Chronicles of Yugure: Plummeting into Uncharted Depths

Day Sixteen

"Can you fly any faster?"

'I could, if I weren't carrying all of the supplies,' I want to say to the raptin, who is happily riding on his kelpie, Namazzi, with nothing but a small backpack. With his light load, he probably doesn't even notice how weighed down I am. Three large sacks filled with excavating tools, one bag full of food supplies for meals, another bag filled with cooking utensils, and that's just the general load not including my own supplies.

I don't though, "I'll try m'best!" My wings are still kind of stiff from being unused much the past few days, but I force them to go faster.

We got up around eight and we immediately began to tie down the luggage to my back and sides. The ropes weren't irritating me when we left, but now they are grating against my fur and inevitably, my skin. I try to drown out the abhorrent feeling by thinking of questions to ask Sendaar about the Spires, but so far not much has helped.

Naz shouts out to me from below, "We should be arriving at an island pretty soon. We can stop and rest there for a few and let you take a break from the luggage." Namazzi is surprisingly able to keep their head above water, even with a raptin on their back, and talk to me while swimming. I quite admire their strong strokes, which are carried out by a unique webbing that takes the shape of a hoof on land and spreads out into a wide paddle shaped fin in the water. Well, I guess you could call it a hoof, but it's more like thick fingers aligning to create an upside down "u" shape with webbing in-between.

Quite shockingly, kelpies here in Yugure are genderless and reproduce asexually. They have a tendency to become violent and territorial when other kelpies approach, so they do best on their own. The young can stay with a parent up to a year, and must soon leave afterward to find a territory of their own- starting their solitary life, probably to never see another kelpie again until they produce a brood of their own.

I smiled at the though. Oh to feel the warm sand on my hands and feet and to sit and bathe in it sounds like much fun. "Sounds perfect!" I call out.

My body feels reenergized once I spot land coming over the horizon. I feel like nothing can stop me from reaching that island now.

"Stop!" A voice booms from the port side. My head jerks to the left as fast as possible. To my horror, it is a large red beast. It blocks out the sun entirely with its large wings developing around me. The shadow it casts covers Naz and Sendaar completely, shading the ocean surface around them and then some.

The manticore.

"What do ye want?" I snarl, agitated. I'm becoming quite tired of these inconveniences that impede my progress. These manticores are truly becoming a pain in my backside, and I want them gone.

He burns me with his gaze. I can feel the hatred seeping out of his facial expressions. The deep hate that can lead one into insanity. A hate I have never experienced in my entire life. "You." The brute screeches in a hissing manner. "You killed my brother."

'Oh horseradish,' I stop breathing a moment and it feels my heart may have skipped a beat or two. I'm feeling queasy and somewhat dizzy. This one wasn't just on a simple mission, he was after revenge.

I mean, what do I do? Do I apologize repeatedly? Do I stand my ground? Do I flail around helplessly like a maniac? What would you do in a time like this? I'm not quite sure I was made to be a warrior. Killing isn't my forte, and I have trouble coping with the after effects. But in a time like this, is there any other way out?

I stand my ground, "Y'er brother attacked me mercilessly. I was merely d'fending m'self. Ye can't pin this one on me. 'Twas y'er brother's own fault that he died, not mine." I tilt my head up and to the right, glaring him down defiantly. He was either going to back off or I would use force. I mustn't forget that I have Sendaar and Naz to protect. They have no way of defending themselves against this predator.