‘Focus, Yuki,’ she thought as she tucked her wings a bit back. ‘It’s time to have some fun.’
She streamlined her body, pulling her limbs closer to herself as she felt the winds around her. Remembering the warning Ember gave her, she made sure to keep a close eye on them for any shift.
Her speed picked up as she angled downwards, gravity helping her along. Using her tail, she steered herself around the rocky needles that stood in her way. When she needed a lift, she pumped her wings and looked up, slicing through the air.
Ahead of her, Ember twisted and turned as she navigated the pointy terrain. As Yuki trailed behind, she wondered for a moment where the lesser wyverns were. Akira had warned that they were coming, but after that, she said nothing else. Yuki knew that it was her own job to search for them, but she couldn’t help but worry a little.
The pace Ember was setting wasn’t a terribly fast one. They glided through the stone needles, taking turns here and there, but there was no real risk. There were no attacks or interruptions.
‘So she’s being safe right now and doing it slow,’ Yuki thought. It was a decision that she agreed with.
When they were a bit deeper into the needle maze, Yuki’s scales began to crawl as her instincts were set off. Her attention sharpened as she tried to locate what triggered the response. She felt the winds, but couldn’t see any noticeable change in them.
Yuki looked ahead at Ember and saw her ears pulled back a tad. She must be feeling the same things as Yuki.
‘Someone is watching us,’ Yuki thought.
The question was where. She couldn’t look around now with stoney needles surrounding her. Crashing into one of those needles would be painful at best. Erica and Yuna should be looking around for any monsters hovering on her back, but she figured that it wouldn’t hurt to give them a small nudge.
‘Erica,’ Yuki said as she tapped the link between them. She made sure to keep her eyes glued onto the terrain ahead of her.
[What’s up?] Erica replied.
‘Have you seen anything?’
[Nothing so far, but I’ll make sure to tell you if that changes,] she said.
‘I see. I think something is watching us,’ Yuki said.
[You do? Why?]
‘My instincts are blaring,’ Yuki explained. ‘Give our surroundings a real good look. We’re not alone.’
She cut off the link to put all her focus back to flying. But even as she tried, her mind still raced to try and put together all the clues and information she had. She knew that someone or someones were watching them. There was nothing else that her instincts could be indicating since she couldn’t feel any magic in the air. Erica couldn’t see any thing and Akira probably couldn’t either given she hadn’t said anything since announcing that monsters were coming.
‘So we know that monsters were coming at us,’ she thought as she curved around a needle. ‘But Akira hasn’t said anything about them in some time. They might have disappeared from her detection.’
Yuki suspected that the lesser wyverns were on them already. There was no way they had traversed so far into this pointy land without the lesser wyverns being tipped off that people were crossing their territory. The question was why they hadn’t been attacked yet.
‘Smarter monsters usually don’t attack those that they feel out matched by,’ she mused. She tilted her body to the side to slide between a narrow gap between two needles. ‘Maybe they don’t want to fight us.’
Based on what Ember had said about these monsters, Yuki doubted that idea. Maybe if they were outside of the lesser wyverns’ territory and it was night, but from what Ember described, they would be attacked no matter what.
That meant the monsters must be biding their time. They were waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
‘This sensation must be them.’
She remembered another thing Ember had said about these lesser wyverns. They were good at hiding and their preferred method of attack was ambushes.
‘They must be using magic to hide then.’
If Yuki had the time and space to look around, she would be able to find them in an instant with her eyes. They would be shimmering blobs of mana from the disguises over them.
‘What are they setting up.’
She pumped her wings again to pick up speed, steering away from another spike as she did that. An idea popped into her mind as she and Ember flew deeper and deeper into the needle forest.
‘They’re waiting for us to get deep enough before striking,’ she realised. ‘That’s why they’re following, but not doing anything.’
The more she thought about it, the more that possibility seemed the most likely. She was sure that Ember knew this as well.
‘We’re just going to have to wait then.’
The wait wasn’t very long. A few minutes more into their flight, the winds began to shift. At first it was gradual, almost like a passing breeze. It wasn’t until it slowly built more and more speed did she realize that magic was involved.
[You feel that?] Ember asked.
‘I do. Keep going, right?’
[Yes. Don’t change how you fly. We don’t want to tip them off.]
‘Got it.’
They continued forward at a lazy pace. On her back, she felt Erica tighten her legs on the saddle. She must have noticed as well.
‘Relax, Erica,’ Yuki said to her. ‘Don’t alert them.’
