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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 2156222" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 192: Another FlightThe next morning, Shadow had disappeared early for a long talk with her mother. Out of boredom, Akan had wandered the palace, starting to finally feel stuck in the place. He really wanted to get out and...well, do something. Sitting around while Ket and Nine were out there was not in any way comforting. So, knowing by now that there was nothing he could do about it, he found the best way possible of taking his mind off things. Akan found Toby, and stayed with him and all of the little children until they were literally dragged off from him at ‘nap time’.    Akan wasn’t an expert on children, but they seemed far too wild to go to sleep anytime within the next few years. He wasn’t stupid enough to mention it to the caretakers, who seemed dangerous in the way they herded the children away. He had gotten some kind of comment from one of them, though it had been in Alraxian and Akan could only assume it was good because the woman had been smiling and she patted his shoulder.    He then found his way back to the room(probably the only place he was sure of the location of within the palace). Shadow was there, pacing and looking more agitated than usual.    Noticing this immediately, he took a moment to think on his next actions. Something, asking the ‘what’s wrong?’ question could get oneself injured when dealing with her. At that thought, though, she gave him a sharp look. The link...he’d forgotten about it. Grinning weakly, he said, “So...um...what’s the news?”    Shadow’s near-glare held on her face for a moment but it eventually softened and she said calmly, “Let’s talk about it later. How about some more exploring?”    Akan raised an eyebrow at that. He didn’t need the link to know that something was bothering her. Of course, the link sure helped, and also hinted that there was a good amount she wasn’t going to tell him. It also told him that she was trying to get out of the palace for a break...not to talk. It was unlikely he would learn anything from her for a while, then. But Akan nodded anyway, and in a matter of minutes, they were outside and leaving the palace again.    Two birds flying off away from the safety of the palace and out the other direction than they’d gone the day before. Over a series of large, tree covered mountains for a great distance before the forest itself took over again and the land flattened. Though Akan could see water off to his left, it was no where in sight in any other direction. The trees were a much brighter shade of green than Akan was used to seeing, and so he found it was hard to not watch. It was more a turbolaser green than a tree green...    That meant that more than a few times, he looked back in front of him to find that Shadow wasn’t in sight. Thankfully, the link provided clues to where she’d moved to, and it was never far off. Slowly, as they passed over the seemingly endless forest, they both began to descend towards the tree line below. And then something happened.    Akan wasn’t even completely sure what it was that happened, as his eyes weren’t able to completely catch every single movement. But what he did see, though, was a bright flash of a soft blue(which annoyed him, as blue seemed to be everywhere when it came to Alraxians) that shot up out of the trees not far ahead of them. In another microsecond, Akan saw it hit Shadow...no, no he didn’t see it. He felt it. If anything was proof the link was back, that was. It felt like a shock through his...Shadow’s body. It was extremely strong, and so he could imagine how much worse it was for her.    This was proven when time returned to its normal speed and he watched her falling out of the sky. He also saw her body morph back to its Alraxian form, which told him she was unconscious. And considering that they were still a few hundred meters above the tree line(and Akan didn’t even know how high the trees were), that was a bad thing. And a bird could not catch an Alraxian.    Allowing himself to react quickly instead of taking to much time to think, Akan quickly reverted back to his own Alraxian form, and angled himself to fall faster, catching up with her. Catching Shadow was no problem, though, as the second he had her he realized that it was only half of the battle...they were still falling. But he had to keep hold of her! He couldn’t morph to something else...    An idea formed in his mind. It was an idea he wasn’t sure could work, but it was something he tried anyway. The trees rushing up at an incredible speed, Akan focused and willed his body to change...or rather, a part of his body. To his relief, it worked. In a second, two feathered wings sprouted from his back and immediately spread out to slow their fall. They did...to a point.    Akan, however, was no expert on how wings worked. When a sudden, very sharp pain ripped through the new appendages and he saw that the speed of their and combined weight had just torn the wings, he out just how little he knew. The pain was impossible as he felt the rushing air ripping and tearing at the wings. His eyes managed a short glance down to realize it was too late to try anything else, and instead of fighting the trees that they were about to hit, Akan rolled over to take the brunt of the fall away from the still unconscious Shadow.    But again, he hadn’t taken the time to completely think things through. The already damaged wings were now below him and were the first to hit the trees, getting caught on one of the upper limbs and tearing off another large section. Yelping in pain, Akan literally tumbled through the closest tree from branch to branch, breaking through most of them from the speed of the fall but momentarily catching on one here and there as it tore through whatever got caught.    And then, in a second, the rushing movement came to a sudden, extremely painful halt. He hit the ground. He hit the ground hard. The loud snapping noise when he hit could easily have been Akan’s spine, though his head then jerked back and had its own impact with the hard ground below. He felt a sharp, intense pain, and then blacked out immediately. But he was holding Shadow tightly, and as far as he could tell before losing consciousness, he’d taken the brunt of the trees and the fall. It was amazing that in that tiny moment before his head hit the ground that he was able to actually hope she was alright, and at the same time, still worry as to what had actually been the thing that shot up out of the trees.</blockquote>

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