The wind whipped past her as Izumi could do little more than watch the canyon floor grow ever closer to her. Though she could not hear the wind over the pounding of her heart beat in her ears. Was this it? She had just gotten to the demon world, just made her first friends, found most of her mates, and gotten her first 'I love you'. Her life had never looked brighter and now she was going to splat on the ground without anyone to be any the wiser? She knew the demon didn't like her but this was just cruel.
She squeezed blue eyes closed and waited. Though strangely the pain she felt was not in her face or torso which was falling first but on her ankle. She felt the gravity change direction with an unsettling lurch. The wind slowed just slightly and her body swayed like she was on a boat in the ocean. Up and down, up and down.
She cracked an eye open after a few more moments. The spikey and jagged rock formations that reached towards the sky were smoothly sailing past her but not downwards. More to the left or right. She was flying past them. So she let her eyes drift down her body seeing a grayish beak was gripping her ankle. The beak belonged to a demon bird. It was the largest bird she had ever seen with a wingspan that was at least twice as big as her body and was currently soaring gracefully through the air.
Oh, a demon bird saved her…
Oh, no! A demon bird had her. She had read that unlike regular animals like on Earth, demon animals could and would feed on demons given the chance. So it was sufficient to say that humans were just as likely on that menu too. She reached up bending her body in a sort of sit up position to try and pry the bird's mouth open. She knew she would fall to her death but wasn't that better? Especially when the alternative was being eaten alive by a flesh eating bird? After all from this height it was very likely she would die on impact.
Her fingers scrabbled and clawed at the beak's seam to try and catch enough purchase to pull. However the beak tightened causing more pain to ripple through her leg and the sharpness of the beak tore into her fingers leaving little red rivets cascading down her hands and into the abyss.
"Let go." She grunted, even as she pulled harder at the keratin prison. However much to her horror the creature listened as its mouth popped open sending her into a freefall down to the ground.
This time a scream did leave her mouth but it was halted, as not too long after she hit a branchy ground and it knocked the wind from her. She rolled to a stop and groaned feeling her body. She would have bruises and small cuts but it seemed she hadn't broken anything. What luck. Her eyes glanced around the place she had landed was a large nest overlooking the peaks of the spikey abyss.
A shiver went down her spine. She would hate to see the creature that made this nest as she and the whole Misfit Class could sleep here and be nowhere near touching each other. The problem now was how to get down from this nest. She had no idea where she was but that would matter little if she was stuck here.
"Squee." A peeping type noise sounded from behind her. She bit the inside of her lip moving her head slowly to glance behind her. If the last bird was large this one was massive. It easily could have just plucked her up and made her a bite sized morsel for its digestive pleasure. She locked eyes with the beast and slowly, oh so slowly, began to back up.
Her movements triggered whatever its instincts were. The creature launched itself at her taking little more than two steps before collapsing in a shriek of pain. It writhed on the ground for a brief moment before looking at the woman balefully, willing her to stay away.
It reminded her of a wounded cat she had tended to when she lived in the wilderness. It too tried to look like it would rip her apart just to keep her from hurting it worse. So Izumi's eyes scoured the creature's body until the blue orbs landed on its leg. "Did you hurt your leg little one?" She asked, soothingly. She doubted it could understand her, being a bird, but she knew that tone of voice could cross most language barriers. She took a step forward only for the creature to lash its head around. With its size, a single hit from it would most likely take her down which was an outcome she would like to avoid. So she showed the creature her hands. "Sh…it's okay. Look, my leg is hurt too." She gently raised her pant's leg to show the bird her injured leg. It wasn't too bad but the smaller demon bird from earlier had torn into her skin.
The baby, or she assumed it was a baby as it was in the nest and there was a downy looking feather coat on it, inspected the wound from a distance before extending its leg as if to compare them. A light laugh left her lips. How strange and crazy. Comparing battle wounds with an oversized chick, granted that it probably would have eaten her could it have reached her so it wasn't like it was harmless.
