The Meanderer

by xeveningx

"The world is beautiful and pure, it's the weeds in it that ruin it." And to save the world she loves, Noé will do what she must: find her friends to free her master. But as she learns what saving it implies, discourse stirs in her. Is it really worth saving anymore? "It's not the world that's worth saving," a red cub told her. It's hard to understand his words.

21. Tales of a Sparrow II

Chapter Twenty-One:

Tales of a Sparrow

II

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|IV|

The Archives.

An inane name for such a monumental initiative. Regardless of its magnitude, it was what the three had decided to call the trove of knowledge they would begin to gather from that day onwards.

Teosa and Ignis who proposed it to Solomon headed the trove with the Resistance's full backing and with Noé as one of its first recorders. Now that was a fitting name for the task despite it not giving away a hint of what it truly entailed.

A job that was placed into effect not long after they liberated the Manticores. Having to play catch-up now, the initial trio decided to impart their work for the time being. Which meant that while Ignis and Teosa were tasked with gathering information from the already liberated species, the hatchling would be left with a task highly unsuited for her.

---

|i|

"This is bullshit."

Truly, what the hell made them think that she was the best suited for recruiting new recorders. It was true that they would only be slowed down if all three of them went out to recruit together, but what in their right minds made them think she could do such a job by herself? Noé couldn't help but sigh out of frustration as she made her way through the vast terrains that housed the nearby species in their isolation barriers.

Noé could already vividly imagine a few things that would make it a difficult job by itself. Though she was allowed inside as an official member of the Resistance, there were two major points the other two failed to account for. Both, in fact, having greatly to do with why she kept others at arm's length and why she seldom visited the tribes that they liberated over the years. All of it stemmed from the fact that she was part Vastago and a natural predator second only to the Red Lions.

The thought alone had her sighing. It was one thing to tolerate someone like her because of who she was allied with, but how did they expect them to lower their guards enough against someone they considered an apex predator? A groan left her this time. She supposed the only way to find out who would allow it would come down to simple trial-and-error.

"First up, the Dea Icaunis."

A tribe recently liberated, they were quite the boisterous kind to her dismay but they were also quite powerful. That fact alone would serve in her favor; if they didn't see her as a threat, it'd be much easier to speak to its chief and people if given the chance. The magicians situated there to live with the three tribes upholding the isolation barrier waved at her as she passed, something she awkwardly reciprocated in an attempt to appear friendly. Having been thrust into this ambassador-like role, it was the best she could muster at the moment.

Doing the same once in the presence of the tribal chieftain was just a tad more nerve-wracking.

"What a curious thing it is to see one of your kind here, child." Chief Murmur's voice boomed through his chambers as sharp aquamarine eyes stared down at her through wavering strands of fiery hair.

Noé dismissed the derogatory label and focused instead on the chief that overlooked the wardens of the valley of souls. Noé had spent some time learning about them and their language in preparation for this visit but hadn't quite gotten over some of their customs. In particular, the part where their young would have to go through a ceremony that involved them going through a near-death experience in order to become fully-fledged adults.

And here I thought the conclaves were barbaric.

"Lord Solomon warned me that you would be gracing us with your presence today," his voice mocked, echoing briefly through the walls. He brought a long pipe up to his lips and took a drag of it before blowing out the smoke and letting it swirl above his head. "Though he didn't quite explain what I would owe such a thing to."

It took her a moment to compose herself. It wasn't that Murmur was intimidated by himself; Noé had fought plenty of Icaunus during her travels through their lands. No, what had her on edge was her complete lack of social skills that could very well make or break this entire endeavor of theirs before it even started. No use dawdling around and prolonging the inevitable though. With another deep breath, Noé stood as proud as only she knew how to and faced the chieftain of the Icaunus head-on.

"I come with no ill intent, Chief Murmur. Actually, I'm here to see if any of your people would be willing to volunteer in this new project of ours that Lord Solomon approved."

His eyebrow rose as he took another drag of his pipe. "What sort of project?"

Noé took one last breath to calm her rising nerves; a horrendous mistake, she concluded, when she inhaled some smoke and threw a coughing fit for a good second. Dismissing it best she could, Noé waved away the smoke near her face before speaking.

"A way to safeguard the history of every living being that walks this earth so that future generations can learn from our errors and nothing like this one occurs again."

It must have been something about the way she phrased it that caught his interest. Enough to allow her to continue speaking anyway. That was fine by her. She only needed him to open the door an inch in order for her to worm her way through bit by bit with the rhetoric they had concocted.

The three of them knew how tough it would be to even begin to explain such an abstract concept and even harder for others to believe, but they knew they had to start somewhere. That one sentence is how they decided to begin it with in order to pique their interest and to succinctly summarize what they hoped the Archives would eventually become.

Learning from their past and present to pursue and safeguard their future to the best of their abilities.

Now all that was left was to explain in detail what it was that they intended to do with that information.

Because of what had been discussed privately beforehand, they would use two ways to archive all the information. One being through a spell similar to the one that Teosa had placed on her. Seeing as oral history was unreliable they would first and foremost rely on a powerful bank of information that they themselves would safeguard: their blood. It showed limitations though seeing as it would only store whatever the recorder personally bore witness to. Which was why the second method existed. They knew for a fact that they wanted all this history to be handwritten at some point; that was despite not having a concrete place to safeguard whatever they collected either. In the meantime, however, with how reserved their numbers were, it would suffice to safeguard their knowledge in their heads. At least until their numbers increased.

Hopefully, she thought bitterly.

Overall, her stops at each tribe would consist of recruitment and recording. And with this being her first stop, it was to be expected when she found resistance to her prying.

"I understand what you're attempting to do. However, my people will not take kindly to someone as yourself entering their domain nor easily accept your presence as harmless."

"I suppose for now your accounts would suffice, chief," she reiterated. "I know that many will find me rather unpleasant to have around but I mean no harm to you or yours. Just because their blood runs through me doesn't mean that I align with the Vastgian beliefs."

Though his gaze told her he understood where she was coming from, the rather long sigh he gave left her with much to be desired. "I understand, and because of that, I hope you can understand where I'm coming from as well. Do not take it to heart when I say that the Vastago have caused enough harm to those who've lived near our tribes for us to be wary of your kind. Even if you're just a half-blood."

Defeated, Noé lowered her head before nodding. "Yes, I understand. I will inform the others of this then and allow them to come instead if that will aid in comforting your people. Thank you for taking the time to listen to me, Chief Murmur. I'll be taking my leave now."

With a swift bow, Noé turned about ready to leave when Murmur's booming voice once again filled the entirety of his chambers.

"It is a daunting task that you're undertaking, Vastagian. Peace through understanding; though I believe this of Lord Solomon's grander war, it is hard to trust when it's coming from one such as yourself. I recommend those in charge reconsider what kind of harm your presence costs to their valiant cause."

Pain tore through her at those words. Noé didn't respond with anything. She simply turned to him to bow once more before turning tail and leaving. As she left their territory, however, she couldn't help the way his words permeated her mind. She had already predicted the kind of response she would get from others. His in fact was quite tame compared to what she had imagined. All the same, though, it had been what she had expected from years of having endured it during her life.

Prejudice that stemmed from terror.

Her mood dampened, Noé played around with the idea of leaving it at that. Maybe this was a sign and Murmur had a point. If only Teosa and Ignis dealt with the actual recruitment and recording, she could focus on archiving their stories by herself while they found new recruits. Yeah, that sounded like the best course of action if this was how they would all respond to her mere presence.

I should return and let them know—

"Um...excuse me…?"

The timid voice that rose above the inane noises around her caught her attention so quickly that it had her spinning on her heels with eyes wide open. A small surprised squeal came out of a young girl that quickly hid behind the nearest tree. Almost immediately, Noé regretted her actions and apologized for startling her. The young Icaunus peeked over the trunk cautiously, aquamarine irises glancing at her briefly before hiding back again.

"I-I saw you...you were talking with C-Chief Murmur?"

"Oh, you saw that?" Noé averted her gaze a bit embarrassed. "Sorry about intruding into your territory. I know it's scary having any Vastagian there. I was actually leaving, so you don't have to worry anymore."

"No, it's not—eep!" she hid once more when Noé perked up at her denial, feathers bristling with anticipation. Using what little courage she could muster, the girl peeked out again with trembling lips as she spoke, "I-I mean, I overheard...what you were t-talking about with, g-grandfather. It—it sounded very...interesting."

"Really?" Noticing her discomfort, Noé tried her best to seem the least menacing possible. To do that, she crouched down to appear smaller and had her hands showing every time she moved to show her she meant no harm. The last thing she knew would help was to ease into the subject. "What about it did you find interesting?"

The question caught her unawares and had her pondering for a minute as her aquamarine gaze fell to the floor and her flaming tresses died down a bit.

"I-I want to know about them." Warily, her gaze rose to meet hers, brow slightly furrowed. "About the other species, I-I mean. Y-Yours as well."

"That's amazing." It truly was. For any member of a species to want to know more about those who surround them, even those who they considered dangerous, meant the girl had great strength of will and conviction. That or a damn near crippling curiosity that had gotten her in danger more than once. "It's great that you want to know about the others. It shows some great character from you; that you're not bound by prejudices and that you're willing to make your own decisions and judgments. I think it's something impressive for someone as young as you."

A deep red came across her rather pale cheeks. "T-Thank you."

Returning her gratitude with a smile, Noé continued. "A couple of my colleagues may come around some other time to ask Chief Murmur again. I'm sure it'll be less intimidating to ask about it from them than from me about what this whole project is. You won't have to commit to anything, especially with how young you are. You could just ask them and they'll tell you what this whole thing is about and you can choose whether to join us or not. How does that sound?"

