Argh, I hope the formatting works on this... there's a lot of important italics and such.

~~~

Chapter 27

“Oh my gosh, Cisi, are you alright?” I call, finally catching up to her. I rest a hand on her shoulder and she leans into me. Her hands are covering her face, but her shoulders are shaking and I can tell she’s crying.

“Cisi, he’s just angry, he didn’t mean it!” I say hopelessly. “You’re doing fine. I know you are.”

“He’s right, though,” she says, her voice shuddering. “I’ll never be an Eagle. I’m weak and I’m small and I know it. Oh, Zoey-- I just hate it! I really do. I hate all of it. I hate training and failing and fighting. I know we’re hunting criminals and they deserve it but I just hate it! Please, Zoey, just let me go. Just let me leave.” She says the last word with a sob and wrenches her arm out of my grip, falling to the ground. I drop to my knees beside her, wrapping my arms around her and holding her tightly.

“Ssshhh, Cisi, it’s going to be okay,” I murmur, rubbing her arm gently with my hand. “You’re going to be okay. Hey, it’s okay, no need to be sad…”

“It’s not going to be okay,” she sobs, her breathing hitching. “I want to go home. Zoey, let me go home. But I can’t and I’m stuck here, Zoey, I’m stuck!” Her breathing turns from hitched to strained and she looks at me, wide eyed.

“Cisi?” I say, a spark of panic striking within me.

Cisi grabs at me, simultaneously grabbing my shirt and curling into the ground.

“I’m stuck,” she whispers. “I’m stuck, I can’t go, I’m stuck, I can’t get out I’ll never get out--”

“Cisi!” I shout.

Her head whips around to face me, but her eyes are animalistic, like she doesn’t even recognize me. “I’m stuck,” she says again. “I’m back and I’m stuck and I can’t get out--”

Lia sprints around the corner, her face going slack when she sees us. “Darn,” she mutters, dropping to her knees beside me. “Cisi?” Cisi mutely reaches her arms up towards Lia and Lia lowers her head so Cisi can put her arms around her neck. Then Lia looks at me.

“Zoey, get Zafre,” she orders, her tone turning business. Then she turns back to Cisi, holding her tightly. “It’s going to be alright,” she murmurs, rocking Cisi like a child. “Hey, it’ll be okay… you’re not stuck, you’re not trapped… you’re free, Cisi… you’re free…”

I get to my feet and run around the corner of the building to where the fledglings are. “Zafre!” I scream. He stands when he sees me, as does Diernor and Fehnein, looking alarmed. “It’s Cisi,” I say, and Zafre’s face flashes a series of emotions-- terror, then concern, then understanding. He strides past me and around the corner, and I follow him helplessly, watching as Lia gives him Cisi and he scoops her up in his arms and strides away. She curls into him, shaking like a leaf, limbs limp like a child.

Lia stands and puts her hand on my shoulder.

“Is Cisi okay?” I ask. “Lia, is she going to be alright?”

Lia looks at Diernor, who looks straight back at her. Coming to a decision, Lia looks back at me.

“This is… difficult to explain,” she hedges. “And it’s really Cisi’s story to tell. But… I think you need to know. As you know, all of us come from villages that were destroyed by dragons, either recently or several years ago. Cisi is no exception. She and her mother were hiding when the dragons, ah, attacked... and her mother was killed. Cisi tried to run, but the dragon destroyed her house. The roof collapsed, pinning Cisi underneath it."

"That's horrible," I breathe. "Oh my God, that's horrible."

Lia nods grimly. "She was trapped like that, everything pinned down but her head, for about 3 days. She thought no-one was going to come... the way she's told me the story, she was ready to die. She wanted to die. If only to end that endless, painful waiting."

"She still suffers from severe claustrophobia and nightmares," Sofna pipes in quietly. "When I slept in the girls' dorm, she'd wake us up with her screaming."

"I used to beg Maylene to tranquilize her every night," Lia says sadly. "She was so tortured by her own mind."

I put a hand over my mouth, horrified. "And so she relapsed?" I ask. "She thought she was trapped again?"

Lia nods. "Yeah. She was getting better, though... I thought she might be over it. But I guess this is a fight she can never win. As long as she stays with us, she'll always be reminded of her past, always be stressed."

"She wants to leave," I admit quietly. "That's what we were arguing about. That's what caused her to--" There's a short silence. Lia breaks it, sighing.

"But she can't," she says heavily. "She's been trained, knows where our camp is... what we're doing is technically illegal, Zoey. It's not always dragons we hunt down... a lot of the time it's bounty hunters, looking for us. We're not always heroes-- not to everyone. I know Cisi would never purposefully betray us, but... there's always a risk, isn't there? And Cisi knew that risk when she agreed to become a fledgling. We all did."

"Are you saying... that she can't leave? Ever?" I ask, and Lia waves her hand in the air.

"No, no, of course not! Once she's in a convocation with us, we'll leave all the time for raids and stuff. We will probably make trips to a town or two for supplies, too."

"But on her own?" I ask, chills running down my back. "She... can't leave because she wants to start a new life?"

