I opened my eyes to find feathers blocking my vision. Under normal circumstances I would be concerned but given my sleeping arrangements for the past week, I simply rolled over and nestled up against Irand and Geena. I had been looking forward to sleep of late, partly because her feathers were one of the softest beds I had ever experienced and partly because having both of them pressed up against me helped calm my mind. Irand had already been doing that on his own but Geena added to the effect.

  We had spent most of the week planning and plotting a course across the Desert and the surrounding areas to look for someone to be the catalyst for their conversion and a third member of their mind. As much as I loved Irand, I wasn’t willing to give up my own body to do that. And I couldn’t do that to Mother or Ilgard after we had lost Vakaya. Both of them had accepted my decision and they had now both started working together to flirt.

  It was quite the experience to have Irand be flirting with one moment and then Geena throw out a passing comment or a stray brush of her feathers on my skin the next. It had been a bit uncomfortable at first, part of me remained rooted in my old human ways, and I had been uncomfortable with the idea of more than one partner. Not that Irand would admit to me being his Partner. I was willing to admit that his reaction when Xaranta thought us a couple had left me a bit hurt.

  I knew of Ruhn and Raya but I… I pushed the thought from my mind as I buried my face in Geena’s feathers. Sleeping in her nest was far more comfortable than I had guessed and the fact that her feathers extended outward from her wings when she slept made it even more so with how soft they were. She had kissed me the night before last, we had been returning some books to the shelf after finishing our research for the day and I had turned around to find my face in her chest. We had both sputtered for a moment before she had knelt down and pressed her lips to mine.

  It had been… different. When Irand and I had spent that first night, and the several after it, together there had been a hunger there. A desire for someone who understood him, who matched his curiosity and intellect. But with Geena it was different. The way she kissed… She wanted more. She wanted someone to cling to her and not let go. She wanted something she had never had. She was hungry and acted as if I was the only meal that could sate her. And I was enjoying it.

  She had locked her lips to mine and pressed my back to the bookshelf. I had to admit that I enjoyed her form. Its unnatural leanness added something that made it quite appealing to my tastes. I had almost been ready to simply let her have me then and there but Cyan had approached us and spoiled the moment. After that I had been keen to nestle in her feathers that evening and with Irand pressed up against my back I was in heaven. I still wasn’t sure if the two of them were interested in each other in that way given their agreement and their situation but I was content to enjoy the attention if they weren’t.

  I felt Irand rise from the nest behind me and I glanced up to see his muscled and scarred skin propped up on his hands. He leaned over to press a kiss to my cheek and climbed free of the nest. I nestled closer to Geena’s chest and smiled at the warmth there, for someone as thin as she was she was always so comfortably warm. I let out a content sigh and drifted back to sleep.

  I awoke as Geena shifted and I blinked open my eyes to find her stretching her legs as she prepared to get up. I almost protested before I realized how hungry I was and the smell of some rather tantalizing breakfast hit my nose.

  “I think he wants us up. He made honey bread.” She said with a smile.

  I returned the smile and rolled off of her wing so she could climb out of the nest. She simply gripped the edge with her talons and lifted her body upright. It was a rather amusing sight to see each time she did it. I climbed out as well as she slid on a shirt and did the buttons up the side, it was easier for her to slide shirts on that way than a typical tunic, and pulled on a skirt. I had seen her wear something close to pants one day but she preferred skirts, claiming they allowed her greater mobility. She did wear small clothes beneath them that covered her upper legs well enough so it simply appeared as if she wore skin tight shorts with a skirt over them.

  I helped her with her buttons before I slipped on my tunic and pants and we headed out to where Irand was preparing breakfast. He had a fairly basic spread of some pancakes that Geena had showed us the recipe for and some honey bread, which was a recipe he had learned from his mother in Calanai. It was also his way of getting the two of us up because it was so delicious and filled the entire section of the mountain we resided in with its scent.

  He was waiting for us to arrive and he began slicing the bread for us as we took our seats.

  “So are we ready to head out this afternoon? I gathered up the supplies we were talking about and Cyan left to head to their other clients in the area. And Xaranta said he would be off working on something for some time.” Irand asked as he slid the sliced honey bread towards us.

  I took two slices and Geena took the rest. She ate using her talons in place of hands, though she did have a pair of finger-like claws on the elbow joints of her wings.

  ‘I believe we have everything we need. Our plans and our stops between Xaranta, Cyan and the records we have I’m fairly certain we have our route.’ I said as I tore into the bread.

  “Agreed. The Roost-Rock is only a few hours away and I do wish to see my Great Granddaughter, Sky is capable and clever and I have neglected checking in for a few years.” Geena said as she scarfed down food.

  Geena had informed us the first meal we had had with her that she ate an inordinate amount compared to what her lean frame suggested. And we both continued to marvel at just how much she could eat. Her standard meal could feed a family of humans for a day. She could out eat my sister which was a feat in itself. Apparently her body burned through food to keep her warm and to provide her with the energy to move as quick as she did and fly.

