Birds of Prey

Leone, Noémie and Nihja stood at the opening of the cave, the storm had subsided until finally ending and now the sun shone brightly in the sky. The three had gotten a good nights rest, some more than others, and the arachne’s were kind enough to fit the hunter with some silk clothing to replace the one he lost. Leone accepted it happily and requested if his armor could be sewn into it, to which they complied. Now he turned around with a smile, enjoying his new outfit mended out of silk and hunter armor. It was much more comfortable and flexible than his previous set up, although the lack of a cloak would take some getting used to.

He calmly approached the three spiders, leaning forward to kiss each one on the lips. First Ko’Goma who blushed after feeling his warm lips against hers, then Ko’Gara who smiled and licked her lips afterwards, even spanking his behind as he turned around. Noémie and Nihja giggled at that, actually most of the women around there found it funny. Last, he found himself holding hands with Toi’Gota, watching her smile with a hint of sadness in her beautiful eyes. “I promise to visit whenever I can, don’t forget.” She shook her head. “I never will, but please don’t keep a girl waiting. I will yearn for you once you are out of sight you know?” He nodded and leaned forward, kissing her. She quickly wrapped her arms around him, holding him close before they parted lips with Ko’Gara shaking her head. “Safe travels, my mate.” He shook his head and stepped back, walking away with his allies as they waved goodbye. Toi’Gota teared up and looked away, her friend Ko’Goma quick to comfort her and hold her close.

• • •

“So, it looked like you grew close to your captors over there.” Nihja teased. The young hunter rolled his eyes as they continued marching forward, carefully maneuvering around the fallen trees and hidden dirt holes. The heavy rain from before had left the forest filled with life, the birds chirping and singing above their heads. Down below, squirrels and antelope would be minding their own business, searching for food before calmly walking away from the passing trio. The grounds crunched underneath their feet, the grass littered with fallen twigs and pine cones. Noémie stopped and smelled the cool air, the best way to describe it was fresh. Happy wild life with a beautiful forest to spectate, she almost wanted to slow down their haste to enjoy the view. Almost.

“Nothing? C’mon, they told us you knocked up three girls in that cave. Must’ve gotten real busy in there huh?” She grinned as Leone kept silent, leading the way forward and stepping cautiously as to not land his foot upon a snake. “No words from the mighty hunter huh? Was it that bad or that good?”

“Drop it, Nihja. A little further and one might suspect you of being jealous.” Noémie interrupted, a cheeky grin on her face as the succubus turned around and raised her middle finger in return. Leone paused in his tracks and fished around in his pouch, pulling out a compass. He stood still and flipped the compass open, with the elf behind him noticing it point north. “We should head west instead, it is quicker that way.” Leone looked at her. “West?” She nodded. “I thought you never traveled outside your village before.”

“Call it a feeling I guess, I just know that West is a bit safer to traverse then north.” Leone paused a while as he gave the suggestion some thought. “I have not traveled to the lands of the West before though, we would possibly get lost if we do so.” He glanced up at Nihja and asked, “What do you think?” She shrugged, “If you’ve been through the north, let’s go there.” They both nodded and continued forward as the elf sighed and followed.

Many hours later, she began to feel tired. Rather, both girls did. She noticed Nihja was wiping her forehead more and more of sweat. “Tired, Nihja?” She shook her head, wincing slightly. “Not exactly, more like drained. I haven’t fed in two days.” She muttered back. “What do you mean, we had breakfast before leaving.” Nihja clutched her stomach and repeated herself, “No, I mean I haven’t fed in two days. I need to feed soon, it’s getting super uncomfortable for me.” She nodded, it wasn’t natural food she needed. “Look, we found the riverside.” Leone pointed out, as the three of them stared ahead. Several meters ahead was a river bank, beautiful in view reflecting the woods and skies nearby. He sighed in relief and looked back at Noémie, “Just by that, I can tell where we are. We’re almost there.”

Noémie had opened her mouth to talk when a sudden gust of wind blew past them. They were caught off guard with her nearly falling back, their hair and clothes acting as weights that pulled them to the direction the wind blew. “What was that?” Nihja asked. Leone looked up with them following, all they could see were trees covering most of the blue sky.

FFFFWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Leone stumbled a bit with Noémie grabbing hold of a nearby tree trunk to stand her ground. Whatever it was, it was above them. “Noémie!” Nihja cried out, pointing at her. She looked down to see her medallion was shining a bright red, causing her to breathe hard in mid panic. What’s going on? “Uhhn!” She cried out, holding herself as she fell to her knees. Leone ran towards her, asking what was wrong. Through gritted teeth, she groaned back, “He’s... clawing... inside meee..” She gasped and opened her eyes, with Leone stepping back in shock. Unknown to her, her eyes were glowing bright red just then. “Whoa.” Nihja said before a loud scream roared through the skies. Leone and Nihja fell back as something landed heavily behind them before turning around. “Get down!” The hunter whispered. Before them stood a large creature, it’s four legs keeping it steady on the ground. A large tail waved back and forth behind it, revealing a few webbed flaps at the tip likely to keep it balanced in flight. Its large wings slowly expanded outward revealing its large size before folding back against its sides. The snout sniffed the air before sneezing, puffing out a small fire breath before leaning into the riverbank and dipping its seething hot tongue into the cool water.

The trio stared at it with wide eyes, even as a monster hunter Leone had never seen a dragon much less up close. The feeling that coarsed through him was a mixture of excitement, awe, and fear. If this beast chose to attack them, he wouldn’t have the slightest clue how to counter it. The dragon took its time drinking before lifting its head up, stretching its neck before extending its wings and leaping into the air. A large gust of wind blew around it as its wings carried the dragon into the air, surfing the wind to wherever its destination may be. He sighed before Nihja tugged at his arm. Turning back, he could see the elf had curled up wincing in pain, biting her tongue so as to remain quiet. Quickly he rushed to her side. “What’s wrong? Is it fighting back?” She could only nod before shouting briefly into the sky and laying on her back. “Gods! It hurts! By the gods, he’s hurting me!”

Sssssseeeeeeeewwwwwww!

Leone jumped back, catching something fly by just barely avoiding his leg. Nihja kneeled against Noémie rubbing her arm in brief comfort before sniffing the air. She threw her hands up into the air with Leone looking puzzled before numerous steps could be heard fast approaching them. A sudden blue blur darted across the woods before flying around and crashing into the hunter’s side, sending them both rolling onto the ground. He recovered quickly, reaching for his dagger as he glanced up and stared into his attacker’s yellow eyes. It was an Avian, a race of humanoid birds known to live in flocks and take refuge in mountain tops and high places. It stood up to five feet in height, its body decorated in blue feathers with bright colors at the top of its large wings and tail. The talons seemed razor sharp and highly dangerous, able to carry up to five times its weight with an iron grip. The eyes were a bright yellow, narrowed with soft red eyelids and a green stripe next to them, a large yellow beak with a sharp tip and a white colored stomach. Seeing how this one was blue, it belonged to the Azure, a sub specie of Avians.

Quickly it’s talons moved forward, launching itself towards the hunter and spinning rapidly with its wings stretched out, swiping at the hunter’s face. Leone raised his dagger up to block it in time, sending a few loose feathers in the air but hearing the unmistakable sound of metal striking metal. He jumped back, this Avian decorated its wings with blades. Clever. Upon landing on the ground, it leaped once more this time aiming its talon towards his face. Leone moved his head to the side, allowing the talon to pass above his shoulder before grabbing hold of its leg and taking advantage, slamming the creature onto its back. It grunted in pain, it’s eyes filled with anger before rolling away and regaining its footing. With a heavy sigh, it stared at the young hunter, analyzing its next move while Leone raised his dagger up in front of him ready for the next attack. It’s beak twitched into a soft grin before launching its wings forward, shooting several of its blades towards him catching him by surprise. Four blades he counted were in the air, and with one dagger he managed to swipe at one and dodge the other two, with the fourth however sticking to his gut. He flinched, acknowledging the pain but maintaining eye contact with the Avian who now was running straight at him before flying up into the air and out of sight. Only the sharp sounds of wind and trees being rustled could be heard as it flew around him, preparing to strike. Putting his dagger away, Leone closed his eyes and breathed in, steadying his legs apart with his hands raised to his waist, listening around him being carefully still. He couldn’t rely on sight to catch this bird, so his other senses will have to pull in for him.

