Stinger stepped out of his cave and shook the sand out of his fur. He looked over his little oasis in the desert. A large pool of water welling up from the depths below was protected by sheer cliff faces surrounding it. Shrubs and thick grasses fought for their place near the water’s edge. Stinger’s cave was halfway up the cliff face—perfect for a lazy glide into the water for his morning bath. He stretched his leathery wings and jumped. Stinger wished that he could plunge into the water, but there was one thing to check first. He flapped his wings, bringing him up beyond the bounds of the cliffs. Stinger looked lazily at the sands beyond. There was someone in the distance, but he couldn’t see enough to make out any details. There was also a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Stinger couldn’t shake the feeling he needed to check in on the situation. So he flew towards the distant figure.
Khiroth was tired. She was traveling back home after a visit to Warrenfall where she had met another like her - leather wings on the back of a vay, both of them pullers with unfortunate situations where they didn’t seem to fit in anywhere. Bryidae kept to herself mostly, while Khiroth tried to make the best of the situation, and refused to let anyone prejudiced against her bring her down.
She just may have been flying a bit too much, and her wings were tired as they dragged through the sand and she was just done. If she could find a place to rest for just a moment, all will be good.
A familiar sound brought her attention upwards, her ears perked forward to listen to the approaching beat of wings - wings much larger than she. On top of it, she heard an easy laugh from another direction, someone traveling on the ground. Perhaps they had already seen her, perhaps that was why they were laughing. It was hard to miss each other in the desert, and her eyes spied a large tyrian approaching, and a long eared runner nearby. The funny thing to her was how similar all their pelts were; while she would bet none of them had the same markings, they all held an easy orangey gold color with blacks. Interesting.
As Stinger got closer, he realised there were two traveling vayrons. Although they didn’t seem to be together, their paths were going to meet. He also saw the black and golds of their coats. The one with long ears was covered in long, fluffy fur and a luxurious golden mane. Stinger knew too well from his short time in the desert that they would need shelter to ride out the harsh midday sun. The black fur made the need even more great.
He banked towards the pair as they met up. Stinger landed in front of them, but far enough away that he wouldn’t fling sand into their fur. ‘Hello, travelers of the desert. Why do you journey so far from the cities today?’ he asked them.
‘I’m going home,’ Khiroth said.
‘And I’m leaving mine,’ Aurum said smoothly.
From there, the trio exchanged greetings. It didn’t take long before Stinger asked where they planned to shelter for the day. Aurum seemed confused by the question, while Khiroth said that anywhere she could find would be good.
‘I know of a place to shelter nearby. See the cliffs in the distance? My home is in there,’ Stinger told them. ‘It is only a half hour flight from here, at a steady pace. However,’ he looked at Aurum, ‘I’m not quite sure how long it takes on foot.’
Aurum frowned.
‘Don’t worry, I’m too tired to fly anyway. You won’t hold us up,’ Khiroth said. ‘No point sitting around here any longer.’
Khiroth liked the idea of caves on a cliff, that sounded nice even to her. Aurum sounded less than enthused at the idea, but it was the best bet they had. Even so, Khiroth was used to the air currents, and something today felt … off.
As the trio began to move, she glanced over at the tyr, who seemed to feel it too as they shared a look. Looking back, the pair noticed clouds gathering on the horizon, and the static of a lightning storm filled the air.
Khiroth knew what it meant, and it was clear the tyrian did as well, as they picked up the pace, and she nudged their land locked companion, who only gave her a confused look in response.
“We need to move, that storm is going to pick up the winds and we’re going to be stuck in the sand.”
Her explanation didn’t seem to resonate well as the runner only scowled at her attempts to rush him. “I don’t get what you’re so worked up about, it’s just a storm.”
‘Just a storm my ass’, Khiroth thought. “Think you can carry him?” She spoke aloud to the tyr, ignoring the squealed protest from the male.
‘Not far. Certainly not all the way from here.’ Stinger replied. He glanced back at the storm, which looked thicker and angrier by the second. He picked up his pace, hoping that Aurum would catch on, if only because they would leave him behind. Aurum flicked his tail as he finally increased his pace. After another minute at the equivalent of a canter, Stinger glanced backwards again. The storm was already gaining ground, and the other side of it wasn’t visible due to the sand inside. ‘Look back, Aurum. See that?’ Stinger asked.
Aurum delayed a few more seconds, slowly turning his head. His eyes widened as he burst into a gallop. ‘Shit,’ he said. Stinger chuckled deeply as he opened his wings and took flight. He couldn’t match Aurum’s surprisingly fast speed on the ground. He flew low and kept an eye on the storm fast approaching. ‘We’ve only got a few minutes before it hits us!’