The Icaunus girl nodded, making Noé smile kindly at her honesty.

"Great." Standing back up as slowly as she could, Noé readied to leave. "I'm Noé, by the way. If you tell my colleagues my name and inquire about it, they'll tell you everything you need to know in more detail."

"W-Will you not come anymore?" she asked timidly.

"It's better if I don't," Noé responded with some hesitation. "Wouldn't want to scare others from joining or telling their stories by being here."

"Oh...okay."

"Be safe on your way back home."

Her farewells said, Noé went on to head to the next village after having unbeknownst to her or anybody cracked the surface of the terrifying preconceptions of a young little Dae Icaunus.

—{i}—

An attempt was made. A piss-poor one, but an attempt nonetheless.

Noé could confidently say as much after having visited at least eight more tribes and getting more or less the same answer.

A couple of them had the courtesy to have an audience with her, so she thanked Ose and Barbatos for that kindness at least. Others like Berith or Malphas were rather steadfast about keeping her out of their territories. At least they allowed her some time to get her case out to them, unlike Seere. Free-spirited her ass; that damn winged horse was more trouble than it was worth. Still, even if recruitment failed, they would eventually have to get their archives straight. Which meant that one of them would have to be there and function as a scribe for their stories.

Noé had suspected this was going to be a losing battle where she was concerned from the very start. She had prepared herself mentally before all this knowing there would be objections left and right to whomever she spoke to. What she hadn't anticipated was how soul-crushing it'd be to even try interacting with the other species. Thankfully, none did any new kind of damage that hadn't already been done by others.

"Tough first roundabout?"

I'm not in the mood for this right now.

Noé was this close to smacking Solomon away with her talon, but the thought of his borg protecting him dispelled the joy she would've gotten from that otherwise so she refrained. Glaring at him would have to suffice she supposed. Seeing that from her amounted to a chuckle from him as he took a seat beside her atop their base.

"Bad timing?"

"Horrid." Heaving a long sigh, Noé leaned back on her arms and stared up at the sky above them. A certain thought suddenly had her scoffing as she gave him a sideways glance with a half-grin. "And you complain about my poor taste in jokes."

"They are terrible in my defense." The ease of their conversation lessened the burden on her somehow and allowed a soft bout of laughter to sprout from the two. As it died down, emerald eyes stared upward towards the sky once more. "Did the brat finally come around?"

"Brat?"

"Yeah, the one who made a friend from one of the Manticores." For the life of her, she couldn't think of her name. A hilarious notion seeing how recalling things would now be her job. When she realized there wasn't a chance she'd remember it, Noé simply dismissed it with a careless wave of her hand. "The girlie that pissed you off."

"Oh, you mean Sheba?"

"Is that her name?" she scoffed. "Shame. Such a cute name on such a frigid little person."

"She's coming along," Solomon admitted as he played around with his hands, wringing out his fingers while his staff leaned against his shoulder, forgotten. "I think she'll be alright after what happened today. Despite what she heard about us, she wants to join all the same. Shows some semblance of change occurred in her. Which is very much a start."

The mention of that brought a thought to Noé.

All too similar to the magicians that he recruited, Solomon wasn't the pure leader everybody believed him to be. At least that's how he would describe himself if anybody asked. She hadn't found out until some years later but the fact that Solomon was actually the son of the Orthodox Church's leader turned out to be a harder idea to swallow than expected. It took time to comprehend but once done, she could see why it was being hidden from the others for the time being. Such information could be easily used against him if anybody decided he no longer served the holier-than-thou mission they believed to be serving. It was a valiant and righteous cause to be sure, but not one that should be attributed to divine intervention. in her opinion.

Some might think him unworthy if they knew. Maybe even...evil.

Her eyes narrowed, the word leaving a bitter taste in her mouth at the mere thought of it.

"Will you ever tell the others?" Those cerulean eyes turned back to her from where he'd been staring while drawing on the dirt with the blunt end of his staff. Facing downward, Noé bore her gaze onto her wings that wrapped around her from behind, the feathers bristling with the slight breeze passing by. "Or even the species for that matter. Will they ever know that the one who's leading them towards their so-called promised land is part of what caused it in the first place?"

The ease they had created before rapidly vanished at her sudden question. Solomon's indifferent expression became slightly solemn at the inquiry, his eyes going askance. It wasn't a pleasant topic. She knew as much. Even so she wouldn't shy away from asking such questions either. If he wanted all species to treat one another as equals, then he wouldn't be the one exception.

"I...wonder sometimes if I'm only deceiving them by keeping the truth from them. If after telling them, they will stay with me and believe in me as they do now...or if they will all leave once they know what I am and what I've done."

A scoff escaped her as her mind wandered with the single question: what child has these kinds of deep thoughts?

He does. It was simple to answer the question herself. Just like his sister. Just like their mother.

"You're an idiot if you think they won't." A small silence settled around them. Noé could see the way his shoulders tensed at her harsh words, the way his jaw locked and how his head dropped slightly. But before he could throw himself a pity party, she let herself finish her sentence. "And an even bigger one if you believe all will."

This time it was Solomon who scoffed, a weary half-grin pulling at his lips as he glanced up. "How contradicting."

"There are no absolutes in this world." A tough lesson she learned as a child and that she wished to impart to him in order for him to understand before it pained him to learn it firsthand the way she had. "It's rather childish to believe some won't hear those kinds of news and take advantage of them, but it's also rather defeatist to not think a good majority won't care about who you are or where you came from. If they can't see the obnoxious, stuck-up kid I see who's trying to mend his mistakes by making the world better with his own hands, then they're the hopeless ones. And trust me, there'll be plenty of those. But they'll never be enough to discount all the rest that will believe in you no matter what."

"Believe a little more in myself, is that what you mean?" Solomon asked with a raised eyebrow as his cheekiness yet again returned to replace the sullenness that had come over him. Noé didn't bother answering, but the half-smirk on her lips gave him enough of an answer.

A brief silence came over them again, one that settled much more easily and gently than the last. To Noé, these were the people she appreciated most. The ones she could simply enjoy the company of without the need for words.

"You should take your own advice."

Ah...I forgot he's a ballsy little bastard.

"It doesn't apply to me, boy."

Solomon shrugged, knowing the thin ice he was treading simply by saying what he did but unwilling to back down. "It sure seems to be by the sound of things. Who knows? Maybe it's your pessimism that doesn't let it ."

"I'm being realistic here. I accepted a long time ago that I got the short end of the stick from both sides of my parentage."

"Not all humans are bad," he reminded her.

"No, they're not. But I can assure you that the one my mother kidnapped and used to bear me didn't exactly wish me well-wishes the day I came out of her. She wasn't much of a peach either. So in that regard, I'm just facing reality, Solomon." Too riled up by the conversation, Noé rose to her feet, fuming somewhat from having to say what she had always thought about herself. "The Vastago vilify me. Other species fear me. And you humans barely tolerate me. I and everybody here have always known that my place is only temporary. I serve a puny purpose in your resistance; once this is all over, I see no reason why they would choose to tolerate me any longer than they already have."

"You think we'll kick you out after all you've done?"

"Maybe not you, but there's no saying who will. It's happened once, Solomon, it is bound to repeat itself again. That's just the pattern my life has taken. And if it benefits them, they will hardly lift a finger to fix what serves them best."

"Prove them all wrong then." The rather ambiguous and straightforward comment from their little leader caught her off guard and had her spinning on her heels to meet him. The little boy that wasn't so little anymore stood on par with her despite still having to bend his neck back to look at her. "Vastago or human, it doesn't matter. In fact, it's even better!"

"What are you on about?" she hissed with a scowl.

"Maybe the reason you think you've only got the worst of both is because you haven't brought out the best of either yet. Be the proudest Vastagian out there. Be the greatest human you can be. Show them that being who you are isn't a detriment. And even if you don't believe that now, know that I do. As does Ignis and mother."

She scoffed at the ludicrous idea. "Then you're all demented."

"No, we're not. And the answer to why is simple. It's because we believe that even when you won't feel like you'll fully be either, you will always be the best of both. All because you're you, Noé."

All because...I'm me?

It was strange to listen to him sing so many praises of her. Him, the quiet little kid that seldom appeared to speak with an ounce of sincerity when he was younger. The kid that didn't look down on her nor feared her. So in spite of how much vitriol his words innately raised in her, Noé squashed them and instead focused on what else those words made her feel. On how refreshing they were.

How relieving...

Noé suddenly buried her face against her arms, bringing them up to rest on her knees to rest and hide from his gaze. His seeing her like this—so happy that there wasn't any way for her to stop the tears that threatened to fall—was the last thing she wanted him to see.

"You're still a damn cheeky brat, you know that?" she choked out with a chortle while wiping eyes and nose as inconspicuous as possible. "Just like your damn sister."

"I know," he replied with a soft chuckle and smiled. "You never let us forget it."

—{i}—

"An air fleet?"

The mention of those flying gunuds halted the little game Noé had been trying to teach Ignis in its tracks and had both listening instead to the news that unfolded.

It had been sudden news that arrived from the magicians who went to inspect the isolation barriers created by the trio of tribes. An air fleet just like the one that they had seen with the Manticores was headed towards a certain isolation barrier behind them in the west. If it was an air fleet, Noé could surmise that Solomon and the others would have to go themselves with the vanguard they sent to put a stop to it.

