The Princess's Feathers

An enormous noise reverberates across the sky as the noxious scents of the airship-prey slam against my nostrils. I ruffle, gazing in horror at the enormous winged beast looming above us. I’ve never seen an airship-prey this big before! Even the one Mother attacked wasn’t this big! Has it been flying here this whole time, waiting to pounce on us the moment we departed from the clouds?

As I stare down the beast, something catches my eye. Perched upon the outside of its skin are three Farlanders: Two Avians staring at me with terror in their eyes and a Marten with a peculiar pelt and some kind of object on its head. Although they’re far away, I can see them waving their arms around and making noises at us. It’s this particular prey-animal that Asha seems to be interested in. She’s heaving quick breaths and her feathers are ruffled in abject irritation.

“Asha!!” I cry out.

She flicks her snout towards me for only a wingbeat before returning her gaze to the ship. Instead of acknowledging me, she snarls a fierce warning to the Farlanders.

GRAOWL… SKREEE!!

The Avians flinch and cover their heads with their wings. As the growl of the airship-prey recaptures the sky, the prey-birds throw their wings skyward and begin shouting at the Marten. I don’t need to smell their fear-scent to know that they’re trying to flee. But the Marten is standing firmly in place, refusing to move even an feather’s width as they stare down Asha and me.

What’s going on? Why are Asha and the Marten staring at each other?! The only thing that’s certain to me is that we can’t stay here. We need to flee before the airship-prey tries to attack us!

“Asha!!” I shout, winging towards her. “We have to go!! The airship—“

“No!!” she snarls. “I know that Marten, he was close to Mother!! Argh, that fweghing traitor!!”

Asha knew that Farlander when she was a Princess…?

I look again at the ship. The Avians are practically dragging the Marten back to the maw of the airship-prey. Asha called him a traitor — that must mean that even though he was close to her mother, he was secretly a member of Nortane. Could he be one of the reasons Ellyntide fell? Unbidden, a growl rumbles in my chest. Could this petty prey-animal be responsible for my mate’s misery?

“Kuro!” Asha barks as I fly up next to her. “We going to attack the airship-prey! Do you remember the plan?”

Searching my head for an answer, I hesitate to respond. I’ll admit it: I’m scared right now. I’ve known it could come to this since Asha told me she wanted to fly to the Farlands. But I never could have anticipated how intimidating airship-prey has become since I saw one as a fledge. What if Asha is underestimating them as well? Can we really prey on a monster this big?

Off in the distance, the Farlanders pass through a maw of the airship-prey and disappear. They must have ordered the beast to attack us.

…

I shake my head and stifle the nagging doubts inside me. Asha is upset. My mate is in agony from the loss of her Kingdom, and these prey-animals are responsible. I trust her judgment.

“Yeah,” I say, flattening my feathers. “Attack the spinning propellers with fire and watch out for its attack.”

“Good,” Asha says. “Are you ready?”

I nod. “But what about Varecia?”

Asha’s eyes bulge—it seems she forgot why we were trying so hard to avoid a confrontation with an airship-prey. She gazes at the ground, and her face fills with concern. “Damn it,” she growls. “There’s some dens down there, but not a lot! And they’re not the kind that Farlanders live in!”

I blink, confused at how a den could be built but remain unoccupied. How does she know there are no Farlanders inside? Building a den and not sleeping in it doesn’t make sense!

“Just trust me!” Asha shouts, sensing my dissonance. “Once we take out one of the propellers, we’ll—“

An enormous groan echoes across the sky, causing me to yelp in surprise. I turn in horror to see sections of the airship-prey’s body awakening. The monster exhales, releasing a noxious breath from one of the maws on it’s back. Near its underside, long dark appendages, shaped like finely carved tree trunks, shudder and rotate to life.

“Fwegh!!” Asha shrieks. “Kuro!! Follow me!”

Surprisingly, Asha tents her wings and drops like a stone towards the ground.

SKREEE!!

What’s going on? Is the airship-prey attacking already?! Pushing aside my confusion, I let out a roar of acknowledgment and raise my wings to follow her.

ROARRR!!

Asha quickly bottoms out her flight and begins soaring back towards the airship-prey. This is it! We’re attacking! With the sound of the beast overwhelming my senses, we fly up from beneath and take turns using our fire. Asha is the first, rearing her neck back and unleashing a pillar of flame directly towards the propeller on the right side. As fire consumes it, Asha banks right to allow me enough room to attack with my own volley of flame. But as the propeller becomes visible again, I notice a problem: the flame has had little effect, having been dissipated by the air currents of the propeller. Was Asha’s flame too weak? I cock my neck and unleash another blast to the same spot, one far more powerful than Asha’s. The beast’s skin turns gray to red, but the propellers keep moving. Was it not enough? I thought that area was their weakness?

