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I.

The Kingdom of Auron seemed unusually sunny during this particular summer. The heat bore down on the world outside, with naught but a few children thinking to step outside to play in the heat. It was rare to see anyone else but the farm hands out, but with the end of summer coming so soon they all knew that harvest season would soon be upon them.

It was at times like this that Farryn was thankful he had relaxed the Northern Border Post dress code as much as he had: his men back at the Post must have been relieved about that much. Still, in his present situation, it did not make him feel any better: he was rather far from the Post, and as such being back in his home city he had to throw on more armor than he was used to. It was rather light as it was, but as far as he was concerned it was still too much. As he looked at himself in the mirror in his quarters, he could not help but feel a little more alien than usual. He had come to like the Post too much to get used to such stuffy clothing.

Still, as he brushed his mane out with his claws, he knew the king would not have it any other way. He exhaled, before stepping back and glancing at where the sun was in its dayward track.

Hm... Around midmorning, I think, he thought. He then nodded. King Karthin wanted me at the sun's highest point... He nodded: this was a good track to be on. After all, he still had to get his men, ensure they had prepared the cart so they could depart after meeting with the king, and actually show up in the side tower they were meeting at. It was good timing, and he allowed himself a moment of pride.

The pride was immediately quenched when he remembered what the royal summons was for, however. He sighed, looking to the side as he looked at the satchel where his summons still lay. It could have been for any number of reasons, but Farryn could only shake his head in dismay that for all the reasons he had been summoned, it had been related to the magisters.

Still, he knew it had to be done. With this, he exhaled, before pulling his boots on and swinging his satchel over his shoulder.

----**----

Farryn exhaled, making his way to the stables. It did not take him long to find his men: the three he brought with him were busy loading the last of the supplies onto the cart. Farryn could only nod proudly, seeing the typical stable boys mostly hung to the sides, tending to the horses that belonged to the actual stables. For their purposes, the donkeys at the front of the cart would do, and those had not yet been hitched: that would only happen later on, just before they set off. For now, they would do tied to the post.

Farryn approached. At this, a tall horse with brownish fur greeted him, his long locks of black hair falling out past his ears. He smiled, bowing his head. "Morning, sir," he said.

Farryn nodded to his second-in-command. "Already at ease, Tuketu?" the lion asked.

"Certainly." Tuketu nodded, stretching out his broad shoulders as he exhaled. "You'll have plenty to be uptight about soon enough, right?"

"I suppose." Farryn sighed.

Tuketu nodded, patting Farryn on the shoulder. "Well, Grezz and Darius seem about ready to go, anyhow."

With this, the horse looked back to the other two men loading up the cart, a monitor lizard and a fox. The fox was rather tall, and he was quite a muscular figure for someone such as his species. Farryn had seen quite a lot of potential in Darius despite the fact he came from a noble family: there was a spark there that the lion quite liked, and Darius had more than amply proven himself in the intervening time.

Grezz, on the other hand, seemed as uptight as ever. Farryn had rather liked the grey-scaled monitor lizard from the moment he'd laid eyes on him, although he wished Grezz would not be so uptight. His expression looked impassive to nearly everyone around him, but Farryn knew that he was always analyzing everything: even as he loaded a box onto the cart, he was eyeing the doors of one of the box stalls to the side.

Farryn nodded, turning back to Tuketu. "No doubt," he said. "You know the mission parameters we are on, right?"

"Yes." Tuketu's ears folded back. "We're to escort our magister to the northern lands. Not quite the border, but close enough. He's been tasked with studying the earth there." He then chuckled, looking up. "He may be interested in studying the properties of the soil there, seeing why certain magic-laden herbs grow in the northern lands and not elsewhere in Auron."

"Yes." Farryn nodded, exhaling as he looked to the floor. "Just any other magister, right?"

"Yeah." Tuketu placed a hand on Farryn's shoulder. "If you need to vent about anything, I'll be here for you, sir. Like always."

With this, Farryn smiled genuinely, looking up at his sergeant. "Thank you, Tuketu." He then pulled away, before turning to his two men to see they had finished packing the supplies onto the cart. "Well, let's go meet the king, shall we?"

Darius

----**----

Farryn stepped forward, his sword resting in its scabbard as he walked forward. He stood as straight as ever, his impassive expression remaining on his face as he looked on. Behind him, Tuketu shifted on his hooves, and if Farryn had to venture a guess it was out of discomfort of having to dress at all. Farryn could not quite blame him for that much, but he was surprised that Darius and Grezz took to this as well as they had. He supposed that Grezz's old town was enough of a stickler about formalities that Grezz himself did not mind being fully clothed, but the fact that Darius was proving to know his place in such a formal setting surprised him. He chalked it up to having gotten used to being under his command, but the fact that he did not object to the formal greeting on instinct told Farryn everything.

It was thus that Farryn's thoughts were working when, at the end of the hallway, the rather ornate door opened. Farryn stood at attention, with King Karthin walking forward. His bejeweled outfit gleamed somewhat in the light as he made his way to Farryn.

And there, behind the imposing panther, was a surprisingly tall figure: he looked about a head shorter than Tuketu, but for a mage Farryn was surprised he was not smaller. However, what struck him most was that the mage was of an avian nature: brownish feathers adorned his head, with intense green eyes scanning the four of them from over his off-yellow beak. His long green robes flowed around him almost like a cloud, and Farryn could spot the dark green tome in his right wingtips with a raised eyebrow.

Farryn then looked up to King Karthin, the black panther bowing before him. Farryn replied by bowing forward. "My king." He looked up. "My father isn't here?"

"At ease, Farryn." Karthin shook his head. "Alas, he is away on business in the Eastern Kingdom."

Farryn bowed his head once, another disappointed huff coming from him. "I see," he said. "I assume, then, that we are to set off as soon as possible?"

"You are correct." Karthin stepped back, gesturing towards the eagle. "Here is your escort." He then turned to the brown-feathered eagle. "Cyrus, this is Farryn. He will be in charge of your escort."

The eagle's head tilted to the side, but as soon as he got a good look at Farryn he smiled. "Ah, the famous Farryn!" he said. He extended his free wingtip towards the lion, his smile beaming ever brighter. "I've heard much of your exploits at the Northern Border! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Farryn let out a short grunt, feeling annoyance well up inside him. However, he did extend his paw forward, shaking Cyrus' wingtip. "Thank you," he said, exhaling. "We did journey a little way to get here for this mission."

"No doubt, and through the Badlands no less," said Cyrus. He pulled away, bowing his head. "I promise you, it will be worth your while, in the end." He then turned, catching sight of the rest of Farryn's company. "Ah, and here is the rest, no doubt." He turned first to Tuketu. "Pleasure to make your acquaintances."

"The pleasure is all ours, Magister," Tuketu replied. He bowed his head. "Whatever you need, we'll be at your service, Magister."

But Cyrus chuckled good-naturedly at this, bowing his head. "Please, uh...?" He then gestured towards the horse, one of his feathers pointing at Tuketu as if to extract something out of him.

"Tuketu, sir," he said. "Sergeant Tuketu."

"Tuketu, thank you," Cyrus replied. "There'll be no need for 'Magister' or anything like that. Just Cyrus will do, and since we're all heading to the same objective together I won't take anything else." He then bowed his head, turning to Grezz and Darius. "And you two are?"

"Grezz." The monitor lizard bowed his head respectfully. "You'll have to forgive us if it takes us a little bit to warm up to that idea, Magister."

Darius immediately elbowed Grezz gently, before bowing his own head. "You'll have to forgive him on that, Cyrus," the fox replied. "His village can be a little... uptight."

Cyrus let out a laugh, a short, crystalline laugh that rather reminded Farryn of a theater singer's fake laughter. "Ah, I see," the eagle replied. "It'll be no trouble at all, then." He looked to Darius. "And you are...?"

"Darius, sir," the fox replied. He extended his hand. "I have to admit, this is unusual. Most magisters we escort won't even give us the time of day."

Karthin chuckled at this observation. "Cyrus is rather young, I think," the panther observed.

"But gifted," Farryn finished. He felt a rush of heat run up his arm, his paw twitching as he tried not to form it into a fist. "Hence why he is being sent on this mission."

"It's a test of sorts, I think," Cyrus replied. "But whatever it is, I'm honored I was chosen to select it."

Farryn nodded. He turned to Karthin, a frown on his face. "But earth magic?"

