Hunting for Adventure

by **Red Daghul** on January 20th, 2019, 3:14 am

Timestamp: 57th day of winter 518

The breeze flew past Red as he held tight to Daghul as his wings were spread wide gliding through the morning sky as beams of sun broke through the clouds giving the air a magical feel as the two floated in between two worlds. The Endal took a deep breath of the crisp cool air and reached down to grab onto the saddle on Daghul as he sent the "go ahead" for the eagle to make his dive. With one great beat of Daghul's massive wings the two rose and dropped into a dive as air rushed past the two. Red let out a holler of Excitement as Daghul twisted around screeching his own enjoyment no doubt turning a few heads.

The two were having a way better time since the storm had let up for so many days and they got to explore the skies once again, and the idea of getting out of the Reach and enjoying some time hunting was just what the two needed. The drama of the Inarta couldn't really follow them out there, or at least it hadn't. Not only was the idea of a adventure just what they needed, but they were getting to bring a new friend along which added a bit of mystery and unknown to their trek into the woods. Plus food was kinda getting low in the Reach, so it was like multi tasking or what not.

Daghul opened his wings as the two shot over Inarta getting ready for their day, and Red couldn't help but grin for he was sure that more then one would grumble at his reckless joy. The Endal just didn't really care. Flying with Daghul was something that always brought a feeling deep in his chest that he couldn't deny. Daghul let out another Screech agreeing with Red's joy and excitement.

The Reach below them was just starting to get real busy as more and more of its people started their day moving down the stone paths and stairs. It was always something to watch wake up specially on a day where the storms let up enough to enjoy the morning sky. A few Inarta pointed specially the young ones who had only a few chances to see a Endal soaring across the sky. Daghul showed off of course with a screech and a quick show of skill in his flying. The two enjoyed the delighted smile and yells of the children they passed.

Soon the two were nearing the market place where they had told Lani to meet them. It was still shadowed by the mountain and fairly quiet for the time being. It brought back memories of the day he met Lani, and the drama that he had gotten caught up in. Narth. Red and Daghul had spoken of the day a few times and they agreed they did what they needed, and plus it was a bit of fame that came from it that wouldn't hurt them. Daghul slowed them down as he touched down and Red slipped off his back.

Red was dressed in his darkened red leather riding armor with a simple black shirt and brown pants underneath that, his hair was a braided mess as it tended to be after flying like they had been his blue eyes scanning the area out of habit. Duel Talon swords on his back even though he was still working on that skill, his quiver secured on his lower back though his bow and the rest of his equipment was stored on Daghul's saddle. Had he thought about it he would have brought a extra bow for Lani, but it wouldn't be the end of the world he assumed if she didn't have one.

Finding a place to sit back and wait the Endal took a deep breath and relaxed for a moment. Nothing was going to stop today from being a good one, and he stretched back and watched as a few people started to open their shops to start their work for the day giving the Endal looks of wonder, some a look of annoyance at his relaxed nature that they hoped he didn't see. Not that Red really cared soon he would be in the air away from their stares.

by **Lani Stranger** on January 20th, 2019, 7:54 am

The nerves rattled in Lani’s stomach, playing ball with her organs and slamming them against the wall of her ribs. She stepped into the Courtyard of the Sky, one thumb hooked on each strap that was attached to her back, watching the sky carefully. She wore her sturdy maroon colored Inartan clothing, with her talon sword at her hip and a frog of her throwing daggers on the other, with extra daggers set at easy access in her rucksack. She was relatively unassuming, but prepared for the surely taxing work ahead of them. Only once her foot hit the top step that lead to the Courtyard, she looked down to the area surrounding her, thinking she knew the place well because of how often she had visited, but she was wrong. The Courtyard of the Sky was appropriately named, without all the people in it, Lani realized that it was a breathtaking sight. The seats of the amphitheater raised up around her in even beautiful rows, ringing the intricately carved eagle and rider that was set into the stone in the basin of the courtyard.

