I Get On A Wild Ride

We followed the trail somehow, slipping every two steps. The ridge was so small I had to put one foot in front of the other, and ended up shuffling the whole way. The faery in front seemed to have no struggle with her balance, hung onto the wall, rocks sliding her fingers as she used her arcane to make sure she could walk straight. The rain didn't help. It made the terrain slippery, muddy, and outright impractical. My hands struggled to grip the wet rock, my skin painted red from the dust and the rain.

What a deluge.

"Are the Sarie causing this weather?!" I yelled at Yumii through the thunderstorm.

"They can! But I don't think it's them this time, it's too intense!"

Indeed, while occasionally the birds would fly down from their perch to feast onto the live food below, the wind and rain made it difficult for them to maneuver in the tight spaces of the canyon. Is that a Scorched Hyena? I watched, amazed at the sight of the rare and legendary animal. It hasn't been seen in a hundred years!

The four-legged arcane creature, its fur red and brown, snuck up to a child-sized crab and smashed it faster than lightning could strike, the cracking of the shell echoing in the valley, the other crabs dispersing. The majestic beast stepped up to its food when the bloody sand shifted near its legs and a giant arachnid launched at the hyena. It tried to bolt away but was caught right into the spike spider's bite, and was dragged back into the monster's hideout, disappearing under the sand without a sound. Well now I know why, I winced. I thought twice before putting my hand back onto the ravine wall to advance, maintaining my shadow at the ready. One never knows when a spider will show up.

We arrived at an intersection, the canyon dividing in two paths.

"Gotta jump!" Yumii pointed at the path she meant to take.

I leaned to the side, holding carefully onto the wall. That's like a ten-meter gap, there's no way we're making that jump.

"It’s too far away! Can't you make a bridge instead?!"

Yumii nodded and pushed her hands forward, a wave of arcane energy blasting off her. My vision blurred immediately, air burning in my lungs and blood rushing to my brain.

Oh! Oo-oh!

My legs gave out underneath me, my hands slipped on the rocks, and I plummeted down below.

"Yumii!" I blurted out, hand reaching out as I fell.

The woman looked back at me with eyes so wide they seemed to come out of their sockets. A tight hold squeezed my hand, holding me up as I hung loose.

"Hold on!"

"I'm trying!" I desperately tried to find a footing on the slippery wall.

Electricity cackled on the rock around us as Yumii’s arcane lifted us back up, and a white light surged through my eyes, blinding me.

BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!

…

I blinked, my ears ringing in a constant, annoying teeeeeeeeee. Where am I? What just happened?

I cracked my mouth, the sound fading, replaced by the agonising feeling of having been burnt to a crisp. I groaned and yelled, twisting in pain as my pink skin throbbed, some of it having darkened enough to be even peeled off by hand. The sky laughed at me, thunder rolling over the canyon as the deluge intensified. Shaking uncontrollably, I spasmed as I struggled to get onto my knees.

“What did I do to deserve getting blasted to bits by lightning?!”

My teeth were still cracking under the strength of my clenching my jaw. It was a miracle I was anywhere near alive. It must have not hit me directly… Where's Yumii?! I looked around, hyperventilating at the thought of my friend having been blown up by lightning in my stead.

"Zoe!!" I barely heard from afar, the sound crushed underneath the raging weather.

"Yumii?! Where are you?!" I spun around on the ground, until I caught sight of the faery, still standing on the ridge high above me.

She's fine, I smiled in relief as the faery waved at me. I began to wave back when I realised Yumii wasn't actually saying hello. She’s warning me. I looked at the surrounding boulders. I forgot… The crabs. A shadow drew itself at my feet, suddenly growing in size as if-

I rolled to the side, avoiding the crab's attack, which made a crater in the ground, rocks turned into dust flying off into outer space. I threw a look behind me, where three more red boulders were waiting for me. An army of smaller crabs flew down the river, clamps chipping as they rolled closer to me. Alright, I rolled my shoulders, the pain of the lightning fading to the back of my mind as all my instincts suddenly shot alive, my heartbeat catching up to my train of thoughts. Let's see if you've still got it, Zoe.

I feinted going left then jumped right as the closest crab smashed the ground, and used the resulting smoke to hide myself from the monster's vision, running around it. I hope this guy's just a big rock. I jumped onto the stone structure to avoid the little monsters' bites.

I suppose I didn’t pray hard enough, because the ground underneath me shook and shifted as the creature rose up, its claws pinching above its head, trying to cut me in half. I casually avoided the blind strikes and jumped onto the next nearest boulder, which also began moving around aggressively.

"Is everything here just a stupid crab?”

Suddenly, my support jumped to its back legs, sending me flying off into the crowd of tiny monsters that awaited me with hungry black compound eyes. I held my arms up in front of me. A giant flame circle blew apart the monsters just in time for me to land onto the scorched earth, rolling back to my feet. Yumii! I smirked, looking at the ravine. My smile faded immediately. The faery was dangling for her life on the edge of the pathway, a giant worm's heads attempting to find her and eat her whole.

