Teresa remained on the boat as her servants went to obtain the corpse of her neice’s mother. She would rather not touch the diseased-ridden flesh nor did she ever feel that secure in touching the deceased in the first place. Sure, she’d frequently kill things to eat, but that was different than touching a dead body of a being that had been intelligent and sentient. She supposed it was her form of respect in not desiring to touch them, but she never dwelled too long on such thoughts.
Once the servants had returned with the body, she gave them distinctive instructions on where to bring the body and what to do with it. Once done informing the men of the church which held the rest of Maria’s family under its ground, Teresa stepped off the boat. She bowed her head at her men then bid them farewell, assuring them that she’d be able to handle the rest of her trip on foot from here on and will return home soon.
So, Maria dwelled in the town long enough to gather food and supplies for her search. She tarried long enough to see the house where she visited Zack burst into flames. A deep frown passed on her lips as she witnessed the burning and it deepened as she sensed that Zack was still alive and fleeing the area. It seemed like such a pity to destroy a perfectly good house just because it held bad memories for oneself, but she choose not to chase after the man.
So, the woman ventured off into the jungle in search of her missing niece. She spent several days trudging through the thick foilage until finally coming across a small abandoned basket near the edge fo the river. The basket was covered with algae and other vegitation and also slowly deteriorating. But, there was no signs that the basket had been breached in order to give a predator the chance to take the meat that once was within. So, Teresa choose to continue on.
It took her yet another few days, but she finally came across a small tribal village that resided a bit inland from the river. Once there, she located a woman who had found Maria’s child and taken her up as her own. Teresa spent some time bargaining with the woman, insisting that she was family until she finally was able to take the child away. After parting with several of her supplies and other precoius metals that the woman had decorated her outfit with, Teresa stepped out of the village.
Glancing down at the infant in her hands, Teresa studied her for any signs of deformaties or illnesses. Once she was certain that the child was safe and healthy, the woman nodded to herself. The dragon considered taking the child home with her for a bit, desiring to insure that the girl would be safe within her own care. However, Teresa knew that the rest of her family would figure out that the girl was not just a human. Thus, she could not take the girl home.
So, Teresa pondered her dillema for a few hours before finally thinking of the island that she heared Zack mention. The inhabitants of Halcyon were seperated from the rest of the world and had more lax laws than those who dwelled amoung humans. Certainly, the girl would be safe there.
Thus, that night, Teresa took to the air and carried the girl to the island named Halcyon. From there, the dragon found a safe location where the girl was bound to be found and then left again. After insuring that the girl would be safe, Teresa leapt into the air and returned home. Her hopes were that the girl would make it to adulthood.
That following morning, a large raptor by the name of Kerash bumped into the girl. Thus ends our tale and starts another tale, but that is for another time.