The incident with the evil griffin left Bolero in a pondering mood, but Flury was simply too tired and far too irritable to be of much help to Bolero's inquiries. Elda was sitting quietly, flicking her tail back and forth with the air of a bothered cat. They had located a small valley about five miles from the outpost in Cursora. The inhabitants of the watchtower had not attacked them. On the contrary, they had locked themselves in and would simply answer neither Flury's earth-shaking knocks (eventually he had thrown himself against the door in frustration) nor Bolero's magical promptings. They were scared stiff, as far as Bolero's practiced mind readings could tell.
The fire lit up Elda's face and created exaggerated shadows, making her look sinister and exhausted simultaneously. She rustled her feathers and broke the silence.
"So, where to next?" Flury could hear exhaustion in her voice.
"Our capitol is located in the central province of Nisila. As far as we know, it could be infested with rebels by now," Flury began, "The main problem is the fact that we might be facing an army of griffins, as well as humans and dragons, once we get there. However, I really can't think of anywhere better to find out what's happened."
"Do we have a choice?" Bolero asked.
"Knowing our government's reluctance to deal with things outside the capitol, I shouldn't think so," Flury said. He was tired, and the few hours rest they had procured had not rested him nearly enough.
"I suppose that means we'll be leaving at dawn, then," said Elda furiously. "I'm tired, and Querida never said we were in a hundred mile dash to get there."
"Elda, we must leave as soon as we can," Bolero said gravely. "I am sorry, but something is threatening our world. Dragons are too powerful to be left alone for too long, therefore we must stop them before it is too late."
"I'm tired, too. But Elda, I think Bolero's right. Please, get some rest," Flury pleaded. He was so much in earnest that Elda couldn't help lying down and closing her eyes. Her tail flicked to fro for a while, and then it settled as Elda fell into her repose.
"She is growing up, I think," Bolero said quietly. "Don't take her crankiness personally, my dear Flurian. She is growing up, but she is tired, too."
"I know," Flury muttered, settling into his own sleeping position. Bolero had known what he was thinking, but he didn't mind as much as he had before. Good night Elda, he thought.
"Good night Flurian," came Bolero's voice.
"And you, Bolero."
The next morning came uneventfully, save for Elda's repeated grumbling at being awoken so early. They set off towards Nisila, flying as close to the ground as possible and coming down to rest every so often. Flury was feeling chronically exhausted now, as was Elda. They lagged behind as they used their mundane flying skills. Bolero glided gracefully ahead on her magical wings. She occasionally looked back in worry as the griffins lagged behind, further and further away.
It really was a shame Elda was so tired, Flury thought to himself. She hadn't the time to enjoy the wondrous country passing below her. Unlike the country she herself came from, the land of the griffins was a wild place, filled with old growth forests and seldom visited crystal lakes. The temperature was moderate, but it was getting chillier as they flew inland. Flury supposed that warm ocean currents from the far south kept the temperature warm, but he wasn't very well versed on meteorology. He felt a swell of pride in his heart, knowing that this was his land, the wild continent of the griffins. This overcame his tiredness for a short time, and he soared swiftly along next to Bolero, spreading his brown wings more widely.
During one of their frequent rests, Elda suddenly thought of something. "Flury, Don and Calette are still here! Them and their spouses! What if they're in trouble?" She was so alarmed that Flury became alarmed as well.
"I-I should think they could take care of themselves, Elda," he said. He hadn't really thought of the repercussions it would have on Elda if this revolution were real. Don and Calette were not magic users, but they were both very clever and strong. Don had grown to be at least as big as Kit, and Calette was still very large compared to Elda herself.
"We'll deal with that when we get there, Elda," Bolero said calmly, "You'll make yourself sick with worry if you dwell on it."
"I'll try, but I still can't help but to be worried," Elda replied. "If only Blade and Kit were here!"
"This has become our task," said Bolero, "Blade and Kit will feel if something happens to you, Elda. Besides, your magic is equally as strong as theirs. You simply need to start relying more on yourself."
"It's not that I don't try!" Elda exclaimed, "But everyone's been babying me ever since I was little! I'm the youngest griffin, and the smallest one too, so no one ever expects me to do anything! I suppose that having the protection of so many brothers and sisters and wizards all my life has conditioned me." She was calming down.
"I can't say I can relate, Elda. I'm an only child," Flury said, "I do think I've always been surrounded my stupid cousins and our over-civilized government. I think it forced me to think with more clarity. I know I would never run a whole country the way they do."
"Can't you run for office or something?" asked Elda, glad for the distraction. Flury was becoming a lot less defensive now that he was away from his cousins and the hubbub of the University.
