(Merry Christmas everyone!)
Cody watched in open awe as Avalsmokes and Omen urged their winged mounts forward and the gryphons spread their wings wide to catch the air before diving over the edge of the cliff's face, their feathers waving beautifully in the rough mountain winds. Ashheart whimpered quietly as his rider disappeared from their view.
Only moments later Fearless was at the edge of the cliff astride a massive yet unusually lean lion with a shining mane of dark gold and crimson. With a twitch of his wrist the cat propelled them both over the edge and caught itself on a narrow ledge below. From there it raced for the next rock, Fearless moving effortlessly with the animal's graceful bounds. Some of the others followed him without apparent hesitation.
Cody urged his tiger to the edge and felt his heart leap into his throat as he gazed down at the practically sheer drop directly below them. He fastened his helmet and flicked the "reigns" to encourage the tiger forward. In the blink of an eye it dove to the side and fell a short distance to the same narrow ledge Fearless had landed on. The cat moved quickly from the precarious position to join the Dreamkeeper and ash-hued leopard ahead on a large rock jutting from the mountain's side.
He felt as though he was tossed around uselessly with each leap, the she-cat under him second-guessing his commands and making awkward jumps down the mountainside. It took some time to familiarize himself with the sudden movements and the erratic bunching and twisting of muscle beneath him. Soon enough, however, he was able to react quickly enough to tell the tiger which direction to leap and lean effectively into each bound. In only an hour he was able to make a quick sweep of the land occasionally between commands to assist in keeping a watchful eye over the land. At one point he marveled as the tiger slid swiftly and easily over a small patch of scree, her massive paws gliding easily over the loose stones without the slightest change in her movement. In that moment he decided to name her Scree.
For hours the group continued at a relentless pace over the rocky ledges and crags, always staying as close to the peaks of the mountains as possible to keep a watchful eye over the forests and valleys all around. The view was utterly stunning. In a large, glimmering green valley a herd of large deer bounded swiftly over a stream that cut through the land, disappearing in a copse of evergreen trees. A single golden eagle larger than a bear drifted smoothly over the treetops before suddenly snatching up a songbird that could have easily outsized any man. Rabbits the size of fully-grown lions disappeared into holes big enough for Cody to walk through without ducking his head.
But he never saw anything worthy of concern the whole day that they rode, and well into the night before they stopped. He couldn't tell whether he was satisfied or disappointed without evidence of Fearless's Reajon, though he had a strong feeling that the Dreamkeeper had spoken only truth earlier that day. When at last Fearless called for them to stop, his nerves were alight with tension, expecting an invisible force to suddenly leap from the shadows to tear him from the saddle. He noticed with relief that nothing happened. The other patrol came into sight a few minutes later, and after a brief acknowledgement they lapsed into silence, neither group holding any information that needed reporting to the other.
Some of the meat they had packed, and a deer that Destiny had caught, was quickly prepared for their supper, which they ate in silence. Cody felt the presence of his friends at his shoulders, appreciating their companionship even in the silence of the night. After they ate, Cody and Inferno retreated to the edge of Dreamrest Mountain's flattened peak to be by themselves, Cody settling by Inferno's breast. The dragon's wing settled around him, and before he knew it Cody was sleeping.
~
It was twilight, just before the sun was beginning to rise, when Cody was awoken by the sudden sound of Inferno pulling his wing away and others around them beginning to groan as they, too, began to stir. Willful called something out to the group that Cody didn't catch as he yawned, but a second later his group left on their cats to resume the patrol.
"Mount your gryphons!" Fearless called out loudly to his own scattered group.
Groggily Cody approached his gryphon: the bright azure steed with a gentle spirit. He was the second one into the air, feeling for the first time how the gryphons flew in such steady, sweeping patterns over the vast expanse of land. For the most part they used their massive wingspan to catch drafts of air, and rode the wind wherever they chose. Several times Cody's faulty perception of the wind currents made his gryphon falter and drop a few feet, or twist awkwardly for a moment, but always the rider was kept perfectly straight.
He found it easier to watch the land around him, but was forced to trust nearby patrollers to look at the ground directly beneath him. Nevertheless, the ride was smooth and even relaxing. Cody's gryphon, which he eventually named Talon, seemed just as comfortable with the ride. Talon drifted over a rocky ridge with ease, angling his wings slightly at Cody's command to dive down over the cliff. The shadowy ledge drifted behind them, and as Cody looked Inferno took the dive to follow. The dragon's massive wingspan was like a blanket as it covered the world around him and his more powerful wings and sleeker build soon overtook Cody and his gryphon, which still rode the air down into the valley.
A sudden glimmer of movement, far off in the distant heart of the forest, caught Cody's attention.
"Did you see that?" Cody asked Inferno slowly.
He could tell by the stiff movement of his wings what the answer would be even before the dragon's echoing thoughts of agreement came in response. "Yes...I'll alert Mournful, she's closer to us than any of the others."
Cody ignored the twinge of pain that came to him at the mention of her name. "Fine, I'll go investigate."
"Fine idea: make sure the Reajon know we're after them and get yourself killed before reinforcements arrive. Truly brilliant." Inferno's stress and concern was almost tangible.
Cody did his best to convince him, "I doubt it's the Reajon...I'm hardly certain they're even real. If they do exist they must be more elusive than that at least, to be discovered by novice patrollers like ourselves."
Inferno was hardly convinced, "So we know nothing about them? Even better."
"Just go and warn Mournful, if you move quickly you can return within a few minutes at the very most. I'll stall as long as possible, if it makes you feel better."
Inferno blew a plume of black smoke at him before twisting abruptly around, beating Cody and Talon the gryphon with the forceful wind from his enormous wing. Cody took a deep breath as he urged Talon forward as fast as he could fly. His great, feathery wings seemed to mold the air into place beneath them as they continued their swift and seamless strokes towards probable danger.
They quickly reached the spot where Cody had seen the movement and began to circle the area. A flicker of color a short distance away caught his attention again and he spurred Talon forward with a cautious thought of encouragement. Talon took immediately to a lazy air current which carried them right over the spot, the gryphon's bright blue feathers disguising them well enough to avoid suspicion by most.
As he leaned over Talon's shoulder slightly, Cody saw a dark red figure crouched at a stream, seemingly unconcerned and undisturbed by their presence if it did in fact notice them. Though by its lack of animation Cody assumed it did not.
With a single harsh command Talon pulled his wings sharply to his sides and dove towards the ground, dropping suddenly from the sky. Cody briefly recalled his promise to stall, but tucked the thought quickly to the back of his mind as the broke through the trees.
The gryphon ripped his wings open with a vicious, sudden flapping sound and gave a fierce cry as they landed violently in the stream, sending a large wave of water to splash everything nearby and getting most of Cody's body soaked. He brandished his sword above his head Just as the red creature leaped to its feet, its lips curled back to expose hideously sharp fangs and its foreleg drawn back to show claws tougher than tempered steel and sharper than razors.
The scarlet animal gave a hideous howl as it flew at them, teeth and claws determined to find blood.