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Akkhana's wings beat fiercely against the rising winds. A storm was coming, and a bad one at that. She could smell it in the air, and feel it in the way the gusts howled through her. She gritted her teeth, fangs protruding next to blunt incisors. She was trying to get home to the Padmapani herd before the storm fell upon her, but it was starting to look like that wouldn't happen. She had at least an hour of flight left, and the rain was already starting to pick up. If the storm forced her to ground now, she'd be trapped alone in unknown territory for a stormy night. Soquili had gotten hurt under much less dangerous circumstances before...

Something white streaked past in front of her. Akkhana squinted, and saw a similar object follow it. She had come from a more northern homeland, and she immediately recognized it. Hail! Bitterly, she realized that if it was hailing, she needed to land. It would only get worse, and this sort of weather could get worse fast. She started to dip downwards, and then the stray blast of wind caught her. She yelled out in pain as one of her wings was wrenched too far forward from the force of it, and suddenly the ground below her was tilting sickeningly... and approaching all too fast...

"It is all right, Fuuka," cooed Emiko to her nervous cat. She could tell that Fuuka was in a very bad state. The cat had climbed onto her back, clinging to the fabric of her obi with sharp claws set. Something about the oncoming storm petrified the poor little creature, and so far, none of Emiko's reassurances seemed to help. Fuuka mewed piteously as the rain droplets soaked into her fur, making Emiko's heart wrench with pity.

"Don't worry. We'll find somewhere dry, and then maybe I'll practice one of the songs for the festival." Her training was good enough that she was able to keep her tone light and cheerful, though her heart was less than so. The sky was as green as a serpent's eyes. She had seen that sort of green in the sky before, and the connection to that memory filled her with dread. She had hardened enough in these Kawani lands that she could stay brave when caught outside in a storm, but this storm was...

Hail. Hail began to fall. Emiko felt a much greater fear waking up within her, one that felt like it was uncoiling inside her like some sort of beast. Hail clinked off her scales, but that wasn't what made her shiver. What set her fear to galloping in her heart was a different sound, one of distant howling winds. She remembered these signs. She remembered the time in her homeland, when the storm had started like this, and ended like the sword of the gods had come crashing down to the earth. This was no mere storm. This was a-

"Tornado," she whispered, legs trembling beneath her. "Fuuka, hold on!" she yelled, surging forward into a desperate gallop.

Nervously, Bernadette hurried her way through the forest. Unlike the others, she had grounded herself at the first sign of trouble. She was a weak flier, and had had close calls in inclement weather before. Ever since then, she had made sure to only fly on the clearest and calmest of days. She didn't mind walking, and it wasn't like she could fly much faster than that anyways.

She looked around. She knew that a rather prickly soquili lived not too far away, by the name of Dumah. He had frightened her the first time they had met and she had gone out of her way to avoid him ever since. Something about those glowing red eyes and too-many wings scared her. She wanted to find shelter from the storm, but knew she couldn't go too far, or risk running into that stallion. Searching about, she found something that looked hopeful. It was a holly tree, with boughs far enough off the ground for her to huddle under, and with enough thick and waxy leaves above to shield her. Relieved, she moved underneath it, watching the rain and hail fall beyond. It grew windier, but she felt safe.

It was then that she heard it, a clatter of hooves coming her way, and coming fast. Had Dumah come to chase her from his territory?

"Tornado?" The word came out half as a whimper and half as a wail. Desperately, Bernadette looked to the other mare. "Where can we go? Where will be safe?" Her instincts told her to cower, to hide underneath the shelter of her tree. Her legs shook as she forced herself to abandon it, rushing to the side of the mare that she hoped would be able to help her.

Hermes didn't think he could reach her, and then he did. With no time to spare, he threw his whole body beneath hers, wings spread to their maximum to slow their fall. He could hear the mare bellowing with pain as she braced against him, and he thought he might be yelling too. He didn't have enough time to think. All he could do was fight against the air, and try to avoid hitting the two mares already on the ground as he prepared for a harsh landing....

Dumah stood with six wings outspread. Beneath them sheltered all sorts of creatures, rabbits, mice, birds, even a lone fox that had been stranded away from its den. None of these animals were spirit-touched, but he had lived among them and protected them for so long that they knew to come to him for help. Though the hail pelted him with ever increasing frequency, he stood as a solid and silent sentinel of protection.

Though this storm was fierce, so was he. He had stood before storms before and would do so again now.

Lightning arced overhead, releasing a thunderous boom that seemed to split the heavens. Bernadette let out a shriek of fear at the sound, and another as the hail pelted her. She folded her wings, but they were still bulky and unwieldy. They were not nearly as flexible as feather wings might be. They were rigid and strongly reminiscent of glass. They were beautiful, but she could not fold them as neatly as most winged soquili, and she feared that the falling ice might damage them.

She ran as quickly as she could after the dragon-like mare. She was pathetically grateful to not be alone. Even someone she didn't know at all was better than no one. But, stone walls? Where were they going to find stone walls in the middle of nowhere like this?