The simple wooden dwelling, home to Lisa for the past fifteen cyclic seasons, was already a world away after only a few dozen steps. She knew she needed to keep her head down, to make sure her feet continued to go forward; it was the core of her teachings. It was something she’d been learning ever since she was a young chick. But, practical application was a difficult thing to master. She found herself spinning around after only a short distance, to give just one last glance at the roughly-hewn wooden structure twenty feet up off the forest floor.

It was the only home she’d ever known, and from this point forward she could never return for more than a few moments without endangering too many people. Emotion began to build up inside of her as she stared at the glorified hut in the trees, doing her best not to let a tear escape her eyes, almost paralyzed as she committed every last single detail to memory.

Her brother didn’t realize what had happened at first, but after the steps behind him fell silent, he turned around to look as well. He gave one last glance up at their former home, then shifted the gear on his back and took a few steps to bridge their distance. With a soft and gentle motion, he reached out his wing and placed a set of finger-like wingtips onto his sister’s shoulder, squeezing it gently to let her know he was there. The silence said it all, but after a few seconds her brother finally said, “Sis, come on. We can’t stay here forever.”

“I know,” Lisa replied, taking in one last breath and closing her eyes. With a gentle swing of her head, she turned back around to face him. “Thanks for giving me a moment.”

“No problem,” the smaller bird responded, pushing the flexible corners of his beak up into a smile. “Gave me one last look too. Now come on, we have one final ceremony to sit through.”

“Yeah,” Lisa nodded. “Let’s get that part over with at least.”

“That’s the spirit,” Tango replied with a gentle chuckle, and pressed forward again. Lisa hesitated for a single step, then pushed onwards as well.

The walk through their small, tree-centered village didn’t take long. Dwellings similar to their own dotted the trees around them, and a few other avians waved and shouted their support as the siblings passed. Tango smiled and waved back, especially to the younger chicks that were excited to see them. Lisa kept her eyes forward and her mind focused, fighting off the urge to turn around and run back to the safety of their own hut. She simply put one foot in front of the other, trudging along the worn path between the underbrush, trying not to count each step she took. The number would only make it that much worse.

They reached that large central building, a circular cabin up in the trees, and Lisa knew there was no turning back. Her brother dropped his heavy backpack onto the ground near the base of the central support tree and grabbed onto the rope ladder first; he was halfway up before Lisa willed herself to slide off her backpack and reach out to the still-swaying ladder. Soon she and her brother both sat on the soft mats laid out for their arrival.

The aged features of the Matriarch filled them both with love and confidence—something they both needed at this moment, whether they showed it or not. The Matriarch’s plumage was much like their own, albeit beginning to fade in brightness and definition. Dark woodland colors dotted her exposed feathers in browns and dark greens, with small splashes of white accents thrown in to further help camouflage her in the forest. A bright yellow beak and those flashy blue eyes were the only bits of vibrant color on her, with a gentle hue of pink near the base of her beak. The two younger avians looked much the same, as did everyone else in the small village, a factor of common ancestry.

“Welcome Lisa, and welcome Tango,” the Matriarch began with a warm smile.

“Good morning Mother Valentina,” the younger avians said, almost in unison.

“It’s been fifteen cyclic seasons since you both hatched,” the Matriarch continued, taking a moment to look at each one of them. “I was there when your mother arrived, and I was there the day you both broke through your shells. I’ve been watching you grow into fine adults, and I’m very proud to be able to send you off on your journey. You’ve both excelled at your training, and you’ve shown everything you need to make it to Flying Mountain. I wouldn’t be surprised if both of you are able to make the journey without too much trouble.”

The younger birds bowed in respect. “Thank you, Mother Valentina.”

“You’ve earned it, my dears,” the Matriarch replied, placing a wing on each of their shoulders and letting it linger for just a moment. “But now you must focus on looking forward, as even for you two the journey may be a challenge. It is a tradition that we perform one last ceremony, so that you will not forget your history, and why you are making the journey. There is a world outside of the one you know, one that is very different from what you have learned here. You will hear many things, and it is up to you what you wish to believe. My job is to teach you what we believe as a species, and as members of the Treehawk Village. These stories have been passed down through the ages, from one Matriarch to the next. Are you ready to receive the histories one last time?”

“Yes, Mother Valentina,” both the birds called out in unison, as they’d been doing since childhood.

“Very well,” the older avian replied. She reached for a well-worn book and opened it to the first page, although the motion was purely symbolic. She knew all the words from memory many times over. “In the beginning humans controlled and conquered the lands,” she began in a theatrical voice. “The remnants of their society still litter the ground to this day.”

"The histories tell us that we avians and the other non-human beings, were created by the humans. Some claim it was as pets or playthings. Some claim that we were created to do jobs thought too dangerous for humans. Some even claim that there was no particular reason at all—that we were created because we could be.”

“Over time, for reasons we do not know, the humans left the ground for their cities in the sky. And as they left the ground, they left us too, freeing us from whatever needs they had of us."”

“The avians formed flocks, and many great villages and towns were created, both separated and intertwined with the other creatures that shared the ground. Many advancements were made, and prosperity flourished without human control. However, such times were not to last.”

“It’s told that the humans, jealous of the avians’ powers of flight, began to poison and change our forms once more, simply to deny us the ability to do so. But even this cruel mutation didn’t produce the results they were after, so they sent their machines after us.”

“Those with the brightest and most brilliant feather patterns were hunted first, unable to hide. The rest were driven out from the large towns and into small villages spread throughout the lands, to make the hunt more difficult. The survivors were able to persevere their culture and endure, but they lived in constant fear of the machines. That is, until our savior Gamayun was born.”

“We lower our heads in praise at her name,” came the response from both of the younger avians, more reflex than anything deliberate. They’d uttered the same line each time Gamayun had been mentioned for many cyclic seasons, during community ceremonies every ten nights, for as long as anyone could remember.

“Gamayun was born a feisty spirit, and she let nothing stand in the way of her ambition,” Mother Valentina continued. “Her drive and desire to help her fellow avians overcome their limitations and persecution knew no bounds. When she was only fifteen cyclic seasons in age, she set out on a journey to find some way of protecting her species from the machine threat. Many years went by with no word from her, and her village thought her long dead. But one day a great mechanical howling was heard from above the trees. The villagers scrambled to hide, fearing a mechanical beast had found them; but when a figure parted the treetops and landed in the center of the village, it was none other than Gamayun herself!”

