I hope I haven't bored you guys with the last few chapters, but things are going to start heating up now! Hopefully…..

WARNING: DEATH IS BEYOND THIS POINT….crap you weren't supposed to know that….oh well

The hummingbirds in the roost were already beyond agitated when Ross led the others inside. The fear that came with the approach of a battle made the poor birds' feathers ruffle. They were giving in to their natural instincts: fight or flight. All of them wanted to flee from the danger. It was only their tethers and training that kept them from flying through the open ceiling. Leafmen scurried back and forth, carrying tack and strapping them on their mounts with impressive speed.

Ross singled out his hummingbird, a female ruby-throat. She was pacing on her little feet and straining on her lead, trying to fly away. He quickly hurried to her and whispered soothing words, but to no avail. These were the kind of situations that called for Nod's ability.

Quickly, Ross strapped on her saddle. It took a while because she kept shying away. He had never seen her so skittish, and wondered how he was supposed to put the bridle on. It required him to take off her lead, and nine out of ten said she'd fly away as soon as she was free.

His frustration was mounting when M.K. came up to him. She had watched him struggle to calm his bird. "Here, I'll hold her while you put on her bridle," she said. M.K. took a firm hold on the saddle girth, and planted her feet. Even if his bird tried to take off, she wouldn't be able to hold M.K.'s dangling weight for long.

The Stomper remained calm as Ross expertly slipped off the lead and buckled the bridle, securing her. He was secretly impressed that M.K. wasn't nervous around hummingbirds. Then again, she was Nod's girlfriend, or so everybody kept saying.

"Thanks," he said appreciatively. Mason had already finished tacking up his bird. The last of the Leafmen had mounted and took to the sky, leaving the teenagers alone in the roost.

"I can't believe we aren't fighting," Ross grumbled. This was his opportunity to prove himself to his friends. That he wasn't just a big oaf and stickler for rules. But instead, they were running away like cowards.

"Well Ross, it is Ronin's orders," Mason pointed out. The older boy glared at him, not in the mood for banter.

"I don't mean to offend anyone, but do you guys like going in to battle where you most likely might die?" Surprisingly, it was Jason who asked the question. He had gotten over his shyness to start talking again.

"It's what we've trained for," Mason answered. "When we signed up for this, we all knew the risks of the job. We know how to fight."

"They didn't train us to run away!" Ross complained.

Mason gave a lopsided grin. "Yeah, only the officers and generals know how to tactfully retreat."

The door banged open as Lex and Thryn ran in, breathing a bit a hard from their run up countless flights of stairs. Sterling kept near his mistress, aware that he was in a birds' roost. Thryn carried a strange package that Ross had never seen before, but he didn't comment. The two girls quickly tacked up their hummingbirds.

"Well that makes six of us," M.K. said. "Where's Nod?"

As if on cue, Nod walked in. His face and arms was slick with sweat and his breaths were shallow. His steps were uncertain as he lurched towards them. "Shouldn't...have...run up... those stairs," he panted between words.

Without asking for his permission, M.K. snatched Ross's canteen off his saddle and gave it to Nod. The young Leafman took a long swig, drinking more water than Ross thought was necessary. Nod handed the canteen back to him, even though he had emptied it.

Looking a bit better, Nod jogged to the far side of the roost where his scruffy old sparrow waited for him, already tacked and ready. "Let's go," he ordered. "There might be other Boggan hordes coming in from different directions. We have to leave before they get here!" He mounted and M.K. climbed up behind him.

Jason watched uncertainly, not sure which person he should ride with. "Come on!" Ross growled, and the Stomper boy mounted behind him. Without a word, Ross kicked his bird and she took to the air in a vertical lift, more eager than he was to leave Moonhaven.

The birds dashed between the branches, keeping below the tree line. Nod and M.K. led the group. It was late afternoon, and the sun still burned in the sky, but it had started to creep towards the western horizon. Nod didn't really know where to lead his friends, except they had to get far away from Moonhaven.

