"No, we certainly are not safe," Elemmire said, looking pointedly at her sister.

Nellas looked mildly offended. "I only wanted you to attend my midsomer ball."

"She wanted me to wear a dress with makeup and heels," Elemmire muttered. "My commanding officer is going to be there!"

"Ah, but don't you want to look nice for your date?" Nellas smirked. "You certainly had no problem wearing a dress today."

"Anras hid my clothes."

Nellas's smirk blossomed into a grin. "I do love that boy. You should marry him if this one isn't available."

Elemmire caught her gesture toward Archer and stuck her tongue out at her sister when she thought no one else was looking. "Regardless, we need a way to get away from here without being too noticeable. We caused enough of a ruckus already."

"We don't have any trapdoors, I'm afraid," Nellas said. "You can go out the back, but it opens right onto a wide avenue; there are few places for cover around there. Ellie, Less, and Bertie always hated playing hide-and-seek here."

"Yeah, well, that's because you cheated!"

"I did not!"

*****

Finn had never had a sibling, but he was starting to think that was a good thing. There was no real heat in their bickering, but he could not help feeling intensely awkward about it, like he'd stumbled into a private moment that he never should have seen.

He couldn't say he'd hate the companionship, though. He'd been lonely so long that it rested on him like a second skin. In any case, now was not the time for self-pity or introspection.

"Maybe Saber should tell us what we're dealing with before we go running all over town," he offered. Honestly, he still wasn't entirely convinced that she could be trusted. He planned to cast a truth spell to check, if he could do it without anyone noticing.

Saber's head snapped up at that and she stared bewildered at Finn. Share what she knew? That there was a spy who would kill anyone involved? Yeah, how smart. Put the innocent librarian in danger because she, a messenger of the army, didn't have any nerve. If Falcon was here...

A thud landed in the street outside. The familiar sound of feathers beating in the air was music to Saber's ears. She twisted around, pulled the door open, and sprinted to the safety of Falcon's chest. The angry gryphon let a screech out that shook the windows of Nellas' fancy house. Unlike her neighbors across the street, they were sturdy instead of super fine and didn't crack. Falcon wasn't done yet. Wings open and outstretched with talons digging agitatively into the pavement leaving obviously indentions, she stared defiantly around her.

Archer, who was closest to the door, stood in utter disbelief. Not at the angry gryphon in front of the house, but at his dragon circling high above in the obvious signal of danger. He wished in that moment, as he had a thousand times before, that he could talk with the darn nuisance that was attracting every other dragon in sight. They were starting to fly in this direction too. It was only a matter of minutes before the rather fancy neighborhood was shadowed in the wings of his scaly friend's friends. They would not appreciate the view or present left behind. He was too baffled to think beyond that.

Elemmire and Finn simultaneously swore, one in surprise and the other in fear. Both were also more than a little frustrated.

Elemmire recovered first. "What in blazes is going on here?" This was, of course, directed at Archer.

"Elemmire! Such language," Nellas chided. She had turned pale but otherwise changed not at all, the very picture of an elegant, taller Elemmire.

Finn busied himself with getting as far away from the creatures as possible, which mostly meant sliding onto the floor and slithering toward an inside wall away from the door. "I don't understand," he said, making a valiant but futile effort to retain some shred of dignity.

"Clearly the falcon thought her human was in danger," Elemmire answered thoughtfully. "Not sure about the dragons, but ... something must have happened."

Keeping her body low, Elemmire hiked up her skirt and darted out to ask Saber.

Saber struggled to understand Falcon's attempts at human speech. Falcon hadn't been trained in it though and was unable to get her point across. The sky was filling with angry dragons. As soon as they were close to each other, something was passed on that made the newcomers change drastically from highly agitated to downright furious. Falcon looked up at them helplessly, unable to explain that the dragons were more than angry. They were afraid. She also needed to tell them about the kidnappings of the gryphon scouts in the past hour. But so far all she could do was confuse everyone. Then she turned and her eyes narrowed on Archer who stood in shock in the doorway. She snapped her beak at him and then reached out to snag his arm.

