« Are you... sure you will be okay?» she asked doubtfully as Turo got down from Winged King's back. He looked... lucid, but he had drunk quite a bit, and she knew how strong that stuff was. And how good Turo was at hiding what he was actually thinking.

« For what?» he asked, looking around at the clearing the dragon had landed in, quite far from the village. There was no risk of someone hearing or seeing him disappear here. Sada pointed to his wrist, a bit unsure.

« Your power. Can you... "jump" like this? » she asked, a bit worried. She moved a hesitant step towards him, not wanting to scare him like just a couple of hours ago... For her, at least. For Turo, it had been days, and she still couldn't quite wrap her head around it, even if she had literally seen him disappear and reappear with a wildly different appearance. Turo didn't seem worried, chuckling a bit.

« Yes! No problem!» he snapped two fingers with his left hand. If it was supposed to show how easy it would be for him, it didn't exactly do much to reassure her. On the contrary. When he disappeared... There was nothing she could do to help. What if something went wrong?

« You can sleep here, and leave tomorrow-» it wasn't the first time she had tried to convince him to stay, but he was already shaking his head.

« I have to go back.» he took out his notebook, like he had done so many times to decide when they should meet again, and in watching him look for an empty piece of paper she is struck by a sudden idea.

« Then... Then just come back "here"! Like... Today. » she feels a bit silly in describing it out loud, but... He could do it, right? If every time he had to leave he simply jumped back to her right in that moment... It would be like he had never left. He had the power to do it!

She waited for his answer, hopeful. Turo raised his head from the blank page, pen in hand, his eyes slightly unfocused before he shook his head again. She felt a little pang of disappointment; of course it couldn't be that easy, or he would have done it already.

« Sada... You also are... Tired.» he answered after a moment, and she kind of had to admit that he was right. After seeing him disappear, she hadn't slept much the last night.

With everything that had happened, it felt like a really long day.

After a moment, she heard him put the notebook away.

« You can't... Always stay with me. Two days. I will jump here, at morning. And we can go flying.» he added after a moment. She nodded, then cautiously moved to hug him, waiting for a sign for him that it was fine to do so. It seemed that there was no problem unless he was touching his bracelet to activate the power, but after his terrified outburst just earlier that day, she didn't want to take any risks.

He answered by getting closer and reciprocating the hug with both arms. She could feel him relax slightly at the contact, and rest his chin on her head for a short moment.

« ... Good night.» he says after a moment in a low voice. She reluctantly let him go and stepped back towards Winged King, who nudged her with his snout, purring softly, and they both watched him disappear in a flash of light. She turned toward the dragon in the silence that followed, petting him on the head.

« ... Did he treat you well?» she asked. The dragon titled its head, not understanding. She smiled and stroked the soft feathers on his head.

« Was there a lot of tasty food?»

That it understood, because it chirped and nuzzled her again. Sada kept petting him for a while; she still couldn't quite believe that it had been injured not even a day ago, and was already healed. Who knows what Winged King had seen, of Turo's world...

When it had gotten dark, she jumped on the dragon's back and they flew back towards the settlement together.

---

In the following two days, she noticed that Winged King had grown much more affectionate towards her. Instead of only answering when she called for it, the lizard now followed her closer and closer to the settlement, and she would often see it flying high right over the village, roaring and calling for her just to land as soon as she got a certain distance from the settlement.

It had also started to affectionately nibble at her clothes and hair; she had seen flying creatures do it to each other as an obvious sign of affection, and even Winged King himself do it to clean his feathers, so being on the receiving end of it couldn't help but make her quite happy. It was proof that the creature didn't stay with her just for the promise of food after all, even if it had maybe started that way.

Her mind kept wondering about one thing related to its injury, however.

« ... What attacked you?» she asked the lizard quietly, wishing that it could somehow answer her as they both sat in the clearing together at the dawn of the second day, waiting for Turo to arrive.

« We don't know.» came the answer out of nowhere, and she jumped and glared, half scared and half amused, at Turo that had suddenly walked out from the trees behind her. She hadn't heard any steps, so he must have just jumped here.

... He really was having fun appearing right in front of her now that he could, didn't he? What if one day someone was with her as he arrived?

She studied him for a moment, trying to guess how many days it had been for him. It was difficult to say; he looked definitely less tired than the other day, so he must have had at least a good night's sleep.