“She told them all of what she’d found, and how a long sleeping mountain had given her the power of flight after many years of sacrifice and work. She also gave the wonderful news that the machines didn’t dare attack her anymore. She had flown right by the beasts while testing her new powers, and not only did they not attack, but they sung her praises, taking joy in the control she had in the air. Her greatest achievement of all—and the reason we worship her name—was that she made sure others would be able to get the same powers she had acquired. All they had to do was make the journey to Flying Mountain, and the mountain would aid them however it could."”

“Soon adventurers, both old and young, tried to make their way towards the mountain. Gamayun’s entire village even began to make the journey, despite her pleas and warnings to only send a few at a time. Gamayun followed the villagers when they wouldn’t listen, and when they ran into the machines, she could only watch as her kinfolk were destroyed. She was only able to save one member of the village, her own brother, taking him safely to the mountain in her own flying grasp.”

“As her brother endured the trials to regain flight, Gamayun ventured to every avian settlement she could find to share the good news, and to give a warning as well. Send only a pair, no more, towards Flying Mountain. Have them be young and ready for a difficult challenge, both during the journey and after arrival. But if they succeed, they will be rewarded for their efforts with the greatest gift possible.”

“In each village, she chose two young and fit members, a brother and sister pair whenever possible, to leave on their own journey. Many died along the way in those most dangerous times, but a few lucky ones made it to the end, and were rewarded with the gift of flight. They spread the news back to their villages, and the cycle has continued on for many generations.”

“Praise be to Gamayun,” Tango chirped out first, with Lisa missing her mark just a bit. She’d let her mind wander, still thinking of her home and the village she was leaving. There was always the possibility that she could stay, and maybe even become a Mother herself. They were held in high regard due to their duties; but she’d be missing out on so much outside the village. It was a choice she’d wrestled with many times now—but those thoughts were pushed out of her head by a little curious look from Mother Valentina. Lisa straightened up and snapped to focus once more.

“Whenever a fledgling reaches fifteen cyclic seasons,” Mother Valentina continued after a small pause, “and have proven themselves capable, they are tasked with making the journey to Flying Mountain. Things have gotten easier since the beginning, and the process of obtaining flight has become much quicker. The old machines that were used in the past have been altered to coexist with an avian’s natural body processes, and can be used for life with limited refueling. They are also precious in death, and they shall be returned to the village they came from once an avian ceases to need them any longer. You two have accepted this as your fate.”

“Yes Mother Valentina,” they both replied in unison now that the history lesson was over, sensing that something new and exciting rising up in the air.

“We have only received one single propulsion engine in the years since our last clutch of fledglings departed,” said the Matriarch, reaching out her wings to an object seated beside her. “The other was lost with its owner.” The object was wrapped in a ceremonial cloth, the sheet matching the avian’s own natural plumage as brown and greens raced along it, with an outline of bright yellow around the edges. The Matriarch gave a little groan as she lifted the package and placed it in front of her to unwrap it.

Lisa and Tango had seen the silvery metal engine before of course, paraded around the village when it had come home. When attached, it would take up most of an avian’s back, but this was still far smaller, lighter, and better powered than the first engine Gamayun had come back with. It had a few slits for air intake holes on the top end, and a few conical thrust holes that opened up out of the bottom, with a smooth profile over the outer edge to aid in aerodynamics.

“When the engine is installed,” Mother Valentina started once again, “itt will become permanently attached to your back, biologically fused to your spine, muscles, and flesh. The process is difficult and painful, but once healed it becomes a simple extension of your body. Controlling it takes practice, but you should learn all you need to know at Flying Mountain. Let us bow our heads for a moment in respect of the previous owner who has passed on.” She waited for a moment as all three of the avians slowly closed their eyes and bowed their heads. “We give thanks to the brave soul of Iris for his donation back to his village, in hopes this engine can be put to use with the next generation of Flyers.”

Mother Valentina reverently returned the machine to its wrappings and lifted it up between the two young birds. “I assume one of you left space to carry the precious engine?”

Lisa gave a little nod as she lowered the engine into her own lap. “Yes Mother Valentina,” she said, fighting down a small squawk in her throat. “It was decided that, since I’m larger, I would carry the extra weight.”

“As it usually goes,” Mother Valentina replied with a smile. She then turned to look at Tango and shot him another smile as well. “As for you, the Mountain will create a new engine, but it will take time, and may require resources. That said, if something should happen to Lisa, it would be your duty to retrieve the engine if possible. Should you manage to find any other engines, or learn of their location, you are free to accept such help. All else must be done by you two alone. That is part of the trial. That is what you’ve been training for, and that will prove you worthy of the power of flight. Do you understand?”

“Yes Mother Valentina,” both birds echoed back with small nods of their heads.

“Good,” said the Matriarch, with a soft chirp of pride. “I wish you the best of luck. I’ve done all I can for you, and now the rest is up to you. Whether I will still be alive to see you return or not I can’t say, but I shall await your return every day I am still here.” The older avian leaned forward, once again taking each younger bird by the shoulder; with the side of her beak she gave each one a few small rubs to the side of the head, a true avian showing of loving emotion.

A few chirps and quiet noises spread among them, but eventually the older avian pulled back and let off a small sigh. “Now, get going before I start to get teary,” Mother Valentina said with a forced smile. The younger avians nodded and did much the same, with Tango taking the lead and walking to the ladder first. Lisa waited for him to reach the ground. She knew better than to look back at Mother Valentina now, sure that the Matriarch was wiping away tears. Lisa brushed her cheek on a shoulder to wipe away tears of her own, then turned descended with the package pressed against her chest.

Now there really was no turning back. She had the engine, and it was her duty to make sure it was put to use. To give it up now would be shameful to just about everyone. All that worrying over the past season cycle had come to nothing. She was going along with Tango, even if each step was still a struggle.

#

The first night alone in the wilderness was the worst, as the rush of emotions began to finally settle in and the adrenaline faded. The realization of what they were doing began to fall on them both. Neither of them slept very well.

Lisa finally said something as they broke camp in the morning. “Hey Tango, you ever think about going back? Even if just in a dream?”

The male bird paused for a moment at that question, looking down at the ground. “Well, yeah. Took me a while to fall asleep because of it.”

“We can’t though, can we?” Lisa said, trying to make it sound like a joke instead of a suggestion.

