cliff diving

Zephyr had been invited to accompany Briar and Artorias up north to visit his grandfather's pack, and the young avian was more then happy to come along for the extended adventure. They had travelled further north as he'd ever been in his life, a prospect that was first exciting, and then bitterly miserable. Wasn't winter supposed to be over? Why was it still so damn cold? Zephyr spent the first day huddled in the Col and refusing to leave, allowing the mountain cavern to engulf him in what meager warmth it could offer and obsessively moving from torch to torch as they were refilled.

On the second day he'd decided to stretch his wings and get some sunshine, setting off in mid afternoon when the sun was highest in the sky to see at least a portion of the lands he'd planned to. One good thing about the northern territories were the mountain winds, as strong as they were cold, bolstering his flight and helping him to make it to the peaks. Still only intermediate at best in ways of flight, Zephyr more often then not required a cliff of some sort to jump off of - and the col made for an exceptional cliff.

Leaping off from the col north, the argentavis spread his wings wide and began a steep decent down into the adjacent gorge. The sheer difference in elevation here was greater then anything he'd ever flown, and by the time he'd been able to see the herbs and grasses that littered the bottom of the gorge, he was moving so quickly he wasn't sure if he'd be able to stop. His oversized form was aimed directly at the cliff wall and showed no sign of stopping - a terrifying realization - until, suddenly, Zephyr entered a peculiar tunnel of wind. It caught him beneath the wing and threw him to the side, offering him enough of a boost that he could angle his trajectory upwards and in the process, slow himself enough for a safe landing.

No sooner did his talons tentatively touch the ground did the giant bird collapse onto his rump, chest heaving with exhaustion. That was scary as hell, but tons of fun! Tipping his beak up to stare out from the gorge toward the col where he'd jumped, Zephyr began to plan his next go - entirely unaware that he'd landed within the territory of another pack.