Just like she had guessed, they were mobilizing to leave before long. As always Teosa forbade Ignis from going with them, this time not even opting to take her and Noé as back-up either. That simple fact worried her. It was known that her meistras always prioritized the safety of her youngest with how feeble and powerless she was, but to not even allow her to join meant that this was more than just the usual bout of magicians from the Church. Ignis appeared to understand this and Noé knew that she did; then again, there was always something about how that girlie's mind worked that she just couldn't keep up with.

"Take Noé with you."

The obvious dissent from Noé to such an idea came fast. It was obvious why, as well. Taking her meant they would have something pulling at least one of them back since someone would have to stay with her at all times with their borg activated. And none of them could afford such liability with something as dangerous as air fleets approaching such a large pack of tribes combined.

No, taking her with them would be a mistake.

"I understand."

"Meistras, no!" All those present turned towards Noé at her sudden outcry, the embarrassment of losing her cool causing her to clear her throat as she attempted to compose herself and better counter her decision. "I'll only burden you all. This isn't the time to listen to the girlie's whim like you always do."

"It's not a whim," Teosa explained with a nonchalant expression on her face. "If my children proclaim something, it is surely a well-thought-out idea they have pondered thoroughly before speaking it. I believe that when Solomon and Ignis say something it is for a purpose. So I choose to trust in them." With a smile on her lips, Teosa turned to her son, mercurial eyes meeting cerulean with a subtle determination. "I will protect Noé from the gunud's control. It will hinder my ability to fight the least out of all of us."

It took a moment for Solomon to reply, but when he did Noé couldn't believe the calm and resolute glint in his eyes. Almost like he truly believed her.

No, he really does.

"Alright. You'll partner up with Noé then. Let's get going."

It was useless to protest now. So instead Noé made an effort to be as least of a burden as possible, preparing quickly and hurriedly leaving the base with Teosa and the rest of them.

The area wasn't that far off to the west. It was actually a part of the continent that she recognized. It's where the Dae Icaunus resided. A sense of urgency sprouted within her that desperately wished to help. Despite the rather unpleasant welcome she received, the reminder of that one little Icaunus who had hesitantly yet with all the bravery in the world approached her urged her to act.

Even if the only thing she could do was be a minuscule part of something much grander.

Because Teosa couldn't join the others in raiding the inside of the fleets, Noé and her focused instead on impeding the fleets that approached the isolation barrier held by the tribes. Her steeled feathers could only do so much to their vessels though. Their magic was too much for something as small as them to cause any substantial harm. But she wasn't about to give up. Not when Ignis had personally believed that she could do something to make a difference.

A flicker of energy behind her caught her attention out of the blue causing her feathers to bristle with unease. Spinning around to what had caught her attention froze her in place. The isolation barrier that had been protecting the three tribes within had blinked out and disappeared without a trace.

B-But how?!

"This isn't good." Teosa didn't have to mutter under her breath for Noé to know it. It practically proved her correct when it only took a split second for the magic emanating from the air fleets to affect the tribes once more.

This time their savage state appeared to be much more violent than what she recalled. Even Teosa and her who were pretty high up and protected by her borg were having trouble dealing with both the fleets still attacking them and the species that now aimed their swipes back at them. What was worse, they were starting to harm one another too.

A terrible thought dawned on her suddenly. Solomon and the others were dealing with the fleets but it was taking too long. If things continued like this, the tribes would tear each other apart. There wouldn't be anything left of them by the time they stopped the fleets.

If that's so—

"We need to stop the tribes."

Teosa turned to her with a furrowed brow. "What?"

"We need to keep them from killing each other!"

"Noé, don't—wait!"

There wasn't any time to wait around. Even if it's what her meistras wanted—despite it being her orders—waiting around would only get innocents unwittingly killed.

And Noé had had enough of watching them die.

There hadn't been any sign of hesitation when she leaped out of Teosa's borg. There hadn't been any fear when she landed on the ground in the midst of a mindless battle. There was none of that coursing through her, not even when the mind-control magic struck.

The force of the magic emanating from the air fleets hit her instantly upon her talons touching the ground. And yet, in spite of the immense pressure she felt that threatened to split her head in twine, a part of her remained lucid. It was this exact part that pulled her through the worst of that magic and had her standing in the midst of the ongoing slaughter and through the cold sweat that came over her.

Ignoring it the best she could, Noé went off, dodging in between the larger beasts that rushed at her. Her body feeling as heavy as it did made her reactions sluggish but after a minute or two of adjusting, it became possible to get a hold of the right timing. Right enough to help her subdue all of those mindlessly after her. Knocking them out and pinning them down with her feathers worked at first until they all suddenly decided to pile onto her.

The sudden parting of their bodies as they rushed towards her shocked her but she was able to instantly recognize her Meistras's gravity magic that opened a path for her. Her voice rose through the noise of carnage as it urged her forward, telling her to do what she believed best and that she would support her.

Noé only nodded and without looking back dashed forward.

Each new tribe member that came close was dealt with in a similar way. Pinning them down, tying them down, incapacitating them, knocking them unconscious—Noé did everything she could think of in order to stop them from attacking one another.

Everything except kill them.

Splendidly going against her most innate instincts, Noé fought one after another, doing her damnedest to take them down alive with Teosa's help.

It was just as their numbers began dwindling to a manageable number that he appeared.

Noé barely noticed the incoming attack in time to jump away to safety. The long sickle, however, ran through the ones still in its way with the chain it was attached to, rounding up the ones it caught on its way back to the giant that was Chief Murmur. The sight of him mindlessly attacking them baffled her for a solid second. That shouldn't be possible. Solomon had given him a divine staff after they were liberated to create their isolation barrier. Having that meant he couldn't be controlled by the Gunud's magic.

But...if it'd been taken away—was his losing it the reason the barrier disappeared?

There wasn't much time to think about the logistics. Not when Murmur doggedly chased after her and her alone. Noé dodged out of the way of his scythe as he threw it her way and ducked below the chains that threatened to capture her as best she could manage. Thankfully, with their difference in sizes, it was easier to avoid him.

But that also meant that if it landed—

I'll be in trouble.

"Meistras! The divine staff—Murmur doesn't have his!"

"What?"

"Search for it!" Noé dodged another attack, skidding to a stop and deflecting the trajectory of the chains with her steeled wings but scowling at the other Icaunus that were harmed because of it. "Raising the isolation barrier is our priority! Hurry, before more die!"

There wasn't a chance for Teosa to object. All she could do was leave in search of the divine staff and leave Noé to hold off Murmur for however long it took.

Please hurry, meistras.

The fight was turning harder by the minute. Fighting against her instincts that told her to kill him was not only slowing her down but keeping her from attacking him with all her strength. Years of survival had taught her that killing those stronger than her when threatened would always be the sanest choice. If anybody had to survive, it had to be her. But that wasn't the case now. Not when she had finally decided to fight for the sake of others.

Murmur's attacks grew more relentless as time with by. With incredible agility and maneuverability, he went stroke for stroke against Noé who could barely shield herself with her steeled wings at this point. Suddenly, one of those attacks breached her defenses, striking her side and sending her off against the side of a nearby mountain. Her body shook from the pain and her throat contracted as bile and blood rose together and exited her mouth.

Pain from some broken bones didn't deter her though. It wasn't any different from the pain she had suffered when younger. This one at least had a purpose.

It kept her going.

"Noé!"

There was no other time that Noé had ever been happier to hear her meistras's voice calling her name.

The grand chief saw his opening at seeing her distracted and sent his sickle and chain flying towards her. Noé, anticipating the mindless attack, did her best but couldn't get high enough to avoid being nicked by the sickle's blade and getting herself dragged along its trajectory. As she struggled to hang on, an idea struck her and had her acting rapidly. Plucking one of her longer feathers and steeling it, Noé waited until the right time came when the sickle struck the ground to pin her down before vaulting over it and avoiding being slashed in half. Piercing with the steeled feather, she plunged it through the link of the chain nearest to the sickle's grip and twisted the blade as far as it would go.

Far enough to hear that glorious crack of the chains breaking apart.

With it free, Noé took the sickle in hand and dashed towards Murmur who now could only mindlessly swing around the chains to attack. But without that massive weapon connected to it anymore, dodging out of the was easy even with her injuries. Dodging one last time, she cut at his leg to make him kneel before her before lunging into the air to kick him in the head and bring him down to the ground. Her feathers weren't long or large enough to subdue him, but that was why she'd brought his weapon along. Using a might that only the sheer amount of adrenaline in her could muster, Noé swung the sickle down onto Murmur's shoulder hard enough to pierce through into the ground. Murmur let out a hoarse growl that pierced her own ears and had her brain rattling in her skull but none of that stopped her from yelling over it at Teosa.

"Meistras, put your borg up now!"

Teosa speared her borg without a second thought as she landed so that it would gather around herself, Noé and Chief Murmur. It took a moment for that soulless look in his eye to disappear but once it did and he muttered his discomfort and sudden confusion, relief washed over Noé along with a gentle smile as she gripped his sickle tightly in hand.

"It's great to have you back, Chief Murmur. And I'm sorry about this." Noé didn't wait for him to ask what she was apologizing for when she took back the sickle and unpinned the Icaunus chief from off the ground. As she stepped down from him and let the sickle fall unceremoniously to the ground with a loud thud, Teosa approached them at last with his divine staff in hand.

"We will explain once all this is over," Teosa told the chieftain. With both helping him up to his feet once more, she gave back the divine staff and nodded. "Please, restore the isolation barrier."

"Y-Yes, Lady Teosa."

