"Incredible. Unbelievable." Sweep paces past my room early that morning, and I feel the old pang in my heart I should've outgrown by now. I peek outside like a shy pup and follow her down the hall, my fur a tangled mess and my eyes still glazed with sleep. She turns, her brown eyes softening as she sees me, and says, "Avery."

I pretend I'm not imagining that I heard a trace of affection in her voice. "H-hey."

Sweep turns away and paces down the hallway. Her tail swings downwards, all of her tail feathers extending to rest around the wispy curl at the end of her tail. She swings them left to right, irritated, and I can see ruffled feathers all up her wings and in the patches that dapple the brown part of her coat.

I walk after, feigning calmness. I've managed to keep her pace by speedwalking, which I don't think she's noticed, but my half-asleep paws most certainly have. "Are you alright?" I ask.

"The assassins- whoops, I mean 'support Defenders'- are in early." Sweep chirps, but the laugh is so forced that it's almost frightening. "Whoop-de-doo."

But it's only been a week. "You don't seem happy about it." Brilliantly, I ask, "Did... did negotiations with Marie go poorly?"

"I wasn't able to negotiate her out of certain... unfortunate choices." Sweep growls. "Would've been nice-" one copper eye, sharp as Quill's and with none of Quill's friendly countenance to temper it, stares me down, "-to have someone there, to back me up. But I digress."

"Sorry." I say, tucking my tail.

"Sorry Aidan and you had to go traipsing through the woods together instead of attending to your responsibilities. Sorry you keep taking these jobs you can't keep up with. Sorry you left me in a room with the most insufferable Canira on Dreamland and asked us to cooperate. Sorry what, Avery? Are you really sorry?"

"Yes," The words spear me like a knife. "And it was a personal health break."

"We're grown Canira at the top of Heilin's elites. We don't take personal health breaks."

"First of all yes, we absolutely do, because as a warrior you should know mental health is just as important to your magical ability as physical vigor is. Secondly, you've been on a personal health break for almost three years now."

Sweep tucks her wings. Her ears fall back, hiding her old black scars from view. "Oh, Avery..."

A white Canira approaches, although she's not demure or soft as Teresa, the nurse. She resembles the Moonwalkers, with short, gnarled fur and long legs. Her face is gaunt and a wide, cruel grin crosses it, rife with devilish intent. She's tall as Sweep, and despite her lack of wings, is even more imposing.

"Epanza. What a pleasant surprise." drawls Sweep.

Several orbs flash down the hallway and come to rest around Epanza's head, one pink, one orange, and one blue, wreathing her in color. If I didn't know that she was on our side, just the sight of them would scare the daylights out of me. She must be a Pandemonium Canira, known for their singular, terrifying ability to gather the souls of the recently dead and trap them there, stealing a third of the spirit away and preventing them from returning them to the earth.

"He's looking for you." taunts Epanza.

"He won't find me." Sweep retorts.

"Won't find who, now?" jokes another Canira, from further down the hall. He's a mix of coppery tones, some of them resembling the green of oxidized copper, with a few gold hues about his face. Unlike Epanza, he has the ear crystals of your average Evelscan, and his are huge, dappled all around the base of the ear to hold it in place. More striking are his huge, bronze goggles and the wings that spring from his back. They're entirely mechanical- I've never seen anything like it. He flexes them, showing off their sharp blades. "Ay, Sweep. No need to look so impressed."

Sweep, who has been leering at him, turns tail and walks back down the way she came.

"Sweep?" he yells after her.

"She's not coming back," I say.

"Damn." he says, unimpressed as he cranes his neck down the hall after her. "I haven't seen her since the Stonetooth's Hide mission. Think she still remembers all the cracks I made about my artificial wings being more efficient than her real ones? I was joking, swear to it."

"You were part of her Defender team?" I ask.

"Sure was." he says with the cocky grin of your average male Evelscan Defender.

"No wonder she's upset!" I yelp. "She never wanted to see any of you ever again!"

