An Owl's Rise

For several minutes Evelyn simply allowed Verrader to lean on her and get his emotions under control.

He had certainly been through more than Evelyn could even imagine and it was a miracle that he was able to snap out of whatever brainwashing the human that picked him up had subjected him to.

"Verrader, are you okay?" Evelyn asked when she felt his body go completely limp.

For a moment she was afraid that something might have happened to him, but he had just passed out.

He had been dealing with an internal war within himself for the last few days, and now that he had found his answer, his body could no longer stay awake.

Taking a cushion out of her storge cuff Evelyn set him down and leaned him up against the wall in a comfortable position.

Then once she had made sure he would not fall over, Evelyn's on emotions burst forth and she could not hold back her own tears.

"Thank you for not betraying me. I do not know if I could have taken it." Evelyn said, though with Verrader unconscious no one heard her.

It had not been long since Evelyn decided to allow herself to trust again, and having one of the two family members she had left betray her would have been a blow she was not sure she could recover from.

Thankfully, Verrader had chosen his siblings over the humans that had only caused their family suffering.

Once Evelyn got her emotions back under control she had to think about what to tell everyone else.

'If I reveal the truth, I am certain that Bylur and Rehni will not be very welcoming towards him anymore. Aralee is likely to be devastated. She looks up to Verrader even more than she does to me at this point. They spent the last month together and he is the one that obtained the evolution catalyst she needed. What am I supposed to do here?'

Evelyn was unsure of how much to tell everyone else. Caught between protecting Verrader and telling her companions the truth.

In the end, she concluded that keeping the fact that Verrader had been sent as a spy by humans was for the best.

He had already told Evelyn everything and made his choice to betray the humans that had wanted him to deliver Evelyn to them.

Leaving the chamber that Verrader was now peacefully resting in, Evelyn made her way back out to the central area where the others were waiting for her.

Each of them wore concerned expression, with Aralee looked especially distressed.

"Sister what happened? Where is Verrader?"

"He is resting. He was dealing with a great emotional toll, but we managed to work things out together. I believe that when he awakens, he will be feeling much better." Evelyn said, wearing a reassuring look.

Hearing this Aralee let out a sigh of relief, and the tension around everyone relaxed slightly.

"Would you mind telling us exactly what happened? Bylur mentioned that you were quite forceful when sending him and Aralee away." Rehni said.

Among all of Evelyn's companion she was the only one willing to broach this subject. Both Bylur and Otis would never intentionally do anything that might upset Evelyn, while Aralee looked up to her as a capable big sister.

"Yes I suppose I owe you all an explanation. I am sure you noticed that Verrader and I have not been getting along the best since our reunion. That is because of what had happened when we were captured by humans. Both of us had been blaming ourselves and the other for it to some degree, and this caused resentment between us to build up. I told Verrader that I forgave him before I left with Rehni, and it took him a while to get his thoughts and emotions in order. We just worked through the last of it together. I do not believe that their will be any more tension between us." Evelyn said, abbreviating what had happened without mentioning the fact that Verrader was sent to the Roost as a human pawn.

Rehni still seemed suspicious, certain that Evelyn was not telling her everything, but left it at that.

Evelyn was their groups leader and if she decided that there was something that the rest of them did not know that was her prerogative.

"Now, we can revisit what happened with me and Verrader when he wakes up. Before anything else, we need to properly introduce Otis to Aralee and explain the real reason we chose to come to the Velinis Desert." Evelyn said changing the subject.

At this Aralee looked at Otis curiously.

She had certainly noticed that a new owl had joined them but with everything going on with Verrader and Evelyn, she had not asked for many details from Bylur and Rehni.

"How I came to meet Otis is a bit of a long story, but I imagine we have the time." Evelyn said.

She then began back at the beginning when Po had found and begged her for help.

Going through each detail Evelyn told her sister what had happened and about the magic spring that was hidden underground where the burrowing owls' home was.

This information only elicited a confused look from Aralee who did not know what a magic spring was and Evelyn had to explain the properties of the rare magic phenomena as well.

Over the next hour Evelyn continued to give out details and answer Aralee's questions, until her sister was caught up on everything.

"That is amazing. To think that you were able save an entire clan of owls out here int his desert." Aralee gushed.

It was clear that she was only becoming more enamored with Evelyn.

Of course, Evelyn was happy to receive the praise of her little sister. It made her feel as if she was doing a good job as the older sibling. Something she idealized herself from her time looking up to Mason.

"The problem is what we should be doing now. With Verrader being unconscious our plans are thrown into disarray." Bylur said.

Originally, they had intended to introduce Otis to Evelyn siblings and then make their way to the Roost. There were still preparations that they needed to make in order to allow Otis access.

None of them had the authority to grant a new owl citizenship within the Roost, and would need Melisandre's help to get the process going.

"You are right, Melisandre will start to get worried if we take to long. I informed her of our intentions beforehand and she has gotten everything ready on her end. Otis will need to be vetted by the Roost's leadership, but as a tyrant rank, he will almost certainly be allowed to join without any fuss." Evelyn said.

When finding the challenges to enter the Roost it was customary for all awakened rank or higher owls to be let in without needing to further prove their abilities.

Though it was still several months from the next time the Roost would be offering any recruitment challenges for outside owls, which was why they were looking to get special permission pushed through with Melisandre's assistance.

"I believe we can wait another two days before heading back to the warp point and returning to the Roost. If Verrader has not woken up by then, we will just have to carry him back with us." Evelyn said.

In response Bylur grimaced, since if Verrader did not wake up, he was the one that would have to be carrying him.

"Well, if we are going to stick around for longer, we might as well use the time productively." Rehni said, turning towards Otis.

She then suggested that he test out his new powers as a tyrant rank beast. He had just undergone a dramatic change and would need to get used to the increase in magical energy within his body.

"That is a good idea. We have sparred with Anneli and Katrina plenty and know what a tyrant beast's prowess should look like. This will be a goo chance to see if Otis is up to snuff." Bylur said, fixing his rival with a smirk.

"Bring it on. I will show just how powerful I have now become. We may have been closer to even before, but not anymore. I have pulled way ahead of you in every way." Otis said confidently, turning to Evelyn and flashing her what he thought was a dazzling smile.

Unsure of what this gesture meant and the posturing going on between Otis and Bylur was, Evelyn simply told them to get on with it and watched while Rehni and Bylur took on Otis in a practice match.

While the three of them fought in the air, Aralee crept closer to Evelyn and asked her something hat had been on her mind.

"Is everything really going to be okay with Verrader?"

"Yes. We have worked things out between us. Our family is not going to be separated again." Evelyn said, assuaging her sister's worries.