"He's strange." Oreo said suddenly.

Suda's ears flicked, then her gaze slowly lifted from the fire she was tending. "Eli?" she replied, then added after a beat, "You don't even know if it's a he."

Oreo shrugged, his tail swaying in a lazy arc. "He may not look like us, but he sings like a 'he'. That's good enough for me."

Suda hummed low in her throat as she considered. "He sounds good to you, then? You like him?" she replied, choosing to go along with the assumption despite her reservations.

This time it was Oreo's turn to pause. He eyed Suda from his perch, the odd tool found in Eli's clothes momentarily forgotten in his grasp as he searched for the right words. "I think so," he said, his usual playful energy replaced by pensive stillness. "He's not scary, but his song's not quite right."

"Like a fledgling who never learned to sing from his pack?" Suda offered.

"Yeah, like a —", he began, then paused as the implication caught up with him. "Like a lost fledgling who never found a pack," he finished, voice growing quiet as he looked at the unfamiliar object in his hand, tail now motionless at his side. "Except he's not one of ours."

Suda wiggled her upper ears, a half-smile flickering across her face as she watched Oreo wrestle with the thought. "It's not so bad," she said with a light tune. "He's just... different. And the song doesn't need to be perfect to be enjoyed." She flicked another coal onto the fire, watching the flames dance higher.

Oreo squinted into the growing firelight, watching it as if the flickering shadows might help him understand. "It's not a bad song," he said slowly, frustration creeping into his voice. "It's just..." He faltered, struggling for the right words. "I don't know. It's strange."

She tilted her head as she raked the hot coals with a crude iron. "Sometimes, songs can take time to find their rhythm. I'd like to see where his ends up."

Oreo's ears perked as a spark of curiosity kindled in his eyes. "Yeah, maybe," he said, then brightened a little. "You think maybe we could teach him a few notes?" He asked eagerly, tail beginning to cut through the air again, the hesitation from earlier melting away. "Like, really teach him? Show him how we sing?"

Suda chuckled and shook her head gently. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. He might not even be able to." Her calm voice was steady, but there was a flicker of amusement in her eyes. "If he's not one of us, he might not have the same voice, the same... instruments."

"Yeah, but that's the fun part!" Oreo bounced in place, tail swinging back and forth. "What if he's got a song no one's ever heard before?" He grinned, imagining some wild tune, a sound that was all strange and new, like a burst of color in the snow. "Maybe we could be the first ones to hear it!"

She raised a solitary ear, considering. "Maybe," she replied as she stirred the fire, further coaxing the flames to return warmth and light to the yurt.

A moment of silence stretched between them, thick and expectant, until a familiar tune drifted through the air from the far distance. Their ears swiveled to it before their minds caught up, and both of them turned instinctively towards the sound. It was faint, distant… but unmistakably a travel-song.

"They're back!" exclaimed Oreo.

"And early..." added Suda, voice laced with the melody of uncertainty.

Oreo's tail practically vibrated, and his feet tapped restlessly, as though his body couldn't decide whether to stay or spring into action. Soon enough, his curiosity overtook him and he darted outside before Suda could reply. She fluffed and settled her feathers with a resigned huff of mixed exasperation and fondness. Bracing herself, stood and followed suit.

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As the two stepped outside, they immediately saw something they didn't recognize approaching. They saw movement in the distance — erratic and strange, unlike the steady rhythm they expected of their returning hunters.

"What is that?" Oreo's voice wavered, tail lashing with unease.

Suda's upper ears swiveled, her gaze sharpening as she squinted against the glaring expanse of white. "I don't think it's Tia or Folly," she murmured, her voice taut with caution.

"But... it sounds like them?" he protested in response.

The two braced themselves as the unnatural movement resolved into two figures — one familiar and one decidedly not. Eli stumbled toward them, burdened by an enormous carcass draped across his shoulders. Shortly after, they saw Tia hobbling along behind him, the fiber bags in her grip bulging with meat. Folly brought up the rear, leaning heavily on his spear as he followed with a labored, uneven gait.