"Even your father was perplexed," Karthin admitted. "By all accounts, he should be gifted in the magic of the air, and particularly considering he comes from the Southern Bluffs. But somehow, the earth called to him."

"And here I am," Cyrus replied. He then smiled. "Well, I hardly think there's any further point to staying here. Shall we set off, Captain Farryn?"

The lion nodded. "Yes, we shall," he said. He then turned to Karthin, giving him a bow. "We will report back to you when we return."

"I look forward to it," Karthin replied. "Just keep him safe."

"Of course, your majesty."

With this, Farryn bowed on one knee, before standing up and nodding to Tuketu.

"Let's set off, Tuketu," Farryn replied.

The horse nodded, the group making their way out of the tower.

----**----

It took almost a day's travel from then when Farryn finally felt a little bit at ease: as he walked down the field past the last of the royal city's farmers, he found he could finally breathe rather normally. He exhaled, closing his eyes as he brushed some of his mane out of the way of his face. He heard the steady clack of the donkey hooves against the ground where the feral donkeys were carrying a cart with them: normally that was an annoying sound, but after being in Karthin's court the sound was music to his ears. As Tuketu walked by his side, Farryn was able to exhale.

As they moved on, he heard a set of footsteps approach: out of the corner of his eye, Farryn saw Cyrus walk towards Farryn. "You seem rather relieved to be out of the city," the eagle observed.

"Well, I'm just glad to be out of there," Farryn replied. He glanced off to the side, his right paw rubbing his upper left arm. "I'd rather not talk about it."

Cyrus nodded. "Very well," he said. He then exhaled. "Apologies if I encroached on your comfort zone, Captain Farryn." He then pulled back.

Tuketu frowned, looking over at the eagle. "Would you rather not ride, Magi--Cyrus?" he asked.

"And miss the exercise?" Cyrus shook his head. "My elders on the Southern Bluffs always told me that a strong body only helped a strong mind. I may be a mage, but that's hardly an excuse to sit back and let the donkeys lift me around." He then looked back to the cart. "I assume they'll have quite enough heavy lifting to do anyhow, yes?"

Tuketu nodded. "I suppose that's fair, Magist--Cyrus," Tuketu replied.

Farryn took a brief intake of air, that being the only indication that he had caught this little bit of conversation. The lion only only glanced to the side of the road, noticing how unpopulated it was. He then looked up at the sun, finding that it was beginning to trend down, the faintest edges of orange twilight beginning to spread across the sky.

"It's getting rather late," said Farryn. He then turned to his men and Cyrus. "Shall we set up camp?"

"I think so, Sir," said Darius. He stepped forward, pulling back the reigns on the donkeys carrying the cart. "Does that mean what we think it does?"

"Yes," said Farryn. "At ease."

Tuketu exhaled, his hands immediately going for his armor straps. "Finally!" He kicked some dirt from underneath him, quickly untying the straps that held his armor in place. "I've been waiting to get out of these damn things for a while now!"

"You and me both, sir," Darius replied. He did similarly.

Grezz exhaled, moving similarly as he moved to the back of the cart. "I'll set up the tents, sir," Grezz replied.

And in the midst of this all, Farryn began to do similarly, his chestpiece falling to the ground with a loud clink. As he moved away, though, he looked up to Cyrus: the mage looked frozen in place, watching as other armor pieces fell to the floor.

"Wait, do you intend to--?"

And with a plop, all of Tuketu's armor fell to the ground. The eagle then watched the horse pull his pants off, revealing the horse's nether regions for all to see. Farryn looked up just in time to see the deep red blush travel all the way up Cyrus' face.

"O-oh, you do," Cyrus replied. His wingtips covered his beak, and he turned to face Farryn. "Goodness me, is this normal?"

In response, Farryn dropped his own pants, revealing his own lower half to the eagle. The blush on Cyrus' face only increased, and his hands clamped down harder on the top of his beak.

"O-oh..." Cyrus nodded, exhaling. "I... I see..."

"You thought the stories exaggerated, didn't you?" Tuketu asked, a broad grin on his face.

Cyrus could do little else but nod hurriedly. He exhaled roughly, falling to his knees. "Goodness..."

"Hey, you'll get used to it soon enough," said Darius. The fox came up to them, smiling. Cyrus looked up, glancing away in embarrassment at how quickly Darius had come into the same state of dress as Farryn and Tuketu. "After all, you'll be in the trenches with us, so you'll get a first-hand account, right?"

"Y-yes, I suppose so..." Cyrus exhaled, swallowing the lump in this throat. "Apologies, I was not expecting this."

"Well, Cyrus, welcome to the club." Darius patted the eagle's back gently. "Let's get camp set up, alright?"

And in response, Cyrus' nod came quick. He did not say anything more: anything that could be gleaned further was visible in the shade of red ballooning across his feathers.

Farryn caught the whole exchange out of the corner of his eye: a small part of him could not help but smirk at the embarrassed eagle. He knew the rumors that swirled about his guard, but to see the expression on one of the magister's faces at finding out at least some of them were based in truth had no price at all. He gave no other indication, though, for there was camp to be set up.

And so, he pulled out the materials for his tent, scoping out the place on the side of the road where he would plant it.

----**----

The group had a very fitful sleep that night: more than anything, Farryn was glad to be out of the imperial capitol, and even if it was on a mat on the cold, hard ground, anything was better than being in such proximity to other magisters. Out there on the road, it was only Cyrus, and while he had proven to be more tolerable than most magisters he had dealt with before, Farryn still stayed wary around him: he was certain something else would come, and when it did he would be ready for it.

Thus, when he stirred the next morning and stepped outside, he found himself comforted by the sight of Tuketu sitting by the fire, his gaze trained towards the forest. What he was surprised by was Cyrus climbing up out of the woods. The sun had not quite fully risen over the horizon yet, and indeed a quarter of the sky was still dark with the last gasp of night. The earth magister had just come out of the woods with various herbs lining his pockets. The lion blinked in surprise, and in the morning sunlight he thought he could see Cyrus's eyes come onto him.

"Oh!" Cyrus smiled, walking forward. "Captain Farryn, good morning!" He kept his voice down, glancing back to the tents that the others slept in. Farryn noted the way Cyrus' eyes glanced down towards his bottomless legs, but the gaze quickly pulled away. "You don't think I'd wake the others up, do you?"

Farryn shook his head, looking to the side. "No," he said. He then leaned forward. "What are you doing up?"

Cyrus shrugged, gesturing to his robes. "Gathering herbs," he said. He then turned to his tent, which Farryn only then realized had been struck, the canvas neatly folded next to where the poles laid in neat rows. "I figured this would be a good time to get some control samples for when we finally get to the northern territories past the badlands."

Farryn scowled at this, indicating Darius with a tilt of his head. "There are bandits who might burgle us along this stretch of the road," the lion replied. "Or do you not realize why my sergeant's there?"

"Oh, no, I realize," said Cyrus. He then glanced at Tuketu. "I made sure not to go too far into the forest. Only as far as he could see." He then turned to the horse. "Is that not right, Tuketu?"

With this, Tuketu nodded, and it was only then that Farryn realized that Tuketu's glance had turned to their hushed conversation. The horse had stood up as well, bowing his head to his captain. "Aye, Captain." He bowed his head to Cyrus. "He stayed within my line of sight."

Farryn's shoulders relaxed. Still, his scowl remained, and he turned to Cyrus. "Be thankful Tuketu is relaxed about that," he said softly, but with enough edge in his voice. "You do know what awaits you if you keep such foolishness up, right?"

Cyrus nodded. "I know," he said. "Bandits, the errant traveler, wildlife." He then exhaled, shaking his head and indicating Tuketu. "Which is why I agreed not to go out of his sight. I can abide by rules for my own safety, sir."

Farryn only kept his stare on Cyrus. "And why search for these herbs now?"

"It will be easier to work when we are not moving, instead of having to stop your men every six seconds on our way up past the Badlands, right?" Cyrus glanced to the path behind him. "It is easier this way, Captain. And I have taken as many precautions as I can."

Farryn paused, regarding Cyrus and Tuketu. "Still, this is dangerous behavior," he said. "What would the magisters say if they found out you did such things like this?"

And here, something in Cyrus' gaze darkened. The eagle adjusted his robes, and there was an angrier glint in his eyes than before, and he took a deep breath.

"Nothing they haven't told me before," Cyrus replied pointedly. He crossed his arms, before looking out to the sun. "Sunrise will be soon. I suppose we make breakfast with what little remains of the fire?"

