Ember returned within the hour just like she said she would. She found the camp they had set up in the forest a bit away from the river bank. When she arrived, Yuki greeted her.

“So how is it?” Yuki asked as they sat down. Akira and the others were in tents they had set up.

“It’s pretty clear right now,” she replied. “There are some clouds gathering, but it doesn’t look like a storm. But given the time, I don’t think we should go through right now. We should stick through the night.”

“Why?” 

“The mountain range is quite large and it’s something you should go through at a more careful pace,” she explained. “The front parts of the mountain are normal, but further in, it gets more and more dangerous. It no longer becomes mountains really and more like spikes of rock that you need to navigate through.”

Yuki frowned, not quite sure what Ember was trying to describe.

“It’s hard to explain. You’ll see tomorrow. Going through it would take too long with the daylight we have.”

“Oh, so you're worried about night.”

“Yes. That area is very dangerous if you are careful, but at night monsters come out. Fighting them off with passengers on our backs wouldn’t be safe.”

“Monsters?” Yuki repeated, raising a brow. “What kind? I don’t know what kind of beasts roam here.”

“Lesser wyverns. The wyverns’ weaker and less intelligent relatives,” Ember replied. “They don’t like to associate themselves with those monsters which I understand completely.”

“Lesser wyverns. What are they like?”

“Well,” Ember said, scratching her cheek, “they’re weaker magically. They use wind magic like normal wyverns, but not as well. They’re also a bit weaker physically and are smaller, but they’re still a pain to fight off since they behave like monsters.”

“Are they only active at night?” 

“Usually active at night. If you step into their territory, they will come after you no matter that time of day.”

“I see. And where’s that?”

“Their territory? It’s where we’re headed towards.”

“Oh.”

“That’s why night time would be horrible. We would need to contend with them as well as navigate the area,” Ember sighed. “If it was just us, I think we could outfly them pretty easily and not need to fight them at all.”

“I appreciate the confidence, but I’m still kind of new to this whole flying thing, you know,” Yuki said dryly. 

“It’s not confidence. It’s a fact,” Ember smiled. “I can tell that you’re a natural at this. Plus, you’ve had practice. It might not have been in the real world, but it’s still practice.”

“Hmm. Thank you then. So what are you planning?”

“Well, we’ll go in the morning with the others,” she said. “The people we’ll be carrying will be the same. When we get there, they’re going to be doing some protecting while we fly.”

“Oh, so that’s why you want the morning,” Yuki nodded. “It’ll be easier for them to fight off the lesser wyverns when they have better visibility.”

“Exactly. I’ll give them some instructions on how to fight them off. For right now, I need to give you a few heads up,” Ember said, scooting in closer to Yuki. 

“Hit me.”

“Lesser wyverns can use wind magic. They use it a lot. When they hunt or when they fight they will use it because it’s the only magic they know. Other magic requires more intelligence and they’re not quite up to that.”

Yuki nodded to show Ember she was following along.

“When we fly, you need to keep a close eye on the winds,” she said. She looked at Yuki with a serious expression. “The moment they start shifting in any abnormal way, you need to prepare yourself.”

“You’re telling me that the wyverns are going to make flying a bit of an ordeal,” Yuki said.

“Yep. They’ll kick up the winds and it’ll throw you off if you’re not paying enough attention.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Anything else?”

“Protect your wings. Don’t move too predictably. And no matter what, do not try and look for them,” Ember listed. Yuki frowned at the last one.

“Why can’t I look for them? Knowing where an enemy is can only help,” she asked.

“With other enemies, yes, but lesser wyverns can hide very well and love to ambush,” Ember explained. “When you see one, you can bet that there is another right underneath you. You can look for them with magic, but I would prefer if you put all your focus onto flying.”

“Then I’ll just trust that Erica and Yuna can find them for me,” Yuki said. 

“That will be their job, yeah.”

Yuki mulled over this information for a bit before a question appeared in her mind. 

“Em. When we’re doing dodges and navigating that area of the mountains, how much should I care about the comfort of my passengers?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, we’ll be twisting and turning while trying to evade those lesser wyverns. We might need to do certain drastic maneuvers to avoid being hit.”

Ember’s eyes lit up as a sly grin spread across her face.

“Oh, I see. I think they’ll understand that it’s for everyone’s safety,” she said. “After all, us getting hurt would inconvenience everyone.”

“So being a little rough wouldn’t be a problem then,” Yuki said.

“Not at all,” Ember replied as they grinned at one another.

---

 

The next day, they awoke at the break of dawn. After a quick meeting, they went to the river bank and prepared to navigate the mountains. Yuki changed back into her dragon form, the saddles still attached to her, and layed down to let Erica and Yuna mount.

“Ready?” Ember rumbled.

“I’ll be right behind you,” Yuki replied.

With that, Ember pumped her wings and lifted off from the ground, climbing into the air. When she was a ways away, Yuki did the same, pushing against the air with her wings. Ember hovered around, waiting for her.

Then they began their flight. Ember took the lead, guiding Yuki towards the area of the mountains she had warned about. After twenty minutes of flight, Ember slowed and went beside Yuki.

“It’s coming up,” she said. “Remember what I said yesterday.”

“Don’t worry,” Yuki said. 

Focusing her sights on the space ahead, her sharp eyes began to make out the outlines of spikes that towered into the air. As they approached closer, she could see them in detail. The description that Ember gave her the night before made sense now.

From the ground, solid rock jutted upwards, like malformed mountains. They were sharp and pointed, their edge not something Yuki would want to touch. The rock they were made out of felt old to her, but that clashed with their state. After hundreds of years, those points should have been dulled.

“What happened here, Ember?” Yuki asked as they flew closer and closer. "Those things are like rock needles."

“I’ll explain later,” she replied. “Just know that it was a fight.”

‘A fight? The participants must have been something.’

“The monsters are coming,” Akira called out, her voice carried by the wind. 

“Ready up,” Ember commanded. 

Yuki cleared her head, pushing her curiosity aside. There would be time later to ponder on these rock formations. Right now, she had other matters to deal with.