She didn't believe him, not at first. Ragun had found her and Mathias trying to scrounge up some food in the small market set up by the Felines. It was barely passable for what Mathias considered food but Kelkera didn't have a problem and happily chomped down on the spice laden thing on a stick one of them had been selling. All he had done was gesture with his head and say “found 'em, those Avians you asked about. They're back at the inn." Kelkera immediately dropped the food and raced back to the communal tent.
As she ran though she thought how, and why would Ragun trick her with such a thing? Still, her heart raced and once the leaning half tent, half house Inn came into view, it skipped a beat. She rushed in and there they were, the Avians. They had just set their few belongings down, removed their cloaks and sat. Master Elacce had a roughly bandaged forearm but both of them seemed relieved to be able to rest. Kelkera also finally got a good view of the two. Kicit's deep blue color was rippled with stripes of black and white, she could see that his chest was a pure white with a neck ring of black feathers. While Elacce's blackness, everything from to his feathers and beak seemed to give the illusion of being lost in time, like he had always been this way.
“Kicit!" She called and the Avian jumped at hearing his name in someone else's voice, he cocked his head and looked to the entrance to see Kelkera, drawing in big gulps of air. Master Elacce also looked but his face was not one of surprise like Kicit and more similar to disdain. Like he was embarrassed that she had somehow found them. “How?" It was all she could say, all she could even come up with considering the circumstances. Kicit looked to Master Elacce and he drilled something into his Apprentice.
“By mistake." The Master said and Kicit lowered himself.
“Well, I...I've got something for you!" Kelkera finally said and she reached for her pack and pulled the tome from her bag, gripping it tightly between her two pads; hoping that it would lead them to say yes. Across from her Master Elacce's face dropped, he stood straight up and extended his unbandaged wing to her. A few twils came from his beak as Kelkera handed it over.
    “I found it that night in Carran's Rest, it was under some blankets in your room." She said and instantly Kicit bore into his Master with his eyes. The way he had blamed him for the misplacement of a book had really taken Kicit aback and seeing the book now only brought those feelings back up. Master Elacce snatched it and quickly flipped through a few pages in order to ensure everything was in proper order. At once his shoulders fell and he let out a long breath.
    “I must profess my thanks, Vulpine, I had thought it was lost." The Master said as he secured the book within his own pack. Kicit tore his gaze from his Master to Kelkera and clicked his beak once.
“Kelkera. Thank you." He said, in opposition to his Master while Kelkera felt her chances at her request grew. They had obviously missed the tome and returning it was a great deal to them.
“What is it?" She asked, seeking for more approval. Master Elacce, content, now returned his attention to Kelkera.
“It's an old Tome, written long before the current age. Been looking forward to studying it for quite a while now, must have had it open that night and fled forgetting to return it back to my pack." He lowered his head and cooed slightly. Kelkera nodded, her mind going back to what she had read in it.
“What's The Beast's Body?" At the mention of whatever it was Kicit cocked his head in confusion while Master Elacce froze, he clicked his own beak twice and she could just barely see his feathers shiver.
“I'm afraid I'm not sure what you're talking about." Master Elacce responded and turned away from them. Kicit's own feathers ruffled and he opened his beak to speak but the feeling in the room immediately shifted and the urge to fill the silence fell. Master Elacce sighed and sat back onto a bed roll, adjusting his bandage. Feeling as though she crossed a line and wanting to protect her chances in asking for their help Kelkera shook her head and dropped it. Master Elacce relaxed and the tension in the room evaporated, almost. Kicit avoided her eyes from then on and he grew quiet.
    “If that's it then?" Master Elacce said but Kelkera took a step forward, a lump forming in her throat.
    “Actually, I had something." The Avian perked his beak and Kelkera bit her tongue while finding what to say. She hadn't actually thought it through and hoped the necessity of her task would come through. “I wanted to find you so that I could ask, ask if you could help me save my friend, Luka." She finally said and let the question hang in the air. Kicit's eyes looked towards his Master who let his beak hang open ever so slightly but the look on his face was not one of affirmation and instead he clicked his beak twice.
