Hatching Courage

Yukki

“How is she already here?” I heard The Abbot murmur as we drew ever closer. With one final leap, I could see it as clear as day. Hope and Yui were at the tree. Hope hung in the branches near the top while Yui lay on the ground near its base. The only one I couldn’t see was the stork. As we came down, I lost sight of them under the treeline, but then I caught sight of a new figure. The Iron Cross knelt behind a rock, a pistol in one hand and a stack of papers in the other.

*BANG BANG BANG*

The pistol rang out with every shot as The Iron Cross held it over her head and stared down at the papers.

“How did you get here so fast?” The Abbot asks, landing by her and setting me down.

“I’m pretty sure I rode the dramatic tension, but as always, the script is pretty vague,” she said, not looking up from her papers. “From what I’m reading, it seems like Yui and Hope put up a decent fight, but he got the drop on them with his returning ability.”

*BANG BANG*

“Where’s the devil now?”

*BANG BANG*

“Not sure,” The Iron Cross says, continuing to fire over her head.

*BANG BANG*

“Shouldn’t you be watching where you’re shooting?” The Abbot said, looking over the rock.

“You know I’m a spray and pray kind of girl,” she said, finally putting the papers down to reload.

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t a bigger gun be better for that?”

“Yeah, it would,” she said, her voice filling with displeasure. “But this is all I brought.”

*BANG BANG*

“WHAT?!” The Abbot demands, crouching back below the boulder. “That’s the only gun you bought.”

“Yeah,”

*BANG BANG*

“Remember how I said I’d only bring a pea shooter to our next fight because I didn’t get to use the big one last time?”

“Wh- Bu- Ho-” The Abbot says, stumbling over his words. “That wasn’t sarcasm?”

“Well, I meant it to be sarcastic,” she begins, sounding more like a child explaining a mistake. “But after reflecting on it, I realized I had a lot more anger in my voice than sarcasm, so I figured I should lean on the side of caution.”

*BANG BANG*

Though I can’t see The Abbot’s eyes, I can only imagine they’re ready to pop out of his skull, either from irritation or disbelief. Finally, he takes a deep breath and sighs.

“We don’t have time for this now,” he says, drawing his sword. The chips and cracks in his sword shone in the moonlight.

“You criticize my weapon choice when your sword looks like that? At least my Luger is in full working order.”

“Quiet,” he barks before standing. Holding his blade centered on his chest, he claps his hands around the handle and utters a prayer. “Oh Lord, let the obstacle before me crumble like the walls of Jericho before Joshua.” With that, a stream of soil floats up from the ground and covers his blade, making it glow brown as brightly as the moon above. “Get the first aid kit ready,” He commands before lunging over the boulder. I watch as he dashes towards the tree, sword at his side. As he reaches the tree, he leaps up near the branches, holding Hope. With a single decisive slash, the branches holding her fell away, crumbling into ash and dust in the wind. He then quickly scooped Hope up in his arms and leaped back towards us. Just as he was about to land, The Iron Cross jostled me with an oversized backpack.

“Take the med-bag,” she said, dropping it in front of me. “Hope took a knockout blow from Yui right on the chin. I’m surprised her head didn’t come clean off.”

“What? Why would she-” I began to ask, but was stopped by The Abbot dropping Hope into my arms. He didn’t speak to me or even look at me, turning immediately to The Iron Cross.

“Did you see him poke his beak out?” he asked.

“Just barely. About 11 o'clock, 10-15 meters past the tree.”

“How effective were your bullets on him?”

“Not very,” she says, disappointed. “This weapon was designed to kill allies, not storks; I’m also running low on ammo. Once it’s gone, I’ll have to resort to the fun toys.”

“What do you mean by running low? Don’t you pull those mags from nowhere?” The Abbot asks.

“I don’t pull them from nowhere,” The Iron Cross says, pulling a mag from seemingly nowhere. “I pull them from my imaginary satchel, completely different.”

“Whatever, just keep laying down covering fire,” he says, looking up and leaping over the boulder again.

