Humans and Monsters: Pride and Wing

Monsters 5.3

"I didn't think of this through!" I said as I'm falling down. Loss of balance from an unexpected weight on my back. The unknown thing that created its weight. I was about to cry myself out of fear and there's-

"Nyooo!" A familiar voice calls out behind my back. As the calls out, we kept going down. However, Could it be? Could that "dangerous thing be...

"Raisa, please... calm down! Fo- F- Focus!!!" That voice... It's Nero! I looked behind and I saw him clinging onto me. His hands are getting tighter and his face is getting nervous.

"Nero!" I gladly said in a loud voice. My fears are slightly gone. However, he shut his eyes

"Ah! My ears!" Nero said as he had his ears twitched and shy away.

I have gained a bit of confidence and I'm trying to fly up. Instead, I've lunged into a tree head first. Dizzy and dazed, it instantly removes my ability to fly. Before I've started to fall again, I saw Nero's arms stretched out and stuck his claws into the tree's trunk.

I can't move. However, he didn't let me go. We slid down for a while with his nails leaving a mark but it later turns into a complete stop.

My dizziness is starting to vanish and I tried to look at his face. He's in pain and looks like he's going to cry. I looked at his hands, it's full of splinters.

"Ow, ow, ow..." Nero said with his eyes closed, still in pain. Some parts of his fingers are starting to bleed. Splintered fingers, some turned blue.

"Nero-" I wanted to apologize to him but he stopped me with his words.

"It's okay, I know... I'm sorry too." He apologized to me too, but I'm still worried about his injury. I started to hug the tree as I felt that he can't hold on much longer. A silence started to occur, nothing happened.

"Hey, are you alright?" Nero asked. The silence broke. I looked around, nothing changed.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." I said nervously. I breathed out a sigh of relief. However, he breathes heavily.

"Don't worry about me! I'm okay too!" He said full of energy. He's back to his old self.

"OK!" I said with much confidence as I can and forced a smile.

"Yep, your parents will start to pick us up by now..." Nero said as he looks above with great intent. Good! My are about to p- WAIT!

"My parents are here?!" I asked in surprise, but I didn't see them from what Nero's looking at. Instead, I have frantically looked left and right to see and find them.

"Please... don't... move..." Nero said in pain, again.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" I replied and shyly stopped on moving.

"So..." I continued. "Will it be a while?"

"No, I don't think so." Nero said as he looks above more intently and from him, I looked the same way.

Now, I can see Mika in a confident stance but carried by Lahn's mother. She had returned to her old self, after the thing she did and after she dropped her hat. However, I've heard a pair of wings flapping from behind and coming close too.

"Raisa..." A familiar voice has said my name in a caring manner. The sounds of hover came close, now beside me. Could it be...

I looked at my side and shouted with the greatest joy in my voice: "MOM!"

"Nero, you can let go now." She said as she patted him on the head. Nero struggled to let go as his claws are deep into the tree, but successful in the end. My mother caught the both of us and makes her way on to another tree's branch, near to the other creepy one with Mika's hat. Mika landed down to where we are, looking confidently despite after everything that happened a moment ago.