He yelled out, more from shock than actual pain. Saber jumped back from Falcon in surprise. When Falcon pulled Archer towards where Saber normally mounted, she yelled out some encouragement, "Don't fight her, just get on." Archer looked at Elimmere helplessly before turning and pulling himself up. Falcon leaped into the air and beat her wings to get her up closer to the dragons.

Silver saw Archer coming and flew in close just beneath her. Archer rubbed his arms then stood and leaped to the larger back of his scaly friend. Flying like this was incredibly dangerous. No leathers to keep them strapped on. Just what were their winged friends thinking? Falcon double-checked he was safely off before turned and heading back down towards the ground. Silver turned and headed out towards the edge of Carlin. He wanted desperately to show Archer what the panic was over. That the young ones that they had left in humanity's care were either dead or missing. Baby dragons had weaknesses that were no longer apparent as adults. To have raided their enclave much less caused harm was beyond understanding.

"Well?" Elemmire said to Saber as her gryphon took off.

She didn't know what else to say; she'd never seen anything like this. She DID know what to do, however, and that was get to cover. There was something eerie about Nellas's neighborhood these days, and she'd feel enormously better if she could get Saber back inside, at least until her gryphon returned. She reached for Saber's arm, trying to be both gentle and firm.

Saber shook her head, "I have no idea. But perhaps Archer's dragon can show him what's wrong. They can share vision." Letting herself be pulled in, she looked back and saw Falcon coming. Jerking her arm against Elemmire's grip, she cried out, "Wait!" Her free hand reaching towards Falcon, Saber didn't stop to consider that she couldn't ride Falcon without the saddle.

---------- Post added 05-10-2013 at 05:23 PM ----------

Archer leaned low over Silver and tried to find a good grip on his scales. Silver did his best to keep level, but there was only so much he could do. The wind currents couldn't be controlled after all. Reaching Carlin's walls and flying over, Silver set into a smooth glide and connected his vision to Archer's mind. Archer grew still, careful to not allow the dizzy side effect unseat him. Then he focused on what he was seeing. The side of the army encampment has a large stone-walled area where the youngsters of the dragons that helped the army lived. Shock flooded through Archer as he realized that the little ones he was seeing weren't just not moving, but were dead. Dread filled him. After a moment, another emotion just as scary joined it. Fearful realization that not all of the babies were there. There should be twice as many as he was seeing.

Elemmire let Saber go without protest and headed back inside. "This is an utter fiasco," she announced to the room at large.

Finn looked a little less frightened but still wouldn't leave the inner wall. "I noticed that."

"So what should we do?"

"You're the soldier." Finn narrowed his eyes. "Aren't you supposed to be good at strategy?"

"I'm just a captain, and most of that is because I'm not the best strategist," Elemmire admitted. "That, and my people skills."

Finn swore reverently. "This is a bad situation."

Nellas sat down, still graceful. Elemmire wanted to pull just one thing-- any thing-- on her outfit out of place.

"Nellas, why is the neighborhood so empty? Where is everyone?" Finn hoped his question wasn't too impertinent, given that he'd never officially met the woman, and she was probably twice as scary as her sister.

Falcon landed and looked around the neighborhood suspiciously. This wasn't going so well. She turned and nuzzled her beak against the back of Saber, who had hidden her face in Falcon's chest feathers. Letting out a little chirp to encourage the girl to speak, Falcon raised her head up and looked down at her friend.

Saber, now sobbing, looked up trustingly at Falcon, "You know the code I was trying to break? It was a mess. I can't get the research I need. Carl is actually Finn, and he thinks I am a spy, and we went running through streets to a place I don't know. Life is too crazy!" She buried her face gain, letting the feathers drown out the cries. Falcon sighed.

