You Owe Me Two

Chapter 15 - Animal Education

××Wild××

Zypher shooed the black and gray stingray away, who I named Onyx, when he flew too close to his face in an attempt to land on one of his shoulders. I could clearly tell he wasn't fond of them but Onyx couldn't seem to take the hint.

Zypher had no choice but to deal with them being close because he hadn't left my side since we left Seraville. And the rays liked to be right next to me it seemed. Link and Skip flew in circles around me as we began picking up our little campsite.

"Maybe we should figure out what they really need to eat," Zypher commented, glancing at Onyx as he picked at the darker green grass. We had been feeding them berries but it was possible they needed meat in their diets and couldn't hunt for themselves.

After watching them for a couple days, we surmised that they were babies. They were so clumsy and clingy.

"How do we do that? Is there a library in the next town?" I questioned, a worried tone entering my voice.

"I think so. Don't worry about it," Zypher soothed, helping me put my arms through my backpack straps. We had purchased one to be able to hide the rays if we needed to. They all flew in as soon as Zypher held the top open. They enjoyed being lazy and getting carried.

Zypher covered up the remnants of our fire and led us back to the path, taking hold of my hand without thought. I couldn't help but smile to myself.

It didn't take long to reach Brownswick City and as soon as we began seeing buildings, people began to greet us. Calling out to welcome us to the city or to simply say hello. It seemed everyone was excited and happy here.

I tried my best to be polite to all the people who greeted us but Zypher wasn't too happy about them getting any closer and speaking to us. He pulled us all over the city before I finally got so tired of walking in circles.

I pulled Zypher to a stop with much resistance and stopped a woman walking down the street beside us. Her long braid fell over her shoulder as she turned to us with a huge smile.

"Hi there!" She greeted.

"Could you direct us to your library?" I questioned.

"Of course! Go down that street and you'll hit Main Street. If you keep going straight, you'll be at the library!" She explained, pointing down a smaller back street between two large homes.

"Thank you so much," I said, truly grateful for the directions.

"You're welcome!"

Zypher whisked me away from the conversation immediately after, yanking me down the correct street while giving me a mock angry look.

"Sorry, I guess your direction skills aren't that great," I teased, looking away as his head swung towards me.

"Shut your mouth," Zypher grumbled, pulling me to his side and ruffling my hair. Little chirps sounded from my bag and Zypher reluctantly let go when they only got louder. As soon as his arm moved, they calmed down and I couldn't help but laugh at his defeated expression.

It didn't take long before we were approaching a giant red brick building. It looked to have three floors and towered over the shops around it. Above the entrance, sat a large gold sign labeled Brownswick Library.

I grabbed Zyphers arm to get his attention and pointed towards a smaller sign near the front door. No Pets Allowed was clearly printed across it.

"I don't care. You aren't going in alone and you aren't staying out here alone." Zypher grabbed my hand and pulled me inside the library behind him.

We let the outside world close behind us and quickly became immersed in the larger than life library. The walls were lined with bookshelf upon bookshelf.

Zypher tried taking us into a random aisle and I immediately pulled him back to locate someone who worked in the building. A faun directed us to the area that held books on foreign and native animal species.

Zypher allowed us to take different sides of the shelf so he could still see me, but we would move faster. They resembled stingrays but certain parts of their 'wings' didn't match right so I skipped over the water species books.

Books about flying animals seemed promising though. I chose a book simply labeled Flying Beasts. I had a better chance of finding them in here rather than going through all the books for the different continents.

I opened up the first couple pages and skimmed through the index. It truly was a full compilation of all recorded flying species. Everything from dragons to griffins, pegasi to ravens, and the list went on.

If Zypher and I were right, they were stingray related and may be named the same. I drug my finger down the line of s names and was surprised to actually find one.

Stingray Dragon, Page 879

I flipped the pages and quickly found what I was looking for. The exact page we were looking for. A few drawings of full grown stingray dragons littered the page, clearly showing the same body form and colorings as our small pets.

They were herbivores meaning that the berries we had been giving them were perfectly fine for their digestion. They could grow to be at most 6 feet from the base of their tail to the tip of their nose and could have a wingspan of 16 feet long.

They definitely wouldn't be able to fit in my backpack when they got older.

A hand landed on my shoulder and I jumped, looking up quickly. I was expecting to be facing Zypher but instead I was staring at a man I didn't know. Dark blue hair and deep purple eyes; eyes that were watching my every move. I glanced at the hand still placed on my shoulder and looked back at him, confused.

"I'm very sorry. I just wished to gain your attention," Purple eyes said, smiling sweetly afterwards.

"It's alright. Is there something you needed?" I asked, smiling nervously as I tried to slyly glance around for Zypher.

"You just seem really familiar," Purple eyes said, getting a little closer as he looked over my features.

"I don't think we've met," I said, taking a larger step back. My fake smile fell into an annoyed frown quickly.

"Maybe not but I think you should come with me," He rushed, reaching towards me and latching his hand around my arm.

Taking advantage of the large book in my hands, I slammed it into his chest with as much strength I could muster. He promptly dropped his hand and began gasping to try to suck in the air he had lost.

I didn't give him a chance to recover and turned to run. I raced around the side of the bookshelf and quite literally ran into Zyphers chest.

He took one look at my face and tensed. His eyes shot behind me as he pulled me closer and locked an arm tightly around my waist.

"What's going on?" Zypher questioned, his eyes darting in every direction.

"There was a guy who tried to grab me," I breathed. I tried glancing through the books to the other side to find him but not a soul could be seen.

"What did he look like?" Zypher barked, finally deciding to leave the library. A couple jumped out of our way when Zypher and I burst through the door.

"Blue hair I think and really deep purple eyes," I mumbled, using a hand to brush hair out of my flustered face.  Zypher looked a little stunned at the description.

"We need to leave. Now."