Birds were flitting about the trees, singing their songs loudly to one another as we walked past. Other creatures I'd only ever heard from afar were running up and down the tree's or stood watching us from a safe distance. I was constantly snapping my head in new directions, taking in the wide variety of animals out and about, all of which seemed to be so curious about our presence.

I was broken out of my awe when a hummingbird suddenly swooped right past my face, startling me badly enough that I stumbled backwards.

'At least I didn't scream. That would have been humiliating.' I heard giggling and turned to see Piper with a hand over her mouth trying to stifle her laughter.

"Well I'm glad to be the source of your amusement." I stated whilst crossing my arms, trying to cover up my embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, it's just your face…" She trailed off as she glanced away but not before I saw the smile that she was trying so hard to hide.

I felt the tiniest rush of misplaced pride; her genuine smiles were so rare I couldn't help but be happy that I had managed to coax one out, even if it had been at my own expense.

We continued walking for a few more minutes in silence before Piper turned back to face me. What surprised me though was instead of the smile she had only moments before, her expression was one of guilt.
"That was rude of me, I'm sorry."

For a few moments I was dumbfounded into silence, we had just been bantering, why did she feel the need to apologise? Suddenly, I remembered the conversation we had had in her garden, she hadn't been around people her own age until recently- she probably thought she had genuinely offended me.

"Hey," I reached out and grasped her arm, bringing her to stop and turning her to face me. "You did nothing wrong. Friends always laugh at one another and I'd prefer to hear you laugh, even if it's at me, then to walk beside you in silence like we were doing before."

Piper's eyes slightly widened before they drifted down to where my hand was still wrapped around her arm. Realizing this I quickly retracted it, remembering all the previous times where she avoided physical contact with me.

"Do you remember when you once said I was amazing?" Piper abruptly asked. Confused with the sudden change of topic I nonetheless nodded, trying in vain to stop the embarrassment of that memory flooding my body. After all I didn't want my face to go as red as my hair.

"I think that description better suits you Aerrow."

Okay now I was even more confused, but also a tiny bit flattered. Before I could get ask her to clarify what she meant though, Piper started walking again. 'I don't think I'll ever fully understand the conundrum that is that woman' I mused to myself as I watched her walk away.

She had only gone a few steps when she realized I wasn't following, Piper turned back around and tilted her head "So are you just going to stand there, or are we going to find our way home?" she asked whilst placing a hand on her hip.

Recognizing the mischievous glint in her eyes, that I had seen one too many times before in Finn, I smiled and gestured for her to keep going, "Lead the way."

Piper crossed her arms while waiting for me to catch up "And here I thought you tagged along to ensure I didn't get lost."
Within a few strides I caught up to her "I did, I'll let you know when you wondering off."
"Ha-ha."

I couldn't help but laugh at her sarcastic reply, I'd never had a conversation with her like this. I'd actually never seen her banter with anyone besides Finn before, I hoped that meant she accepted what I said and felt comfortable enough with me to do so.

Silence descended upon us as we continued walking alongside each other but this time it felt relaxed and not as tense as before.

"So why so startled by the bird? I thought you said you walked through these woods all the time." Piper asked after a few minutes.

"It caught me by surprise, I've never the animals this active before." I answered, whilst shoving my hands in my pockets.

"Really?"

"Yeah, why?" Curious as to why she sounded like she knew something I didn't, I gave her a sidelong glance. "You sound like you've been out here before."

She looked up at me with an expression I couldn't define, "Maybe once or twice." She replied coyly.

Something suddenly triggered in my memory; that day... in the glade Radarr discovered, where I saw that silhouette.. but that couldn't be…

"What are you thinking about so hard?"

Spurred out of my thoughts I was shocked to find Piper in such close proximity, having drawn in much closer whilst I was distracted, and looking at me with such concern that I had to restrain my sudden urge to take her face in my hands and reassure her.
I hastily dismissed my thoughts and quickly grasped for answer that wouldn't make me sound nuts. "Uh, was just wondering how Radarr is holding up. He usually comes along on our flights, he'll know something is up if we're not back soon."

