I woke as the sound of crunching leaves approached my position and immediately focused on the sound. I extended my magical sense to the source, then relaxed as I recognized Saki's magical signature.

I glanced up to the sky, but it was hard to measure time with the light that flickered through the trees. I wonder how long Saki was in town? I stood and shook myself, then calmly waited for my companion to arrive. Birds chirped loudly as they suddenly noticed me out in the open. I paid them no mind as I patiently sat and watched the slope.

After a few moments, Saki burst through the underbrush, slightly out of breath from her climb up the slope. "Time to go," she breathed and wordlessly clambered onto my back, then gripped the harness hidden beneath my scarf.

I silently nodded without looking back, then began to run up the mountain at my top speed.

After a few moments of silent travel, Saki's voice reached my ears between each of my steps. "Wh-where a-are we go-going?" Saki asked as I continued to run through the moss and fern carpeted ground.

"We're going to the other side of the mountain before we take off. I don't want to be spotted by anyone in the town." My running did not hinder my speech, though my strides interrupted the syllables of my companion. I leaped over a large fallen log, then dodged a large tree directly in my path.

We continued to travel up the mountain in silence other than the pounding of my footsteps and breathing. As I climbed, the mountain became steeper; a few short cliffs that scarred the slope, remnants of old rockslides and ancient weathering.

Suddenly, I spotted a large stone cliff face directly in front of our path. The trees still blocked any vertical escape routes, and I could not see the end of the wall in either direction. I have to stop! In a bit of panic, I dug my claws into the soft earth and leaned backward. My hind limbs struggled to grip the ground and caused me to torc as I skid to a sudden stop.

"Woah!" Saki exclaimed as she dug her heels into my sides in an attempt to remain on my back. Thankfully, she was not thrown off my back as I finally managed to come to a halt. "Hoshi, are you ok?"

"There's a wall." As I studied the wall further, I noticed that an old tree had grown atop the curved wall. The thick tree roots traced the irregular stones, but I did not see any large cracks.

"What is this place?" Saki leaned toward the structure to get a better look. I glanced back to her and saw her squinting at the stones. 

"I don't know," I state as I walked around the stone wall. Soon, I noticed that this was more of a building. "There's a tree in the way here, but if I can climb on top, maybe I can use it as a launching point and break through the canopy. The thing is only a few feet taller than me, so if I can find a large enough gap between the tree trunks, I could climb on top."

As I began to circumnavigate the structure, Saki studied it in an odd amount of interest. To me, it was just a wall, but the young Stellan stared at it while I slowly traversed the area. "Those markings are strange," she mused with a slight hum. "I've never seen anything like them."

"What markings?" I shift my focus from the blue sky peeking between the trees above the wall. After visually scanning the wall, I looked to Saki. "I still don't see what you are talking about; all I see are rocks."

Saki slid off of my back, then reached towards the wall. "Here, the carvings are odd and worn, but look." She touched the wall and shivered slightly. "There's something oddly magical about this place."

I eyed the spot and slowly discerned the markings she mentioned. "Oh, there are markings. So it is an annoying wall with scribbles on it." I moved closer, then shivered as a faint wave of oddly powerful magic washed over me.

"I don't recognize any of these symbols...," Saki paused and removed her hand from the wall, "and the magic feels different. I don't want to wake magic that is dangerous and impossible to control. " She stepped away from the stone construction and clambered back onto my back.

"Right," I continued my trek around the structure. While I searched for a place to climb to the top of the building, Saki continued to study the wall.

"I think this was here before us...." Saki spoke in a soft tone as she stared at the worn grey stone. "It looks too old..."

"Of course, it was here before us. We just got here; this monument or whatever it is is is ancient." About halfway around the structure, I found an opening and jumped onto the structure's flat top.

"No, this is from before the Stellans migrated here," Saki spoke in a whispered voice as I eyed the small gap in the canopy. "I remember from kindergarten that our ancestors fled from the Stellan homeland. They followed the guide of the stars and found New Stellonia. My teacher told us this was a land untouched by people, but now, I'm not so sure." Saki hesitated as I mentally calculated the best angle to take off from, only half listening, then continued, "was that the truth?"

"Hang on," I order. When I felt Saki grip the harness, I spread my wings and took off into the air with a jump and a wingbeat. Vertical takeoffs were hard, but with a few more flaps of my wings, I burst above the canopy. The edges of my wings brushed against tree branches, but not hard enough to tear the wing membrane.

Saki remained silent as I increased my speed. Eventually, I decided to spark a conversation with my passenger. "So, what did you get in town?"

"Oh, I didn't buy anything." Saki admitted, "I wanted to buy a bit of food and save the rest. However, someone tried to grab my arm before I finished shopping." She hugged my neck. "I think he was a soldier on break, and he recognized me. I may have made a mess when I hit him in the arm with my basket. I dropped a few coins on the counter when I fled to pay for the damages, even if it was just the food I dropped."

