An hour passed by. We were an hour further and they were an hour closer. My life kept to watching and speaking with Uncadia, giving her company down in the dim below deck. She missed out on the stars above. Another day soon passed by, the ships on the horizon getting ever so rger. They just barely outpaced us.

  Then, unexpectedly, the pursuing vessels started to cut straight south, their sails unfurled and free as they caught headwinds blowing south-east. The information was immediately reyed over to Eitecus, who, at the moment, already had his eyes fixed on the two ships. By his command, the helmsman worked the whipstaff again and set us on course straight south as well, our sails unfurled alongside it. As surmised by what I told him from Uncadia, we must’ve been nearing the change. Further east than us, we were sure to cross their path again if we tried to use the eastward current.

  Before the next thirty minute bell, our westward movement began to halt, our ship propelled by the winds. The ocean’s movement died down as they began to shift over to the east. For a moment, the water was almost pcid, all those waves expelled from that one point. Then the moment our boat was pulled east stronger than usual, the whipstaff moved again. Our direction changed to the south-east, moving by both air and sea.

  The two ships from the north started to cut us off, getting closer and closer as they used their insight to hunt us down. They cornered us like wolves with prey. They no longer gained tabrins in hours, but leagues in minutes. To make it worse, a detachment of those fox boats had decided that this was their business as well, pursuing though still much farther behind.

  Finally deciding they were close enough, the members of one ship began to take to the skies. From my post on the lookout, I yelled out the news to everyone below. Unlike the scurrying to weapons before, this time, a sense of foreboding dread hung over everyone’s head. It was akin to the feeling one got after committing a great misdeed, knowing one’s actions would be found out and punished one day. We knew our fate was coming, whisked away on feathered wings.

  The detachment wasn’t made up of a lot of Foltians. Besides that, they seemed poorly armored as well, in part owing to their physiology. Although, protection could be foregone when flying. As they neared, their uniforms became clearer. They appeared simir to gambesons, nothing but dense fabric. However, they went over their entire bodies, from wrist to wrist and neck to ankles. Though, a few did have boots covering their ankles. They had silken belts over their waists or hips. Their wrists and ankles too had fabric ties, keeping the gambesons taut over their feathers. The only pces that were open were the slits on their backs to let their sleek tailfeathers and long, graceful wings billow out to their full splendor.

  Some of the crew from the other ship began to follow the first detachment, trying to stake their hand in the loot. Meanwhile, this first group bared their weapons, readying them. As was common amongst Foltians, they fought with bows and arrows. A bow or crossbow might have a range of three hundred tabrins, but their power was all lost by the time they reached that height. All they needed were those gambesons while flying.

  Yet, one did not use the standard bow and arrow. This one, who I assumed to be the leader or someone of importance, held a long, slender sword with a flourishing handle in the right while a dagger was kept in the left. Like a lord and his heraldry, this Foltian had red and yellow thread embroidered into the gambeson. Its feathers were light brown with a white underbelly.

  When it seemed to be only ten tabrins in front of me, I realized why I had been so transfixed. This Foltian had been soaring right for me! The air dried the very edges of my eyes as they widened at the sight, my hands scrambling for the sword at my side. Regretfully, my slowness cost me greatly.

  The Foltian grinned, easily nding right in front of me and kicking away my sword with its boot. So close, I realized it was a woman, a fact given away by her build, and quite tall. Uncadia had been roughly a head shorter, but at that moment I was the one a head short. In fact, I appeared about three heads shorter. She slid faster humanly possible, pressed against my back with that dagger ready to slice the tender flesh of my neck.

  She released me, letting go only for two other Foltians to fly over and grab my arms. They pulled me away from her, their hands gripping hard and talons nearly cutting my skin. Ropes came next, heavy and rough, the fibers scratching the skin of my wrists.

  The captainess leaned over, leg raised high to stand on the railing. Her feathers stayed prim and stable despite the growing gales, the blowing winds creating a high-pitched sound like a hail of whistling arrows. The other members of the squadron had settled along the rigging, ready at any moment to give a hail of arrows.

  The captainess spoke with a thick accent, “Good morning, darlin’s!” Her sword rested on her shoulder, going between her head and wing. “I’m hereby commandeering this ship!” There was little said amongst the crew except for a scurrying brought on by silent orders from Eitecus, his hand moving (although all of it was obscured from my vision at that moment). They went below deck, using the ship’s hardwood as natural cover. Eitecus was the only one left standing. She tapped the side of her beak at the ck of worded response. “Wrong speak maybe.”

  “You have the correct nguage,” I told her, her feathers ruffling a bit in surprise.

  “So you are Ensiecsow!” She shoved off from the railing, using the wood from the ship to protect her as well. Turning, she leaned against the mast, the wooden beam standing strong. “Since they do not use words, I will use mine with you. Tell them to surrender, and quick.” Her head stayed trained on me, though her wide blue made a pass to the second squadron following close behind.

  She opened her mouth to speak again, but Eitecus’ voice echoed from below, fainter than usual from the distance. “Don’t tell her anything, Cortico! We aren’t surrendering no matter what authority tells us to!” Her neck turned around to stare down at the deck, although akin to myself, she only saw the wood of the lookout.

  Her head snapped back to me, expecting an answer. I shrugged against the hands of the Foltians. “Captain’s orders.”

