CRASH! “Sorry”!

“Not like this! Put your nose to the wind, let it carry you!”

BOOM! “Argh, I’m trying, Atzi!”

“Stop fighting it! Lean into it!”

… “No crash, no boom, no kabang… I think he’s getting better” observed one of Gründ’s new guardians. “Still not elegant, but better.”

Gründ was, indeed, getting better. It had cost the tribe a couple of luckily empty houses, and one Bocti had failed to get out of the way on time, but overall the damage was minimal. Gründ was flying. Really flying. And he was crying. Why exactly, he did not know, but his tears got caught by the wind, drawing beautiful shapes in the air before slowly falling to feed the soil of the forest.

The Töskr wanted this moment to last forever. Sadly, the colony was already in sight and he couldn’t find any excuse to stay in the air much longer. He threw a panicked look at Atzi when he realized that they had never discussed the very important question of landing…

BANG “Outch, my nose!” The question had resolved itself in the shape of Bared’s house. By chance, it was also the sturdiest building around, and only a little stone from the most damaged area of its roof fell. “WHO DID THIS?” Came the old shaman’s voice from inside.

“Bared! It’s me! Look who I’ve found!” But Atzi was already rushing in the house to see her old friend, and Gründ was immediately forgotten. The entire colony had known and liked Atzi, even those who hadn’t spent much time with her, and the arrival of two other Natls made quite the impression.

As Bared and Atzi came out of the house, they saw Haylir, Gotha and Baruf helping Gründ out of his machine. His lower half was a little sore after spending so much time compressed in a seat made for a much smaller being… And so the conversation started, easily and happily, between all of the reunited friends.

“Atzi, it’s so good to see you, how are you?” Asked Haylir, already holding the previously broken wing for a check-up. The Natl couldn’t help giggling. “I’m great! But next time call me first before you let Grund fly! He crashed into our village…”

Bared had to jump on the occasion to ruffle Gründ’s metaphorical feathers. “Up there too huh?” And Baruf to add with a mischievous smile “even in the sky, he wrecks everything!” But the adventurer was too busy calming Gotha, who was repeating for the third time (the first two, Toxal and Filnu had interrupted her by jumping in the flying machine and scaring her voiceless): “We thought you were gone, you just kept going up!”

Meanwhile, the rest of the colony members were setting up tables and benches in the open space between Haylir and Baruf’s houses. They knew what was coming, and they’d rather get the feast started sooner rather than later: they were hungry and excited. As soon as everything was set, they interrupted the reunion to make everyone sit down around the biggest table they could assemble.

And so, as the Core was reaching its darkest phase, the benevolent trees around the clearing could hear a discussion between Natls and Töskrs, happy and satisfied that their little fluffy protégé was safe, sound and smiling.

“Atzi taught me how to fly! Properly this time!” - “Never thought I’d see the day a Töskr could fly like a Natl. You’re stubborn Grund, I’ll give you that.” - “Well Bared, from you, I’ll take that as a compliment!” 

"You can, my lad, you can.”