« "We"?» Sada asked as she hugged him as a greeting, taking a short moment to give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

He seemed slightly reluctant to let her go, but nodded.

« My people. We looked at the... The "injury". Hurt. No fire, no poison, no ice... Just a lot of power. Claws. Or teeth.» he explained.

All that time they had spent studying her drawings of creatures as a way to build their vocabulary seemed to pay off now, as he answered more smoothly than usual.

He frowned when Winged King approached him, the dragon's tail twitching as it sniffed the man. Turo rolled his eyes and tried to push the creature's head away with one hand, the other -the right one, as usual -, hidden away in his clothes.

« I don't have food.» he grumbled, before adding in a lower voice, to himself as he switched to his native tongue « - You have gotten enough food from me for a lifetime, you dumb glutton.»

She smiled a little even if she couldn't understand him, between that and his exhausted explanation of what had happened the day before, she could kind of imagine what he was muttering about.

It was still strange to think that Turo and Winged King had spent some time together that she had simply... Lost, in a sense, but it was obvious in watching how the dragon looked suddenly, for her at least, much more comfortable around the man. Turo, meanwhile, looked more annoyed than happy at the creature's attention, still trying and failing to push the red lizard away. Winged King seemed to get convinced that he really wasn't hiding anything, because it stopped to sniff at the man and greeted him with a gentle headbutt instead. "Gentle" being quite relative considering how big the lizard was, and being still strong enough to send the man stumbling back a couple of steps. Turo just sighed, before finally relenting and patting the creature on the nose a couple of times, his scowl disappearing just for a quick moment.

« There. Happy? Now shoo.» he waved his hand without much effect, but Winged King let out a little growl and walked back towards Sada, who started to first pet it and then direct it to crouch down so they could climb on his back.

So... even Turo and his people didn't know exactly what had hurt it? The thought of something strong and big enough to injure Winged King roaming around was... Worrying. Especially because to injure something that could fly, it was probably able to fly as well ... What would they do if it approached the settlement?

« Sada... ?»

She was brought out of her pondering by Turo's voice, and realized that even Winged King had been looking at her strangely, since she had been standing to his side without moving to get on his back for a bit, lost in her thoughts.

Right... Now was not the time to think about it. They could finally go to that place she had planned to show him!

She forced a smile and climbed on the dragon's back, patting his neck.

The creature pawed at the ground, seemingly impatient to start flying.

Turo followed her after a moment, climbing up with the same practiced ease he had already showed before. She looked at him curiously, and this time he smirked misteriously as he grabbed on Winged King's spikes.

« After we fly. »

... Yes, he was definitely having fun with this. But it made her happy, that he now trusted her enough to reveal his secrets, the way he would smile instead of the careful and controlled way he had avoided questions before. It made her feel... Special. It was something about him that only she knew.

They rose in the air, Winged King's steady wingbeats and the rustling of their clothes the only sound that was actually perceivable between the two. Even if she had wanted to, talking with Turo would have been impossible, except for screaming at the top of her lungs. She directed the dragon high in the air and then further up North, towards a mountain range. They would have to fly for a while, but it would have still been much faster than going there on foot like she and her tribe had always done until now. That would have taken days. Turo was leaning forward to hold onto the dragon's back, but after a while she felt him change to wrapping first one arm and then the other around her stomach, resting more casually against her back. She also felt herself relaxing, just enjoying the sensation of the wind blowing against her and the incredible view. She was probably the first human in her tribe that had ever seen something like this! Just the thought was thrilling.

They finally landed, Winged King shaking itself as it landed, sending feathers everywhere. She dismounted and looked at her surroundings while she waited for Turo to do the same, patting the dragon on the head. The area was pretty much how she remembered it from when she had last visited two or three seasons ago. Then again, on the top of a cliff, it was difficult to reach for anything that couldn't fly or climb easily. Just getting there for someone of her tribe was somewhat of a rite of passage... Because that was pretty much what it was.

A cave opened up in front of them, the aperture narrow enough for a human to squeeze through sideways.

« Wait here and keep guard » she instructed Winged King, giving him an egg she had carefully wrapped in leaves inside her pouch as a treat. The creature happily ate it whole and sat down, licking it's lips.

« What is this...?» Turo asked after he had jumped down from the dragon's back. Both hands inside his white mantle, he was staring at the narrow opening with furrowed eyebrows.

She simply smiled, a bit excited about what she was about to show him.

