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Kin wonders how Zaiya still could fly with all the sacks of food they bought. And more so: How did she manage to get airborne and fly back to the village WITHOUT dropping anything. He tried to secure the satchels, packs and the boxes, but he didn't think they would hold.

"I have no idea how you did it, but well done!"

She lands in the middle of the camp south of Juniper, carefully dropping the boxes she picked up with her talons before landing herself. Then she waits patiently until everything is unloaded.

"Lets check with Sophia, then prepare for the funeral?"

Her suggestion pulls down his mood again. His neighbor died to an attack of their 'king', who wanted to set an example.

Once all the supplies are gone, straps and ropes removed and the carpenter back on his spot in front of her wings, they hurry back to their hamlet. They stop by his own house, where he picks up one his tool satchel to take along a small handaxe before leaving again for the healer.

Kin enters Sofia's house right when Bart draws some runes into the air to enchant more bandages. Kin probably should ask him about it. Or how its done. But looking at Akira, he doesn't feel like it.

The smith still doesn't move, but at least, he is still breathing. According to the bandages, he had several wounds in his chest and left leg, either arrows or stab wounds. Kin would rather not ask.

At least, half of the beds are now free, the patients recovered enough to rest in their own homes.

The carpenter slowly makes his way over to Norsi, who is asleep, leaning against the wooden wall beside her dead husband.

She wakes and looks up at him. Her eyes are red from crying.

"Norsi, I am.. sorry. We should have been here. Even though, Akira thinks it was planned, we still should have been." She quietly stares at him still, there is no anger in her eyes, just sadness mixed with a starting acceptance.

"Would you like Zaiya to.. give him the last honor, then carry him up to the sky?"

It takes a moment to grasp what he said, then she slowly nods.

"I would like to speak a few words, before that, please. Not many... Just 3 or 4 sentences."

Kin nods "Of course. We will go out and prepare for it, ok?"

She tries a weak smile, one hand still on her husbands shoulder, as he gets up slowly and walks out to poke Zaiyas beak.

"Lets create a show for them. You got the fire, let's get the wood."

The phoenix nods and takes the lead. She waddles through the breach in the wall along the road and left, where there is a muddy spot without vegetation. The village uses that to drop any deliveries from caravans to harvested things from the fields. Much easier to unload it here before everyone helps to distribute it to where the things are needed.

To his dismay, Zaiya leaves him there, as she flies to the forest, cuts off some branches and smaller trees with her beak and talons to drop them back at his feet.

He laughs, a bit embarrassed. Much easier like this. The carpenter starts cutting the wood into decent pieces with the axe he brought and builds a slightly confined space for her. Once the outlines are built, he simply cuts the wood into fitting pieces and stores them against the town wall.

After something like twenty minutes, he signals her, that they got enough and she settles down in the middle of the wooden walls he built, while he slowly adds more and more material until the phoenix is completely covered all around by the twigs and branches. Then he just lays bigger branches on top of her, fills up the empty spots until the phoenix is completely invisible, hidden beneath firewood.

"Well, time for you to rest. Don't burn them too early!"

He can hear her huff, but she stays quiet. Then he goes to get the other villagers.

An hour later, the villagers and quiet a lot of the soldiers are near the place for the funeral. Erzas body is neatly laid on top of the pile of wood. They put him into his best cloths and made sure his hair and face look neat. Norsi takes the spot at his head.

"We came here, to say goodbye to a very dedicated and man and husband. He was always there for those that needed him, no matter what needed to be done. He was here to protect our village, our people, from any threat that may arise. And that he did. " Her voice goes quieter now. "To the end. May he live on in our memories forever. May the sun bless his soul. May the creator welcome this loving husband and dutiful protector of our people."

When she stops, Zaiya slowly turns up her heat until the first, light flames start from below. They take over the whole pile and the wood and body soon disappear in a wall of flames as she keeps tuning up her heat to a level, where everyone takes a few steps back, then a few more. Soon the wood and body are burned to ash and the phoenix slowly gets to her feet and spreads her wings, carefully, to keep her back covered in the ash. A few strong flaps of her wings take her to the air and towards the sun.

The people that were getting closer again, are now covered in ash. Many start coughing, but most of them just stare up at the brilliant show. Once high enough above the ground, she tunes up her aura fully. She looks like a little sun, carrying Erza up to their creator.

Kayda watches from one of the stone roofs inside the hamlet. She doesn't fully understand what is happening and she didn't know the man on the pile of wood. But she can feel, that it is something important to the people and doesn't want to interrupt or disturb them.

Zaiya does not look back, she just feels like she is doing something important. The villagers DO look at her like she is a part of the sun, or at least, a creature connected to it. And that she is. So giving their friend this tiny bit of honor is not just the right thing to do, but as the village guardian, it is her duty to do so. She gives a few more pushes to accelerate more towards the sun. The brightness is... enthralling, beautiful, as if calling to her. So she keeps flying towards it, even when passing Gavin. She can feel his presence, but it is not important. Nothing is anymore. Only reaching that bright, yellow star in the sky is important now. She smiles serenely, just happily looking forward to reach that glowing ball of light.

