An older squirrel with graying fur and a thick accent that sounded vaguely Scottish had been assigned to the task of escorting the group to the surrounding villages. His name was Dalmen, his accent and tone of voice gave him a grandfatherly aspect. His tail was a tad too long for him and his nose a little too small; this gave him a look of disproportion, but only slightly. 
————
         They finally pushed through a heavy layer of underbrush into a clearing to find a congregation of fairies and pixies, which are like fairies but they have no powers. They are simply human-like creatures that hold the aspects of insects.
The village halted its activity to inspect their strange visitors.
         Dalmen stepped forward, "I have come from the village of Teran to request your aid in a high risk endeavor in an attempt to free our land." He moved aside and nodded at Arianna and the others.
         Taking a deep breath, Arianna walked out in front of the others and announced, "As I'm sure you know, a great darkness has invaded our land..."
         "Of course we know..."
         "Ronan has destroyed our homes..."
         "He's taken our families..."
         "Silence... silence." The smooth airy voice rose above the clamor of the crowd and floated on the breeze like dandelion fluff.
A pixie with hair so blonde it was yellow, bumble bee wings, and short black fuzz running up her nose and on her cheeks emerged through the crowd. "Let the girl speak." With that, the mob calmed and quieted. "Please continue."
         Arianna dipped her head to the pixie in thanks. "We need troops to help us siege Ronan's fortress." 
         "Are you crazy..."
         "It would be suicide..."
         " You're asking us to die..."
         "Please," Skyler begged. "The more we fight each other the more darkness wins! The balance of this world is crumbling! We need your help."
         The pixie that had supported them earlier fluttered forward, "Even if my brothers and sisters refuse, I will join in this effort."
         "I will as well," A pixie with water bug legs connected to her waist stepped forward.
         "And I..."
         "And I..."
         "And I..." Soon, it was just a jumble of words as one-after-the-other the fairies and pixies flew or stepped forward.
         "Thank you," Caleb inclined his head to thank the villagers. 
         "We should be off if we expect to visit even a quarter of the other villages before dusk," Dalmen spoke up, reminding everyone that he was there. 
         "How many villages are there?" Skyler didn't like the thought of spending more time then necessary gathering troops.
         "I'm not sure of an exact number, but well over twenty and some are not the most hospitable." 
         "How long will it take to visit them all?" Caleb was becoming less and less fond of the idea of visiting a village unannounced. 
         "A couple days for sure," Dalmen started walking towards the trees, "Now let's get a move on. The longer we wait the longer it will take to visit all of them." 
         "Wait, I may be of some help," the bumble bee pixie from earlier pushed through the crowd of citizens, "I can call upon a representative from each village and have them meet in a certain location. Then, you can explain the situation to all of them at once. I will serve as the representative for my people."
         "And I will represent the fairies and our village along with you Shinx." It was the voice of a fairy with silky wings that resembled webs covered in dew and blonde, almost white, hair. Her wings shimmered in the sunlight as she hovered next to Shinx. 
         "That could work, thank you," Arianna replied.
         "While you do that, we could visit some of the other villages." Skyler had made the suggestion. 
         "Yes, then our messengers can start at the farther villages first and we will have supporters at the meeting." Shinx was clearly enthralled by the idea.
         "Go," It was the fairy representative.
         "Come on then younglings," Dalmen was now almost invisible along the tree line.
————
The clouds above them were tinted a soft orange and the shadows of the foliage reached across the ground to the East. They noticed a blazing fire up ahead. As they traveled toward the next village, they heard music floating on the breeze toward them and saw the dancing flames of the fire through the trees. 
Approaching the clearing, they were caught in the middle of what seemed to be a great celebration. Deerian, which are a hybrid of humans and deer, trotted 'round the fire in graceful, complex movements to upbeat music played by a company of Deerian on the outskirts of the circle. The music was a mix of flute, a fiddle, and a drum.
The music died away as the Deerian noticed their unexpected visitors. Many muttered to their neighbors, taking fleeting sideways glances at them.
Then, an older man, who had been standing in the middle of the ring of dancers, walked forward. A path cleared in the crowd as he approached the strange visitors. 
"What is your business here?" He had just reached them. 
"We wish to speak with the man or woman in charge," Arianna assured.
"Well then, come with me, I know a place where we can talk privately." The man turned to leave. "Mia, please accompany me to converse with our guests."
         A young woman emerged from the crowd a string of flowers laced around her neck. "Yes father." She trotted up next to her dad and led the strangers into the forest.
They walked five minutes west of the village. Reaching a small pool guzzling up from the ground, they stopped. 
"Now, what is it that you must talk to me about?" The man turned to the children.
         "We need your help storming Ronan's keep." Skyler blurted it out, unable to wait any longer.
         "Any assistance you can give will be appreciated." Arianna shot Skyler a warning glance, saying that she would do the talking.
"I shall give none," he replied.
         "But father..." Mia protested.
         "NO Mia! I will take no part in this. It's too dangerous."
         "You're constantly protecting me!"  
         "NO! I can't lose you as I did your mother!" It looked as if he would cry.
         "I think we should leave," Skyler whispered.
         "Well, we have many more villages to visit and not a lot of time," Arianna interrupted, "We should go."
————
         When they arrived again at the campfire, they rejoined Dalmen, who had stayed behind. 
         "Take us to the next village Dalmen, we'll find no help here." Arianna urged him forward.