Lia laughs a little bit. "This is her new life, Zoey. Or don't you know? You're a part of it too. You're a fledgling like us now."

I laugh, but there's no real humour in it. It's horror. "Oh. Yeah, I knew that. Sorry, I just wasn't thinking about that. Sorry! You know what, I think I'm just worried about Cisi. I'll go check on her, actually." I awkwardly point the direction I'm going and walk off, trying to force down my urge to run. Sofna looks after me with a weird expression on their face.

This is her new life, Zoey... You're a part of it too. You're a fledgling like us now.

Lia's words echo in my mind. Does this mean that I can't leave either? I wonder. Are we all prisoners here?

A hand on my shoulder makes me jump and I spin around, but it's just Jasak.

"Oh, sorry, did I scare you?" he asks. "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry. I just-- wanted to apologize. I didn't mean--"

"Look, Jasak," I say, cutting him off. "I'm kind of busy right now and--"

"With what?" he asks eagerly. "Maybe I could help, because I feel really bad about what I said and--"

"Cisi's been put in the infirmary," I say shortly. He blanches.

"Oh my God, is she okay?" he asks. "I-- did I--"

"Jasak, is it true that we can't leave?" I ask.

He hesitates, shifting on his feet. "Not exactly," he hedges. "But... kind of?"

I push past him, shaking my head. "Hey, Zoey--" he starts, reaching for me, but I whirl out of his grip and shove my finger in his face.

"No," I say, then, at a loss for words, I spin back around and stride to the infirmary.

Maylene's coming down the ladder when I enter. "Is she--" I start, but Maylene nods.

"She's fine," she says. "Tired and scared, but fine. By the way, what gave her such a strong relapse? She must have been terrified to relapse this strong."

"Ah... she tripped," I say. "And she thought she was trapped."

"She tripped... and thought she was trapped?" Maylene says doubtfully. "Are you lying?"

"N-no," I stammer. "Why would I lie to you, Maylene?" I cross my fingers behind my back, hoping she can't see.

She studies me a moment, then nods. "Alright. Thanks for telling me, Zoey. You can go see her if you want; first bed on the right, bottom bunk."

"Alright, thanks, Maylene!" I call, hurrying to the ladder and up it.

I pull myself onto the floor above and walk to the first bunk. Sure enough, Cisi is laying there, curled into herself, knees to chest, covers pulled tight around her ears. I sit down gently next to her, murmuring, "Cisi?"

She sticks her head out of the covers, and I can see she's been crying. "Zoey," she says, sniffling a little. "I didn't expect to see you here. What's up?"

I'm shocked into silence. "What's up?" I ask. "You collapse and get carried away by Zafre, and then you ask me what's up?"

Cisi sniffles a little more. "Oh, that," she says. "I was just relapsing, that's all. I didn't mean anything I said." She looks a little nervous as she says this, and I glance at the ladder. I can hear Maylene humming.

I lean in closer to Cisi and lower my voice. "Is it true?" I ask her. "Is it true that we can't, you know..."

"Leave?" Cisi finishes my sentence, and I nod. She considers. I hear Maylene's humming diminish a little, as if she, too, is listening for Cisi's answer.

"No, of course not! As soon as we're a fully fledged Eagle we'll start going on hunts," Cisi says with false cheerfulness, glancing quickly at the ladder. But as she speaks, she slowly nods her head. Maylene's humming resumes its full volume.

"Ah, good. It's so great to be here," I say, widening my eyes. "I can't wait until I'm a fully fledged Eagle, can you?"

"I can't either!" she says, widening her eyes in response and taking my hand. She flips it over and starts tracing letters on it as she speaks, chattering away about how excited she is.

M I D N I G H T, she spells. Then she meets my eyes, chattering all the way. "Don't you agree?" she finishes.

I look straight at her and say, "Yeah, I agree."

She nods mutely, and I add, "Well, hopefully you'll be better by tomorrow! I'll see you then, okay?"

"Okay," she echoes. Then she leans in and whispers, "Be careful."

I nod at her and head back down the ladder, waving to Maylene on my way out. I almost crash into Sterling, though, as I head out the door.

"Whoa," she says, catching my shoulders. "You alright?"

"Yeah," I say. "Why're you here?"

She looks away for a split second, as if trying to come up with something to say. "Just visiting," she says brightly. "I enjoy Maylene's company."

"Oh, ah, alright," I say, not believing her for a second. "Enjoy your visit, then."

"I will!" she says. "Catch you later."

"Alright," I echo, leaving her as she enters Maylene's house. I wander the camp for a bit, not knowing where to go. Someone tugs on my arm as I pass the Nest.

I spin hurriedly, not wanting a nasty surprise, But it's just Ty. "Ah, Feroc said he wanted to see you," he says. "Said it was urgent."

"Is he at the Talon?" I ask, and Ty nods.

"Thanks," I say, and he dips his head again before setting off.

I walk towards the Talon, pondering what Feroc could want. Does he know? I wonder. About Cisi and what she said?

The feeling of her slender fingers tracing covert letters on my palms comes back to me, and I shudder. Whatever Cisi wanted to tell me... she didn't want other people to hear.

