2412, Iclis 20, Reshpe

April hovered behind the haze of clouds, using the height to her advantage. The slippery fool managed to evade her from Acosa and was now traversing the length of the forest in Komery. Her wings flapped, dislodging a few loose feathers. She watched them flutter in the air, twirling with the windy currents blowing from all directions before descending to the ground like rain. She let it. Let them know she was here, and that she's here to bring justice.

She looked to her left, to where the Acosan palace stood. Marin better be fine in there, or else the Heiress would flay April alive. As much as she disliked being relegated as an overqualified chaperone, she saw why the Heiress seemed fond of the little witch. The girl was simply too wily and dangerous, even for April.

After spending a full week with the girl, April had a glimpse of what this chaos was about. Two organizations seemingly gained confidence and surfaced recently. With the appearance of an entity called the Virtakios—reportedly stuck inside a plain girl whom June now consorted with—Synketros, and yes, Cardovia, engaged in a race to control the entire island. See, getting the Virtakios wasn't even the end goal. What the Heiress and the Sovereign—Synketros' leader—aimed for was something far greater. Something April and Marin weren't privy to nor they would understand in full.

A small part in April wanted to throw all her care about that to the wind, but the logical fraction of her mind told her it'd affect her plans as the High Queen if she didn't deal with these organizations before they became more powerful. It's a dangerous game—one she's playing with her moves limited. In a karavag match, she'd be the piece pushed into the enemy house. She would either have to sacrifice something to survive or accept her fate and die off.

What a grim thought. It's too early in the day for this.

A familiar gray streak flashed in her periphery. There.

She dropped out of the trail dimension and searched through the gaps in the canopies for the discernible sign of June. Her wings flapped, stirring the clouds around her, and she dove. The wind tore at her hair, driving it away from her face and neck. It's going to be hell to comb through later, but she'd worry about that when she already accomplished what she came here for.

She lowered her vision to the trail dimension again. A curse flitted off her lips. He's fast. To have moved from one point to another in that short amount of time...

He's riding something. Or he had someone helping him.

It could be both, as April proved when she tucked her wings closer to her arms and angled her form down. Branches stung her skin, but she gritted her teeth against the sharp pain as she settled on the sturdy branches holding the colorful canopies up. She chose the right reference point, with her seeing June's trail creep from the horizon. Nothing beat air travel, of course.

When she dropped out of the trail dimension for the last time, she glimpsed a raslione with a dark coat and sharp claws padding across the forest floor. Streams of sunlight rippled across its claws and snout. Two men sat on the creature's flank. One was an older and taller fairy with dark brown hair and rather bland countenance. The other sported white hair and a dark cloak wrapped around his form.

June. That's him.

As the raslione bounded for somewhere, April studied her targets. The other man held on to June as if her brother would slide off if he didn't. How much more pathetic June had to be? Something clicked, sending her to a pause. Was that...

Of course. June was draped on the raslione's flank as if he's merely a lifeless rag. And he killed their mother, the High Queen. There's no reason to think he didn't already get the consequence for that, the physical consequences. April had her work cut out for her, it seemed. It made this whole detour far more exciting.

Her magic burned to the surface, answering her call. She pointed her palm towards the spot where the creature would cross in a few seconds. A spell left her mouth, a roar of fire and lightning extending from her palm in response. The ground exploded in a shower of soil and wood. The smell of burning grass hung heavy in the air. Smoke rose from the ground with a hiss.

April fluttered down, hands crawling to the hilt of her new sword. She still had to get used to the grip and the motions, but it's a blade—the same principles applied to it regardless of its material and shape.

The smoke cleared, and the creature vanished without a trace, no doubt, using the shadows to crawl back to its master. That's better. A herd of rasliones, and April might have a bit of trouble. Her boots crunched against the embers made from grass and exposed roots. June lay unmoving within the crackling flames, the ends of his cloak catching some of the blaze. He'd combust at any point, and April would be content with that. Even with the Dwarven sword on her waist, the thought of killing someone still made her gut recoil.

The air to her left flashed orange. She whirled in time to parry a blade slicing out of thin air. What—

A brownie. A vanished one, in fact. How was June in the company of one? He's an assassin for the High Queen. Friends should be the last thing he had in his possession, if he even had some.

None of this dagrine crap.

April focused on the air currents around her, listening and feeling them shift and whistle, betraying those who moved through them. She swung, the pommel of her sword slamming into a fleshy lump. A grunt followed it. The air rippled, and the man accompanying June dropped into view. A trickle of blood lined the side of his head as he rolled across the ground in an effort to right himself.

She should give him the mercy he deserved. He shouldn't have anything to do with this. Her blade glinted with the sunlight when she swung down, aiming for the man's head. A bright, orange flash slapped her eyeballs, driving her back with a yelp. What in Umazure—

A caw resounded in the air. She looked up to see something else zipping across the undergrowth. Not again. If it was another one of June's allies, she'd really be pissed. She had to finish this. Quickly.

She whirled, but paused. That's...weird. She had her sword out, but why? Was she fighting someone already? Where were they, though? Her recent memories told her she bombed the creature June was on, and now, she only had to kill him. Maybe that's why she had her weapon at the ready.

Yeah, that's it.

She stalked forward just as another caw ripped from the distance. Whoever they were, they weren't doing a good job at being subtle. She approached June's unmoving form and prodded him with the tip of her sword.

"Hey, get up," she said. Concern dripped from her words—an ill-fitting detail in their current situation. But if she was to act on the real reason she's here, she needed him to get up. "June, hey. Look at me."