Her human meanwhile starts to worry, when she doesn't return after a few minutes and he tugs the strings on her wings, more to check rather then steer her around. He wonders what is happening, or why she didn't return yet. That's not what they planned. The soldiers meanwhile return to the camp, still stunned by the performance, while the villagers chat quietly on their way back into the hamlet.

A relatively small gryphon is sitting on the aqueduct and was watching them during the whole process, as was their little 'emissary or the sun'. He tugs a bit harder on his bird. There is no resistance, no reaction at all, he can feel. The wings are moving, but just as he would expect when she flies. No struggling against him or otherwise. He starts to worry and is about to turn to ask Kayda for help, when a bright little dot beside the sun appears and slowly approaches.

Zaiya nearly crashes on top of her human, slightly exhausted and rubs her head against his side. She is shivering and seems afraid.

“Kin.. I … couldn't think. I just.. felt like I had to fly towards the sun. There was only THAT on my mind and I .. nothing else. There was nothing I could do and I didn't even notice it, until you pulled me out of that.. trance. Kin, I am scared. Is that what Gavin said? Is it time for me to go?”

Her carpenter stares at her, a mix of emotions on his face. Eyes wide in fear, mouth open in surprise and his hand scratches his head in helplessness. He pulls her head close against him.

“That is.. scary. And you don't know what we can do?”

She shakes her head.

“But you are yourself again now, right?”

She nods.

“One more questions for the locked up sorcerer.” He wraps one arm around her neck, as if she was a log he had to carry. “Could you try to fly to a decent height and distance and see if the feeling returns. Trust me, I will watch and if needed, pull you back or even down. But we need to know how far you can go. Just in case.”

She nods slowly, hesitantly. She doesn't want to fly right now, but he is right. She cant stay on the ground forever and what if that compulsion comes to her while she is on the ground?

She flaps her wings and flies small circles above the village, higher and higher. She can feel the strings 'taut', that makes her feel slightly better, but it is still scary, even worse then the power the Kerrins had over her. At about five times the height of the aqueduct, she decides it is enough and she comes down to him again.

“I did fly farther up, but I can remember, that I ignored Gavin completely. So I.. shouldn't fly up there alone.”

He shakes his head ”No, please don't fly anywhere alone, until we find something to do about this. Lets go back to our nest. We use that fireproof rope thingy to tie myself to you somehow. First, I want to try something, though. I mean, if you don't mind me trying a spell... our secret weapon against the world...”

She blinks uneasy, but relaxes as he climbs on her back. “What.. spell is that?”

He grins and wraps his arms around her neck “It is supposed to shield you from any magic cast against you.. or us..? I am not sure. “

She sounds happy about that “That .. you can do that?”

He smiles weakly “I hope so, but I have to stay in contact with you. It is supposed to be a very basic spell that no one uses, because the sorcerer has to focus on keeping the spell up. I have to keep my hand on you somehow AND I will be vulnerable to any attack, at least, physical attacks.”

She turns her head “That's.. no problem. I can carry you AND shield you from attacks.”

He nods rubs her beak “Exactly. It sounds perfect for us. “

They settle down at their nest and he hugs her beak, then keeps his left hand on it while he draws the runes into the air. She can feel him tapping into her power reserves and as usual, its very uncomfortable, then she smirks and suddenly his hand is no longer on her beak.

Kin blinks, his concentration broken when his bird disappears. “Zaiya?”

“Down here.”

He stares at the little hunting bird he saved from the torrent of water outside his house, then carried away from the sorceress.

“What.. did I do that? I am sorry..” He picks her up as he used to, then rests her on his arm.

“No, you did not.” She giggles “No, I did! But changing back takes a few moments and I cant use my aura. And probably cant be sensed eitherrr...?” Her left wing gets tugged out.

“But the strings work.” He stares at her angrily “Still: Don't scare me like that! Bad bird. I thought I somehow took too much power!”

She giggles in his head and nibbles on the finger, that is stroking through the feathers on her belly.

“I.. cant seem to tap into your power now.” He looks down at her firmly. “I cant practice like that!” He grins when she wiggles around to get more comfortable like she used to. He shrugs and sits down, gently grabbing her legs and pulling her into his lap.

“Well! No one likes to practice anyway.” He giggles at her fake outraged expression.

“But master, you had me train with my aura for months!”

“And did you like it?”

“Not at first, but.... “

He laughs “See! I...” His eyes grow wide as she seems to grow slowly and he quickly unfolds his legs – he doesn't want them to get squished. It looks strangely unreal, as the color of her feathers turn from the brownish red to the normal, fiery color. And her proportions just seem to... grow, or he shrinks. He blinks a few times at the strange sight and after about fifteen minutes, his vision is filled with feathers and bird, while her weight presses him against the ground.

“I...need air, you know?”

She giggles and rolls off him. “Sorry, I couldn't resist.”

He gets up and bops her beak “Bad joke! I saw how much you fear being... sucked dry.”

She looks to the ground for a moment “Sorry, Kin. Ok, it was a...” She stops and looks up when he hugs her neck.

“I admit, it is funny if you are not me. So... should I continue to try that? Or practice.. since we don't have someone to cast at you to see if it works?”

“I know if it works. It did work before I shrunk... I can see you creating the field. It is like a ball around me – with you inside too! Even though, I only see it building up. May be I can see it changing too...”

“Really? That is awesome news! Now I just need to try and practice more. If you want to stop at any time, just tell me, ok?”

