Cloudchild

Chapter 5 - Flying

Annani yawned and stretched, lolled upon a mountain of teddies. No dream? She sat up, rubbed her face, and beheld the strewn toys of the battlefield, the tray of goodies and coffee empty nearby.

"Inanna?" Annani rolled off the plushy heap and meandered. She stepped through an ajar door, inside a room full of canvases. Inanna painted the largest one, absorbed unto obliviousness.

Though unfinished, Inanna's art depicted crystals plunging into an abyss of watery darkness streaked with lightning and icicles. Uncolored clouds rolled across the top.

"Cold, bodiless existence... A choir of exhales... Wake up, Inanna..." the princess whispered as she dipped her brush.

"What?"

Inanna gasped—paintbrush smeared some whiteness on the canvas. "You scared me."

Annani chuckled. "Sorry. I was wondering where you went."

"After you used the washroom, you got tired so I left you alone." Inanna dipped her brush in a packet of blueness and smeared the smudge.

"What are you doing?" Annani approached the picture. This seems strangely familiar...

"Hm? Oh, painting."

"What's it called?"

"There was once an antique land beyond the fringes of imagination."

"That's a long title!"

"It's what I felt, what I remembered."

"Remembered?"

Inanna nodded. "My oldest memory, my first dream, my deepest feeling... I can't really explain it. I just...know... But I don't know who spoke to me there..."

"Me, of course!"

They giggled.

"Then next time, let's try to have a conversation."

"Good idea."

Inanna pleasantly nodded then fixed the smudge.

Annani watched Inanna's movement, bewildered by the formation of colours. "So, what does this painting mean? Are we diving into a thunderstorm?"

Inanna shook her head.

"So...it means..."

"For him."

Annani paused. "For him?"

The princess nodded. "Oh! Excuse me, this is no time for painting. I should be spending time with you! What would you like to do? We can do anything you want."

"Umm..." What would I like to do? "Oh! What's the dragon doing, now?"

"I would imagine sleeping in the broken tower."

"Let's go check on him, make sure he's alright, and I have a plan!"

"What kind of plan?"

"You'll see!"

"But how about your feet?"

"They're alright now, let's go!"

"Right this way, Annani."

*

A brick bounced off the dragon's nose. He snorted and awoke. Face dappled with dried blood, he yawned and groggily looked around with reddened eyes, one more bruised than the other yet functional.

"You're finally awake!" Annani squeaked. "To keep you up, we'll need enough bricks to build another tower."

Copreus yawned again. "Wanted to stay asleep..." He rubbed his eyes.