As it turned out, Rin was quite close in her guess. The next day when Scott donned the flying cloak, he turned into a bird Chihiro had never seen before. It was reddish-brown in colour, with a lighter, speckled breast. The bird also had a wicked raptor bill, strong talons and fiery yellow eyes. It looked like a small eagle but it had a long forked tail. Linca clapped her hands.

"A red kite!" she enthused. "Very rare and a beautiful flyer!"

Rin stared. "I was right," she chuckled. "He would have to be a bird of prey." Scott screeched at her and ruffled his rust coloured wings.

"Enough of that," said Linca firmly. "Or I will have to teach you to preen as well as fly." She turned to Chihiro and Rin. "Off you go then. We will lead the way. There is a forest up ahead; we better watch out for some of the larger spirits that like the shady places."

"They won't bother us," said Rin confidently. "Nygels don't take kindly to being assaulted. If Chihiro wears her katana, the dragon magic in it will shout her status. What other human would have the right to wear such a sword? And if they are too stupid to know what that means..." A dagger jumped into Rin's hand from nowhere. She twirled it, catching the morning light on the shiny blade.

"Where did that come from?" asked Chihiro.

"Never you mind," said Rin with a knowing grin.

Chihiro extracted the sword from her pack and strapped it around her waist. It grumbled at her apparent lack of action; she should be slaying her enemies by now. It could also sense another magical sword nearby and was not that happy about strange old magic it was not familiar with being so near. It was a revelation for Chihiro; she had not known that the sword in Scott's pack was magical. She wondered where he had got it from. She mounted Snaffu and Rin jogged away.

"Don't you want to have a go at flying?" asked Chihiro when Snaffu caught up with the nimble spirit.

"No," replied Rin. "There is no way my feet are leaving the ground."

Chihiro laughed, she had felt the same when Haku had started to fly her places while still in his human-looking form. There was a joyful shriek and a red kite streaked over Rin's head, ruffling her hair.

"Show off," Rin called after the bird, but there was a small smile on her face. Chihiro was surprised; she had thought Rin would have disliked the cheerful, laid back young man, especially as he had fallen on top of her a few days ago. But Rin appeared to have become quite tolerant toward him.

Their camp the night before had been almost harmonious, though Rin still seemed uncomfortable about sleeping so close to Scott. Linca had offered to "spend the night with him," as she put it, but Rin had refused. Scott was very understanding about it all. He curled his large frame up under the far end of the tarpaulin with his back to the spirit woman, wishing her sweet dreams. Rin obviously appreciated the gentle treatment.

The trees closed over them. They were massive rainforest hardwood trees, dripping with lianas. It got warm under the leafy canopy, then hot. The humidity increased and Chihiro began to sweat. The spirit world was strange; where else would you come from a cold marsh and half a day later be in a tropical forest? Linca's white owl form was almost dazzling against the background of muted browns and greens as she glided through the trees. At a clearing, Chihiro looked up to see a tiny speck in the azure blue sky. Scott was obviously using his bird of prey vision to scout ahead much more effectively than she and Linca had managed the previous day. Chihiro felt her dowdy dove form had been a little outclassed. When sundown came, Scott and Linca returned. Scott was still enthused by the joys of flying.

"You can see everything up there! I can see a huge canyon just on the horizon. We should be there in tomorrow."

"So you like it?" asked Rin.

"Like it?" cried Scott. "If opposable thumbs were not so useful, I'd be a bird permanently."

"Oh," said Rin with a small secretive smile. "That would be a shame, you're bird-brained enough as it is." Scott laughed easily.

Tired as he was, Scott showed them how to convert the tarpaulins and plastic sheets into hammocks with little rainproof covers.

"Why hammocks?" asked Linca.

"It's a tropical forest, there are all sorts of creepy crawlies about at night. It's better if we don't sleep on the ground," explained Scott. "Unless spirits don't get insect bites?"

"We do, but not as many as you sweeter blooded humans," sighed the spirit mournfully.