    “I very much appreciate you returning my tome to me but we must decline." Master Elacce said, clicking his beak harshly twice. Kicit mirrored his look and did the same though it seemed to be more performative and never centered directly on her. A strange wave of feelings hit Kelkera and she didn't know what to say, she'd never even entertained the thought they'd decline being as they had been so amiable.
    “Oh." She said, her eyes almost glazing over. At first anger began to well! But she quickly shuttered it and swiftly left the tent. Kicit watched her leave and felt a pit growing in his gut. He looked back towards the Master.
    “Master, don't we have enough time to help? You wanted to return to Carran's Rest anyway?" He said, an edge of exasperation hiding within the words. He wasn't sure what Master Elacce was doing, he hadn't ever been so disagreeable. On top of that he couldn't see a reason why they couldn't help; even after their mission had been completed. But Elacce stood firm, though his icy attitude had seemed to melt away with the grasping of the tome.
    “You want to return to the place that nearly killed you?" Master Elacce calmly said.
“If we're more prepared, if I have some plan already in mind, I don't see it a problem."
“As a Mage you will be asked for many favors." He answered solemnly. “Just as a Mage needs to have mastery over Releases, he must have mastery over understanding that he can't do everything." Kicit pondered the words. He was glad that his Master was finally talking to him again but the tone had a seriousness in it; like there was something more behind the words, something sandwiched between them that he couldn't see.
    “Did you try to do everything master?" Kicit asked, his words quiet but pointed.
    “Everybody does at some point, but it is my goal to hopefully ensure that you don't, or at least not do it again" The words came as though heavy weights were attached to them and Kicit fell silent unable, trying to imagine what Master Elacce could have done.

***
Kelkera's eyes snapped open, jolted awake by the piercing clang of a gong that shattered the morning stillness. She sprang up to her feet, shaking the remnants of sleep from her eyes just as a second gong pierced the air. Mathais, already on his feet, moved to the flap of the door to see what was going on. Kicit, at the other end of the tent, instinctively fluttered his wings to help with standing.  The gong rang for a third time and Mathias rushed back to his things and snatched his sword, forgoing his armor.
    “We're under attack!" He shouted. With a surge of adrenaline, Kelkera bolted out of the tent, closely followed by Kicit and Elacce. The acrid rank of smoke filled her nostrils and singed her eyes. “Kelkera! Help others get to safety!" Mathais's voice rang out above the growing confusion, his sword in one hand and the other pointing directly at her. Amid the chaotic symphony of shouts and growing sound of clashing weapons in the distance, Kelkera momentarily stood bewildered. Absolutely frozen in place at how it had happened, that is until Mathias pushed her towards some of the other tents. “Kelkera!!" An arrow thudded into the ground perilously close to her, sending shivers of terror through her fur. Part of her wanted to stop, wanted to find a place to hide and wait it out but she saw that a fire had been lit, it grew with a blistering furiosity towards the recently built homes. Someone had to check, had to be sure! She sprinted toward the nearest one and yelled.
    “Get out of here!" Her voice carried a mix of fear and desperation as she started to move along the row, screaming for anyone who may still be inside. A few of them still had Beasts who were in the midst of waking up and she screamed at the top of her lungs for them to run, escape, anything they could do. The cacophony of battle assaulted her senses as she moved  the hazy smoke like a poison, overtaking every sense.
She reached the last in the row, shoulders heaving. Desperately wanting to pull in clean air. But it was worth it! Two figures stood through the darkening air and she yelled at them “Get out of here!" One turned, a glint of metal shimmering in the dull light and a shiver of fear flooded her veins. These were not Beasts. Their thick blood stained leather armor and their weapons dripped with a fresh kill as two Beasts lay crumpled to the ground, Kelkera couldn't tell what they were but it didn't matter, they had killed them. Dread flushed through Kelkera's body as one of them raised his sword towards her.
