Malanka
stared at the rows of glinting weapons and armour. What was she to choose? They
all looked equally dangerous and would have been fine to have in a real battle.
She finally picked up one of the long wing blades and tentatively clipped the
curved blade along her wing. She flexed her wing in and out to see how the
weapon felt. It was definitely heavier, but the way the weapon seemed to move with
her felt wonderful. It was like it had become one with her. She strapped on
another one and tried it out. Again it just seemed to become a part of her, the
cold steel of the spiked blade glinting the midday sun.
“So,
how do you like them?” Songa asked from a little way off. He kept glancing
nervously at the blades and then back to her. Every time she moved her wings,
he seemed to flinch and shuffle back.
Malanka
realized with a touch of irritation that he was nervous about her handling the
equipment. She snorted disdainfully and arched her neck, causing her metallic
blue scales to gleam. Like she’d be so carless to drop something. The
idea.
“Well,
they definitely have a bit of weight to them, but I’m sure I’ll get used to
that. Other than that though they feel perfect. It’s amazing how natural they
feel,” she said, ignoring his nervous looks.
She
picked up a magnificent helmet and slipped it over her head. Her ivory white
horns fitted perfectly through the holes in the back of the helmet. A strong
band of iron capped the top of her snout and broadened near the back to encase
her eyes, allowing only a small hole to see out of on either side. A back plate
curved a little way down her neck, protecting the vulnerable spot where her
scales were thinned to allow the growth of her horns. She was surprised at how
airy it was. She’d been expecting it to be heavy and hard to see out of, but it
really didn’t present much of a problem.
After
fitting on a pair of talon blades, she turned to her father again. He beamed at
her, his shimmering gold eyes shining with pride.
“My
little girl, all grown up,” he sighed, coming over and gently twining his tail
with hers. “You know, you look just like your mother when she first tried her
armour.”
Malanka
bowed her head and grinned. “Thanks Dad.”
“Come
on. Let’s see how you do now that you have extra weight. Try doing a straight
take off,” Songa instructed.
Malanka
obeyed. She was usually great at taking off without a running start, but as she
sprang into the air, she realized that it was going to be harder then she’d
thought. The metal, though fairly light on the ground, now felt far heavier and
dragged her down. She didn’t put enough energy into her wing beats and crushed
into the ground with a loud metallic clang.
“Again,”
Songa commanded.
Again,
Malanka tried. This time she managed to get aloft, beating her wings rapidly to
create lift. But the armour affected her streamlined shape and she struggled to
keep her balance in the air. Songa flew up beside her as graceful as an eagle,
his armour not seeming to bother him in the least.
“Feel
the metal. Let it become one with you,” he instructed firmly. “Don’t fight it.
If the weight gets too heavy, don’t
try carry on going up. Dive and let the momentum of the upward swoop carry you
through the air.”
Malanka
tried a steep dive, letting the heavy weapons speed up her descent. Then,
tilting her wings, the wind caught her and she swooped upwards. She soar
skywards with easy and let out an exhilaration roar of triumph as she flew past
where Songa was hovering.
“That’s
it. Make it work for you, not the other way around,” Songa called after her.
Little
by little Malanka grew to recognize how the weapons and armour liked to move
and adjusted her flight patterns to match it. By late afternoon she was
gliding through the air with easy, as swift as a falcon. She felt as though the
metal had always been part of her and that at last they understood each other.
Before long she could perform the complex barrel rolls and loop the loops that
she was used to.
“Bravo
Malanka. You’re a natural,” Songa applauded as he and Malanka landed with a
heavy thud on the golden sand of the arena. “I think we could move onto battle
training tomorrow.”
“Sure,”
Malanka replied with enthusiasm, her tail twitching with excitement.
“Well…
I’ll see you later then I guess,” Songa leaned over and gave Malanka a
tentative kiss on the snout before padding towards the far entrance into the
mountain.
Suddenly,
a frantic Wind Talon burst out of the tunnel, his snout white with fear. “Sir…” he panted, skidding to a stop when he saw Songa walking towards him. “The Ice
Talons. They have declared war.”
Points: 23295
Reviews: 264
Donate