Kula

Kula leaped and spun in a beautiful and fearsome dance. Her feathers rose on end as she jumped forward to slam one powerful hind foot into a tall rock, which toppled over with a thump on the dry ground. They then flattened as she moved back in preparation for her next attack.

Gathering her breath, she used a Shred attack on a tree branch next to her, shattering into fragments. She then turned in a circle, raking imaginary enemies with her claws, and leaned to the left to balance all of her weight on her left leg as she lifted her right to lash out at a dead stump with long claws. She then repeated the move, this time balancing on her right leg. As she evened out her weight over both legs again, she shifted into a well-balanced crouch and swung her tail forward as if tripping an enemy.

Satisfied, she stood straight again, stretching for several long seconds and sighing happily. Ever since Urie had brought her to the Lightseeker Clan, after rescuing her from death by thirst and exhaustion in the Scarred Wasteland, Kula had been determined to repay the young Guardian and his clan by fighting to protect them. It was in a wildclaw’s nature to fight and protect their family and clan, and Kula trusted this clan more than she had ever trusted the other wildclaws she had once fought alongside of. She was part of a fighting team with Plumblossom, a fae originally from the Water flight, and Cascade, a skydancer, now. Together, they were nearly unstoppable.

As she shook herself and ran a talon through her feathers to quickly groom them, Kula heard loud wingbeats from behind her. She turned to see a large, rust-red guardian male with the pale yellow eyes of the light flight landing behind her. “Kula,” he said with a smile in a deep voice.

Kula grinned and slightly dipped her head to her friend. “Urie,” she said. “What happened that kept you from training? I waited for you, but then I had to train by myself.” She kept her voice light, not wanting him to know that she had been hurt.

Urie’s smile remained on his face, but he shifted his weight nervously. “Well,” he said slowly, his long tail sweeping slowly across the ground, sending dust into the air as Kula prepared to hear that he had been talking to some female guardian. She tried not to feel jealous. She had known that Urie was at a point where he would be interested in finding a mate.

What Urie said, however, was unexpected. “I was flying near the water flight’s territory,” he explained, “to see if Iceblossom and Tidepool had left us any messages, when I heard loud squawking. I thought it might be harpies. I flew over to where I thought I had heard the noises, but they stopped when I got close. Maybe the BeastClans are planning an attack of some sort.” His pale eyes narrowed slightly.

Kula was embarrassed by the relief that flooded through her. She twitched her tail to shake it off, and said, “That doesn’t sound good. And it certainly more than explains your absence.” Her good mood was fading away.

Urie nodded, looking more serious now. “I came back for backup,” he continued. “Would you fly back there with me?”

Kula nodded. “Of course. Do you want to bring anyone else? I’m sure that we can handle a fight if it comes to that, and we could easily outpace any harpy warriors if necessary.”

Urie spread huge wings that spread shade over Kula’s head. She followed suit. “I was thinking that it should be just us,” he said, preparing to take off.

Kula grinned, her sharp teeth gleaming. “Sounds fine. Let’s get going now.” She leaped into the air, feathered wings catching a warm wind as it swept over the Ruins.

--- --- ---

Kula could hear the loud, fierce squawking even from a distance. She and Urie shared a look, and stretched out their claws as they spiraled in circles to land. They landed on opposite sides of a small circle of bushes, nodded to each other, and Kula ducked low and wove between the bushes, her smaller form better suited to the movement. She would drive the harpies right into Urie’s claws, and they wouldn’t stand a chance. Urie was one of the very few dragons she trusted to fight with her, along with her team.

When she reached a small clearing at the center of the bushes and small trees, though, sunlight filtering through green leaves above her, there were no harpies. There was just one small, plump bird. A dodo.

Kula looked at the bird weirdly, and then leaned out to stare at it. “How on all of Sornieth,” she murmured, “can one small bird make that much noise?”

The dodo blinked large, black eyes at her and let out another squawk, this time pitiful and sad. Kula sighed and looked at it more closely. She realized that its leg was caught in a cleverly fashioned metal trap. A look of determination settled onto her face, and she reached out with her small arms to unhook the trap. The dodo’s wings beat in her eyes, but she ignored them until the trap had released and the bird was free. Kula sat back with a gesture to the dodo, allowing it to leave.