    Instinctively, Kelkera tried to ready herself, her muscles tensed and she attempted to poise her claws only to be reminded of their painful absence. The soldiers advanced on her, their faces crooked with animalistic snarls as she spun on her heels. But any chance to escape was gone, the fire roared as it swirled over the path, blocking any attempt to get through. Desperation soon overtook fear and she turned back towards the approaching soldiers. They had slowed to a walk, those evil smiles still curled like wicked tree branches, both knew they had cornered their prey, knew that their swords would taste more blood. It was a certainty.
Kelkera backed slowly up against the flames for time to think, the scorching heat licking at her tail. They're just people, you can do it. Just like with Tobias, go for the face. She steeled herself as the assailants closed in, heavy breaths poured out of her thin muzzle but before she had a chance to jump. Before she had willed herself to fight, a figure, covered in a large cloak, fell from the heavens and stood between her and the Esurian soldiers.  
The cloak billowed in the ember filled air around Kicit as he stood tall between Kelkera and her attackers. In a fraction of a second, a peculiar cooing sound escaped his beak, and with his talon-like hands, he swiftly painted a Release in the air. Suddenly, the world seemed to freeze, like they had been enveloped in an eerie fragile bubble, separate from the terror around them. But before Kelkera could even register beyond how quiet it was, Kicit's feathers fluttered as a gust of concentrated wind, emanating seemingly from within him, surged towards the attackers. Momentarily stunned, the soldiers blinked in confusion as the wind flushed over them. Then, as if they were forgotten marionettes, their strength abandoned them. The leather armor tore apart, blood seeping from every opening and they collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Kicit stumbled but replanted one of his taloned feet to catch his balance. His haunches rose and fell with heavy breaths as he turned towards the Vulpine. “Are you hurt?" He asked between breaths. Kelkera let her muzzle drop, her mind reeling from what she had just witnessed and the straight up calmness of his voice. It was no doubt magic but it savaged the attackers so completely that she couldn't even believe they had been charging her moments ago. Before she had a chance to fully recover, the heat behind her surged as it hit more fuel.
Kicit's attention moved to the flames and he clicked his beak once, digging his talons into the dirt. He studied the blaze, taking in the caustic smells and heat. Reciting words that she didn't understand, Kicit closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Kelkera desperately wanted to pull the Avian away from the edge of the flames, worried that it would jump to his blue feathers at any moment. But she couldn't. His eyes opened and the Avian's talon painted another Release in the air, this one immensely more complex, more intricate. The moment he finished, the entire rune glowed with a brilliant white light. The Magic flew through him and Kicit's cloak billowed back as power surged, coursed through his body, ruffling his feathers as it did. He didn't make a sound, not a grunt, not a call, not a yell to the heavens, instead he willed the magic to his command. Then, it happened, the flame's finger-like tendrils still flickered at the tips, but its base had dissolved into thin air. Just as Kelkera blinked, the smoke still burning her eyes, everything around them instantly dripped with water, the acrid smell of smoke dissipated entirely. Replaced by a cool mist that fell upon the remaining soldering embers, snuffing them out.
Kicit collapsed, his legs finally giving into exhaustion and giving out from under him. His eyes still held intent but he couldn't speak between short, quick labored breaths. Had she not seen him just perform the incredible feat of magic Kelkera scrambled to him but he just nodded and clicked his beak, Kicit couldn't smile like most beasts but she took the two gestures as confirmation that he was ok.