‘We’ll be blown away unless we reach the cliffs,’ Khiroth noted. She unfurled her wings to prepare them for the last stretch.
They all felt the cool blast of wind at their backs. They had made good ground, but there was still a few minutes between them and safety. Aurum wouldn’t make it by himself. Stinger could already see his pace dropping off slightly. The first few grains of sand stung as the wind drove the pieces into their coats. ‘Aurum! I’m going to need to carry you! The only way we’re getting out of this in one piece is by riding the wind!’ Stinger yelled.
With the tyr’s earlier reluctance, Khiroth was concerned that he might not be able to carry their companion the rest of the way, but they had no choice. The sand was blocking out vision, and soon they’d be swept up in it.
She was comfortable riding the wind, and the best drafts were up higher, but she dare not be too high when the storm jumped on them, as she surely would be whipped around.
“I’ll try to help!” As the tyr picked up the runner, Khiroth took the low road, flying underneath the pair and pushing her back against the glasswork’s paws from time to time to lessen the weight. It was goofy as hell looking, but it got the job done.
“We’re almost there!” The tyr shouted, his voice louder as the wind tried to drown him out. Khiroth felt a slight shudder through the paws that occasionally graced her back.
Just when she thought they wouldn't make it, they hit the edge of the cliff. The tyr wasted no time in angling themselves sharply, ducking into a hole that looked like nothing more than a shadow as the storm clouds blotted out the sun. She shot out, wings tucked in at the last second to glide in, fighting the rising wind the entire time. Admittedly, it wasn’t her best landing as she skidded to a stop, and their runner friend couldn’t help but laugh at her clumsy paws.
As Stinger disentangled himself from the runner, he glanced quickly around the small cave they found themselves in. The howling wind echoed around the cave, but luckily they were sheltered by a small bend. It quickly became as dark as late dusk as the sandstorm swallowed the sun outside. He heard Khiroth’s panting begin to slow as they caught their breath. Stinger crept up to the bend and glanced at the storm outside. He couldn’t see much of anything, and he could feel the sand that got blasted into the cave sting his face. He tucked his head back in.
Stinger heard Aurum’s footsteps a moment before he felt the runner’s soft fur brush lightly against his. The tyrian waited as Aurum did the same thing he did. ‘I see what you mean now,’ he admitted. They sat together for several minutes, hearing only the howling of the wind, mixed with the faint sound of their own breaths. Khiroth also approached and sat behind the pair. The monotony stretched out as the storm continued.
‘What do we do now?’ Aurum asked.
‘We wait. There’s nothing else we can do.’ Stinger said. ‘After the storm is over, there’s an oasis on the other side of these cliffs. You can refill your water and relax there if you want to. It’s home.’
‘I have water left, but it’s still appreciated,’ Khiroth replied.
‘Do you mind if I have some? I was only scouting, so I didn’t bring my own pack.’ Stinger said.
Khiroth passed over her water. Stinger drank deeply. After that, they fell into a silence which felt a little bit tense. There was nothing else to do but wait it out.
The sandstorm roared for the longest time and Khiroth was almost beginning to think it would never end. The winds did abate though, and with it, the sound of gurgling stomachs could be heard. They had been hiding out in the cave for quite some time, and the mad dash for safety had not helped conserve energy.
During the storm, the trio had shared their names, and the winged vay was glad for the fact she didn’t have to keep referring to them as nameless tyr and runner. Both Stinger and Aurum seemed ready to stretch and move out too, so she unfurled her wings and took to the air to get the blood pumping again.
“So Stinger, you live around here yeah? What’s good hunting?” Even Aurum perked up at that, the enticement of food getting his attention better than anything else they had done since meeting. While she was from the desert, she knew how hard prey could be to find. Hopefully between the three of them, they’d be able to find enough to placate them all, especially the tyr’s larger belly.
Stinger also took to the skies, and guided Aurum up the cliff face as he replied. ‘Most days I catch fish out of the oasis lake, but it’ll be hard to find enough to fill three bellies,’ he admitted. ‘However, large herbivores do roam the desert. We can either scout for them, or wait to see if they come to the water here.’
Khiroth’s stomach gurgled. She chuckled. ‘We could be waiting for days. We should look for them.’
‘Agreed,’ Aurum called out from the top of the cliff. He looked down upon Stinger’s oasis. The water was like a beautiful mirage after trekking through seemingly endless sands for days straight. Stinger landed next to him.
