Scorpio Valley
By Lonelyrider

In her quest to gather rare healing herbs for a sick child in her village, pegasus heroine Amber FierceFang requests the aid of her burly tanker friend James LightningSword.

James answered the door to his ornate manor with a yawn, wearing his rich dark purple satin robe.
"Oh, Amber, won't you come inside, what a pleasant surprise." James greeted, opening his heavy oaken door and extending his arm in a welcome gesture for her to enter.
"Thank you, James, but I cannot at this time. I've come to request your urgent help. A young girl in my village is very sick with a lung condition, and there is a special herb that lies in a perilous valley the elders swear will cure her of her ills. The young one can scarely breathe. I have gone to put a stop to her suffering, and would greatly be in your debt if you would accompany and tank for me on my quest. I must be honest with you, where we are going is not a safe place." Amber said with a hard equine snort, her wings flapping once.
"Oh, that poor child, my goodness. Of course I will help you, my dear friend. Just let me gear up and have Alfred saddle us mounts. Shall you ride Diablo?"
"That is just fine, I'll leave my horse here at your stables and take your second mount. We can glide there, it would be easy on those wind currents. I'll wait for you by the stables." Amber said.
"I'll be fast as I can, my pal." James promised, Amber retreated with her head down and wings spread, waiting outside in James' stables as his driver saddled Diablo the Belgian Draft stallion and Amber hopped on, as James' driver moved on to sharpening James' blades as he hurried to get geared up inside his manor. James came out quickly, adjusting his thick belt about his hefty waist, wearing the spiked armor set his father had given him and donning the matching shield and a sharp morningstar, mounting his other stallion, Thunder the white Percheron, who snorted and danced in place, sensing the urgency of the humanoids.
"Thank you, Alfred! Amber, lead the way, honey!" James called, tossing Alfred a coin which he caught, and the slight built driver watched hulking James and the muscled mare pegasus gallop away fast on James' male steeds together.
James and Amber traveled for hours on horseback and finally arrived at a steep and foreboding cliffside, the horses grew uneasy and wary of the drop, and James and Amber dismounted, James let the stallions drink from a canteen he'd brought and led them to a grassy area away from the cliff, where they could catch their breath and graze.
"We'll glide from here, the valley is below. I must warn you, it's infested with dangerous beasts. Whenever you're ready, I'll lead the way." Amber said, starting to extend her wings, as did James.
"After the fight we all had getting that amulet the other week, I suspect this will be easy. I'm ready, we can go whenever you please." James communicated, Amber nodded solemnly and stepped off the cliff, spreading her wings and rising up on the warm drafts a second later, flying above James and gliding out across the valley, James spread his own big wingspan and leapt off the cliffside, his feathers catching the air current and bearing him up and forward on the winds, he banked and followed Amber through the skies as the two soared over the valley below, diving in a very slow arc towards the end of the valley floor on the air currents.
"There, I see some hog snout there, that's what we need!" Amber flapped her wings at the end of her glide and landed, folding them, as James did the same with a heavier thud behind her, shuffling his own wings on his broad back and withdrawing his shield and weapon and standing guard in front of her as she gathered the herbs.
"Oh thank the gods, there's plenty of them."
"I'm so glad! No trouble so far, I don't see anything, it's actually really pretty here, pity it's so dangerous, I'd love to bring Lonely here." James thought out loud.
"Oh yes, that's true." Amber nodded, stuffing her satchel with more of the herbs, which smelled sweet in their noses as she harvested and James stood guard over her.
"Oh, Amber, look, a wild boar, a big one." James said, his voice growing kind, a huge male boar lay on his side, looking unwell and breathing raggedly. "I think he's been stung, poor fellow."
"Yes, they call this herb hog snout cause wild boars love to eat it. Here, give him some of it, maybe it will help him." Amber said, handing an herb to James and cinching her pouch of herbs tightly at her belt.
