Songs of Reamere: Nyra and Fern: Blue Depths and Frightened Feathers

For a moment after arriving at the take-off point both Fern and nyra simply stayed still, taking in the open sky both slightly hesitant now, knowing once they took the first step past the treeline their journey would start and there would be no turning back. She doesn't remember much of her time before living with Fern in the Forest and now that she'd finally be able to explore outside of it, something she impatiently waited for since she was little, she was both excited and worried. What if she wasn't able to fly at the higher altitudes above the treetops, what if the safety belts fail and Fern falls, she thought worriedly. Fern was also hesitant, he had traveled for many years but he had never once rode a stryx before, the only times he'd get close to one would be when he was taking its measurements or doing saddle adjustments. He trusted his handy work and that the saddle would prevent him from falling but he still worried that if he accidentally would cause them to crash and get them both hurt or lost. 'No, we'll be fine' he thought to himself as he steeled his nerves. Now was not the time for fear and it wouldn't be fair to keep nyra on the ground or flying low forever. "Don't worry girl, you're going to do great, we should start moving now" He said with a comforting tone patting her neck, smoothing down her anxious feathers. Nyra turned to him and gave a half-hearted warble, to which Fern responded with a warm smile " it's ok just take it slow. you'll see once we're in the air you're going to love it, and you're going to love all the delicious fish they have in reamere" he said encouragingly. Nyra trusted in his words and spread her wings and started to run while flapping her wings quickly picking up speed along the path before taking a strong jump into the air. For a moment she struggled, flapping hard to keep them in the air with a slight panic but as she gained altitude she was able to catch the wind. At that moment it was like a switch was flipped and She was able to ride the wind current like a kite, gliding easily alongside the clouds. 

While fern tensed up only gripping the handles of the saddle harder, Nyras's fear had completely been replaced by wonder and amazement. The air currents near the ground where she practiced were nowhere near as strong as the one she was currently riding, the wind wrapping around her brushing past her feather tips lifting her higher with little effort leaving her feeling as if she was simply floating. It was simply breathtaking, she could see the landscape below the rolling hills and trees that looked more like bushes due to how high they were flying. There was nothing quite liberating as riding the currents soaring above everything she felt truly at home here in the sky.

 

Fern gently tapped her to get her attention before pointing to the ground below, " FOLLOW THE ROAD TILL WE GET TO TOWN OR IT GETS DARK " he said yelling to be heard above the sound of rushing wind. Nyra chirped in response and Fern sat still trying to get used to the feeling of flying.

 

A few days passed quickly with little to no issues, both of them quickly getting used to flying and working together in sync. They arrived faster than Fern had anticipated when the town on the coast of Reamere appeared on the horizon. He patted Nyra to get her attention, then guided her down to land close to the outside of town.

 

Before they entered the town Fern turned to nyra " ok we're going to be around a lot of people so be very careful not to accidentally step on or smack anything with your tail ok? " He told Nyra his tone serious, " also you can't take anything unless I pay for it so please don't grab anything unless I hand it to you ok ?" He asked again, looking her in the eye making sure she understood since she had a habit of grabbing stuff to investigate what it was. Nyra made a small meep and nodded her head promising she'd behave before they both entered town. 

While Nyra was awestruck looking at everything and trying her best to hold back an intrigued and excited trill, Fern began talking to the residents of the town inquiring about good spots for fishing and any fishing boats that would allow for stryx to ride along. He was shocked at the revelation that there was a scarcity of fish now and the stories of the sea monster that was at fault. 

 

He turned to look at Nyra curiously she must have known about the sea monster since she made him bring his fishing spear, but how she knew about it would have to be a question for later he thought. He needed to focus now on the issue at hand even though they had arrived at Reamere sooner than anticipated, the long hours flying affected Nyra's appetite and she would need new food fast he'd have to take the chance and venture deeper into the sea where the beast was if they hoped to catch anything even if it meant facing the creature.

 

Most of the day had gone by to no avail, no one would agree to go out anywhere near where the monster was. Tired and discouraged he went into the tavern for a drink and a meal leaving Nyra outside to nap while she waited for him. He didn't even get the chance to order anything after sitting down before a grizzled-looking man sat across from him at his table. While at first Fern was apprehensive and a bit intimidated by the larger man, 

 After a shared meal and an explanation, he was much more excited about the situation. 

