That announcement makes Ava blink and he looks up to Sunsinger with a curious expression. "But we can't use our rings on the hunt." he says "And 'enry and Josh can't fly."

Sunsinger nods, replying "Yes and that provides a challenge. However even the flightless participate, and you will have Josh's healing powers on your side. It balances."

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Henry nods. "I'm in," he tells Avalon.

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Josh looks confused. He's a little surprised that Ava's father knows about his healing powers. "I'm in," he says.

"What am I in on?"

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Avalon bites at his lower lip for a moment and then draws in a breath as he looks to Josh and says "Remember me telling you about the Feartail? And having to slay it? That rite is what Father is speaking of.. it's what every youth on Starhaven must take to become a man. I wasn't able to take mine when I was sold.. and then later when I was free, I wasn't able to take it because of my Lantern responsibilities."

Sunsinger nods his head to what Avalon says, and adds "Because you are both Avalon's chosen partners and you haven't been given the rite, you must take it as well for everything to be viewed as proper by those of my planet."

What Sunsinger added though has Ava bright red, he pulls his wings around himself and shyly rubs at the back of his neck as he looks to Henry and Josh through his lashes.

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Henry nods. He's not entirely sure what this means, but the culture isn't something he fully understands. He'll give it space.

"Alright. We'll do it." He looks to Avalon. "We'll help Avalon complete whatever ritual is necessary. And if it means no rings, it means no rings."

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Josh goes bright red again, eyes wide. He looks from Henry to Ava a few times and then lets out a little squeak.

"Umm," he swallows. "Okay," he says, unsure of things in general.

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Sunsinger just nods his head and looks between the three boys. "I suppose that you're not ready to go right away." he says. To Avalon, he directs, "Get what you need and bring them to Starhaven, I know that you can travel faster than most spaceships.. You can rest and prepare once you get there. We need to purify and ready all three of you before the hunt commences."

Swallowing a bit and looking quite nervous, Avalon offers his father a bit of a shaky smile and says "Yes sir."

Before long, Sunsinger is gone and Avalon is left in a tizzy of activity. He's not seem this alive since he got back from the Dreamtime, nor this nervous, though for obvious reasons. "Okay.. guys.. we need to talk." he announces. "This is important. Like really important. If we don't do this right we won't ever be men."

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Henry chuckles. "Oh, I think you've both been made men by now," he smirks, but then he sobers. "But I get it. It's important. That's why I'm in, no matter what."

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Josh squirms, a little uncomfortable with the idea of killing something at all.

"I'm in too," he says. "I'm worried about you guys though," he says. "Um...what did your father mean about purifying us?"

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"Well.. like they have a cleansing rite that they use smoke to smudge away any evil spirits that may be following you." says Avalon as he fluffs his feathers around himself. "And then they;ll feed us a big meal and we'll rest and then the next morning at dawn we'll be on our own till we slay the Feartail." he takes a big breath, trying to settle himself, "However long that takes.. Sometimes others have been gone for months. I don't think that we'll be gone that long, but it's going to take us at least a week if not more, we'll have to feed ourselves and figure out where to sleep the whole time."

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Henry nods. "Alright. Good thing it's summer break."

He places a hand on Ava's shoulder. "We'll do this."

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"How hard is it find this Feartail thing?" Josh asks, wondering. "I mean...it shouldn't be that hard..." he lets out a thoughtful noise.

"Survival's easy. Starhaven's wilderness isn't too much different than Earth's, is it?"

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Ava scratches at the back of his neck as Josh asks his question, his expression uncertain. "Finding the Feartail isn't the problem." he says. "Feartail is the biggest and most effective predator on Starhaven. They are highly dangerous, aggressive and territorial. The hard part is not getting killed ourselves by it."

He draws in a deep breath, then adds "They have giant hunting grounds, so once we find the territory of one, we have to track it down within the boundaries of it's range."

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