The sky shadow roars as Pigeon expertly dodges him, and his eyes light up with excited challenge as he dives off the tree in pursuit. I feel like Slider inTop Gunas I try to keep track of the bogey, but the fact that Zeph’s gryphon is almost pitch black does not help with that task.
I’m waiting for him to show up inverted right above us, but Pigeon is seemingly in heaven as she finally gets the game of cat and mouse she’s been begging for since we first spoke.
I squeal in anticipation, not able to contain it.“I lost him, Pidge,”I shout out and then immediately go quiet so we can feel the air for him.
Pigeon flashes me agot himtwo milliseconds before she dives to the left, and the sky shadow goes screaming past us, missing us by only a feather. He flips back so he can come for us again, but now it’s really on. Pigeon dashes through the sky like a speeding falling star, just begging for some poor sap to make a wish.
I can practically hear the wind as it screams past us and our breakneck speed, and I love every fucking minute of it.
“Go!”I scream with glee when I can feel the sky shadow almost on our tail.
Pigeon blows my mind when she puts up the flaps and flips back going Machholy fucking shit, tapping the sky shadow on the back as she evades him in some gravity defying, cat-bendy move.
I laugh so hard at the badass boop she just gave him, all because she could. A deeper chuffing noise sounds off below us, and I’m stupefied into silence.
Is Zeph’s gryphon...laughing?
He grabs our paw and yanks us down out of nowhere, and Ioh shitscream and then crack up when Pigeon releases this surprised squeal. The sky shadow rolls us onto our back, and we twirl and swoop, swirl and loop around each other in a stunning display of flying and finesse.
I watch in awe as the gryphons play and tag each other, moving seamlessly through the sky like they can anticipate each other’s moves. The carefree happiness that’s radiating out of Pigeon right now makes me want to cry, because she’s deserved this from the beginning. This is all she’s wanted from the very beginning, this simple act of trust and play. She’s wanted to chase and be chased and just be free to be a gryphon.
I send her waves of warmth and love as she streaks through the night, finally letting go and just being who she was always meant to be. She was trapped inside of me for so long, and I’m overwhelmed by the beauty and rightness of her much-deserved freedom.
Pigeon dives down and nips at the sky shadow’s ear, and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face if I tried, because this...Pigeon and I...is perfection. Andthisis how things should always be.
17
“Does it hurt her, dad?” I ask, pulling my hand away from the little pig with the black mark like daddy’s on her back. She scampers away with little piggy grunts, sniffing at the grass.
“It stings her a little, My Heart, but she’s helping me teach you to protect yourself, so she doesn’t mind. We’ll make sure to give her extra treats and cuddles as soon as we’re done,” he reassures me.
“I don’t want to hurt Princess, even if it is only a little,” I tell him, tears welling in my eyes.
My dad’s bright green gaze softens, and he gets on his knees in front of me. “I know, My Heart. I love that you want to look after her. How about we try just one more time? You focus really hard on everything I’ve told you, and if you do it right, then we’ll never do it again,” he offers me.
I study him and then Princess for a moment. “Not ever?” I ask, making sure he means it.
“Ever,” he agrees.
I take a deep breath and nod once. He gets to his feet and goes to get Princess, then brings her back and sets her down in front of me again. I rest my hand on the mark dad gave her earlier and try to remember everything he said I had to do. Princess squirms a little, and I use my other hand to hold her still. Dad said I have to touch the magic if I want to stop it.
I close my eyes and focus. “Nusht fialow odreece tamod kle,” I declare confidently, and I feel the magic under my hand crumble like my sandcastles do at the beach when dad and I play dragon horde and climb all over them.
Princess gives a pained squeal, and I let her go, immediately feeling bad for hurting her. Dad scoops me up, a huge smile on his face, and hugs me tightly. “Yes, My Heart, that’s exactly right,” he tells me proudly.
But I don’t feel right, I feel sad for hurting my friend.
“Don’t cry, my girl. Princess will be okay. We’ll give her some special treats, and you’ll see that she’s just fine. Now you know how to protect yourself from harm if you ever need to,” he reassures me as he wipes tears from my cheeks.
“Why would I need to?” I ask, my voice hiccupping with emotion.
“Mommy and I will do everything we can to make sure you never have to; this is just in case.”
“For safety?” I ask, repeating what he said to me at the start of today’s lesson.
“That’s exactly right, My Heart. You touch the magic, think about what you want, and then you order the magic to do what you want it to do. You have to mean every word, just like you did today, and then you can keep yourself safe.”
I give him a small smile and rest my head on his shoulder. “Can me and Princess have ice cream now?”