"Like old times, huh?" he said to M.K. Even with their current situation, he was still really happy that she was with him again.

"Yeah," she agreed. "Riding the birds, being chased by Boggans, and saving the forest. Great times."

He smiled cheerfully. "Were not being chased yet."

Thryn swooped her hummingbird closer to them and shouted, "Nod, we don't have enough supplies for a journey. And where are we going anyway?"

"We can get supplies at my place," he replied. "As for a destination...well I don't know."

"We need to land then." And with that, Thryn curbed her hummingbird to a stop. The others circled back to her and landed their birds on the branch she had chosen.

"Guys, if we stop, the Boggans are sure to catch up with us," Lex pointed out as she dismounted.

"They don't know where we are," Thryn countered. "And we can't just blunder around without a plan. For starters, where should we go?"

The teenagers were silent as they all thought for a moment. Mason spoke up, "There's plenty of hiding places in the forest."

Thryn was already shaking her head. "Too risky. If this is a war, then the forest will be a battlefield."

"How do you know if it's war?" Ross asked. "We stopped last year's invasion, and we can do it again."

"What about the forest outside our borders," Lex suggested, trying to keep the conversation moving.

"That's unfamiliar territory. Could be more of a danger than a refuge." Thryn replied.

"Well I don't see you contributing ideas!" Ross snapped. "How about saying something before shooting down our options?"

Nod shifted uncomfortably as his two friends glared at each other. Ross could be sulky and sullen sometimes, but he was acting even more bad-tempered than usual. Thryn was just trying to think of the safest place to hide.

"We could go to my house..." said a small voice. They turned to look at M.K. Satisfied that she had their attention, she continued. "My Dad knows all about you guys so there's no risk. Plus, the Boggans think it would be the last place we would go."

They all thought for a moment. Her reasoning was sound and Bomba would be more than delighted to help them, and he'd hide them until this whole invasion thing was over.

"Sounds good to me," Nod said. "Any objections?"

"Nope."

"Nada."

"I've always wanted to see inside a Stomper's house!"

Nod was glad they got that the problem solved. "As for supplies, we're only half a mile from my tree. We can-"

He never got to finish. In a blur of movement that he didn't even see, Thryn leapt in front of him, one of her katanas drawn. With a flash of silver, she deflected the arrow aimed straight for his heart. It screeched off into the woods. The Boggan that shot the projectile cackled in disappointment. Nobody had heard their approach. It was only Thryn's speed that had saved Nod's life.

"Run!" somebody shouted, and they spurred their mounts, taking off as fast as they could. M.K. clutched Nod's torso for dear life as he kicked Cricket for more speed, tearing through the leaves recklessly. Nod could hear the grackles pursuing them, and risked a glance back. There were eight, all mounted and armed with bows. Some had javelins strapped to their backs. They should never have stopped, Nod realized. It had allowed the Boggans to intercept them. This is exactly what Ronin had feared!

Lex twisted in her saddle and let loose an arrow. It impaled the lead Boggan in the gut, sending his grackle careening into the trees. She fired another two, able to dispatch more before she had to dodge some herself.

"Fly low!" Nod cried, and guided Cricket to the forest floor, his friends following suit. He hoped that the undergrowth would discourage the grackles from getting too close. The Boggans were right on their tails. Ferns, thorns, and brambles filled Nod's vision but Cricket took control, expertly weaving through the growth and barely clipping a feather. Yet this didn't deter the remaining six Boggans. An old rotting log loomed dead ahead of them. He could see a small hole leading inside. Nod had an idea but was the hole big enough? He'd find out soon enough.

Without hesitating, Cricket shot through the hole, bringing her wings close to her body to squeeze in. Man, did he love this bird. One by one, his friends made it on their hummingbirds. Stupidly, one Boggan tried to follow. His grackle got its head through but that was all it could accomplish. It squirmed when it found itself stuck. Knowing that this is the last place they wanted to be trapped, Nod led his friends out the other end of the log. They flew back into daylight.