Chihiro thought it was an excellent idea; she had been bitten in several places already. Scott rummaged in his pack and threw a bottle of insect repellent to her.

"You did prepare for everything," Chihiro muttered, spraying on the noxious smelling chemicals liberally over her exposed skin.

"That's why you chose me, wasn't it?" said Scott, his tone a little brittle.

"Not the only reason," said Chihiro, passing the bottle back to him. "I wanted another human with me in this. I love my sisters but they can be a bit too spirity at times." Scott chuckled, knowing what she meant.

Rin snatched the repellent bottle from him.

"And what exactly do you mean by "spirity"?" she queried in a less than pleased tone.

"Well..." Chihiro murmured. "You just don't consider certain things. You don't understand how we work."

"I do!" said Rin spraying herself and sneezing as she inhaled the fumes.

"Rin," said Chihiro firmly. "I had to tell you everything about humans, from periods to chocolate."

"Don't the two go together?" asked Scott, still chuckling, his blue eyes dancing with amusement. "Besides, I thought you wanted me here because I was a man."

"Huh?" said all three sisters in unison.

Scott put on his best regal expression and spoke in his best upper-class voice to attain maximum patronisation.

"All you helpless females needed a firm, guiding hand. You needed a strong man to do things for you so you don't end up breaking a nail."

"I'm not female!" protested Snaffu, feeling a little left out of the banter.

The females in question were all glaring at the young man, too tired to take his words in the way he had intended them.

"Looks like I'm sleeping with Snaffu tonight," said Scott easily, not taking offence at the murderous looks directed at him. Linca was the first to forgive him. She threw her arms around Chihiro and hugged her tightly.

"I'm sleeping with Chi, she's more squashy than the rest of you, and as she gets fatter she'll get even more squashy."

Chihiro glowered at her.

"I hope I get bad morning sickness and throw up all over you," she spat.

"Oh, I forgot about that," chortled Linca. "I'm so looking forward to holding your hair out of your face while you vomit your breakfast."

"Hopefully I'll have Haku back by then and you'll be spared that duty," said Chihiro tiredly.

She swung herself into her hammock and sighed. She blamed her hormones for her recent mood swings. That and the yawning gap the loss of her mate had made in her. It was getting harder to sleep restfully. She had been told there would be repercussions for binding herself so tightly to him. The loneliness was starting to get to her.

Linca looked at the Chihiro shaped lump in the hammock.

"Good job I did not joke about it being strong enough to hold us both," muttered the sprite under her breath.

"You should not joke at all," growled Rin. "You have no idea what it feels like to be ripped from your mate."

"And you do?" asked the sprite.

"Yes I do!" snapped Rin. "Don't ask me how but I do!"

"Stop arguing and go to bed," Chihiro's voice sighed from the hammock.

Rin spun on her heel and leapt gracefully into her hammock. Scott gave Linca a hard look. She poked her blue tongue out at him and flounced over to Chihiro.

She slipped into the hammock and the fabric adjusted and stretched around her small form. She snuggled up to the still irritated human and pillowed her head on her shoulder.

"You know you love me really," she murmured.

"Hush!" Chihiro whispered. She was listening to the conversation at the other hammock.

"Err, can you move over a little," Scott's voice rumbled in the twilight. There was a swish of fabric moving against fabric. "I won't be able to turn my back to you either, the tarpaulin will suffocate me," he added.

Rin tutted but did not say anything. The ropes sighed as the large human's weight pulled them taut. There was a shifting and scuffling. Chihiro could just imagine the pair trying to get comfortable without gaining an intimate knowledge of each other's anatomy. She bit her lip trying not to laugh. Linca was grinning gleefully.

"It's alright for you," she whispered. "You're well past the awkward stage with your dragon. You've forgotten how embarrassing it is to be shoved up close to a member of the opposite sex that you don't have carnal knowledge of."

"It never bothered you," yawned Chihiro.

"I'm without shame, that's why," retorted Linca. "But we both know how straight-laced Rin is."