His grin falters slightly and his tail falls. "Ooooooh. If she's upset to see me now, imagine what she'll think when Athena tells her that she wants her back at the meeting today."

We don't have to worry about breaking the news to her at that day's meeting. It's not that the four-winged Canira wasn't invited, or even that she wasn't 'required' to come, it's simply that she failed to show up. I silently praise Verhamera a thousand times over for this subtle turn of fate, although I can't imagine a universe where Sweep came around.

Another notably missing figure is Heilin herself. Natrina sits in her place beneath the screen, leering towards Athena, who has been talking since I entered the room.

"I don't see why we're dealing with all these drop zone issues at all. We shouldn't have any portals on Evelsca or Ceilvyr at all. The Auspicia's blind reliance on destiny is what got her into this mess in the first place," Athena continues. "She can pull herself out of it."

The assembled Defenders and important personage watch with profound indifference. Marie and Plumeria sit beside each other, on the side facing away from Athena, along with a smattering of other 'important' Canii. They've all turned to view the tan Felis, but none of them look particularly invested. Ascella, the council Fauna from my last meeting, nods along vigorously.

"Did I miss anything?" I ask, settling down on Plumeria's left.

"It's a Heilin-free meeting. There is very little to miss." Plumeria murmurs into my ear. "Unless you like listening to Athena prattle on about her ex."

I manage to restrain myself from bursting out laughing. Athena catches me anyways, her eyes narrowed to slits. "I'm glad Heilin's toy is amused by the endangerment of almost a thousand score civilians on Evelsca alone."

Natrina raises her head to speak before I can. "Don't rope Avery into this. She's come here on her own merits."

"Sticking up for her newest victim?" taunts Athena.

"Please don't drag me into your romantic affairs either, Athena." Natrina responds coolly.

Athena's short snout scrunches up into an expression of equal alarm and confusion, her whiskers twitching. Several of the Evelscans erupt in a frenzied chorus of excitement and aggravation, and then they're all fighting amongst themselves.

"This is incredibly unprofessional and unnecessary." Plumeria slams both front paws on the table. "All of you need to calm down so we can discuss the drop zone issue."

"What about the other issue? You know, with Defender transfers..." Icarus trails off.

"We can't transfer Sweep anywhere if she never shows up." I say. "Maybe she should just stay?"

Marie adds, with a pointed look at Athena, "At least Heilin can choose a few punctual subjects to fawn over."

More arguments erupt around the table, with especially vigorous yelling from the Ceilvyran Defenders. I want to cover my head with my wings and disappear under it.

A mottled, earth-colored Ceilvyran Canira with thin, furless gold lines streaking her body announces, "We can continue with or without Sweep. Heaven's Arc will not be waiting for us."

The room falls quiet at that.

"H-heaven's Arc?" I ask, "Did I hear that right?"

Natrina dips her head, respectfully. "So they've come back."

"Correction. They never left." Athena says. "Heaven's Arc has been chased underground time and time again by Ceilvyran forces, but they've grown more and more desperate as the Veil has thickened. They believe that the Obsidians arrival is a death warrant and we've trapped them all on-world to go down with them."

The earthen Canira continues, "They've clustered around one of the portal zones, far up in the mountains. It is inhospitable terrain, and we'll need forces from all three continents to remove them. The Evelscans we've sent over should be able to assist, but we'll also need Opphemrian forces."

"No problem, Kintsugi. I'll speak with Heilin and we'll have an elite force ready by sunrise the day after next." Marie says.

"What about the Virtues?" I ask.
I get a few headshakes and a dubious expression from Athena. "Absolutely not." Plumeria finally says.

"Wasn't their last mission similar?" I ask timidly, already mentally sinking underneath the table.

"This won't be like that at all. You're not dealing with largely indifferent Canira just going about their business in the desert, you're dealing with commando fighters who would rather die than surrender. There's no way we'd risk the Virtues on such a mission when we have the Obsidians lurking on the horizon." Plumeria explains.

"We want to expose them to Dreamland, not kill them." Natrina finishes.

