Peric flew up to the Colwen Grounds early the next morning. It had snowed the night before, and a heavy mist was hovering over the white ground. The Thropp castle was striking in contrast to the pale ground. Peric thought it seemed fitting as he angled down toward a window on the western side.

The window, as always, was cracked open. He nudged it with a wing and hopped inside. The room was still shadowed but his sharp eyes adjusted instantly.

He had half-expected Elphaba to be asleep. What he did not expect, however, was for the green girl to be hunched painfully over her desk, buried in her books and papers. He clicked his beak worriedly as he looked at her. Even in sleep, she was gripping her arms tightly, curling in on herself. Streaks of hair had been torn from her braid and hung messily around her face.

"Elph-Elpha-" He snapped his beak in frustration, then flew over to perch on the back of her chair. "Hey, wake up."

The green girl didn't stir, which worried him even more. He leaned down and tugged at her braid. "Wake up. El…Fae, wake up!"

She stirred, shaking her head. Peric let her hair fall and moved back to her bed.

"Peric?" Elphaba asked, rubbing a hand over her face. "What are you doing here? What time is it?"

"I've never seen you so disoriented," the Bird said, almost chuckling. "I just got back. It's still early."

Elphaba stretched and had to bite back a groan as her back ached in protest. "I fell asleep," she muttered to herself, surprised.

"Well, that is what most normal people do."

"Oh hush."

Peric studied her. "Bad night?" he asked.

The green girl looked down at the chaos that was her desk. "You could say that." Peric waited silently, so she sighed and went on. "I…hit a dead end last night. I don't know what…there's nothing left I can do with this research. It's either over my head or out of my reach. I don't have the resources, or the experience, or…" She rubbed her forehead, still feeling exhausted. "I-I…I can't do this. I'm stuck, and I need Dr. Dillamond, and I can't do this."

"Is there no way you can reach him?"

"I don't even know where he is," she whispered.

Peric studied her for a long moment. She shifted and turned away, avoiding his gaze.

"Write to him," he said finally.

"What?"

"Write him a letter. Ask for help. Ask what to do next."

She glanced up at him. "How in Oz would I get it to him?"

"I'll take it," the Bird said simply. Elphaba's eyes darkened.

"No. No, I can't ask you to do that. You're not some messenger pigeon."

The white feathers of his collar puffed out. "No, I'm not. And you're not asking, I'm telling. Write to Dillamond. I'll get it to him."

"And how would you know…" Elphaba trailed off, shaking her head. She knew Peric would find a way. "You're sure about this?"

The Bird nodded. "Absolutely, Fae."

"…Fae?"

He tucked his neck in, looking almost sheepish. "Well, you know I have trouble pronouncing your name—not all words are made to be said with beaks, you know? Fae is easier."

Elphaba smiled. "Okay. Fae. I can live with that."

Peric straightened. "Good. You should get some sleep—I mean, actual sleep. That desk can't have been comfortable."

The green girl rubbed her neck as he flew toward the windowsill. "Not exactly," she mumbled. "Peric?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you be back later?"

Peric looked back at her and was surprised to see a hint of vulnerability flash across her face. For the first time since he'd met her, the green girl looked almost…afraid of being left alone. The Bird wondered just how bad last night had been.

He unfolded his wings and started flapping, getting a feel of the cold air. "I'll be back later," he promised. Elphaba nodded and sank down onto her bed. Peric could feel her eyes following him as he took off into the freezing morning.

Dr. Dillamond,

Elphaba paused, pulling her pen back from the paper. It had been over two months since her teacher had walked past the gates of Shiz, never to return. What was she supposed to say to him?

As strange as it was, she had never prepared for this. She knew they were working together, but her mind had always brushed past the part of them actually being, well, together. Regaining contact with the old Goat had seemed like too much to hope for, so Elphaba had never thought of it. As a result, she was at a complete loss, sitting at the desk that was now cleared off of everything but a sheet of paper with only two words written on it.

Dr. Dillamond,

The green girl ran a hand through her hair. Something was brimming inside her chest, threatening to spill out. Her hand shook above the paper, and with a sigh she dropped the pen and flattened her palm against the desk. She willed herself to relax, to come up with something to say other than I can't do this.

There is no such thing as impenetrability, Dr. Dillamond had told her closed her eyes as the memory came to her. The late summer sun was flooding into his tiny office. The two had been debating a subject that Elphaba now recognized as the core of Dillamond's research.

"It seems to me the proof would lie in the mind," Elphaba had said. "What components of the brain make a creature more than just a creature? What differs from humans to Animals to animals?"

