The Great Migration: Part Two

      "Hey lazy, wake up," a bold voice suddenly called, awaking Arkatha from his sleep. He slowly lifted his head and saw a black Lupe standing in front of him. It was his brother, Eikius, standing in front of him.

      "What are you doing out here, napping in the shade," Eikius snapped. "You're supposed to be working! Father always said you were a worthless Lupe, and he was right!"

      Arkatha hung his head. "I'm sorry Eikius; I was just taking a break. I will be with you in a moment."

      Eikius cursed under his breath and stormed off, leaving Arkatha alone. He leaned against the old oak three in which he had been sleeping under and looked up at the sky. It was a lovely clear blue color, like that of his coat. There was not a cloud in the sky. Arkatha closed his eyes and thought for a moment, remembering the dream he had. It was not an unusual dream. He had had that dream many times before when he was a toddler, but then the dream stopped coming after a week or so, and he didn't have that dream again for years. But it was back now. The dream hadn't changed, it was always the same. Arkatha shook his head.

      "I think I'm losing it Slinky," he joked to his petpet, a timid little Wadget who was sleeping on a nearby branch.

      Slinky hissed and went back to sleep.

      "Maybe some reading will clear my mind," Arkatha murmered, "you can stay here, Slinky." The Wadget rolled his eyes and watched Arkatha wander off towards the den.

     ***

      The den was where all the lupes in Arkatha's pack lived. In the corner of the den was Arkatha's corner. There, he kept three books, his most prized possessions. They were an entire encyclopedia set packed into three volumes, so naturally, they were extremely thick. Arkatha loved to read. While the other lupes would go out to hunt, Arkatha would stay behind.

      "Arkatha," a soft voice suddenly called, just as he was about to open a book. Arkatha turned and saw a faerie Lupe standing in the doorway. It was his friend, Elainor. Unlike the others, she didn't seem to mind the fact that Arkatha was a book worm and not a worker.

      "The others want to see you," Elainor said. Arkatha rolled his eyes.

      "If by see, you mean put me down for who I am, then I think I will stay here, thank you very much." And with that he turned away.

      "Arkatha," Elainor put her mussel on his shoulder, "you're different, and I respect that, and the others should to. Be proud of who you are. What they say is wrong. I think that you are a great Lupe, and if they can't see that, they need glasses. Now, get out there and see what those jerks want!"

      Arkatha smiled, "At least I have one friend that I can count on." He then got up and trotted out of the den.

      Outside, four lupes were waiting for him. One of them was Arkatha's brother. The other three were Jackal, Arkatha's father, a large red Lupe, Sandler, Eikius's friend, an island Lupe and Lody, the loudmouth of the pack, a green Lupe.

      "Look who finally decided to show up," Lody growled.

      "Silence," Jackal barked. He then turned to Arkatha. "My foolish son Arkatha," he snarled, "when you were born, the pack thought that you would grow up strong and brave like me. They thought you would be a hero. I guess they thought wrong. You aren't like other lupes, Arkatha. While the others are out having fun fighting, you do nothing. And when the rest of us go hunting, you sit under the old oak and watch clouds. What is wrong with you?! Why can't you be like everyone else?! You bring me great shame, Arkatha. If only you would be more like your brother, Eikius here." Eikius wagged his tail excitedly. He loved to watch Arkatha be tortured. He also loved being praised by his father. Praise; that was something that Arkatha had never received from his father.

      "You're not one of us," Sandler sneered. "We hunt. We stay together as a pack. We are feared. We are savage. You don't hunt. You are gentile. You respect nature. What is with you!?"

      "Your intelligence is your weakest point, Arkatha," Lody spoke up. "If we were meant to be intelligent, we would be born that way."

      "Lody and Sandler have a point," Jackal said, "don't think that I don't know about you reading. Maybe if we burn those books of yours…"

      "Wait!" Arkatha interrupted. "How did you know about the books?!"

      "You brother told me all about your little stash, Arkatha. Unlike you, he notices what's going on around him."

