The tears were unexpected. Not just tears, it was brokenhearted sobbing--a dam breaking kind of outburst.

Sienna crouched quickly, scooping Ali into her arms. "Shh, it’s okay Aliboo. Mama’s here. Mama will fix everything." She rocked her daughter gently, brushing sand from her hair. The girl hiccuped between cries, clutching at Sienna’s shirt as if the world would rip them apart at any moment.

Beside them, Eli stood with clenched hands, one eye swelling into a bruise. Unlike his sister, he didn’t cry. Not even as his grandma Byra inspected his wounds.

"What happened?" Sienna asked him, touching his head with one hand, the other firmly wrapped around Ali.

Grandma Byra tried to carry him, her eyes loaded with tears.

The boy stepped back, avoiding grandma Byra’s hands. His eyes seemed to be daring anyone to pity him. "We took Honey Thunder out." He muttered, voice low but steady. "We flew to the caves at the far beach. We didn’t think anything would happen, we just wanted to catch some crabs. There were other people there, some children tried to take Honey Thunder. A man grabbed her wing. We fought back, and then the guards found us. But by then..." He gestured at his bruises, pride and shame tangled together.

Sienna’s heart clenched. "You reckless cubs, what were you thinking?" She kissed Ali’s forehead. "You were brave for protecting Honey Thunder. Very brave." She set the girl on the ground and kissed Eli’s forehead. He didn’t push her away like he would have done normally.

Sienna summoned servants, ordering hot water, clean clothes, and the doctor. All arrived very quickly.

Ali cried as her cuts were cleaned. Eli just winced, but refused to flinch.

Sienna touched the gash on Ali’s arm which she had not seen. Someone had used claws on her baby and that someone was an adult! Ali wailed louder when the doctor touched the gash, triggering more chaos in the house somehow.

Grandma Byra’s cane thumped against the floor. "Doctor! If she cries any louder, I will have your license revoked. Are you treating her or injuring her again?" She turned to the maids. "Why are you standing there like statues? Prepare a soft place for the children to rest. Lay down soft blankets in the living room, pillows."

Eli sneezed.

"And fetch a doctor!" Grandma Byra bellowed.

The doctor who was already treating the children raised his head and narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Ma’am, I am already here."

Mrs. Miller stormed into the stables, fussing like a hurricane. "My poor grand babies! Look at these cuts! Look at Eli’s eyes, it is fatter than an egg! Sienna how could you let them wander off? You should have tied them to your waist!" She snatched Ali from Sienna’s lap, rocking her a little too hard.

The doctor raised his hand, looking lost. He was in the midst of bandaging the wounds. Could they wait for him to finish before bringing out all the drama? "Ma’am, put the child back on Lady Sienna’s lap so I can finish bandaging her arm."

Mrs. Miller did so and reached for Eli. Ali seemed to take it as the cue to wail again.

Grandma Byra decided to shout at the doctor again!

The doctor looked ready to flee from the household entirely.

Sienna pinched the bridge of her nose. "Enough! Mom, grandma, you two are not helping. The children and doctor need calm, not a circus." But her words were drowned out by her mother’s lamentations over the size of Eli’s eyes and grandma Byra’s threats when she saw another gash on Ali’s left foot. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The servants scurried like terrified mice, tripping over each other to obey contradictory orders.

Finally, Sienna raised her voice, sharp as a blade. "Silence!" The room froze. Even Honey Thunder who was waiting for the doctor to check her wing stopped buzzing for a moment. In their uniforms, Soren and the others who had just returned from school poked their heads in, saw the chaos and wisely retreated without a word.

Sienna soothed Ali until the sobs dwindled to sniffles. Eli was also handed to her and she comforted both children, kissing their cheeks while whispering reassurances.

She especially made sure to say to Eli, "You did well to protect your sister." He had more bruises than her. "But next time, don’t fly off with my bee without my permission unless its an emergency. Honey Thunder is not a toy. Many people are jealous that we have her and they don’t. Some would kill her for that simple reason. Do you understand?"

He nodded reluctantly.

When the children were settled in the house and the doctor declared Honey Thunder in good health, Sienna’s gaze hardened. "They dared to lay hand on my children. On my bee." He voice dropped to a dangerous calm. "Grandma, we are not letting this pass. If I am forced to swallow this grievance, I am afraid that I will never be able to sleep at night."

"I will summon the troops." Grandma Byra replied instantly. She had been waiting for this order for a long time. If not for needing to treat the children’s wounds first, she would have marched down to the beach to kick ass as soon Ali started sobbing.

Mrs. Miller gasped. "Sienna, do...."

But Sienna was already striding to the courtyard. Honey Thunder was waiting, buzzing excitedly. The children ran from the house, determined to go with her despite all protests from Mrs. Miller. Sienna didn’t stop them. She lifted the cubs onto the back of the bee, and then she climbed on too. "Hold on tight," she told them, "Mama will show you how to deal with bullies." She turned to grandma Byra. "Grandma, bring our young ones, we should make it a fair fight. Nobody should say adults are bullying children."

Soren, Corven Junior, Jan, Dan, Dalton, Kria, Mira and Suri. All of them were coming along. Those who could take on the falcon shape changed, and those who could not, sat on the backs of those who could.

Fox guards followed along, completing the dominant show of force that Sienna wanted.

The bee surged into the sky, carrying them to the far beach. Wind whipped through their hair. Ali sniffled, but leaned against Sienna’s chest for comfort. Eli grinned fiercely, eager for revenge.

They landed where the fight happened. The other children were still there, accompanied by a few adults. Some were smugly tossing shells into the waves, others laughing snidely. When they saw Sienna, their faces paled.

Falcon beast men and women fell from the sky like shooting stars. Fox guards with weapons surrounded them, cutting off all escape opportunities.

A swarm of bees descended around Honey Thunder, buzzing menacingly, wings slicing the air like blades.