“I hope I have to resort to the fun toys,” The Iron Cross said, her grin piercing through her gas mask. The Abbot leaps next to Yui, looking ready to scoop her into his arms. Suddenly, his body shifts, and he readies his blade. Just as he does, a blood-red crane appears before him in front of the tree and slashes it with its wicked talons. The Abbot manages to parry with his blade, but the force makes him step back. He regains his footing and looks back at his opponent, only to have the bird vanish and appear back in the branches of the tree. The Abbot looks up to him, and I swear I can see a grin under his visor.

“HA, messed up the ritual, I see,” he yells to the bird in a mocking tone. “Sure, you can return to it, but you also can’t leave. Guess that’s what you needed the blood for.” The bird’s beak morphs, taking on the form of a frown at The Abbot’s mocking tone.

“Take care for whom you speak to, boy, for once I defeat the lot of you, I shall-”

“Yeah, yeah, you shall impart upon us undying suffering to the point that we wish for death, but it won’t come. I wish you wanna-be Archdevil types would come up with another threat. It holds less punch every time I hear it.” Shino clenches his malformed teeth so hard that a few pop loose and fall from his mouth.

“The likes of you will not beat me, boy.” Shino instantly launches himself back down at the Abbot, his beak ready to strike through his chest. The Abbot uses his blade to parry, spinning around and slashing at the back of the bird's head. Just as the blade’s about to make contact, the bird again vanishes. Again and again, he struck from the tree, trying to surprise The Abbot, but each time, his lightning-fast reactions kept his blade between himself and the bird's beak and claws. Each time The Abbot was attacked, he’d instantly return with a counter, getting closer and closer to returning Shino’s blows. Finally, he managed to slash some feathers off Shino’s head. The Bird stood panting at the highest part of the tree, staring daggers down at the Abbot, who looked up defiantly at the bird.

“Who are you who resists me so, boy?”

“The Blade Hidden in the Cross' Shadow, lowliest of sinners, nothing more,” he says, his tone smooth and confident. Shino grits his teeth again, a few more popping from his beak.

“And you expect to defeat the likes of me?”

“Oh, but I already have,” the Abbot says, taking his sword in both hands and putting his stance ready. The Bird also raises his wings as if ready to deflect an attack, but it never comes. Instead, the Abbot disappears in a plume of smoke, covering the whole base of the tree. Shino quickly flaps his wings, blowing the smoke away, but by that point, it’s too late. The Abbot has already jumped back to our rock with Yui in his arms. Shino charged after him, his beak like a flaming arrow coming to strike at the heart. But just as he was about to attack The Abbot right in front of our rock, he stopped. His beak fell as if it were made of melting wax and then appeared back at the tree. The Abbot landed on the rock and looked back, smiling. “Just as planned,” he said, hopping from the rock, Yui still in his arms. She looked smaller than when I last saw her. The first gi-wearing dragon monk, who’d somehow appeared twice as tall as she actually was, now looked like a pale doll in The Abbot’s arms. “A bruise on the left thigh and two puncture wounds on her back from the claws,” he said, lowering her gently to the ground next to Hope.

“It hurts,” she moaned softly, like a child crying for their mother.

“I thought you said spiritual weapons wouldn’t cause physical wounds?” I ask while putting chest seals on the holes in her back and sweeping the rest of her body for any other bleeding.

“They can’t, but that bird has a physical body. Call it a perk of his botched lair ritual,” he said, looking over the rock. Shino had disappeared behind the tree to avoid the fire from the Iron Cross’ pistol, but she continued to send a varying rate of fire down on him.

“Why doesn't he attack us here?” I ask, as I finish Yui’s treatment. When he told me her injuries, I was worried she’d been drained of blood, but given how clean her clothing was and how little the wounds were bleeding, I was content that they weren’t that serious.

“He can’t move too far from the tree itself, only 25 meters from it, by my estimate. You three should be safe if you stay behind here while I finish this.”

“Wanna take one of the fun toys?” Iron Cross says, holding up an antique German grenade on a stick. The Abbot knocked it out of her hand, sending it flying behind the rock.

“How many times have I told you I hate randomized weapons? Send that flying, and God alone knows where the pieces go.”

