FSE

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Chapter Two

"Tiko!" Kitari's voice echoed so resoundingly in the silence that Sunshine, startled, swiveled her head toward his outburst. The treacherous aerial course swiftly became deadly in Sunshine's moment of distraction. The Mori-ko screeched in agony as her wing collided with a limb, emitting a disgusting pop.

The flight turned into a wheeling free fall. Down and down, branches lashed at Sanna and Sunshine like so many grasping, piercing fingers. Instinctively Sanna pressed her body securely against the saddle, tucked her chin to her chest, and clung for dear life. Twenty feet from the ground, a mat of interwoven vines in their path considerably slowed their descent. The creeping plants, lacking sufficient strength to cradle the two, ruptured, plummeting them the remaining distance to the ground.

Minutes passed, an eternity of held breaths, and limbs quivering from the severe adrenaline rush. Gradually the severity of Sanna's shock lessened. Not moving, Sanna took stock of her situation. She could feel her arms and legs, her head didn't feel any lighter or damper than before, and despite numerous lashings from the merciless branches, she had escaped virtually unscathed.

She stood up, her small frame trembling with the remains of terror, and looked for Sunshine. A bulbous phosphorescent bellflower some feet above ensconced them in a globe of ruby light, staining the area a murderous red. Sunshine was sprawled nearby, crooning in almost palpable pain. Partially from the fall but more from the mid air collision, her right wing was at odd angles to her body.

"Sunny!" Sanna breathed, horrified. She ran her hands along the muscles of the wing. A basic anatomy class taught her that what she was feeling was probably a dislocation. Strangely fortunate, although Sunshine wouldn't appreciate this fact. Though still requiring several weeks to mend, dislocations healed faster and with fewer complications than fractures.

"I'll get you some help sweety," Sanna promised, "don't you worry."

Sanna yanked on the vine latching the bellflower in place, dragging the pungent, glowing plant down to her height. "Phew!" She exclaimed, wrinkling her nose; the flower stank of rotting meat. Sunshine struggled to her feet but Sanna tenderly pressed her back. "You need to hold still. Don't move, I'll be back as fast as I can, okay?"

But which way was Avarin? In the night, all directions were as one. Sanna set the bellflower down, and pressed her hands against a Yore, as if in supplication. Silence, her mind commanded, silence. There was no response from the tree. Sanna concentrated, quieting all of her inner emotions. For an instant an image flickered across the tranquil slate of her mind â€" creatures crawling with chilling silence through the shadows of Avarin. Disturbing, but irrelevant. "Where is the step tree?" She asked plaintively. Nothing. Sanna shook her head; when she needed help the most, the trees refused to speak. Still, some intuition informed her that a step tree was not far off.

Communion with the natural world; what Sanna studied with such indefatigable zeal. To be accepted as an ubusunagami, or guardian of one's home, was a rare honor. The ubusunagami were trained to perceive the voice of the forest, studied which plants were to be used in the sacred ceremonies, and how to manage the society of animals. By their hand ailing trees were nursed to health, and dwindling herds rekindled.

Sanna started down a Tapir trail to the right, meandering aimlessly through the trees. The radiance from the flower did not carry far, casting shadows that, by her motion, gained a life of their own. Sanna sighed, what an imagination she had!

The step tree was only a short jaunt from Sunshine and easily visible despite the dim light. An ourobouros vine hugged the Yore from root to platform, angling upwards at an aching forty five degree angle. Rubbery webbing connected spines budding from the vine, forming a natural staircase that, in the dim illumination, looked most obscene. Sanna climbed the step-vine to the platform as quickly as she could.

Ah, her legs! Sanna collapsed on the platform, dizzy with exhaustion. She reflected that, while it was indeed a noble thought to jump the spines two at a time, her delicate anatomy ardently rejected the process. Sanna tried to rub away the ache in her stiff calves. The phosphorous within the flower began to lose its luminosity; she had better locate help before she completely lost what little light she had.

This particular step tree was located on the easternmost edge of Avarin, hedged on all sides by housing platforms and storage barns. A walkway led upwards past several platforms before terminating at the temple. How perfect! Surely some healer or priest was there that could help Sunshine! Sanna jogged up the walkway or, rather, walked swiftly; her legs had not fully recovered from the laborious climb.

