The city lights spanned beneath me, tiny yet gleaming in their beauty and majesty.  Ive always had the strangest inkling to count them.  Chalk that up to the things I'll never have time for.  So strange that you can have all the time in the world and still find things you haven't done.

    The moon seemed closer to this spot than it actually was.  The cool night air was crisp, yet nostalgic in a way that I can't explain.  I longed for things to be the way they were.  But that was so long ago now, I could scarcely recall it.

    The door screeched opened behind me.

    “Audnas, there you are.”  The speaker's cloak billowed, trailing behind him in the light breeze.  “Sol'endas was looking for you earlier, says there's been more trouble in your district lately.”

    “What does he care about it?”  Stupid prick is the cause of all this conflict anyway, but I kept that to myself.  “He's meddling in things that shouldn't be, things that aren't any of our business.  Our kind is here for a reason, Marrn.”  I whirled on him, staring at thin air at first and then readjusting my sight in accordance with his height.  What was wrong with me?  Something was definitely off tonight.

    “I'm aware of that, Audnas, we're on the same side, you and I, remember?”  He walked up and leaned against the edge next to me.  “I can see why you like it so much up here."  He sighed.  "Get away from all the...” he seemed at a loss for the right word, gesturing openly with his hands.

    “Bullshit?” I suggested.

    He chuckled his awkward laugh.  There was much force in it.  It shouldn't have to be that way.  But this was the world we lived in.  Our world.  The world of the Guardians.

    I sighed.  “Long gone are the days when humans should fear creatures and nature.  Alas, there are not but vermin left in comparison to the old days, when monsters roamed, teaming and unchallenged.  Now the world has turned to metal and glass.” Again a sigh escaped my lips and took to the breeze, free of the depths of my tortured soul.

    “I feel lost here, Marrn.  Like our purpose has long since expired.  We cannot harm human kind, though they harm themselves.  And yet we are supposed to be their protectors.  What kind of twisted game is this?  The Ancients mock us with this task."

    I stared ever downward at the rumbling streets below.  I could feel the vibrations of all the traffic; the thrumming of the busy streets even at night.  I looked harder and could see the intricacies of the scene below.  Of the people running between shops and bars.  All open twenty-four-seven.  Everything was so available.  The world was smaller and smaller every day.  Collapsing on itself if you asked me, it was so small now.  Imploding to the point where men were in such close proximity that they felt the need to attack each other lest they be attacked themselves.  Attack or be attacked. 

    I was scarcely aware of Marrn's breathing beside me.  My attention came hurtling back to the rooftop and my eyes snapped around, taking in everything.  Assessing threats.  It was just the two of us up here.  Wait.  What was that?  A voice?  A voice woven into the wind.  I peeled back its layers as it wafted in front of us, perfectly executed.  Windspeak.  But who knew we were here?

    “You hear that too?” Marrn asked.

    “Yeah.  Someone's coming.”

    "But who uses Windspeak anymore?"  With all that it required, it was obsolete these days.  Summoning the energy, finding a favorable wind in the direction you wanted the message to travel, and not knowing whether the person received it or not.  Now with a mere thought one could summon a live stream on a headset or cell to talk directly.  I surmised this way would provide more privacy from unwanted ears, but still.  The humans couldn't decipher Windspeak and there was some concern about certain factions of them being aware of us, even monitoring us.  I laughed; they didn't know the slightest of what they meddled in.

    "I'm not..."

    Pop!  Someone snapped into existence behind us, and it was audible enough to make us jump and spin, nearly knocking into each other.  My energy flared, pumping blood throughout my being and exponentially increasing my reflexes.  I took a combat-ready stance before I recognized the intruder.  He held his hands out, clearly not intending to frighten us.  Marrn was ready to pounce, and would have, but my energy was greater than his, and my senses better.  My hand tore through the air to his chest, a little harder than I wanted, to freeze him in his spot.  I shook my head when he looked at me agape.

    "I apologize, friends."  the Guardian said.

    "Not needed, but I'd be more careful, these are rough times and one should give more warning before Flying unannounced." I said.

    He grinned.  "Agreed."

    There was a pause where we waited for him to explain himself and he waited to see if I would continue.  When it was clear I was done speaking, he started.

    "I wasn't sure if my message would reach up here, so I honed in on your energies and came in person."  It was true enough, I could still see the ethereal silhouette of his wings engraved into the air around him, bent on the breeze and fading.

    "We just got the message, but it was a little faded and we weren't yet finished unwrapping it all when you appeared."

    "I see.  I sent it hours ago so it should be happening any minute now.  Do not be alarmed if others join us up here."

    "What do you-"

    "Please listen," he held up his hand again, "we haven't time.  I have just come from a meeting with Sol.  He has recently received a message of startling origin and wanted me to relay its contents as soon as possible and in person if necessary."  He strode to the edge of the rooftop and gazed below, his eyes shredding his cool demeanor to pieces as they portrayed much fear.

    "Would you please get to your point, friend?" I said, getting irritated now.

    He rounded on us and looked us dead in the eyes.  "Everything we know has been threatened.  An Ancient is coming to Earth.  They are awake."