Piper quirked an eyebrow at me. "Radarr? You bring your dog on the plane?"

I nodded "Believe it or not he actually loves it, you should see how many times he's tried to jump up behind me on my motorbike when I'm not looking."
Piper giggled.
"Besides if it weren't for Radarr I wouldn't even be friends with Seth." I concluded.

"Go on, this sounds like a good story." Piper encouraged as we wound our way around a rather ancient looking tree.

Usually I would have been more reluctant to tell such a long story but since there was quite a distance we still had left to walk and the fact that it was Piper that had asked me, I complied.

"Well a few years ago Seth moved here like you did. He hard time fitting in though because he kept his distance from everybody due to his germ paranoia. I guess he was what you'd call a social pariah." Seeing Piper's frown I rushed to continue, 'This is why I don't like telling stories, I'm no good at it.'

"Anyway, at the time I was only friends with Finn and James, and one day after school they couldn't hang out. My Aunt had lent me the car and I didn't want to let it go to waste, so it was just me and Radarr out for a drive. We had to stick to the back roads since even though Morgane trusted me I was too young to technically be driving by myself, let alone have a license."

Piper shot me a mildly disapproving look but I simply shrugged in response, as if to say; what are you gonna do? Before I continued on with my story,

"When we drove past a part of the woods we'd never been to before I decided to pull over to go for a walk, since it seemed like the perfect opportunity to go explore as well as stretch our legs. We hadn't gone very far when I noticed Radarr listening intently to something before he suddenly bolted. Which is how I first found the Hanger Bay, I chased Radarr to it and got inside just in time to see him pounce on half repaired turbine-powered engine."

"No…" Piper gasped.

I nodded "Yep, at the time Seth's dad was still using the Hanger for his aircraft but had Seth working there part time in order to repair engines, auxiliary units and all sorts of other miscellaneous stuff. To put it simply Seth was not happy with me, he had just worked on that engine for three days only to have it knocked over by a random dog he'd never seen before. I offered to help him fix it but he just kept ranting on about the specific things that were broken and how a pretty boy like me probably couldn't even identify a spark plug."

Piper chuckled and I gave her a wounded look.

"So it was a shock for him when I not only understood what he was saying but also suggested using a blay wrench instead, which would lessen the time it would take in repairing it."

"How did you know that?" Piper interrupted. I glanced over to see her considering me with that look in her eyes I sometimes glimpse in school when she's intrigued by something and wants to now more.

"Well like I then I told Seth, I spend a lot time around James garage and I guess I picked up the lingo. Plus I've been repairing and maintaining motorbikes since my Dad first got me one when I was four years old, which gives me a bit of hands on experience."

"What happened next?" Piper asked eagerly.

I couldn't help but feel pleased that she was so interested in my story. "After that, Seth informed me that he had been looking all over for a blay wrench, we talked for a bit and I explained that James might be willing to lend his to him. So the next day after school I took him to the mechanic's James family runs and introduced them formally. From then on Seth was a regular visitor to the garage either to get advice or borrow tools off of James. And after the engine was fixed, as an apology for jumping to conclusions, Seth offered Radarr and I a ride in a two man airplane that his dad was training him in. The rest is as they say- history."

I looked back to Piper to see if she liked the story, only to see her staring straight ahead as if focusing real hard on something. After a few seconds though she shook her head, as if dispelling what she was thinking and her eyes snapped back to mine "Wait-you said James and Finn were your only friends, so when did Starling come into the picture?"

Impressed at her observation I didn't see how I could do anything but answer her, "Starling used to move around a lot when she was younger due to her parent jobs, they're pilots too you know. She lived here for about five years when we were kids, I remember we used to play together but she moved away when I was nine. Then one day, halfway through freshman year she showed up- Her parents had seen how moving around and leaving people behind made her upset and since she'd been most happy here, they requested to have their old jobs back and moved back permanently."

"Interesting how things turn out, huh?" Piper mused.