She nods.“Kin, may I try something too? I think, I can make it easier for you to draw on my power. Even push a little into your direction...”

He thinks about it for a moment “Do you think.. that would be great if it works! I wouldn't have to 'tap' you for it! May be it doesn't feel so bad then?”

When she gets that uneasy feeling about her power being drawn out again this time, she just gives it a tiny little push. A barely noticeable amount flows towards her human and then he screams. She opens her eyes again in shock as something in their face explodes.

It doesn't harm her, but her nostrils are filled with the smell of burned hair and flesh. Kin lies three steps away from her. His face completely blackened and the hand on her beak not much more then a black stump with smaller black stumps on it.

“What.. happened?” She rushes over to him, but doesn't dare to touch him. She circles around staring at him with guilt and confusion.

“Zaiya... it hurts.. and I cant see....” His good hand is searching for her in panic, and she quickly lowers her beak for him to hold on to.

“Kin.. what... I didn't know. I am so sorry. “ She flops finally down, the shock of what happened slowly letting the facts through into her brain.

“Zaiya.. I cant open my eyes, please.. what happened... please help me.”

She gulps, then pushes her beak below him.

“Kin... you have to get up, please.” She grabs his good arm with her beak and lifts him as gentle as possible.

“Zaiya... please don't go away.” The hand in her beak manages to grab a few feathers on her neck and holds on desperately. “I .. cant open my eyes. Oh creator, my eyes... “

Zaiya hopes desperately that her aura can help him recover, but if she tunes that up with him on the ground, he will get roasted from the other side too. It is quiet a fight to get her human onto her back, and a very painful one for the badly burned carpenter, but in the end, they manage to get him lying on her back – and she turns up her aura, pushing it to full. The ground in a few steps around them quickly turns red and forms puddles. The vegetation is instantly gone. Even the clothes by their stone at a 'safe' distance are burning away. She carefully wiggles around like a fish of fire, swimming on a puddle of lava, to avoid sinking into the ground more then a few fingers deep.

“Zaiya.. what happened. Please, tell me. Did we get attacked?”

She sounds sad, embarrassed and guilty, very guilty “I.. am not sure. I think, me guiding my power towards you had that effect. I am so sorry. Please, master, forgive me. I didn't mean..”

That rips Kin out of his confused and pained state full of fear and he searches for her head with his good hand. She completely fell back into that demure voice and attitude he had seen in the vision from her past now. His voice keeps a hint of fear, but is mostly calm now. He can barely breath, his eyes seem to be shut or gone and most of his skin feels cold or hurts like he put it into a campfire. But her aura will make it right, or so he hopes.

“Bird... stop it. You are still a proud phoenix, not a hatchling being abused by some dark sorcerer. Please, stay who you are. Please stay with me.”

She claps her beak twice before pushing against his hand lightly, then focuses on pushing her aura as much as she can while moving in circles.

It takes around thirty minutes until someone walks up to them,

Bart, the wandering mage, must have heard the screaming. He shields his head with an arm, while drawing some runes into the air, before walking up to them. Zaiya hisses at him aggressively.

“Do not come closer, human.”

He stops and blinks “But.. I .. may be I can help..”

She lower herself to the ground and slightly tunes down her heat to a level, where the rocks don't melt anymore. She stretches out one leg and draws deep marks into the rocky ground, to warn him what would happen, but he still comes closer.

He holds both hands open in front of him, in a gesture of peace. “I helped your people in the village, I might be able to help him too.”

Her gaze doesn't leave him as he keeps a slight distance and inspects the body on her back.

“I.. how is he still alive? Never mind. First I will make sure, that he can breath, then I will look what I can do for his eyes. But “ He takes a break “Don't get your hopes up. This looks bad, very bad.”

She hisses again “Do that, I will heal him. Make sure he … lives..” Her voice gets less aggressive at the last part.

Bart paints some more runes into the air, his finger is surrounded by a black mist and he gently blows that towards the carpenters face. It quickly finds its way into the nose and disappears. If its uncomfortable for Kin, he doesn't show, but he speaks again. It sounds difficult and exhausting, as if he doesn't have enough air to speak.

“Hello. Sorry to bother you, but.. don't worry. She will take care of me. I trust her. I.. tried some runes myself, but they blew up in my face. I.. need sleep.”

Bart glares “No you don't. No sleep for you until I am sure you will wake up after that...”

Zaiya nods approvingly “This human is right, Ill rather drop you then let you sleep right now!”

“It seems you were really lucky or the heat only was there for a moment. Your lung and respiratory system seem ok, beside your nose. I can see the wounds healing already. This is incredible, but I don't think it will restore your eyes.”

Kin sags back on his phoenix. He might never see again. Not the sky, not the village, not their surroundings and not his mate either. He flinches when something tries nibbling at his hair and it stops immediately.

“That will have to wait a while. Let me do something about the pain. “ He paints a few more, simple looking runes and another black mist spreads out over Kin's body. Zaiya watches closely, ready to strike at any moment. That doesn't seem to bother Bart, though, as he is fully concentrating on the task at hand.

“Alright, this will be more difficult. Could you please lie down more, so he is a bit lower, Mrs. Phoenix?”

She hesitantly does so. “I'd prefer Woodsmith.”

