Girl of Prey CH.5 “Flight and Goodbyes”

  Past trees, over creeks, and between mountains they soared. Raven was taking her time, gliding slowly enough to allow Lyla to enjoy the view. It also gave her time to think. She still had no explanation as to why she was being so kind to this human, doing all this for her. Maybe it was because of how she apologized earlier? Was it pity? The list went on in the harpy’s head as she flapped to gain more altitude. Lyla wasn’t heavy but the extra weight meant more effort into staying aloft.
  She tuned back into the here and now to focus on flying. She heard Lyla whoop in enjoyment and looked down at her passenger grinning toothily. Lyla was thankful she wasn’t afraid of heights, because this was awesome. Tilting her head up to say as such she was met with a grin she gladly returned. “This is amazing!” She had to shout over the wind in her ears, laughter ringing in her voice.
  Raven couldn’t agree more. To her, nothing could compare to the freedom of flight, nothing. She could go wherever, whenever she wanted in half the time it took to get there on foot; and she didn’t have to worry about anything besides weather and people, and hardly anyone came by where her territory was anyway. It was perfection. Speaking of territory, they were coming up to the cliff quickly.
  Raven could sense the change in mood from Lyla, she’d gone quiet, and a glance down showed her gazed locked on where she’d fallen a few hours ago. The Harpy glided past the old tree and dropped Lyla on her feet as gently as she could, well away from the edge. The girl stumbled a few steps trying to keep upright as Raven perched abover her, but her momentum had her falling onto her hands and knees. The Harpy chuckled into the elbow of her wing, pretending to cough.
  Lyla stood and brushed the dirt from her pants, “I heard that.” She grumbled. She watched as Raven crawled down the tree upside down, leveling out at the bottom to stand before Lyla. She straightened her back and folded her wings behind her as the human stepped back to give her space. Lyla ribbed her shoulder awkwardly. “I guess this is goodbye then, huh?” She looked back up to the Harpy and held out her hand. “Thanks for everything you’ve done for me, I’m really grateful for your help!” She said smiling, her eyes crinkling at the corners. 
  Raven tilted her head in confusion, squinting at the hand in front of her. Was this another strange human custom she didn’t know about? Lyla smiled again teasingly. “I’m going to go ahead and guess you’ve never done a handshake before. Here, let me see your hand.” She reached for Raven’s hand and the harpy almost flinched away in reflex. Friendly touch was foreign to her by she didn’t want Lyla to think she didn’t trust her. Lyla demonstrated a handshake while Raven listened closely as she explained why humans do it. They shook hands as Lyla spoke, “That’s how humans say hello and goodbye without using our words. You learn something new every day, s’what I always say! Congrats!” She released Raven’s hand and placed her own in her pockets, while the Harpy stared at her hand and chirruped thoughtfully.
  Lyla smiled warmly before remembering her objective and steeling herself. “I need to go home now or Jake’s gonna blow a gasket.” She laughed humorlessly as Raven’s head shot up with wide eyes. She gripped Lyla’s shoulder tightly, momentarily forgetting to mind her talons. “No tell!” She croaked hoarsely. She saw Lyla flinch and quickly pulled her hand back, her wings lowering in shame. The girl huffed and held her shoulder a bit. “Of course I won’t tell anyone, I’m not a complete idiot you know. But I seriously have to go now before it gets dark. Man, the days sure are short around here huh?”
  Lyla shifted the strap of her satchel again and grinned at the Harpy. “Thank you again, it was amazing to meet you Raven!” She turned and walked towards the tree line, waving just before dissapearing from sight.  Raven waited a few more seconds before running and launching her self over the cliff side, spreading her wings and gliding for a bit before soaring up above where she’d seen Lyla head. With her injured leg it was dangerous to make the hike alone, so she decided to spy a little just to make sure she got home safely. 
  Being the species she was, she had great eyesight and a sharp sense of smell, using her natural gifts she followed Lyla through the woods as she circled overhead out of sight. After a while of this though, she had to drop into the trees to avoid being spotted by the homesteads beginning to appear. She leaped silently from tree to tree, following a safe distance behind Lyla, only stopping when she saw her step onto the yard of a quaint two story cabin. She assumed it must be the girl’s nest, and observed in silence. 
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