Wren let out a gasp of surprise. “Mongoose! Quick! Into the trees!” She spread her wings and took off. “Come on! Hannke! Follow!”
Hannke was frozen in position. “What did you say about food?” He asked the mongoose cautiously.
“I know a really good hunting spot, and I can catch you something. If you help answer a question.” The mongoose flicked her banded gray tail. “But food comes first, then questions.”
“Hannke?” Wren asked, and slowly descended from the trees. “What are you doing?”
“I’m saving your tail feathers, Wren,” Hannke said happily. He returned his attention to the mongoose. “Can you show us, please?”
“Of course! Follow me!” The mongoose waited for Wren to reluctantly return to the ground, and then set off into the trees with a trot. Hannke followed eagerly, and Wren somewhat grudgingly. Poor Wren. Always so mistrustful. She’s missing out on life. Hannke pondered this for a moment. Is she really, though? She was so quick to make friends with Panther and the myzornis.
Wren hurried up to be beside Hannke. “Hannke, are you okay?” She asked. “Did you hit your head on a rock?”
“I’m fine, really-” Hannke began, but was cut off.
“Why do you suddenly trust everyone?”
“Wren, to tell you the truth, I like having a mongoose with me. They remind me of Guardian.”
“Oh.” Wren said. “I guess that that makes sense.”
“So, who are you?” The mongoose asked curiously. “It’s not often that a cobra and an egret have the privilege of befriending one another. I assume you knew nothing of the cougars?”
“Cougars?” Hannke exclaimed, suddenly excited. He remembered his dream. “What about them?”
“I would tell you if I could,” The mongoose replied. “Sadly, because of an oath I took, you must know nothing.”
“Wait, cougars?!?” Wren broke in. “Tell me about it!”
“Like I said, I mustn't tell you of what relation we have with them as of now, but I could tell you about the cougars themselves.”
“That would be nice,” Hannke said right as Wren squaked, “Please do!”
“Alright,” The mongoose began, slowing down. She turned her head around to look at them. “Cougars are large cats that live in the mountains. They usually have tan, white, and light brown fur, although I have heard of rare black specimens. They like to hunt deer. They used to be solitary, nocturnal, and territorial, although, due to recent conflict, this is beginning to change amongst the cougars in our area.”
“How so?” Wren asked, all fear forgotten.
“I can’t tell you, remember?” The mongoose concluded. “I’m sorry. You two seem so eager.” She turned around again and smelled the air. “Ah, here we are. You two wait here, okay?”
“Will do,” Hannke nodded.
“So . . . what do you want to do?” Wren asked as the mongoose disappeared amongst the undergrowth.
“I don’t know. Do you have any ideas?” Hannke absentmindedly plucked a blade of grass with his tail. He rolled onto his back, and then back onto his stomach. Wren didn’t answer. She stretched her wings, letting them shine in the sunlight. Then she paused.
“Do you hear that?” She asked, folding her wings back beside her.
“Hear what?” Hannke replied.
“Be quiet and listen,” Wren whispered, just loud enough for Hannke to hear.
Hannke paused, closed his eyes mentally, and listened. At first he heard nothing, but then, a deep growl. He opened them (still mentally) in panic, and scanned the trees randomly. He wasn’t very good at pinpointing low sounds. “Wren! We have to get out of here!”
Wren paused to look at him. “Just a second. Can you find out where the noise is coming from?” Her eyes lit up in fear. “Hannke! Behind you!”
Hannke spread his hood and writhed in panic. He desperately tried to slither away as a large tan cat leapt down from the rocks. A cougar!
“Quick, up a tree!” Wren shouted, beginning to take off. Hannke slithered as fast as he could to the nearest tree and pulled his way up until he was safe in the branches.
The cougar glared up at them. “What are you doing on my land?” He growled.
“We didn’t know-” Hannke protested, but the cougar interrupted, “Shut up!”
“Please forgive us,” Wren tried. “And don’t eat me.” She hopped closer to Hannke.
“I’m not interested in eating right now,” the cougar hissed. “I want information. Are you with Obsidian?”
“Obsidian? Who-” Wren began.
“Don’t try lying to me!” The cougar spat, lashing his tail. “I can see right through you!”
“What makes you think that we’re with—whoever you’re talking about?” Hannke asked in confusion.
“Why else would a cobra and an egret be together?” The cougar stared at him accusingly.
“Uh—maybe we’re fighting! Rawr!” Wren exclaimed.
“Yeah, right,” The cougar growled. He looked like he was going to say something else, but then a small blur of gray shot out from the bushes and before Hannke could speak, the mongoose that they’d met before was on the cougar’s head.
“You!” He roared.
“Yes, me,” retorted the mongoose. “Leave them alone.”
“I could easily kill you right here and now,” The cougar said angrily.
“But you won’t.” The mongoose shot back. “I know that Katana would rather have information than my dead body, and if you want me, you’ll have to catch me first!” And with that, she leapt off of the cougar’s head and bounced around, sliding between the cougar’s legs and running around him as he tried to swipe at her with an outstretched paw.
“Cinderblock, you rascal!” The cougar roared. He rolled over, trying to crush her, but she was too fast for him. She glanced into trees.
“Quick, you two, get out of here! I’ll catch up to you soon!” Then she took to tackling the cougar while his belly was exposed.
“Okay, let’s go!” Wren cried, and before Hannke could process what was happening, Wren had grabbed him and was flying through the air.