Bart hesitates and stares at her, then laughs shortly “You.. realize... a firebird named Woodsmith...? Really?”

At that, Zaiya smiles weakly “That is why... “

He nods more respectfully “I like open minded people with a sense of humor. I will do everything I can to restore his eyes, but I can't promise anything. I hope you can really heal the rest of his wounds. I cannot take care of these.”

Zaiya wonders for a moment, how he can remake eyes but not heal burn wounds, but she gladly takes any help right now. She had nearly killed her human. Again. Her head sacks to the ground and she quietly starts weeping until Kin's hand rubs through her feathers below her wing gently. She is put back in the situation, when he was carrying her through the woods, away from the Kerrin that caught her. Why is he not angry? Sad? At least, upset at her? Thinking about it, he wasn't upset about anything she did. Not hurting him, not killing the guards and probably causing the attack, burning the whole area near Amaya, barely getting him out of the tower with burns and beak-marks over his body or letting him nearly die to the dragons. And now this.

“Human? When you are done, please tell my people that we need some time to recover. I do not know how long it will take. But we will not move until he is ready.”

* * *

Bart meanwhile finishes his spell. He doesn't use that many runes, may be fifteen or so, mostly to observe and measure the changes on the carpenter. He considers putting in a few enchantments as well, but decides against it. It would become too complicated and who knows how it would interfere with their bond or if the stupid gryphons would see it...

He breathes exhaustively “It is done. My spell will help you to heal him. I still cant promise anything, but I did what I could. I will return every few hours to take note of any changes and bring food and water.”

“Water should be enough until he can eat decently again. I will take care of the rest.

He nods hesitantly ”As you wish. I will head back to the village and tell everyone. And keep your little phoenix company too. I think, I found something strange on her.”

Zaiya raises her head “Yes.....?”

“I am pretty sure, that dark spot isn't supposed to be here, if you like, I could try to find a way to get rid of that too...”

The phoenix nearly tosses off her human as her head shots up “You .. can do that? I would owe you double if you could...”

He laughs “Oh my, two favors of a phoenix. That is an offer. I always wanted to see the world from the sky.. may be. “ He muses quietly. Then shakes his head thoughtfully “Don't worry about it. First things first.”

Zaiya blinks “I would gladly show you that, if you can help our daughter.”

He nods slowly “First, heal that human, then probably the castle. I will meanwhile try to find out more about that dark spot... Oh, and Mrs. Woodsmith. Please make sure that he wont sleep the next few hours until you did some of your magic. Else he might not wake up again.”

Kin groans “Not again... I am tired. And you are comfortable.. “

Zaiya nods, her voice serious “I will. “ Then she adds with a mix of playfulness and sadness “We .. have been practicing that a bit before.”

As the sorcerer walks towards the village again, she cranes her neck to rest it beside her human. It is difficult to see when he tries to sleep... without his eyes, so they keep talking for two or three hours, while she wiggles around with her aura at full once more to speed up the healing.

Somehow Bart managed to convince everyone down at the village to leave them alone. Except himself, no one shows up until the next afternoon. He returned several times to cast his spell on Kin's head and Zaiya keeps watching closely at his doings. He mentions several times, that the carpenter might be able to use his eyes again. He sounds very interested in that, but the investigation into Kayda's black spot still seems to be his main focus.

Meanwhile, she herself is at the brink of collapsing. Having her aura turned up to maximum for nearly a day without rest or recharge is taking its toll on her. But she cannot stop. She did this and the minimum she can do is healing her human. Or trying to.

She feels his hand rub along her side and chirps at him tiredly.

“You really should rest. It doesn't hurt anymore and I think, I can see light again. I am fine.”

She nudges his head and he flinches “You are still a bad liar. It is my...”

“Zaiya, we went through this a thousand times. It is not your fault. We tried something new and it didn't work. Usually, that can mean I am dead. But thanks to you and Bart, I probably can make a full recovery in record time. It is insane. Please stop beating yourself up about it. At least, sleep some. We still have to find a way to help Kayda.”

Her head falls to the ground again. She had sunken into the rock to around one third of her body by now, too exhausted to waste energy on moving to keep the melting to a minimum.

Heavy steps are approaching them shortly after. Her aura got a little cooler as she really drifted off to sleep – finally – but her head snaps up as soon as the rattling of metal pieces gets close to them.

She hisses a warning, but Kin raises his arm. The black crust is nearly gone and even his fingers are back at their former length.

“Hello, visitor. Please state your business from over there, my bird is a little jumpy right now.”

“Your bird has all reason to be. The queen visits us.” She mumbles tiredly to him.

“Your majesty. I am sorry about the delay on your march towards the castle. We had an accident here.” He turns his head to look at her, but still cant see anything but a milky white. That alone is already a huge improvement, though. Something that gives him hope and keeps him in a good mood.

Queen Helina gasps, as she sees his face. “What .. happened here? Your face and arm look like they belong to a newborn. Did you get attacked?”

“No need to worry.” The phoenix snorts at that, but he ignores it “It was an accident and this beautiful bird here is giving her everything to heal it quickly. If I can convince her to get some rest, we may be ready to go by tomorrow or the day after.”