“Did it work?!” I call out, flying towards Asha. She’s taken a spot in the sky above the airship-prey.

“No,” she growls. “The propellers dispersed our flames. Let’s try again and aim closer to the ship!”

It repelled our flames? How is that possible? Asha told me airship-prey were constructed from materials on the moon. Does that mean the propellers are constructed from some kind of hard stone? Whatever the case, Asha was right; Farlanders have truly mastered the environment to their advantage. The thought sends a chill across my feathers.

We lift our wings to dive for a second attack. Passing the ship, I notice the long, dark appendages writhing madly. What are they doing? Being unable to recognize the movements of a prey-animal makes me tremendously uncomfortable. As we climb for a second approach, Asha shoots another pillar of flame towards the airship-prey. This time, her flame goes slightly to the left, impacting the area between the propeller and the body of the airship-prey. Its skin turns bright red, but her fire is once more dispelled.

SK-KREAAK!!

Asha wails in frustration, causing the beast's skin to tremble. I blast my fire across the same area as my mate, but once more, it fails to penetrate the monster’s body.

“Fwegh!” Asha curses as I fly up to her position above the airship-prey.

“It’s not working!!” I tell her. “Should we begin attacking it with our jaws?”

“No!” Asha growls in frustration. “Argh, damn it! There has to be a way to attack the propellers!”

I gaze down at the ship, struggling to respond to my mate. “Asha, is there any—“

BA-BOOM!

BA-BOOM!

An ear-shattering noise ends our conversation. Reacting instinctually, I rear my body away from the cacophony and glance at a large object splitting the space between me and Asha.

ROAARGH!!

SKREEEAK!!!

I flatten my ears, attempting to silence the deafening ringing inside them. My flight buckles, and I flail my wings to regain control. What was THAT?!

…Asha!!

I open my eyes and gaze at the place my mate used to be flying. Feathers ruffled, Asha’s hovering some distance away in a similar state of stunned shock. Somewhere above us, two dark objects fly through the sky like a diving gryhawk but in the wrong direction. It was the airship-prey! It attacked us!!

“Asha!!” I gasp. “Are you alright?!”

Instead of responding, Asha grits her fangs and stares down the airship-prey with a baleful look. She rears her head back and unleashes a savage cry of defiance!

SKREEEEEAK!!!

Even at my distance, I can hear the airship-prey trembling in fear at Asha’s call. With her prey spooked, Asha raises her wings and begins to fall through the air.

“Asha?!” I cry in surprise. “Asha, WAIT!!”

I tilt my wings to follow but momentarily hesitate. I’ll be entering the area where the airship-prey can attack if I pursue Asha. Everything in my body is screaming at me to flee as fast as possible, but… argh, skunkscent!! I have to help her! Drawing a quick breath, I fall through the air as quickly as my body will allow and tilt my wings to follow Asha. Gusts of wind ruffle my feathers as I pass the propellers, and I catch a glimpse of the smooth appendages at the bottom of the monster moving about wildly. I hold my breath as I pass them, but mercifully, the airship-prey doesn’t attack. Evening out beneath it, I exhale, but only slightly. Could it still attack us from here? I wish I had asked Asha before all this started!

Gazing ahead, I find her gliding around to rise above the monster’s head. As she comes about, Asha sees me and flicks her muzzle to the side. My breath goes shallow — She’s going to…! I fall into another dive just as Asha rears her head back and releases another blast of flame.

SKREEEEEEAK!

Scorching flame impacts the airship-prey and flutters across its skin in rippling waves. I even out my flight and gaze up just in time to witness Asha’s attack injure the monster’s head. A noise like shattering ice echoes across the sky, and the airship-prey bleeds forth, suffusing small pieces of viscera into the night air. A Farlander — a Marten, I think — bleeds from the monster and is sucked outwards and down the belly of the monster. I resist the urge to chase a deceptively easy prey-kill, well aware that a prey-animal lacking wings will tumble through the sky like an injured red eagle.

With smoke billowing from her nostrils, Asha smirks at the injury she’s caused. It fills me with a pang of pride seeing my little Asha injure a prey-animal as grand as an airship-prey. Still, the beast remains airborne. If we don’t finish the hunt, it will surely chase back to Felra. We can’t appear weak to the enemies of Asha’s kingdom. But attacking the propellers — the area Asha told me was its weak spot— didn’t injure it. Isn’t there any other way to injure it?

“Asha!!” I cry, joining her at the head of the airship-prey. “Are you okay?!’

