The Spider and the Butterfly

Chapter Eight

                       CHAPTER 8:

Daisy yawned, hearing the sound of birds from outside the den. As her vision adjusted, she realized that she never actually went to bed. She had fallen asleep on Fang in his recliner. The spider was snoring away, holding the butterfly gently in his arms.

This had become somewhat of a normal occurrence now. Fang even teased her about it the night before. "Guess I'm a cozy kind of fella, huh?" he chuckled. Daisy was too tired to tell him to shut up. And she didn't really want to admit it, but the spider did have a rather soft, fuzzy body. The other part she didn't want to admit...was she was starting to feel safe around him.

Fang's eyes slowly opened and blinked a few times. He looked toward the entrance of his den. "Guess it's time to get up," he murmured. After stretching a little, he smiled at Daisy. "Want some flying lessons yet?" The butterfly nodded, excited.

Once outside, the spider held Daisy's hands. "Alright, let's see if you can get yourself just a little bit off the ground..." he said. "Try flapping a bit without wearing yourself out." Daisy seemed nervous. She meekly asked, "W-what if I fall?"

Fang stared her in the eyes. "Then I'll catch you," he softly assured her. Daisy searched him...and realized he was telling the truth. Blushing, she managed to smile. "Ok, Fang. I'll give it a shot."

The spider held the butterfly's hand as she fluttered a few times. At first nothing happened. Then she started to lift a bit. "It's working!" she giggled. But before long she'd lose altitude and come back down. "It's alright, keep trying!" Fang encouraged her. At one point, Daisy did make it farther off the ground. "You're doing it!" Fang laughed. "Keep flapping!" He wasn't holding her hands anymore because she had made it a little ways above the prairie grass by now.

Daisy tried to sustain herself, but she started descending again. "Fang, help!" The butterfly fell. Fang, true to his word, caught her in his arms. The momentum sent him sprawling on his back. Daisy looked down at him in concern. "Oh my gosh, are you ok?" she asked.

Fang only laughed. "I'm fine, Daisy! I'm just happy the wing works!" The butterfly started laughing too. "I made it higher that time!" she exclaimed. "Did you see me?"

"Yeah! What did I tell you? Practice makes perfect!" the spider replied.

After catching their breath, they both got up and dusted themselves off. "Want to try again?" Fang asked, grinning a genuine grin. Daisy nodded, happy to finally be able to get into the air again.

They spend a few minutes testing the wing some more. Daisy sometimes couldn't get very high up, but other times she could nearly make it over the top of the prairie grass. Thankfully, she didn't fall again. The butterfly would glide back down to earth whenever she couldn't stay in midair. Fang still took her by the hands each time in case she stumbled.

Daisy got tired pretty quickly. "Maybe that's enough for now," she panted. Fang nodded. "Alright. What do you want to do in the meantime?" he asked.