      Arkatha turned to Eikius; his eyes were red with rage. "My brother, how could you betray me?!"

      A crooked grin crossed Eikius's face, "Actually, I found it quite easy."

      With those words, Arkatha leaped at his brother and tackled him to the ground. Eikius snarled and tried to push Arkatha off of him, but the Lupe only dug his claws and teeth deeper into his skin.

      Then, suddenly, Jackal pushed Arkatha off of his brother. Arkatha looked up and saw his father swipe his claws across his face. His swing missed Arkatha's face and scrapped his left hind leg.

      Arkatha yelped and licked his bleeding leg in pain. "You got what you deserved Arkatha," his father growled. "Now leave, leave and never come back."

      Arkatha stood as silent and as stiff as a stone. "Father," he whispered in a low voice, "I am the one who chooses my own path." With that, Arkatha took to his feet and disappeared into the forest. Elainor had been watching the whole thing.

      "Arkatha," she shouted, "come back!"

      "Let him go," Sandler sneered. "He doesn't belong here."

     ***

      Long after dark, Arkatha found himself in an unfamiliar part of the woods. He heard noises that he had never heard before. They sounded strange and unearthly.

      Suddenly, Arkatha heard a rustling in the bushes.

      "Who's there," he growled. No answer. Arkatha began to worry. He wasn't the best fighter in the world, and no one else was nearby to help him if something happened to him. He heard another rustling in the bushes.

      "Come out now," Arkatha hollered, knowing it was not the smartest thing in the world to say.

      Suddenly, a snarling creature leaped from the bushes. It knocked Arkatha on his back, it then jumped on top of him and lowered its head to bite Arkatha's neck. But Arkatha got his feet under the creature and kick it off of him. The creature was sent flying and landed hard against a tree.

      Slowly, Arkatha approached the creature. Moonlight shone through the trees and illuminated the scene of the attack, giving Arkatha a good look at his attacker.

      "What the…?" Arkatha gasped. Leaning against the tree was a large red Bori. Very large, as a matter of fact, it was just as big, if not bigger than Arkatha. The Bori's fur was long and full of knots. It didn't even look much like a Bori anymore.

      "Who are you?" Arkatha asked.

      The Bori looked up at Arkatha. "I don't really know who I am. All I can remember is my name."

      "And what would that be?"

      The Bori was quiet for a moment. "I think it was Borver."

      Arkatha remembered reading an article in one of his books on Bori. It said that Bori lived in colonies. This Bori was alone.

      "Where's your colony?" Arkatha asked. Borver was circling him, snarling and showing his teeth.

      "I don't have one."

      A blank expression crossed Arkatha's face. "What do you mean you don't have one?"

      "Well, I don't anymore…" the Bori fell silent.

      "Look," Borver sighed, " all that I can remember is that I had a colony when I was little, but we were moving or something and I fell in the river and I was separated."

      Suddenly, a thought passed through Arkatha's head. In his dream, the mother's child had fallen in the river…perhaps…no it couldn't be.

      "When you say moving, did you mean as in migrating?" Arkatha asked.

      "Well," Borver mumbled, "I guess if that's what it's called, then yes, we were migrating."

      "Have you ever tried finding your colony?"

      "How would I do that?" Borver asked.

      "By following the trail of the migration to its destination, silly," Arkatha laughed. Borvers face was blank. A serious look crossed Arkatha's face. "Don't tell me you forgot the route of the migration?" Borver nodded solemnly.

      "Anyways," he said, "it doesn't matter really. You are free to go um…er…what's your name?"

      "Arkatha."

      "You are free to go, Arkatha," Borver murmured. Arkatha turned to walk away, but he stopped. He remembered the fight he had had at back home with his father and the other lupes. What would happen if he went back home? He would probably fall victim to the insults and harsh words of his family and friends again. Even though he was a book worm, he could still be a hero. This Bori needed a hero. This Bori needed his family.

To be continued...