"Then why doesn't she let someone else sleep with him?" sighed Chihiro, letting her eyes slide closed.

"Because she likes him," said Linca, with a mischievous lilt to her voice.

"You're imagining things," murmured Chihiro sleepily. She felt herself starting to drift; she hoped she would sleep well and not waken before dawn again.

As was now her nightly ritual, she took hold of the Tac' Tal at her throat and brought the pendant to her face. She touched the warm obsidian mirror to her lips.

"Goodnight, Haku," she thought. She hoped he would have a restful night too.

"Don't I get to give him a kiss?" asked Linca cheekily. Chihiro pulled the Tac' Tal round her neck and the sprite touched her light blue lips to the pendant.

"Goodnight, brother," she whispered seriously. "Rest well and keep your strength up."

Chihiro smiled at her sister. Despite appearances, she knew Linca missed Haku terribly, as did Rin. She drifted closer to sleep, looking forward to using the flying cloak in the morning. As smooth as riding Snaffu was, her undercarriage and thighs ached terribly from being on his back all day.

"Suppose I better get used to pain down there," she thought bitterly. "I'm going to be pregnant for over a year."

She rested her hand on her still smooth abdomen and smiled into the darkness.

"No offence, little dragonlet, but you could have picked a better time."

She slept soundly, for once.

Haku woke with a start. He blinked, and slowly the dimly lit cell came into focus. He was still a prisoner, but his circumstances had improved greatly. He was completely healed for one thing; Kenshin had done it himself a week ago. His hands were now free and he was shackled by a thick bracket around his waist. There was plenty of slack chain, so he could get up and move around, though he could not reach the door. It was frustrating; he was sure he could break it down, but he was still restrained with obsidian inlaid chains. Even if he broke the door down he could not get free, his power was still safely locked away by the spells in the obsidian.

He also had water. Haku had nearly clawed the glass bottle from the silent shadow spirit that offered it to him. He downed it thirstily, opening his parched throat and letting the life-giving water flow into him without even swallowing. He only ever had had one experience in his long life that came close the complete ecstasy of relieving his burning thirst. Such thoughts were not fit to have around a possibly telepathic spirit. Those moments were private, not for onlookers to see. He had run his tongue around the neck of the bottle, seeking more of the delicious wetness. The shadow spirit had taken the bottle off him. To his shame, Haku had whimpered like a child but he quickly turned the sound into a growl of warning.

The shadow spirit did not react at all. It took the bottle between its almost transparent hand like appendages and the bottle glowed. When the glow faded the bottle had been refilled with fresh clear water. The spirit handed the bottle back to the dragon who hastily downed it again. When a third bottle was offered Haku had slaked his thirst enough to be able to talk without his voice rasping.

"Why?" he asked the spirit. "Why are you treating me like this?"

"We have been reprimanded," the spirit sighed. Haku was genuinely surprised. He had not expected an answer. "Our master was not aware of the condition we kept you in. You are to eat and drink your fill every day."

Haku frowned to himself in the dim cell. Since then he had eaten fish every day, a neat trick in the middle of a desert, and drank as much water as he pleased. He guessed he was averaging about 15 bottles during the searing heat of the day. At night it was considerably cooler so he only drank one or two. Being dehydrated would not kill him, but he was a water spirit, he needed to have water. If he didn't it was very uncomfortable, like an itch he couldn't scratch that would slowly drive him mad over time. In the dry air, he needed to drink regularly. Clearly his kidnapper knew that and was providing for him. Haku was suspicious, however; he was much less of a threat while weak and hurt. Kenshin was keeping his strength up for a reason.

Haku's thoughts returned to the dream that had woken him up. It had been a nice dream... at first. He had been in the hot spring, water bubbling and steaming around him. The tension drained out of him. Every worry and concern that he had vanished. As if that was not good enough, his mate had slipped in beside him snuggling up to him with a sigh. She was very naked, he noted. The warm soft body pressed against him stirred his desire for her. Normally he could tell through the bond between them if she was in an accepting mood or not. It made their love life very amicable indeed; there was no guesswork involved. Of course, she was still female and still human. Often her voice would tell him one thing and he would know she was thinking another. He liked it when she was in one of those moods. It made coaxing her into bed all the more satisfying. However, he could feel nothing from his mate, there was no warm loving presence filling his mind, no stray thoughts to listen to. He realised he was dreaming. He was disappointed but he would enjoy the dream while it lasted.

