Entering Ausrine, a breeze tickled Airya’s cheek, welcoming her back. She looked up at the beautiful blue sky as Hethei took to it and flew away, letting his new home wrap him in comfort in the way he needed, full of freedom. Nothing, not even their favorite place, could ever replace the safety and peace of their home.

Airya noticed Stilk, the only Soloc to live in the temple, waddling around the outside of the temple by the stairs. When he heard her, he looked at where her eyes used to be before his sight traveled up to where her face was now. He looked grim.

She wasn't completely OK with him not liking her, but she respected how he never came after her or tried to hurt her in any way like she had witnessed people do in other worlds. She looked at his long nose peeping out from his smashed face with his beady yellow eyes under his big brow. He was way shorter than her now, so he had to look up to her. He still held the look of hatred and annoyance, but now that she looked down at him, it was less scary. She noticed the tied-together swalak that two huge curved bills clung onto both sides of his shoulders from his thick neck. When he saw her looking at them, he grabbed them both into one of his hands, not succeeding at completely hiding them from her. "I like your necklace. I think that’s what mom said it was called. She never told me though where you got it."

In a gruff voice grumbling in anger, Stilk lashed out, "This more special and more important than you. Pieces of beak from two gods have and will outlast you. Me holding shows more devotion and possession of Ausrine. I always have. Far more than you. To Solocs I hold mouths of gods. Our gods! Not yours!"

Airya took a step back, shocked at the outburst. Stilk stood, shoulders hunched, glaring at her while protecting his priceless piece of the Strigiformes. An actual piece of the Gods they were born from. A piece of them that he will have and always has had with him. She understood why he would be so protective of it.

She nodded once and smiled at him, not knowing what to say but knowing that he needed to be left alone. Hethei landed back on her shoulder. She wondered if he had heard the loud distress coming from Stilk and had gotten worried. She turned and walked away, leaving the poor Soloc there at the steps staring at her as she walked up and into the temple, where she saw her dad staring up at the owl eye carved into the middle of the temple ceiling. The one that she had been born under. Her mom had told her that she was the only one that was ever born in this temple under that watchful eye. She looked up at it, too, and smiled at its delicate curves that she could tell were put there with so much love and skill. When she looked back at her dad, she noticed that he was smiling at her. He held out his hands for her to run into and hug him, which she did as Hethei flew off to sit on one of the thrones.

His embrace was less engulfing physically, but not emotionally. She felt all his care and love wash over her as he squeezed her tighter before grabbing her arms and holding her away to get a better look at her.

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"Look at how much you've grown!" he beamed.

"Do you like it?" she asked nervously.

"Silly question. I love you no matter how much you age overnight!" he hugged her again and then took her hand and guided her to the thrones for them to sit on each one.

She told him about what she had found out about Hethei which saddened him, and then she told him about Stilk's little outburst toward her.

Her dad shook his head and cleared his throat, "Stilk is one of a kind because he is willing to teach us even though his other people are scared. He has his own bravery by living away from the Solocs in this temple with foreign people and watching over it. He has a good heart."

Airya nodded, her heart filling up with understanding and love for the little creature she used to hate just because he hated her. She leaned up and over and kissed her dad's freckle.

He smiled. "You’re never going to age too much for that are you?" he asked.

She smiled and shook her head.

Back in her room, she laid in her bed staring up at the ceiling unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, yellow dust swarmed her vision welcoming nightmares. She dreaded what she knew the day would bring tomorrow with her studies. She had wanted to go to the mountain earlier to dance and make music with her friends, but she wasn't ready for that yet, too scared that too much of her had changed too quickly for them.

She sighed, hating how gross she felt inside and out. Trying not to wake Hethei, she sat up deciding that maybe a dip into the temple river would help her sleep. She would just have to make sure it wasn't boiling first.

Walking into the temple, she saw that there were no boiling bubbles in the river and that the sky had just started to shade lightly into deeper darkness. She started for the river to wash before returning for Hethei, but stopped when she noticed Stilk sitting by the river with his one Soloc friend Stilgar that Airya had only seen around a few times in the temple. She only knew his name because she had asked her mom long ago. They didn't notice her and continued to enjoy their boiled rats wrapped in swalak together while chatting in their language that she didn't understand.

She always thought it interesting and brave that Stilgar came to the temple sometimes to visit Stilk when no other of the Solocs would. To Airya it showed how much he valued their friendship and cared about Stilk. Even now, Airya saw it as they chuckled a little. Studying the back of them, she saw that both of their torsos were built the same but Stilgar had slightly thicker arms than Stilk and smaller legs. Both of their skin were so dirty that Airya couldn't tell exactly what color they were. She didn't think they ever bathed. At least over the years, it seemed that Stilk kept building up more and more dust and dirt on his body than he ever got rid of. Stilgar had a little wide tuft of dirty hair in one spot in the middle of his head that Airya had always found quite comical. He also had a swalak necklace hanging over his two shoulders that matched Stilk’s. He seemed nicer and less scary than Stilk the few times she had seen him, except he had a few broken toes that were gruesome and had never been fixed.

She continued to watch as Stilk brought up his heavy arm and gently touched Stilgar's back. He smiled at him. Her heart grew. Maybe her dad was right and Stilk wasn't that bad after all. She decided not to disturb them and to wait until morning to wash.