At that instant, the scene erupts in motion.

Instinctively I become a ball of fluff, every feather raised on high alert as my body falls into the attack posture. My wings fly open, and I heave a fierce warning snarl toward the scaled intruder. I’m no longer the terrified little girl who nearly died the last time she encountered a Redaga. This time, I’m ready to fight!

SKREEE!!!

Conversely, and much to my dismay, all the bravery Nakino demonstrated just moments ago has dissolved into nothing. He slinks away and rears his head skyward to scream… something. I’m not exactly sure what he’s doing, but he sounds pretty distressed.

REEEAK!! REEAK!!

“Nakino!!” I snarl, holding my eyes on the Redaga. “What are you doing?!”

“Asha!!” He screams back, his voice brimming with unbridled panic. “We can’t fight it! We must flee!”

I quickly shake my head. “We have no choice! You fly too slow, and—“

Without warning, the Redaga lunges forward with lightning speed and snaps its jaws in the place where I used to be. I land on my talons a few feet to the left and quickly hop backward to give myself some space from my wild opponent. The Redaga flips its head around and issues another blistering snarl but keeps its talons planted to the ground.

I can’t say I blame Nakino for being scared. As the intruder studies me with savage, distended eyes, I study back, finding its body far more muscular than the tree-dwelling Dragon I fought last time. Moreover, I haven’t been able to smell her until now. Somehow this cunning, rage-fueled drakaina has done something to mask her scent. Not only is she physically imposing, but she’s clever to boot.

None of this means we should fly away, though. The fact of the matter is Nakino is quite the ponderous flyer, and I’m certain he can’t outfly an angry Redaga. Besides, unlike last time, I’m far more prepared to fight. I know how fast Redagas move, and I have some familiarity with the tricks they might employ. Admittedly, my training from Kuro has only consisted of hunting lesser prey. When fighting Dragons head-on, I’m at a considerable disadvantage. But it’s better than nothing. And besides, I have Nakino by my side! Unlike myself, he’s already come of age in the flock. Of the trials to come of age, one involves preying on a Redaga alone and without help. It won’t be easy, but as a team, we can take down a single Redaga. We just have to believe in ourselves!

Unfortunately, faith has long since departed Nakino. Now on the opposite of the Redaga, he fidgets with concern and yells, “Asha, please!!”

I unleash a deep warning growl in his direction. “Nakino!! We have to fight! You’ve killed a Redaga before. You can do it again!”

Growing tired of our banter, the Redaga screeches and lunges toward me, this time quicker than before. An outstretched talon grazes the tips of my left wing, tucked away just in time to avoid being to shreds. Nakino gasps as I throw my talon out to attack but come nowhere close to making contact with my scaled foe. Stumbling backward, I find myself back where I started by Nakino.

Not that I’m pleased to see him. “Are you going to help me, or what?” I snarl.

“Asha,” he trembles as the Redaga stares us down. “I never killed a Redaga.”

“What?!”

“I found one dead from a fall and doctored death wounds. It was the only wa—!”

Without warning, the Redaga charges forward again! I brace myself for the attack, but at the last moment, she feints a move toward me before bouncing off her hindtalons to strike Nakino. The gambit proves successful as claws rake his triceps, and feathers fly.

RAARGH!!

He yowls in pain and stumbles backward, flailing wildly to escape the next blow. The Redaga rears back to deliver it, but not before I can sneak a counter-attack of my own, leaping forward to deliver a glancing swipe against the skin of her wing. My claws tear a wound far too short, but the release of blood fills me with a visceral satisfaction. Among the pleasures of being a Lithan, few are as gratifying as inducing wounds in the flesh of worthy prey.

My attack is effective, breaking up the Redaga’s follow-up on Nakino. Realizing she’s surrounded, she leaps skyward and flies a few feet to safety, landing gracefully on a nearby boulder. As I scamper to rejoin an ailing Nakino, she twists her neck to briefly inspect the wound I left on the back of her wing. Her face fills with agitation, and she bares her teeth to issue a fierce challenge squared at me.

“Nakino!!” I screech, ignoring the bleating prey. Several lacerations have been carved against his shoulder, staining the black feathers of his foreleg deep indigo. Nakino grits his fangs and winces in pain, but his attention isn’t on me. Once panicked and afraid, a change is occurring inside him. Fear changes to desperation, to anger, and finally to fury. He lowers his head and issues a baleful roar at the Redaga, as savage and awesome as any I’ve heard before.

ROOOAARRRR!!