Tango did laugh, a little, but finally said, “It’s a tempting thought honestly, but no, I don’t think we can. I know you’re nervous, and trust me, I am too. I may not show it, but really I’m terrified. I’m also excited though! Think what it would be like to fly, just like our ancestors! We can explore all corners of the world, safe from the machines, finding treasures, or doing research. If you’re not too thrilled with adventure you could just take messages from one floating city to the other too. It’s scary for sure, and I’m not looking forward to having to wait for my engine to be made, but it’s just something we’ve got to do. This is what all of us do, and people way more nervous than us have made it just fine.”

He reached out and slowly put his wing on Lisa’s shoulder. “I kind of figured you only came along so I would have someone to travel with. We both know that they don’t like sending out single travelers. I could’ve waited for two season cycles before the next group was ready, but… I really do appreciate you coming along. That’s why I didn’t hesitate to let you have the engine. I’m glad you came.”

“I didn’t come just for you,” Lisa spit out, puffing out her chest feathers. “I came because I wanted to! I was just thinking out loud.”

“Of course,” Tango responded with a smile, squeezing his wingtips around her shoulder a bit more. “I know you’re a much better adventurer than me too. You out-class me in just about everything other than archery. The cooking and cleaning of the meat and produce, not to mention tracking and camp making… you’ll be the reason we’ll make it, I’m sure. I’m just the reason we both set off in the first place.”

“That’s not… um… completely accurate,” Lisa added back, but she was cut off in thought as the smaller bird reached up and slowly ground his beak against the side of her face, giving off a little chirp in the process.

“It’s the story I’m going with,” he said, pulling back and giving a little grin to the confused and embarrassed girl in front of him. “Now come on, it’s only day two. We have more than fifty to go. No reason to slow down yet, unless your legs are getting tired or something…” He trailed off at the end of his statement, leaving an open challenge for his sister.

“No, my legs aren’t tired at all,” Lisa shot back with grit in her voice. “I’ve journeyed farther than you in our training, and for longer too! My legs are ready for anything.”

“Then prove it!” Tango said with a smirk, turning around and starting to walk towards the trail they were following the previous day.

With a heavy grumble in her throat, Lisa kicked some leaves and dirt over any remnants of their camp. Soon she had caught up and taken the lead with a little huff.

#

They were still in very familiar territory, and the next night they slept a bit better - refreshed and ready for a long hike the third day. They only stopped to hunt when Tango spotted a boar off in the brush in front of them. He pulled out his bow crept towards it, as silent as one of their feral ancestors on the hunt. All it took was one good shot straight into the heart, and after a slow tracking chase Lisa found the boar already dead. She did some quick work with her knife to pull out some important bits and good chunks of meat, before leaving the rest they couldn’t carry to return to the forest. They had enough supplies to preserve a few kills, supplementing their otherwise foraging diet of berries and seeds, and getting one so early in their journey was a morale boost for both of them.

Over a few days reality began to settle in, and the need to return home began to grow less and less. As the land around them became unfamiliar, they began to adjust their pacing and settle in to a more cautious approach, but had little problem navigating through the forest, finding plenty of food and places to rest each night.

It was about two weeks into their journey when Lisa heard the strange sounds up ahead. She crouched down, and with a quick run up to her brother she tapped him on the tail feathers, making him look back and crouch himself. They could both hear it now: the distinct sound of whirling and straining metal groaning in their earholes, along with trees snapping in protest.

Tango was the first to catch a glimpse of it, and he quickly ducked back down behind a small bush before turning around to give his sister a signal to do the same. Through the foliage, Lisa watched the mechanical beast clumsily navigating its way through the shallow valley below. It was mostly spider-like in appearance, two meters tall and three across, with eight long legs grinding along, bumping into the trees while doing its best to navigate around them. Its once-smooth body was covered with dents, rust spots, and portions of open circuitry, and its joints squeaked and ground as it tried to move, with at least one leg being locked into position at a constant 45 degree angle. One of its ‘eyes’ continued to glow in front of it, while the other seemed to be shattered, leaving it stumbling and twisting on occasion when it found it couldn’t progress further through the valley foliage. A shiver ran down the avians’ backs at the sight of it.

“Halt!” it called out as it tried to free itself from the little tree and brush mess it was in, making both avians duck and tense up at the sudden burst of noise. “You are trespassing on Federal lands. This area is protected under state code 17-B-32. I wish you the best genocide possible, and have a lovely day.”

Lisa didn’t know if the machine was talking to them or not, but she wasn’t taking any chances. She turned and scrambled back down the hill, her talons digging into the rocky and root infested soil, while her brother continued to poke his head out of the bushes and watch. A moment later, a loud crack rippled through the air like a lightning bolt, causing both birds to let out a squawk and shoot up their wings to block the sound. Lisa spun around to look towards the top of the ridge, half expecting to see her brother gone in a trail of smoke, but he was still in one piece.

Tango hopped back up into a full standing position to look into the valley, then turned around and gave Lisa a quick wiggle of his wingtips to come back up to him. Lisa hesitated, but as she climbed up and looked out over the bush, she saw what her brother was staring at. In front of the machine was now a small trail of smoke rising up into the air, with a few branches from the tree in front of it still smoldering from the beam of energy the machine had shot out. Even the rock and dirt behind the tree was smoldering, since the beam had continued through the branches and ended up hitting the side of the gully.

“Halt!” the machine screamed out once again, still stuck where it was, but making progress through a little knot of trees. “You are trespassing on Federal lands. This area is protected under code 17-B-32. I wish you the best genocide possible, and have a lovely day.”

Both avians reached up their wings to their heads now, but instead of a sharp crack this time there was nothing. The machine looked like it was getting ready to fire another burst, then with a few twitches it slumped to the side. It gave a few more spastic lurches, and then slowly began to lift up once again onto its seven usable legs, stumbling along awkwardly as it bounced from tree to tree.

“It’s broken,” Tango said with a soft whisper.

“Obviously,” she replied, trying not to sound too condescending.

“I’ve heard rumors that parts off those things can go for a lot,” he continued. “Wouldn’t that be great to have after our transformation? Just imagine the head start it’d give us. I mean, I know it’s a while away and everything, but still… this is easy prey. Hell, a good arrow shot into its other eye, then another into its beam thing, and it’s basically harmless. Tie up a few of its legs, then smash it with some rocks or something until it stops moving…” Lisa held him with a glare, until he finally said,

“W… what?”

“You saw what that thing could do,” she growled. “You want it to be you next?”

“Come on, Lisa,” Tango pleaded with a hint of a smile, “You think that thing is any challenge for us? We’ll face worse on our way, and we’ll have to fight them. This is easy. A warm-up!”