A Boggan archer was ready for them. There was a shriek of the arrow and then it buried itself in Mason's hummingbird, striking it in the base of the neck. The bird was dead before it hit the ground. Mason jumped and rolled to the ground, but now he was without a mount. The boy hurled a knife at the Boggan archer that took his bird. It was dead on target, tearing through the monster's throat before it could reload. Lex guided her hummingbird to Mason and he leapt aboard. Only three Boggans remained. They continued to flee, but they couldn't shake them.

Ross recognized that if they went on like this, they'd all be dead; he had to take the initiative. "Take the reins!" the Leafman shouted as he tossed them to Jason, ignoring his cry of, "What?! I don't know how to steer this thing!"

The young Leafman power jumped to the grackles, his sword drawn and a furious war cry tearing through his throat. The first Boggan didn't expect such a bold attack from its prey. He fell under Ross's sword before he could react. Ross quickly power jumped to the next one. With superb balance, he ran down the black bird's back to its rider. The Boggan's arrows were useless in such close combat, and Ross felled the monster with his weapon.

The last Boggan wasn't even looking at Ross. It aimed an arrowhead at the most vulnerable of the group: Jason. A warning from Lex alerted the soccer player of the danger. Luckily Jason wasn't one to freeze in fear. He didn't know how to dodge, so he yanked the reins up. The hummingbird rose just as the arrow whizzed towards them.

Too late, he wasn't fast enough.

There was a sickening thud as the poisonous arrowhead punched through flesh. Jason waited for the agonizing pain to ripple through his body, but it never came. Instead, he began to fall. He kicked the bird's side with his heels, but it didn't respond. The wings weren't flapping. That's when he saw the arrow that skewered the little bird's heart. Jason got his feet out of stirrups and jumped off before the dead bird hit the ground. Lex had already shot the last Boggan.

Jason rose to his feet and gazed sadly at the hummingbird, such a beautiful and loyal creature that was suddenly cut out from the world for no reason. Mason's bird lay on its side, no longer pulsing with life. If he was back in the real world, Jason would have shrugged it off, and thought it's sad but it happens. Now he empathized the Leafmen's loss.

Nod landed Cricket on the forest floor, and M.K. dismounted and ran to Jason. She gently grabbed his arm to pull him away from the body, squeezing his shoulder to comfort him. Nod watched and didn't comment. She was just consoling a friend. There was no reason for jealousy. The others looked on mournfully, while Ross glared furiously at the arrow sticking out of his hummer. Did he blame Jason for her death?

"We can't stay here," Thryn broke the silence, her voice soft. They all nodded meekly. Nod hugged M.K. and she silently accepted his embrace.

A twig snapping made them all turn back. The Boggan who got his grackle's head stuck in the log was now standing over Ross's hummingbird, its arm drawn back as it hurled a deadly javelin. The shaft whistled through the air, aimed straight for M.K. and Nod.

Cricket, her keen eyesight spotting the javelin, moved with speed Nod didn't know she had. She stood in front of them protectively, wings spread out in defense. The javelin struck her point-blank in the chest.

"No!" Nod screamed, his strangled cry tearing out as he watched the shaft stab his bird. The brave sparrow collapsed, her blood making a puddle on the ground. That bright, inquisitive light that was always present in her eyes extinguished.

Nod fixed his gaze on the Boggan and he saw red. With an enraged war cry, he pounced on the monster and unsheathed his sword. The Boggan fumbled to bring about another javelin but he was too slow. The Leafman stabbed its heart, and it fell to the ground with a garbled whimper, becoming motionless.

The boy stared at the body, his fury coming off him in waves. Slowly, it ebbed away, but only to be replaced with heart-torn grief. He spat, throwing away his sword in disgust. His friends, Jason, and M.K. stared at him with a mixture of anguish, disbelief, and fear. He didn't care. Nod knelt next to his bird, smoothing the feathers down, and buried his forehead into them. Cricket was already gone. His brave, beautiful, and incredible bird was dead. Nod hadn't felt this intense level of sorrow since his father died.