"Look." She unbuttoned her jacket before taking a piece of her white undershirt and pulling. A loud ripping sound echoed through the canyon and she was left with a long strip of cloth that hung and swayed in the wind for the bird to examine. She slowly bent down, remembering that despite its sort of cute exterior this was still a wild animal and she would hate to be eaten. Wouldn't that just ruin her whole day? She tied the wrapping around her leg securing it with a knot. "See, all better."
Was it all better? No, but it would help the healing process. Though it would help more if she had some sort of agent to ward off infection. Still the bird seemed to think about it before thrusting its leg at her. Clearly it wanted the same treatment.
Now that she was looking the wound was rather large and it would take the rest of her shirt to cover if not more. As she pondered a solution she touched the bird's leg, the open cuts on her hand leaking into the wound. It hissed and she shot her arm back. Smoke came from the wound as it sewed itself up with little more than that.
The baby bird picked its leg up to examine it and found there was no evidence that the gash had ever even been there. Pleased it chirped and squicked happily at her. "Well, aren't you in a better mood?" She patted the creature's beak with soft touches. "Now that I'm not going to get eaten, time to find a way to the race." She mused aloud and looked out along the landscape. Wherever they were it was above a stormy scene.
The chirps of the demon bird called her attention back to the creature and as she looked questioningly at it, it lowered itself so she could climb aboard. "You want to help?" Suddenly, while she knew the creature was intelligent from its basic gestures and thoughtful eyes, she realized this thing might just understand her. It could be that demons understood demons or maybe grandpa's translation spell worked on everything but she found that it came in real handy right now. "Thank you."
Now that she wasn't being dragged through the air by her leg, she found that flying was amazing. The wind breezed past her face though it was chilly and the sight was spectacular. The demon bird she was nestled in was far softer than she was expecting and caused her to want to melt into the feathers and furs that were its body.
It banked left and she laughed out loud the feeling. It was freeing in a way that she had never experienced before. The storm below them raged but it did little but sway them from this height. She had spent her entire life in the human world trying to survive, day to day, week to week. She never had the chance to play or experience nice and pretty things. But ever since coming to this new exotic world things were looking up.
She felt the bird beneath her jolt. It fluttered up and down for a moment no longer moving forward. "What's wrong?" It squawked and turned its body so she could see a mountain. Strange. It was even stranger when the mountain moved…Wait did mountains in the demon world move?
No, that was a creature. She blanched. How much bigger were these creatures going to get. The bird squawked happily. Was this its parent? She didn't really see any resemblance but then again this bird still had its downy coat. So it could look like that in the future.
It seemed to be batting something around and as the bird she rode flew forward she realized what it was.
That was the idiot from her class. She hurriedly tapped the demon flying her. "We have to get there in a hurry." She whispered urgently.
If she summoned Kalego he cou…
Her thoughts froze there as his cold look from the cafeteria echoed in her mind. His words were like fire in her ears as he publicly denounced her. No, she would figure something else out. He wouldn't help them. She didn't trust that he would come through for them. As the bird flew closer to the ground, she gaged the distance and leapt. Her feet hit the ground and she ended up in a roll before tearing off to get that moron out of there. She had to be fast enough. She had too. Because despite his actions, he was her class member and she wasn't going to stand by and watch him get more hurt. Or worse.
Alice Asmodeus was sure that while he had been caught up having to rescue the green haired chaos creature that was his second mate, he refused to see her as his first, Lady Izu would have made it to the finish line. So imagine his shock when she was not there at all, nor was she anywhere in sight. In fact none other than Valac and the teacher were there.
But like the steadfast and loyal mate he was, he stood beside the goal post and waited diligently for his lady. She would be here soon.
Or so he thought. But the second and third racers came in and still no sign. He traveled over to the demon camera viewer and watched as Kalego flipped from channel to channel but he saw no hair of blue. Where was she? He tried to put aside his worries but they plagued him the more students showed up and she was still not seen.
He shouldn't worry though. She was strong and she would turn up soon. Right? It was just a flying race.