Skyfall

End of the Empire

I awoke again in the tree, in the Masli section, during the Avatar Reunion. It seemed that no time had passed. The song of the Boa still echoed in the air, and the bonfire of the K'mess burned brightly.

It was peaceful, and several hours ago I would have been perfectly content, but now that I had met Kiemo and seen her anger at our leaders, I only felt cold. My life was a lie. Nobody here hears our Maker. How could they be so happy when they are loose without restriction?

The Lik'ma darted from the ground into the air, followed by a group of Silmak. Of course. She is lying to our people. And the Nixes, they are against us, as well.

Who could I trust? Not the Lik'ma. Not the flightless Nixes. Kalo believed the story about Akiki; he was under the spell of the leaders. The Silmaks are with the Lik'ma, as well.

Akiki. He tried to convince me of Kiemo's troubles before; He might believe me now.

I readied myself to drop to the ground, then stopped. The last time I had seen Akiki, I'd told him that I believed he was insane, and then left him on the ground when he tried to tell me otherwise. And if no time had passed, would I not look as insane as he allegedly was?

I shook my feathers, fluffing them in a sudden cold breeze. No, I will tell him what Kiemo had revealed to me, and hope - pray - that he believes me like I did the first time he revealed his dream to me.

I dropped, flaring my wings to land quietly on the mossy earth. He was probably on the K'mess section, as they usually slept in a pack. I took to the air again, flapping hard in the dead night air.

The mass of K'mess were piled around the central bonfire, most still asleep. I could see Akiki, near the outskirts of the ring, shifting slightly in his dreams.

I set my wings to glide, pulled a rather intensely coloured down feather, and dropped it on his stomach. True to his predatory instincts, he jerked awake as I went up and spun in a tight circle, using the fire as lift. I met his eyes and nodded. He darted into the forest surrounding the Plain.

I flew after him, landing on a tree and following in the branches. He stopped a few hundred feet away, and I dropped beside him.

"She came to you," he said, his flashing teeth the only thing I could see in the darkness. I nodded.

"I believe you now. I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I -"

He held up a hand, the wind the action created my only hint at the movement. "I know. I wouldn't believe me without seeing her for myself."

I let out a breath, twirling a piece of down on my stomach. He handed me the feather I dropped on him. I smiled, taking it back and allowing it to fly away on the wind.

"Why would you let it go?" he asked, watching it as well.

"It's of no use to me. The feather will grow back. And if every Masli kept all the feathers they shed, we wouldn't be able to fly."

"Really? My scales never fall off."

I grinned at him. "That's because you're a K'mess, not a Masli. Masli moult every couple of months, all of our feathers replacing themselves over time."

He smiled at me.  "Interesting."

I looked into the forest.  "I just broke a law.  The Lik'ma has told us to never give or take information on our species or others."

He looked at me, eyes narrowing.  "Strange.  Our Lik'ma has never made such a law."

I pulled out another feather in agitation.  "Even stranger, our Lik'mas are not in accordance anymore.  Mine has made a law that yours has not copied."