  I looked up as I heard a scratching sound and I focused my mind on Geena, using her eyes to see the source of the noise. I could see the table in front of us but little beyond it was more than a blur so using Irand and Geena to be my eyes had become second nature.

  Geena did focus on the noise as well and she glanced towards the door to see Odessa standing there awkwardly. She had been a bit of a recluse since her body had reverted to its full Monstrous form and Naravie had set off to look for her Mother. Now she was standing here looking as if she were half starved and the food Irand had made was her salvation.

  “May I join you all?” She asked, her voice hoarse and rough.

  “Of course, I have a second loaf of the honey bread cooking right now but help yourself to some of the pancakes.” Irand said as he offered her a place at the table.

  She nodded her thanks and her spider body curled its legs in to allow her to rest at the table. I did notice her favoring her hind legs and she winced as she curled them in. I had Geena glance down at her forelegs and we could both see the recent scars across them. Irand noticed as well and he cleared his throat as she ate.

  “Are you alright?” He asked.

  “I’m fine.” She said curtly.

  “Odessa…” He warned.

  She glanced over at him with her six eyes and to his credit he remained unmoved. He gestured to her legs and she sighed as she broke her stare.

  “It has been a rough few days. Studying can only distract me for so long and Xaranta is away for a few days.” She explained, her voice annoyed but not angry.

  “And Naravie’s absence isn’t helping?” Irand asked.

  “Of course not.”

  Geena and I sat quietly as we all ate. When Irand retrieved the second loaf of honey bread Odessa’s angry frown broke and she let out another sigh.

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  “I was asking if I could come with you as well on your trip. I don’t want to be cooped up here alone and I believe I may have better luck learning from Alvina than Xaranta given how distracted he has been the last few days.” She explained.

  ‘Hmmm…’ I hummed as I tried to figure out how we could carry her.

  “I’m sure we could! You can fit on Alvina’s back, yes?” Geena asked.

  ‘Um… Geena, her size is not an issue, I just can’t fly with the weight of her body on my back.’ I said, trying to be as gentle as possible.

  “Nonsense, I can help with that!” Geena said happily.

  ‘I don’t doubt your flight skills but I do question how strong you are.’ I said, taking another bite of breakfast.

  “No, I mean I can use my magic to help make her light as a feather. It's how Harpies hunt large prey. We have some innate magic and we can use it to lighten things.”

  Odessa and I both blinked.

  “You can just… do that?” Odessa asked.

  “I can! I have to stay relatively close to you for the magic to maintain but it should be a simple exercise.” Geena explained as she tore into more honey bread.

  “Ah, so I couldn’t have used it to travel with Naravie. I suppose it will be good to travel with others in any event. I cannot simply isolate myself.” Odessa said with a wistful look towards her plate.

  ‘We would be glad to have you, and I would be happy to teach you.’ I said as Irand sat back down and slid another plate in front of Geena.

  Odessa also ate a sizeable amount of but still less than Geena and soon we were cleaning dishes and packing up our personal items. I was glad that Ereneya’s bottomless bags continued to function in spite of her current condition. I had stocked up on medical supplies and preserved rations from Xaranta’s stores. He was kind to let us make use of his supplies and I was doing my best to be respectful of that kindness. I did end up taking a few more of each for Odessa but I was sure the old Wyrm would understand.

  We reconvened just after the noon hour and I found Odessa standing on one of the cliff openings with Geena as the two spoke and the Harpy looked over her companion. With both of them standing it was plain to see that Odessa was taller by only a small margin and I was reminded once again that I was rather small in the grand scheme of things. Irand was taller than I and Odessa and Geena made me feel as if I were naught but a child once more. And yet I was older than the three of them combined. I knew Odessa could not be more than a century old and Geena and Irand barely amounted to an eighth of my age.

  Irand walked up behind me and nodded to all of us as he tightened the straps on his pack. We had worked on him using the armor summoning spell that the rest of his family made use of and he now carried it within his bag, able to have it equipped at a moment's notice.

  I smiled at the three of them and grew to my full size, taking up the majority of the cliffside we were resting upon. I felt Irand climb up one leg as Geena wove her spell on Odessa. It was fascinating watching her weave magic, it was much more animated than I had seen any of us do and she maneuvered her wings almost in a dance before a small whirlwind appeared around Odessa and closed in around her, sinking beneath her skin as it condensed. Once it was done Geena gestured to me and Odessa put a tentative leg on my scales. She weighed almost nothing as she climbed up next to Irand.

  Geena giggled happily as she flew up next to my head and landed on my snout.

  “Told you.” She said.

  ‘I wasn’t doubting you.’ I said with a chuckle.

  “Fair fair… Also I love your scales. So pretty…” She said as she ran her feathers the scales on my face in a motion that made me giggle.

