Sonora's Wings

The Monster That Wanted to Become a Hero

It flew over the sea of trees, nothing but green below it. It's wings glided gently making no sound. It's vibrant green feathers blended with the trees from above, on each topped feather there were blends of orange and red. This creature was a rare sight to see as many of them came from the Toponaya Mountains. It lowered itself down into the forest to land at a small lake to rest and gain strength. It sat at the edge of the lake staring at its reflection. What stared back was a boy, this boy had tanned skin, piercing green eyes and a mess of green, orange and red hair atop his head. He pulled a small bottle from the satchel he was wearing and by using both wings, he scooped up some of the water from the lake. "This should last for at least a few days." The boy thought to himself placing the bottle back into the satchel. "Now for food.." the boy got up and spread his wings, he used them to hover just above the lake watching the surface of the water. His eyes narrowed as they locked into a large trout and with one quick motion he plunged his talons into the water grabbing the fish and pulling it out of the water. As he proceeded to prepare the fish and a fire, someone watched from the trees. "That's what we're after?" One whispered, his voice giving away that fact that he felt bored. "Of course it is, that monster is a super rare male harpy, there's only one born every century!" The other whispered back, her voice was filled with excitement ready to move. "So should we just wait for it to finish eating?" The man's voice continued.  "Yeah, I want to observe what it does first." The woman's voice whispered back. The boy lit the fire and placed the fish on a stick putting it over the fire to cook. "Wow! This monster actually seems intelligent!" The woman whispered loudly. "Quiet or it'll know we're here!" The man hissed back. The two whispered for a few hours while the boy set up camp. "Alright, this feels safe enough." The boy said laying down against a tree. "Hopefully tonight will be a bit quieter than the last one." He yawned closing his eyes as the two figures started to move. "Now we can begin." The man said keeping his voice low as he slowly stood up climbing out of the tree avoiding making any noise. "This is going to be so cool!" The woman followed him, trying her hardest to stay calm. They both crept over to the camp, the woman inspecting almost everything. The man walked up to the boy, a knife in his hand. "I've never seen a monster this intelligent before, too bad we have to kill you. Maybe the lab can dissect you and figure something out." The man raised the knife up looking down as the woman watched. The man brought the knife downwards but instead of connecting with the boy it collided with the trunk of the tree. "Huh? Where'd it go?" The man looked around until a foot collided with his shoulder knocking him away. The man yelled and the woman backed up as the boy looked at them both. "Who are you.." The man got up as the woman cautiously stepped forward. "Hey now, we don't want any trouble." Though her tone didn't match what she said, she sounded excited. The boy glared at her. "Day that before you try to stab someone next time." Gripping the knife tightly the man ran at the boy. "Enough! You're just a stupid monster! So die like one!" The man swing at the boy and with one swift motion the boy used his talons to flip the man over him into the ground. The man yelled as he gasped for air. "How..!" The boy set his sights back on the woman who was backing away. "We clearly didn't think this through..." The boy walked towards her. "Why are you doing this to me?" The woman said nothing and continued backing away. "Tell me please!" The boy took a few stepped and the lady smirked. "Sure I'll tell you, but don't come any closer got it?. The boy stood still. "Fine, now tell me." The woman discreetly pulled a small device from her cloaks pocket it. "We're doing this, because you're a rare specimen." As she said this she pressed the button on the device which remotely fired a cannon loaded with a weighted net onto the boy. The boy yelled and stared clawing at the ropes. "It's no use, they're reinforced with steel fibres, you can't get out." The boy kept trying to wriggle free as the man brought over his satchel. He tossed it to the woman. "Here. It's got his things in it." The woman reached into the bag and pulled out a small leather bound book with the name Niko etched into it. "So your name's Niko huh?" She said flipping open the book. "Give that back!" The boy called. Flipping through the pages she read some when one caught her eye. It was a page that talked about becoming the first monster adventurer with some small drawings beside of. The stared at the page for a few seconds then looked at Niko. "You want to be an adventurer?"  Niko stopped moving. "Yes, is there something wrong with it?" The man looked at the woman, she had a strange look in her eye and a wide smile. "Whatever you're thinking, don't do it." The man said. The woman crouched down in front of Niko. "Nothings wrong with it, maybe we can help you, what do you say?" The woman proposed. "If you get this net off me." The boy looked at her. She smiled again under her cloak. "Remove the net." The man sighed and pulled it off of Niko. "You're going to regret this." He said. The woman pulled her hood down. "Oh can it, hey, my name's Selkie, and that's Rafner." She gestured to the man as he pulled his good down. "This is part of one of her crazy schemes so I wouldn't get too comfortable." Rafner said handing Niko his satchel. Niko slung the satchel over his shoulder and looked at the two. "Let's go." Rafner said as he started to walk away, Selkie followed behind him. Niko followed cautiously at a small distance still unsure of the two. He began thinking "If they help me become an adventurer then they can't be all bad, right?"