Reunions (E 2.1, H 2.1, L 2.1)

Peace is my apartment after a long shift at the Belly, my door locked, a hot bath before bed.

I haven't known peace since Kiwi died, and I won't know peace here either. I don't respond though, slipping around behind the curtain and sinking onto the bed where I gather the blanket up around my wet clothes like it might offer me more protection than a whole gang of Talons could.

"Is it you?" I ask the Whispers. "Are you the one whispering in Litch's ear too?"

Helix,

"Nononono," a Whisper rattles off quickly. "Never ever, Helix. Never ever."

"The Gray Wing is our mortal enemy. And yours as well," a flat-toned Whisper states with unwavering clarity.

"They will eat your mind, Helix!" a Whisper says with a snicker as if the process would amuse them.

Hard Strike's voice cuts off the others. "Take what he promises now, worm your way into their good graces. Then, you will strike at their wicked heart."

I depart the girl's chambers and head immediately toward the armory where Kestrel is cleaning and storing the weapons. I enter the storeroom, walking past large, tube-like apparatuses that Jackdaw has recently procured: new, powerful weapons to install on our skis. I knock on the entrance frame so she knows I'm there. "Well, we finally have her, Kes. I have to say, now that I have her, I'm not sure what to do first. How do I persuade her that service to the Gray Wing is in her...well, all of our best interest? Especially when she's..."I finally allow myself to sigh deeply, closing my eyes. "Honestly, she's as savvy as Zephyr, but with Plover's ability to give you a whopping guilt-trip."

The way Hard Strike’s voice cuts off the other Whispers with such certainty and precision sends a chill down my back. She was an intimidating leader in life, and now I have the burden of carrying her in death. It’s an eerie thought. I wonder if, in time, she will become as deranged and maniacal as some of the other Whispers are. Is that the natural course when a soul is tethered to this terrestrial plane? Or just when it’s tethered to me?

I huddle a little deeper under my blanket — the Talon’s "I don’t want to get into a war with a…" I hesitate, unsure what to call the Gray Wing. I exhale moving on to the more practical part of their proclamation. "I have to use what I can for now though. To survive."

I steel myself then stand and move back around the sad little curtain to ask Zephyr. "Your father said you might have some clothes I could borrow?"

"Your mother was hurt very seriously, but she is very, very strong."

I look over at Shrike as she stays nearby continuing to monitor Paisley. Though the thought is fleeting, I muse for a moment about how someone so strong and hardened on the outside - her way with children, both Aloe and Paisley, is remarkable.

"These are my new friends. Miss Shrike here and Miss Plover working over there behind the counter. Do you think you can help them in here while I go check on the other Talons?"

I need to talk to one of the Talons to see about an express trip to the Fountains. I now have two people depending on a safe transfusion here soon.

I catch the shirt, then consider her question. If I’m really not here to be a warrior or a servant, if I’m supposed to find some kind of ease here, then there’s only one answer. "A skirt will do."

I'm peeling my wet dress off my body when Zephyr's voice comes from the other side of the curtain. I hesitate as a spike of sorrow and guilt jolts through me. In all the chaos and unexpectedness of arriving here, I'd forgotten the secret that came out in Kiwi's last moments.

"Yeah," I answer softly, recovering enough to keep changing, stripping out of my wet dress and slipping into the dry clothes from Zephyr. "But aren't you all chasing death anyway?" I ask, tone calm rather than accusatory. "Isn't that the point?" I find a spot to hang my dress to dry, then step out from behind the curtain, lingering near it without moving closer to her.

Syd,

You leave Paisley with Shrike and go looking for someone to take you to The Fountain and end up standing just outside the open door into Zephyr's room. Helix is there - in one of Zeph's shirts and a cute black skirt. They're talking about the Gray Wing and Kiwi.

Helix,

Zephyr doesn't see Syd, but you sense his arrival in the hall.

What do you do?

My lips tighten when she blames Nuport, but then I remember how the Whispers told her to do it. If the Whispers and the Gray Wing are truly opposing forces, then it makes sense that they'd have opposing directives too.

"It's not her fault," I say, defensive. "She didn't have a choice." The Whispers are too strong. Or perhaps it's that Nuport was too weak; I can't be that weak. "If your mom wanted Kiwi to live, maybe she shouldn't have abandoned him in the first place."

I sense the other Talon, one I don't immediately recognize in the hall, and I draw back, looking away from Zephyr and pulling back the curtain from around my bed and busying myself with needlessly arranging the blanket and pillow. I might be able to go up against one Talon, but not two. I'm not here for a sermon.

I give a grunt at Kestrel's analysis, acknowledging her expertise on such matters. "Maybe I should have you teach her the Gray Wing One-On-One course." I quip, but half-hoping she acquiesces. I turn back to the new weaponry, running a hand over the metallic surfaces. "Did Jackdaw get these? Or is this Merlin's doing?"

I tap gently on the ajar door to Zephyr's room five times, then in a quiet but clear voice call out, "Miss Zephyr, may I have a word?"

I grunt again, though this time with interest. These things do look like they make a racket, but I'm not sure I agree with Kestrel's assertion that they carry no substance. They look like they could be rather useful and surprisingly effective. Just like Jack. "Yesterday, I would have agreed with you wholeheartedly. But today? Did you see the way he looked after her when we returned from the Ren? He looked like he actually cares about her. I've never seen him drop his bombastic nature for even a second, but today he did...for her."