Wings

It was early in the morning when Mariposa woke up again. She was just about to get herself out of bed when she realized that she wasn't alone.

Catania was curled up into her; arms wrapped snugly around Mariposa and a small smile on her face. She was still fast asleep.

Mariposa debated on whether she should get up or not. She should finish getting packed for the trip back. But Catania was so warm...

Making her decision, she cuddled up closer to Catania. She could finish packing later.

Mariposa woke up again about an hour later to find that Catania had gotten up. And, much to her confusion, Talayla was there too.

"Morning, guys." She said as she sat up, stretching out her arms.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Catania greeted, smiling in her direction.

Mariposa scoffed playfully. "You can't call me that I was up before you."

"Evidence suggests otherwise," Catania replied, walking over to the edge of the bed.

Mariposa sighed playfully. "Fine, I guess you have a point." She turned her attention to Talayla. "Anyway, what are you doing over here so early?"

"Oh, I was looking for Catania since she wasn't in her room. There was no not or anything." Talayla explained. "But I found her! So we're all good."

Mariposa flinched inwardly. She had not thought about the probability of a manhunt if they couldn't find Catania.

"Pshhhh!" Catania waved it off casually. "I would have shown up in time for us to go. Which, by the way, is only in an hour. No one would have noticed if you didn't come checking on me."

That caught Mariposa's attention. "Wait, one hour?"

"Yeah! I hope you're all packed!" Talayla responded.

Mariposa laughed nervously, her stuff was all in her bag, but she had held off on closing it. She remembered what a nightmare it was trying to get it closed the last time, and did not want to relive it a fourth time, especially since Mariposa had new books to put in there.

"You haven't finished, have you?" Catania asked, almost as if reading her mind.

"Not really. All my stuff is there, though." Mariposa replied, "It's just really hard to close, so I've been putting it off."

Catania laughed, "I'll help you with it. All you had to do was ask."

Mariposa smiled gratefully. "Thanks," She said, walking over to her open bag. "Let's get started."

"This should be quick. How much trouble could one little bag be?"

A lot of trouble it seems. It took them almost the full hour, with Talayla joining in to help them.

But, eventually, they got it completely closed. But because it took so long, they had to rush to the meeting point.  They got there only a few minutes before they had to leave.

King Regellius was already there, along with Sophie and two guards. Zee and Any were playing off to the side.

"Sophie? Is she able to fly already?" Catania asked, walking over to the pegasus in question. 

"She is, but she should still take it easy. That means only riding her if absolutely necessary." The King replied.

Catania wrapped her arms around Sophie for a brief hug. "I'm so glad you're feeling better, Sophie!"

Sophie whinnied and pawed at the ground in response.

The King cleared his throat. "Alright. Are we ready to go?" 

Talayla did a headcount, then nodded. "Yep, we're all ready!"

"Then we'd better get going, I want to get at least halfway before it gets dark." the King said, flying off towards the edge of Shimmervale, the guards flying with him.

Catania held Mariposa's hand as they followed after her father.

"Mariposa, what should we expect when we see Flutterfield?" The King asked, glancing back at her. 

"Should we be worried about the fairy-eating trees?" Talayla asked. "Or the spikes, or the-"

Mariposa laughed, cutting Talayla iff. "No, you don't have to worry about any of that. Flutterfield is had a lot of passive trees and glowing flowers. To put it simply."

"Interesting. I look forward to seeing it." The King said, looking ahead again.

"It sounds beautiful," Catania said, giving Mariposa a small smile. 

"It is. But it doesn't have anything as beautiful as glow waterfalls, though." Mariposa replied.

"Maybe, but I'm sure it has something close to it." 

"The view at night is pretty amazing. I have to say." 

"Is there anything else?"

They continued talking for hours while they flew. Sometimes Talayla or King Regellius joined in. But it was mostly Catania and Mariposa.

They didn't even notice when it got dark until Talayla pointed it out.

"Your Majesty? It's getting pretty dark out." She said, glancing around.

"We'll only go a bit further; then we'll find shelter for the night." The King replied, waving her off.

He seemed to have forgotten about the skeezites, but Mariposa didn't say anything. What was the chance that a skeezite would find them in that short amount of time?

It was a few minutes later when she heard it.

"Hey, Do you smell that?" A voice said it sounded distant. Mariposa could barely hear it.

"Yeah, It smells like butterfly fairy." a different voice said. "But, there's something else too. Something strange."

Mariposa tensed up, looking around for anywhere to hide.

Catania looked at her, concern on her face. "What is it?" She whispered.

"Those are skeezites. I need to hide." Mariposa whispered back.

Catania nodded and flew up to her father. "Father, we need to find a place to stop. It's dangerous for Mariposa out here at dark." 

King Regellius looked back at Mariposa, who kept glancing back at where she heard the voices.

He sighed, nodding his head. "Very well."

"Thank you. There's a cave down there. We can hide in until day." Catania said, pointing at it.

Mariposa sighed in relief, flying down to the cave and heading in, everyone else following behind her.

Once they were all in the cave, she heard the voices again.

"Hey! I can't smell nothin' no more." The first voice said, louder this time. They were flying past the cave.

"Aw, I was looking forward to a snack." The second voice replied.

The voices were getting softer now, and soon they were gone completely.

Mariposa let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Alright. Everyone get comfortable; we leave at dawn." The King said.

Mariposa sat down at the back of the cave. Zee laid down next to her, getting as comfortable as she could.

Catania sat down next to her. "That was a close call, huh?"

"It was. I haven't been that close to skeezites since I first left Flutterfield." Mariposa said, yawning quietly.

Catania yawned as well. "We should get some sleep. We have to be up early tomorrow."

Mariposa nodded, leaning against Catania. "Yeah, see you in the morning." She closed her eyes.

Catania wrapped an arm around her. "Good night."

The King watched them with a strange look in his eye. He still didn't know how to feel about his daughter being with a butterfly fairy.

But, Catania seems happy, so he'll leave them be.

Mariposa drifted off to sleep, and her dreams were filled with blue eyes and glowing flowers.