Pick Up Your Swords and Fly!, The Herr af Loki is attacking!

[Strix Moonwing]

Behind the intimidating mask of metal and steel, Hector couldn't help but rapidly blinked his charcoal eyes in surprise at the raven's and Great Gray's reactions to his appearance.

"Ghost?" He thought out loud to himself. Though he expected that his beloved masterpiece might shock the Herr birds, he hadn't meant to scare them so bad. These guys didn't really seem too smart, especially if they could get an owl in armor mixed up with a scroom. Oh well, might as well work with it.

"Ummm....yes! I am a ghost...." That didn't sound very ghost-like, but Hector figured that these two were too dim-witted to notice. They seemed too petrified with fear to even care.

Making his voice even deeper and more frightening, Hector began to speak again, his metal casings rattling in an eerie manner.

"I am the ghost of Ga'Hoole's past king, destined to haunt these hollow ways for all eternity, protecting its guardians from heathens such as thee." Glaux, he sounded so ridiculous; how were they even buying this? Hector slowly raised a shimmering metal-cased talon and pointed it at both Karakul and Logbert, who were shaking their feathers off. "You two dared to harm an innocent guardian and for that you must pay! Begone soldiers of Loki and leave Normal alone!"

Suddenly, there was a flash of black feathers and through the eyes slits of the armor helmet, Hector saw that the raven, Karakold, had abandoned his partner and Normal to escape into the night air. Insane cackling could be heard in the distance, which Hector assumed was the raven letting out relief at escaping from the so-called "ghost". He heard the other one, Logbert, scream out in fear for his companion and run out of the hollow.

"Wow, they're idiots AND cowards..." Hector muttered when he was alone in the hollow with the unconscious Sooty.

A moment later, Hector heard something stir. He blinked in surprise and slowly turned his armored body to where Normal was laying, her form looking very small and fragile lying still upon the hollow floor. Hector wasn't surprised by the shocked expression pasted upon her gray, heart-shaped face when her eyes opened and locked upon him. After dealing with the Herr birds, he guessed that his masterpiece was probably more frightening than he intended it to be.

"Are you okay, Normal?" He asked, trying to make his voice sound as gentle as it usually was, without the mask of metal covering his beak. Though Hector didn't really know Normal very well- she had a reputation of being a snob from what he had heard- he was still concerned about what the Herr birds had done to her. He was a very caring owl by nature and right now, Normal needed someone to care for her.

“Is that you, Hector?” she asked. If she could have seen behind his mask of metal, she would have seen the look of surprise on Hector's face- he hadn't expected her to know him. This was the first time the two had actually ever spoken to each other.

"Yes, it's me, Normal." Hector said, leaning down to her and extending a metal-bound wing to help her up. "Don't worry, Normal, I'll help get you out of here."

The moment his metal wing gently brushed against hers, there was blur of ragged, black feathers and Karakold burst back into the hollow with a strange, ugly expression on his face that Hector couldn't quite read.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alphonse's sword hissed through the air, slicing an unfortunate weasel and sending droplets of blood raining down upon the already blood-stained hollow floor. The Ice Talon deputy sharply turned away from the bleeding corpse and flew in the direction that Valtar and the Herr otter had headed. Again, Valtar had managed to find trouble for himself. The little guy seemed to have a knack for drawing in trouble.

Even though Alphonse was an experienced military owl, not even he had heard of anything like this ever happening. What kind of leader actually let a pregnant female go into battle? Not even Bylyric was that arrogant! Even if Loki hadn't known, what kind of mother would even consider going into battle when their baby's life was at stake?

The sable-feathered deputy located the hollow that they were hiding in; his keen Barn Owl ears had picked up a bit of their conversation. He entered the hollow as silently as a shadow and quickly shut the door behind him before staring down at the owl and otter, his expression unreadable.

He looked down at the otter-girl and frowned at her slightly swollen belly. "Not really in tip-top battle condition, are you?" he said, not bothering to hide the cool sarcasm in his voice. He then turned to sharply stare at Valtar.

"Valtar, go out and guard the door. We have a prisoner of war on our talons. Better not let her run off and get killed." Alphonse gave Valtar the slightest of nods to indicate that Lilina wouldn't be hurt. Taking her as a prisoner was the only way to ensure that none of the Ice Talons would hurt her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A wail echoed throughout the hollow ways, filled with fear and hopeless despair. Following it was an equally loud voice, filled with annoyance.

“Shut these Ga’hoolian brats up!” Barkin growled, glaring at Fen while an Elf owlet continued to cry her eyes out.

Fen faced the Ice Talon soldier with an expression on her face that was even more fearsome than anything Barkin could have ever came up with. In his mind, he could have easily imagined this eagle teacher being one of the most feared drill sergeants of the Ice Talon League. How did he find someone like her in a place like this?

“Don’t talk to them like that! They’re just kids and they’re scared! So shut the sprink up and help me!” The fearsome glare on Fen’s face instantly melted from her face as she gently wrapped her wings around the little elf owlet’s shoulders and whispered comforting words to her.

“Don’t worry, Rosa, everything’s going to be okay.”

“N-No it isn’t! Where’s my mommy? Where’s Papi?” Rosa wailed, fat teardrops leaking down her feathered face. A few more kids began to sniffle and tear up.

“Your mommy and papi are with the queen.” Fen said, her voice never wavering as she held the crying owlet. “They’re being very brave right now.”

“Why can’t they come with us?”

“The tree needs them to be with the queen and guardians. Hush now, all of your parents will come and find you when the battle is over. Now let’s hurry along.”

Somewhat comforted by the ryb’s words, the owlets obediently followed her. Barkin had listened to the entire conversation and snuck a glance over at Fen.

“That was a pretty stupid thing to say to them.”

Fen shot him a sharp glare, a little taken back by his blunt tone.

“What are you talking about?” she asked.

“Telling those little kids that their parents were coming back for them when the battle was done.” Barkin said in an almost casual tone as if talking about the death of one’s parents wasn’t new to him. “Even a Ga’Hoolian like you is smart enough to know that probably none of anyone’s family is going to survive this battle.”

“Don’t you dare say that to these kids!” Fen snapped, untamable anger flaring in her eyes as she rounded on the Ice Talon soldier. “How would you like it if someone told you that your mother and father were going to die in a battle?”

Barkin merely stared at Fen with cold eyes and blinked emotionlessly. “My mother died in a battle against one of the Lokason, Candark. She died with her talons still strangling a Pure One’s neck, fighting like a true warrior. My father is fighting in the battle outside. If dies then I’ll know that at least he’ll have earned his rightful place along side my mother and Odin in Valhalla, the hall of warriors.” He stared up hollow wall with a strange far away look in his yellow eyes. “I’ll be happy to join them.”

POW!

The sound of Fen’s slap echoed through the hollow halls and the children momentarily took a second to glance back and stare in shock at Fen, who still had her wing raised in midslap and at Barkin, who had one wing on his stinging cheek and who’s lower beak was hanging in surprise.

“You hit me!” Barkin cried with eyes narrowed, though he sounded more shocked than angry.

That had been more than Fen could take. Were the Ice Talons so cold-hearted that they didn’t even care that their friends and family were getting killed in war?

“Yes, and if you keep on talking like that, then I’ll do it again!” Fen cried. “Are you Ice Talons really that cold? Don’t you care at all if your friends and family are killed?”

“You Ga’Hoolians are the cold ones.” Barkin retorted. “Lying to owlets and making them think that everything in life will have a happy ending…HA! What a laugh! At least the Ice Talons never lie to us when we’re kids. I don’t fear death because I know that it’s reality. It’s what makes us strong! Makes us fearless! What do you Ga’Hoolians have to offer? More sugar-coated lies?”

“Hope.” Fen stared evenly into Barkin’s eyes and spoke again. “We offer owls hope to live another day instead of encouraging them to mark it down.”