« Come» like many other times now, Sada tugged him along by grabbing his hand, and as she did, she noticed that he didn't offer the slightest resistance to letting her just pull him along, an almost invisible smile on his lips, trusting her to lead him safely.

She was the first to squeeze herself across the narrow opening, and as Turo did the same, she got to work to light a small flame she used to light a piece of wood to use as a torch. They intentionally left some dry branches to use as torches every time someone from her tribe came here.

« It's deep inside, we have to walk a bit-» she explained, only to smile a bit when she turned around and saw Turo remove the top part of the clothes she had made for him to reveal part of his weird purple clothes that glowed in the dark. She had gotten used to seeing him dressed like one of her tribe, cape excluded, but now that she knew the truth about him, she looked at them with new eyes.

With both lights illuminating the otherwise complete darkness around them, they started heading deeper into the cave.

« You can fly on Winged King... why?» she asked as they walked. Turo sped up a bit to keep walking by her side. She heard him stumble a moment, and then keep walking by keeping one hand on the wall of the cave.

« There is a... creature like Winged King. Miraidon. My people fly on it.» he answered.

Oh, so they had their own Winged King? Probably somewhat different, because he hadn't looked like he had recognized the dragon.

« "Mi-rai-don"...» she tried to get used to the foreign name. What a strange way to name a creature.

« What color is it? Are the wings big?» she asked, curious. Maybe she could ask him to draw one?

« It is, um... purple, and... no wings. »

Purple skin...? She turned around to stare, a bit unsure, at his glowing skin clothes. He seemed to immediately get what she was just starting to think about, because he looked horrified and shook his head.

« ... ah! No, no... we don't... make clothes from Miraidon. My people don't hunt creatures.»

Now that had her make a double take and stop walking completely to look at him.

«... you don't hunt creatures? All creatures? » she had tought they just didn't hunt some of them they respected or worshipped for whatever reason, but they didn't hunt any creatures?

« ... where do you get meat? And fur? And... bones, and...» the list went on and on, they used pretty much everything from the creatures they hunted. Did they really not use any of that? But in that case... there were no hunters anymore. What did they all do? Just gathered plants and berries all day?

« We use other things.» he answered, as he encouraged her to keep walking. Sada slowly started walking again, trying to wrap her mind around it all and trying to imagine what his life was like from every little bit of knowledge she had gleamed about him. She knew they made the clothes from plants apparently, and there were "scientists"... and probably people that built those bracelets... oh, and those shiny rocks, of course.

But, wait... if they didn't hunt them...

« ... why make that shiny rock then?» she pointed to his mantle with her free hand, pretty sure that he had another one of the perfectly spherical objects hidden inside it. Turo took one out after a moment, turning it around in his hands.

« This is not for hunting. We, mmm.... "train" creatures.»

« "Train"?»

He hesitated, looking suddenly unsure.

« Mmm... like Chalo and... the Spark Tail. Or you and Winged King. We give food. The creatures help.» she kept listening to him, feeling a little bit of excitement well up inside her at his words. So, he... he did the same thing as her? Did that mean that her and Chalo's idea of taming Winged King and other creatures had been right? That people would keep doing it until everyone did, and it was normal? She felt an enormous smile stretch on her face at that thought. Now she just wanted to try taming other creatures!

... if only she could spare the time, that is.

« So, Mi-rai-don is... your creature?»

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Turo nodded, and she saw his eyes soften a bit as he smiled.

« I got Miraidon when I was a... small child. He came from one egg.» she could feel the warmth in his voice from how softly he spoke about it, even with the somewhat stilted vocabulary. Raising creatures directly from the egg...? That must have been difficult... but it probably made the bond between them unbreakable. She wanted to keep asking questions, but had to stop when she noticed they had finally reached their destination. With a small smile, she guided him towards one end of the cave and held the torch high to let him see better. She could hear him take a sharp intake of breath by her side.

« This is my people's... life. My... "past". My "history". » she explained in a low voice.

Lines done with ash, charcoal and other colored dust mixed with water started at eye level of the two. Some of them were lines, spiraling all around, and then connected through them were dozens and dozens of various handprints in all colors. Some were average sized, others had obviously been left by children. Around each handprint were symbolic drawings of people, hunting creatures, or crafting tools, or depictions of creatures themselves. Each couple of drawings told a story; the role of that person in the tribe, or accomplishments, legends, passed down from parents to children as they painted the next section to create a giant interconnected wall of stories.

