The plague-wings will corrupt our children!

This was a sentiment she had heard over and over. As though being cursed with a painful plague meant that of course she would try to pass it on to the young and helpless, like some evil fairytale monster. 

Granted, some folks thought of all plague-wings as little more than evil fairytale monsters who deserved to be cursed, but that wasn't important right now. 

Right now, what was important was that Dasha needed to explain why she was hunting an untainted Avar child, or she very well could end up burning to death. Harming children and the elderly were two things severely frowned upon by nomadic Avar. If they so much as knew that Dasha had held Fia, even if the plague curse couldn't spread by mere skin contact...

Dasha held out her empty hands and fanned her wings, wincing at the sound they made as they unfurled. "Peace, peace, this traveler can explain-"

"Then explain plague-wing." Hissed the man, venom dripping from every word. The woman with braided hair gripped his arm tightly, reminding him that this stranger had the same right to speak as anyone else.

At least, that's what Dasha hoped she meant by it.

"Me and my friends- A Mora and a Gillain- Well the Gillain is dead now, so never mind that-" It was important that she establish there were no other Avar around. It gave her more deniability. 

Dasha tried not to think about Krell, his body entombed in the cold and crumbling bunker wreckage, where anything might scavenge at his remains.

"Anyways, as I said, there were monster attacks. We found an Avar woman, the mother-" Dasha skipped the part about the mage craft. Best to keep this simple. "-She's dead. Don't know who she was. But she left her daughter, the girl. Very young. And it was just me, her, and Noonin- my Mora friend- and we couldn't stay up there, and we weren't going to leave her, obviously, so we took her with us down the mountain. We got separated during another monster attack-" Technically true. "-And, sorrows, now I'm just trying to find them again so we can all get back home safe, and figure out who this kid's people are. I grew up on these mountains, he didn't, so I really don't trust his competency- I mean he'll try his best, of course, but still, we're a long ways away from the valley proper."

Dasha fell silent. That was everything she could think of. It didn't sound like enough.

Still a safe distance away, a handful of the Avar had formed a sort of semi-circle, it's prongs pointed towards her. A formal court had not been declared, but it certainly looked like one had started anyways. 

Dasha could not outrun these people. She could not fly at all. She could only wait, as stares and whispers were passed between them. 

Finally, the grandmotherly woman spoke up. "Why then, have you not already given her over to another flock? You are halfways down the mountainside already, surely you must have encountered others."

Yes, yes she should have. If she hadn't taken Fia's aunt's shortcut. 

Whether she would have was another matter. She didn't want Fia abandoned again, to the care of yet another group of strangers. 

But then, it would have been better for the girl. Safer. Everyone said it was safer. Everyone knew-

Irrelevant. It had never been an option because of the shortcut. She didn't need to unpack it now.

"We were already separated by then." 

This caused a few worried mutters, likely over whether or not a stranger like the Mora would have been able to safely navigate the mountains alone with the child.

Dasha swallowed, and decided to be brave. "Listen, have ya seen them or not? Because at least some of ya seem to know who I'm talking about, but as a whole, you've not done anything so it sounds like ya actually haven't."

"We've talked with other flocks." A woman waved dismissively, before going back to whispering with the others.

Right, so they wouldn't be very helpful. 

And because when things happened, they all happened at once, Dasha heard a familiar voice echoing inside her head and outside her thoughts.

 Hello.

Relief bloomed in Dasha like flowers during springtime. At least this was one person accounted for.

"Hey." She whispered, moving her lips as little as possible. She didn't need the other Avar to see her 'talking to herself' as it were.

"What happened? Ya okay?"

Weak. Tired. Long travel.

"That's okay, just-" Dasha cut herself off, trying to look normal as someone glanced in her direction. How did one look normal in such a situation? She hadn't the faintest idea.

The person looked away. 

"-just rest. Stay well. But can ya find Fia and Noonin?"

Perhaps. Not joined. Like with you.

Had she meant they were joined or they weren't?

Later, later.

Dasha was getting sick of all these questions without answers. Also of literally being sick, her stomach was feeling queasy again. Although, that could just be the stress of the situation.

