I gulped at the sight, near frightened I hadn’t felt his presence. Jessy seemed less afraid and I thanked her for keeping me level-headed.

“Hednar hates it when I point him out,” the White Prophet said.

“This thing looks dangerous, Lia,” Hednar said.

“I’m sure I’m fine all the same. Hednar is very good at sneaking up on people. Hides his emotions better than he hides himself.”

The only thing I felt from Hednar was the subconscious sensation of a metallic shield.

“Don’t worry, he’s really a big softy,” Lia insisted.

“What do you want?” I asked. If I didn’t know what Red Prophets could do with their weapons, I’d insist we fly away. Jessy seemed impatient and wanted to go fly by the lake with me again.

“You weren’t at the dinner. Your parents grew worried.”

“I’m fine. I’m old enough to be out at night.”

“Depends on the parent’s perspective, I’m certain. But please, dismount if you will, so that we can carry on a more civil conversation.”

I licked my lips a moment. “Okay,” I said, and swung down.

The moment my touch left Jessy’s, I turned toward the crown with wide eyes that stared back at her suddenly swollen pupils. We stared like that for a moment that lasted an age. Then she wrapped a wing about my shoulder and I rested a hand on her head.

I sighed. Jessy gurgled.

“How many weeks have you been coming to train with that animal, young Mother-Dweller?” Lia asked.

I shared the joke of the statement with Jessy. “That’s none of your business,” I replied.

“What’s your name?” Hednar asked quickly.

“Oh, thank you, dear Hednar. He so often prevents me from losing my demeanor even in the most trying of times. You must forgive me for not asking your name prior to now,” Lia said with the slightest hint of a bow. “To reintroduce a sense of formality to the discussion, I am Lia of the White Prophets and this is my ever so gracious companion and partner Hednar of the Red Prophets.”

“Kagis,” I said, and tilted my head at the crown. “Jessy.”

Jessy made a guttural noise while sending off feelings of greeting.

“Charmed to the teeth we are, dear child and animal.”

Jessy nudged me with her snout.

“Jessy wants to fly some more. So, bye now.” Jessy lowered her head as I tilted over onto her shoulders.

“Wait a moment.”

“I’m not in trouble so, bye now.”

We flew for hours. Her and me. Swooping over the trees. Climbing over the mounts. Diving past lakes and streams. Through countless paths and around countless trees, with joy the ever-present companion to our ride as we grew startled at the sight of the sun creeping over the horizon.

“Jessy,” I said as we felt warmth first enter the tree tops, “you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I don’t think—”

Jessy screeched and climbed with startling speed.

“What is it? Jessy, what’s going on?”

Jessy looked down and I saw a blue-skinned beast plowing through the trees. I caught no more than the merest glimpse of churning dust and upturned trees as we sped away.

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“What’s wrong? Jessy, Jess — Jessy!” I said, momentarily losing my grip on Jessy’s crown. She immediately adjusted her arc so I fell onto her wing to knock her out of balance and send the both of us tumbling out of the sky.

“Jessy!” I screamed as the crown roared in terror while the ground swept up to meet us. With a great tug on Jessy’s crown, I reeled her back and she flared her wings open while I rode her upside down. For half an instant, we skimmed the tree tops and I saw the green-tipped spikes on the beast’s back.

I got a mouthful of leaves as I screamed and Jessy caught a limb that sent us cascading to the ground.

“Are you okay, Jessy?” I asked once I tumbled to a stop. I ignored the tinge of pain in my right arm as I ran to Jessy, upside down in the brush. “Jessy, Jessy!”

She was fine. A little bruised, and her left leg had a cut down its side from a long branch she’d struck, but with a quick push I was able to right her. Jessy shook her head and nudged me with her snout.

“I’m fine. No really, I’m…”

I knew that presence.

“Jessy,” I said, sending feelings of calm and peace to her, “I need you to focus for a moment. That beast you saw is right over there — now don’t panic, don’t panic. It doesn’t know we’re here yet but it’s headed this way.” I closed my eyes and searched for the feelings coming from the beast. “Oh no.”