There was a faint low tune of bells in her ears now, and her black eyes looked up to the massive architectural arcs that raised out of the corners of the courtyard, framing the cloudy but blue sky that stretched above. She could see the large thick metal tubes that hung from archways in various lengths. It took her a minute, listening to the low bass tune of the things willowing in the thick buffets of wind that reached them that high, and realized they were for music. No human could play such a thing, especially not the small Inarta, but there was a creature that could. Suddenly, Lani felt very small. Very small, but very visible. The rucksack that was attached to the bottom of her backpack slapped against her lower back as she scurried from the entrance of the courtyard, climbing the rows of seats in the amphitheater and finding the coziest nook she could find to watch the sky from. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the architecture, there was no such thing.

The courtyard seemed fairly empty at the moment, it wasn’t market day and there was no other use of it at the moment. A quick scan showed Lani that there were a few Dek still sweeping and cleaning, as well as a small group of Yasi that seemed as though they weren’t supposed to be there. Lani didn’t think they were bothering anyone, and she could hardly imagine growing up in such a strict communal city such as Wind Reach, so she decided not to pursue them. Before the mixed blood could get too far into exploring the courtyard from the ground, she heard the screech of an eagle. Out of reaction the mixed blood looked up, although she quickly realized she had no hope of recognizing Red’s eagle or being able to see Red atop it. It occurred to her then that they wouldn’t just be hiking out into the woods on a ten day journey to scavenge and hunt. Was he expecting her to ride an eagle.

The mere thought of it suddenly overwhelmed Lani, and she crouched down where she was, in the middle of the elevated rows of seats, elbows on knees, head between her hands. If boats made her sick, what would flight do? Would the Wind Eagle simply peck her to death? Or fling her from it’s back when she was too high up to even hope for merely gruesome injuries that left her as dek for the rest of her short and painful life? If the Inarta didn’t like her, what did the odd bird-monsters they worshipped think? Fear invaded her pulse, quickening her breath as gruesome images of all the ways this monstrous creature could kill her swept through her mind, distracting her from the linear time that passed.

She remembered having witnessed Narth and Evek’s communication, and having heard the eagle herself before, but the memory was vague and now tainted by her nerves. Lani had to force herself to take a deep breathe for a few ticks before she dared raise her head to see where the eagle went. Or at least, she thought it was a few ticks. When she looked up, there was no eagle in the sky, not of the size of a Wind Eagle of course. Birds still flitted between the archways and flipping into the wind, caressing Zulrav’s children with their wings. But owner of the screech that had caused her to cower was resting in the basin of the Courtyard, his owner beside him. In an open basin such as this, hiding was not a possibility, and she wasn’t small enough to disappear behind the row of stone benches before her, even crouched down. The idea that Red had saw her freak out at the sight of the eagle didn’t feel too good, but she didn’t know how to evade that perception. Perhaps she could pretend she was adjusting her shoe, except as Lani looked at her bare toes, she realized that would not hold up in court.

Instead Lani forced one more steadying breath through her mouth and rose to her feet again, adjusting the straps of her pack on her shoulders and hearing her gear clink together under the new movement. Pretending as if nothing had truly happened, Lani stepped over the stone seats below her and then hopped to the one beneath that, slowly making her way down the rows of seating rather than making the walk to the steps. She sauntered across the courtyard, trying to ignore her stammering heart as she neared the Eagle. She had wanted to stride right past the monster, but self-preservation forced Lani to give the thing a wide berth before she got close to Red, lounging as if there wasn’t a beast of a bird merely twenty feet from him.

”Good morning, Red.” She grinned at him, trying to ignore the feeling of a threat over her shoulder where the Eagle rested, and pretending as if she had no fear of the thing, and was merely greeting the friendly Endal first.

