"What...Fishclaw what is wrong?!"

        "I-i cannot see, I, I-i cannot see, e-everything is...s-suddenly the night!"

        "B-but, i-it is not night!" cried Shadetooth.  "S-stop teasing us!"

        "I AM NOT TEASING, PLEASE, H-HELP ME I CANNOT SEE, I CANNOT SEE!"

Oddclaw hurried over to his aid but the moment he touched him Fishclaw flinched in fright, stumbling away before recognising the scent amidst his overwhelming fear.  He shook and scrabbled at his snout as if trying to pull something off as Oddclaw held his face to look at him closer.  His eyes were black, wrapped in purest dark where not even the light from the sun reflected off them.  He couldn't even blink, his breaths becoming rapid as his head shook twitching from left to right in his struggle to see.

        "Wh-what's wrong with father?!" cried one of his daughters.

        "He needs help," said Oddclaw, "we have to guide him back to the Next carefully."

        "Why can't he see?!" asked one of the sons.  "Mother wh-what happened to him?!"

        "I do not know!" stammered the mate.  "Just help him, we have to get him home!"

        "S-shadetooth, where are you?!"  Fishclaw tried to stagger onto his feet before falling hard against his brother.  "I-i can hear you, o-oh, please d-do not leave me!"

        "I am here, here."  She nuzzled up against him with a tender smooth lick across his cheek calming him.  "We will bring you home together, come, let us go."

The scent of fear and panic rose around him as his family led him back, Oddclaw in front keeping a steady pace with Shadetooth on his left and his children crowding around the right and back.  Occasionally he had to stop when he felt his steps falter, a scent unfamiliar to him causing a fright as Fishclaw became a timid beast.  It was the slowest fearful journey he had ever undertaken, nostrils flaring in frantic urge to run someplace, anyplace he knew in the vain hope that it would somehow return his senses to him, but the further he travelled back to a land that he recognised every scent and sound within, the more terrified he became.  Soon was sobbing, wailing like a lost hatchling which alerted the rest of the tribe to his suffering.

        "A-AAAAAAAGH!  PLEAAAAASE!"

        "What has happened?!"

        "Is that, F-fishclaw?!"

        "What happened to his eyes, is he wounded?!"

        "Please, out of the way!"

        "Wh-WHY CAN I NOT SEE?!  BROTHER HELP MEEEE!"

Dragging him towards the family nest, Oddclaw sat him down and let their scents return to him.  It soothed him somewhat but not enough to stop him from screeching and crying whilst his brother hugged him.  Clutching his head against his chest, Oddclaw rocked him back and forth as several other raptors came to investigate along with their family.

        "What is wrong, h-he is frightening my children!"

        "He needs help!" said Oddclaw.  "Bring Alpha here, please!"

        "FISHCLAW!?"  Barren shoved her way through the crowd and frantically nuzzled him.  "Wh-what is wrong?!"

        "M-mother, mother help, H-HELP ME, HELP ME MOTHER PLEAAASE!"

        "What happened to him?!"

        "I do not know!" cried Shadetooth beside them.  "We were hunting a three-horn, we killed it but he...h-he started crying that he could not see h-his eyes are deep and-"

        "O-oh...oh no...Fishclaw...oh my sweet child."

        "F-fishy?!" cried Sandrunner.

        "Oh no, F-fishclaw no!" whimpered Leafrunner.  "This is awful, who would do this to him!?"

        "I DEMAND BLOOD, WHOEVER HURT OUR BROTHER WILL PAY-"

        "Be QUIET!" shrieked Barren.  "You are frightening him, now wait for Alpha."

Both his mother and mate cuddled against Fishclaw, licking the tears off his face as he wracked with tearful stutterings whilst his children looked on in anxious panic.  Eggfang was strangely silent, but Barkclaw kept his distance confused and not wanting to be crowded by the many beasts.  The Alpha soon approached and looked over Fishclaw with a careful looming eye and smacking lips from his aged snout.

        "This is not any blindness I have seen."

        "Is it a sickness?" asked Shadetooth.

        "No.  No plant or beast can cause this, no smell either, where did this happen?"

        "The plains close to our home, we were hunting a three-horn and he just...we killed it but he was fine during the hunt!  A-after he...h-he was just standing alone...he was crying that he could not see, h-he was so frightened!"

        "Hmmm...I do not know what to do, if he is not sick and yet not wounded then there is nothing we can do for him."

        "N-no, no please, h-h-he is...I do not want him to live like this, wh-what sort of life is this?!"  Shadetooth stood up with stuttering gasps on the edge of tears.  "Please, PLEASE d-do something!"

        "I am sorry Shadetooth, but I do not know what this is, I have lived a long life and never have I seen a sickness such as this."

        "NO!  NOOOO PLEAAASE!"  She screamed trying to grab at him but his guards forced her away to hold her down.  "NOOOOOOOO!"

        "ENOUGH!" barked the Alpha.  "You can fight me all you want but I still cannot help you.  I am sorry."

        "M-my mate, my mate is...A-AAAAAGH!"

        "How...could this happen?" whimpered Barren.  "Why...why would this happen to my son?"

        "There has to be SOMETHING we can do!" shrieked Sandrunner.  "We can't just sit here doing nothing!"

        "But what can we do?!  If he is not sick a-and he is not wounded what CAN we do?!"

        "I have an idea."  Oddclaw stood up after one last hug to his brother.  "I will ask the hairless if they can help."

        "What?!  But-"

        "They managed to heal me when I almost died, maybe they know how to heal him."

        "...alright.  Do it."

He headed towards the tree where he kept his items, specially marked by himself to warn all others away from it as he retrieved his radio and took a deep breath to control himself.  He struggled with hot shivers and wiped the tears from his eyes, gasping 

        "Jane.  Come in Jane.  Jane can you hear me?"

        "Hello?  Oddclaw is that you?"

        "Yes, I-i need your help.  My brother, Fishclaw he...h-he is...something happened."

        "What's wrong, Oddie are you alright?!"

        "N-no, no my brother, something is wrong please, c-come help him, we do not know how to help him!"

        "Alright alright, calm down, we'll be there soon, can you move him?"

        "Yes...yes I can move him."