“We don’t need to take any risks we don’t have to,” she said, shooting her gaze back to the machine as it knocked down a tree with a loud crack. “Besides, you really want to carry heavy machine parts, random ones at that, all the way to Flying Mountain?”

“Well, no…” Tango said, taking one last look at the ambling machine and then back towards Lisa. “But it’d be good practice! I really want to take a real machine down! Those training dummies were dull.”

Lisa rolled her eyes before giving out a soft huff of breath, watching the machine walking further and further away all the while. “Come on, there’s a small path off to the right. Let’s go while the machine is preoccupied.”

“Awww, you’re no fun,” Tango groaned, but followed. Lisa wouldn’t hear the end of how Tango could’ve wrecked that machine for days.

#

Two weeks of marching later, and their encounter with the machine had been the most exciting moment. Things were actually becoming monotonous. The trees thinned out earlier than either of them expected and the ground became progressively more rocky. Then, late one morning as they climbed another small hill, the trees abruptly ended.

There was one last single straight line of trees, and then nothing but open field stretching far off into the distance where the trees began once again. Both birds couldn’t help freeze in their tracks and stare at the near emptiness before them. Off in the distance they could see a few small structures, and even a few machines rolling about, but not like any machines they’d been told about before. These were bigger, square shaped, and looking less sleek and dangerous than a machine created for death and destruction. It was hard to be sure from their distance, but they had been warned that any machine could be dangerous just by its weight alone. Although, at the speed the machines were moving through the field, they didn’t exactly seem all that threatening.

Both birds took a moment to look at one another, then back at that open field cut straight through the forest. “Um… is this the break in the trees before the river?” Tango asked.

“I don’t think so…” Lisa said, straining her skilled eyes to the limit for details of the far-off machines. They were so engrossed in staring that they didn’t hear the being coming up behind them.

“Oh,” a surprised male voice rung in their ears, making both avians spin around and reach for their weapons. They were ready to fight if they had to, but in front of them stood a human boy, younger than the two birds seemed to be, looking even more surprised than they were. Both avians kept their wings on their weapon handles, but relaxed slightly as the boy quickly raised his hands and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t expect to see any birds out here. I’ve never seen any before! I just thought I heard something, so I came up here to look, and… I’m sorry, I don’t have any weapons or anything, I promise!”

Neither Tango nor Lisa took their eyes off him, but he had nothing in his hands besides a small stick, so they started to relax. “We’ve never seen a human either,” Tango replied with a small ruffle to his feathers. “What are you doing down here, and not up in your floating city?”

“Well,” the boy started with a little gulp, and took a small step back. “I got in trouble up there. I stole something, so they sent me down here to the farm. Most people here are older than me, they don’t let me do anything fun. Usually I have to go and gather firewood or berries or something. That’s why I’m up here and not down there.” He pointed down at the field behind the avians, causing them to slip their wings back towards their weapons just in case, but there were no visible threats; apparently, it was just a gesture.

“You made that?” Tango asked, looking down at the field, then slowly corrected himself as he said, “Humans made that?”

“I guess,” the boy said back, walking a step closer to the birds as Lisa made sure to keep an eye on him. “I just got here two months ago. A lot of people have been there a long time though. Years. Some will stay forever, making food for the city. I have to stay three years myself, that’s what the judge said.” He paused and looked up at Tango. “They’re starting to make farms everywhere so I heard. Some kind of Reclamation thing to get back down to Earth and take back all the land.” He he looked back and forth between Tango and Lisa a few times, something building up inside his mind. Finally the boy said, “Why are you two naked? Did you lose your clothes?”

That strange question made Lisa laugh, although Tango seemed more confused than he should have been. Lisa squatted down in front of the boy to look him directly in the eyes. “Well, we don’t need clothes, that’s why. Our feathers keep us warm when it’s cold, and when it’s hot we can push all the air out of them to cool off.”

The young boy took another look at both birds, really scanning them over now, with each avian doing much the same to him as they stood there in silence. “How do you tell who’s a boy and who’s a girl?” he asked.

“Boys have a blue tint at the base of their beak, like him,” Lisa said, pointing to Tango. “Girls have a pink base, like me.”

“Oh.”

Lisa stared at his simple yet dirty shirt, overalls, and boots, along with his flowing yellow hair in a messy twist over his head and shoulders. He didn’t exactly look mistreated or not taken care of, but this was a far cry from what she’d pictured ‘advanced’ human society looking like. Eventually Tango was the one to break the silence. “We’re looking for a place called Flying Mountain. Have you heard of it?”

“Flying Mountain?” the boy said with a curious twist to his voice. “Not really, no.” He took a moment to think a bit before adding in, “Oh, is that where birds get their jet packs and learn to fly?”

“I… guess?” Tango responded with a soft shrug, looking over to Lisa who nodded. The boy’s terminology was a little different than they were used to, but his meaning struck a chord, at least with Lisa.

“Is that where you’re going?” he asked, getting rather excited at the prospect. A small nod from Lisa, and then from Tango made his smile grow even wider. “I don’t know where it is, but that’s cool! I’ve heard stories about birds flying around and exploring and stuff.” He took a little pause to contain his excitement before saying, “You should come down and say hi to everyone at the farm. I’m sure they’d like you, and maybe can even help you find your mountain.”

“We’re really not allowed to ask for help,” Lisa said back, giving Tango a little glance to make sure he agreed, but then adding in, “I do have a question though. Are those machines safe down there?”

The boy crept up between them and slowly looked down over the ledge to see what Lisa was pointing at. “Those? The adults say they’re too dangerous for me, but they’re not really. They’re all mechanical—they have no computer so the virus can’t get them. We have to do all the work ourselves and help guide them and everything, although we have horses and stuff to do the pulling. No computers are allowed down here. It’s nothing like living in the floating city. It’s how they punish us though—making us live like old times, before everything good was invented.”

“Well that’s good to know,” Tango said with a gentle nod of his beak. “At least we’re safe.” At the risk of another stern look from his sister he continued, “Is there a river around here? A big one? One you can’t swim across?”

Lisa did give him another glare, but the boy nodded and pointed over the farm. “Yeah, maybe thirty kilometers that way. You can almost kind of see it from here.”

“Thanks,” Tango said with a confident nod back at Lisa, “Just wanted to know we’re on the right track. I think it’ll be easier if we just go around the farm though—we don’t really have time to stop and talk.”