Receipt :

by **Red Daghul** on January 20th, 2019, 9:41 pm

It wasn't so much the sight of Lani as the noise that Red heard that alerted him of her presents, and maybe had Red taken a bit more care into searching the area he might have seen her first. Of course that wasn't just his thought on the matter as Daghul's stare seemed to bring a sort of judgement that the Endal just shrugged and stared back as if to say "you didn't see her either". The two let it go as they watched Lani move towards them.

Watching she seemed as if she had prepared for the trip which quite impressed Red, after her brief explanation of her past experience which didn't seem to quite make sense with the broken Nari she used he wasn't really sure what to expect from her. This was a good sign. Red couldn't help but notice she was in Inarta garb for what ever reason that amused him and instead of giving it to much thought he just decided that he like it she was a pretty woman. More than anything though the sight of her interacting with Daghul was way more fun.

Honestly he didn't really think overly about the fact that many people don't spend so much time with the Wind Eagles, and surely their size alone must intimidate others. The way she seemed to make a wide path away from him brought a grin to his face that he didn't try to hide. Why would he not many would challenge a Endal with his eagle so close. There may be some truth to why most might be afraid of the birds, but then again most didn't get to talk to them the way that Red did. Red mostly thought of Daghul as a softy, but then again he never had been at the end of the eagles talons like that.

”Good morning, Red.” came the sweet and friendly greeting from the black haired maiden, and Red gave a small bow of his head as a greeting as he pushed himself to his feet. Daghul ruffled his feathers behind the girl and the Endal glanced over to him.

"You alright" Red sent through his mind to the bird. Most of the time they tried not to talk just through the connection when in a small party, Normally Red would talk out loud to try and keep it more friendly. The need did arise every now and then.

"Well, clearly we know who she favors" came the snarky reply from the Wind Eagle and Red let out a chuckle as he at least held back from a full laugh not wanting to have to explain to much... Plus Daghul was being kinda rude to their friend. "His" friend Daghul pushed a amused emotion towards him at the thought. Daghul could be a bit of a butt at times.

Turning his eyes back to Lani he smiled and said "have you ever flown on a Wind Eagle before?" he knew that it was not a normal thing for most Inarta to do, but he also didn't want to just assume he knew everything and so he felt it better to ask. Of course he could feel the picking thoughts of Daghul in which he chose to ignore for the time being. "I figure if we fly out now we can be at a forward camp in a few hours at best in this weather, and try and get some hunting in before the end of the day" he wasn't sure what she would think, but it was he normal hunting plan for the most part.

by **Lani Stranger** on January 20th, 2019, 10:25 pm

Instead of answering her friendly greeting, Red just stared at her for a tick, a quick fluster of emotions that she didn’t know how to read shuttering around his aura. Her fingertips twitched at the onslaught of information from the passive magic, with not enough familiarity to understand them. Finally, chuckled and then spoke. ”Have you ever flown on a Wind Eagle before?”

The strange interaction threw Lani off enough that she didn’t have a proper comment on it, nor could she accurately decide if she was offended or simply confused. The foreigner answered simply in Nari, a question ringing her tone wondering if she was supposed to have had this experience before. Did regular Inarta simply ride Wind Eagles? She had thought that an honor reserved for Endal, and only Endal. ”No?”

” I figure if we fly out now we can be at a forward camp in a few hours at best in this weather, and try and get some hunting in before the end of the day.” Red was quick to get to the plan, and Lani wasn’t about to argue with him. She was familiar with the wild, but she was no hunter like he was. Carefully, Lani turned to Red’s partner, assessing the monstrous bird. She had no issue with birds, but Lani had learned she had found fear in things that could easily tear her flesh from her bones without a second thought. Lani didn’t move nearer to him, watching the massive golden eyes watch her for a few ticks, unable to express emotion on her face as she tried to swallow her fear. She could now assume that walking was not an option.