        "Bring him to our usual spot then, we'll pick him up with you."

        "Thank you, thank you Jane."

He clicked off the radio and sighed with some relief, putting it back inside the tree as he heard Moonclaw approach.

        "Are they coming?" she asked politely.

        "Yes.  I...I am sorry but I have to go-"

        "No, no I understand."

        "I did not want to-I know that it was my turn to look after the children after I came back from huntin-"

        "Shhhhh.  It is fine."  She crept up to him with a soft curling lick to his cheek and her front limbs draped upon his shoulders.  "This is your brother, now my brother too, I am not going to force you to stay when you have a chance to help him."

        "Thank you...I do not know how long it will be until he is healed but-"

        "I will look after our children, worry about your brother first then come back to us when you can."

        "Alright."

He pulled her close to his side and smooched her between shaking breaths.  When they returned to Fishclaw's side, they saw Dronin trying to scan him with his various sensors that whirred and clicked to try and determine any cause.

        "What do you think?" asked Eggfang standing beside them.

        "I cannot find the source of his wounds," explained the android, "the hairless have greater strengths in healing, though I have many eyes I cannot find anything that reveals his sickness."

        "Alright...thank you for trying Stonevoice."

        "I am sorry, I wish I could help more."

        "It is fine."

        "The hairless are coming," said Oddclaw, "we need to bring Fishclaw to the sands near the Roaring Caves."

        "Wh-why?" gasped Fishclaw turning his black smoggen eyes to the sound of his voice.  "Why are they coming?!"

        "The hairless are going to try and heal you, I do not know if they can but we have to try."

        "That would...are you, sure they would help me?"

        "You are my brother.  They are my friends, they will help you."

        "I-...thank you brother."

        "Wait."  Eggfang stepped forwards.  "I want to come with you."

        "What?" asked Oddie.  "Why?"

        "What do you mean why?!" she snarled offended.  "He is my brother too, we came from the same clutch, do I not have that right?!"

        "N-no of course you do, but I...I can help him-"

        "Let her come," said Fishclaw gazing blindly between them.  "She should be there too, I want her to be there."

        "Alright...sorry, you are right, let us go."

The three raptors walked towards the meeting point at the northeast shore, guiding Fishclaw carefully up towards the beach as they waited for the ship to arrive, a pale slender oval orb with wings that landed with a ramp to guide them in.  Once they arrived, Kevin was there to greet them with translator clasped round his throat as Fishclaw reacted nervously, timid like a lamb traipsing towards the road.

        "Heeeey there dinomigo," began Izquierda calmly, "it's alright, come with me."

        "Wh-who, who are you?!"

        "It's me Kevin, you know mister Stonelegs?"  He clanked his feet hard before him to prove such.  "Come on, I'll look you over and see if we can't figure this out."

        "O-oddclaw, Eggfang do not leave me please!"

        "We are here!" cried his brother alongside him.  "We will not leave you, do not fear."

They walked into the base as Kevin handed Oddclaw a pair of his usual shorts to put on.  Jane met up with them before reaching the med bay.  Several guards positioned themselves outside the clinic, but the raptors were asked to wait outside whilst they examined their new patient.

        "Why must we wait here?" Eggfang asked.

        "The hairless need focus on healing him," said Oddclaw sitting down on a nearby seat, "we would only interfere."

        "Hmph...I see."  She crept along the hall sniffing at the corners where human scents mingled back and forth.  "I have not been to this mountain before."

        "You came here after we fought that stonebeast, remember the island where Stonevoice came from?"

        "Yes but I never went inside the hairless' mountain.  I have only seen it from the outside until this day."

She licked across one of the walls tasting the sweat of many humans who passed through.  A warm salted flavour causing her to smack her lips.

        "This stone I have tasted before...sunmoon stones, far to the west."

        "From the Sunmoon Trees?" asked Oddie.

        "No, much further west, when our tribe journeyed from the old hairless caves, there were stones that shined like the sun and moon."

        "The hairless made this stone themselves, from their home before."

        "Really?"  She stood up pressing her the side of her head against the wall.  "Impressive, I knew they could make fire, but also stone like this?"

        "Are you alright?"  He stood up to walk over to her with hand on her neck.  "You seem...quiet."

        "I am fine."

        "Your scent says otherwise."

        "Oh?  And what does it tell you?"  She turned towards towards him with the coldest look.  "Well?"

        "You are hiding something."  He stared deep into her eyes of pale blue.  "I remember that skill you have, that you can suppress your scent."

        "Hm.  Very good."

        "That is why you were always the cleverest hunter.  You were able to hide your scent, watching our prey even when you were close enough to smell their breath without them ever knowing."

        "Indeed."  She smiled nodding.  "Knowing how my prey moves, how they smell, whether they are frightened or brave so I can anticipate their movements."

        "But I do not need your scent to know something is wrong," explained Oddie circling around her, "mother trusted you enough to let you hunt on your own, so she does not know about your skill, only that you are a great hunter.  Only Fishclaw and I know of your skill."

He slammed his palm against the wall behind her to trap her against his body.

        "What...happened to our brother?"

        "...hhhhhhhh..." she hung her head as she struggled to meet his gaze.  "Yes.  Something happened.  Has Fishclaw told you about his dreams?"

        "Yes.  He has told me that he dreams of the water, and smallwings."

        "He told me of another dream.  One that has been hunting him."

        "Hunting...him?"

He stepped back to give her some space as she leaned her body against the wall.

        "He said there was a...deepstone, he said it was calling to him within an odd cave."

        "A deep stone?"

        "It spoke to him.  He said it was a dream that hunted him for cycles, so he asked me to help him.  Two days after you came back from the Greatbeast's Spine, he found the cave that he had dreamed of down at the south beach.  But I had never seen that cave before, it is as if it just...appeared from the earth."

        "What...s-so what happened?" he asked stepping back nervously.

        "We went in," she continued whilst moving back from the wall, "we found the deepstone itself and it spoke to him just as it had in his dream.  It called him...father, and then it did something to him.  It tore into his mind and, i-it hurt him so that I was frightened we would both be killed...I-i was so foolish to help him find it!"

She slammed her head against the wall with a dull thud.