I gave her a considering look, "I guess so."

Piper looked at me startled as if not realizing she had spoken out loud. I watched, slightly amused as she tried to regain her composure, her eyes blinked rapidly and her mouth kept opening and closing but no words were coming out. Finally I couldn't help myself and let out a few chuckles, Piper looked shocked for a second before she let her lips curve up into a small smile, she waited until I quieted down before asking, "So if Radarr usually tags along, why not this time?"

"We didn't know how you felt about flying so Seth thought it would be best not to have a dog running around if you had a bad reaction." I explained "However I think he just wanted a break from having to share the cockpit with Radarr, he's basically claimed the co-pilot seat for himself you know."

"Really?" Piper asked, the amusement clear in her voice.
"Oh yeah."

Our eyes met at exactly the same time and we erupted into laughter. As we calmed back down I vaguely noticed that the tree's had thinned out around us and we were approaching a ridge with a fairly steep drop to the ground below.

Further up ahead I could just spot a slope that seemed to run diagonally all the way down from the top of the ridge face to the bottom, from what I could see it looked like it might be wide and stable enough to hold our weight.

I pointed it out to Piper, "What do you reckon? Safe enough to get down?"

She nodded, "The rock looks stable enough- we'll just need to avoid running down it at full speed or trying any aerodynamic stunts off of it."

I grinned at her, "I'll do my best."

She shook her head, as if knowing that I was going to have a hard time containing myself from trying something like that.

A strong wind suddenly blew past us, sending Piper's hair flying in breeze. Her eyes furrowed and she froze mid-step.

"Something's wrong." She whispered, almost too quiet for me to even hear.

I followed Piper's wide eyed gaze but saw nothing, as if she was staring at something I couldn't see. Confused but trusting her word I scanned the entire open space we were in. As I did I finally noticed all the birds had stopped singing and the few animals left were scattering before my eyes.

I felt something encircle my forearm. "Aerrow we have to get out of here now!"

My eyes snapped back to Piper to see her hand grasping my arm in a desperate grip and looking so panicked, I automatically reached for my father's twin blades before realizing they weren't there.

"Piper what's going on?" I asked, trying to keep the alarm out of my voice.

But she didn't answer me, instead focusing on pulling me back toward the tree line. She caught me so off guard with her strength that I almost lost my footing and crashed into her.
She started to run for the trees, yanking me along behind her. My arm screamed in protest, she was going so fast I couldn't even get my feet beneath me, yet I could still tell she was holding herself back so I could keep up.

Just before we reached the trees a voice rang out behind us.

"Oh no dear, it's too late for that."

Piper pulled up so quickly I almost fell over. As I regained my balance I shot a quick glance at Piper to see her eyes squeezed shut before I whirled around to see who the voice belonged to.

Instantly I spotted two figures standing on the grass, not even a stone's throw away, as if they had been there the whole time.

The voice clearly belonged to the female, the shorter and thinner of the two. Her brown hair was long and untied with pink streaks running through it. She had a graceful composure, but that seemed to act as a mask- for something about her just seemed savage, which was further enhanced by the bow in her hand and arrows strapped to her back.

Her stature however was dwarfed by the man standing next to her. Never in my life had I ever seen a man so huge, his muscles bulged from his arms as he tightened his grip around the deadly looking mace in his hands. His black hair was also untamed like the woman's but unlike his counterpart he had blue streaks running through it.

But out of everything in their appearance, the one thing shocked me the most was their eyes. Hers a stunning yellow and his a shocking lavender.

'Impossible but just like…" and without even finishing my train of thought, or meaning to, my eyes snapped to Piper.

"Well, well. Look what we have here." The voice shifted my attention back to the female, who was walking toward us leisurely as if it were a casual meeting but something told me that as harmless as she was trying to seem, she would use her bow with the slightest provocation. Which finally clicked in my mind-Who the hell carries around those kind of weapons?

A sinister smile appeared on her face, her gaze never wavering from Piper "We caught one," She then turned her penetrating eyes to me, scathingly looking me up and down, "And a half."

