The mist tore between the trees like strips of old cloth. Seyra pushed forward, her face tense, lips pressed tightly together. Every step sinking into the moss was accompanied by a quiet, irritated bubbling in her throat. She knew she must not speak — whenever she said anything, it came out of Lira’s beak.

Lira perched on her shoulder, feathers dark and glossy like polished obsidian, eyes two metallic glints calmly observing the forest. And when Lira spoke, her small beak opened — but what came out was Seyra’s voice, rich and slightly annoyed:

“Lira thinks you’re our friends.”

Seyra jerked as if kicked by a horse, and Lira — still not used to their new connection — fluffed up in alarm.

Marnok stared at Seyra, then at Lira. He slowly let go of his sword hilt and blinked. His aura, usually calm and deep, recoiled sharply and began to pulse with nervous silver light, as if trying to decide whether what he was seeing was a hallucination or an attack.

“Who… is Lira,” he asked, bewildered.

He looked around, his eyes flashing briefly with a half‑prophecy — but this time the vision failed him. The future offered no guidance about shrieking thieves.

Bipilon climbed onto Marnok’s shoulder, narrowed his bead‑like eyes, and the corners of his mouth stretched into a wide, impossibly mischievous grin.

“Well, wonderful,” he drawled in his thin voice. “I think I know what happened to you two. Now we just need the Saeria to show off. How does Seyra Lux Shademist sound when she screams an alarm?”

Marnok glanced at his companion in total confusion.

But Bipilon wasn’t done:

“Marnok kept saying four is more than two. I thought he meant crawling on all fours to get closer to food, but now I get it. We’ve got reinforcements.”

Seyra felt adrenaline surge through her veins — and with it came betrayal. Her dark‑dyed hair seemed to glow faintly in the mist as the skin beneath it triggered a defensive aura. A treacherous bluish shimmer spread across her shoulders.

She absolutely had to tell that little scaly menace what she thought of him—

PEEEEEEEEEP!

The shriek from her mouth was so long and piercing that Marnok staggered backward. Seyra startled herself — that was Lira manifesting through Seyra’s mouth.

Bipilon burst into uncontrollable laughter, shaking all over.

“This is amazing! Marny, when we get hungry, she can just whistle the hunger away!”

Seyra’s voice — this time coming from Lira’s beak — added:

“Lira apologizes. We’re still not used to this.”

Bipilon collapsed onto a rock, laughing so hard he could barely breathe.

Marnok looked as if two galaxies were colliding in his skull. He needed a new prophecy. Or very strong tea.

Lira, calm in the middle of the chaos, simply concluded — still using Seyra’s voice:

“Lira thinks we need help. And Seyra thinks she’s going to strangle you, you scaly little creature.”

Marnok nodded seriously. “Yes… help. I think so too.”

Bipilon wiped tears of laughter from his eyes. “And I think this is going to be the best day of my life.”