        "Why?!"  She slammed again.  "WHY DID I HELP HIM FIND THAT STUPID STONE?!"  She slammed even harder unti bruises showed.  "WHY?!  WHYYYYY!?"

        "SISTER, STOP IT!"  Oddclaw pulled her as best he could.  "S-stop it, you are not to blame!"

        "THIS IS MY FAULT, HIS STUPID FAULT AS WELL BUT I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN BETTER THAN TO LET HIM DO THIS!"

        "You were just helping your brother, it is his fault not yours that this happened!"  He grabbed her hard by the shoulders and forced her to face him.  "Would you rather have let him go alone and risk even greater harm, even death by himself?!"

        "N-no...no I...I am sorry.  I-i am sorry this happened to him."  Her eyes started flinching with frustration as she turned her head away.  "I should have known, I should have stopped him, I knew there was something wrong with this stupid dreamhunt but now he is blinded by this!"

        "The hairless will help him," said her brother with forceful confidence.  "They know how to heal such wounds, they saved my life before."

        "I have no idea how to help him."

Kevin pressed his hands against the side of the table where Fishclaw lied, sleeping from anaesthetics pumped into his nostrils, blissfully unaware of the large flap of bone lifted from his skull to reveal the feral brain beating gently, the blood vessels creeping underneath its grey walnut-textured surface.  Ribose and Adenine along with a mixture of human and robot assistants milled about the med bay with sterilised gloves and face masks, with Jane sitting in her seat cupping her head in her palms as the sound of gentle machines clicked and beeped around them,

        "Are you sure that you-"

        "YES," he replied tersely, "for the fucking fifth time I checked all of his lobes, I checked occipital and the temporal, there is nothing obstructing them, his brain is perfectly fine, I read the damn chart you gave me, I cut open a raptor's brain back when we first came here when we were studying them, I MEMORISED that shit!"

        "Alright alright!" she cried rubbing her forehead with her steel arm.  "God...just...really, not even like a tumour or something off, nothing?!"

        "We checked on the chart too," said Adenine, "nothing we could find at all that shouldn't be there."

        "We're not exactly brain surgeons," replied Ribose, "but we've done a lot of anatomy and uh 'work' with cadavers back with our old boss so we know where everything goes."

        "Even in non-humans?" asked Kevin.

        "Oh yeah we've taken apart like every animal under the sun, maybe not THIS one but it's pretty not that different from a wyvern's brain."

        "A wyvern, really?"

        "Well yeah, I mean it's a reptile."

        "What do we do?" whimpered Jane throwing her hands out before her.  "He has SOMETHING wrong with him, we know that he can't see."

        "I can't find anything along the nerves either," said Kevin with frustrated sigh, "I don't want to close him up in case we missed something but I'm sure I haven't."

        "I really don't know what we can do then...if it's not something we can see, then WHAT is it?!"

        "M-maybe some kinda magic?"  The humans turned towards Adenine with a look of disgrace.  "Wh-what?!  What's so weird about that?!"

        "Are you seriously suggesting someone put like a hex on him?!" said Kevin snorting.

        "I-i'm just saying, we, back when we um, worked with our old boss he did lots of weird things like reviving the dead an' putting curses on people!"

        "This isn't your world Adenine, we have science not magic to fix this."

        "Well your science isn't working!"

        "Ade come on," muttered Ribose grabbing his sleeve, "let them do their job-"

        "NO!"  He pulled his arm away from him roughly.  "Kevin look I get this world is different but after all the stuff we've been through, you REALLY not gonna try something else just because you guys don't have magic in your world?!"

        "I haven't SEEN any magic," he argued with a jabbing finger at Ade's beak, "all I saw from all the weird shit goinground was a rat lady, a robot that makes bombs, a knight with a shovel who kicked your boss' ass, who was just some plague doctor that teamed up with some Hulk Hogan ripoff that made a GIANT robot, that's not magic!"

        "But THIS might be!"

        "WE DO NOT HAVE MAGIC ON THIS BASE CABRON!"

        "DON'T SHOUT AT HIM!" barked Ribose.  "HE'S JUST TRYING TO HELP!"

        "If you two wanted to help you would be suggesting ACTUAL advice instead of asking if we had any fucking pixie dust!"

        "W-we never said that we just said-...Jane?!"

The woman left the clinic with sudden haste spiritng her feet, dashing through the halls and straight past the two raptors who were waiting as Oddie called out:

        "Jane, JANE, wh-what happened?!"

        "No time I have to find someone!"

        "WH-WHAT ABOUT MY BROTHER?!  JAAAANE!"

        "What is happening?!" cried Eggfang.

        "I do not know, wh-what...KEVIN!"

As Oddclaw tried to find answers from the medical chief, Jane tore her way through the base until stopping before one of the guest rooms with a hefty knock of her iron fist.

        "Hello?!  Mister Durai, James are you there?!"

The door opened partly to reveal Haytham's kindly face peering through the jamb.

        "Goodness is everything alright madame?"

        "I...s-sorry to bother you but we...g-god, this is stupid I'm sorry but, you two know magic, of course."

        "I would certainly hope so."

        "Master, what's happening?" asked James behind him.  "Is that miss Jane?"

        "Yes um, hello James!" she replied waving above Durai's head.  "Can I ask for your assistance with something?"

        "Of course," replied the scholar opening the door more fully, "how can we help you?"

        "I...well, I suppose both of you can, could you both come with me?"

        "What for?"

        "We have a patient who...I don't know if you might be able to even help, are you good with medicine at all?"

        "I have some knowledge of anatomy yes," replied Haytham taking his book underarm.

        "Well...come with me, please."

Taking the two mages back towards the medical bay, they heard the sounds of ranting fury as Kevin found himself face to face with Oddclaw shrieking over his brother's body, the guards from outside now nervously trying to keep Eggfang back from seeing the chaos inside.

        "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

        "M-MA'AM, UHHH, MA'AM!?  PLEASE!"

        "WHERE IS MY BROTHER YOU HAIRLESS SHITS?!"

        "I AM TRYING TO FIX THIS ODDIE!" roared Kevin.

        "WHY IS HE NOT WAKING UP?!" screamed Oddie.

        "BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT HIM MOVING AROUND WHEN I CUT HIS HEAD OPEN TO START FIXING HIS BRAIN!"