‘I’ll carry you down so you can refill your water supplies. We need to be prepared,’ Stinger said. He gripped Aurum with his back legs and glided down the cliff. They all took a few minutes to fill their canteens while Stinger visited his cave to pick up his pack. He also took other supplies, in case they needed to camp in the desert overnight. They were ready.
The desert wasn’t very hospitable for many creatures, and with Stinger’s oasis, one might suspect a larger abundance of creatures nearby. However, they were probably scared away by the large predator, so the trio might be wandering for a while trying to find food. Aurum remembered another similar oasis on his way in, although couldn’t recall how far it was, while Stinger provided some insight to the herds in the area and their moving patterns. Their canteens were especially useful as the heat warmed the dark parts of their fur fast.
Eventually with the two taking to the air and circling around, while Aurum kept his nose alert on the ground, they found traces of creatures, herbivores like Stinger had mentioned, and eventually a small herd was seen on the horizon. Any longer and the trio considered they might have to camp for the night, as the sun was starting to cast longer shadows.
Camels were larger creatures than many thought of until seen up close. Even making the winged vay feel somewhat small, they were intimidating to take down in large groups, but with a tyrian on their side, it should be easier. While one might wish for some other source of meat as camels as they had a lot of fat or lost a fair amount of body mass during a drought, one shouldn’t discredit them as a food source, even if their fur liked to get stuck in between teeth. Best not to look a gift horse, err camel in the mouth right?
“Should we scatter ‘em from above and target whichever ones isolate themselves?” Khione suggested, unsure on how to take on the humped beasts. She hadn’t often gone after them herself. Aurum looked equally unsure, as much as he tried to hide it.
‘I think so. After I have scattered them, I should be able to herd them into an ambush we prepared for it.’ Stinger said. He frowned as he looked around the area. The ground was dry and cracked, with a few spare shrubs. The sand was hard, level and compact. There wasn’t much to hide behind. ‘The ambush itself is the tricky part.’
Aurum brought his body low to the ground and crawled forward until he was behind the thickest shrub nearby. ‘Do you think this will hide me?’ he asked.
‘It’s the best we’ve got,’ Khiroth replied. ‘I don’t think there’s enough bushes to hide the two of us. I’ll have to come with you.
‘It’s risky, but I think you’re right. Aurum will be the linchpin of our plan. We’ll herd a camel over here, and you’ll ambush it from the bushes. Go for the neck. A clean kill will keep us all safe.’ Stinger said.
‘Aurum, don’t move from here unless you’re ambushing the camel or see us empty-pawed,’ Khiroth told him. ‘You could be waiting for a while. That’s just how hunts are. At least you’re in the shade.’
Aurum nodded, and laid down in a spot where he could see through the shrub. His stomach grumbled. ‘I got it, get going!’ he said.
The two winged reoseans took to the skies. ‘We have to swing around to the back of the herd before they spot us,’ Khiroth said. ‘I hope Aurum has enough patience for this. He doesn’t seem like the type used to hunting.’
‘I know. But there’s not much we can do about that. If the ambush fails, we will have to catch up to the camel and land on its back,’ Stinger replied.
‘But—’
‘I know it’s risky. That’s why it’s the backup plan,’ Stinger said. The pair fell into silence as they flew.
The fliers didn’t have much cloud cover either, so if any of the beasts looked up, they were pretty much guaranteed to be spotted. They knew the second their shadows fell upon the creatures, they’d freak and become unpredictable. Swooping wide, the pair flew behind the herd as it trekked through the desert, flying far enough away that their long stretching shadows wouldn’t fall upon the last of them.
Aurum’s impatience was beginning to show because his head kept peeking out from the sparse bit of shrub. Perhaps they should have tried to find a sandy area and buried him partially.
When they got around the camels, the pair split up, Khiroth continuing to fly wide to avoid detection to get around towards the front of the herd, while Stinger lined himself up along the side. The tyr was far more agile in the air, and would be able to herd them effectively toward Aurum's location. Khiroth on the other hand would just be an intimidating factor, startling them so they don’t continue to run the way they’re facing, causing missteps and hesitation.
They hadn’t really discussed signals or anything, but they managed to convey their readiness in their flight. Khiroth swooped down, suddenly headed towards the herd at as fast a speed as she could manage. She floated down, wings held wide to make herself seem bigger as she yelled out a challenge.
The camels bellowed and shrieked, the confusion and fear among them evident, and then it was Stinger’s turn. The tyr glided in, snapping his jaws to and fro and split them up, picking a target and chasing it right towards where their runner friend was waiting.
