Sammy heard little noises from Adam, but did not think he was speaking.

  She blew it off and continued to follow Yazmina, who was currently speaking English.

  They were nearing the part of the base where the newer recruits practice and train. It was quite busy, but it brought back memories for her because of her intense boot camp.

  She yawned and kept walking. Yazmina then said to Sammy, “We can go over to the stables next. I have to feed Koda anyway”.

  She nodded and felt Adam tense up. She had a worried expression on and asked Yazmina,

  “Could you ask him why he’s tensing up? Is something wrong?”.

  She then watched as Yazmina asked him.

  She started thinking of endless possibilities that could expin it, but waited for Yazmina to tell her.

  Yazmina told her, “he said nothing was wrong so I don’t know”.Sammy rolled her eyes and then started to hear him muttering to himself, she adjusted her grip on him and poked him giving him a look.

  He waved her off and continued to talk, she left him alone and focused on her surroundings.

  The sun shone on her face, making her wince at the purple sunlight. She looked out into the nearby forest with curiosity.

  The colorful Blues and reds in the leaves and the tall trees with shades of purple. She smiled and breathed in, she loved being near nature and it was quite calming.

  They neared the stables; she could recognize the rge building by its dark blue outline and could hear the roars of her Sorhebi who sensed she was coming near.

  Sammy could feel the buzz of excitement through the soles of her boots before she even turned the corner.

  It was subtle at first, like distant thunder, but it became clearer as she stepped into the stable—Yelena was doing her “tippy taps” again.

  A grin curled on Sammy’s face.

  Sure enough, there was Yelena, her massive dark blue body bouncing lightly in pce, cws tapping in anticipation.

  Swirls of turquoise caught the light along her belly and the underside of her wings, and the frills of her cobra-like hood fred with happiness. Marble white spikes stood tall along the edge of that hood, and her long tail coiled like a serpent in the straw.

  But it was her eyes—vivid green with round, intelligent pupils—that locked onto Sammy with a spark of pure affection.

  Sammy’s chest ached just a bit with the joy of seeing her again. “There you are,” she whispered.

  Yelena let out a chirring rumble, head swaying like a curious bird’s, until she noticed the small bundle in Sammy’s arms.

  Adam.

  He was pressed gently against Sammy’s chest, looking dazed, awkward, and very clearly overwhelmed. His breath caught as Yelena stepped forward, lowering her massive head to his level. Her snout hovered inches away from his face, nostrils fring as she sniffed him

  Sammy chuckled. “It’s alright, she’s just saying hello.” He had no idea what the words meant, but the tone was reassuring.

  He didn’t say anything, but Sammy could feel the way he tensed slightly in her arms. He clutched her coat instinctively, his eyes wide as he stared at the towering Sorhebi.

  He looked even smaller now—delicate, even—with his thin frame against her strength, and she had to admit, there was something adorably fragile about him.

  Yelena let out a gentle trill, nudging her snout closer. Sammy paused to let Adam adjust, then tilted her head toward the Sorhebi. “Say hi, Yelena,” she murmured.

  Yelena huffed softly, warm breath brushing over them. Then, with a curious chuff, she gave a small nudge to Adam’s leg with her snout—like a cat scenting something new.

  Sammy’s arms tightened protectively around him, and Yelena backed off obediently, her wings fluttering slightly.

  “She likes you,”

  Sammy said with a smirk, even though she knew he couldn’t understand.

  That’s when she heard the crash. She turned just in time to see Yazmina, half-crushed beneath the massive, silver-scaled weight of Koda. The energetic Sorhebi was smothering her with affection, his long tongue dragging over her face as she swatted and ughed helplessly.

  Sammy burst into ughter.

  “Koda missed you, huh?” Yazmina groaned from under him, “I was gone for a couple of hours!”Still smiling, Sammy turned to Yazmina and said softly, “I’m going to take her for a ride. You have fun with Koda.”

  Sammy adjusted Adam in her arms, and that’s when she noticed it.

  He was blushing.