        "IF YOU TOUCH MY BROTHER AGAIN I WILL KILL YOU KEVIN!"

        "I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN FIX YOUR BROTHER YOU FUCKING PENDEJO!"

        "ENOUUUUUGH!"

Jane's scream reverberated through the place as she staggered back against the wall, pushing through the shocked guards as Haytham and James followed her into the clinic.  Everyone was stunned by the volume she raised as she pointed a finger to Oddclaw.

        "Sit, down."

        "B-but, Jane-"

        "SIT, THE FUCK DOWN ODDCLAW!"

He stuttered from the raw scent of her frustrated rage burning out of her body as he sat down quietly.  Kevin tried to start as he turned round to Jane.

        "Okay, now, what the hell is-"

        "DON'T give me any of your BLOODY SHIT about magic Kevin, I know what you're going to say!"

        "Wh-what, Jane the fuck are you-"

        "I know it's a long shot, I know it's stupid but you yourself said that you have no idea what to do, and I've leanred that sometimes the most desperate out-there measures are the only ones that work."

        "Okay but, this isn't like grafting someone's hand to their leg so it stays alive, this is a...I don't know what it is!"

        "Exactly, and that's why we need to try other sources."

        "Oh my god Jane, PLEASE do not tell me this is some homeotherapy bullshit that fucking stuff never works."

        "Of course it doesn't for god's sake what do you take me for?!  I'm talking about magic, which I HAVE seen and it IS real as these two have proven."

        "Uh, h-hello!" waved James meekly.

        "The fuck did you bring them in for?!" ranted Kevin with hands up.  "Not only do I have three new people here without any sterilisation-"

        "OH, I-i am so sorry please f-forgive me I will clean myself now!"

        "But you actually think this is going to work?!"

        "Do you have any BETTER ideas?"

She crossed her arms with cold fingers tapping on her skin.  The medic tried to think up an argument as he rubbed the back of his neck frustrated, whilst James and his master washed their hands and put on some gloves and masks.

        "...Oddie, go wash your hands."

        "Wh-what?" he murmured.

        "If you're going to be here you have to do what we say, gloves and masks too."

        "Um...a-alright."

He stood up and did the same after Haytham and James were finished, the gloves fitting him poorly and almost bursting from his claws poking through whilst the mask failed to stay on his snout due to having no ears to hook them to.  Jane helped by tying the strands to the back of his head, his mouth and nostrils covered somewhat.

        "I apologise for our intervention," said Durai calmly with tender bow, "but doctor Addison was quite adamant in our aid."

        "It's fine, I guess," murmured Kevin feeling all of his air deflate, "you might as well look I mean I can't find anything."

        "Why can you not find anything?" asked the raptor struggling to keep calm at his brother's split-open head.

        "Normally when someone is blinded and there's no wound, it's caused by either the nerves being damaged, the lens in your eye deteriorating, diabetes, neural infections, head trauma, strokes or even a tumour.  But I can't find any of those in your brother, he's perfectly healthy both in body and mind."

        "I...I see."

Kevin sighed with a hand to his head, leaning harder against the table as he groaned behind his surgical mask whilst Durai and James investigated cautiously.  James was admittedly grossed out by the exposed brain, whimpering as it pulsated.

        "H-hoh...T-talisman's sheen th-that looks-hrrrkh!"

        "Do you need a bucket?" said Kevin haughtily.

        "N-n-no, no I can-URRK...h-hoh, no I am here to help, I can help."

        "I must admit I am not familiar with feral neurology," said Haytham disheartedly, "what exactly am I searching for doctor Addison?"

        "Anything that only you can see," she said with desperate shrug, "I mean, I don't know isn't there something you do where you can like scan for magic?!"

        "Ahhh yes...I see, well I shan't promise any results but we shall do our best.  James, I require your hand for this."

        "Y-yes-GLLK, master?" mumbled the lemming gulping back his disgust.

        "I want you to scan the northern hemisphere thusly, whilst I take care of the southern."

        "A-alright...what...what am I looking for?"

        "Anything of an anomaly, something that should not certainly belong and must only be discovered by our ability."

        "Right, yes, I am ready when you are."

        "Libra!"

With his hand hovering above the patient's head Durai cast a spell upon him in the form of a swirling circle of light, dotted with lines of amber writing in some foreign language that none of them could recognise.  Jane gasped in awe quietly as her inner child shook with excitement, whilst Kevin and Oddclaw stepped back in shock ghast at the colours that formed across the table and lit up the walls around them.

        "H-hwhaa?!  iN-NO MAMES!"

Jane said nothing, leaning back with a look on her face that was just waiting to say "I told you so" the moment they found something.  If they found something.  The human and lemming worked carefully, scanning their palms across the raptor's skull as orange lights gleamed off the smooth cranium's walls.  For five minutes nothing happened, cautious fingers tracing across the air of the sleeping creature, synapses flickering, twitching mechanically that the lemming struggled not to look at too closely for fear of his stomach upsetting itself.  No one dared say anything for fear of disturbing the ritual, the sound of a gentle hum filling the air until it almost deafened everyone in the room.  Ten minutes.  Still nothing.  Then the twelfth minute came.

        "W-wait, there!" gasped James.  "S-something is here!"

        "What?!"  Kevin lurched closer over his patient.  "Show me, where?!"

        "R-right there, this area!"

        "...what, but that's...that's the amygdala that's nowhere near his occipital lobes!"

        "Well, something is there I can sense it!"

        "Do you know what it is?" asked Durai peering in.

        "It...i-it feels......wait...w-wait this...this aura I...I know it from......no."

The young student's fingers trembled as they pulled away from Fishclaw's cerebrum.  His face became white as a sheet, his mouth drying up as he staggered back against the wall with choking gasps.

        "Wh-what, what's happening?!" cried Odd.

        "James, JAMES!"  Haytham grabbed his pupil and shook him carefully.  "James are you alright?!  Speak, boy!"

        "Th-...th-the spell...it...i-it is from h-h-hoh, b-by the TALISMAN!"

        "JAMES, FOCUS!"

He struggled with shaking breaths, his eyes blearing as his head swam with tumultuous fray like a child thrown to the rapids, between jagged points of blinding shock as he sat himself down on an empty seat.