“There's two!" More voices called and Kelkera shot up to find more soldiers descending upon her. Without a second thought she dove for one of the fallen soldiers swords, grasping the handle with as much strength and will as she could muster. Kicit watched helplessly as the shimmering blades dived for them, but Kelkera swiftly turned, deflecting the blow and forcing the weapon to slide off and embed harmlessly into the ground. Seizing the opportunity, she thrust her sword into the exposed side of the soldier. Nausea churned within her as the blade point effortlessly punched through the thin side armor and dug deep into the man's body. He wailed in agony and fell away from her to the ground, breathing ragged before stopping entirely. Kelkera let the sword fall with him, stunned at what she had just done, how easy it was.
But, she hadn't time to think, a spear thrust towards her. Kelkera tried to dodge but it was too late and the tip grazed her left arm sending pain surging through her body. The soldier seemed to celebrate, his face contorted with a smile upon the successful lunge. Kelkera backed away to put some distance between them, the Soldier's eyes dug into her and he feigned a thrust, switching to a sweep to trip the Vulpine up. Kelkera tried to block the motion with her pads when suddenly she felt a surge of potential, an overwhelming sense of power. Her pads' movement was echoed by streaks of light in the air. The soldier immediately stepped back recognizing the streaks as something magical. He faltered slightly, giving Kelkera enough time to right herself. Without thinking, without even telling her body to do it, she pounced towards the Esuiran. Taken aback by the unexpected move he crumpled like paper under the weight of the Vulpine. She snarled and sunk the only weapon she had access to, her teeth, through the weak armor and into his neck with a sickening squelch. Blood gushed into her mouth but she kept her grip and bit harder until a shattering crack resonated through her bones and the man stopped.
Kicit forced himself up, the pain surging through him but he had to see if she was ok! Kelkera dropped the man's throat and slowly straightened, taking in the full view of what she had done. Around them, the fire had fully dissipated and the sounds of battle faded. Kelkera let her mouth hang open, bitter blood dripping from her teeth until it overtook her and unable to contain the overwhelming sense of emotions and bitter iron taste of blood any longer, she heaved over.
Kicit limped over to Kelkera. Blood saturated her fur and she struggled to catch her breath between the powerful heaves. Kicit laid a wing on her back as she finished. He had seen what happened, seen the entire interaction between the soldiers who now lay broken on the ground next to what he had done.
“Kelkera?" He finally managed to say. His touch seemed to snap her out of her trance and with a flurry of blinks she centered back on Kicit.
“K…Kicit, what did you do?" Her voice trembled and it made it difficult for him to understand. The Avian looked around at their immediate surroundings, the danger seemed to be gone, sounds of battle had disappeared, heat and fire were no more and soon shouts started to arise as others began to assess what had happened. Half charred buildings surrounded them but the misty haze that now hung in the air, like a morning fog, dampened everything.
“Nothing," he grunted, still weak. “Did you feel anything?" He turned back to Kelkera who rubbed her pads together.
“Something felt strange." She whispered, her brain struggling with the whole scene.
“Kicit!" A voice rose above the rest and Kelkera spun around to see Master Elacce rushing towards them. Unlike either of them, he seemed untouched, other than his prior broken wing and the only indication of the fight on him were slightly quicker breaths. His gaze moved from Kicit to Kelkera and then back. “What happened?" He said, not even raising his voice above a regular speaking volume.
“Kicit saved the Refuge." Kelkera blurted out, finally regaining some semblance of composure. “He just made the fire vanish!" Master Elacce eyed Kicit and then took notice of the fog before giving a quick click of his beak.
“Good work Kicit, perfect use of a combination." He said. Kelkera took his tone as weird, almost like Kicit had passed a test in the classroom and not just surviving a battle. But Kicit didn't seem to notice and instead turned to her. “And I must profess my own thanks to you for saving my life Kelkera." His voice still strained and ragged from heavy breathing. Kelkera felt her fur prickle at his thanks and she just nodded.
“Have you seen Mathias?" She finally asked, turning to Master Elacce who shook his head slightly.