« This is mine.» she explained, pointing out one section of the wall.

There was a smaller child sized handprint near two adult ones, all drawn with orange-red dust.

« My mother... And my father.» she added, pointing to the two biggest ones.

« All people in the tribe... Paint here at various points of their life. When the children are big enough to walk, every two seasons, they come here with their parents and add their handprint. The parents show them their own handprint.

And then, they come back here to add things... their story.» Sada explained slowly as she propped the torch up in a little stone support that had been built ages ago. She was probably using too many words he didn't know, but by the stunned silence at her side and the way he kept looking at various parts of the wall, following the lines of handprints from one person to the next, he was getting the general idea.

« And then, when the children become parents, they bring their own children here.»

She crouched near a small pile of wooden bowls that had been carved and left there, and took some berries out of her pouch to start preparing the colors she was going to use. Turo sat down cross legged by her side, still looking at the wall. He seemed at a loss for words. He opened his mouth to say something, thought for a moment, and closed it again.

« What is your and your parent's story?» he asked after he had finally found his voice.

She looked back up towards the three handprints as she worked, even if she knew everything by heart.

« My father was from another tribe. We trade with others... And go see them in the warm season. East from here, there is a big.... Mmm.... "Lake". A river that... Does not move?» she added at seeing him briefly furrow his eyebrows at the word.

She finished mixing the tincture, a bright red color, and dipped one finger into it to start painting a shape next to her handprint, a bit away from it. One large head, a crest of feathers... She wanted to draw Winged King first.

« We trade, we meet other people... Some people from my tribe find a mate from the other tribe and leave... And some come live with us.»

This way people kept in contact, and families grew and expanded. She noticed that something about her words had made Turo realize something.

« He was a... Umm... "Builder". He made things with parts from creatures. My mother makes clothes from fur, he used... Everything else. Bones, horns, scales and feathers... He made weapons, and tools.» she stopped, not sure how to continue to explain in simple words everything she wanted to say about him. How she would watch him work when she was little and ask from what creature every part he used was, and what it did. How he would discuss with Mother how to insert some of the things he made into her clothes, to make them ... Special. Like how putting Flame Wing's feathers inside them kept you warm at night. She had probably gotten her passion for observing creatures and trying things out by watching both of them work. She smiled a bit sadly, stopping her work a moment to look back to the handprint.

« ... How did he die?» Turo's voice was low, barely more than a whisper.

« ... The Blood-Fire.» she was met with a blank stare, of course he wouldn't know what she meant with it.

« He got hurt hunting... We stopped the blood, but his leg... Became all black and... His body became so hot... Like his blood was now fire. »

She heard Turo sigh softly at her side and put an hand on her shoulder, squeezing softly for a moment.

« I'm sorry» he mumbled.

She smiled and put her free hand on his to squeeze back.

« It was many seasons in the past. »

She went back to painting, starting to draw the rest of the lizard's body. She didn't want to paint all of it, just enough to be recognizable by someone else. Maybe she could use some charcoal for the throat...?

She heard Turo shift slightly by her side as he watched her work. She pointed to an empty space next to where she was working.

« I'll paint you, here.» she explained, but his reaction wasn't what she expected. He turned towards her, eyes widening slightly in the light of the torch.

« What?»

Sada frowned. Was he... Not happy about it? Or had he not understood?

« I draw you... Here, on the wall. For my story.» she explained, now hesitantly, and got a bit disappointed as he shook his head, looking agitated.

« No! Nonono... You can't. I can't appear on this, holy s-» he took a deep breath.

« You... You can't. People... Can't see me here.»

She frowned, not understanding.

« But... My people have seen you.»

He looked conflicted for a moment.

« ... Other people. My people. In my... My time.» he added.

His people... Would see this?

Would other people come here after her tribe?

Sada thought about it for a moment. She... Wanted to tell people about him. About all she had learned. How big of an impact that meeting was having on her.

But now he had just told her that she couldn't, that she may as well have to pretend that he had never appeared in her life. There could be no trace of him and his visits here.

« ... Oh.» her shoulders slumped a bit, and for a while, the only sound between them was the crackling of the fire. She wasn't even sure why she found the thought so disapponting. She knew that he had to keep his true identity a secret from the rest of the tribe... But she didn't realize that he also had to keep so many secrets from his own people. Didn't... Didn't that mean that in the end, they both had to act like they had never even met?

... She didn't want to think about it.

