The next morning, we all had breakfast. Aliona was wearing the makeshift bra that Taylor made for her, as well as the makeshift underwear. It looked like she was wearing a bikini. She complained for a moment, then decided that it wasn’t worth the argument. It was nice to know that I wouldn’t be constantly distracted by her being naked. Plus, I wouldn’t have to worry about Taylor getting upset.

One of the good things about having Aliona around was her keen sight. I don’t know how many times she spotted people walking through the woods. We assumed that they were out hunting for us, so we avoided them at all costs. It was a bit nerve-wracking to worry if one of the people we came across would be one of those looking for us.

Aliona leads us out of the forest to a clearing. She said that it would be a few days before we got to the next town. I hoped that we were going the right way. The last thing I wanted to do was backtrack.

“So. How long have you been living out here by yourself?” Taylor asked Aliona. I guess she was getting a little bored with nothing really to do. Aliona looked up at the sky as if she was trying to see an invisible calendar.

“About two years. They said that I didn’t belong with them because… well… I am like you two. There was this girl. She was so sweet, and we would talk all the time. But then my mother caught us kissing. You see, we are supposed to be bound by tradition, but I couldn’t help it. She was The most wonderful girl I had ever met,” Aliona said as she wiped a tear from her eye. I felt bad for her. To be thrown out because of who you love. I know that it was considered taboo in these times, but it still sucked.

“I am sorry that you had to go through that. What happened to the girl?” Taylor said. Aliona looked as if she had been wounded. I was guessing that whatever happened was bad. She didn’t answer right away.

“It’s ok, you don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to,” I said, seeing that it was making her uncomfortable. She looked up at me with thankful eyes.

As we continued, we saw some wildlife. Some of It was strange. Creatures that I had never seen before. Things you only read about in storybooks. The cutest of them were these dragon looking lizards. They were about the size of a chihuahua. I wanted to take one with me, but it tried to burn my hand when I went to reach for it. Both Taylor and Aliona laughed at me. Aliona said that they were known as fire lizards. They were a distant cousin to dragons.

After a day of walking, we made camp. Aliona offered to hunt for us instead of making stew again. I guess she preferred her food fresh. After a debate, we finally agreed. She brought us back a deer. I field dressed it, much to Aliona’s protest. I had to explain to her that we ate like humans. I guess she figured since we were beastkin, we must eat like animals.

That night, we all had to sleep close together because the temperature dropped immensely. Taylor wasn’t happy about it, but she knew that it would be cruel to let Aliona sleep in the cold. She slept in between us. I guess my girl really didn’t get over her insecurity. Although, with how she was in her sleep, I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t wake up to her holding Aliona. Not that it would be on purpose.

We all awoke the next morning, much like the last. This recurring event of walking and sleeping was getting tiresome. I was in desperate need of some action. Not like fighting or whatever, but something other than walking and sleeping. I had an idea, and I was feeling stronger with each day. Without a word, I conjured my wings.

“Wow, you have wings?” Aliona asked excitedly. I nodded as I stretched them out. Felt good to have them out when I was always trying to hide them from people half of the time.

“Oh, no. You are not leaving me to go flying around. Remember, I cant fly?” Taylor said as she gave me a death stare. I grinned. Then her face turned to worry.

“I would never think of leaving you behind, my love,” I said, smirking. It had been a while since I was able to fly, and I would take advantage of the fact that I was feeling up to it, picking her up in a bridal carry and took off. The rush of the wind beneath my wings was exhilarating. I had missed this feeling. Aliona followed behind, and we were off.

From the sky, I could see the landscape in a way that I never would have from the ground. It really was a beautiful place. In the distance, I could see some mountain ranges. I wondered if our journey would ever bring us near them. I would love to fly around a mountain.

“This is so much better than walking,” I said loudly to Taylor, as the wind made it hard to hear. She just shook her head and held on tight. I knew that she wasn’t keen on flying, especially when that was with only my arms to support her, but I had grown stronger since I first learned to fly.

We had been flying for about twenty minutes when an arrow whizzed by. I stopped suddenly, trying to find where the arrow came from. Down on the ground, there were two men with bows. They looked like knights. Another arrow flew by, and I almost didn’t dodge it in time. These guys were trying to shoot at us. I needed to get Taylor to safety. If it was just me, I could outfly their arrows, but I was carrying Taylor.

“Hold on tight, babe,” I said. Taylor gripped me tighter as I closed my wings. I would have to dive towards the ground to be at least fast enough to be missed by any fired arrows. As I got close enough to the ground, I opened my wings again, just in time to meet the ground. It wasn’t the most graceful landing, and I ended up falling to the ground, landing on top of Taylor. If this were any other time, I would take advantage of this, but men were shooting us. I got up and helped Taylor up. Aliona landed next to us.

“Why are they shooting at us?” Taylor asked, looking at Aliona. I could hear the terror in her voice.

“I don’t know. Maybe the men think that we are coming for their livestock?” Aliona said as we watched the two men notch another arrow.

“Please, don’t hurt us. We are just trying to get to the next town,” I yelled at the men. They stopped for a moment, then let their arrows fly. Luckily they both missed. It didn’t seem like they were going to listen to reason.

“Babe, if you would please,” I said, looking at Taylor. She must have guessed what I was asking because the next thing I knew, she was lifting some rocks telepathically. She shot the rocks in the men’s direction, not enough to hit them, but enough for them to get the message. It didn’t work. They notched another arrow.

“Sighing, I summoned my bow, collecting energy, I formed an arrow. It wasn’t as taxing on me as the last time. Aiming at the closest man, I released the arrow, then turned it into a rope. He dropped to the ground freaking out. The other man, in his surprise, fired his arrow in the wrong direction. I created another arrow and aimed it at him. Within seconds, they were both bound on the ground. So I walked over to them.

“Why were you shooting at us?” I asked. The first man looked as if he had seen a ghost. Or was he really checking me out?

“I’m sorry, miss, we thought you were one of those dragon folk who has been terrorizing our village. You see, they think that they own this land, so every now and then, they come and attack our village, trying to drive us out,” the man said, his face full of fear. Sighing, I snapped my fingers, and then they were unbound.

“You said that these creatures are attacking your village. Is it nearby?” I asked. The man seemed reluctant to answer. Sighing, I looked at him and said, “we are not here to harm your village. We are looking for information about a man and a girl, hoping that someone has seen them.”

The man looked at me, confused as he sat there on the ground.

“I haven’t seen anyone like that. The only strangers we’ve gotten so far are you three,” he said, now staring at Aliona. Goddess is this what I did to girls when I was a guy. I can see how annoying it can be.

“Could you take us to your village? Perhaps we can help you with your troubles?” I asked. He nodded. He and his companion both got up off the ground.  After dusting themselves off, they started leading us to their village.

Angelwolf

I want to thank you all again for reading my story and commenting. It has been a fun experience, and I hope to be able to share more of my stories as I go. I have another story in the works that I am hoping that people love. The first chapter can be found on my Patreon. It is free to the public. I will be posting it there for a time. You can find my patreon page by clicking the tip button. As always, if you are enjoying this story, please share it with your friends and don't forget to hit that follow button for updates on when I post chapters. <3