~~~

~Starseeker 

I arrive at the Talon, but I don't see Feroc.

"Feroc?" I call. "Are you around here, somewhere?"

"Yeah," he calls, his voice drifting from somewhere far. "In here."

I look around, but there isn't really anywhere he could be besides a tiny little shack. "Ah, okay," I say, approaching the shack. When I open the door, there's nothing inside but a staircase spiraling downwards, lit by small balls of light. I carefully descend the stone stairs, being careful not to trip over myself. By the time I reach the bottom, I'm a bit out of breath. Feroc is leaning over a table in the middle of the room, looking at a sword laid out on it. He looks up as I enter cautiously.

"Ah, Zoey!" he says. "Thought it was you. Welcome down."

"What is this place?" I ask. "Did you guys make it?"

Feroc laughs. "Gosh, no," he says. "It was here when Sterling started the camp. Ancient catacombs, I'm pretty sure. But now we use it for a weapons storehouse. Feel free to look around while I'm working on this, but don't wander too far. It's like a maze down here."

"Ah, alright," I say nervously. "Catacombs, though... there aren't any, like... bodies down here, are there?"

Feroc laughs again. “I don’t know,” he says. “Probably.”

At my look of alarm, his grin fades. “Kidding, Princess,” he says. “Mostly. You can calm down. If you stay where the light is, you won’t encounter anything like that. Not even a rat.”

“Oh, okay,” I say, still a little nervous. “I might just, you know, stay here with you, though. Just in case.”

Feroc laughs once more. “Nah, I’ll be done in a bit. Go exploring! Live a little, you know? Don’t touch anything, though.”

“Ah, alright,” I stammer. “I’ll just go, then?” He nods, attention returning to the bent sword on the table. He picks up a hammer-type tool and taps it against the bent portion, slowly working it back into shape.