        "Forgive me...I-i...I know that...that...power that cursed him."

        "Are you fucking serious?" gasped Kevin.  "Wh-what...what does that mean?!"

        "L-let me...let me see it again.  I have to know."

        "Are you sure?" asked Haytham with hands on his shoulders.  "You're looking pallid."

        "Yes but...I need to know for certain."

Slowly pulling himself up he walked back towards Fishclaw's exposed brain.  He activated his spell once more, scanning the surface of the synaptic organ until he rediscovered the anomaly within.  The lemming saw through his lens of magic a deep festering point, smouldering dark embers that were alien to this world for how they twisted into shapes, faces of unearthly beings that cried a silent whisper to his cheek.  James braced himself and carefully touched the dot of blackness resting upon the raptor's amygdala.

        "WAIT, JAMES!"

The room suddenly screamed.  Not from their throats, but from something else, resonating within Fishclaw's mind as the walls roared with deep vibrations rumbling through them.  The room filled with intense energy that thrust all their bodies up against the walls, floating around the raptor's sleeping form as the machines started screeching with violent flickering screens of deep blackened stars.

        "WH-WHAT-AAAARGH!"

        "O-OH MY GOD!"

        "A-AAAAGH!"

Kevin snarled beside Ade and Bose trying to move their limbs.  It was as if their arms and legs were being trapped by a sheer weight pressing hard against their skin, the flesh forming a deep impression of some creature's grasp unseen.

        "iAAAARRGH P-PINCHE, CABRON!"

        "JAMES!" cried Haytham in one corner.  "JAMES WHAT IS HAPPENING!"

        "I-I DO NOT KNOW!" shouted his student from the ceiling.  "THIS...th-this power is-I-i cannot move!  My limbs i-it's like, s-some paralysing spell!"

        "ODDCLAW!" screamed Eggfang plastered between two guards against the doorjamb.  "WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"

        "I DO NOT KNOW!" he cried from the other side of the door.  "S-SOMETHING, F-FISHCLAW IS-A-AAAAGH-"

T HER E  A RE  A TH OUSA ND S ING LE S TA RS I N H IS B L OO D WH ERE IHA VE TA STE D AL L TH EI R T EA RS

T HER E A RE A TH OUSA ND S ING LE T EA RS I N H IS HE ART WH ERE IHA VE EA TEN A L L H IS L O VE

T HER E A RE A TH OUSA ND S ING LE HE ART S IN H IS M IND WH ERE IHA VE SCRE AME D TO H IS E ARS

THERE A RE A TH OUSA ND SINGLE EARS

ALL OF THEM WERE DEAF

The howling entity disappeared.  The walls stopped shaking as everyone fell back to the floor, scrabbling to avoid hitting their heads on the table before staggering onto their feet.

        "Wha...what h-happened?" gasped Ribose.

        "I don't know," mumbled Kevin with a confused smirk, "it...um...hhhhahahahaha...hhhhahahahahahah-"

        "Wh-what's so funny?!"

        "HHHHhahahahahahaaaa, ohhhh shit, well I guess I owe Jane an apology."

        "I-it's fine," she said carefully moving her arms to sit back into her seat, "is everyone alright?"

        "I am fine," groaned Oddclaw pulling himself up.  "Why did that happen?"

        "I do not know," said Haytham, "but we now know at least that your brother has become afflicted with this malady."

        "I-it's really a curse?" muttered Adenine.  "Like, for real?!"

        "Indeed.  James, do you know the-...JAMES!"

The lemming was unconscious on the floor, hair sprawled out in triple curls as his tutor rushed to his aid with Kevin stumbling over to check on him.  He pressed his fingers to the neck and wrists, as well as above the nostrils for a pulse and a gentle breath.

        "He's fine, just passed out.  He said he knew what that uh...um, whatever that was happened."

        "When he has woken we shall ask him," said Durai carefully lifting him in his arms, "I shall take him to our quarters and recuperate for now."

        "Wait, uh...senor Durai, this uh, curse.  Do we have to operate on him to remove it or, cuz I really don't want to leave a raptor in my lab with half his brain hanging out his skull."

        "Ah yes, no you do not have any need to perform physical surgery on him, once we determine the source of this imprecation we can administer the rites to cure him without postoperative means."

        "Ahh okay then, just so I know I can close him up without having to reopen him again."

        "Good day.  Oddclaw, doctor Addison."

With his pupil in his arms Haytham walked back to their room as Jane started to break down with sobbing fright, overwhelmed by the events that had occurred as Kevin required the aid of his assistants to start sealing up the skull flap much to Oddclaw's cringing shock.

        "You don't have to be here man," said the medic to the raptor, "I know this is hard to watch."

        "N-no it...it is fine, I trust you."

        "Alright.  Sorry I could not help."

        "No...I...I am sorry for shouting at you Kevin."

        "It's fiiiine, you're just worried about your bro, how about you go make some of your chocolate and we'll call it even?"

        "Oh, o-okay I will."

He wandered to the kitchen after briefly explaining to Eggfang all that had happened as best he could, which did little to assure her as she curled up on the floor beside the human guards and tried to sleep.  Frustration and weariness took over her senses as the sounds of clinking scalpels against hollow bone rang in her ears.

        "How are you feeling?" asked Thomas.

        "Better, thank you," said James sheepishly plucking the tape on his fingers, "I apologise for my um...attempts."

        "You've managed to uncover an unusual problem regardless, now your master has informed me that you know what this curse afflicting Fishclaw is about.  Would you mind explaining?"

        "No, I want to."

They all sat in the meeting room, James, Haytham, Thomas, Jane, Kevin and Oddclaw circled around the main table with its map of the prehistoric world.  The five of them waited for James to speak as the student fumbled with his hands.

        "I recognised that...that power.  Elder Arino told us about it, and I...I sensed its echoes being that of the ones used on my people."

        "Your people?" asked Jane leaning forwards.

        "This curse afflicting Fishclaw, it...was a curse enacted upon our people, so long ago.  There is no doubt in my mind about its essence, and if that is true...then I know how to break it."

        "You do?!"  Oddclaw stood up and grabbed James' shoulders frantically.  "T-tell me, please, tell me how to heal my brother!"

