Hidden Wings - Part II

Escape

Nova shivered and pressed her wet body against her mother's, trying to warm herself in the cold rain.

Her mother stared grimly at the field in front of them, a curtain of raindrops blurring the world. Her son was cuddled against her other side, while Swift was perched on another branch. His black eyes were scanning their environment carefully.

Esma fluffed up her wings and placed them over her children.
Her little eyes were slightly narrowed as she recalled the events of the past months.

The night the white-beared wizard had been murdered, the entire owlery had been in rage. One of the masked villains had set off a weird green smoke that scared all birds out into the night. Esma and Swift had gathered their brood around them and fled into the mountains. Nova had been injured in her wing that night, and the wound still hadn't completed healed.
By the time Esma had returned to Hogwarts, the unicorns had informed her that Mioha had been kidnapped.

Esma and Swift had immediately planned on searching for Mioha, but did not trust any bird to take care of their kids, especially because the masked nutcases were running around. That slowed their pace considerably because Nova couldn't fly long distances.

So, they had been flying around the past month along the east coast of Scotland, asking the bird empire that had been built to spread the news Mioha was missing.

They hadn't had any luck so far. Esma had even tried talking to the kelpies in the lake the humans called "Loch Ness", but she hadn't been able to understand a single thing those creatures had said.

And now, they were stuck in this storm somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

Esma felt her guilt overwhelm her and closed her eyes.
She knew Mioha was not responsible for Byron's death. But the shock had hurt her so deeply, she hadn't been able to keep her anger in.
Her son was dead and that was not something she would be able to get over soon. But she had to find Mioha and let her know that she was sorry for blaming her.

If she wasn't too late already.

A sharp alarm call shrilled through the rain.
Esma snapped her eyes open and jumped up, her body tensing up.

"Mom", Gwaihir complained as the rain hit his black feathers. "It's cold-"

"Shh!", his mother shushed him sharply.

Up ahead, Swift stood, his wings spread out wide and his neck stretched. His alarm call would tell the intruder he'd detected that this territory was occupied for the moment.

Nova and Gwaihir crouched down and pressed their bodies against the wet leaves. The raindrops dripped off their feathers and branches, making it hard for Esma to hear any suspicious sounds.

A branch to her left rustled suddenly.

Esma whistled sharply and jerked her head to the left. Swift silently glided down to her, puffing up his black plumage.

Nova and Gwaihir silently crept backwards until they were pressed up against the tree stem. The rain had darkened the grey color of the dying tree, helping Nova and Gwaihir to blend in.

Esma tightened her grip around the branch she was perched on and leaned forward. Something was climbing up the tree, but whatever it was, it was still obscured by the branches below them. If it was a marten, she and Swift could probably fight it off. Maybe even a wild cat. They were very sensitive around their eyes and whiskers.

But anything larger and they would have to find another place to rest.

Suddenly, a short-eared owl poked his head through the brown canopy.