LOG-030.It was a sensation that had long since been burned into my mind at this point, the feeling of the wind sliding against my skin, against Alfa’s skin, our forms as one as we both soared through the sky, linked together as a single mind.Amusingly enough, it was actually easier to spot a twinmoon in the air during the darker hours of the night. The gargantuan beasts were evidently built to blend in with the tint of the day, so in the dark violets and pitch blacks currently dominating the horizon, the one we’d been tracking for the better part of an hour stood out that much more.The issue, of course, was the altitude.“Up Alfa! Higher! As high as you can go!”The ikran let out a subdued screech beneath me, its nostrils flaring as it did its level best to manage just a few more flaps.But even as we flew further up, even as the air grew thinner and thinner around us. Until I couldn’t speak. Until I couldn’t breathe. And until the inside of my chest began to burn, the edges of my vision turning black.And still, the twinmoon soared high above, closer, yet still utterly out of reach.Patting Alfa’s back and directing the beast to dive downwards through our shared link, I pressed my head against its back, cheek rubbing against its neck as I did my best to avoid passing out.—“Hah…hah…alright, so we’re not pulling a Sully anytime soon.”The next few minutes continued in the vein of both me and my ride taking deep breaths, even as we continued to glide silently through the dark, the sight of the twinmoon leisurely circling far above us proving more taunting than I would have initially expected.Biting my lip as a pair of mountainous masses passed by us, I glanced down at Alfa’s saddle, thinking.A mounting attempt from above wouldn’t work. At least not while the target was at its usual height. Similarly, getting on it during its ascent into the sky could also prove perilous, considering I still wasn’t a hundred percent certain of my theory.The thought of successfully holding on to a twinmoon before passing out in the sky and plummeting to my death wasn’t a great one, and it left me frowning as I thought of what other avenues I could explore.“...Breathing equipment. Maybe I could get one of the field techs to modify an exo pack?”It would probably be a necessity in general, actually, particularly if my plan worked and I found myself in the position of using my new mount for high altitude aerial reconnaissance.Blinking, I chewed at the interior of my cheek for a few minutes, watching the vague shapes of the surrounding environment as Alfa circled the larger mountain that the expedition team had set camp upon, the lights of prefabs and vehicles sitting in standby making them stick out probably far more than they should have.High above, a deafening trill turned my attention upwards, leaving me staring as the focus of my current obsession began to descend towards another floating island nearby, this one significantly steeper than its counterparts, and distinguished by the waterfalls flowing from its sides.Compared to the region the RDA had dubbed the Hallelujah Mountains, these physics defying rocks were significantly less life bearing, proving far more craggy and hardy than the region a veritable spitting distance from the Omatikaya’s forests.Which meant…that water was likely at a premium for any surrounding fauna.Tilting my head as the pair of conjoined beasts continued to move further and further down towards the source of life giving fluid, I gave Alfa a gentle pat, urging the ikran forward.“C’mon, I think I’ve got an idea.”—Twinmoon weren’t unheard of, but they were rare enough that to call them common would be a lie. And given that I was on a bit of a schedule, potentially losing my mark while heading back to the camp to try and jury rig a respirator would sting too much for my sensibilities.Unfortunately, catching one of the creatures while they were up at their usual height was impossible. Getting one trying to descend or ascend was also dangerous, since I’d either be thrown off and need Alfa to catch me at best, or pass out and splatter on the ground somewhere at worst.Which meant my only real option was to try and ambush my prey while it was grounded, busy drinking its fill of water.I’d left Alfa behind at this point, the ikran was nearby, of course. But not so close as to potentially startle and scare off the magnificent specimen currently dunking one of its heads into a river somehow flowing out from a nearby cave, even as its counterpart scanned around for predators.I had long since gone prone, and for once my pale colouration actually helped in some regard, the white of my leotard and the light blue of my skin helping me blend in amidst the pale rocks better than any true blue Na’vi would have managed.The petty thought of connecting to a spirit tree to rub that fact into some of my old bullies’ faces came and went as I continued to slowly