Barkin opened his beak to shot another retort but for some strange reason, no words would come out. He closed his beak and tried again, but only choked. The sand-feathered eagle continued to stare at him for a few moments longer and Barkin had to shift his gaze to the floor. Finally, she turned away.

“Let’s go.”

The Ice Talon warrior merely nodded his head in agreement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Queen Strix Moonwing watched with horrified fascination as the legendary Ice Talon leader launched himself up on the dark god known as Loki. The Ga’Hoolian queen had heard many legends and tall tales centered around the Ice Talon way of fighting- Beserking. Legends had it that the first warriors had been taught by the polar bears themselves on how to fight with extreme strength, courage, and power in battle, to forget fear, and to fight until one’s last breath. This was the true art of Beserking- to fight without fear and with all the power you possessed. The Queen never thought that she would ever witness such a sight, but here she was, watching as General Bylyric fought in front of her.

His legendary black axe, Mjolnir, hissed through the air at lightening speed. Queen Strix was sure that it was impossible for anyone to dodge such an attack, especially one fueled by such hate and passion.

However, Loki was no ordinary warrior….

The dark spirit easily slid away like a snake and dodged the deadly blade, letting out a mocking laugh that only lit up the fuel of Bylyric’s rage. With a roar of enragement, Bylyric continued to merciless bring his battle axe down upon his hated enemy.

Once!
“Why did you do that?” The raven witch asked suspiciously as she dressed the large Snowy’s severe wounds. Wolf bites scarred Bylyric’s back, staining his white feathers red with blood.

“Do what, witch?” Bylyric growled, slightly wincing as Vesna applied some poultice upon the wound. Sprink, that stuff burned!

“You took the wolf’s attack for me.” Vesna whispered, mostly to herself. “I left and abandoned your army against your orders….yet you still saved me. Why, Cold Heart?” Cold heart was her personal insult for Bylyric, the one who had captured her and took her away from her home and family in the Tarkish Gang; had forced her to stay with his army against her will and had made her his personal slave.

She loathed this owl with every fiber of her heart and could easily soak his wound with poison and let him die a slow, painful death. Vesna would be killed for it, yes, but was not death better than being a slave to this monster who had not but a heart of ice? However, before she could do so, she needed to know…why had he risked his own life to save hers?

Bylyric scowled at her question. “Because I need you for this army, witch! I wasn’t going to let a mangy canine take away something as precious as a seer out of my grasp!”

So, she was nothing but a trophy to him, Vesna thought, cursing Bylyric’s very name. She could easily kill him and end his little fantasy…..

And yet, she would not kill him. She would heal him and let him live another day, another day to try to complete his corrupted goal of conquering the Northern Kingdom….another day to take away her freedom…..

…As he had allowed her to live another day.

Twice!

“You know, you don’t have to stay.” The giant Ice Talon general gruffly said. The beautiful raven at his side stared at him, her dew-drop eyes filled with confusion at his words.

“What?” she asked, blinking.

“I said..” Bylyric growled, avoiding the seer’s mysterious gaze. “that I’m giving you a chance to leave the Ice Talons. You have served us well these last few years and as a reward, I will allow you to leave before we depart to the Ice lands.”

Due to the betrayal of the General’s brother, Dumblewing, the war had been lost and the Ice Talons’ lands had been lost, forcing them to have to leave to find new territory in the northernmost regions of the Northern Kingdoms. It was harsh, barren land, but Bylyric was determined to make his army strong again, however, this was one creature that he would not force to such a brutal fate.

“No.”

Bylyric stared at Vesna with a dumbfounded expression on his face. “What did you say?”

Vesna repeated her answer. “No,” she slowly answered. “I will go with you.”

“But, why? There’s nothing for you to gain by staying.”

The raven seer gazed at the dark, icy ocean, watching as the Ice Talon bears began their long trek to newfound territories.

“Because, Bylyric, I’m more worried about what I would lose…”

Thrice!

“VESNA!” Bylyric roared out against the storm, against the sounds of battle, against the sound of his own heart pounding with fear for the one he was looking for. He was blind to the battle going on around him…there was only thing his golden eyes searched for in the midst of the bloodshed. The one creature that made him feel any ounce of compassion, goodwill, or love towards anything in life. She was the only one able to melt his heart of ice…..

A motionless, sable-feathered creature appeared in his view. Her love-filled eyes closed in eternal sleep as a pool of crimson slowly formed around her arrow embedded wound.

“No….” he whispered, “….VESNA!”

Bylyric pressed flew over his beloved’s side and nudged her, trying to get an answer, to hear her angelic voice once more. It was no use, all the warmth and kindness that had once radiated from the one he loved had been snatched away by the arrow of Loki.

For a couple precious moments, Bylyric buried his head into her lifeless body, his white feathers amidst her black, and allowed his melted heart to break into a thousand pieces….

…..before freezing back into ice.

Swoosh!

With each swing of his axe, precious memories of the creature that Loki had snatched away burned through his mind, fueling his rage and freezing his heart. He wasn’t even aware of Vladimir joining him into battle. His mind was focused on one thing- destroying Loki.

Suddenly, the dark spirit turned away and zoomed past Bylyric and Vladimir, as well as Queen Strix. The queen saw him shifted into the form of a black owl and fly down a hallway.

“Bylyric! Vladimir!” She called to her comrades, flying after Loki, “Over here!”

The spirit didn’t go far, only into an old hollow. To her surprise, Loki was protectively in front of a young ottermaid, glaring furiously at a young, rather smallish, Barn Owl and an older, sable-feathered Barn Owl.

[TurquoisePheonix]

Lilina didn't know what to do. Prisoner? She would hate to be taken in by these Ice Talons. Were they just going to kill her after they were done getting the information they needed? She glared icily up at the dark-feathered Barn Owl. Ever since he had died, she had been like this. What she wouldn't give to be back with Brander...

But that didn't matter now. Brander was dead. He was never coming back, and there was nothing left for Lilina. Even if she died, she wouldn't care. Even her child meant nothing to her. She knew the pup would remind her of Brander every time she looked at it. She knew it was wrong, but if she died, she could be with Brander in another life. It was selfish and almost evil of her to care so little for the life of those not born, but that didn't matter to her any more. Lilina lived for him, and she would gladly join him in death, even if it meant her child's life.

"I will fight no matter my condition, Ice Talon." Lilina said. How much Brander had changed her - from a gentle, innocent ottermaiden into a pregnant, heartless warrior.

"And now that I'm your prisoner, you should just kill me and get it over with." She said, wishing that they would spare their mercy. They could end this now. Her life and the life of her unborn child. She was ready to die and to join Brander. She reached for her blade, forgotten on the floor at her side. She readied it before her - she hadn't even been able to lift Brander's sword when she had first seen it, but now it was almost an extension of her body. Brander's blade in her webbed paw, she looked up at Alphonse.

And then, he was before her. Loki was there, shielding her from Al and Valtar. She stood from where she was, looking at the demon, confused. Why was Loki protecting her? Why did he shield her with his body?

Why did love burn so fiercely in his eyes?

Lilina wasn't even paying attention to the others that had come into the room. Bylyric and the Queen Strix, and another one behind them, one with red wings. All of these would be a cause for fear normally, but Lilina wasn't paying attention. For a moment, the room turned silent. She didn't know if it was silent for jsut her or for everyone, but she heard no sound other than a than the ringing in her ears. A clatter shattered the silence as her sword hit the ground. She lost support, and Lilina fell to her knees, breathing shakily.

"B-brander...." She didn't know whether to be relieved or angry. Brander was alive. He was standing right in front of her. She felt shock course through her as Loki looked at her in a way that only one other had given her before. No...no one else had ever given her that look. After all, Loki and Brander were one and the same. Lilina looked up at him. Had it all been a lie? Did he love her at all? Was that look in his eye part of his lie, too?

