The smaller birds flew apart from each other but they flew straight. The challenge had been to shoot both in time when they came from different directions rather than to have them spiral or dodge, and Melita's first arrow pierced the bird and reduced it to a fine mist. The second opened its watery beak in a silent shriek as it nearly reached the archer--
And the arrow went right through it, shattering the bird into a spray of droplets that washed harmlessly over the redhead as their momentum alone carried them the final distance.
Sila's stubborn tenacity was not in vain. The bird she chased didn't speed up, but the dragon's increased wingspan halved the distance between them and this time her fire reached out to lick the seaborn construct from tail to beak and wingtip to wingtip. The water was no match for her flame, and the bird went up in steam rather than smoke.
"A greater challenge, then?" the mermanta asked with the ghost of a grin. A dragon that could have been Sila's twin, at least in general outline, dove up from the surface of the sea and climbed above her before turning to 'breathe' a jet of water down at the bronze companion. For Melita the target was an arrow of water, slender and with a much smaller surface area to hit as it streaked towards her over the sand.
And the arrow went right through it, shattering the bird into a spray of droplets that washed harmlessly over the redhead as their momentum alone carried them the final distance.
Sila's stubborn tenacity was not in vain. The bird she chased didn't speed up, but the dragon's increased wingspan halved the distance between them and this time her fire reached out to lick the seaborn construct from tail to beak and wingtip to wingtip. The water was no match for her flame, and the bird went up in steam rather than smoke.
"A greater challenge, then?" the mermanta asked with the ghost of a grin. A dragon that could have been Sila's twin, at least in general outline, dove up from the surface of the sea and climbed above her before turning to 'breathe' a jet of water down at the bronze companion. For Melita the target was an arrow of water, slender and with a much smaller surface area to hit as it streaked towards her over the sand.