but surely creep closer to the combined creature, which was busying itself with alternating which head was drinking, while the other kept a look out.And still I moved forward, so slowly that it felt as if I wasn’t truly making any progress at all, but managing to remain completely and utterly silent, until I was close enough that I could actually make out the vivid details of the twinmoon’s glass-like plumes, and differentiate where one body ended, and another began.It was just as I was preparing to spring up and make a break for the thing’s back that the air itself seemed to tremble in the face of a sound that sent every hair I had standing on end, the noise a mixture between a hiss and a bellow.From the darkness of the cave, a multitude of viridian eyes blinked into appearance, and I barely managed to keep still as the twinmoon reared back with a panicked squawk, a glance at one of its wingtips revealing that it had a…tentacle wrapped around it?Staring in pure befuddlement, I remained stunned long enough for the animal to begin writhing, letting out screeching cries as more tentacles poured out from the water, moving to ensnare it while something that almost looked like a beak snapped open and shut from the mouth of the cave.The realisation that my prey was being literally stolen in front of me had me leaping to my feet and dashing forward, one hand reaching down to the field belt I’d taken to carrying and unsheathing the elongated blade I’d been given prior to my departure.The veritable shortsword, carefully printed and assembled by the RDA, was a token to Quaritch absolutely being a big softy beneath his military hardass exterior, and the blade found itself finding purpose in stabbing sharply into one of the tendrils that had begun snaking its way across the twinmoon’s hide, serving as an anchor for me to haul myself up onto the panicking beast’s back.Naturally, the sudden assault served to provoke the struck limb into retreating slightly as I ripped the weapon free and returned it to its sheathe, and with a sound that almost reminded me of a rubber band snapping, the creature I was on successfully broke free of the grapple it had been forced into, beginning to flap its wings, hard.I could see dust, water particulates, and various other detritus being kicked up as the wind was forced into a frenzy by the constant, repeated motion, and I barely found myself maintaining some semblance of footing as my target leapt into the air, screeching with triumph as it did so.Eyes widening, I bounded forward as fast as I could, internally cursing just how much space sat between me and the pair of kuru I could see trailing behind the heads of the living platform I had found myself standing upon.A living platform that was transitioning from a horizontal level to a vertical one, leaving me pouring everything I had into one last panicked leap, hand reaching for one of the extraneous chords that occasionally stuck out from the larger bits of plumage trailing along the twinmoon’s two necks.For a moment, my gut lurched, and the sensation of falling made itself known.Then my hand closed around the end of one of the chords, and I found myself violently smacking against a thick, sinuous neck, earning me an irritated sounding trill from the head it belonged to as I desperately held on for dear life, trying to ignore the fact that I’d looked down and could already see the ground beneath me getting further and further away.“Fuck fuck fuck alright fuck-”Pulling myself upwards, I did my best to remain calm, until I was standing roughly in the space left between the two necks, trying my best to remain balanced even as a multitude of lavender airs turned to stare at me.The words the wind trader had shared with me prior to his departure rang in my head, even as I stared into those eyes, feeling my hair beginning to light up.“A bonded pair must link to the twinmoon’s kurus as one, lest they find themselves rejected as individuals, rather than being accepted as a combined whole.”Taking a deep breath, I turned away from my observers, staring up at the sky for a moment, and let go.My fingers remained loose for a second, grasping blindly through the air as memory guided them, the sensation of plumage, chords, and scales brushing against the digits causing them to twitch as I began to tilt backwards.And then, just as the sensation of falling returned, I found the two neural links I had been seeking, grabbing hold of them tightly and yanking them to the sides of my head, my own kuru darting forth to complete the connection. I struggled to breathe, the air too light to gain anything from inhaling. Yet nonetheless, I held on as strands interwove, tightening around each other, until…Until I saw the stars. Until I felt the wind. I was one. Yet two. Yet three.The realisation that I was four came right about when the lack of air got to me, and everything finally went dark.