        "L-let me think!"  He put his hands upon the raptor's shoulders.  "I need to think, we must perform this properly.  If my estimate is right, there is a book or some sort of key that will help us dispel this curse."

        "Really?!  That...that is-"

        "A lucky coincidence," said Kevin with suspicious brow raised, "you come right here a few days before Fishclaw gets cursed by the same thing that hit your people?  Out of all the worlds you could have gone to."

        "I have to admit," said Brightman crossing arms, "it's a damn good coincidence."

        "What are you implying?" noted Haytham.  "That we are responsible for afflicting him?"

        "No!" said Oddclaw turning to face the men.  "They did not hurt my brother!"

        "How do you know?" asked Thomas.

        "My sister, Eggfang told me, that...Fishclaw found something in a cave, a strange stone that...he touched it a month ago."

        "He what?!"

        "Oddclaw you never told us this!" stammered Jane.

        "I did not know until today," he confessed, "she told me that, Fishclaw was being hunted by dreams about a stone that knew his name.  And he found it, in a cave that was not there before."

        "Do you know exactly where this cave lies?" asked Durai calmly.

        "Eggfang does."

        "Would it be possible for her to lead us to it?  If we can determine its source, we stand a better chance of dispelling the curse."

        "Yes, y-yes she can, let us go now!"

        "Not so fast."  The Major-General stood tapping finger across his arm.  "You're not going alone, if this curse got your brother it might hurt all of you."

        "What do you suggest?" asked the scholar tightening his grip on his book.  "Forgive my indiscretion but you have no defence against the dark arts in this military complex."

        "I bloody wish," muttered Jane aside, "flipendo every bugger that comes looking for a fight round here."

        "I may not know magic but I know combat, but in the words of Gary Moore, 'no colour or religion ever stopped the bullet from a gun'."

        "Hm!"  Durai stepped forwards with astonished look.  "How bluff and yet very true, is he a philosopher in your world?"

        "No he's a musician, but my point still stands, you're going with an armed unit in case of any trouble.  Magic or not, if someone's causing this thing to happen, they must have a body responsible for it.  And if it bleeds, we can kill it."

        "That is rather fatalistic but it is acceptable, thank you Major-General."

The two seniors bowed in respect to each other, shaking hands as Haytham stepped back towards his pupil's side as Kevin raised a finger.

        "Okay but, one thing I wanna ask, what the fuck is with this curse to begin with?!"

        "I actually would like to know too," added Jane, "you said it affected your people, is that correct James?"

        "Yes," explained the lemming, "I um...well, I would explain if you would permit me to, but I must warn you it is a long and sordid tale."

        "We have time whilst I muster a unit," said Thomas, "lemme send a message first."  He clicked on a radio from his pocket and spoke out a command.  "Beta-five, do you copy?  ...mission start in forty minutes, four-zero minutes, you're to investigate quadrant G-12 for a possible disturbance.  ...Oddclaw will assist, along with our newcomers, be warned anomaly may have long-distance corrupting abilities.  Over and out."

He placed the radio back in his pocket, sweeping his hand towards the young lemming as if inviting him onto the stage.

        "Now it's your turn.  Tell us what this curse is."

        "Um...v-very well, I will...do my best to explain."

He walked over towards the wall, sighing plaintively as he cast his mind back through the history lessons of his youth, recalling the lore of his people as his eyes became dim.

        "Many years ago, my people lived happy within villages of another realm, a simpler time of green valleys and strong-winded highlands.  But our curious nature compelled us to explore and so we crafted sorcery, the power to open sub-dimensions, realms like ours and yet almost not entirely.  Our chieftain Arino was most adept at it, we called other realms 'platforms' in our initial birth of discovery, strange colours, blackened skies, grounds of simmering fuchsia, it was beautiful.

        "But then he discofvered a book, a Linking Book, from an island long since forgotten, a magnificent thing that spoke of other worlds far beyond our comprehension like this one we now stand within!  But we were so innocent to cruel intentions that laid beyond, and that was when we first met the great and dreadsome warlock Meen, through a chance encounter by opening a portal to his world."

        "Meen?" muttered Jane.

        "A vile narcissist."  The lemming turned back towards them grasping one of his arms tightly.  "He tricked us with promises of greatness to take our book away, then lured us to his tower where we became prisoners for over a century.  He cursed us with two things, an eternal life at his behest, and blindness forever scarring all of our kind.  When we were first captured, there were six-thousand-and-eighty of my people.  By the end, there was but...e-eighty of us."

The lemming's hands shook with a fearful trepidation, stuttering until he felt Haytham's hand upon his shoulder soothing him.

        "We were doomed to extinction, a quiet genocide at the whim of a mad warlock who used our...o-our life source to...t-t-to feed unto him a purest immortality, by a great spell that required sacrifices upon thousands of our people.  He forced us to wander in the darkness, building bridges that led to vast pits of eternal darkness, sometimes leading us off the cliff in false promises of...f-freedom...and...a-and he...some of us he f-forced to end their own lives f-for his own...want."

Heaving a deep breath, James took a moment as Haytham hugged him.  The room did not know what to say, clasping their hands solemnly until Oddclaw spoke.

        "That is awful.  I am sorry that happened to you."

        "N-no...not me.  I was not born then," he turned towards him wiping tears on his sleeve, "I was born sometime after, after our freedom."

        "How did your tribe escape?"

        "A saviour came to us.  A creature who broke free of the warlock's entrapments and so led the prisoners into an escape.  He and his friends came for us and together we banded, an army of blind beasts who stormed Meen's sanctum and forever imprisoned him within a wretched tome now since long extinguished."

        "Is that the one you were named after?"

        "Yes.  I carry the name of our hero, our saviour.  James Campbell."

The raptor's eyes widened with a startlement.  His throat became parched and his claws spasmed with frantic recall as he sputtered:

        "J-james...Campbell?!"

        "Yes.  ...wait, do you know of him?"

        "H-he...h-h-he um...what, what did he look like?"

        "My mother told me that he resembled a large reptile, brown scales, green...eyes and...marks of purple upon his face-"

        "TH-THAT, THAT IS HIM!  THAT IS MY FATHER!"