Clang. Clang. The sounds of his ministrations echo past me as I cautiously step into a hallway leading off the main room. The floating balls of torchlight continue down this hallway, and they seem to shine a little brighter as I step closer, as if sensing my nervousness. I peer into the first open doorway I find. It’s almost completely dark, but with the little balls of light, I can see hints of a silvery metal beyond. As soon as I step over the threshold, more balls of light illuminate inside, revealing a square room about the size of one of Northbrook’s classrooms. Hanging on the walls are dozens upon dozens of polished swords, each one surrounded by a shimmering blue light. I step a little closer to examine the surface of the sword nearest me. The hilt is simple but well made, wrapped with strips of leather that have been carefully maintained. I reach out to touch it, but the blue light flares suddenly and I snatch my hand back.

“Alright, no more of that,” I mutter to myself, backing out of the room and continuing down the hall. The next room I enter is very similar, but with bows hanging on the walls instead of swords. Each of the bows has that shimmering blue shield around it, though, so I don’t try to touch any of these. I exit this room and continue down the hall, letting my feet take me where they will. Each time I enter a room, it’s the same as before-- weapons ring the walls, each covered with a wall of blue light. Each room, however, seems to have a different kind of weapon-- swords as long as I am, lances no bigger than my pinkie, crossbows with a separate room for bolts and arrows, on and on down the hall. I eventually stop entering the rooms and just walk, farther and farther.

“What kind of a catacomb is this?” I mutter. “It’s huge!”

As if in answer, I hear footsteps echoing down the hall in front of me. I look wildly right and left, looking for somewhere to hide.

Feroc said there wasn’t anyone else down here, right? I wonder. Could it be him?

“Feroc?” I call. “Is that you?”

The footsteps pause for a second, then a voice. “Yeah.”

I breathe out a sigh of relief. “Oh, good, you kinda scared me there,” I say, laughing a little. “How’d you get down here so fast?”

“It’s a circle,” Feroc explains. “The main room’s right ahead, maybe 50 feet or so.”

He leads me forward until we emerge into the room I left him in.

“How is that?” I ask him. “I never saw it curving or anything.”

Feroc shrugs. “These ancient builders were masterminds,” he says. “Look, it just looks like a straight hallway.”

I turn and sure enough, the hall we came out from looks like it stretches for ages, straight on into the darkness.

“Spooky,” I murmur, and Feroc laughs.

“Once you spend enough time down here, like Pieter and I,” he says, “You’ll get used to it.”

“Pieter?” I ask. “Who’s that?”

“He’s our historian,” Feroc says. “Self-titled. He writes down all the Eagles’ names, their histories… anything they can remember. He stores the files down here-- in between the crossbows and the scimitars, I’m pretty sure. They’re pretty protected down here. You probably noticed the shielding?”

“Yeah,” I say ruefully. “Almost got zapped, too. What’s up with that?”

“Couple of things,” Feroc says offhandedly, gathering up the bent sword and gesturing me back into the hallway I first entered. We keep walking as he talks.

“First, it prevents thieving,” he says. “Not that that’s a problem here, of course. But Sterling’s a worrier.”

We enter the first room, the one of the slim swords. He turns to me. “Hold this for a sec?” he asks me, flipping the sword around and holding it carefully by the blade. I take the hilt gingerly and, as soon as he sees I have it, he lets go and reaches into his pocket. I stagger forward a bit, not used to the weight, and he chuckles.

“It’s so heavy!” I marvel. “It looks so small.”

“It takes a lot of strength to wield a sword,” he says. “It might not be your thing. We’ll find out, as soon as Chief lets you train with me. But that brings us to our second reason for the shielding. The weapons down here are no joke-- and if you think holding one is hard, try polishing all of them. The shields keep them in pristine condition. The wood on the bows doesn’t rot while in the shields, the metal doesn’t rust… it’s fantastic, really.”

“Sounds like it,” I grunt. “But could you hurry up?”

“Yeah, sorry,” he says. He holds up what he was fiddling around in his pocket for. “This is a reveret. It’s basically just a fancy key for unlocking the shields. All of Save has a master-- they can release all of the shields at once in case of emergency. Each convocation leader has a copy. They can only unlock one shield at a time, and they need at least two reverets to unlock one shield. So basically, nothing goes in or out without me knowing.” He grins. “Just a precaution, of course. Personally, I don’t think we need it, but like I said, Sterling’s a worrier. And of course, only the real weapons are shielded-- the practice weapons, like wooden swords and dull swords and such, are open for use by anyone.”

