The mother tree was humongous. Forget the trunk, which seemed to be around five meters in diameter, the tree was extremely tall. Moreover, it had numerous branches, forming a truly picturesque canopy.
Like a lonely mountain surrounded by plains, it stood out, eclipsing anything and everything else around it. Looking at it, Kigen was thoroughly impressed by the sight of it.
He was also pretty impressed by the performance of his lower wings. As Kigen suspected, they looked like a fly's wings, and they served a similar purpose. Kigen did not know that flies, like common houseflies, beat their wings incredibly fast, around 200 times per second (20,000 times per minute).
This was exactly what was happening to him. Now he understood it well. His upper wings were built for levitation and small-scale flight, his mid wings were meant for balance, which meant that his lower wings were meant for speed.
They were powerful, and very stiff. The only downside was that he had to learn how to control them, so as to land where he needed to, and stop overshooting as he had. That was an easy fix, and after a few trials, he had pretty much mustered the inner workings of his wings.
With little effort, he finally made it onto the peach tree, where the peaches were. He saw a few birds roaming about, and some peaches had been eaten.
Kigen intended to land on a branch nearby, and then nibble at the peach, which was as big as a barrel. However, his body seemed to move on its own. Instead of his feet landing on the branch, he handed on the peach.
That was when he felt it. The tendrils that had come out when he was landing on the stalk also came out, penetrating the peach. The star-shaped foot, with each end being a root-like projectile also drilled into the peach, grasping firmly on the peach to prevent him from falling off.
Kigen then became conscious of the fact that his energy levels were rising at an exponential rate. Looking down at the peach, it seemed to shrink and shrivel. He understood, this was his method of consumption.
He had a mouth, but he understood that this was no longer how he consumed. What was the purpose of the mouth, he wondered. Perhaps just a tool for communication.
As he was lost in his daydream, he realized the peach was completely sucked dry. All that was left was the covering, and some seeds. The juices in the peach were all gone. His body, on the other hand, was filled with power.
His foot tendrils soon disengaged and disappeared back into his body, and his feet returned to their normal star shape. He then dropped off the peach, where his wings were waiting to steady him.
With so much energy coursing through his veins, he decided to just test the limits. Angling himself appropriately, he suddenly shot up into the sky, trying to see just how far he could get.
Speed! Exhilaration! Sheer ecstasy!
Moving at such speeds that no one could see him, Kigen's wings did not disappoint. This time, he was not holding back. Despite it being a climb, Kigen still managed to keep accelerating. His wings made him unrestrained by gravity. He was a true master of the skies.
Once he was sufficiently high enough, he decided to pause for a minute. He wanted to see just how fast he could move, and he wouldn't do that going up. To achieve maximum speed, he had to dive.
His heart was awash with excitement and fear. He was hesitating when suddenly, a shadow flashed above him. The next second, sharp talons came descending at him, intending to impale him.
From his vantage point, the eagle coming for him was extremely massive. Its wings seemed to cover the sun. Its talons looked like massive javelins aimed at his little body. The entire scene creeped him out, while scaring him senseless.
Kigen was completely unprepared. He started cursing himself. How could he have let his guard down, believing himself to be in a safe space? All this time, he had not considered any sort of harm befalling him. Now, all of a sudden, he was in grave danger.
With no time to think, all Kigen could do was react instinctively. It was a last-ditch attempt on his part.
However, something magical happened. With a simple flashing of his mid-wings, Kigen suddenly found himself several feet from where he had been, essentially dodging the attack.
The stunned golden eagle could not believe it had missed such an easy target. With its wide wings and powerful body, it quickly steadied itself, preparing to go for a second attempt.
Meanwhile, Kigen was still shocked. All this time, he had been assuming that the mid wings were for steading himself in the air, but now he discovered another important function.
Lateral movement.
Instead of just levitating of full-on speed, he also had another option, moving from side to side. Just like the lower wings, the mid wings were also proving to be quite powerful, and capable of almost instantaneous movement.
For a moment there, Kigen had felt as though he teleported. Looking up, he saw the eagle preparing for a second dive.
"Bring it on!" He taunted the massive beast, even going so far as to spread his hands.
The eagle's sharp eyes and bent beak were especially scary for Kigen. However, his newfound ability had emboldened him, and he was not afraid.
The eagle moved forward, diving at extremely high speed. Suddenly, it started rolling as it made its approach, stunning the watching figure below.
"Move it, Geni!" Kigen yelled at himself as he saw the eagle get closer. Geni was short form for Kigen, as his friends usually called him.
As before, Kigen felt his mid wings flutter in a different way than normal. The next moment, he had moved several feet away from where he had been, successfully dodging the attack.
This time though, something happened. Kigen was caught up in the wind drag produced by the eagle. This time, the eagle had put it's all in the attack, leaving nothing to chance. By rotating as it flew, the eagle had produced a whirlwind which thoroughly disrupted Kigen's flight path.
It took Kigen several seconds to stabilize himself in the air, his wings still fluttering away.
Suddenly, it dawned on him. He had no idea where the eagle was. He had taken longer to stabilize than expected, and hence, given the eagle a chance to get into his blindside.
Without wasting another moment, Kigen suddenly beat his hind wings, pushing himself out of the danger zone.
Just as he did, he felt a powerful gale blow past him, as the eagle appeared diving to the spot he had been moments ago. Had he tarried, he would have been a goner. As it was, he was still caught up in the wind produced by the eagle, suggesting that he was still in danger.
This very real prospect suddenly stunned Kigen, and he oriented his body once more after the attack. This time, he did not take any chances. Once he was stable, he folded his wings and went in for a dive.
This was the only way he could think of to get out of the danger zone completely. Out here, among the clouds, he was completely exposed, with no cover.
Since he had no understanding of the eagle's abilities, he could only turn tail and run, living to fight another day. As he did, he glanced behind him one last time, only to find talons at the ready, coming at him fast.
"You want me that bad, huh?" Kigen muttered, and then shouted at the eagle, "Come get me!"
As he did, all his wings turned in the same direction as his hind wings, then they started beating.