“Aww, okay,” the boy grumbled with a little drop to his head and shoulders. “I got to talk to a real bird though! I hope you make it to your mountain.”

“Thanks,” Tango replied with a smile and nod of his head, while Lisa was busy running her wingtips through some of her plumage. With a few wiggles she managed to pull out a green-tipped feather that had been loose, holding it in her wingtips before bringing it in front of the boy.

“Here, that’s for you to keep,” she added with a smile of her own. “But only for you! Our little secret.”

The boy’s eyes went wide as he reached a hand out for the feather. He let out a warm giggle as he took it from the bird, and with a twist of his fingers he made it spin around in his grasp, watching how the green color danced in the light. “Wow, thanks!” he said, clearly overjoyed at the simple gift.

“Now, remember to be nice to any other birds you meet, either feral or like us,” Lisa said. “And when you’re done being bad, and done farming down here, then maybe we’ll see you up in your city.”

“You think so?” he asked in return, looking up from his feather to the gentle female face in front of him.

“I’m pretty sure we will,” she replied. “What city do you live in?”

“New Phoenix.”

“Then we’ll see you in New Phoenix,” Lisa said with a smile, before turning to look at her brother. “We’ve got to get going though. We still have a long way to go.” She gave the boy’s head a little rub, messing up his already messy hair and added, “Be good, and try to keep this meeting our little secret. I don’t know much about humans yet, but it’d be easier if they didn’t come looking for us, or tell any machines where we’re going, okay?”

“Okay,” he said with a soft whisper. With one final little wave Lisa began walking down the side of the hill, starting off for the long way around the farm, with her brother catching up to her after giving her a brief head start.

“That was… interesting,” Tango joked as he arrived by her side, making sure the boy was out of ear-shot.

“Eh, my Motherly instincts kicked in,” Lisa replied with a smile, still feeling a slight tingle from the rush of emotions. “What a poor boy, being in trouble at such a young age.”

“He stole something though,” Tango said, a soft grumble in his voice.

“Yeah, but he probably didn’t know what he was doing, or had to, or something. I don’t know the circumstances, but I still feel bad for him, tossed in with who knows who else down in that farm place. He shouldn’t be there. He needs a mom and a dad, not thieves and murderers. I just wanted to make him happy for a moment. He’s a boy, not a hardened criminal.”

“You don’t know that,” Tango replied, doing his best not to seem too harsh, but still not able to resist annoying his sister a little bit.

“You wait and see,” she said with a quick nod. “He’ll be the one to invent a way to stop machines from attacking us birds. And everyone else too. Sometimes all it takes is one good moment to really turn your life around.”

“If he is, then I owe you a whole boar,” Tango answered with a confident smile.

#

They kept close to the edge of the tree line to see if they could get a glimpse of any more humans as they made their way around the farm. Neither one wanted to admit that stopping and asking a few questions was near the top of their mind, but they managed to avoid giving in to their curiosity.

From there on it was another day’s hike to the edge of the mighty river; they followed the river upstream towards the looming mountains in the distance, just as their long memorized mental map said they should.

The ground began to get even rockier, and soon the river valley walls were too steep to climb, but by then it was obvious where they should go: towards the prominent white-capped mountain in the distance. They left the river and began to make their way through the rocky terrain, having little comfort now as the forests grew sparse. Finding good trees to hang their hammocks on was getting difficult, and even staying hidden was becoming harder to do; there was also a significant chill in the air, making both of them start shiver no matter how fluffy their feathers got.

Even before they caught their first glimpse of Flying Mountain, they noticed an increase in machines in the area. They’d been lucky in avoiding dangerously big machines, or any sneak attacks by smaller machines, but as they made their way through the mountainous forests, they knew danger lurked around every corner. Mechanical whirling and squeaking was never far away as they climbed through the lightly populated evergreens around them, forcing each decision on which way they went to be slow and careful. More than once they popped over a little ridge to see gleaming metal on the other side and had to duck back down before they were spotted. Some machines they’d been trained to recognize and counter, but there were plenty of other, unfamiliar designs as well.

Some were much smaller and used rough belts to move on, darting among the rocky rubble of the mountains with surprising speed. Some were gigantic lumbering beasts, shaped like various animals and insects, patrolling the valleys and making the avians have to climb up steep hills to go around them. There was even one millipede creature that took up an entire valley on its own, its large body scraping against the rock as it tried to twist itself through those narrow valleys. The screeching sound it made was horrible as rock ground against metal, and neither bird could get it out of their head for the rest of the day, still swearing to hear it many hours after the sound had actually faded away.

They weren’t expecting to simply run into Flying Mountain one day. It wasn’t the snow-capped mountain they were using to lead them—that was still far in the distance. That mountain was only used to get a proper direction. They didn’t know exactly what they were looking for, but they’d been told that they’d know it when they saw it. And when they saw it after cresting over a large ridge, there was no questioning what it was, with both of them suddenly stopping and just staring at it in silence.

There were a few paths leading up to the mountain, and its off-color built-up entrances were just as described. Guarding those paths and entrances was a small army of guardians, along with machines that looked slow but had sharp and shining cone shaped appendages on extended arms. There were also a few flying machines, complete with rotating blades and a light tubular frame. Some were even vaguely bird-like. It seemed like quite the army for them to get through at first glance, although it was a little less impressive the longer they stared. The problem was that all the machines were just sitting there, motionless, without any indication that any had power. No lights, no sounds, no anything—just the serene silence of the mountains all around them.

Both birds stared out onto the rubble-strewn field below them, coated in machine parts, avian gear, small rocks, and bones. There was a long, but sprint-able, gap between them and the closest fake entrance, but no cover, besides the seemingly unresponsive machines themselves. The avians took a long time watching and waiting for some movement—any movement—but nothing ever came. The trademark glows from most of the machine's power sources wasn’t even radiating from them.

“Are they… all broken?” Tango was the first the whisper out in a rather shaky and nervous voice.

“I don’t know,” Lisa replied a moment later. “Could be, I guess.”

“Maybe the fledglings before us destroyed them all,” Tango suggested with a slow look over towards Lisa. “I mean, how long has this been going on? I doubt they have a machine clean-up crew or something. These could all have been broken ages ago. A lot of them look rusty and old down there. A lot of models I don’t even know. Maybe they don’t make them anymore?”

“You think they’d tell us something like that, though,” Lisa snapped, enough to make Tango jump back just a bit.

