Ace awoke to the sound of birds chirping. Or rather, that's how he wanted to wake up. He awoke to someone was standing next to him. Someone with dark hair, namely Sam. "Good morning to you too, Sam." Ace grumbled, his face still buried in his pillow.
"You got to get up Ace, we're going on a Talon hunt, and Kale gave me permission to bring you along."
"Incorrect," A feminine voice said. "Kale gave me permission, you tagged along."
"Hello Kaylin." Ace groaned.
"Wake up loser, we have to go." Ace stumbled out of bed, his hair all mussed up and sleep clouded his vision. Kaylin tossed Ace a pair of jeans and a t shirt. "Hurry up, I'll be outside." Ace quickly changed and pulled on his shoes, double knotting them. "Let's go," Kaylin said as Ace and Sam came outside.
It wasn't even light out, the sky was lightening but the sun stayed stubbornly below the horizon. Kaylin led them over to where a small group was gathering. "Okay everyone, it's kill or be killed out there, if you can bring the Talon in without killing it or it killing you, great one more thing to train off of. Everyone grab a backpack and an apple, that's your breakfast. If at any point you don't think you can fight the Talon, there is no shame in retreat especially if you tell other people where it is so we can get it. This shouldn't take more than a day hopefully. As for horses, I'll be on Grace, Kaylin you get Dot, Edwin you're on Stella, Carrie on Misty, Trent on Eagle, Sam on Treble, and Ace you get Spades."
Ace nodded a small grin on his face. "I see what you did there." Ace said. Kale dropped a wink with a grin. "One problem, which one is Spades?"
"The brown one with white hooves and hair." Kale said mounting his horse.
Ace grabbed a backpack and slung it over his shoulders and shoved the apple into his mouth as he jumped onto Spades. Kale clicked his tongue and kicked his horse. They were off.
In about half an hour the sun rose—finally—even though Ace wasn't awake to see it, sincerely he had fallen asleep on Spades' back. Ace really didn't have to do anything, Spades just followed the group.
In about two hours Ace was rudely awoken to someone throwing a pinecone at the back of his head. Ace whirled around with a look of anger on his face. Kaylin put a finger to her lips and pointed to Kale who had stopped and turned his horse around. "Okay everyone, we had a Talon spotting around here, most likely a dragon but don't be surprised if a serpent jumps up and eats your foot. Ready, split."
Ace took in his surroundings now that five horses weren't in the way. A lazy river was at the bottom of the rock out cropping that they were on. Farther down the river Ace could see rapids. Ace clicked his tongue and kicked Spades.
He braced for a Talon at every breaking of a twig, but after three hours of searching it was getting kind of hot in the sun. Ace took Spades down to the riverside for a drink. Another Talonhunter was by the riverside too, Edwin, Ace thought his name was. "Edwin, right?" Ace asked.
The boy nodded, he had soft caramel hair with a blue streak. "You're the new kid, Ace?"
Ace nodded. "Seen anything good yet?"
Edwin shook his head. "Nothing, it's like they all heard we were coming and went into hiding." Edwin dug into his backpack and produced a sandwich. He sat in the sand next to the river and ate his sandwich. Ace's stomach grumbled as he watched Edwin eat.
He realized he wasn't the only one, something was pressed up against the rock out cropping only a few yards from Edwin, he only noticed the sky blue eyes.
"Edwin..." Ace tried to keep the fear out of his voice, but adrenaline was pounding in his veins. "Don't freak out, it's probably nothing but I'm pretty sure there is a Talon behind you."
Edwin froze, he stopped chewing, he kept his eyes glued on Ace. "Well?" Edwin hissed impatiently after a minute of staying frozen in place. Ace kept looking at those two perfectly formed sky blue almond shaped things on the rock. "What is it?"
"I'm not sure," Ace took the two horses and backed them up from the sky blue ovals. "Just to be safe." Ace explained to Edwin as he took the horses a little bit farther away. Ace walked back slowly, maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. Ace inched forward, his eyes on those two identical sky blue objects on the rock wall. "Hey Edwin, how can I tell if it's a Talon?"
Edwin had had enough, he turned to look at what Ace was looking at. Just then the whole rock moved and a perfectly camouflaged rock colored wyvern with sky blue eyes jumped off of the wall and onto Edwin.
Edwin threw his sandwich and raced for his backpack which held his weapons. The wyvern had hooks on the end of its grey and black speckled wings so that it could hang onto the rock wall with ease. Its two legs were thick and muscled the claws were curved so as to find hard to find grips on the wall. It had a pretty long neck and was about seven feet high. All in all, it was the most terrifying thing Ace had seen in his life.
So when the wyvern went for Edwin, Ace knew he had to do something.
The horses whinnied and spooked, running away from the Talon. Instinct settled in and Ace went into what was known as 'battle calm', power flooded through his veins and throughout his legs and arms. Ace rose to the height of the wyvern somehow and roared, Ace roared.
Edwin lay on the ground rummaging for a weapon, he finally pulled out a mini crossbow and looked over the tip to see...two wyverns and no Ace in sight. Edwin lowed the mini crossbow confused.
Ace had taken the form of the wyvern.
They both back up and threw false swipes at each other, not wanting to actually get into a full-fledged fight with one another. But of course, that little dance only lasted so long. In a matter of a hook hitting scales, they were a mess of loud snarling and roaring at one another.
The wyvern snapped at Ace hitting his wing and Ace flapped his leathery wings so as to scratch the wyvern. Ace ended up making their battle airborne as the wyvern flapped her wings and they tried swipping at one another with the Talons on their feet. Their long tails helped keep them balanced as they ducked and dodged and attacked.
Why are you attacking? Ace tried to ask the wyvern between lethal snaps of the jaws.
Shifter! Melanthios would be very pleased to have your head on a platter.
Please! Stop this! My name is Ace...
LIES! All you Talonhunters are LIARS! You destroy everything you touch!
The wyvern rose up higher and then nosedived for Ace. Ace folded back his grey wings and dove out of the way. The wyvern spread his wings to stop his descent.
Melanthios wants you alive, but he doesn't need to know, oh no. He doesn't need to know.
Please, why...who is Melanthios?
The wyvern roared in outrage as it tore for Ace again. Who is Melanthios? WHO IS MELANTHIOS?
Kale was drawn to the scene of the brawl by all the roars and snarls. Kale pulled his long bow off his back and notched an arrow. Kale drew the arrow back, not sure which wyvern to shoot. Edwin saw Kale aiming for Ace too late. "No! Kale it's Ace! It's..."
The arrow flew through the air and ended the battle. Edwin watched as a silver wyvern plummeted out of the sky and the other one flew away with a cry of triumph. The wyvern landed with a loud SPLASH! The other one circled above its kill, pondering what to do.
"I sure hope that wasn't Ace." Kale mumbled. "ACE!" Kale shouted at the silver wyvern circling above. "IF IT'S ACTUALLY YOU UP THERE, PLEASE COME DOWN!"
The wyvern paused, treading air. Then it glided down and attached itself to a rock wall. It blended in perfectly aside from its light blue eyes. Had Kale not known where to look or that fact that it was there, he would have missed it completely.
The wyvern turned back into Ace who stumbled and fell onto the sand. "Ugh, I don't feel so good." Ace blinked back dizziness as he lay face first in the sand. Ace tried to focus on breathing as people surged around him.
Ace her shouts of, "what's going on?" "What was that?" and "What does this mean?" Ace ran his fingers through the silky sand, exhaustion taking over. Maybe he could get some sleep for a few seconds...
So Ace found his ability, a shapeshifter. What does this mean for Ace?