*****
Andro's POV
The night air was cold as I crouched in the tunnel beneath our ruined house, staring at the folded map my father had left me. The marker pointed to the mountains of Tanay, Rizal. That was where a young duwende hybrid was hiding. My first prospect. My first ally.
But the thought of traveling hundreds of kilometers as a black cat made my stomach twist. My paws itched to move, but the fear was heavier than my body. Every checkpoint, every patrol, every sensor could mean death. I had to find a way to move freely, without being traced.
I pressed myself against the tunnel wall, trying to imagine myself soaring through the night. A bird. Free. Untouchable. I willed my body to obey, but again and again, I ended up curled on the cold stone as a cat. My claws, my fur—nothing changed.
Hours passed. Exhaustion set in. My chest heaved. My vision blurred. Pain struck—blood trickled from my nose. I sank against the wall, pressing my hands to it, trying to steady my breathing.
"Focus," I whispered to myself. Memories flooded me. My mortal mother's soft voice echoed in my mind: "You are stronger than fear, Andro. Always remember who you are."
And then I remembered my father's tattoo—a crow, wings outstretched. A symbol he had never explained, but something inside me stirred. I pictured the bird, pictured wings unfolding along my back. Breath steadying, heart hammering, I let go of fear.
Wind, shadow, instinct—they converged. My body obeyed. Limbs stiffened into wings, feathers sprouted, eyes sharpened, claws extending.
A crow.
I leapt from the tunnel, air catching me like freedom itself. The city shrank beneath me. Patrols, sensors, dangers—I was untouchable. I was alive in a way I'd never felt.
Hours later, Rizal's mountains rose beneath me, jagged and imposing. Tanay's dense forests hid the valley where the duwende hybrid lived. I stayed in crow form, circling cautiously, listening to the wind, feeling the earth.
A small kubo appeared on a slope among thick trees. I landed on a branch, wings folding around me. Inside, an old man and a boy—just the two of them. The boy, no more than eleven, tended a small flock of pigeons, while the old man moved slowly but with purpose.
The old man stepped outside. "Don't hide yourself," he said, voice calm but certain. "I know you're there. You are welcome here."
I hesitated, then shifted back into human form. Shadows fell across the ground as I straightened and took a deep breath.
"My name is Andres… Andro Silang," I said. Voice steady despite adrenaline. I told them everything—the fall of my family, Project KALINISAN, and the mission to find the other hybrids.
The old man's eyes softened. The boy looked at me curiously, without fear.
"I am called Nuno," the old man said, voice steady. The boy chimed, "I'm Milo."
Nuno's cane lay beside him—more than a walking stick, it pulsed faintly with ancient energy. He explained the tragedy that had befallen his people and why he and Milo had survived the purge.
I asked if Nuno would join me on this journey to find the others. Nuno shook his head slowly. "I am too old for such a long journey."
But Milo stepped forward, small but determined. "I may be young, but I can fight. I can help. I want to come."
I hesitated, questions spinning in my mind. But the boy's courage was undeniable. Milo would be my first companion.
Nuno lifted his cane, tracing a circle in the earth, murmuring words older than memory. A warm glow enveloped us. "May the spirits guide you both," he said, "and keep you safe as you find the others."
Before I left, I asked, "And when… when we gather all the hybrids, what then?"
Nuno smiled gently. "Then you understand why you exist. Then you become more than survival. You become hope. You become the truth the world has forgotten."
I nodded, letting the weight of the words settle. Outside, the wind carried the scent of pine and earth. With Milo by my side, I spread my wings and looked toward the horizon.
The journey had begun.