It took her a moment to notice that Turo had started moving, taking one of the empty bowls in his lap and picking some of the berries she had taken out from her pouch. He squeezed a couple of the fruits, releasing the dark, thick blue-purple juices in the bowl, mixing it with a bit of water from her skin pouch with his fingers, before raising them to the wall, near her own handprint. He started to trace the shape she had left now so long ago, adding a blue-purple line all around, stopping now and then to get more paint until he had left a thick, deep contour of a second handprint that encircled her own. He put the bowl back on the ground and let out a slow, tremulous breath.

« With this ... My people won't understand what it is. And you can... tell your story...» he said with a little sheepish smile, and she felt her heart leap in her throat and her chest warm with affection for him. Turo carelessly rubbed at his chin, before letting out a little "argh" at realizing he had gotten purple paint all over his face.

He tried to wipe his face clean with the sleeve of his cape, but she stopped him by gently cupping his face with both hands.

« ... thank you.» it meant a lot to her, to see that little symbol of the both of them on that wall. It would be... proof of everything that had happened and would still happen between them.

She felt Turo gasp slowly, caught by surprise.

« You can tell your story... to your children...» he trailed off as he got closer and she pressed her lips on his, slowly, this time not urged by passion but by a sweet tenderness.

His lips tasted like sweet berry juice.

---

Moons passed, and Turo would come and go every five or six days now. He had brought more paper and pens with him, and had been awkwardly discussing how the tribe hunted with Narjik. The old shaman seemed to have taken a liking to the man, not minding patiently answering his questions about creatures they hunted, how they tracked them and fought them.

Turo seemed equally impressed and terrified at the idea that they fought creatures themselves. If Sada hadn't known now how different his time was, she would have thought it strange. What else were they supposed to do, after all?

But if everyone in his time was used to living with creatures, she could see how the prospect of fighting one alone would seem impossible.

In the end, she and Narjik decided that they would let Turo accompany them in a smaller scale hunting trip; there was no need to go near the biggest and most dangerous creatures. Chalo would also come with them, since she was the only one who Fluffyhead listened to, for added protection.

Sada herself had been a bit nervous the day before they would depart. She knew that the actual reason Turo wanted to come with them was to trap some creatures and bring them back to his time like he had done with Winged King; he had explained in the previous days that his people would have loved to see them and train them.

And considering what the alternative outcome was, those creatures could probably consider themselves lucky.

The problem would be making sure that Narjik and Chalo didn't see him do it.

That was why she insisted on going with them, other than being the one most capable of talking with him.

They left at dawn, meeting up with Turo just outside the settlement and heading South.

She had made sure to tell Winged King to not get too near her, since he would have scared pretty much any potential prey away just by flapping around.

Turo looked... Incredibly nervous as he trailed behind them. He had left his incredibly conspicuous white cape behind this time, and now he didn't seem to know what to do with his hands, evidently too used to keeping them in his pockets. That was, now she realized fully, another sign to how different their lives actually were: she would have never walked around with her hands tucked somewhere and not ready to grasp a weapon. She had given him a leather pouch to hide his "Master Balls"', as he had called them, and he kept constantly touching the satchel with one hand, almost like he wanted to make sure they were still there.

« He really has... No idea how to move around, doesn't he?» Chalo commented as she walked by her side, Fluffyhead trotting beside her. She had a quiver full of arrows and a great bow made of bone slung over her shoulders, and a smaller spear in her hand. Chalo had sharp eyes, fast reflexes, and was by far their best shot with a bow. Her own pouch had been filled with little balls of wool Fluffyhead and the other Spark Tails they kept in the village had been losing. To avoid getting constantly hurt by Fluffyhead's sparks, she had started to wrap her hands with fine fibers made from stripped tree bark, after Sada had noticed that plant creatures didn't seem much affected by it. Narjik was walking at the head of the line, pausing every now and then just to gather some plant and study other tracks.

Sada's role was mostly protecting Turo, and she looked back at him as he followed, immediately understanding what the other girl meant. Yes, it was... Obvious that he didn't know even the basics on how to move around in order to not attract too much attention.

« He is... Doing his best.» she answered, just as he tripped and almost fell flat on his face.

Chalo snickered, before calling out to the man.

« Hey Terg! Don't worry, Sada here will protect you!» she smirked a bit as she slapped the man on the shoulder, almost sending him pitching forward again with an "oof".