He slipped an arm around her and lifted her onto his lap. She laughed, looking up at him coyly through her dark eyelashes. Haku groaned, he could not help it.

"I miss you so much," he whispered. "I'm sorry to keep you waiting." She giggled again and touched her lips lightly to his. He sighed, closed his eyes and kissed her back, but she pulled away long before he was finished with her. He growled in protest.

"Oh shut up and stop complaining, lizard," said a voice that was not his mate's.

Haku's eyes snapped open. His mate was no longer sitting on his lap; it was Linca. Haku stared. She was also very naked and her white eyes looked cross.

"What are you looking at, pervert?" she spat.

"What are you doing here?" he barked. "Get out of my dream!"

Linca crossed her arms over her generous breasts and gave him a scathing look.

"I'm not thrilled to be here either," she retorted. "This is your dream, you could at least clothe me!" Haku blinked at her. He must still have concussion if he was dreaming such strange things.

"It's the bond, Haku," she sighed, seeing he did not understand. "No matter what spell is keeping you imprisoned, the bond still remains. Chihiro would know if you died, just like you would know if she died. Also, she still wears the Tac' Tal. The combination is allowing you brief moments of contact with each other."

"I know that," he said carefully to the nude sprite, endeavouring to keep his eyes on her face. "But why are you here?"

"I'm sleeping next to her," shrugged the sprite. "I must have got sucked in somehow. Being a magical creature I have a bit longer with you. It's unfair, but there you go." She peered into his face. "Where are you?" she asked.

"A desert, that's all I know," he replied. "You have to take Chihiro home, Linca," he pleaded. "It's not safe for her to be roaming the spirit world looking for me."

"She is your mate," said Linca gently. "It is her place to avenge you."

"But she is human! She can't possibly help me," he hissed.

"Why?" Linca asked, cocking her head, sending damp, shimmering tresses snaking over her shoulders.

Haku gave up; he could see there was no reasoning with her. He leant back against the side of the pool and glared at her, waiting for her to wriggle off his lap. A small smile crept over her blue lips and he realised she had no intention of leaving yet.

"Sorry, this is too good an opportunity to miss," she said sounding very unapologetic.

She slipped into the water, fully submerging. It took Haku a moment to guess what she was looking at.

Realisation dawned on him and his temper flared. She had no right to be looking! The sprite really was too much at times. If he was not technically related to her he would have banished her from the bathhouse by now. He put his hand into the water and grabbed her by a handful of white hair, yanking her out of the water. Linca was laughing hysterically.

"I should call you big brother from now on!" she giggled. "Chihiro is a lucky girl!" Haku swore at her.

"Get out of my head!" he snapped.

"I'm going," she chuckled. "I think I'm waking up."

"Good," he snarled.

She stopped laughing and looked serious for a moment.

"We are going to see the old man of Arron," she announced. "He'll tell us the prophecy Chihiro is cursed with and we will come after you then."

Haku did not want them to come; he wanted to keep them all out of harm's way. He was a god and yet he was helpless; what chance did they have? But he could not stop them. His little one had lied to him once already; he did not want her to have to lie to him again.

"My captor is called Kenshin," he said stiffly. Linca frowned.

"I've never heard of him," she whispered.

"You're too young," said Haku simply.

"I'm 472 years old!" Linca cried, clearly insulted. She shook herself free of his grasp and leered at him.

"I know something you don't know, big brother," she taunted in a husky voice.

"I don't care," he growled.

"You will," she laughed. "Your river went mad about it. Just wait till you connect with it again."

