Monster!!

She run through the familiar path in the forest, making sure she avoided any and all thorns on her path, until she arrived at her destination.

She arrived to find her new strange friend dangling upside down on a tree branch; hanging just by the tip of his tail, with his eyes closed.

He opened them to see her emerging from the thickets and smiled at her. He let go of the tree and opened his wings, gliding to the ground.

"That was so cool. Your tail is freakishly strong, holding up your weight like that", she said as he landed.

"And a good morning to you too", he said with a smirk. "Oh! Sorry! Good morning", she said with a courtesy and a smirk of her own. They both then burst into laughter.

"So, what are we doing today?" she asked excitedly. "I have a surprise in store for you today. How would you feel about flying around the mountains with me?" he asked her.

"Would I? That would be awesome!" she shouted as she happily hopped closer to him. "Let's go", he said opening his arms to her.

She stepped closer and held on tight to him as he wrapped his arms around her waist and held on to her tightly. With a strong beat of his wings, they were off the ground and in the air.

They flew over the stream, heading towards the opposite direction they took yesterday, till it joined a river and finally flew over a small waterfall.

Elizabeth smiled as she was captivated by the view. "So do you go to school?" she asked suddenly while they were mid-air.

"No. I am home-schooled", he replied. "I don't think I'll be able to sit in the same classroom as other children", he added sarcastically in self-mockery.

"Don't mock yourself, I would love for you to be in the same classroom as me", she said trying to lighten the mood.

He flew higher into the sky so that they could admire the entire region. After a couple of hours in the air, they came back down to the ground to have lunch.

"You know what? I don't even know your name", he said to her as they sat on the grass under the shade at the edge of the open rock-filled grassland.

"Oh, right. I thought of asking for yours first but you beat me to it. It's Elizabeth Smith", she said.

"Nice to officially meet you Elizabeth Smith, my name is Samuel Gr...", his voice suddenly cut off as his pointed ears twitched wildly.

There was a sudden rustling of the bushes behind them as three men dressed in hunting gear, popped out.

The group of hunters, carrying pump-action rifles, were in the mountains hunting for game illegally but were having terrible luck that day.

Upon witnessing a large flying shadow descend into the forest, they quickly approached in order to hunt down such a rare specimen of bird.

They creeped out of the shrubbery and instantly came face-to-face with their supposed quarry. Seeing the true form of the shadow, they were scared shitless.

"Monster!!" they shouted and without thinking twice, opened fire on the two children.

Seeing the danger, Samuel attempted to shield both he and Elizabeth by quickly spreading his wings out but he wasn't fast enough to completely shield her and she was shot in the arm.

The force of the shot flung her little figure a few feet back. She fell and rolled on the rock-filled grass, incurring several lacerations across her body, until she came to a complete stop.

She cried out loud as warm thick blood streamed down her arm from the bullet wound and the several lacerations across her body.

Seeing the blood all over her body and hearing her pain-filled cries drove him to the breaking point.

His heart raced wildly and his pupils constricted into slits as the color of his eyes turned blood red suddenly, glowing with murderous rage.

The change happened instantaneously, almost as if a switch was flipped.

Sharp and thin dagger-like extensions popped out of the ends of the ridges in his wings; replacing the feathers, while sharp spikes replaced those on the tip of his tail.

He gave a loud that caused all the creatures in a two kilometer radius to flee for their lives. 

Scared out of their wits, the hunters opened fire once again.

With his mind blank with his rage, Samuel roared wildly and charged at them with blazing eyes.

He successfully dodged a few incoming bullets while deflecting the others in a way that looked almost rehearsed.

He formed a cone around his body with his wings and, kicking off the ground hard, spun quickly mid air, creating a small but strong wind funnel that easily brushed aside the speeding bullets with the aid of his wings' scales.

Arriving before them, he used his dagger-like extensions to slice through their weapons, taking off fingers as well.

The hunters screamed in pain as they fell on their buts, grappling their hands trying to stop the bleeding.

Their screams of pain and anguish served to fan his rage as well as tickle a slight sadistic predatorial instinct deep in his subconscious.

He tied his tail around the neck of one as he grabbed the remaining two by their necks and flew them several meters off the ground.

"How dare you? How dare you hurt my friend?" he growled and revealed his sharp fangs as they appeared longer than before.

His claws also grew longer, piercing the necks of the hunters, and causing them further pain and torment.

The murderous aura around him at the moment was enough to cause them to pass out due to fear and terror.

The only thing keeping them lucid was the pain coming from their wounds and the claws currently digging into the flesh of their necks.

Samuel roared once again as his wings were suddenly set ablaze. The image before the three hunters was like a scene from the worst nightmare conceivable.

Before them was a creature they could only identify as a demon straight out of hell.

They cried out in their struggle, trying to apologize and trying to free themselves but their airways were restricted. 

He had almost successfully crushed their throats when a familiar voice bore through the chaos and rage clouding his judgment.

"Please stop! You have to remember who you are. You are not the monster they see you to be. They were just scared, that's all! Remember, I was also scared when I first saw you but we are friends now, aren't we? Your appearance doesn't define who you are. I know your heart is in the right place. I'm okay so please, let them go!" Elizabeth shouted trying to reach him.

It took a while, but the fog clouding his mind slowly lifted.

He snapped back to reality, as the glow in his eyes died down and he loosened his death grip. He flew back down to the ground and tossed them to the ground.

"Leave this place and never return. The next time I lay eyes on you, I'll take more than a few fingers. Do you understand me? Now LEAVE!!" he roared at the hunters, who held on to their injured arms and fled the scene with their soiled pants.