"Why did you do this to me?!" She urged, glaring at Loki. Her eyes fell. She couldn't hate him, much as she wanted to.

Her jaw dropped in shock again.

She was impregnated by a god. She was carrying the spawn of a demon within her. She felt tears rimming her eyes. Lilina knew that no one but her and Loki would know what this was all about. She knew that no one would understand, that no one could understand what had happened to her. She looked up at Loki - she wished she had never known now. She wished that she still thought he was 'Brander'. She wished he wasn't the leader of an army. She wished that maybe they could be together somewhere else, him no longer the demon Loki, but the loving, kind otter she had long known him as. Maybe a child or two. She knew that Loki could be kind and loving.

No, that was a ruse. It was all a lie. All that had mattered to her was fake.

~

'Fenora...' The voice sounded - though it was futile. No one could hear him. He was long since trapped in his own mind. But the dragon had given him a few moments to draw upon his power. The power of the dragon's along with his own. It would only allow him to create an apparition of himself from this far away, but if he could make sure that Fenora was okay, then everything would be better for him. He continued to search the hollows, never going straight towards the battle that he was hearing. Please, let her be okay, he thought. He had become so distant, so cold to her before he had left. He had made the mistake of pushing her away in his hatred for Cecil. But he knew now, that Cecil had no choice but to kill his father. He had to find Fen again - she was definitely okay, he believed it. But did she still love him? He had distanced himself so much from her before he had gotten trapped within his own body.

Ludwig saw her then, leading a group of owlets. He felt his heart leap in his body, half a world away. He didn't think Fen could see him. Could she? How strong was his apparition? She walked past him, however, leading an Ice Talon warrior and some owlets. Apparently, she couldn't see him. Maybe she could hear him? He moved next to her, whispering in her ear slits.

'Can you hear me?' He asked her. Fen's beak dropped, she stopped dead in her tracks. He guessed so.

'I miss you. I'll be home soon, Fen, I promise. I'm sorry...' Ludwg said to her. She could not see him, but she could hear him. He wished he could tell her everything with simple words, but he could not. The Boreal continued to stand at the eagle's side, feeling grateful for the opportunity Ao Shun had given him.

'I'm so sorry.' He said again, leaning around to kiss her. His beak was nearly touching hers when he remembered that she wouldn't even be able to feel it. He pulled back, sighing. He spoke again.

'I'm in the Middle Kingdoms. But don't worry, I'll come back for you, Fen. I love you.'



(OOC: More on the way later. XP)

[Luz]

Carefully, Cordi peeked out of her hollow. What in the name of GLAUX was this commotion that had disturbed her beauty sleep? Didn't ANYONE here know that if you didn't get at least a good three hours of rem cycle your feathers could dry up and... molt?! Cordi shuddered at the thought, her primaries turning a light shade of green in her disgust.

"Oh /frink/, i'm never going to get any rest here, am I?"

But then it suddenly occurred to Cordi... this wasn't just any noise. It looked like a war. Huh, that was weird, there hadn't been much going on when Cordi had gone to sleep. How long had she been sleeping for, a millennia?! With a forcibly exaggerated sigh, Cordi looked up at the owls,

"WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON?!!!?!?!" She shreed furiously. Nobody listened.

"HEY, YOU CAN'T IGNORE ME! I'M THE PRINCESS, FOR FRINK'S SAKE!!" An old veteran flying by the tree looked her up and down, and then handed her a pair of battle claws he had hung on his wings.

"Here you go, young'un," He told her, acting as if he had done her a big favor. Cordi looked at the battle claws, wrinkling her beak.

"How do you use these anyway?" He was already gone.

"YARRGGGHHHH!!!!" A great grey was flying right towards her, brandishing his reinforced talons. Cordi squeaked, shutting her eyes, and holding out one talon to lessen the impact a little.

When she opened them, she found that she had impaled the great grey on one of her talons.

"OH MY GLAUX!" She screamed, wincing.

[ForestOwl]

Loki didn't respond to Queen Moonwing and Bylyric rushing into the hollow after him, except for growling at them. He completely forgot about conquering the tree. He forgot about the battle going on outside of the hollow. He didn't care about those things as long as he could keep Lilina. She was honestly the only creature, out of all of the goddesses, giantesses, and mortals he'd ever met, who he truly loved.

He wasn't about to give her up.

"Stay away from her!" he roared at them. "I will not let her be taken prisoner by the likes of you!" From behind him, there came a clatter. Loki spun around to look at Lilina. Her jaw had dropped in shock, and she had also dropped her sword. The god sighed in frustration. She'd figured it out. He was her beloved Brander, and he'd never died.

"Well, you already know that I am Loki but I'm also Brander..." Loki's owl form stretched, and his wings became arms and paws, and his owl talons became an otter's sturdy legs. Suddenly Brander was there, standing in front of Lilina, the same otter she'd met all those months ago. Though this time, he wasn't smiling charmingly. Loki was wondering if Lilina still loved him, now that she knew that Brander was really Loki, the god of mischief.

"I don't know how you feel for me now, but I love you, Lilina."

~~~~~

Dorota Ramirez flew up to Cordi, with a scowl on her face. She was beginning to be annoyed by Cordi's screams. "Pampered little princess...What is it now?" She saw the Great Gray impaled on the battle claws. "Oh, for the love of..." Ramirez threw the Great Gray's body to the floor. "This is battle! There is no time to be a spoiled brat!" She didn't really care if she insulted the princess or not. It wasn't as if she could throw Ramirez into a dungeon or something. "Here, let me help you put those things on..."

Ramirez ignored the blood and feathers flying everywhere while she put Cordi's battle claws on. "There. Now as for how you use them, observe..." A Herr ferret came too close to Ramirez, and the Little Owl flew at him and tore at his pelt with her claws. The ferret, who was rather cowardly, screamed and ran away from the owl. Ramirez turned back to Cordi. "See? It's easy."

[Sinty]

Karakold was knocked off of his perch by Logbert, who mad his escape just as the raven was coming back for him. He screeched in rage, claws groping for some hold, but he was falling, falling... falling too quickly for him to use his wings. Gravity was propelling him downwards, and he could not fight against it. He tried flapping his wings, but in his upside-down position, it did no good. And then -

"Oomph!" Karakold landed on his back on a thick root, with a rather sickening crunch. Perhaps luvkily, though, he had landed on his wing, and it was that appendage that now throbbed with pain, whilst the black raven's back only ached.

He tried to scramble up, but found, when he stood, that his left leg could not support his body. He curled it up, trying to hold himself up on his right, but toppled over onto his side once again. Karakold let out a string of curses, many of them with the intention of sending Logbert to an early grave and eternal damnation. Blast that dumb Great Gray! And where was he now, when Karakold finally needed the stupid brute? Damn him!

Karakold lay on his side, breathing heavily, and hoping that a Herr af Loki beast found him before a Ga'Hoolian did.

~~~

Normal watched as Karakold was knocked off his perch, and laughed, if rather wheezily. The Glaux-damned raven deserved it, too, after the pain he had caused her. She winced now even thinking of it, the slight pain in her stomach becoming once more that unbearable agony.

She looked up at Hector, marveling at his glistening silver exterior. It was like a helmet, only over the entire body! Amazing! "Hector," she breathed again, then paused. What did one say to an owl who had just saved one's life? 'Thank you' didn't seem like it would cut it, in this situation. Perhaps something more formal, then? "Hector," she repeated, "I owe you my eternal gratitude for your kind act."

She tried to get up, then gasped as pain lanced through her stomach, and she collapsed back against the hollow wall, putting all her weight on it. It was all she could do to keep from screaming, but that might attract more of the Herr animals, real fighters who might not be afraid of Hector's... well, silver exoskeleton, was all Normal could think to call it.

