Zhener

The eagle came coasting low over the area, clipping branches with his wings and damaging some of his feathers. His heavy, sepia-hued apendages flapped laborously until he could keep himself up no longer. Arching his massive wings, he made a semi-circle and crashed into the ground, not even giving much effort into a smooth land. For a moment he lay stretched and panting on the ground.

The eagle slowly collected his wings to his side, but didn't stand up on his taloned feet. Instead, he lay there belly to the ground with his head coiled close to his chest. He was sick yet again.

Aderyn

Terrified little Aderyn came dashing in, nearly colliding with the bird. She pulled up short just in time, but collapsed to the ground, absolutely worn from the run from the den. She was absolutely hysterical and terrified. For comfort, she snuggled next to the fallen bird, recognizing him but not remembering if or when they had met. She stayed close by him, whimpering in terror.

Zhener

Zhener lifted his head, giving a hiss at first when he spotted a blurring object come rushing towards him. His vision had gone bad, leaving him more on edge about unsure things. But as the young one came closer, the eagle recognized her as a pup and relaxed. He lifted a wing and rested it over her when she snuggled up to him. "'ello, little von. Vhere you come from?" If he had any good sense of smell, he would have recognized her.

Aderyn

Little Aderyn trembled and snuggled into him. "I... I am your badge. I am the winged one. Aderyn. I came from the den. It is scary there." And she shook, terrified.

Zhener

His expression lit up and his head craned around to get a good look at the young one. Zhener's troubled eyes blinked to try and clear the blurriness they saw, but it was of little use. "Aderyn... Aderyn! Ah, you are Karai's leettle von! Vhy, yes... zhe den. Very scary, ja!" He bobbed his head in a nod but quickly closed his eyes against a sudden onset of dizziness. The eagle's sharp orbs opened again, "Don't know vhy volves en foxes en zhe sort let leetle vons grow in zhe dirt. Hhhmph! You are not plants! Not vorms or beetles eizher." Zhener sighed then tilted his head to the side faintly, "Don' vorry, leetle Aderyn. I vill guard you. No need go to back into zhe ground! Into zhe dark... very scary!" His accent grew a bit more distorted with his excitement at meeting Aderyn, and again his talking got carried away.

Aderyn

She shuddered again. "It's not the dirt. It's... Moon Spirit is all hurt and all bloody, and..." And she closed her eyes, shuddering at the memory of all the blood. "And Abamacho says I have to learn to be brave, and.. Mama vanished!" And she shuddered yet again, whimpering.

Zhener

Zhener's eyes narrowed sharply and again his head was drawn up, "Vhat you mean? Vhat happened to Moon Spirit? And Karai?" he pulled himself up slightly and rolled back onto his talons, clearing his feathered stomach from the ground. The effort once again brought wooziness to him but he shurgged it off. "Don' vorry about anyzhing. But tell, vhat happened? I vill teach bad volves a lesson!" he said defiantly, puffing out his neck feathers slightly in emphazis. He thought instantly of the battle at the den before, and of the battle he had been in at the Canyon. So naturally for him, he thought Moon Spirit was certainly hurt by another wolf. And Zhener was bound determined to set things straight and keep his good friends safe.

Aderyn

Aderyn put herself on the one side of her namesake, supporting him on the side he was listing on. "Moon Spirit had a fight with her sister, I think. Mama is okay, but she told Joscelin.. my brother, to stay and take care of us, and then she went away."

Zhener

He nodded, slowly this time. His head dropped down slightly, "Sister... ah, Aaka? Is zhat right? Vell..." Zhener hesitated, "I better not geet into zhat, unless Moon Spirit needs help. And Karai left? Vas it long ago? Maybe I should look for her..." he turned his head skywards, gazing longingly at the sky, "Or, I could take care of you too, ja?" The eagle turned to Aderyn again, looking hopefully at her, ready to do anything and everything that was asked of him.

Aderyn

"Mama left just a little while ago. I think to go save that other pup... Ritz? I don't know. It's so scary down there. Maybe Abamacho is right.. I AM a coward..." and her head went down in shame.

Zhener

Zhener hung his head closer to her, "Don' vorry, you aren't a covard. I vouldn't stay in zhe ground eizher!" He gave a smile, which was accomplished by squinting his eyes in a certain way, since his beak wasn't capable of bending. "Maybe I come to zhe den vith you... but ve stay outside of it? Or maybe I take you to look for zhis.. Ritz?" Zhener gave a small yawn, but it wasn't from boredom. "You hungry? Don' eat moose... zhey make you sick. I talk to zhe eagles and zhey are getting very sick too, eating bad fish." The eagle shrugged, going off topic because his stomach rumbled.

Aderyn

She smiled a little at the funny bird, and nodded. "Sure. If you're hungry let's find something to eat!" She as hungry herself, and was growing into her meat teeth now. She was getting bigger, though she would be the smallest of her siblings. She smiled quietly, and waited for him.

Zhener

"Good, good!" he piped up, getting overly excited, "Vhere to go? Zhe eagles en such at zhe lake are geeting sick. Maybe we try... zhe dome area? Vith all zhose cracks in zhe earth and zhe mounds vith steam and lava?" He didn't know what the name of the place was, but it was one of his favorite places to go because the warm air made it easy to fly. "Or maybe you know a good place to go?"

Aderyn

She shivered just a little. "I... I've never been hunting before. But I figure I better learn, with Mama gone. I don't know any good places. Maybe you could show me?" And she smiled hopefully.

Zhener

He nodded happily, "Sure, I vill! Just..." he trailed off a minute, flexing his wings. The strange sickness still had a hold of him, but this little rest gave him some more energy. Feeling confident, he continued, "I vill fly low. Follow my shadow, ja?" Zhener spread his six-foot wing span and felt the air for a wind. As soon as one came and flapped laborously until he was in the air. He rose in spirals very high in the air at first, scooping the land before coming down closer again, "Folloe me!" he exclaimed excitedly and headed for the Tall Grass Prairie. He made sure to go slow and circle about so that Aderyn could keep up.