Noé thanked Illah that it had only been Murmur to have his staff taken. With him back and the isolation barrier back on and running, the air fleets could no longer harm the species on the ground. It was a relief to Noé when at last the fleets fell and the magicians escaped safely before making their way to reunite with them.

"W-What happened?" Murmur inquired once more now much more stable.

"You must've lost your staff somehow." Teosa motioned towards it with her own and said, "Do you truly not recall what occurred to have lost it like you did?"

Murmur sputtered in a poor attempt to make himself time, but it was obvious from his attitude that he truly didn't know how he came to lose the staff. Teosa assured him that it was alright now and that he shouldn't pressure himself too much with remembering for the time being.

Hoping to console him just the same, Noé affirmed what her meistras had said with a weak smirk. "It doesn't matter right now, Chief Murmur. You're back and everybody's safe again. That's all that matters."

"Yes…" Those aquamarine eyes gazed at the staff in his hands before turning down to glance at Noé as Teosa approached her and held her against her chest to keep her from falling over from her injuries. "And I have you to thank for that, young Vastago."

Blinking through her blurry vision, Noé quickly countered his claims. "No, I didn't—"

"What you did—going against my people and myself without killing us—the amount of restraint and compassion you have shown to us who drove you away before is unimaginable to me. All to save us at the risk of yourself. As their chieftain, I cannot thank you enough for what you have done to keep my people and the other tribes here safe."

"I didn't do it to have you thank me, Chief." The smirk on her lips widened a bit, becoming a half, toothy grin. "The praise does feel rather nice." Her nervous chuckle ended short from the pain it caused to her side.

Teosa warned her to keep still and keep from speaking further as her hands pressed against the wound. "Be patient, they will be here soon to tend to you."

Almost as if summoned by her words, Noé's ears suddenly flooded with the ruckus of the other magicians as they arrived. Cheers filled the air for a fraction of a second. Just long enough before they noticed her. Their mood changed at the drop of a hat as concern took over at witnessing the state she was in. Frankly, Noé was starting to feel it too. Now that the adrenaline was all gone, the pain that had been pushed aside was now bubbling quickly up to the surface. And it was not being kind to her.

It was while battling against passing out that a rather familiar voice rang through her ears as it cried out.

"Grandfather, grandfather!"

Murmured answered the young girl's pleas, his tone turning genuinely tender. "My little light! Oh, thank Illah you're alright."

His...granddaughter?

Their silhouettes were blurrier now, but Noé could still make out the faint figures of Murmur and the little girl. His family. And from what she could vaguely remember, the same little girl that talked to her when she first came.

A faint smile pulled at her lips at the thought that they weren't torn apart. It comforted her to know she'd protected them. Her eyelids fluttered as she fought to keep consciousness but it was all for naught. Before long, her exhaustion won over her and as Noé passed out a bittersweet thought crossed her mind.

Must..be nice...

—{i}—

"A visitor?"

From down below her perch atop a canopy, Noé eyed Ignis and saw her nod in response to her inquiry. There appeared to be a hint of a smile on her lips as she held her beloved book close to her chest with both her hands, the top half of it trying and failing to hide it.

"Yes, and it's for you."

Huh. Well, that was highly unlikely. Perhaps there was some kind of mistake? But when suggested the possibility, Ignis vehemently shook her head. There was no mistake, she claimed. The visitor that had found their base had done so solely to see her. Noé didn't bother arguing with her despite how much she wanted to. Having just woken up four days after that air fleet attack with her injuries still mildly present, she had little to no strength in her to do so.

'Still enough to climb a tree, I see,' she remembered Teosa teasing.

Noé could do nothing except chortle at the reminder. What could she say? Being in high places relaxed her, and that certainly helped with her recovery after the thrashing she got.

All's well that ends well, though.

Well, she was somewhat curious about who this visitor could possibly be. Especially if they were there asking for her in particular. Whatever her mind could've thought up, however, held no candle to what was actually waiting for her at the entrance of their stationary base.

"You're that Icaunus girl."

That flaming hair crackled at the sound of her voice and at turning, bright aquamarine eyes stared at her seconds before a broad smile spread across the young girl's pale face.

"Miss!" The girl didn't waste a second in cutting the distance between them short, stopping in front of her and Ignis with a hand to her chest. "It's great to see that you're doing well. I hope the rest of your wounds heal well and swiftly."

"T-Thanks," Noé interjected, a tad bit of color coming to her cheeks at being addressed so formally. "But why are you here...if I may ask? We left your tribe some miles behind, didn't we?"

"Yes. I'll admit that with how fast this contraption travels made it difficult to track down." A bubbly chuckle escaped her. So delicate. "I'm glad I caught up, though."

Once that said, the Icaunus girl prostrated herself before her and Ignis, holding her hands to her heart as she bowed and offering them open as she rose back to them.

"I've come in the hopes of joining the project you spoke to grandfather about."

Emerald eyes blinked a couple of times before Noé burst out, "You're fucking with me."

"Um...no?" The girl chuckled awkwardly at the odd phrasing but shook it away along with her head. "I'm definitely not joking if that's what you're implying. I am very serious indeed."

"If you overheard the conversation Noé had with your chieftain, then you're aware of what joining us means, correct?" Ignis intervened with a rather cold gaze directed at her. So cold, in fact, that Noé saw how the girl flinched under the scrutiny. "Joining us means you would have to travel with us and leave your home behind. There's no telling when you'll return. You will have to stay here at the Resistance's base indefinitely among magicians and a Vastago. Are we to understand that you don't mind such accommodations?"

Though somewhat intimidated by Ignis's harsh demeanor, there was a clear determination still lingering in those aquamarine eyes after a deep, calming breath.

"Yes. I spoke to my grandfather in detail in order to grasp all the details of what volunteering would entail. What I would have to give up and what I would have to do to help accomplish it." The girl took another deep breath and lowered her gaze to her feet before rising to meet both Ignis and her with an even more hardened will. "But I also believe that what you're doing will serve a greater purpose. I...may not be able to help the war like my brethren can, but maybe I can aid it some other way."

"Then who are we to stop you?"

Noé jumped at hearing her meistras's voice suddenly coming from behind them. Both her and Ignis stepped back and opened a way for her to step up and stand between them. Those mercurial eyes turned to her for a moment as she smiled reassuringly before addressing the Icaunus again.

"If it is your choice to join us, we have no qualms whatsoever in receiving you, young lady. And even if you decide you no longer wish to support us for whatever reason in the future, we will also respect that choice. We will accept what you decide so long as it is of your own free will."

"Yes, of course!" the girl exclaimed enthused with a grand smile that brought a bit of silver to her pale cheeks. Tripping over her tongue from how flustered she became, she bowed a few times before standing fully. "A-And I promise I will do my best to contribute to your cause!"

"How grand." Her meistras clasped her hands together overjoyed, her fingertips touching each other daintily as her smile grew and appeared to brighten. "Then allow us to show you around the base and to where you will be residing from now onwards. I am Teosa, by the way, and I am the one tasked with spearheading this project. Your senior recorders here are Ignis and Noé. I hope you will get along well with both of them."

"Miss Teosa, Miss Ignis, Miss Noé." She repeated the names under her breath and nodded vehemently. With their pleasantries exchanged, the little girl went about introducing herself at last. "I'm from the Dae Icaunus tribe and the granddaughter of the current chief. My name is Euphemia. It's a pleasure to meet you all; I shall be in your care from now on."

What a nice ring it has.

"Likewise, Euphemia."

---

|V|

Euphemia of the Dae Icaunus.

The first recorder to be recruited by the initial trio that established the Archives.

The first to be recruited by the Vastagian recorder—a fact that threw the door of opportunity wide open over the following five years.

Euphemia's presence and her friendship with a Vastago proved to be the catalyst that some needed to set aside their prejudices of her race and cause the recruitment and gathering of information to begin its growth at an exponential rate. And as the project grew, many warmed up to the idea of having their stories collected for posterity's sake, thus fueling their cause even further.

What began as recruitment with two magicians, a Vastagian and an Icaunus, grew to a grand assortment of all the species including magicians. Many were invested in the idea of safeguarding their future with the knowledge of their past, something they could promise with the Archives.

And as more and more joined, Noé found herself suddenly overwhelmed. Not just by people, but by her own conflicting feelings. Against what all her childhood had taught her, the little sparrow came to realize that not all people were evil. Not all would deride her and villainize her for the simple fact of being herself.

For merely existing.

Because of this, the loneliness that had been etched itself into her was slowly chipped away during the five years of living in the company of people who accepted her and treated her as an equal. And in its stead, a new, much more pleasant sensation replaced it.

The yearning to belong she had neglected for so many solitary years.

---

|i.|

"It's not here! It's not here! Or here, either! Ah, where is it?!"

"Euphemia? What's going on?"

The young lady's flaming head peeked out from a pile of books to meet a pair of brilliant blue eyes. There, standing with a couple of finished tomes on his back and utterly perplexed, was Arikos. A former warrior of a fierce dragon tribe, he had retired from serving his people and his chief, Berith, to join their crusade not long after Euphemia had.

The Icaunus teared up at seeing her comrade and launched at him with open arms and tears spilling from her eyes. "Ari!"

Thankfully, the dragonet had the reflexes to protect the tomes and catch the woman with one of his wings instead. Euphemia clung onto his wing, feet inches off the floor, and wept onto it without warning.

"C-Could you wait a minute and explain what's going on? Your snot is getting all over my scales!"

It took a minute to calm her down but once Euphemia got a hold of her shaky breathing, she wiped away at her nose and sniffled before speaking. "I need to find an early tome but I can't find it anywhere."