"Actually, we should be alright with snuffing out the fire." Tuketu nodded, before looking down to Cyrus. "We'll settle for hard biscuits for breakfast. We can save the fire for breakfast when we are near a river."

"Excellent." Cyrus then lifted his hands up, walking towards the fire as his hand glowed.

Farryn blinked in surprise, stepping towards Cyrus. "And what are you doing?"

"Snuffing the fire." Cyrus then pointed to the sky. "It is rather light enough we can see without, yes?"

It was then that Farryn looked up at the sky. Indeed, the sun had risen quite a bit more, such that only a small portion still laid behind the horizon. The sky reflected this, with much of night's curtain having been pulled back further. Now it was mostly light above them, and Farryn found himself realizing that the shadows that played off of Darius and Grezz's tents were smaller than before and much more defined.

He then nodded, exhaling. "Very well," he said. "But should we not do that with water?"

Cyrus shook his head, before lifting his hand again. At this, a malleable clump of dirt rose from the ground, levitating as he approached the fire. "Water produces smoke and calls unnecessary attention to us," he said. He then allowed himself a look at Farryn's lower half. "Here."

Farryn blinked in surprise, but before he could say much else Cyrus swept his arm towards him. In short order, the clump of dirt flattened out, and then draped over the fire like a bedsheet. Almost instantly, the fire was out, and apart from some final wisps of smoke there was no dramatic snuffing of the flames. Farryn watched it go out, and he found himself blinking in surprise.

Cyrus nodded. "Now, if that is all, I'll be getting my breakfast," he said. "I can pack my own tent in the cart: I will worry about that again when next we stop for the night."

With this, Cyrus then turned, walking towards Tuketu, who had already started to look through the food supplies to see where the hard biscuits were.

----**----

The group's breakfast was rather quick, and by morning they were off, with Darius manning the donkeys. Grezz hung back just a little bit, his eyes nictating as he surveyed the scene around them. Farryn had also decided to walk ahead: one never knew what awaited them on the pathways of the northern end of the kingdom, and even though they were not in the Badlands yet Farryn knew to keep an eye out.

But it was Cyrus who surprised the most. He brushed the feathers of his bare arm, exhaling as he walked forward in only a tabard. As the eagle approached Tuketu, the horse could not help but notice Cyrus' body: as he'd alluded to before, the eagle's body was surprisingly strong. It was not easy to see from under the tabard, but there was no gut there at all, and his arms looked rather strong. Tuketu nodded, looking away from the magister only briefly.

"You weren't kidding, Cyrus," Tuketu began. "You do keep up with physical activities."

"Sometimes we have to climb up the rocks of the Southern Bluffs," Cyrus commented. "It does the body a good service, you know."

"Most definitely," Tuketu replied. He then shrugged. "I'm surprised you went down to just a tabard, though. Too hot for you?"

Cyrus spared a glance down at Tuketu's lower half, the blush reappearing on his face just before he turned away. "I, uhm... guess it did, in a sense," Cyrus commented. He let out a nervous chuckle, right as his gaze settled on Farryn's rather well-worked bum. "I guess if you're going to go gallivanting about with no pants, then staying in my full robes will be overdressing considerably."

Tuketu laughed at this, patting Cyrus on the back with a smile. "That's a fair point," the horse replied. "I guess the rules do change quite a bit when you leave the confines of Karthyn's palace."

"You would be right about that." Cyrus paused, looking to the side, exhaling. "I take it you don't frequently escort magisters around?"

"Not really," said Tuketu. "Most don't bother coming to the Northern Border, there isn't much for magic there apparently."

"They all say that." Cyrus exhaled, shaking his head, crossing his arms. He glanced to his hands, shrugging. "I guess we'll show them soon enough, huh?"

"I suppose so," said Tuketu.

Cyrus nodded. He then looked over to the rolling hills all around them, the two of them settling into a comfortable silence. The hills were far more colorful than anything Cyrus had ever seen in his life, all green with grass and dotted with the speckled colors of various wildflowers. In the distance, he saw the green did not abate, with the only change being the river that branched away from the road a great distance ahead of them.

He turned to Tuketu. "You get to see this?"

"Only outside of the Badlands, I'm afraid," Tuketu replied. "But the Northern Border Post itself is a very lovely place to live. I would not give it up for the world." He then looked to Cyrus. "You might disagree, coming from the Southern Bluffs."

"Not really," said Cyrus. He let out a long sigh. "The Southern Bluffs have height and majestic mountains, but there is not so much green down there. It's all rather rocky. You certainly get nothing like this." He then gestured out to the hills around them, his hand lingering in the air. "You guys have it lucky. You get to see this all the time."

"I guess that's fair," Tuketu replied. He then smiled. "This your first time in the North?"

"Yes," Cyrus replied. He smiled at Tuketu. "And I have to say, I like what I see."

"Ahead of you or beside you?" Tuketu asked.

The blush that came to Cyrus' face was so potent that Tuketu could only laugh at how it made him look. The eagle thus turned away, taking a step away from Tuketu as the horse leaned forward, waving his arm about.

"G-goodness me, you plan to rub that in my face, don't you?" asked Cyrus. He then stopped, his blush growing more intense as he realized how that could be taken. "On second thought, don't answer that."

Tuketu chuckled, shaking his head and patting Cyrus' shoulder. "Oh, Cyrus, you make it too easy."

And so, the two continued to chat animatedly. From ahead of them, Farryn overheard their conversation, making a note of the way Cyrus conducted himself. The eagle seemed far too composed to be anything like Terryn, and wise beyond his years. He wondered if Cyrus was at all considered a prodigy the same way Terryn was back at the castle, before casting that thought out of his head: he did not really want to find out.

And so, he kept walking, his eyes squarely on the road as they made their way through in the daylight.

II.

They stopped for the day at the bend of a river. The sun hung high in the sky, and in the distance the group could see a slew of abandoned castles off in the distance. At least, they appeared abandoned: as Cyrus examined the way Farryn looked over them, he noticed there was a furrow in his brow. Darius and Grez did not seem to care too much, as they had already jumped into the river to bathe, but Cyrus could see it in his eyes. He saw it in Tuketu's eyes too, the horse starting to pull the heavier armor out of the cart next to Farryn.

Cyrus nodded his head briefly. "You don't think those castles are abandoned," he stated.

Farryn blinked, looking back to Cyrus with his usual unreadable expression. "No," he said, crossing his arms.

Tuketu nodded. "At least, we doubt most of them are, Cyrus," he continued. "Where we're going, you may wish to be better equipped."

Cyrus nodded, looking to the path ahead. He noticed faintly that the upcoming path turned into a forest. The trees were green with lush vegetation, which no doubt covered the floor of the forest up real well.

"I'm assuming there will be bandits in there?" asked Cyrus.

"Yes." Farryn looked to Cyrus, but shook his head.

"I see," Cyrus said. He then looked over to the castles. He scanned their run-down parapets, the chipped stones, before turning back to Tuketu. "It's a shame, really. Who knows what those old castles could hold out there that is just waiting for study?"

"Don't get too carried away." Farryn's tone was harsher than usual. "There may not be anything magical in there."

"It still would be great to know for certain." Cyrus sighed, looking back to Tuketu forlornly. "I wish it were possible to go in, but I understand if we cannot." He then looked to the armor there. "I'm assuming that's for extra protection?"

"Less tension isn't really going to help us there," Tuketu replied. He then hoisted another chest plate onto the ground. "It's best to go in fully armored, and I'm sure Grezz and Darius will be in full armor after they finish bathing." He then nodded to Cyrus. "You should bathe, too."

Cyrus' blush was not quite as severe as Tuketu would have expected, but it was still present as he set his staff down. "I suppose that is fair," Cyrus replied. He then sighed, undoing the rope surrounding his tabard. "And I suppose you don't particularly care if I strip down here."

With this, he took the tabard off. Indeed, Tuketu and Farryn both saw what the eagle meant: his muscles were actually quite well defined. He was perhaps not built as big as Farryn or even Grezz, but his muscles had good definition to them. Tuketu found himself staring over the eagle's body, over those taught pecs, the surprisingly muscular arms, the curve of the eagle's ass...

"Anyway, I'll be in the river bend myself," Cyrus replied. "I should be out in about five minutes." He then leaned into the cart, leaving the tabard there and pulling a cloth out. "I require my own drying process, I will make it as quick as I can."

