Somewhere, high in the sky…

A bird.

Yes, a bird.

But it was…more.

More than a bird and less than a human, it soared high in the sky. It turned circles and wove patterns to intricate for the human eye to trace. The beautiful feathers of the Peregrine falcon were bathed in beautiful rays of sun. It was beautiful, and it was nothing.

Why was it nothing?

Because it was a Peregrine falcon…but it wasn’t.

The magnificent bird grew weary of the constant wind that blew over this side of the forest. The constantly pressure was forcing her muscles to tire so quickly that she would fall from the blue ceiling if it weren’t for that movement.

The magnificent bird thought to herself to peer at the figure, but thought better. She must keep watch for her ginger haired man. She must watch for him. She longs to see him again, for him to call her ‘his’, but she knows this won’t happen. She knows the ginger haired man has another girl.

This should make the falcon mad that her friend has abandoned her….but it doesn’t make her angry.

No, she isn’t upset. She is happy.

He has moved on from the past. The bird would’ve smiled if it could. She wishes only to see him happy, no matter if she is at his side, or this new girl is.

So the falcon flies in content.

She must watch for him and not for the Drul’iy’a. If she were to succumb to The Grey One’s constant call, she would return to the land of shadows, the land of Hell. They would take her magnificent form away. She had already lost one form to an arrow through the chest. She mustn’t loose this form. It was all she had left.

The movement caused her curiosity to peak again. With weary wings, she descended to the forest and alighted on a low tree branch. There was a group of scraggly looking men and woman. They all looked from fifteen summers to twenty five summers old. The bird cocked her head at the sight.

The dying light would cause any normal animal or man to not see the fading image, but the falcon had keen eye sight and still saw the forms huddle together around the base of the tree. This edge of the forest was near the cliffs, right by the beach, against the ocean…

The falcon knew where they had come from.

They had come from a past home, a past life of the falcon’s. The bird of prey knows that she doesn’t own this body; for this is the form of her former companion. Once the companion had died, she took his form. The pet is now soaring in the Land of Shadows, waiting for her to come back to Faster.

Faster is better at this form….The falcon thought to herself. The Drul’iy’a call to her again as a form stirs, but she doesn’t follow the call. She doesn’t give in.

Below the bird, the forms are all curled together. Two are on watch. They stand guard over the other ten. An elderly woman leans against the tree trunk, snoring softly. A girl lays apart from the others of the group. Her weeping calls are all but silent to the bird who mourns for her, despite not knowing what has caused her pain.

“How far are we?” One of the men on watch ask the other.

“A mile, or just over. We can’t do this, Kells.” The man with the long hair, kind of curly, shakes from the fear.

They had a right to fear what was going to be after them.

The falcon watched on in curiosity. The falcon knew where they were from, but not why they were out here. It was unusual for them to be outside that land swallowed by ocean waves. Yet, they were here…

“Vic, I know, I know! Was it stupid? Yes, in the history of all yes, this was as stupid as that guy who thought he could fly.” The other retorted softly. The falcon chuckled in her mind. Humans and their thoughts that they could fly…

“But we had to go. We had to. I can’t live like that anymore. Besides, it was the girls’ choice. I don’t want to live like rats in a cage anymore. I don’t want to live like pets.” The first man, probably Vic, spat angrily. The other man hushed him.

“Shh! They’ll wake and hear us. We’ll move out in a few hours, okay? But I understand what you’re talking about. I can’t take that life either. Let’s just get to Ravensdale or Reddur and leave it to the past. We all agreed that once we’re free, we won’t breathe a word of what has happened to us to anyone else. When they ask where we’ve been, we’ll lie.” The other man said. The first nodded eagerly.

The falcon eagerly soaked in all the information. It seemed like they were runaways. The falcon wanted more of why, and when, and how…

There was a moment of silence before one of them spoke up quietly and said, “Luna, she’s sad. She left Master Barakat.”

“Annabelle as well. They knew they had to go. They didn’t want to live like that either…” The first continued.

“Yet, they are sad to leave them. They loved their Masters much, but couldn’t be there any longer.” Vic sighed.

“They would return if not fearing their punishment.” The man named Kells continued.

“Perhaps, I would to.” Vic pondered. Kells scoffed.

“Not me. Not me at all. But Blue. She has been mourning all night.” Vic gestured over to the girl who had been quietly. Her sobs came out choked, but like strangled dying breaths.

“It is hard, but they will learn to move on. It’s for the best. No more being treated like slaves. No more hard work cleaning their castle. Nothing of that sort. But Blue loved Ghost.” Kells shook his head.

“Ghost will get over her. That’s the thing. The poor girls have loved their Masters, but I fear the feeling wasn’t ever mutual. I fear for those poor girls…”

“Those poor girls…”

And I wish the best for those poor girls…The falcon thought to herself. She sat in the tree that night, quietly watching as in an hour, the party of twelve was off through the forest, quickly scurrying away from worn paths in the dead of night. The falcon followed them, deciding that this wasn’t stalking the party, but it was okay to make sure they were going in the right directions.

So the falcon flew on.

But the falcon was more than a falcon and less than a human.

For most people, it was just…

A bird.

Notes