Avatar: The Return of The Songbirds

Chapter Twenty-Two - The General

Henilo stood in silence as he made his way to number thirty, making sure to pay close attention and listen for any hints as to where his family may have headed. "Thirty." Henilo exclaimed, loud enough for the group to hear, and with that he took off. He ran past their house and into the opening just behind it. He stayed low to the ground and listened for a moment. Soon a smirk began to grow on his face. "I know you're here Sakire." Henilo taunted. "I heard you move." He added, as he slowly crept towards his sister's hiding spot. Within seconds Henilo was perched behind Sakire, as if he was a Palulukan ready to strike and swiftly grabbed her arm without warning, causing her to jump in shock.

"Henilo!" Sakire screeched as she whipped her head towards her brother. "You scared me! That is not part of the game!" Sakire growled.

"I am sorry, I did not mean to scare you." Henilo apologized with a chuckle. "You are not very good at this hide and seek." He exclaimed with a proud smirk on his face. "You were extremely easy to find." He mocked.

"Shut up." Sakire hissed, while laying a solid punch against Henilo's arm.

"Ouch! That hurt." Henilo replied in kind.

Sakire simply rolled her eyes before walking off. "Hurry up, we still have to find the others. Let's go." Sakire ordered in annoyance. Henilo didn't even bother to reply. He just rubbed his arm and followed his sister's lead. They walked for a while in silence. "Did I really hurt you?" Sakire asked sheepishly, realizing that she had gone overboard earlier.

"No, I'm fine." Henilo reassured her with a smile. "I have to say you have gotten stronger as of late." He praised. "What have you been up to?" Henilo questioned, pure curiosity covering his face.

"I haven't been doing anything." Sakire replied shyly.

"You are lying." Henilo chuckled, but soon that feeling of safety fled due to a foreign sound catching his attention.

"No I am n." Sakire was stopped by Henilo firmly placing his hand against her mouth. She growled at his action and quickly pulled his hand down aggressively. "Why did you do that!" She groaned.

"Shush. Wait." Henilo whispered, before bringing his attention back to the tree line the their left. Henilo, brought his hand down to Sakire's forearm and grasped it tightly.

"What?" Sakire asked in confusion.

"Listen." Henilo ordered. His tone was hollow with fear. "That...that's not coming from any of us." Henilo hissed.

"How do you know?" Sakire questioned, panic now present in her voice.

"I was listening to where all of you went." Henilo stated softly, tightening his grip on Sakire's arm. "None of you went towards the tree line." He confessed looking back at his sister who was visibly shaking. "Go home." Henilo barked.

"No! I'm not leaving you alone!" Sakire attempted to shout, but all that came out was a shaky whisper.

"I will be fine. I have to find everyone else." Henilo reassured the younger girl, but got a violent head shake from Sakire in protest.

"I don't want to leave you." She cried, grabbing hold of Henilo's hand tightly.

Henilo let out a nervous sigh and pulled Sakire into a firm hug. A hug filled with love because in this given moment, they weren't sure what the outcome would be. "I need you to listen to me. I will be fine. I need you to go to your room and stay there." He orders softly, as he gently stroked the back of Sakire's head. "I will be right back I promise." Henilo vowed as he pulled back from Sakire. "I will be right back." He repeated, cupping Sakire's face in his palms. "Go." He ordered again, and this time Sakire reluctantly obliged. Once Sakire was safely out of danger, Henilo called out the warning to his family, hoping they were close enough to hear him.