The eagle promptly took off for the river bend at this. He did not see Tuketu's blush that slowly blossomed onto his cheeks, nor did he see the look of disapproval from Farryn. All he knew was the water, the opportunity to bathe, and the smiles that Darius and Grezz both greeted him with.

----**----

The forest's trees covered quite a bit more than Cyrus had expected. The forest sang to him with vibrant sounds, from the twittering of songbirds up in the branches to the way the earth seemed to sing with a particular magic. He inhaled, catching the smell of the earth.

It was thus that he knelt in front of an herb right by the edge of the road. His hands gingerly brushed over the herb, and although he could feel Farryn's stare bearing onto his shoulders he did not mind it so much. After all, Tuketu was standing right there, the horse looking down at the same spot Cyrus looked at. Grezz had also joined them there, his arms crossed. Darius was nowhere to be seen, but Cyrus knew he would be back by the time Cyrus had collected his samples.

"Is this one of your herbs?" Tuketu asked.

"Looks... plain," Grezz commented. He then leaned down. "Is there some way you can sense that?"

Cyrus nodded, one hand hovering over the herb. He closed his eyes, before curving it to his right, with his hand hovering just under the herb's leaves. He concentrated on little else, his mind reaching for something in the plant that he could only just grasp a hold of physically.

And in time, the plant sang back to him.

Cyrus nodded, before opening his eyes and turning to Grezz. "Grezz, would you be so kind as to get one of the flower pots for me, please?" he asked. "We've found a specimen!"

The monitor lizard bowed. "The ones right by the edge of your supplies?" he asked.

"Yes, those," he said. He blushed as his beak almost brushed the lizard's flaccid length. "Uh, don't worry about their durability, they should be more durable than the clay pots others would use for such a purpose."

"Alright," Grezz replied.

With this short reply, the monitor lizard turned back to the cart and made his way over. Tuketu leaned over, noticing Cyrus' blush. He only gave a brief smirk, one that Cyrus completely missed, before he leaned over Cyrus. "So is this how you normally collect samples?"

Cyrus nodded, his hands hovering over the whole plant. "Yes," he said. "I can only do so much in a scenario where I have no steady laboratory: some field research will be good for me, but at my lab at home, I can do quite a bit more. Better to take the whole plant." He then looked to the ground. "Besides, soil samples may prove more relevant."

"You get a lot of information out of that, huh?" Tuketu asked.

Cyrus nodded, forming a half-circle with his hands. He reached out for the magical energy in the soil, inhaling deeply as he moved his hands in a circle. Immediately, Tuketu could see an indent form in the soil around the herb's roots, the line slowly creating a circle around the herb.

"Oh yes," said Cyrus. He smiled. "And I will tell you this: from how the magic sings to me here, I get the feeling this forest rests on magically fertile land."

He then heard footsteps behind him, and when Cyrus looked up Grezz had arrived with the flowerpot. "Here you are," Grezz said. "Will you be long?" He then looked to the cart. "Darius should be back soon."

"Not long at all." Cyrus then inhaled, before digging his hands directly into the lines in the dirt. His hands closed around something, and with one pull, he pulled the entire plant out, the herb's roots encased in a ball of soil. There was a worm just hanging on the edge right by Cyrus' hand, and the eagle took a second to admire his handiwork.

"You really went in there, huh?" Tuketu asked.

"As would most people, in that situation," said Cyrus. He deposited the plant in the flowerpot, wiping his hands and smiling. "Well, there is our first sample. I venture to say we should--"

"Captain! Sergeant! Come quick!"

Cyrus blinked, dropping the flower pot at Darius' shouts. The eagle looked straight to where Farryn was, seeing Darius rush forward. The fox's ears were pointed straight up at the tree cover, and it looked like he had run a good distance away.

"What's happened, Darius?" asked Farryn.

Darius inhaled, his broad shoulders lifting up rather heavily as he pointed down the road. "I think someone's been attacked by bandits up ahead."

At this, Farryn's fur stood on end. So, too, did Cyrus' feathers, and upon hearing this, the magister stood up, rushing straight by Farryn's side. "How far ahead is it?"

"Not terribly far," Darius replied. "It also looks like it happened within the quarter of an hour." He looked down. "I smelled it just after clearing the curve over there, and sure enough... It's bad, sir."

Farryn nodded. "We best get over there soon, then," he said. He then glanced down to Cyrus, crossing his arms. "We should wait to get his sample loaded, though, we--"

"Nonsense."

Farryn stopped midway through his sentence, his eyes widening slightly as Cyrus looked to the path ahead. "The sample can wait," the eagle continued. "For now, we should make haste, no?"

Darius blinked, before lifting arms and gesturing to Cyrus. "Yeah, what the magister said, sir," he said. He then nodded, before running to the cart. "I'll get our weapons."

With this, Darius made off for the cart. Before the fox was even halfway to the cart, Cyrus turned, making his way down the path. He then paused, before turning and seeing Farryn's highly confused expression. He then doubled back to Farryn, flicking his head towards the path.

"Bandit attack, remember?" asked Cyrus. "We should make haste."

Farryn shook his head, before swallowing. Of all the things he had expected Cyrus to do at that moment, abandoning his sample to help someone was the absolute last thing he thought the eagle capable of. And yet, without a second thought, there he was, trying to hurry along to the site of the attack. He could not think of the last time a magister would run, not walk, to such a scene, and yet there it was...

After a second, though, Farryn nodded.

"Yes, you're right," the lion replied. He then rolled his shoulders. "We should."

And with this, Farryn began to move towards the curve. Cyrus joined him immediately after, and the two of them were vaguely aware of Tuketu and Grezz catching up to them as they made their way down the road.

----**----

The cart was in disarray when Farryn arrived with everyone else in tow: it had absolutely been torn apart, with boxes of wares in shattered pieces along the road. There were, however, still some wares that were left behind: the group noticed the various baubles and trinkets scattered about, precious golds thrown into the dirt alongside gleaming sapphires. They were haphazardly thrown around too, and the fact that not all of the wares were taken said volumes to Farryn.

What was also immediately noticeable to everyone, however, were the five bodies strewn about the scene: the ground was littered with a few streaks of blood, and off in the distance Farryn could already hear some buzzards cawing above the scene. The bodies strewn about looked like they had not ventured far from the cart, with most of them remaining completely motionless, eyes wide from the terror of their final breaths.

One still had just enough strength to turn his head towards the approaching party, however. The bobcat looked up, his eyes barely staying open as Cyrus looked on.

Without a moment's hesitation, Cyrus rushed over to the bobcat, kneeling right next to him and examining his wounds. He immediately found the wound's source: a blade had been plunged directly into his gut, but Cyrus looked at the vice grip that the bobcat had on the item, keeping the blade held in place inside him.

The bobcat looked up to the eagle, breathing in shallowly. "Thank... goodness..."

Cyrus shook his head, bringing his hands around the blade. "Don't talk," he said. "Save your energy, we'll have you healed up soon." He then looked up to Farryn. "Farryn, could you help me here?"

The lion nodded, before turning to Darius. "Darius, go on ahead, see if you can find a trail from these bandits," he said. "Grezz, Tuketu, keep a look-out for any remaining bandits."

"Yes, sir!" The other three scattered off in various directions, all of them brandishing blades of their own.

Cyrus then turned, looking to the bobcat and placing his hands on either end of the wound. Already, his hands glowed with magical energy, inhaling. "We will have to get this blade out," said Cyrus.

Farryn nodded. "I assume you will use your magic as soon as it is out?"

"Yes," said Cyrus. "On three?"

Farryn gripped the blade, looking down to the bobcat. The bobcat nodded, before gritting his teeth and bracing himself. As soon as Cyrus saw this, he inhaled, closing his eyes.

"One... two... three!"

The blade came out of the bobcat with a sharp metallic scrape against the bobcat's armor. The bobcat let out a hiss of pain, but Cyrus paid no mind to that: he concentrated on the life force within the guard, his fingers pulling in and out as he concentrated on the wound.

And then, Cyrus opened his eyes, his eyes glowing with magical energy. Slowly, the bobcat's wounds were replaced with flesh, and he inhaled rather sharply, finding himself able to breathe rather regularly again.

Finally, as soon as Cyrus felt the wound fully patch up, he pulled his hands, the magical connection breaking. He took a second to admire his handiwork: there was a relatively decent amount of blood still coating the bobcat's armor from the spurt that accompanied the blade's removal, but otherwise he looked rather good as new. As the bobcat's breathing returned to normal and he pulled himself up, Cyrus sighed in relief.

