Scourge Thirty-Six - Birds

Scourge Thirty-Six - Birds

Scourge Thirty-Six - Birds

I think were going to have enough after all, I say. This dark pool is a bit larger than I had initially expected it to be. I guess the location is pretty good. Close enough to a city, yet not so close that it gets spotted and burned out.

Cool, enough to make four birds? Felix asks.

I think just two, but Ill make them a bit bigger. Theyll be able to carry two of us at once. We, ah, might want to go over our things. If theres any equipment we really dont need, then we could leave it behind.

We could eat some of our rations, Felix suggests.

Esme huffs. And where do you think the weight from that food is going to go? Disappear into thin air?

Hey, it was just a suggestion, Felix defends herself.

I roll my eyes as the two bicker. I swear, theyre like a married couple in some of those more romance-y books. Setting aside their silliness for the moment, I focus on the pool. A few souls wander in. Older ones, younger, nothing spectacular. There arent any great warrior souls lingering around, or hundred-year old cultivators that choked to death on their toast, just normal, boring souls.

Still, a few of them arent too weak. I find a couple that seem oddly compatible, twisting about each other in a way thats hard to describe. Both decently strong too.

I gently pull them apart, a process that takes a few minutes, then I start forming two bodies. Usually I make monster friends one at a time, but I dont want to misplace these two souls. So I make a temporary blob of a body for one, then start sculpting and working on the other.

It will need to be decently strong, with a good back and large wingspan. We dont need it to have much by way of natural weapons though. I skip over giving it launchable knife-feathers, or acid-spit, or even huge talons. Instead, it gets a short neck and powerful legs.

The dark pool bubbles and hisses as my new friend starts to form within it. Slowly, the creature rises from the waters.

First the head, which is sleek and has a large cone-shaped ruff of feathers behind it, all tapering down to a long, sharp beak with just a hint of a curve to it. Then a large, wide torso with a strong ribcage. I need a place to anchor all of its wing muscles, which are very impressive and bulky for a bird of this size.

The body is rather small, but it makes up for it by having two powerful legs that end in stubby talons. They should be able to run pretty fast too, if flying isnt an option.

Finally, theres the one weird detail I added.

Your, ah, creation has arms, Bianca says.

Technically, theyre wings, I said. Two much smaller wings, anchored at the front a little below the neck, where its collar bones start. The wings are jointed in the middle, and end in talons too. So that it can rest on all fours, I explain.

On the front, over their upper chest. Their front arms can grab onto the stuff, just in case. I made their backs as comfortable as I could manage since we dont have harnesses or saddles. It might be a bit hard to grip on.

Ill loop the ropes we have around them, Felix says. Well have something to grab onto, at least.

The birds are both well-behaved after a bit of cooing at each other, and they let Felix tie some circles around them and hang our equipment off of their fronts.

The day is past noon by the time were done. We wont get a lot of flying done today, but maybe thats for the best. Itll give us a chance to get used to things before landing for the night.

Esme stomps out the fire and then all thats left is to hop aboard.

Alright, I say as I look at the birds. Bianca and I will be on him, Felix and Esme, you climb onto her. He can carry more weight, and the two of us probably weigh more.

Shouldnt we mix it up then, heavy with light? Felix asks.

I dont think so, no, I say. Besides, Biancas never flown before. Ill be able to keep her safe. The bigger bird kneels down before me so that I can jump onto his back. I grab onto one of the ropes passing just past his wings, then tuck my knees in close to his chest. Come on, you can ride behind me, I tell Bianca.

She hesitates, then grabs my hand and pulls herself up.

It takes a bit of fiddling, especially since Bianca and I are both wearing skirts still, and neither are split for riding. Bianca shuffles closer to me. Do you mind if I grab onto your waist?

Huh? No, go ahead. Look at how Felix and Esme are doing it. I glance over to my friends, who are both arguing, though even Esmes smiling as she takes the opportunity to poke Felix in the ribs. Okay, so maybe not.

Bianca chuckles, and I feel her hands carefully wrap around my abdomen.

Alright everyone, hang on, I say.

The birds both start flapping their wings, and with a bit of a running start, take off and immediately start spiralling upwards to clear the woods.

Biancas grip tightens around me, and I hear her squeak as she buries her face in the crook of my neck. I cant look, she says.

I cant help but laugh as we finally take off. Dont worry, I wont let anything bad happen to you, I say. And I mean it too.

We fly higher and higher, then level off a hundred or so metres off the ground, destination north, towards the great mountains that split the country apart.

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