"Well, I could," said Flury. "But I don't think you understand how it works. We're not exactly a monarchy, but we're not a democracy either. I don't think we'd be considered a military government, because we really don't have a strong army. The country's top wizards pick the governing body, but as I'm not in the council of wizards, I can't help pick stronger leaders. And since I'm not on the council, they obviously don't like me that much." This was as uncomplicated as Flury could make it.
"You could go push a mountain out of shape," Bolero advised.
"They'd just barricade themselves in their offices," Flury replied glumly. He really didn't like the council of wizards. In his opinion, none of them were nearly as powerful as himself. However, he considered it a rude thing to mention.
"Well, obviously there's going to have to be some sort of reform," Elda grumbled. "I'm beginning to think these top wizards are right idiots. They're obviously not as powerful as they should be, speaking in terms of magic."
"Well, no," Flury replied simply.
The conversation could have continued further, but they all were interrupted by a scream from the woods to the east of their clearing. Flury and Elda, forgetting their tiredness, leapt into the air and flew to the source of the noise. Their griffin ears were extremely keen. Bolero obviously thought she need not come. She was looking at them sharply, but neither griffin saw that.
They found the source of the noise, and it surprised both of them. It had not occurred to either of them that a creature so small could make such a human noise. It was a fox, of all things, and it was screaming despairingly, rather than in danger.
As Flury and Elda circled and landed, the fox screeched at them, "LOOK AT ME! What's happened to me?" He was sobbing in a most pathetic way. Flury was confused. He hadn't thought foxes did sob.
"Flury?" exclaimed the fox, bounding up to him. "I suppose you can't tell who I am."
"Er… Not really," said Flury inconclusively.
"I've put under some stupid spell by a dragon! It made me into the creature I despise most!" the fox cried.
"Hessian?" Flury asked, not believing his own ears.
"Never thought you'd forget my voice, Flury. I'd have thought it was unforgettable." Flury could see now that it was Hesian. Proud, extroverted Hesian. Flury's mind went back to his student days (which were not really that long ago), and he remembered his tutorial group. It had only been Hesian and himself that year, as everyone else was too busy making a muddle of the government to train as wizards.
"You say a dragon did this to you?" asked Flury, pressing his magic against the dragon's spell. It wouldn't budge. The only one who would be able to take it off, he sensed, was the dragon that had made the spell.
"It took my body, too. I think that all of wizards have had this happen to them, because at the same time I felt everyone else's bodies being with the dragon, but I couldn't see them. I don't know what to do," Hesian said sadly.
"How is Nisila? Have they taken it?" Flury asked.
"I'm afraid so. It's under the rule of the rebels, and there's nothing the army can do about it. Right bunch of idiots, they are." Even as a fox, Hesian was immediately recognizable. Flury had been away too long. "Dragons swarming around the place. There's a rumor that they have Wizard Derk's daughter with them, Elda or something."
Elda looked taken aback for a second. "But I'm Elda!"
"Are you then? Then it was the other daughter who was being held," Hesian said, tilting his fox head to the side. Flury could tell what that meant. Hesian, though he wasn't very good looking as a griffin, was rather the ladies man. Flury glared at him and shot a small warning spell at him.
"Oh," said Hesian, looking at Flury. "I understand."
"We have to save Calette!" she said furiously. "How dare they!" She breathed deeply, and tried to calm herself down. "What do we do, Flury?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.
"Another rescue mission, I suppose," was all Flury could come up with. It hadn't hit him until now that he really did have a problem. Something really was happening; it wasn't all rumors as he had convinced himself before. He suddenly felt incredibly weak. "Hesian, I suppose you'll be coming with us, then?" he enquired.
"Naturally," Hesian replied.
"We're traveling with a dragon from Wizard Derk's continent, a white one called Bolero. You won't be alarmed when you see her?" Flury asked.
"Dragons are an all too common sight nowadays," Hesian said, slumping slightly. Flury allowed Hesian to scramble between his pinions, and then took off with Elda not far behind.
"So this runt is what was causing the noise," Bolero asked. "Vain little creature," she muttered. Hesian was too busy clinging to Flury to worry about Bolero's comments, but Flury wished she wouldn't have said that nonetheless.
Elda landed by Flury, shaking with anger. "How dare they!" she kept muttering. Flury wanted, with all his heart, to be the comforting hero, to twine his neck around her's and say everything would be fine. He wasn't brave enough, though, and his heart was beating far too quickly, complimenting the butterflies floating around in his stomach. He made a resolution then and there.
He turned to her. "We will save Calette, Elda. I'll make sure of it."
A/N: I've just had a nice read-over of this chapter, and I can see that I overdid the adverbs…