"What is that that's... on you?" she asked, finally, looking at it more closely. It seemed to be made of sheets of silver melded together, somehow... Normal was not a smith. Whatever it was, Normal had never seen anything like it before, or indeed imagined such a thing.

~~~

Vlad followed the Queen as she flew into a side hollow, not bothering to rebuke himself when he called her "the Queen" in his mind. He entered the hollow, and saw the murderer Loki standing over a young otter. It struck him as odd, but he must revenge himself for General Secretary Revithilp's murder. For Communism!

(OOC: God, Vlad's boring after a while...)

~~~

Jamil de Maniere hopped from right leg to left in agitation, gabbling in a mixture of his native Silverveilian and Ga'Hoolian. "Sacre bleu! This is a... a traveste! Why, I'll never make a living in this state of affairs! War, war, war! No-one looks good in a uniform, OK?"

"No, no-one, Monsieur de Maniere!" repeated one of his two magpie assistants, nodding his head vigorously. In the few seasons since the disastrous wedding of poor Rico Suave and the lovely, bereaved Rosa, Jamil had expanded his business, selling clothing to the wealthiest and most prominent citizens of Ga'Hoole. In the process, he had picked up two yes-birds who often annoyed him more than they gratified him.

"Well, no matter!" Jamil said, hopping forward and throwing out his wings. "There's still lots to be done, boys! I mean, we still have to make Lady Valsat her evening gown! Look sharp!"

While his employees busied themselves with Lady Valsat's red silk gown, Jamil hopped over to a mirror and inspected himself, murmuring the occasional "Oui, Jamil, oui, you are one hot feather" under his breath. His feather-do of the week was a tousled dark purple, with a tint of magenta at the roots. He was wearing a white shirt bedecked with frills and billowing red pantaloons. He looked, quite frankly, rather ridiculous, but everyone thought it was fashionable, so they let it go.

He turned to his assistants, looked at the gown, and hopped over frantically, waving his wings in the air. "No, no, no! Can't you do anything right? The hemline goes here, not there! And you don't put a tail-hole on an evening gown! Sacre bleu!"

[Strix Moonwing]

Hector’s charcoal eyes, gleaming so brightly against the silver metal that covered his feathered body, grew wide with astonishment when suddenly the raven that had been spooked away before by Hector’s unusual appearance, charged through the hollow entrance once more, looking eager and, perhaps even courageous if such a expression could be used to describe one of the creatures of Herr. However, the entire effect was ruined completely when the idiotic grey-feathered bumbler that the raven seemed to be coming back to rescue flew straight into his comrade and knocked him straight out of the hollow. The young Barn Owl couldn’t help but wince when his keen hearing detected the sickening ‘crush’ as Karabold found his mark.

“Ouch.” Hector grimaced, not daring to look and see what condition that Herr raven was in at the moment. “That’s got to hurt.”

A laugh, soft and wheezy but still a laugh, drew Hector’s attention away from Karakold and to the owl that he had saved from the two Herr birds. Normal was leaning against the hollow wall, lines of pain stretching along her face at her every moment, no matter how feeble they may be. Even laughing seemed to be causing her pain. How could those Herr creatures hurt someone like Normal? She had never done anything bad to anyone before! Well…not that he knew much about her. He and she were never really formally introduced.

“Hector.” The metal smith’s armored-covered body jerked into attention at the sound of Normal saying his name. He cocked his head to one side, trying to look friendly behind his mask of metal since he was sure that Normal couldn’t tell that he was smiling. “Yes, Normal?” He couldn’t help but smile when he realized who unusual Normal’s name was. He wondered why she was called that.

"Hector," she repeated, "I owe you my eternal gratitude for your kind act."

Behind his metal helmet, Hector felt his white cheek feathers heat up pink with embarrassment at Normal’s elegant words. “Awww, thanks Normal, but there’s no need for that. Hehe, it’s not like I did much. They were just a bunch of lousy, bullying cowards. Anyone could have done it…I….you……er….” Jeez, he hated it when he got embarrassed and flustered especially when it was around other creatures. He took a deep breath and smiled, his eyes shining with the warmth of the smile that even Normal could see and understand his actions. “What I mean to say is….thank you, Normal. I’m glad that I was here to help you. I’ll be happy to help protect you from any more Herr creatures that try to get in here.”

Hector was thankful that Normal changed the subject with her question about the metal casing he was wearing. He was more than happy to answer and show off his invention. Grinning behind the mask of metal, Hector lifted a wing and slammed it against the chest plating of his armor, allowing the metal to ring its music into the air for Normal to hear.

“This is a suit of armor.” Hector happily explained, stepping closer so that she could see the armor’s gleaming steel surface. “I made it myself and designed it for owls to use. The knights in the days of Other wore them and it protected them from getting hurt with weapons. I thought it would come in handy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why’d you stop?” Barkin asked, stopping in his tracks and turning his head around to stare at Fen who had suddenly came to a halt. All the little owlets and eaglets stopped and turned in unison to look at their teacher in curious confusion. A strange, far-off expression had on her face.

“Hello?” The Great Gray warrior snapped, taking a step towards her when she didn’t respond. “Weren’t you the one that said that we were in a hurry?”

“What?” Fen shook her head, coming out of a daze. The exhilaration of the battle must be getting to her. She could have sworn that she heard Ludwig’s voice- his beautiful voice. No, that was impossible. He was far away from here, well away from her. There was no way he would be able to talk with her and Fen wasn’t sure if he would want to anyway. The possibility of hearing his voice once again seemed too far-fetched- nothing more than a distant hope. A hope that her mind continued to tell her was too painful to cling to, but her heart endured it all the same. The eagle ryb noticed that Barkin and the young ones were all staring at her, confused by her stillness.

“I’m sorry,” she absent-mindedly apologized to them. She gently pressed her wingtips against the side of her head, still slightly dazed. “I just thought I heard something.”

“Well, the Herr creatures are going to hear us if we don’t get moving.” Barkin grumbled. The ill-tempered Great Grey shifted his gaze to Fen for a moment and added, “You’ll feel better outside.” He quickly turned away from her and began to walk forward again leaving Fen to gaze at his retreating back with a mix of annoyance and relief shimmering in her amber eyes.

“Well, at least he’s trying to be civil now.” She remarked quietly to owlets around her, “Not that it’s helping much.” Their smiles turned into titters and giggles when Barkin called out from ahead, “I heard that!” Fen couldn’t help but giggle with them.

However, their laughter died away when they heard a croaky voice coming from behind a hall corner.

“Ratscum, you hear something?”

Everyone held their breath in fearful suspense.

“I think it came from other there.”

Fen felt the owlets begin to shake and tremble with fear, pressing close to her. Suddenly she felt a talon poke her shoulder. She turned and saw Barkin silently motioning her and the owlets to follow him. She quickly and silently herded the owlets together and hurried after Barkin, determined to get as far away from the voices as possible.

Barkin quickly ushered them all into a nearby hollow and pulled the curtains over the entrance. They all remained silent until the sounds of footsteps and voices had long passed and then all of them breathed a sigh of relief.

“That was close.” Sighed Fen.

“Jeez, you guys would be completely useless in the Ice Talon League!” Barkin complained.

Fen rolled her eyes and retorted, “Well, I’m positive that we won’t be recruiting anytime soon.”

“Like General Bylyric would even glance at you, much less even consider you!”

“If he chose you to be a soldier then the requirements are obviously very low. I bet even an oversized slug could join if it could bark out an insult!”

The owlets giggled at the Fenryb’s and Barkin’s bickering and one of them even began chirp, “Oooooh, Fen and Barkin sitting in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!”

“SHUT UP!” Barkin snapped at the giggling owlets, face red with either embarrassment or rage.

All the owlets began to sing chirp along. “First comes love! Then comes mating! Then comes an egg in the brooding nest! Hehehehe!”

