Heda hung up, turned around and found Edgar standing there.

“How's she doing?"

“Good. Bored, but good. Hopefully the healer will be able to finish up on her hands so she can shift. Hey, speaking of shifting, let's go fly."

"Now?"

("We haven't flown together in forever. Not since you and me and Mom went rabbit hunting for Thanksgiving that one year."

Edgar smiled and ran his hand through his dark black hair.

"I remember it more as me refereeing between the two of you when you started fighting over that carcass." Ravens did not hunt like eagles did, so he had just been along for the ride. Heda and their mother had gotten awfully competitive, as they were both wont to do, and he had felt a little Like a mouse trying to break up a squabble between two big cats. Edgar's raven form was big for his breed, having a 50 inch wingspan and weighing 3.5 pounds, but Heda, being the smaller of the two eagles, outweighed him by almost ten pounds and had a wingspan of 85 inches. And eagles had talons. Big, nasty talons.

"I still say I could've taken her," Heda said, beginning to undress.

Family nudity was pretty commonplace in the shifter community.

"The day you want to call the old woman out, just make sure to call me first because I would PAY to see that."

The two of them finished getting undressed, then shifted and took off through the open windows. Heda realized again how hard things must have been for Madison, not having her own kind around for so long to do the things that her animalistic side demanded . . . to fly with others like her. Heda loved the feel of the wind streaming under and over her feathers, her eyes taking in the world like a child at the cinema, amazed at the wonder of everything. And what made it better was that her brother was there, looking down at the same, heart—breakingly beautiful landscape. They flew out to the woods, with Edgar flying underneath his sister's watchful eye.

They landed in a clearing that Heda had flown to without even thinking about it.

“Nice place, Edgar said, plopping his body down on a soft patch of grass.

“This is the first place Madison and I went flying to. She likes the bug selection."

“That never ceases to be gross."

Heda grinned.

"Just remember, we eat rodents. And don't you sometimes eat bugs when you're flying too?"

"I'm not criticizing our basic natures. I'm just saying that it's kind of gross when you stop and think about it." He cocked his head and looked at his sister as she sat down beside him.

"Gotta question for you."

"Shoot."

“How serious is this thing between you and Madison?"

That was not a question Heda had been expecting.

"I dunno. Serious, I guess."

"Not a trap question. I was just curious. For what it's worth, I like her."