"Storms!" Suda gasped. "He's carrying a leatherback."

Oreo's ears snapped upright as he gasped. "That's Eli?" he exclaimed, his voice high with disbelief. "Is he crazy? Or... just that strong?" His awe quickly turned to alarm as his eyes darted to the back of the procession. "Folly's hurt!" he shouted, his tone urgent. Before Suda could urge patience, he was already sprinting forward, leaping into a glide, his wings straining as he raced to reach them.

Suda watched, irritated anew as Oreo rushed ahead, but she knew the situation was too urgent for hesitation. She clenched her jaw as her own claws propelled her off the snow and into a swift glide towards her friends in the distance. She shot through the air, keeping her focus on the distant figures, watching as Oreo reached them first and quickly began to check on Folly with frantic gestures.

As her claws hit the ground once again and the scene came into view — Eli standing beneath the leatherback carcass dwarfing his frame, Tia's labored but even breaths, and Folly's pained but enthusiastic retelling of the ordeal — she found her irritation evaporate. She slowed her pace, glancing briefly at Folly and Tia; they seemed worn and tired, but neither looked to be in any immediate danger. Relief filled her chest as she realized Oreo's alarm had been premature. With her concerns eased, she let her awe at Eli's feat overtake her attention.

She watched as he stumbled to a halt a few paces away. His breaths came in labored huffs, but he seemed none the worse for wear despite his exertion. Blood stained the makeshift wrappings she'd put on his arms, and his face was slick with sweat, but there was an unmistakable quiet pride in the way he stood with that massive beast upon his shoulders.

He said something in his choppy, halting language. One of those oddly flexible fingers of his pointed to the beast, and then back to Folly.

Suda stepped forward, her ears splayed to the sides in awe. A soft, melodic hum escaped her throat, an instinctive expression of wonder. She reached up, her clawtips grazing the carcass as though to confirm its reality. "You carried this... for us?" she asked, her voice low, almost reverent. Awe gradually gave way to a mix of relief and curiosity as she examined the leatherback's massive form. Her claws traced the jagged wound where the spear had struck deep, the torn edges raw and uneven. The mark spoke volumes — of a stormy hunt, of struggle, and triumph.

"Folly..." she murmured, her voice low and edged with concern. Her gaze flicked to the injured raptor, who was recounting the hunt to Oreo with exaggerated gestures and bursts of animated chirps. He winced between sentences, but his enthusiasm barely faltered, determined to downplay his injuries in favor of celebration.

A soft cough from Eli drew her attention back to him. He pointed again to Folly, his eyebrows knit with concern. The question was clear even without words: "Is he all right?" She stepped closer to Eli as she studied Folly more closely. Her packmate's feathers were ruffled and streaked with blood, his movements stiff, clearly injured. Still, he seemed alert, his bright eyes sharp despite the pain in his gait.

"He survives," she said, loud enough for both Eli and Folly to hear, "But reckless." Her tone was chiding but softened with affection, her speech deliberately simplified so Eli could hopefully glean some meaning from her words. Folly paused mid-sentence to glance at her and let out an indignant trill in protest, but the faint puff of his chest betrayed his pride in the accomplishment.

Eli watched her with an expression she recognized as confusion — his head tilted slightly, brow furrowed. After a moment, he blinked and gave a small nod. Whether he understood her words or simply guessed their meaning, she couldn't be sure, but he seemed satisfied.

A strange thought struck her as they walked. The first thing Eli had thought to ask about wasn't his own burden, nor his place in the warmth of the yurt. Instead, his concern had been for Folly's safety. The weight of the leatherback draped over his shoulders, the blood seeping along his back, and the cold biting at his sweat-soaked body had all been secondary to the injured packmate trailing behind him. For all his strangeness, Eli carried himself as one of their own.

