Bats, Cats, and Broken Wings

Sasha

  I had never ridden in an airplane or had ridden on any winged creature, so after a few moments of being in the sky, I got car-sick, or hippogriff-sick. Qiaw rode really smooth, but I felt sick every time he turned or I looked at the ground. Ryan gripped my waist and I knew that if I fell, he'd air-dive after me.
I'm glad Crimson, Harper and Percilla could only fly so fast. When we met Qiaw, he was flying super fast. If he went any faster now, I could possibly lose my breakfast.
Harper discussed the plan with us again, but this time, it had changed a bit. Sasha and I were already so far from home that it was pointless if we didn't help. All four of us had a job.
"What will happen if we fail?" I asked, although I already knew the answer.
"We won't fail. We CAN'T," Crimson said sternly.
For a while, we all stayed quiet. I was too afraid to talk. The silence might have been killing me, but I was afraid if we talked, we might not be safe.
I started watching the scenery go by. It was all so pretty. We passed little farms and cities. From way up in the sky, everything seemed so small. I finally understood a giant's point of view. My air-sickness was forgotten. I was enjoying myself.
Ryan's hands loosened up on my waist. I turned around and saw him dozing off. He leaned his head on my back. Before I could wake him up, Qiaw spoke. ~Let him sleep. He should be fine.~
I eased up a little bit and went back to enjoying the view. At one point, we passed over a river. A little ways after the river, we landed in a field to let Harper on the back of Qiaw. "I'm not used to flying. I'm sorry guys."
  Ryan had scooted up to in front of Qiaw's wings, while Harper got on the back. Then, we were off again.
  Time seemed to go by fast, before we knew it, we were in Virginia. Qiaw zipped towards our destination with Crimson and Percilla falling behind. After a few minutes, we were going in for a landing. We were at Captain Bay, which trickled out into the Atlantic Ocean.
I was the first off Qiaw and I bowed deeply to him. The others followed my example, including Percilla.
~Thank you Qiaw. I don't know what we would have done without you.~ Percilla gratefully said.
~It was my pleasure. It had been ages since I have gone on a little adventure.~
The others were starting to clump together off to the side, but I didn't move. Qiaw turned towards me. ~I must go my child. Do not over estimate yourself when the time comes. You are so much more powerful than what you believe.~
"Thank you Qiaw. Will I ever get to see you again."
~I am not sure, but our paths may cross.~ Then, he picked at my hair, his way of saying goodbye. Then, he bowed one last time to our group. ~Trust one another when the time comes. Don't give up on your family.~ Harper and Crimson gripped the others hands while Ryan linked with me and Crimson. ~Farewell.~
Qiaw shot into the sky, but he left us a present. One of his feathers was slowly dancing towards me. I unlinked with Ryan and held my palms open. The feather slowly fluttered into my hands. "Thank you Qiaw," I whispered.
I tucked the feather in my bag. We all looked at each other and nodded our heads in agreement. Then, Harper went down.