Don't do it

 Tatsuya reared back mid-air and roared.

The sound rippled through me until I was sure my ear drums would burst and my muscles would turn to dust. It was like standing right next to a buzzing stage at a wild concert, or rather what I imagined that to feel like. I tightened my grip around a couple of short spikes on his back with a surprised croak to avoid dropping away into oblivion.

None of the flaming arrows hit me and I wasn't too worried about them hitting him. What kind of idiot though they were the right weapon to use against a dragon of all things? He tilted sideways and levelled out before I fell off his back, gliding for several seconds as we both scanned the land below. Moonlight illuminated Aoto's house and garden ahead of us, and I realised I had actually been sitting outside a mansion earlier today.

That's when it occurred to me that the arrows had been no more than a successful distraction.

A huge boulder spun towards us and I flattened myself against Tatsuya's scales as he barely dodged it. Several other rocks shot towards us from somewhere in front of the garden, close to where we would most likely have landed.

“Hold on,” growled Tatsuya before he barrel-rolled out of reach, looping sharply to avoid another wave of arrows.

My stomach heaved and I kept my mouth shut as I was struck by a nausea that outclassed the motion sickness caused by the wagon journey but wasn't quite as bad as the sensation caused by Toshi's superspeed. The voice that tore through my skull seconds ago hadn't belonged to a stranger but was it wasn't Tatsuya's for sure. I couldn't see anyone else in the air with us, though the constant gravity defying movements made it difficult to confirm whether we were alone in the sky with out arrows and stones for company.

I pressed my face in between his massive shoulder blades and alarm pulsed from his core, stinging my skin with its intensity. I wondered how much my presence limited his evasive manoeuvres and considered letting go of the spikes, giving up the future I had almost started to design in this world that half wanted and half despised me. One of us should be able to escape safely at least.

“Don't,” said Tatsuya which the accuracy of a mind reader and the urgency of someone held at gunpoint. “Don't do it, Shizu.”

Had I said something aloud without realising it? Smoke trailed on either side of me and the fresh night air was now polluted with the acrid stench of charred dragon scales, much like the scent of burning rubber tyres left behind a car going over the legal speed limit. My nails scraped against his spikes as one of my feet started to slip and his panic filled my lungs with water. The rushing air dragged even more tears from my eyes and I waited for the attack to end, preferably without anyone dropping like the stones speeding towards us.

Tatsuya's body jolted and he roared again, the sound muffled this time as if he hadn't intended to make such anguished noise. My insides floated upwards as though I was in a rapidly descending elevator and a quick glance revealed he had veered straight into the path of a huge spear, catching it with his right wing. Even the darkness couldn't conceal how completely it had penetrated his forelimb and the how off balance that left him.

“Tatsu!” That voice sounded again from the wrong side of my eardrums, a strong yet desperate cry that left my mind ringing.

But Tatsuya didn't acknowledge it.

“Shizu!” His strangled snarl followed me as I lost my grip and tumbled sideways, rubbing my fingertips raw as I tried to find a handhold on his wounded wing until I reached the end of it.

The next thing I knew, I was plummeting to the ground with only the scattered arrow flames and the sight of Tatsuya's flailing body silhouetted against the moon available to catch my bearings. The same limited lighting illuminated another massive boulder heading straight towards me, followed by a second spear in my companion's direction.

Both were mere seconds away from making contact with their seemingly intended targets when two things happened simultaneously.

I spread out my arms to either side and transformed into a white phoenix. The fabric of my kimono turned into feathers as I spiralled awkwardly towards the dragon I knew I couldn't save, my tiny bird heart crushed by the heavy human emotions it contained.

A fork of purple lightning shot down from the sky, shattering both the spear and the boulder before either one of them could crash into us. Blinded by the sudden light, I flapped my wings and stifled a squawk as I was pelted by scorching debris from the exploding rock. Leaves and branches slowed my descent and scraped my across my feathers while I fell through the deep green canopy below me and bounced off the branch of a nearby tree before I hit the ground.

My surroundings pulsed darkly at the edges of my vision, a familiar experience, only this time I struggled to hold onto consciousness. I couldn't see or hear Tatsuya, nor the voice that had called out his name.

I rolled onto my side and blinked several times until I could make out the shapes of several people dressed in grey and white robes several meters ahead of me. As the quivering air settled in my ears, a solitary figure dressed in darker clothes highlighted by sparks of purple electric walked into my line of sight, blocking their way.

“Hold your fire.” A calm yet frosty voice cut through the shadows of the forest. “And state your name and business.”

“You know who I am, Master Aoto,” said one of the group members as they stepped forward. “We only saw you this afternoon and you know why we're here, do you not?”

“You dare linger on my estate and attack my companion without so much as a warning word?” The purple flashes of electricity around the black haired man increased in both frequency and intensity, his head and body outlined by the glow like a vengeful spectre.

“We have every right to apprehend one who has been accused of harbouring a dangerous criminal,” said the apparent spokesperson. “And to use force in the face of uncooperative behaviour.”

“How can someone be considered uncooperative if their assistance has not been requested in the first place?” Aoto sounded like he was speaking through clenched teeth without it having any impact on the clarity of his voice.

From my position on the ground, I couldn't tell whether either of them knew I was there and I didn't move to ensure I wouldn't catch their attention in any way. The voluntary stillness gave me time to feel each and every sore patch left by the scattered debris, and I wondered if any of my feathers had been burnt away completely. The fall had less of an impact on my small bird form than it would have had on my human body but I was still reminded of the after effects of being hit by a car in my previous life.

“When they run away under the guise of training and make contact with family members of a formerly deceased murderer,” replied the Inquisitor's spokesperson with wicked laughter coiled around his tone. “And guardians who turned their back on their own village years ago.”

“Do you have proof of these accusations?” demanded Aoto. “Enough to warrant such a one sided surprise attack in the dark?”

Something shifted in the bushes closer to me and, before my heart could pop, Tatsuya crept out of them shakily, looking around with frantically widened eyes that made him pause as soon as they landed on me. He stumbled over to my side and leaned over me, his expression a mixture of disbelief and confusion.

“Is that you, Shizu?” he asked under his breath, holding a shaking hand close to my downy plumage.

I almost said yes, instantly and out loud, and wished I had transformed back into my human form before he saw me.

But it was far too late for that now.