AUTHOR'S POV
The size of the winged stallion is incredibly big that if they can tame it, they can both ride it. "It's the fastest way to find the dark healer. I can hardly walk yet, as you can see", Stellan attempts to mount on the pegasus' back. It was standing too tall that he could hardly hop up. "Hoist me up".
"I dont think so… Just look at it! Does it seem…", Jac, being consumed by his fear of heights, didn't like the idea of befriending a creature with wings.
"Come on now! It's fairly and surprisingly docile", Stellan insisted. Jac reached for the mystical stallion with his shaky hand. The pegasus' ears turned up, then it snorted sharply raising its head. And instantly, it almost bit Jac's hand. "See that!! See that!?!", Jac took his hand back right before it gets chomped.
Stellan chortled at Jac, who fearfully hids behind him. Seeing how gentle the pegasus is to Stellan, Jac becomes tempted to receive the same affection from the magical horse. Pegasi are far too different from normal horses. They are unpredictable, fierce, and highly intelligent. As hard as Jac tries to let the pegasus soften to him, it only bonded to Stellan.
Soonafter, Jac's attempts of taming of the wild winged horse had to come to an end. Marked by the sky rumbling, the heavens warned the dry lands of a heavy rain. Stellan gnashed his teeth in frustration. "Looks like we don't have much choice now, Jac", Stellan said. Time is of the essence now. As soon as a drop of rain touches the ground, no single ray of celestial powers would be squeezed out of Stellan's staff.
The silence was loud. Eventually, Jac just gave Stellan a defeated nod. As they attempt to subdue the pegasus for a ride, the winged horse arched its neck raising its flagged tail. Taken aback, Stellan and Jac were unsure what to do. It can't fly away now. Then it spread its wings, and abruptly dove between the Stellan's legs, and then Jac's. The two were too startled to speak proper words apart from "whoas" and "ahhs".
Stellan took off her coat and immediately wrapped it around the pegasus' neck for Jac to hold onto. As the horse reared on its hind, it flapped it's large wings and flew all the way up. It weaved through the branches, straight up to the highest peak of the trees.
"Ahhhhhh!!!!!!", Jacomus pressed his eyes down, and began to tug tightly on the ends of the coat, unknowingly pulling back the head of the pegasus. The pressure around its neck is causing distress to the winged horse that it flew all the way up. "I told you I hate heights!!!", he kept screaming in high tones topped with an exhilirating fear while the pegasus fly upward and beyond.
The apparently large trees suddenly became smaller as they soar up towards the thick clouds with silvery hues. In each flap of the pegasus, they were effortlessly reaching for the sky with a faint view of the stars. "Loosen the neck, Jaac!!!", Stellan yelled behind Jac's ears. The air's becoming thinner and colder as they ascend. Jacomus, who seemed like have no plans of letting go of the coat sleeves soon, Stellan decided to snatch them from Jac's hands.
With the cloth wrapped around its neck loosened, the pegasus made a sudden descent in flight looking down. The rush of the wind slashes their faces, forcing their eyes to squint. The pegasus swooped from the sky swiftly, with its wings wide open in the high clouds. Its entire body shifted downward. The motion gave a sinking feeling in the gut. The sickening sense run over Jac as he endure the rush and the heights making him feel a little light headed. "Just breathe!! Don't think!!", Stellan said, hanging on Jac's waist, while they glide through the drizzling drop of altitude.
"Helenaaaa! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!"", Jacomus leaned his entire body down the pegasus' withers, too frigid to move or even open his eyes. He didn't even saw how the minute trees became large again.
Stellan held the reins fairly, driving the winged stallion in his hands. Swiftly, the pegasus made a full swing back and forth, then up and down. The ride was more bearable…as they flit up and over, giving that liberating feeling. Jac felt his stomach churned, that he tasted something bitter in his mouth.
The pegasus soared steadily above the century old trees with a massive shadow eclipsing below. Jac finally started to relax as he slowly open his eyes. The biting cold is no longer troubling as they appreciate a different entire world at the pegasus' point of view. Somehow, the unchanging pace was easing him. The smooth twists and turns through the mountains and the valleys made him catch his breath.
The pegasus brought the two in an unexpectedly beautiful journey. They skimmed the glittering surface of the lake, letting them disturb the calm waters with their fingers. They plunged through the canopy trees and let Jac get slapped by tree branches and leaves. "I don't think this one really likes me, Helena", Jac grunted. They flew across the ranges of the mountains and lined the jagged rock faces of its walls. Jac and Stellan both laughed like children, who found implicit joy in their aerial journey. And through it all, they both prayed they stay on board.
"You got this?", Stellan handed the ends of the coat to Jacomus, letting him steer the pegasus.
"Can I say no?", Jac answered dry as he take the coat reins hesitantly. The pegasus blowed sharply through its nostrils, giving Jac a strange look. "Hey… I'm a good horseman, Peggy!", he said.
"See? Not that bad, huh?", Stellan taps Jac's shoulder. From above, they were given a chance to view the prairie and survey the damages. They both kept mum seeing mutliple mutiliated bodies of both knights and beasts. Feeling responsible for their deaths, Stellan once again was consumed by her guilt. It came over her as if a bucket of ice cold water was poured over her entire body. Looking down on all the knights who have lost their lives, Helena's tight grip with her nails digging on Jac skin says it all. Jac chose not to say any thing and just veered away from the prairie.
"It's an honor to fight with these men", it was a thinking that may take a while for her to get used to. Stellan hardened her jaw, as she look away. The torment didn't ceased from torturing her conscience despite averting her gaze.
Soaring above ground in constant search for the shadow of death, the pegasus suddenly ripped through the steep gaps of the canopy trees, plummeting down straight to a small stream. Tucking its wings, it muzzled the cool waters, sucking it up to its mouth. While the pegasus quench its thirst, Stellan picked up a presence that raised every hair in his arms. At a distance, the dark healer greedily takes the souls of some ape-like cryptids.
Its size doubled, almost eight feet huge, and possibly be growing more with all the souls it gets to eat. "What a nice spot your Peggy chose", Stellan whispered, not removing its eyes away from the dark healer who's slipping in and out of the trees.
"Nice Peggy", Jac replied, taking a deep breath as it steer the pegasus for a walk towards their target.