« I-it's Turo...» he sighed in response, even if he knew by now that it was useless, before looking back at the other woman while rubbing his shoulder.

« What are w-... you hunting?» he asked, correcting himself after a moment.

« If you three keep doing all that noise, nothing.» Narjik snapped without turning around.

« Birds. » he added after a moment.

« Their nature is to flee before thinking of fighting. The smaller ones, at the least. It will be less risky.» he concluded with a nod towards Turo, who looked both relieved that they weren't going after something big and ferocious, and quite conflicted.

They had entered a forest, and Sada immediately looked around, searching for the nests on the higher branches that would show where the creatures were hiding. Different creatures built different nests, and you could tell to which one it belonged to by their shape and other peculiar characteristics.

Narjik lead them by walking slowly and carefully until they could hide in a group of bushes. They all crouched low to the ground, laying flat, Fluffyhead simply starting to graze a bit further up to avoid zapping them by rubbing them with his wool accidentally. Bird hunting was a matter of ambushing your target.

Their usual hunting method of stalking their prey for days to tire it out didn't work against something that could simply fly away, so they usually resorted to... Something else.

Sada watched as the older man cupped his hands near his mouth, leaving a small gap between his thumbs and taking a deep breath before breathing inside, producing a low, undulating whistle sound that he could control by changing the shape of his hands ever so slightly. Sada had never quite gotten the hang of that particular technique, or at least not to the degree of being able to produce so many different sounds. That probably came with a lot of practice and years of experience she didn't have.

After each call, he would wait for a couple more seconds to see if any creature had reacted or answered, before repeating the sound. Sada noticed that Turo was observing the whole process with quite some fascination, and she smiled a little bit.

« Here they come.» Chalo murmured; she was crouching with one knee on the ground, and while Narjik was mimicking various cries she had carefully pulled out some arrows from her quiver and stabbed a piece of wool through each of them, before setting them down on the ground, point slightly pressed in the ground for quick access.

A couple of little Flame Wing had arrived, chirping curiously and looking for the source of the sound. They turned toward the Spark Tail who had inadvertetly acted as a distraction, and Chalo took that as a signal to act. In a single fluid motion she nocked one arrow and drew her bow, lining up her sight with one of the little creatures. Sada felt Turo go rigid at her side, and he stood up to try and stop the girl.

« W-wait-»

He didn't get to finish the sentence, because the next moment the one little newborn Flame Wing disappeared in a cloud of kicked up dust. A loud roar filled the air, but it wasn't exactly a sound made by some creature; it sounded more similar to the loud booming sound Fluffyhead would make when launching his thunder, and was accompained by a rush of displaced air. Sada covered her eyes when splinters of wood and clod of soil flew her way, trying to understand what had happened. As the dust settled, she could gradually make out the silhuette of a great bird. It was as tall as two people standing on top of each other would be, and had three heads with a crest of black feathers on top. The wings were so small that she doubted them being of much use, but they had what looked like a couple of wicked curved talons near their middle. Even if the wings were useless for flying, it more than made up for it with its powerful legs, just those almost as tall as a person. She realized, after a moment, that the dust and wind it had kicked up had simply been the result of the creature running in at ludicrous speed.

The wood splinters had been the result of it slamming into a tree at full force, one leg up and the little Flame Wing pinned between its talons having hit the tree trunk at full force. It looked unconscious, but it had probably been killed instantly. The head in the center started to eat, while the other two looked around to keep watch, their eyes narrowing as they spotted the humans. Turo flinched, one hand going to his pouch, and Sada gasped and moved in front of him, brandishing her spear.

« What is it?» she whispered; she had never seen that creature, and so she looked to the oldest of the group for help. Narjik had remained completely still, just his eyes narrowing as he stared down one of the three heads.

« Triple Runner... this is just the third one I've seen in my life. They don't live long: they are born with two heads, but they usually argue about food and end up killing each other before the third one can grow.»

Sada's eyes widened, worried, and she looked back at the giant bird. So that meant this one was smart, if it had lived long enough to get its third head, and they had actually managed to work together. This was bad... if the incredible speed with which it had moved before was an indication of its abilities, they pretty much couldn't escape. It could simply run them down, and if it slammed into them with the same force with which it had plowed into that Flame Wing... she shivered, before looking back at Turo.

... worst case, she would force him to jump away to safety. He at least could escape.

