My anger was not directed toward Reizend. It was pointed to thyself, for the naivety of this soul and my inability to be useful in our situation. Though the sea foam healer might believe such unspoken truth to be false, considering the manner which I bore into her stare as if by doing so would magically induce some grand inspiration that could mend this. Yar, she speaks a wisdom I'd understood all along. Yet denied it. It was what Onni preached some years ago. A mind is complex, difficult if not wholly impossible to repair. At least by us, our magic, much like the soul itself was imperfect. But there are those with unblemished power.

Still, the finality of those words are like a vacuum or black hole; they pull me further into a swirling realm of helpless despair. Visibly my strained tendons and muscles loosen, just as a sigh exiting this body, my spirit did groan as hope lost some of its pent up momentum. Unsure dread lowers my gaze to the soil, I didn't want them to see me; their leader, their guide, in such a state. After a moment my resolve had thickened enough that I'm able to utter, "Then to Ear..." but my words are halted by Seele pressing into my shoulder and pinching flesh smartly between her teeth. I instinctively flinch, assuming the action was in retort for me stating that we visit our patron for a solution.

Yar, how wrong I am.

Ears fall sharply against my skull; dark crown jerks up as her words of warning reach me. Brows dig a furrow, glinting glass eyes seek the direction she bore. The air around yon timber is suddenly darker, somehow drained of even sunlight. A blackness creeps from the earth and assumes form. Their sudden cry is one that promises death. Fina screams, flailing her wings and adding to noise. It was only when the shrill cries stopped that I realize my teeth are clinched painfully together and the faint taste of bloods has bloomed upon my tongue. This body is trembling and my heart is racing, though tis not from fear. Even as they simmer and shift like something from a nightmare. I start to move forward, the bend of my right forelimb is drawn up.

The embellished steel around my neck hums like a pulse, begging to be called upon. Seele lunges out from beside me; did she aim to take on the tide alone? A single denying word remains trapped behind my jaws, tis lodged deep in my throat. Alas there is no time to say it; not when seconds pass in a single instant.

I'd been binding time-- waiting for them to move, to break their aggressive stance. The moment they shifted from those trees my power erupts from earth. A huge swath of sand rises, swirling to shield yon babe. (Who had unwittingly become the first target.) Swifter than an eye can blink, a wall of sand builds to block this oncoming swarm. Seele screams for the youth to escape. Perhaps my protection would offer time to do just that.

As a wave would splash unto the surf, so did my plates slide across painted flesh. They glide neatly into place and without a moment to spare. Their weight gives me strength, for it is a familiar reminder of battle. Iron swords are lashed to both wings which are now arching high above my body. Fina springs for the air, her jaws wide and flames searing. She goes for the farthest wraith. Aiming to desolve the smoky wisps with fire. Neve looks on in terror. She backs next to the solid bark of a tree high above our fray, uncertain and panicked. I can only ward her away, there is no leftover time or energy to calm her. Armored crown thrusts forward, aiming for the neck of one shadow beast, my feathers thrash ahead, the blades angled to slice and dice.