In the rush, the camel that was split off from the herd was a healthy adult. Not a perfect result, but it had to do. Stinger flicked to the side, correcting the camel’s path towards Aurum. There was only a hope that he would succeed. When Stinger saw his head poke out of the bush again, he highly doubted it. Aurum looked surprised the camel was so close already.
In his impetus, he pounced too soon. The camel brayed and swerved to the left of the bush. It stumbled but stayed upright as Aurum’s jaws snapped on empty air. He grunted as he pivoted on his paws. Saving the pounce was too late though. He was behind the fleeing animal, and he couldn’t approach the kicking legs.
Stinger cursed as he implemented his backup plan. Aurum was a wildcard he had no control over as well. The runner appeared to be trying to save the pounce but failing entirely. Stinger put on a burst of speed and approached the camel from above. Before it could respond, Stinger dropped down from above. The camel crumpled from the weight and Stinger tucked in his wings. He could do nothing else as they both fell into the ground at high speed. Rocks and sand dug into his fur and fragile wings. The air was forced out of his lungs. He somehow held the camel’s head in place as they slid in the sand.
Khiroth swooped in from behind. She had followed the entire time, but her speed was too slow to help with dropping the camel to the ground. Aurum caught up and gripped one of the camel’s arms. This exposed the camel’s neck for the final attack. Khiroth gripped it, and together with Stinger, they broke it.
While the vayrons both wiped blood off their jaws, Stinger rolled off the camel’s back. He inspected his wing membranes. Apart from a couple of scratches, they were fine. Lucky. Now they had to set up camp as the sun set behind the trio, a bounty of fresh meat hard-earned.
Camel was all in all a decent meal, and the trio had a nice meal before the sun went down, deciding to camp out in the desert instead of walking the rest of the way back to the oasis that Stinger called home. Aurum pitched the large tent—more like a tarp over some stakes, if one looked too closely at it. Khiroth and Stinger stripped the rest of the meat off the carcass before Stinger dragged the bones and offal away from the camp. The stench in the distance should keep any hungry scavengers away from the reosean’s camp overnight. They shared some stories over the campfire and had a good night’s rest.
Aurum woke up later than the others. He saw them sharing leftover camel meat for breakfast. He rose to join them. Dizziness overtook him and he stumbled to the ground. He groaned. Aurum got up slower this time. He lurched as the world spinned. The puller grabbed the door of the tent with his paw and fell. The structure caved on top of him, the stakes clacking on the ground as the tarp covered his body. “Shit,” he said.
Hearing a thud, and the collapse of their little lean to, brought his winged companion’s attention over to him, and they blinked before coming over to investigate. Aurum was trying to detangle himself without much success, nor energy, and Khiroth and Stinger did their best to remove the tarp and poles from out of the way.
The runner was clearly out of breath, his eyes glazed over as he squinted at them, fighting against double images and the world from spinning.
“Something the matter?” Khiroth asked, concern in her voice, while Stinger hummed and dug around for a waterskin.
“My head.” He meant to say more, but the words didn’t want to come out, and what did come out he was convinced didn’t sound quite right. The puller’s concern deepened, and she brought a wing tip to rest on his forehead.
Stinger looked at her curiously, and she shook her head when the tyrian approached with the water. “He’s got a fever.”
“Shit.” Their fluffier companion mirrored Aurum’s curse, and the pair of them wished they knew more about medicine. “Do you think he needs to be looked at in town?”
“Yes,” Aurum replied. He fell into a coughing fit for a few moments.
“Do you know of any doctors nearby?” Stinger asked.
“There’s one in the next village, but that’s half a day away at a steady trot. We’ll need something to carry him in.” Khiroth replied.
Stinger offered Aurum the waterskin, which he grabbed shakily and took a gulp of water. “Agreed. We do have the remains of the tent, think we can make a litter out of it?” Stinger said.
“It’ll have to work. Aurum, do you think you can keep down some bread?” Khiroth said.
Aurum groaned. “No…”
“Alright, grab our attention if you need anything,” Khiroth replied.
Putting together the litter was a simple, if slightly tedious affair. The tarp hung loose in the middle, but pulled fairly tightly so Aurum’s weight wouldn’t sink it too much. The stakes were used to create beams that the reoseans could sling over their backs. It would be awkward with the tyrian’s body shape, but workable. There wasn’t another way around it—they wouldn’t be able to fly over to the village with Aurum’s weight between them.
