Rachel

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“Aw well!”

Daniel sighed, he pulled himself over to Joel and started to rub healing gel over his wounds.

“I can do that myself.” Joel said.

“Are we not going to talk about that?” Rachel asked.

“I don’t have the mental energy right now.” Daniel said like nothing was going on.

“I just woke up!” Joel said wrapping new bandages around himself.

“Fine then.” Rachel leaned back and looked up at the fluffy clouds, and the sun in the east. Rachels consciousness faded, and her eyes felt heavy, her thoughts started to wander. Wind rushed at Rachel, and she jumped into action, the beast from earlier was back, the dragon lion; but it now had red, scaley; wings. Smoke shot out of its nose. The dragon lion bowed its head and outstretched his wings.
“He wants to take us, help us.” Daniel said lifting Joel up, Joel put his arm around Daniel: “Daniel!” Rachel complained: “Can we trust it?” Rachel examined the thing. Oddly enough its eyes were wide, they shimmered, it let a small groan.

“If we want to move at all we go with him, it took us a day to get over one hill.”  

“It is going to kill us!” Rachel snapped. She rubbed her neck.

“Rachel?” Joel looked at her. Rachel swished her head around: “Do you want to die?” He asked.

“NO! That is exactly why we shouldn’t get on this flying chameleon!”

“That’s just mean.” Joel looked at the floor. “BYE!”

Daniel stood still; he looked at Rachel as if to say: It’s up to you. Daniel and Joel limped over to the dragon lion, Daniel clambered up and offered a hand to Joel. Rachel sighed: she was sick of being bossed around and controlled. Rachel climbed up onto the shoulder of the beast. Daniel sat on its spine; Joel sat on the neck. It had black horns sticking out of the side of its head, “Maybe I should?!” Daniel shifted over onto Joels place. Joel shimmied up. “Hang on.” Daniel said. The wings shot up and the beast took off, the lion body jerked into the air and the wings lifted, Rachel fell onto her back. The body shook as the wings flapped. Rachel held onto the fur of the beast, the neck lifted, and the rest of the body lifted, it tilted a slight and the beast soared through the air into the air. Rachel sat up and looked overboard. Below Rachel could see where the hills ended in the distance, the forest in the valley crept, it sent shivers down Rachels spine. The round furthered and the air thinned. Wind blasted into Rachels hair, blowing it into her eyes, Rachel clung to the back of the beast. She pressed her head against the fur and opened her eyes. Rachel looked around, something aught her eye, Rachel looked back around and saw three female bronze figures. They had fluttering wings, and ugly masks, they had bronze snakes attached to the mask. They wielded short swords. “Oh gods!” Rachel exclaimed.

“Oh no!” Daniel complained.

Joel stood up: “Oh no you shouldn’t.” Daniel looked back.

“Yes, I should!” Joel said, he unsheathed his sword. Rachel felt for her axe, it wasn’t there, it was broke. Rachel clung her axe and whipped it to her side. The bronze gorgons flew through the air at the two, Rachel felt the oxygen, it was thin but there. Rachels hand waved though the air. Rachels fingertips lit up in flames and touched the spear, flames roared up the spear into the tip. The gorgons neared, Rachel and Joel tensed, Rachel could imagine her spear going through the head of the automaton, the butt of the spear slamming into another’s side, Rachel’s boot flattening their ugly faces. Joel moved forward and lunged his sword toward one of the gorgons. Its sword lashed into his, Joel staggered left his back being exposed. As the gorgon’s sword jumped at Joel; he whipped around, and his sword cut through the head of the automaton. Rachel pointed her axe at the other two, flames shot from the tip. The gorgons jumped back. The gorgon Joel was managing lunged at him, he backed up, tensing, he jumped back his sword slashing down into its chest. The gorgons flew at Rachel, she spun it around into one’s head, it clattered into the other, Rachel twirled the tip of the spear, they were all lined up. Rachel skewered the heads of the gorgons. Making a bronze kebab. Rachel shed the automatons.

“Impressive.” Joel said swishing his sword through the air. “But there are definitely more!” Joel said eagerly. A dozen more flew down from the clouds, Joel caught Daniels shield/ring out of the air. “Thanks!” Joel said. The ring expanded into the aurum shield, gold. As the swarm of automatons flew at them, Rachel dove behind the shield. Broze clattered against the shield and Joel braced grimacing: “NOW!” Joel screamed. Rachel stood up waving her spear around, flames erupted tagging the gorgons, Rachel pierced her spear into the skulls of the gorgons. Joel stood up slamming her shield into the automatons, his sword swished into the bronze, the two danced around, moved like water in perfect synchronization. Their weapons lashed through bronze like butter. They kept moving fighting of the dozens. There were no more automatons. “Good job!” Rachel proclaimed. The two collapsed down.

“This is a Styrio!” Daniel said excitedly. Fur in bunches started to fall off the beast and it thinned, with a large crackling.  

“Oh my god!” Rachel grabbed the fur of the beast.

“It’s a rare anomaly in dragons, they’re born different creatures, but they grow into their native species.”

“Is that bad?” Joel asked.

“No, it means it’s actually very loyal, and intelligent.”