“What is this place?” Wren asked, his face full of wonder as he looked up at the towering walls leading up to the sky. He hadn’t noticed before, but the roof was open and he could see the orange of the sky as it started to set.

“We call this the wind room. And you shouldn’t be here.” The woman said, straightening her robes from her landing.

“The door was open.” Wren said with a cheeky smile. “And Director Newman said we could explore the island.”

The woman gave him a knowing look, as if to say that they both knew he had completely ignored the sign on the front of the door.

“I was just finishing up anyway, I’ll escort you out.”

The woman picked up a bag from next to Wren on the railing and walked with him out of the wind room.

“What were you doing?” Wren asked.

“Training, what did you think I was doing? Having lunch?” She replied.

“Training? Will I get to do that when lessons start?”

“In a couple years time, the wind room is dangerous, only second years train there. I only graduated from the academy myself last year, so I still need to get used to the wind room.”

Wren looked at the woman with newly found respect, he knew she was young, she looked around the same age as Wren in fact, but the fact that she was only two years older and was already an instructor at the academy, spoke volumes about her capabilities.

“What’s your name?” He asked.

“Anastasia Penn, but when classes start you’ll address me as Instructor Penn.”

“Yes ma’am.” Wren said with a mock salute and a wry smile.

Since leaving the wind room, the pair had continued along the path, arriving at the edge of the island they came to a stop. They looked out at the cloudbanks and marvelled at the changing colours of the sky. The deep blue of the night sky seemed to be slowly merging with the orange of the suns, slowly taking over and basking the sky in a purple hue.

“Beautiful isn’t it.” Anastasia said.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Careful there, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were flirting with me.” Wren said.

She turned to the boy and laughed. It was rich and honest and shook Wren to his core. He’d never heard a laugh so sweet.

“I meant the sky. I’ll never get tired of watching this sunset. You don’t get a view like this on Earth.”

“That’s for sure.” Wren mumbled.

They watched as the two suns finally dipped beneath the cloud bank, hiding them from view.

All of a sudden, an almighty shriek could be heard from below, startling Wren.

“What was that?” Wren asked.

“You heard what Instructor Cacas said when you first got here, monsters live on this planet. Surely you didn’t think he was lying?” The look she gave him told him that she was enjoying seeing him uneasy. He was searching the night sky for any signs of the monsters, waiting from them to appear. “Dusk Vultures, they usually appear around this time of day.”

“Dusk Vulture? What the hell is a Dusk Vulture? And please, don’t just say a monster.”

Anastasia chuckled, at least he had a sense of humour.

“A bit of an early lesson, but a Dusk Vulture, is a bird monster that appears at dusk, the name is pretty self-explanatory if you ask me. They aren’t too dangerous on their own, but they tend to hunt in packs and that’s when things can get dangerous.”

“Well what are we doing here? Shouldn’t we be getting inside? Or going back to central campus?”

She gave him a smug smile, that he couldn’t help but find alluring, even despite the situation they were in.

“Nah, we’ll be fine, you just watch.”

The screeching grew louder and louder until something appeared from the cloudbank beneath them. The creature before them was small, smaller than a human, and true to Anastasia’s description resembled a bird. Its wing span was at least two metres wide, and it had long sharp claws that looked like they would cause wicked damage if they got near. The only thing Wren wasn’t expecting from the description was the glowing red eyes. Even from this distance Wren could see them, they were like homing beacons, letting him know the location of the bird at all times.

“The eyes.” Wren said.

“I know right? Scary huh? They really scream, monster.”

The Dusk Vulture having flown closer, looked up from the cloudbank and locked eyes on the pair standing on the cliff top; it let out a screech the likes of which put its previous calls to shame. Wren started moving from side to side, uneasy at the attention he was receiving from the monster.

“Are you sure we’re okay here? Shouldn’t we move?” Wren said.

“Stay exactly where you are.” Anastasia ordered.

The Dusk Vulture rose higher and higher into the sky, flapping its powerful wings until it was looking down on the pair. It hovered for a second in the air, measuring its prey, seeing what they would do once it attacked. They did nothing, only waited.

The Dusk Vulture dived, gaining speed and power as it grew closer and closer to the island.

“Anastasia.” Wren said nervously.

“Stay.” She repeated, firm.

When Wren thought they were done for and the Dusk Vulture would come crashing into them, a loud electronic zapping was heard. He opened his eyes and looked up to see the Dusk Vulture without its head. In its place, a burning red ring around its neck with its windpipe and spine on display. What was left of the Dusk Vulture hung in the air for a couple seconds before falling away, disappearing back into the cloudbank from which it came, never to be seen again.

“What the…”