“What an asshole.”

 Mazdall was practically seething by the time she got back to her room in the station quarters. The anger was only making her soreness flare into loud pain. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself.

 His bully behaviour was pitiful and banal, anyways. She shouldn’t let it affect her.

 “ARGH!” She cried as she landed a swift punch to the stone wall.

 “Oww…” She regretted her decision instantly. There was a soft bed to punch right there.

 Shaking her pained hand, she turned her gaze to the window. 

 It was latched, just as she had left it. The view was falling into darkness, a few stray clouds lingering in the sky.

 A thought occurred. 

 Mazdall made her way to the window and unlatched it just as she had the night before, letting it drift open. The wind whistled into her room- it was much colder than the night before. The cold wind soothed her hot anger, causing her to take a deep breath. 

 She looked at the hanging window, and recalled the distinct TINKs and CLINKs from the other night. The rocks- thrown by Udakai. As she sat down on the stone floor, she wondered if she would see him again tonight.

 Her eyes drifted over to her bed, and then to the small table beside it. On it, the book- History of Icora. Sighing into a smile, Mazdall picked up the book and moved to lay on her bed. The soft, downy material relieved the tension in her muscles, and she released an audible sound of relief. Her first full day at the Perch, and she was already exhausted. 

 With a talon, Mazdall opened the book where she had left off, and tried to read a bit to soothe herself. 

 ‘The deadly winters that plague the continent of Ladorne were previously believed to have been a curse from the highest mountain of Icora. This belief ignored that as winter approached, Icora would endure the greatest struggles. Entire villages would turn to ice, or become buried under the snow. However, as the land became blanketed in white- halting the rest of the world- Icora would keep moving. Though winter was harshest up atop the mountains, those of the snow persevered- for what other choice did they have.’

“Icorans must be tough…” Mazdall remarked to herself.

 Continuing to read, Mazdall felt her eyes grow heavy… She kept trying to reread the same sentence over and over again. The words on the page started to blur, and the images in her mind became distorted. Without meaning to, she slowly fell asleep, her face partially resting on her open book.

—

 The snow was deep and frigid, rising to her elbows. Freezing wind, sharp and loud, whipped past her. Despite the cold, she felt… unphased. Normal. 

 She was surrounded by mountains, all twisting into strange and surreal shapes. The landscape seemed to morph with every step she took. 

 At first the cold was serene, but it quickly became empty- directionless. She was lost.

 While she didn’t know exactly who, somehow she knew she was looking for somebody… 

 She squinted towards the mountain, but it was still blurry. She couldn’t make out any details. No one else was around from what she could tell. It was just her.

 In the middle of nowhere, forgotten maybe, or perhaps abandoned.

 As she looked around for any semblance of familiarity, the clouds above swirled, darkening the sky. The wind was becoming deafening. Snow started to fall from the sky, riding the violence of the wind. 

 Suddenly, in the distance, she saw some sort of silhouette. Someone or something. Quickly, she began to run towards it, but her running felt motionless- as if she was hovering just above the ground. 

 In an in vain attempt, she tried calling to the silhouette, but nothing came out- her voice soundless.

 In response to her empty cries, the silhouette morphed. It no longer resembled anything familiar to her, but still she chased it- desperate.

 After forcing herself to trudge through the thickness of the air- fighting for movement- she finally broke through. Suddenly, she arrived at the silhouette. It turned out to be a door on the side of the mountain. Without a second thought, she opened the door. 

 Once she stepped inside, the wind slammed the door behind her. 

 Instantly, it became quiet. Deathly quiet. The room was completely dark. She froze in place. 

 CREAK. Movement. She heard it before she could see it. Something was in the dark with her.

 However, even after several more seconds- other than the howling of the raging wind outside- it remained quiet. Another minute passed and out of the hollow space she suddenly heard it again.

 CREEEEAK. It was longer this time- echoing throughout the darkness.

 Immediately after, it was followed by a new sound- a loud THUMP.

 It sounded as though something had fallen on the ground. Or perhaps hit the wall. With it, the wind hushed. For a long moment there was complete silence- eerie, stiff. Suffocating.

