Worlds of Light and Dark

••• Meet The Illyrians •••

Ayla Pov:

"I think I'd rather visit the Illyrians," Elentyia said.

I blinked. This female was passing up the chance to see the sparkling city of Velaris to met the Illyrians. Simply put, not what I expected. "We'll need to fly to get there and given that you don't have wings, I'd have to carry you. Is that ok?" 

An inner-conflict shone in her eyes, but she nodded, "That's fine."

I got down from the balcony and picked her up. The air was slightly chilly, but she was surprisingly warm. I spread my wings out behind me to their full length. "Ready?" a nod, then with a giant boom of my wings, we took off flying.

She didn't scream or laugh but just smiled, an unusual reaction for flying for the first time. "You're a pro at this!" I shouted over the wind.

She smiled wider, "let's just say a have a few secret talents!"

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Elentyia Pov:

We arrived after a minute or so of flying. I had debated flying myself, but it would require me to shift and reveal my ability. Besides, it was fascinating to fly in Fae form. Snapping back to reality, I looked around. We were on top of a mountain at what looked to be a camp. People with various wing sizes walked around, the majority of them men, just like Ayla had said. Ayla grabbed my hand and pulled me along, our feet crunching in the snow. 

"What are you doing?" I called to her.

She looked over her shoulder, "I want to show you something."

She led me through the camp, weaving past tents, cabins, and campfires. Finally, she stopped, right in front of a cluster of training rings. Each ring was filled with at least two Illyrian males, every single one of them fighting. Their style was beautiful and unique, but the warriors themselves were average. 

Ayla stepped up to the first group and swung herself over the ledge of the ring. The two Illyrian males in the ring continued fighting, unaware of her presence. Stupid. The first step of fighting was being aware of your surroundings. Ayla sighed and walked toward them, wings held high behind her. She doubled tapped one of the males on the shoulder. Startled, eyes wide he turned around and out of instinct threw a punch. Before I could yell, she parried and punched him in the face, hard. He thunked to the ground, knocked out, nose a bloody mess. She flipped her midnight hair over her shoulder and turned to the remaining Illyrian, "My turn."

With eyes wide, the male quickly pulled the other Illyrian out of the ring and left. Then and there, I knew Ayla and I were going to be quick friends.