"An early tome?" Arikos repeated, raising his brow. His tail swiveled as his gaze scanned the shelves in front of them while taking into account the ones that Euphemia had already taken out haphazardly. "What is it, year xxx?"

"Yes!"

"And it isn't here?"

"Do you think I would have such a mess if it were?!" The roundabout questions only brought more tears to her eyes as she gripped at her flaming strands of hair to pull at them. Sadly, her fingers only went through the cold embers which only served to frustrate her further. "What do I do? Dheirfiúr asked me to bring it to her and it's nowhere to be found?!"

"She did?" His narrowed gaze went askance thinking briefly about something before setting down his tomes carefully on the nearby table with his tail. Arikos then shook his wing nonstop until Euphemia released it and fell unceremoniously onto the ground in an uncharacteristic oomph. With a final jerk of his tail, Arikos turned about and headed for the exit. "Come on."

"W-Where to?" she asked between sniffles.

"Well, if it's not here then wouldn't it stand to reason that one of the others with access to this part of the library has it?" Euphemia sniffled again to give herself time to ponder that and nodded. Rolling his eyes, Arikos extended his tail down to Euphemia who took it with a quiet 'thank you' as her draconic friend helped her to her feet. "Really, for being one of the smartest among us, you can be such a narrow-minded crybaby, Effie."

"D-Don't say that, Ari..."

—{i}—

"What year?"

Arikos could only raise his brow at the spectacle in front of them. Euphemia, on the other hand, tried her best to avoid the countless ice tentacles that traveled at high speeds across the room's expanse.

Saffiro was a practical one, much like Chief Ose who governed his species, even if that practicality did come at some risk for those that entered his workspace. Needing to be in rather high temperatures meant that his tasks were limited but that didn't stop him from doing them to the best of his abilities.

"Xxx," Euphemia repeated, ducking just in time to dodge an artifact that flew across the room to a station where they would be later preserved and labeled. "We were wondering if you had by any chance checked it out?"

"Not a chance." Saffiro waved one of the many tentacles that protruded from his back, completely dismissing them without as much as a glance. "You lot know I'm in charge of artifact preservation for a reason. I can't touch scrolls or paper without ruining them."

"Well, do you know who could've taken it out?" Arikos asked instead. "Vyresnis is asking for it."

Everything halted all at once. Euphemia even flinched from how abruptly his arms stopped midair, some inches away from their faces. Goodness, this was something she would never get used to.

Finally slowly down and lowering his tentacles for a moment, Saffiro tilted his head to lean on one of the free tentacles and hummed pensively. "Can't say I have a solid name. But if I were you I'd go ask the gremlin."

"She's back already?" Arikos asked rather incredulously.

"She isn't a field research captain for nothing." With that said, Saffiro kicked his work back into gear, most of the tentacles resuming their high speed allocating while the one he'd used to lean on merely shooed them away. "Now go, I'm running behind as it is."

—{i}—

"So we were wondering—" Swoosh. Euphemia's head snapped towards the sound. "—if you by chance—" Swoosh. She sighed but followed all the same. "—knew who would—" Swoosh.

"Would you stop for a damn minute!"

Arikos's sudden shout stopped the tiny creature in her tracks, her body skidding to a stop and only her clawed tiptoes holding on and keeping her from face planting straight onto the floor. The scrolls and papers she'd been carrying on top of her head barely survived as well thanks to Euphemia skittishly rushing up to her and keeping them steady in their place.

The creature, despite being fully grown, came no higher than to Euphemia's waist who was as tall as any of the female magicians in their base. It was something unheard of for someone from Chief Barbatos's tribe who were recognized as some of the greatest hunters third only to the Vastago and Red Lions. But what she lacked in height and strength, she made up for in ravenous speed and rambunctious energy, something she used greatly to her advantage as a recorder and captain of field research.

"What is it?" she snapped in her squeaky little voice.

"We apologize for bothering you when you're busy allocating today's manuscripts, Tanvi, but it urges us to find the tome. Vyresnis asked for it."

"Mm… I did take out the tome for that year, but last I remember I returned it. Give me a second to check." Setting the scrolls and loose papers on the ground, Tanvi sped through the whole allocation quarters, avoiding other recorders in the way and coming back in less than a split second. "Yep, not here! Saf-Saf told ya the truth, though; I did have it, but I ain't got it no more."

"Great…" Arikos groaned.

"Would you happen to know who has it?" Euphemia asked.

Tanvi tilted her head to either side rather quickly, her pointy ears bobbing side-to-side as she gave it some thought only to stop with her head tilted to one side. "Not a clue!"

Arikos and Euphemia sighed before the former ushered the latter towards the exit. "Come on, maybe one of the others knows."

"Might wanna try Mor-Mor if you haven't! He's got his eye on everybody." With that suggestion given, Tanvi picked up her manuscripts once more and continued running at high speeds to allocate them in their respective places to be later transcribed.

—{i}—

"Miss Ignis has it."

Euphemia and Arikos had barely entered Morrigan's room when they were left slack-jawed at how blunt his answer to their unasked question was.

Groaning under his breath, Arikos lifted his wings to deflect the blinking lights from the mirrors that decorated the room from floor to ceiling. No space was left unused just like Morrigan liked it. Quite the opposite of what one would imagine from someone coming from Chief Malphas's tribe; those dark-and-damp loving crows hated such bright places or so he had surmised after having visited their caverns multiple times. Alas, Morrigan was definitely far removed from his brethren and not just because he was one of those who lacked their usual pitch black plumage.

"How did you know that's what we came for?" Euphemia asked.

A long talon scratched the back of his feathery head before passing over in the general direction of the mirrors there. The silvery reflection from the room dimmed before it changed. Through it they saw said office live as Tanvis and her juniors went about allocating manuscripts in their corresponding spaces.

"She's loud after she gets back," Morrigan pointed out before letting out a long sigh. "And she tends to cause trouble right after as well. Watching over her is a preemptive measure. I caught sight of you two entering while checking in and overheard your query, is all."

"I see…" After getting rid of her shock, Euphemia motioned to the mirrors with a hopeful smile. "Do you by any chance know where Miss Ignis is then?"

Morrigan barely offered them a red-eyed glare over his shoulder before turning back to his mirrors. "She seldom appears in my vision."

"Seldom doesn't mean never, so how about you try to make our long search shorter, mm?"

Arikos's tone was mildly acerbic at best, and though Euphemia didn't condone it, she could see why he was acting that way. Both of them had yet to let go of their first meeting which had been less than amicable, to say the least.

"Unlike you, lizard, I've actual work to do," Morrigan spat back without even a glance. "Searching for Miss Ignis when she doesn't want to be found is a fool's errand that I will not humor."

The way that Arikos erupted with rage was to be expected. Tiring, but expected all the same. Euphemia, bypassing Arikos as he threw his tantrum, approached Morrigan where he sat on his ivory pedestal and let her voice travel above Arikos's thundering voice.

"I know you're busy, Morrigan, and that it's hard to find her, but vyresnis asked me to search for the book she has. Would you spare me a moment to maybe take a peek and see if you can find her? Please?"

While Arikos continued his tirade, those same red eyes gave her a brief sidelong glare that lasted longer than just a few seconds. Euphemia wasn't deterred though. She knew that for as grumpy as Morrigan was, he never meant any ill intent towards anybody. Not even Arikos. At last, Morrigan budged with a roll of his eyes. A quick flick of his wrist was all it took for all the mirrors to switch from their current surveillance to a liquid silver on their surfaces.

Morrigan concentrated on the task for a good minute before pointing at one of the high mirrors that hung precariously on the ceiling. The silver liquid solidified and portrayed a vision; a location somewhere in the base of the Resistance that only Morrigan could readily pinpoint.

"Mm... Seems like she and other lord magicians have just returned from patrolling the isolation barriers." Glancing down, he was met with Euphemia's wistful smile before clicking his tongue and waving them towards the door. "Now leave. If you hurry, you'll catch her on her way to Teacher's chambers."

"Was that so freaking hard to do—" Arikos grumbled but had a hand slapped down on his jaw before he could even finish. Euphemia nervously chuckled his words away as she stood over her draconic friend.

"Thank you so much, Morrigan! I'll bring you some more fruits later after dinner as thanks, too!"

As they hurried to leave, Morrigan turned on his seat, leaning back on his hand to shout out to Euphemia.

"Bring me the ones with spikes!"

—{i}—

Ignis couldn't help raise a curious eyebrow at Euphemia and Arikos. It wasn't unusual to see them around together but what was rather unlike them was how completely exhausted the two appeared as they skidded to a stop before her utterly out of breath.

"What's with you two?"

"Miss—Ignis!" Euphemia took a moment to catch her breath before beginning her long-winded explanation. "Thank goodness we didn't miss you. We're...we're looking for a tome from the old library."

"Year—xxx," Arikos added without raising his head and still gasping for air.

"Year xxx?" Cerulean eyes stared off into the distance for a brief moment before coming back to them. "Why do you want tomes regarding Old Humanity?"

"That's what they are—?!" Arikos's outburst was quickly quieted by Euphemia's interruption.

"It's not for us, miss," she clarified. "Vyresnis is looking for it."

"Noé is?"

"Yes," they both responded.

Ignis took a moment, her gaze going askance before nodding decidedly with a small smile. "Alright, I'll let Shuri know."

Euphemia stammered at the mention of the name. "S-Shuri?"

"You mean that new recruit you brought in?" It was Arikos who interjected this time, his look changing to a rather stern expression. "Why would she have a tome from the old library? No new recruit should have access."

"I let her borrow it."

