Pinion

Opposed to Garra, Harbinger of Death and Sentinel of the Dead

With haste, the young Owa'Stryrus soared after the oddly coloured Urzuk. In a surprisingly joyful manner, she had been attending to Boreal's statue when a shriek was sounded nearby. Snow sprayed into her face as a Puffwump landed right beside her, upside down. The Owa only had time to step back before another creature landed on the Puffwump, picking it up by the tail and dangling it with what seemed to be humour. It was strange, devoid of colour, only a few patches shone gold. Puffing up its feathers in an attempt to look bigger, the Owa released a low warning cry. As she did so, the Urzuk's head snapped to face her. It cackled, and leapt into the air, carrying the screeching Puffwump with it. 

And so the Owa gave chase, following it all across Sonaria, just barely behind. This continued for nearly an hour until she lost sight of them at the volcano. It had flown into a small cavern, but the moment the Owa arrived, only shadows remained. It was silent, not even the cries of the Puffump remained. Only Shadows, and a book, propped open. Looking closer, the Owa read the chapter title: "Pinion". What an odd name. There were other chapters too, Sellenous, Austral, Vermillion, Demonic, Animus, Atol, and Kosmo. This was the penultimate chapter. All thoughts of pursuit escaped her as she sat down to read. The air felt oddly calm.

Up until a few moments ago, you had been relaxing at the watering hole at the flower cove. It had been a pleasant day, a light downpour had purified the water and so many other creatures had gathered around, including some tranquil carnivores. Only a stray Minawii was causing havoc, nipping at the ankles of larger creatures and screaming incessantly. How do you react to it?

She hadn't read a book like this before, all the ones she'd found in the past had been non-fiction, or merely created to scare young creatures (like her) into behaving., perhaps this was one of those stories. But this one was interesting, it had pictures! This page displayed, as stated, a bunch of creatures happily huddled around the pond, as well as the aforementioned Minawii. It laid out two options.

1. Bite it

2. Play with it

Now, the book didn't state what species the protagonist is, but it was fair to reason that a bite would silence the Minawii, permanently.  The simpler option. But the option to play signified that maybe there was a peaceful route she could take. It sounded like a challenge. She liked challenges.

A gust of wind blew into the cavern, whirling around and ruffling up her feathers. After a few seconds of fixing them back into position, she turned to see that the wind had reached the book too,  having flipped it a couple pages ahead. The Owa groaned and went to turn it back to the original page, but the image on the current one displayed a Juvenile Astrothi playing with a Minawii.

You choose to join in with the smaller creature's mischief, chasing it around in circles and nipping at it lightly. Creatures nearby sigh as you distract the Minawii long enough for the other creatures to finish drinking and leave. Sun beginning to set, you ready yourself to nap, but the Minawii still wants to play. It refuses to let you sleep, jumping on you and screaming gleefully.

1. Ask it politely to let you sleep

2. Playfully shove it into the pond

She chuckled, this Minawii reminded her of every one she'd ever encountered. Usually, she just flies away if they're bothering her too much, but the book wasn't offering that choice. It was annoying how limited her choices were. None of the options seemed like they'd get the Minawii to leave the Astrothi alone, but maybe playing more would wear it out? It seemed like it was gonna be night soon in the story, so hopefully it will get tired soon enough.

As quickly as the last time, another strong breeze blew in, doing the same as it did and moving the book for her. When she went to read the page, however, she heard two cries in the distance. One sounded angry, almost chastising, while the other was hinted with humour, it was familiar. But she was too invested in the book to stop now. This time the image showed the Minawii laughing in the pond, a red moon rising behind it as the Astrothi sat next to it, weary but smiling.

The Minawii is shocked as you push it, but explodes with laughter once it regains its senses. It dips down under the surface, emerging to shoot water at you. The two of you laugh, and it repeats this action a few times, lightly drenching you. It's fun, but you're getting too tired to continue playing. It takes notice, and spins before dipping down, as if to signify this is the last time. You sigh, and brace yourself to get soaked again, but it takes longer this time. Perhaps it wants to build anticipation? The water starts to look odd, shifting to a faint red. Panic slowly sets in your mind, but it is calmed by the sight of the moon. It's red, that's why the water changed colour. But the Minawii still hasn't emerged.

1. Ignore it and go to sleep

2. Get a closer look

A blood moon? How very convenient for that to appear at the perfect moment. This reminded her of the stories of warnings she would be told, where something bad would happen just at the right moment, or a creature would be saved right before it was harmed. It always broke her immersion, and was the quickest signal to her that a tale was fiction. But fine, she'll continue regardless. Let's get a closer look.

Just as she expected, the wind returned, though it seemed.. annoyed? Both of her banners were whipped into her face, and the book fell face down. In the distance, she could hear the previous cries growing louder, before one went quiet and the other sounded closer.

