Preparing

They did not travel through Velt. Jeron and Demaren handled the ship to a small bay near Ellipt. Once they had landed and spent a day or two reviewing the plan, Jeron expressed some mild concerns.
"Damn it all, boy, I ain't staying behind while you go get yourself blown up!"
"If you go, you'll get killed!"
"Shut your mouth, you don't have any kind of sense in those things!"
"If you die, you'll leave Jain and Lia all alone!"
It went on like that for half of an hour before Jain had sent Demaren to get fresh water, and Jeron below deck to peel potatoes. The two men didn't bring it up again, but Demaren suspected Jain had tearfully (and wrathfully, as well) begged him to stay with her and Lia.
In the end, Jeron submitted to remaining with his family. The night before they separated Larii told a story using tiny sand buildings and sea shell people she had spent the day making. Lia laughed the most, and Larii presented her with the little dolls at the end. Demaren was coerced into singing (though he wasn't sure how they had known he could sing at all). As they settled down into a somewhat depressing sleep, Lia curled into Demaren's arm and cried--he quietly sang her a Syla lullaby until she slept.
The first day away from Jeron and his family was rough. Demaren felt alone with no one to talk to, especially missing Ashling again. But they only traveled a day and one night before they made contact with the Avery's.
The evening the creatures appeared, Larii was staring intently into the trees while Demaren brushed Friend. Demaren was huffing slightly because Larii had usually taken to grooming Friend, and Demaren felt entirely poorly skilled at it. Friend did too, because after a few minutes of it, he shifted away from Demaren and rolled around in the dirt of the clearing.
"Fine." Demaren threw a smoothing cloth at Friend and trudged to Larii.
"Well? Are they coming?"
Larii nodded slowly. She looked at Demaren and pointed meekly into the darkness where the fire's light didn't filter.
"What."
She pointed a little more firmly. A rustling in the dark, crushing of tender dead leaves, and some delicate sniffing sounds reached him. He turned, trying to see. No lulling, swinging forms appeared, merely the reflection of the fire in two pinprick points. Which blinked.
"Ah." Demaren's heart pumped harder, anticipating coming face to face with his once intent murderers. He strained his ears to listen for movement. So focused on the silence, his pumping blood was almost deafening. Then he heard it.
"So this is the way you think."
He jolted, catching Larii's attention. She jerked a little in surprise and looked into the darkness questioningly. Then she looked back at him is wonder.
"Did you hear that?" Demaren asked, slightly panicked.
"She did not."
Demaren winced. Then he felt a laugh in his mind. Not his own mental voice, but a deeper, smoother voice. An elegant voice. He was actually reminded of his father.
"How flattering."
"W-what?"
Larii looked questioningly at him. But he didn't look at her now, he looked at the glimmering lights in the darkness.
"You do not have to speak to make yourself heard, Demaren."
"Uh... Who are you?" Demaren consciously asserted this mentally in the shadows.
"Very good. How promising. I am called Ponce. I am the head of my tribe."
"Ponce. All right. How did you know my name?"
"Larii told me."
"You can talk to her?"
"I would not go so far as to call it 'talking.' Her people do not think like yours do. Nor do they think as the Xian. They think in images and emotions. And while my people are not so emotive as hers, we can see rather finely and the communication is not limited."
"So you live in the forest too?"
"Did you not come here specifically to meet us?"
Demaren jolted violently.
"You're an Avery?!" He shouted, causing Larii to topple over and cover her ears. The smooth laugh, easily perceived as arrogant filled his head again.
"Yes."
Demaren felt sick. He pressed his mind to think coherently, "I didn't realize you were sentient."
"My tribe and I are probably more sentient than yours. And certainly more than Larii's."
"Larii is very sentient." Demaren felt some defense for his hued companion.
"Quite. That was not entirely an insult. It was a commentary on my people. Not hers. While hers are intelligent and capable, they are only able to communicate with animals and select bipeds, such as your mate and the small Xian child."
"My mate?"
"Yes. The Gaeian girl."
Demaren blushed anxiously. "She is not my mate."
"May I join you beside the fire? I believe Larii is growing concerned and Kero wants to settle the air."
"Kero? A companion of yours?"
"The opposite. He is a companion of yours. The Simein."
"The what?"