Both stood firmly at the blunt tone. It told them exactly what they already knew. Neither of them could protest against her choice much in the same way that they couldn't protest against anything that their Teacher Teosa or their Vyresnis did or asked them to do.

"W-We understand." Euphemia offered a tentative bow and smiled. "Thank you for letting us know, Miss Ignis. We'll inform Vyresnis of that then. Great work with the patrols. Please do get some rest while you can."

"Thank you. I will."

Once she was gone and far from earshot, both Arikos and Euphemia turned to each with than more a bit of panic etched on their faces.

"W-Wait a minute, wasn't the new recruit the one that isn't on good terms with dheirfiúr?"

"Are you kidding?" Arikos hissed back, sweat escaping through his scales. "Vyresnis despises the ifrit."

"We should head there." Euphemia looked back and forth down the empty hallway while nervously hopping between her feet. "Maybe she hasn't arrived yet and we can catch her before she gets to her!"

"Good plan."

—{i}—

Lucky for them, they got there just in time to avoid a catastrophe.

The two found the young ifrit just reaching Noé's chambers and holding the tome against her chest with a distant and vacant look in her eye as she made her way to the door. Despite not disliking her, Euphemia had sensed something wrong with her since the day Miss Ignis brought her in. So detached, so quiet. To be frank, it was quite eerie to be around her. It almost felt like no one was there even when she was standing right beside them. But how uncomfortable she made them didn't matter right now.

What mattered most was not agitating their Vyresnis by letting her be the one to return the tome.

"M-Miss Shuri!"

Vibrant crimson eyes with flecks of deep purple blinked towards the two as they skidded to a stop before her.

"Dáskalos," she quietly voiced. Euphemia could somewhat imagine a hint of surprise when she called them teachers but knew better than to think it real. There was never any inflection in her voice or telltale in her expressions. Shuri just simply 'was'. "Ignis told me to return this to Miss Noé. There wasn't a need for you to come search for me."

"Y-Yes, well, you see—" Before she could tell it in a graceful manner to her, Arikos interrupted and blurted out what she had hoped he wouldn't.

"Of course there was a need! Are you nuts?! If she sees you, it'll cause nothing but damn trouble." Without hesitating, Arikos reached out with his tail ready to snatch the book out of her hands. "So give it here already!"

Shuri blinked a couple of times but only gave the tome a small glance before nodding and offering it back to Arikos.

"My, what do we have here?"

Suddenly a slender hand came to rest upon Shuri's shoulder stopping the whole transaction in its tracks and turning Euphemia's and Arikos's attention to the one that now stood behind Shuri.

"Lady Teosa!"

Euphemia and Arikos bowed their heads and greeted the de facto leader of their entire brigade. Ease came over them at the sight of her before them, more so when she responded to their greetings in kind with one of her signature tender smiles.

"Please, no need to be so cordial. We're comrades after all." Mercurial eyes shifted downward towards Shuri as she stood still in front of Teosa with no signs of intending to move. "I hope you've been acclimating and faring well since I last saw you, Shuri."

"...yes, lady magician."

"Oh, please, refrain from the formalities." Teosa chuckled and patted the young woman's shoulders gingerly. "It's good to hear it's going well though. I hope that holds true with time as well—"

"Ah, great. You're finally here."

From the opened doors between them stepped out Noé who had Euphemia and Arikos gawking back at her when she suddenly took the book from Arikos's tail with a lifted eyebrow. Emerald eyes quickly scanned the crowd in front of her quarters then. As always, a familial smile came to her whenever she looked at Teosa or the other two, though it expectantly soured at the sight of Shuri.

"Don't you still have manuscripts to transcribe, ifrit? Why are you here?"

"Yes, Vyresnis," Shuri replied with a bow of her head, yet keeping her gaze towards the ground. "I apologize about my work. Ignis asked me to read the tome for our next counsel since she mentioned I am to participate when next it happens. I simply came to return the tome to you upon her request."

"Even if you are and you've read it, you won't be able to contribute much. So don't bother." Noé tapped the tome against her shoulder and looked away from Shuri. "Return to your work."

"Oh, don't say that, Noé." Teosa chuckled while leaning down to get on Shuri's level as she spoke. "Shuri only recently joined us and you know that Ignis likes to be inclusive with all the new recorders. Surely, she'll learn how to manage a counsel soon enough with our help. So try to be helpful, alright?

Noé took a deep breath before letting it out and smiling back at Teosa. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"See yourselves back, children," Teosa suddenly said, releasing her grasp on Shuri before stepping up to Noé's open door. "Noé and I have some things to discuss."

"Yes, Lady Teosa!"

—{i}—

"You shouldn't be so cross with her, Noé."

Irritable as she was, Noé couldn't let her emotions take over her now that Teosa had entered her chambers. All that meant was that her ire manifested itself as a tight jaw instead. It'd be a miracle if her incisors didn't crack under the immense pressure.

"She's so disrespectful." Striding to her desk, she laid the tome she'd ask Euphemia to retrieve for her on top of the piles of spread scrolls and papers. Noé began to mindlessly skim through the first through pages all the while continuing her rant as courteous as she could muster being. "I've never once disagreed with the recruits Ignis has brought. Not a single one. But I just can't hold myself back with this one."

"Her work hasn't been disagreeable though," Teosa reminded her. Daintily, she stepped further into the office with Noé and sat down on one of the chairs that stood in front of the small table Noé had brought in for whenever she visited. "So long as that is the case, there is no merit in your complaints, little sparrow."

"I could give two damns about her work if it weren't for the fact that her demeanor towards you hasn't changed one bit since she got here."

"The child comes from quite a broken place from what Ignis told us. It's only normal for her guard to be high as can be."

"If you ask me, that's the only fucking reason she even joined us. She's not even passionate about what we do here. Why the hell do we need those sorts of people here?"

"That will be enough of that, Noé." Infuriated as she was, there was not much for Noé to do except accept the mild scolding from her with a nod. "Now..." Her mercurial eyes scanned the room for a moment. Much like her desk, all available surfaces were filled to the brim with open scrolls and manuscripts while the floor around her desk was littered with open books to certain pages. "Have you made any progress?"

The cruel reminder had Noé groaning under her breath as she picked the tome she'd gotten from the desk and came to sit on it instead, mindful of the papers on it. "Not much, regrettably. There's not much that matches even in the slightest what we're facing now."

"I see." With a forlorn expression, Teosa grasped her arm with her hand as her other hand held her red shawl against her shoulders. "It's a shame we can't seem to find anything to help Solomon with this predicament."

A shame, indeed.

With now more than two-thirds of the world liberated by the Resistance, things had started to look grimmer than expected. The more freedom these tribes found under isolation barriers, the more that sinister emotions began to fester amongst them. Noé could tell just by a glance whenever she visited these tribes that there was something clearly amiss. Something that was easy for her to recognize.

Unease had a strong scent to it, after all.

All of it had culminated at last with the magicians that caused the first revolt. Although it had been stopped and genuinely quelled by Sheba's rather unexpected intervention, it had done nothing to ease the unrest that festered in other parts. Even now, a year after that first revolt, it only seemed to be heading towards a downward spiral.

Noé could understand that their limited freedom caused them to be fearful of what could take it away as easily as before. It was something the magicians who betrayed them readily exploited and used for whatever selfish reasons they had. Now they were something she just couldn't wrap her mind around. Maybe she couldn't because there was just no sound explanation for their behavior. How could they have worked so hard to liberate them in the past and now be the ones causing so much discord?

It just didn't make any sense to her.

All the research she had done couldn't help her fathom a reason either. Wars weren't a thing that happened before this. Battles for territory and hunts for resources, yes, but this deep-seated hatred without reason was unprecedented. The closest she had managed to track were the events of 800 years ago that corrupted the magicians from their supposed 'holy mission' from Ill Illah. But even those records were useless when they were incomplete. And with no one they knew having been alive all those years ago to witness such events, they would remain as such.

Smacking her face into the tome after a few hours of discussing the problem with Teosa, Noé finally let out the frustration that weighed on her with a long sigh.

"The more we search, the more I'm forced to believe that this problem may have no solution."

"Don't say that." Teosa stood by her side and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Even if we cannot come up with a solution, at least what we do have may somehow help Solomon in coming up with an answer."

I sure hope so.

"Say, little sparrow…"

After the long moment of silence, Noé turned up to her meistras who smiled tenderly at her before motioning to the empty chair across from her. It was like a damn gift that her meistras had that allowed her to somehow deescalate her from the brink of a breakdown with a mere gesture and smile. Showing a half-smirk and humoring her, she stepped up and sat down.

Teosa busied herself with serving her a cup of tea while saying, "Do you recall a fairytale I told you not long after you came to be with us?"

Fairytale… How could she forget?

"About the little boy that saved the world?"

"Yes, that one." Teosa took a sip of her newly filled cup before putting it down. "Do you mind telling it to me? I think in my old age I've begun to forget the details."

"You're not old, meistras," she responded with a chortle.

"Then my mind simply fails me now with so much more going on around us." With a deep sigh, those mercurial eyes focused on the young Vastagian with tender affection that filled Noé with warmth. "Would you humor your old teacher this once?"

Noé didn't know why she would ask such a thing that way. For her, she would do anything.

"Once upon a time, there lived a lonely boy who had but a simple wish..."

---

|VI|

Despite the horridness of their current situation, none of it came as a complete shock to the young Vastagian. Her life before the Resistance had taught her just how vindictive and soulless those who feared could become. And though she wanted to believe that humans would be different, a lot of them came to prove her own fears correct.