 TINK. This sound was softer this time, but not further away. The noise resounded- not quite an echo, but instead a ring… It sounded… familiar. Instantly, her voice returned to her.

 “Udakai?” She said meekly.

 No response.

 With one final sound- CLINK- her mind started to stir. The reality around her started to melt. Slowly but surely, she could feel a soft bed beneath her feathers.

 Mazdall woke up.

— 

 As she drifted awake, Mazdall’s head turned to look at her window. Right on cue, another rock hit her window. Blinking the grogginess away, she smiled.

 “I’m coming, I’m coming.” She said as she slowly lumbered out of bed and towards the window. Once she reached the window, his face came into view. Friendly blue eyes looked up at her.

 “Good evening, Udakai.” She said.

 “Hi, Mazdall.” He greeted her, cheery. Mazdall jumped down to land beside him, hovering on her wings.

 Udakai spoke again, “I hope you don’t mind me disturbing you, I just figured I’d come see you again.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

 “It’s fine.” She said, “Though you did wake me up this time.”

 Udakai stuttered out a response- “A-ah feathers! Sorry about that- I just assumed-”

 Mazdall shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. Honestly, I was kind of hoping to see you.” The words came out very sincere, so much so that she felt a tad embarrassed.

 However, to her relief, he simply smiled, “Well then it’s a good thing I flew by.” A relaxed smile returned to Mazdall’s face. He seemed to be unfazed by her honesty- which relieved her. It felt more genuine. Real.

 With a sway of his head, he asked, “Sooo… How was your first day?”

 Mazdall wanted to have a brilliant story to tell him, but instead, her face just fell and she sighed. 

 “Long…” She admitted, “Exhausting.”

 Udakai laughed a bit, “Yeah, that sounds about right. Obora work ya’ to the bone?”

 “Skies- YES. We were doing flight drills all day. I mean, not that I should be complaining- it’s an honour-”

 He cut her off, “Honour or not, it’s hard stuff. You’re allowed to be tired. Exhausted… Honestly, the winter recruitment is notoriously hard.”

 “I guess, but… I barely passed. Obora basically gave me death-stares every time I went. I didn't even finish the advanced course.” 

 “Eh, the advanced course takes practice- you won’t be good at everything on the first day. I’m sure all the other recruits were having a hard time too.”

 “Actually, no!” Mazdall recalled the smug prodigy- “There was this one Huntic- UGH- he did so well the whole day and was barely even phased- he was such a prig and- OH the nerve!” 

 Suddenly, Mazdall realized she was getting ramped up. Quickly she cleared her throat.

 “Ahem… Sorry.” She said, “I shouldn’t complain, it’s an amazing opportunity. I suppose it’s just a lot to take in.” Despite her attempt to rationalize, Udakai was just smiling, listening.

 He chuckled a bit, “Hey, it’s all good. You sound like you had a long day and needed to get that off your chest.”

 Chuckling as well, she smiled awkwardly, “Yeah, I dunno. Maybe.” She itched the side of her arm.

 Udakai noticed her awkwardness and quelled it with an encouraging tone.

 “You’ll be okay, Mazdall. Honestly, if Obora is harder on you, it means she sees potential in you. As long as you deliver on that potential, she’ll respect you.”

 Mazdall puffed, “Pff- no pressure.”

 With a shrug of her shoulders, her eyes traced the ground. Her voice was quiet, unintended for his ears, “That’s easier said than done…” 

 Despite this, it reached his ears and he grew sympathetic.

 “Hmm…” He pondered outloud, “Well… maybe you just need a good luck charm. Like mine.” In one fluid motion, Udakai loosened the pouch on his arm and flashed a coin- his coin- the one with the sapphire trim.

 Mazdall looked between him and the coin. Was he being serious? The sentiment sounded nice she supposed, though it wasn’t really her thing.

 “A… good luck charm?” She questioned out loud.

 “Yeah! It's a sort of item that’s important to you that you believe brings you good-”

 She laughed, “I know what a good luck charm is. I guess I just… don't know how that would help. I can’t imagine it will magically make things easier.”