The bird had finished eating, and it turned towards them fully, now all three heads looking at them. Trying to pick their next target.

Before they could move, Chalo let out a battle cry and released her arrow.

« Fluffyhead, KILL IT.»

Both the arrow and the thunder struck the bird head on, but instead of collapsing to the ground with its muscles twitching, the bird simply squawked as one head picked the arrow that had struck its flank with its beak, pulling it out and throwing it aside. It screeched with all three heads and tore at the ground, the great talons leaving deep gouges in the earth as it readied itself.

« What?!»

« MOVE!»

Narjik's roar came just in time, and they all acted on instinct, Sada turning around to jump into Turo and push him aside. Wind kicked up again as the bird bolted at its impossible speed, rushing through the bush they had been hiding in, completely uprooting it in its wake, and finally slamming to a stop into another tree, having missed them by inches. All four of them hastily stood up, Turo looking paler than usual.

« Why didn't it work?!» Chalo hissed.

« Must be part ground type...» Sada turned toward Turo, who had mumbled something to himself.

« Ground... like Steady Glaciers? » she asked.

But those were... slow, and lumbering. This one was anything but slow.

She quickly started rummaging in her bag; if the thunder wool didn't work, they would have to use something else. She paused to look at her flute; even if she used it, who knew if Winged King could hear her and would arrive in time...

« So I'm useless here?!» Chalo still looked more irritated than worried as she drew another arrow, before turning towards the Spark Tail, who looked pretty agitated.

« Calm down, Fluffy, we'll get through this-»

The Triple Runner had turned around, and its three heads had been looking at the group; it was definitely studying them. Even if it had three minds, it still could only target one of them at a time, Sada thought. And like all predators, it would go for the weakest of the group; she moved to cover Turo again, certain that he would be its next target, and then the bird moved again. It drew up its long necks as it took a wide legged stance, bracing itself against the ground, and opened its multiple beaks.

Sada stared, confused: birds usually attacked with... their talons, or flapping their wings to create wind, or pecking... she had never really seen a bird do something like that... she could hear Turo gasp behind her and rummage furiously in his pouch; he had evidently decided to throw caution to the wind and use his "Master Ball".

And then a dazzling white light formed in the Triple Runner's throats, and her eyes flew wide as it shot three beams out of its mouth, in three different directions; the left head shot a stream of fire straight towards her, the right head pieces of ice at Narjik, and the center head shot thunder at Chalo. As both she and Turo had to throw themselves aside again, she could have sworn that the three heads were smirking. It held all three streams for a couple of moments, then the center head stopped for breath while the other two continued, forcing them to keep moving to avoid getting burned or frozen respectively. Sada, for once, was in complete disbelief; what kind of creature could use fire, ice, and thunder at the same time?! And was it seriously using one of its head to breathe so the other two could keep attacking?!

« Amazing...» she couldn't help but be in awe.

« Admire it after it is dead, please!» Narjik brought what looked like a less elaborate flute to his lips and shot a little wooden dart towards the creature.

« Poison. Should slow it down a bit, if it works.» he explained, before moving to take a quick stab at the right head to force it to either back up or stop attacking. Slow it down... Sada gasped and looked towards Fluffyhead. That was it!

« Chalo, tell Fluffyhead to use his wool!» she snapped, turning towards the girl who had been shooting her entire quiver of arrows against the creature.

« You blind? It didn't work!»

« The thunder didn't work-» she pushed Turo aside as she also stabbed at the left head to force it away. « - but he can shed his wool and it gets stuck everywhere, remember?»

The girl thought for a moment, then nodded.

« Right. Fluffyhead!» the little creature's head snapped to her as it let out a little "eeep".

« Shoot your wool towards it. Like, uh... "Poof"!»

« "Poof"....?» Sada barely heard Turo's incredule comment as the little creature charged towards the much bigger bird; balls of wool flew away from it and towards the Triple Runner, attaching themselves to its legs, necks, and beaks, literally stuffing them closed. The creature screeched and started to cough, now flapping its tiny wings as it flew into a panic while it struggled to breathe.

« Yes! Keep doing it, Fluffyhead!»

As soon as the creature was distracted, she finally turned towards Turo.

« Can you trap it?»

As an answer, he pushed something in her free hand, and she panicked for a moment as she felt something smooth and round touch her hand, even if she couldn't see anything.

« W-what...?» she struggled to keep a hold on it, staring at him wide eyed. Did he... did he just make the Master Ball invisible?!

