Anaya was relieved when they started their descent back to their campsite. The view from atop the dragon was amazing. She had always dreamed of being able to fly. She remembered watching birds when she was little, wishing she could join them in the sky. She used to pick the biggest trees, and climb all the way to the top, until the branches bent even right next to the trunk so much she didn't trust them to bear the wight of her small body, and imagine she was not in a tree but in the sky with the birds. Her grandmother used to be terrified she would fall, but Anaya had simply laughed, ran away form her and climbed the next tall tree she could find. She'd never fallen.
Flying here, today, on a dragon, had been practically a dream come true. But she hadn't been prepared for how disorienting it would be. Part of it was simply the whole new view of the world. She had never even been to high mountains. The most experience she had in looking down on the world from high up above was from the tops of the trees.
But part of it had been the dragon's vision. The changing view had been dizzying, and after a while her head had began to feel like a blur. It would be good to be on solid, unmoving ground again, firmly planted in place, with a point of view she was used to.
She barely noticed when the dragon landed, the landing was so soft. The others slid down, and she followed them. But as she hit the ground, as her hand left the dragon's back, a wave of dizziness hit her.
As a reflex she bent at the knees, going down to a squat where she couldn't fall, at least not all the way from standing up, and closed her eyes, hiding her head in her arms.
An eyeblink later someone was next to her, a hand on her back.
"Are you okay?" It was Tiu's voice. It helped a little to hear it. Something familiar, firm and solid in a way that the dragon's wasn't. Something that helped her orient herself back into the real world, on the ground, in the forest, on her feet. She tried nodding, but after half a nod decided against it.
"What did you do to her?" Tiu wasn't talking to her anymore, Anaya realised after a second. Tiu was talking over Anaya's back. To the dragon.
'I am sorry,' came the dragon's voice. Inside her head. The others wouldn't hear it. The voice pulled her in, away the same way Tiu's planted her here. 'This is what happens when we make our way too deep into the minds of humans we are not anchored to, or let them too deep into ours. We spent a long time in the air, and you saw through my eyes almost the entire time. It will pass, if you give it some time.'
"I thought we were anchored", the words barely made their way past her lips.
'We are not. You are my anchor, I know this, and I believe you know this too, but an anchor on a ship does not do much good unless it is also tightly attached.'
"What's happening?" Tiu's voice was almost commanding this time.
"Too much mind sharing with... dragon," Anaya muttered. "Dizzy, but fine. I just need to rest. I will explain everything after. Okay?"
She lifted her head to look into Tiu's eyes, to let her know she was okay. Or that she would be okay. That Tiu should trust her when she said she was okay. Tiu's eyes were hard with worry, but after a moment she nodded. Anaya lowered her gaze again. Her head was spinning
She turned her attention back to the dragon for a moment longer. "What do we need to do to anchor?"
'There is an old way,' came the dragon's voice. 'It was easy, once upon a time, but I am not sure how much has been lost over the years. We may need to do some seeking first.'
Anaya almost tipped over in her crouch as another wave of dizziness hit her. Tiu caught her and held her up with steady hands.
'But first, my anchor, you need to rest. You need time without me in your head. We will need to take this slowly, so we do not overwhelm your human mind with too much too fast. It will learn, and it will become easier over time, already before the anchoring.'
Anaya nodded, began to stand up. It would have been impossible without Tiu's support.
"We're not going anywhere today. Can you help me to my hammock?"
Tiu must have nodded, because she began slowly guiding Anaya in a direction that seemed completely wrong to Anaya. But she trusted her friend, and soon enough she felt the fabric under her hands, and all but fell into her hammock. She closed her eyes to the swinging of the world, imagining it was only her hammock swinging in the breeze.
"Alright," Tiu had turned away from her, clearly talking to the others. "We're staying here until tomorrow, at least. Anaya will tell what's up later. In the meantime, we need to think about food. We still have some nuts left from the day Kimo was sick? Good. Kimo, see if you can find more fish in that lake. Madiza, can you go see if you can find fruit or edible tubers or something? No need to go too far, but if there's something close by. I'll get started on a fire."
Her voice made Anaya feel better. Her head was still spinning, the world swaying, but a little bit less than it had a moment earlier.
"Just call out if you need something, okay?" Tiu had turned to speak to Anaya again.
"I will," she said, quietly. After a couple of heartbeats she heard Tiu's footsteps, walking away from her.
She lay quietly for a long time, eyes closed, listening to the others go about the camp. She heard splashes and Kimo's shrieks, probably as a fish flung water from the lake all over him. She heard the clack of wood, and then the hum and crackle of a fresh fire, the smell of wood smoke.
And then, something occured to her.
"Do dragons have names?" she said, out loud, but quietly. She didn't think the others could hear her, and didn't know if the dragon could or not. "I know you told me to rest without you in my mind, but tell me this one thing. If you do, I'm sorry it never occurred to me to ask it. Do you have one?"
It was quiet for long enough Anaya thought she'd simply spoken alone, that the dragon couldn't hear her from this far away. But then, for just a moment, the voice filled her mind again.
'Kaneq. My name is Kaneq.'
___________________________________
The topic for tomorrow is Colorful.
~matleena
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