"Thank you. Here you go, big guy. Eat this, now. There you are." James gently fed the big weak beast and also crushed the herb and smeared some on a sting on the pig's thigh, which hissed and let off steam, to their astonishment. The pig stirred, getting to his feet in a wobbly way.
"There you go, good boy." James said warmly, reaching out to pet the creature, which sniffed him, sensing his love of beasts. "What a handsome fellow." James complimented warmly.
"They make good hunter's pets, they can find wild mushrooms for you and are savage fighters and great at taking damage, like you. James, watch out!" Amber snarled and grabbed her double-sided spear from her back in a fast move, a pack of scorpions the size of large dogs came at the two warriors quickly, led by a larger scorpion in front. James growled and beat his massive chest, his lightning magic arcing off his wings and bracers as he let out a battle taunt.
"I don't want to have to hurt you fellows, go on now! Get away from here!" James warned, swiping with his morningstar in a warning swing to try and frighten off the giant scorpions.
"Some of our hunters have even tamed these beasts, but it only works once they aren't hungry, and these clearly are." Amber shouted to James.
"Yes, I think they came back to try and eat this poor boar here after stinging him. Go on, get!" James blocked with his shield which gave a huge clang as the lead scorpion stung it, spraying green venom all over it, James snarled in growing frustration and channeled his lightning magic out and through his bracers and hands, electrocuting the beasts hard enough to hurt them but not enough to kill, they let off screams and hisses and fled, smoking from James' electricity magic. James panted as he and Amber watched the beasts flee, his face looking guilty.
"I didn't want to hurt them, poor things are just hungry. But I couldn't let them hurt you or our new friend." James said fondly, turning to Amber, then he added with a formal bow at her, "Not that you require my protection, of course."
"It's okay James, you're a tanker, protecting is what you do. I understand. You did well, driving them off without bloodshed."
"Thank you, my dear friend. I don't want to have to kill anyone or thing, I'm still guilty from what we did to Iris KingsBane." James winced; Amber knew he talked of the witch they'd been forced to kill recently to procure an amulet coveted by her rival, whom James owed a debt to.
"That wasn't your doing, she forced our hands, it was self-defense. She wouldn't relent. You tried to offer her a non-violent solution, and she chose blood. Her death is on her, not you." Amber said sternly, her hair blowing in the wind, James thought how pretty his strong friend looked and gave a solemn nod.
"I thank you for your kind words." He said.
"Oh, Amber, look, why, he likes me! Haha!" James chortled happily as the boar, feeling better, nuzzled him and tickled his legs, Amber watched with a fond smile.
"He surely does, you could tame him if you wanted to, he'd make you a fine companion. You could use him in the battle arena like you do your dog." Amber informed James.
"Oh, I like that idea. Is that what you want, do you want to come be mine, big boy?" James asked the boar, who was very large, like James himself, with thick sharp tusks. James stroked the boar on his head and back and he snorted happily, sniffing James' pouches on his belt and James fell over and guffawed happily from the affectionate creature.
"He's adorable, I simply must provide for him. Okay big guy, follow us, there's a sick little one who's waiting for these herbs, we need to hurry home. Come on, if you like." James knelt down and spread his burly arms and the boar seemed to understand, leaping into them against James' big chest and holding still, James held the 125 pound boar like he weighed nothing and watched Amber give him an approving smile and nod as she caught a gust of wind with her wings and flapped hard, flying back up towards the cliff they'd leapt from utilizing both effort and gusts towards their waiting steeds above the valley.
"Hold tight now, here we go!" James called to his new pet, and he jumped into the wind with a few hard flaps of his wings and caught the air current, soaring up in a glide even over Amber below him as they glided towards James' stallions. The three companions landed and James' horses greeted them and they set off fast, James' new boar friend following them behind the horses as James was eager to ensure Amber arrived safely back to her village and the waiting little one with her herbs.



A big ty & photo credit to: 📸
https://unsplash.com/photos/black-w.....il-clYHEX8mpkU