After making sure they had the rest of their supplies packed, the trio set off. Aurum was slow to get into the makeshift litter, needing help and moaning half of the time, and the winged pair took a while to get a steady gait down with their body shape differences. The runner groaned anytime they weren’t quite in step with each other, which happened to be quite often.
Khiroth heard Stinger muttering under his breath, something about knocking their companion out so they didn’t have to hear his complaints, and she stifled a giggle, but otherwise the the pair were rather quiet, conversing the energy they could be spending talking in a hope to get through the desert faster.
Half a day was a long way to go at a decent pace, and Khiroth and Stinger both were beginning to regret their inability to fly there to make it faster. Water was passed between them, and to Aurum whenever he thought he could keep it down, while conserving what they could so they wouldn’t run out. They still had some of the camel meat that the winged reoseans munched on when they grew hungry, but after Aurum practically gagged when they offered him some after his stomach had seemed to temporarily settle, the pair decided not to bother offering him any more until he was better.
The runner grew weaker with each passing hour, his moans and groans growing softer and near non-existent, and he shook with a fever the pair didn’t have a clue what to do about. The sun was beginning to approach the horizon—the fuss with the litter and carrying Aurum had cut their travel time immensely. As they crested the hill, the village could be seen in the distance.
‘Finally,’ Stinger mumbled. He glanced over to Aurum. The reason he was suddenly quiet was clear. He shivered, and had no energy to even talk. The runner’s paws and lips twitched, but he was otherwise remarkably still. Khiroth looked over at him too. She frowned.
‘We’re not going to make it before nightfall. Should I fly ahead and get some medicine?’ Khiroth asked.
‘I think so,’ Stinger replied as he loosened himself from the litter. He touched Aurum’s black, hot, sweaty fur. ‘He’s been in the sun for too long, while I give him shade and water, you go to town.’ Stinger opened his wings to block out the sun and flapped them for good measure. Khiroth nodded, and leapt into the sky. She raced into the distance. Stinger sighed. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said softly. He stopped flapping to grab his waterskin. Stinger took a long draw from the dwindling water supply. He lowered his head to Aurum. The runner was barely coherent anymore. Stinger gently pressed the waterskin gently onto Aurum’s lips and slowly trickled some water into his mouth. He hoped it would be enough until medicine arrived.
Khiroth raced as fast as she could towards the village. Hopefully there was someone there who could help Aurum. Maybe they could even help the pair bring him in. It would be good to get him out of the scorching sun and chilly night. It might even save his life. Khiroth didn’t want to think about a reosean dying while she could do something about it. She flapped her wings harder. The buildings quickly approached as she made good time. Sweat dripped down her wings and face as she reached the town. There wasn’t much there, it was about a dozen or so huts made of straw and mud. She hoped they even had a healer as she dramatically landed in what passed for a town square. A child cried out in alarm to their mother. Maybe she could help.
While Khiroth flew towards the village, Stinger’s concern only grew as Aurum started to toss and turn in a feverish dream while he drifted in and out of sleep. The tyrian worried he would hurt himself, and gently restrained him, sweat coating his claws as the runner’s coat drenched him.
Khiroth was no stranger to getting strange looks from others, mutated as she was, so while the child ran in fear to find her mother, the winged vayron was persistent, knocking on doors until someone answered. A weathered old male blinked up at her in surprise, and pointed out the house for the local medic. A quick thanks was all that was needed and the female bounded away to knock on the correct door, refusing to give up until it was answered.
The resident that answered the door was young and hesitant, but when Khiroth explained about her sick companion out in the distance, determination flared in her eyes. Quickly gathering supplies, the female followed Khiroth out of the village. The winged reosean was tired and moved slow, unable to take flight at the moment - it worked out well for the pair to keep pace as Khiroth led her to where Stinger stood guard over Aurum.
It was well past dark when the pair made it back. The tyrian stepped away to let the medic work, and she quickly looked him over, asking questions about his symptoms and condition that the pair did their best to answer.
“The good news is he will be fine.” The female said as she shoved some herbs in Aurum’s mouth, and held a paw over his head, a glow coming from it as she showed a display of magic that had to be tied to healing. “He just needs rest. Preferably we’d get him to a bed, but moving him is ill advised. We’ll just have to keep watch from out here.”
Stinger and Khiroth gave sighs of relief as they settled themselves as best they could in the desert, their new medic companion mixing together some other bundles of herbs, probably for later. As they looked over at the runner, his breathing seemed to even out his thrashing calming. It was a relief, and the pair soon drifted off into their own sleep, the excitement of the day having caught up to them.