The fairy man bent over to look at the harpy in front of him. She was a ball of bright yellow feathers just over three feet tall, with thick feathered thighs and birdlike feet from the knees down, covered in feathers down to their ankles. Her arms were covered in soft feathers from wrist to shoulder, and a pair of large birdlike wings sprouted from her back.

The girl was just old enough for her adult feathers to have grown in. Most of the soft down that would keep her warm was covered, with just a little visible on the top of her legs and near the joints of her wings.

The harpy girl would grow taller, of course. Harpies mature in stages, and she's at the point in her life where she was old enough to start hunting on her own. A mere six years old in human terms, Brighteye would rapidly shoot up into her full height over the next three and fill out in three more.

The feathertouched, as the Lythians called their kind, were bonded at a level that could no longer be taken apart. Each one was truly as much bird as they were human. This pair of harpies, bright yellow and proud, had an ancestor that bonded with a golden eagle. They are fierce hunters and part of one of the most prolific strains. They have every reason to be proud.

Golden harpies are one of only three types that keep their hands. The other two have bonded with ravens and, amusingly, white cranes. The white feathertouched look much like depictions of angels, with only a few extra traits from their heritage like long necks and thin frames.

Black harpies are much closer to their classical depictions, with one key difference. Their wings collapse against their arms to reveal long, thin hands with three fingers and a thumb, complete with short talons where fingernails should be. These hands are hidden underneath their feathers and are rarely seen.

All three are considered the pinnacle of what a Lythian that would take to the skies should try to be. They are your pure, warrior, and fallen angels. Human imagination runs wild across the world, but maybe, just maybe, the angel that you thought you saw was once half of a human and loved a bird so much that feathers filled in the rest.

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Merdiwen's favorites were the golden feathertouched. They are as crafty as one could be, with both the strength in their legs to run on the ground and enough power in their upper bodies to both fly and use their hands. A few of the more enterprising girls had learned how to forge their own tools, and the pair in front of him was the most interesting he had seen.

This pair had an unusual hunting style. The older one carried a bow and used her keen eyes to spot prey. She would fly above her target, take careful aim, and rain arrows down from above. Her demeanor is careful, but not cautious. She is devious and exploits every opportunity that comes her way.

The younger one took a different approach. She drops from the sky and latches onto her prey with the large talons on her feet. She can take flight with her wings and smash her prey into the ground, like a golden harpy's usual hunting style, or she can use the razor sharp, jagged claws that are attached to her hands and rip them apart.