 

The man was named Wayne and he was a Captain who had been searching for more people to help on his ship as they ventured out to face the sea monster. He was most excited; it seemed to be able to bring along Ferns stryx nyra, even though she was still young and not yet full size she was still a powerful gryph and would be a great help against the monster. After finishing the meal and agreeing on a fair pay they both left the tavern with Nyra in tow towards the captain's ship at the docks. 

 

The ship was impressive, Fern had never seen one this large before and there was more than enough room for nyra to be able to rest comfortably on board. Fern and Nyra were both staring in awe and fascination at every part of the ship they passed as they were brought on board the main deck for introductions. Giving a smug look to Fern as if to say " see finally people who appreciate how amazing I am" Nyra fluffed up cooing happily basking in all the attention and compliments of the crew. After the short warm greetings, the Capitan sent the crew back to work getting the ship ready for departure, tasking Fern with making sure Nyra didn't get into any trouble or in the way of the crew. It didn't take long for the order to lower the sails came and the ship left the docks sailing into the mist towards the open ocean.

 

 While they waited, Fern had stored most of their cargo in his room on the ship, keeping only his fishing spear and flying gear with him. They were far from the coast now the vast expanse of blue the only thing in sight so Fern decided it might be time to try and practice fishing together with nyra, using a bottle of the oil they brought on her feathers making sure to not use too much helping to make a waterproof coating as she laid on the main deck soaking up the sun entertained by staring at the sea trying to catch glimpses of fish or the reflection of clouds in the water as it stilled. Fern climbed onto her saddle and barely finished clipping in his security belts when Nyra shot up and ran to the edge of the ship trying to get a closer look at something in the water. Fern yelped at her sudden movement " what's up girl what's wrong, you see any fish? " He asked. The feathery tufts on her head lowered but the rest of her fluffed up hackles raised as let out a deep rattling hiss head pointing directly at the water. Most of the crew on deck paused and turned to look where she was pointing as her loud hiss caught their attention. 

Fern leaned forward in the saddle to try and get a better look at the water and saw bubbles rising before a strong wave rocked the ship. Then a school of fish rushed towards the boat and at first, Fern was excited to see the fish hoping to catch a few. His excitement quickly turned to dread as a massive silhouette came into sight chasing the fish letting out a bone-shaking bellow. Nyra quickly retreated from the edge in fear, wings spread slightly in panic. Fern was paralyzed with shock, now rethinking if coming here was worth getting near that monstrous giant, almost losing grip of his spear that now seemed more like a toothpick compared to the creature's sheer size. When the Capitan rushed onto the main deck yelling out orders getting everything ready to face the monster, Nyra was able to snap out of her shocked state. She leaped into the air, flapping hard to gain altitude; she would not let herself be a sitting duck she thought as she started to put more distance between her and the water. 

Now in the sky with a better vantage point, the sheer size of the massive beast's body was in view. There would be no way she'd be able to defeat it on her own; if she wanted a chance to do any damage she'd have to work together with fern. If she managed to dive at it with enough speed maybe Fern's spear could price the monster's scaley hide. They would have to aim at the creature's face if they had any hope of doing actual damage but that would be difficult as it was currently hidden below the waves. She'd need to provoke it so that it would turn to them, she reasoned. After circling the ship for a moment a glimmer of scales caught her attention. Now's my chance nyra thought as part of the monster's body lifted out of the water while it passed by the ship. Despite Fern's loud protests she turned towards the exposed scales and dived towards it at full speed. At the last second before impact she turned, reaching out to swipe at the scales with her claws. The impact felt similar to crashing landing onto the floor, the scales had no give, bouncing off the creature without doing any harm. The monster more focused on the school of fish it was chasing didn't even react. Disheartened by her failed plan she quickly flew back onto the ship hoping that the Captain would have an idea of what to do. As she landed on the deck she noticed something stuck to her Tallon, a scale! It was small and looked kind of brittle unlike the majority of the scales that she saw up close during her encounter with the beast but that was enough to renew her determination. If a scale could be knocked loose then the creature could be defeated, there was still hope. Fern had gotten out of the saddle as she investigated the scale but before he could even begin to scold her for her reckless behavior the captain's shouts interrupted both of their thoughts.