 Udakai suddenly reached down and took her hand, lifting it up. Gently, he turned her wrist over and placed the coin in her hand, closing her talons around it. Mazdall went to question, but he spoke before she could.

 “It's not magic.” He affirmed, “It's belief.”

 His words were simple, but effective. Mazdall looked down at her hand, suddenly pondering the coin with care. Slowly, she turned it over, admiring it. It was quite beautiful- sparkling against the moonlight. Belief, huh? Could belief really make that much of a difference?

 In her state of analyzing the coin, confusion was spelled across her face.

 Noticing this, Udakai tried to add, “Sometimes believing you have good luck can help you actually have good luck. It’s kind of like… moral support, I guess.” He fidgeted with his talons.

 Mazdall took pause, her eyes tracing the rim of sapphire on the coin. 

 Finally, she spoke up with a crooked smile, “I don’t… think I get it.”

 An awkward laugh escaped Udakai’s snout, “That’s okay. I guess I just… want you to have some faith in yourself. That’s all.” With a smile, he softly added, “If it can help me have faith in myself, I suppose I figured… Maybe something like it could help you, too.”

 Within her mind, Mazdall teetered back and forth over a comment before saying it.

 “This coin. It’s really important to you, huh?”

 “Oh. Yeah.” He looked towards the fields as a tenderness washed over him. His demeanour shifted as he spoke again. “It’s… a gift from my dad. Before he passed, he always collected coins like that. Holding on to it feels like he’s always got my back. Like he’s cheering me on, y'know?"

 Mazdall suddenly understood the meaning of the coin much deeper, her eyes glancing back down to it with a new-found respect. Her touch was even more gentle than before.

 “So… it’s good luck because it has meaning?”

 Returning his gaze back to her, he smiled. “I suppose so.”

 Slowly and carefully, Mazdall handed the coin back to Udakai.

 “It’s beautiful, Udakai. Thank you for sharing that with me.” She wasn’t just talking about the coin. Knowing this, his eyes softened.

 Between them, they fell into a shared quiet. The wind whipped and whistled, rustling the leaves on a nearby cluster of trees. As though they had been friends for a lifetime, their silence felt natural- safe.

 They both had settled in the gaze of the moons when suddenly, a long gurgling sound erupted from Mazdall’s stomach- loud enough for Udakai to hear. Mazdall’s smile dissipated as her face turned to red embarrassment.

 Udakai tried to hold back his laughter, “Are you hungry?”

 “I-... didn’t eat supper.”

 With wide eyes, Udakai replied, concerned, “Well, we can’t have that-” After a second of digging in the bag he had strapped to his side, he pulled out a fresh, ripe apple.

 “Here, have this. I always carry a snack with me.”

 Mazdall looked at the apple. Its colour melted from yellow into a bright red. 

 “That’s… really nice of you.” She said as she took it.

 “Ah, don’t worry about it.” He dismissed as she took a firm bite of the apple.

 It was crisp, firm and crunchy. Sweet- not too tart. It was exactly what she needed.

 The roaring in her stomach quieted down as she ate.

 “Ugh…” The guttural sound was not intended to be vocal, but nonetheless she continued, “Thank you. Those drills really took it out of me.” She admitted.

 Udakai seemed to go silent for a moment, thinking about her words. Abruptly, his eyes snapped back up to meet hers.

 “Hey, Mazdall… I have an idea.” A smirk started to creep up his features.

 “Hm?” She hummed, her mouth full.

 “What if I got you out of training tomorrow?”

 Swallowing her bite, she looked at him, her lips tugging to mimic his smirk, “I’m listening.”

 “I could… conveniently bring you on some scout work with me tomorrow.”

 Mazdall’s eyes lit up instantly, “Really?”

 “I mean, only if you’re interested-”

 “Of course I am! How can we-”

 “I have an idea. Just trust me and follow my lead.”

 Regardless of what this idea was, Mazdall knew she would follow along. An opportunity of this caliber was unlikely to present itself again.

 Finally- she thought- a chance to prove herself.