She turned back to look at her partner, "And you doubted my fishing technique would work."

My view was suddenly partially blocked. Piper now stood in front of me protectively, holding out her hand out to the side as if to bar the way, for the woman or me I didn't know. "What do you want Ravess?" she asked.

My eyes widened, Piper knew this woman?

"Why Piper dear, you know why we're here."

Whilst I couldn't see her face from this angle, it was impossible not to notice how Piper's back tensed.

"You should know by now that your actions have consequences. We were simply sent to demonstrate that we can find you at any time and to try to persuade you to reconsider your answer."

"I've told you time and time again- No!"

Ravess' face soured, all pretense of friendliness gone. "We've known where you were this entire time, we've simply been waiting to approach you and it's only by her grace that we have done so."

"Enough talking!"

All of us abruptly turned to face the man who had held back but was now stomping toward us, looking ready to tear apart anything that got in his way. "We got our answer now let me smash 'em!"

I immediately pushed down Piper's hand and took a protective stance in front of her. Ravess' eyes momentarily flashed to me as if considering me before abruptly losing interest again. She held out a hand halting the man from moving forward any further.

"It's a shame really Piper," her voice tinged with poison "You scorn that which you should be honored to be offered. You obviously haven't learnt your lesson yet." She reached for the bow strapped to her back and turned her head toward the man, "I'll take the girl. The human- you can have, little brother."

Smiling the man who was now identified as Ravess' brother swung his mace up over his shoulder.

I felt something grab my shoulder, pulling me back. Piper appeared at my side, a mixture of fear and determination written all over face, she spared a glance in my direction before focusing back on the approaching pair. "Aerrow get out of here!" she yelled at me.

"No way am I leaving you!" I shouted back.

An arrow suddenly whizzed through the air, Piper flipped out of the way just before it struck her.

She had moved out of my sight but I couldn't turn to look for her, as Ravess's brother came barreling at me with his mace raised over the back of his head and bringing it down, barely giving me enough time to jump out the way.

As I dodged his blows, I tried to keep Piper in my line of sight. I had no weapon to fight back with but that made Ravess's brother overconfident, I used that to my advantage-seeing an opportunity I swiped his legs out from under him. He lay there dazed for a moment, clearly not having seen it coming.

I spared a glance over to Piper to see her dodging and deflecting Ravess' arrows with ease, utilizing moves that I had never even seen before.

Hearing a groan I turned back in time to see the hulk get to his feet and regain his bearing before growling at me. I had clearly pissed him off more than anything. He came at me again, moving so fast his mace was just a blur in his hands.

I managed to stay out of range until after a particularly close swipe I realized I couldn't hear the arrows whizzing through the air anymore. 'Piper!'

Panicked I whirled around thinking Piper had been shot.

But Piper was ducked down in front of Ravess having gotten too close in range for the bow to be used effectively and going hand to hand instead. As if sensing my gaze her eyes snapped to mine, horror filled her face within a split second "AERROW LOOK OUT!"

I instantly realized I'd just turned my back on an armed and non-incapacitated opponent. I spun back around only to be sent flying through the air from a massive blow to the chest.

I landed on the ground hard, distantly I thought I heard a crack. My ears were ringing and I knew I should be hurting but instead I couldn't feel anything. Out the corner of my eye I could see Ravess' brother approach me with a smirk on his face. I turned my head to see better which must have triggered something because feeling suddenly rushed back into my body and I immediately wished it hadn't. My chest; it was as if it was on fire but getting crushed at the same time, my limbs still wouldn't move and I realized I was wheezing. My lungs screamed with every breath and I vaguely felt a stream of liquid leaking from my mouth.

My vision started going spotty, I tried desperately to do something, sit up, roll over, move-anything! But it only caused more pain to flare through my body. With my darkening vision I made out the two siblings looking down on me, their mouths were moving but I heard nothing. My sluggish thoughts tied together enough for me to wonder where Piper was.

The last thing I saw before everything went black was the two suddenly being thrown back through the air.

oOoOo

"Aerrow-AERROW! Stay with me!"