“Feroc, seriously,” I grunt. “That’s cool and all, but my arms are killing me.”

“Right! Sorry!” he says, lunging forward and catching the sword before I drop it. He flips it over in his hand with ease, holding the hilt gently. He clicks something on the reveret and a shield in front of us drops down, revealing an empty slot on the wall. He places the sword carefully into the slot and clicks the reveret again, replacing the shield. Then he turns back to me. “Do you want to try something out?” he asks. “Since you’re already down here and all. I’m sure Chief wouldn’t mind as long as we were careful.”

“Oh… I dunno,” I say doubtfully. “I mean, I couldn’t even hold that little sword for very long… what makes you think I can wield something else?”

Feroc waves his hand in the air. “Practice. And, besides, it’s not like I’m going to start you on a mace right away. I know you’re probably not used to this kind of stuff. Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you! C’mon, I’m kinda curious what you’ll gravitate to.”

He takes me by the hand and pulls me out of the room and into the hallway, then lets my hand go and spreads his arms wide. “Choose!” he says. “Pick something that looks fun and we’ll go from there.”

“But--” I start, but Feroc wags his finger in my face.

“Nope, nada,” he says. “If you say anything now you’ll just starting doubting yourself. C’mon, believe! You can do it. Just pick something and I’ll help you out.”

"Ah, okay," I say cautiously. He follows eagerly behind me, like a puppy, as I trail down the hallway, looking for something that doesn't look too difficult. I walk into one of the rooms I looked at before, the one with slim wooden lances inside. "How about these?" I ask, but Feroc shakes his head.

"Ah, my apologies," he says. "Those are actually pretty experimental at the moment. Lightning lances."

"Lighting lances?" I ask. "Like... lightning, lightning?"

"Lightning lightning," he confirms. "They shoot lightning. Or they will, once we've finished tinkering with them. Currently they just kind of... explode."

"Never mind," I say hurriedly. "Not that interested."

"Not a lance person?" Feroc says, and I shrug.

"Not an explosion person," I reply. He nods.

I continue down the hallway, peering into each of the rooms as I go. I don't see anything that interests me until I feel a little tug below my navel as I pass one of the last rooms. I stop, confusion flickering over my face. I look down, trying to see if something snagged my shirt, but there's nothing there. Feroc's watching me with a weird expression on his face.

"What's in here?" I ask, gesturing to the room.

"Why do you want to know?" Feroc asks me, his voice roughening.

"No reason," I say airily. "I'll just find out for myself, then." I walk into the open doorway, and it's like a cool breeze washes over me as I do. I turn towards Feroc from where he stands, poised at the entrance, not quite inside.

"What was that?" I ask him. "That-- breeze, thing."

"A seal," he says in amazement.

"A seal?" I say, my breath coming a little quicker. "So I'm sealed inside, now? Is this all part of your master plan to make me stay? Look, I know fledglings can't leave, but this seems a little extreme, alright? Trapping me in a catacomb and all. Maybe we can talk this out, I mean, do I really need to stay? Maybe I could just leave now and you won't tell anyone and--"

"Princess, stop," he interrupts. "It's not that kind of seal. You can get out at any time. C'mere, you'll see."

I cautiously walk back to the entrance and stick my hand out. He pulls me gently towards him and the breeze passes over me again. Then I'm outside the room, safe and sound.

"Oh," I say, blushing. "Sorry. I overreacted a bit."

"Yeah, you did," he says. "Look, we're not a cult, Zoey. Seriously. You're a bit of a special case, but most fledglings are treated as visitors until they decide. So they get to be a bit of an intern until they decide if they want to leave or stay. And if they want to leave, fine, no harm done. We drop them off at the nearest friendly village with food and clothing, and they live out full, happy lives. And if they want to stay, then they promise not to leave until they're an official Eagle. It's just part of the job. Sterling's seal around camp isn't impenetrable-- once you know where camp is, it's really easy to find it again. We just don't want that to happen."