“Yeah, well,” he started up again after a little pause. “You know how weird they get with this honor, bravery, and pride stuff. They’ll help you get ready to make it all the way out here, and then hope you can figure out the rest. It’s another challenge, another something to say you overcame. Maybe all those machines we already passed by were the real challenge, and this is just a victory lap. Maybe they got tired of defending the mountain itself, and all the still functioning machines went out to patrol the mountains around us. We just get to see the bones of all the fallen machines as we triumphantly walk into Flying Mountain.”

“I’m not sure,” Lisa replied after a deep sigh. “How do we know they won’t start up and zap us the moment we step onto the field?”

“Well,” Tango drew out in a long word before adding, “I could always fire off an arrow or two—see if they respond to that. If not, then they’re probably all dead. We can be quieter than an arrow after all.”

Lisa took a quick look around, and then looked back up behind them, trying to formulate an escape plan. “And what about when they all surge after us after you fire that arrow?”

“We do what we have to,” Tango replied with a small smirk, grabbing his bow from his back and reaching for an arrow. “We run, we dodge, and we fight. This is what we came here to do, and it’s time to do it, Lisa. There’s no turning back now. It’s either in there, or our bones will join the others beside the machines. We can’t go anywhere else.”

Lisa felt a tingle of fear and unease shoot through her, just like when she took that last look at her former home so many night cycles ago. Was there really no going back? The journey hadn’t exactly been easy, but she had been able to handle it. She could make it back, even on her own if Tango really wanted to make it to Flying Mountain. She could still have a life as a Matriarch. That was still a possibility…

As Tango released his strung up arrow, Lisa watched it soar through the air, giving just a gentle swish sound as it arched off nice and far into the distance. Tango’s aim was good as always. His shot began to fall, and soon clanked off the outer shell of one of the better looking, less rusted and broken machines. It had no visible weapons on its exterior, and just a few sensors dotting its body, looking like one of the most harmless among the machines gathered beneath them.

Both birds ducked down as they heard that metallic clang ring out from arrow tip hitting metal plating, then peaked around the rock edge again. The machine the arrow hit hadn’t moved. No lights came on, nothing seemed to power up, and none of the machines around it seemed to react either. Both avians looked at one another and then out onto the field once more, a little surprised that it had worked.

“See, told ya,” Tango began after a moment of silence, slowly notching another arrow and taking aim at a larger and more battle-geared machine. Lisa cringed a little bit, but she was helpless to stop that arrow from shooting out and arching over the land once more. Neither bird hid this time as the arrow bounced off the outer shell with another loud clang. Once again the metallic beast didn’t even stir, or give any sign that it could sense the arrow at all.

Both avians waited for what felt like an eternity, searching for any sign of activity, before Tango finally slipped his bow onto his back once again. “Come on,” he said as his voice rang out a little more confident than before. “Let’s go. I think we’re safe.”

“Let’s have some kind of back-up plan first,” she cried, but it was too late. Before she’d even gotten the words out, Tango was already walking around the edge of the rock they were hidden behind. He carefully took that first step over the edge, and with a controlled descent he slid down the hill onto the rocky field below. He froze for a moment after he came to rest and looked around for any motion among the machine carcasses from the noise, but after not seeing anything, he turned his head back towards his sister and gave her a gentle smile.

“Come on Lisa,” he shouted back, giving her a wave of his wing as he waited.

Lisa froze for a moment as her wingtips were still clenched against that rock in front of her, but with a few small wiggles she edged her way over towards the small cliff face. With one more call out from her brother, and another small step, she gulped down a heavy wad of spit in her throat and took the plunge. It was a slightly rough descent on the broken and slick stone, more a slide than anything entirely controlled. Her backpack ground against the rock behind her, but within a moment she was standing with her brother, brushing the dust off her feathers with a quick fluff.

“All good so far,” Tango said with a smile, watching the machines as Lisa slid down, but not feeling the need to reach for his bow quite yet.

“I guess,” Lisa replied, with a good deal less confidence. Nevertheless she began to follow him as the smaller bird turned and made his way towards one of the round and oblong carcass of a fallen machine that seemed to have been there for quite a while. His steps were careful yet still firm in their direction as the bird reached up a wing to touch the skin of the beast, letting his feathers dance along that rough and weathered metallic coating.

“I think we did it Lisa,” he said with a growing excitement. “I think we made it.”

“Calm down,” she replied with a little hint of a growl, trying to keep her beak shut and be as quiet as she could. She adjusted the pack on her back before slipping out her knife from its sheath. It wasn’t long enough for any long range combat, but it was hopefully enough to keep her alive should a small machine manage to get close. Enough force and it could even wedge itself in a joint or something, giving her the time she needed to escape. “Until we get inside don’t say anything.”

Tango seemed to be just a little cocky as he pulled away from the shell and started to make his way to the next one, his stride a little more relaxed and swaying as Lisa crept with more tension behind him. He was the first to reach the next beast and run his wingtips over it, with Lisa showing up shortly thereafter, and not able to resist doing much the same. With each machine they came to she began to feel a little more relaxed, but her knife never left her wing, always ready to strike should something give her a reason to.

Their luck finally ran out as Tango traced his wingtips over another, less worn specimen. Within a moment of being touched a strip of lights illuminated the short and stubby machine’s side, causing it to roll over with a jerk, thankfully in the direction away from Tango.

It wasn’t very large, being a little longer than Lisa’s size in height. Its body was a large rectangle, about a fifth in height to length, and having a movement belt running across each corner of its frame. With another bright flash of light the machine began to point its sensors at the two birds, and a small cracked screen began to flash white in their direction. It then fell to black and showed a few numbers and words, which scrolled by too fast to read. Both birds froze and started as the display screen flashed again, and then a few large lines and dashes began to form into what resembled a crude face.

“Thank you for purchasing the Chillzone All Terrain Beverage Cooler,” it barked out in a hollow, robotic voice, crackling a bit as its speaker was far from perfectly functional. It took a second to let some sensors scan the two confused avians in front of it before letting out a few more garbled noises, a mix of rusty grinding, electrical squealing, and a few computer sounding bleeps and bloops.

“Oh, birds!” the crackling voice added as the belts slowly began to turn, crawling the large off-white box closer to the two avians. “Why aren’t you flying? Do you need help?”

That was all the machine was able to say before the tip of one of Tango’s arrows found its way into that screen at point blank range, breaking it beyond function and making it go dark. Lisa wasn’t far behind as the tip of her knife stabbed into one of those sensor openings, seeing it through a crack in the machine’s outer frame. Tango was about to load up and shoot off another arrow, but before he could there came a loud electrical spark discharge from behind them. He turned around, arrow notched and ready, before firing it off into the first glowing bit he saw.

