Crossfire

5

(Shomy's POV)

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The girl was screaming. I couldn't help but chuckle, despite my eardrums nearly shattering.

She felt stiff on my back, but she agreed readily to this. She only had precautions about her horse, who could easily be guarded by my brothers.

I spun around again, and she let out a strange combination of laughter and screams.

This ride was a test, for something I, and other of my kind, need to know. It was clear she's never been on a griffin before. Good.

(3rd Person)

Palka was surprised at the strange sound that came out of her mouth. Then, all to soon, Shomy spun around again and she was emitting those sounds again.

"Enjoying the ride?" the griffin asked. Palka was still unused to his strangely low voice.

"Y-yeah," she said, still calming her adrenaline filled heart. Then more confidently, "What else can you do?"

With only a split second to react, Shomy was folding in his wings and diving straight down to the earth below. Palka felt her body leaving his back for a couple seconds before she tightened her grip on his fur. Just before face planting into a bunch of tree branches, Shomy's wings spread wide. The sudden force against air caused them to hover for tiny moments in time. Shomy took his time flying back up to where they had been.

"Still there?"

"Yeah, um, maybe we don't do any tricks for awhile. Okay?"

Shomy laughed. "Of course."

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(Ginke's POV)

My owner has left with that big thing. Though it was large, it smelled trustworthy. I only care about my owner. She's the only one who has been with me all my life.

The queen is off her horse. The gelding she rides- Moosi -is a quiet fellow; isn't as fast as me but with a little encouragement he could be faster. He couldn't become as faster than me, of course. My owner herself has told me I'm the fastest horse in the world. And there's no way she could be lying.

Now the queen is walking over to me. She puts her hand up too close to my face. I pull my head away to tell her I don't like that. She doesn't listen. My owner always listens. She grabs my bridle too aggressively for my liking and timidly pulls my head down. She looks me in the eye, which is very uncomfortable for any animal. She pulls out a green apple from her cloak and offers it to me. I look at her. She smiles. Kindly. Maybe she's just not very good with horses. I look at Moosi. He nods at me. "There the best kind," he says cheerfully. I take the apple and munch gratefully.

(3rd Person)

Shomy landed gracefully beside the others.

"Your turn, your Majesty," he said to the queen.

The queen thought for a second. "Yes. You will take me back to the castle. This one can take care of the horses." She nodded at Palka.

Once the queen and Shomy left, Palka mounted Ginke and took Moosi's reigns. They were about halfway through the forest when Ginke perked her ears and stopped. A second later Moosi's ears were perked as well. Palka looked around. Nothing. She pushed Ginke onward.

The next moments happened so fast Palka had to think them through several times to understand. First, all of them heard a rustle in the tree leaves and turned their heads at the same time. Then a body came hurling towards her from the trees. She ducked. The person rolled on the ground into a kneeling position. Wait, it was--

"Kineou!" A angry feminine voice came from the trees.

Kineou held a finger to his lips in a "shhhhh" sort of way. Then he army crawled into a clump of bushes. A second later, a tall girl, Kineou's age, was perched on a branch. She was wearing a fitting suit and armor.

"Have you seen a boy running away? We were in a 'friendly' battle and he was to chicken to finish it," she said.

Palka just pointed.

"Thanks. Hey, maybe we should battle sometime!" the girl said like it was totally normal.

"Uh, okay. Sure..." Palka had no idea what to say.

The girl jumped to another tree branch and disappeared. The three continued on, much more aware of the surroundings now, in case someone else decided to show up.

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The stall door made a small thud as Palka closed it behind her. Moosi and Ginke were untacked and fed their morning meal once they got to the stables. Palka was also to feed three other horses, exercise them on the days they weren't used, and let them out to the pasture when needed. Katana was one of those horses.

Now Palka was inside her stall, gripping a halter. Relax she told herself. She wasn't nervous, more giddy than anything. But Katana does not need to pick up on this excitement.

Katana was anything but excited. Maybe I shouldn't hide it, Palka thought, shaking her head. Katana looked at her and yawned. Palka sighed. The halter was slipped on. Katana looked at Palka again, then decided to try to lick the nose band on her halter. Palka laughed. This was going to be interesting.

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A/N
I don't know why, but I'm really proud of this chapter.
Any thoughts on Shomy?