With a crackling roar from a blunt-toothed mouth, the beast crashed through the trees and stopped with surprise at finding two intruders in its mating ground. Its spiked tail flapping and its nostrils flaring, it took a step back and bent its knees. This particular beast was blue-skinned and covered in malicious spikes bearing some kind of green moss.

“Jessy, watch out!” I shouted as the beast charged.

With instinctual speed, I grabbed the thin tree branch that had knocked Jessy out of the sky and raised it before me like a pike. The beast crashed into the blunted tip and I pulled back to strike it in the eye while tumbling free of its pounding legs that stirred up a blinding dust as I rolled.

Jessy screeched and spread her wings. But the beast saw her and forgot me for the moment as he wheeled his head around and swept his tail toward the crown. If not for me stepping in front of the tail and deflecting it with the haft of my improvised pike, the spikes would have cut into her. The blow struck me backward and knocked the tree out of my hand as Jessy took to the sky.

“Jessy!” I screamed from the ground as the beast charged me once more, meaning to trample me. I grabbed my pike and rolled out of the way as more trees were felled in the beast’s path. He nearly tumbled as he turned for another pass, and I stood my ground with the pike firmly planted against the heel of my sandal.

“They’ll sing of my crushed body when they find us lying next to each other!” I screamed at the beast. “And Jessy will nest in your mating ground!”

The beast tore a trench of dirt as it drove its forepaws into the ground and barreled toward me. I held my grip and aimed for its eye as a shadow fell over the sun. With a final scream of exhilaration, I braced my grip when suddenly the beast started falling away below me as it past under my feet and bowled over the trees, crushing a boulder in its path.

“Jessy!” I screamed as the crown lifted me over the tree tops.

Jessy screeched into my ear and felt sorry for delaying her return.

“You’re amazing, Jessy!”

The crown made sure her claws weren’t bared as she raised me toward her shoulders. With a pushing paw, she helped me sit on her back and hold firm upon her crown. “Thanks girl,” I said as I hugged her.

Jessy screeched in response.

“Right. It’s still down there. You sure you’re up to this?”

Jessy was fearful, but took an eye toward the tree branch I still held and growled.

“That’s the spirit. Okay Jessy, coming back around!”

My and Jessy’s thoughts were in line as we banked and dove toward the beast. With one pass, I got close enough to see the moss growing on the creature’s back as he threw up his tail in a vain attempt to reach us over the trees.

“If he sees us we can’t hit him,” I said after the second pass. “And we have to be quick.”

Jessy had an idea.

“You think you can hold me?”

Jessy growled.

“Okay, I trust you.”

Climbing a few seconds gave us the speed we needed as Jessy dipped down in a shallow dive toward the still trampling beast. As we neared the animal, Jessy flipped upside down and I thrust the pike out to strike it across its eye. Lightning quick, Jessy rolled and I struck the other eye in the same pass as she flipped right in time for me to stay seated as she rose into the clouds.

We could hear the beast screeching in pain as we quickly came down for another pass and I struck its side again and again. “It’s too strong!” I said after the fourth pass. “It’s used to crushing through trees. I’m gonna have to hit it pretty hard to kill it and this thing isn’t sharp.”

Jessy screeched and started climbing, flapping her wide fur-lined wings as fast as she could.

“What do you mean more power? Going up high is just going to make us go faster. Wait, if you flipped—”

Jessy growled.

“Of course I can do it, can you do it?”

Jessy growled louder.

“Because we learned about physics in school last year and that’s how it works.”

Jessy grumbled.

“Well I’m pretty sure that’s how it works. Look, at the very least it will be incredibly cool.”

Jessy screeched.

“Exactly. You ready?”

Jessy’s only response was to climb higher and higher and give me sensations of thrilled fear as she crested. Jessy and I screeched at the top of our lungs as she tucked and dove straight down at the beast.