Once I reach the base of the mountain I pull out the four sensors Yui gave me. According to what she told me they each need to be placed in one of the cardinal directions. They each should light up once I am in the right area, then all I have to do is drop them.

Sounds easy enough, so I start flying a big circle around the base of the mountain. When the first sensor lights up I drop it, then hover in place to see what happens. The sensor hits the ground and half of it sinks into the dirt, then the other half is covered by an illusion.

Once the illusion is in place it looks like a small bush, something that blends perfectly into the surroundings. I have to admit I am quite impressed, even knowing where it is I doubt I could find it again. The other three sensors operate the exact same way when I drop them after they light up.

The only thing that bothers me is I didn't see any sign of Lizzy as I circled the mountain. So, I continue flying around until I spot the general area where I left her, then I land. I slowly walk around the area in circles calling out her name, very loudly.

A few minutes later, and several hundred yards away, I finally get a response. Lizzy's head pops up from under the snow a few dozen feet from where I am standing. When she sees me she lets out an excited squeal and tears free of the snow to rush at me.

She doesn't slow at all and I find myself buried under hundreds of pounds of lizard. She licks my face for a minute before she notices my wings, then she starts sniffing at my wings. Then she starts rubbing her face back and forth through the feathers of my wings.

It takes me a few minutes of petting and scratching to get her to calm down. Once she does I am able to push her off me so that I can get back to my feet. Then I wrap my arms around her neck for a good long hug, it is good to see her again.

Even as I hug her and tell her how much I missed her she keeps sniffing at my wings. Deciding to get it over with, I let go of her neck and spread my wings wide. She isn't satisfied until she has sniffed and rubbed her face over every inch of them.

"There, satisfied now?"

She rubs her face across my wings one last time then steps back and gives me a nod. Taking out the grooming kit I proceed to give her a thorough grooming. She leans into the brush as I scrub at her scales, she loves the attention I am sure.

Qualified Mount detected!

Do you wish to make 'Lizzy' your Crusader Mount? Y/N

"Yes!"

Bond being offered...

Bond Accepted! Lizzy is now your Crusader Mount!

Lizzy 'Master?'

"Oh, you can talk now?"

Lizzy 'Yes, but only to you. Or at least that is how it seems.'

"Well, it is good that we can finally talk!"

Lizzy 'I agree. Although, forming thoughts like this is new to me.'

"It's okay, we will take it slow."

Lizzy 'Okay, but right now I would like to run! I've been sitting around waiting for you!'

"Haha, okay. We can do that!"

After finishing grooming her I saddle her and climb up, she is dancing in place impatiently. She barely lets me find my seat before she is off like a bolt of lightning. I let her enjoy running for a bit before I remember and ask her to find any beastmen in the area.

She raises her head and sniffs a few times before suddenly changing direction and speeding up. Within a few minutes I can see a group of beastmen sitting around a campfire trying to stay warm. I guess even when you have fur sitting around in the snow isn't exactly comfortable.

When we get closer I see that these are not tiger clan, the guard must have changed while I was on the mountain. The group I am approaching is made up of about a dozen bearmen from the looks of them. They finally notice our approach and get up with weapons in hand, but then another beastman stops them.

Tiger says "Stop. This is the beastman I've been waiting for."

Bear says "How is he a beastman with those wings?"

Tiger says "Not sure. Those are new. Hello again!"

"Hello. So, you waited around even though you said I would die?"

Tiger says "Nope, I went home when our time was done, but then my clan shaman sent me back to wait. She said what I saw would open my eyes or something."

"Maybe she meant this."

As I speak I pull the guardian's head from my pouch and toss it in the snow at his feet. He doesn't react much, but the bearmen go a little crazy when they see it. From what they are saying I would guess the tiger didn't mention that I promised to bring back the guardian's head.

Tiger says "You really did it?! Now the mountain is defenseless!"

"No, there is already another guardian. She is even tougher than her mother was."

Tiger says "Why is that?"

"Because, I raised her and trained her."

Tiger says "Why would you do that?"

Bear says "What are you? Why do you have wings?"

"When I killed the guardian and found her baby, I felt guilty about it. So I took care of her. As to what I am, that is a long story."

Bear says "Well, why don't you join our camp for the night and tell us your story."

Lizzy 'Master, I still want to run.'

"Alright, we will join you, but we are going hunting first."

Tiger says "Okay, we will be right here."

With that I guide Lizzy away from the camp and let her run some more. I don't bother memorizing where the camp is, Lizzy will know exactly how to get back. After letting her run for two hours I ask her to look for some prey, both for her to eat and to take back.

After hearing my request she changes direction but doesn't slow down at all. It impresses me that she can move so fast when there is a couple of feet of snow on the ground. Then she suddenly leaps forward, almost throwing me out of the saddle.

She plunges her head into the snow and when it comes back up she has something in her mouth. What little I can see of it makes me think rabbit and the squeal just before she bites down sounds about right. The snow suddenly moves like it is alive, but it is actually dozens more of the things taking off running.

Just in time I grab the saddle, as Lizzy takes off like a shot after the next nearest rabbit thing. In total she catches and eats six of the things, each one only providing a bite or two. It doesn't seem like that would be enough to satisfy her but after the last one she stops chasing them.

"Lizzy, is that enough food for you?"

Lizzy 'It is enough to sustain me for a day or two.'

"Wow, I expected you to need a lot more food than that!"

Lizzy 'Before you came back I was mostly sleeping, I didn't burn much energy.'

"I meant to ask, does the cold bother you?"

Lizzy 'It doesn't hurt me, but I don't really like it.'

"So, you don't need to hibernate through winter or anything?"

Lizzy 'No, but I have the ability to sleep for long periods when prey is scarce.'

"Your race is amazing. Speaking off, do you remember the ancient empire? I've always wondered if you are a natural race or were created by magic."