“Aye.”

“Then you’re the bird I’m looking for.”

“Why?”

“We slavebirds urgently need the local birds’ help to wipe out a hawk, Turnatt. The tyrant moved here a month ago and also wants your tribes to be slaves for him. He ordered his soldiers to cause trouble by stealing eggs and food from you and the cardinals.”

“Slavebird wood gatherer! Come out!” Slime-beak’s voice could be heard in the distance.

“Turnatt has more than a hundred soldiers. Please ask your tribe to help us, for our sake and your own. Remember what I said. And your name?”

“Aska, of the Bluewingle tribe. Which way’s north?”

Miltin quickly nodded and pointed to the right direction.

Aska darted away in a flash, hardly making any noise. Miltin heard the faint sound of “good-bye,” all that was left of the blue jay.

Miltin no longer feared the captain who wielded whips or the tyrant whose yell seemed like thunder. He’d done what he had planned to do. After speedily gathering chunks of wood and lashing them together with grass stalks, he stepped out of the grass.

“Well!” Slime-beak demanded. “What were you doing? There was no falcon you needed to hide from, so why did you go disappearing?”

“Sir! I thought the falcon had landed, and I was afraid, sir.”

“Oh! Never mind. Go back to the compound right away!” ordered the captain.

“Yes, sir!”

Slime-beak followed the slavebird, with a sigh of relief.

6 ASKA'S WORDS

The rain drenched the red and the blue. Despite that, they still fought, wing against wing, claw against claw, sword against sword. They mingled and then separated. They all fought for one thing: to stop the thieving. They fought yelling; they fought crying. They were desperate.

Aska passed the Line. She saw her tribe’s fighters and the cardinals battling one another. She closed her eyes and breathed in heavily as feelings of anger, despair, sadness, and eagerness exploded from her heart. I must stop them and let them know the truth! she thought, claws clenched tight. Rainwater rushed down, hard and fast. Aska did not mind. She tipped her head back as she let the words thunder from her throat. “Why do you fight? Stop! We have been fooled by a ruthless hawk who entered Stone-Run not long ago. It is the hawk who stole our eggs and food. His fortress is not far away; realize the danger. We shouldn’t be fighting; be friends. Let peace and friendship be among us again. Stop!”

The call from Aska echoed in the forest. The rain roared in reply, the wind howled, and the trees shook.

The birds stopped battling. Aska panted as she looked from tribe to tribe. Her eyes begged them to believe her.

“Do you think she is telling the truth?”

“What if she is?”

“How can we know?”

Birds whispered among themselves. Skylion and Flame-back signaled to their warriors. They backed off.

The fighters from both tribes still gripped their weapons tightly in case the signal for attack came again. Each eyed the other side warily.

“Get the wounded back to our camp,” Skylion said all of a sudden. “Then we’ll hear what Aska has to say.”

Seeing the blue jays retreat from the Line, the cardinals did the same. Able-bodied birds helped their wounded comrades to fly.

It was raining harder. Water and blood-the Line’s ground was soaked with them. A raven flew above: an amber-eyed raven. He cawed with displeasure as he passed, disappearing into the distance.

“Oh, Skylion!” Glenagh exclaimed when he heard what had happened at the Line. He shook his head sadly and was silent. Skylion sighed deeply.

“I know. But at that moment it just seemed so…well, the right thing to do. I shouldn’t have done it. Then things would be different-” The blue jay leader preened his blue wing. He looked up. “Oh…it’s just…” He looked down again.

“Here. Have a tea cake, Skylion. Regretting things that have already happened doesn’t help. Everybird makes mistakes. Though this is a big one, I think you did what you thought was right and good for your tribe, and that’s what really matters. You cared about your tribe.”

Skylion accepted the pastry. “Aska told us that it’s a hawk who caused this rift between the cardinals and us. Now the hawk wants to catch us as slaves to build his fortress.”

“So to unite with the cardinals is at the top of our list now, thank Swordbird,” Glenagh said a bit more cheerfully, and poured himself a cup of tea.

Skylion nodded. “If they believe us,” he said. “If they’re willing to forgive what we’ve done.”

Glenagh took a sip out of his teacup before replying. “I’m sure they will, somehow. I do hope I’ll see that Flame-back again, and Fleet-tail. Smart birds, you know.” He paused a moment. “Shall we talk to Aska now, Skylion? I would certainly like to hear her full story.”

Fleet-tail tested his injured wing. It hurt only a little bit now, but he was still unable to fly. He looked up from the soft grass bedding he was resting on. “Flame-back, it’s not your fault, you know.”

The cardinal leader was in a somber state of mind. “Oh, Fleet-tail, you just said that for the millionth time to make me feel better. But it is! The whole thing is! I started to steal from the blue jays after I saw them taking our food and flying away.”

Fleet-tail shook his head. His eyes glittered. “You know, if Aska was telling the truth, then it wasn’t the blue jays after all.”

Flame-back thought about what his friend had said as he nibbled on a piece of dried fruit. “You might be right. I wish things were like the past. But how do we know Aska was telling the truth?” He paused. “Not to change the subject, but are the other injured all right?”

Fleet-tail scoffed. “Better off than I am, certainly. They healed quickly. All of them can fly now except me…poor me, you know.”

Flame-back managed a smile. “But your wounds will heal soon, my friend, and then there might-just might-be peace.”

Later that night Flame-back perched on his resting branch, wondering. Maybe Aska was speaking the truth; maybe she was telling a lie. How could he be sure? What should he do? Flame-back sighed and tucked his head under his wing. He drifted to sleep in a troubled state of mind.

In his dream the cardinal leader saw a huge fortress-with slavebirds, soldiers, and all. A large brownish red hawk strutted around, barking orders. Suddenly Flame-back was in the air, overlooking the half-finished building. Much to his surprise, the place was not far from his home. A fortress in the Stone-Run Forest?

Yes, a voice said. A fortress right in the Stone-Run Forest, not far from your camp and the blue jays’.

Flame-back’s heart skipped a beat.

Yes, Aska was telling the truth, the loud, magnificent voice repeated.

“Wh-who are you?” the cardinal leader asked in a shaking voice. The clouds shimmered with a silver radiance, making the cardinal squint. Inside Flame-back could make out the shape of an awe-inspiring white bird. His wingspan was many times the cardinal leader’s, stretching for yards.

The glorious bird spoke. Ahhh, Flame-back…my given name is Wind-voice. The bird smiled.

“Swordbird!” gasped the cardinal leader. He immediately bowed his head.

No need for that, red one.

Flame-back looked up. He could now see the sword of the bird glistening and the Leasorn gem reflecting the sliver of light. He shook his crested head slightly. “Swordbird, if Aska’s words are true, what should I do?”