  For the first time, her grin died. “I’m blunt for your sake. You’ll regret that.” She straightened up, her dagger tucked away and no longer resting on the mast. Her form turned northward, ready to greet the newcomers with a frown.

  The other Foltian captain nded in the lookout, his feet making a thud as his weight settled. His wings stretched high before settling back down, the female Foltian mimicking the gesture rigidly. Given his own heraldry, his gambeson silver and crimson, he appeared to be a simir rank. He addressed her with a smooth voice by some title I did not know, but guessed to be ‘captainess.’ “Kalshoo Varanksey.”

  She responded with coldness, her eyes staring daggers into his. The next term I assumed to be the masculine version of the previous, or ‘captain.’ “Kalkoo Avkrenmy.” She pced her dagger-hand on her hip. Observing the action, I noted the backs of these avians were an especial weak point. Their wings limited how far back their hands could reach. “As you can see, I’m already handling with the situation quite well.”

  Avkrenmy inquired, his voice pitching up at the end. “Are you suggesting something?” His feathered brow raised, his hands went to his waist, and he leaned forward ever so slightly. That beak seemed to smile, or as well as a beak could smile.

  With little emotion in her voice, resonating as stern, Varanksey pointed off to the north. “Suggesting you get your sorry wings back to your boat.” Her hands were completely feathered over, none of that bird scale that even Uncadia had present. Her smile returned, her beak raising with superiority. “Unless you would prefer I rip them off.”

  “You’ve promised to do that how many times? I’m starting to think you like the chase.” His jeers did not relent, yet his posture said otherwise as he leaned backwards. His wings twitched, ready to fly at a moment’s notice.

  “I’m the one who likes a chase? As if the only thing you’ve…” She trailed off, her eyes (or rather eye due to how her eyes were positioned on an avian head) making a quick gnce behind her. Using the best mystifier she could muster, she simply began to speak in her own nguage. Whatever they said from that point onwards came out as nothing but gibberish.

  Then chaos broke as the two exchanged sword blows. Their daggers came out, acting like shields as they parried. In foreign orders, the other Foltians on the rigging and ropes began to csh.

  Back on deck, Eitecus had just been given his best chance. He scrambled back into the quarters, and soon enough bows and bolts started to fly into the air. Along with it, the helmsman started to turn the ship almost straight south. The Foltians in flight, already being harassed by their own folk and our projectiles, suddenly found themselves over the open ocean. The direction change was beyond needed. The two ships had closed the distance and the two more fox boats weren’t far behind. In fact, those fox boats appeared faster than the avian ones.

  By the end of the ordeal, the two captains had split up to the stern and the bow. Three of each had been wounded, their bodies dragged over to their respective sides to be tended to. If they did not die now, they were sure to die ter. The men had retreated back below deck, Eitecus near the entrance.

  Where did all of that leave me? I was still stranded on the lookout, forgotten in the struggle. My sword still rested helplessly on the floor, shining in the daylight, beckoning. Crawling to remain protected by the lookout’s shallow walls, I began the tedious process of cutting the ropes.

  First my feet shot out, awkwardly cradling the hilt to rest the bde against the walls. It ensured the sharp edge was face-up. Carefully as to not slice my wrist or poke myself in the buttocks, I put my binds over the bde. Moving back and forth over the sharp steel, the pressure on my wrists gave way with each broken tether until I could slip my hands through the binds.

  Standing gave a grave realization. The fox ships were only a few hundred tabrins away. “CAPTAIN! VERENOLIANS A HUNDRED TABRINS OFF!” Verenolians, the name for all fox sves, a thing none of us ever expected to be hounded by.

  Varanksey called from the bow, “Surrender to us while you still can! They’ll make you mine yellow-rock for no reason than to poison your lungs!”

  Avkrenmy did likewise from the stern. “Surrender to me instead! We always need experienced sailors who’ve learned the ropes!”

  Eitecus thought to himself, hand on his chin as he imagined what would happen if he surrendered, especially after maiming quite a few of their own. Then, after a faint peep from behind, the men yelled and cried as they pushed Uncadia out of safety. She squeaked when she looked off to the side, glimpsing the foxes in boarding distance. This one was at portside while the other drifted off to starboard, the Foltian ships far behind.

  Uncadia scrambled, her wings fpping for a moment as she looked up at me before her plucked feathers reminded her of what she lost. She took to the ropes, climbing up instead, swaying on them like she was a fg in wind. She tumbled over, almost nding on my sword if it wasn’t for the fact I had sheathed it long ago. Her body nded chest first with a thunk before she recovered.

  Her beak was wide open, panting for air as she stared at me. It was strange to see how close it was to a human mouth, yet how far it was too. Her talons scraped against the hardwood of the mast, the sound almost soothing in the midst of the moment. With her bearings collected, she uttered, “Someone has to live to see her, and I choose you. Find Shyonezruu,” Shy-on-ez-ruu, I needed to remember that name. Her hands clutched one of mine, the yellowish bird scales there smooth and tender despite years of bor against my skin. “Please. For my sake…” Her eyes ducked to the ground at the thought of what would happen if we did not return.

  “No matter what, Uncadia, I will return.” I replied, holding her hands with my free one. Then the ship shook from the vibrations of the boards hitting the railing, a jolt running through my body as the dull thud followed. The Verenolians had arrived.