Fowlhunter [GL]

“So, what are you?”

“I’m a pixiu, like the mythological guardian lion, but you can call me Ying,” Ying said.

The angel hummed. Standing this close to her, Ying had to fight a shiver. The Graveyard Commander cut an imposing figure, and like Jemi, Ying had seen her in action on Mount Casca; seen the trail of Beast bodies she left in her wake. And here the same angel was now, windswept rose hair that split around the wings extending from her shoulderblades, in a blood-red dress that masked the equally red splatters across it. Even at a socialites’ ball, Ennanis Zoleil had been dressed for battle.

Ying’s nerves throbbed. By this point, the angel troops had evacuated the human civilians. With no audience on them, if Ennanis attacked her now, she could transform to Beast form and fight back. But even that might not be enough to keep her alive in a direct confrontation with the commander.

Fortunately, Ennanis didn’t seem to take that route. Instead she said:

“Okay, Miss Ying. How do we kill it?”

“You can’t,” Ying said. “It’s already dead.”

The duck continued to rampage through the lake.

“Looks pretty alive to me.”

“Well, it ain’t,” Ying shook her head. “A Runt is a Beast that didn’t survive the moon’s transformation, losing all its sense of control. It’ll disappear on its own once the sun rises.”

Jemi had taken a duck while it was on the brink of failing its transformation, and smuggled it into the palace lake. There, like a ticking timebomb, once the uncontrolled Lunaki had devoured its body from the inside out, the duck had grown into a full-sized Runt, creating its splashing entrance.

“But for now, the best we can do is weaken it so it’ll stop causing havoc.” She pursed her lips, frowning. “Though that’s gonna be tricky…”

“Can Lunaki touch it?” Ennanis suggested.

Ying gazed at where the boy and the makara were wrestling with the duck. Unlike Asha and Jemi, she didn’t know Lochlan well, but now she stared, impressed. The boy who had been so clumsy on land moved with incredible grace while in water, diving down and leaping out of the lake in such sleek movements it barely even disturbed the water surface.

He wielded what looked to be a parang, the common jungle machete, except this was glowing with the silver sheen of Lunaki enhancement. Occasionally, shots of Lunaki streamed forth from the long blade, but it was only when metal contacted flesh that the duck gave any reaction.

“Doesn’t seem like it. It has to be physical.” Damn, Jemi’s really not going easy on us at all, Ying thought as she watched the duck brutalising her teammates. I know it has to be convincing, but couldn’t she have given us a hint on what we’re supposed to do?

The Runt had been released into the lake by none other than their leader, Jemi herself. No one knew why, but Jemi could whisper to animals. It was not a Lunaki skill; it was something that the human had somehow always been able to do. It was through this that Jemi exerted some level of control over the duck, coaxing it to tromp into the lake and cause a ruckus.

Still, she glanced at the angel commander beside her, whose brows were furrowed in contemplation, Zoleil’s taking this remarkably well.

“Maybe there’s a way to restrain it,” murmured the angel.

“Like with rope?” Ying echoed. “I’ve got some, but I don’t think it’s nearly long enough.” She racked her brains, her gaze sweeping around them.

Finally, her eyes landed on the strings of lanterns connecting the pavilions.

She pointed. “I got it. Asha and Lochlan can hold the Runt still, while we two use the lantern cords to truss it up.”

“How are you going to do that?” Ennanis asked, looking at her.

At that, Ying grinned. She inhaled and tossed her head back. In a whirlwind of silver, she felt the moon’s magic enter through her, remoulding her body until she was in Beast form. She dropped down on all fours, relishing in the feel of the breeze over her fur, two horns poking out from her skull, wind rippling over her wings from either side of her. Her jitters washed away with the river of power that had awakened within her, fading into the current.

“Well,” Ennanis acquiesced, “that is a way.”

They took flight. By now, most of the attendees of the Ball of Souls had evacuated the premises to the eastern bank. Most were too terrified, or busy complaining about their party being ruined, to take notice of the two shadows that swooped low over the pavilions and detached the lantern-laden cords. Being decorations for the Royal Palace, this was no flimsy or cheap rope, either. Quality rope—Ying evaluated with her paws. This could work.

Asha and Lochlan got the message when they saw Ennanis and Ying flying towards them. They swam to the front as a distraction. Lochlan waved his silver-glowing parang in the air madly, drawing all the duck’s attention as the two flyers approached from behind. They kept it occupied for them both to zip around the creature’s towering legs with their trailing wires of lanterns.

Before long, the duck squawked in befuddlement as it tried to move a webbed foot forward, only to find that it was utterly, hopelessly entangled in a mass of red baubles. In its attempt to wrest free of its chains, it tripped over itself and careened over, finally landing with a resounding SPLASH! in the lake.

Ying breathed a sigh of relief as she let go of her end of the string. Next, she hollered, “Asha! Lochlan! You guys okay?” and searched the night-darkened waters for them. She first saw the mousy-haired boy, scurrying out from beneath a lotus pad.

…But where was Asha? Asha was loud and annoying and half-elephant; she was hard to miss. Ying flapped her wings, circling the fallen duck’s perimeter.

And then, on the other side, Ying found her. And her blood chilled in her veins.

The girl was squatting by the duck’s side, back in her anthropine form. She had torn off a chunk of flesh from the duck, mid-snarfing it down. Typical behaviour for the greedy little makara, who could often be found enjoying their spoils-of-war. No, that was not what had shaken Ying.

Ennanis had her spear locked against the back of Asha’s throat.

Very slowly, Asha craned her head backwards, lips dribbling duck juice. When she saw who it was, she smiled nervously into the Commander’s scorching-gold gaze.

“Uhhh… Want some?”