The Price of Feathers

Honey crowns and fire ants

Silver paced back and forth in the dim candlelight of the study, Leech watching him intently.

"It's the only way," Silver insisted. "If we want to be free of this eternal tournament..."

Leech held up a hand. "Let's think this through, friend. We cannot simply murder Raven in cold blood. The others will resist such a dishonourable path."

Silver stopped, running an agitated hand through his hair. "I don't like it either. But Amara was clear - only one team survives this round."

He turned to Leech, eyes pleading. "I must return to my family, as you must to your brother. We've sacrificed eternity already for Amara's obsession. No more."

Leech stayed silent for a long moment before responding carefully. "Perhaps there is a third way. We isolate Raven from the Light, capture her humanely. Once we win the tournament, we can free her."

Silver considered this compromise, then nodded. "The others might accept that, so long as she remains unharmed. We'll have to act swiftly."

Across the arena, Tinkerbell paced as Vex lounged, tossing an apple casually. "Well? Can you do it or not?" she demanded.

Vex took a large, crunching bite and shrugged. "I still don't see why we can't just dump honey on her then release some fire ants..."

Tinkerbell glared at him. "Enough with your stupid pranks! Just discover Raven's deepest fears so I can create an illusion to break her."

"You know I can only conjure illusions around desires, not fears," Vex replied. "But fine, I'll see what I can sniff out."

He left the exasperated fairy, sneaking into Raven's empty chamber. Focusing intently, he caught flickers of her dreams - images of family, belonging...and Amara. Vex gasped as Raven's mind discovered and ejected his psychic intrusion.

"Well, that was a bust," he chuckled to himself. Still, the lovers' tension between Amara and Raven intrigued him...

In the Dark's training room, Dagne struck the dummy fiercely, unable to shake the feeling her teammates were keeping secrets. They'd been giving her strange looks and muttering cryptically since Silver's meeting.

Aphrodite entered, raising an eyebrow. "You trying to kill that thing or make love to it?"

Dagne huffed, lowering her sword. "Something's going on. The others are acting weird around me lately."

Aphrodite stiffened almost imperceptibly. "We're all on edge. This 'final' tournament..." She forced a laugh. "It's probably nothing."

Dagne studied her friend sharply. She was hiding something. But before Dagne could press for answers, Aphrodite hastily took her leave. Dagne's unease only grew.

Raven barely raised her dagger in time to deflect Godric's crushing overhead blow. The force of it numbed her hands as she leapt back, panting.

"Again," she insisted once she caught her breath. Godric gave a curt nod and hefted his axe, lunar light glinting off the polished steel.

They trained late into the night, Raven determined to hone her skills against a larger, stronger opponent. Though tired, the satisfaction of holding her own against the minotaur fueled her energy.

After an intense bout that ended in a draw, Godric held up a hand. "Enough for today," he rumbled. Raven lowered her weapon, rolling her aching shoulders.

Godric studied her with arms crossed, heavily muscled chest still heaving from exertion. "You have warrior's spirit. Where does it come from?"

Raven hesitated at the personal question. Still, she found herself admitting, "I've had to fight most of my life. Group homes, loneliness...this tournament." She shrugged. "Fighting's all I know."