An uphill battle. Yar, she ate, drank. We spoke nothing more of love, but my dedication and her willingness to fight was louder than words. I never traveled far, just enough of a distance to hunt for food and do a rapid sweep of the borderers next to the area we were staying in. These things kept me occupied, kept me from dreading or worrying.

A lose satchel made of woven twigs, dried leaves and other forest things, hung around my neck. I stuffed things that were edible in it. Pickings weren't all that great, but what little I found went into Seele's belly.

Fina and Neve were my eyes while away on these little excursions. I'd gathered enough for her and turned back to the spot we were bedded down in. Yar, my own stomach curled with hunger; I'd only been forging for myself during the late evening and early morning hours. When she was sleeping, FIna would come near and be her warmth while I ate and drank alone.

"Water," Fina whispered through our bond.

Snow crunched beneath my feet. Frostfall was showing its ugly face tenfold the amount I was accustomed to. Upon entering the hollow we shared in a cluster of trees, I noticed Seele was near the water as my phoniex had mentioned. Aye, and not just near. IN. "For Earth's sake, " I uttered in frustration, "Seele," patched forelimbs moved toward the bank, "That is surely frigid. Come out, I've brought ye some food." Steps paused at waters edge, I frowned at the broken ice.

Skin and bones. Seele turns to regard me, not nearly as concerned about being submersed in frigid liquid as I'd have her be. Ice swirls around taunt flesh as she steps out of the water. A moment of relief swallows concern. Yar, thank Earth. I'm still frowning but the grim look isn't one of disgust; it is a broken expression. One bordering fear and dying hope. I couldn't understand why she was getting so much weaker instead of stronger. My sister and friend ate, drank, rested. Nar, nothing seemed to be restoring energy effectively enough to win this uphill battle. Again and again she relapsed.

I kept expecting a better day to come, or a better night; her best days seemed like a distant vision. There were no more good days.

Silence is shattered by noise of someone breaking snow in the forest. One ear flicks back as the sounds drew near to our location, crown turns wary eyes to witness a two year old from our clan coming through the trees. The young girl appeared to be handling our seasonal luck rather poorly. Instinctively I shifted closer to Seele, the nearest feathers stretching to cover her freezing frame with what warmth could be offered. Cold moisture slipped onto my dense fur, slicking it back. I stiffened, jaw clinched together to prevent a sudden shiver from chattering my teeth.

"Goodness Seele," I breathed, "ye is half frozen." I shifted closer, and urged Fina from the treeline. She glided over without argument, those simmering orange, red flames licked the frosty air with gentle kisses. Across my back she perched, fanning the fire higher, stronger, until she became a personal heater. "Thank ye," I whispered through our bond. Fina said nothing in reply, her usual spite and fiery spirit was dimmed by the forlorn she'd felt in my mind.

More company arrived, a dear friend I'd not seen in a long while. Her presence I greet with a worn smile, "She isn't getting better," perhaps Reizend could mend this, "Can ye heal her?" Onni comes forefront again, whispering to my heart, "A broken mind isn't so easily mended by magic." Seele spoke to the woman child, I listened passively until she regarded Reizend as a member of her family. A sister, and not in the way we called everyone. Yar, say true? Real family. Attention turned to Reizend, expecting an answer of some form. Had I'd know that she was a blood relation, I'd have sent for her and perhaps this...wouldn't be bleak.

Why does her sister look to me with such forlorn? I expected mayhaps a small portion of hope, perhaps a great summoning of energy that would signal a valent healing effort. Yet that jaw remains set not toward mending, but standing passively by... pleading.

Unrational, emotion charged anger flares, and I'm forced to look away lest I upset Seele or someone else further. "There must be something," tone is tight, desperate to win this unyielding battle, "anything that might help give strength. Surely thee has some experience." My gaze races to her foamy face, a smothering haze is upon both orbs. The mark of a struggling man who was approaching wits end. She'd cured dozens, with various ailments, why was this any different?

There had to be something that would quicken this. I hold fast when Seele reaches out, anticipating her motions to safe guard against a sudden lapse that would alter the situation. "I'd thought to take her to Earth," my words are quiet, but assertive. At this point I'd give anything to see that stubborn, authoritive light flare behind those gold rimmed eyes. Even if it meant carrying her unwilling self along the frozen trail. Fina chuckled, in spite of the grim situation; she found the mental image of Seele scowling weakly, giving my ears a tounge lashing, humorous. I however, thought the joke was in poor taste and as a result Fina closed her jaw and fell silent. This shadow of a girl wasn't the woman I knew, Seele... I'm willing to fight.

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.

There are protected places in Helovia. Sacred temples and caverns that spirits are forbidden to cross; but they are far from here. Armored points strike nothing at all, blades slice and miss their mark; surprise is followed with a sickening dread. How was it this smoky creatures could become visible to our eyes, but invisible to an attack? Their breath is ice, felt even through my armor. It shakes resolve and plants a seed of fear in my heart, terror that they water with super growth. I fall back to earth. Fina finds no success, she roars her fury at also having lost an attempt.

The foamy healer is swinging madly about; her spear is near but also failing to land even a single blow. The specters pass through sand and bodies like there was nothing there at all. My magic wavers and falls back to dirt, a useless waste of energy. I hear a scream and in this confusion it is impossible to place the origin. Hopefully yon child had fled.

Suddenly their presence vanishes for a moment, I swirl round. Teeth clinched and war in my eyes. The shadows come again, for me. Above is the sound of fire, racing toward their attack. Sand flies forward, spears form in rapid succession, they fly and soar straight through those wispy bodies. Nothing penetrates them. Strength is precious, and they'd see me spent. Another cry, this one born from the spirits. I pause, breath is raspy and hard to draw. Their words are heard, though I don't understand the reasoning. I'm trembling, sweat is already foaming beneath my steel as they circle, like an elk surrounded by wolves. I wait. They draw near, Fina circles me from above. Seeking opportunity.

My crown lowers, chin tucks toward my throat to defend that vital part. They come forward and I hold fast, until their ghostly touch becomes something more than an icy mist. No longer are yon spirits invisible, their forms take a solid look. A thing that might be wounded. Fina! She dives and circles me, driving her wings into those shadowy shapes. I spin on heel and tuck my head low, golden pinions stretch, the blades glimmer as I jerk into a sharp turn. Seele is screaming, crying. These ears hear her faintly; why hasn't she fled with the child? Why didn't she leave?

Her form passing in front of my vision, drawing dangerously close to blades and fire. I'm forced to pause or risk injuring the dark girl I'd been trying so passionately to protect. Her words catch my heart though there is no time to acknowledge them. Golden toes skid to a stop, "Go!" I roar, turning toward the shades as Fina regroups and gains altitude. "Follow the child," Words are rushed and raspy. These beasts might seize my life, but perhaps I could save kin by giving them as much time as possible.