[I know.]
Then, like a knob being turned, the winds kicked up to a howling speed. They pushed against her as she flew forward, battering at her body and her wings. Whenever she tried to adjust, they would shift directions again and again, making it as difficult as possible for her to fly.
She knew what her role was now. It was to fly and get out of this stone needle maze as soon as possible. She locked onto Ember who was beginning to build speed. It was time to see how good of a flier she really was.
‘Hold on tight, Erica,’ she said. Before Erica could reply, she cut off the connection and gave her wings a powerful pump that blasted her forward.
She sliced through the air like an arrow, using her instincts to make the smallest of adjustments in her wings and tail to navigate the ever shifting winds. Somewhere behind her, she heard screeches alerting her of their impending pursuers. She trusted Erica and Yuna to handle them for her.
[They’re launching projectiles,] Erica warned.
‘Thanks for the heads up.’
She pulled her wings in and dropped through the air. Above her, she felt something whistle by, but she paid no attention. Locating Ember again, she raced forward to catch up with her, throwing in rolls and drops here and there to throw off her pursuers. Needles raced by her as she narrowly slipped by some.
The winds tried their best to hinder her way forward, but she used them to her advantage. Whenever they blew to her sides, she rode them for a quick shift in directions. When they blew against her, she used them to stall her speed and make her flight pattern as irregular as possible.
As she went forward, she gradually picked up more and more speed even as she stalled here and there. The landscape around her blurred by, going upside down and spinning at times as she avoided spikes and attacks. Ember was still ahead, a scarlet red bullet, but the gap between them had closed somewhat. She didn’t want to catch up completely though. It would only make it harder for both of them to fly.
Every now and again, she could hear screeching from behind her that sounded more and more angry as time went on. She wondered how long this area went on for. Her wings were beginning to tire from the constant battle against the winds.
As more time went by, she noticed a hit of green ahead of her approaching rapidly. Fueled by it, she blasted forward, evading everything between her and the end of the mountain range. Then there were no more mountains or needles. Just a lush green forest.
She slowed and looked back. The lesser wyverns had stopped behind them, guarding the entrance to the mountains.
‘We made it,’ she thought. ‘That was something.’
And now her muscles ached.
‘I really need a rest.’
‘Focus, Yuki,’ she thought as she tucked her wings a bit back. ‘It’s time to have some fun.’
She streamlined her body, pulling her limbs closer to herself as she felt the winds around her. Remembering the warning Ember gave her, she made sure to keep a close eye on them for any shift.
Her speed picked up as she angled downwards, gravity helping her along. Using her tail, she steered herself around the rocky needles that stood in her way. When she needed a lift, she pumped her wings and looked up, slicing through the air.
Ahead of her, Ember twisted and turned as she navigated the pointy terrain. As Yuki trailed behind, she wondered for a moment where the lesser wyverns were. Akira had warned that they were coming, but after that, she said nothing else. Yuki knew that it was her own job to search for them, but she couldn’t help but worry a little.
The pace Ember was setting wasn’t a terribly fast one. They glided through the stone needles, taking turns here and there, but there was no real risk. There were no attacks or interruptions.
‘So she’s being safe right now and doing it slow,’ Yuki thought. It was a decision that she agreed with.
When they were a bit deeper into the needle maze, Yuki’s scales began to crawl as her instincts were set off. Her attention sharpened as she tried to locate what triggered the response. She felt the winds, but couldn’t see any noticeable change in them.
Yuki looked ahead at Ember and saw her ears pulled back a tad. She must be feeling the same things as Yuki.
‘Someone is watching us,’ Yuki thought.
The question was where. She couldn’t look around now with stoney needles surrounding her. Crashing into one of those needles would be painful at best. Erica and Yuna should be looking around for any monsters hovering on her back, but she figured that it wouldn’t hurt to give them a small nudge.
‘Erica,’ Yuki said as she tapped the link between them. She made sure to keep her eyes glued onto the terrain ahead of her.
[What’s up?] Erica replied.
‘Have you seen anything?’
[Nothing so far, but I’ll make sure to tell you if that changes,] she said.
‘I see. I think something is watching us,’ Yuki said.
[You do? Why?]
‘My instincts are blaring,’ Yuki explained. ‘Give our surroundings a real good look. We’re not alone.’
She cut off the link to put all her focus back to flying. But even as she tried, her mind still raced to try and put together all the clues and information she had. She knew that someone or someones were watching them. There was nothing else that her instincts could be indicating since she couldn’t feel any magic in the air. Erica couldn’t see any thing and Akira probably couldn’t either given she hadn’t said anything since announcing that monsters were coming.
