Hovering above the trees, the creature had ensnared Wyford's leg with one of its talon feet. With each passing moment, it showed no signs of stopping, carrying Wyford towards who knows where. A trail of blood followed from Wyford's leg, each drop falling to the ground like rain.

Firmly resolved, Tyrus aimed at the creature, fully prepared to unleash a Light Bolt, when a sudden swoosh of air brushed past him. Mitha pulled her arrow back from its motionless state and took aim once more, releasing it as the arrow followed the movement of the beast.

The winged creature must have been aware of the attack and swiftly retracted its wings. Tyrus watched the arrow sail further than Mitha’s last shot, arching ever so slightly, and then dropping. A piercing screech filled the air as the bird beast altered its path towards a line of trees. The relaxed flapping turned into panicked swooshes as it desperately tried to orient itself.

Upon realizing they were descending, Wyford raised his sword. By letting out a yell, the man successfully grazed the creature's leg despite its unsteady wobbling. Crying out, the creature released Wyford, causing him to collide with the trees and vanish from sight behind a formation of rocks.

“We got to help him,” Mitha urged.

Tyrus nodded, and the pair rushed after where Wyford had fallen. Along the way, the beast was nowhere in sight, which meant it could be on the move. The further Tyrus and Mitha trekked, the more intense the chills that coursed along Tyrus's back became. The air became less putrid, but the acrid smell of vomit lingered in the surrounding undergrowth. His senses whined as his stomach churned from the air lashing his face. Nevertheless, his state was far better than its previous state, leaving him with no room for complaints.

To stay alert, Tyrus made a point of keeping his eyes peeled for anything happening above him. The fog made it hard to see, but he didn't think the mysterious beast would bother staying nearby. However, being in unfamiliar surroundings did not provide him with a sense of security.

After that little display of bodies back there, they were in its territory, its hunting grounds. It knew its way around, aware of every nook and cranny. Ambushes were a likely thing to occur, proven true when it tried to snatch Igneal as if he were a rodent. Adding to the problem, only Tyrus could hear the sound of its wings flapping in the distance. Given its speed, the others were easy targets without him in these conditions.

In this uncertain scenario, Tyrus wished for Wyford's well-being, as it was unknown who would fall victim next. Hopefully the creature decided it wasn't worth the trouble and flew away to another location.

Speaking of somewhere... Where’s Igneal? Is he still back in the shack?

“Ugh...”

A groan nearby had Tyrus stop in his tracks. Mitha and Tyrus glanced at each other briefly before they both rushed forward, climbing over a fallen log. Next to a pair of rocks and laying on top of a puddle with broken branches was Wyford. Covered in cuts and bruises, the man favored his left leg as he tried to sit up.

Mitha ran straight to him. “Wyford!”

“Easy there,” Wyford said, smiling weakly as he pushed himself up with his sword as a crutch. “I’m fine. Luckily for me, this ol’ tree broke my fall, though I think I’m going to have one hell of a nasty bruise in the morning.”

“How’s your leg?”

Wyford shuffled his feet in response. “Banged up, but I can manage. Thought I was a goner up there! Then again, when else would I get to fly like that? Besides that, my fate lies elsewhere.”

With the help of his sword, Wyford lifted onto his feet, grunting. “Yep. Definitely won’t be getting up tomorrow. I’ll probably have to drag my leg around like a wounded animal. Hey, I don’t suppose you got some magic spell to help with this, do you—”

A rustling tree branch nearby interrupted him. Tyrus tensed up and turned at the noise just in time to see a shadow flitting in and out of the fog. Tyrus stepped away from the two and held his sword low at his side, tracking the noise of leaves being crunched and sticks snapping.

Erratic shadows from above appeared for an instant, but disappeared as fast as they came. It was easy to track its brief appearance, but the worry was its uncertain next appearance. Occasionally, it appeared from the left, or from their right, and often from behind them. It appeared as though the creature was strategically circling them, waiting for the right opportunity.