My hand shook in fury, my mind going blank. Who allowed you to threaten my friend?! I held out my hand, a weapon's handle rising up from the ground as shadows condensed and froze the surrounding terrain. The crabs encircled me, waiting patiently for their path to be free. Tch, as if that’ll save you. I tightened my grip around the weapon and pulled it up completely out of the shadow, spinning around as the giant double-bladed war axe cut through anything that stood within a three-meter radius of me.

"UUHHHAHHH!"

I let go of the weapon during my spin, sending it flying across the valley.

The blade sliced clean through the worm's heads, the monster retreating into its holes in the walls, while Yumii grabbed onto the black blade to get back up on the ledge. Good, she's out of harm's way for now. I dodged the snap of a giant crab, its attack slowed compared to earlier. I must've scared it. I bent underneath another shelled jab and closed the gap to the creature, its ugly mandibles salivating as it believed I'd walked into my death.

"Not today, ugly!" I spat on it as I jumped onto a claw, flipping above the creature's head while I called back the shadow weapon.

The spear impaled the monster through the skull with a SHKRRRR!

I rolled in the air and held out my hand, catching the fog on the fly and recondensing it in my hand, tip still deep into the monster's body. Its dark blood rolled down the blade. I pulled the spear out of its body with a pleasant crunch, casually wiping off pieces of its shell.

"Who's next?"

My vision blurred for a second, my ears buzzing like I'd been hit by a lightning bolt yet again. What's going on? I held out my hand to my nose, bleeding profusely.

Tears rolled down my cheeks without the usual stinging in my eyes. I wiped them, realising right there and then that I hadn't cried tears but blood. What is this?! Am I dying right now?! The weapon had already dissipated back into the shadow. Crap. I swore as another giant crab stepped up to me, looking to avenge its fallen brethren. Of all the times… I guess I hadn't recovered enough.

I backed off, chuckling nervously as I tried to find an escape, the creature stepping closer and closer to me. Wait, there IS a way… I searched on the ground. It should be nearby… There!

I rushed through the crowd of crabs, kicking them as I sprinted to the crab carcass the hyena had killed earlier. The giant crab suddenly flew after me with its unnaturally fast pace, its claws reaching out to grab me.

"Too late," I stepped on my trump card.

I dropped to the ground as the spider launched itself out of the ground, legs wrapping themselves around the crab, which battled with all its might, attempting to cut the spider's legs off. The creatures only had each other in mind now.

"Have fun!" I bolted out of the area.

I rejoined Yumii later down the river, right by the Sarie's high stone pillars, as the ground rose enough for me to climb back onto the ledge.

"That was so scary!" Panted the faery, leaning over her knees.

"Could've been worse," I shrugged.

"How?!"

A rumbling shook the ground underneath our feet, growing stronger by the second. I turned around.

"That’s how!"

I pointed out the incoming army of creatures rushing at us before I pulled myself up on whatever parts of the walls weren't smoothed by the intense rain.

"Keep going up! I'll hold them off!"

"Why?!" I rubbed my head, confused and annoyed at her decision. "Don't be stupid, they'll tear you to shreds! You can barely do any arcane right now!"

"Just get us a ride! Don’t worry about me!" waved the faery as she ran away. It’s not like I can help worrying about you, dummy. I smiled at Yumii throwing second-hand embarrassingly lame mockeries at the chasing army. Don't get yourself killed. I relentlessly climbed. Or I'll kill you myself!

I struggled against the weather, the wind growing even stronger as it whipped my side time and time again, trying to lift me off the rising wall. I didn't come all this way just to fall to my death right now! I gritted my teeth and pulled through, my arms burning by the time I was even halfway up there. The animals at the top shrieked as I climbed closer and closer, batting their wings, trying to attract the lightning which never came. Heh, I already got struck today. I blew a raspberry at them. One of them didn't appreciate it, and jumped off the rock, flying around in a circle until it smashed into me.

"WoooahhhHHH!!!"

I was pulled off the pillar and dragged across the sky in the creature's talons, the rain drops turning into shards as they flew so fast I wasn't sure I wasn't going to be dropped off at another continent entirely.

Instead, the creature decided I'd make a better fertilizer if I splashed onto the ravine's ground below, and threw me off into the sky, letting me free-fall to my death.

Craaaaaaaaaaaaaaapppp!

The wind blew my skin apart, air having difficulty finding its way into my lungs as I flew too fast downwards. I really have to get this right. I gritted my teeth, fighting against the panic that rose up in my chest. I oriented my arm to create a shadow and pulled a long rope out, with a hook attached at the end. Don't worry, birdie, I'm coming back for you!

I waited until I reached the pillars to throw the rope, the hook immediately catching onto the stone and snapping tense. I controlled the length so it didn't rip my arms off my body and used the shadow as an elastic, taking advantage of the momentum to swing back up towards the sky, where the oblivious Sarie was flying down towards its resting spot.

