The great sky puma

En route to Evendale, everyone sat anxiously in their seats. 

"So what's the difference between this great sky puma and the others we've encountered?" Muki asked, still in full control of Jenna's body. 

"It's size," Mizata bluntly stated. 

"So it's bigger then?"

"Monstrously bigger. But it also possess intelligence and the ability to speak."

"So you're saying we can negotiate with it for passage to the elven city?" 

"One can only hope, but reality is cruel. The great sky puma perches atop a flat mesa, halting all that fly higher than it's perch." 

"And how high is that?" 

"In your metrics, a mere 1,000 meters." 

"And we're at 10,000 meters. We also can't stop this thing in mid-air, so that means that cat's probably going to be leaping up and down just to hold a conversation, probably pissing em off." 

"Nay. The great sky puma can project it's voice far, but only once we enter it's sensory range. If we refuse to accept it's terms, we'd need to turn back as fast as we can, otherwise it'll devour us all." 

"And couldn't we just fly around it's area of effect?" 

"Then we must face Hougen's storms. That fiend has made it so that we must either fly directly to the great sky puma or walk the rough path on the ground. And with the land being lopsided from the great sky puma's paw prints, it's not an easy walk on the joints.

"Well the land better be smooth enough for us to drive over, because I'm getting the impression we might have to take the land route back to town." 

"That's why the elves are so stupid! They try to hug the trees n' be as "natural" as they can, but when the big critters stomp all over the place, they refuse to try fixing things and just deal with the conditions as they come," Borferd grumbled. 

"No, it would be wasteful in both time and resources to try restoring the land each time the great sky puma walks. It is not just some lazy cat that sits atop it's perch all day, only eating that which passes by. If it spots pray, it'll leap out at it, and imprint it's paws further across the land. It never sleeps either, so travel by ground is not much safer." 

"Can you just fly lower than it's range?" Muki asked. 

"The forest trees are high, 500 meters high, but gradually decrease in height the further south you go. The problem is that we are constantly using magic to fend off the other dangerous creatures, exhausting ourselves long before we reach that point. There are also no rest points or towns along the path from Evendale to Buvaria, least not before your town appeared. Even then, it's a great distance just from your town to Evendale."   

"Then you gotta go under it. No sky pumas, no Hougen," Borferd scoffed. 

"Out of the question for an elf!" 

"Then kill the damn feline." 

"Impossible with it's size and hide."

"You elves are just weak." 

"You've never seen the great sky puma!" 

As the two began bickering, Muki turned her gaze towards Shalala and Harajuku, who were both engrossed with the plane's entertainment kiosks. With how Mizata had described the great sky puma, it was fair to assume it was the type of creature that would require a sacrifice to proceed, meaning the two biggest nuisances were top on the list.

"WHO COMES TO MY AIR?" a thunderous voice boomed. 

Everyone went silent as Mizata nervously rose. "It is the great sky puma." 

"SPEAK! ELVES, DWARF, AND... HUMANS!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN AN ARMORED BIRD FLYING INTO MY AIR!?" 

"We want to go to Evendale," Muki snarled. 

"HMM? YOU... YOUR VOICE... IT CARRIES FURTHER THAN MINE!?" 

Muki began to bite her lip both in her own body and Jenna's, but decided to go for a gamble. "Yeah, it's something only I know how to do." 

"PURRRRR... I WONDER... WILL YOUR VOICE SPEAK WHEN I DEVOUR YOU ALL?" 

"Uh, can't we just sacrifice one person... or two?" 

"YOUR ARMORED BIRD-" 

"It's a plane."

"PLAIN!? A PLAIN CANNOT FLY! MY STOMACH... IT HUNGERS FOR MORE THAN JUST A SMALL FLOCK OF FLESH... I WANT TO EAT MORE! YOU ALL SHALL BE MY MEAL!" 

Mizata began to go pale. "Turn it around... TURN IT AROUND! We'll be eaten alive if we don't!" 

"Heh? That might work then," Shalala smirked as she and Harajuku began heading towards a nearby emergency exit. 

"Oh? You two going to sacrifice yourselves?" Muki asked. 

"Yup, but we ain't gonna die, that big kitty is," Harajuku winked. 

ROAR!

The plane began shaking violently as a thunderous roar rang out from below the clouds. 

"Son of a bitch sure is loud. Probably should've had a fighter escort us so we could've had missiles with us," Thorewall grumbled. 

A large dark shadow slowly began creeping on the clouds up ahead. It looked to indicate that the great sky puma was larger than the plane itself. Everyone tensed up as they waited to see the cat leap above them, but instead they got a head. A giant head with a giant open mouth with sharp teeth. 

"Oi, oi, oi, THAT THING'S HEAD IS 100 TIMES BIGGER THAN US!" Muki cried. 

"THAT'S WHAT I WAS WARNING YOU ABOUT! Before the great sky puma, this plane is what an insect is to us! It's going to eat us in one giant gulp!" Mizata cried. 

"It's bigger than we thought alright, but still nothing for heroes like us," Shalala smirked as she and Harajuku kicked open the emergency exit and leaped out of the plane. 

They then charged faster than the speed of light towards the great sky puma, slamming right into it's massive forehead, and pushing it back slightly. 

"YOU CONTEST MY MIGHT!?" the great sky puma roared as it's head vanished beneath the clouds. 

"Sounds like it's my turn!" Borferd grinned as he readied his axe. 

"No, leave this matter to them. We'll need you here to protect the plane with your magic," DaVinci warned. 

"You forest dwarves just as pussy as the elves?" 

"No, but those two alone will beat it. Thus it falls on us to protect ourselves from their carnage." 

No sooner did DaVinci say that did the great sky puma leap up for another attack. This time, it leapt higher than the plane, exposing it's massive body in full. Day turned to night in an instant as the shadow of the great sky puma covered the entire plane and some of the surrounding area. 

"NOW, YOU SHALL BE EATEN!" the great sky puma declared as it opened it's massive jaws.