An answer got to her when a blazing column of fire zoomed from the branches, seemingly cast there beforehand. What the—

The shadows shifted at her feet, and she felt a force slam against her ankles. Her world whizzed to a blur as she fell forward. June slammed against her back, sending her sprawling to her face. Where did he come from? Wait—

A blast of green and pink ripped through the air, hungry for her blood. Raining spells on her? He should know better. She just wanted to talk! "June, listen to me—"

Silver flashed in the air, aimed for the spot between her ears. She gritted her teeth and ducked, tackling June from the gut. They fell to the ground, and April rolled in time to snatch her fallen sword from the ground. She turned it face down just to parry June's following blow. Which didn't make sense. If he's far along the drawback, he shouldn't be able to move at all. And the spells he's casting...

Fine, then. If he didn't want to talk, she wouldn't. Maybe she'd be better off actually killing him here than doing what she had already planned before she went down from Falkirta. The plan wasn't to kill him as she kept telling everyone. It's to make them believe he had passed on without actually doing anything to confirm it.

She couldn't care less if he murdered their mother—that's his weight to bear—but she didn't really stray from her initial belief. The High Queen made a mistake of caging her own son into a role and life he didn't want, and it's her duty to free him from that. But all plans had hitches, and in the case of this one, they believed she'd really make good on her word.

One last caw rang through the undergrowth. They're not alone. At least, not for long. She had to get through June, and fast.

She was about to drop her sword when another spell whizzed towards her. She flapped her wings, the bones cracking on her back, and diverted it away. He ripped into her personal space, using the spell as merely a distraction. Panic squeezed April's throat, her arms moving on their own. They drove the sword against June's scant dagger. With him spent and weak enough, he crumpled aside. His form quivered in an effort to get back up, but April flapped her wings again, this time, dislodging the metal spikes hiding beneath the folds.

A purple light covered June, and her spikes shattered upon impact. What in the world...

The undergrowth rustled. Ah, the other vermin. She needed that one out of the way to ensure no one would know the truth other than the two of them. Just as a dark-haired boy stepped through, she lunged and knocked him flat to the ground. Her sword found his chin.

"Do not add to my vexation," she hissed, remembering his annoying face now. It's the human who turned her into a vulkraine—cursed birds that they were. "My brother is enough."

An act, truly—but an important one. Still, the boy smirked, his green eyes carrying enough confidence in his own abilities. "Took you long enough to figure that out?" he cocked his head to the side, shuffling the grass underneath. He ran a finger against the sword's sharp edge. "Killing your kin is prohibited. Is that why you cannot drive this fancy thing into him?"

A growl ripped off her throat, and she pressed her sword harder. "My brother's time is limited," she said.

"And I cannot be killed that easily," he said. "Asmurkata!"

Her sword shattered into a million shards. Her brand new sword—gone. That's it. She's going to skewer the gods' breath out of this pest. The boy shouted something, and a rush of magic washed all over her. Her skin boiled, and it took her a while to understand it came from the metal's contact. And it's all over her. She yelped, swiping at her armor, her steel-tipped boots, and the metal spikes hidden in her wings.

On her periphery, she watched the human dash towards her brother, attempting to whisk him away again. Not on her watch. Plucking the last metal spike from her wing, she summoned her magic and drove a huge gust of wind into the human. His feet left the ground, plucked by the sudden force. He slammed shoulder-first into the ground. As he writhed in order to get his bearings, April tramped towards him and gripped his collar. Then, she jammed her fist into his face.

His eyes burned with a different rage. Intriguing. He gripped the wrist holding him up from the ground, and another spell ripped out from his lips. April gasped as gashes tore themselves open across her arm. Pain shot through her muscles, forcing her grip to loosen. Something zipped to her left, and knuckles dug into her jaw. She fell backward.

"I never thought you would be able to hit a woman, boy," she spat blood on the ground, her hand massaging her face. That hurt, but it'd heal. "But you forget—I hold the key to your breath."

She extended her arm and whisked the air around him. He collapsed, hands wrapped around his neck as he gasped for air. Flapping her wings, she sent blow after blow, slamming his form against trees, the ground, and back again. She needed him out of this game before he ruined everything she worked for. The human's head lolled, the lack of air getting to him. That should be enough.

Metal didn't boil her skin with red blisters when she picked her fallen weapons up. She chose three daggers—spare ones she received from the Heiress before they departed the camp—and sent one into the human's direction. She didn't wait for his reaction, lunging instead for June.

A harsh wave of magical energy rushed towards her. Her blades crossed in front of her face, but they did little to stop the oncoming wrath. It slammed into her, awakening a whole mound of pain, her form turning weightless before crashing into a trunk. She gasped at the pain, and as the disturbed debris cleared, she saw her brother slumped against another tree, barely conscious.

She glanced at the human who still stirred. He's awake, which meant he could hear everything she said. "You insolent witch," she hissed, letting the malice bleed through her voice. "I don't even need a blade to kill you."

She switched to Keijula just in case the human didn't know it and rambled on as she crept closer to June who lay vulnerable at her feet. She added a chuckle or two when she said, "No one will save you now, brother."

Her dagger blazed in the air as it struck down. The human attacked her again. A futile attempt. Within seconds, he was back on the ground, battered by her fist and kicks. "I changed my mind," she said, pointing her dagger at June. "He dies now."

April lunged, and just before her blade hit anything substantial, a new sword zipped out of thin air and parried hers. The force of it made her hurtle backwards, her feet dragging against the forest floor. She stumbled, her ankles twisting in the most uncomfortable way.

Another girl dropped into the clearing, wearing a face April could never forget. She pointed her sword at April. "Get your hands off my friends," she growled.