The ground shudders, causing me to nearly retreat a step. Something insidious has happened to Nakino’s voice. Something I heard once in Kuro and something I felt once in myself. Perhaps I should be thankful he is on my side this fight. At least, I think he is. His golden eyes flick to mine, and he slurs something incomprehensible and guttural, not quite resembling speech. Before I can ask if he’s still himself, he takes off sprinting towards the Redaga with a renewed purpose, his bravery restored.

But the Redaga isn’t waiting around. She bounds around to scale the incline, then turns back to pounce when Nakino is in range. The two Dragons collide head-on and collapse, tumbling down the side of the knoll in a swirling mass of scales and feathers, claws and fangs. The Redaga rolls to her right with fresh wounds as Nakino stumbles over his wing, momentarily breaking up the battle. The Redaga lunges to seize on his error, but Nakino rolls onto his hindlegs to deftly avoid the attack and propel himself forward. But the Redaga is quicker, dodging to her right and altogether avoiding the attack. She’s so caught up in the fight that it’s not until the last moment that she notices my furtive approach from behind. I spring forward with talons outstretched, but she launches herself into the air and sails downslope to give herself breathing room and avoid being double-teamed by me and Nakino.

Granted a momentary respite, I glance at Nakino to assess his condition. His body has new wounds, though none as bad as the first attack on his left shoulder. Blood flows freely from the open wound, forcing him to shift his weight onto his right foreleg. That bastard, Redaga! This was only supposed to be a short little trip, and now Nakino’s been injured in a fight we never should have—

A collision occurs in front of my body.

Nakino grapples the Redaga with bloody talons and uses his incredible strength to block her from executing a lighting-fast attack against me, one I didn’t even see coming. He repels the attack, flinging her to the ground and sending her tumbling down the incline. She rolls out of her descent, but not before Nakino can shield himself in front of me with his wings splayed wide.

“RRGH... Asha!!” he pants, locating his voice. He flails about and snarls, “Don’t wor… rgh…. let go!!”

“What?!”

“You have to… RRGH—! ROOOOARRRR!!”

Language departs and is replaced by another baleful roar. Though he could only manage a few words, their meaning is clear as a . I’m allowing myself to overthink, to get too distracted by things that aren’t important. I have to let go of my rationality. I have to trigger my bloodlust!

I first experienced it when I transformed into a Lithan, but the visceral sensations I felt frightened me into ever using it again. From time to time, I’ve allowed myself to partially devolve and give myself an advantage in battle, but never fully. I was terrified I’d lose any semblance of my original self and become a witless, feral beast. But against this Redaga, I have no other choice. If Nakino can claw back his rationality, I have to believe I can too.

As my heart thunders against my chest, I allow myself to slip away. My fangs grit like a vice, and a surge of blood races to my head, clouding my vision and corrupting my thoughts. I curl my talons into the grass and let go of everything that made me a Lemur. Language and reasoning break down, reduced to feral instincts and thoughts of bloodshed. The concern for my safety dissolves…

…

…and the anxiety of reuniting with her family evaporates. Nothing remains in Asha but hatred and the insatiable lust for prey’s flesh.

SKREEEEECH!!!

Her shrill wail pierces the air, surprising Nakino and Redaga alike. Who knew this little fress could sound so ferocious? She scampers around Nakino’s inky black wings and crouches at his side, ready to engage their scaled foe. In response, the Redaga hesitates — two disorganized and unwilling Kin now stand as one, ready to join the battle in earnest. Having failed to quickly dispose of the weaker one, a new plan forms in her head. She lowers her neck into the grass and tenses sculpted muscles, conceding the feathered pair to move first. It's a risky move, but she's confident.

The Kin launch into motion as quick as falcons, racing towards the Redaga with jaws wide in anticipation. She lies motionless until the very last moment, leaping into the air and spreading her scaled wings wide for a hasty takeoff. The Princess leaps into the air to pursue but can’t quite snag hold of the Redaga’s rising talons. She stumbles as she returns to the ground, giving the Redaga a pivotal moment to fall like a stone and dive out of the way of a charging Nakino. But instead of delivering a counter-blow, the Redaga flips around and waits for Nakino to charge like an angry bull into another attack.

The ponderous drakon and the inexperienced drakaina; her dawdling is intentional, for she has seen Dragons like these before. Experience is necessary when living deep inside the flock’s territory. From her perch on the branches of the elderus, days could pass before she saw another feral travel through the clearing. The churning of an empty stomach sounds all too familiar to her.

But scarcity begets opportunity. For hungry scavengers searching for prey, the stench of carrion is intoxicating. Led by their nose to the base of an inconspicuous elderus, the sight of half-butchered prey is impossible to resist. In this part of Felra, going days without a full meal is not unusual. In their haste to capitalize on unguarded prey, they rarely notice the dark shadow drawing over them.

