Shortly after the graduation was over, Dad took the rest of my siblings out to eat at one of the nearby cafes while mom pulled me aside. Kali stayed back as well, though I wasn't sure why.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Mom asked. I knew she was watching for any doubt in my feathers, but... I didn't have any. I never could sit by and watch as people were hurt when I could have done something.

The Spartans said it made me weak.

The Knight said it made me a fool.

The Commandant said it made me a worthless soldier.

"I'm sure." I replied.

She sighed. "Okay, you're an adult now, so I won't stop you. And it's not like I'm not proud of you for doing this... It's just..." She trailed off.

"You want me to come back?"

"Of course. You're my wittle Rage, after all. Mamma's little bird."

"Hey, what does that make me, broken seeds!?" Kali demanded.

"Of course not, Kali. You're Mamma's smart girl." Mom soothed. "The most intelligent of your siblings."

I noticed Kali was preening under the attention and had started puffing out her chest.

"But you chose to become a nest administrator. Rage is going off to risk his life for the good of the entire forest. I don't think the two can be compared, do you?"

Kali deflated at that and hung her head.

"I guess not..."

"Hey," Mom used her wing to lift Kali's head. "I'm proud of you too. Never forget that."

...

"I won't. Thanks, mom."

"Yeah, thanks, mom." I echoed.

She pulled us into her chest with her wings and snuggled against us. Kali and I looked at each other under mom's wings, and I felt her wing brush against my side.

"Yeah... I know." I thought in response to her touch.

I'd finally found my happy place. The one place in the world I'd die to protect... That little house inside tree number five.

I'll survive even if it kills me. I'll come back to that little house even if I have to crawl back. And I'm not going to let some stupid volcano or anything else take it from me.

That's a promise.

Mom released us and stepped back.

"Did you save up your EPs like I told you to?" Mom asked.

"Yes." Kali and I replied in unison.

"Good, let's see it then."

"Alright."

"Kay."

"Open Evolution Menu." I intoned inside my mind.

Name Rage Current diet Fruits, nuts, seeds Current evolution style Flightless Avian Current senses Basic Avian Current movement style Flightless Avian

Evolution Points 45/55 Possible Evolution Options

Weak—> Mild wings— 15 points

Mild—> Major Legs— 20 points

Normal Vision—> Hunter's vision— 12 points

Blunt Talons—> Basic Talons— 5 points

Change diet: Basic—> Carnivore— 15 points

Change diet: Basic—> Omnivore— 25 points

Size Change Tiny—> Small— 20 points

Size change Tiny—> Diminutive— 10 points

I didn't know how she did it, and dad admitted that he certainly couldn't do it. But she inspected our evolution menus. She started with Kali, alternating between nodding or shaking her head as she read... And the moment she swapped and started looking at mine, I knew I was about to get scolded.

You see, to get EPs you needed to steal them from something else, and eating is our primary source of EP, as it allows us to absorb every spare EP our meal hadn't spent. However, as we were children and our main source of food was berries and nuts. It supposedly required you to eat three to four times as much to earn a single EP.

I wasn't sure if that was true or not, but that's what I was told.

The leg upgrade I'd taken hadn't outwardly changed how they looked, as it only made them slightly stronger. But it still cost a whopping ten EPs to purchase. And spending ten points on something without mom's approval was a big no-no. Lord knows Gri couldn't walk right for a week after he'd spent twenty points to increase his size.

But, she surprised me. She nodded her head and said nothing.

"Rage, buy the 'Omnivore' upgrade, the wing upgrade, and the Talon upgrade. That should give you a decent base to work with. Kali, you stay with your current diet and buy either two wing upgrades or two leg upgrades."

I did as she said without protest. They were what I was looking to purchase, anyway.

