| Zidane slept quite fitfully, the bed too soft for his liking. However, he was so exhausted by the day�s excitement that all he could do in protest was toss and turn. I laid on the floor, my tail pit-patting lightly on the tiles as I stared out the window, lost in thought. Tiovex laid beside me, stretching himself out in all directions. His wings draped themselves over my back and his head rested alongside mine. [All is right with the world, Kitiane?] [For now.] There was a thud. [Not anymore.] � Ow,� came the grumble from the other side of the bed. [Are you all right, Ziaden?] � Yeah. Have anything for a headache?� [I�m afraid I don�t. I�m sorry.] � It�s okay. It�s gone now. Must�ve been a passing thing.� He came around the bed and laid against my free side. � Yep. I think I prefer hard ground to soft beds.� [Which is why I elected to sleep on the floor in the first place.] Tiovex waited until he was asleep before continuing. [What do you think about staying?] [I�d love to, Tiovex, but there�s a very large mess on the ground. There are only a few of us who�re trying to clean it up. I�d like to wait until that is done before commiting to anything.] [I understand. Then I shall see you again when the trouble is over?] [Yes.] [Excellent.] He yawned and closed his eyes, falling asleep almost immediately. I stayed awake a while longer before feeling a shiver against my back. The window was open, allowing a light breeze in, and Zidane didn�t have his shirt on. I sighed and pulled him across my back, settling him between Tiovex and myself, and stretched a wing out over him, resting the tip on Tiovex. Of course, Tiovex woke. [What�s wrong?] [He�s shivering.] [Mm.] He extended his wing over mine. [There.] With that, we both went to sleep. *~~* �It was weird, but nice.� �What was?� �The three of us sleeping like that. It was strange, but it felt like we were a family. Does that sound stupid?� �No. I felt the same. And I�m sure he did as well.� [Zidane! Zidane!] We turned to see Vanel racing down the street after us, expertly dodging carelessly placed feet. Small white packets bounced on her back, but she didn�t seem to notice their presence as she bounded closer and finally took a flying leap right at Zidane�s chest. He caught her reflexively. [Vanel! Hey kid!] [Zidane!] she panted tiredly. [I�m glad I found you before you left!] [Why?] [Father finally agreed to let me go with you! Mother told him that it would be a good experience for me and he agreed!] [That�s great!] He poked at the white bags. [What�s that?] [It�s Mother�s milk. She said to only give me one pouch a day and it would last until I didn�t need it any more.] [Then let me have them or I�ll forget.] He untied the bags and put them . . . somewhere. [Let�s get going!] [Yay!] We headed out to the North Gate. Tiovex was waiting there for us. Vanel leapt from Zidane�s arms and landed lightly on the ground, dropping into a bow right there. Tiovex smiled. [Vanel! How are you?] [Very good, Sire,] she replied sweetly, keeping her head on the ground. [And you?] [Just fine, thank you. You may get up.] Vanel climbed up Zidane like he was a tree and perched on his shoulder. I bowed my head respectfully, but that was all. Zidane nodded at Tiovex. [Teach that boy some manners, Kitiane!] Tiovex cried in mock anger. I laughed. [He�s too stubborn to show anyone but himself manners! Sometimes he doesn�t even do that!] Zidane smirked self-righteously. [Yeah, I�m the rebel.] He grabbed Vanel�s nose lightly and shook her head back and forth. [And I�m creating another one in my image.] He paused. [I meant that metaphorically, by the way.] We said our good-byes. Vanel was sad that she was leaving home and might not see her family for a long time, but I promised that we would come back as often as we could and that made her happier. [Hey, Tiovex,] Zidane put in as I was making the final preparations for flight, [would you mind if I called you Father?] [Not at all, Zidane, not at all. Just don�t use it too much or I�ll snap.] [That won�t be problem. Kiti doesn�t want me to call her Mother, so it�s not a habit.] [Wait, I�m not done. If you�re going to call me that, you have to win a head-bashing contest with me.] [Huh? . . . Okay!] �Are you sure that�s smart? You can�t hold your own against me even when I check my strength.� �No problem, Kiti. There�s stuff you do that he doesn�t. I�ll be okay.� �If you say so.� I held my wing up to his shoulder and let Vanel slide down it to my back. [Go Zidane!] [Yeah,] I put in sourly. [Get your head cracked open while you�re at it.] He flashed me a thumbs-up. [One for you, Kiti.] [Go!] Tiovex roared, leaping into a dead run. Zidane lurched forward, also running for all he was worth. They collided and Zidane went flying. He flipped and landed on his feet, then charged for Tiovex again to hurt himself further. Dust was stirred and all I could clearly see were two shapes beating their heads against each other. Why must males always settle things by force? <--Part 17 Part 19--> |
| Around every bend is untold danger. You must assess it as benign or malevolent and then act. ~Dragon's Teachings, pg. 69 Part 18 |