"Can these chickens swim?"

It was a question that Freya had never thought she would need answered. She didn't rightly know either way.

"Maybe? I'll ask."

River was pacing around the party's area. They were still deciding on a course of action. River knew that she needed to intervene, but the extent of her intervention needed to be as small as possible.

"I could also open a gate to the burrows, and move us over," she said.

Sela was making a large map out of dirt. He had been filling in the details. On the one side of a small indented river, sat Marwei. On the other side of the River past five great bridges, was their target. Sela tried to show the front lines as best he could, but he was only able to show encampments on the north side of the Furrows where he suspected the coalition lines would be.

War Chief Alexa’s band roved to the north. He didn't have an exact location, but combined with some talks that Crenshaw had with a passing scout, he was able to get a good idea of how far the Aviary’s oversight went.

It wasn’t far. The bulk of the aviary was dispersed along the eastern coast of the Denoue river. They patrolled the western side often, acting as spotters and forward observers for the moles and blue jays.

The moles, the only sane element of the coalition in Freya's mind, spend their time working on large siege machinery. They’d moved several trebuchets across the river and positioned them close to the front lines.

Those Sela had seen. Mostly because they stuck out. Crenshaw had said that they were used to break walls and attract attention.

That's where the chickens came in.

If Freya and River wanted to travel incognito they needed to cross the bridge. Not just cross it, but pass unnoticed.

In the dark, if the chickens could swim they'd be carried easily.

"We can still fly," Freya said.

"It's very noticeable. Even if we just fly low. The coalition always has spotters, especially with the recent owl incursion."

Stolen novel; please report.

"Those owls are mean and they're around," Sela said, "the cats thus far have not attempted to swim. It's a blessing at least, from Nithe himself. That doesn't mean that they won't try to use a boat, or build some rafts."

The Denoue was known to be unforgiving in winter.

"When Alexa’s forces pushed the coalition back to the River, they stuck at the Furrows, folding into a defensive structure," Crenshaw said, pointing to the larger battle scene,"it's a classic yellowrock move, as old as the coalition itself. They’re well supplied now, but with all of the land that she’s taken, our old trading partners west of the Furrows will want many concessions from the Marquisate. They’ll welcome us as heroes, if we can fix this.”

“If,” River said.

“If,” the retired mouse echoed.

“There’s a lot of if there,” Freya intoned.

"If you were to become a druid, there would be less of that," River deadpanned.

Freya smushed her beak together in an attempt to look adorable. It did not go as planned.

The party looked around for anyone listening in. Satisfied that no one was watching, Sela mimed rocks moving across the terrain model. He showed one route, then another and then a third. Freya noted when he paused to use hand signals to note something.

Behind them Crenshaw chatted amiably about the food with Stone as planned. Freya heard the words but didn't listen. They were talking about Ka-pi, and how they missed it.

It was a misdirection.

Sela was the show. They watched five different routes into the area followed by ten routes back as he slowly showed the areas that the participants would go through.

Freya knew that memorizing this sequence could save her life.

She was also confident that she could fly back if needed and it would be a long distance. She would be tired but she could make it to the supply base if it was as close as they thought it was.

"And that is why we need to go into business to start our own farm. Woda had the right idea all along," Stone said.

"He always has the right idea."

Freya's ears perked up. Sela had stopped and she wasn't sure if he was about to show something else before he stomped through the model. It looked more like a former terrain model now. He quickly removed some of the strings and his ranger pin before taking a spot against a chicken.

Not one minute after he finished, Muk returned to the area.

"Second platoon is still out. I'm going to send a train back for resupply and one forward to the main effort at Marwei."

The eerie silence that greeted Muk played havoc on Freya's nerves. She wanted to say something but she wasn't supposed to know him, and as an officer she wasn't really supposed to address him directly in her role. She let out a breath she had been holding for a long time.

"I suspect that you'll want to travel with one of them. I wanted you to know that I have scouts traveling with both groups and I requested a sparra overwatch on both. I'm not going to tell you what to do with your lives, but don't be stupid, cousin."

"Naturally. I worked in intelligence, not dumbfoundedness," the elder mouse said, his wry smile appearing for the first time that day.

"Do as you will. I would still like your counsel this evening. The supply trains both leave in the dark so you'll need to coordinate beforehand."