The return trip saw Captain Bell giving Freya a master class in selling services to the coalition government. There would be an official bid, and the government would have to verify that she was actually selling what she promised, but Captain Bell was sure that the coalition heads would see the potential, especially with his own enthusiastic advocacy..

“I’m not actually supposed to tell you all this,” he said, “but I truly think this could be just what we need. Do you have any idea if you can gather more of these wonderful beasts?”

“I… I don’t know. I’m not familiar. Iron Beak, do you have any friends that want to fight in battle, or get paid in grain to cart around mice and rabbits?” she said.

Iron Beak turned his head, clucking, but nothing came to her. It was almost as if…

Freya concentrated, remembering the breathing and how it was to exhale—the power that allowed her to speak with Iron Beak. And then—nothing.

She took a sharp breath.

“They can’t understand me, and I can’t understand them right now,” she said.

“I’m sorry, what? I thought you were able to speak to them.”

“Captain Bell, I’m sorry, I really am, but I don’t understand why it isn’t working right now. This hasn’t happened before.”

His expression was something between confusion and pity, and Freya realized that she didn’t want him to look at her that way.

There must be some limitation, something stopping me from doing it again, or maybe it’s just taken so much out of me that I can’t do it again right now. I’ll have to try again later. I am feeling a bit hungry.

“I don’t think that you’ll need to worry about that. Perhaps you need to find a way to communicate with the chickens non verbally? In the scouts, we use hand signals when we need to communicate silently, or at a distance. I could teach you some of them, if you wish?”

They [emerged from the woods], at last approaching the main entrance to Bun Manor and its magnificent gate. Sat tall atop the chicken, Captain Bell was able to nearly reach out and touch the circles, the symbols of the coalition on top of their front gate.

“Red for the foxes, the blood they did shed, yellow for the rabbits, strength in their grain, and orange for the mice, to bind us as one,” he said reverently. The words were spoken like a recitation, though Freya could not place them.

“Captain Bell, are you a romantic soul,” she asked, “or was that something from your time in the scouts? I can’t say I know where it’s from.”

He tugged at a whisker, giving her question careful consideration as they passed under the gate.

“It’s actually from the academy. Since it’s a mixed institution, it’s important to remember that we all are needed to keep the coalition strong. Recently they’ve added blue for the Aviary and brown for the Underground, but at our core, we three are one.”