  She gnced down, brow raised. His face was red up to his ears, and he was very intentionally not looking at her.

  It made her smirk widen just a little. She hadn’t missed how stiff he’d gone once her arms slid beneath his back and knees again. For someone with a sharp scientific mind, he was pretty easy to fluster.

  “You okay?” she asked teasingly.

  He blinked at her, eyes flitting up for just a second before dropping again. His voice was so soft she barely heard the nervous chuckle he gave.

  She pretended not to notice and carried him out toward the nding field with featherlight steps, Yelena padding behind her, wings furled neatly along her back.

  Adam’s gaze occasionally flicked toward the Sorhebi, but more often than not, it hovered somewhere near the crook of Sammy’s neck—perhaps out of bashfulness, or the sheer inability to figure out where else to look.

  Sammy said nothing as they walked, just smirked to herself, enjoying the moment.

  Behind them, Yazmina shouted something about “getting Koda off her already,” and Sammy couldn’t help the ugh that escaped.

  Everything felt right for a moment. And yet… she didn’t miss the strange look that crept into Adam’s eyes after that. A mix of guilt, fear, and quiet calcution.

  She’d have to ask Yazmina ter what that was about. But for now, it was just her, her Sorhebi, the wind, and a strange human in her arms.

  Yazmina appeared behind them, Koda still happy and ready to py, she said: “Alrighty, I’m gonna take Koda to his fishing spot”.

  She set Adam down for a moment and hugged Yena saying, “Yesss I know, I know I missed you too.

  “We are gonna go on a ride with Adam” Her mind linked with Yena’s and Yelena said, “He smells so weird, where did you get him? and can we meet up with Koda after, I wanna py”.

  Sammy reached out through the telepathic connection and said “He is from a different pnet and I am showing him around, and yes we can meet up with Koda ter”.

  The cool wind rolled across the open ptform, stirring the strands of Sammy’s vender hair. Adams eyes were locked onto the towering Sorhebi before them.

  Yelena stood poised and still, her deep midnight-blue scales shimmering along her underbelly. The turquoise that filled her hood and the insides of her wings gleamed as she extended them in a showy stretch, her cobra-like hood fring with anticipation.

  The white marble-like spikes along her hood gleamed like sunlight. “Alright, easy now,” Sammy said more to Adam than to Yelena, as she guided his trembling form toward Yena’s back.

  “She won’t bite, I promise.”

  Yelena dipped her head in understanding, her round-pupiled blue eyes full of curiosity as she watched Adam attempt to process what was happening. Sammy helped him carefully onto the saddle nestled between the base of Yelena’s neck and shoulders, her arms steadying him as he tried not to fall.

  He was clearly overwhelmed.

  Once he was situated, Sammy swung up in front of him with practiced ease. The leather straps and polished silver grips felt like second nature in her hands. She turned slightly, brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, and shot Adam a look over her shoulder.

  Her vender hair bounced as she tilted her head. “Hang on tight,” she said, then making a gesture so he could understand.

  Adam blinked, hesitated, then sheepishly slid his arms around her waist. His fingers barely made it around, and his touch was feather-light—like he was afraid to offend her.

  She didn’t say anything, but her tail flicked once in amusement behind them. “Yelena,” she called, eyes glittering with mischief,

  “wanna show Adam how fun you can be?”

  Yelena’s throat rumbled in answer—a sound like stone grinding against silk.

  Her wings fred, catching the wind in a single, magnificent pulse, and then they were airborne.

  The unch was explosive.

  Adam yelped behind her, his grip tightening like a vice around her middle as the wind tore past them. Sammy ughed, not at him—but because of the joy that always came with flying.

  Her heart lifted as the world fell away below them: the base shrinking to a blotch, the clouds rising to meet them.

  Yelena was a creature of the sky, and she knew it.

  She didn’t just fly—she danced with the wind. They climbed in wide, elegant arcs, piercing through clouds, twisting on wind currents, her feathers catching glints of sunlight like sapphire fire.