Haku sighed. He missed his river almost as much as his mate. Even if he was free, the connection between them had been severed. He would have to have physical contact with it to bond with it again.

Without his mate and his river for a prolonged period, he would truly go insane. Spirits had been known to kill themselves after such losses. But he had hope; he did not think his mate could help him, but he would get himself free. No one was infallible; Kenshin and Yubaba would make a mistake at some point and then he could rip their throats out. Smiling at that happy thought, he looked back to the sprite, only to realise she had gone.

"I never did find out what got the river so excited," he thought gloomily.

As annoying as Linca was, he had been glad to see her, though he would have preferred more time with his mate. If Linca remembered her dream on waking he hoped she was tactful enough not to mention her state of undress. His little one could get quite possessive at times. Not that he wasn't himself; the mating season had been proof of that.

The door rattled and he looked up.

The familiar figure of Kenshin walked through the door. The tall spirit smiled at Haku but as always the smile did not touch the granite-hard eyes.

"You are looking better," said the spirit's low voice. "Much more like yourself."

Haku ignored him, he was not about to thank his captor for better treatment.

"Vocal communication marks us as higher spirits, Kohaku," said the black-haired spirit with a smirk. "We do not merely communicate with our own kind, we can speak to all spirits, high and low, even humans if we so choose."

Haku narrowed his eyes at the spirit. "Air spirits talk too much," he said flatly. Kenshin laughed and shrugged.

"Perhaps we do," he said, still smiling. "But water spirits have a tendency towards cutting themselves off from the wider spirit world."

He crouched down and looked over Haku from head to toe. Haku repressed a shudder, the spirit was not just looking with his eyes.

"I believe that before your little human came along you were much more the silent type." Kenshin shook his head, his black hair glowed slightly blue in the morning light arcing down from the small window, but did not shine. "Amazing the change one insignificant human has instigated in you," he said incredulously.

"If she was insignificant I would not be held here!" Haku snarled, wrinkling his nose up and bearing his teeth.

"Peace, dragon," said Kenshin, his face serious. "I have no wish to undo any of the healing I have performed in order to teach you manners."

Haku knew he meant every word and reigned in his temper. The only hope of escape he had was if he was in full health so that he could take advantage of an opportunity that may come his way.

Kenshin nodded with approval, making Haku want to tear his throat out. The spirit stood but Haku remained seated.

"I did not come here to taunt you, Kohaku. I am not Yubaba; I take no joy in others' misfortune." He rolled his shoulders and sighed. The dark circles under the spirit's eyes and his demeanour of exhaustion was suddenly apparent to Haku. He wondered what could be draining the powerful spirit. The grey eyes regarded him coolly.

"I came here to ask if you wished to see how your Chihiro was getting along..."

The spirit left the statement hanging. Haku found himself nodding vigorously before he could stop himself. Kenshin smirked, knowing he had Haku's undivided attention.

He gestured to the wall and the gold-work mirror appeared again. The silver swirling surface cleared and focused on a blue sky. It zoomed in on a small grey bird. Haku's eyes widened. It was his mate; he would know her in any form. The dove was being followed by a snowy owl. Haku wondered if Linca really had been in his dream or if she had just been a figment of his tired, lonely mind.

"Interesting," murmured Kenshin thoughtfully. "Yubaba thought her flying cloak was safely locked away." He rubbed his chin with a long-fingered pale hand. "This smacks of divine intervention."

Haku felt a growl rumble up from his throat.

"Yes," said Kenshin sympathetically. "They are using her for their own ends." He smiled at the mirror. "Good," he muttered. "That means they fear me."

"The old ones fear no one," hissed Haku.

The grey eyes turned on him and flashed with annoyance.

"They fear me," said Kenshin coldly. "And with good reason."

Haku frowned, his mind seized on the flicker of emotion he saw in those normally dead eyes. Kenshin hated the old ones. He must be challenging them in some way, and using a vast amount of his own power to do it. The grey eyes turned icy once more and the ancient anger was frozen. Kenshin turned back to the mirror. The birds were flying over a vast fissure in the land. It was like a large scar in the otherwise green, forested plain. A primaeval battle had ended by one force opening the ground under the feet of the other.