She smiles genuinely, which makes Zaiya relax a bit. “My own birds weren't lazy either. The delay is very useful. While we wait here, the defenders enchantments created in preparation for our attack on the castle start wearing off. It will take some effort to keep them up, according to Rachel, it will take the sorcerers more energy to redo them then they can regain by resting. I also have good news about the food situation. Two more villages were convinced to support us. With your village and the food from these, we can easily keep going for another four days, even without the gryphons success at hunting. I ordered them to hunt at some distance, as to not bleed out your land. They are restless anyway and welcome the added exercise. “ She stops for a moment. “Your.. little one grew quiet fond of our camp, though. She even asked to be taken along on one of the hunting trips. My gryphons were VERY impressed by her methods. “

Zaiyas head shots up “She … talked to you?”

The queen nods “Yes, but refuses to talk to anyone else except in chirps and squawks. Do not worry, my soldiers watch over her as if she was their own hatchling. The black spot on her chest slightly grew larger I think, though.”

Kin sulks slightly after that “She doesn't even talk to me... bah. Your daughter...”

At that, his fire bird chuckles tiredly. “As long as everyone is all right...”

“Do you need food or water? Or did the wanderer take care of that too?”

Zaiya closes her eyes “No, may be more water.. Kin? It would have been very difficult without him. I think his help was very important.”

Helina tilts her head “Strange. My gryphons didn't report any major spell casting from up here since yesterday. That was very weak at first, then .. wait. That explosion of power was the accident?” She sighs at the phoenix's nod “That's a relief. I.. mean, I hope your recovery will continue to go well. Bart told us about it, especially your eyes.”

Kin's hand slumps down on Zaiyas feathered body. “What about.. Akira? Will he be fine?”

The queen takes a deep breath “We still don't know. His state is still critical and our healers wont tell anything to anyone. To not get their hopes up.”

He sighs “Ok. We will see what tomorrow brings. I am glad, the delay doesn't hurt your plans, but we still have to hurry.. for our little one.”

Kin feels how tense Zaiya is below him and he tugs a few feathers. “Relax... she is a friend AND she needs us.”

The queen smiles at them “One could be envious of the bond you two have. I would not want to be your enemy. We will wait for your recovery. I wish you luck and hope it goes well and I will not mention your state to anyone, and neither will Tom and Mart here.”

He waves as the clanking of metal tells of their departure. Then Zaiya relaxes, and only moments later, her regular breathing tells him, that she fell asleep.

Kin has to find a way to make her feel better about this, else she will never forgive herself this accident. But how? They both didn't know what would happen and both wanted to try it. There is no fault on either side. And she DID push herself harder then ever before, to let her aura heal wounds that should have been fatal and if not, left him blind forever.

He tries reaching her head, but instead, settles for another of her favorite spots bellow her wings to brush through her feathers there until he too falls asleep.

When he wakes up, everything is dark again. He listens to his firebirds breathing until he is sure, that she is still asleep. Then he reaches for his face. The touch feels strange, alien, and a lot of crusty material just falls off as he wipes over it. He can feel his head, then slowly moves his fingers to his eyes. There are no hair or eye brows beside a few short stubs, so they definitely don't grow back faster. He carefully shifts onto his chest, his body complaining painfully after resting on his back for over a day.

Kin smiles down at the bird and reaches for the feathers on her head, her 'gentle' aura illuminates the area around them. They are still near their nest, but few steps away from the aqueduct. The carpenter blinks as he notices, that the phoenix seems to have sunk into the ground and he can see several feathers, that must be stuck, now that her aura is no longer hot enough to melt the rock around them. He worries about rain, right away. She coos softly, when his hands finally play with the feathers on her head once more, but she doesn't wake up.

“Talking about drained.”

He slides off and sits beside her neck, before dragging her head into his lap, while she is still asleep.

Then he leans against her to drift back to sleep himself.

He wakes up right when she stirs and her head moves out of his grasp, still dizzy from sleeping. Kin smiles as her eyes grow wide and stares at him.

“Your eyes. They are there. I am so relieved. I .. thought I had taken that from you.”

That must have be an even bigger thing for her then it would be for him. As a bird of prey, her eyesight from above is very important and as a being, that obviously likes exploring the wonders of the world, it is even more so. So he pulls her beak against him and plants kiss on top of it.

“I disagree again. You did not take them from me. You gave them back. There is no way I can thank you for that. And it removed my 'fur'.”

Zaiya still isn't convinced, but the phoenix's self loathing seem to crack finally. “But I shoved the fire into your face...”

He bonks her head “No! You supported me in something I wanted to do. If anyone is at fault here, then it is myself. And before you mention it.. you are the best and most beautiful protector I could have ever wish for.”

How can he say that. She only pushed a foxglove of energy onto him, but it was enough to nearly blow his head off. And he still defends her. He may call her his 'protector' but in reality, or for her, it is him, that once more tries to protect her. She pulls back her head and shakes it slightly to try and get the thoughts out of her head.

“No? What do you mean no?” The carpenter gets up and walks around her. “If you still chastise yourself for that, I will gladly do the punishing for you. Like...” He reaches down for one of her tails, partly stuck in the no-longer-molten ground.

“Kin.. what are you? I.. am stuck. You.. shouldn't... “ He eyes grow wide as he sits down next to it, mimicking a person slowly walking towards the tail with two fingers of his hand.

“I CANNOT MOVE! Don't...”