Nuzzling her charge one last time, the gryphon shuffled Saber aside (though she kept a wing around her to hide her from the outside world, and poked her head in through the open door. Eyeing the graceful hostess, the scared city boy, and the soldier she quickly determined none of them meant Saber harm. Using her beak, she twisted around and shoved Saber into the horse. Turning and looking at Elemmire, she gave the soldier a warning snap and then backed from the house. Turning, she took to the air to find the ambassador.

Saber arrived just in time for Nellas's illuminating and rather stunning explanation. Of course, nobody but Elemmire would have ever thought of it like that, and Elemmire did it with the deepest sarcasm.

"I don't know." Nellas's façade of calm and elegance wavered momentarily. "People have been disappearing quite slowly for weeks now. We all-- those of us who've stayed-- just assumed they'd moved out to the country, where they think it's safer, or-- or, I don't know, gone on holiday!" She looked helplessly from face to face. "I never thought to question it until he brought it up."

"Behold," Elemmire muttered. "The brains and beauty of the Nolbreth clan."

Finn started. "Did you say 'Nolbreth'? As in ... the Nolbreth?"

Elemmire frowned. "I believe there's only one family, yes. But we've always been minor officials, on the lower end of the upper class until this one here married big ... " She didn't know why, but something about Finn's keen expression made her tell him more than she'd told anyone about her family since before she joined the army. "Why?"

Finn blanked his face. "No reason-- yet. I need to think." He turned to Nellas. "These people-- they've been leaving with no explanation? Can you give me a list of names?"

"No explanation." Nellas sighed. "As a record-keeper, you'd think I'd have all of that information, but I don't. I haven't been called to the palace for ... about three weeks."

Finn tamped down a smile that was growing on his face. He loved puzzles a bit too much sometimes. "And that would be about when people started disappearing, am I right?"

Saber listened quietly while keep an eye out the door. Falcon appeared in the sky every now and then. She was circling. Turning, she looked at the others. How could they be so comfortable? What should they be reacting like though otherwise. Like her? The silent goose who felt like she was being cooked? Still, there had to be something she could do. "Is there someone that we should talk to? I could run a message..."

Finn shook his head. "Run where? We don't have anything but instincts and hearsay. Unless you--" he paused, waited for an answer.

He was pretty sure there wouldn't be one. If Saber had had anything to say, she'd have shared it by now.

"This is starting to sound more and more like a conspiracy," Elemmire said flatly. "Most big secrets like this cannot be kept, so--" she sighed. "My guess is, these disappearing friends of yours, Nellas, have been picked off slowly as they began to outlive their usefulness."

Nellas's eyes grew in horror.

Finn looked grim. "Actually, Saber, we should send a message somewhere." He turned to Elemmire and Nellas. "Are your parents still alive?"

Elemmire nodded in confusion.

"Do they live near here?"

She and Nellas nodded in unison.

"Elemmire, from a military standpoint, would it be safer for us all to leave this place and go there or to stay here and send them to us?"

"We should go to them," Elemmire said slowly. "Our position here is compromised, and their home is more easily defensible."

"Let's go, then." Finn waited for the women to follow him.

"I'll stay here," Nellas said, her voice wavering a little. "The children are upstairs, and I'd-- this is our home."

Elemmire nodded, stared awkwardly at her sister for a moment, then ran over and hugged her.

Saber felt stunned into silence. Finn was really rude. He didn't seem to think there was the brightest spot in the day that she was not a bad person. It grated on her nerves. Why should she be nice to someone like that. Cheeks blushing a bright red, averted her eyes. At least they were moving out of here. Though splitting from the group was becoming more and more attractive.

*****

Archer landed at the encampment and talked to the panicking staff. Finally realizing he wasn't going to get any clean answers, he collared a few to tack up Silver for him. As soon as the dragon was ready, he hopped back up and strapped himself in. Looking into the sky, he could see the dragons starting to form search groups. If anyone could find the youngsters alive, they would. Unless they were in a building or underground.