« ... another power.» he answered curtly, before pointing at her hand.

« You do it. You throw better than me.»

She wasn't even aware that she could use it instead of him.

« I-I just... throw it?»

« Yes. Quick!» he urged her.

Feeling extremely weirded out by holding something she couldn't even see, she nevertheless turned towards the creature, who by now resembled a bird-shaped pile of wool. She could do it; Chalo was their best shot with a bow, but this wasn't any different from throwing a spear or a berry to stun a creature. She took a deep breath, raised her arm over her head, and threw. For a moment, nothing happened, and she frowned; had she missed? You couldn't even tell-

A bright red beam of light engulfed the creature and it vanished, sucked into the invisible sphere, and a stunned silence fell on them all.

« ... what happened?» Narjik was looking around, evidently thinking some other creature responsible for it. He stared at both her and Turo for a moment, and his eyes narrowed. Sada tried to keep calm; he had been far away from them, busy with the head on the other side of the creature... had he seen something? Maybe seen her throw it?

Turo stepped up near her, his expression gone back to the careful, unreadable calmness he so often used.

« ... it was Fluffyhead, I think.» he commented.

« Really?!» Chalo turned toward the creature, grinning.

« Mar...eeep...?»

The little Spark Tail looked completely spent, literally and figuratively. It had shed pretty much all his wool, making his blue fur more visible.

« Fluffyhead... you killed it so hard it vanished! I'm so proud!» the dark haired girl hugged the creature, who looked a bit confused. Then it started glowing, and all three of them jumped, Turo excluded.

Sada stared, in awe, as she watched the creature's body change and grow bigger, grow back its wool instantly, and get up on its back legs. She knew that creatures could transform as they grew, but she had never seen it from so close up!

She was the only one to notice Turo as he quickly crouched to pick up something from the ground and hid it away in his bag.

---

They had immediately gone back to the settlement, spent from the battle.

Chalo had been lamenting that the whole trip had been useless, because they didn't even get to eat the stupid bird. Narjik had simply been glad that no one had gotten injured, and Turo... Turo had been pretty quiet, probably a bit shaken from the experience.

The rest of the day had passed in relative tranquillity; when evening arrived, they flew to the usual clearing where he would always leave. It had become a bit of a ritual, to stay there for a bit, just the two of them, far away from the village and other people, simply enjoying each other's company, with Winged King keeping watch over them.

It was a wonderful night with a full moon; Sada looked up towards the bright lights in the sky, one hand idly caressing Turo's hair as he laid with his head on her lap, eyes closed.

« Those lights... are they really other suns?» she wondered, remembering one thing he had told her the first few time they had done this. Turo slowly opened his eyes.

« ... yes. Really far away suns. They are called "stars".»

She just wanted to ask him more questions. But then why did the sun disappear at night while these stars didn't? Were there different kinds?

« ... how do you know? Who told you?» she asked instead after a moment.

« Other scientists "study" stars. Then they teach others... or write it, so other people that do other things can still learn.»

That sounded like a dream to her;everyone studying different things and sharing information so everyone could benefit from it.

« That is... incredible. You know so many things... even today, you knew one power of that creature...» she lowered her head and closed her eyes, feeling a bit ashamed. Compared to him, there were so many things she didn't know...

« Not many. »

She felt Turo's hand on her cheek and opened her eyes again, surprised, to find him staring at her, eyes serious even as he laid almost upside down to her.

« ... other things. I can't... hunt. Or look at creature's tracks and follow them. Or look at the wind and the clouds to see if it will rain. There are... many, many things that I don't know and you do. They are just... different.» he smiled softly, and there was now so much honest pride in his eyes that she felt herself blush slightly and bent down to give him a quick kiss, smiling.

« ... Sada.»

She backed up and looked at him questioningly.

« Are you... happy here?» his voice was barely a whisper.

She simply stared, confused.

« Yes... of course.»

Why the sudden question? Of course she was happy. Everyone in the village was fine, there had been no injuries or sickness even as the cold season got harsher and harsher. She had him, and Winged King, and there were so many things she wanted to do and places she wanted to explore; every day was an adventure. Why wouldn't she be happy?

« ... I see.» Turo closed his eyes again, and nodded. « That's... good. Good.» he repeated, almost to himself.

He didn't say anything else, but she felt a little chill at his words.

Even if he hadn't left yet, he suddenly felt so, so far away from her.