“Grrrrrrrr!” Barkin fumed in rage as the little owls continued to sing their obnoxious song. He whirled around and growled at Fen. “You’re the teacher! DISCPLINE THEM!” He blinked in surprise, his anger melting away when he saw Fen look around the hollow with an astonished expression on her face.

“I know this place….” She whispered out loud, glancing around the hollow with both curiosity and grief in her eyes. “It’s Doomfeather’s room.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Frigg! Where's Barkin?" Springal, the young Barn Owl soldier of the Ice Talon League and the one who had alerted General Bylyric and the Ice Talons of the invastion, questioned to the Ice Talon healer.

The young elf owl shield maid looked up from bandaging up one of Vlad's followers' wing and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Springal, but it's so frantic in here that I can hardly tell who's who right now! He's probably off slicing off a rat's head or something."

Springal flinched at the sharpness in his friend's voice. At that moment he noticed how exhausted and weary Frigg looked. Even though she wasn't involved in the actual fighting, she was still in the midst of it all, fighting her own battle to drag some of the wounded to safety so that she could try to treat their wounds. Since Vesna had died, Frigg was left to heal the Ice Talon soldiers on her own. Even with the healers of Ga'hoole helping, it was still very tiring.

"I'm sorry, Frigg. I was just worried." Springal said. "I haven't seen him."

"Oh, I'm sure he's fine. Probably off beserking somewhere. You know how he is." Even though her voice was light, Springal could see that it was all a disguise to hide the true fear in her eyes- fear of the knowledge that not all of their friends would make it out of this battle alive. He momentarily placed his wing on her shoulder, the only comfort that could be offered in such a time.

“Try to stay safe, Frigg.” Springal said before drawing back. “I’m going to find Barkin.”

“You too, Springal, you too.” Frigg whispered, watching her friend leave and wishing with all her heart that her beloved mentor, Vesna, was here to offer her soothing words of comfort. “Please, goddess Freya, keep my friends safe.”

Springal flew past battling creatures, trying his best to catch sight of his hot-headed, stubborn friend, but saw nothing. He was beginning to fear that Barkin had become one of the many warriors that had joined the halls of Valhalla tonight. Suddenly, a shrill, feminine scream filled the air- something that sounded so familiar that Springal had to stop in his tracks.

“Cordi?” He rapidly blinked in astonishment at both the fact that he even recognized the prissy princess’s voice and the fact they she was actually in the midst of this mess. She was definitely not the type of bird to pick up a sword, let alone even use it. Her fearful, panicky scream shrilled in his earslits again. He narrowed his eyes and focused on the battle, trying to concentrate on fighting and finding Barkin. He didn’t have time to take care of a spoiled Ga’Hoolian princess that couldn’t take care of herself.

“Don’t turn around, don’t turn around, don’t turn around.” He muttered, still focusing up ahead and not on the purpled-feathered princess in distress.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHHHHH!” He winced as Cordi’s scream of terror nearly made his ear-slits bleed with its high-pitched shrillness. He sighed and shook his head in defeat.

“Good Thor, out of all the Ice Talon soldiers, why’d she have to flirt with me?” He groaned as he turned around and quickly flew towards Cordi’s hollow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alphonse listened to Lilina’s cold words with his face hard and expressionless. Behind his black mask, however, Alphonse felt the merest spark of anger at the knowledge that this otter maid did not even care about the life of her child. In his military experience, he had encountered many valiant females who had given up their own lives for their children- vain, but noble acts all the same. This one didn’t even care enough to stay away from battle in order to ensure her unborn pup’s safety.

“My apologies, Miss, but it is not your life that I very much care about.” Alphonse calmly stated, taking the glance at the swollen stomach. The sable barn owl then looked at the young mother’s face, his dark eyes giving the slightly hint of disgust and disappointment.

Suddenly, there was a crash and the beating of wings filled the room as newcomers barged in. Standing like a protective shield between Alphonse and Lilina was Loki in the form of an otter, glaring deathly daggers at two Ice Talons. Next enter was the Queen Moonwing, General Bylyric, and Vlad. A shocked and tense silence fell over the hollow as each tried to figure out what was going on. There was apparently something going on between Loki and the strange, round-bellied ottermaid….

The Ice Talon General was first to come to his sense. Golden eyes, now tinged with red, glared at the figure of Loki and growled, “Love? You don’t know the meaning of it, demon! Only a fool would believe the words of a trickster.” He gripped his axe and took a large step towards the dark-god. “I plan on silencing your lying mouth once and for all!”

Roaring up the ancient battle cry of the Ice Talons, the furious Ice Talon General charged forward, his mighty axe raised and ready for battle.

[Luz]

Cordi peered down at the great grey. "I say, are you alright?" She asked uncomfortably. He didn't reply, only looked up at her with cold, dead eyes. "Would you like some... um... water? Yes... water... thats a good idea..." She carefully slid the great grey off her battle claws, and headed crankily towards the hollow opening, looking for some sort of water supply. "Oh for goodness sakes, why do these things always seem to happen to mee?" She questioned herself, taking flight only for the battle claws to weigh her down. She plummeted a couple of feet before hastily winging her way back off, wobbly.

"Oh frink this," She muttered, kicking off the claws, and re-enforcing her own claws, wincing a little in concentration. She was a whole lot better at shapeshifting than her mom, but she was a little rusty. She usually only changed herself for beauty purposes, she didn't know how her mum was able to cope with it. Her claws felt all rusty like metal, but were thankfully light.

Honestly, when she had such an impressive military history she expected for at least a little bit of it to rub off. Glaux only knew hpw many times her mum had tried to show her, but it had never really sunk in! Gazing across the battlefield, she spotted a tiny perch in the forests nearby- and decided to go for there. A battlefield like this was definitely NO place for a princess like Cordi. With a brave little squeak, Cordi launched herself like a bullet, barging an owl out of the way.

"Whoops! Sorry!" He fell to the ground, one battle claw skewing his flight. She blushed violet, and looked around, distressed. Another owl flew at her, bellowing a battle cry, and Cordi's eyes widened. "Hold on there, mate..." She dodged luckily out of the way, and the owl smacked into the tree, obviously misjudging the distance between the princess and the wood.

"Why cant I stop KILLING people?" She wailed, her claws changing back to normal in her upset.

[TurquoisePheonix]

"You...you shut up, Owl!" Lilina screamed at Alphonse. His look had made her angry - that look of disgust, of revulsion that had been plastered upon his eyes. She looked between Loki and Alphonse, as well as Valter. She looked at the black otter before her. Was this some trick? Or was it really real? Did Brander really die, or was this some trick of Loki's? He was the Trickster God, after all. Why should she believe him? He was just playing mind games with her, she told herself. And, even with all of these thoughts in mind, she found that looking into those eyes, she saw only truth in them. The ottermaid thought for a moment - she had never seen Loki and Brander in the same place, despite Brander's claims of being part of the Herr, and he had been very 'busy'. She looked at him for a moment, the protecting shield between herself and the other two in the room. After what felt like an eternity, Lilina reached up to the otter-god before her. She almost saw him wince. Was he expecting a slap? No, she couldn't. For the first time in what felt like years, Lilina felt something. She felt love. And happiness. So, Brander wasn't dead? He was really alive, and never had been dead? She had screamed at him only a second ago, but she couldn't be mad. Not any more. She had loved Brander, and she loved Loki, for better or for worse. And this child...Cupping his cheek in one paw, Lilina felt tears come to her eyes.

"Why?" She asked - she saw Loki wince visibly once more. She had two options here, and he expected the worse of them. He expected her to start screaming again. Instead, her voice remained a whisper. "Why did you make me think you were dead?" She asked, pulling him into a kiss, their lips locking. There was a battle going on all around them, but Lilina was unaware of any of it. She felt herself crying. Brander was alive. She wished she had never fought with her baby inside her now. She might have shaken the little thing within her up a little too much, but somehow, she knew she had not. Stroking the fur that, in another life, she was intimately familiar with, another paw on her belly.

