An unnatural quiet settled over the forest. The trees themselves didn’t seem to mind the hawks’ presence, but the smaller animals kept themselves still. They hid among the roots and the leaves, occasionally calling out to warn the others of their kind about the danger present.

The hawks stirred in response, and a bird or two took flight, only to land again shortly after. It was difficult to get a read on so many clustered spirits—they blurred together—but there was a sharpness to them, a thin line separating anticipation from action.

More birds stirred, fluttering from branch to branch, but the hawks mostly stuck to the trees. If anything, there was an informal, unorganized movement in our direction. The minutes stretched out as the hunters nervously kept watch and the hawks inched closer. The time grew long enough that I let my Camouflage go in order to conserve qi.

Finally, we heard a low whistle from about twenty yards to the southeast, not exactly on our backtrail, but not too far off either. Moving carefully, the hunters of Susu’s team came into sight. From the tense expressions on their faces, it was obvious they’d been told about the hawks.

Susu edged forward into whispering distance, and I suddenly caught the meaty smell of dead game. She had a mink with her, an arrow wound spoiling the beautiful fur. “We brought bait. After Teila explained the plan, we thought it’d make more sense to bring the hawks closer together before starting.”

Dura sighed in appreciation, and I kicked myself for not thinking of the idea first. The hawks were all at different distances, and if I just stepped out into the open, some of them would reach me sooner than others. I’d have to start my Sparking Hands... Spark Field... Face Full ‘o Sparks... whatever. All the names were terrible, but the point was, I’d have to start the spell before all of them were in range, giving some the opportunity to avoid it.

“Thank you,” Dura said. “That’s good thinking.”

“We may not be as talented,” Susu whispered, her spirit billowing with pride, “but that just means we have to be cleverer to succeed.”

Dura nodded. “Everyone contributes, and many spears make for a short hunt.”

“And a successful one,” Susu whispered. “May the spirits of the land make it so.”

At which point, they both eyed my backpack.

“We shouldn’t count on Ikfael’s help,” I said. “I’m not saying she won’t help if things go badly, but...” My words trailed off, because I didn’t know how to diplomatically frame the next part.

My sense was that, while Ikfael had a kind of generalized allegiance to Voorhei, she didn’t actually care that much about any individual hunter or villager. The only exceptions were my family and maybe Mumu, and only Mumu because she was so appreciative of Ikfael’s art. That, and she brought gifts.

I was still searching for the right words, when I noticed the hawks’ spirits sharpening even more. A few crossed the line from anticipation to action, and were starting to launch into the air—their attention on us, or more specifically the scent of blood coming from the mink.

“They’ve noticed us,” I quickly said. “Toss the mink out onto the road.”

Susu didn’t have to be told twice. She chucked the body right out there, and it landed a bit shy of the road’s far edge.

Suddenly, the air was full of flapping wings and a high-pitched screaming that raised the hairs all along my arms. It just sounded so wrong for hawks. I wasn’t the only one to think so, either; the spirits of the hunters around me all reacted to it with shimmering fear.

Still, they were professionals. The hunters readied their weapons, and prepared to follow me out into the open where the hawks swarmed above the mink’s body.

Dura whispered. “Little Pot, count three breaths, then head out. Miri, Teila, and I will provide cover with our bows. The rest, count ten breaths before following Eight with your knives, but only if most of the hawks are down. Delay if you need to.”

By the time he was done talking, my three breaths had come and gone, so I Camouflaged and dashed forward to close the distance. The hawks tumbled in the air like it was boiling. Briefly, a gap opened, and I glimpsed the mink’s carcass; it had already been almost completely stripped of meat, and the birds at the edges of the roiling mass started to disperse.

I summoned the rune for Spark, and felt Yuki mirror me—the mana transforming into two separate streamers, one for each hand. There was a bang as the electricity arced and birds started dropping to the ground, twitching.

The spell drained my mana—four points for the original cast and about a point for every second it was active. Normally, that meant twenty seconds for me and sixteen seconds for Yuki, but I flexed my will against the electricity to flare the streamers.

Yuki had been right. The spell imparted an intent which constrained the lightning to a single line, even when the conditions around it would normally cause it to split. What I was doing was pushing-coaxing-demanding that the lightning ignore that intent and instead recognize all the other nearby opportunities to jump-flow-seek.

That caused my and Yuki’s mana to drain even faster as we overcame the intent attached to the lightning. A glowing, arcing wave of skyfire spread before me. My face hurt from grinning so hard.

Arrows shot past me—the air cracking with the sound of the hunters’ Spiral Pierce spells—and I saw more birds fall to the ground. There were still quite a few in the air, though, and I pushed forward, waving my hands to catch as many I could.

I heard the hunters behind me, and the sound of knives stabbing into flesh. The hawks’ screams turned into shrieks. The scent of burning meat and feathers filled my nose.

Then I felt a tug against my cloak, and something warm flowing down my shoulders. A quick glance at my Status showed that I’d picked up the Bleeding (I) condition. That turned into Bleeding (II) when another hawk got behind me and scraped across the back of my head with its claws. I gritted my teeth against the pain, but couldn’t do anything else. If I swung around to protect myself, I’d catch the other hunters in the lightning’s area of effect.

