[bhdire8]

"You knew?" Lucien raised his brow. "I thought you had been soundly asleep all that while. Anyway, i am glad it helped?" He smiled at Hitsugi, ruffling his hair, messing up with his loose bun somemore and followed him out to the open space.

"Yep, ready get on top of you again." Lucien smirked and got himself ready, holding.onto Hitsugi from his back and prepared himself for take off.

This time some leaves were hurled up bythe strong current produced by the flap of Hitsugi's wings. Lucien closed his eyes for awhile and then he felt them leavig ground.

[Hyenadog]

"I was, but you were the only one who could have done it, so thanks." He nodded, giving a cute smile. He made a surprised noise when his hair was ruffled, reaching to fix the bun again to keep it out of his face.

A small blush crossed his face at the man's words, shaking his head and waiting for him to get settled. Once he was ready, he flapped his wingson hard and jumped, pulling himself into the air with powerful flaps. Taking off was the hardest part, taking the most effort to move all their combined weight. But once they were up, it was easy.

[bhdire8]

Lucien smiled, enjoying the breeze against his face. "You know what, I am falling in.love with this kind of travel. I hope.you will bring.me around for these flights later, no matter where we settle down." He said in the wind, pressing his face towards Hitsugi' cheeks.

They were almost the largest flying object in the air. Smaller birds instinctively avoided them, afraid that they could be a fierce predator. While they travelled in the air, some human.hunters saw them from the ground, and they had been discussing among themsleves on whetehrr or not to take them dowm, mistaking them as a single huge bird that could potentially be a prized hunt.

[Hyenadog]

Hitsugi could understand some of what Lucien said, smiling slightly and nodding his head. He relaxed once they were gliding on a strong updraft, just making small adjustments.

His sharp gaze picked up on the hunters below, making him shift his direction away from them. When he leveled off, he felt an odd weight in his belly. Holding the basket in one hand, he reached down to feel, making a shocked noise when he felt a small bump...he tried to ignore it, holding the basket tight and flapping his wings to move a little faster.

[bhdire8]

The powerful flap of Hitsugi brought them to new heights, but then the birdman yelped and they faltered slightly in midair. he could feel some movement on Hitsugi, but he couldn't see from his position. "Hitsugi? what's wrong?"

Just then, the hunters below also saw the slight stagger of Hitsugi's flight. At a sharp whistle, arrows started shooting towards them. Lucien growled seeing those sharpened tips going their way. He muttered spells and a fire globe appeared to burn down some of it.

[Hyenadog]

Hitsugi was about to answer Lucien when the arrows started whizzing by. He tried turning away, flapping hard, but one arrow hit it's mark.

He cried out, nearly dropping the basket, as an arrow sank deep into his left thigh. He kept going, instinct telling him to keep flying. He gave a shrill cry, like a bird call, and suddenly the trees were alive with comotion. Birds of all sizes started assaulting the hunters until they fled, allowing Hitsugi and Lucien to escape.

Hitsugi looked for anywhere to land, but he wasn't seeing much. Blood was slowly seeping through his pants, but thankfully the arrow plugged the wound. "I need to land...." he called, looking back at his passenger with fear clear in his eyes.

[bhdire8]

The sharp cry and plunge were evidence enough that Hitsugi was hit. Following thr swamp of birds, Lucien added a mutter of curse that would really have an effect on the ignorant hunters - a devil's curse wasnt something to be taken lightly of and soon, on top of the screaming from them.dodging the birds' attack, they were howling as pops started appearing.on them, blinded and disoriented, the hunters still had a terrible fate awaiting them.

"It's ok, it's ok... I will be your eyes. I am finding a clearing...." Lucien said urgently. Hitsugi's flight had become very wobbly, and they needed to land fast. He took over the basket, where the cat was mewling in panic, and used again his fireball to force remove a bunch of short woods. "There... one oclock. Descent now and we should land without problem." He grabbed Hitsugi's shoulder to prepare for a landing.

[Hyenadog]

Hitsugi didn't care about the fate of the hunters, they made the mistake of shooting at something they couldn't identify. If they did survive, they would have terrifying stories about a giant bird who commanded terrible power.

Hitsugi could keep flying, he wasn't losing much blood and no arrow had damaged his wings. But the pain made it difficult to focus. He handed off the basket, shifting to slow down to land. He put out his feet and flapped his wings to slow down even more. But even with that, the landing was hard. He stumbled and collapsed, panting harshly and holding his injured leg.

