On the same day, the unfathomable event occurred in the hive, claiming the lives of one of the most beloved squadrons in the entire community—the Shaitoots. Khadija had done the unthinkable at the grove.
She had made acquaintance with the Zar-e-zameen and was now talking to her in a semi-casual tone. One might expect Hira, being an absolute powerhouse capable of obliterating an executioner, to be arrogant and full of herself, but she was not. Instead, Khadija discovered that she was extremely introverted and shy.
Khadija pulled out an arrow that had landed near the Zar-e-zameen some minutes ago. She had completely missed her mark, and the arrow had flown halfway across the grove. #212 had sent her to fetch it, saying that she needed discipline.
At first, she felt her heart sink when she saw the arrow lodged right behind the Dragon Bird, but something pushed her forward. Once again, she emerged from the weeds, tiptoeing silently, hit by nostalgia as she cursed under her breath.
Just like the last time, the Zar-e-zameen caught her red-handed and hung her upside down from the tree before she could grab the arrow. Khadija screamed and tried to break free, but no one listened. All the while, Zar-e-zameen stood motionless in front of her face, and then a voice as sweet as the sweetest nectar resounded in Khadija's ear. She immediately felt sleepy.
"What is your name?" The simplest question from someone as majestic as Zar-e-zameen left Khadija laughing awkwardly instead of answering.
"Uhm, sorry. Khadija, and you?" Khadija replied, still hanging upside down from a vine.
"My name is Hira, nice to meet you, go away now," the overly beautiful dragon bird said.
"But i can't walk like this, i'm hanging upside down" Khadija said sarcastically as she looked at Hira.
"Oh i'm sorry" The zar-e-zameen took her down.
Khadija caught a glimpse of something primal hidden under the beautiful mask of power; she sensed a highly introverted and lonely being, which meant there was an opening to be exploited.
Right after landing down, she started asking about the flowers around the field. Being an introverted bird, Hira could not say no and reluctantly, at first, but then openly told her about each one of them. Then, slowly changing the conversation, very carefully, Khadija started buttering her with praises. Living with Isra had taught her well how to deal with introverted maniacs; thus, she employed her strongest weapon—words!
She buttered the Zar-e-zameen left and right, never letting the conversation die. Like a masterful artist, a few minutes later, she was sitting on the ground, leaned against the tree where the Zar-e-zameen had previously decided not to kill her, and was cracking jokes like an old friend.
The most surprising thing was, despite being as ancient as described by #212, there was nothing that reminded Khadija that she was talking to an ancient being.
At times, there would be empty laughter and a lack of response from Hira, but amusingly she would realize it and try to fix it by making a silly awkward joke.
After some time had passed, #212 and Isra decided to come look for Khadija.
They retraced the trajectory and reached the opening and saw the most bizarre, unnatural thing, even by the standards of the whole Twilight Grove. The Zar-e-zameen was laughing heartily at a supposed joke made by Khadija, and they were having a grand time.
#212 stopped Isra behind the stumps before she stepped out.
"Wait, we don't know yet; Khadija could be under some deep trance. Zar-e-zameen holds dominion over sleep." Hence, they waited, and moments passed.
#212 could not believe his eyes when he found out that they were actually having a proper conversation. Apparently, Khadija had some kind of magic within her of making friends. But today, she had outdone herself, still, it was still too dangerous to lurk near the creature, so #212 stepped out, and Khadija turned towards him.
"Oh, hi #212, meet Hira, she's my new friend."
"Hi... Ma'am."
The Zar-e-zameen nodded slightly and kept talking to Khadija, ignoring #212 and Isra completely.
"Uhm.. Khadija, let's go now" #212 said, shaking visibly.
"Go where?" Hira asked without even looking at him.
"I was just teaching her how to practice with the bow and the arrow landed near you, we did not mean to disturb you. On her behalf, I'm sorry" #212 said, trembling.
On this, Hira turned her head and looked at him; her gaze peeked deep into his soul and left him stunned.
"Leave her," she said.
#212 simply turned back and left; Isra left with him.
"Or wait! Come back, fight with me; I want to see what exactly she is learning from you." Just these few words stopped #212 on a spiritual level; he felt cold and numb, but Khadija was his friend, and very little was known about the creature except for its Godly power. Still, he would not dare. He could not afford to lose another friend, so he turned around.