents wouldn't neglect her, much less abandon her!

"It would have been so easy to just pin the blame on us laguz, which no doubt you guys probably did. But three years is a ridiculously long time to wait before deciding to come looking! Kilvas would never have taken her, and Begnion has an army large enough to divide between going to Gallia and Phoenicis at the same time! You guys are useless! Serrai would be happier here!" Keer finished his statement proudly.

"But a child's opinion will not matter!" a beorc cried out. "Moreover, you sub-humans have gone as far as to teach the girl to live among you. Our races will always be different no matter what you try! This is unacceptable."

As these words were spoken, Ulki snorted to Janaff while out of sight behind the doors. "The council won't take that lightly." Janaff nodded knowingly in response.

True enough, no sooner had he said this when every single council member gave a simultaneous outcry, more than half of them rising out of their seats in taking offense. From what Janaff could see to his satisfaction, many of the humans in the room were unsuccessful at hiding their flinching.

"We have done no such thing!" Strahl's tone was crisp. "You may not have realized it, but we have not objected to, as of yet, the idea of returning her to you. Take her and leave, and all will surely be well! And Ulki, Janaff; stop dawdling. Enter, if you would."

Begnion's diplomats, however, ignored the two hawks completely as they came in. "Why is it, then, that the word laguz was among her first words to us?"

"Because sub-human is an ugly word," Serrai said meaningfully. "Laguz is a lot prettier." Keer looked horrified as he attempted to shush her.

"That's a good enough reason, don't you think?" Janaff asked. Ulki elbowed him roughly at this, and Janaff's reply ghosted over his tongue, knowing the older hawk could hear it. "I'm tired of this worthless quarrel. Is it so bad if we kick them out for that? This isn't about Serrai anymore." It never had been.

By this time, the council had caught on. "Yes, yes," Strahl said. "The damage is done. If you won't take her back, then we will keep her. Now if you would, please leave."

There were no underlying feelings for Serrai, Keer knew. The council was wearier of this altercation than they cared about her at all. Even Reyson looked ready to put up a fight if need be.

A beorc in overly decorative clothes—the head of Begnion's royal court, Ulki guessed—opened his mouth presumably for further arguing, but he closed it and gulped audibly as every hawk seemed to be on the verge of shifting forms.

"You would dare to resist your unfavorable odds?" Janaff challenged. The man meekly shook his head. "Smart answer, human."

As the beorc hastily departed from Phoenicis, Keer happily blew a raspberry at them, ignoring the disapproving stares as Serrai laughed and did likewise. Not one to be left out, Janaff also yelled...something that was rather unintelligible. Several stared at him in confusion, others in exasperation, but to everyone's surprise, Reyson's lips quivered in delight.

"Janaff," Ulki questioned, "that phrase wouldn't happen to be in heron language, would it?"

"Huh? Eh, well..." The younger hawk rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, I guess it is. How could you tell?"

Ulki rolled his eyes. "Don't give me that. What kind of king's ears would I be if I didn't familiarize myself with all the different bird tribe dialects? Trust me, although it is not a hawk's ardent desire, I know how to speak crow, too. As for heron, it is rather difficult to learn. May I ask how you came by it?"

"Um, that is..." Janaff's cheeks were tinged a faint pink as he began stuttering. "I-I learned it f-from L-Lilia...b-but it's not even a proper phrase! I mean, she was probably cussing! I just kind of..."

"That would explain why the White Prince can't seem to stop chuckling."

Later, as dusk came around, the two attendants and two younglings were found in the formers' quarters. Everything was quiet; Keer was holding Serrai close, feeling anxious now that the time had come.

The older hawk spoke up first. "You know that she will not be allowed to reside here for much longer."

"I haven't decided where to let her go yet."

"That is a rather troublesome issue," Ulki said. "No laguz territory would accept her, and Begnion is certainly out of the question. The only possible and positive option I could see would be Crimea."

"But Crimea has just recently emerged as a nation," Janaff pointed out. "If Begnion invaded, Crimea would be crushed within a fortnight!"

"Where better to place the girl than a neighboring, insignificant, human nation?" From Janaff's expression, Ulki's point had been taken. "She can lead a normal country life away from ostracizing, and Keer can visit her once he is older without fear of disturbing a village's discrimination."

This was surely the best option.

But it didn't mean it was the easiest. Every time Ulki and Janaff turned around, they were met with shifty glances and pitied looks. Every time Keer turned around, however, there always seemed to be someone else trying to pierce between his shoulder blades with their uncomfortable stare.

The majority of Phoenicis was more than pleased to witness Serrai depart. Perhaps it was because two high-ranking juvenile hawks would be gone for at least two weeks, but it was still two weeks worth of freedom, and it blatantly showed. It could be assumed that things would be reined in tighter than they had already been by the time the three got back.

Keer's heart began to quicken upon their arrival at Crimea. They couldn't take too long choosing a place, but he still wanted to bash Janaff's face in for even suggesting the 'egg in nest' technique. The blasted bird had probably cracked his own eggshell from being dumped into a foreign nest.

Serrai surprisingly had not made a sound since they left. When asked, she replied that everything was okay because her big brother would live with her one day. She had made him promise. The strength of her confidence nearly made Keer smile with a little too much pride.

Keer, with watery eyes, watched her walk up the worn path to a house where she would be living the rest of her childhood. It just felt so strange.

The little girl turned one last time to wave goodbye, but the hawks had already taken to the skies.

There was something amiss back at Phoenicis. Neither of the older hawks could place it, but... Janaff let out a strangled yelp right then. Ulki and Keer glanced towards Janaff to see him pointing at something that was, thankfully, within their sight.

In seconds, whatever Janaff had been excited about was clarified. One of the academy's retired teachers, who had been a favorite among students in his day, was lounging drowsily atop a branch of one of their tallest trees. That wasn't what was troubling, however.

It was the blue cat laguz dressed in brown and orange, perched above the unsuspecting old hawk and ready to pounce.