I noticed, then, that the hawks farthest away from me had escaped unharmed—a good dozen of them. By branching the lightning, I’d also shortened the distance over which it streamed. Panic shot through me as I saw them dive towards me and the hunters behind me.

Yuki, gods bless them, dropped their Spark spell and cast Air Shield to deflect the hawks away, at least for a moment. Then, they cast Collaut’s Hide and Iron Heart on me. The combination slowed my bleeding, bringing the condition down from (II) to (I).

They said, You have only two more seconds of Spark if you want to keep enough mana for Healing Water.

I nodded, let the spell go, and pulled two knives from their scabbards. Dimly, I noted that the arrows coming from the tree line weren’t empowered anymore. Each of the hunters only had the capacity for only two or three spells before they were out of qi.

I threw myself into the melee, trusting my defensive spells to keep the damage to a minimum. I hollered and swung my arms to draw the hawks’ ire, as the hunters desperately stabbed at the birds still on the ground.

The hawks in the air flew like maniacs—moving in acrobatic maneuvers that should’ve been impossible. I didn’t hit a single one, but I succeeded in getting their attention. I felt them pelt against me, their claws slicing, their beaks ripping into my flesh. I wore my hauberk, and my spells toughened my skin and body, so they mostly failed. Sometimes, though, they struck with enough intensity to succeed.

When I spun around to defend myself, I felt a bit of my left cheek flap. Blood flew, along with my sweat. The others weren’t immune either. I caught sight of red-smeared faces and torn, blood-stained clothing. The hunters were starting to stand up, though, as the last of the stunned hawks was killed.

Yuki was powering my defensive spells, so I cast Nature’s Spring, letting the healing energy soak into my own body. At the same time, the hunters turned to the air, and they took distance from each other, so that they could move through the knife forms for fighting multiple aerial attackers. They looked like dancers, their arms flowing, and I joined them as best I could. My Knife Arts skill was only at rank 5, though, and I’d yet to hit a single hawk.

This isn’t working, I thought. Switch.

I felt Yuki’s acknowledgement, and Collaut’s Hide dropped away. In its place, my meridians filled with the rush of Dog’s Agility and the absolute need to go fast, fast, fast. My breath laboring, I focused on catching sight of the hawks and matching my movements to knock them to the ground.

The air snapped when I attacked, and I started to connect—with my knife, the lower part of my fist, and sometimes even my forearm. It wasn’t a clean fight, not by any means, but I took what I could get. Even a slight wobble in a hawk's flight meant a chance for one of us to kill it.

Men and hawks screamed as they fought and were injured. The fight dragged on until I spun around looking for the next bird, desperately shoving qi at my eyes to help with seeing through their maneuvers when I noticed the air was empty.

Dura yelled from the tree line, “Healers! We need healers now!”

He had Susu on the ground beside him, his hands pressed against a wound at the base of her neck. Another three figures had been dragged into the brush nearby to get them out of the way of the fighting. A quick glance showed that every hunter present was hurt, but most were walking wounded, me among them.

Yuki let Dog’s Agility go in order to cast Nature’s Spring on me, the spell now doubled since I still had it flowing. At the same time, I dropped my knives, pulled my water skin, and ran for Susu. The spell for Healing Water shimmered inside me, a coolness in the aftermath of Spark’s hot, electric hum.

Dura was already casting Nature’s Spring on her, but Susu's wound continued to seep blood from under his hands in spite of the spell; one of the bigger veins must’ve been nicked. The cut stretched from her right collarbone to just under her larynx.

“Move your hands.”

Dura did as he was told, and I poured my spell onto Susu’s neck. We both watched as her flesh slowly knit itself together, the blood finally stopping when the water skin was nearly empty.

“There’s more,” he said, and turned her over to reveal a section of her lower back and butt that looked like it’d been shredded with razors. It was a red, ropey mass soaked with more blood.

I dumped what was left in the water skin, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Yuki?

We saved enough mana for one spell.

Bless you, I thought, and then said aloud, “I need more water.”

At some point, Teila had come up beside me, and she handed me hers. My fingers tingled as Yuki wove their spell through them. I carefully doused the area, spreading the healing out as necessary.

The shredded skin of Susu’s lower back reformed. It was still a puffy red in the spell’s aftermath, but the bleeding stopped. Dura, then, placed his palms on the affected area, and his let Nature’s Spring flow.

I reminded Dura: “I also have Nature’s Spring. I’m using it on myself now, but—”

He shook his head. “I’ll see to Susu; I should have enough qi left to get her up and moving.”

At my shoulder, Teila said, “I have qi left. If I knew the spell, I could help.”

When I’d first met her, Teila only knew the Camouflage spell. Then, after the kalihchi bear hunt, she’d earned another and chose Spiral Pierce. That came as a surprise to absolutely no one, since Teila took after Mumu, and Mumu took after Inleio. Under his tutelage, all of Voorhei’s magic-using hunters tended towards the same spells: Camouflage, Spiral Pierce, and Dog’s Agility. Along with the spear, knife, and bow, they formed the core of the lodge’s fighting style.