"Thank you," the bobcat replied, sitting back with more relaxed muscles. "I thought I was dead."

"How did you even keep it inside you?" asked Cyrus.

"I'm known among my mates as one with an iron grip," the bobcat replied, looking down. "I was still clutching it when their leader gave the order to run." He then looked to the corner. "I think their leader caught sight of someone in the bushes."

"Darius," Farryn nodded. He then looked to where Darius had run off, before turning to the bobcat. "How many were there?"

"There were ten of them," he said. "Too many to fend off with just the five of us."

Cyrus nodded, looking to the ground. His eyes watered, and Farryn could tell from the way his jaw tensed and the way his hands splayed against the dirt that the news troubled him greatly.

Farryn nodded, before looking to the bobcat. "I see no merchant bodies here," he observed. "Where are they?"

"I saw them run off with the master," said the bobcat. He then looked up, to the direction that Darius had rushed off to. "I think your fox may have the trail."

Cyrus nodded, before standing up. "Then we best catch up with Darius, yes?" he asked.

Farryn turned to Cyrus, bowing his head. "Will he be alright?"

"Ideally he should rest a little to regain some of his strength, but this is a rather extenuating circumstance," Cyrus replied.

"Then I don't think it's worth putting him back in danger," said Farryn. He then stood up, bowing his head to the bobcat. "Stay here for now. There'll be time to regain your strength now."

He then looked to Cyrus. "Do you know any offensive magic?"

Cyrus inhaled, before he gave a brief nod. "I have a few ideas," he said. "And since I am attuned to earth magic, I can incapacitate the bandits very easily."

"Then let us see what we can do with that," said Farryn. He then stood up, looking out to Tuketu and Grezz. "Tuketu, get our cart and come back here, make sure he remains safe. Grezz, you are coming with Cyrus and I."

Grezz nodded, the monitor lizard walking up to Farryn and pointing into the forest. "Darius caught something in that direction," he said. "He went up ahead to scout the place out, told us to meet him there."

"Hopefully he will have a plan," said Farryn. He then nodded to Cyrus and Grezz. "Let's make haste."

The three of them then turned into the forest, Grezz's tongue flicking out every so often to taste the air and follow the trail Darius would have left them.

----**----

It took about ten minutes, but the group finally managed to catch up to Darius. The fox had taken a place in the underbrush right by the mouth of a cave. Cyrus took immediate note of the stones forming the lip of it, before noting how shallow it was. There, a group of what looked like ten bandits were perched all about the place, with all ten of them wearing naught but rags upon their bodies. Their celebrations were all centered around all the amassed wares they had stolen from earlier, with some still bright crimson from blood. The merchant was tied up and gagged to one corner of the cave, and as they looked on the group realized how shallow it was: there was no place for anyone to hide there.

It was just them. Darius nodded, looking over to Farryn, Grezz, and Cyrus as they all came closer. Cyrus thus glanced at the Earth around them, feeling Darius' stare on the back of his head.

"Is he alright here?" Darius asked.

"Yes," Farryn replied. He then exhaled, looking around. "Looks like they are caught off guard, but we will still be outnumbered even if we charge in now." He then turned to Cyrus. "What are you thinking?"

Cyrus put his hand to the ground, closing his eyes. He then nodded, turning back to Farryn and opening his eyes. "There's powerful magic I can channel here," he whispered. "I have an idea on what can work, and it will require the aid of the soil."

Farryn nodded. "What, exactly, does it entail?"

Cyrus inhaled, placing his hands on the dirt. Around him, the dirt started to shift like waves on the ocean. The eagle looked down, watching this play with a look of pure concentration: it was a neutral expression, with his eyes hyperfocused on the ground beneath him. He lifted his head up, and as Farryn and the others followed his gaze they all saw how the branches of the trees danced along.

Farryn nodded. "Blinding them?" he asked.

"I think, Captain, that the vines might be able to grow quickly as well," Cyrus commented. "I believe it is good to control the crowd a little bit to leave some of them far away." He then inhaled, looking up. "All you have to do is tell me when."

Farryn nodded. "Go ahead."

Cyrus nodded. With this, he closed his eyes, letting the magic fill him up. Suddenly, the eagle was hyper-aware of everything: the pressure the bandits' feet made on the ground, the harmonies of the dirt underneath him, the ways the vines hungered for more energy... Cyrus obliged the request of the vines, feeling how quickly they grew in length.

And then, when they were sufficiently far enough, he opened his eyes, the eyes glowing with green light.

At once, Farryn turned, seeing the dirt right by the bandits kick up. All ten of them got a nice head of dirt in the face, all of them at once sputtering and trying to wipe it all out of their eyes and mouths.

Farryn drew his blade then, the loud metallic shing releasing in the air. "At once!"

Darius and Grezz followed suit, the three of them charging down the hill. Cyrus could feel more than see the way their footsteps impacted the earth, and as the three of them made their way down, he felt the first thud of a body falling to Grezz's blade.

It was then Cyrus could truly see what was ahead of him: Farryn's sword clashed with a bandit who had managed to clear the dirt out of his eyes just in time to block the first slash, with Darius ducking under a blind slash from another. Two others began to approach Grezz, the monitor lizard likely only able to see one of them.

Cyrus extended the tips of his left wing out: in an instant, the one that had approached Grezz from behind was suddenly seized by a quartet of lengthy vines, which promptly pulled him towards the nearest tree. The sound of a blade sinking into flesh followed, and as Cyrus felt the vines expand over the body of the one who nearly caught Grezz by surprise he watched as the bandit Grezz had been fighting fell to the ground, his blood forming a streak on the ground underneath.

Cyrus then looked to the side, seeing two bandits that still were trying to brush dirt out of their eyes. His right wingtips expanded, and they too were pulled into the tree line behind them. This happened just as Farryn felled his first bandit, pulling his blade out of the cat's torso as he spun around just in time to block another blow from someone. He looked up, seeing Darius whirl around and manage to cut another bandit's stomach open.

Darius then body-checked another bandit, but before he could go in for the kill vines stretched around him, and Cyrus yanked him straight into the ground. This was met with a groan from the bandit in question, and as Cyrus looked up he saw Farryn strike the bandit he fought down. And then, as Cyrus looked up, he watched as Grezz clocked the last remaining bandit on the back of the head, knocking him out cold onto the ground.

Cyrus inhaled, lifting his hands up. At once, he was brought back to the physical world, with bandits laying there dying. It was only then he realized that Farryn had not even had time to pull on any trousers, and indeed he noticed the merchant saw this as well. Cyrus could see the expression of relief that came to the merchant's face, though, and as his ears swiveled back Darius came forward and freed the merchant from his bindings.

Thus, Cyrus walked forward, coming out of the woods. He took a second to admire his handiwork, with three bandits tied to the trees and one held to the ground. They all struggled against their bindings, a struggle that Cyrus knew would be futile as the vines slowly grew into branches.

He nodded: the magic in these northern woods was very strong indeed. He looked forward to recollecting his earlier sample and working with it, for he knew it would provide a wealth of research they had not seen before.

But at that moment, Cyrus had other concerns, and so he joined Farryn. The two of them looked to the merchant, with Grezz's eyes scanning the perimeter just in case they had missed anyone. It was that moment that Darius pulled the merchant's gag off with a flourish.

"There you go," he said. "Sorry that took so long, the knots were quite tight there!"

"Oh, thank goodness!" The merchant pushed himself to his feet. "The Northern Border Guard is here, and unusually quickly!"

"We were on an unrelated mission, as it turns out," Farryn replied. He exhaled, sighing gently. "We have one of our men at the site your caravan was robbed."

The merchant nodded. "Did you manage to save my guards?" he asked, the concern showing on his face as his whiskers fell.

Cyrus looked to the floor, rubbing one of his arms. "Only the one," he said. "We arrived too late to save the rest of them."

The merchant nodded bitterly, looking down to the floor and exhaling. "I see." He then sighed, before looking up. "Did the one you saved heal up well?"

"He should be back up and about with a little rest," said Cyrus.

"I'm glad to hear that," said the merchant. He then exhaled, shaking his head. "He'll get that rest, then." He shook his head. "It's the least I can do, after getting his fellow guards killed for my need for a shortcut."

Farryn nodded. "We can accompany you the rest of the way to your destination, if you require," he said.

