Wonderer's Wish World: An Empty Land

Stories of Beginnings and Endings

"Here you go," Bipo said, dropping Kipo down at the place where they had picked her up.

Kipo steadied herself on the ledge, more to give herself time to think rather then because she was actually losing her balance. "Thank you."

Both Kipo and Bipo were silent for a second, each feeling the important of this moment weighing on them.

This... was most likely it. Kipo wasn't planning to stick around too long after this, and Bipo couldn't travel with them anymore, now that they had their own family to fly with. It was likely, more than likely, that this was their last goodbye.

Kipo felt choked up, but she also felt grateful. All too often nowadays, she never got to say anything else to the people she cared about. Adam, Alice, Dib and the rest of them were gone before Kipo could even process that there wouldn't be a next time. After everything, she had always wondered what she would have said to them, if she could. There was a million things she wanted to say... but would any of it have meant anything?

That was the thing about hindsight. But Kipo refused to spend hours and hours regretting this goodbye later. She had a chance... and she would take it.

"...We're both going home," Kipo finally said, looking over at Bipo. "Right?"

Bipo fixed her with a stare that was impossible to decipher. "That's true."

Kipo took in a breath, staring out into the valley before her. She tried to think of something to say next, but Bipo beat her to it.

"I didn't really want to go to the bone dragons, actually," they said. Kipo gave them a surprised look.

"You don't?"

"I didn't," Bipo corrected. "I wanted to stay with you all. The only reason I did was because Adam died, and clearly, the bone dragons were going to hurt, or kill, more of you if I didn't go with them."

Kipo winced. When she thought back to it, and she did, often, she only saw mistakes. Most notably, the one that got Adam killed, but also the fact that she clearly kidnapped Bipo, stole them from their home... and then forced them back without a second thought.

"I... Bipo, I'm so sorry," she told them, completely genuine. "I had no idea-."

"It's fine," Bipo said, flatly. "In the end, I'm glad I did. I learned a lot through the bone dragons, more than if I had kept running away from them. For one, I learned that trick with Hurricane, and how to flew better and all that, but I also learned about family. My family, the bone dragons."

Kipo listened closely, fascinated, but also out of respect for her old friend.

"I'll spare you the details," Bipo said dismissively, and though Kipo wanted to tell them 'no, GIVE ME THE DETAILS', she kept silent. "Basically, the bone dragons' herd is a community of sorts, and they all take care of each other and help one another like equals. They solve things communally, and it reminded me of you, me, Wirt and Adam."

Kipo cringed before she could stop herself, and Bipo seemed to catch it. Neither of them said anything, but Kipo saw Bipo's shoulders slump before they continued.

The reminder came with a realization. They were the only two left from that time. Kipo felt her breath hitch before she pushed that thought away.

"Right," Bipo said, their voice strained. "Anyway, I guess I didn't really fit in. Perhaps, with time, I would have found my place and travelled with the community until I was big. But I don't really want to do that, I want to do what we did, and travel the world, finding new things instead of just flew around. That... got boring quick.