Although there were little rays of sunshine such as the grand announcement of Solomon's and Sheba's pregnancy, they weren't enough to completely clear out the gray clouds looming over them.

They paled in comparison to the ultimate crescendo that would eventually come to be though. An ultimatum that began with the one fateful decision of the leader of the Resistance.

---

|i.|

Noé watched from high above, perched on one of the nearby buildings, to keep away from the largest crowd she'd ever seen. Not even the crowd from the conclave could compare to the one she witnessed that day.

The day that humans and species alike united for Solomon's enthronement.

How they cheered. How they reveled. How they bowed.

All of it to showcase how they surrendered themselves to servitude under their one king. A demonstration of how they were willing to put a pitiful little brat at the pinnacle of their government. High, high above where not even the skies would reach. Much higher than where she was perched.

And yet, from her lowly place, she could see how that pinnacle was just as lonesome as the solitary cave where she once lived.

Her emerald eyes moved to the pink head that stood by his side as he spoke to the crowd, his words falling to her deaf ears as she instead focused on Sheba and the bright glimmer of hope that glinted in her coral eyes.

"...at least you won't be alone up there..."

---

|VII|

Then the rise to a crescendo—the instant where it all spiraled out of control—arrived.

---

|i.|

"An isolation barrier?"

Teosa nodded and lifted her cup to sip at her tea. A slight tremor. That was all Noé saw when Teosa lowered her cup. But her concern for something so innocuous vanished with the bigger issue at hand.

"I suppose it makes sense. Despite how risky it is," she said, adding that last part under her breath.

"Solomon doesn't deny the risks of his plan but he, Hugo and I concluded that it is the only way to render his father powerless."

His father...David, huh?

The battle and its semantics mattered less to Noé than the other fact that Teosa had bombarded her with not long before the isolation barrier matter.

"And you want us to protect the tribes, why again?"

"The Chiefs are an essential part in making the isolation barrier that will trap the remaining Orthodox magicians since it is with their 60 staves that they will create it. Once that is done, Solomon and the others will infiltrate and deal with the rest." Her mercurial eyes stared down at the small amount of liquid still in her cup that gave back her reflection. "But in doing so, it will leave some tribes unable to protect themselves. That is why I will ask all the recorders who are willing and capable to aid in their protection while their chiefs are away."

"Uh-huh…" Noé droned on, unfaltering. "And what of our library and our records? Even if you and Lord Setta remain behind to guard the base, we can't simply leave our lives' work unprotected."

"You know there is a reason we decided to transfer the entirety of our archives to Chief Orias's domains. Ignis and I concluded that would be the safest place to have them."

"Who will take care of them?" Noé inquired.

"Shuri."

Emerald eyes narrowed but she couldn't voice her disapproval. Despite not liking the ifrit still, Noé begrudgingly had to accept that she could stand her ground. Especially if that maniac of Orias would serve as backup.

"What of Ignis?"

"She will remain here with me at headquarters," Teosa responded. "Neither her nor I are fit to fight in this final battle any longer."

Those words sickened Noé and sunk a nasty weight in her stomach at the reminder.

Something was wrong with Teosa. A sickness of some kind that none of them in all their years of traveling had ever encountered before. Luckily it could be treated, but it was a persistent little bug. It appeared that Euphemia was aiding her in her treatment, but with this protection business that Teosa wanted all recorders to perform, it would be hard for her to continue doing so for however long the battle lasted.

It'll only be a short while. At most a day. If they did well, only a few hours.

That's right. This wouldn't be something that would take long. Not if their plan went as planned. And even if it went array, she didn't doubt that Solomon and the others could see it through.

Just like they always have.

"So let me see if I understand your request correctly." Noé leaned on one foot with her arms crossed and tilted her head towards Teosa. "Shuri and Chief Orias will oversee the archives. You and Ignis will remain at the headquarters to watch over it with Lord Setta. Meanwhile, you want to dispatch all of us recorders capable of fighting to aid in the tribe's defenses. Did I get it all right?"

Teosa nodded solemnly. Noé couldn't help but sigh at her demeanor. There wasn't any arguing with her when she got like this.

"Fine, I'll mobilize those capable as you asked. Just tell me who I'll be taking care of first if you don't mind."

Her meistras's lips parted and paused momentarily before the words she least wanted to hear spilled from them.

"The Vastago."

—{i}—

She's gone insane.

She had to be if this was truly her destination. There wasn't much to do about it though now that she had agreed to aid in her plans, much less now that she already had left headquarters with the rest of the viable recorders to their respective targets.

The anxiety that came with the thought never left her though. Not for one second. And much less when she and Euphemia stood at the borders of Vastagian land standing guard. Even now as she watched the clear dip of the valley that designated their lands, all Noé could see was a clear line delineating her life and death.

One false step. That's all it would take for the Vastagians to finally get what had escaped them all those years ago. The same thing that now more than ever Noé would not give them or anybody else.

"Recorders."

Her feathers bristled and steeled at the sound of a voice she hadn't heard in decades. Without hesitation, Noé lifted her gaze to meet Andromalius's golden one as the Vastagian Chief hovered on the other side of their border with her divine staff in hand. Euphemia bowed at the sight of the grand Vastago with respect in her posture and solemnity in her smile. Noé made no motion to do either.

Andromalius was courteous enough to reply with a bow of her head.

"I thank you for coming to defend my people."

"We do so with pleasure, Chief Andromalius," Euphemia replied.

Speak for yourself.

"Noélia—"

"It's Noé now."

Those golden eyes, sharp as a hawk's, widened for a moment before becoming somewhat gentle and pained at the same time. "Noé...I'm glad to see you well."

Noé didn't acknowledge her and instead pointed in the direction of the Orthodox Church where they would all convene. Their lands, though dangerously closer than others were to it, had always been well guarded by its geography and had caused more than its share of hassles to the Church. She only hoped that would be enough this time as well so that she wouldn't have to interfere and waste her energy unnecessarily.

"You should get going. They're relying on you for the most crucial part of the plan."

"Yes, you're right."

Andromalius's golden wings extended, readying to shoot out towards her destination when Noé muttered her last words to her.

"Don't disappoint them."

Golden eyes narrowed seconds before Andromalius shot off into the sky. Euphemia held onto her clothes from the burst of air while Noé simply stood still and glanced at the ground instead.

"Everything will be alright, won't it, dheirfiúr?"

"Yes, Effie..."

Quietly, Noé lowered her head and closed her eyes in a poor attempt to mimic the prayers she saw of the magicians.

God...if you're really with us...let this work.

Let them end it all once and for all.

"It will be."

—{i}—

From their vantage point, it was clear to see when the fighting began. The explosions and casting of several spells were enough to give that much away. The sight of so much chaos even from afar had her blood pumping furiously yet quietly through her veins. So noisy, but necessary all the same. Noé knew that she had to be ready to jump into action at a moment's notice. And being able to watch the battle that ensued not that far away from them was enough to keep her on her toes.

I'm more than ready for anything you bastards throw at me.

That was quite an understatement as well. She'd spent way too long thinking of how to approach this after Teosa had informed her of what they were to do. Knowing that only relying on her wings would greatly detriment her if this went on for too long, Noé had prepared herself as well as she could. Her feathers were a given, but aside from that, she had returned to old tactics that would certainly work despite years of unuse.

Besides, it wasn't like one forgot how to draw a bow and arrow. It was one of those things that just stayed with you no matter how long it had been since you last touched one. It wasn't a shabby twig and cord like the one she'd had when little either. The bow had been carved by Arba herself and the arrows strengthened and modified by spells that Ugo had placed on them. Thanks to them and the practice she got in with Setta and Ithnan, it was clear to see that she hadn't lost any of the touches she used to have as a child. What's more, now that she was closer to adulthood, it was deadlier in her hands than ever.

No matter what came at them, Noé had the confidence and skill to defeat it.

"Dheirfiúr...are you frightened?"

Euphemia's sudden question startled her and had her feathers steeling a bit prematurely. Settling them and herself down, she looked up at the young Icaunus who gripped tightly onto her short scythe that resembled her grandfather's sans the chains. It was obvious by the way her pale complexion seemed even paler than usual somehow that Euphemia was asking such a question for a reason.

She doesn't want to be the only one afraid.

Noé understood what that was like.

"I am." Aquamarine eyes widened for a brief moment before lowering, her brow furrowing in the same motion while worry and anxiety etched themselves on her face. "But it's alright to be. We won't get anywhere denying that we're afraid of what may happen during this battle. It's what we've all sought after for so many years that the fact that it's so close almost seems surreal. But it's not. It's here and we can grasp it. They can do this. I believe they will."

Her hope renewed once more, Euphemia smiled before relaxing her grip on the scythe while holding it at the ready all the same. Noé was about to do the same when out of the blue she heard the flapping of wings. At first, there weren't many. Soon, though, they were more than a handful. And they were all coming from behind them.

Both she and Euphemia looked back to witness as some of the Vastago rose from their homes in the valley and drew close to the delineated border that separated them from the rest of the world. Contrasting what would have occurred decades ago, Euphemia greeted them with smiles and a hand that amicably waved back at them. Noé barely acknowledged their presence—only with that one mere glance—and gave them her back to continue watching the horizon where the battle was still brewing. The young Icaunus was enough to keep them occupied though. Seeing as Euphemia had been the one assigned to the Vastago, it was easy for her to converse with the citizens, assuring them that they were there to protect them and that it would all be over soon.

"So please," Euphemia pleaded with a gentle demeanor. "Return to your homes. I will personally come with Chief Andromalius to inform you once the fighting is over."

"Will you really protect us?" some random child called out without hesitation.