How many times had his life been saved today by his friends or allies? First Flitterbite, who freed them from Bufo's clutches, then Ronin, who came to the rescue like he always did. Thryn deflected the arrow that would have had him dead. And now Cricket had taken the hit that was intended for him or M.K. Only this time, she didn't make it. God, what an amazing bird; she hadn't deserved this!

Nobody approached him as he sat there, not even M.K., who had tears running into rivulets down her cheeks. Lex was quietly sobbing, the boys were looking away, and Thryn barely kept her face composed. They all knew how strong the bond was between Nod and Cricket.

Nod couldn't cry. He wanted to so badly, wanted to curl up with his dead bird and forget the world, forget the mission, forget Moonhaven. This wasn't fair. He hadn't asked for any this to happen. Yet it was happening, and there wasn't a damn thing he do about it. Ronin's words echoed in his mind. "The rose, your friends, and M.K. need you to be strong." Now Cricket needed him to be strong, or her sacrifice would have been in vain.

He looked up at his friends. They had all waited, wondering what he would do, and were taken aback at the coldness in his eyes, which were usually alive with mirth. "Like Thryn said," he stated. "We need to go." He spoke just as coldly.

Ross shook his head in despair, "How? We only have two birds left, and we are seven. No way they can carry all of us, and we have almost no supplies."

Nod stood, his shoulders held back, looking like the world's strongest warrior. "My home is nearby, and if I recall correctly, so is yours. We can get supplies from there. As for birds, you let me handle that."

Thryn stepped in now. "I live next door to Ross. That's another place to get things. M.K. can come with me. She'll need some new clothes, and maybe a sword."

The red-haired girl started with surprise at the offer. "Thank you," she said in a small voice.

"It's settled then," Nod said, all serious but also emotionless. M.K. looked at him with concern. He shouldn't be so monotonic. Cricket just died. He should be at least crying, she thought. "Jason can come with me to my tree, and Mason can go with Ross. Thryn will take Lex. We'll rendezvous at Turtle Rock next to Sapling Creek."

They all nodded, his four friends knowing the exact place he referred to. Jason pointed at Cricket and the other hummingbirds. "Shouldn't we bury them?" he asked.

Nod didn't answer, so Thryn did it for him. "The Boggans will send more patrols when the others don't report back. They'll have the area surrounded if we don't beat it now. There's not enough time." With that, she mounted one of the remaining hummingbirds. "M.K., you'll ride with me. My place is a little farther down here." The girl climbed up behind her and turned to say goodbye to Nod, but he was gazing at his sparrow.

"We'll keep pace with you," Lex said, speaking for Mason and Ross. The three bounded up a tree, getting up on the low branches to start their run. Thryn turned back to Nod. "If none of us are at the rendezvous point by sunset, then get to M.K.'s house and wait for us."

He nodded in reply. The gray-eyed girl flicked the reins and flew away, leaving Nod and Jason alone. Silence permeated the clearing. Jason waited, feeling awkward and very out-of-place. Nod bent down and took out the leaf covered journal from his saddle bag. This was too important to leave behind.

As he stepped back, Nod kept staring at his bird's body, searching for any sign of life. He just couldn't believe she was dead. He didn't want to believe it.

Jason knew if he did not say something, then they'd stand there all day. "Look, I'm sorry that she died. I know what it's like to lose a pet." Nod gave him the iciest glare, and he winced when he realized that he should not have said 'pet.' The blond continued, hoping to appease Nod, "I had a dog ever since I was three, and she was my best friend all the way to middle school. We had to put her down, so I know how it feels."

More uncomfortable silence. It felt like forever when Nod finally spoke. "Did she try to save you from a murderer?"

Caught off guard, he stuttered, "N-no...she got cancer."

"Then you really don't know what it feels like," was the reply. The brunette brushed past him and mounted the last hummingbird. "Come on."

Jason obeyed, wishing M.K. was still here. She seemed like the only one who could warm Nod's heart now.

