Freyas talons gripped her payload, something that required her to nearly stop dead in the air. There has to be a better way. Freya flapped, climbing to a safe altitude as the Sparra behind her did the same, then River. Ahead of her, the other two fliers were already circling. Below them Sam held the single yellow signal flag that the ranger carried. Freya kept one eye on the otter, the other on the Eels.


    Two of them stirred, sending a casual itch through her bones. She looked to see which one would be her quarry. If she had the time she would aim for the furthest one from them.


    Sam waved the flag back and forth twice before ducking into concealment.


    All five birds converged, each moving to the closest eel. Simone went first, flying right past Freya with a speed that made her briefly envious. Sparras were lighter than Blue Jays and Ravens. As soon as he began his descent, Freya locked her wings into the same dive pattern, willing the cusser to follow her descent.


    She counted down, then released her cusser a moment after his.


    Both of them flapped, banking left away from the flooded tunnels. Behind her, the rest of the cussers were launched and she could see them falling. She spared the briefest of glances to see them still falling as she climbed ever higher.


    *Boom*


    Below her, the sound of the concussive wave spread up, jolting her off balance. She recovered, flapping incessantly, for the first time unsure of herself.


    The silence played loud, and as she flapped, she wasn''t able to tell if she should be watching. Either way, she was not going to return.


    ---


    They called a halt later that day.


    It was one thing to go through such a perilous journey, but without thinking about it, Freya could only be relieved that her mentors had the forethought to teach her. Now that she was going to be going through a more formal education, she couldn''t imagine the same problems that you''d had before facing her.


    "All right," she said. "Tell me about the classes. I know that you''ve been holding back. I''ve seen enough of you darting between the rest of the rangers."


    Muk look at her, his eyes a tired happy. He was relieved that her concussive mission had gone off so well but she was tired and ravenous when they''d finally stopped.


    "I thought you would never ask, he said. Let''s talk about what you''re supposed to do. I got an earful from the other rangers about this. So they''re saying that when your druid takes more than four classes a year that you should probably get into reading."


    Freya waved away his concerns.


    "There are two courses that all the zeros need to take together. It''s the one about managing health and seeing to the safety of growing babies. The other one is more general druidship. Everything else? That''s up to you. They did say that because of the house you''re in that you might want to take one of the more esoteric classes."


    "Esoteric?" Freya asked. A few puffs of smoke went up from the front of the line, showing the lead druids and rangers if anything with a brain had been paying attention.


    "Esoteric. That means it''s a bit off the beaten path and it''s at the whims of the professor as to whether they''re going to give the class or not. They mentioned the druid spring when they said this like all of her classes are more esoteric as well as River."


    "River''s only been here for a year," Freya said.


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    She nearly got up out of bed.


    "A lot can happen in a year, my dear. Some druids are just particularly strong and some are not. And that''s one of the things that the rangers were talking about a lot. Druids like you that can make a bond between living beings? They''re rare."


    "I can''t have powers that are that rare," Freya said. "It''s just a weave."


    He leveled the gaze at her that would have melted her into a puddle mere weeks ago.


    "Let me just remind you that you are the mouse that almost single-handedly infiltrated and swung the tide of our armies battle and possibly War against the Marquee. I wouldn''t have been confident coming here with you and marrying you and running away to be a ranger if we hadn''t one such a significant victory."


    "Oh you say it like I''m any other mouse," she said.


    "Well thank you. I mean it."


    "There''s less some of the classes but I''ll save you the time."


    "Are you going to pick my classes for me?" she asked.


    "I might be picking your classes for you if you do something. Decide that you''re going to not pick the obvious choice, and let''s see what will happen."


    Muck held out the apprentice''s headband that she wore during the daylight hours. It was a symbol of their time together and everything that had changed in their long travel and courtship.


    "You''re going to want to take this one about working with the weave. It''s the course that everyone takes but no one talks about and so it''s always full."


    "That is exactly the kind of class that makes me feel like I need to take it," Freya said.


    "I wouldn''t be a good husband if I didn''t know my wife''s proclivities."


    She nuzzled into him and for a moment everything was perfect in their little the corner of the world.


    "We''ve got to figure out what to do with these chickens though."


    "They''re coming with us."


    Gear was behind them, snoring loudly. It was a thing that the chickens needed a bit more industry behind them. One couldn''t just set them free in a wooded area without suffering potential loss. There had been enough death in the family.


    "Understood, my dear but the leadership, especially Sam is making it sound like we will be overwhelmed."


    The expectations that were placed upon Rangers were many. So too were the responsibilities.


    "When I am a full druid and can make my own way..." she began before cutting herself off. She didn''t know what the future held and she had a power that was in heavy demand. She might be called upon to create bonds with regularity.


    Gear clucked. The beast had to be going through some dream sequence. There was no other way to describe it. The soft rising and falling of the chickens feathers was far too calming for her own good.


    "We''re going to stick you back on the chicken," Muk said, seeing her gaze. His ears folded back. "You''re not going to fight it."


    "Very well."


    Many others needed the chicken more. Though the trip had been a long one through the warren, the line still had those that came in with no experience on a long campaign. Muk had done his best to not highlight the rangers that were in that camp, but Freya could tell. They all could.


    Above them, Simone the Sparra did a few laps. He was on overwatch and Freya was happy to see him there. It had to be strange to be a avian ranger, with the bond strengthening their flight, she could see him as faster and more capable than the average Sparra. It didn''t help her much that she could fly as well when she hadn''t spent her whole life flying. Like the ones that were struggling to get through the forced march, some of the creatures hadn''t the experience of the dull mundanity of farm life.


    "I think that Sparra is enjoying himself," she said. "Just like Gear and the rest of our companions."


    The line was not readying a camping sight quite yet. The rangers were heading down the line filling up water skins. It was the major sign that the respite was drawing to a close soon. They wanted everyone to drink their fill, then fill up at the nearby stream, then perhaps drink again. The indignity of having to piss out in a large grasslands was easily forgotten when life stared you in the face with it''s wild creatures.


    "Some of them are really hurting. I...did you want to talk about him?"


    She stiffened. Was this the right time? What did one do in this situation? Did one just... forget about their duties? How long was appropriate to mourn?


    "I''ve never..."


    He waited patiently. It was the best part of him. "You''ve never lost someone close to you before."


    There was a commotion. Freya checked, but no one around seemed uneasy. Muk could handle whatever it was. "Sela is running around stuffing paws with food. What a great otter."


    "I''ll take one of whatever he is putting out."


    Muk raised a paw, intercepting something and then handing it to her. It smelled fresh and she was so grateful for whoever brought the cooking supplies along. This had to have been the holdup. A druid would not have told the cook to stop, so long as that didn''t disturb the movements.


    "Ah it''s pre-prepared. Devious otters." She unwrapped the bun. There was no way that these had been baked out here. That made it simpler.


    "Devious otters, indeed."


    The signal went out shortly thereafter and Freya let the chicken carry her. She could get her revenge later.