"Okay," I respond, hoping my voice isn't trembling as much as I think it is.

Kintsugi's golden eyes bore into mine, then flit across the table to Natrina and up to Athena. "Assuming Sweep will not be in attendance today, do we have any other matters of relevance to discuss?"

"No," sighs Natrina. "That should be all. Thank you, Athena, for your presence, as well as for bringing over these Defenders for training and assistance with castle defence. Heilin expresses her gratitude as well."

"You two made up, then?" Athena asks, slyly.

Her face flickers out of view. Natrina must've been holding up the mental connection that powered the screen. "You should get back to work." she tells us, getting to her paws, and she leaves the room with a harsh slam of the doors.

"What was that about?" asks Icarus, grinning.

"The Auspicia and Natrina have been estranged for a while now." Kintsugi admits. She stretches out, gold coursing like liquid through the exposed veins in her skin.

"But myth goes on and on about how close they were," I say. "They've fought wars together. Toppled empires on the exterior continents. Saved universes!"

"They've always been a little rocky with each other, at least since Aislyn died. After that... it was on and off. Can you imagine trying to be friends, let alone more than that, with someone whose identity changes so dramatically over the years?" Plumeria asks, shivering. "It would be like if you remembered all of your heartline. There's no way you could keep all your loved ones forever."

"You all are depressing." Icarus says. "Well, I have to train. Guys?"

"I should go with them." Ascella says, "Get them accustomed to the place."

I watch the cluster of Evelscans leave. It's a colorful parade of Sentients, all bearing the same crystal formations around their face, and I wonder if they're communicating beneath our noses. They move together like fish, despite their great physical difference, and I wonder how Sweep could have given all this closeness away.

Marie and Plumeria, left behind by the group, rise by my side. Marie's brown eyes stare at the Evelscans, a half-snarl across her face, while Plumeria is staring off in Natrina's direction. They both seem rattled, and Plumeria's tail is waving so slowly it looks like it exerts massive energy just to sweep it across the floor.

"Tired?" I ask.

"Immensely." Plumeria sighs.

"I'm fine." Marie grumbles.

"Sorry for wasting your time and being a complete idiot," I blurt, "Next time, I'll try to just- shut up. Should be easier for everyone."

Marie's gaze softens. "Hey. No one said you needed to have a good idea every time, did they?"

"It was kinda implied." I avert my eyes from hers.

"You showed up, you were enthusiastic enough, you don't look like you want to strangle everyone in the room like Athena and Natrina do. I consider that more than enough." Marie says, moving my snout upwards with her own. A swarm of furious butterflies race through my wings and stomach, and my tail fur is set on end. "You're doing much better than some others I could name. Some others I need to wrangle right about now." She steps away, her tail just a paw away from my flank, and I can almost feel it running across my side the way her eyes run over it.

"Y-yeah..." I stutter, my heart pulsing. "Wait! You don't mean Sweep, do you?"

Marie is close to the door, but she still looks back, a hard luster in her eyes. "Of course."

I plead, "Go easy on her. She's-"

Marie responds with a quick slam of the door to my face. My wings fall by my sides, and I press through and into the hallway even though Marie has taken off running faster than I can follow. It's grand as ever, but amongst the huge sloping arches I spy small but intricate versions of the first Auspicia, Aislyn, soaring alongside Natrina and her sister, Lotus, the first keeper of Hope. The three Canii are young, with discs of light behind their faces, and they almost shine even through the stone with youth and passion.

It is not far away, on another arch, where a weary Natrina searches the land for Asha, the second Auspicia, alone.

I follow their voyage down the hall a while, out of boredom, watching as the new Auspicias rise and set with the arches and Natrina, unchanging, waits for her at the top. Eventually, she ceases to wait, and Natrina disappears into the background while new, youthful Auspicias charge past her to go on new adventures, bright and luminous and young.

I feel a bitter loneliness that isn't mine in the pit of my stomach.

(A/N: this chapter was ready last night I just magically forgot to post it.)