Leaves began to fall around him, the trees were dancing nearby as the Avian bounce off each one before leaping forward to strike from behind, only for the hunter to turn around and catch its beak with one hand, the other placed upon his back. Not breaking the Avian’s momentum, Leone took advantage and aimed him face forward into the rocky surface below, pushing him down and hearing him crash hard into it, bouncing off the air before hitting a tree and collapsing. Opening his eyes, Leone could see the Avian bleeding from its head, its beak scratched up and a slight drop of blood from its mouth as it clutched its head in pain. Hearing a twig break behind him, he turned around and caught another Avian’s wing from striking his side, cutting his hands in the process. This Avian was also blue but in a much lighter tone, and quicker to react. It pulled its wing away and spun around, attempting to kick at his head before he grabbed it in time and launched the bird a few feet towards the ground. It dragged on the ground before grunting in pain, only for Leone to feel a sharp bit of pain on his back as a few blades stuck him from behind. Falling on his knees, he looked up to see many more Avians falling from trees above, landing around the hunter each with their own distinct look and sharing an angry glare towards him. He coughed and fell to his side, the only safe place to land when he had knives on his stomach and back. “Okay, you win...” He grunted, seeing the light blue bird who attacked him help up the first one he fought, before another stepped forward and kicked him in the face.

“Est-il réveillé?”

“Oui. Ça bouge.”

“Tu parle français?”

“Ç'est pas parler.”

“Ahem! Can juu understand?”

Leone blinked before looking up, realizing he was in a wooden cage using deeply embedded spears as makeshift bars to keep him trapped in place. Only the roof was open, so he guessed they could fly in and pick him up if they wanted, this making escape a tad bit tricky. Difficult, but not impossible.

Talons scratched the wood to catch his attention, staring at his captors. Two Avians stared back, one he could recognize by the small dent in its beak he inflicted on during their brief struggle. The other that stood in front narrowed its eyes before speaking again. “I sed, do juu understand?” He nodded, feeling a slight sting at the corner of his lip before spitting out dried blood. The Avian nodded, lifting itself up before shaking its wing at the other beside it. “Le singe parle.” It said, sounding rather male in its vocals. The one in front tilted its head before turning around, grabbing something off a table top with its talon and raising it against the bars. It was his armor chest piece, the crest of the Order staring back at him. “Juu a hunter, oui?”

He sniffed, his nose feeling a bit runny before wiping off some blood from it. Looking up at the crest, he scoffed and leaned back to sit down. The Avian in front sounded rather feminine, throwing the chest piece aside before flying up a few feet and landing in the cage. He turned his head around as the Avian... woman? Bird? Person, he didn’t know how to label her come to think of it. She leaned forward before sitting adjacent from him and clearing her throat.

“Are juu a hunter?”

He nodded, looking at the ground. She continued.

“Are juu here to hunt us?”

Shaking his head, he rubbed his hair before grimacing in pain and clutching his side, his fingers stroking the soft wrap left on his stab wound. They treated his injuries, how kind of them.

“Zen why are juu here? Why did juu cross our lands and attack?”

“I didn’t cross your lands on purpose, the last time I passed here this place was uninhabited.”

“We have been in zese lands for years. Juu have been absent for long time.” He hung his head, not liking reminders and silently cursing at himself. If he had just followed Noémie’s lead, they wouldn’t be in this mess. Noemie, Nihja... where are they?

“Where did you leave my friends?” The bird cocked its head. “Zey are safe and kept away, juu are my main concern here. If juu did not come here to fight, what are juu doin here?”

“God your English is broken.”

“Quoi?”

“I said I’m here as a travels guide. The elf girl wanted... needed a guide to take her home, so I was keeping to my job.” She narrowed her eyes as the Avian outside the cage chuckled. “In ze direction juu were heading, juu would have crossed into ze dragon’s home. Zen you would be in worse shape zen you are now. Be happy I let you live, tended to your wounds, gave juu shelter. Look at me.”

Leone looked up, finding himself staring at the birds eyes, bright yellow and staring back. She raised her wing and waved at the other bird behind her. “Laisse nous.”

“Quoi?”

“J'ai dit aller!” She turned back, staring him down. He looked away, confused but obedient as he walked through the tunnel against the wall, where exactly was he stuck in? “What is juu name?” She asked him. “My name... is Leone. Leone Ni-”

“Leone Nishi Nohera.” She finished for him. His eyes widened in surprise as she began to smile. “Juu are ze one, juu no remember me?” He shook his head much to her dismay. She smiled and reached into the pouch belt she wore, pulling out a gold necklace and dangling it in front of him. He gasped.

He recalled at a young age of ten stealing that necklace and giving it to a young bird he found, crying and alone, scared that she had lost her parents. He originally stole that necklace to trade it in for food, but was caught and **** to hide in the woods overnight. Later he heard a soft whimper and found a young Avian who couldn’t fly. They spent two nights together before finally reaching her parents, he decided to give her the necklace to remember him by, stating he would grow up to be a hero. No sooner after he had left was he captured by the village guards and sold to the Order...

“Céline?”

She smiled and nodded. “In ze flesh!”