“Well, then you’d better finish him off before I finish my last mag,” she says, sliding a magazine into the pistol. “And Yukki, the Stielhandgranate 24 is not an antique; the stick can serve a variety of purposes. For example,” she says, sticking it on The Abbot’s belt just as he leaps off the boulder. Shino rushes down from the tree top, no doubt ready to greet The Abbot with another series of beak thrusts and claw slashes, but this time is different. Instead of deflecting Shino’s attack outright, he dodges slightly, letting the attack graze his face, cutting his mask and sending his visor flying. Shino smiles, thinking he’s finally gotten the head start over The Abbot, but his devious grin quickly vanishes as the Abbot brings his blade down on the crane’s neck, severing his head from the rest of his body. The head fell to the ground with a plop, while the body continued to tether backward on its two thin legs.

“Aww, I wanted to blow him up,” The Iron Cross pouted, still holding her grenade.

“You might still get your chance,” he calls, peering at the body as it falls back onto the tree. As soon as it made contact with the tree, it lay flat against it. The thick, bloody sap began congealing on the neck where the head had been severed, slowly reforming a new head.

“Oh no, swords aren’t effective,” The Iron Cross said, placing a hand on the mouth of her gas mask. “I guess we’ll have to resort to high explosives… aww, well,” she said in a delightedly sarcastic tone.

“Not yet, we won’t,” The Abbot says, taking a stand next to the tree opposite the bird’s body. He centers his stance and grips his sword in both hands. Then *WACK* with his whole body, he slashes at the tree, cutting deep into the wood. The entire tree shakes, causing some sticks to fall and the six bells to rattle.

“Six bells?” I think, sure, there were only five when we got here. As the Abbot continues to strike the tree, Shino’s head grows and takes shape. The beak is wide open, and as more forms, I can tell why.

“AAAHHHH!” Shino screams. His beak flailed widely as the partially formed head gained vocal cords. Undeterred, The Abbot continues delivering strike after strike to the trunk like a relentless lumberjack. As he struck, the bells rang out in a jarring cacophony of jingling.

*WHACK*

*WHACK*

*WHACK*

The Abbot’s strikes slowly chip away at the trunk. In no time, he made a sizable wedge in the wood; the bloody sap began seeping over the crevasse and draining to the ground below. As it falls from the open cavity, it splashes on the Abbot’s blade and body. So much begins covering him that he’s forced to close one eye as it splatters on his forehead.

“STOP THAT!” Shino commands, wriggling and flailing upon the tree. His beak is half-formed, teeth jutting out in all manner of odd angles, and only a single eye formed in his skull as he struggles to slide to the other side of the tree. He slowly inches his way over and looks at The Abbot as he continues his rampant swinging. Once in view, Shino’s beak warps into a decrepit smile.

“Fool!” He hollers, but the Abbot pays him no mind as he strikes again, plunging his blade into the wood and sap, but then he doesn't pull it out. He looks into Shino's eyes fiercely as the bird continues smiling. The sap from the tree swells around his blade and floods up to the handle. The Abbot quickly releases his blade and flips back. Shino gives chase and slashes with his wicked claws. The Abbot narrowly manages to escape with a shallow cut on his chest. Jumping hand over hand to create distance before making a deliberate leap to our rock, worry filled his eyes.

“You two retreat. I don't know what else he has in store; he could eve-”

“Could even what?” Shino says, interrupting. There, the Blood-red crane stands before us. His half-formed beak and single eyes smile with delight as my back presses against the boulder. With nowhere to run, he launches directly at me, claws extended to tear out my heart.

I close my eyes in anticipation of the claws ripping me open, but they don’t come. Instantly, I feel a hand shoving me to the side, pushing me down. I hear the sound of nails on a chalkboard, but the hand continues to force me down. I look up and see The Abbot above me. His left hand holds me down while his right grips the bird’s foot, the talons plunged into the side of his neck. Blood spews from the wound, but he makes no attempt to move it.