Concerned, you approach the water's surface. It's too dark for you to clearly see whatever's beneath, but slowly a shadow begins to rise. The Minawii emerges! Except, it isn't moving, large bite marks seeming to have appeared. You take a step back, and see more movement in the water. The Red Moon rises behind it, scaled 
It lunges at you, honed fangs rushing to your face, and you run...

1. To the Volcano

2. To the Desert

Her frustration grew. A violent Moonelle, really? They don't even have fangs! And again it doesn't give her the option to just fly away. Even if the Astrothi doesn't have stamina, it can still glide! Also, both of the options involve going past water, a horrible idea during a blood moon. Maybe she'll just let the Astrothi die at the next chance. The wind appeared again, more violent than the previous times, and began to flip the pages of the book, but she hadn't made her decision yet.

The pages stop, and it appears to be the same page, except there is now only one option.

1. Up

As soon as she's read it, the pages furiously flip to another one, though the ink looks fresh.

You climb up the walls of flower cove and reach the highest point, the Moonelle close behind. How do you go to the Volcano.

1. Run

2. Fly

Finally! The obvious choice made itself available to her, she didn't hesitate in her thoughts. As with the last page, the ink was still drying.

You launch yourself off the roof of the cove towards the Volcano, and remain in the air before falling. Oh no, you seem to have forgotten that JUVENILE ASTROTHI CAN'T FLY MORON.

She stopped reading. Is- is the book insulting her? It's true that she'd forgotten, but the illustrations had shown it with wings..

You fall into the ocean and begin to drown due to having no stamina. The End. Great job.

Oh, she failed. She sat in surprise for a moment, before being hit with a wave of disappointment. The other Owas had always treated her as younger than she was, and she'd act out because of it. But here, she failed to beat a children's book. Perhaps they were correct. A soft cry was let out, but it wasn't from her. At the entrance to the cavern, the monochrome Urzuk sat, head lowered in distress. It flapped its wings and the wind reappeared, flipping through the book pages to a new one. Cautiously, the Urzuk approached the Owa and.. patted her on the head? She blinked in confusion, but just as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone. Her attention slowly returned to the book, seeing that the story continued.

But before you perished, the Moonelle caught up to you and began to bite. It didn't hurt this time though, instead, you felt yourself grow stronger. It grinned and shoved you forwards, it wasn't content ending the hunt here.

You are able to swim to the Volcano, being healed by the Moon as you do so. Once on solid ground, you collapse, and hear the Moonelle cry playfully. It is sat with its tail wagging, trembling with anticipation. It wants you to run.

1. Run away

2. Remain

... she hadn't failed? These choices were odd. Running away was clearly the better choice, if it remained where it was then the Moonelle would easily slaughter it. It's.. too obvious. It, it should stay.

You stay collapsed on the floor, watching it fearfully. It stands up, and leisurely approaches. Your eyes shut tight and you brace yourself for the end, but it doesn't come. When they reopen, you see the Moon lying down in front of you, nose to nose. It just watches you, tail still wagging. This uncomfortable moment lasts longer than anyone would wish, instincts screaming at you to flee, but you don't. You hear a step behind you.

With a shock the Moon bolts up and hisses, scales trembling as it backs away. A soft cry echoes towards it, and it flees into the water, darting back to Flower Cove. Gently,  paw steps over you, blunt nails sticking up from it. Even the feet are giant, nearly the same size as you. The massive creature, similar in size to a Volnoirve, stands before you and kneels, dropping a berry in front of your mouth. Its face is warm, both emotionally and physically, heat radiating from the entire body. Berries and flowers sprout from its spine and tail, a baby Brequek seems to have made itself comfortable inside one. It remains beside you for the rest of the night, letting you use its paw as a pillow. When you awake in the morning, it is g

Pinion is the Sentinel of Life and Guard of Spring. She resides outside the Volcano, tending to its flora and fauna. Any creature finding itself in harm's way will find shelter beneath her lumbering form. She's relatively senile, having to rest frequently whenever making journeys from one side of the island to the other. 

Her scales have long been overrun by a quilt of moss, from it sprouts countless flowers and berries, sustained by her own soul. Some feathers appear entwined with the moss, gifts left behind. Instead of spines protruding from her back, there are stems of lilac perpetually ablaze, releasing a soothing scent as they burn. The lower half of her body used to be black, but has been stained brown by countless hours of lounging in mud. Out of all the Anti-wardens, she is the most friendly, acting as a mother figure to those who allow her. This includes the other Keepers and the Tyrants too, being most fond of Demonic, Austral, and Kosmo. The only being she truly dislikes is Vermillion.

Sometimes she uses the flames on her back to bake fruit pies. Even carnivores can't help but relish the smell of it.