~Mirandiona💎

When we got close enough to the shelf's edge we could see down into the next one, past several mostly free floating slivers of land. This shelf wasn't as large as the last one we occupied but was better covered. The shelves around it acted as a cocoon, making it mostly dark on the interior but the waterfall tumbling down to its center caught a large amount of light and refracted it well enough to make out the basic shapes of the land.

I could already see torches and fires being lit along the slopped edges of the shelf, with the greatest majority of people around the small pool in the center that collected around the waterfall before draining out through the bottom of the shelf.

Myka and I swoop down into the darkened, cavern like, space; and head for the largest of the fires burning some two wingspans from the pools edge.

I spot a figure in golden armor flitting their wings about and making hand gestures like they're giving orders. Katal! A wave of relief washes over me as the firelight catches familiar shades of brown with golden highlights.

One of the guards around her spots my wings and shouts out to announce my presence.

Katal turns to me just as I'm landing a good wing length from her with Myka close on my heels. Before I can fully get my feet underneath me the older woman is upon me, giving me a quick check for any serious injuries.

Using my left wing I make a bit of a barrier to nonverbally tell her to stay out of my personal space.

Seeing that she instead turns to Myka and inspects her. "No serious injuries?" She inquiries taking note of the damage to the right side of Myka's armor and glancing at me.

I shake my head too tired to form words. Now that the adrenaline was starting to wear off and I was in a relatively safe place my energy was plummeting, fast.

Katal's brow furrows at my lack of speech. "Are you alright your majesty?"

I give a jerky nod in response, "tired."

Myka was trembling on her feet as the adrenaline crash caught up to her as well. "We got caught," she starts before having to stop as her legs attempt to give out.

Katal catches her and hooks a wing under hers to hold her up. She motions a guard to do the same for me and starts to lead us away from the fire and towards another one closer to the waters edge.

"The shelf," Myka continues, struggling to lift her feet enough to walk properly, "We hid in a crevice, got tossed around. We're fine."

"Mirandiona?" Katal's voice calls for my attention.

Lifting my eyes to look at her instead of where I'm walking I meet her concerned gaze. "Aye, what she said. Don't recommend." I huff out surprisingly short of breath. My boot catches on a rock and makes me stumble, forcing the guard helping me to support most of my weight until I can get my feet back under me.

After entirely too long to walk such a short distance we make it to the other fire where I see guards, most of which are injured, laid out on the dirt. The guard helping me sets me down a little ways from the others, close enough to be in the fires glow but far enough to not truly be with the injured.

Katal sets Myka down almost on top of me while barking at someone to get a medic. The green winged woman doesn't seem to mind and apparently decides that my wing makes a fantastic mattress.

Not particularly bothered by the action I ignore her and allow my mind to shut down as exhaustion catches up to me.

~💠~

Something warm shifts against my side forcing my mind awake. Groaning in both discomfort from my right side and aggravation at getting woke up, I turn onto my side and rap my arm around the warm body next to me.

When my arm goes up much further than I'm used to I peel my eyelids open to a blurry canvas of blacks, oranges, and creams. Blinking several times to clear my vision, I'm met by very familiar black feathers and large golden eyes. Smiling at the gryph, I run my hand up the back of his neck to scratch behind his ear. He cooed softly and lowered his beak to nuzzle my chest.

Exhaling a barely there laugh, I turn on my back to have a look around. Wincing at the pain in my right knee as it twist with the movement. I'm in a small tent, just large enough to fit Ovah and I and maybe one other person if we were squashed together. How long have I been out?

Forcing myself into a sitting position, with no small amount of wincing and grumbling, I take stock of myself. Looking down, I note that I've been stripped of my armor as well as everything else I was wearing, my swords were still in my wings and the lavaliere remained around my neck, my right leg was mottled a nasty purple as well as a large section of my ribs on the left side wrapping around to the back, my right wing also felt horribly bruised. Shifting again to try and stand I find my right hip and knee in sharp protest causing me to cry out at the sudden pain.