Trying to help herself get a handle on the situation, she focused her auristics on the bird, wondering if it was as sentient as the Inarta claimed them to be. She had remembered hearing the words of Narth’s bird in her mind, but had that simply been a hallucination caused by the sky having fallen at that particular moment. Her speckled Chaktawe fingertips felt the swing of amusement and slight anger… but not quite anger. Lani’s brow scrunched as she tried to identify the bird’s emotion. It had the same pattern of movements as anger, but was slower and less sharp on her skin, it was… offense.

”Hello… Sir.” She finally addressed the bird as well, not knowing what name to address him by. Her knees rang in complaint, and she realized she had locked her legs pin straight, leaning back from the eagle, even though it was nearly twenty feet away from her. Trying to not appear so utterly terrified, she unlocked her legs, bending them slightly but still not stepping forward. ”I am… uh, Lani.” She ventured, feeling as though the one sided conversation looked stupid, but not sure if Red would think so. ”I am… uh, Red Friend.” She turned to look at Red, almost searching for backup or help with the odd situation.

by **Red Daghul** on January 21st, 2019, 1:21 am

"Did she answer with a question" Red found himself a little puzzled at her answer at riding of a eagle. On one hand he had expected it, but with the question it almost seemed like there may be something she thought was close to riding one. It seemed weird and he decided to let it go at the moment it really was just a friendly gesture. The Endal was coming to find that Lani was quite the mystery. She seemed to hear him, but didn't answer as she turned towards Daghul.

This was always something Red found entertaining watching people interact with the Wind Eagle. It really had less to do with them, but with Daghul himself. The bird had a ego that many didn't understand due to the fact that they couldn't hear pretty much anything that he said. The moment was odd at first as Lani seemed focused on Daghul watching him before her body started to tense up, and Red felt his himself move forward a step to go to her aid when she opened her mouth.

”Hello… Sir.” It seemed soft, and Red felt Daghul's eyes searching Lani he was sizing her up trying to decide what he thought of her. ”I am… uh, Lani.” the Massive Eagle rose from his resting and at first Red wasn't sure what was about to happen. ”I am… uh, Red Friend.”. Thats when he felt Daghul's offense slip away and his massive pride take over and Lani was looking at Red who nodded towards the Wind Eagle with a encouraging smile as Daghul made a grand gesture of spreading his wings open pushing his chest out as he let out a screech and swept it into a majestic bow. Red rolled his eyes as he watched the bird show off for the black haired girl.

Sometimes the Wind Eagle had to much fun with the respect that people gave him, but then again maybe red would have the same feeling as they did if he couldn't hear the thoughts of his brother. Shrugging Red stepped next to Lani placing a hand of her shoulder and said "I think he likes you" he looked at her and added "that is a big honor" he looked back at Daghul with a mock judgmental stare shaking his head and added "he can be a big ham sometimes". Daghul sent a emotion of mock offense and Red just laughed.

The Endal let moved his hand back to his side wanting to reassure her one more time "His name is Daghul, and he doesn't eat black haired girls he much prefers the taste of blondes" he gave Lani a playful smile. Daghul had returned to his normal stance eyeing the two as if he was eager to be off. The sky was calling to him and he let Red share in that for a moment. The Endal decided to translate it into a nicer term "Daghul would like to know if you are ready to fly?"

by **Lani Stranger** on January 21st, 2019, 3:19 am

The movement of the eagle unsettled Lani, but she held her ground, and when the massive monster shrieked at her, she felt her shoulder’s shrink into her frame. Impossibly black eyes widened at the eagle and her jaw dropped at the seemingly aggressive show. Was he messing with her? Suddenly something thunked down on her shoulder, and the mixed blood jumped slightly, shooting Red a glare for the scare. She realized the gesture was meant to be reassuring as she listened to his words, and the glare softened into an amused grin. Finding bravery borrowed from her new friend, she set her feet to walking forward, nearing the Eagle until she was close enough to reach out and touch it. She wasn’t paying too much attention to Red’s advice on who the Eagle chose to eat, as her fear was dissipating and turning into awe.

