The next morning found Crimson and I wandering the outskirts of town. There wasn't much we could do concerning the sandy-haired girl, so until we received further orders, we had to find other ways to amuse ourselves out among the world of the humans.

Crimson and I wandered for hours, occasionally stopping whenever Crimson felt the urge to run off after a mouse or a finch burrowing in the grass. Call it instinct. As for me, I hated walking and made a point of crawling up into the closest tree whenever I could. My back had begun to ache terribly, a trait I attributed to sore muscles from the craziness of the recent events.

Eventually, we veered from the main road that traveled in and out of town we had been following and headed towards the rocky hills.

"So… we going anywhere in particular?" Crimson asked, her eyes fixed on what was probably a mouse far off to her right. I shrugged, not bothering to sign an answer as she wasn't looking for one.

"Gotchya!"

She giggled and leapt into the tall grass.

"Whoa…."

I moaned and turned back around. Crimson was kneeling in the grass, looking up at me.

'What?' I signed.

She lifted up a bloody, mangled feather. It was a glossy, deep black, glinting violet in the sunlight. It was large, far too large to come from a raven or a magpie.

I cocked my head curiously and took the feather from her. I sniffed it gently; it smelled of a human's scent. My sensitive eye traced over its length carefully. Then, tangled in the blood and smooth down fibers, I found what I was looking for. A smile must have crept over my face because Crimson stirred.

"What?"

I gently pulled out a long, sandy brown human hair from the feather.

Crimson nodded.

"The rest are close."

I nodded back.

"Well, come on! We should find them!" She leapt up excitedly and pranced off through the grass.

"I didn't realize there were so many of them, I wonder if each one of them has a different type of wing? Oh, oh! I wonder…."

I rolled my eyes and covered my ears, falling in step behind her as she rambled on.

Night eventually crept in on us, and we decided we would spend the night in a small crevice formed by the rocks. Tossing our coats on the ground, we created a suitable sleeping arrangement. No one would find us out here. We were far enough off the main road, and if a passing human happened to see some coats lying on the ground in the distance they would simply think a homeless person was sleeping there. Of course. They always ignored the homeless. It would work.

I took the first shift of the night, my one eye taking in everything in the darkness.

My eyelids had just begun to droop when a sudden rustle of activity above me caused them to snap open. Immediately I was on my feet, poking my head out of the crevice of rock that was currently serving as a bedroom.

There was a gentle rustle on the wind again, then silence. I scanned from left to right, then back again.

Nothing.

Not even a breeze shifted the grass.

Then, there was a sudden flurry of feathers and a hand clamped over my mouth and I was yanked up by the back of my shirt collar. I yelped and squirmed violently, but a pair of thin arms held me tight. I was slammed onto my back with someone's hand at my throat. In the darkness, I saw a clenched fist draw back and I bucked wildly in my attacker's hold. The hand at my throat tightened, and I suddenly found it hard to breathe.

"Who the hell are you?"

A calm voice echoed in my ears. I could tell restraining me wasn't difficult for whoever or whatever was now kneeling above me. I gasped and tried to pry the hand at my throat loose.

"Why are you following Max?"

I opened my mouth as if to speak, pointing to my mouth. I couldn't speak! Even if I had an answer to give, I couldn't speak it. My head was throbbing and my throat was clenched tight. I began to panic.

Was this it? Was I going to die?

"Hey!" I glanced over as Crimson leapt over the edge of the rocks and leapt at the mass of black cloth and feathers over me. Whatever was holding me slammed my head down into the ground and released me. I moaned and clasped my hands over my now bleeding head.

I saw Crimson slash wildly at the shadowy figure before the pair fell and tumbled over the edge of the rocks. Then I blacked out.

Author's Note:

Ah! Cliffhanger! x3 Ha ha, I do realize this chapter is a little bit shorter, but I decided I would rather leave you all with a cliffhanger ending rather than a higher word count *giggle*

Read and review for next chapter!

I may be discontinuing - whether permanantly or temporarily I do not yet know - either this or one other Fan Fiction of mine. Give me some feedback, let me know what you think of this story and if you would like to see it continued :D