Dawn hummed to herself as she munched on different berries, comparing their tastes and textures. She’d been to many places, and seen many things, but she’d never been over the ocean. She’d never seen anything like a snake-woman. But Ashy was real. Was a... naga so unlikely, then? A woman, almost like any other, who lived and laughed and loved?<br/><br/>She gave a thoughtful nod, deciding that she believed it. Or<i>wanted</i>to believe it, at least, and for her, that was pretty much the same thing. That distant land sounded like a place she would want to visit some day, as she travelled. Maybe the others could come along too, if they wanted. None of them seemed like they had a<i>place</i>anymore. Even among the welcoming Aviari, they all seemed out of place. They were alone, just like she was.<br/><br/>She tossed a berry into the air and caught it in her mouth. The sun had long since fallen below the horizon, far, far below the canopy of trees that stretched out beneath them. She padded to the edge of one of the platform, still with a plateful of berries, and tilted her head, her grey eyes scanning the distance. The forest was much prettier from the outside. There was more looking and less... danger.<br/><br/>They couldn’t stay. It came to her suddenly, piercing the lull in her thoughts. She hadn’t felt this<i>safe</i>since...<br/><br/>The Vale.<br/><br/>The same Vale that had been consumed in darkness. That darkness had cast her out into the world, empty and alone. And she’d faced constant danger ever since, not just from beasts and monsters, but from other humans, as well. Danger of death, danger of rape, danger of pain, danger of slavery... the world wasn’t a kind place. It hadn’t really even been, but she hadn’t known any better, long ago.<br/><br/>And that was why they couldn’t stay. The Aviari were kind and wonderful and loving and beautiful... they didn’t<i>fit</i>. They were safe from the ground-world here, so close to the sky, but they had brought surfacers up to them. She nodded to herself. In the morning, she’d have to convince everyone to leave. Even if Dal’tek really<i>could</i>see the future, she didn’t belong here. That, and they didn’t have any meat.<br/><br/>Somehow, Ashy’s soft song seemed to mimic her thoughts.<br/><br/>She heard the first scream, but wasn’t sure if it was part of her thoughts or a trick of the night. Aviari screamed while they slept, for all she knew.<br/><br/>But the second scream removed all doubt. And then the third, and the fourth, and the fifth... a chorus in the night she’d heard only once before. Her father had hidden her away in the false closet he used to hide his still. She’d been safe from<i>them</i>there - the creatures that stalked the town - but it hadn’t hidden her from their screams. But the creatures that had killed them had made no sound until the screams had quieted. She had only heard the softest creaking of floorboards and the sound of breathing, like a dog trying to catch a scent. Her pendant had been strangely hot against her skin.<br/><br/>Somehow, they hadn’t found her.<br/><br/>Or had they just waited this long?<br/><br/>“No,” Dawn whispered. Her soft voice carried through the air like a current, her tone dangerously cold. The emerald of her pendant pulsed once and began to glow with a teal radiance. There was a sound like cracking ice, and a sudden wind roared to life, her dark robes and hair drifting violently around her.<br/><br/><i>“When your world has crumbled around you like ashes on the wind, there will come a time when you have something you want to protect, Dawn. The art comes naturally to you, but talent alone is not enough. It needs to be tempered with experience, or you risk the Devouring.”</i>There had been no smile in Lucian’s eyes - only a sincerity that had terrified her.<i>“But there is no better time to risk everything than when everything is at risk.”</i><br/><br/>She drew five daggers from her robes and cast them into the air, letting them hover, dead-still. She gave a quirk of her brow, and the blades vanished into the chaos below. Each blade found a group of yahnus - but instead of hitting any of them, it struck deep into the wood between them. Dawn held up her right hand, her lips drawn thin, and each dagger erupted into a pillar of vibrant, disintegrating light.<br/><br/>Dawn wobbled a little bit as she turned, the deathly wind still gusting around her. “Verita, we need to -” Her grey eyes flashed. “<b>Get away from her</b>.” She held her palm toward one of the advancing yahnus. A ripple of force tore through the air, churning apart wood and food until it reached the...<i>thing</i>. It twisted around him like a snake, coiling tighter and tighter until it sliced through him like a coiled blade.<br/><br/>She jumped in front of Verita, her staff held defensively in front of her, but her grip was shaky and the wind around her was softer now. “I won’t let them,” she said, her breathing erratic. Her eyes found Verita’s, her pupils dilated with magic. “I won’t let them,” she repeated.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>