Thryn led the way with M.K., and the others followed on foot, running along the branches like a pack of wolves. Lex was in the front and Mason brought up the rear. All of them were primed and fit, thanks to the killer training regimen their Leafmen superiors put them through. They could go like this for hours. M.K. was glad that Thryn had the sense to let M.K. ride the hummingbird. With fitness, M.K. was in the middle like many others her age. She played softball when she was in elementary school, but that had been awhile, and she was nowhere near the Jinns' level of speed and endurance.

When I get back home, I'm going to work on that. Seeing her Leaf friends running, leaping, and fighting without missing a step made her want to be in that state of fitness. Hmm, why not I start now? She didn't have her running clothes, but neither did they. Ross, Mason, and Lex were in their armor and Thryn had on boots, pants, shirt, and some sort of shawl made of holly leaves.

"Is it okay if I run with them?" she asked Thryn.

The other girl looked surprise, but she nodded and steered their mount closer to the branches. M.K. jumped the short distance, speeding up to catch the others. When she came up behind them, she slowed down and fell into their steady pace, mentally patting herself on the back that she put on her sneakers this morning and not her sandals.

They kept running like that for another six minutes before Thryn flew to the ground. They must have arrived. Lex and the two boys jumped off the branch to the ground. M.K. hesitated before remembering that she wouldn't get hurt in the fall. She leaped, the wind rushing through her hair before she landed lightly like a grasshopper.

Thryn's home was a tree that had fallen over the middle of a pond. It was only a few inches above the water. Tons of bugs swarmed the air, no doubt mosquitoes. Perched on the reeds and cattails were hundreds of dragonflies and damselflies, all different in color, size, and species. They flitted in out of the swarms, feeding off the mosquitoes like popcorn.

"Wow, I knew you lived on a bug farm Thryn but I didn't think you had a lot," Mason commented.

"The pond is perfect for the dragonflies. It's stagnant enough for them to lay their eggs and the mosquitoes are an endless food source," Thryn described. She was mostly reserved, but when it came down to bugs, she was an animated tour guide.

"Well let's go!" Lex said, making to hop on the hummingbird. Thryn grabbed her arm before she could.

"You don't want to fly a bird through the swarm, plus you'll scare the dragonflies. We'll take the shortcut." She knelt by the water, picked up a twig, and started slapping the surface. Seconds went by before a large, gray head emerged. M.K. and the others quickly scrambled back as the creature pulled itself on the shore. Clawed feet gouged the sand and black, bleary eyes peered at Thryn, who stood still before it. A gray shell rested on its back like a platform.

"Hey girl," Thryn greeted, patting the giant turtle's beak. Thankfully, the turtle didn't snap her up. It actually half-closed its eyes in content.

"That's a snapping turtle! Why do you have a carnivorous turtle in your pond?" Mason asked, incredulous.

She gave him a pointed look, "Relax, I've raised her since I was five. She won't eat you. She's quite docile, unless I tell her to attack."

"Note to self: don't make Thryn angry around the turtle," Mason said.

"Her name is Miss Willowgreen."

"Miss Willowgreen?" M.K. asked.

"I also named her when I was five, after my favorite primary teacher. Anyway, she's been trained to guard the dragonfly eggs from the fish. She'll get us to the log." Thryn climbed up on the broad, wet shell, gesturing impatiently when they didn't follow her. "Trust me, she's well fed."

Lex and M.K. shared a look, and then decided to get on. Mason was about to follow, when Ross called him back. "We're going to my tree. It's just a few meters that way."

"Are you saying that I don't want to go to the house with the girls in it?!" Mason gasped in mock horror.

Knowing exactly what he was thinking, Lex shot him down. "No way, Mason, this is a girls-only retreat. You have to get men's clothes from Ross's house."

"Who said anything about getting clothes-"

"You know that note you were just talking about?" Thryn interrupted. "The one that said 'do not make Thryn angry around the turtle?'" As if sensing her mood, Miss Willowgreen swung her head toward the short, cocky boy and bared her beak threateningly.