        "WHAT?!" cried every human in the room.

        "Th-th-...that-...th-that is not-..." James at first wanted to protest but then he looked at Oddclaw more fully.  "I...I was about to say that was preposterous but now I see...by the...Talisman you DO resemble his descript."

        "I have heard about my father from other starbeasts," said Oddclaw, "one of them, Sam, he said that was my father's name though my tribe knew him as Oddscar."

        "Odd...scar...OH, b-because of his markings!"

        "YES, and my mother said he was the same too, with green eyes and purple marks, here on his snout!"

        "B-b-by the...Talisman's shine th-that...that means you..." James grabbed the raptor's arms with the fear of angels burning in him.  "You...c-carry the bloodline of my saviour."

        "I-i...I...I do."

        "H-h-hoh..."

The lemming clasped his mouth as tears welled up in his eyes before he kneeled deeply.  He took Oddclaw's hand and put it upon his soft green hair, sobbing with joy overwhelming him as he knelt further to kiss the raptor's feet.

        "H-HOH PRAISE MY ANCESTORS, M-MY SAVIOUR!"

        "U-um, wh-what are you doing?!"

        "You carry his blood, the saviour of my people, y-you are his SON!  Ohhh praise be to the great beyond th-this is...o-o-ohhh elders bless me."

He broke down into tears, leaving Oddclaw immensely awkward as he gently patted James' head.  Everyone in the room was left confused by this turn of events until the lemming composed himself, sniffling sharply with reddened eyes and twitching hands.

        "F-forgive me, I...I-i am just overwhelmed right now, I do not mean to...h-h-hoh I can't believe this, m-master is this fate?!  Is this but destiny?!"

        "Caaaalm yourself James," said Durai with a hand on his back, "your saviour was still flesh and blood like any other, is it not natural to assume that he would have children like your mother and father would?"

        "I...I-i-i...I know but...th-this has come a shock to me, to think that, we have come to this world and here we have found the descendant, the bloodline of the one who saved my people!"

        "I understand this is rather fortuitous and, dare I say, immensely serendipitous...but let us not forget why we are here in this room now, to help his brother."

        "YES, y-yes you are right o-oh forgive me, f-forgive me sir Oddclaw!"

        "I-i-i um," the raptor stuttered trying to stop James from grabbing his hand and kneeling once more, "it is fine just PLEASE tell me how I can help my brother!"

        "Right, RIGHT, yes!  Um...a-alright, so, after our liberation, we discovered various tomes of research that Meen conducted, one of which was the curse that was put upon us.  There are many variations of it and one of them we noted was a trap spell, in that anyone who tried to touch a cursed object of your choice, would become blinded.  Fishclaw's malady is the same, he has been cursed because he has touched something that he should not have touched.  I assume that would be the stone your sister mentioned."

        "Alright," said Jane biting her fingernail, "so Fishclaw activated a trap, how do we undo it?"

        "We find the one who set the trap, they would know how to unseal it."

        "Well where the fuck is that gonna be?!" cried Kevin.

        "They won't be far, this magic cannot work across different realms, the trap relies on the life force of the one who cast it.  All magic has rules to it, and one of them is that magic relies upon your own inner self to cast it as a source, therefore you cannot be in a different realm from whence you have cast it."

        "So someone is hiding here," said Brightman, "we make them undo the spell, and send them on their way."

        "We may perhaps find a clue at the place that Fishclaw was first afflicted," stated Haytham, "once your unit is ready then we shall depart."

The ship was soon ready as they took one of the smaller vessels to fly James, Haytham, Oddclaw, Eggfang and three soldiers back to the Hunter's Nest.  In that time James kept himself close to the raptor, his breaths shaking in his throat and a constant urge to grasp Oddclaw's hand could be felt which set the raptor uneased.

        "What is wrong?" he asked finally.

        "I...f-forgive me.  I am...I-i cannot believe that of all the realms I have travelled, I have found...one who is a descendant of my namesake."

        "I do not know what to say.  But I am not a saviour."

        "Wh-what?!  How can you say that, y-you carry the blood of a saviour by default!"

        "But I am not my father."  The raptor turned with a cold look of warning.  "I am my own raptor.  I am Oddclaw, and I am your friend, not a saviour.  Please, do not act like this, it makes me un...un-comfor-tah-bull."

        "Oh...m-my apologies.  Of course."  The lemming deflated with a soft whimper.  "Y-you are right, I should treat you as your own individual n-not...not the saviour I have um...as...forgive me Oddclaw."

        "It is fine."  The raptor smiled and gave his hand a gentle pat.  "I would like to meet my father too one day."

        "You have never met him?"

        "No.  He left my world before I was born."

        "So...wait, you said before you were twenty-seven...so your father came to free my people eight years after your birth, because I was born the year after our freedom."

        "Really?  I wonder how many worlds he has gone to."

        "I wish I knew.  My elder told me that, um...sixteen years thence he came back to our home, to see if we were well.  I was ill at the time, around three years old and master Durai was away at the time, we had not formally met by that point."

        "Oh."  Oddclaw's shoulders sank with what-ifs burning on his back.  "He must be a good raptor then, if he came back to see if your tribe were alright."

        "He freed us because he wanted to," said James with a warming smile.  "I have no doubt your father was the greatest kindest raptor of all."

        "Then why did he leave my family?"  Oddclaw turned his head away and sank even further.  "Do you know why?"

        "No...forgive me Oddclaw, I wish I knew.  I am certain he had a good reason."

        "I cannot think any reason to leave your family.  That is why I will never leave my family, and my children will have a father and a mother and I will be in their lives until the day I die."

        "You will be a great father."  James patted his back and scooted closer to him.  "I have heard many things about you from all your friends here, that and the way you fought at the tournament was incredible.  I have no doubt that you will become even greater than your father could be, a-as your own self that is.  Your children are very fortunate to have you."

        "Thank you James."  Oddclaw wrapped his arm around the lemming's back.  "Thank you for...helping me with my brother."

        "It is the least I can do, I-i want to know the source of this too."

        "Okay we're landing!" cried the pilot from the front.  "Get yourselves ready!"