No sooner has the cry left my mouth than a guard rips the tent flap back.

Ignoring the woman I curl up and lean my weight into Ovah's side, taking a moment to breathe through the pain. After recollecting myself I once again brace to stand, this time expecting the pain and gritting my teeth accordingly. Once I'm on my feet and standing up as straight as the low hung tent will allow, I make for the opening, motioning the guard stationed there out of the way.

Stepping out into the orange glow of a fire I look around to see a few more tents that have been quickly constructed with angelo, lycans, and prel moving about them with varying degrees of urgency. A gold clad figure with brown wings is all but sprinting toward me as Ovah emerges from the tent as well.

When Katal gets within a wingspan of me I can make out the displeased scowl on her face. "You're badly beaten, you are supposed to be resting!" She just barely manages not to shout at me, closing the last few yards between us.

Waving her off with a dismissive flick of my hand, I change the subject. "How long was I out, how many are injured, how many did we lose, and where's Serana?" I ask the most important questions at the moment.

The general's jaw clenches as she stands up even straighter. "It's just the next morning, your majesty." She informs curtly. "Our estimate of losses is around 2,000 and the injured around 3,400 both numbers factoring in lycans as well."

The numbers strike a blow directly to my gut that knocks the air out of me. Screwing my eyes shut I reach out for Ovah as I sway on my feet. So many lost in a single battle. I nearly double over at the weight of so many lives I failed.

Forcing my eyes open I refocus my gaze on the older woman and reiterate my last question, which she failed to answer. "Where's Serana?"

Katal's features remain stony and unmoving as she continues to hold her silence.

The general's lack of facial expression tells me far more than her silence. My brow furrows as my jaw involuntarily clenches. "Where is she!?" I demand, my voice staying just under a shout.

I see the hing of Katal's defined jaw tighten and square out her face even more. "I have several accounts from lycans and a few guards who saw Serana escaping the shelf." She reassures, her voice softening far to much for my comfort.

Taking a second to swallow, I use the act to try and control the tremble that was threatening to take me off my feet. "But?" I prompt not quite managing to suppress the waver in my voice.

Katal drops her gaze to the grass between us. "Everyone who claims to have seen her, either passed her or was headed in another direction. There are no accounts of her whereabouts after the blast." The quietness of Katal's voice didn't make her words any less gut wrenching.

Finally my knees gave up on trying to keep me standings and I dropped to the ground, with Ovah using his broad shoulders to catch me. Katal and the guard standing next to me help the gryph lower me to the ground where I collapse and press my left side into Ovah's.

I'm not even aware of the tears running down my face; until a pair of gauntlets are dropped by my side seconds before warm tanned hands are cupping my face and wiping the moisture from my cheeks. Katal presses a firm kiss to the crown of my head before moving to plant another just above my ear. "I will find her little dove." She whispers, the use of that nickname acting as a boon to the terror torn edges of my heart. "I promise I will find her. And when I do, I will bring her back to you. Stay here, stay safe,-"

"Stay strong." I finish the phrase she used to tell me every night for three decades after my parents' deaths.

Opening my eyes I stare into honey colored ones with enough love to ground me and enough conviction to make me believe she would do as she promised. Katal always keeps her promises. Sucking in a shuddering breath I nod my head as firmly as I can.

~Serana⚜️

I didn't know how far I had dragged Treale, I wasn't even sure what direction I was going anymore. But as the night wore on and reached its darkest zenith I collapsed beneath his weight at the foot of a small overhang with a bush of caustalberries growing from its crest.

Using the last of my strength to free myself from Treale's dead weight, I press him against the rock with my back and notice the little black berries overhead. I take a mental note to grab some when I wake up, they were tart but edible. For now I was far too exhausted to do anything but pass out.

What felt like mere moments later I was startled awake, opening my eyes to see sun rays shining through rock dappled sky. At first I wasn't sure what had roused me but then the ground quaked as something took a step on the other side of the overhang.