  Then Yelena tucked her wings and dropped into a sharp dive.

  Adam screamed.

  Sammy whooped with delight, her ears perked up and her tail whipped by the wind.

  The force of the fall pushed them into weightlessness for a moment, and Sammy could feel Adam trembling behind her. She reached back and patted Yelena’s side twice, giving the signal.

  The Sorhebi responded instantly, fring her wings out just in time. The fall slowed, then turned into an effortless glide.

  Sammy gnced back—Adam looked pale, his hair wind-swept and eyes huge. Still conscious, but barely.

  She couldn’t help but ugh.

  She gave him a thumbs up and a tilt of her head.He gave a tiny, helpless nod.

  “Good.” “Barrel rolls?” she asked Yelena.

  Yelena's answering rumble was a resounding “yes,” if Sammy ever heard one.

  With a few powerful fps, Yelena ascended again, slicing through the cold upper air like a dagger. The wind sang around them. Adam didn’t say anything this time. He just held on for dear life.

  Then—without warning—Yelena dipped one wing and rolled.

  The world flipped.

  Sky became ground, ground became sky, and Sammy whooped with joy, her arms spread for bance.

  Adam, behind her, let out a small squeak before falling entirely silent. His grip was still tight, but his body had gone limp.

  She turned her head.

  “Adam?”

  No response.

  “Adam—?”

  He was out cold. Eyes closed, face bnk, head tilted against her shoulder.

  Sammy barely had time to process before she felt the shift in bance—his weight slid off the saddle. Her heart leapt into her throat.

  “Yelena, GO!”

  Yelena dove.

  The Sorhebi twisted her body into a lightning-fast descent, her eyes locked on the tiny figure tumbling through the air below. Sammy didn’t hesitate. She stood in the saddle, one hand gripping the reins, the other

  outstretched. Wind screamed past her ears.

  Her heart pounded. Closer. Closer. Adam jolted awake mid-fall, filing wildly and letting out a panicked scream.

  His eyes locked onto hers just as Yelena leveled out beneath him. Sammy lunged. She caught him with both arms—his weight smming into her chest as her feet staggered back onto the saddle.

  Yelena held steady beneath them, gliding smoothly through the air. Sammy dropped to one knee, pulling Adam close against her to keep him from slipping again.

  “You alright?”

  She asked over the wind, her voice breathless but amused. Adam was trembling, face redder than ever, and clearly unsure if he should speak or cry.

  Sammy just ughed again and squeezed him gently. “Next time,” she said with a grin, “we’ll skip the barrel rolls.”

  Yelena chirped in agreement beneath them, wings gleaming as they glided smoothly across the sky.

  Adam was shaking violently with some pre-tears threatening to fall, Sammy gave him a sympathetic face and said “Sorry”, she felt bad for him and soon started to head towards the fishing pond where most sorhebi’s go to at this time.

  She sat down, and Adam remained in front of her. He was clinging onto her, and she couldn’t help but chuckle.

  She looked down and enjoyed the view of the purple canopy below them. The adrenaline that was pumped into her as Adam fell started to disappear, and she started to calm down.

  Suddenly, Yelena started sniffing downward, and mentally said “Danger”.

  Sammy gave a concerned look, and before she said anything, a creature she knew all too well jumped up at them.

  It knocked Yena off of her bance, and they started to descend fast.

  Sammy, startled, pulled up on the saddle, helping the weight shift back so Yena could find bance. Yelena opened her wings and caught some air, but they slowed down and still hit the ground.

  Yelena nded on her feet but slid a little before stopping. Sammy started to hear the rustling and cries and growls.

  Yelena started to growl, and Sammy, who wanted to protect Adam and Yelena got off Adam still clung to her, and she released his hands and picked him up.

  She put him on Yelena and told her, “ Take care of Adam and get him far from here. I will take care of the fuguto, meet you at the fishing pond”.

  Adam was shaking and was talking, but she couldn’t understand him. She stopped him and pointed away from her in the direction of the fish pond.

