Ever since arriving at the sanctuary to spend the season, Revna had found herself busy with helping to take care of the chiavi. Her brother was always with various animals helping out Talisia and so she did what she could with the larger snowbirds that she felt the most familiar with. Raptrix were nice and all but there was just something charming about the low hoots and whistles of the chiavi that Revna adored. The raptrix were too playful and rambunctious anyways, sometimes the chiavi could be like that but usually they were calmer and it was much easier for her to whistle commands to them than try to speak over the barking and growling of the larger winged canines. And it was because of her work with the chiavi that Revna found herself in this current predicament, the hybrid teen staring down at Amihan who was an iceling from the nearby village. She had met him a few times, the proud teen always making her grit her teeth, but this time he had come to the sanctuary to pick up his own mount. The poor creature had been recovering here for the past few weeks after a bad leg injury where his leg bone had nearly been shattered into pieces and permanently crooked if Talisia hadn’t mended it in time. Thankfully the other chiavi was alright now, the bird hopping here and there as if testing its leg strength now that the cast had been finally removed.

“Here.” Revna approached the other teen, holding out a bag of medicine for him to take for his familiar, a russet chiavi by the name of Hawthorne. “You have to keep applying this to the injured area for the next week, just to help reduce any chance of infections. There’s a mixture in there as well for his food to help promote healing to strengthen his bones.” There had been some deep cuts along with the broken bone so even though they were closed and mostly healed now it still was best to keep ointment on them, just in case. Plus it would help with any irritation from having that cast on for so long while his leg healed.

“Thanks.” The boy tucked away the bag before looking around. “Is Talisia coming back soon? My mother had a few more questions and gifts specifically for her.”

Revna made a face, as if he couldn’t just ask her or leave something at the manor, but simply shook her head instead of voicing her opinions there. “She’ll be back within the next few hours, she had to track down some wild animals towards the Sauti border.”

“Hmm…so I guess I’ll just have to wait here.” Amihan reached out to pet Hawthorne’s neck before glancing back towards Revna. “You related to Talisia somehow or just apprenticing here?”

“I’m her cousin.” Revna replied with a slight huff. “And you can always come back or leave whatever you need to leave here with me. You don’t want to just wait here for hours, right?”

“Well…maybe I could find a way to pass the time and to see how much better Hawthorne feels.” Amihan added, his golden gaze sparkling with mischief as he looked over Revna. “Do you fly? Maybe not though…I know it can be a bit challengi-”

“Don’t you start.” That klovn! He better not be insinuating that she couldn’t be a good rider! “I’m the best rider here with Polaris.” She whistled for her chiavi, the bird gracefully landing a few feet away from them where they were standing in the back courtyard of the manor.

“Is that so?” Her sharp warning did nothing to diminish the gleam in his gaze as Amihan watched Polaris coming towards them. “Then how do you like challenges? There’s a spot around the cliffs that’s tough to race, you wouldn’t dare fly there unless you’re an amazing rider.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Why not? Either admit the truth that you aren’t that accomplished of a rider or accept my dare and race me around those cliffs.”

Revna felt her cheeks warming with frustration. He kept wanting to push her, he definitely couldn’t be seriously insulting her flying skills like that! She wasn’t supposed to just go flying off like this, not today at least when she had chores! But at the same time she wasn’t going to admit any truth like that! It seemed for once she was forced into a corner and would have to accept Amihan’s challenge. “Fine. If you can even call this a dare because I can fly circles around you with my eyes closed, I bet.”

“Oh? Then let’s find out!” Amihan grinned and let out a laugh as he got ready to ride Hawthorne, the teen leading the challenge as Revna flew after him to take on the task of racing around those cliffs. She would show him a thing or two about flying and then he’d have to shut that mouth of his!

[833]