The merchant nodded. "Without a doubt," he said. He then looked over to his wares, glancing at them gently. "We should get this back to the caravan. You can have whatever wares you wish as payment, it is the least I could do."

Grezz rose an eye ridge at this. "We can't take that, right?" he asked.

"The imperial coffers pay us well enough," Farryn replied. "We require no payment."

The merchant nodded. "I..." He paused, looking to the ground. "I apologize if I have no response to that."

"Hard to, at a time like this." Grezz then bent down, picking up some of the wares that were laying around on the ground. "Come, let's get this to the caravan."

He then got meticulously to work. Slowly, Darius chimed in, with the merchant himself also getting in on that. This left Farryn to look over at Cyrus' direction. For once, the eagle seemed more lost in thought than usual. The lion could not blame him for being lost in thought, but the dejected expression on his face was something that Farryn picked up on.

And as the lion saw this, he inhaled, blinking at the eagle.

----**----

As soon as they had returned to the merchant's caravan, the group had situated the merchant in the caravan, made sure he and his bobcat guard were both safe. Cyrus and Tuketu had gone on to get their own cart back, and when they had returned they took to repairing the merchant's cart as well. That had taken much of the rest of the day, and so they were still in the forest by the time night fell.

Not wanting to take his chances, Farryn had posted two guards that night, both of them watching over the camp site. Farryn thus turned, watching as Grezz and Darius kept up the night watch. Cyrus, Tuketu, the merchant, and his guard had all retired to sleep by then, and this left Farryn alone with his thoughts.

He then looked up at what little he could of the star cover. He was not ready to sleep yet: the day had brought a good amount of surprises with it, particularly from Cyrus. He had expected Cyrus to be completely useless in the field of battle, maybe even to hang back with the cart and let them do the heavy lifting. But the truth was so radically different that Farryn found himself wondering what to think of it all.

It was then that he heard a rustling from the tents. Farryn looked up as he saw Cyrus step out of his tent, rubbing his eyes tiredly. His feathers were more disheveled than normal, and Farryn noted with a raised eyebrow he had not even had the presence of mind to wear his tabard, meaning he was completely nude when he approached the fire.

"Magister?" asked Farryn as the eagle approached. "Are you not going to get dressed?"

Cyrus shook his head. "Thus asks the captain who waded into battle half-naked," he noted.

Farryn could not help the chuckle that Cyrus' observation prompted. "I suppose that is a fair point," he admitted. "Can't sleep?"

Cyrus nodded, sitting by the fire next to Farryn. "Yes," said Cyrus. He exhaled, looking to the embers. It was then Farryn noticed the small amount of moisture that clung to his lower eyelids. "I cannot help but think of how differently things might have been if I had not been so preoccupied gathering my samples. They were just ahead, and if we had been even five minutes quicker..."

He exhaled softly, his gaze turning to the ground.

Farryn bowed his head. He closed his eyes, considering everything that had happened in the day. "You couldn't have known," he offered. He then looked at Cyrus, leaning a little closer. "What matters is you did everything you could to help the people that remained."

And then, he did something that caught Cyrus off guard: he reached a hand forward, gently placing it on Cyrus' shoulder. "I'll be honest, I expected you to turn tail and hide at the first opportunity," he said. "But what you actually did was..." He then bowed his head. "You surprised me as a magister..."

Cyrus nodded, bowing his head down. "I couldn't sit idly by," he said. He shifted his legs, his talons trending closer to the fire. "When other lives are at stake..."

Farryn nodded, before squeezing Cyrus' shoulder. "You would make a good guardsman for the Northern Border," he said offhandedly. "I've only seen you operate like that for one day, but you already give me that spirit."

Cyrus looked into the flames nostalgically. "It's simply how we are in the Southern Bluffs," he commented. "It is a very strange community, living with the others on the cliff sides. The soil there is rather tough, and food and other supplies can be rather scarce. It is a place where we must look after each other, or we all die." He then sighed, rubbing his left arm. "It is an attitude that gets me strange looks from other magisters, but I don't care. It's just how I am."

"I am glad you have it, then." Farryn leaned back, before looking to the ground.

Cyrus nodded, before looking up at Farryn. "I think this is the first time we've spoken longer than a greeting," he noted. He then sighed, looking into Farryn's eyes. "It is nice, I think."

And at this, the lion nodded. He slinked down from the log he was situated on, sitting on the ground next to Cyrus. He remained as stoic as ever, but Cyrus noticed in the flickering of the light that Farryn's face seemed less tense than normal: the muscles were rather relaxed around his eyes, and his gaze lacked the steady glare he'd felt from it before that point.

"Perhaps it is," said Farryn. He then leaned back. "Tell me: how does a bird from the Southern Bluffs get into the king's array of magisters?"

Cyrus chuckled at this, leaning back and pulling himself away from the flames slightly. "An accident of birth, an encouraging elder from the Southern Bluffs' highest point, and a ridiculous amount of luck." He then tilted his head to the side. "Oh, and one incident with the harvest on my fourteenth birthday that the elder and I have agreed never to mention again, at least to each other."

Farryn raised his eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

Cyrus chuckled, pulling his legs up to his chest. "Well, if you really want to know the story, it began with a patch of soil on the cliffside outside my house, and a bean I really wanted to grow there..."

And with this, Cyrus began to spin a yarn based on his youth. As Farryn listened along, he noticed how much looser the eagle seemed around him: his arm gestures grew more vivid by the second, and he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Darius had edged in just a little closer during his watch to overhear the tale. Hearing the way Cyrus' voice inflected excitedly, Farryn could not blame the fox for this minor indiscretion.

It gave Farryn a strange sense of comfort, and so he listened on, his attention remaining on the eagle and the fire that burned on behind him...

III.

"Well, here is where we part ways. Thank you, Captain."

"Anytime, sir. Hopefully we will see you again."

"Absolutely!"

With this, the merchant and his last remaining guard separated from them. Farryn watched them go with his arms crossed over his breastplate, noting where Tuketu stood next to him. The merchant thus disappeared into the village area, as small as it was.

Thus, Cyrus got a good look at the area that was the Northern Post as he came up from behind Farryn. It was far more remote than Cyrus would have imagined, with the barracks and the main wall the only things around. Past the gate, Cyrus got a good look at the badlands, with its withered trees and its half-decayed soil laying about. It was indeed a sight how such a contrast could exist.

And then he looked back to the barracks. Cyrus blinked, realizing very quickly that nobody among them wore any pants on: he watched as Darius struck up a conversation with a large terrier right by the gates to the neighboring kingdom, and noted that nobody seemed to be calling attention to that.

He inhaled, looking to the side. "You were not kidding about it being standard protocol, were you?" he asked.

"Not even in the slightest," Tuketu replied. He then lifted his chin up. "We even cuddle up here, sometimes."

Cyrus blinked. "Cuddle?"

"Keeps you warm in these nights," Tuketu replied. "It's pretty warm out now, but trust me, in the evenings it gets quite cold."

Cyrus chuckled nervously, turning to Farryn. "There is very little that would be considered taboo around here, is there?" he asked.

"You have that right, Cyrus," the lion said. "It is rather isolated here."

"Hence why your uniform can be a little more relaxed..." Cyrus nodded, looking up to Farryn. "Yeah, I see that now." He then blushed, looking to the ground. "That's... I guess it makes a good a mount of sense that way."

"Whatever makes them more comfortable," Farryn replied. He then turned to Cyrus. "We should be off soon as soon as Grezz comes back with our resupply."

Cyrus nodded. "We're going straight to the Badlands, are we?"

"Yes," Farryn replied. He nodded. "I think the sooner you collect the samples from there, the better."

Cyrus looked to the Badlands again. "I will not argue with that." He then exhaled, rubbing his hands together. "I hope it is not so dangerous as it usually is."

"I hope so as well..."

But even looking out beyond the scope of the gate, Farryn had the feeling this would be one of the safer trips to the Badlands they had taken in a while.

----**----

Cyrus surveyed the fields before him. His escort had suited up prior to their departure from the post: it was rather more desolate, and as Darius stayed by the cart he noticed the way Grezz and Tuketu looked on the scorched land with distrusting glances.

The eagle leaned towards the earth, the ends of his tabard folding as he knelt down. He closed his eyes, his hands splaying as he felt the energy there. Unlike the lush forest on the other side of the Post, the barren field of the Badlands sang of a different kind of magical energy. It was muted, singing to him in a bass tone that seemed always on the edge of fading out. He then looked up at the scarred trees, seeing how little actually sang to him there, and how muted it all was.