The canyon ran for well over a thousand kilometres and was over five thousand metres deep and a thousand metres wide. The sun did not reach the bottom even when directly overhead, thus the canyon was filled with blackness. It was said that there were shadow spirit cities in the blackness, protected from the sun. The sun would not harm a shadow spirit, but they were nocturnal by nature. The sun robbed them of their excellent vision and could dehydrate them.

Kenshin smiled as he watched the two birds circle above the night filled chasm.

"So, she goes to learn her fate," he muttered. "Very clever, little dove, but what will you do when you know the truth?"

"What are you talking about?" snapped Haku, not likening the softness in the spirit's voice when he spoke to Chihiro's image.

"Fate," replied the spirit. "Be still, dragon; I know what she will hear, but this will be of great interest to you." He regarded Haku coolly and raised a black eyebrow. "You wish to learn the prophecy, do you not?" he asked haughtily.

Haku ground his teeth and nodded, though it made his blood boil to do so.

"Good," said Kenshin. "You are not as half-witted as I feared."

Haku's eyes widened. It was quite possibly the first time a spirit outside of his close acquaintance dared insult him. He reached for his power to teach the infuriating spirit a lesson, but found himself grasping at nothingness. He could not even feel his power anymore; it was securely sealed from him. He swallowed and stamped on his rage. This was no time for his ego to get in the way. He concentrated on the mirror and watched the birds fly to figures waiting for them at the side of the canyon.

One he recognised as Rin and the other was the ridiculously fluffy nygel. Mounted on the nygel's back was the red-headed human he had caught a glimpse of the last time Kenshin had let him see Chihiro. He frowned at the mirror; the figure was almost familiar. Suddenly understanding hit him. He had seen that human before. That human had been the one who had delivered Chihiro to him, before she had promised to be his. He had gifted the human with an emerald to repay him for his kindness. It was only later that he discovered that the odd human had feelings for Chihiro.

He snarled angrily at the mirror. What was she doing picking him as a travelling companion? She was his; she had no right to associate herself with one who may still desire her. Not that he could blame the human, but that did little to ease his jealousy.

"Temper, temper, dragon!" laughed Kenshin. "What has enraged you so?" Kenshin's grey eyes followed Haku's glare.

"Oh I see!" he chuckled. "She travels with another male."

Haku tried to control himself but the animalistic part of him won over. A growl ripped through him when the small dove landed on the tall man's hand. The blue-eyed man spoke to the bird and ran a finger over the ruffled feathers on her back.

Haku roared and jumped to his feet.

Kenshin sighed and snapped his fingers. Haku's legs suddenly refused to support him and he sank to the ground. He opened his mouth to protest but only a sigh came out.

"You will remain like that until you are calm," said Kenshin crisply. "You are not thinking clearly and you dishonour your mate by assuming the worst when you see her near another male." Kenshin gave him a scathing look. "It's a wonder she wants you back at all if you trust her so little."

Haku blinked. It was very strange to be reprimanded by his captor for such a thing. Nevertheless, the air spirit's words rang true. Chihiro was on her way to claim him back; even the most subtle of seductions would have little chance of success. He did trust her, what he did not trust was other males. She was so beautiful and endearing, how could they not want her? He was not so much jealous of the red-headed man, he was jealous of the time he was spending with his mate.

His little one's life was so brief that even a few weeks of separation tore at Haku's heart. He should be the one stroking those feathers right now; he should be the one talking to her. A wave of hatred swept over him for his captor. Kenshin was robbing him of time with his mate. For that alone Haku wanted to kill him. His eyes turned back to the mirror. Kenshin touched the glass surface and suddenly there was sound.

"Now," said the spirit softly. "Let's see what your mate's fate is."

Sorry it took me a while to get this out- in isolation because my children are sick so have my hands full. To make up for it- have a 5k word chapter. Stay safe and healthy people!