“Could even extend his range from the tree?” Shino mocks. He flaps his wings and pulls The Abbot back, slamming him to the ground again and again. The Abbot grabs the crane’s foot with both hands, still struggling to resist, but to no avail. Finally, Shino drags his talons down The Abbot’s chest, causing more blood to gush. Shino slams him one more time before The Abbot releases his grip; then Shino looks at me, his single eye flushed red and beady. “Let’s try that again, shall we?” he says, taking a janky step towards me.

“Let’s not!” The Iron Cross yells, placing her barrel right on the crane’s head. A single shot splatters the bird's eye, making him scream and vanish before us. Not skipping a beat, she looks down at the Abbot. She grabs him by the torn clothes on his chest and drags him over to me in one arm, almost plopping him down in front of me. “Take care of his wounds,” she says, pulling the grenade from The Abbot’s belt she’d placed there earlier. “Now we do things my way,” She leaps over the boulder, and I instantly hear a cacophony of explosions. I crouch down, pulling him close to me to keep the shrapnel from hitting us. I feel the chest that’s been so strong and dry a while ago as he carried me here from the city—now drenched in blood and gasping for breath.

“Treat wounds, right!” I think, unwrapping his neck. Blood still spurts from his neck as I pull out the gauze. I put pressure down as I plunge it into his neck.

“Don’t die!” I tell him, packing the roll into his neck. “You’d better not die. Who else will answer my questions about what’s happening? Who else will save me when I fall? I mean, that Hattori-senpai boy seemed nice, but I doubt he could save me from a drop like the one I had earlier.” I finish packing his neck and hold down pressure, continuing to talk to him. “And you still have to tell us your real name; somehow, I doubt Abbot is your real name. “ I finished packing and scoured for something to wrap it with, but the med bag seemed weirdly understocked, as if it was only one of a two-bag set. I scoured the area for something, anything to wrap him in, but the only thing I could see was the mask he had used on his face. I cautiously moved my hand towards it, but then stopped.

“No, wait, Yukki,” I thought, stopping myself. “Put yourself in his shoes. Would I want him to remove my hair covering in order to save my life…”

“What kind of a question is that!” I yelled, surprised by my own stupidity. I rip the mask off, and the face I see makes me stop in shock. There, under the mask, was a light brown head of hair, neatly tied back, outlining two partially open eyes that were so dark they nearly looked black in the dim light. “Hattori-senpai!?” I asked aloud again, completely dumbfounded.

“Yes, you have finally figured it out,” Khanethael said, his shining aura appearing before me. “Took you long enough; I am certain that one with a more discerning mind would have guessed it yesterday. In fact, I have my suspicions. Hope has already figured it out.”

“Why didn’t he tell me? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“He said he would reveal it when the time was right, though I guess there are some things even you cannot see, ehh, foreseer?” he said mockingly, standing over Senpi’s unconscious body. Explosions continue sending debris over the boulder, rousing me from my shock. I hear footsteps land on top and relax when I see The Iron Cross standing there, firing wildly. She hops down from the boulder and kneels next to me.

“Okay, I think I managed to hurt him, but we still need to get these three out of-'' she stops when she sees Senpi’s mask ripped off and used as a pressure hold. “You took his mask off?”

“I didn’t have a choice,” I say, defending my actions. “There was nothing else to wrap the gauze with.”

“Well, did you check the other side of the bag?” She asks, flipping it over and opening it to reveal more medical supplies and pistol magazines. I stare blankly, feeling like a stupid child. “This is also where I keep a few spare mags,” she says, scooping up the mags. “Anyway, I think the grenades hurt him. Shadow here may not like it, but if it’s what it takes to get you three out of here, then-” She cuts off when the top of the boulder is sliced clean through. Shino had cut it with his talons as well as part of the Iron Cross’ mask. She quickly throws a grenade over what remains of the boulder and looks back at me. A single hazelnut eye and a truffle of brown hair peeking out from behind the mask that looks all too familiar. “Son of the morning star!” She screams, feeling the helmet. “Does he have any idea how hard these things are to fix? Why, I swear I oughta,” she grumbles, tearing it off, ultimately confirming my suspicions.

