True Sisters: Part Four

     "Welcome back. How was your flight?"

     "Wonderful, thank you. Isn't there any way we could arrange for Tid to ride on Morbid's back or something?"

     "Nope, sorry. We could if we tried, but your legs are weaker than I thought. They need the exercise. If you're going to... " He stopped speaking abruptly. "Never mind. You need the exercise." He went back to stirring the pot.

     "Hey, what's in there, anyway?" I asked, curious. He filled a cup full and handed it to me.

     "Breakfast."

     I drank my cup and by the time I was finished, Morbid and Tid had woken up and started eating. While we were waiting for them to finish, I started asking Aaron a few things.

     "So, why do we need the equipment?" I questioned, gesturing towards the unopened bags.

     Aaron was silent. He looked over at me and sat down of his haunches. "Well," he said, finally. "We don't want to look or be under prepared. These roads aren't exactly easy to travel. Bandits and robbers visit them frequently. Plus, I don't think that Cinpate's answers will be what we want to hear. He might suggest war, he likes to do that."

     He shrugged and continued. "You can put them on; we're not anywhere near Meridell anymore. It's safe." He opened his bag and started suiting up. I turned towards mine and put on all my armor. I buckled my weapons at my belt and looked towards the others. Everyone was armored up and had gathered their bags. With my cloak on, the early morning heat was enhanced, and I threw it into my bag. The armor I had on had small holes in it that allowed air to pass through and cool my body.

     A rush of morning energy filled me, and without thinking I shot off into the sky. The armor on my body felt as if it weighed nothing and I sped through the air. I thought I heard Aaron call out from behind me, but my senses pushed him away. This was where I was meant to be. This is where I belonged. This was the best feeling I had ever felt; this was my calling, my being, and my soul. I pushed my wings down towards my body and went into a steep dive.

     "YAAAAA!" I screamed in delight.

     In the middle of a midair spin I looked behind me and saw Aaron flying to catch up with me. Suddenly, reality hit, and I slowed to a soar, allowing Aaron to catch up. He came right up behind me, and without a word grabbed my tail. I cried out with pain but turned and followed him obediently down. Every fiber in my body, every cell, told me to turn around and fly higher, and as hard as it was, I pushed the feelings down and continued my slow descent.

     When we reached the ground, I saw Tid sobbing into Morbid's shoulder. I was shocked, Tid never cried. She turned to look at me, and began to cry even harder. Morbid passed her over to Aaron and pulled me to the side.

     "What exactly is your problem? Are you just trying to make Tid feel bad? All she wants is to be helpful, but when she slowed us down by only being able to walk, she felt like a burden. How could you do this to her?"

     "Morbid, please. You have to understand," I started, but Morbid interrupted.

     "Don't you Morbid please me. I know you just want to show off your flying skills. I know you... "

     I cut her off. "I don't want to hurt anybody. It's just that Pteri wings are not made for walking, just like Chia arms aren't made for weight lifting. Sure, we can do it, but we can't walk 15 miles a day! We just can't! We need the sky, the air, and the open space. All of you, sure, you can fly, but you can also walk. I can't. I'm sorry, I wish there was something I could do about it, but there's just not."

     Morbid seemed shocked at my outburst. "Fan, you can walk, you just won't..."

     "But I do! I try so, so, hard. One time, when I was younger, I decided to just focus on walking. For a whole week, I didn't fly once. That was when my leg bone snapped. We Pteris just are not made for walking. I'm sorry." And I was. How I wished I could walk beside them and keep Tid away from the pain she was now feeling. "I'm sorry," I whispered, and I glided back to where Aaron was.

     I perched in a tree and waited until after Morbid told him what I had said. Aaron looked up at me, but I drew back, trying to hide behind my wings.

     "Fan," he started, but was interrupted as a huge black shadow crossed over us. Morbid screamed and whatever was making the shadow let out a huge, loud, deep roar. I pulled my Pteri Sword from my belt, thinking, "This is the time to redeem myself." I jumped into the sky and flew towards the shadow, which turned out to be an overly large Darigan Lenny. Its huge, nasty colored beak glistened and its large muscle toned wings beat the air noiselessly. It looked at me and screeched loud and long. My tiny bird ears cried out with pain, but I held to sword out in front of me and charged it down...

     "Oof!" I felt the wind get knocked out of me and I tumbled towards the ground, pushed out of the air by Aaron with Tid on his back, only to be caught on the back of Morbid, who was screaming instructions.

     "THE FLUTE! GET OUT THE FLUTE!" she cried over the sound of the bird's screeches. I pulled the flute out of my pocket and yelled back.

     "NOW WHAT?"

     "PLAY IT! PLAY IT!"

     I stopped, not knowing what to play, but when Morbid dodged the bird's massive foot, I put it to my beak and started blowing.

     The same song came out as last time, but this time it was sharp and quick, and it slowed down into a dull melody, I looked around me and saw that the bird was moving as if in slow motion, while Aaron and Tid zoomed around it. Everything was moving so fast, yet so slow. I saw Tid leap off of Aaron's back, her fur rippling in the sun and wind, hooves stretched out fully, a smile of pure joy on her face. Still smiling, she slammed right into the bird. It screeched, but Tid held on. She grabbed her sword and continued to fight the foul creature, slashing at it again and again. I could tell the song was coming to an end and tried to signal to them, but they couldn't see me, and because I was using my wings to pick out the notes, I couldn't fly in their direction. Tid reared up onto her hind legs and, in seemingly slow motion, smashed her boots into the bird's skull. It wove through the air until crashing into the growth below with Tid still on its back.

     "TID!" I screamed, wrenching the flute from my beak. I pushed it onto Morbid and dove down after Tid, the sharp cold air streamlining past me as I flew through the air. The tree branches scraped my face but I paid no mind, all I cared about was one thing.

     "TID!" I called again, trying to pick her out among the bushes. I heard a cry and I ran in its direction. Tid was caught at the top of a tree. Her side held a huge gash wound, which was oozing blood. I flew up to her and starting pulling her into the sky, getting away from the huge birds listless body, completely knocked out by that excellent move from Tid. I struggled to gain altitude under her weight, but Aaron, who yelled at me to run back to camp and get bandages, saved me by grabbing her from beneath me. Anxious to help, I swept past the trees and grabbed the bandages, making it back to Aaron in record time.

     Tid whimpered as I helped Aaron secure the bandages, but I brought Slowpoke up there, and he immediately snuggled up close and comforted her. As we put her in a sling secured between Morbid and Aaron, I leaned in close and whispered, "Hey Tid, you all right?"

     As she looked up at me, her eyes shone with happiness. "Fan," she whispered, her voice hoarse yet full of joy, "Fan... I was... flying."

To be continued...