Nerini's first plan had been to move immediately on the castle that Keana's company had found. She had even written to Rael the day before to say that that was what they were doing and sent the message on a bird down south.
But even before she had marched her stiff and sore body down the stairs to the tavern that had been taken over and turned into a command centre, something had held her back. Nerini had reached for the surety and stubbornness to prepare for an argument with Keana, only to find her own inclination to wait. Her intuition, her gift, had never told her to wait before and she had struggled for several minutes to understand that feeling.
She was still recovering from her injuries, the healing that her body needed to do had left her tired and stiff, though she had forced herself to begin to train once more. Was it fear holding her back? She felt a certain amount of terror at the thought of the monsters and had seen it reflected back to her in the face of Keana's scout, Tomei, when the young woman had arrived with news of the castle.
When she had finally gone downstairs, she had seen Keana, her sworn Knight, turn to face her while squaring his shoulders, and she knew that he was prepared to give her one hell of a fight. He knew she had sent off a message to Rael, and she could see in his expression that he thought he knew exactly what she was going to say.
Nerini would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy seeing his look of surprise when she had said they were going to prepare and plan for a couple days, then go in. A small part of her felt guilty even as she said it, wondering if Kanny was there suffering, fighting to survive. But the moment she had verbalized her decision to hold off an attack, she felt her gift settle within her, telling her that she was doing exactly what she needed to do.
Keana recovered fast enough, though he kept casting her suspicious glances as they spent the next day mapping out and planning their approach. They had a small force of fighters, most of them rogues and street runners, though Thaner and the small force of Lansend Guards would join them by morning for the assault. Still, they could only hope that the fear that Nerini and Tomei described feeling would fade or be overcome more easily in groups.
They debated the merits between a full frontal attack versus a covert rescue mission, but without knowing just how good the creatures could hear or smell compared to a human, they had no idea if even Keana could sneak in undetected.
Even though the two days had seen an unnecessary luxury when she had made the decision, they passed by far quicker than she would have liked.
The night before the attack found her sitting outside on the roof of the inn, watching the moon rise high above the trees. Its silver light bathed the entire world in brightness and an icy beauty that allowed her to relax. Nerini closed her eyes for a moment, basking in the cold glow until she heard an eagle overhead. Still, in loathe to break the moment, she waited until it sounded again, directly above her head, before she opened her eyes to look at the night sky.
Nerini watched the darkness, frowning again as she saw the large bird as a dark shape move across the moon, looking as if it were circling above the village. Out of reflex she whistled, mimicking the sound she had heard Shiar make to his birds in Sellexu. She felt like an idiot, knowing that there was a small chance that the bird belonged to Shiar, who was across the bay with Wyn and Caelur and Lyana, and that woman he had fallen for. She had not thought of any of her friends, let alone those she had slipped away from those long weeks ago, in a long time, and realized she had no appreciation where any of them would be at this moment.
The bird let out another cry in response to her whistle and circled once more, though more narrowly on her rooftop, before it landed on the chimney a few feet from her. She tensed for a moment, tilting her head and again whistling to it, holding her arm out and bracing as the large white and grey bird of prey hopped easily onto her arm. The bird's claws gripped her firmly as she struggled against its weight until she found her balance. She recognized the bird as one of Shiar's, had seen him use it more than the others that he kept with him.
"I guess you're one of the few birds that could fly so far, huh?" Nerini murmured, reaching gingerly to take the rolled-up message from the strap wrapped around its foot. "How about I get you some supper, and we'll see what's so important?"
She motioned to the ground with her hand, hoping it would know what to do, and was relieved when the bird leapt off her other arm, allowing her to climb down off the roof.
The bird was smart. Nerini had seen it listen to Shiar with barely a word from his lips in their weeks together on the road. But she wasn't Shiar and did not have any idea what his commands were, other than vague memories of what she had seen him do when the birds were around him.
Nerini's feet had barely touched solid earth when the bird landed on a fence beside her and let out an impatient, shrill noise.
Nerini jumped, glaring at the eagle for a moment. "You're a persistent fellow, aren't you? C'mon then, stop scaring me."
When it just watched her with its regal dispassion that reminded her of its owner, she rolled her eyes and held out her arm, carrying the bird into the part of the stable that had no horses nearby.
***
Keana found himself in the barn, brows raised as he watched the Sellexun eagle eat another mouse offered by the stable boy. "So why would it be wise, if we're retreating hot, to run towards one of the Regents of our precious little alliance, and not take off down towards our own Capital?"
