Greater Leatherfaces

Honoured of Balphegor, Greater Leatherfaces are dangerous carnivores who like to supplement their diet with fresh, liquid blood.
Clever tribesmen of the Atlai often raise bat kits from birth, creating a bond with the creatures, and training them for hunting and war purposes, the swift flight, keen senses and sharp teeth and claws of the creatures all useful in this purpose.
"We should not be here Sri, it is not safe. The Atlai tolerate no interlopers!"
"Where can we go? Our canoe sank, and our mounts ran away?"
"We still cannot meet the Atlai here, not at night!"
"Why not?"
"The skybats bind their minds to their riders, letting them see, and hunt in the dark, and in that hunt, we would be the prey."
"Surely the Atlai are not such monsters?"
"I would not test my life on their mercy, none have returned from their lands."
"Surely, something can be done?"
"Yes, we can be elsewhere, hopefully, as soon as possible, Sri. There is no safety here."
"All right, at any rate, it does not sound like they are friendly..."
"No, as a people, they are not." This brought Raji up. Sanskrit hadn't said the Tlanz weren't friendly, nor the Sikorsk, and both were actual cannibals!
"We are in such trouble now, aren't we Sanskrit?"
"Truly, Sri, it has been an honour..."
"Let's focus on escape, not dying, Sanskrit, I would very much like to publish my book!"
"Ah, I would very much like to read it, Sri, look out, there is red on the horizon!"
Indeed, a red line of swaying shapes was undulating over the horizon, red leather pinions pumping with determination, resisting gravity.
The Atlai leader, Kannegat, riding its mount, not a regular skybat by any means, but a hubris of venom, far from tame at this point, angled his body, trying to get a read for the fleeing explorers. The bond, not quite fully tuned for the alien consciousness that was a Hubris of Poison, was an every day challenge for that worthy, unable to quite tame the HUNT HUNT HUNT KILL KILL KILL DRINKBLOOD DRINKBLOOD DRINKBLOOD imperatives of his mount. Said venom hubris had held a bond with his father, and his grandfather, but before it had been elevated to hubris, and so, had a quite different relationship to Kannegat than to his forefathers.
"You are weak! Weakling! Ride them down!"
"They are no threat, and they are skinny, no meat on them!"
"Arr, on that you are correct, they are not very meaty, but I am loathe to let any escape."
"Is it an escape? We can recapture them on the other side of dawn."
"They aren't even worth the effort?"
"Well, no, but I am loathe to let any escape."
"We shall do as I say, they will escape, and tell tales of us, instead of fill our bellies, imperfectly!"
"Ugh, it burns, but, I will let you have this one, they really are scrawny."