Asha looks at me for a wingbeat before refocusing on our enemy. “Yeah. I damaged the flight deck and killed a few birds, but there’s still more inside.” A low growl emanates from her chest. “We’ve got to take down the ship before they can reorganize!”

I gaze inside the injured maw of the beast. Blood and viscera scatter the interior, illuminated by a patchwork of smoke and burning flames. Farlander bodies lay about the mess, while those still alive are angrily bleating at each other like a flock of raucous prey-birds. I feel a bloodlust growing inside me — these are the creatures responsible for hurting Asha.

“Here,” I say, flying up beside her. “It’s my turn. I’ll burn them so hot—“

“No,” Asha interrupts. “I attacked them to buy us some time; they can still control the ship from elsewhere. We need to bring it down while they’re disoriented!”

I open my muzzle halfway to object, aware of just how much pain these wretched prey-animals have caused my mate. But she’s right; if nothing else, we have to kill this airship-prey to prove we’re strong. To prove that Kin are the most dangerous predators on Jade, just as Keuvra teaches us to be. Anything less would be denigrating our flock’s leader.

Thoughts race through my head as I gaze at the monster before us. Asha told me that Farlanders create airship-prey; creatures constructed from the moon instead of being born into a brood. But if there’s one thing I understand about prey, it’s that they all share the same weaknesses.

“What about its heart?” I suggest. “Can we attack it there?!”

“No,” Asha rumbles in disappointment. “Kuro, that’s not how they…“

Her voice trails off, captured by a breeze. She turns her head to me, and a devious little grin crosses it.

“Asha?” I tilt my head.

“Kuro,” she says, feathers perking. “Maybe you’re right, after all. Follow me!!”

With fires engulfing its head, I follow Asha to the tail-end of the airship-prey. Acrid smoke bellows from the maw on its back, causing me to cough at the stench. “Asha, I can’t stand being here.”

“I know,” Asha says. “But if I’m right, we won’t be here long. See that?”

She extends her wing outwards towards the very end of the monster’s belly.

“That’s where the heart of the ship is. If we can overheat the boiler, the ship will break down and stop flying!”

I gaze at the airship-prey, only a tiny bit surprised. I was right, after-all: these monsters have organs. I don’t understand why Asha doesn’t believe they’re living creatures, and I get the impression she’s withholding information from me on purpose. That’s fine. All I need to know is that they’re just like every other prey-animal on Jade: waiting to be preyed upon by Kin.

“We need to shoot fire at its heart,” I conclude.

“And I don’t have much left,” Asha snorts. “If I run out, you need to keep shooting until the ship dies!”

“Right!” I say.

Two flame pillars impact the airship-prey's belly, causing it to turn bright red. At the same time, the appendages on the bottom of the ship begin moving wildly. Is it going to attack us aga—

BA-BOOM!

SKREEEE!!

I gasp, watching as another attack from the airship-prey mercifully flies wide to our left. Asha wails in agony at the force of it, causing her flame to extinguish. But with my ears against my head, I hold my fire steady, determined to inflict a mortal wound against this wretched prey-animal.

Without warning, a colossal noise splits the air, rocking the airship-prey from side to side. A bulge forms suddenly at the place where its skin is reddest, and scattered entrails can be heard rattling across its insides. I extinguish my flame and gaze skyward, my attention drawn to the clouds of black smoke belching from the maw on the monster’s back. The persistent grumbling noise that all airship-prey make suddenly softens, and the wind from the propellers abates.

“Its injured!!” I yell.

“Yes!!” Asha cries, her feathers perked in elation. “We did it! It won’t be in the air for much longer!” As we watch the ship heave in pain, a sadistic little grin curls across my mate’s muzzle. “The Farlanders are going to abandon ship!”

Abandon ship? I don’t know what that means, but I have a hunch: they will leave the airship-prey before it falls to the ground and dies. Understanding perfectly what this means, I can’t help but rumble in excitement.

We rise past the smooth appendages, lowered down and frozen stiff. We can relax, knowing that the airship will no longer attack us. We’ve truly dealt a mortal blow to this terrible monster. Somewhere above us, a group of Avians has already exited a maw and is gazing down at us with terror in their faces.

SKREEEAK!

Asha shoots a pillar of flame below them, spooking the prey-birds into flight.

“You believe you can fly over MY Kingdom?!” Asha taunts.

One of the Avians drops like a stone, while another tries to glide away from the dying prey-animal. Unfortunately for them, a sudden gust from a thermal blows them utterly off course. The first victim begins plummeting towards the ground, while the other is flung straight towards me. I tense my wings and lunge through the sky, clamping onto my prey with a relaxed ease.

