Fledging

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

                “No.  Absolutely not, are you insane Kenneth?”

                “It would be a good idea to have her just in case anything happens on the way there.”

             “I think they’d find out she was a traitor soon enough so she wouldn’t be able to help us escape a fight at all.”

                “But if it comes to a fight she will be incredibly helpful.”

               “Except for when we get to the capital.  It will be because of her that we’ll have to fight them.  And given that I’m going there to find my family, I don’t think it would give off the best first impression of me coming home with a monster like her in my company.”

                “Araceli!”

                “I’m sorry, what else am I supposed to think of the creature that has been nothing but horror stories for me since hatch hood?”

                “She’s different than the ones you’ve known, and she’s not the only one either.  There are plenty of the Skaal that are just as peaceable as you and me.”

               “Sorry but I find that very hard to believe.”

              “Believe it or not, it doesn’t matter.  What does matter is your overgeneralization of the Skaal, Dakarai will be able to help us so much on the road whither you can see it or not.”

                I turned away from him, my arms crossed as I scowled at the wall opposite Kenneth and muttered,

“What do you know about overgeneralization?”

                “Plenty, but that’s not the point now.  Just think it over ok?  We still have a few days before we planned to leave.”

                “If I still decide to not include her with us, will you honor my decision?” I looked back at him questioningly.

                “I will, even if I don’t always agree with you, you are the head of this trip and since you are returning home for the first time, I will not do anything to complicate the reunion of your family.”

                “Thank you,” I nodded at him.

                “Of course,” he said evenly.

                “So when are we leaving again?”

I turned to see Alida walking up to us, her shoulder length black hair tied back with a small strip of cloth.

                “I figured it would be nice to stay here for a few more days and relax as well as make up a plan for our travels before we leave.  Does two more days sound good to you?”

                “Sure, we’ve been here for two days already.  It’s nice, but honestly it’s a little weird being under the earth.”

                And being around so many Skaal I thought to myself.  Oddly enough, over the past few days we had spent here with the Kundi-Amani, I had found myself forgetting a number of times of where we were in relation to the sky.  It seemed that even though Alida and I both weren’t comfortable here, it was for different reasons altogether.

                “Right, well we shouldn’t be here for too much longer.  Should we take this time now to find a place a little more secluded to discuss our plans?”