Lava Skimmer

A flying predator that hunts the heat-columns above active vents, diving fast and hard to track against a bright volcanic sky.

Wings of heat-hardened membrane, a long narrow body built for dive-speed. It rides thermals above the fumarole fields and the mountain's flanks. The dive is near-silent and fast enough to take a shoulder before you hear the wingbeat. It does not fight on the ground.