Her rumination was interrupted as Tia padded over and began to fill her in, her words quiet and measured despite her bouncing step which betrayed her own excitement. Oreo, of course, darted ahead, pouncing and jumping across the icy ground in leaps and glides, tail streaming behind him like a banner. Folly lagged slightly behind, his movements still stiff but steady, kept upright by his pride despite the strain. Eli remained in the center of their loose formation, burdened by the beast across his shoulders but maintaining an air of stoic determination.

Suda's voice carried a thoughtful hum, her words weaving questions and conclusions together as she replied to Tia. "You say he just... rushed in?" she asked, ears twitching back momentarily as though bracing against the improbability of it.

Tia chirped and nodded, her sharp gaze fixed on Eli. "He moved before I could stop him," she said with a small tune of admiration. "For someone who doesn't fly, he's fast. And reckless."

"But," Suda mused, "everyone ended up fine..."

"Mostly..." grumbled Folly, still nursing his aching chest as he walked.

Suda ruffled her feathers and shot him a sly look. "I was right, though, wasn't I?" she teased.

Folly gave an exaggerated huff, and stuck his tongue out at her before flattening his ears and muttering, "Yeah yeah, I admit it. Flatface over here was helpful..." His tone carried begrudging acceptance, but the faintest hint of a smirk betrayed his own satisfaction.

A beat of silence passed before Tia raised her voice. "He has a name, you know." she said indignantly, "How'd you like it if I called you featherface all the time?"

Another heartbeat passed between them, and then Folly broke out into a light, airy chortle.

"What!? What's so funny?" she demanded, upper ears pressed low against her head.

"Nothin', nothin'!" said Folly, though his laughter betrayed him. "It's just... you must really like him, is all, the way you cozied right up to him last night."

Tia's tail lashed behind her, a sharp flick that only fueled his amusement. "He was warm, that's all!" she snapped, lifting her chin defiantly. Her gaze drifted toward Eli, and to her dismay, she found him watching her with a calm, almost amused smile. The corners of his mouth turned up just enough to embarrass her, and she felt a warm shiver rise beneath her feathers.

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She jerked her gaze away, only to see Folly grinning wider, his amusement now shared by Suda, who was failing miserably to stifle a laugh. Feeling cornered, Tia buried her face in her wings with a groan. "Don't gang up on me, okay? It was just warm!" she mumbled, her voice muffled but tinged with exasperation.

Folly snickered. "Sure, just warm," he teased, earning a sharp swat of Tia's tail as she refused to meet anyone's gaze.

Several more moments passed as Tia fumed at Folly's teasing. Just as they reached the yurt, however, Suda stepped ahead and turned to the group with a chirp that caught everyone's attention. Folly and Tia cocked their heads at her, while Oreo stilled his excited steps to listen.

"We'll have to travel to the village." she declared with swaying ears.

A moment of silence passed like the breeze, and then the others erupted into a din as they clamored to reply. Before the noise could crescendo, a sudden grunt from Eli stopped them cold. The group's focus snapped to him, eyes wide with concern as he dropped to one knee.

"Eli?" Tia padded closer, her voice soft with worry. Eli offered a tired smile, but it was the kind of smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, and they didn't need to share much body language to understand the weight of exhaustion in his posture.

Oreo piped up with a frown. "He might be super-strong, but... that's still a leatherback, right? Didn't he carry that here all on his own?"

Understanding swept through the entire group like a billowing storm.

"Feathers and frost, he must be exhausted!" exclaimed Suda as she cursed her own obliviousness. "Come on, help him set it down!"

With a collective effort, the pack hurried to help Eli ease the massive carcass off his shoulders, setting it against the yurt's side. They covered it with a leather tarp to protect it from the elements before moving swiftly inside to tend to their injured companions. Talk of future plans could wait — their immediate concern was for their own.

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Soon enough everyone had settled into the bed of furs to recuperate. The soft glow of the brazier flickered, casting shifting shadows against the yurt's walls as the group huddled together, voices rising and falling in animated discussion over their unexpected windfall.

