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"This way," Aurin beckoned for them to follow him along the perch, to where there was a man-sized door in the tower wall. It opened for them when they reached it, and when they stepped inside it became clear that there was another soldier there, a guard, who was watching the door to see who would be coming and going. One couldn't be too careful in the time of war, after all.

It was rather interesting in the tower. The level they were on was filled with tools for working with the harnesses - mostly for repairing and such - as well as a few crates of treats for the enormous birds.

Aurin greeted some of the men that were in there, and continued to lead Earendil, Lin and Rhea down the tower stairs.

It took quite a while, but eventually, after going to the base of the tower and following a maze of corridors, the group found themselves back in the main hall of the castle, where Aethos had brought them in the first time.

"Is it Lady Alena or Aethos-sola that you wish to see?" Aurin asked as he led them deeper into the castle.

"Lady Alena, if possible," Earendil replied. "She seems to be the one who's more or less in charge around here anyways, and I'm sure Aethos-sola is quite busy."

Aurin chuckled softly. "You should not speak of it so carelessly, Earendil-sola. While it is true, it is highly improper, and we cannot encourage such behaviour in others."

Aurin nodded. "Very well. This way then. She has been working with Shiro and Kaito in the main archive."

He led them to a door, which led to a stair, which in turn would lead to the hall that led to the stair to the tower where Alena had taken them the other day.

"Do you know anything about what they've been doing?" Rhea asked, walking a bit faster so that she could walk alongside the soldier.

Aurin shook his head. "As far as I know, they spend almost all of their time in the tower. At least, Lady Alena and Shiro do. Kaito comes and goes, wandering and exploring ... in truth, it seems he has nothing serious to do."

Earendil chuckled softly. "That's Kaito, all right."

Rhea giggled. "Just wait. Within the week, he'll know the layout of the castle, inside and out, and then he'll be heading outside and to the city and further. Maybe we should ask him to scout ahead for us when we actually go to the other part of the island."

Aurin glanced at the others. "Is he a flier as well?" he asked. "I know he has wings, larger than yours, Lin, but ... I have not yet seen him use them, save to cover himself for warmth."

"I would suggest that perhaps they're not so fond of flying because they're cats," Rhea mused, "but I know Whisper likes flying, even if she doesn't fly when she doesn't have to."

She glanced over at Senka. "What do you say? You have wings, Senka, do you like flying?"

Come to think of it, she had never seen Senka fly, not even once ...

"Ah, I see," Rhea nodded. She smiled at Senka. "Sorry, I forgot you don't speak any other languages. I was just wondering about you and flight, since I just realized I've never seen you fly. Lin said that since your wings are small, you really can only glide with them. I'm just used to Whisper flying, so I assumed that you could as well."

Rhea giggled softly. "Yes, well. That's how it goes."

She glanced at Earendil, who still didn't seem to be walking straight. "Hey, are you all right?"

Earendil looked at Rhea, then looked away. "I'll be fine," he murmured. "Just give me a bit of time."

Aurin paused just before they reached the tower stairs. "Are you ill, Earendil-sola?" he asked.

Earendil swallowed hard. "I'll be fine," he murmured again.

Aurin nodded and opened the door for them. "Go up, sir. I will bring you something for the sickness."