Gotcha! I laughed as I latched onto my target, which realised too late what was happening. I wrapped myself around its massive neck, holding on for dear life as the panicking animal began flying around like a loose cannon. It dove all the way to the ravine, gliding in between the serpentine walls at the speed of sound.

I recalled my weapon, turning it into a thick rope to wrap onto the Sarie, its steel feathers cutting deep into my skin. My legs were still taking off when the hawk turned quickly, smashing back into its side at the slightest change in direction. My mind was overloaded, my eyes noticing every detail in the rocks that they grazed past, but my brain unable to process the information fully as adrenaline cheated all my senses.

"Is that all you've got?!" I laughed crazily.

The creature took it personally and rose straight up, shrieking, wind howling as we tore through the dark sky.

"YeahhhHHH!!!!" I climbed onto its back as we dove back down, plunging towards the rocks.

BANG!!

The shockwave blew up my eardrums.

This time I wrapped the rope into its mouth and pulled on the reins. The Lightning steel hawk battled for control, twisting its head around as we flew in between the rocks. The Sarie suddenly waved in the air, my feet lifting up from the creature, air drag pulling me off the beast as I barely held on thanks to my shadow reins. You sneaky, little bastard! I gritted my teeth.

Ahead, a stone bridge was dividing the canyon into two sections, and as I was, off my mount, I expected I would be turned into liquid by the bridge. No time to get closer. I let go of the shadow rope, planking as horizontally as I could.

SWOOOOSH!

The air push me around as I blasted through the hole in between the rocks, the sound alone killing what little remained of my ears. I flipped backwards in the air, searching for the Sarie underneath me, and reached out my hand to grasp the loose rope.

The shadows pulled me back onto the mad creature, which decided to roll as fast as it could, hoping to shake me off.

"You think you're the only crazy one here?!"

The rope tightened around the Sarie's beak, forcing the beast to straighten up.

Let's see who has the last laugh! I jumped off while holding onto my weapon, and planted my feet straight underneath my flying mount's mouth. I pulled hard, sending us plummeting towards the ground.

"Are you going to obey now?!"

My muscles burned through the strain, my head dizzy from hanging upside down. We flew dangerously close to the rocks and the creatures that littered the canyon's terrain.

"If I hit the ground, so do you!"

If stares could kill, the animal's look would've atomised me, but I only smirked at the beast, confident I had it in checkmate. It stopped fighting back, allowing me to take control. Good girl… boy?

I climbed back on top of the hawk, dissipating the shadow rope in its mouth.

"We have to pick up my friends! Back at your nest!"

The beast rose high in the air, above the canyon, revealing to me how wide the plateau that stood atop the cliffs actually was, now that I could focus on something else than not getting thrown off to space. It reached the horizon and beyond; a multitude of ravines and other canyons were the only change in the landscape.

The hawk saw Yumii before I did, plunging again at the speed of sound.

"WHooooooooo!"

Yumii was fighting for her life, covered in scratches and wounds as she ran in between big rocks to avoid the crabs' attempts at grasping her with their giant claws. Hold on, we’re almost there!

Electricity cackled around the Sarie, the tip of its wings glowing blue.

BOOOM!!!!

A magnificent lightning bolt smacked down from the sky, passing through and around the flying beast, the electricity diffusing around the wing tips. Woah… so that’s how beautiful it looks when you’re not on the receiving end?

"Yumii!" I called from the back of the hawk, the woman popping her head out of her hideout. "Jump on!"

She didn't have to be told twice; the faery rushed onto the stunned crabs, using them as trampolines to get onto the steel-feathered hawk, which took off as soon as Yumii touched its body. I had to pull her up to ensure she wouldn't fall off. Feisty little demon. I rolled my eyes at the hawk's temper.

"You made it!" Yumii smiled wide, holding tightly onto me. I side-eyed her.

"Did you not think I would?!"

"Hm," pondered the faery, her grip on me tightening as the hawk accelerated, "no-not really. But I had hoped you would!"

I stared at her, noticing how white her hands turned as she grabbed onto me and how pale she looked anytime she'd throw a look overboard. She's afraid of heights. I grabbed the faery's hand. Of course you preferred the swarm of monsters…

"But you succeeded! You tamed Kári!" continued Yumii. "Congrats, we're both alive!"

I blinked, double-taking.

"Kári?! How’d you come up with that?! It should be “Flying Rat”... Wait, did you just use sarcasm?!"

Yumii smiled mysteriously, opening her mouth to respond when the hawk shrieked, shutting off our conversation.

"Right," I said while crawling closer to the animal's head, "we're headed towards the Sacred Lands. Drop us there… please."

I added that last part as Yumii elbowed me. I rolled my eyes at the faery somehow engaging in a conversation with the creature, which seemed to very much like her, contrary to me, as it did not shake its neck as soon as Yumii spoke.

Capricious bird! I sighed, staring at the sunset, desert still passing by underneath us. In a few hours, I'll be back in my homeland… And I’ll get you back, Sam.