"We've got so much of it!" chittered Oreo excitedly. "The bones alone should fetch eight, maybe even nine chits!"

"Clear ones? You must be joking." retorted Folly. He winced as he continued rubbing a medicinal salve under his chest-down, then continued. "We got the spine too, remember? That's worth at least twelve alone."

Oreo let out a warbling whistle. "Twelve? You really think so?"

Suda turned her attention away from the conversation, watching the two banter back and forth, their voices growing more animated with each passing second as they debated the potential worth of the leatherback's leftovers. Her focus was drawn back to Eli, who had settled near the fire, the warm light casting soft highlights against his features. She studied him closely, noting the stiffness in his movements, the slight hesitation in his breath each time he raised the cup to his lips. He looked better, but still, something felt off. He had regained his color after the rest and tea, but the subtle signs of lingering strain hadn't escaped her.

The irregularity didn't seem to be lost on Tia, whose concerned looks remained barely hidden behind her participation in the conversation. Suda's feathers ruffled with quiet frustration. There was too much to manage right now, too many things demanding her attention. She focused her thoughts, pulling them back to the discussion just as the conversation shifted once again.

"...could make it into a good knife!" said Folly, his voice eager for what seemed like more than just a simple sale.

"Don't you already have a knife?" responded Tia.

"W-Yeah, but the tusks make great knives!" he shot back, ears moving along with his thoughts, then added hastily, "...and it'd be a waste not to use it!" His feathers bristled ever so slightly under Tia's gaze. "It's... practical. Useful."

She tilted her head, a slow, knowing trill escaping her throat. "Hmm. Practical? But your knife is already sharp, isn't it? Perfect balance. Reliable. Why would you need another one?"

Folly's ears flattened, his tail giving a nervous flick. "You don't get it," he muttered, evasive. "Leatherback tusks are... different. They're special. It's... for special tasks." he finished, his gaze drifting subconsciously to Eli.

"Special tasks, hmm?" Tia's tone turned light, lilting. She followed his gaze, her feathers fluffing with amusement as she confirmed her suspicion. She let out a soft, melodic hum, her head tilting ever so slightly. "Ah, I see," she chirped.

A brief silence settled over the group, and Suda took the opportunity to seize the discussion once again.

"So," she trilled, her tone light but firm. "Village."

"Yeah, the village!" chimed Folly, evidently eager to follow the change in subject. "We're gonna need to pack the yurt, right?"

Suda nodded. "It'll take us four or five weeks to get there. We'll have to sleep with the wind as we travel, but the season's dry, so we should be alright."

The group murmured in assent before Tia spoke up. "Won't Eli be cold?"

Suda opened her mouth to respond, but Oreo barreled into the conversation. "He must be," he exclaimed, eyes wide with his usual enthusiasm. "He's got no down! He needed the extra wraps just to go out with you and Folly, right?"

Folly opened his mouth to interject, but Suda was quicker, her claws clicking sharply against each other to focus the attention in the room.

"I think..." she said slowly, turning to Eli as she sized him up, "... that we should use the hide to make him a coat."

Tia regarded the suggestion with a twitch of her lower ears. "That's ambitious," she murmured.

Almost as if to balance Tia's reserved response, Oreo puffed his feathers out excitedly. "It's practical! He'll freeze without one!" he said with an animated gesture towards Eli, mimicking the act of pulling a coat around himself. "See? Coat! For you!"

Eli blinked, clearly puzzled but attentive. He tilted his head at Oreo's pantomime, then hesitantly mimicked the motion, pulling his own imaginary coat around his shoulders. Oreo let out a triumphant chirp, bounding in place. "See? He gets it!" he exclaimed, flashing Suda an excited grin.

She suppressed a laugh as she glanced between Oreo and Eli. Folly interjected, the usual surety of his voice tinted with the tune of uncertainty. "Are you sure? That's the biggest intact hide we've ever gotten."

