Archery

Pei Li gazed up into the dusky sky and suddenly picked up the small dot moving toward her. Her own firelizard, a jade green female called Kiko had alerted her that her blue brother was approaching. The two of them seemed to always know where the other was, which made the firelizards, small winged reptiles, perfect to ferry messages across the difficult terrain of the cliffs that they called home.
The planet of Khylar had little surface water and the rivers digging deep crevices into the soil here were a valuable resource that many people coveted. So their people needed to guard their borders fiercely. Pei Li had always wanted to join the army. She'd known since she was a little girl, barely old enough to start schooling. 
Pei Li stuck out her arm and waited for the blue firelizard Yawno to land on her. Yawno belonged to Chou, Pei Li's best friend. They'd met about three years ago and had both been allowed to train these little winged reptilians. They ferried messaged on paper, but Pei Li always felt that they were much smarter than most officers believed them to be. She often felt like she could see where Kiko had been. Her rapport with Yawno was less clear, but it was there too. Chou said it was the opposite for him which made sense.
Pei Li unfastened the message and read it. She hurriedly sought out the commander of her group.
"Squad 5 is under attack!" she told him and readied her bow and arrows.
"Calm down." her commander said, "We can't leave our post wide open. I'll send two soldiers to fortify squad 5 by attacking the enemy from the side. That's about as good as we can do."
"Allow me to go." Pei Li insisted.
"We will need you here."
Ordered to stay put, Pei Li could only send Yawno on his way back and hope that her friend on the other side could understand the quiet message she'd sent with him. It was too dangerous to send and actual paper message that could betray their tactics now. Her little finger throbbed, a thing that only happened when she was nervous as she'd lost the digit 5 years ago, when she'd just entered the army and had gotten too cocky. Pei Li hoped it wasn't an omen. 

Chou felt Yawno's return. The firelizard returning was dangerous as that risked the animal getting shot. But Yawno and Kiko always seemed to fly under enemy radars. Maybe they looked more like birds or the enemies just didn't know they could be use as messengers. 
Chou waited for Yawno to land. As the firelizard touched him, he immediately felt Pei Li's distress. He got a flash of two soldiers leaving and a sense of foreboding. Chou returned to his commander and let him know two soldiers had been dispatched to aid them.
"Less than I hoped for, more than I feared." his commander said and then returned to give orders to the other soldiers.
Chou knew the commander of squad 4 was correct in not sending over all his men. Even the two he'd sent might cause problems if the enemy decided to take their chances and attack the other guard post. The quiet young man treated Yawno to some meat and considered sending his firelizard out once more to maybe reach Squad 3. Only they were farther away over worse terrain. They probably wouldn't be able to send anyone anyway.
So far they'd been able to fend off the attack but from experience the invaders would try again. Chou had grown up listening to stories his grandfather told him about his own days in the army. Presumably glorified and further idolised by a young, impressionable mind, Chou nevertheless had wanted to serve just like his grandfather had and defend the borders of his country and the citizens within. 
Chou returned to relieve one of the other archers and took over his post. There was little else they could do now but hold their position and look for new attacks. Night was falling and that meant it would be that much harder to see what was happening. Some of their soldiers would be patrolling the edge of the cliffs but enemies might still slip by. If they were smart they would not cause trouble and keep under the radar. If they were not they would be dealt with. 
Chou suspected some invaders lived comfortable lives nearby, sheltered by people who had come to love and trust them. As long as they adhered to the rules he had no problem with that. They could take in a certain amount of outsiders. Too much would destroy the careful balance of life on the cliffs. 

Pei Li looked out from the top of their guard post and watched in horror when she saw the warning flair lit up the night sky. A large colourful flower illuminated the sky and it's sparks flew slowly to the ground. More flares were lit and a rigged line of torches gave the archers in the tower light to aim. 
"Light the torches!" one of the guards called. 
Half a dozen sets of eyes surveyed the surroundings. Everything was quiet. Pei Li sent Kiko up in the sky, asking her to do a sweep. When her firelizard returned, she could sense no suspicious actions. Of course that might not be completely accurate but Pei Li had learned to trust her reptilian partner. 
"I'm heading out." she told her commander, "I'll even leave Kiko here."
Her firelizard chirped indignantly.
Her commander shook his head, "We won't be able to use her anyway. Send her back if you're in trouble."
The older man looked at the small green animal and Pei Li knew she'd understood him and would not hesitate if they truly ran into trouble. Pei Li wasted no more time and grabbed her pack and bow and headed toward the other guard post. Kiko flew behind her, intent on warning her owner should danger creep up.

Chou shot arrow after arrow, trying to keep the enemy at bay. Contrary to what he'd hoped, these guys weren't trying to sneak past. Instead they'd come brandishing swords and throwing spelled bombs. Magic was rare in these parts but with enough money items could be bought and there was little they could do about it. Chou's biggest fear was the guard post catching fire. That was a very real danger so their commander had ordered them all outside. But that left them wide open to the attack. 
Chou circled around the guard post, hoping to find a sheltered spot to fire some arrows from. He did have a short sword but he wasn't all that good with close combat. Yawno hissed and Chou managed to duck before a sword split his skull. 
He rolled and trust his sword forward while the attacker was distracted by Yawno's claws that were up in his face.
"Be careful!" Chou warned his firelizard. 
He appreciated the sentiment but would prefer to keep his firelizard alive. Chou started retreating, trying to put distance between him and the fight to gain the advantage he needed for his main weapon. There was hardly any cover on the cliff edge, making it harder for enemies to hide but also for him in this instance. The smoke of the torches made the air taste bitter and a lot of people were coughing. The scent of blood and iron clung to his nose. Chou had no idea who was winning and even who was still alive. 
'Chou!"
He looked up and saw Pei Li. The young woman ran closer and gave him some much needed cover so he could get his bearings.
"How bad is it?" she asked him.
"Utter chaos." he answered and started firing arrows to people without the telltale yellow cloth tied around their waists. 
Pei Li took up her stance beside him and started firing. 
A sudden flash made them look up. Kiko and Yawno seemed disorientated but not exactly alarmed. Temporarily blinded none of them could aim but the yells that sounded in the night seemed to indicate that the enemies were being driven off. 
"These would do nicely." a voice said close by.
"Yes, but how did those firelizards get here?" another voice asked.
Bright colours swirled around them and suddenly they were somewhere else entirely.
"Welcome to the Empyrean Stair!" the voices, in the light of day obviously belonging to two peculiar rainbow-coloured individuals, shouted and then left giggling and discussing the pros and cons of teleporting of firelizards. 

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[STORY] -> [Pei Li] -> [Chou]

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Lantessama Isle