Chapter 649: The Noble Eagles
Mason raced through the 'southern’ forest, at the bottom of the continent, a kind of warmer twin of the great forest of the north. It hadn’t taken long through the fey to arrive just where the beastmaster told him. He grinned as Breaker panted and lumbered behind him and Streak.
“Too much time sleeping in camp!” he shouted. “Come on! Burn some of that fat off!”
He angled towards the small creek where Kitya was waiting, hit by memories of the first time he’d met Becky (and Phuong) as he arrived. The cowgirl had been steering them down the current of a similar stream, the only defender left of the wounded old soldier and a few civilians. Wolves like Streak had been circling, waiting for their chance.
Streak slapped into the water with a happy growl, spraying everywhere as he flipped and wiggled, trying to get to the mud. Breaker reached them wheezing, flopping into the creek with a giant splash and a relieved sigh.
Mason laughed as he ran up beside the elven beast master. She was kneeling at the edge of the creek, eyes closed with a hand in the water, the other glowing in front of her face.
“It’s not far, I think,” she said as she noticed him. “The hills south. Maybe the mountains beyond. Their hunting ground reaches here.”
Mason nodded, and Streak bolted out of the water towards their target. Breaker grumbled and crawled out with his head down.
Kitya was clever. They were trying to find the nesting grounds of a species of eagle the elves once knew. Even with his senses and One with Nature, Mason hadn’t been able to detect them, or find life that could point him the right direction.
But then most natural creatures weren’t brilliant conversationalists. You had to ask them the right questions. Like ‘are there giant flying things that eats your kind in this river?’ Eventually the fish said yes.
Mason picked up the tiny elf, cradling her as gently as possible as he ran. She still wasn’t used to it and looked incredibly awkward in his arms. It was also pretty much impossible for a woman to hide anything from him now, and he could smell her arousal.
It wasn’t shocking, exactly. But it was distracting and not really a thing he needed in his life. At least not today…
He ran their little group for a good hour at Breaker speed, his joy at just racing through the forest about as pure as a pleasure as he’d ever found. There were no emotions, no other people to worry about, no one to hurt or protect or any purpose except the freedom of existence in this incredible world.
Kitya eventually relaxed. Breaker gave up trying not to suffer and just let Mason’s passives and his own natural endurance get him through the pain. The trees got sparser as the ground rose, the mountains rising into view.
Mason stopped as both he and Kitya turned on powers to try and sense their target. It took a minute, but pretty soon he sensed the surrounding creature’s fear of the sky. The understanding to never stand in open ground. That great winged terrors lived in those mountains.
“I hope it’s your eagles,” Mason said. “I’m not a big fan of dragons. Also they like to eat virgins.”
He wiggled his eyebrows, and even with her dark skin Kitya blushed visibly. He silently chastised himself and tried not to be what he was. But like most elves she was upsettingly attractive. And her love of nature made her even more appealing. Also she was there, and he was him, and these days that was kind of all it took.
“Are there really still dragons on the prime?” Kitya said, obviously trying to change the subject. But her arms were around his shoulders, her dark eyes full of wonder and…something else. He took a breath and defeated himself for another hour.
“There really are. Want me to drop you off kind of close? Or am I taking you all the way?”
All the way up, he mentally screamed at his treacherous mouth. All the way up.
“I’d like to go to the top,” she said shyly. “If it’s not too difficult to protect me. I don’t want to interfere.”
He glanced at his now ridiculous list of powers, titles, and growing items, knowing he could cross the world in front of them at impossible speed.
“No trouble.”
He whistled for his two summoned animal companions, and rushed up the slope.
**
Mason had Kitya halfway up the nearest mountain before they heard the first screech. He met her eyes, and they both grinned.
“Noble eagles were supposed to be extremely intelligent,” she told him, looking halfway between excited and anxious. He knew even if they’d actually found them, she was worried she’d oversold the creatures—that they’d get there and find something far more ordinary. All she had were century old maps and history more like legends.
“Stop worrying,” he said for the third time. “Even if it doesn’t work out, this is exactly what I asked you for. I’ll take a big, dumb bird at this point anyway. I just need usable wings.”
She nodded gratefully, and he shifted her a bit more comfortably before making a longer jump to a decent rise. She held her breath and buried her face in his shoulder as they flew.