‘So we know that monsters were coming at us,’ she thought as she curved around a needle. ‘But Akira hasn’t said anything about them in some time. They might have disappeared from her detection.’
Yuki suspected that the lesser wyverns were on them already. There was no way they had traversed so far into this pointy land without the lesser wyverns being tipped off that people were crossing their territory. The question was why they hadn’t been attacked yet.
‘Smarter monsters usually don’t attack those that they feel out matched by,’ she mused. She tilted her body to the side to slide between a narrow gap between two needles. ‘Maybe they don’t want to fight us.’
Based on what Ember had said about these monsters, Yuki doubted that idea. Maybe if they were outside of the lesser wyverns’ territory and it was night, but from what Ember described, they would be attacked no matter what.
That meant the monsters must be biding their time. They were waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.
‘This sensation must be them.’
She remembered another thing Ember had said about these lesser wyverns. They were good at hiding and their preferred method of attack was ambushes.
‘They must be using magic to hide then.’
If Yuki had the time and space to look around, she would be able to find them in an instant with her eyes. They would be shimmering blobs of mana from the disguises over them.
‘What are they setting up.’
She pumped her wings again to pick up speed, steering away from another spike as she did that. An idea popped into her mind as she and Ember flew deeper and deeper into the needle forest.
‘They’re waiting for us to get deep enough before striking,’ she realised. ‘That’s why they’re following, but not doing anything.’
The more she thought about it, the more that possibility seemed the most likely. She was sure that Ember knew this as well.
‘We’re just going to have to wait then.’
The wait wasn’t very long. A few minutes more into their flight, the winds began to shift. At first it was gradual, almost like a passing breeze. It wasn’t until it slowly built more and more speed did she realize that magic was involved.
[You feel that?] Ember asked.
‘I do. Keep going, right?’
[Yes. Don’t change how you fly. We don’t want to tip them off.]
‘Got it.’
They continued forward at a lazy pace. On her back, she felt Erica tighten her legs on the saddle. She must have noticed as well.
‘Relax, Erica,’ Yuki said to her. ‘Don’t alert them.’
[I know.]
Then, like a knob being turned, the winds kicked up to a howling speed. They pushed against her as she flew forward, battering at her body and her wings. Whenever she tried to adjust, they would shift directions again and again, making it as difficult as possible for her to fly.
She knew what her role was now. It was to fly and get out of this stone needle maze as soon as possible. She locked onto Ember who was beginning to build speed. It was time to see how good of a flier she really was.
‘Hold on tight, Erica,’ she said. Before Erica could reply, she cut off the connection and gave her wings a powerful pump that blasted her forward.
She sliced through the air like an arrow, using her instincts to make the smallest of adjustments in her wings and tail to navigate the ever shifting winds. Somewhere behind her, she heard screeches alerting her of their impending pursuers. She trusted Erica and Yuna to handle them for her.
[They’re launching projectiles,] Erica warned.
‘Thanks for the heads up.’
She pulled her wings in and dropped through the air. Above her, she felt something whistle by, but she paid no attention. Locating Ember again, she raced forward to catch up with her, throwing in rolls and drops here and there to throw off her pursuers. Needles raced by her as she narrowly slipped by some.
The winds tried their best to hinder her way forward, but she used them to her advantage. Whenever they blew to her sides, she rode them for a quick shift in directions. When they blew against her, she used them to stall her speed and make her flight pattern as irregular as possible.
As she went forward, she gradually picked up more and more speed even as she stalled here and there. The landscape around her blurred by, going upside down and spinning at times as she avoided spikes and attacks. Ember was still ahead, a scarlet red bullet, but the gap between them had closed somewhat. She didn’t want to catch up completely though. It would only make it harder for both of them to fly.
Every now and again, she could hear screeching from behind her that sounded more and more angry as time went on. She wondered how long this area went on for. Her wings were beginning to tire from the constant battle against the winds.
As more time went by, she noticed a hit of green ahead of her approaching rapidly. Fueled by it, she blasted forward, evading everything between her and the end of the mountain range. Then there were no more mountains or needles. Just a lush green forest.
She slowed and looked back. The lesser wyverns had stopped behind them, guarding the entrance to the mountains.
‘We made it,’ she thought. ‘That was something.’
And now her muscles ached.
‘I really need a rest.’