It was then that they heard Bylyric's battle-cry.

~

"Woah." Valter exclaimed. He looked to Alphonse - he looked equally stunned. Everyone in the room understood what was going on now, or at least most of it. Loki had tricked some girl - or maybe he had actually fallen in love, who knew? - into falling in love with him. Maybe it was a trick, but in any case he was watching a demon making out with an otter girl that was no more than seventeen years old. He blinked, but he almost felt a warm in the pit of his gizzard. Maybe Loki wasn't such a bad guy, after all. Still, he was thousands of years old, and this girl looked about sixteen years old in comparison. "Freakin' pedophile." Valter muttered, but smirked at Al. There was something particularly heartwarming about the scene before them, though he wasn't quite sure why it was. He jumped as Bylyric entered the room, a rage in his eyes. Bloodlust. Valter heard his roar, saw him launch forward at the demon and pregnant otter. Immediately, the owl knew what he had to do. Perhaps it was a bad decision, or maybe it was a good one - he would face the consequences later, but he would never know whether he should have simply let Bylyric kill Loki when his back was turned. Instead, Valter launched forward, flying swiftly at the approaching general.

Just in time.

The Barn Owl was tiny in comparison to the massive warlord, but the General was off-balance with his angry axe-swinging, one of which barely missed Valter's head. And so, when the little guy barreled into him full-speed, the General fell. But Valter knew better than to assume that he would stay there. Looking back at the black-feathered owl, he spoke quickly. "Al, get Lilina out of here. I don't care where you go, but get her somewhere safe!" He looked at Loki, knowing that he would protest. "She'll be okay, I promise. General won't hesitate to kill her." Valter knew that Loki could hold his own against the General by himself, but with a pregnant otter there?

Unsheathing a dagger, Valter pressed it to Bylyric's throat. "Don't move! There's a pregnant girl in here, dammit! Are you gonna kill her, too?!" He yelled, looking at the bloodlust in his eyes. "Is this what Vesna would want?! Would she want you to kill a mother who's still a kid herself?!" Valter screamed, glaring daggers at the General. He knew a little bit about Vesna - Alphonse had told him the story of her and Bylyric.

(OOC: Kinda-short, deal with it? It's been a few months. XP, but let's get'er rolling again.)

[Strix Moonwing]

Alphonse's usually calm face now held the same stunned expression as Valter's as they both stared at the suprising scene. Across them, standing at the hollow entrance, the Senka general saw the Queen of Ga'Hoole as well as another owl. The queen looked just as shocked as the rest of them, though there was something else reflecting in her dark eyes- bewilderment and sorrow.

Alphonse understood what the queen was feeling. Unlike Valter, Alphonse found nothing heartwarming about the scene. He had seen all the evil that Loki had done- all the lives he had ruined and all the the lives he had cruelty taken away. Many good creatures had fallen because of this demon. He couldn't see how any creature could ever love him. Any love towards Loki would only end in deep heartache. He honestly didn't know what to feel towards the ottermaid- so far, she had shown almost zero good qualities. She had gone into battle without a single care for her unborn child and now she was insisted on still being in love with Loki despite the knowing of all the evil and horrors that he had done. She was a fool.

But the unborn child didn't deserve to die.

"No, Bylyric!" He heard Queen Moonwing cry out, but her voice was drowned out by General Bylyric's thundering battlecry. Alphonse saw his leader, amber eyes tinted red with bloodlust, launch himself towards Loki's turned back. But it was not Loki that the queen had called out for. It was for the pregnant otter.

Before Alphonse could act, he saw Valter barrel into Bylyric, knocking them both to the ground. The sable barn owl wasted no time. Ignoring Loki completely, he grabbed Lilina's paw and urged her towards the hollow entrance.

"You and your child are not safe here. Come on!" He ordered, dragging the ottermaid away from Loki and Bylyric. When he passed the Ga'Hoole queen, she hissed some words to him, low enough for only his Barn Owl slits to hear.

"There is a female eagle named Fenryb taking young ones to safety. Find her and take all of them back to Tyto." she ordered. Alphonse gave her a slightest of nods and took off.

Valter's words only enraged Bylyric more than he already was; with a vicious snarl, the Ice Talon General kicked out with his talon and threw the tiny barn owl off of him. The mighty white warrior towered over Valter and growled.

"You insolent little fool! I could have killed that demon and ended this war if it weren't for you!" He spat, rage dripping from every word. "Is the life of a fool worth losing the lives of thousands, runt?!" Bylyric didn't care at all about Lilina's life. She had chosen her fate when she sided with Loki. He would not let thousands of his own creatures and allies fall because of this young owl's foolishness!

"You have cost thousands their lives, traitor!" He snarled as he raised his mighty black axe to swing at Valtar.

"NO!" Queen Moonwing thrust herself between the young owl and Bylyric's giant form. Her beautiful dark eyes flashed dangerously up at Bylyric's berserk golden ones.

"Move aside!" Bylyric ordered, eyes narrowed threateningly at the small queen.

The spotted queen was not swayed and glared up at him without fear.

"No! The young one was only doing what he thought was right. Loki is the enemy, not him...or the ottermaid." Strix said. She turned to look at Loki and then back at Bylyric. "Focus on taking out Loki and protecting your warriors!"

Bylyric stared down at the small queen and blinked once before shaking his head in disbelief. "You are no doubt the mother of Prince Liberwill." Though his amber eyes were still burning with fury, there was a hint of admiration in his gruff voice. He raised his black axe and turned away from Valter to face Loki.

"This ends tonight, demon!" Bylyric's white feathers bristled as he took a step closer to the evil otter-shaped demon. "As Odin looks down upon us, I shall end your lies and drive away your army back to hagsmire!"

"And we shall help." Queen Moonwing coolly proclaimed stepping by Bylyric's side. Her dark gaze boldly stared Loki down. "The Ga'Hoolians will not give up our home without a fight."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This is war, you're supposed to kill people, featherbrain!" Springal called out flying out to meet the fluttered princess. He growled and slashed out with talons as an enemy owl came flying towards them. The young Ice Talon soldier easily sliced through the wing, causing the other owl to topple to his death. Springal whirled around to glare at Cordi.

"What are you still doing here? This is a battle, for Thor's sake!" He growled in exageration. He knew that Cordi was a princess, not a warrior; she wouldn't last long in this battle.

"Are you honestly trying to get yourself killed?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Who the hagsmire is Doomfeather?" Barkin asked Fen in a frinked off manner. Of course, every word that came out of his rude beak sounded frinked off to Fen.

Fen whirled around to face him with amber eyes blazing and feathers fluffed out in anger. "Doomfeather," she spat, causing the Ice Talon warrior to flinch, "Was a very dear friend and a valuable guardian to the Tree." Fen's voice shook slightly. "He was murdered a while ago."

This instantly caught Barkin's interest. "Murdered by who?" There was a quaver of excitement in his hoot. "It was an Pure One wasn't it? Or maybe a Herrbeast? Was there a fight?"

"Do you really believe this is sort of conversation is proper to be used around young ones?" Fen curtly replied. The young ones were staring up at the older owls with wide eyes. Most, she was sure, hadn't been hatched when Doomfeather had been killed, but his story was a famous one.

"A Snowy owl killed him, didn't he, Fenryb?" Quetin, a little long-eared owl asked. "Or was it a Barn Owl?"

"I thought it was a Boreal owl?" Rosa, the elf owlet squeaked.

"No, Doomfeather was the Boreal owl." A young Boreal owlet named Bloomer loftily stated. "Everyone knows that."

"Hush, all of you. We shouldn't be talking about that, especially at a time like this." A siege is taking place right below us while we're up hear trading tales! Of course, Fen didn't say that out loud for she didn't want to scare the little ones even more. It was a good that the owlets' thoughts were focused on something else besides the battle.