“Maybe I should tie you on with some rope,” he said, mostly to himself.
“I can hold onto your back. So you can use both arms to climb, I mean. I’m not a warrior but I’m stronger than I look.”
Streak went flying by with another happy growl, scrambling up nearly sheer rock with claws and enthusiasm.
“Or you could ride the wolf.”
He grinned as Kitya stared and shuddered.
“I saw him fall a hundred feet and run off like it was a game. I’ll stick to riding you, thank you.”
He met her eyes, and winced as she blushed again.
Bad Mason. Very bad Mason.
He adjusted the elf to his back, but he didn’t like her being able to just drop off so easily. He was worried he may not even notice unless she shouted. He could probably dive down and grab her with no problem. But keep her alive when they hit the ground…?
Instead he moved her around and set her down, planning to have her grip him from the front.
“I realize it’s a little awkward, but I want to be sure you aren’t hurt. This way you’ll be sort of sitting on me with my legs underneath.”
She looked halfway between thrilled and mortified as she put her arms over his shoulders, their faces inches far apart. He told himself it was the sensible solution, and nothing to do with his dick at all. But the argument sort of fell apart as she wrapped her long legs around his waist.
“Alright.” He fought the arousal with every fabric of his being. “Hold on tight. I’ll try and make this quick.”
“You don’t have to.”
Oh come on.
“I mean…I’m perfectly comfortable,” she added. “You don’t have to rush. What I mean is…oh goddess.” Kitya swallowed and looked ready to crawl under a rock.
He laughed like it was all fine and amusing, hoping to make her feel better. Eventually she met his eyes again and gave him a small smile.
“Hold on tight.”
She pressed herself against him, and he focused on Transformation just enough to start growing out claws. Then he climbed up more like Breaker, the bear puffing as it worked its way up nearly sheer rock.
“You could have stayed at the bottom,” he called.
The bear looked at him and growled with a ‘why didn’t you tell me before I was halfway up’ sort of projection through their bond. Mason laughed and kept climbing.
The top lost any semblance of a ‘path’, and he and the animals used brute force and sharp claws to ascend to the pinnacle. The screeching started back up, the eagles or whatever they were started communicating that a possible threat was coming far too close.
Mason reached out with One with Nature, smiling as he sensed several families of creatures above. He looked for an interested mind, but felt a lot of closed off, angry consciousnesses that had enough will to resist.
“I think your history books were right,” he told Kitya. “These aren’t just simple birds.”
A shadow whipped across them, and a huge wingspan flapped then tucked as a creature dove. Mason turned to watch. An eagle-like male screeched and spread its wings as it reached him, showing him its size and speed, the volume of its voice, a full display of its talons before it dove away.
“Goddess. It’s the size of the bear!”
Mason grinned and pulled himself up at full speed, the elf letting out a shout before gripping on for dear life. He went straight for the peak, feeling the surprise and panic of the birds at his speed.
Another male and a few females took to the air now, circling the nest as Mason reached the top and waited. He saw their eggs in plain sight, the powerful beasts not even bothering to cover them. A few youths and mothers scrambled to get in his way, screeching with panic at a situation they probably hadn’t ever faced.
Mason stalked straight to the eggs, staring down the mother and youths and watching Apex Predator flare. The eagles panicked, minds overwhelmed by the sudden understanding that they were helpless, that Mason wasn’t some nuisance, but a killer far above them on the pyramid of death.
He set Kitya down and crouched at the eggs, letting the males watch him as he gently tapped the shells one by one with the flat of a claw. He hoped the message was clear:
It would be over already. But I’m not here to hurt you.
One by one the males landed and stared with a mixture of confusion and outrage. Some wanted to attack anyway, to dive down and test their beaks and talons against the dangerous intruder. But their eldest seemed wiser, and warned them away and landed, coming forward with golden eyes locked on his.
So, you are the druid, it said, melodic voice echoing in his mind through One with Nature as it quirked its head. We have heard of you from our cousins in the north.
He smiled and nodded, and it shrieked for the others. A wave of relief moved through the animals as they all landed, racing heartbeats finally slowing. The huge, old eagle stared, the only one of them not seeming much calmer.
You’ve made your point. Now what do you want?