He grins at her “Good! No escape then!”

She wiggles uncomfortably, but cant do much more then turn her aura up more to melt the material around her. Not 'panic' as in being afraid, but still panic.

“So.. about my face...”

“Don't poke them right now! Please?”

He stops and crosses his arms “Will you stop beating yourself up about this accident?”

She sighs “But... fine. I will try... to see it your way.”

“Good! That's all I wanted. Do you feel rested?”

The fire bird shoots him an icy glare before smiling “Mischievous human. I am still a bit spent, but once I free myself, we should be ready to go. Dont think I will forget you playing this trick...”

He gets up and stretches before returning to her head. “So... this is how you catch a phoenix. Got it.” That gives him a bump in his chest with her beak, before he can check his stash for the replacement clothes he keeps there. Sadly non of them survived the last 2 days.

“Darn it.”

“I am sorry master, I shall retrieve and prepare your clothes once I get out of.. this. “

She chirps from behind him and in her amused, playful tone. Her aura quickly gets from warm to hot, but it still takes around fifteen minutes, until she can pull out her body from the rocky encasement. It seems like her feet where stuck too, pretty badly. From the look of it, she was 'standing' on them, and since the heat radiates from her body, not her feet, she stopped sinking in deeper. That's only the carpenters guess, though.

He stares at her and points to a few feathers, that are still stuck on the ground. “You... broke some feathers!” He turns around dumbfounded as he hears beating wings and a 'woosh' of air as she takes off towards the village with a happy, relieved screech.

“What.. HEY! You forgot something! Someone!”

Zaiya grins inwardly and beats her wings hard to zoom to the village. Her aura back down to nothing as she dives into the village like an arrow towards its target. The camp south of the village didn't change much. The green around the 'road' along the aqueduct has been replaced by a dirty brown due to many feet constantly walking around the place. The wagons beneath the aqueduct have been concealed with rocks and rock colored linen. Clear to her thanks to her eyes and altitude, it may fool a humans eyes from the ground. One additional, larger tent has been built but nothing indicates its use, except the guards around it point towards something pretty important. The village itself seems to be back to 'normal'. Right as she gets reminded of Erza's funeral two days ago, Kin tugs her wings lightly at first, then more firmly.

She smiles warmly – then guilty. He is worried, of course. She didn't think about THAT problem, but there is no compulsion to fly upwards. Yet.

She lands in Akiras backyard and sticks her head through the door to take the spare clothes he put there for Kin, then chirps a greeting to Brevin and Yuri, who are on their way to her house, probably talking about a Cow for him to bring over. Or may be something else. She shrugs and clothes in her beak. The phoenix quickly jumps up and flies back towards their nest. One of her wings gets pulled very firmly shortly after she flies up and above the aqueduct. She gives an undignified squawk and nearly drops the cloths before she takes up speed once more to reach her human quickly.

She drops the clothes in front of him and her talons scrabble over the ground, as she comes to a skidding stop. “I am sorry that it took so long, master.” Then her voice gets serious again “And I am sorry for worrying you. I didn't think about the..”

He pulls her beak close again and smiles “I am just glad you are back.”

“Your tactic is good, the last pull nearly made me drop your cloths and plummet to the ground!”

He sighs as he puts on the clothes “Lets just find a spell to protect you from that... and FAST. And thank you for the clothes.”

She takes a proud pose and looks down at him “I only wish to serve, master.”

He bops her chest “Playful chicken... lets get ready.”

The phoenix giggles and lies down to let him on her back, then flies back to the village. They land at Sophia's hut. This time, the phoenix is faster then her human and sticks her head through the door.

“Hello, we are back. How is everyone?” Then she pulls her head back to let Kin enter, before blocking the door once more.

Kayda greets them with a happy chirp from the chair, where Bart is sitting and writing something.

Kin nods at the wandering mage and pets the little ones head. She chirps again as he gets up to check on Akira, but she catches his arm with her beak.

“She wants to know why your face looks so different. And she says she missed us the last two days, but got told, that she should stay in the village for now.” She continues gravely “I will tell her.”

Kin glares at his phoenix and she sighs “I.. understand. I will not speak of fault.”

The carpenter smiles and nods, then turns to see Akira. He is still fast asleep but the bandages got fewer.” He looks better, I think. “

Bart nods slowly and pets Kaydas head. “Yes, Sophia thinks he is healing. He will carry a few more scars after this, though.”

“We will head out soon to prevent this from happening again – and punish the person responsible. Lets hope it will stay peaceful afterwards.”

“Thank you for your help up at our nest. I am really happy I can see again.”

He smiles warmly “Can't have you not see that bird of yours for the rest of your lives, can I?”

Kin laughs “Especially with us not knowing how long that might be! Did you find out anything about the black spot yet?”

Bart raises an eyebrow at his remark. “Sadly not much yet. But I think, I am on the right way. I assume, it is some sort of curse, but one that was not put on her, but rather one she was born with. Or hatched.”

Kin grits his teeth “That darn ritual. I bet it was something with that.”

“Do not worry, I will find out what I am looking for. I always do.” He nods encouragingly at the carpenter. “And we both enjoy each others company. May be I can even convince her to talk at some point.”

Kin looks at his bird in confusion “Why doesn't she talk to anyone again?”