"So who did slash him out?" The Ice Talon warrior asked, fixing his yellow eyes on her. Fen detested the crude way he chose to describe Doomfeather's murder.

"Doomfeather was killed," she answered in a low voice for Barkin's ear slits only. "by a member of the Hashishin. His murderer's name was Cecil."

"The Hashishin?" the Great Gray blinked. The name sounded mildly familar- were they an enemy of the Ice Talons? Probably, since the Ice Talons had quite a few.

"They're an ancient organization that, I believe, have only recently risen up again. Their base is a castle in the Kuneer desert and they're highly trained hireclaws or assassins as they liked to be called. To be honest, I don't know much about it and all I do know I got from Prince Will's account on it. I've been planning to do a more detailed investigation on it, but-"

Fenryb stopped when she noticed the Ice Talon warrior as well as all the owlets, staring at her with blank expressions on their faces. The eagle ryb let out a sigh- she had been rambling again, hadn't she?

"Sorry," Fen apologized, "I tend to be rather prolix sometimes when answering questions." Especially when I'm nervous. Again, she kept this to herself.

"What's prolix?" Bloomer asked, raising a wing.

"A know it all, I'm guessing." Barkin said causing the owlets to burst into giggles.

"It means lengthy." Fen huffed, a little frinked off by the Ice Talon warrior's juvenile answer. Oh well, at least the owlets were happy. Perhaps, the eagle mused, it wasn't a bad thing to met up with this Ice Talon warrior. Suddenly, a wave of embarrassment washed over her when an obvious realization sank in. "Great Glaux, I don't even know his name!"

"I'm sorry, but I've never asked what your name was." Fen shyly inquired, "In the rush of events, I guess it must have slipped my mind."

Barkin blinked and gave her a hard stare. Fen, for a moment, started to believe that she might have offended in him in some way. Too late, she remembered that Northern Kingdom birds were very touchy when it came to giving out names. But this Ice Talon warrior hadn't been born in the Northern Kingdoms. Did the tradition still apply? Fen have to remember to question some Ice Talon warriors as soon as the battle was over.

"It's Barkin." The Great Gray's gruff voice broke her out of her intellectual musings.

"Barkin...oh...how very...er..rigorous." Fen said, hoping he took it as a compliment. "I'm Fenora or Fenryb, as my students call me, or just Fen."

"How very prolix." Barkin said with a smirk. The owlets giggled once again. They had rather taken a liking to the furious Ice Talon warrior.

"What does rigorous mean?" Rosa asked Fen. Again, Barkin answered for her.

"Well, it better be a compliment. Maybe 'handsome' or 'awesome' or anywhere between the two." The owlets began to churr and giggle once again. Fen was beginning to believe that Barkin was enjoying the attention.

"Okay, enough of that." Fen said as she paced around Doomfeather's old hollow. It was quite like her own, filled with shelves of books and other strange devices. She knew that Doomfeather had been an avid writer and inventor. "We need to get out of here. Every hollow has an entrance and exit, one that led towards the inner hollows of the Ga'Hoole Tree and one that lead to the open sky. She needed to find that one.

While Fen searched, Barkin kept watch at the hollow entrance. He peeked through the curtains and saw no sign of any Herr creature around. The Great Gray let out a sigh of relief. Normally, he relished a good fight, but not with all these owlets around.

Suddenly he felt a small talon tug at his port feathers. He looked down and saw Bloomin staring up at him with a book in his talon.

"Can you read?" the Boreal owlet asked. He held up the book for the soldier's inspection. He pointed a talon at one of the title words. "What's this word mean?"

"Ja, but right now's not a good time for reading kid. Put it back." Barkin ordered. He didn't want these owlet's to be messing around with some dead owl's stuff, especially a murdered owl. This Doomfeather's scroom might even come back to haunt them!

"But we've never seen it before!" Bloomer insisted, waving the book in the air while his comrades nodded their tiny heads in agreement. "Not even in the Strix Standard Hoolian Dictionary!

"Oh Great Thor, what the frink is wrong with Ga'Hoolians?" Barkin swivelled his head and glared down at the group. "Okay what word are you talking about?"

"If the book's title say Come, Paradise, Come, put it back this instant!" Fen told them. Every ryb in the tree was warned to keep any of Doomfeather's so called masterpieces away from owlets.

"This word right here," Bloomer indicated with his talon. "The one that starts with an A."

Barkin narrowed his eyes and mouthed it out with his beak. Ice Talon warriors weren't the greatest of readers and writers so it took him a moment or two to sound it out.

"I think it says...ALCHEMY."

[Sinty]

"It's... an Other thing?" Normal asked, trying to maintain her interest despite the blood pounding through her brain like a hammer. "Like Mr. Maniere's 'clothes'?" She cocked her head - wincing as she did so - and said, "It does look rather like a clothes. Only, of course, made of metal." Normal coughed, her stomach heaving. "Well, Hector," she said, trying to inflect her voice with wry humour, "I trust you'll help me stand up?"

The Sooty Owl looked Hector over as he approached her. He certainly looked very... large in that suit of armour of his. Hardly the kind to be interested in law practice, Normal wryly thought. There was currently only one lawyer in the whole Tree, but Normal planned to raise herself to that state, as her mother had. Yes, Lawriseria, the first lawyer of the Great Tree, who had argued the Desskyrm case before Parliament. Normal sighed happily, thinking of her future.

For Normal had great plans for herself. She would join the Bar, spout legal formulae, defend the undefended, and then - yes, then - she would ascend to the exalted perch of Member of Parliament, where she would decide upon the fate of the Tree. Happily, Normal envisaged herself in the Robes of State, attending the Coronation of the new King (loyal though she was, she could not doubt that Her Majesty would some night die), singing the Te Deums... she almost sighed in joy at this vision.

First, of course, she needed to stand up.

***

Miss Lorelee Lei was not, in actuality, present among the number of Loki's Herr. She had promised her allegiance in return for diamonds and, in her own way, she had given it. Miss Lei did not - we must repeat, did not - believe that a lady should fight. We would love to say that this was the reason she disapproved of Queen Strix, but in fact, she disapproved of that honoured monarch because she had not seen fit to shower diamonds upon Miss Lorelee Lei.

To return to the problem of Miss Lei's allegiance. She was not actively opposing Loki, by either encouraging his enemies or taking part in the fight against him. Therefore, according to her view of loyalty, she was acting perfectly true to her word by rushing through the hallways of the Tree, jumping into her hollow, and hurriedly clawing at the wall-bark.

The bark peeled easily away, revealing a carefully crafted storage closet filled with - well, we'll let you guess.




Right.

Miss Lei hurriedly added her newest attainments to her stash. Smiling stupidly, she took out a diamond coronet, and, with a shudder of pleasure, placed it atop her head.

The feel of the loving, cold diamonds upon her head caused Miss Lei to indulge in euphoric visions of the future. Once this Loki took over the Tree, she, Lorelee Lei, would have a friend in high places. She would be honoured, undoubtedly. And honours meant only one thing to Lorelee Lei: diamonds.

"Diamonds," she whispered, "are forever."

OOC: It just occured to me: I now have both diamond-obsessed characters. Also, their progress has been odd. I first mentioned Le Diamant, then Forr created him, then he passed to me. I created Lorelee, granted her to Forrest, then re-amalgamated her to myself. XD

***

Jamil de Maniere, as previously revealed, was not taking part in the battle. Jamil was engaging in the much more urgent matter of creating a gown for Lady Valsat, wife of the Governor of Broken Talon Point, a Ga'Hoolian colony. Jamil, after all, was a magpie, and a magpie, so he said, had no business taking part in owl affairs, unless that part was designing clothes for the owls in question to wear during the aforesaid event (confused yet?).