Mind preoccupied with thoughts of the injured Mori-ko, Sanna did not immediately recognize a sound that repeated every few seconds. She paused, swaying midway between two platforms. Was that a scream? Her heart palpitated- it was! Screams, coming from the northern housing platforms! Sanna wanted to run, to hide, but her legs refused to obey. Forever she stood there, frozen in fear, until the screaming ended. The night was thrown once more into the eerie silence of a sleeping city.

Sanna regained control of her body. Ears alert for the slightest sound, she sprinted up the walkways, passing platform after platform. She redoubled her speed as screaming began to emanate from the west. The temple was just ahead! Sanna's eyes brimmed with tears of gratitude- salvation at last!

But the temple was quiet, braziers unlit, guards off duty. Sanna walked down to the courtyard timidly, holding the bellflower like a weapon before her. Where were all the priests? She wondered, as dorm room after dorm room was left unattended.

Resisting the impulse to explore the temple in detail, Sanna bee lined to her anatomy classroom and rummaged through the unlocked supply closet. Spinial sap would act as a good anesthetic for Sunshine; Sanna tucked a vial of the precious fluid into her pocket. Almost as an afterthought, she snatched an anatomy book and a slingshot, comforting herself with the thought that her teacher would surely understand the necessity of the theft.

As she left, Sanna noticed the courtyard was not as vacant as recalled. Was that a priest she saw? Thank heavens! Surely he or she could help Sunny!

"Priest!" Sanna shouted, walking toward the gloomy figure, "Please, you must come quickly..." Her words trailed into a whisper. She had thrown the thought of the screams from her mind as she searched for medicine, but suddenly the terrified exclamation resumed, louder than before. Sanna was screaming, screaming because what she had thought was a priest was nothing so holy. His clothing was drenched in blood, mouth covered in it, drooling blood as though he had bit his tongue. But somewhere in that ghastly face, twisted with uncontrollable hate and rage, was someone she recognized.

"Puaro?" She asked, throat tight with terror. Puaro was the youngest priest of the temple, known for his innocent outlook. The figure stalked closer, jerking as if unseen strings tugged at his arms and legs. Demonic puppet! Sanna's hand flew to her pendant, a prayer to her lips- it was Puaro!

Opening his mouth as if to speak, Puaro wailed, voice drenched with melancholy. Sanna took an involuntary step away from the apparition. With a second wail as full of wretchedness as the first, he leapt to the roof of the temple and disappeared in the night.

What had happened? Why had Kitari woken them in the night? What was going on? Sanna asked herself as she fled the temple. Shrieks were resounding again on all sides. Why couldn't she run faster, like Tiko? Oh why?

Sanna had to pause in her flight one platform from the step tree; her body was threatening to shut down from fear and exhaustion. Sanna sat on the doorstep of a darkened house, back pressed against the wall. She tried to even her breathing, but every scream sent her into fits of anxious panting. An immobile shadow resolved itself as a Natural, lying dormant on the ground some feet from Sanna. She crept towards the motionless figure on hands and knees, one hand continually straying to the comfort of the pendant at her breast.

A man, someone she did not recognize, was lying flat on his stomach. Sanna rolled him over, then recoiled in disgust- he was dead! It was a mercy he no longer lived, given the state of his body. The words repeated in her mind; he's dead, oh gods he's really dead! Sanna darted to the railing of the platform and vomited over the side. The dimming bellflower finally ceased imparting light altogether.

Surrounded by a sea of shadows, Sanna gathered her strength and made her way down the last walkway to the step tree. Her stomach lurched every step, and she frequently had to stop to settle the rebellious organ. A high pitched chattering drew her attention; in the moonlight that glared between the branches of the canopy, Sanna could dimly make out something at the end of the walkway. Something alive, for it moved towards her with alarming speed. The creature stopped a short distance away, a beast with skin as pale as silver, wide green eyes, that walked as though its limbs had been attached the wrong way round.

It sat staring at her for a moment but, as if deciding that she was not worth the effort, crawled back down the walkway and clambered up into the branches of the step tree. Sanna did not test her luck; she ignored the reprimands of her belly and catapulted down the walkway ourobouros vine.