“We got separated." He said and Kicit, with visible discomfort, straightened back up and adjusted his cloak in the presence of his Master. “I can help you look." He offered, bracing himself against one of the ruined dwellings but this drew a swift rebuke from Master Elacce. “You must rest Kicit." His eyes bore into his Apprentice and Kicit clicked his own beak. Some sort of unspoken communication that only comes with years of familiarity occurred between the two and Kicit dropped his head. Instantly Kelkera felt out of place with them and she stepped away. “I'll find him." She offered and left the two alone.

***
Worry did not even enter her mind in any real form. Instead it was this vague mist, a feeling that Kelkera felt in the very pit of her stomach. Though, upon realizing the state of the carnage and bodies around her Kelkera also wasn't sure if that was the cause of the feeling. Either way, she felt confident that Mathias would find her as he always seemed to.
The path she walked showed all the telltale signs of fire but Kicit's Release had snuffed out any embers. It's juxtaposition added to the sense of unease that grew within her. Suddenly, ahead of her she heard shouts and cheers. Kelkera broke into a soft trot, finding the source of the cheers as Tontashi's guard who had driven the soldiers off and celebrated the victory. The sickly smell of blood assaulted her nose as she noticed the bodies of Esurian soldiers, torn apart by teeth and claws. But intermingled between them were other beasts, with their own injuries more in line with the traditional weapons. The fighting had been intense here, Kelkera counted no less than six Esurian soldiers to around ten Beasts. The numbers seemed to her that they were winning. “Must have been the Magic." Kelkera whispered and looked to the living, watching for the wide shouldered Cervine. There they were, about four of them all huddled together, through them she could see Mathias standing and talking. Inside her the ethereal feeling whisped away and she ran towards him.
“Mathias!" She thrust through the small gaggle and wrapped her arms, ignoring the pain in her arm, around the cervine. “You made it!" But she was met with silence, her nose, as close as it could be to the Cervine sensed something different. It was not Mathias. She backed away in embarrassment to see a Cervine she did not know looking down at her with a wild indifference before cocking his head.
“You know this one?" He said and gestured with his antlered head. Oh, she'd just gotten him wrong, purely understandable in all of this she thought. Kelkera swiveled, not to Mathais standing with a smile on his thin face, but to a body, face up motionless. A single bolt embedded into his bare, armourless chest and a thin line of blood fell down his chest to the ground, beyond that he was untouched. His face, the face of the person who had rescued her, the face of the person who she'd relied on now lay motionless. Mathias was dead.
The miasma-like depths of horror wrought through Kelkera as the realization became clear. The horror turned to fear and then anger in a flash. “Why didn't you protect him!" She screamed, turning up her teeth and letting a growl embody the horror. Around her the other Cervines all looked among themselves. “You just let him die?" she called again, tears welling in her eyes. The desire to show them how much he meant to her, to prove how important he was grew within her and she cursed the lack of claws. At least she still had her teeth! The growl grew but before she could act Tontashi cut through her anger. “Hold yourself Vulpine!" And the palm of a warrior grabbed her shoulder, stopping Kelkera right as she was going to jump.
“You just let him die!" She bit back, ripping free from the pad, but it held firm and forced her to turn to face the head of the watch. The Canine had been in the midst of it from her disheveled fur, blood and sweat stains trailing down her now half missing ear and hastily assembled armor.
“He died in battle." She said, as flat and sternly as she possibly could and fell sorely short of any kind of reverence.
“And you just let him die on the ground!!" Kelkera ripped herself from Tontashi's grasp sending waves of pain through her wounded arm.
“You're hurt, you need to take care of it." Tontashi's tone did not go beyond the matter of factness of the whole scene. “And you need to clean yourself up."
Kelkera almost scoffed at the idea but looked down at herself for the first time. Her entire body had been transformed to crimson. The sickeningly sweet smell of blood had not been coming from the dead around her but from herself. Her brain scrambled, it raced to grapple with everything that happened, the attack, her near death and kill, Kicit's Magic and now Mathais' death. It overwhelmed her and her body deemed it to be enough. Kelkera collapsed.

