Feathers of the Hawk Chapter 8

 Chapter 8! With something that most of you will have expected for a while, I think.

“Good morning, sleepy head!” Eyolf’s cheery voice pulled Kahu away from her sleep. That and the light that came from the windows that Eyolf’s had opened. 

“What time is it?”

“Good morning, Eyolf,” Eyolf said. Kahu laughed.

“You’re right. Good morning, Eyolf. What time is it?”

“Sunrise, I think.”

“Okay. How about we get breakfast and travel on?”

“Fine with me.”

A little later, two hawks soared through the sky. At night, the same routine followed. An inn, a room, dinner, rising, breakfast and travelling again. And again. And again.

At noon on the sixth day, Kahu landed. Eyolf followed her.

“What’s wrong?”
“Skye Manor is about an hour on foot from here. We’ll walk, so that we won’t force  my – Lord Niall to invite us in.”

Kahu felt Eyolf’s questioning look. She knew the question that must be eating him away. Why had she corrected herself. When Kahu didn’t answer his question, he shrugged.

“Okay.” They started walking.

“Say, Kahu, I know that the people in Skye Manor know you – no, don’t say anything, it’s true – so how were you planning to introduce me?”

“Well, my original idea was to go to Lord Niall, tell him that I’m there and that there is another messenger with me. I will ask him if you can come in, and then I’ll come and pick you up as soon as I can.”

“Why would it take time?”

Kahu sighed. “Come and sit here, will you?” She motioned to a tree trunk nearby. When they both sat, she continued. “I’ve not told you everything. You know that Are is my half-brother, don’t you?”

“Yes. You told me.”

“Well, Niall is my full brother. We have the same father <u>and</u> the same mother.”

“Wait – how many siblings have you got?”

“Three – that I know about. But knowing my father, I have more than just those.”

Eyolf nodded. “Big family. When I was young, there was just me and my parents.”

“Yeah, I sometimes wished that it’d have been that simple with my family. Anyway, my parents were both shapeshifters. I am a shapeshifter. Are is a shapeshifter. But Niall isn’t. His famous father and brother are, but he is not. His younger sister turned out to be a shapeshifter when she was ten and he was eighteen. He is the only human in my family. He hates me, and I hate him back. That’s why it will take some time before you can come.”

Eyolf nodded again. “I see. Okay, we’ll do it that way.”

“Great! Okay, let’s go. If I’m going to face him, I want to do so when it’s still light. When there still is time to go someplace else. And besides, if I wait too long, I’ll lose my courage.”
 Eyolf laughed and they walked on. When they had reached the border of the estate, Kahu’s hair became a brownish black.

“Hey! What happened?”

“I made my hair become it’s natural colour again.”

“It’s supposed to be black?”

“Yes. It is supposed to be short and black.”

“But it is long and black right now.”

“The length is an illusion.”

“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to shock my brother. Not too much, anyway.”

“But why is your hair normally that golden-like colour?”

“My father and Are both have black hair. I wanted to be an individual. I didn’t want – and I still don’t – to be recognised as the daughter of Lord Skye. That’s what I thought when I was walking to the Academy, anyway. When I looked in a pool close by, my hair was the colour it usually is. Then all I had to do was cut it short. Which I did.”
“I see. So the long, golden hair you had when we travelled …”

“Was a complete illusion.”

“Okay.”

“I’ll see you later, Eyolf,” Kahu said, and, not knowing why, she pressed her lips on his. Before Eyolf could say something, Kahu had run to the gates.