The Discovery

      Knowing there was no point in going back to sleep, Somarrah stretched with a yawn. She preened briefly before heading for the edge of the den. The Skyheart Pride lived on the Tyrannian Plateau. Even at mid-morning, the heat felt heavy. Of course, as Eyries, they had paws accustomed to the hot stone of the cliffs they called home.

      Mindful of her roughhousing brother and cousin, Somarrah grabbed something from the pride’s food cache before settling down to eat. Almost as soon as she did, her brother and cousin darted over like pesky Draphlies. They each took an end of her meal, quick to make a toy of it. Being much smaller than they were, she was helpless to stop them. Again, they meant no harm; this was just the way life was for the pride.

      “That’s enough. Leave Somarrah in peace so she can eat,” her father ordered as he approached.

      “Aw, we were only playing,” Bashar complained.

      “Well, Somarrah isn’t interested in playing your games. Now give back her meal and play somewhere else.”

      Bashar flicked his tail in annoyance but didn’t argue with their father.

      “We didn’t mean any harm, Uncle.” Shekhar nudged the food back towards Somarrah.” He flicked Bashar with his tail. “Come on, we can make up a new game to play.”

      Somarrah breathed a sigh as they finally left. She looked up at her father. “Thanks.”

      Her father gave her a friendly look. “I know it's hard, but you need to find your place in the pride or else the pride will find it for you.”

      Somarrah’s gaze dropped to her paws. “I know but all they care about is being tough and I’m not.”

      Her father nudged her with a paw roughly the size of her head. “Skyhearts are born tough. That includes you, even if you don’t feel it yet.” He padded off, leaving his daughter alone with her thoughts.

      It was early afternoon when Bashar and Shekhar returned.

      “A group of us are going flying. We’ll be back later,” Bashar told his parents.

      Somarrah felt a rush of relief until she heard her father’s response.

      “Take Somarrah with you,” their father ordered.

      “Aw, she’ll never be able to keep up and I bet she doesn’t even want to come,” Bashar argued, clearly annoyed at the prospect of dealing with his sister.

      “No, I-” Somarrah started before being cut off.

      “She goes or none of you do.”

      “What?!” Bashar squawked. He immediately quieted at a glare from their father. “Fine,” he muttered. He jerked his head at Somarrah and Shekhar. “Let’s go.”

      They fell in line behind Bashar.

      Somarrah dragged her heels, no more pleased with the prospect than her brother.

      Shekhar was the only one who seemed unfazed. “Flying is fun!”

      Her cousin was three years younger but twice her size. He had only learned to fly within the past year. Yet, he was fearless, like most Eyries. He was undaunted by the fact that he would be flying without adult supervision and surrounded by mostly strange cubs.

      Somarrah was worried about both but she knew better than to protest. Her father’s word was final.

      They met up with about ten other cubs from surrounding prides. They were gathered on a promontory. The Skyheart clubs were by far the youngest in the group.

      A fire Eyrie stood at the very edge. “Everybody ready?”

      Everyone burst out with shrieks of excitement. Everyone except Somarrah.

      “Let’s fly!’

      As one, they took flight, various colours and sizes. Somarrah was tempted to let them leave without her, but Bashar shoved her.

      “Come on, Somarrah!” her brother urged. “Don’t ruin this for me.”

      Somorrah spread her wings and took to the air. It took her a moment to adjust but the billowing thermals helped. She settled near the back of the group. The others occupied themselves with games of tag, races, and other daring aerial feats. Somarrah did her best to stay out of the way.

      The young Desert Eyrie was not the strongest flier. Daunted by the antics of her brother and cousin on solid ground, she had even less desire to join them in the air where the stakes were much higher. As a result, her wings tired quickly. She longed for a break or even just to slow down but that wasn’t an option. She had no idea how to get home from here and the thought of getting lost out here filled her with dread.

      Then things just got worse.

      The group headed away from the Plateau and towards the jungle.

      “Wait, I didn’t know we were leaving the Plateau!” Somarrah protested, filled with dismay at the thought of an even longer journey. “Are we even allowed to leave the Plateau without permission?”

      “Father’s not going to care,” Bashar said.

