Avatar: {Hybrid and Alien]

{40}

Asim couldn't believe what was happening before him.

The banshee, that was once aggressive and bent on killing him, was now docile and calm. It's more, it made a chirruping sound as it nuzzled Asim's palm with its snout. Now with more courage, Asim ran his hand gently across the snout of the flying beast. The creature looked at him with calm eyes, and Asim could have sworn they looked happy as their pupils were wide. He gave an excited exhale as he looked back at Layontsin, who was in no doubt was smiling despite her mouth shape that limited her expression. The banshee then backed its snout a small bit and then lowered its neck at Asim, as if telling him to get on. This made Asim more awed than before as he witnessed the gesture that the flying creature made. Layontsin approached carefully towards Asim, as to not alter the banshee, and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did it." She said proudly, at least that's what the na'vi way of saying was that the anthro thanator said to Asim. He smiled in return and nodded, exited that he has managed to accomplish the feat and was praised by Layontsin. Then he looked back at the banshee and remembered the gesture it made, and then gingerly but gently began to climb on its back. The banshee gave a preening noise as it lifted its neck back up, carrying Asim on hits back now. It felt like a whole new experience to Asim as he felt the breathing of the creature as well as the texture of its scales. Layontsin got his attention back to her as she said something to him that he didn't quite catch, except the word "fly" in na'vi as she pointed to the ledge. "Fly? For what?" Asim echoed out loud when he suddenly regretted this choice of words.

There was no time to react when the banshee suddenly leapt off from the ledge and dived down.

Wind rushed past him and the banshee as both began to plummet down from the sky, leaving the floating mountains and heading to the ground. Asim gave a shout of fright as he held on to the banshee's neck as tightly as he could. Because of the smooth scales, and the fact that the banshee was diving at tremendous speeds, the grip that Asim had on the creature was not secure as he felt his hands sleeping. "No, no, NO!! Come on!" Asim shouted against the wind as he tried to get a greater grip and not fall off. When he thought he might let go of the banshee's neck, his hands immediately latched on to the two antena-like things protruding out from behind the banshee's head. Thankfully his hands held firm there, but the banshee was still falling downwards to the ground. Asim knew that there was no time to pull off a stunt even with the emergency chute on his back, so he pulled on the antennae of the banshee to try and urge it to fly up. "Come on! Pull up! Do you want to become a bloody pancake! PULL UP!!!" Asim shouted to the banshee at the top of his lungs, hoping that his message got to the creature. Just when it seemed like both were about to crash into the canopy of the forest, the banshee spread its wings and pulled up at the last second as it skimmed over the leaves and branches. Then it leveled out and began to fly normally as it rose more into the air with Asim still clinging to its back. He was tense as he thought for sure that he would jump off and use what he had to survive the fall. But now that he realized that he was alright and still on the creature's back...he was calm. Now, he realized what was happening now.

He was flying...

The banshee took him further up into the air, soaring back into the higher grounds across the floating mountains. From up here, Asim could see everything once again, and all of a sudden he realized once again that he was flying. This new experience felt completely different, yet it was better than going in the chopper while sitting. This gave Asim a whole new sense of thrill, completely different from any that he has felt, and he liked it a lot. The wind hit his face and his body all around, and the momentum was more calming and exhilarating. Nothing compared to what was being experienced right at that moment. "This is incredible! Alright then, let's ride on!" Asim said as he steered the banshee from the bases of its two antennaes. It worked, unexpectedly, as the banshee obeyed his commands and veered into the direction that Asim wanted, continuing its ascent as he was hoping it would.

Moments later he remembered that Layontsin was alone in the place where they once were, and Asim urged his newly tamed banshee to fly up to the floating mountains. It took them a few moments to reach there as they haven't strayed afar from it, and soon spotted Layontsin where she once stood. The anthro thanator was crouched and looking over the ledge, trying to spot where the two have gone before her face lit up once she spotted Asim riding his banshee. She stood up straight once more and gave out a cheering roar that echoed through the floating mountains, raising her spear into the air in acknowledgment. Even from a far distance as Asim passed by her, he could see her excitement and joy as she saw him on his own banshee. This gave Asim a sense of accomplishment and enthrallment never before felt in his life. Despite all that has happened, he felt more alive and free than before. And seeing someone that he now knew more made him feel prideful.

A couple of minutes later, Asim steered his banshee so that it landed near Layontsin and got off. The anthro thanator came rushing over to him and unexpectedly picked him up in her arms, speaking na'vi with happiness. Asim was taken by surprise that Layontsin actually hugged him to her large body, tightly even as he felt that his bones might split. Nevertheless, he didn't care as he too was overjoyed about what he has done that was considered impossible for him and the rest. Then Layontsin abruptly let go of him, realizing what she was doing, and stepped back. Asim landed on the ground, but wasn't bothered as he was still smiling and laughed as he shook off the remainder of his nerves. Hearing him laugh, Asim noticed that Layontsin was bewildered...and then began to smile once again. "Hey, no need to feel shocked for what you did. It's normal for us to do that to congratulate someone for achieving a hard feat." Asim assured her, though he realized he spoke in English. Even so, his message must have gotten to her as she nodded and extended one of her four hands to help him up. Accepting the help and taking her hand, he got up to be at his feet once more and look at her while beaming. While he looked into her green and proud eyes, he felt his heart jump and skip a beat as he still held on to her large hand. A sense of calmness overcame him, warming his chest and body as he maintained eye contact with Layontsin. The moment was cut short when the banshee that Asim had tamed flapped its wings and gave a roar to gain their attention. "I guess it's time to head back." Asim said, looking back up at Layontsin. The anthro thanator nodded and strapped her spear on her back again, Asim heading to where he left his weapons before he forgot them.

After getting ready, the two began their climb back down while the newly tamed banshee flew down with them.

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(A drawing of Asim Angus made by the amazing Jack_rip . Thank you so much ^u^ )