A Wolf and A Raven (Part 3)

Chapter 4

I was lying on the boughs of one of my favorite trees, staring out over the Moors. The pain that had lasted all of last night was gone. It had disappeared early this morning as suddenly as it had arrived, but I knew it was the effect of iron. I sighed uneasily. Arya had to have run into trouble. Trouble involving iron. Diaval and Aurora were worried about what had happened. Of course I couldn't tell them Arya was in trouble. But I was worried Diaval might realize what happened. He hadn't realized last night when I had looked at his pendant, but I had seen a purple flash from it, indicating its partner was in trouble.

I heard a caw overhead and saw Diaval swooping towards me. He landed on the ground in front of me before changing into a man. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could begin, he was interrupted by the rabble, sorry, the little flower fairies. Knotgrass and Thistlewhit, I think they were called.

"Maleficent!" "Maleficent!" They both shouted over each other, the red one pushing the green out of the way.

"Oh, is there never any peace with you two around?" I groaned, sitting up and rubbing my horns as if easing a headache.

"No, no, I want to tell her!"

"I heard it first!"

"No, I will! I heard from Pinto who heard from a mud creature-" Knotgrass, the one in red, started.

"-Who heard from a mushroom fairy who heard from Leif's third cousin-" Thistlewhit interrupted.

"-Who heard from a Fae child," Knotgrass began again, shoving Thistlewhit out of the way.

"Who heard from three water fairies-" Thistlewhit said, shoving Knotgrass back.

"Enough!" I thundered. "Get to the point already!"

"Oh, yes, the point." Thistlewhit squeaked. "Um," She tapped Knotgrass on the shoulder. "I've forgotten the point. What was the point?"

"For Flittle's sake, Thistlewhit, I told you I should have told her." Knotgrass said exasperatedly. "The point is that-"

"Oh! Oh! I remember!" Thistlewhit squeaked.

"There are poachers on the eastern border!" Knotgrass and Thistlewhit finished together. Before Knotgrass had even begun to glare at Thistlewhit for spoiling her news, my wings had already launched me off the tree bough and into the air eastward. Poachers. They were not to be tolerated in the slightest. There was a chance the poaching was being done by black market dealers in Ulstead that defied King Phillip, but my gut told me it was Othorins. Diaval had flown into the sky as a raven beside me.

"Diaval, go to Aurora. Tell her where I'm going; she can make alternative arrangements." I shouted over the wind. Diaval cawed once in acknowledgement and wheeled south towards the Ulstead castle. I hoped that Aurora would see what I saw and hopefully issue a regiment to guard the borders. Ulstead and the Moors were united now under Phillip and Aurora, and Othorin was a common enemy. The tree warriors would help once given direction.

Word travelled quickly in the Moors, but there was no telling how long it took Knotgrass and Thistlewhit to get the word to me. The poachers could still be there, or they could be back in Othorin, if they were indeed from Othorin. My wings carried me powerfully over the landscape, nearing closer every minute to the border. A saw a flash of movement below me and forced the trees to show me what was hidden on the ground using my magic. The man they revealed knew he had been discovered and started running east. I smirked and flew after him, diving below the treeline and hitting him hard from behind, sending him sprawling into the ground.

"You dare steal creatures from the Moors?" I asked, having landed on the ground. The blonde man shook his head frantically, looking in every direction.