The Guardian

Something stops me

"Friend!" He said with an open smile. Rosslyn seemed glad to meet a new friend, but we we didn't have a lot of time to waste, so I butted in. "Yes, friend. Now can you be a really good friend and move for us? We really need to-" Bilo stomped his feet on the ground, shaking the floor, and accidentally interrupting us as he laughed. "Friend! Friend! Friend!" As he was celebrating, I saw something creep up his neck. A long pink snake with white eyes. He hissed at us before speaking. "Bilo, these aren't friends, you don't know them."

Honestly, a talking snake would be surprising, but by now I've talked to at least four animals so I kinda just assumed they would all talk, and if that's the case, I have some serious words for the chicken that keeps pecking at my butt when I feed them.
Rosslyn looked up at the snake, creeping out of Bilo's shell and immediately started scowling. "Bilo really is our friend. We're the bestest of best friends." The snake snickered. "Then what's his favorite color?"

Bilo slowly looked over at Rosslyn with that same gaping smile. Rosslyn took a good long look at him and guessed. "Green." The snake laughed. "No you imbecile. It's-" Before he could correct her, Bilo started stomping his feet laughing. "She's right, I love green!"

The snake looked at Bilo like he was crazy. "Wait a minute, last week it was yellow!"
Rosslyn just crossed her arms like she knew all along. "Told ya." The snake darted towards Rosslyn, opening his mouth wide to chomp her up, but he stopped right before he got to her. The end of his tail was stuck in Bilo's shell. He must've been stuck in there, thinking it was uninhabited. The snake just snarled at Rosslyn then slithered back up Bilo's shell.

"Bilo sorry. Benji doesn't trust strangers."
Rosslyn smiled at Bilo reassuringly.
"It's ok, Bilo... So, do you mind if we get by you? We're trying to get out of Eagle Tree and your kinda in the way and-" before she could finish, Bilo yawned and sat down, blocking our path again.

"Hey, big guy! You're in our way!" Bilo fully layed down with his arms stretched out in front of him. His eyes closed and he started snoring loudly. Rosslyn jumped onto his big head and tried jumping on it to wake him up, but she was too small and he was too sleepy. "Ahh screw it. Let's just go over him."

I put my backpack on and tried jumping on his neck, but his skin was so loose that I fell off. I tried to not wake him, after all I didn't wanna be rude, but I don't think I could wake him up if I tried. I got back up and grabbed on to his loose skin while scaling him like a mountain. Right as I made it on top he mumbled in his sleep and started turning his head to the side. Me and Rosslyn ran on him as he turned, trying not to fall off and get crushed. I tripped as he stopped and fell down, grabbing his neck so I didn't fall down.

Rosslyn grabbed my hand and tried to pull me up but she had the strength of a rat, not a dragon. Regardless it's the thought that counts. I pulled myself up and made my way to the shell, balancing on his long neck like a tight rope. Me and Rosslyn made our way to the boulder and started climbing up it, which was a lot easier horizontaly than vertically.

Rosslyn ran up ahead of me waiting for me at the end of the shell while jumping up and down. "Hurry up slow poke, we need to-"
Before she could finish, Benji popped up from behind her and wrapped tightly around her. I shouldered my backpack and ran to her, but I felt the boulder start to raise. Bilo started raising his head, yawning and stretching his arms up. I felt myself start to slide down his shell. As I picked up speed I aimed for Benji, getting ready to tackle him as I passed.

I leaped right before the edge and aimed to tackle the snake that had my friend, but right before I grabbed them, they served to the right, and I went flying, landing on my face as I hit the ground. I scrambled to get up, and Bilo was standing on his hind legs, slowly tipping back. Benji still had Rosslyn in a tight chokehold. I ran to try and grab him as he hung from Bilo's shell, but tripped over one of the rocks Bilo shed.

The giant boulder shell started falling down, but if Rosslyn got choked, it wouldn't matter if I got crushed or not. I grabbed a rock to my right and turned to chuck it at Benji. By the time he saw the rock soaring at him, it was too late. It slammed him in the face and Rosslyn fell. I sprinted over to catch her just as Bilo's shell smashed into the ground.

Bilo started snoring louder after nearly killing us by changing his sleeping position. After Benji got his focus back, he had his eyes on Rosslyn. He lunged to bite her, but I did something that she wouldn't appreciate to save her. She screamed as I chucked her behind me, out of Benji's reach. He got stopped, stuck on Bilo's shell, unable to get any closer. Then he darted his eyes towards me. "Oh no."

Before I could get up to run, he wrapped around my neck and started dragging me back. My backpack fell off my back as he drug me as close to Bilo as he could, then he started slamming my head against Bilo's shell again and again. I was starting to see stars when I saw what looked like a bird, or a plane, or... A frying pan, flying directly at me. It slammed against my face, knocking me over, and I could faintly hear Rosslyn yell "Sorry!" In a guilty tone.

Choking to death by a turtle snake didn't seem like my way of dying, but considering the fact that the only person that could save me was a rat with a frying pan, I was already getting ready to see the heaven gates. My vision was too blurry to see much of anything, but I at least knew Rosslyn was trying her best.

Right before my eyes popped out of my skull, Benji's grip loosened as his head fell to the floor. I gasped for air as I kicked away from him. When I finally got my focus back I looked over to see what happened and sure enough, Rosslyn was holding the frying pan she chucked at me. Seeing a little rat holding something four times their size was a strange sight, even after everything I've seen today.

"Look, Harlen! I think my strength is coming back!" She was doing a little jump for celebration. I let her celebrate knowing the pan she was holding was lightweight.
After all she did save my life just now so I might as well.