It was a strange time to ride, but the last light in the village had dimmed a few hours ago, and all the curtains had been drawn. Now he was sure that he wouldn’t be seen and had chosen to disappear under the inky night sky. The figure was wearing a billowing black cloak, and a silver dagger was just visible tucked into his belt. His hands were covered by thick leather gloves.

The disgruntled neighing of a jet-black stallion trailed behind him. The horse didn't belong to him, and from its sheer size he could only guess that it belonged to one of the nobles. He didn't mind stealing from them. It was hardly like they needed the dozen horses in their stables. The man straddled onto the horse’s back. He didn't have enough time to gear up, so he was riding bareback.

He forced the horse into a slow trot, until he approached the point where the path narrowed and was covered with trees. He grasped some strands of the horse’s mane as he prepared to speed up.

Suddenly, a large raven swooped down to greet him, cawing loudly as it recognised him and settled on his shoulder. He kicked the horse into a gallop, and the deafening crunch of its horseshoes on the gravel broke the silence as he sped out of the town, invisible in the eerie darkness whilst everyone slept.

_ The next morning _

Lea woke to the sound of clamoring horns and hoofbeats. She ran to the front porch, not even bothering to put on shoes, to see what all the commotion was for. The sun was not yet up, but its earliest rays cast shadows on the village square.

A troop of mounted riders stood in the center of the square, knights with green and gold heraldry she had never seen before. Their horses were broader than the ones in town, and steel swords flashed at their belts. Traveling soldiers came through Stillsbury on occasion, but never like these ones. These men were clearly on a mission.

Young enough to be curious, but not young enough to be afraid, Lea walked right up to one of the knights. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

He flipped up his visor to look down at her, revealing the reddish beard and light blue eyes of an easterner. Once he saw her face, he laughed. "You're just a girl."

"My ma says I'm a fighter," Lea protested. "You're on a mission, aren't you? What is it? Did somebody kidnap a princess?"

Another knight, mounted on a golden stallion with hawk's wings worked into his armor, trotted up next to the easterner. This was clearly the man in charge. He looked down at Lea with a mixture of impress and amusement. "We're chasing after someone," he told her, voice deep like a bear's growl.

"I knew it!" she exclaimed. "Bandits? Outlaws?"

"A man known as Blackbird," said the head knight. "A thief who works by night, kin to the creatures of darkness. He passed through here last night around midnight, riding on a black horse. Have you seen any sign of him?"

Lea thought about it. "No, I was sound sleeping. But there's a farmer up the hill who's awake at all hours. Maybe he's seen 'im." She pointed toward a small path, where the bleats and squeals of animals were audible even at this early hour.

"Excellent." The head knight nodded his head, and without a word, the others surrounded him and prepared to head toward Farmer Cass's house.

"Wait!" Lea said. "Take me with you! I wanna go on an adventure!"

The head knight turned around just long enough to look her in the eye. "Not this one," he said, a dire sound to his voice.

She watched them disappear in a cloud of dust, then sighed, kicked a rock, and went back inside. There had been something strange in that glimpse she got of the knight's eyes. They weren't brown, like a normal man's, but the cold yellow of a predator who hunted and killed for sport.

A lone figure watched the sunrise painted village from above, his gaze followed the Hawk Knights,

He never liked them, they interrupted his business, and the business of innocents.

But… He’d had no success in locating Blackbird, and the Hawk Knight leader seemed to have a lead.

It wouldn’t be hard to draw his bow, and release his deadly arrows, or to throw his viscous daggers,

but, like before, not only would another band come quickly to replace it,

but now, they’re useful.

The figure turned its gaze towards the girl.

Why was she helping? What was her card to deal?

The Knights were almost out of sight, he sighed,

never time to think, and never a good time to act.

He jumped silently out of his tree, and followed.

If anyone saw him,they would have seen a lanky teenager, with a green hooded cloak, quivering on his back, daggers on his belt, bow in hand, and wings spread out behind him.

The young man moved from treetop to treetop, his cloak blending into the shadows and leaves. He glided between branches effortlessly, his weight barely disturbing the leaves under his feet. The Hawk Knights had not bothered with subtlety or stealth in their march, making their hoofprints on the trail easy to follow.