Zaiya hits her head against the ceiling for the tenth time as she tries to get more comfortable “She doesn't feel like it. We naturally don't feel inclined to talk to anyone but the human we chose. It feels.. uncomfortable. But you can get used to it, if you really want to. “

Kin sits down and smiles at the little phoenix “That's fine. No need to anyway, especially with Zaiya here to translate.”

Kayda waddles over and rubs her head against his chest happily. “Now, you stick to Bart and help him fix that strange curse on you, ok? And Bart.. if we can help in any way, let us know. I still owe you..”

Zaiya nods slowly, bopping her head against the ceiling again. “We owe you.”

The mage just waves a hand dismissively “You do not owe me a thing. Especially not the phoenix. I only wish to travel and learn. Everything here serves that purpose, thanks to you three.”

Kin nods slowly “We are still thankful to what you have done. Here and at our nest.”

He nods courteously but slightly disinterested, then he turns back to his writing.

“You be good, Kayda, ok?”

She chirps and nestles down again, preening her left wing.

He waits a few moments while Zaiya stares at the Sorcerer and her little one, then blinks “oh, sorry. Right. Lets go...”

She rubs her beak affectionately against his side, as he squeezes through between her and the house.

“The camp?”

She lifts him up onto her back now, getting impatient “The camp!”

They land at the smaller tent that has been the queens tent before.

She sounds slightly insecure “Kin... there are gryphons here, I can sense them. “

Kin puts a hand on her beak “We knew that. You really sound like they are your natural enemy. But you didn't see a single one yet, that was out to get you .. or me.. right? Give them a chance, you are both birds!”

That earns him a nip on his hand, but he just adds “Hungry, predatory birds.”. Kin motions his phoenix towards the queens tent, while they walked over, the guards at the entrance already had pulled the 'door' open for them, even though, Zaiya cant fit in fully.

The interior lacks every bit of comfort one might expect. It has a few simple chairs and a table, cloths hanging from branches fixed to the tents supports – the only thing that looks pristine, is the armor stand next to the wooden board, that must serve as the bed. Just a thin blanket and no pillow on it. He shivers from the thought of sleeping there for days.

The queen studies his face for a moment, before greeting them.

“I see, you recovered. We were worried for a bit, but your partner assured us that you would recover and here you are.”

Kin bows, then gets a little nudge or rather shove from a beak through the entrance to the tent “Partner...”

Helina smiles at them “well, then. Should I give the order to pack up and go?”

“We are ready to go whenever you are, majesty.”

She rolls her eyes “Call me Helina when we aren't in public. That will do.”

She walks past him and gently but firmly pushes Zaiyas head outside to leave the tent.

“Everyone... pack up and get ready to MOVE!”

Kin leaves after her and stays with Zaiya in the middle of the camp, probably in the way of everyone around them. They don't notice, though, since they watch the camp being torn down within minutes, completely flabbergasted.

The griffins leave the large tent, where they were probably hiding from sight and immediately get a blanket like disguises tossed over them. On first glance, they look like bulky horses – only the talons and paws and a few feathers around their front tell the truth. They get the wagons and pull them into the large area around the firebird and human and like a whirlwind, the whole army tears down the camp and loads everything on the wagon. May be half an hour later, only the trampled ground shows that there was a camp for over two hundred people an hour ago.

“This is insane...” Zaiya whispers. “How did they do this so fast?”

Kin shakes his head. “I have no idea...”

They both get a friendly shove from one of the 'horses' “You never saw an army on the move, did you? We have to be fast to get anywhere. Cant have our camp take hours to build and take down every day now can we?”

Kin turns his head “Oh.. right. But we have never seen anything like it before. This is Zaiya, and I'm Kin.”

The gryphon nods and smiles “We know. I am Raut. May tomorrow bring glory to all of us!” He looks back at his wagon and when one of the human soldiers slaps the wagons side three times, the gryphon nods at them and pulls his load on the road beside the aqueduct to make space for the other wagons.

Kin blinks, as the next wagon is pulled by a much smaller gryphon. Only slightly bigger then a pony, but it doesn't seem to have any trouble with the weight.

Wagon after wagon takes their spot in the column with humans flanking them on each sides.

The carpenter nudges his bird's neck and strokes through her feathers “Do you think we should walk with them?”

She looks at him unhappily “Walk? That's... exhausting. I don't think I can keep up with them while walking and it will take us a few hours...”

“That is fine. Then we fly?”

She nods and nudges him to her side before lying down.

One of the Queens bodyguards steps in front of them.

“I have to ask you to not fly today – or at least, not yet. They will see us soon enough, but ..”

The queen laughs “Always trying to get every bit of advantage we can have, right Tom? Do not worry, I am pretty sure the castle knows that we are coming since we took down the camp.” She turns to Zaiya and the carpenter then “But you could check on your injured friend again and meet us later. That would be good to ease both sides minds. We will build a war camp at catapult range, where we should be safe of their war machines and archers as well as mages. You will find us.”

They both nod at her, then all turn their head as something white dives down on them.

Quiet a few crossbow armed soldiers turn and get ready to fire, but slowly lower their weapons when they recognize Kayda landing near the queen.

She instantly waddles there and rubs her head against Helinas side. The queen freezes as the small phoenix stares at her and Kin smiles. “Do not worry, you will get used to this.”