“Homberg-Sensei?” I yell in surprise. My mind is-

“Yes, yes, Yukki, it’s me,” she says, cutting off my thought process and raising her hands as if preparing to catch a ball. “We’re all very surprised that our character descriptions did not at all foreshadow Shadow’s and my identities. Now, are you going to transfiguration and help me, or are you going to continue sitting there looking like-” She’s cut off again by Shino launching himself over the boulder. This time, he nearly lodges his beak in her side, but she manages to catch his beak in her prepared hands. He stands over her, struggling to pierce her face, but she manages to hold him back, jolting him to her left and right as he pierces the ground next to her face. I sit there, watching, unsure of what to do next. “What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?” Echoes through my mind.

“What do you do?” Khanethael asks, drawing my attention from Sensei as she and the crane come to a draw, equal in strength. “Are you trying to convince me that you do not know?”

“You always say that!” I snap. “That’s all you’ve said about anything like this. Why can’t you… Just tell me? Please just tell me what you want from me so that I can do it. Why is that so hard?”

“Because it is not about what I want you to do,” he says, his tone monotone and full of self-proclaimed authority. “It has never been about what I want you to do. It has and will always be about what God wants for you and what you choose to want.”

“Well, I can’t just ask God now, can I?”

“Actually, you can,” He says, fading from my vision. “Just tell him what you choose to want, and make sure you end it in the name of The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” With that, he’s gone, just the same as before, leaving me to watch as the world moves forward at a snail's pace.

“What do I choose to want?” The words linger in my mind. What did I want?

“I want to be strong, like Yui '' I say, looking out to Yui, still lying out, her face full of pain. “Want to have courage, like Hope,” I said, looking at her hair lying on the ground, covered in dirt. “I want to be confident in myself like Sensei,” I said, her distinctly German dress still shone with color despite the dulled gray of the world around me. “I want to be there to catch others when they fall,” I said, looking down at Senpai below me, only to realize I was still holding pressure on his dress. “This I ask in the name of The Father, The Son, and of The Holy Spirit, Amen.”

As soon as I finished my prayer and made the sign of the cross, I felt the wind blow on my face. My face coverings had only been loosely attached before and flew right off, but I didn’t feel the need to grab at them. Before me, a great bird hovered, shining in golden light and flapping its wings. Its eyes shot through me like Khanethael’s but were filled with a satisfaction I’d never seen in his. He flew before me, and I felt a rush of warmth. I could feel my body change. My feet grew in size as my big toe migrated to the back of my heel, and my nails grew and curved. I felt my hair flatten, unwind from its thick curls, and cover my whole body above my knees, its rough fibers becoming fluffy like a pillow. My hands melted, and the bones fused, turning into the ends of wings. On my back, I feel my hair crawl down to my butt and form what feels like a skirt. On my face, my hair hardened into a sharp, curved beak. I looked through massive eyes as the world became all the clearer. It feels strange to have my mouth exposed and my eyes covered, but Sensei gives me no time to giggle at the feeling of the wind tickling my lips.

“Oh, thank God, finally,” Sensei said, looking over at me, still holding Shino’s beak in her hands. “Now we can finish this little excursion.” She reached behind her back with her right hand and grew out another stick grenade; this one had the wooden end sharpened to a fine point. She jammed it into the bird's chest as it squawked and flapped away. Just as it moved, she pulled the pin. A moment later, as the bird landed a safe distance away, the grenade blew, leaving Shino with only one wing and no eyes. Just as Sensei lifts her pistol to shoot, he disappears before her. “Man, that was close,” she said, lowering her weapon and rising to her feet. “Thought I was gonna have to resort to drastic measures for a second there.”

“Are you alright, Sensei?” I ask, ignoring her more deranged comments.

“Don’t call me Sensei,” she barked. I took a step back at her tone, crossing over from stern to harsh for the first time. “Here I am, Iron Cross, now onto the plan,” she says, moving to the boulder, now half its original height. “Bastard is regrowing as we speak, but we have to take care of that tree, or else we’ll be here all night. I’d rather not because I left beer in the freezer and pretzels in the oven.”

“What do we do?” I asked, hoping she had a plan.

“Simple, you fly down there, grab his sword, draw the crane’s attention, allowing me to finish off the tree, say a hallelujah, and then go home.”