A pair of Kin is no ordinary prey. In earlier seasons, the loner Redaga would remain concealed, allowing these grander Dragons to pass unharmed. But as frostwing approaches, the predators of Felra become restless, eager to fill their bellies before prey retreats until greenwing. A pair of Kin could sustain her for months, and having assessed these two, she is confident she can take them. All she has to do is wear down their mettle. First, she’ll end the slow one. He'll be the first to tire as she eludes their attacks and fools them into charging headlong. And once he’s disposed of, the plucky one will offer no challenge. She is stunted and weak, dictated by petty emotions. The death of the former, clearly special to her, will drive her to madness.

Communicating without words, Nakino and Asha act in concert with one another, her training with Frope having prepared her for this moment. As Nakino rears himself for another charge, Asha yelps, announcing her intent to circle and prevent the Redaga from escaping. But as he bristles in fury, he can’t help himself from taking off at full charge. As he races over the dead grass, his black wings rise, rapidly slowing his charge in an attempt to confuse the Redaga. He changes direction at the last moment and finds himself facing the side of the Redaga as Asha approaches her rear. He slams his talons into the ground, attempting an abrupt stop. While the Redaga attempts to decipher his strange behavior, she’ll never sense Asha approaching from behind.

A lesser Redaga may fall for this, but not her. She has been keenly aware of Asha’s approach, perfectly anticipating the feathered Dragon’s ruse. Instead of reacting as they wish, she casts about suddenly and lunges towards Asha with her wing claws outstretched. Taken by surprise, she limbers off her talons to evade, but the Redaga is far too quick. She reaches in and tears a fresh wound below Asha’s wing, causing… purple blood? What?!

Asha wails in pain as she tumbles to the ground, exposing her left side to a deadly counter-attack. But the Redaga is too shocked by the blood pouring out to react. What Dragon bleeds purple? Who is this strange, bright blue Lithan? Her confusion proves costly as Nakino arrives at that moment, a few seconds later than he would have preferred. He grapples onto her back and throws her to the ground, his hind talon ripping a chunk of skin from her critically important wing as she falls. She screeches, flailing in pain against the far bigger drakon. In her panic, she drags her wing talon forward and slices the side of Nakino’s muzzle open, causing him to release his grip and flail backward.

The Redaga scampers away from Nakino, now trembling in pain with his muzzle buried into the grass. As she pulls herself up, she flicks her gaze to her left wing — along the bottom and halfway to her talon, blood is dripping from a claw-length tear. For a Dragon, injuries to the wing are the most severe. A grounded Dragon can only hunt meager prey and is vulnerable to roaming packs that would otherwise not pose a threat. Holding her breath, she tests a flap and feels a slight lift at her rear talons. For now, she can still fly. But on the cusp of frostwing, another injury like this would mean certain death. She snarls in anger, partly at these feathered Dragons and partly at herself for not taking them seriously.

But she has scant time to react, as Asha is already to her talons, racing forward with wings flared to exact revenge on the Redaga. The scaled one lowers herself against the grass and readies for the strange, purple-blooded Dragon — she will not make the same mistake twice. This time, she will kill her. But as Asha races up the incline, she fails to see a fell tree hidden deep in the grass. Foretalons smack against wood, and her face twists in pain as she tumbles toward the ground, rolling on top of herself through the tallgrass. The Redaga squeals in delight and launches herself into the air. She intends to make this quick.

Writhing in pain, Asha knows the gravity of the mistake she’s committed. With no time to run or clamber to her talons, she forces herself onto her back, splaying her talons to the sky in a desperate attempt to prevent the Redaga from taking her life. Her eyes widen as the Redaga’s shadow draws over her.

ROOARR!

Crimson streaks the sky and slams into the Redaga, knocking her off her collision course with Asha. She gasps at the sight, then rolls over to watch the two objects collide into the ground at the bottom of the incline. Dirt and grass are thrown skyward into a hazy cloud, partially obscuring the outline of a crimson-plumaged drakon standing above the Redaga. It is a Dragon that Asha instantly recognizes:

Relmoon.

Having performed the flawless takedown, he slashes at the face of the Redaga to silence her panicked yowling. She kicks and screams, heaves and writhes, trying in vain with all her strength to force Relmoon away. Unlike the other Kin present, she can sense the murderous intent in his eyes — he has preyed on pitiable False-Kin like her before. With death drawing near, she flails her head to avoid the inevitable, but it’s no use. Relmoon lunges for the side of her neck and clamps down hard, exploding warm blood into his mouth and over his neck. As the Redaga’s body convulses involuntarily, he watches with disgust as the fire in her eyes dims.

Scarcity may beget opportunity. But in Felra, hubris invites death.