Rustling in the darkness brought Demaren from his mind slightly. An Avery swung slowly into view. Blue eyes glimmered intently at Demaren, and the delicate pointed toes dipped like dancers feet. As it passed, it turned it's head to look into Demaren's face.
"Your quadruped friend."
"You mean, Friend?"
The Avery's head rotated slightly, inclining to the right.
"You mean to say you call him 'Friend?'"
Demaren felt slightly embarrassed, "We couldn't exactly ask his name."
Ponce turned to look at Friend, who was watching from across the fire. "No, I suppose not." He looked back at Demaren, "His actual name is Kero. But he tells me he does not object to the name Ashling gave him."
"I'm glad you approved!" Demaren shouted to Friend, who shook his head and gave a shrill snuffle.
"Are you still afraid of me?"
Demaren turned back to Ponce, slightly confused. "Afraid? I'm not sure."
"What if I told you it was me who made that attempt on your life upon your last visit to our forest?"
A chill skipped over Demaren's skin. "You?"
The swinging neck dipped towards him, Ponces' head lulling gently in front of Demaren's. Demaren felt an intake of air as the Avery inhaled Demaren's scent. He saw the tiny circle of teeth and felt a little afraid. "How do I... Are you..." He paused from speaking and tried to think clearly, "Are you going to try to kill me again?"
"Understand this. I could not access your mind. Perhaps I was less interested in that endeavor than I should have been, but all the same. My tribe and I do not consume life with coherent, individualized thoughts. We try to reach the core of a mind first. And when I could not reach yours, which is very unique, I felt no qualms. Of course, Larii appeared and informed me of my error. So, I apologize."
"What about tonight? You found my mind tonight?"
"I have been following your entourage from the moment you entered the forest. Larii could not reach me and did not know I was near. For the entirety of your journey here, I could not access you. I was beginning to worry there was no way. Until you, essentially, began breathing down my neck."
"What do you mean?"
"When you began to listen. You strained for sound. It was silent, but I felt you. Like someone behind you, breathing heavily down your neck. I cannot hear you unless you think in words."
"Oh. That's interesting."
Ponce suddenly meandered to the fire and sat down. "As I said. Unique."
Demaren leaned against the nearest tree and rubbed his head.
"And, no, you will not be able to think quietly to yourself anymore."
"Gee, thanks." Demaren responded aloud.
Ponce rolled his head to peer expressionlessly at Demaren, and shrugged his bony shoulders, "You could attain that ability through heavy practice. We Avery also must work to conceal our thoughts from one another. It is not an easy task, but we are brought up with that skill. I suspect you can get to that point. You have a strong mind, and the others of my Tribe will respect you."
"Are there going to be more of you joining us? I asked Larii to see if she could accomplish that. I kind of need as many of you as I can get."
Larii smiled at the reference to her.
"Larii was beginning to feel ignored." Ponce said, rising delicately to slink over to Friend.
"Sorry, Larii."
She shrugged, smiling again, and tapped her temple. Then she skipped over to Friend and Ponce to pat Ponce's head and curl up beside Friend. Ponce walked back to Demaren, who had come to sit in front of the fire.
"She is tiring to communicate with."
"Why?"
"They communicate with sight and emotion. That takes far more energy than speech. And I am not as emotive as she, nor so easily attached to individuals."
"Meaning?"
"She is fond of you and Kero."
"Can you call him Friend? It's very confusing for me to remember his true name."
"Is it supposed to be less confusing for me to call him Friend when I am accustomed to Kero? Should we not refer to him as he is called?"
"I've known him longer."
"True." Ponce was silent for a moment, cocking his head to one side. "All right then. I shall refer to him as Friend when I remember."
"Thank you."
They fell silent again as Demaren was tired. He rubbed his head again, then ground his knuckles into his eyes. When they opened again, the rising suns rays were streaming above him him and he was laid to rest beside the dead fire. He must have fallen asleep. Disoriented, he sat up to gage his surroundings.
He was shocked to find his was not only in the company of Larii, Friend, and Ponce, but that sometime in the night hundreds of Avery had gathered to linger near the group. It was disconcerting to be surrounded on all sides by black and white blood suckers. They slept all on the floor of the forest and draped themselves in the branches of the trees. They did not come within the clearing where Demaren sat, but they were very near all the same. Only Ponce sat in the circle, awake and staring.
"When did they arrive?"