"That Eli got." Suda corrected. "You and Tia couldn't have hauled it back on your own wings."

Tia gave a quiet nod in agreement as Folly tilted his head, a small frown pulling at his lips.

"We could have tried," he began, only to be cut off by Oreo's barely restrained excitement.

Sky-blue feathers flaring, he jumped upright to claw at the ground and bounce side to side excitedly "It's gonna be so much fun to make!" he chirped, "Oh, maybe we can do that layers-thing we saw last time we were in town! Or, or, decorate it with threads!"

Folly paused while Oreo clamored, then grumbled through his teeth. "Alright, fine," he conceded, his voice warm despite the reluctant words. "But if you're so eager, you can be the one to tan it."

Oreo froze mid-bounce, ears flicking back with a wince. "Tanning?" he echoed, his enthusiasm dimming. "Like… with the smell? And all the scraping?"

Suda chuckled, the sound low and melodic. "Yes, with the smell and all the scraping," she said, her tone sweet despite the labor her words implied. "Practical, remember?"

"Practical," Oreo repeated weakly, his tail drooping as his feathers flattened against his body. He glanced at Eli, then back to Suda with a sigh of resignation. "Fine, but I'm only doing the stretching. Someone else can deal with the stink."

"Fair," Suda trilled, her gaze flicking to Folly, who stiffened under her unspoken implication.

His ears twitched irritably. "Why do I have to do it?" he grumbled, scowling. "I brought it back too, you know."

"Because you're the one who wants to make tusk-knives," Suda replied smoothly, her tone laced with sly amusement. "Think of it as an investment."

Folly's tail flicked sharply, but he couldn't argue against her logic. He let out a resigned huff and folded his arms, muttering something unintelligible under his breath as he shot Eli a sidelong glance.

Tia, who had been quietly observing the exchange, let out a soft chirp of laughter. "We'll all smell like it soon enough," she said, her voice light with humor. "But if it means Eli doesn't freeze, I think it's worth it."

At the mention of his name, Eli looked up from his tea, his expression puzzled as the others turned to him. He tilted his head and frowned slightly as he tried to piece together what he was missing.

"I'm not sure he really gets it..." said Folly dryly, though his feathers had begun to settle.

"Doesn't matter," Suda said, her voice firm but kind. "We'll need him to stay warm if he's going to survive out there, especially if the winds pick up again. It's settled — we'll make the coat." She glanced at Eli once more, her gaze softening as she trilled gently, hopefully reassuring the tall, strange new friend.

"Hope he likes the smell of leather," Oreo muttered, though his complaint lacked any real bite. He fluffed his feathers once more and straightened up. "Well, let's get started. The sooner we do, the sooner I get to stop smelling like death."

The group dissolved into quiet murmurs of agreement as they began to organize themselves, each bustling to assemble the materials they'd need to process the massive beast's carcass. Eli moved to stand, seemingly eager to help, but Suda tugged him back to the ground with a gentle but firm grip.

"No," she said, "Stay. Rest." To her surprise, she saw a hint of recognition in his eyes, and he nodded.

"Pùuh. Stay." he replied, imitating her own instruction, and pointed at the ground beneath him.

Suda blinked at him, spellbound. Had he understood her? Her heart gave a fluttering beat as she considered his reply. That couldn't have been imitation — he wasn't merely copying, he was learning! She leaned in, voice soft but deliberate, and nodded. With an excited smile, she repeated her earlier instruction, slowly and with precise articulation. "Stay. Rest."

Eli's brow furrowed. His lips parted, forming each sound with care. The words were clumsy, the vowels slightly flattened, but they were unmistakable. His pronunciation wobbled on the unfamiliar syllables like a nestling learning to walk, but there was intent behind every utterance.

Suda's eyes brightened with the gleam of comprehension. "Pùuh," she corrected gently, tapping the ground with her talons for emphasis. She pointed to Eli, her hand sweeping in a small, deliberate circle as she tried to reiterate her meaning.