"They have a healer. Which we'll probably need, and they'll be hitting our coast by tomorrow morning sometime, far quicker than we can get any other possible reinforcements if we need it. And if Eric is right and the safest place for us to be is in Alliance, the fastest way there is by boat." Nerini was thoughtful, her eyes distant. "Things happen for a reason, I will not ignore the help offered by my friends, they won't be able to make it to the castle in any sort of time to be of use, but at least we'll have a fall-back point."
"Things happen because we make them happen." Keana said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest and walking towards the bird. He watched it with narrowed eyes, as if it were the source of all his anger. "What if we don't make it out, and they follow us, and another wave of our people are taken out by the same sort of ambush? We fall right back into the trap you were trying to avoid by coming here alone, because if they're anything like you, when they don't find us, they'll come trying to save our doomed asses."
Nerini sighed softly. And he felt bad for bringing it up. It was clearly one thing she'd been weighing the last few days. "Then we best make it out of there, so that doesn't happen. We make an agreement, the two of us, that if things go bad, we make sure to get out. We help who we can, but if need be we leave, we will regroup and try something else. Our mission is to find my brother and once he's found, we make for the coast. Even if we're split up, we will all have that as a meeting point. We meet there."
Keana had been watching her like a hawk, half suspecting that she was planning on sneaking off alone. His gift could sense something pulling her, directing her, and he had always assumed the magic he felt had to do with her glamours, but it was something else. And the more he tried to see it, the more he was confused by the fact that it seemed to come from within her, but also from the world around her.
"How long would we wait there, for the stragglers?" Keana took a quick step back as the bird spread its wings, letting out a screech when he got too close. He turned away from Nerini to glare at the bird. "Why doesn't this feather duster like me?"
"Cause you call it a feather duster, I think," Nerini smirked at him, amusement shining in her eyes then, "I'll wait a day for you. And if we don't meet up, I know you and yours can make it back on your own. I think if things are bad, that's really the best solution."
"Ok." Keana nodded slowly, then turned to look curiously to her. "If it's going to take longer than a day, the direction is to make for Alliance."
"Yeah." Nerini's voice was soft, and she trailed off before letting out a slow breath. "It'll be dawn soon. I'll send the bird back, so they'll know the plan."
"Your friends are going to be upset that you didn't wait, like they asked you to. It's only a day difference." Keana murmured, picking up the note and reading it over once more, his tone relatively sarcastic. "Rini, we have reinforcements, will be there in three days, wait for us. Wyn."
Nerini then lifted the second half of the note, the one she had not shown him. "Shiar is apparently sick as a dog from poisoning, so he's probably better off not involved in a fight. I don't want to risk King Caelur's pretty little head, Wyn knows what's at stake and Lady Lyana is better as a healer than a fighter right now."
Nerini said easily, watching him darkly, stubbornly. There was more there that he didn't know, and he found it a bit frustrating.
"Shiar? As in High Lord Shiar? You're on first name, no title basis with the commander of Sellexu's army?" Keana asked thoughtfully, tilting his head as his eyes locked on her.
"Yeah, I guess. He was the one who found the diamond with me, we're technically partners, we were both named Champions of the Alliance." Nerini shrugged dismissively, as if she had no clue or care what it all meant. "This is his bird."
"I see." Keana looked at the eagle for a long moment, then folded up the letter once more and moved to hand it back to her.
"No, if we're separated and you get there first, no one knows you. That letter might help you not get into a fight." Nerini said after a moment, shaking her head. "Hopefully one of my soldiers will be there to vouch for you, but if not..."
Keana looked down at the paper, then back up to her. "I'm going to be more focused on not being separated from you, than letting my safety rest on a piece of paper meant for you."
Nerini gave him a look, shaking her head. "I know, it's not much. But it's the best I have. The bird wouldn't have allowed you to catch it. They know that, and I would have killed you if you tried to steal it from me. If all else fails, talk to Wyn, she knows a little about you."
"Rini is a pretty name, I like it." Keana grinned to her, ignoring the bit about her killing him. His words drawing a curse and a snort from her.
They both laughed softly for a moment, and in that small space of time, they were able to relax and enjoy the rush that came just before a job. Keana had always loved working with her, the shine in her eyes and the look of calm determination that would settle over her features.
"Go get your company, it's time to ride." Nerini whispered, shaking her head and whistling for the bird. The eagle finished its last mouse, then jumped on her arm. There, Nerini put another message on its leg as she carried it back outside, ignoring his continued laughter.