His mischievous grin faded; Mason knew when to take a hint. He backed up quickly, holding up his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay I know when I'm not wanted." He followed Ross into the forest. Thryn bent down over the snapping turtle's head and tapped it twice. Miss Willowgreen backed off the shore and glided smoothly through the water, like a raft.

Looking over the edge, M.K. was able to see the muddy bottom, where most of it was shallow. Underwater, at the base of the reeds, rested clusters of white oval-shaped eggs, and scooting along the bed were tiny alien creatures.

"Those are the nymphs," Thryn said when she saw her peering through the water. "They're in the second stage of a dragonfly's life cycle. They'll stay in the water for up to four years before they fully develop."

M.K. nearly jumped when a bright blue dragonfly landed next to her. She often forgot about Sterling, even though he was always around. He stared at her with turquoise eyes as he munched on a mosquito.

Miss Willowgreen pulled up below the fallen tree, where a hole serving as the front door was above them. Thryn power jumped to it, followed by Lex then M.K. Inside it was cool, the smell of wood almost overpowering. There was a small leaf couch, a table with chairs, large cupboards off to the side that was the kitchen, and a counter for cooking. A big barrel full of clean water was next to the door. A rug, woven out of reeds, blanketed the floor. It looked like a cozy place. The equivalent of a cabin by a lake.

"Lex, you can get food in the cupboards. Try and find all the bottles you can and fill them with water," Thryn ordered. "I'll help you find some clothes M.K."

She led the Stomper down a hall that ran the length of the log. At the end was a room, the entrance covered by a large, blue petal. Thryn's room was small. Books were stacked into neat towers and pushed into corners. Paintings and sketches covered the walls, some pinned to the ceiling. Her bed was a plush, mouse fur mattress with a green comforter and pillow. Her desk was organized down to the pencil jar. Despite how many things she had, there was this tidiness in her room; ordered chaos.

"Sorry about the mess. It's been a while since I last stayed here."

"No comment from me," M.K. replied, not seeing how the room qualified as messy. "My room looks worse."

The other girl nodded as she walked to her small closet and started pulling out various articles of clothing. She threw pants, a top, boots, and a jacket into a pile, then handed it to her. "See if these fit you. The bathroom's across the hall."

"Thanks." M.K. walked across and squeezed herself into the small bathroom. It wasn't unlike hers at home: a sink with a mirror, a toilet, and a working shower, though her's wasn't very cramped. The clothes, to her pleasure, fit well and were comfortable. The top was white, supposedly spun from spider silk, and her pants were the color of tree bark. Green leaf boots hugged her calves but didn't hinder her movements, and the dark green leaf jacket completed the outfit.

M.K. stood and stared in the mirror a bit longer. She looked ready for a jungle expedition. All she needed was a machete and some binoculars, and then she'll look like one of the women from Indiana Jones. She stepped out of bathroom and saw Thryn further down the hall, closing a door quietly, like she didn't want to disturb somebody.

"Who's in there?"

The Leafgirl hesitated like she didn't want to answer but relented, "My Dad. Garen had made sure he got home and went to sleep. He'll wake up feeling like the forest fell on his head. Less than he deserves after getting himself into such a state."

"Who's Garen?" M.K. asked before she could stop herself. If she pried too much, then the gray-eyed girl would never learn to trust her.

Yet Thryn didn't seem to mind. "He's one of our farm hands. A real big help, my father would be lying in a ditch somewhere if Garen didn't go searching for him every three days. He taught me how to train dragonflies."

"Oh," M.K. said. "The clothes fit fine by the way." She gestured sheepishly.

"Good, I'll get some more for you."

"I think I've got everything!" Lex shouted from the kitchen. M.K. checked to see she had packed sacks of food, and had her arms full of various containers of water. Thryn came back into the kitchen with three leaf packs, stuffed with clothing and other equipment.

They had everything and were almost set to go. The only problem was transportation. How was Nod going to get all them birds by the end of the day?

i didnt want to end the chapter on such a sad note...well ill just sit here ready for the hate mail. Man i feel bad for killing cricket and throwing nod into a crucible. but this is how it goes... review!