Finn saw Saber's mutinous expression but had no idea what to do about it. Instead, he focused on Estelle's directions.

"We should probably go there one at a time," she was saying, drawing a map on a crumpled piece of paper from Finn's pocket. "And be casual about it. I hate to admit it, but Archer was probably right. I shouldn't have made such a fuss about getting here."

"You should go first, Elemmire," Finn said. "Your parents won't recognize me or Saber."

Elemmire nodded. "Fine. Me first, then Saber, then you?"

Finn shrugged a little. "Sounds fine to me. Saber?"

Saber forced herself to accept the inevitable. She was stuck with this group. Shoulders slumping, she nodded gloomily. "Yeah." Except she might make a slight detour. Finn was obviously not fast and she was a sprinter. If she swung past the library, any messengers looking for her with news could find her. That would take care of that. Hopefully Falcon learned something soon herself. Saber didn't have time to get to the Stone Circle and in the barracks where her room was. So that meant her research was left behind. But at this point, what good would it do?

*****

Archer was surprised when they didn't join the dragon search parties going out. Instead, Silver took him up over Carlin and towards the Stone Circle. Passing the massive high walls and landing in the court yard, he looked over in surprised. There were a number of scouting dragons and their riders here, carefully standing tightly together to conserve space. He recognized Falcon as she was getting saddled up and a message tied to one of her talons.

The ambassador dragon saw him land and nodded to the human attendents. One of them hurried to the group of riders and strained to get his voice heard by the riders high above him. "Gryphon riders are missing. In the last hour or two, reports of their disappearance have been coming in. Some were seen being snatched by men in gray tight-fitting clothes. Others simply were not meeting appointments they made. We are recalling all of them to the fortress. If you see any, give them a personal lift back here. Go in teams of two outward over the city. Once you are out, head to the encampment for further orders. There is plans being made for a strike team concerning the baby dragons. As soon as we have leads though, we need areas scouted to ensure the strike teams go in the right direction. It could take an hour. It could take all day. It might be tomorrow. Whenever it is time, be ready to fly.

Elemmire left Nellas's and made her way as casually as she could to her parents'. More than anything, right now she wanted to change her clothes. Her dress was not used to the kind of abuse she was giving it, and she hated the way it inhibited her movements. Her shoes needed to be burned.

Finn waited for ten minutes, then directed Saber to leave. He waited another ten minutes and followed, carefully following Elemmire's map, which he had memorized.

As soon as she was outside of view of the house, Saber switched into a sprint. She made good time on her scenic route and got to the library in good time. By her estimates, she still was plenty ahead of Finn. Walking inside breatheless, she was surprised to see the head librarian out in the main area instead of in her office. The lady quickly directed her to her office where a messenger waited for her. The messenger was pale and trembling. Saber sat beside him and listened as he explained the gryphon riders were disappearing. She was under orders to report straight to the Stone Circle. Realizing there was no way to get a message to her companions, she nodded and let the messenger who had come for her sprint with her back to the fortress.

*****

Archer walked impatiently around the dragon's landing area, fretting. They had no leads on which direction to go. More scouts were getting together and the place was full of tense energy. The afternoon looked like it was going to be a pretty good wait. He sighed and dug a toe into the dirt. The rumors about the gryphon riders getting kidnapped were spreading despite the army's best attempts to keep it curtailed. That brought a new depth to the tension.

Saber hadn't arrived at Elemmire's family estate by the time Finn got there, but he refused to panic. Instead, he turned to the quiet, unassuming people waiting in the foyer with looks of polite inquiry on their faces and got down to business.

"What's the master plan?" he asked.

Elemmire sighed. "Finn, my parents are minor government officials ... "

"The master plan: I assume you have one?"

Elemmire's parents opened their mouths as one, looked at each other, at Elemmire, at Finn, and back at each other again. Elemmire's father spoke first.

