Enslaved

Chapter 43

Kaida flew in the middle of the group of hybrids following Ryuu, her hair slapping against her armored back with every flap. She had watched a female do another's hair a couple of times until she had figured it out for herself and plaited her own hair back, marveling at the feeling of her hair being off her shoulders and not sticking to her neck. The armor wasn't as heavy as she had thought but at the same time, it was a new challenge added to flying that she wasn't sure she wanted. Or particularly liked.

She looked up and was surprised at how close the mountain was, only a few paces ahead of them and rapidly growing. Her chest felt tight with anticipation, wondering how everything was going to pan out when the hybrids in front of her arched their flight to the left and she shook her thoughts away, following them as they followed where Ryuu was leading. She looked ahead and saw his black hair and huge wings in between two others, aiming for a clearing she would not have spotted on her own and a thrill went through her. They were really doing it, they were really going to save hybrids who are just like her, who were enslaved and subject to the Empire's whims.

They erupted over the clearing and Ryuu lead them over to the other side, soaring low and landing in the trees, on the ground, and along the mountainside alike, all facing the opposite end where a barely visible tunnel opened into the clearing. Kaida landed on a tree branch, carefully flapping her wings to get her balance before she folded them in tight and crouched down, making herself as small as possible. She watched as Ryuu flew down into the small clearing and landed, crouching down and examining the dirt that was too far away from her to notice anything out of the ordinary. She frowned when he stood up and looked to where the other tunnel opening was, his expression bordering on disbelief and fury. She shook herself and opened her wings, flapping once just as Ryuu had shown her and soared down to him, landing a few feet away from him and folding her wings as she looked down at the ground herself.

There were what seemed to be dozens of footprints followed by the unmistakable drag lines of chains and wings. She turned to Ryuu just as he reached her and grabbed her hand, his eyes holding caution.

"What are you doing down here?" He hissed at her, his voice both quiet and angry. "I did not give the orders to come down here."

Kaida stared at him for a moment in surprise before she wrenched her hand out of his, rubbing her fingers.

"I wanted to see for myself what happened." She replied, a little taken aback by his tone. "They've already been through here, haven't they?"

Ryuu nodded gravely, looking around for a moment before flicking open his wing slightly and looking back to her. She heard the sound of wings opening before the entire group of hybrids landed around them, their expressions hopeful. Ryuu looked around at everybody as he closed his wing slowly and sighed.

"They just passed through here." Ryuu called out. "Seemingly only a few minutes ago and possibly while we were flying here. But just because we were too late this time doesn't mean the Empire wins. We will be victorious in the long run, mark my words."

Kaida could hear the despair in his voice as she turned away and shouldered her way through the crowd to the opposite tunnel, looking into the darkness as she strained her ears to ear something- anything that could tell her they were close by.

"Let's go back to camp today." Ryuu continued. "And train to fight another day."

She tuned out the sound of wings as they took off and focused on the tunnel, her heart hammering. Everybody deserved a chance, she thought, every single hybrid deserved a chance to be fought for. To be free and feel the wind on their face as they flew for the first time. She strained her ears, her eyes glued to the darkness of the tunnel and jumped when she heard the snap of a whip followed by a chain jingling. A hand closed over her shoulder and she whirled around to come face to face with Ryuu, the rest of the hybrids hovering in the air right above the other tunnel opening as they waited for them. Ryuu's eyes held sorrow and apologies as they locked with hers and she jerked her shoulder out of his hand, shaking her head.