[bhdire8]

Lucien rolled over to the ground, letting Hitsugi go the moment they landed, holding tight the basket in his hands so the cat wouldn't got "spilled out". he sat on the ground, still panting, and quickly set down the basket to rush over to Hitsugi's side.

"hitsugi!" he exclaimed, turning him over to cradle him on his lap. He reached over to remove the robe h e had to see the damage. Blood was seepign through the arrow head. Lucien would need to find some place that could clean his wound and remove the arrow. "hang in there.... we are heading to the cave." he said, lifting Hitsugi up.

On the way to the cave Lucien had spotted up theslope, he could hear trickle of water. He looked around and noticed there was a river. He made a detour for it - he would clean Hitsugi's wound first, before settling in the cave. He looked down at Hitsugi, missing entirely teh developing belly.

[Hyenadog]

Hitsugi tucked his wings tight to his body when he landed hard, protecting them from any real damage. He gave a pained gasp when Lucien rolled him over, trembling from exertion and pain. He curled against the man as he was lifted, trying to keep his leg still.

It wasn't a life threatening wound, the puncture was small and the arrow lacked barbs. But it hurt so much that Hitsugi couldn't think about anything else. He could only trust in Lucien.

[bhdire8]

"love, I am here.... i am gonna make the pain go away real soon. Breath, keep breathing..." Lucien muttered, going through the woods as quick as he could. The vegetation isn't dense and in his hurry, Lucien was subconsciously using his power to clear a way out.

The river, slow, ironically peaceful compared with thier situation. Lucien came to the riverbanks and sat down on a piece of rock. On their landing, Hitsugi attempted to protect them a little from the abrupt half-crash, so even his wings were slightly scratched. Lucien never knew how injuries on another body could hurt him so much, but really Lucine would rather it was himself who was enduring the pain now.

"babe hold on... i am gonna clean that wound. clear away the blood to see how it went." he had Hitsugi sitting on a rock, his small feet gently lowered into the cool and clear water. He placed Hitsugi's leg on his lap and scooped up water to wash away the blood that's still trickling down his feet.

[Hyenadog]

Hitsugi simply whimpered and held onto the man as he was rushed through the forest. He buried his face against his chest while one hand steadied the arrow to minimize it's movement. Each shift sending a new jolt of pain up his spine.

When he was finally set down, he took a long slow breath, working through the adrenaline coursing through him. His body still in a fight or flight mode. He leaned against Lucien, keeping his eyes closed to avoid seeing the wound.

He hissed sharply at the cold water over the wound, pulling his hand away from the arrow. It was stuck deep into the front of his thigh, through the leg of his pants, just missing the bone.

[bhdire8]

"that's fine... i know how it goes now. Dont' look baby..." Lucien knew he had to make a cut to remove the arrow. To drag it out directly would create more damage. "i am going to take care of this... you just, look away." Lucien said, short of words on how to console his little bird.

He looked at the wound closer, and decided the angle should be simple. It was lucky it didn't hit the bones, or it could cause much worse damage. "i am gonna pull it out... oh look! What's inside that river?" he pointed to the middle of the river, while a fish is gliding through the clear water to distract Hitsugi. Right that split second, he made a slight cut on Hitsugi's leg to clear the way for the arrow, and pulled it out in one swift motion.

The shriek from Hitsugi's loud. Lucien threw away the arrow and pressed down on the wound, slowing the bloodflow. 'It's ok... we are all done now. good job babe... you've got through this." he muttered, applying pressure on the wound.

[Hyenadog]

Hitsugi kept his eyes closed tight, still trying to calm his breathing. He was trembling against Lucien, heart pounding away in his chest. He leaned his head back, leg twitching like he wanted to kick away the source of his pain.

He scrunched up his face when the man said he was going to pull the arrow out, only to make a surprised noise when he exclaimed about something in the river. He opened his eyes to look, his brain too focused on it to register the cut or the arrow being pulled. It took a moment, but the pain shot up his spine like white-hot fire.

He gave such a cry that all the trees were suddenly empty of birds. He slapped both hands tightly over his mouth, making muffled noises of pain as his eyes watered and face turned red. He eventually pulled his hands away to breathe properly, cursing and panting as he hit his fist on the ground beside him, trying to pull his mind's focus away from the wound.

