Satin Rose and the Witch Hunters

32. Bird to the Rescue

Satin

Disclaimer: This won't make sense until the rewrite.

It should have been obvious that I would lose. Our equal size was truly a fake positive. Though our heights were the same, as it turned out much of my width was made us of lights feathers and the cat was somehow pure muscle.

When I jumped out of the cage he pounced on me. My wings flapped and up I went to the top of the crate. It was a fast maneuver, but the cat was ready. In an instant his claws dug into the wood. Sprinting up I couldn't react, his teeth caught a wing and I was dragged to the ground, surprised at how different our weight was as well.

Attempting to flee, my wings once again tried to move succeeding only in having a few of my feathers plucked out, the cat spitting them out and renewing his grip. He pinned me to the ground, my feet kicking uselessly against the floor and he let out a terrible laugh.

"Thank you for the exercise. I think I'll do my student a favor. Finishing you off would have been less satisfying if you wouldn't be a snack afterwa-ACK"

The old raven had come out to play, riding on his back as if its was his steed. The cat shrieked, hissing with its hackle raised like spikes, bolts of magic shot out every which way. A rainbow of light and shadow that painted the walls in hard colors collided with shadows that seemed to spring from the hunters chest.

"FLY!" The raven squaked.

Scrambling to my feather, nothing except for some stinging plucked feather had damaged me. The window was wide open. I jump and flapped to its sill before realizing that the command was impossible. Fly? Even if I didn't have to leave my only source of information behind I still couldn't do that.

On the table, there were still some items from the night that the hunter hadn't stowed away.

"Vermin! You will rue the day you wronged the great wizard of-OOF!"

The fake unicorn horn on the table was heavier than expected, but I still managed to push it over the edge to land squarely on the would-be-wizard's head. Next to me was the lode stone and despite being smaller was worlds harder to push off. A bolt of magic popped right in front of me, having caught on the tables edge, and I ran to find cover before catching in the corner of my eye the old raven being bucked off.

The cat turned to his former rider. Without even thinking about it I threw myself off the table and crashed head first into the magical feline knocking him off his pounce.

"GO! I'm right behind you!"

More haggard than ever before, the old bird got up and spread its wings catching wind. I was about to follow suite when my eyes locked with the cat who was barreling towards me. The old raven then came down like lightning to claw at its eyes, shrieks and caws filling the room as I jumped to the window.

"Over hear!"

My call was heard and in an instant he zipped past me. The cat, who was hot on his tail, sprinted toward me as I spread my wings wide.

"Move!" Came the bird outside.

Not yet, I thought as the cat was only a foot away. Actually, now would be a great time! My wings flapped and I jumped backwards. The cat pounced once again, claws sinking into the space where I just was. It shrieked again, frantically clinging to wall.

I was still in free fall though, spinning out of control. If I landed on the ground now there's no telling if I could find the old raven again or worse, the cat going to down to finish me off. Trying to keep calm, I thought back to everything I had done to fail this. Tucking in my wings and feet I tried to reset my position as the ground was rapidly coming to my face.

At the last moment I let my wings and tail spread out, resisting the urge to let my feet out, they were still tucked in as I glided across the ground and just before I touched down, my wings flapped and it was as if the air itself was pushing under my wings.

"This won't be the last you hear of me! REMEMBER THE NAME Dutchesss!" The cat called out, his voice growing more hushed by the second eventually being completely replaced by the wind.

Soaring in the air. My mind was wild with fear and panic as the world seemed to be brighter than ever. Still unable to control myself, I flew higher and higher until the old raven came to glide beside me. Copying his pose, my wings were held out stiffly as the breeze rushed past.

The clouds all the way over to the mountains in the distance, seemingly to be making way for the sun was shine down on the world. It was vibrant. The view from the castle had been breathtaking, but this was taking it to an entirely different level. The city looked so small here. The people ants that were crawling between nooks and crannies, red roofs tiles gleaming in the light. Here, I couldn't just see beyond the city walls, I could see beyond the fields. The roof of the forest was a puffy plain of leaves that mixed into one another as if every tree was tied to the next. The Emerald hills were great mounds that rolled high and dipped low, making it clear that the hill the castle stood on was a single pedestal on a stage of green. The grey mountains in the distance loomed like walls made by the very walls itself and in the east was a haze of blue that reflected the light into dancing white spots. Was that the ocean?

I'm flying! The cool breeze was freedom incarnate and Just as the height of elation soared in my heart, a familiar pin prick pierced my chest. The edges of the world darkened and the last thing I remembered was falling, my wings iced and frozen, the earth toward me.