"You are indeed right, Miss Elphaba," the Goat had said, eyes twinkling.

"But what good does that do? If the only way to prove the equality of Animals and humans is in the chemical makeup of the brain…I mean, that's impossible, isn't it? No one's ever researched…no one knows…I mean, the mind is impenetrable."

"There is no such thing as impenetrability," Dr. Dillamond said, leaning forward. "There are obstacles, yes, but never are they permanent. The Animal clans in the Vinkus used to work so well together that nothing could conquer them, yet now they've nearly vanished. There are ancient castles across Oz whose owners thought they'd never fall, yet now they are reduced to nothing but rubble. The Ozma regime was expected to rule until the end of time, but where are they now? Gone. Left with nothing but mystery and myth. As scientists and scholars we face road blocks, yes, but they cannot stop us. The only thing that can stop us is a lack of trying."

Elphaba opened her mouth to respond, but then shut it again, unable to think of something. Dillamond's beard twitched.

"And between the two of us, Miss Elphaba," he'd added, smiling, "I don't think a lack of trying will ever be a problem."

Now, Elphaba leaned back from her desk, her eyes screwed shut. She missed her teacher. She missed his wisdom and inspiration, his gentle nudging that pushed her to her best. Right now she just felt lost, hanging in the air with nothing to hold on to and nothing to pull her in the right direction. She needed…

Elphaba picked up her pen.

Dr. Dillamond,

I need your help.

"Elphaba?"

The green girl shoved her letter out of sight as her door opened. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking, Nessa?"

"Sorry." For once, the younger girl looked like she meant it. "It's just…Father wants to see you."

Elphaba tensed. "Why?"

"Why do you think?" Nessa wrung her hands. "Elphaba, um…"

Elphaba looked over at her sister. Something was wrong. "Nessa?"

"You should just know…he's been drinking all afternoon."

The green girl's blood ran cold. "Where's Grandfather?"

"Gone on business. He won't be back for a couple of days."

Elphaba brushed her hair back, sighing, and stood up. "Go to your room, Nessa."

The younger girl bit her lip, rolling herself back and forth as Elphaba slipped on her shoes and went to the door. "Elphaba—wait. Don't go."

"Why not?"

"You know why not."

Elphaba slowly closed the door and turned to lean against it. She closed her eyes but faced her sister. "Why not?"

Nessa made a noise of frustration. "What, have you been gone so long you forgot?" she snapped.

"Why shouldn't I go talk to Father when he's drunk?" Elphaba asked calmly.

"You know how he gets!"

"How does he get?"

Nessa gripped the arms of her chair until her knuckles turned white. "He can't control his temper. H-he gets angry with you."

"He's always angry with me."

"But this is worse!"

Elphaba opened her eyes. "How so?"

"He yells at you—"

"He always does that."

"He threatens—"

"Nothing unusual."

"He hits you!"

Silence fell over the room. The sisters stared at each other, Elphaba gazing calmly while Nessa's chest heaved.

"You've never said it before," Elphaba said finally.

Nessa buried her face in her hands. "If I said it, it would be real."

Elphaba closed her eyes and sucked in a breath. She wanted to scream at Nessa, tell her it was real anyway, but she didn't have the heart. Instead, she exhaled and opened her eyes again. "It only happened a couple of times."

"It happened more than that. More than I ever knew."

"Has he hit you?"

Nessa looked up. "What?"

"You heard me. When I was gone, did he hit you?"

"No." Nessa met her eyes, and for a moment they just stood there. Finally, Elphaba nodded.

"Good. Now go. Stay away from him for tonight."

"Elphaba, don't go down there."

"I'm not," she promised, opening her door. Nessa wheeled toward the hallway, but then stopped.

"Elphaba?"

The green girl heard the new question in her voice and sighed. "Not tonight, Nessa. I—"

"I'm not looking for an answer," Nessa said quickly. "I just…want to understand. I don't want to keep arguing over this. Not when we only have a couple weeks before you leave again."

"Nessa, all we ever do is argue."

"But not like this. Please, Elphaba, I just…I don't know what you're thinking. I don't know what the problem is. You never wanted to be the Eminent Thropp."

Elphaba stared. "Did…did you?"

"I…don't know."

Something in her voice made Elphaba pause, and for the first time in her life she wondered what it would be like to be the younger sister.

"Look, Nessa." She knelt down in front of the chair, resting one arm on her sister's knees and the other on one of the arms. It was their typical position of comfort, of intimacy, and for the first time since leaving for break, Elphaba felt like she was home. "The inheritance, the Eminency—it's huge. And this issue doesn't end when I give my answer. I promise, we'll talk about it, just the two of us. We'll work it out. But right now Father's drunk and Grandfather's gone and it's starting to get late. Some other day, okay?"

