Half Human [#Wattys2016]

Straight out of the frying pan into a river

I wake up to a smell of smoke and panic when I remember that this forest catches on fire easily being so close to the fire dwellings. I look down from my nest to see all the decorats burrowing so in about 15 minutes Travis can walk on the ground,but we have no time.

"Travis!" I yell hoping to wake him up."Travis wake up! Travis wake up or die."

"What's going on?" He rubs his eyes and looks around to spot the fire in the distance and the decorats on the ground. "W-what are we going to do?"

"I can fly away."

"What about me? Unless..." He squints again.

"Unless what?" I shout angrily because the fire is spreading fast and my patience is thinner than paper.

"Unless you carry me."

"How should I be able to do that I've never carried anything during flight except my backpack."

"It might be awkward but you would have to hug me during flight to carry me."

I didn't care because the fire was two trees away so I hugged him and flew upwards. Looking down at the forest it was not a mild fire as it normally is. I think the whole forest might burn down.

I flew to the field where me and Travis were walking in yesterday. I flew away from the forest and across the field. It's been a while since I last hugged someone, it feels warm and comforting as if I don't want it to end. I see a river in the distance and decide to land on the edge. I let go of Travis and I felt a draft of cold on the front side of me where he was hugging me.

"We should travel downstream" I say.

"Why? How?"

"It's enjoyable and it fills me with tranquility."

"There's no lily pads around and the river flows too fast to..."

"Do you see the rocks at the bottom of the river. Those are non-rocks, as the name implies those are not rocks but plants disguised as rocks and they float to the top when they are cut at the roots."

"Wow!"

I ran into the river looking for one big enough for both of us. I found one but it was quite deep so I changed to a mermaid and dive deeper. Then cut the roots and resurfaced as the non-rock floated up below me.

Travis half-smiled and again said,"Wow!"

I changed to my normal form and lay down on the rock which in my opinion was big enough for me and a miniature dragon. Travis was running parallel to the river to try jump on but doesn't so I dive into the river and push the non-rock in the opposite direction so he can at least walk to it. It takes him longer than expected to get to the rock trying to resist the current but he finally gets on the rock and sits in a dent. I climb on and look up at the afternoon sky. Time traveled so fast I didn't realize it was the afternoon until I looked up.