A deep guttural bleat has the breath rushing out of me in a relieved sigh. It's just a Cikier.

Sure enough a massive head of blackish brow fur appears over the top of the overhang. Large flat teeth, two on top and two on bottom side by side at the front of the mouth, open wide over the bush of caustalberries and easily slice through the vegetation. Black eyes no larger than my fist gaze down on my from a skull as long as my torso and almost twice as wide as my frame.

I take a moment to allow my breathing to even back out as the gentle giant continues to munch on the bush, not paying much mind to Treale and I.

A tired voice barely loud enough to hear jerks my attention to the side. "Is that a cikier?" Treale is clearly straining every ounce of strength he has to look up at the hulking creature above us.

Glancing back up I note that the cikier has paused its chewing and small pointed ears are pricked up. "Yeah." I make sure to keep my voice low so as not to startle it.

A harsh breath leaves the man beside me as the cikier decides we're not a threat and goes back to eating. "They look a lot bigger from the ground." Treale's voice is trembling just slightly as we continue to watch the giant.

I hummed in agreement, cikier were easy to spot from the air and even at a great distance it was easy to tell that they were massive creatures. But knowing they stood at twelve feet to the shoulder on all fours and seeing it up close and from beneath it were two very different things.

My heart stopped in my chest as the cikier finishes with the caustalberries and moves to step off the overhang. Pressing as far as I can into Treale's side we watch as a massive paw with three forward facing claws and a thumb on either side, much like a babbo, passes over us and sets down close enough for me to reach out and run my fingers through thick bracken fur. It was hard to tell if the tremble running down my spine was from fear or the quaking of the ground as the massive herbivore walked passed.

As the creature stopped at another bush an incredibly stupid idea pops in my head.

Sitting up with no small amount of pain coursing through my veins I turn to fix Treale with an appraising look.

The man catches my eyes and pales even further than the blood loss has already caused. "No!" He sets his jaw and gives me the firmest look of refusal he can muster.

A tired grin lifts the corner of my mouth. "You don't even know what I'm thinking." I point out, my smile apparent in my voice.

Treale scowls back at me and starts to struggle in an effort to sit up. "Whatever it is, no, absolutely not. I know that face." He gives up and falls back with heaving breaths.

"What face?" I ask innocently as I force myself to my feet and grab him under the arms.

He grumbles but clearly doesn't have the strength to fight me. "The face you make when you get a stupid idea." He says emphatically.

Laughing breathlessly I start dragging him over to the cikier. "Have a little more faith me. Not all my ideas are terrible."

I can tell the exact moment Treale realizes exactly where I'm dragging him because he suddenly finds the energy to try and fight me. "As an observer and unwilling participant of most of your ideas, I can assure you they almost always are." His shredded wing flails and the limp half flys up and twists around. I can only imagine the amount of pain the action causes as Treale stops fighting and goes very stiff in my arms. The strangled whimper resonating from behind his helmet tells me he's still conscious.

"Stop fighting and help me out." I snap at him, not pausing for him to regain his bearing. I knew he was in unimaginable pain but I couldn't stop, the cikier was almost done with the bush and would move soon. "Come on Limp Wing, I can't carry you."

A breathless laugh dripping with pain falls from his lips. "Skies Rana, you're completely tactless." Despite his words and ailing body he managed to find his feet and began helping me toward the cikier.

"Yeah, well-" I cut off with a grunt as we finally pull even with the massive wall of blackish brown fur. "I'm not the one who's constantly messing up my wing." I fire back.

The great beast turns just enough to glance at us before going back to its meal. Not seeming bothered as I push Treale against its leg.

A self-deprecating laugh falls from significantly paled lips. "Yeah, I think I outdid myself this time. I doubt even Selina could fix this."

I keep my mouth shut, knowing he was right. Even now his wing was blackening and showing the early signs of infection. Kneeling down I put my left shoulder and wingblade under him, wrapping my arms around his thighs and start pushing up.