At least, that’s what Tyrus would do in a situation like this. In this situation, Wyford was the injured animal, but his pack was there to defend him. Being alone, the creature's repeated emergence from the rear showed a deliberate pattern, which Tyrus was certain it meant to outmaneuver them. It was a tactic he used most frequently during hunts, and especially when he fought against the rock spiders. However, this time they were facing an aerial creature, and time was not on their side at all.

He glanced back at Mitha and Wyford and noticed that Mitha had her bow readied, an arrow between her fingers. She wore a grim expression, her lips pursed into a tight frown. Wyford sometimes reached for his injured leg and tried to wipe away the blood the talons had struck him. The man grimaced and muttered something about women and home, while tightly clutching his weapon.

Tyrus looked around. All that surrounded them were trees, rocks, and overgrown shrubbery. No cave or hole to hide in, and no buildings like the rickety home from earlier to shield them. They were at risk of being picked off from the ground, so there was no chance they would make it back in time. Something would have to grab the beasts’ creature while they made their escape.

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“Grabbing its attention,” Tyrus muttered. In a moment, a plan materialized in his mind, and he paused to take a deep breath. “I’ll distract the beast while you two escape somewhere.”

“What?” Mitha yelled. “You—”

Tyrus had already rushed off before she could finish, eyes set at where the creature was previously. Quickly, he climbed onto the highest boulder he could find and righted himself. Up high, Tyrus raised his arm toward the sky and unleashed a Light Bolt. It shot up into a shower of gold, a makeshift torch, but still visible in this gloomy environment.

He waited with bated breath for a response. From behind, a soft flapping sound reached his ears. Tyrus’s ears twitched, and his heartbeat pounded loudly in his chest. Every step he took on the rock wobbled him slightly, but he kept steady. He always had a good sense of balance, a useful skill in many situations, such as this.

After a few seconds of silence passed, the flapping grew to a thunderous boom. The bird beast burst out from the fog and lunged right at him. Tyrus had little time to react as he threw himself off the boulder. Its sharp talons raked him across the back as he rolled away. His skin prickled at the assault, and he felt warm liquid run down his back, staining his clothes.

Immediately, he stopped rolling and stood up just in time to parry its swiping talon with his sword. The force of the strike knocked him back into the mud, though he could tell its strength was not as powerful as the gorilla-like beast. With the extra effort his brain could muster, Tyrus rolled out of the way and dashed away from it.

“I can do this,” Tyrus breathed heavily. His sword shook in his hand and his muscles felt like jelly. “I just need to attract it more.”

Tyrus and the beast stared each other down, both their chests rising from the exertion. The longer Tyrus looked into its eyes, the stronger his intuition grew that something was amiss. Like the previous beast from before, its eyes were unnatural; its pupils were as black as night, piercing through the fog similar to how a lantern would dispel the darkness. There was a complete absence of emotion in their eyes, not even a hint of malice or hunger like typical beasts, or even any regular animal, for that matter.

Levitating a few fingers off the ground, the bird stared at him. Its eyes squinted, as if preparing to attack again, but it did the opposite. Weirdly enough, it shook its head and scratched the ground with its talons, inching backward ever so slightly. Then it raised its wings and let out a cry, its voice strangely unhinged as it flew above the treetops and angled its body in the other direction.

Did... Did it decide I’m not worth it anymore? Tyrus speculated, confused by the strange behavior. Yet again, another beast in his presence diverted their attention elsewhere. Tyrus didn’t know whether to feel glad or insulted that he wasn’t being seen as a threat. Still, something was going on here, and Tyrus could feel it. There was a piece of a puzzle missing...

Tyrus followed the bird’s line of sight, set directly on a fleeing Wyford and Mitha. They were heading for the house, their speed sluggish because of Wyford’s leg injury. Positioned to dive at a moment's notice, the predator surveyed their every action, concealed from their view as it readied itself to initiate its attack.