The machine didn’t let off any sort of scream to let them know the arrow connected, but the small shower of sparks let both avians know that it had hit something important on the beast rising up before them. “Run!” Tango screamed out, and in a flash he was gone, taking off towards the mountain. Lisa wasn’t far behind, her longer legs catching up to her brother, and her knife still locked tight in her grasp.

“Help them fly!” came a cry from around them in broken and sputtered computer speech, echoed with a few others, leaving a whole chorus shouting out behind them before too long.

As a few of the larger machines started to rise up and power on, the gauntlet quickly became harder to navigate through. The birds were quick and agile, but their heavy backpacks held them back. When Lisa’s pack suddenly shifted off her shoulder, she found herself tumbling to the side, scraping a leg as she fell onto the rocky ground below.

With a quick slide to a stop, Tango turned around and shot off one, and then a second arrow, beating back a few of the closer machines as Lisa struggled to get up. “Come on, Lisa,” he shouted, dodging out of the way of a machine’s flailing limbs. “You have the engine… you need to go!”

Another arrow whizzed over Lisa’s head as she scrambled to her feet. She could hear the machines’ broken cries.

“Birds… must fly…”

“Soar mighty eagles!”

“Spread your wings and glide…”

Most of the machines were broken and battered; some were dragging parts of themselves behind, or even struggling to remain in motion. That didn’t change the fact that they were hostile and still coming, lashing out at the avians with any parts they had to do so. Lisa was up on her feet running again, while Tango fired off another arrow.

“Keep going, don’t look back,” he shouted from behind her. The words didn’t really register in her brain at the moment as pure instinct was the only thing driving her. She put her beak down and forced her legs to move as fast as they could; after a moment she heard Tango stop firing and start running behind her. The machine presence was almost overwhelming as more and more were awoken by the cries and activity, a minefield of metallic and robotic parts flying out towards them from every direction. Lisa saw one more arrow fly over her head and hit a machine directly in front of her, causing it to shift to the side as its sensors tried to recalibrate, but soon after that metallic ping she heard a heavy grunt and a squawking scream screech out from behind her.

“Fly bird, be free!” said a machine. Another squawk, and a heavy impact.

“Fly bird, be free!” said another. Soon an eerie chorus of “Fly bird, be free!” rang out through the field, surrounding Lisa as she ran.

Machines in Lisa’s path turned their attention to something behind her, leaving enough of a gap to run through a few spread legs and parts. She still stumbled once or twice, and she had to stab her knife tip against a small machine that had jumped towards her, but she could see the machines thinning up ahead. Her legs burned, her breathing was erratic, and the adrenaline was running out, but the bird girl pushed through to the mountain.

But how to get inside? The solid white doors that stretched as tall as trees were sealed shut, leaving her no room to get through the gap in between, but still she ran towards them as her only hope. Just as she was about to run headlong into the tightly sealed portal, in the vague hope that it might open just in time, something caught her attention from the corner of her eye.

It wasn’t much, but there was a set of green and brown stripes painted at the end of one of the doors. Left with nothing more to go on, she turned towards with her last gasps of energy. As if someone knew she was coming, a small panel opened at the far end of the rock wall, leaving a dark square for her to aim for. Completely on instinct, she dove for the small opening, kicking herself into a slide for the final body length, plunged from sunlight to complete darkness in the flash of a second as the passage closed again with a metallic clang and a burst of air. She collided with rock wall at the end of that opening, squawking out with a final gust of breath as her ankle twisted from the sudden impact, but the exhausted avian was in no mood to care any longer. She figured she must be safe, but even if she wasn’t, she was done running. This would be it for her one way or another.

The run had been far more intense than anything she’d trained for, and the many moon cycles since her last training session had morphed her muscles into more grinding endurance than sprinting speed. Everything hurt as she lay on her side, gasping desperately for air, reaching down a wing to caress her now stinging ankle. Her only defense was to curl up into a ball and protect herself, still prepared for the worst as she heard more mechanical noises just outside the walls.

It took a few moments before the squeaking and grinding of machines, muffled by the thick walls around her, began to fade away to nothing. It was at that point that she began to cry. Not from the physical pain inside her muscles, or the scraped and torn feathers and flesh she had on her legs, but from the fact that she was now alone.

As her brain began to recover and process everything it’d been holding off during the run, she realized what those sounds she heard were. That squawk of pain, that long winded scream, the crunching thud… one of the machines had gotten to Tango and tried to make him fly. If the first fall back down to earth didn’t kill him, surely the next few had. She knew better than to have hope he was still alive, and that realization only made the tears come that much harder.

She lashed out in a few firm kicks and punches at the rock walls at her side, hating everything she’d gone through, and hating that she had been forced into it. She especially hated the fact that this stupid trial took the lives of so many, with her brother now added to the list. The Flyers, with their advanced technology, could easily take care of this machine problem, and probably even the flying problem too. It was such a waste of life—and all for pride! A thought burned through her tears: she would lead the charge if she had to—but no one else would ever die for this!

All the extra punches and kicks just left her aching more. At some point it began to hurt too much to move, so she simply curled up into a ball once again and let the near silence of her passageway try and relax her. Her sobs grew to slow, deep breaths, and then back down to simple tired ones, leaving the strain of running and crying circulating around her body. She must have laid there for an hour, trying to process everything and make sense of it all. It was nice to cry, and now was certainly not the time to hold back. At the same time, it would be impossible to cry forever. She knew that she couldn’t, no matter how much she wanted to. She had made it, she was safe, and she had more important things to do than just lay there and feel sorry for herself. Tango would’ve wanted her to go on and claim her prize anyway.

With another set of heavy gasps she came to the realization that it was time to move on. With a small huff and heave, she lifted herself up into a crawl, being a bit gentle on her body as she made sure nothing was seriously injured. With a few twists, stretches, and checks, she began to crawl her way down the narrow passageway carved into the solid rock until it finally opened up.

She took a look around as the world brightened around her, her dark-adjusted eyes finally able to see those massive doors to her side, and a long, dimly lit tunnel leading off the other way. She struggled to her feet and gave her body a few more careful stretches, shaking off a few final emotions and sensations, before taking a deep breath and starting down the tunnel. The feeling that she had finally made it, the feeling like she was safe, it all bubbled up inside her with each slightly limping step.