         "Wait!" A female Deerian rushed towards them through the crowd. "I'm coming with you." It was Mia.
         "But your father..." Caleb began.
         Mia cut him off. "My father is blind to the fact that the outcome of this event will affect even those who did not take part in it."
         Arianna nodded in appreciation. "Lead the way Dalmen."
         "Already was ma'am" He scampered into the trees.
————
Explaining all that had occurred to Mia, the children were unaware of the large foothill that they now approached. None of the children had seen a hill this huge. 
"The next tribe is on the top of that hill." Dalmen gestured to it. "But be warned, they aren't the most hospitable species." 
"Great." Skyler said sarcastically.
         As they scaled the slope, they slipped on moss and loose stones. It was steep, everyone, except Mia, had to use both hands and feet to climb.
When they reached the peak, they stopped and stared at a large crowd of Rathen standing, flying, and sitting on the expanse of ground before them. The Rathen - a mix of a raven and a panther - had large feathery wings, a beak, and the body and tail of a panther.
Noticing them, the congregation of carnivores turned and crept forward, their backs low, their teeth bared. Their growl resembled the caw of a raven. With their ears flat against their heads, they forced the group back down the foothill.
"Wait! We come in peace!" Skyler pleaded, "We only want to talk to the Rathen who is head of this village."
         A skull-shattering screech broke out over the noise and a muscled male Rathen stalked through the crowd. "What is it you want to say to me?" He eyed them with a suspicious look. 
Arianna hesitated. She needed to pick her words carefully.
"We need to ask you for the support of your people." Caleb blurted, his voice cracking with fear.
The Rathen chuckled, "And what pray tell is SO important that you require the help of my people."
         Arianna took a deep breath. "We plan to attack Ronan's fortress and we need all the support we can get."
         "We need to stop him before he turns this world to darkness." Caleb stared the Rathen straight in the eyes. "I know that your species has been effected as well."
         The Rathen paused for a moment. "Very well, you have my support." He looked at Caleb. "You're right my people have been effected. My name is Bracken."
         "Your help is very much appreciated." Arianna assured.
         Bracken turned to leave.
"Wait!" Skyler blurted. Composing herself, she continued, "We have one last request."
         "And what is that?" Bracken stopped.
         "There will be a meeting of all the species in a nearby valley and we need a representative from your village," she explained.
         "As you wish. Selene!" A dark gray Rathen with smooth feathers, a black beak, huge wings, and hunter green eyes stepped forward.
         "Yes uncle?" She complied.
         "I need you to accompany our visitors to a meeting and represent our tribe."
"Yes sir." She turned to the strangers.
         Arianna began to thank Bracken but Dalmen cut her off. "I don't mean to interrupt, but we should go."
         "Go, and good luck at the meeting." Bracken watched as the group faded into the trees like the setting sun.
————
            "I don't get it, they should be here by now." Shinx paced two or three feet above the ground, her wings glittering wildly. She stood with Teran at the edge of the woods. "Are you certain that Dalmen is aware of the location of the meeting?"
         "Of course. I'm sure they'll be here any minute." Teran's assurance didn't show in his eyes. "I can't imagine what would be delaying them."
         "There aren't representatives for the Rathen and Deerian tribes either." Shinx pointed out.
         All of a sudden, three figures raced out of the trees and into the clearing.
————
         Arianna watched as Dalmen, Mia, and Selene disappeared into the forest. The clashing of swords brought her attention back to the fight that had been waged in front of her.
Four dark Rathen had ambushed the group on their way to the gathering of the species. One had fallen at the hand of Caleb, but two more had come to reinforce the remaining enemy.
The Rathen spun through the air trailing dark mist behind them.
Skyler stood over Caleb, who had been injured, trying to defend him. He had not expected the other Rathen to show up and had been caught off guard, it ended badly.
Lilac rode the creatures like horses tearing massive claws through their flesh.
Unsheathing her sword, Arianna rushed one of the beasts. She picked up Caleb's fallen sword and delivered a fatal wound to a nearby Rathen.
Skyler suddenly dropped to the ground unconscious, having failed to block the attack of a Rathen.
Lilac leaped over to Skyler's side, trying to rouse her.
The Rathen readied itself to finish her.
With a surge of emotion, Arianna transformed into a Griffin and lunged towards the animal, tearing feathers and flesh with her beak.
Bucking her off of it's back, the Rathen charged her. In that moment, she knew she would be killed. 
         Suddenly, a sword appeared in the creature's side and it screeched in pain collapsing to the ground.
Lilac appeared next to the dead Rathen holding Arianna's sword in her enlarged paw. Turning back into her original form, she ran over to the limp bodies of Skyler and Caleb.
Skyler had suffered nothing more than a few cuts and gashes, but Caleb was gushing blood out of the deep lacerations on his chest.
The remaining Rathen fled their miniscule foe as Lilac killed another of their comrades.
Arianna took one of the spare shirts that they kept in a bag and ripped it into strips in order to wrap Caleb's wounds. 
         Skyler began to shift and move. Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up.
"Skyler!" Arianna exclaimed, "help me with Caleb, we need to go."
         "Right. Right." Skyler shook her head to clear it then stood.
Grabbing Caleb by the arms and legs, the girls trudged towards the trees with Lilac close behind.

A/N
Header is a Rathen.
Sorry it's sideways.