The queen blinks, looking slightly confused. “If anyone else would do this, it might cost them their head.... but.. what does that mean?”

Kayda gives several chirps and Zaiya translates, a bit embarrassed. “She says, that we should take care of her human. And that she would be angry, if something happened to you.”

Helina nods “What does that mean.... I am her human?”

Kin starts laughing and gets a devastating look from the little phoenix.

“I, Kayda, have looked into your soul and found you worthy. I have chosen to allow you to bond with me. Instead of burning you, my aura will help your body heal wounds and keep you warm. If you decide to not accept this offer or end our bond, you can say so at any time.”

He blinks “Wait, I think, I missed a few words and the aura doesn't make sense, but...”

He gets interrupted by his birds head, shoving him “Hey, that's... my line and embarrassing.”

The queen still looks at them, openmouthed, then kneels down at the little phoenix.

“You mean, you want to swear fealty to me?”

Kayda chirps and rubs her head against the queens side.

Zaiya explains. “It is far more then that. Once our kind gets the power to bond and pick you as our human, we will be sticking to you until the end of your life. You can end that by saying so clearly, but we cannot.”

The little phoenix chirps and screeches angrily.

Kayda seems to shrink at Zaiyas firm stare

“Language! She said she doesn't care about the ability, she decided now. In... different words.”

Then the queen rests her hand on the little phoenix back “I am honored, Kayda. How about this: I will wait for you and tell my guards to let you pass unhindered when you come to my castle. Until then you stay here to have that spot fixed.”

The small bird looks down, then nods slowly.

“So you stay back and protect the village, while we go to the castle. Once we are done, we will come through here again on our way home. Once we are back home, I will tell my guards to let you pass, should you come through to see me, ok? That wont work, if that black spot grows more though. If they don't recognize you, then they cannot let you through to me.”

She nods sadly again, then chirps at Zaiya.

“All people here will keep her safe. You don't have to worry, just help the wanderer to find a way to remove that black spot, ok?”

The little one sighs, then rubs her head against the queen once more before flying back to the village.

“What.. is that about? Does she mean like you both?”

Zaiya nods “I am afraid, I think she does. But she is far too young to be able to set that up. She can accompany you, but the positive parts will not be there. Protection from her ..um.. well, non existent aura and faster healing. I am not even sure, if she will be able to do that. She is... different. May be the locked up mage in the castle can answer a few of the questions we have.”

She nods thoughtfully “I wouldn't mind her company, if she wants that so bad. And you both don't mind. But I will need instructions on food and care...”

Kin grins “Oh, don't worry about that, these birds are pretty cheap in upkeep – OW – and you don't have to clean af.. OWWWW.”

Helina laughs as Zaiya nips her human here and there, with him unable to dodge on her back.

“You two are welcome too, of course. We actually just signed an alliance treaty with the hawkriders. So.. any large bird coming wont be shot down anyway. Just.. make sure to wear something. Its kinda.. embarrassing.”

Zaiya nods “He wanted me to work on controlling my fire aura, thanks to that, I can be here without burning anything around. I wish I would know what will happen to Kayda. But what Kin said is true, we only need light and warmth as sustenance.”

“I will prepare something, should she stick to her decision. I also will have to prepare my nobles, it might take a while to convince them, that this bird is not a pet or something like that.” She scratches her head “First.. the castle.”

Most of the army already set out along the rocky ground in a slow pace, so no problem for the queen to catch up.

“Why is she on foot? Shouldn't she at least have a horse or so? “

His phoenix shrugs and turns around to get them back to Sophia's house.

They arrive to an empty house. Neither Akira nor Sophia are there, so they waddle back along the road to find them finally at Akira's.

“What ya talking a'out? I'vs 'een in 'ed long enough! Got work to do. No.. I'm fine!”

Phoenix and carpenter grin at each other after he slides off the phoenix.

He knocks at the door “Delivery for Akira. Two horses and a pig, wait.. pig is for someone else.”

The door gets ripped open “I didn't order nothing! You.. oh.”

Kin hugs the now laughing giant.

“I am glad you are all right!”

Zaiya stares at him “We are sorry, we...”

“Naj mate, you have got nothing to 'e sorry for. They waited for you to 'e gone. I heard what ya did for poor Erza. Thank you, Guardian. You should have seen Norsi's face afterwards. Gleaming eyes, like a kid, who is about to unwrap the pony on her birthday, that she wished for for four years. That was very kind of you.”

She blinks and claps her beak twice in surprise.

Kin nods “We might just stick to that. It was beautiful. And. “ He stops. Since the incident with Zaiya nearly flying away, he swore to keep the strings 'in hand' constantly and not leave her side for long. He doesn't feel like he should be the one telling them about the incident, though. Zaiya could, if she wanted to.

“Well, Akira, we got recruited to take a castle...”

The smiths eyes turn to slits “Ima come too, mate. Gotta teach dem another lesson....”

“Oh no, you wont! Not before I say so!” The voice belongs to Sophia, standing in the background.

Akira grumbles and turns away from them.

Everyone but Akira grins at him, while he grumpily stomps back into the house.

“You two make sure to come back without scratches or worse, ok? I really need some sleep after the last week....”

The both nod at her together “Yes, ma'am....”