When the bird looked at her, folding his wings back by his side, Lani tried to offer a friendly smile to the beast, slapping her hands to her thighs and offering a midway bow, a habit of respect she had learned in Lhavit. If she had been following the tradition completely, she would have let her eyes face the ground and not look at the person who she was bowing at, but she wasn’t comfortable yet enough to completely trust the bird not to peck her with his absurdly large beak, and so she watched him as she bowed.

She wasn’t sure if he understood the sign of respect, but Lani’s self-preservation was beginning to be stamped out by her awe and curiosity. If the foreigner was anything, she was curious. Slowly she raised two hands to show the bird she had nothing in it, and then even slower she reached out for the bird. She was giving the creature time to react in some way. If he didn’t move to spook her away or move away from her, she would gently run her sensitive Chaktawe fingers across his feathers. They didn’t feel exactly as she had expected them to. The scribe was used to caressing the smaller feathers of Val’s crow or owl, which were stiff on the outside but downy and soft when she got her fingers behind their necks to scratch them how they liked. Simply because of Daghul’s size, his outer feathers were thick and stiff, with fine little hairs like any other bird that wove together to create the flight animal’s covering. She was fascinated by the size and normalcy of these feathers from such an not normal bird. Immediately her eyes flew to his large feet, trying to see how the commonly bumped and scaled bird skin manifested on such a large creature. Before she could assess the skin though, her eyes landed on the massive talons, and fear spiked through her chest once again. Bad idea.

"Daghul would like to know if you are ready to fly?" Red’s voice interrupted her awe, and Lani blinked, remembering that the Endal was there. Her hand shot back from the bird and fell by her side, and she gave a jolting bow to the bird once again, this time eyes down properly. Then she bounced over to Red. The adrenaline made her muscles light and her movement’s jolty, but she was trying to swallow her fear so she welcomed the odd excitement as a replacement.

”Uh, yes. Yes.” She stumbled on the Nari word the first time, and then spoke again with more conviction. At this point there was no hiding her nerves. ”Um… but, how?”

by **Red Daghul** on January 21st, 2019, 3:51 am

”Um… but, how?” her words came out with more confidence then she had been speaking in the last few moments. It was strange to him how she revered something that he took for granted now, and in some way it humbled him to think that he had once been much like her towards the great eagles. It wasn't as if he had lost that respect for them, but over the years it had gone from seeing them as god to seeing them as friend... no that wasn't it. Family. Daghul was his brother, but seeing her fear and her respect reminded him at how special it was that he got to be connected. For a moment Red's joking nature slowed down as he gave Lani a puzzled look at her question as his playful mood returned.

"I like her" came the voice of Daghul as the Endal moved closer to the beast giving him a sarcastic eye roll before standing next to him and turning towards the girl. "well first things first was will have to get on the saddle" he put his hand on the leather seat as it were "we will go slow, trust me" he said with a wink. Riding with two people, specially a new rider, meant that they wouldn't be doing anything fancy but he was sure it was still going to be a daunting task for her, so he decided he would do his best to comfort her.

Lifting himself up into the harnessed seat he wrapped a around around one Daghul lowing himself some to make the footing a bit more stable. Normally the Eagle wouldn't even wait for Red to get tied in, but they both agreed that this would be a better thing to take step by step. The saddle was mostly a leather pad that had straps that fit around Daghul's chest and then had sets of straps along the sides for riders to hold onto or to tie in which came in helpful if the weather became over powering. The plan here was simple Lani would tie in farther up while Red then would strap in behind her giving her a sort of shielding just in case. Hopefully it would provide a bit of safety for her while they flew.

