"You mind telling us --" began Danny.
Ghaleon raised his thin hand, and Danny stopped talking. "You are all injured. Replenish your energy. I will explain myself after you are mended."
The old cloaked men turned and walked away. His pace was that of an old king, or an aging lion familiar and content with his surroundings. Danny believed Ghaleon when he said that they were safe here.
'Here' was an old forest. The light was pale blue, and the trees seemed gray instead of brown. There were no sounds of birds or rodents -- just the sound of rustling leaves and branches sway from the breeze.
There was a wrought-iron table in a small meadow with food to feed the members of Vanguard. Grabbing a glass of some sort of wine, Danny made his way over a small river. Brianna was sitting down next to it. "What are you doing to your wing?"
A pile of broken feathers and blood was on the ground. "You have wings, Danny. Well, at least you do sometimes. These shafts are broken beyond repair. I can't fly until I pull the bad ones out so new ones can grow again." One wing-tip was plucked down to the pale flesh. "Really," she said, trying not wince. "It doesn't hurt that much."
Brianna told Danny about Grayavale's situation. "Well fuck. Too bad we didn't get to him sooner. This whole situation is messy. We've been running around like chickens without are heads -- uh, no offense, Bri."
"None -- ow -- taken." Brianna dipped her bloody, featherless wing-tip into the water. "This water's clear. And clean. This place is almost too good to be true." She looked worried. "He's got food and everything, you think it'd be too much to eat? My sugar levels have dropped to the bottom."
"Yeah, go ahead." Brianna left, and Adem sat down next to Danny. "Got any ideas, Adem? I think my brain's spent."