  Yelena took off, and she could hear Adam cry out before Yelena flew away. She angled her ears in the direction of the beast, it was feet away, and she could hear it circling her.

  She then saw two red eyes glowing out of the bushes, she spat,

  “Come and get me”.

  Sammy’s boots skidded against the earth, loose gravel scattering as she braced herself. The Fugato’s red eyes bzed from the underbrush, the low rumble of its growl vibrating through the soles of her feet.

  She had no gun. No knife. Only her bare hands, her instincts — and the savage determination roaring in her chest.

  The Fugato sprang with a shriek that split the quiet forest. Sammy twisted just in time, narrowly avoiding the first swipe of its wicked cws. She felt the air tear past her cheek, and then the sting — shallow cuts burning across her face where the tips grazed her skin.

  She didn’t have time to cry out.

  The beast spun, faster than its size should have allowed, and shed out with its tail.

  The heavy, ridged appendage cracked against her thigh, and Sammy’s knee buckled.

  She stumbled, falling hard against the rocky ground.

  Pain exploded in her leg — hot, sharp — and when she looked, she saw blood already soaking through the torn fabric of her brightly colored uniform.

  A deep gash ran across her thigh, pulsing blood with every frantic heartbeat.She gritted her teeth and dragged herself upright.

  Her uniform — once a vibrant colge of purple and white — was now spttered with blood.

  It clung wetly to her skin, sticky and heavy.

  The Fugato prowled closer, its body rippling, its nostrils fring at the scent of fresh blood.Sammy staggered back, desperate for anything — any weapon.

  Her eyes nded on a thick, broken branch half-buried near the tree roots. Ignoring the screaming pain in her leg, she limped forward and snatched it up, holding it like a spear.

  The beast lunged again. Sammy yelled, meeting it head-on. She swung the branch with both hands, smashing it across the creature’s muzzle.

  The impact cracked the wood and sent a shower of splinters into the air. The Fugato reeled, dazed but not defeated.

  Before it could recover, Sammy stabbed the broken end into its side, burying it deep into the gap between two ribs.

  The Fugato howled, filing wildly, and one of its cws raked across her arm, slicing through the thin fabric of her sleeve and leaving shallow, burning cuts.

  The branch snapped from the force of the struggle, and Sammy was thrown backwards, crashing against a tree trunk. Her breath left her in a gasp.

  Spots danced across her vision.

  She blinked them away. She couldn’t stop now.

  Adam was counting on her.

  Yelena was counting on her.

  Dragging herself upright, she limped toward a jagged rock half-buried in the dirt.

  She barely managed to grasp it as the Fugato, blood gushing from its wound, stumbled toward her once more. Sammy didn’t hesitate.

  As it leapt, she pivoted and smashed the rock into its face, feeling the sickening crunch of bone and flesh.

  The creature shrieked in pain, and she struck again, this time aiming directly for its eye.

  The Fugato colpsed with a guttural wail, thrashing in the dirt. Sammy dropped the rock and staggered forward, slipping on the blood-soaked ground. She cmbered onto the beast’s heaving back, gripped the broken branch still lodged in its side, and with a guttural roar, drove it in deeper, twisting until she felt the resistance break.

  The Fugato gave a final convulsion — then went still.

  Silence fell over the battered clearing, broken only by Sammy’s ragged breathing.

  Blood dripped from her leg, her face stung from her scratches, and every muscle in her body screamed in protest.

  She wiped her forehead with the sleeve of her ruined, vibrant jacket, smearing blood and dirt across the colorful patterns.

  The bright colors seemed almost mocking now against the grimness of the fight. Sammy stumbled back a step, then turned and found a rock to sit on.

  She didn't have anything on her, so she improvised and tore off a piece of clothing to wrap around her wound. Her leg was screaming with pain, she tried to ignore it.

  Knowing she needed medical attention, she started to limp in the direction of Base Mudashi, knowing that Yazmina would have search parties out looking for her.

  She needed to make it easy for them, so she started slowly trekking through the forest