A Hero's Journey: Part Six

     It was only a few minutes after breakfast, and instead of practicing together, Reuben casually told his mother that he was taking a short walk around the village, promising to be back as soon as he can. However, the female white Blumaroo didn't realize that he had snuck his spare wooden sword underneath his shirt. As he opened the door, he spotted his younger sibling reading a book entitled "KNIGHTHOOD IN A KNUTSHELL" while perched on a small rock.

     Making sure that Rohane didn't see him, he snuck around him, careful not to disturb his little brother. Then, he walked off as silently as possible off towards the river that flowed through the village.

     Apparently not many villagers were outside at this time, since quite a number of them were probably paranoid about rain. The daring white Blumaroo on the other hand had assumed that days like this often cleared up afterward. Reuben saw the large tree beside the raging river and surveyed its thick branches. They were just evenly spaced, perfect for climbing, except for one particularly big bough slightly higher than the second lowest branch. As he began to scale the trunk, his eyes met a young Aisha milling around doing nothing.

     Perhaps she could be of assistance, he thought, stroking his chin. He walked over to her and said, "Hey, are you willing to help me in this prank? Come on, it'll be fun!"

     Liwanag looked up at him. "I know what you're planning, Reuben," she said matter-of-factly. "Going to fool Rohane, I see?"

     "Are you going to help me or not? Get the brat over here when I say so, and then I'll do the rest. See, I'm going to dangle this scary spider on a string that my uncle gave me for Christmas some time ago - see, it's all big and hairy and all things scary - and you go and call him over here. Then when he gets close enough, I wave this in front of him and give him a good scare!"

     "Look, I'm not taking part in your petty thrills," said Li serenely, standing up and strolling away. "You're on your own, mister," she added, glancing back at him sternly.

     "Oh, fine!" he yelled after her. "I'll do my own prank myself! It's my idea, and I'm going to - "

     The crackling noise of thunder interrupted his words as the lone figure of Liwanag got smaller and smaller in the distance. He reached up for the higher, thicker branch. Reuben's fingers eagerly gripped the rough texture, keeping a tight hold. Unfortunately, he didn't count on the rain coming in so soon or so hard. In several minutes every single inch of the white Blumaroo and the tree was drenched. The bark became slippery thanks to the tiny rivulets flowing down onto the grass below.

     It was that same observation that caused Reuben's foot to slide backwards, nearly sending him tumbling over the branch he was hanging on to. A strong wind howled and pitched his spider on a string into the nearby river, carrying it away. The anarchic gusts began to toy with the dangling prankster, who tried to shout for help. His only lifeline was beginning to crack under his weight.

     "HELP!" he called out. "I'M SLIPPING!"

     But nobody heard him. Everyone was already inside. That is, except for one, who was about to enter his house till he heard the horrified shrieks of his brother.

     "Reuben?"

     "Help…me!" The white Blumaroo's grip was about to completely slip off. Either that or the crack in the branch was getting wider and larger. He could see the unmistakable form of Rohane appearing through the sheets of rain.

     "I'm coming!" The younger sibling jumped up for the lowest bough, swinging his legs up. He did the same with the next one, until he was directly below Reuben.

     Balancing gingerly, Rohane held out his arm. "Hold on! I'll get you down!"

     Reuben felt the last of the color drain from his face. "I'm…what if we fall?"

     "Trust me, I know what I'm doing!" At last, the older brother reached out his free paw towards the yellow Blumaroo. As their fingers closed together, Reuben let go of the damp branch. Unluckily, the wind took this time to increase in speed, nearly blowing the two away into the river beside the tree. If it hadn't been for the quick grip of Rohane onto the second to the last branch, they would have been finished instantly. Instead, the storm mercilessly ripped the thick bough where Reuben had been dangling from a few seconds ago off the tree.

     "ARGH!" shouted the elder Blumaroo.

     "We're okay! Just one more…stretch out your arm and grab it!" coaxed his sibling. The storm continued to lash against them, soaking the two to the skin.

     "But I can't!"

     "Just do it! If you don't do it now, we'll never get the chance!"

     The white Blumaroo bit his lip nervously. But after a glance at his brother's determined stare, he did as he was told. The strong gale nearly had him, but as he let go of Rohane and swung down, he found himself dropping safely to the wet grass. After a few moments, Reuben felt his sibling drop beside him. At first, both of them were silently sitting and shivering, the climax still giving them the willies.

     "You…saved me," whispered Reuben hoarsely. "We were nearly…nearly…" He was interrupted by a huge rush of wind that blew a lot of raindrops onto their already drenched bodies.

     "At least we're okay now," his little brother replied, patting him on his wet shoulder. He looked at the oblivious tree that continued to stand tall as though nothing horrible had transpired before.

     Reuben stared at him like one gone mad. "Are you kidding? If it weren't for you, I would have been done for! I didn't expect…expect…"

     The rain began to roar, drowning their voices and drenching them even more. Rohane shrugged, and answered, "Well…it's what brothers do. And besides, Father won't like the fact that one of his sons met a terrible death from something as simple as climbing a tree."

     "And by the way, isn't that the same tree that we used to sit underneath whenever it was hot? Why did it try to kill us? It's our friend!" Reuben put on a mock dramatic tone as he pretended to kneel down at its roots.

     The yellow Blumaroo chuckled. "Good point, Reuben. I never remembered just how funny or clever you are."

     "And I never remembered just how brave you REALLY are," said his big brother. He was the first to stand up and regain his strength, and offered a paw towards Rohane. The pair was no longer sitting, huddled underneath the lowest canopy of leaves, but standing and watching the raging river beside their village as it continued on its journey towards who-knows-where. Rain was still coming down in torrents on the two siblings as they surveyed the village, which by now looked more like a ghost town.

     "Everyone's inside," croaked Reuben, shivering in the cold winds that played around them. "Mother's probably worried about us now."

     As the two walked towards home underneath the storm, they both realized something. Their mother! She would ask what was going on, and they would both get in trouble. How were they going to explain where they had gone? The brothers traded panicked looks as they neared their refuge from the rain.

     "I'll tell her I talked you into playing a game till it rained," suggested Rohane. "I don't want you to get in trouble."

     "No, I should tell our mother the truth. I owe you the truth too after that whole saving me business," said the white Blumaroo. Before any of them could say anything more, they finally got to the front door of their house. Their urge to finally get into a dry domain overcame their plan of staying outside and figuring out a good explanation, so the siblings stumbled right inside, scaring Melissa, who was warming herself beside the fireplace.

     She took one good look at her sons before running to her bedroom. She came out, a huge bundle of blankets in her arms. The brothers soon found themselves being bundled up tightly and warmly, and it made them feel much better after surviving a breathtaking ordeal. But it also gave them a pang of guilt - what if she asked why they were outside in the first place?

     Melissa sighed and hugged them lovingly. "Oh, thank goodness you two are safe. I thought something had happened to you both, but at least you're alive." Then, her grateful, concerned face turned into a panicky, surprised one. "Why in Fyora's name were you outside in that storm? Don't you know better than to stay outside in such stormy weather? You had me worried!"

     Reuben and Rohane could only stare at their mother, and at each other, as the drenched duo tried to think of a way to explain their predicament. The house was silent except for the continued beating of the rain outside as they thought of something to say.

To be continued...