"Yeah, will you?" another bunch piped in.

"Of course," she responded. "That's what we came here from so far to do in your chieftain's place."

Euphemia's words appeared to have served their purpose. After managing to calm the uneasy crowd down, they were seemingly heading back towards their homes when Noé heard something be said loud and clear as could be for everybody to hear.

Especially her.

"I'd rather be flayed alive and gutted than be protected by some abomination."

It'd been an adult. No way would a fledgling know to say those kinds of things. Then again, if these idiots were as vindictive as they were showing her they were, then it wouldn't surprise her if they had passed their hatred along to those poor chicks. Regardless, the insults long ceased to pain Noé. Now that she had so many people that would be by her side no matter what, she knew that the only power their jeers held was the one she gave them.

"Just step out of the valley if you're so eager to die." The way her voice echoed through the chasm of the valley without her even having to face it only served more to quiet the mutterings that had come up after the insult was thrown. Now that they had shut up, she spoke at a normal volume but with all the same amount of venom in her voice. "I'll gladly be of service to any of you who have the same death wish, as well."

Euphemia couldn't have been more flustered had she been the one who'd spoken. But Noé didn't care. It was enough to shut them up and that's all she wanted.

"You apsigimęs wench!"

Well, that didn't last long.

Damn. She knew it'd been too much to hope for this to go without a hitch. But once one got going, it was enough to give the rest ample space to join in. The Vastago were not ones to disappoint, either. They piled on the vitriol like it was a damn competition and her head on a platter was clearly the coveted prize.

"Just go die already!"

"You sicken us!"

"You're a damn disgrace to the Vastago!"

"Why would they send the murderer of our greatest warriors to protect us!?"

"Have the magicians come to hate us that much?!"

"Die, you abomination! Die!"

"Ugh, so damn annoying." Noé picked at her ear and ignored them, wanting nothing to do with whatever they were trying to do.

A sidelong glance, though, let her know that Euphemia wasn't the least comfortable with the current situation. The poor girl was trying to calm the riot that was forming whether by trying to convince them they were wrong or by asking them to please return home once more. It'd be all for nothing though. They wouldn't listen now that they were all riled up. Feeling pity for the young Icaunus, Noé dragged her by the wrist a few steps away from the imaginary line from where the Vastagians safely hurled their insults and spoke into her ear for only her to hear.

"Ignore them, Effie. They won't listen to anything you have to say about me."

"B-But they shouldn't be so nasty to someone who's risking themselves to protect them." Euphemia was more aghast than anything though Noé could distinguish some anger starting to build somewhere in her too. "They don't even know you, dheirfiúr. How can they so easily dismiss you like that?"

"Because they don't care about reality." Noé's words were spoken blatantly. There wasn't any other way to explain this, after all. Euphemia may not understand now but it was the truth they had to face with these kinds of people. "All they care about is affirming their own preconceptions without a care of who they hurt in the process. They will ignore all else if it goes against their own beliefs regardless of evidence."

"But that doesn't—"

"Make sense, I know. Trust me...I do." Her grip on Euphemia's wrist suddenly grew tighter as she gritted her teeth. "They do too. They just don't care."

The Icaunus couldn't say much else after that. Not like Noé expected her to have a fully-formed thought after that revelation. Euphemia had always spoken well of the Vastago. Of how welcoming and forthcoming they were with her. And as their appointed scribe by Teosa it could have very well been true. Noé couldn't care less about finding out, though. All she knew was that they hated her very existence to the point that irrationality would be the only road they would go down where she was concerned.

That—no matter how much time passed or what she did—would never change.

A sudden chill ran down her spine then. It came from out of nowhere and had her feathers bristling up and partially steeling at the odd sensation that struck her. Lowering her gaze, Noé attempted to make sense of it, but unable to do so, she turned instead towards Euphemia to ask if she'd sensed anything strange. It was then that she felt it yet again but stronger. And this time, the young Icaunus sensed it as well.

"What...was that…?" she whispered with a slight tremor to her voice.

Noé didn't respond. Not when something else suddenly caught her attention. A noise. It was distant and it echoed through the valley when it reached it until it dissipated completely. But no matter how much she focused on it, all the noise around her didn't let her discern what it was. Fed up at last with their idiocy and bullshit, Noé spun on her heels and bellowed at the top of her lungs at the Vastago.

"SHUT UP FOR A DAMN SECOND!"

The pure shock served its purpose. They all fell silent in the time that it took her to regain her lost breath. Once quiet, Noé lowered her head, aligning her ear in the direction where she thought the sound came from. At first, she thought she'd lost it for good or perhaps even imagined it, but then it returned.

It was subtle. Barely audible. But then it hit the deep valley once again and echoed. Emerald eyes widened with horror at finally recognizing exactly what it was.

Screams.

"Mommy, what's that?"

Upon hearing the fledgling's sudden question over the silence, Noé looked up and followed the child's pointing finger towards the horizon. Terror shook her to her core at the sight of the black cage that surrounded what should have been the Orthodox Church. That thing—whatever it was, it wasn't an isolation barrier.

That thing wasn't something their side conjured.

Then...the Church…?

Panicked murmurs quickly began to flood her ears then. They came slowly then all at once that they amalgamated with one another, rendering them utterly undistinguishable and unintelligible. One thing was for sure, though, their whole focus was on the horizon as well.

Towards that black box that surrounded the Orthodox Church, but not exactly at it.

And it wasn't long before Noé caught a glimpse of what had frightened them.

"...what in Illah's name…?"

It reminded her of some of the four-legged species, but too grotesque to even be considered a beast of any kind. From a distance, there wasn't much to be discerned from its appearance except that it obviously wasn't an ally.

Noé didn't hesitate in nocking back an arrow and shooting away at the thing that was clearly headed their way. Even from that distance, there was no way of missing it. True to her skills, the arrow pierced through what she could only assume to be its bulging skull. They watched it fall on impact but the relief they felt at its fall was short-lived and replaced by disgust at what they saw next.

Somehow managing to contort itself in unimaginable ways, the beast appeared to bend and twist itself without any sign of pain or hesitation until it fully propped itself back on its feet. Its head twisted as it stood only to fall limply to one side. The headless body didn't move initially, but then something seemed to bubble from the stub left behind. Something was...forming—a head. It stood motionless for a moment, its head newly formed, while something beside it bubbled and boiled into a larger chunk. It grew and grew until it was the same size as the one beside it and then began to twist and crack itself into some sort of shape—a body.

That thing can multiply itself.

"...what is—?" Noé couldn't finish her thought when a horrified gasp suddenly wrenched all the air from her throat.

Euphemia couldn't help but cower at the sight not far from them, scythe shaking in her grasp, as the cries of panic from the Vastago ensued at seeing what the two of them did.

"There's...more…"

Not just more.

It's a damn horde of those things.

"Effie." No response. "Effie!" Nothing again. "Euphemia!"

Noé finally turned towards the Icaunus only to see the sheer terror reflected on her face. It was expected. The poor thing had only lifted a hand to fight when it'd been absolutely necessary. And only against magicians. But this…? This wasn't human. This wasn't from any other species either.

Whatever that thing was, Noé could only give it the moniker they so flippantly gave her all those years ago—monster.

"Euphemia—Euphemia, snap out of it!" Aquamarine eyes dilated for a brief second before returning to her, her breathing suddenly turning shallow and panicked as the shrieks and cries of the Vastago continued around them. "Listen to me. Prioritize the tribe."

"What?" Those huge brilliant eyes blinked away the shock before shouting, "No! You can't fight those—those things!"

"We don't have a choice! We can't both do it and protect them at the same time, Euphemia." Noé spared a short glance towards the horizon. They were almost upon them. Her hands gripped the Icaunus's arms tighter out of desperation. "You need to get them all away from here. Head east, you'll reach the end of the valley there. Have them take refuge in the mountains there then come back."

"I-I can't leave you!" Euphemia couldn't keep from furiously shaking her head in denial. "You won't last long by yourself!"

"I'll have to." Taking her bow and a few arrows into her hand, Noé turned towards the Vastago that still hadn't turned and ran to address them. "Listen up!" Surprisingly, they stopped and did exactly as she said, their hysteria turning them much more docile. "Head towards the eastern borders, towards the Bastion Mountains. Use the altitude of the mountain range as shelter until this is over. Go!"

It took them a moment but once they were well on their way, Euphemia had no choice but to leave with them to make sure they'd be safe. Noé watched after them all as they disappeared towards the east. Euphemia would be alright by herself. Noé was sure once she had ensured their safety, she would be back.

All I have to do is hang in there.

"Just hang in there…" she repeated to herself and turned to face the horde of monsters that were fast approaching. Her hand trembled at the sight but Noé quelled that by closing her hand tightly around the arrows in her hand and setting the first one into place.

Nocking it back, she pulled the end back and pressed it taut against her cheek. Noé took a deep inhale and let it escape, ignoring how her lip quivered as it did so.

"...that's all."

Noé took a sharp inhale just as one of the black beasts finally appeared lurching forward with its front claws extended towards her. The moment she exhaled—

Her arrow flew and struck it right between its eyes.

---

A/N:

Okay, glad I took my time to edit this because I added this last part just the way I wanted it to go. Super happy with how it came out, especially the length.

I won't say much except thank you to all of ya and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Now, I'm gonna go get some sleep because its 2am and I needs my rests -w-. Hopefully I'll start the next chapter tomorrow as well. Who knows, maybe I'll finish it too. I'm on a roll right now. Let's hope so, haha.

Anyway, hope you all have a great day/night!

*Evie*