“What do you mean, fly down there? I can fly?”

“Well, those wings don’t look like decorations to me. Now get to it,” she said, pulling me onto the boulder. I looked down and saw the tree; it looked decently duller than it was earlier. The chunk Senpai had taken out was now covered in the sap, his sword sternly stuck. On the upper branches, Shino's malformed body stood regrowing. In the moonlight, I could make out his reforming wing and head. Though he had no eyes, I could feel a ray of malice and hate streaming from his eye sockets.

“Stop gawking and start flapping,” Sensei said, giving me a stern kick in the rear, toppling me off the rock. I tumble down, fearing a repeat of when Shino had flung me off the mountain. I braced myself for impact, but my arms refused to close. Instead, they spread out, catching the air below me. Not even when the back of my skirt flings up can I force them down to cover up. Suddenly, the ground is racing past me. I brace for impact, but it doesn't come.

“Hey, look where you’re flying!” I hear a Sensei call from behind. My head snapped up, and I saw the tree and Senpai’s sword quickly approaching.

“Wait, how do I grab it? I don’t have hands anymore!” I have no time to think again. My legs move on their own. They reach up, my knees tucking themselves up to my chest, and my toes extend like fingers. In no time is the hilt of the sword within my grasp. I don’t yank the sword out so much as to knock it out of the momentum I’d built up. With a definitive

*KONK*

The wood just barely releases the blade, knocking the wind out of me as my arms finally respond to my demands to close, and I tumble to the ground. I land on my back and look up; sure enough, the sword is in my grasp, and I’ve most certainly caught Shino's attention. His two red eyes stared down at me, but I didn't feel a wave of fear like I had before.

“And here comes the finisher!” Sensei calls, prompting both of us to look back. I see her swinging another stick grenade, but this one is different. Instead of a single grenade on the head, she’s attached a bundle of 6 to it. Swinging it in both arms, she releases the bundle and then ducks behind a tree.

“Go!” I hear Khanethael scream at me as my legs move on their own. It’s too awkward to run with the sword in my clenched foot, so I leave it behind while I flop to my feet and run. As soon as I’ve taken cover, I feel the loudest boom I’ve heard. I feel fire singe my feathers and feel sticks tumble on me as they rain down from the trees. If I hadn’t already been on my hands and knees, I’d have indeed fallen over as the shock wave moved through me. I think it's strange that I didn’t hear the explosion until I realized that I couldn’t hear much of anything, just a faint, dull ringing as I looked back at the tree. I see the fire raging upon the loose branches. The clearing, once faintly illuminated by the bright full moon, had shifted to a deep red, with the colors of flame lighting up the area. I looked up at the branches of the tree where Shino had been to see them all gone; only the thicker main branches had managed to hold on, and the rest were burning upon the ground. At the trunk, the small gash Senpai had started was now a massive hole. More than half the trunk had been blown away, and yet it was still standing.

“Aww, come on, really?” I heard Sensei lament from the other side. “I use the rest of my grenades, and this is all I get?” She kicked a burning stick and crossed her arms. After stewing for a moment, she looked up at me. “Oh, right, guess I should ask if you’re alright too.” I stood in shock, looking at her. All this devastation, and that was all she had to say? “If you aren’t fine, then please say so,” Sensei said, approaching me. “I already called in the clean-up crew and told them we had been injured, but I’ll wanna update them if you-” she was suddenly cut off when a sharp beak burst through her stomach. Her eyes filled with surprise as she looked down, but no blood came from her mouth. Just as she reached for it, the beak pulled itself out from the backside. In the next instant, she’d been kicked to the side. In her place stood the skeletal remains of a crane. His bones were blackened, and a few were missing; his right wing still moved in tune with the rest of his body, even though there was no attached bone. I could still feel the malice from his empty black sockets as he grinned with delight.

“Finally, the last one,” his posture said as he crouched into a punching stance. Just as he leaped, I put my arms up to try to protect myself, but it was too slow. I felt the feathers catching the air and slowing my movements.

