Hold Up, I'm An Arsenal Bird Now?!

Act 5 - WAKEY WAKEY!!!

...

Get off

Get off, please

Get off my wing, for god sake.

How do I say this? A dragon is currently sleeping on my wing with a baby. How and why did it happen? I don't know. I just wanted to do a barrel roll to get it off, but I can't. I tried to turn the tightest, but they won't budge. I tried to pitch down the Arsenal Bird to get rid of it. I accelerated to the max and used my weapons. I even launched a drone and shot a sidewinder close by to scare it off. Results? All of it failed. I know I can use my APS to smoke the fuck out of them, but there is something about them. Like they got something precious or what. All I can do now is fly around Autrius and–

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///WARNING///
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AUTRIUS IS BEING ATTACKED

OBJECTIVE:
DEFEND AUTRIUS
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Are you serious now?

Why can't they give up or something?

An army of soldiers and dragons came about. A battalion spawned near the gate to demolish the aggressors. They're effective, maybe too effective, not that I cared. As the battle finished, it gave me one Ace shard. Somehow through all that one-sided battle, the dragons are still asleep.

Bruh

Mate, I... whatever.

I took over my ADF-01 companion and gave it a spin. The feeling of an advanced aircraft felt vastly different from my drones. It's more agile, responsive, and deadly. With no time wasted, I left the Arsenal Bird on its own as I searched for anything outside its range.

I sped over the vast forest at an incredible speed. In like three minutes or so, I saw a lively city. I slowed down to check what was up.

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Transfer view to...
???
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"Thanks for trading!"

My god, that is worth it. Two dragon saddles for 935 gold is the best deal here in Keivendar.  (In context, a single dragon saddle is about 1000 gold. Your average groceries could sum up to 20 gold or more.)

I decided to head to the guild for any information about the recent expeditions I could do. On my way there, I overheard two people converse about what happened in Autrius a week ago.

"So... What you're saying is that the so-called 'Motherbird' defended Autrius from—"

"Yeah, it did. I saw the battle myself. That thing has to be the biggest creature I've ever seen."

"Huh, well that's expected from you."

"Merchants like me sometimes get the front row of a show, I guess."

That's interesting, I have never heard of this 'Motherbird' before. How much am I missing out anyways!? Anyways, all I have to do now is to find Elly and... Oh right, she flew away yesterday. That dragon—

*ROAR*

A loud sound reached my ears. I covered them with my hands in an instant and looked up. A red creature flew by at unimaginable speeds. I was so captivated by how it looked that I didn't notice the chaos happening until someone bumped me down by accident. Within a minute, it just flew away. From what I can determine... It's heading to Autrius!

Alright, I'm coming for you red creature. If I ever get the chance, I might even meet the Motherbird. Well, it's time for me to go. I, Elisa Avistanlia, the master dragon rider, shall... I don't know what to say... I need a ride.

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Transfer view to...
Arbiter
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i am speed

and i love it

Speeding over 3000 feels like an absolute breeze. In a moment, I will reach the Arsenal Bird while producing a continuous sonic boom. I checked the map for my current flight route and still have a long way to go. I decided to reflect on my past life, what happened, and how I got here. All of a sudden, a dragon swooped past my aircraft. I was expecting a fight, only for it to fly beside me. I looked at it and saw a girl riding it.

"HEY! CAN YOU HEAR ME!"

Yes, I can fucking hear you. I tilted my plane to make a waving motion. Sure enough, the girl sighed and followed me home. To skip the time, the young lady told her name, Elisa Avistanlia, and spoke all about her life as a dragon rider. I'm slightly intrigued by the role of a dragon rider, but before she could say any further details, we reached Autrius.

"Whoa... It's the Motherbird!"

Excitement lit up in her eyes as she flew around to the Arsenal Bird. So that's what the locals named me. I transferred to the Arsenal Bird and–

"ELLY?! WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"

I have the same question. The dragon groaned as it woke up. Wait a minute, THAT WORKED?! WHAT IN PAPA JOHNS NAME IS THIS?!?!

"Elly... You didn't tell me you had a baby."

The dragon lifted its head and revealed her infant. Now that I think about it, where's the father? Its father can't just basically disappear. Did he try to buy milk somewhere?

Meanwhile

Damned stores, can't even sell milk at all. What am I supposed to use to nourish my child?! IT'S BEEN 2 WEEKS NOW!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA–

...

Hah, I doubt that. Now, Elisa is just standing on my wing, lecturing the dragon. A minute has passed, and she's riding Elly with her new saddle. Just before they headed home, Elly dropped a shard of sorts onto my wing. An Ace shard, I knew I made a perfect decision. Finally, they left. Elisa looked back at me and smiled before disappearing into the horizon.