He nodded, standing back up and approaching Farryn. "It's... a little bit strange," he said. He then frowned, tapping the edge of his beak. "When I return to the palace, I will have to look into the history books for a brief moment, but I believe this is a side effect of an ancient magical battle."

Farryn nodded. "You think there was one big enough to affect the Badlands?" he asked.

Cyrus nodded. He glanced back, looking to the forest that ended right at the edge of the Badlands. "Magical energy is a strange, fickle mistress," he replied. He then glanced to the soil, before gesturing to Tuketu. "Tuketu, can you get me another of the sample pots, please? I think I will need just a sample of soil for now."

"Right away, Cyrus." With this, Tuketu turned to the cart. He grabbed one, walking back.

Farryn looked out to the Badlands then, before turning back to Cyrus. "I assume we will be taking many samples with us?" he asked.

"Yes," said Cyrus. "Perhaps more than in the forest: I have the feeling I will not quite get the same kind of hands-on experience with the Badlands that I did in the forest."

Farryn nodded. "There are dangers that lurk in the Badlands, but perhaps they will not be so pressing as before," he said. He then exhaled, looking to Cyrus. "Still, we will require an extra watchman tonight when we camp. I have a feeling we will require it."

Cyrus nodded, tapping his staff against the ground. "I have no doubt of that, Captain." He then exhaled, scooping some samples into the pot. "We will be stopping frequently, after all..."

"Very well," he said. He then looked around. "Collect as many as you need."

Cyrus nodded, standing up with the pot and walking back to the cart.

----**----

Night at the Badlands was even more surreal: as Cyrus sat down at the fire next to Farryn and Tuketu, the eagle sighed, looking at the barren landscape around them. There seemed to be nobody that would be a bandit in the distance, and as he looked on he noticed that they were the only life around. It would have seemed depressing if not for the stars that glittered overhead.

Cyrus sighed, patting the earth beneath him as he looked on. "So this is the Badlands at night?" he asked.

Farryn exhaled. "Yes," he replied. He glanced behind him for any disturbances, before facing back out towards the way he was facing before. "It is not the main travel route along the Badlands: that is in considerably worse shape."

"I don't doubt that for a second," Cyrus observed. The eagle idly kicked up some dirt near the fire. "Is the North full of such strange contradictions in magic?"

"You're the expert, you tell us," Tuketu replied.

Cyrus nodded. "It's really a shame nobody has thought to study the earth magic in the Northern reaches beyond the kingdom until now," he noted. He then exhaled, shaking his head. "Guess it's the magisters being their typical snobbish selves again."

This drew raised eyebrows from both Tuketu and Farryn, and their attention turned to Cyrus as the eagle laid back on the ground. Tuketu immediately stood up, kneeling next to Cyrus and eyeing him briefly.

"What do you mean?" asked Farryn.

Cyrus sighed, shaking his head. "Just, most of the other magisters, save me and a few others," he said. He held his arms together. "I dunno why, but they just give me the dirtiest looks around."

"Really?" Farryn asked.

"Why do you think that is?" asked Tuketu.

Cyrus exhaled a little louder, looking up at the night sky. "I'm from the Southern Bluffs, I'm too young to be a magister, I only got there because of a few elders, I'm not really as good as I think I am, I care too much about commoners, I'm out in the garden too much, I don't want to do things the traditional way, I don't always take my food from the royal banquet table, I'm an eagle..." He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Take your pick."

Farryn's ears shot up at high alert at this, and even his usually stern visage melted in the face of this. Tuketu, as well, leaned over, the concern riding high in his eyes. Farryn simply looked at the eagle in his tabard, noticing the way he looked almost resigned to this.

The lion sighed, feeling a well spring within him that he had not known would be there for a magister. "I never knew it to be such a place," he said.

"Only King Karthin believes in me, really," said Cyrus. He looks up. "That, and your father, Captain. Their belief, and the honor of being a magister coming from my position have made it worth it. But amongst the other magisters, I have almost no friends." Cyrus sighed, shaking his head. "Hard to make friends in such an environment."

"I see." Tuketu nodded, laying a sympathetic hand on Cyrus' shoulder and squeezing it. "I'm sorry you have to deal with that."

Farryn nodded. "So did you agree to this to prove something?" he asked.

Cyrus chuckled at this, his eyes rolling a little bit. "A little bit, yeah," he said. "They don't think I work hard enough." He then rolled onto his stomach. "I don't think it'll ever be enough, but I want to prove that I am there for a reason, you know?"

Farryn paused to consider the eagle as he laid there on the ground. He thought back to his own childhood, an old well of feelings he'd thought long resolved bubbling up to the surface. He thought of his younger brother Terryn again, and the way the young lion would eschew his duties at the first opportunity.

The lion sighed, scooching closer to Cyrus. "I do," he said. He exhaled. "And in my case, I do so even knowing I am not gifted enough to do so."

Cyrus blinked, before sitting up and facing the lion. "Did you wish to be a magister at some point in time?"

"Once, yes," Farryn replied. "But I was not born with the gift of magic. My younger brother Terryn was."

"Oh. Him." Cyrus nodded in understanding at that. "The magisters whisper about him, too, but more favorably." He exhaled, shaking his head. "They do wish he'd get out of his chair and do things more often, but they talk too about how he'll be a great magister someday once he does. He doesn't have to prove himself like I do."

Farryn blinked, nodding as he turned to face Cyrus. "I never knew a magister to be so displeased with the other magisters," he commented.

"It's all a game of bloodlines equaling worth to most of them," said Cyrus. He exhaled, looking to the ground. "In a way, I'm actually a little jealous of your younger brother: he cares so little about what they think that it actually borders on the flippant." He then exhales. "I wish I could care that little: it'd sting less when I hear their whispers."

Farryn exhaled. He then did something he never expected he would do: he patted Cyrus' shoulder gently, leaning a bit closer. This caused Cyrus to jump a little, and he looked over to Tuketu, the horse nodding to Cyrus as the eagle looked to the lion.

"Regardless, you go far beyond what others would expect," he said. He then looked down. "I don't know if my word will suffice, but for what it matters, I think the magisters will eventually see your worth for what it is, Cyrus."

The eagle blushed upon hearing this. Farryn could see in the way he sat that he was lost in his thoughts a little bit. He found himself glancing to the ground, then the stars, than the Badlands beyond their camp...

Finally, Farryn felt Cyrus' wing drape around his back. "Thank you, Captain," the eagle replied. "That... It means quite a bit, coming from you."

Farryn nodded to Cyrus, and the eagle thought he could detect the faintest edges of a smile on the lion's muzzle. "I suppose I was unfair to you in the beginning," he said. "I apologize."

But Cyrus shook his head. "There is no need, Captain Farryn," he replied. "But regardless, your apology is gladly accepted."

And with this, Cyrus leaned in closer, the two of them holding each other close. Tuketu only offered a smile, patting Cyrus' leg as the three men sat in silence.

----**----

The group's journey through the Badlands took them a fairly long while: after their campfire conversation, Cyrus noticed almost immediately that they had taken a bit of a longer route. Thankfully, it was not as treacherous as others had told: all they'd run into during the week they spent gathering extra samples in the Badlands were a few bands of wild hogs and that was that.

In fact, Cyrus had the suspicion that they spent a little _too_long in the badlands. This was most noticeable by the fact he had stopped needing samples on the fourth day of their journey: by then, he'd had enough, but Farryn pressed on anyhow. It was partly they were indeed too far from the Post to make it back in one piece, but from the glint in the lion's eyes Cyrus could tell there was more.

But he paid no mind to this as the Border Post came back into their view. At this, Darius lifted his hands into the air.

"Finally!" the fox proclaimed, stepping off the cart and grabbing the donkey's reins by hand. "I thought we'd never be back."

"We did say we'd be back eventually, didn't we?" Tuketu asked, the horse staying close by the cart as he patted Darius' shoulder. "And here we are."

"That was a rather long detour." Grezz matter-of-factly looked down Farryn, who still stood at the front of the pack just ahead of Cyrus. "Are you sure that was all about samples?"

Farryn looked at Grezz with his stern expression. "I leave that judgment up to our magister," he stated. With this, he turned to Cyrus.

The eagle nodded, looking at Grezz directly. "I think so," he said. "You never know what else we may need."