"All you have to do is climb up here and we will go ahead and secure the harness to your legs" he pulled the straps out for here to see "then you can hold on to this" he pointed to the top edge of the saddle where there was a rim of sorts which Red himself used to hold on to much of the time. "Then once we have you in tight I will tie in behind you" he nodded and held out a hand for her to take to help her get on top of Daghul's back.

Being in the air was a amazing feeling one that Red and Daghul found addicting, but the Endal could still remember the first time he was in the air and how sometimes it felt to free. All things considered though she was handling her first meeting with Daghul well, and this next part might very well show just how Inarta she was. Red knew Daghul to be very good at picking people he liked, so he had a feeling that she was going to enjoy this experience as much as he had.

by **Lani Stranger** on January 21st, 2019, 6:45 am

”I can tie this on?” Lani asked once Red explained the mechanics of two people riding Daghul. She pulled her pack from her back, eyeing the rings on the back of the saddle, wondering if they were for securing the packs or something to wind the straps to that would tie them in. It seemed like it was going to be a tight fit, and unlike riding horses, she would be in front. The rim seemed the only thing for her to hold onto, which only made the task seem more daunting. She supposed it was better than slipping off the back though, which was perhaps why Red had set it up that way.

The mixed blood reached up and handed off her pack to Red’s hand, not realizing it was meant to help her up. Similar to how she would a horse, Lani reached two lithe gilded arms up to grab ahold of the saddle, with a swift movement she hoisted herself up, tucking her legs underneath her and then hooking a foot on the other side of the saddle. The half-Eypharian used this to balance her weight while she repositioned her hands, so that she could slip properly into the spot that Red had left for her. She was trying not to accidentally fall on Red, but she was aware enough of her body and although she had not climbed into this particular saddle before, she was able to grapple herself into place with a few adjustments. Her acrobatic skill came in handy at this moment, making her ascension lithe and graceful. Once she was in position, she was immediately aware of how snug they sat, in a saddle meant for one.

A small knowing smile quirked in the corner of her mouth at the slight vulnerability the position entailed. Vulnerability was her favorite tactic. Balancing on the awkward angle of the saddle with her hips, she used her thighs to grip the Adhul’s sides and let her hands hover just above the rim she was supposed to hole onto. It freed her speckled fingers to focus on the movement of Daghul and Red’s auras. She could read the bird easier now as she spent more time with him. The snarky annoyance from earlier had all but disappeared, leaving his aura full of writhing vibrations of contentness and eagerness for the oncoming flight. She wasn’t sure if Red and Daghul were speaking in their odd telepathic way, but the mage was curious if she would be able to feel when they thought to one another in their auras. She doubted she would be able to eavesdrop on their words, but possibly their emotions.

Lani then focused on Red, sure that she was not the only one suddenly aware of their closeness. But where the mixed blood saw it as an advantage, she wondered if Red was embarrassed or simply didn’t care. As much as she witness Inarta they had no shame, something that was at least familiar to the Alvad, but she was curious to feel his reaction in his aura. Still, she had no motive at the moment, and so the detail of the vulnerability of their closeness was simply stored into her brain as she leaned forward to grab the straps, trying to imagine how they were to attach themselves to her.

”How I do this?” She asked, leaning forward so Red could see. The technicality of it was helping distract Lani from both her fear and her nerves, although there were so many things that were so new to her that she hardly had time to think about much more than the next step.

by **Red Daghul** on January 22nd, 2019, 4:04 am

Taking the bag in his hand he smirked a little at her wondering if she simply misunderstood his gesture or if it were some kind of power play. It seemed weird that it would be some sort of pride thing when she was about to put her life into the hands of the Endal and Wind Eagle, so Red decided to let it go and went to tying the bag down to the saddle watching Lani from the corner of his eye. Her bag wasn't to big so it didn't take much to get it secure, besides this was his hunting saddle so it had plenty of space to store different pieces of gear. It even had a space at the bottom of the leather that lifted up and revealed a place for extra gear which is where his bow and arrows were kept.