      “This is so exciting!” Shekhar exclaimed.

      Of course, he was excited. Anything new was automatically fun for him.

      Somorrah was scared but she had no choice but to follow.

      Living deep within the Plateau, she had never even seen the jungle. It was totally different from the sandstone cliffs. It was a vast expanse of green. The canopy was so thick she couldn’t see the ground. Unfortunately, there were no helpful thermals here and she had to flap harder and her energy rapidly dwindled.

      Then, the other cubs started a game of tag. There was a flurry of activity and in their excitement, one of the much bigger cubs jostled her. Suddenly, she was falling and with her already weary wings, she was helpless to stop or even slow down. No one noticed she was in trouble. The lats thing she saw was the group flying off without her before the canopy swallowed her.

      The fall seemed to be in slow motion and high speed all at once. Leafy branches whipped past her, too insubstantial to make any difference. Then, she hit a thick branch, the breath knocked out of her. Slippery with moss and lichen, she couldn’t get a grip before she was falling again. Just when she wondered if she would fall forever, she was abruptly stopped by a cradle of vines just above the jungle floor.

      While she had finally stopped falling, she discovered she had a new problem. A few experimental wiggles confirmed she was stuck. The vines held her fast, and they weren’t budging. Her tail tip just brushed the ground but even when she stretched, her paws couldn’t reach it. Now what was she gonna do?

      The jungle noise was overwhelming. The thick undergrowth seemed to press in on her and she was completely surrounded by green. She had never been in a place where she couldn’t see the sky. Her heart began to pound as the reality of her situation sunk in. She was tuck, she was lost, and no one was coming to look for her.

      Somarrah would have sunk into utter despair, but movement caught her eye. Apparently, she wasn’t as alone as she thought. She hadn’t noticed before because the stranger had blended in with their surroundings. Having lived a relatively secluded life, she had no idea what sort of creature this was. What she did know as that they were carrying a flint dagger and they were heading straight for her.

      Filled with panic, Somarrah fought to get away to no avail. “Please don’t hurt me!”

      “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to help you,” the stranger explained. “But you need to calm down first.”

      Somorrah stopped struggling though she still trembled from shock and fear.

      With a few deft cuts, the stranger loosed the vines that held her and she fell to the ground, the breath knocked out of her again. As she rose to her paws, she still felt shaky but at least she was free. “Thank-hey, wait!”

      The stranger had been about to disappear but paused to look back at her.

      “I’m lost. Can you help me find my way home?”

      The stranger shook his head. “Sorry, can’t help you.” Then, before she could protest further, he was gone.

      Somarrah looked around, at a loss. There was no one else around, no trail, no tracks, or other signs to follow. Having been born and raised in a pride, she had never been completely on her own before. She wasn’t going to get any help standing here. So, she would have to help herself.

      Straightening her shoulders, Somarrah pushed past the fear and started walking. She didn’t know how long she walked, unable to track time without seeing the sun. She saw no one other than the occasional Petpet. She walked even while her paws grew sore, but she couldn’t stop. She had to get home.

      Then, something caught her eye through the endless green. She quickened her pace. Was that stone? Had she reached the Plateau at last? To her disappointment, it wasn’t the Plateau.

      It was a mass of ruined stone, long abandoned to the jungle.

      Despite her own plight, Somarrah was struck by curiosity. It was completely different from anything she recognized. She wanted to know more about this strange place. She found a portion of tumbled stone that created an opening and went through it. She found herself in a narrow passage and followed where it led.

      It was a welcome change from the outside. The jungle noise was greatly diminished by the stone barrier and light trickled through here and there. Somarrah walked past an opening that led upward but chose to follow the passage she was already in. It wasn’t much further when she found another narrow opening. This time, the young Eyrie stopped to peek in and was amazed at what she saw.

      It was a room filled with shelves and objects all in complete disarray. It wasn’t a living quarters for it lacked any sort of bedding or clothing or anything that showed someone had ever called this place home. Rather, it appeared to be some sort of storage space for the same sorts of objects. The objects were made of some sort of thin material that unfurled like a rolled-up carpet. Each of them bore strange symbols on them that she didn’t understand.