He then turned away, unable to hide the smile that was creeping onto his face from Farryn. Cyrus could feel the way Grezz's stare bore into the back of his head, but he scarcely cared.

"Then it is what it is." Farryn then looked back to the Post. "We have returned, at any rate."

"Thank goodness!" Darius leaned back, his ears folding against the back of his head. "Ugh, I cannot wait to be in bed again! Sleeping mats lose their charm after a week."

"Even with the rest of us here?" Tuketu asked.

Darius paused, blinking as he looked to Tuketu. He then sighed, walking the donkey on to the Post. "Alright, that is a plus, at least."

"Glad to hear it."

With this, Darius, Tuketu, and Grezz walked forward, walking past Farryn and Cyrus as they all approached the Post. As they walked on, Cyrus looked over to Farryn, the lion's tail swishing behind him as they moved on. The silence between them hung considerably more comfortably than before, but with everything else Cyrus felt a question brewing in his head.

"So we rest at the Post, and then go back?" he asked.

"Yes." Farryn turned to face Cyrus. "Which reminds me: you are welcome to stay at our quarters tonight."

Cyrus blinked, following Farryn as he approached the cart. "In the barracks?" he asked. "Are you certain?"

"Yes," said Farryn. "Unless you wished to sleep on the ground?"

"Oh, not at all," Cyrus replied. He exhaled. "I just thought there are enough soldiers here that they would be full."

"We do not have quite so many soldiers, Cyrus," Farryn replied. "There will be room in the barracks for you."

The eagle nodded, bowing his head. "Thank you, Captain Farryn," he replied. "I will see to it that the samples are moved to my quarters quickly."

"Of course," said Farryn. He then looked to Darius and Grezz, before gesturing to Cyrus. "We should do that soon, yes?"

"Of course." The eagle turned towards the post, brushing some of his robes against the ground. "Come along, let's get this over with."

With this, he moved to the Border Post, wondering how to store his samples in what little space he would undoubtedly have.

----**----

Farryn sighed, laying back on his bed. Truth be told, he was glad to be out of the Badlands at that point: it meant he could be free to do things however he wished. Soon they could then begin their southerly descent back to Karthin's palace. It would be a rather lengthy trek, to be sure, but without needing to stop for samples every so often Farryn supposed it would be a rather quick journey.

He found himself glancing at the door of his quarters as this thought occurred to him. He felt a strange feeling of emptiness at that: he had not really given Cyrus a fair chance at first, and this had been a mistake for certain. But what more could Farryn do?

He sighed, laying back in his bed. The chilly night air still bit into his fur a little bit, and while it was bad he'd grown used to it. Still, he supposed he could use a little warmth, and at that moment the fire was not exactly ready to provide the warmth he needed. He briefly thought of asking Tuketu to provide something, but the horse was alright, he was certain. Besides, with Darius around and Grezz handling part of guard duty, there was no telling what--

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Captain Farryn?"

The lion sat up. "Come in?"

After a second, the door opened: Cyrus peered from the door, bedsheets wrapped around his shoulders as he shivered lightly. Farryn noted the way Cyrus' beak shivered.

Farryn exhaled, his shoulders relaxing. "Cold, Cyrus?" he asked.

"Y-yes..." Cyrus exhaled, looking down. "I can't sleep because of it." He then looked to the floor, exhaling. "Even the floor here is cold. How do you stand it?"

Farryn shrugged. "I grew used to it, I suppose," he said. "You grow used to a great many things when you are there long enough."

"I suppose that's fair." Cyrus shrugged at this. "But I was thinking about what Tuketu said earlier, about you and warmth, and..." He swallowed. "You wouldn't do that for--?"

Farryn's expression did not change, but with a subtle flick of his wrist the bedsheets moved to the side. "If you are certain..."

Cyrus smiled, before stepping forward. "Glad to hear it, Captain." He then stepped as close to the bed as he dared, before shedding the bedsheets on his shoulders. Farryn realized that Cyrus was indeed in the nude again, but did not think of anything else as Cyrus slid into the sleepsack next to him.

The avian was surprisingly warm, and as Farryn closed the sleepsack around them and pressed his nude form to the eagle's, he found the way Cyrus' body curved against him was actually quite pleasant. The way the beak felt against his shoulder was rather nice, and the sensation of hard beak resting against shoulder prompted Farryn to turn his gaze towards the eagle.

"Are you alright now?" asked Farryn.

"Better now for sure," said Cyrus. "Lions are evidently very warm."

"Indeed," Farryn replied.

Cyrus nodded. He then laid there, his gaze turning up and down Farryn's body. As the bed grew ever so warmer, Farryn could see the faintest hint of a blush in what little light there was. Cyrus kept his gaze turned away from his face, and Farryn could tell the eagle was not trying to get too close.

Finally, after what felt like a minute, Cyrus draped an arm over Farryn's torso. "I... I must admit, I have not been intimate with a man this way since I left the Southern Bluffs," he said. "And... no offense, Captain, but you can be a very difficult fellow to read sometimes."

Farryn nodded. "Sometimes that is best," he said. He then looked down. "I don't typically seek intimacy like this myself."

Cyrus nodded. "Ever the professional," he said. He then looked up to Farryn. "But if I may offer, I am not exactly one of your men, if fraternization is the issue."

Farryn nodded. His hand idly wandered down to the curve of Cyrus' butt, his hand idly cupping the muscle as he felt Cyrus rest his head against Farryn's shoulder. It was then that Cyrus' blush intensified, and as Farryn massaged the eagle's butt Farryn thought he could sense something in his eyes shine just a little brighter.

"Are you offering?" Farryn asked.

Cyrus nodded. "Maybe," he said.

Farryn nodded, offering a short nod. With this, he pulled Cyrus in close, licking the eagle's beak gently.

"Then let us warm up a little more tonight, Cyrus."

And with a squeeze of Cyrus' bottom, Farryn turned onto his side and met Cyrus' beak with his muzzle.

----**----

As the sunlight streamed in, Farryn slowly woke up. Tangled in the bedsheets next to him was Cyrus' sleeping form, his arms wrapped around the lion's torso. There was a contented smile on the eagle's face, and he breathed gently against the lion's chest opposite of where his hand lay.

The sight brought something more protective in him, and in response Farryn let his hand brush over the eagle's head feathers. Up close like this, Cyrus was beautiful to look at, with the way his face looked more relaxed than he'd ever seen it.

Farryn only looked over, a very slight smile coming to his face. Cyrus was absolutely beautiful like this, and as Farryn looked over him he could only think about how differently they looked at each other from then. Farryn had indeed misjudged the magister, and if there were any other situation, Farryn would have been happy to induct him into the Northern Border Guard.

But Farryn sighed, knowing that soon they would be venturing back to the capitol to return Cyrus back to the magisters. Duty required it, and Farryn was not one to deny it: Cyrus would be returned on time, and that would be that. Still, as he looked at the eagle resting against his body, Farryn could not help but feel a strange disappointment in him: if only they'd had longer to get to know each other...

It was then Cyrus stirred, and as Farryn reached a hand up to stroke his head feathers, Cyrus chirred contentedly.

Farryn nodded. "Good morning, magister," he whispered gently.

Cyrus chuckled at this. "Please, Farryn, this is hardly the place for formalities," he replied. He turned his head inward. "Last night was wonderful. Thank you for that."

Farryn smiled in turn, the lion slowly adjusting his position as he held Cyrus close. "You are welcome," he said. He then sighed. "It is only regrettable that we'll have to return to the capital."

Cyrus sighed in turn, nodding. "Yes," he said. "Back to the magisters..." He then looked up at Farryn, looking the lion directly in the eyes. "But this does not need to be the end of it, not by a long shot."

The lion's logical side took over, and he nodded. "Very true," he said. "If Terryn's adventures are anything to stand by, you are welcome to come visit whenever you wish."

The eagle's smile returned in force at that point, and he found himself rolling onto his belly, trailing his wingtips up Farryn's chest. "I'd like that," he said. "You can also send a message by pigeon whenever you please. It would be so nice to see something from you and the other guards."

"Of course." Farryn sat up at this. "You're curious for a magister."

"I suppose I am." Cyrus simply sat up with him, leaning his head against Farryn's muscular chest. "I look forward to the next time Karthin asks you to work with me."

"Likewise."

And so, the two of them basked in the warmth of the morning sun, with Cyrus gently nudging his beak into the underside of Farryn's chin. The journey back could wait: for now, there was just the two of them, the morning, and a warm bed to enjoy.