Name Rage Current diet Omnivore Current evolution style Explorer Avian Current senses Basic Avian Current movement style Explorer Avian

Evolution Points 0/55 Possible Evolution Options

Mild—> Major wings— 30 points

Mild—> Major Legs— 20 points

Normal Vision—> Hunter's vision— 12 points

Basic Talons—> Sharp Talons— 10 points

Size Change Tiny—> Small— 20 points

Size change Tiny—> Diminutive— 10 points

Basic perception—> +10% Perception speed— 30 points

Basic Strength—> +10% strength increase— 20 points

Basic Speed—> +10% Speed increase— 20 points

I read over my new E-chart several times before I willed it to close. I knew the changes wouldn't take effect until after I fell asleep, so I didn't bother looking for them.

Truthfully, even though I've probably opened my E-chart a few hundred times over the last year. I was still unsure of just how it worked. And I wasn't the only one. Neither mom nor dad could tell me how it worked, only that it did. And Dr. Lynes... Well, the less said about his explanation the better. As a man of science, he didn't like anything he couldn't explain... And these 'magical' charts? They drove him into a fit of rage so intense, I was surprised his fur didn't turn green.

Lord help anyone around him when he first saw the thing...

"I take it you're having the same conversation as we did?" Dr. Lynes asked as he, Sonny, and a strangely spastic bird walked up to us.

The bird was tall, about three times the size of mom and half again as wide. It had sparse brown feathers on its head that got thicker as it went down, large brown eyes, and... Seemingly no wings, from what I could see. Though it walked upright and with grace, I noticed that it would twitch every time it glanced down.

"Weird bird."

"Dr. Lynes! Yes, I imagine so." My mother replied. "And commissioner Pierce, how nice to see you again."

"Madam." The odd bird said curtly.

"Commissioner George and I are assigning the teams to a leader. Can I assume that the two of you wish to stay together?"

Sonny and I looked at each other, then nodded to him.

"I thought as much."

"Captain Rogar needs two cadets." George muttered. Now that he'd spoken a bit more, I noticed that he spoke in a similar accent to Dr. Lynes.

"That madbird!?" Dr. Lynes yelped.

I wasn't sure who this 'Captain Rogar' was, but just his name caused mom to tense up... And I've seen her smack Daisy around. Whoever this Rogar is... He couldn't be more intimidating than Daisy, right?

"He's one of the best we have."

"Only because he's crazier than a squirrel that's just had its last nut stolen."

"Be that as it may... "George sighed. "He's one of the few captains to volunteer. You can't afford to be picky."

...

"You have a point. The only other volunteers were Captain Shalor and Commander Towlis. And of the three, Rogar is the best."

"There's only going to be three teams?" Mom interjected. "Will that be enough?"

"It will have to be." George replied. " The Eastern King has called for reinforcement to protect his flank and the Northern King is busy fighting the undead that have appeared in his forest. Were it not for the Western King vowing to send out teams of his own, we would be on our own in this." He finished while glancing down... And then he shivered fiercely and quickly looked back up.

"There will be thirty soldiers to a team, so that's ninety birds altogether. A decent size, all things considered." Dr. Lynes summarized.

"Certainly more than we expected." George agreed.

"So... Is it settled," I asked. "We're part of Captain Rogar's team?"

"Looks that way." Dy. Lynes sighed. "His team is supposed to gather on the platform outside of tree seven, in eight days time. Don't be late."

"Good day." George said curtly.

As he and Dr. Lynes walked away, Sonny and I looked at each other.

"We're in."

"Yep." I agreed.

"With that settled," Mom interjected. "I want to see both of you in the morning for your training."

...

"Training?" We asked simultaneously.

"Of course. Someone has to teach you to use your new wings, and I'm sure Sonny has something he needs to work on too. We've got a week to get you boys in shape... Better not waste it!" She called over her shoulder as she and Kali walked away.

...

"You don't think she'll be too hard on us, do you?" Sonny asked trepidatiously.

...

"Sonny?"

"Yeah?"

"It's my mom."

...

"Yeah, I was afraid you'd say that." He sighed.