The cikier shifts but doesn't pull away as Treale clutches and pulls at its fur until he's struggled his way onto the creatures back, breathing heavy and close to passing out from pain.

"Come on, you're not done yet." I call up to the man, trying to goad him to finish mounting the massive animal.

Treale grunts but complies and drags himself further up and lays lengthwise across the broad back with his arms, legs, and wings dangling on each side. The cikier was tall enough that his wings remained a good two to three feet off the ground. Coming up on the right side I untwist his broken wing and check the tourniquet.

He whimpers in response and judging from the rhythm of his breathing he had started crying.

Satisfied that he wasn't still bleeding and that his wing was in as good a condition as I could make it, I reach up and lightly lace my fingers with his.

"You stay here with our new friend and I'm going to fly up and take a look around." The only thing brave enough to pick a fight with a cikier was a vyx, and even they wouldn't unless they were desperate, or a clan of lycans. "Try to stay conscious love, if this thing starts climbing or in any way rears up and you don't have a good grip, you're getting reacquainted with the ground." I warn, making sure my tone is stern enough to get my point across.

Treale's fingers squeeze mine in response but otherwise he doesn't move. Taking that as his acknowledgment I let my hand slip from his and take a few steps back to gauge the cikier's attitude.

It seemed completely unbothered by the knee weight on its back, finishing up its grazing on the poor bush. Cautiously moving forward, I make my way up to its head to see what it would do. The creature stopped chewing and seemed to stare at me out of the corner of its eye.

Reaching out with my left hand I gingerly place it on a broad neck where my hand sunk wrist deep into the fur. In response the cikier slowly began chewing again, cautious but not yet afraid of me.

Reassured that the gentle creature wouldn't harm Treale as soon as I was out of sight, I step back and watch as its hulking frame looses most of its tension. Turning my back on the animal and my friend I take several strides away before leaping into the air and bobbing around a few floating boulders.

The soreness I had been ignoring flares up with a righteous vengeance, demanding to be noticed now that my focus wasn't on Treale. Gritting my teeth, I push the ache down and force myself to climb higher into the air to get some idea of where we were.

Coming to a hover, I start to look around at the landscape trying to determine which direction we'd come from and which way we needed to go. It didn't take long to spot the jagged tree line where the neighboring shelf had wrought its destruction. It looked like we had traveled a good distance to the southwest of the shelf, but we needed to go East.

Looking down I spot the cikier with Treale on its back making its way through a fairly large field of wild berries to continue its grazing. I was fairly confident the creature would stay in the area for a while and the field made it easy to spot from the air. Taking the risk I drop back into a glide and start heading East to look for help.

I've just about reached the next shelf when I hear raised voices coming from the north. Banking left around a collection of tangled boulders the voices suddenly come into sharp focus. It was three or four different voices shouting my name.

A wave of relief washed over me as I pumped my wings harder to reach them. I didn't dare call back, too afraid of it being a trap.

But with every tree and rock I weaved through I couldn't help the hope brimming in my chest. Carelessly I dove through a gap between two boulders, the voices were nearly on top of me at this point, and I promptly crashed into another armored figure.

More off of instinct than thought I flare my wings and catch the other person by the foot to keep them from plummeting. "Skies alight!" A now familiar voice starts cursing as gradient brown wings begin to beat semi-frantically in an effort to right their owner. Golden highlights catch the sunlight confirming who I had crashed into.

"Katal!" I shout, nearly at the top of my lungs. Dropping the general's foot and allowing her to right herself. I impatiently wait for her to regain her equilibrium.

More guards have begun to flock around us, two of which have a prel in tow, and land haphazardly on the surrounding rocks and vegetation. Taking their lead I grab ahold of a sturdy looking vine and wrap my hands and calves around it.

Katal lands on a rock face no more than arms length away and shoots me an exasperated glare that's ruined by the relieved smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "Must you always crash into me whilst I'm searching for you?" She reprimands.

Shooting her an equally relieved grin in return I chuckle under my breath. "Hopefully this will be the last time you have to go searching for me."