Nessa grabbed the hand on her knees and held it tight. She had always been mature for her age, but right now she looked years younger. "Promise me, Fabala. Promise we won't end up like Father, or Mother, or anyone else in our family. We'll always be sisters…right?"

If Elphaba was surprised, she didn't show it. "Of course we will, Nessa. We've been through too much to be anything else."

Nessarose nodded, and for a while Elphaba kept kneeling, letting their words settle around them. Then she stood up, kissed her sister on the forehead, and took her to her room.

"Your father hits you?"

Elphaba jumped at the voice. "Peric!" she hissed, spotting the Bird on her windowsill. "How long have you been there?"

"Here?" he asked, scraping his talons against the stone. "About five minutes."

The green girl scowled, shutting the door to her room behind her. "How long were you listening?"

Peric picked at his wing. "A while."

Elphaba sighed. "You know what? It doesn't matter."

"I think it does."

"It's not like it's a surprise," the green girl spat. "And it hasn't happened in a long time."

"Because you went to Shiz? Or before that?"

"Before that," she said shortly. "Now, can we focus on more important things, or are you going to keep questioning me about my past?"

Peric rustled his wings and stared at her. He was almost impossible to see against the night sky behind him. "Next time," the Bird said slowly, "I'll claw his eyes out."

He said it so seriously, his eyes drilling unblinkingly into hers, that Elphaba just couldn't help it. She laughed.

Peric huffed and ruffled his collar indignantly, but he couldn't keep a straight face for long either. He clicked his beak and grinned, shaking his head. "This isn't funny," he said, chuckling.

"No," Elphaba agreed, still smiling. "It's not." Their eyes met, and Elphaba understood that, despite their humor, Peric had been serious. The Bird could do it, too. Between his size and his pride and the violent streak his numerous scars indicated, he would be quite the vicious enemy. Her father wouldn't stand a chance.

She would never want that, of course, but the realization sparked something within her. Peric would fight to protect her, and she would do the same for him. For a moment she simply gazed at Peric, wondering when the bond between them grew so deep.

Elphaba shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts before she was forced to consider them too much. "Come read this," she said, moving to her desk and pulling out the letter. "I don't know what else to tell him."

Peric flew over to perch on the back of the desk chair. His eyes darted back and forth across the paper.

"I've told him everything I could do with the journal, and how I need help to continue his experiments, but I still feel like there's something missing."

Peric made a noise in the back of his throat. "What about Shiz?" he said slowly. "Tell him about everything that happened when he left. Like the headmistress—Morrible, right?—asking you and Glinda to be her assistants."

Elphaba's eyes darkened at the suggestion, but she nodded. "Right. He should know what Morrible's up to." She grabbed her pen and began scribbling out another paragraph at the bottom of the page. Peric watched her patiently, waiting for her to finish and sign her name.

"I think I may know where he is."

The green girl froze, heart pounding. "You do?"

Peric nodded. "I was asking around today, and there were a few who told me he was near the outskirts of the Great Gillikin Forest. It would make sense. There are a few safe houses up there, not far from the railroad."

"And you think you can find him?"

The Bird rolled his eyes. "I know my way around."

Elphaba folded the letter and stuck it in an envelope. "How long will it take?"

"Two days? Three at the most. It would depend on where he is, and how long he takes to write back."

She nodded and held out the letter for him. "Thank you, Peric." She opened her mouth to say more, but then shut it again.

Peric, however, seemed to understand. He lowered his head as he took the letter. "Don't worry. I know how important this is."

Elphaba swallowed, following him as he flew to the window. "I swore I wouldn't involve anyone else in this," she said quietly. "Just…be careful." Her lips turned up in a smirk as she added, "And watch out for steel traps."

Peric lunged forward and nipped at her hair, tugging playfully. She swatted him away and jumped out of reach. The Bird clicked his beak as he unfolded his wings. "I'll be fine, Fae. Try not to have too much fun here without me."

"Oh, you know I will," she deadpanned. She raised a hand and waved as he jumped out the window and disappeared into the dark sky. Once he was high enough to glide effortlessly, Peric looked back at the Colwen Grounds. He could just barely see the outline of his friend, sitting in her windowsill, staring broodingly out into the night.

Then he turned away, heading northwest toward Gillikin, where he would meet the most acclaimed scholar in modern society. Finally, Peric thought, I have a chance to make a difference in Oz.