The wind had been lashing at Raven for five whole days. The rainforest had been left behind after the first day and a long expanse of open air had ended in rolling hills.

The bedrock of each floating island they had come across had been a shade of blue. Some were darker than others and even bordering on purple, but mainly a sky blue. Fury had herded Raven onto solid ground whenever her companion decided it was time for rest.

Patrols had also become more frequent encounters as they approached the Capitol. The Nightmare was quick to bite Raven's wing and drag her behind a boulder exposed on the grassy hills or recently under the canopy of a tree in the forest underneath them.

Her wings had dropped the feathers from the pressure of the bite marks and exposed pure golden skin. Since there was no one to ask for advice Raven assumed it was the pressure exerted on her feather's veins. The hard bites had caused the blood flow to the feathers to be crushed. This had resulted in the tissue dying and shedding to be replaced anew.

The muscles in her wings had strengthened extremely quick and the movements had become familiar rather quickly. Raven relied more on her instincts than ever before. The queer jerky movements of flying had almost seemed like second nature once the doubt of failure had evaded her.

More recently she had started practicing aerial stunts and learning the ways of the currents. The plains proved to provide excellent training opportunities and the occasional sparring match between herself and Fury became more common as they progressed in their journey.

The patrols were not the only living specimen Raven had seen of the land that called to her. A cow resembling animal had inhabited the excessive plains they had flown over. It's twisted antlers sharp and pointing high into the sky. Herds upon herds resided on the prairies grazing the high grasses that were lush and plentiful.

Among further inspection insect, fireflies, rodents and small burrowing birds habited the plains. What surprised Raven the most though was the presence of wings on each and every living being. It seemed that there was not one creature left wing less other than the Angel women.

She caught Fury scanning the landscapes assumably for her smaller companions more than once and had stayed on alert as well. Though nothing had been sighted by either they kept their eyes searching for the telltale black beings.

Since they had entered the floating forest their progress had been hindered. The massive trunks of the autumn forest silent guardians.

Raven remembered Fern saying the forest would hide the Hive. It wasn't hard to believe the truth in her words once one entered into the silent filled labyrinth.

Above the duo, squirrels traversed the maze of interlocking branches. A patrol had forced them to descend below the canopy and they couldn't find another opening to escape. Flapping wings were approaching yet again and Raven pressed against a tree trunk to minimize the chances of being spotted.

The Nightmare had nimbly climbed a tree. Her claws dug and shredded the wood as she ascended into the web of the trees. The leaves shook upon the disturbance and Raven watched as the red and yellow leaves sailed to the grassy ground.

Wildflower meadow were spaced throughout the humble forest and the sweet scent of their nectar mixed with the warm damp smell of the moist leaves.

It appeared that the season in this particular forest was in the middle of change. Autumn neared and the days of warm sun beams would soon come to an end.

Upon the ground shadows danced and played. The occasional birds chattered away and a herd of winged deer paraded alongside Raven, intrigued by her presence.

Raven's feet fell silently between fallen branches. She had had enough practice on hunts to navigate without sounds when hunting.

Her wings were now a steady weight adorning her back. She flinched every time a larger shadow shot by above the canopy.

It was certainly smarter to stay beneath the tree's crowns to remain undetected. She knew it was inevitable to sneak into the city undetected, but she hadn't disguised herself yet.

Fury leaped between trees and flapped her wings at the bees that buzzed around her ears when their nest had been disturbed.

The afternoon sun played lazy patterns in the grass when she finally found a stream. Without wasting time she pulled an old brown shirt from her pack. Her breast sling blended perfectly with the colour and would hide the essentials.

Fury drank from the stream as she used her diamond dagger to cut two long oval holes into the back of the shirt.

Sheathing her wings into her back she slipped the shirt over her head before taking the wings out again.

The massive appendages sprung free and tensed on their own accord. Repeated the movement a few times she deemed the shirt good enough took it off again.

Her wings stayed sheathed this time as Raven untied the sling only to retie it differently. The shawl now wrapped around her breasts behind her back. It was tight enough to hide the obvious swell that only a woman could have. Knotting the ends together once before tucking them in she then put the shirt back on. Her wings burst free and she released her hair from it's braid.

The locks were curlier than usual. An effect from staying into the knotted position for an extended period of time.

Some of the patrols had long hair, but not a single male had a braid. This led Raven to belief they weren't fashionable. If a strange new Angel appeared with a different look, it would cause suspicion. If they had a similar look though they might be overlooked and blend in with the norm.

The open sky above them dotted with white clouds. It would rain during the night.

Turning to Fury, Raven walked to her saddlebags. She strapped her bow onto her back and slid the two daggers into the waist band of her cargo's. Her boots were still sandy from the desert and her skin had tanned considerably from the sun. Her long tangled hair fell over her wing joints and down her back. It tickled the new feathers on her wings and shifted in the late summer breeze.

The animals around them suddenly quieted. Dread filled Raven and she was fast to unclip the water bag from the pack.

"Okay, listen to me Fury. You need to leave. I can hear them coming. We have to split up. I need my answers and you need to find your friends. When we're both done we'll meet up at the Spikes. Stay safe my friends."

Pointing into the direction they had come from, Raven pleaded the Nightmare with her eyes.

The massive animal press the tip of her snout against Raven's forehead in goodbye.

She closed her eyes and swallowed before ushering the command.

"GO!"

The Nightmare bucked away and into the shadow. Within second there was no sign of Fury and Raven jumped high into the air.

Her powerful wings flapped strongly and a gust of wind hit her as soon as she breached open air. Surprised shout erupted from behind her and she turned around to see five male Angels flying in her direction. All were tall, all were strong, all carried swords and all had smaller wings than her.

Her golden feathers were throwing lights in every direction. Beams were reflecting from them and her inner black feather absorbed them.

She had righted them again. The golden layer was outside while the black were inside.

The five Angels approached skillfully. Their wings didn't beat once, they were simply gliding on the current carrying them east.

"State your name, intruder."

The leader had spoken. He was the largest of the five men. His wings were a light blue, almost white. His hair a darker brown the same as his eyes.

"I am Raven. I come in peace and only seek answers." She had pondered on giving them a different name, but seeing as her name could be given to both a boy and a girl it didn't matter. And they had never seen her, well him now, anyway.

As long as no one discovered her true identity it wouldn't matter.

"You're coming with us. You're late for reporting to duty. Cillean, take his bow and let's get going again. It's not far now." The leader had spoken again, his eyes never leaving Raven's.

Cillean was the smallest of the five, equalling Raven in height as well as posture. The mousy haired man flew to her quicker than she thought possible and held her bow in no time.

Keeping the bulges of her daggers hidden she simply observed the five. They moved in a unit, everything was in their control.

They circled her once and then ushered her further east. In the distance another island floated over the forest. It wouldn't be long before they had arrived.

"The general has been waiting for you for some time, you were meant to have arrived days before. And weren't you supposed to be from the north?"

It was another of the men that had spoken. He had speckled blue feathers with a darker blue undertone. His eyes were blue but his hair was black, almost as black as hers.

"Emadiel, the General will question him not us. Now keep your mouth shut if you don't want it stuffed full with feathers again!"

"Yes Centurion." Emadiel answered stiffly. The tension was high between them, the whole unit in fact.

"What was your mission?" Raven asked in hope of receiving an answer. It didn't seem like she'd get one though. The Centurion stayed silent and the rest of the unit had gotten the message loud and clear.

The General would deal with her.