After only a short while, he caught up to them at a small farmstead by a crossroads. The knights had already dismounted their horses and dragged the poor farmer outside for questioning while the armored beasts rested. The youth in the trees watched closely as their leader walked up to the farmer, flanked by two of his men.

"What is this?" the bleary-eyed man asked as his chickens flocked around the knights' horses. "Welcome to my humble home, good sirs. How can I help you?"

"We're searching for someone," said the knight, and even from this distance the winged youth heard the intimidation in his voice. "A man known as Blackbird, last seen riding this way on a black horse. He has stolen something from us. Have you seen him?"

The farmer blinked. The chickens fled to their coop, recognizing the sign of a predator. Finally, he cleared his throat and spoke. "I think I know the man you're describing. He woke my hogs when he rode through here, they squealed something awful. I looked out the window and all I saw was a raven, flying down that road." He pointed to the wider of the two roads, stretching into the distant dawn and marked with the sign of an anchor. "Headed toward the port, some twenty miles away yet."

The sea. The young man's grip tightened on his bow. Of course he would want to escape by sea. Our power is weaker there.

The lead knight turned around and gestured to his men, who silently began to mount back up. "Thank you," he said to the farmer, though even those two simple words carried a commanding presence. Then, to the Hawk Knights, "We ride for the docks. Perhaps we can catch the scoundrel yet." The other men answered in unison with a grunt and a salute. Then they spurred their horses on and rode into the golden light of morning.

The boy had seen everything he needed to see, for now. He sheathed his bow and slipped silently back into the forest, gliding to the ground with only a soft noise as he landed on the leaves. The knights would take the better part of the day to reach the port, but he could move much faster than that. For once, he was in no hurry.

He tossed a dagger mindlessly. It stuck in the middle of a tree knot, a few dozen feet away. A small smile crossed his face. His aim hadn't gotten rusty yet.

"Good morning, mister!" A voice came from the trail. It was that girl, the one from the village.

The young man was more surprised than anything else, which might have explained why his hand went first to his daggers. He relaxed as he thought more, realizing that this child posed no threat. "Why are you here?" he asked. "How did you find me?"

She smiled sheepishly. "I followed the knights. They told me not to, but I did." A glow of wonder lit up her face as she noticed the wings folded beneath his cloak, and she bounded closer, completely unafraid. "Are you a fairy?"

If nothing else, the young man was impressed with her courage. "No," he answered, slipping the dagger back into his belt with a smile. "I'm a skykin. They call me a Peregrine."

"I'm Lea!" said the girl. "What's a perragin?"

"A Peregrine," he said. "A lone wanderer." Seeing the blank look on her face, he sighed. "But you can call me Averet." The sound of his own name felt strange on his tongue after so many days of silence. He wasn't required to live alone in the wilderness, staying hidden from the people of the earth, but it had certainly been easier.

"Averet," she repeated. "Are you looking for Blackbird too?"

"I am," he answered. "He's human, but he managed to steal something from my people. Something he was supposed to be protecting. If I find it, I will be able to return home." He thought of his home, the city of the skykin. To be a Peregrine was to be alone, searching the world for a quest worthy of his peoples' recognition. After he caught Blackbird, he could go back to Zephyr's Landing with pride.

"Is that knight like you?" Lea was practically bouncing up and down now, shivering with excitement. "The one with the yellow hawk eyes?"

He hoped she didn't see him flinch at the question. "We are nothing alike," he promised. "For one thing, I still have my wings."

She nodded eagerly. "Can I touch them?" she asked.

He shrugged and extended a wing. She brushed her fingers across the tip of the feathers and squealed. "It's so soft!"

The young man laughed. "And yet incredibly strong. Did you know that feathers are made of thousands of tiny hooks, even tougher than ox horns?"

"So where are you going next?" she asked conspiratorially. "Did you find that nasty old thief yet?"

He chuckled. "Not so fast. Lea, how old are you?"

"Nine years next autumn!"

"This is a secret mission, so I can't tell you where I'm going. But I can leave you with this. The world has so many mysteries that you humans don't know anything about. If you ever need to call me, look for the tallest pine tree you can find and whisper my name to the roots. Trees carry so many secrets in their roots. But only do that if you really need it. I'm a very busy skykin."

Lea nodded. "Of course, sir! I wish you luck!"

Averet took off running and launched himself into the air, cloak billowing out behind him. Heading east, toward the only lead he had so far.