"All throughout the night. They arrived and went to sleep."
"When did I fall asleep?"
"When you decided to. I have no sensory clock, nor do I discern time by the location of the orbiting celestial bodies. I do not see in light or dark as you do. Merely clearly defined shape."
"I--What?"
Ponce rose and stepped to one side of Demaren, snaking his long neck to Demaren's other side and throwing him off kilter.
"You cannot see when the sun has set. When there is darkness."
"Right."
"I can see despite the lighting. I do not see light or dark. I only see." Ponce then turned to saunter away.
Demaren stared into the pink sky, "That's weird."
"I heard that."
Demaren rolled his eyes at Ponce's retreating figure, "Of course you did."

- - -

Once the encampment of Avery had awoken, the entire day felt compressed and choked.
"Ponce!"Demaren had shouted into the sea of Avery, at one point.
"Yes?"
"Where are you?"
"Above you."
Demaren looked up to see a low hanging branch and Ponce's slender limbs draped artfully along it. "I feel like everything I think can be heard for miles."
"It can."
"Help me figure out how to fix that, please!"
Ponce slid down to the ground, and rolled his head. "All right then. Follow me."
At first they walked to leave the group, but once a safe distance out, Ponce leapt into the nearest tree, "Follow from above, please. I will be easily viewed from the sky." And he climbed effortlessly up the almost branchless tree.
Demaren flew up, reminding himself of the games back on Syla. He even smiled slightly. Once in the sky, the sun not even at high noon yet, Demaren flew quickly along with Ponce. They travelled very far before Ponce rested on a particularly high tree.
"Here?"
"Yes. Come rest. We needed to be far enough away so your screaming words can not be heard."
Demaren flushed red a little as he carefully came stand gently on a branch, "I hadn't realized my words were like shouts."
"I can tell you intended that to be a personal thought, but imagine if you met someone new and they only spoke very loudly and never thought quietly to themselves. But all unintentionally. You simply must learn to curb yourself."
"I don't understand."
"You do not realize this, but now that you can made a connection with me, you are always listening for it. And therefore, always speaking into it. My mind, particularly, is constantly bombarded with your thoughts."
"That is incredibly embarrassing, Ponce."
"I'm sure it is. The tribe hears you as well, but only in the way that on lookers in a crowd view someone shouting at another individual."
"Great..."
"You simply have to learn to identify what my mind feels like. Once you can identify my mind, you will be able to identify the other Avery minds. As well as your own. You will suddenly realize when you are thinking 'aloud' and when it is completely internal."
Demaren cracked his jaw nervously, "How do I do that?"
"Listen. I will speak quietly so you cannot hear. My mind will then be active and therefore perceivable. Ready?"
Demaren nodded. Ponce sat still staring at Demaren. Demaren wondered if Ponce had begun. So he perked up his ears--or the part of his mind that seemed to 'hear' Ponce's thoughts. But nothing came to the forefront. He licked his lips and focused harder. For a moment, he thought he felt what he could describe as his head coming into contact with a very padded wall, but only gently.
"Ponce, did I just feel it?"
"Perhaps. Are you aware of your own thoughts?"
Demaren said nothing, and thought as quietly as he could, trying to sense himself. He felt nothing, though.
"No, you did not feel my mind--at least, not well enough to access your own. And yes, you are still very audible."
"I hate this. I feel like I'm walking around naked and screaming!"
"That is a peculiar image, Demaren." Ponce paused, cocking his head thoughtfully--Obviously thinking privately, much to Demaren's dismay. "Let us return to the tribe. You can practice with the other minds of the Avery. There will be many private and internal conversations to press for."
Demaren followed Ponce back, still trying to feel the Avery mind below him.
He tried, over the next few days, to avoid thinking verbally. It was difficult and frustrating. And he knew all of the Avery's could hear him. Still, he tried to feel the slight walls around their minds.
He was surprised at how quickly the Avery traveled. Over the unsteady ground in the forest, they were nimble and smooth. They slowed like a dark river and left no foot prints. It was staggering, as well, how quickly they moved. Demaren could not have kept up with them on foot, so he flew through the trees with some difficulty.
It was not until the massive group was a days walk from the edge of the forest that Demaren noticed a mental barrier around Ponce. He mentally reached out to it again, pushing against it. Ponce even shifted to look at Demaren.