  I let out a snort of flames and she leapt off of my snout with an amused smile before she took off over the desert. I leapt from the cliffside after her and we were off. The heat from the sands below and the sun above was undesirable but I could bear it. Irand and Odessa were using cloaks to cover themselves from the suns heat and my scales reflected much of it so they were doing fine. Geena was speeding around me, flying faster than I was and I was impressed by that, Dragons with Air affinity were usually some of the fastest things in the skies. And here was Geena flying circles around me.

  The trip over the sands was uneventful, Geena occasionally called out landmarks or pointed out something she saw below but for the most part it was a calm, if uncomfortably warm, journey. When we finally saw greenery I was relieved and I could see our destination in the distance.

  It wasn’t a mountain but a large stone dome that had been hollowed out by some force, maybe by Ereneya’s rampage or something else unnatural. But the Harpies had been using it as a place to keep their young safe since long before Geena had been born. She led us to one of the openings in the structure and she landed on the stone gently as I hovered next to the opening. I used my tail to help Odessa and Irand off my back before I dropped into the opening where Geena was looking concerned.

  “The Flock should be flying all around. Something is wrong.” She said as she began marching down the tunnel.

  We walked with her and soon we could hear the fluttering of many feathers and chattering of voices and I saw Geena’s face harden into a scowl as we emerged at the far end of the tunnel.

  It was a large cavern, Mother could have resided in her full form with ease, Xaranta less so. And in it were hundreds of nooks with cowering Harpies. They all had their wings folded up around them and they looked scared. There were several raised voices coming from the central point of the bottom of the cavern. Geena rose up to her full height and leapt into the air before dropping into the cavern towards the raised voices.

  I grabbed onto Irand’s arm and leapt off, manifesting my wings as I fell to drift us both slowly to the ground. Odessa skittered down the wall and joined us in approaching the central pit where Geena’s face was twisted into a snarl as she viewed the argument. She looked back to us.

  “Let me handle this.” She hissed before she hopped into the pit.

  We all approached the edge to find a group of six harpies. One with Black Feathers who was even larger than Geena facing down a group of five others. Three were on the ground while two others stood in front of the black feathered one. Geena was one of the two standing and the other was a harpy with silvery white feathers and brilliantly blue hair.

  “What are you doing Night-Feather? Where is Sky?” Geena hissed, her voice far louder than it should have been.

  “I am Nest Father! I protect flock!” The Black Feathered one cried.

  “Where. Is. Sky?!” Geena asked as she approached the Harpy.

  “Gone, trespassers have her. I protect Fl-” They stopped as Geena’s Talons shot up and clamped around their torso before slamming them into the stone floor.

  I saw Geena’s Talons dig into the stone as she pinned them.

  “Night-Feather is Egg-Breaker!” One of the Harpies cried from the ground.

  “And Wing-Cutter!” Another cried out.

  Geena paused for a moment, a look of pure shock on her face before fury washed over her features.

  “YOU DID WHAT?! WHO?!” Geena screamed, her middle talon digging into their torso.

  “I broke eggs of Sky. She would doom flock. And Stone-Feather needed Wing cut to not charge to death.” The Black Feathered one gasped.

  “Where is Sky? Where is my Child?” Geena hissed.

  “I know.” The Silver Feathered one said as she limped up to Geena.

  Her voice was soft and calm as she stood next to Geena.

  “Alvina! Help her please. As for you Night-Feather… I think Sky will want to deal with you personally when she returns.” Geena growled.

  I rushed forward and dropped into the pit. I just barely caught the silver feathered Harpy before she collapsed. I scooped her into my arms and she weighed less than a bag of flour. I watched as Geena brought out her other talons and slammed them into one of the Black-Feathered Harpy's wing. Blood sprayed from the wound for a moment before Geena removed her claws and stepped away, leaving the Harpy to scramble away, a limp wing dragging along behind them.

  Geena was still fuming as I turned my magic to the Silver girl. She was significantly smaller than Geena and I had a difficult time finding some of her wounds, but eventually I found three below her tunic in similar style to the ones Geena had inflicted. It was easy enough to mend them as they weren’t terribly deep and after a bit of coaxing the girl opened her eyes.

  “GeeGee. Mother described you well.” She said sleepily.

  “I am here, are you one of Sky’s brood?” Geena asked.

  The girl nodded and blinked a few times before she spoke again.

  “Mother was pursuing some humans who had captured some of the Flock with nets and spikes. She and Fath-er… Night-Feather tried to stop them but they could not. Night-Feather kicked mother to the ground when they were fleeing. I was arguing to go help her and he did not wish to fight me. More then he had.” She said, grimacing towards her side.

  “Where was she when you last saw her?” Geena asked.

  “Northwest, along the Coast. In the Red Trees. They were not from the villages. They wore metal and carried strange symbols.” She explained.

  “Can you picture them?” Irand asked from behind me.

  She nodded and I dived into her mind, it was an open plateau with a clear nighttime sky above. She nodded to me as I appeared in her mind with Irand and Geena and she pictured her attackers. Irand let out a curse at the sight of them and I grimaced.

  “Church Paladins. Shit.”