Evanescence

Chapter 4: Fern

Present day

Today, Cameron is going to attempt to ride Hermes, the griffin he raised from an egg. This is going to be interesting. Ivy thinks this is a really bad idea.
She's probably right, which is one of the reasons I'm coming along. That way, if Cameron falls off, I can make sure he doesn't end up as a puddle on the ground.
Hermes has grown fast. Ivy didn't agree with Cameron's choice of name, so she came up with a bunch of different ones.
"Hey, griffy, you ready for this?"
Case in point.
I flittered over to where Ivy was standing, her fingers gently brushing Hermes' white fur. To our surprise, the griffin had turned out to be albino.
Cameron waltzed up with a saddle that he'd made. He smiled at Hermes and brought out a rabbit.
"You want it? Huh? Huh?"
"You'd better take it, Herm, else he'll probably just snatch it away."
"He has a name, you know."
"Yes, I know. Why did you name him Hermes? Of all the things you could have named him, you chose HERMES?"
"Hey, my griffin, I get to choose the name. I almost died getting him, so I think that makes me worthy."
Ivy snorted. "Yeah, you probably would have died if we hadn't come along. So we should have got to help name him!"
"Guys!" I interrupted. "We don't have all day! Sort out your problems later."
They both glared at me. Cameron sighed and saddled up Hermes. The griffin shifted nervously at the new found weight, and we all backed up a few inches. He took a few minutes to get used to it, and Cameron crept closer. He hesitantly put his foot in the stirrup.
Hermes didn't move. Cameron put his full weight on his foot. Still no reaction. Taking that as permission to continue, Cameron swung his leg over the griffin's back and sat in the saddle.
Moments later, Hermes and Cameron were just a speck in the sky. I thought  I could hear Cameron swearing, but he was too far away for me to actually hear what he was saying.
The speck split in two. Crap. I sprung upwards, flapping furiously. Cameron fell faster as I zipped over the trees. He was just about to get smacked by a branch. I managed to stretch a little further, my fingertips groping for his shirt, his arm, anything to stop him falling. I had a mini heart attack when I felt nothing.
My fingers brushed against something rough, and I clenched my fist shut on the back on Cameron's shirt. He looked up and gave me a stubborn look.
"So, that didn't work," I said.
"Ya don't say!"
"Ivy's going to be ma-ad," I singsonged.
"Yeah, and so will I if you don't stop STRANGLING ME!"
"You can be such a baby sometimes." Nevertheless, I adjusted my grip so that I was no longer choking him. Cameron pointed out Ivy as we returned to where we had started.
I deposited Cameron in front of Ivy. Right away, she walked up and slapped him.
"You idiot! Why do you have such a frickin death wish?! Of all the stupid things to do..."
It was kind of funny watching Cameron get scolded by a girl that was a year younger and a good two feet shorter. He put his hands out in front of him and shrank back against a tree as she punctuated her yelling with kicks and punches.
I smiled inwardly. Ivy would never show it, but I knew that she had been shaken up when Cameron fell. I also knew that she was happy that he was okay, although she had a funny way of showing it.
When Ivy paused for breath, I took the opportunity to dart between them. As Ivy lashed out, I grabbed her hands in mine.
"Okay, Ivy, he knows it was a stupid idea-"
"IT WAS NOT A STUPID IDEA!"
I glared at Cameron, like, I'm trying to HELP you, dummy!, before turning back to Ivy.
"Anyways, I think he's had enough abuse for today. Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I have a griffin to track down. Where did that dumb thing go?"
I took off, my eyes searching the sky for a griffin. Future-wise, Cameron got lucky. At some point in our schooling, everyone gets to choose a magical creature as a pet/companion/comrade to be their battle partner. We're always at war with someone, often fae.
Okay, getting off track. Griffins are both fierce and loyal, the animal all boys seem to want. They're also extremely hard to catch and nearly impossible to tame, so raising one from an egg is a huge advantage.
I growled when I still didn't find Hermster (another one of Ivy's names) after five minutes. Where the heck could he have gone? I mean, seriously, how do you lose an albino griffin?
I turned back. Oh well. Hermes would find Cameron. Eventually.
When I landed, my two best friends seemed to have settled their disagreement. That was good, because once they got started, the two of them were like cats and dogs. They seemed to get mad at each other for no good reason. I didn't understand what was wrong with them sometimes.
"Did you find him?"
"Nope."
"How do you lose an albino griffin?
I guess I wasn't the only one wondering that.
"I don't know. Maybe he went back to your house."
Cameron shuddered.
"So long as he didn't land on it. Other wise, that'd be a nightmare."
"Speaking of houses," Ivy remarked. "I've got to get home. Don't we have that huge folklore project due tomorrow?"
Alarm bells sounded in my head.
"F-folklore project?" I asked.
Ivy's eyes widened.
"Yeah. I'm pretty sure it's due tomorrow."
"What project would that be, again?"
Cameron grimaced. "That project was a nightmare." A year older than us, he'd already taken the class.
"What. Project?" I exploded, exasperated.
"It was assigned a week ago. Research a time period of lore, and find five stories based in it, their authors, who they were based on, blah blah blah."
I didn't hear the rest as I raced back to my tiny cottage to try to do a week's worth of work in one afternoon.