"I'm sorry," I frowned as Saki whimpered.

"Why do they hate us?" Saki sniffled violently, "We both fight monsters! Why can't we fight together?"

I sighed and quickly changed the topic. "Did you hear any interesting news? Anything we should go check out before we go to Ginfield and see Mrs. Hanna? After sleeping on my back all night, you could use a night in a real bed."

Saki sniffled and slowly calmed down. Once she recovered enough, "I heard some news that snow has covered Norport."

"In the northernmost city this time of year? That's unusual. It's summer, and only the southern cities on top of mountains still have snow this time of year." I flapped a few times to increase my speed a bit. "Perhaps we should go investigate, even though Norport is a larger city than what I prefer to approach. We can go tomorrow after you get a good night's rest and a few real meals."

"I guess..." Saki leaned to one side to look over my shoulder, and I readjusted to counter the uneven weight. "There's a lot of unexplored lands in the forest. If we found that structure, what else is hiding in the trees?"

"Not monsters, as far as I can sense," I state and briefly glance down at the dark green expanse of trees.

"That's not what I meant." Saki chuckled as she reentered her weight on my back. "I meant what other mysterious objects could be down there? What has gone undiscovered by Stellan kind and is just sitting there?"

"After the war, maybe we can fully explore the world together." I chuckled slightly at her enthusiasm. "For now, let's explore only when we need new safe resting points. I won't want to stop an adventure if a monster raid suddenly appears. The war has to come first, but I promise I will explore the world with you if you want when this is all over."

Saki hesitated, "that's fair," she admitted. Her voice picked up in a tone of excitement, "Deal! After the war, we become a duo of legendary explorers and uncover the mystery of who left that structure and where they went!"

With a small chuckle at Saki's enthusiasm, I buried the sickening dread that crept through my body. I don't know how long I will last without monsters to harvest magic from so I can live. I inhaled through my nose as I flapped my wings again. But I promise I will spend the rest of my life with you.

Night fell long before we arrived at Ginfield. As we approached, I flew low over the trees that surrounded the town. Curfew was hours ago; the settlement was almost entirely dark. After I passed the tree line, I lowered my altitude and flew along the edge of the forest. As I flew, my wingtips brushed the short grass that separated the fields and the overgrown woodland.

Eventually, I banked away from the trees, then landed near a large shed where the corners of four fields met. "Alright, you run down to the house, and I'll stay here." With a swipe of my paw on the simple latch, the door opened.

Saki carefully slid off of my back. After she gave me a brief hug, she released me with a grin on her face. "See you tomorrow!" She waved as she happily dashed down the tractor path toward the house.

I watched her run with her cape flapping in her wake. When she reached the back door of the house, she excitedly knocked on the back door. The rasping of her knuckles against the wood was faint in my ears, but soon, Mrs. Hanna opened the door with a candle in her hand and invited the younger Stellan into her home.

When the dim light of the candle through the windows disappeared, I turned my gaze to the night sky. I briefly looked at the waxing sliver moon, then gazed at the sparkling stars that stood against the dark purple and midnight blue night sky. I don't know how anyone could follow a bunch of dots anywhere. How are they supposed to guide anyone? All I see is a confusing mess.

For a moment, I thought I saw a star move in the corner of my eyes. However, when I focused on the offending glowing dot, I quickly realized it hadn't moved. Strangely, I found myself unable to look away for several moments. Something in me felt drawn to that one star in the sky.

With a huff, I tore my eyes away from the sky as I mumbled. "Now I'm paying too much attention to the stars. If the stars were guides, why can't they guide Stellans to the end of the war? Saki would have had a much better life if it wasn't for Master and me."

With a snort, I crawled into the shed and pulled the door shut using a handle. The latch automatically locked, but I could easily open it with a swipe of my paw. Mrs. Hanna had built this place to accommodate me under the guise of a tool shed. With my sleeping space secured, I settled on the pile of hay-filled burlap sacks.

I was thankful that Mrs. Hanna. Though I had to share my space with tools to legitimize the structure, it was still large enough for me to at least partially stretch myself in the morning. I rarely ever felt cramped when I stayed here. If I did feel confined, I could always move the farm equipment around or up into the small storage loft above my head if needed.

With a yawn, I settled myself into a comfortable sleeping position. Part of me liked the sensation of her curled up against my side, while the other part of me was grateful for space.

As I drifted off to sleep, I suddenly remembered that I had not received my nightly nightmares last night. Though I rarely remembered the contents of my nightly torment, I remembered that I had had one. At least I remembered waking up in pain and panicked. I wonder why I didn't have any nightmares. I doubt I won't have any two nights in a row.

With another wide yawn, I closed my eyes and allowed the darkness of sleep to envelop me in a cocoon of sleep. For a brief moment, I slept peacefully, but my rest did not last long.

Author Notes!

There's a minor mystery as well as some lore hidden in this chapter. What do you think about the mysterious building? I would love to hear your thoughts!