“...Tch. Don't act like I'm invisible!”

With a decision made, Tyrus sheathed his sword and leaped for the nearest tree. His body swelled with power and his claws grew in as he crouched as low as he could on a thick trunk. Just as the creature began its flight, Tyrus pushed himself off and jumped in its direction. His claws grabbed onto its leg and the bird beast cried in surprise.

It began trashing about, swinging its wings wildly at its new passenger. Tyrus latched on for dear life, feeling the air pummel him in the face. One lucky hit smashed against his head, and a nasty headache throbbed afterward. When it noticed he wouldn’t let go, it twirled around like a top.

Tyrus nearly hurled at the sensation of spinning in circles in the air. His sense of balance was on the verge of snapping and his sight turned into a blurry mess. The dizziness was so bad that he shut his eyes, but doing so only made him feel sicker than before. He had to do something before he truly hurled on it, not wanting to find out what would happen if he did so.

Slowly, he inched up his claws further and reached for its belly. In the jumbled mess that was his brain, Tyrus conjured forth his intent to stun. The same old blue tendrils shot from his fingers and snaked across the creature, except it only covered a quarter of its body. Fortunately, that included half of its right wing, which was enough to deter its flight.

Immediately, it let out a shrill cry while it bobbed up and down with one wing. Tyrus used its confusion and slower speed to climb onto its back, wary of the feathers stabbing him the whole time. Some of them he could push aside with his claws, others weren’t so lucky.

After successfully positioning himself on the creature, Tyrus secured his legs around its torso and wrapped his arms around its neck. The idea of either stabbing or choking the creature crossed his mind, but they were still a considerable distance from the ground. Falling from such a height would undoubtedly lead to a few broken bones. Perhaps he could minimize the extent of his injuries by utilizing augmentation, but he hadn't actually checked its effectiveness through testing. Now that he thought about it, he could say that applied to most of his magic...

It didn’t take long for the beast to regain full control of its body. It kicked its left leg aggressively to throw him off again, thrashing its one wing at an untimed pace. Tyrus locked his legs harder as the creature dipped left and right erratically, narrowly missing a tree by a hairsbreadth. Tyrus could sense he was annoying it with how its breathing was turning hasty, a sure sign it would ramp things up. That was a good thing. It meant it was totally focused on him. Ignoring him was a big mistake, and now they're paying for it!

This is kind of fun...

Thinking like this was crazy, but excitement coursed through his body like wildfire. Fear bubbled in the confines of his heart, yet exhilaration overshadowed it. His body itched to fight as well, but his brain screamed at him to control his impulses. Having a nice little flight on the beast was all fine and dandy, but that could easily change. With the speed they were going, nothing was stopping him from falling off at this very moment. The bird would catch onto his weight and twist in the air, bringing him smashing down onto the earth.

Now that its attention is away from the other’s let’s see if I can steer this thing elsewhere.

The figures of Mitha and Wyford were long gone, merely an afterthought in the fog. In their battle for control, the creature had flown away from its hunting grounds, nearing the familiar large waters Tyrus and Igneal had been following. The smell of the water calmed him in his distress, and his body relaxed considerably from the tension he was in before. Of course, he hadn’t dared turn off augmentation or Beast Transformation. They were the reasons he hadn’t been thrown off yet.

After a while, the creature's flight became steady with the extra weight, and it realized that it wouldn’t get rid of its rider anytime soon. It was rapidly breathing, yet it showed no signs of fighting any longer. Apparently, he had worn it down to not resort to tricks, and Tyrus was thankful for it. Unless the creature tried lunging at another tree, Tyrus was certain it would end up crashing onto the rocks or the waters from how much it was resisting. Still, he accomplished his goal. Tyrus grabbed its attention and got them far away from the others. That was all well and good but...

Tyrus wore a scowl as he said, “Okay… Now what?”