He was a tall, skinny man you'd never look twice at if you didn't know him, and his voice was just as forgettable. "Your name is Finn? Well, Finn, I am sure you understand that we cannot share such information with you."

Elemmire frowned. "But Daddy--"

Her mother, who looked exactly like a middle-aged version of Nellas but with simpler clothing, interrupted her. "Elrond, perhaps we should."

Elemmire scowled. "Mother? What is going on?"

Finn answered, never taking his eyes from Elemmire's father Elrond. "Elemmire, your parents run the government of Carlin. They keep quiet about it, but anyone who's been paying attention for the past twenty years knows that if you need to get something done, you go to a Nolbreth."

Elemmire would not have believed him had her parents not both suddenly looked guilty.

"How ... I mean, why ... "

"We have no time for that now, Elemmire. Our nation is under attack." Elemmire's mother chided, drawing her out of her stupor.

"We want to help," Finn said quietly. "Just tell us what to do."

Saber was restless, pacing back and forth beside Falcon. The gryphon looked like she wanted to join her, but space was tight with so many gryphons in the landing courtyard. Finally a messenger rushed in. "News, there are reports of the baby dragons to the north. Evidently an old fortress that was thought to be in ruins is not as abandoned as it appeared. It's exact location is unknown. However you are to fly out and gather the leaders of each group of soldiers and have them on standby. Fly to the dragons area outside of Carlin in the encampment for an escort, then start spreading the world that we are mobilizing."

That was what she wanted to hear. Years of practice kicked in and she was mounted up on Falcon easily within seconds. As were her comrades. They all took turns but it was still a close call as Falcon leaped into the air, her wings almost colliding with another. Veering around, she headed out towards the army encampment. With any luck, Archer would be there. And she would finally be able to get a message to her friends.

*****

Archer mounted and waited, warned by messenger in advance that the remaining gryphon riders would be escorted. He was under strict orders to stay with his charge unless he was carrying an official back to the encampment for preparations of another march. After the one the day before, he had no doubts that they were a bit tired. Still, he didn't mind. It was his greatest hope that he could find Elemmire. Having her depend on him to keep from falling was a most amusing thought and he was eager to see her expression when he told her.

Silver snorted and Archer turned to look at Carlin. Gryphons with their feathered wings were rising above the Stone Circle and heading for the encampment. He waited tensely, Silver already crouched and ready for take off. Those who had messed with the dragons were going to pay for what they had done. Hopefully the babies had survived. No one could stand in the way if they hadn't.

"Intelligence has informed us that the enemy has sought to deliberately attack and disable our dragons, our public officials, and our messengers," Elrond said, the way other people would ask you what kind of tea you wanted. "Over the past several weeks, we have been working to get the most crucial members of our government and their families out of the city and to sanctuary before the enemy can."

"We've caught seventy-five spies so far," Elemmire's mother continued. "Clearly, that was not enough. We need to end this quickly and thoroughly; until then, none of us is safe."

"Good work at capturing that roaming party, Ellie," Elrond said suddenly. "I trust you are fully recovered?"

Elemmire paled; she'd always worked hard to keep her parents in the dark about her injuries. "How did you know ... Never mind. Don't tell me."

"What do we need to do?" Finn appreciated all the family drama; he really did. But people were dying, and core branches of the military were being threatened, and the last thing they needed to do right now was waste any more time. "I saw a code. In the bakery. And around town. Weird, little stuff, like 'I'm sweet; eat me at your own risk,' or 'Feed the birds.' Visual puns."

Elrond frowned. "I don't think that was any of our people."

"Nor a code the enemy is likely to use, judging by past methods." This from Elemmire's mother. "We shall consider it. Elemmire, there are clothes you might find more comfortable in your old bedroom. You should change and get back to your unit; I am sure you have orders. Finn, would you be willing to assist us in a more private matter?"

Finn swallowed hard. He wasn't sure he liked the sound of this. "Yes, of course, Mrs. Nolbreth. Anything for Carlin."