Jamil thus attempted to block out the sound of the battle outside his apartments by humming an old magpie song about a thief who became King of Silverveil by accident. Yet, at some point, the song had to end, and Jamil was too jittery to sing the song a second time. So long as Lady Valsat didnt die in the battle, she would need this gown tomorrow, and Jamil was - along with everyone else in the Great Tree - aware of Lady Valsat's penchant for incredible rampages when not getting her way.

Jamil shuddered at the thought of not having the gown finished, and bent to yelling at the yes-birds to get back to work. So long as the gown was done tomorrow, he could well say that he had done all that was needed of him.

[Strix Moonwing]

"Why, yes, I suppose it is." Hector admitted, looking down at his clever invention. The young barn owl honestly didn't think very much about the idea of Other clothing even though, in an odd sense, Normal was right- that's technically what it was, though Hector liked to think of the armour as much as a shield against danger than an accessory.

At Normal's dry, slightly agitated suggestion, Hector blinked his charcoal eyes from behind the finely made metal helmet and let out an embarrassed cough.

"Oh, sorry about that." Large for a Barn Owl he was, but, when he put a metal-covered wing around Normal's smaller frame and lifted her onto her talons, he was the image of gentleness.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to move too much. There's still fighting going on down below, so it'll probably be best if I try to fly you out of the tree. Queen Moonwing has already ordered some guardians to take those wounded and unable to fight to Tyto forest." Hector explained to Normal as he settled her into a comfortable position. He had her wing swung over his shoulder so that she could lean on him for support.

Hector led her to the portal in the hollow that lead outside. The armoured owl cautiously poked his head outside and looked down. Normal's hollow sure was high...

"Uhhh...I should perhaps warn you that I've never flown while carrying someone...at least not in armour." Hector nervously admitted. He had flown in the armour a couple of times- usually on short little flights during the day when no one was awake. However, he still hadn't tested it out while carrying any owl.

"But don't worry!" Hector quickly said as to not frighten her. "I should be able to do it. I made the metal light so that owls can fly normally in it so I can carry another owl and fly without wearing the armour then I should be able to still do it while wearing it! Theorically speaking, of course." He quietly added under this breath.

Beneath them, the ocean waves crashed mercilessly along the shores of the island while wolves and polar bears were locked in deadly battle, staining the rocky beaches red with blood and filling the air with their battle cries.

All this could be seen from the edge of Normal's portal and both Normal and Hector could see the grim scene below them. Hector fearfully gulped but tried to put on a brave face as he turned to Normal.

"So...ready to go?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"First it's Sintmore, then it's Candark, then Bylyric, and now this! Why do I always get stuck babysitting a bunch of creatures that don't really deserve it?"

This complaint earned Second-in-Command Alphonse another kick in the side of the head and a scream of fury from the pregnant otter that he had slung over his shoulder as he hurried through the tight, wood-line corridors of the Ga'Hoole Tree. Since rescuing the ottermaid from the battle below, Alphonse's mission was to locate where the eagleryb that was in charge of bringing the nonbattling creatures to safety. Alphonse had battled his way through the tree, risking his own life to save the life of Lilina and her unborn baby and, so far, all he gotten from the ungrateful little wretch was a hell-bent temper tantrum and a hundred or so punches and kicks to the face as he practically dragged her to safety.

"You're not going back to the evil trickster god that's trying to kill all of us and destroy the entire world, so how about you be a good little girl now and maybe I'll consider keeping you conscious for the rest of the way." Alphonse said. He winced as she let out another angry screech. Even Valter was better company than this! If she kept this up then the entire Loki army would be on their trail! They had to find a place to hide real quick- at least until Lilina cooled down.

With the ottermaid still struggling over his shoulder, Alphonse barged into the nearest hollow entrance. He found himself in a heavily decorated hollow filled with many extravagant items and fineries all around. In the center of it all, standing over a small pile of sparkling diamonds, was an very elegant looking female Barn Owl.

Despite the struggling pregnant ottermaid in his wing, Alphonse managed to pull off a rather dashing pose for one of his military rank and flashed Miss Lorelee Lei the most charming smile that a handsome bird like himself could offer in an emergency such as this.

"I do beg your pardon, my good lady." Alphonse told the female in a polite tone. He gave her a short bow which made the ottermaid growl and squirm even more.

"I hope you do not mind, but my dear comrade and I must take a short break. So hard to find a quiet place during a battle, don't you agree?"

[Sinty]

Normal gasped (once more) as she stood, aided by Hector’s muscular exertions. She had never known such pain before; never known she could feel such pain! Her body was burning as if a hundred torches had been set to it.

She gratefully allowed a wing to be draped over Hector’s shoulder, giving her some release from the strenuous activity of holding herself upright by her own power. Her legs were shaky and and weak. Normal was not made to be a warrior.

Well, way to state the obvious, she thought, with a mental sigh. I’m a lawyer, for Glaux’s sake! I prosecute war criminals, I don’t fight them!

Yet here she was, victim of a rapacious assault upon herself and upon the Tree she loved. The Tree whose laws she worshipped, studied, inwardly refined. Despite her weakened state, Normal felt a surety within her heaving bosom: whoever led this band of lawless vagabonds would, if she could have any say, be led before the Parliament, tried and executed, with all the pomp, ceremony and longevity only a thousand-year history gives.

When Hector made his declaration, Normal stiffened instantly, ignoring the jolt of pain climbing quickly up her body. “What?” she gasped, her voice tight and accusing. “Leave the Tree? Now?! In its hour of greatest need and greatest danger? Let the likes of those” – waving a wing out the “porthole” – if it may thus be called – to indicate Karakold and his ilk – “take hold of this Tree, even for an instant? Never! I cannot do it – Queen Moonwing cannot do it! Was the Tree deserted when the Emberists almost burned it down? No! When Coocar IV went mad and began murdering her subjects? No! And yet we will leave it to these ragamuffin crows and rotting wolves? This Tree makes demands upon us! It has given us hollow and hearth during times of peace; now, during times of war, I, for one, shall not desert her! The spirit of Hoole reverberates through every branch and vine, and that same noble spirit shall preserve our fighting Guardians! For they stand for what the Tree stands for, in all the legends of old: freedom and the sublime light of liberty and rule of law! A hundredscore of our forefathers stand behind us now! If we die, let us die as they died; never faltering in duty, never wavering in devotion, but always – always! – remembering that, in the darkest nights, owls named Guardians once flew, now fly, and ever shall fly from this island, shedding over all the world the hope and glory only the Name of Hoole can give!”

~~~

Lorelee Lei was surprised by the sudden appearance, within her hollow, of an owl with an otter slung across his shoulder. This surprise did not, we must say, keep her from learning two important facts about these visitors. The first – and vitally more important – was this: the owl was hot. As in, some seriously striking slabs of birdflesh. (Yes, the alliteration was deliberate.) Tall, dark and handsome was the total summation made by Lorelee Lei in that instant.

The second – and not interesting in the slightest – piece of information was this: the otter was either fat or pregnant. Lorelee, never very inclined to be generous to females of any species, decided upon fat.

Why, hello there,” Lorelee said in her huskiest tones. “I don’t mind at all… sir.” Waggling her butt-feathers sensuously, she slipped the tiara off her head and sidled closer to this uninvited (but not at all unwelcome) guest. “Why don’t you lay down your bundle, take a perch, and… tell me about yourself?”

The golden-feathered Barn Owl was betting on this owl; but she had reason to believe him rich or powerful. For Lorelee had learned something in her years of diamond-hunting; Fortune either bestows generously or not at all. The rich and powerful are most often the best-looking. This gentle-owl was probably Important.

“My name,” she whispered, arching her back, “is Lorelee Lei. You can call me Lor… handsome.” She winked at the fellow Tyto. “What’s your name, Mr. Irresistible?”