My head was pounding. The pain spiking and making me feel like my head was splitting, as the voice filtered through the static filling my ears, increasing in volume from an incoherent mumble to deafening shout.

I hissed when I felt a pressure on my chest, instantly regaining my awareness of my other limbs. Luckily the voice came again, repeating the same words, giving me something to focus on and distract me from the pain.

"Please Aerrow!"

Feeling the need to respond, I opened my mouth but I only hear a low groaning come out. 'It's so dark, is it nighttime?' No, my eyes are shut. Realising this I manage to force them open, this doesn't happen as quickly as I would like but that thought fades as the figure leaning over me comes into focus.

'Piper…' Her name springs to mind, she's hunched over me; her eyes bright and almost wild, her hair mussed and a few strands hanging down in front of her face. I've never seen something so beautiful.

But what was she saying to me?

"Just lie still Aerrow, don't move."

'Lie still? But why am I on the ground?'

I feebly manage to raise my hand, grasping her wrist. "Where…" I manage to wheeze. I instantly regret it as it causes an agonizing bolt of pain to rip through my torso. Piper winces but seemingly understanding what I'm trying to ask, answers "We're at the bottom of the ridge; I got you down the slope. I drove Ravess and Snipe off but I wasn't able to move you very far."

Ravess? Snipe? Suddenly it all came rushing back, what happened, why I'm in so much pain. But I can't think anymore, the pain in my head is too much. I squeeze my eyes shut and have just enough energy to roll my head to the side before I start coughing. I vaguely see the colour red spatter on the grass.

"You're bleeding internally."

I feel her wrist slip free of my grip and her hand return to my chest, where she pushes. I can't help the strangled cry that escapes my lips.

I grit my teeth as the pressure increases but gradually warmth starts to spread through my chest. As the pain starts to fade away I think that perhaps I'm falling unconscious again, but then my breathing becomes easier and the feeling continues to spread throughout my body. My eyes snap open and seek out Piper; She's kneeling at my side, her eyes shut in concentration, my eyes follow her arms to see her hands pressed to my chest but what I see causes me to wonder if instead of really feeling better, I'm hallucinating.

Her hands are glowing.

I watch in amazement as her hands which seem to be lit from within, exude a light that encompass her hands like a glove and seeps into my chest and creeps over my skin.

I'm snapped out of my stupor when she removes her hands from me so suddenly she rocks back on her heels. Her eyes spring open and immediately lock with mine.

After a few agonizing seconds of silence, she stands up. Instinctively I make to follow her, sitting up. I tense, waiting for the pain to wash over me again but nothing happens. Shocked I bring my hands up to my chest and lift my torn shirt up. There's nothing there, not a bruise or even a scratch.

I tenderly press my hand against my ribs but nothing happens, no bolt of pain- not even a dull ache. I drop my shirt and bring my hands up to my face, turning them over, but they're just as unmarked as the rest of my body. All the skin grazed off my knuckles from deflecting the hulk's…Snipe's blows, is somehow there like it never happened.

I glance back up to Piper. She's still standing there, watching me with a tormented and a weary expression dueling for dominance over her face.

"I don't understand…" I whispered.

Piper sharply turns her head away from me and gazes up at the sky. Unexpectedly a high pitched roaring fills the air, I look up to see the Condor rapidly flying towards us. Swiftly it set its wheels down on the ground and came to a rolling stop not far from where we were situated.

Piper quickly knelt back down next to me, "Don't tell anyone!" she hisses.

The Condor's door hatch is open and the stairs are being put down. I look back at Piper to see her expression seemingly blank but her eyes were pleading me.
Whatever had just happened obviously had consequences for Piper should I tell anyone, I give her a small nod.

"Hey guys!" Recognising the voice, I look up to see Finn running toward us. Coming to a stop in front of us Finn finally notices how I wasn't standing but still sitting on the ground, "Why are you on the ground Aerrow?"

