October Montly Prompt: Leon and the Festival

Light and laughter shone from Sol once again. After so long of living under strife and fear, the community was beginning to heal. Leon watched from afar, the wind's icy talons cutting beneath even his feathers. The harpia hesitated to fly for the city, the thought of being crammed within a crowd didn't sit well within his gut. But his stomach curled uncomfortably regardless. He couldn't remember ever eating anything yet today.

A flutter of wind fell over him, causing the large bird to jump. His heart thumped hurriedly but it had only been a tyto not even half his size. "Chilly night, eh?" The brown-feathered dragon spoke as he wobbled up to Leon.

He squinted slightly, pulling together a fuzzy memory of the tyto. "Elran, right?" He knew the bird from seeing him hang around trading posts. The tyto was a somewhat known wilderness guide and it was easy to tell seeing the wear of the wilds upon his body.

"Party's in town, what's got you here? I can smell the roasts. Wouldn't what's to miss that." Elran chewed on the strand of grass wiggling from his beak like a stray whisker.

Leon's tongue watered. Meat roasts did sound nice… Maybe he could go for a little while. "I uh, was just about to go." He lifted his wings, hoping it would make his answer more convincing.

Elran's beak grinned. "Well I'll fly in with ya." He took to the sky and Leon followed right after. The cold night air always made for smooth flying, even if it froze his talons. Fall was far too brief and winter too soon. At least the effort of keeping himself aloft lessened the chilly sting.

The sound of crowd chatter gradually grew louder until the two were in the thick of it. As they landed, the rush of wind following behind them rustled lights strung across the alleyways. "Any idea where the food is?" Leon asked the tyto. His senses weren't nearly as keen.

"What? You can't smell it? They're just this way. I can already taste the flavor." Elran's tongue hanged from his beak and it wasn't long before Leon was chasing after him, barely keeping up as he followed the white feathers at the tip of Elran's tail. Though between the ever growing crowd he just couldn't keep up. The tyto was gone among the merging shapes of colors and feathers.

Leon glanced around, his eyes constantly dodging between every detail. Strangers bumping against him made his feathers stand on end. He opened his wings, trying to make more space for himself but the crowd kept moving in. Suddenly, no one was in front of him. Birds and bats had moved away, and while the breath of fresh air gave him much needed relief, Leon didn't realize something was off until a great shadow fell over him. A shadowy mountain of feathers, spikes and scales loomed over him and Leon let out a cry of fear and topped over. A monster! The humongous stryx flinched away, hurt glazing over her eyes. It wasn't until Leon's flailing about calmed down did he notice the giant didn't intend to harm him, in fact she shied away. Leon quickly took notice that the crowd's eyes were all on him. He whimpered and quickly dodged out of the spotlight.

But the giant stryx followed after him without a word. Upon realizing he wasn't alone he tried to suppress the fear growing in his heart and stammered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be scared like that."

She nodded her huge head, antlers branched from it. Each one bristled with so many spikes Leon thought two trees grew right from her head. "Would you, uh, want to get some food? I'm pretty hungry and the meat roasts sound tasty" He wanted to make up for being rude. Her eyes lit up and she nodded her head once more, eagerly following after him. Leon was just glad he wouldn't be her meal. He'd heard the tales of what happened and of course it was all resolved, but he still couldn't believe such a powerful stryx walked just behind him. She could squash him without a second thought! But she just seemed to want to enjoy the festival.

At last they arrived at the open plaza filled to the brim with cooking fires and sizzling delights. A corva held out to him a stick with a delicious steaming slice impaled upon it and he gladly grasped it with his wing talon. He was about to bite in before he remembered the big stryx. Leon lifted it up for her but they corva laughed. "Oh no save that for yourself! I have something better fitting for Senka here." And she hauled up a huge hunk of meat, a meal fit for a rhakos. Senka stuck it with her beak and it was all gone in a blink of an eye. Leon laughed and dug into his own food.

Maybe this festival won't be so bad at all.