Book One: Onnu and Pannu

Pilgrims

There was a lot of murmuring in the little group when they saw the winged ones. Their own fledged kin hadn't made it very long, on the unsheltered plains. To see a dozen healthy kin flying toward them gave them hope, for the first time in weeks.
   "Hail! Foundlings just lost their dragon. I thought to take them to South Hold." They hadn't really named the Holds yet, but she was clearly headed for the closest one. "What say you?"
   Flash landed on her shoulder with Mira Fern, the healer she'd mentioned. Onnu didn't know how they'd known she was needed, but she was grateful. The other gryphons bore Mira's assistants, who began triage on the waifs she carried. Onnu couldn't afford to stop, so they had to tend injuries on the move. Since Mira had been instrumental in the survival of Pannu's group, it was no great burden. The gargoyle who'd carried her supplies was one of Onnu's original group, and quite shocked to see the state of the newest pilgrims.
   "We, ah... Pannu said something was wrong, 'cause Charon was early..." Ginny Gargoyle began, not really sure who she was talking to, but needing to say something.
   "Charon?" Onnu asked. Had he told them, then? She supposed he would have had to, this time. She felt guilty for leaving it to him. Perhaps they should have brought it up sooner, but they'd all been doing so well, she didn't want to upset them. Especially not the travelers! They'd only just begun to relax!
   "Yeah, kinda hard not to notice when he comes early. Most of us had a fair idea what it was, those of us who came with Pannu, but most of your lot were a bit upset. Your friend is trying to smooth things over, although you could've told him, at least!" Mira was clearly miffed that they'd been kept in the dark, metaphorically speaking.
   Onnu whuffed. "Again, I ask, how do you tell someone something like that?"
   "We needed to know! To prepare!" Ginny growled.
   "Do I not set a watch, every time we leave the Hold? And does Charon not cast a long enough shadow to duck under a spire well before it passes over?"
   "Not always," Mira snorted. "If he's got something in his sights, he comes on faster. If we'd had a watch set up at home, we would always know how long we've got."
   Onnu nodded as she strode across the grasses. "That I'll grant you. But dragons and centaurs seem to be attuned to its approach, so as long as you're with one of us, you have ample warning."
   "They do?"
   "You do?"
   "We do?"
   This was news to everyone who understood the conversation (which wasn't many, but the information spread quickly).
   "We have arrived. You've not yet seen those I carry in my arms, and I'll not set them down out here. Do you think the rest will make the descent?"
   Mira looked at the kin on her back dubiously, though Onnu couldn't see her face. "Maybe you'd best get us as close as you can, and we can airlift the worst down by feather and stone."
   Onnu, as ever, obeyed the will of the kin. Though it was voiced by one, that one was the most knowledgeable of the group.
   She offered her tail as a rope, should wingless kin be willing and able to assist their wounded kindred down. Catkin could use their tails as a fifth limb, and belay down. Otherwise, she could lower them one at a time in a coil at the end. Between that, and the winged kin, they got the most injured and weak down into the Bowl. The rest were willing to ride down on her back, or in her arms, if it meant getting to safety faster.
   South Hold was the smallest she'd seen, but the pilgrims had lost their dragon, so it didn't matter as much. What did matter was, she had trouble squeezing through the spires with her wings fully extended. The best she could manage was half mast. Her ankles felt a twinge when she landed, but her passengers made it to the Bowl with reasonably little jostling. Mira was satisfied with her efforts.
   She dropped to her keel and gently set down the kin in her arms. The healers swarmed over them, checking for cuts, bruises, or burns. Mira got to try the aloam a few more times; grass was applied here and there, and an experimental pondlake fern was patted on a couple of wounds. By and large, though, their biggest issues were fatigue and malnutrition.
   The pilgrims hadn't figured out that many of them could eat grass, and the herbivores had been choking down meat whenever they could tolerate it. Once they heard about grass, some would have eaten themselves into founder, if she hadn't been there to caution them. Having a dragon to back her up was a big help.
   The gryphons looked to the dragon to see if they had time to hunt. She shrugged. "Might want to hunt skitters and flitters. Charon was early once today, and these kin are awfully weak. Best stick nearby."
   The catkin pilgrims were thin and hungry, and they had the assistance of gryphons, birdkin, and Ginny. There were enough critters to feed both the pilgrims, and the healers and helpers, in less time than one would think.
   Onnu hadn't been up in the gases today, but she didn't have to feed two dragons' worth of carnivores and omnivores, so she had just barely enough flame to cook it all.
   Mira determined that none of them should be moved, so South Hold was given over to the pilgrims. A couple of healers and winged ones volunteered to stay behind with them overnight, until more permanent placements could be made. They would show them where niches could usually be found, teach them what was edible, and generally orient them in Hold life.