Naesala prided himself on his speed, both of body and mind. He was King of the Ravens, the fastest laguz tribe known to Tellius, and of them he was the fastest. Here though, in a tower meant to be treaded only by Gods, speed just wasn't enough. Where once he could be across a valley by the time an archer had taken aim at him, now he barely managed to dive out of the way of deadly bolts in time.

Ridding himself of the archer before he could let fly another arrow, the dark King surveyed the battlefield. Though ruthless, Naesala was a tactical genius, leading his broken country to victory after victory, even if it was merely stealing from merchant ships. As such, he knew exactly what units could be ignored and left on their own to fight, and which ones needed to be protected.

The little halfblood dragon mage that followed Ike around day and night was to be protected at all costs, an unspoken agreement among the laguz. The beasts and raptors could see it just as plainly as the herons and dragons, their tactician and commander were in love. Lose Soren, and they could lose Ike. Without Ike, they would fall. The little girl with the presence of a heron was also to be watched, even if she could handle herself, she was Ike's sister and the stone that held the mercenaries together.

The little empress was being protected by her kin, the silver maiden that spoke with the voice of a Goddess. Even if they didn't see their relation, the laguz could smell it. The two were a unstoppable force together, much like the green-haired rogue and his red-haired mage companion. They hardly needed protection, but Tibarn circled near them just in case. Ike needed no protection, and even if he did, the magical curtain prevented them from assisting in his duel with the Black Knight.

The most important person to Naesala, though, was none of these. Compared to Reyson they were all afterthoughts, vague noises in the background. Even as the tactician ordered him to move forward, he hesitated, looking back at the white figure trying his best to be helpful and stay out of the way. He was singing a Galdr for Sanaki, dangerously close to the massive axe wielders the two were fighting. She struck one down, the other falling to the light magic of Micaiah.

He flew closer to his charge despite Soren's shouts otherwise. He'd deal with the reprimands later, he just had to make sure the heron prince was safe. Movement nearby caught his eye, and with a start he recognized a marksman taking aim at the angelic figure. Reyson saw a few seconds too late to avoid it, braced for the deadly impact, then opened his eyes in shock when he heard a scream that was not his own.

The Raven King shrieked as he fell, the sound turning into a sickening gurgle as his lung filled with blood, the arrow having gone clean through his chest. He lost his form just before meeting the ground, a dark stain spreading over his black tunic. Coughing wetly, he pushed off the ground enough to kneel, hand over the wound. He looked back, relieved to find that Reyson was unharmed, though his face held a fair measure of shock and pain. Shock gave way to rage as he transformed, the raven's ears picking up the sound of a bowstring drawing back.

He panicked, mentally begging the heron to fly away to safety, but instead he went directly towards the archer. A pristine silver bill pierced the man's throat with enough force that Reyson had to shake his head violently to remove the offending body from it. Dark blood marred the heron's once pure feathers, dripping down his chest and neck, splattered onto his wings. It was an image from Naesala's nightmares, except this time the vital fluid was not the prince's own.

Sound began to fade away, eclipsed by the sound of blood rushing in his ears. As the edges of his vision darkened he saw a sweep of green wings around him. His first thought was that Tibarn had come to finish the job, but the feeling of healing magic filling his leaden body told him otherwise. He didn't want to be saved, but the world went dark before he could form a protest.

---------

Naesala woke to the feeling of flying, not entirely unfamiliar, but definitely not something he was used to doing when coming right out of a deep sleep. Prying his eyes open, the first thing he saw was green feathers. The body beneath him moved jarringly, but the raven's arms had been wrapped around the great hawk's neck and tied together to keep him astride.

He started when he came out of the haze of wakening enough to realize he was on the back of the King of Hawks. Yellow-clad fighters of the Order were being summarily torn by his large talons below them, his huge body unhampered by the burden it carried. Naesala was tempted to try and undo the rolled fabric that held him on Tibarn's back, but knew he lacked the strength to transform, or even fly. It was a shock that he was alive to begin with.

Out of habit he surveys the field for Reyson, eyes landing on the heron, back in human form. There was still blood on his wings and down his robes, the intense wrongness of the sight struck the raven full force. Reyson had killed. He didn't think he had heard in all the history of the herons of one that had taken the life of another creature. The prince had sullied himself, most likely in some misguided attempt to rescue someone who didn't even want to be saved. Just another thing the Raven King would have to repent for. After all he'd done, he doubted he'd ever be forgiven, especially not by the prince.

Unable to do anything else for the time being, he closed his eyes, drew his wings as close to his body as possible to avoid creating any more drag for the raptor below him, and wondered why Tibarn hadn't merely left him lying on the floor.

-------

The battle ended in a flash, the barrier between them and Ike disappearing once he finally felled the fabled knight. The hawk landed on the ground gentle and used his beak to clip the ties around his neck, freeing Naesala. The larger laguz shifted just in time to prevent a suddenly lightheaded raven from falling flat on his face. He wasn't sure what to make of anything, from Reyson becoming a killer to Tibarn being willing to carry the dark haired man on his back where once he wouldn't even come near.

The heron landed next to them and removed the makeshift rope hanging on pale wrists, which he finally recognized as being a long strip torn from Sanaki's cloak. He looked back up at the blond laguz, who was smiling. Naesala couldn't honestly remember the last time Reyson had smiled anywhere in his general direction, not after what he'd done.

He glanced at Tibarn, who looked down at him silently without malice, a hand at his back to steady him. The raven understood, they didn't need to say it out loud. He'd proven his loyalty to the herons by risking his life to protect Reyson, and by extension earned the trust of the King of Hawks. After all he'd done, all the wrongs he'd committed, he'd been forgiven by the ones who mattered most.

His heart swelled at the thought, his will to survive the oncoming battles and save Tellius growing, because now he knew he would have a place in the new world they would emerge into.