All around her were small wall paintings, both carved and painted onto the formerly white walls. There was a little of everything, from the battle outside, to scenes back in a few small villages, to quite a few creatures flying around a mountain. It had to be the artwork of all those that had made it to the mountain, as it appeared in all sorts of styles and talent levels, creating an impressive collage. She took the time to examine it deeply, letting out a few more tears at some of her own memories, before coming up to a long list of names carved into the wall.

“Never Forget the Name” was scrawled near the ceiling of the tunnel, with many names scratched all the way down towards the floor. Most followed a few straight columns down, but some were out of place, scribbled in random locations close by. Near the base of the list, along with chips of rock from the wall, was a hammer and chisel, crudely made but with a rather obvious purpose. Lisa wasn’t a half bad artist, despite not having too much practice, and after a few minutes a formerly bare spot on the wall now read ‘Tango’.

“Your name will be the last,” she said into the darkness.

Happy with her work, she laid both tools down, before taking one last look at that all-too-long list of names, then continuing down the tunnel.

The sound of distant mechanical motors grew into a strong hum as Lisa approached an open cavern, leaving her a bit nervous as she slowed her walk to a crawl. It was hard to see very far in the dull light, but from what she could see there were dozens of metallic and rectangular machines dotting the walls, leaving her to reach for her knife once again. She hadn’t been told what to expect inside Flying Mountain, only that she’d be taken care of when she got there, so if there were any more trials to go through she knew she had to be ready. The machines didn’t seem to notice her though; they were busy doing whatever it was they were doing, spinning some sort of fiber from one circle to another inside of them, making clunking noises as they did. She kept her senses up, only jump and whirl around when she heard a rough mechanical voice call out, “Greetings new fledgling, or shall I say future Flyer?”

Lisa slashed at the air around her, as more of a reflex than anything, leaving her breath racing as her powerful eyes scanned out all around. She was tired, both physically and emotionally, and her body was aching almost everywhere, but she had one last burst of energy to go down swinging with. She couldn’t see much detail, but she did see movement, and she knew that some machine was slowly coming towards her. It wasn’t very quick though, more of a gentle squeaking roll, and as it got closer she gripped her knife tighter and readied it to strike.

She watched as the creature’s outline began to take shape in the darkness, going from undefined blob to rectangle, and finally to more of a cone shape, containing two arms and a rough face full of sensors on top of its rounded shoulders. “Do not be alarmed, you are safe here,” the clunky machine said with a few small twitches, making its outer casing shake and rattle each time it moved. Lisa began to lower her knife in slight confusion, but her wingtips never let go of it.

“What… is a machine doing here?” she asked with a slightly stammering clack of her beak, her mind and body trying it’s best to hold itself together at the sight before her.

“I am here to assist you in flight,” the machine replied after a moment of not moving at all.

“Who are you?”

“I have been known by many names. The one encoded within me is United States Government Advance Research Product Agency Criticom Mainframe 0017, but I have also been called Flying Mountain Computer, Central Processing Unit, Gamayun, and many others. You can call me what you wish, as long as I am calibrated to respond.”

As the conical object finally came to a stop, Lisa could see something trailing behind it: what she first thought was another appendage turned out to be a long set of cables. “I know it must be surprising to see a machine here, when you just encountered so many outside this mountain, but I assure you I do not contain the virus,” the machine said. “The virus cannot penetrate my coding, nor anything else I encode. It is far too advanced to make use of such simple language as my own. But, my language serves a purpose, as you will find out in the coming months. It is the reason your flight devices still function and are non-corruptible by normal means.”

“So…” Lisa began after a little break in the machine’s speech, “We birds fly because of machines, but are hunted for not being able to fly, by machines?”

“It is a strange paradox,” the machine in front of her said, with no emotion or expression in its voice, not even bothering to move its arms, “But there will be plenty of time for you to gain the answers you seek. You may simply want to rest for a moment, even before meeting the others. Too many emotions in a short time does not make for proper greetings.”

“Others?” Lisa asked with a curious tilt to her head, now sheathing her knife and just staring at the slightly wobbling machine in front of her as it tried to nod its ‘head’ a few times.

“Yes,” it responded with a few small creaks, “There are currently four others here… one is almost complete but still recovering from the surgery. They will be happy to see you, but only when you are ready.”

Lisa simply stared at the machine in front of her, motionless and waiting for her answer. All of a sudden, something at her side began to clank and move into motion, with the hard mechanical sounds assaulting her eardrums and making her body jump. She clenched her knife tight again, even giving a swing in the noise’s direction, but after seeing nothing capable of an attack, she took a few steps over towards the direction of the sound. The new noise seemed to be coming from a large rectangular box, which was hungrily devouring a large stack of paper. It quickly swallowed and digested it with the furious sound of a few heavy spinning gears, spitting it out into a neat pile on the other side.

She watched until all the paper was gone, and only then did she look back at the machine that had approached her, still waiting in the exact same spot and position it had been. “Are you still on?” she said.

It took another moment for the machine to twitch once again, slowly moving to face her. “Yes. It takes time for me to process things as my technology is very old.”

Once again the machine went silent and left Lisa staring at the still buzzing, clicking, and moving machines around her, taking it all in. “I suppose I’m ready,” she finally said. “I’m not sure what else I could really do here.”

“Very good,” the machine continued after another pause. “Follow me. Please be careful of my cable.” With a few jerking motions the machine turned and rolled away. Lisa followed with her own labored walk, to the far end of the chamber where the machine’s cable grew taunt once again. “This is as far as I can go,” it said. “If you continue down that tunnel ahead you will reach the others. Congratulations on making it, and I wish you luck in your transformation. We will discuss what you will need to do next after you rest.”

The path in front of her was clear. One dully lit hallway leading out of that main chamber would bring her to the start of everything she worked so hard to achieve. If all went well then in a few months she’d leave and be able to fly, and from there… well… the thought was a little scary yet. One step at a time was all she could take. She had to keep her head down and her feet moving forward, and that’s exactly what she did.

One step, then another, passing by the machine and making her way into that tunnel. She did it for Tango. She was here because of him and his sacrifice; the only way to truly honor him would be to keep his energy and purpose alive. What better tribute to his memory than coming out of the mountain with a power he couldn’t wait to have? She would suffer just a little longer to make that happen… not for the good of her species, nor for the pride it showed off. Those things didn’t matter. She would do it for him, and for a future where no other avians had to die in order to get it.