Looking back to the dark haired girl he was quite impressed with how easily she seemed to climb up into the saddle, and on top of that how close to getting in the right position at that. She seemed to be looking over the straps and testing out grips while Red finished up getting things in place before turning to him and asking ”How I do this?”.

"Well so far you haven't done bad at all mainly we just need to strap your legs in" the Endal reached over as she shifted a bit trying to aid him, but he was able to get to the straps easy enough as he took her foot in his hand and wrapped the looped leather around her shin and down to her foot placing the loop under her arch. Suddenly a memory slipped into his mind, or maybe it was Daghul's. It was hard to tell. Years ago he had done the same thing with Iosha her blonde hair waving in the wind of the day, his hands roping the strap the same way being gentle making sure she was ready for her first flight with them.

The memory came a jolt as he paused for a second in the middle of securing the loop under Lani's foot. Shaking his head as if to dispel the thought he sent a questioning emotion to Daghul as if to ask if that was him or the Eagle. Red tried to mask the small pause as he moved over and started to do the same with the girl's other foot using the same gentle touch to guide the binding around her shin and the loop to her foot. "That should do it, and I will be behind you to make sure nothing crazy happens" Daghul sent a shrug of emotion letting the Endal that he wasn't sure and wasn't worried about it.

Taking a deep breath and letting it out to regain his focus on the task at hand he quickly wrapped his leg around his own strap and foot into his loop with out his hands as he had practice time and time again. A little distracted he slowed his mind using the motions to remind him where he was and he leaned close to Lani close to her ear "Ready?" it was a soft question, but there was a excitement in it as well and his arms wrapped around her finding a place to hold as he waited for her answer. Though his words came out his thoughts questioned himself Why her, why now?.

by **Lani Stranger** on February 18th, 2019, 3:25 am

As Red helped Lani strap in, her heart picked up in speed, nervous about the oncoming flight. Red’s aura radiated nonchalance towards her, which helped with her own nerves, but was interrupted by a bout of nostalgia. Paying attention to the sudden change in emotion, she felt a surge of something that didn’t seem to quite belong to Red and it was a tick before she realized that Daghul might have just said something to Red with that emotion and she had felt it with her auristics. Her mind ran blank as she tried to contemplate the progression of the skill and so she jumped a little bit when Red spoke softly in her ear. ”Ready?”

His breathy Nari was filled with an excitement and anticipation as she felt his hands wrap around her. Her nerves set aflame once more and she giggled a little bit with the thrill of the very dangerous thing she was about to do. ”Very much!” She grinned, slipping the words out in Nari. A small part of her pleaded for her to say no, but the words were already out and she wasn’t going to back down. After all, if she was doing this with an Endal, it wasn’t as if she was going to get in trouble right?

She was about to ask Red what she had to do when she felt the powerful muscles of the giant bird begin moving beneath her. Like he was pushing off the air with his wings, Daghul reached up and pulled his massive wingspan down a few times. She couldn’t feel anything other than the movement of the bird and for a tick she thought the monster was simply flapping without making any leeway, and so she risked a glance at the ground. To her surprise, although she shouldn’t have been considering this was the anticipated result, the ground was already nearly thirty feet from the ground. Lani’s face paled and her grip tightened on the ridge of the saddle in front of her, leaning forward slightly as if she could press her torso against the bird for more leverage. But Red was holding onto her and the saddle, so moving too much was a terrible idea. Instead Lani opted to close her eyes all together, feeling the strain in her jaw from where her teeth clenched together out of fear. She had dreamed of flying on these massive birds before. Although that scene had been drastically different from this one. She had also been braver in her dreams, a reality that Lani confronted too often.

Every nerve in her body screamed to tell her to jump off, as if that would land her on solid ground and safe from the height. Logically, however, she knew that doing so would be the opposite of a good idea. At this point the foreigner had only one option: hold on for dear life.

OOC :