"Okay," I say. "I just... I dunno, I guess I've just been pretty emotional over the last few days. It's been a wild ride."

Feroc nods comfortingly. "Yeah, that's alright. Maybe we should slow things down until you're a little steadier. It's only your second day here, after all."

"No!" I blurt, then cover my mouth with my hand. Feroc looks at me strangely. "Sorry," I explain. "I'm just... having fun, I guess, being here, meeting people. And I really want to know why there's a seal on that room, and what's in it."

Feroc laughs. "Alright, alright, forget I mentioned it. That room's seal is an interesting thing. Only people with magic can get in and out. People without? They can't do either, or in some cases, they can go in but not out. It really depends. Personally, I can't go in or out, so I don't have to worry about getting trapped."

"That's... kinda scary, actually," I say, chills running up my back. "What would you have done if I had gotten stuck?"

Feroc shrugs. "Probably left you there, to be honest," he says. At my protest, he raises his hands. "Let me explain! People with magic can get in and out-- I already said that, right? But I didn't explain that people with malicious intent to use what's in there, are unable to take it out of the room. So if you had had malicious intent or wanted to harm anyone, you wouldn't have been able to get out."

"So you were testing me," I say slowly. "Argh, Feroc! At least tell me if you're going to spring something on me like that!"

"Sorry, sorry," he says, raising his hands. "I just wanted to make sure. These people are my family, and I don't want anyone to hurt them. Imagine how you'd feel if someone were to hurt Chief!"

"Alright, alright, I understand," I say. "Just-- don't do it again, please."

"Deal," he says. "Still want to know what's in there? Now that you know about the seal."

I look back at the room, and the tug below my navel happens again. "Yeah," I say. "I do."

Feroc claps his hands together. "Great!" he says. "Go in there and look at the item-- it's called the Carapace, by the way-- then come back out and tell me what you see. It's not a test, I promise. Just don't touch it or anything else, and don't bring it back out here, and everything will go swimmingly. Alright?"

"Alright," I echo, drifting back into the room. The breeze passes over me again, and then I'm inside the sealed room.

The room is dark, not lit by any floating balls of light. Then, I hear a thunk, and the room becomes a little lighter. I look behind me, and one of the balls of light is pressing against the seal, illuminating the room for me.

Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. More and more balls of light join it, so that there are about 20 of them floating against the seal. Feroc looks up at them, then back at me in confusion.

"Are you doing anything?" he mouths, and I shrug, mouthing, "I don't think so."

He shrugs back and I continue into the room. I've only taken one step before I hear a slight pop behind me. I turn to find that one of the balls of light has broken through the seal. It floats over to me and settles over my shoulder, and I could almost swear I can hear it purring like a cat.

I look back at Feroc, wide-eyed, but he merely shrugs once more.

I turn back to the room, which has been further illuminated by the ball of light above my shoulder. It's smaller than the others, maybe only about half the length and width of a Northbrook classroom. On the far wall hangs a single weapon, covered by something akin to mist. I step closer to view it better. It's a short stick-like object, maybe about the length of my forearm, with a pointed tip and a separate scabbard hanging next to it. The hilt is simple, unadorned, and the blade itself is a silver metal.

In short, it's unremarkable in almost every way, except for the fact that it's hanging in a shielded room in the middle of an underground catacomb.

I blow my breath out through my mouth, puffing my cheeks out as I do so. The ball of light inches closer to me and gets a little in front of my face, as if asking what's wrong.

"I dunno, I just... expected something more spectacular from something called 'the Carapace', I guess," I say to it, not entirely sure why I'm talking to a possibly-sentient ball of light. "Not a metal stick. Something more... flashy, I guess. Valuable. Jewels, gold, the likes."

The ball bobs up and down, as if agreeing with me. I sigh. "Alright, I'd better get back to Feroc. Maybe he has something to say about all this." I turn back towards the door, and the ball of light zooms back to its position over my shoulder. But as it moves, it illuminates something along the wall, where the metal stick was before. Something... gold, and flashier than the metal stick was. "What the..." I breathe, taking a step closer. Instead of the metal stick, a long sword now hangs in its place. The hilt is an ornate gold studded with rubies and emeralds, and the matching scabbard is crusted in sapphires and amethysts.