He hadn't even noticed the distinct roundness to his belly. It was subtle, but easily seen

[bhdire8]

The cry was so sharp, Lucien had never heard anything like that before. "it's ok, the thing's out... you are fine now." he said, continuing to press down, muttering healing spells he knew. Hitsugi's body seemed resilient against magic, perhaps that's with his inborn power of an elf, but finally one thing hit it off and the blood was stopping, slowing down to a point where Lucien could remove his hand.

"hits..." Lucien wiped away the sweat forming on his forehead. The birdman was still trembling intercessantly. The wound and the trauma was a little too much for him. Lucien scooped some more water to wash away what remained on blood. he was prepared to scoop him up when he noticed the roundness that's becoming more familiar to him.

"hitsugi!" He frowned. To confirm that wasn't an illusion, he placed his palm on the slight bulge developing. he was more than sure that wasn't there just moments ago. "Is this what i think it is..." he whispered. "is it... i thought you are breaking away from your cycle.... i thought this transformation and....." he muttered curses from under his breath, pulling at his own hair.

"how are you feeling? do we still have time? but then what do we want time for.... " Lucien looked around. "do you want to stay here for that? or you prefer being on dry land?"

[Hyenadog]

Hitsugi whined softly as Lucien tried healing his wound, his body resisting the half devil's magic just causing more discomfort. But he slowly started to relax when the wound began to heal. He couldn't use his own innate magic yet, or else he would've healed himself.

He made a confused noise at Lucien's exclamation, opening his eyes when he felt the hand over his belly. He looked down and made a distressed noise, moving his hand to feel it too. "I.....I don't know. I felt it earlier...it....it's not as big as the last one." He sighed, nibbling his lip.

He stood up with the man's help, leaning on him to keep weight off his leg. He could feel the weight resting in his pelvis, then a cramp that made him wince. He cursed and put a hand over the bump, knowing there was no way he could get them to his village before he had to lay.

[bhdire8]

"it's a good thing it's not as big as the other right?" Lucien asked anxiously. He didn't know how ot interpret their situation. They are in the middle of no where, with no help or supply at all. Hitsugi's wound had at least stopped bleeding, and he was regaining some colors, but then he also wasn't in any good condition to lay.

"should we head up?i see a natural cave earlier... but if you don't want to move, we can also stay here." Lucien looked around, heightening his alert. this was in the wild. They had to be aware of all kinds of danger. they should be able to handle normal wild animals themselves, but one could never underestimate the hostility hiding in the woods.

"i think finding shelter might be a smarter idea. it's gonna turn dark in a couple of hours. let's get a fire, and see how your body works out." he decided, taking over Hitsugi's waist, they made their way up.

[Hyenadog]

Hitsugi nodded to Lucien's question, sighing and leaning against him more. He hooked an arm over his shoulder, wincing when he moved his injured leg. His body was healing, just not as fast as it could if he knew how to focus his magic.

"The cave is better than out here...unless something already lives there." He said, looking to the man and frowning. "Let's get closer. Then maybe you go check it out?" He suggested, looking curious.

[bhdire8]

Lucien was on the side of Hitsugi's injured feet so the wound could be shielded from both sides. They made their way to almost the cave, and Lucien put Hitsugi against a tree while he went investigating.

At first glance, the cave looked empty. Lucien was cautiosu - anything this clean in the wild stood out. There must be something inside at a point to have all the vegetations cleared awya from the entrance. He muttered a spell to burn out everything, only to hear loud shrieks from deep within, echoing through the cave when a huge dark shadow leaped out from within.

Lucien quickly dodged, just having enough time to stop the attack of the creature with his bare hands. He held the wide mouth and was hit with a foul taste - it was a huge serpent, with mouth wide enough it's most certainly able to swallow Lucien alive. "Hitsugi stay whwre you are!" Lucien's straining to hold the mouth of the serpent open, the fangs of it was as long as his forearm. The half devil growled and rolled over, getting into a struggle with the monster.

[Hyenadog]

Hitsugi sighed and leaned against the tree, nervously watching Lucien enter the cave. He yelped at the commotion, eyes going wide when he saw the creature the man was wrestling.

Without a thought of his own safety, he darted forward, flapping his wings. He jumped at the snake, using his powerful legs to grab and claw at its eyes. Pummeling it with powerful flaps of his wings while crabbing the back of its head. He was very agile without the added weight of a passenger.

He pulled a small knife from his belt and began jabbing at the spaces between the scales. The blade was too small to do any real damage, but he eventually managed to jab it into the serpent's eye. It let go with a sound of pain, letting Hitsugi fly off its head to Lan near Lucien. He stumbled and knelt beside him, panting harshly.

"Are you okay?"