I glanced towards Teila, and saw that her spirit had an anxious tension, like she wanted to be of help but something was holding her back.

Her mother Miri was nearby casting Nature’s Spring one of the hunters pulled from the fight. Her father Ahlrein was getting a cut on his arm bandaged. The two of them exchanged looks, little bits of spirit passing between them. It was something I’d seen happen before when people who knew each other well communicated nonverbally. Billisha and Aluali did it all the time.

Ahlrein shrugged, as if to say, “Your decision.”

Miri cleared her throat. “Dura, wouldn’t you say that Teila contributed to the lodge? It was her plan that brought down four dozen cutter hawks.”

Dura sent a questioning look at Miri. “Yes?”

Something was clearly happening, but I couldn’t just stand there and watch—there were still two hunters gravely injured, plus all the other wounded groaning in pain. I ran to one, his spirit’s aura fading at the edges. His face looked pale, but he smiled wanly when I crouched next to him.

“Thank you,” he whispered, as I placed my hands on his shoulder and cast Nature’s Spring.

I nodded and smiled back. His spirit was slow to recover, though, so Yuki redirected his spell to target the hunter. With two Springs flowing into him, color began to return to the hunter’s face.

Another hunter rushed over to check him for wounds. She found a bleeding cut between his shoulder blades, and spread an oily paste smelling of green grass and honey across it. Then, we worked together to prop him up, so that the wound could be bandaged. The rest of his torso was free of injuries, as well as his arms and legs. By the time, the examination was done, his spirit had stabilized.

At which point, it was apparently my turn to get treated. My scalp, neck, and face stung when the paste was smeared on me. I waved off the bandages, though, since I planned to cast Healing Water on myself. I just needed half an hour’s rest to recover enough mana for the spell, and Yuki should be able to keep my own bleeding contained until then.

I moved onto to treat next gravely injured hunter with another double-shot of Nature’s Spring. This one had a long scrape on the inside of her leg, and multiple cuts on her arms and torso. Someone was already bandaging the wounds, but it looked like she’d lost a lot of blood.

In the meantime, the drama unfolding between Dura and Miri had progressed. Whatever it was, I just wished they’d hurry it up. We all had work to do.

“So you agree,” Miri said, “that Teila is deserving of a new spell? That’s your judgement as this hunt’s leader?”

Dura nodded. “I do.”

“Then come take over for me here. Susu’s well enough to manage, and I need to instruct my daughter in Nature’s Spring.” Miri held her head high, almost as if daring him to disagree. “She is as worthy an apprentice as any, and just as quick a study.”

He gazed at Miri, his expression complicated. I could almost see the dawning comprehension, the dismay, and the... appreciation winding their way through his spirit. “You are bold, Miri.”

"I do what I must and what my daughter needs,” she said.

Dura nodded, and checked to make sure Susu was stable. Then, he shifted his Nature’s Spring, moving himself and the spell to the hunter Miri had been treating.

For her part, Miri told Teila to follow her, and they went just far enough to be still in view but out of earshot. She gestured for about two or three minutes—the patterns recognizable as the ones belonging to the Nature’s Spring spell. The two of them spoke briefly, then they started making their way back.

Teila’s head was down, her spirit radiating a sinking, guilty feeling, but that didn’t stop her from walking over to me and casting Nature’s Spring onto my back. There was no hesitation at all, and her qi flowed smoothly into me.

I set aside my surprise, and said, “There are others more injured.”

“And they need your Healing Water more than Nature’s Spring.”

Miri came to crouch beside me. “I’ll take over here. You go and meditate to recover your mana. Teila will heal you, so just focus on meditating.”

Healing Water was the more effective spell; they were right about that. I looked around, and didn’t see anyone in immediate danger. Given time, that may change though, since the potential for infection was high.

“All right,” I said. “I agree that that’s the smart thing to do here.”

I sent a last burst of qi into the hunter I’d been treating before getting out of the way and finding a spot to sit. Teila followed behind me, her palms on my back as soon as I was settled.

“How long?” I whispered.

“Since I first started learning Nature’s Spring?”

“Yes.”

“Since before we met,” Teila whispered. “My mother taught it to me when she learned I was Wood-Wise. The talent could change my family’s future. It... I had to be protected.”

“I see.”

I caught several hunters looking at Teila—the ones free enough to pay attention. Some looked upset, some resigned, and some nodded in approval. It was obvious to everyone that she’d secretly learned the spell in advance of earning it from the lodge, and their reactions were definitely mixed.

As for me? I wasn’t sure what to think, since I was generally someone who played by the rules. At the same time, not all of my spells came via legitimate means. Plus, we now had the benefit of another healer to help out.

I set aside the thoughts on fairness, and let myself sink into meditation. The sooner I recovered my mana, the sooner I could help get the hunters back on their feet, the sooner we could be ready to face whatever else this world would throw at us.