Everything seemed to be defying Kula’s expectations that day, because rather than running off at top speed to avoid a toothy-looking dragon far larger than itself, the dodo waddled closer to her and squawked very quietly, almost a question. Kula tilted her head to one side and growled at it, “C’mon get out of here, silly bird.”

The dodo crept even closer and pressed itself against the crouching wildclaw’s side. Kula snorted, almost laughing, and said, “So you like me, is that it?” The dodo chirped in response. Kula allowed a smile to spread across her face. “Well, I can’t really argue with that. I suppose I’ll have to bring you back to the clan with me. Your leg might be injured, anyway, so I should have someone take care of that – maybe a fae. They’re small enough to bandage you up without hurting you further.” She stretched out one wing, and the dodo climbed along its length until it reached her back. Kula twisted her head around to continue smiling at the flightless bird. “Hang on tight.”

With that, she stayed low and moved out through the bushes to meet Urie, who nearly slammed a massive talon down on her head when she emerged. “What are you doing?” he yelped. “I thought you were just going to drive the harpies out here so I could defeat them.”

Kula pulled the rest of herself out of the bushes with a grunt. “There were no harpies, actually,” she said. “Instead I found this.” She turned to show her friend the dodo, which squawked helpfully.

Urie sounded confused when he said, “One small bird made all that noise?”

Kula chuckled. “That’s exactly what I thought. It had wandered into a trap someone had set in those bushes, and it was making a fuss. I think it would’ve become someone’s dinner if I hadn’t freed it. And then it wouldn’t leave, so I thought I might bring it back to the clan. Surely someone there can bandage its leg up.”

Urie nodded, smiling mischievously. “Hmm, maybe you’re right. But I think that it’s going to stick around even after that. Dodos actually make loyal familiars, you know.”

Kula smiled back. “Well, I don’t think I’ll argue if it does.”

Kula grinned, squatting on a cliffside above one of the entrances of the clan. Her talons clicked on the stone as she shifted excitedly as the trick-or-treater came close. A feral grin stretched across her face as they finally came into the right distance. Kula jumped, slicing the air with her talons. Breathing in deep, she drew breath, channeling her Wind magic. "ROAAR!"

Tensing her leg muscles, she lifted her leg talons before jumping high off the ledge. Twisting her body in the air, she kicked and sliced the air before landing with a thump in front of the shocked trick-or-treater. Flipping her mane, she gazed through her lion headdress and grinned larger at the dragon in front of her. "You sure you want a treat?"

As the dragon before her nervously nodded, she flexed her talons up again. When the dragon glanced down at her feet, she used her powerful leg muscles to throw herself forward and with a graceful kick, sliced above the dragon's head as the dragon ducked instinctively. Her talon caught against a bag hanging camouflaged from a tree branch above and with a firm tear, the bag's contents ripped open, showering the dragon below.

Kula skidded to a stop behind the dragon who peeked at her behind their hands, their eyes blown big. "Then have a treat!"

• Airesa (Air-E-saw) is/appears to be a bit simple-minded. He is commonly seen marching besides his Kula. One-two-three, one-two-three, one-two-three march.
• He tries to do great things. He helps serve food at dinner, by balancing a platter on his head and precariously travels to and from the kitchen/tables serving dragons. (Many dragons hold their breath in tense anticipation for the teetering plate to tip too far to one side, but he has done fairly well so far)
• When he does drop plates, and they are not plastic, he stares at the mess of glass and food in surprise, before hurrying off to help clean it up and then it is back to work!
• He is very proud of his Kula! Such a strong dodo! Worthy of any mate and a source of great pride! (Kula has tried to explain that she is not a dodo, but a dragon but…to no success)
• He ran off to figure out how to explain. Finally, he managed to convey his message to his wonderful, but admittedly slow Kula by presenting himself next to a nest.
• Having been declined and moving to sulk for many days, his Kula helped coo him out of his sulk and he did not want to lose such relationship over this. Dodos stick together no matter what!
• Nights are best, because nights mean group cuddle time. As Kula accepted the mate of Urie, he squeezed in between them. This was great! Bigger cuddle time! (His Kula laughed softly and nuzzled her disgruntled mate)
• He remembers when he first met his Kula. Such a strange creature! He noticed the feathers and how she walked on two legs, oh! This must be new dodo! There are many strange new dodos outside of his flock! She will help him out of painful metal hole! (And she did!)