“This is it!” I thought, bracing for the attack to come. “I’m gonna be squired like the others, and then. And then.” I was so focused on that thought that I didn't realize it didn’t come. Instead, I heard a faint *thump* before I looked. There was still the same skeletal bird as before, but he was much further away. I looked down at my arms, now wings, and wondered what had happened. Shino tried again to charge me, so I put my arms up again, but this time, I kept my eyes open and was amazed by what I saw. As I moved my wings, just great bursts of wind were generated, and they flung him back. Even after his second or third attempt, he couldn’t get close to me. I thought I was in the clear till it dawned on me that there was no way to defeat him. He was still regenerating, however slowly, and I couldn’t keep doing this forever. Hope, Yui, Senpai, and now Sensei still needed medical attention, and I was all they had at the moment. I began trying to think of a way to defeat the bird when Sensei called.

“He can’t stray from the tree!” She called, still gripping her stomach. “Just push him away from the tree!” I wasn’t sure how good of an idea that was, but that was all I had. The next time he got close to me, I flapped and pushed him back, but this time, I chased after him, delivering guest after guest, pushing him further and further. Eventually, we were further from the tree than the boulder had been. As he landed, I saw his bones begin to warp like rubber. I could see the slightest bit of mist falling from him. Though he made no noise, I could tell from the warping of his skull that he was shrieking in pain. I didn’t let up, and I pushed him again, but this time, he vanished. I looked back to see him latched onto one of the tree branches. I leaped back towards the tree. I tried extending my wings to glide down, but the apprehension took over me, and I closed them again. Managing to tumble back down towards the tree instead of the graceful landing I’d envisioned. Once at the bottom, I flapped my wings to push him away from the tree. The trunk creaked and groaned at the wind, but Shino didn’t budge. He latched onto the bark for dear life, the sap slowly dripping up his legs and reforming his body. I tried again, harder this time. A loose branch fell, but still, the bird stayed firm. I flapped and flapped as hard as I could, shaking the tree and sending the burning branches on the ground flying, but still, the bird remained fixed in place. As he stood there, his flesh slowly reformed, and I could hear him speak again.

“Flap all you want, silly girl; you’ll uproot the tree before you get me down from here!” he mocked, his voice so assured of his victory. But that just gave me an idea. If I couldn’t move him from the tree, then I’d just move the tree. I furiously beat my wings with all I had, aiming higher in the branches to get the most leverage. It shook and groaned violently, punctuated by the mocking laughter of the crane, but I ignored him. Once the tree was shaking enough, I switched up my footing and used my wings to propel myself forward. With one final leap, I kicked the tree, flapping more to push myself and the tree. Suddenly, the groaning wood began to snap. The trunk sounded like a million twigs breaking as it slowly came crashing down. Shino’s celebration vanished as he realized what I was doing. Finally, the last fibers gave, and the tree fell, roots overturned and branches in the dirt. I stood up and began panting, looking down at my handiwork. A swift kick from Shino soon greeted me. He sent me flying back into a tree, then grasped my throat, his claws gripped, trying to slash it open, but my feathers only let him make minor cuts. He pressed his face close to mine; I could smell the blood and decay on his breath as he spoke.

“Foolish girl, do you think this changes anything? Once I’ve absorbed the blood from you and your friends, I’ll have more than enough to cover the entire mountain. The tree will regrow, and you’ll all have died accomplishing nothing. Now watch as I do so.” He slammed my head back, knocking me against the tree. My head throbbed from the impact, and I could barely keep my eyes open as I watched. There, I saw trickles of blood flowing from everyone’s wounds through the dressings I’d placed and flowing down towards the fallen tree. I looked down at my own wounds, expecting to see the same floor, but it wasn’t present. Though my neck was leaking at a slow pace, the blood was pooling on the ground and not moving. I wondered why it wasn’t like everyone in front of me until it hit me.

“I’m too far away!” If adding blood from Yui and Hope had given him more range from the tree, then it stood to reason that there was still a limit. All I needed to do was get them away from the tree. In no time, I was closer to the trunk and planted my feet firmly. Shino eyed me intently, but was so focused on his blood magic that he didn’t move. I began flapping again, swaying the branches and rocking the log. At first, Shino just laughed, calling me a desperate girl grasping at straws, but I endured. The rocking turned to swaying, and finally, the tree turned over. Once the first rotation was made, all I had to do was keep up the momentum. It rolled again and again. End over end as I took steps to keep close enough. Shino walked along the log to remain on top, but couldn’t seem to figure out my goal.

