Going Home

Chapter Six

Kaida ignored the aching of her feet as she continued to move forward. She much preferred traveling with Draco, as she didn't have to walk as much, or as fast. Aquila moved quickly with her powerful wings, and rarely gave Kaida time to rest. The bird had to constantly loop around, however, since Kaida was much slower. She was very good at making sure Kaida ate though, and so Kaida was almost never hungry anymore. And yet her heart longed to go back to the purple and black dragon that she had befriended.

"We will stop here,'' Aquila said as she hovered in front of Kaida. Kaida nodded, and flopped down into the tall grass, hiding her from the world. She yawned, and sat back up, looking around. Very faintly, she heard a quiet growl, and turned to look behind her. She saw sad purple eyes in the trees that turned away once Kaida saw them. Kaida watched as the familiar purple and black dragon flew away, leaving Kaida's heart heavy. She brought her knees up to her chest, and hugged them tightly, staring at the ground. She heard Aquila huff, and she looked up at the bird.

"I don't see why you're so sad. He's just a stupid dragon," the eagle insulted. Kaida glared at the bird.

"He's my friend," Kaida growled. "So you better not insult him anymore."

Aquila was silent for a moment, before laughing quietly and shaking her feather head. "You seem to care for him very much. I don't understand why, since he's a danger to you. But if you want me to, I will go get him. If you trust him enough that is."

Kaida nodded and the bird sighed. "Then I will go get him." Aquila paused for a moment, and she tilted her head. "Perhaps you will be more friendly with me then." Her voice was filled with wry amusement.

Kaida watched as the bird flew off, and she waited patiently for the bird to get back. She didn't believe that the bird would get Draco, and so she just sat there, knowing she might never see her friend again. She was about to lay back down when she heard a soft chirp off to her left. She turned to look, and saw a creature she recognized well.

A scorpion... she had seen a few when she went up to her grandparents house, though this one was different than all the ones she had previously seen. it was mainly black, though its stinger and claws were purple. Kaida stood, and stared at the small creature that stood by her foot. She recognized it as the constellation Scorpius, though nearly everyone knew this one due to the zodiac. It moved towards her, and she yelped and moved away.

The scorpion continued to follow her, and she continued to dance around, trying to avoid it. After several minutes of this, the scorpion stopped moving, in which Kaida responded by not moving. As she stared at the creature, a purple mist began swirling around it and in a heartbeat, the arachnid disappeared and in its place stood a tiny humanoid scorpion. It could probably fit on the palm of her hand.

"I'm not going to hurt you,'' a squeaky voice rang through the trees. Kaida kneeled down, and allowed the scorpion to approach her. It was tiny, barely the height of the bottom of her palm to the tip of her middle finger. She gently scooped it up, and it held onto her fingers as she stood up. She smiled at the small humanoid scorpion, who smiled in return, before looking down.

"You don't mind if I change back into my other form? This one is uncomfortable," the tiny creature asked. Kaida shook her head.

"Go ahead," she said. The same purple mist surrounded the creature, and it changed back into a scorpion. Kaida smiled, and gently lifted the scorpion up onto her shoulder, where it gratefully went, and Kaida waited for her guide to come back by sitting on a rock.

She stared around the trees, seeing nothing but different shades of green and brown. She spoke of random things to the scorpion, who listened, but said nothing as a scorpion cannot speak. Eventually, Kaida heard the sound of wings above her, and she looked up to see Aquila leading Draco toward her. She stood and stared at the dragon, who was watching her nervously as he gently landed, not even a leaf shaking to his large paws touching the ground.