The ship landed upon the south beach, hovering over the periphery of the Hunter's Nest territory and landing safely afar from the raptors' home turf.  Eggfang strode out in front leading them towards the other end of the shoreline.  The guards kept their laser rifles out and ready, scoping out every single tree and casting their aim across the sea whilst James and Haytham kept up their guard in turn with scanning spells across the sands.  Everyone was on edge not knowing what to expect, boots and bare claws traipsing across the warm coast until they reached the jutting cliff where an exposed seacave lied.

        "Here it is," she said nodding towards the hidden nook as Oddclaw translated, "the cave is not here now.  After Fishclaw was wounded by it, we found ourselves here as if someone dragged us out."

        "I see," said Haytham, "then allow us to investigate and we shall get to the source of this."

The two mages walked forth and traced their spellwork across the ground, sensing out the atmosphere for any imperfections.  The raptors felt their ears tingling with an odd pitch, a ringing song that was just out of the human range of hearing whilst the rocks glowed with subtle light from around them.  The guards kept watch on triple point aiming their guns at sand, sea and forest until Durai stopped.

        "Hark, James look here!"

His student rushed over to see something sparkle, a faint puddle beneath the ochre-tinted lens of his scan.

        "See that?  A charring of something."

        "Does that...mean that something was here?" asked James.

        "Indeed but now it is not, what do you surmise from this?"

        "Y-you are asking me?  You know far more than I could!"

        "I want to hear your thoughts James, let us see if you can solve this.  Observe the fact that there is nothing but a small crag beneath this jut, but according to Eggfang they descended into a full cavern.  Now there is nothing, not even a subterrane except for this small puddle of essence."

The lemming bent down closer to examine it.  It smelled like cold fire, a scent he was all too familiar with and yet there was something different.  Something underneath that creeped at his nostrils.

        "I-it um...it is like when we travel between dimensions but-"

        "Mmmmmm?" encouraged Durai nodding.

        "It does not have same the texture of a dimensional transfer...something much weaker, it actually reminds me of that place we went to with the spirit trees."

        "I was thinking the same thing, now what do you remember of that?"

        "That the forest was not there, and yet it was," mused James with a fist under his chin, "the plants and foliage were all existing within a subplane of existence...OH!  Th-that is it, this, this cavern does exist but it is not HERE in this plane of reality."

        "Excellent!" Haytham cried with a hand on his shoulder.  "That is exactly right.  Miss Eggfang if you will allow me to explain-"

        "Um, I do not un-derstand," said Oddclaw with a finger raised, "can you...I am sorry my language, does not have words for things you said."

        "Ah, of course forgive me.  Let me explain, the cave that your brother went into does exist and is actually here...but you cannot see it."

        "But...how?"

        "Think of the sun.  The sun disappears and the world becomes night yes?  But the sun is still there, you just cannot see it, your world has moved itself to a position that you cannot see the sun, but it has not moved."

        "Oh!  Yes, yes I understand."  He turned towards Eggfang and did his best.  "He says the cave is still here, you and Fishclaw were right but it only appears during certain days or nights."

        "What?" said the sister rearing her head back.  "But why, how?!"

        "It is like the sun, it does not disappear, it just hides into the sea and then comes back another day."

        "...a cave should not be able to do that.  Is this what the deep stone can do?"

        "I think so."

        "So what's the sitch?" asked one of the guards still scanning the beach.  "You find anything?"

        "We need to calibrate a spell for this," explained Haytham, "please continue to keep watch whilst James and I analyse this anomaly."

After examining every inch and nook of the cove's surroundings taking notes on differential temperature and aerial disturbances, the scholar obtained a sample using a specially-designed bottle.  Scooping up some of the substance in a pocket of sand, Haytham watched the sub-essence swirl in his jar and tapped it to make it shudder into a full cloud, before they decided to head back.

        "Wait."  Oddclaw stopped behind the humans.  "I want to go back to my family and tell them how my brother is."

        "Oh, yes of course," said Durai, "in fact I would suggest both of you remain with your family for the night and console them, whilst we commit to aiding your brother."

        "Okay, but we want to come see him."

        "You can come by tomorrow," said one of the guards, "just give us a call sometime in the morning and we'll come pick you up."

        "Yes, thank you.  I hope you can help him, goodbye."

        "Farewell," said Haytham.

        "I-i hope to see you son," stammered James.

The raptors headed back to their homestead, pushing through the ferns and skirting round the trees as their family were shocked to find them returning, until Eggfang explained to them everything she could, including the mysterious cave.

        "WH-WHAT?!" barked Barren.  "No, no Fishclaw would never do something so foolish!"

        "It is true," admitted her daughter, "his dreams were hunting him for so long he had to do something."

        "He would never do that!"

        "Well he did, and now he is blinded by something and the hairless are trying to heal him."

        "How is he?" asked Moonclaw nuzzling her mate's cheek.  "Can they heal him?"

        "The starbeasts that came before can heal him," explained Oddclaw with a smooch back to her, "they are helping him now.  I do not know how long it will take."

        "Alright.  Are you going tomorrow?"

        "I want to, with Eggfang.  I am sorry, I-"

        "No, no he is your brother, this is important for us.  He has helped me too and I want him to be healed."

        "Alright...but if our children are born before he is healed I cannot go to them, I will stay here."

        "I know."  She smiled with a deeper nuzzling as her soft breath brushed past his cheek.  "If you are staying, can you look after our nest whilst I hunt?  I have been desperate to sharpen my claws."

        "Hmhmhm alright I will," said her mate with a sweetened lick, "you will need your claws sharp when we teach our children to hunt."

        "I wonder which of us is the better hunter?"

        "We will find out when we teach them."

Trying to put their fears aside for the day, the raptors went back to milling their usual duties of eating, hunting and marking territory.  Oddclaw kept himself beside his eggs, cooing and stroking his unborn children as Moonclaw hunted with the twin sisters, killing a brother-and-sister parasaurolophus who thought adventure was a better way to live their life separate from the herd.  Meanwhile the human facility was abuzz with concern and curiosity for Fishclaw's mysterious curse, as James and Haytham worked tirelessly through the night in measuring out equations, diluting substances and testing their proximities to Fishclaw with various results.  But they would not make any good progress in their research until the next few days, when a new development beyond their control would come to the base.