I open my mouth to answer but freeze as I realize what could I say? 'Oh, we were just attacked but these expert martial art siblings, who were lethally armed and I was critically injured until this weird light from Piper's hands took the pain away?'

"Aerrow slipped off the slope."

Both me and Finn swiveled our heads to look at Piper, "Aerrow? Really?" Finn questioned, obviously having trouble believing I was that clumsy, even considering what happened before takeoff.

Piper nodded, "Yeah, he tried to do a flip off the edge at what he thought was a 'safe' distance from the ground. But the rock wasn't as stable as we thought and it crumbled, catching him by surprise. He's not seriously hurt, just a bit stunned."

Finn smiled, "Oh well, gotta be more careful there Aerrow."
I nodded mutely.

"So what are you doing here, how'd the battery recharge so fast?" Piper asked quickly changing the topic.

"Well that's the weird thing," Since Finn hadn't spoken I leaned to the side to see Starling walking up behind him. "You two had been gone for half an hour when suddenly the noise that indicated a full recharge went off. Don't know how it managed that so quickly. But anyway, we decided to try and find you two since we knew you wouldn't be back to town just yet and luckily James spotted you as we were flying over."

She glanced around and swept her arm out "We caught a break that there's no tree's down here too, ensuring a safe landing."

Finn squatted down next to me, "Come on bud, let's get you back home."
He wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled me up, allowing me to lean my weight on his shoulder. Even though I knew I was somehow miraculously okay, it still amazed me that I felt no pain as I stood up, I just felt drained and tired more than anything, which caused me to lean on Finn more then I meant to.

I felt someone else grasp my other arm and turned my head to see Piper placing it around her neck, she met my eyes and shot me another imploring look.

It took a while for them to get me up the stairs and settled on the plane but after that everyone else settled into their seats, seemingly having come to an unvoiced decision to give me some space.

The whole trip back, Piper and I traded apprehensive glances back and forth at one another. I'm sure the others must have noticed but luckily they didn't bring it up or mention it.

The silence that surrounded me finally allowed my thoughts to run rampant, 'How the hell did she do that? What did she do? I mean it's impossible… but I saw it, I felt it. She fixed whatever was wrong with me, how is that even possible?' I shook my head, an ache forming behind my temples from how hard I was thinking. 'Maybe I did just fall… No she told me she drove them and off and said not to say anything.'

By the time we got back to the Hanger I was more confused than ever, but I was definitely certain as to what had happened and what I'd seen.

The others got up once we came to a standstill, eager to help Seth out with anything that the Condor needed attention for, or in Finn's case more popcorn. Piper lingered behind with me and we sat in silence for a few minutes until the tension became so apparent that she stood up and made to follow them down the stairs.

I stood up so fast, I shocked myself considering how horrible condition I had been in not half an hour ago. My hand grasped her arm bringing her to a standstill, "What happened back there? What did you do?" I whispered in her ear.

I felt her freeze before she suddenly ripped her arm from my grasp. She took a few steps back and cast a furtive cast at the doorway "Aerrow, this isn't the time." She said in a lowered tone.

"I needed to go to the hospital!"

At that her eyes which had been studiously avoiding mine, snapped up to meet them. She looked so scared and worried, "I can't tell you Aerrow!" and with that she brushed past me and headed for the door, I followed her.

"You can tell me what's going on- Piper, you can trust me." I implored her.

She whirled around so suddenly our faces were less than a few inches apart, "Once you know, there's no going back." She hissed but in a beseeching tone.

"Piper… I would never hurt you or betray your trust. And I know what I saw, just tell me…Please. So I know I'm not crazy."

For a moment nothing happened, no words were spoken but looking into her eyes, I felt something pass between us.

"I healed you."

For a second my mind couldn't process what she'd said but once it did the sheer gravity of what she said crashed down on me. I felt the breath I was holding whoosh out of me.

Hearing some voices filter in through the doorway Piper glanced behind herself again before leaning in to whisper in my ear. "Come over to my house tomorrow and I'll explain everything. Just please-don't tell anyone!"

And before I could reply, she was gone.