Master Of None

The mountain eagles had a grey and white speckled feather. They had very large wings that could wrap the entire group multiple times. But what was more terrifying than amazon were the extremely sharp black talons and orange yellow beak. It was very easy to see how they were able to tear apart rock serpents for food. 

"These are slow smoked horned rabbit sandwiches with tomatoes and lettuce from the forest elves' stall. The bread was made this morning." Walker shared the bag of sandwiches for Elise. She looked at them as if she had been handed a bag of gold. She was no stranger to Hilda's cooking so she was more than just excited to eat them. 

"I recommend that you are calm when sitting on the top of this monster. It will be very unhappy to be near us. They are prideful and believe they are the true masters of the sky. They may not be right because they are not a dragon, but we can rely on them." Neil had seen these eagles before and learned about their temperaments. 

"I think we will be alright. Midnight has been on the back of another bird before. They seemed not to mind things as long as she was calm as well." Walker gave a slight nod to let Neil and Leon on one of the mountain eagles while he took one with Midnight. Alma and Gil took the last while they double checked all their bags for Walker to store them away. It was time to go and see the vast open skies. 

"Get there safe and don't forget that you will be heading back yourselves. Just make sure that you keep an eye out for any other flying monsters. The eagles might try to scare them off."

 Elise said this and then whistled. Walker didn't even have a chance to ask what she meant by scare them off. 

The skies were completely free of clouds. All they could see after the eagles climbed in to the sky was blue. The world below them was very small. None of them had been this high. The last time that Walker had been in the sky on a flight was not this high by any means. The eagles pushed themselves as high as possible just so they could screech loudly to claim their rightful place as the highest flying monsters. Of course, a dragon would argue with that.

"I wish I could see the ground from up here. Imagine if I could fire accurately from this far away. But I am not that kind of archer." Gil was able to speak over the rushing wind. It was a surprisingly calm and smooth ride now that the mountain eagles had flown in to the higher altitude and were gliding. 

"If you were a longbow sniper then you would miss out on the magic arrows. You would not be as happy. I doubt even a longbow sniper could hit a target from here though. If they can then they are well beyond the mastery we know of." Alma hadn't ever heard of a longbow sniper that was so accurate. 

"I'm not a longbow sniper, but I can see whatever that is." Gil could easily spot the red, yellow, and white stripes moving ahead. Just a few waves of his hand got Walker's attention for an appraisal. 

' Striped butterfly

A monster that outlives most others of its kind. It may not look like it but the striped butterfly is a unique monster with three elemental affinities: water, lights, and wind. This gives them the ability to fly very high without needing to land. They are known for gathering and drinking clouds from the air. They are usually not aggressive and have very weak offensive power. However, their legs are still somewhat spiky and sharp. They are commonly used in potion formulas to balance the elemental mana within. Their wings are the best material for such potions.'

Walker was able to yell this over to everyone since the mountain eagles were close enough to each other. But at this point, the words that Elise had told them before they flew off rang in Walker's head. The mountain eagles saw the butterfly. The screech of warning was enough for Walker to know that they were going to chase this butterfly down. 

"Everyone! Hold on!" Walker shouted as loudly as he could. He was just in time too. The mountain eagles gave some very powerful flaps of their wings which stirred the wind. The group needed to hold tightly to resist the new pressure of rushing air. It was a testament to the strength of the mountain eagles had while flying. They had been controlling their speed and the wind around them with precision. But now they were heading right for the butterfly. 

The mountain eagle that Gil and Alma were on saw the butterfly first and had the lead. It flew a little higher and Gil could see the outstretched talons. He grabbed Alma and help her to the specially made saddle they were holding on to just in time for the mountain eagle to dive slightly. The talons grabbed on to the striped butterfly and its wings were slashed in to pieces. 

It had only been a few seconds between the attack and the fact that the mountain eagle was now snapping it up with its beak. But it was enough to see that the mountain eagles were a ferocious monster that would easily take down its prey. The other two mountain eagles seemed to be looking at the first in jealousy since it had managed to snag a free meal. "So, mountain eagles have very good eyesight and are much faster than we thought." Gil had trouble speaking clearly through the wind but everyone had the same thoughts. Now they would be wary of butterflies for the rest of their flight to the demi-human city.

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