"Very good. But do not try to break it. You will only hurt your own mind."
The sudden words in his mind made Demaren instantly aware of his thoughts. And he actually felt like he was standing naked in a room. The entire encampment had light barriers around their minds, and Demaren was very aware of his exposure. Like a breeze rushing along his body. He instantly pulled a defense up, like a thin gauze.
"Excellent, now I cannot hear you very well. I have to focus to understand."
"I was hoping for complete silence."
"Eventually, you will find the stronger, more durable blockade to keep us out. For now, you have merely pulled a a heavy curtain around you. It stifles noise, but does not silence it. You need walls and sealed doorways for that."
"More to work towards, then."
"Quite." After a moment, Ponce added, "How soon do we make our way to the City of the Eye?"
"Tonight. I think it will be easier to travel across the countryside at night."
"Will you be flying above us?"
"Yes. How fast can you travel?"
"My tribe and I will have little trouble reaching the mountains near the city before dawn's light, if we leave when the sun has completely gone."
"Excellent."
Ponce shifted over a lounging Avery, "What shall we do with Larii and Kero?"
"I'm not sure they should come with us." Demaren felt concerned for Ashling's special friends, "I don't think they can defend themselves as well as we can."
"It will not be a small feat to convince them to remain behind."
"We'll find a way." Demaren rubbed his head absentmindedly.
But it turned out they did not need to convince or coerce. Upon leaving the forest, Larii had developed a slight headache. The three days in open country had been fine, though tiring for her, but she became extremely ill and collapsed a few miles into the Erynese mountains--mountains that encircled the city. Once the entourage had made their way out of the geological formations, she fainted dead away. Friend was perfectly willing to retreat to the safety of a nearby tree cluster to protect Larii. In the trees, Larii seemed to recover her senses enough to regain consciousness. But she had a fever and shook her head in heartbreak.
Ponce lulled his head from side to side, "She says that even within this proximity of the city, she still cannot hear Ashling. There is a nasty mental scent that permeates her mind and makes her feel nauseous."
Demaren wondered what the city would be like. The Erynese had proved to be an entirely unique kind of people, unnatural and unpleasant in their existence. Would Ashling be found safely? He turned to Ponce and openly spoke to the Avery. "Let's go."
Demaren flew above them for the hours of silent travel until they crested a hill. Then he landed beside Ponce to survey the city. In the darkness, bright pinpricks of light scattered the horizon. Even so late an hour, life swarmed. Some of the lights seemed to hover above the ground--as if he was looking at his home forest in the darkness. A noise sounded and three sleek Avery slinked into view from the darkness. Scouts that had been sent on a few days ahead to survey the city and gather information of safe routes and swift lanes.
A small red eyed female spoke for the group, "A general... polling... of minds showed the military center is grouped within the city walls, but on the outskirts. No rural buildings have been built near the structure, and the only domestic dwellings are for families of important military officials. We should have no trouble getting to the structure if we run along the barrier, but guards patrol the walls and they will shoot us and alert the headquarters to our presence."
"Can we stay outside the city until we are right near the building?"
She slowly shook her long neck and blinked her expressionless eyes, "No, there are even more guards at that portion of the wall."
Ponce had pondered in silence and now interjected, "Perhaps we should enter here--this is the opposite side of the city, correct? Good. We can hurry along rooftops and alleyways in the darkness, avoiding the small patrols. We can rush the military building and enter as silently as possible. The less attention we attain, the swifter our rescue will proceed."
Demaren nodded, "That sounds good." He turned his thoughts to the female, "Can we make it across the city in one night?"
"We can do it tonight if we leave within the next hour."
So Demaren and Ponce gathered the Avery. Fifty were to remain outside the city walls and keep a safe distance on all sides, should someone try to slip Ashling out. Another fifty were to wait on a safe increment of wall to eliminate the guards nearest the building so escape could be swift. One hundred even filtered through the city to maintain discretion. And the remaining group, about one hundred Avery and Demaren, would infiltrate the base and find Ashling.
There were two rules: draw as little attention as possible, and only kill those who mean you harm.
The plan was set in motion only 25 minutes after the scouts returned, and as Demaren readied himself for a low flight, one of the most difficult flights he would ever make, he breathed in the deep, silent air. He listened for any more shifting padded feet, heard nothing, and pushed off.