"Alright, that's just freaky," I say, half to the light and half to myself. "There was a little metal stick there just a few moments ago, I swear."

The light bobs up and down in agreement again.

"Freaky," I say again. "Well, if this is a hallucination, at least it's a pretty one. But I could do with a few less emeralds. Too much is too much, you know?"

I turn back towards the shielded door, shaking my head. But a slight pop makes me turn back.

"No way," I breathe.

The emeralds are gone.

The hilt, formerly covered in both rubies and emeralds, is now only covered with rubies-- not a single emerald to be seen. "That's some freaky stuff," I mutter again. "Alright, I'm done. Feroc can deal with whatever this is later. I'm out."

I step back outside the barrier, and all the gathered lights zoom back to their previous positions in the hallway. But the one over my shoulder stays, making another sound similar to a purr. Feroc looks at it in surprise, then back at me.

"What'd you see?" he asks.

"To be honest, I don't really know," I say, shaking my head. "I was pretty darn sure it was a metal stick thing with a leather hilt, about this long..." I show him the length, and he nods sagely.

"It was probably a plançon a picot," Feroc says, "Although a 'short metal stick' doesn't give me much to go on. If you're interested, I think we have a few in the back rooms. They're not very practical, but I'm sure we could make something work if you wanted to."

I shake my head, waving him off. "No, that's not the important part, though I do appreciate the offer. No, as soon as I said that I expected something fancier, it... changed."

"Changed?" Feroc says in surprise. "That's weird."

"It gets weirder," I mutter. "I mentioned a little something about wanting less emeralds, and then, poof! They were all gone."

Feroc scratches his head. "The Carapace was here when we found the catacombs," he says, "So everything we know about it is from scans Sterling did. She says she figured out it looked different to every wielder who saw it, but she didn't say anything about it physically changing."

"Ah, well, is it really a bad thing?" I ask him. "Seems rather useful to me. Need a bow? Bam! You got a bow. Need a sword? Bam! You got a sword. Need a weird pointy metal stick? Bam! You got a weird pointy metal stick!"

Feroc laughs. "Admittedly, I see your point. It's just different than I was expecting, is all."

"Just like me," I joke. "Guess it's perfect then."

Feroc laughs once more. "Just like you," he agrees. "But for now, we should go on back up. Chief think

Sorry, I basically slept the whole day Friday because I was so tired. XD Here's the Friday update-- I'm afraid it's only a summary. This is the largest time skip in the entire novel. I estimate it to be about 6 months, but I wouldn't have written it all out, anyway. Hmm, well, I've never really thought too in-depth about this, but here we go. It takes place over a couple'a months. Fehnein and Zoey grow closer, while Jasak and Zoey grow apart (because Jasak thinks Fehnein makes her happy, and just wants her to be happy, so he backs off). The fledglings gain more rights and respect, due to Zoey advocating for them to Sterling. Sterling has health issues. Zoey gets trained by each of the 5 main leaders-- mostly Feroc, so she learns a lot of weapons skills, but also people skills from Jasak, nature skills from Melise, crossbow and endurance skills from Icantre, and well she just kinda talks to Sterling, to be honest. She learns a bit more about her past, but nothing super notable. (If there's something you want to know, ask and you shall receive!) Cisi meets her at midnight like promised and they talk about the Eagles. Zoey is torn on whether or not they truly are a cult (they're not, just for the record). Zoey continues to plan the dance for the fledglings' graduation. Cisi relapses again... and again. She has it bad and suffers from health issues. Fehnein and Zoey decide that they need to bring Cisi somewhere safe. They decide that they will escape on the night of the dance. The fledglings share a bonding moment in training and show Zoey their secret spots around the ruins that the Aerie is part of. They have a midnight picnic. Jasak and Zoey have a heart to heart and grow close again-- as really, really, really good friends. Maybe more, depending on how I write the plot. (Eventually, they will be more, I think. But for this first book... I don't know.) The fledglings become fully fledged Eagles. The dance happens. And next update will be what happens at the dance (or more specifically, after.)

~Starseeker