Before the exchange could unfold further, another chirp cut through the quiet air, sharp and insistent. Folly strode over with a look equally inquisitive and impatient, carrying a bundle of tools. His gaze flicked between Suda and Eli as he asked, "You gonna help?" Suda nodded, offering Eli one last, firm, "Rest!" before following her packmate out of the yurt to get to work processing the beast's waiting carcass.

The air in the yurt settled around Eli as the brazier crackled, its warmth curling into the corners of the room, gently coaxing him into a sense of safety. He sat there, left in the stillness, surrounded only by the distant movements of the pack—the rustle of wings, the scrape of tools against leather, the shuffling of feet across the floor. Time seemed to stretch, each sound blurring into the next until it became a soft, steady rhythm.

His eyelids fluttered, heavy with the weight of exhaustion. The warmth of the fire, the steady hum of life outside, the familiar sounds of his pack moving purposefully—all of it wove together into a lullaby that pulled at him, deeper and deeper. He let his body surrender to the pull of sleep, sinking into the softness of the bed of furs beneath him. Despite the strangeness of his surroundings, the foreignness of it all, there was something undeniably peaceful about it. The warmth, the stillness, the quiet murmurs of the raptors outside — they became part of his rhythm, his breath, until everything blurred into the comforting lull of slumber.

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Hours later, Suda irately preened the blood out of her wing-feathers. Skinning their kills was never a pleasant task, but working through such large prey while ensuring it remained intact was an entirely different kind of strenuous. It had taken both her own and Tia's efforts to turn the beast over simply to be able to skin its entire body in one piece. The effort had left her muscles sore and her patience thin.

The work was done now though, thanks to their teamwork. She and Tia had taken it upon themselves to cut and clean the meat, while Oreo meticulously preserved the bones. Folly, injured as he was, tackled the comparatively lighter job of packing the meat with salt to preserve it. As for the hide, it had taken all of them to wrestle it into the largest earthenware pot, where it would soak in preparation for scraping tanning. It had been taxing, messy work — precisely the sort of chore that made Suda long for the upcoming visit to the village. The thought of a bath there, of fresh water and soap, filled her with bone-deep longing.

Yet, a more pressing need rattled through her as her stomach began to protest. By the sun's position, they had spent most of the day working through the beast, and she hadn't eaten a bite since dawn. As if on cue, Oreo dragged his wings along the icy ground in an exaggerated display of hunger.

"Sudaaaaaaa, Tiaaaaaaa. Can we go eat now?" he whined, his voice dripping with playful exaggeration. "I'm sooo hungry I can smell the food already!"

Suda opened her mouth to reply, but the scent that reached her nose stopped her mid-thought. The heavy, familiar tang of raw meat and viscera had faded, replaced by something... different. She tilted her head, her senses pulling in the faint aroma of something baked — Piru tortillas, with a small-mushroom filling. Confusion flickered through her, and she glanced around. Everyone was accounted for outside, unless —

She squeaked as the conclusion struck her, causing the others to startle. "Is he cooking in there?" she said in disbelief.

The others sniffed the air inquisitively, and then turned to each other as their ears began to wiggle with anticipation.

"I... think so!" said Tia, flabbergasted.

"Let's go find out!" urged Oreo, stomping at the ground excitedly, barely restraining himself from dashing ahead.

Suda could hardly form a coherent sentence. "Tools, language, and now cooking," she muttered to herself. He wasn't just clever—whatever he was, he was a peer. A part of their group, despite not looking like one of them. The realization sent an uneasy thrill coursing through her, but she pushed it down, refusing to let it settle just yet. Instead, she took a step forward, signaling for the others to follow.

The group entered the yurt to find Eli seated by the brazier, casually turning pink tortillas over the grill. Even Folly, whose usual confidence seldom wavered, let out a surprised squeak at the sight. When Eli noticed them, he looked up, his face breaking into a soft, steady smile. With a fluid motion, he reached out and, without a word, offered them dinner.