***

Kelkera woke up back in the community tent, spared from the fire, but now more individuals had found their way inside as most of their makeshift homes had been destroyed. Her wound, still radiating a dull pain, had been crudely closed and wrapped and quiet sobs reached her ears as she struggled to sit up. She looked over to the Avians.
Elacce was laying on his back while Kicit gently reapplied the bandage to his Master's broken wing. She got up and walked over, dodging other wounded Beasts on the ground. The older Avian craned his neck to see and once he saw Kelkera gestured to Kicit with his beak. Kicit looked back and upon seeing Kelkera he rose to his feet, still shaky.
“Is he alright?" Kelkera asked first, not sure what to say, but it seemed to be the right thing.
“He will be fine. I just needed to reapply the bandage." Kicit said, glancing back at his Master.
“Why not just use magic? You know, for the wing?" Kelkera asked and Kicit once again looked at his Master who clicked his beak once.
“None such Release exists. The Tree of Magic is vast but there are no Releases that can mend a broken body quicker than nature itself. Though, even if there was, I couldn't perform it at the moment." Kicit drew in a few deep breaths as if he were suddenly reminded to.
“My apprentice…" Master Elacce began, pausing briefly to choose his words carefully. “Tells me that you saved his life with some quick thinking." Kelkera stole a glance towards Kicit who had his own eyes centered on Elacce. The Master took notice of this and let out the faintest of sighs, almost imperceptible to the eye but Kelkera had heard it with her twitching ears.
“He saved mine so I'll call it even." She said and the Corvid shot a glare at his apprentice who seemed to sink under his gaze. Sensing the tension Kelkera turned her full attention to Kicit. “But are you ok? Seemed like you had gotten hurt." Kicit avoided her eye contact, something she grew slightly frustrated at but pressed on in the face of his quietness.  “What did you do Kicit, back during the fight? I felt you giving me this sort of power, why?" She asked, expecting him to turn his full attention to her. But instead he glanced back at his Master where there was some sort of unspoken understanding between the two and he shook his head.
“Many apologies Kelkera I'm not entirely sure what you're referring to." He clicked his beak twice and bowed his head low mimicking his verbal apology. The gesture felt forced and Kelkera immediately recoiled.
“But you just said?" She started but Kicit stood and made his way for the open door flap.
“I had been mistaken, please excuse me as I need to see if anyone needs my assistance." Kelkera, taken aback by the sudden turn in the Avians attitude looked back to his Master. She could also tell by the way his thin legs were still shaking that he was in no shape to help in any legitimate way.
“Kicit can be temperamental at times and he exhausted himself with that Release." The feeling of power that had allowed her to defeat that guard, had it actually been from Kicit? Did his Release somehow rub off onto her or give her power? It would certainly make sense that every time her pads traced the white lines in the air, the Avians weren't too far behind. She looked back towards Master Elacce, busily trying to find the best way to carry himself with the bandaged wing.
“Just how powerful was it?" She asked. It seemed to throw the old Avian off and he looked towards her curiously before chittering his beak.
“Most would try but not be successful." His voice tinged with a hint of pride. Kelkera moved her gaze to the opening. She had seen the Avian perform a few Releases but her lack of knowledge on magic as a whole cast a shadow over his real power.
“And how does he compare to you?" She asked Elacce who took the question with a squawk-like chuckle.
“It's not proper to ask about one's power." He said, dipping his head. Kelkera was about to let it go but the Avian continued. “-but, he's far more advanced than I was at his age." His eyes followed the same path that Kelkera's had to the door and stared for a few seconds. “He'll most certainly surpass me before I realize it."
“How much longer is he to be your Apprentice?" She asked back. Master Elacce drew in a breath and blinked a few times, his unbroken wing fell to his side and feathers drooped.
“Not much longer."