Dasha yawned. She was still weak, and tired easily. "Is this going to take much longer?" 

"Traditions," The man hissed. "Are important."

Like he hadn't done most of the tradition breaking tonight. Dasha let out a snort before she could stop herself. The man's face flushed. 

Oops.

The man puffed himself up, stepping closer. Wow, a full fifteen feet, how brave. 

"Do not mock our traditions, plague-wing!" He huffed, proudly. "They are the threads that bind our society together, through adversity, through struggle, through strife, and-"

"-Through storm." Dasha's interruption was quiet, but her voice carried. "They're my traditions too."

Don't forget I'm a person too. 

But it would be so easy. So much more convenient. 

Unease ran through the flock, clinging like a vine to a tree. The deliberations went on for several minutes. 

Dasha grew antsy. She just wanted to go!

At one point, among the snatches of heated debate, she heard the words 'This court decides' and promptly yelled back, "Hey this isn't a court! No one's declared!" 

No one acknowledged she'd said anything. 

Dasha's feet hurt. She sat down to wait. Had Fia's aunt left already? Or was she too weak to talk across the veil anymore?

A warning whistle broke through her thoughts. An alarm. Dasha didn't know this flock's system of calls, but she didn't need to. The ground rumbled. A monster was approaching, likely attracted by such a large group roosting together. 

Shakey trial forgotten, everyone leapt to pack their things and aid their fellows. Time for Dasha to slip out in the chaos. She checked her course by the stars and started walking briskly. She still couldn't run. But slowly, the sounds of the camp grew further and further away, until finally, she rounded a hill and they were gone.  

Dasha slumped to her knees, tired.

Welcome!

Fia's aunt sounded almost sing-song.

"Huh?"

Illusion. Trick!

"Ya mean... You did that? There wasn't no monster?"

Exac-

Fia's aunt cut off. A few minutes later, she returned, sounding much more strained.

Rest. Sorry.

"No no, don't be! Take all the time ya need." Dasha reassured her. 

She wondered how she had done that, or what else the woman could do, trapped though she was on the other layer of the world. When they finally had the chance, she was going to pester her for so many answers. 

If they had the chance. The valley and her friends seemed further than ever, even as she came closer with every step.

Dasha kept walking. She found a reasonable hiding place in a copse of tangled old trees to sleep in around midnight. The branches creaked and complained all night, and Dasha had nightmares about the court finding her guilty and burning her with fire. Heat was the only true way to purify the plague curse, heat too high to survive. 

Dasha did not sleep much that night. Phantom burns from the bunker fire stung her skin, and the trees were far too judgmental.

The next morning, she was walking again, rosy clouds in a clean blue sky as she picked her way across a stubbly field of annoyingly pointy rocks.

At least she knew Noonin and Fia were likely okay, wherever they were. Finding them, however-

A loud bellow interrupted her. Dasha whipped around.

A monster. But a small one. A taru. Rushing at her.

Somehow, she had a feeling that this one, bull-sized and heavily scaled, was no mage's trick.

Dasha was injured, tired, defenseless, and alone. She didn't care. A great rage roared through her tainted veins, for all the pain and misery these creatures had caused. Them and the shoddy system that had placed her companions in harm's way, and her idiot fellow Avar who kept frustrating her at every turn, and this stupid mountain, just for being so big!

She couldn't do anything about the other problems. The monster, however?

Dasha scooped up a pointy rock and leapt forward, digging her claws between the thick scales. The monster bellowed, trying to buck her off. The rough chitin scraped her skin, as she bashed the rock between the scales, shifting position to kick it further in with her boot. She was rewarded with a loud crunch, as a scale fell away, revealing the slimy flesh beneath.

Dasha kept on kicking and clawing, adrenaline coursing through her ears. Then she was on the ground, the world pounding around her, as the monster ran away.

The pounding gave way to pain, and she let out a groan.

"Sorrows' curse! What am I, monster bait now?" 

She stared at her arms, all covered in hacked bits of gooey monster meat slush.

Actually, yes.

"What? Wait what?" 

No response.

"Hey, come back here! Ya can't just say something like that and leave!"