Elemmire's mother smiled. "Then call me Hester. Now, I believe you have no small skill with magic?"

Finally, Finn began to panic. How could they possibly know about the magic?

Saber rode Falcon over Carlin's walls and swept above the army encampment. Circling around to where the dragon quarters of the camp were, she aimed for the landing grounds. Dragons with their riders were already waiting. She signaled towards the middle where the smaller gryphons were landing. The larger ones that were more adapt at fighting would take the outer edge where their counterparts, the warrior dragons were waiting.

Archer watched head to the middle, close to where he was in the growing madness, and land. Silver ambled over beside the younger gryphon so that Archer could talk to Saber. "Hey Saber, I'm glad they found you. Any idea where Elemmire is at by now? The army is sending out assignments but no one has information of her whereabouts at the moment."

With a nod, she replied, "Yeah, she went to her parent's place."

Archer turned and shouted at a messenger who sprinted to record that Elemmire had someone going to get here. "Saber, when he gets back and gives us the clear, we are taking off. I'll bring Elemmire back here before I head out on a scouting mission, but you will need to return to the gryphon's courtyard up at the Stone Circle. Carlin needs her gryphon riders that remain."

Elemmire changed with all the efficiency of long practice, muttering curses under her breath when her old work clothes proved to be just a little tight and uncomfortable in certain ... places. Still, her old, outgrown clothes were much more comfortable-- and useful-- than that stupid dress. She was quite certain she'd never wear it again.

By the time she got back downstairs, with her hair in a snug braid wrapped around her head, Finn had disappeared into her mother's study. She left a note for him, reminding him of her plans to head back to camp, and left. She settled into a run that covered ground quickly but didn't tire her unduly.

As she ran, she soaked in the afternoon sun and relaxed as the the warm breeze played across her face. Battle conditions or no, she couldn't deny that she enjoyed it.

*****

Finn sat in the darkness of the study, frantically trying to process everything Elemmire's parents had said. He had been practicing his magic in secret, he'd never told anyone about it, and he had no idea how good he was compared to others.

Well, he knew he was better than most. He guessed, so, anyway. Spell mastery came easily to him. But he'd never so much as watched another person perform more than the simplest spells, and he just didn't know whether he could --

What they were asking of him was bigger magic than he'd ever attempted before. Big enough that he was pretty sure he could die in the attempt.

"Why are you asking me? Surely there are others ... "

Deep in his heart, he knew better, but he still searched their faces for any hint of doubt he could use to his advantage.

Getting the clear from the messenger, Silver and Falcon leaped into the air. Their wings beating through the dust as they rose, they soon cleared the mass below them and angled away. Saber stayed low on Falcon's back, thoroughly intimidated with having such a large beast flying beside her. Looking focused on the people below was the only way she could think to hide her face from Falcon and Archer.

Archer's white hair didn't move an inch as they sped along. Pleased with the fast gryphon just below him, he encouraged Silver to keep up a good speed. It was Silver merging their vision though that allowed him to see a familiar face running down the street. Though it took Archer a moment to realize that Elemmire was no longer wearing the dress, Silver led them down as he took a few minutes to push down his disappointment.

Falcon picked up on Elemmire's figure running down the street once Silver had them aimed towards the ground. Taking the led since her rider was the one with the message, she pulled forward in front of Silver and landed with a thud. Her wings slowed her descent at the last second and her legs took the landing and absorbed as much of the shock as she could for her rider. On her back, she heard Saber call over her head to Elemmire before the dust was completely blown aside, "Message for you ma'am! Report back to the encampment for assignment. Dragon babies who were stolen this morning have been located to the north. Archer will fly you back."

Silver was already turning and crouching down. Falcon snorted and turned to place one of her legs in front of Silver's so that Elemmire would have an easier time getting up on the dragon. Archer was already adjusting so he could lean down to offer his arm.