“It doesn't matter where you place me; so long as I have blood, I’ll come back. It's a hopeless girl; you’ll never win.” He continued mocking me like that until I reached my destination. My arms burned like red-hot iron, my lungs were about to burst, and I could feel my heartbeat in my toes, but it was all worth it when Shino saw the ravine. Its sight, which had once inspired terror beyond belief in me, was now a spark of joy. Shino’s face turned to panic as he tried to lunge at me, but each time, the wind just blew him backward. No matter where he attempted to spawn on the tree, he was still thrown back. As we reached the end, I stayed back from the edge, not wanting to see how deep it was. I felt my legs return to their normal shape. My ordinary feat replaced the fierce claws, and my clothes returned, replacing the feathers that’d covered me. The hard beak on my face retracted, making way for my hair on my head. Only the wings remained, but as more and more feathers vanished, my ability to push the tree disappeared with them. With all my remaining strength, I gave one final flappy, moving the tree to the edge. It tilted over; I could see Shino disappear over the edge; it was going to fall. Then he appeared on the close edge and stomped his foot back on the tree’s base, reversing its momentum. It crashed back on the earth with a resounding *THUD* as Shino flashed his wicked smile.

“Aww, it looks like you didn’t make it. Such a shame, you came so far, but now you die.” He flapped his wings, propelling himself in the air. My arms were too dead to try anything, but I could still move my feet. I dashed to the tree, undaunted by the demon bird diving at me. I planted myself right on the tree roots, pushing and lifting with all my strength.

“Your efforts are wasted,” Shino said, flapping his wings over his head, seeming to enjoy my desperation. “There’s no way you can hope to lift it alone.” I block out his words the best I can; I strain and lift with all my might, my feet sinking and slipping in the mud as I lift and push, but the tree nearly budges

“How can one twelve-year-old hope to move a whole tree?” I wonder, about to give up. I feel the glare of Shino about to dive upon me, no doubt ready to rip me to shreds like the others. “Please, God. Don’t let it be all for not,” I pray silently.

“Then how grand it is that she is not alone,” booms a fierce, defiant voice. It sounds like my father’s, but colder and harsher. I look up and see the light shining next to Shino; he must see it, too, because he peels off his dive, stopping in the air and looking. My eyes fix on it, and I see an eagle shining like gold. I feel the wind rush through my hair as it flaps. Each was stronger than anything I could’ve done myself. One flap pushes Shino up into the air, causing him to rise uncontrollably before resting on the far side of the tree. I feel it tilt into the ravine; as I give one final push, it falls over, diving into the ravine. “AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!” Shino cries; I look up just in time to see him dive after the tree, his wings and beak falling like melted wax as it falls further and further down. The sound of splintering wood and smashing rocks echoes up from the deep abyss even after it disappears from my sight.

Then it’s silent. No wood against stone or splashing water, no blowing wind or demonic laughter. Just me and the sound of my own breath as I place my hands on my knees and sway. The exhaustion catches up to me all at once, and I feel as if I’ll vomit, pass out, and overheat all at once. It’s so overpowering that I can’t even stop myself as I begin to sway forward toward the mouth of the abyss, just swallowed by the tree. I tilt further and further, feeling the inevitable pull of gravity until a hand catches me and pulls me back. The hand is warm and robust, with an odd mix of soft and calloused patches. I instantly think it’s my father’s before dismissing the idea as absurd. As it pulls me back, I fall into a lap and lay my head down. All I can see through my narrowing eyes is a bright light filling me with an easy calm.

“Did I do good?” I ask no louder than a faint whisper, so quiet I’m sure it wasn’t heard at all.

“I suppose,” I hear Khanethael say. His words are like smooth ice cream to my ears. “Though you did not perform satisfactorily, you did better than I had expected.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I think as the exhaustion takes over me.