      Somarrah was drawn deeper into the room, making her way carefully through the demolished space with its tumbledown shelves and haphazardly strewn objects. The light was dim here but that didn’t really matter to an Eyrie. The shadows and dust lay heavy in the room, obscuring the farthest reaches of the space. Somarrah sneezed as she disturbed a space that clearly hadn’t seen anyone in a long, long time. Then she froze as she heard a rustling sound.

      “Hello? Is anyone in here?” Somarrah called into the room, realizing it held more than just long-forgotten secrets.

      A hoot answered her, and she saw what she thought was another Eyrie coming towards her at first because of his size but quickly realized her mistake. He had a flat face with large, forward-facing eyes, a too-small beak, four taloned feet, no wings, and a short, bushy tail.

      She scrambled backwards, startled but stopped as she bumped into a sturdy shelving unit.

      The strange creature- Petpet? -paused and gave her a cheerful whistle of greeting before sitting.

      “I, do you live here alone?” Somarrah asked.

      The oversized Petpet bobbed his head once in response.

      Somarrah felt a wave of disappointment. “Oh, then I should be going. I had hoped that someone would be able to help me find my way home, but I guess not.”

      The young Eyrie returned the way she’d come, the strange Petpet hooting once after her as if asking a question of his own. Alas, she couldn’t understand him, even if he did appear capable of understanding her. She exited the ruins and entered the jungle once more. It took mere steps for the ruins to be swallowed up by the jungle, as if they had never existed. Somarrah was on her own once more.

      This time, she didn’t get very far at all before she heard a rustling nearby. Had the strange Petpet she met in the ruins followed her?

      A checkered Yurble stepped into the open. HE stopped short, as surprised to see her as she was to see him. After a brief pause, he moved on as if to walk past her.

      “Excuse me. I’m lost. Can you help me?” Somarrah asked.

      The Yurble paused again to look at her over his shoulder. “Where do you live?”

      “On the Plateau.”

      “I know where that is. I can take you there.”

      “Oh, thank you!” Somarrah was awash with relief. She had found help at last! Her stomach rumbled.

      “Would you like some?” The Yurble pulled something from a pouch he carried at his side.

      “Oh, that would be-” Somarrah abruptly stopped, face falling as she saw what he held.

      The Yurble proffered her a handful of dried Petpetpets.

      “No, thank you.”

      “Are you sure? I drizzle them with honey to sweeten them. They’re my favourite snack.”

      “I’m sure.”

      The Yurble gobbled up the handful, munching loudly and smacking his lips with satisfaction. Crumbs settled on his face and mane.

      “How far is it to the Plateau?”

      “Not far. A half-hour, at most.”

      Somarrah’s paws hurt, her wings ached, and her belly rumbled. She was more than ready to go home. At last, it seemed within reach. The jungle no longer seemed so menacing with company.

      The young Eyrie gave her guide a curious look. “How can you find your way through the jungle? It all looks the same to me.”

      “Can you find your way through the Plateau?” her Yurble guide asked.

      “Of course, I can. I’ve only lived there my entire life.”

      “Well, I’ve lived here my entire life. I wouldn’t know the first thing about travelling through the Plateau and I don’t want to. The jungle gives me everything I need.”

      “Would you teach me?”

      “If you’d like.”

      For their remainder of their short journey, the Yurble-who introduced himself as Magani-taught Somarrah what he could. How to orient herself in the jungle, how to find and follow trails, the landmarks he used and the signs he made when he had no other way to keep track of his whereabouts. Somarrah tried to remember it all, even using a few of Magani’s tips to mark her own trail. She wanted to come back but on her own terms. All too soon, they reached the edge of the jungle, the Plateau looming high above them.

      “Can you find your way home from here?” Magani asked.

      “Yes, I can,” Somarrah said with a small nod. “Thanks for everything, Magani. I wouldn’t have been able to get here without you.”

      “Take care, Somarrah.”

      Somarrah spread her wings and took flight. She knew she still had a ways to go to reach home. She paused at the top to look back at the jungle, a mass of green with hidden wonders.

      “I’ll be back,” Somarrah said. “I’ll be back.”

To be continued…