The Bird and The Fish

TBTF, Part 6: Revelations

(Casper pov)

It's been about a day since Zahra went missing, and we're about to hold an unofficial funeral. An unofficial funeral is a ceremony held when a service member goes missing and we don't have any evidence of their death. It's in a few hours, and I'm still debating whether or not I should go. Personally, I feel like it's being held a bit earlier, as we'd usually hold one if someone is gone for a week or more.

But I can't shake the feeling that the higher-ups are hiding something. Why would they hold the ceremony so close to her time of disappearance? It doesn't make sense. I tried to ask Kriace, but all he gave me were vague answers that just raised more questions.

"The direction I saw her go was west of everyone else," I say, gesturing to a map laid out on a table infront of me. "There was an onslaught of arrows, so it's likely she was blown off course." "But we haven't mapped that section of the forest yet," Alouette says, following my finger. "There's no telling what's hidden in there." "Alouette is right," another named Arvid speaks up. "It's too risky to go looking for someone in a place we haven't even been to yet."

"Both of you make good points, but it's risky either way," I sigh, running a stressed hand through my hair. "Zahra is by far the best female soldier in the unit. The three of us all know Kriace would try anything to get her back. So why isn't he?" "You're right," Alouette say, her eyes widening in realization. "Plus, the ceremony is being held less than a day from her disappearance. That goes against tradition, and the higher-ups are usually strict about this kind of stuff."

Arvid, the section commander of a different unit, speaks up again. "Look, I'm all for going after your girlfriend when she's gone missing, but I feel like all this planning is excessive," he says, raising an eyebrow at me. "She isn't my girlfriend!" I exclaim, my face flushing with embarrassment at his remark. "We're just good friends!" "Uh huh," he hums, clearly not believing my defense.

"Our friendly relationship isn't the point," I say, shooting a glare at Alouette before she can say anything. "All I want to know is why they're trying to get the ceremony over with, and why Kriace is so adamant about keeping her disappearance under wraps."

"I can try to ask around, but I can't make any promises about finding anything useful," Arvid says, his gaze still studying the map. "Any information you can get is helpful," I reply, rolling up the map with a sigh. "Meet me back here after the ceremony. We'll discuss what we find then."

Arvid and Alouette both nod in agreement, determination sparking in their eyes.

(Time skip: a few hours later; after the ceremony)

Arvid, Alouette, and I meet back in the small tent outside of the main camp, a small oil lantern casting an orange light over the three of us.

"Alright, what have we gathered?" I ask, looking between the both of them with an expectant gaze. "I found out that Zahra ended up in a section of the forest that's home to a small portion of the Faewild," Arvid says, my tone grim. "There was a reason we haven't mapped it out yet."

"What do you mean?" I ask, my eyes widening slightly at the revelation.

"That part of the forest is specifically home to a murderous lake monster."