At first it was terrifying. Hannke gasped for breath as she soared over the treetops. But then, after he was adjusted, Hannke began to enjoy the view. This is what it must feel like to be a bird! He thought in excitement.
Wren landed on a stretch of grass beside a cliff. There was a lone tree clinging to the edge. Hannke rolled out from her talons and lay down.
“That. Was. Amazing!” he exclaimed.
“I thought that you’d like it,” Wren said happily.
Just as the both of them were catching their breaths, the mongoose appeared from the trees.
“Finished him off,” she said in a self-satisfied way. “He probably went whining back to his mother.”
“Your name is Cinderblock, right?” Wren asked.
“Yes,” She replied, and then returned to the bushes for a moment, before returning with a mouse and a fish.
“Oh, thanks!” Wren chirped in gratitude. She hopped over and snatched up a fish in her beak. Hannke followed suit, but he grabbed the mouse gratefully and swallowed it whole.
“I don’t know how snakes do that,” Cinderblock commented in awe.
“Well we can’t exactly chew, can we?” Hannke pointed out.
“Oh. Sorry.”
“Well, what are we going to do now?” Wren asked, finishing her fish. “Just . . . continue on home?”
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” Hannke thought about it for a bit. “Is there anything you want to show us? Any advice for navigating the land?” He asked Cinderblock.
“Um, no.” Cinderblock answered quickly. “But I did have a question for you. Although it seems irrelevant now and I’m not sure I should ask, given what I now know.”
“What do you mean?” Hannke asked suspiciously.
“Um, nothing.” Cinderblock glanced nervously at a nearby tree. “Forget it.”
“Wait, no seriously,” Wren interrupted, narrowing her eyes. “Ask anything.”
“I . . . do you know . . . what—uh, I can’t do this!” Cinderblock exclaimed, lashing her tail.
“Is it the same thing with the oath thingy?” Wren asked.
“Well . . . in a sense, I suppose. But—it’s not important. I mean, it is, but I just can’t say, and saying so would be—okay, fine! Do you know what happened to Jackdaw’s battalion?”
Hannke froze. A strong sense of foreboding filled him as he processed Cinderblock’s query. “I’m sorry, what?” he asked slowly after he had (for the most part) recovered his senses.
“So you do know something!” Cinderblock cried excitedly. “It didn’t seem like it, but you took the oath too, right?”
“Um, n—”
“Oh yeah, we did,” Wren cut him off. “That thing about promising not to talk about—wait, I’m doing it!”
“That was the least convincing thing that I have ever heard.” Cinderblock stated flatly. “If you’re not one of us, why did you seem like you knew something?”
Hannke raked his mind for a suitable answer. My dream! I heard that name in a mysterious dream-vision thing I had once! was what he wanted to say, but Wren and Cinderblock would just stare at him skeptically.
So he told them half of the truth.
“I think I have a vague memory—or maybe a dream—of hearing that once, but I’m not sure when or where,” he confessed. This will have to do for the time being.
“Really?” Cinderblock cocked her head. “That's strange. How could you have dreamed about something that wasn’t based on real life?”
“Well,” Hannke began, “I suppose that perhaps I might have overheard that name from somewhere and then dreamed about it, which I remember more vividly.”
“Whatever you say, I still think that you’re hiding something.” Cinderblock thumped her tail as if the matter was settled.
“Don’t speak to Hannke like that!” Wren chirped sharply. “He would never hide anything unless absolutely necessary.” At this, she met Hannke’s eye and stared at him with an icy gaze. Hannke shivered. Oh, this just makes things worse.
“Um.” Hannke said slowly. “Can we, um, maybe not talk about this?”
“Why would you say that?” Cinderblock asked suspiciously.
“It’s just weird and stuff.” Hannke mumbled.
“Okay,” Cinderblock said finally. “I won’t bombard you with questions.”
Silence was cast over the clearing as they sat there, gazing uneasily at each other. Hannke regretted everything that had just happened. Arghhhhh, I just want to go home!
“So, do you need some place to stay tonight?” Cinderblock said suddenly, breaking the silence. “I can bring you to my friends.”
“Your . . . friends?” Wren asked slowly.
“Yes, my friends,” Cinderblock retorted. “You just assumed that I was friendless or something?”
“Weeeell . . . nevermind,” Wren said slowly.
“I will lead,” Cinderblock got to her feet. “And you can follow.”
Hannke and Wren reluctantly trailed after the banded gray mongoose as she moved farther into the woods. Now that I think about it, we are completely lost, Hannke thought. Which is not a good thing, he added.
“Where exactly are you taking us?” Wren asked.
“There’s a little grove of pine trees where we’re camping. It has plenty of undergrowth and lots of sunshine. I’m sure you will enjoy it. We must be careful, though, there are cougars in the area.”
“What–really?” Wren squawked. “What is WITH the cougars?!?”
“Maybe they’re angry about something,” Hannke suggested. “You know? Like when Venomkeeper chases us when we mess with her?”
“That is all very well,” Cinderblock added. “But you must take note that cougars rarely work together. They’re attacking us in swarms! It’s simply not normal cougar behavior.”
“Oh.” Wren seemed downcast.
Hannke had to agree with her. He knew that there must be a reason why the cougars were becoming a threat. He knew that even a cougar wouldn’t be mean just for the sake of being mean. Right?
“Freeze,” Cinderblock whispered, and they came to a halt.
Comments (0)
See all