“Je na gou!! Nakv vn, YUCUG!!”

The Farlander writhes and screams in agony, allowing its delectable viscera to drip into my maw. For a blissful moment, I savor it, allowing fear-scent to drift happily into my nostrils and enhance the taste. I can’t hold back any longer — I bite down to silence the bleating prey-animal, and with a sudden twitch, its body snaps and goes limp. Using the claws on my foretalon, I slice open its pelt and toss it aside — Farlander pelts upset my stomach. With the unnecessary parts removed, I raise my head and swallow the rest of the Farlander whole.

Rrrrrowl….

I exhale in serene enjoyment — it’s been far too long since I preyed on a Farlander. Oh, how I’ve missed their taste! Feeling somewhat satiated, I gaze across the sky to find Asha engaged in the same act of predation. The bloodied, severed torso of an Avian is dangling from her jaws as she works to remove its pelt. Blood splatters across her feathers as she cackles in glee at the fate of her prey-kill.

KREE-KREE!

At that moment, something steals my attention. On the other side of the ship — now listing precariously on its side — is a Farlander descending slowly through the night sky with the assistance of some sort of broad, white wing. Based on the length of the prey-animal’s tail, I instantly recognize it as a Lemur. The hunt isn’t finished, but the thought of preying on this particular Farlander gives me pause. Is this what Asha used to look like before she flew to Felra?

Having quickly preyed on the Avian, Asha seems to be in a similar state of dissonance. But the thought soon passes as Asha shakes her head and pounds her wings to chase.

KREE!!

The Lemur shrieks and wails, trying to adjust the long brown vines across its pelt. Asha snatches them cleanly from the sky and, with a quick flick of her head, puts an end to the miserable Lemur’s life. As she screeches in delight at the taste, two other Avians leap from a maw on my side of the ship. I easily pick off the first, while the other falls into a steep dive to escape the scene. One has managed to get away, but that’s alright. Warm blood stains the entirety of my maw — we’re eating well tonight.

As I lick my chops clean of the second Farlander, the propellers of the airship-prey begin to wind down. The lights inside the monster go dark, and the ship begins to descend rapidly.

“Get back!!” Asha shouts.

With a commanding flap, I bank left to clear the area. As I do, I begin to see another Farlander at the head of the ship, the place where Asha shot her fire. One last prey-animal is trying to escape!

“ORLANDO!!!” Asha snarls.

Despite the threat from the dying airship-prey, Asha charges for the Farlander, now suspended in the air on white wings. A blood-curdling squeal is cut off as Asha snatches him from the air just before the edge of the dying airship-prey can impact her wings. After a brief moment obscured by the descending monster, Asha reappears with the Farlander dangling helplessly in her jaws, his white wing separated from his body. Asha savors her prey, allowing their blood to pool in her maw as screams of torment fill the cool night air. Pierced on the fangs of Kin, Asha throws her wings out and comes to a halt in the sky. With no regard for their pelt, she inclines her head and downs the bleating Farlander in a single bite.

I can’t help but smile—Asha seems especially pleased to have preyed on the traitor. With the hunt concluded, she gazes at the dying airship-prey and roars defiantly.

SKREEEEEEAK!!!

Asha’s told me countless stories about how much she disliked the Farlanders who used to live in her den. This must have been a uniquely satisfying hunt for her. As she licks drenched chops clean of blood, we gaze at the moon to watch the airship-prey finally die in a blazing ball of fire and smoke.

Fire erupts across the ground, instantly destroying Farlander dens and igniting many others. I wince, feeling vivid memories from fledgehood flow back to me. I never wanted to witness another airship-prey die, and I can’t believe I had a part in preying on this one. But as the flames flutter like water across the land, I can’t help but feel a sense of serenity. It is, afterall, the natural course of the moon for Kin to prey on all other species. An airship-prey is no different — Farlanders have had this coming for a very long time.

I glide over to Asha, orange light flickering across her sullen face as she watches the destruction below. I want to say something to her, but what can truly be said? We’ve just preyed on an airship-prey over her Kingdom in the Farlands; its death is the most incredible thing I’ve ever witnessed. All we can do is watch as smoke and fire fill the sky.

“Come on,” Asha interjects the silence as smoke obscures our view. “Let’s go home.”

I stare at her a moment longer before rumbling in acknowledgment. Another silent moment passes, and with a steady flap of our wings, we begin flying north on our long journey back to the flock. Despite our victory, all is not well. Asha is in distress, and Keuvra could be at fault. I have many uncomfortable questions to ask our leader when we return to White Mountain.