The forest floor was mercifully quiet, but Sanna imagined she could still hear the screams far above. Without the light from the bellflower, Sanna had to fumble her way back to Sunshine, periodically calling to the bird and waiting an eternity for each response. When she found the Mori-ko it was too dark to set the wing so Sanna leaned against the trunk of a Yore and tried to sleep. If she could hardly find Sunny in the dark, how likely was it that one of those creatures could find her? She was not graced with rest.

* * *

Resetting Sunshine's wing had been a success, thanks in large part to the Spinial sap, a substance that destroyed muscle wherever it was applied. That prevented Sunshine from involuntarily twitching, something that could affect how well she healed. A vine around her neck, over the wing and tied between the legs held the injured side motionless but allowed the Mori-ko some freedom of movement.

Sanna refused to consider returning to Avarin; even the thought made her ill with recollection. Hoping to find either her parents or Tiko, she led Sunshine through the forest, stopping every so often to listen to the trees.

A grumble reminded Sanna that not only had dinner been forcefully expunged during the night, she had also forgotten to grab food while she was at the temple. As they walked, Sanna picked up smooth stones from the ground and snatched greedily at what berries she could identify as edible.

The air, cooled by gentle breezes in the canopy, was still and humid amidst the roots of the Yores. Sanna pulled her ebony hair back in a knot, fanning her neck as best she could. The sticky day passed uneventfully, though somewhere near noon Sanna felled a small mammal with her slingshot and presented it to Sunshine.

Near sunset Sanna divined the location of a cave that would provide shelter from a storm that thunder portended in trumpeting intonations.

"I'm sure we're going the right way Sunny," Sanna consoled her friend, "the trees tell me a camp isn't all that far away. It's probably mom and dad, and I bet Tiko and Kitari are there, with LOTS of food." She smiled at the thought.

Nearly a mile separated them from the proffered shelter when a booming, that at first had meshed with the peals of thunder, clearly defined itself as the result of a land bound beast. "Go on ahead," Sanna ordered Sunshine, pointing in the direction of the cave. "I'm going to find out what that sound is. She stifled a yawn; the lack of sleep was taking a toll on her.

While Sunshine hobbled her way to the cave, Sanna discovered the beast whose footfalls shook the forest floor. A ten foot tall yamakujira stood, snorting through the soft loam.

The Yamakujira were colossal hairy boars, with yellowing tusks that bordered five feet in length, and whose hides were so grotesquely soiled that small plants took root in their fur. Their little piggy eyes were red; unlike most wild boars, the yamakujira were carnivores. Sanna crept away as silently as she could. If he heard her... could she run fast enough? A twig snapped and the boar looked up, sniffing the air. Sanna arrested all motion, she even held her breath.

The boar turned away and, as he disappeared behind a tree, Sanna let out a sigh of relief. She took a circuitous route back to Sunshine, in case her scent would give away their location. The poor Mori-ko had not managed to travel far; a quarter mile remained before they would arrive at the cave. A gentle rain started to fall, only brief spatters of water making it the distance to the forest floor.

The booming resumed behind them but Sanna, confident that the yamakujira could not follow the contours of her route, took no concern. The thuds continued to approach and she began to worry that she had not been as devious as she had initially imagined. Sanna goaded Sunshine forward with as much haste as was feasible.

Suddenly the yamakujira appeared from behind the shallow roots of a Yore. Those little beady eyes, so crazed! "Sunny get to the cave as fast as you can. Go!" Sanna shouted as the bird hesitated. Sanna didn't waste further breath on her friend, instead pulling the sling from her pocket with one hand while scooping up a smooth chunk of limestone from the ground with the other. She swiftly aimed and pitched the stone at the boars massive forehead. A hit! That got his attention all right! Sanna scrambled up the roots of a Yore, climbing as high as she could. The boar screeched in rage and charged at the tree, his immense mass gaining speed like a freight train. The cranial impact shook the tree, nearly jolting Sanna from her perch. She could see the cave from up here! Sanna squinted; was that Sunny entering the mouth? The diversion had worked!

The boar was recumbent; the vegetal collision had knocked him senseless. Sanna skidded down the trunk and rocketed off towards the rocky enclosure. She probably had less than a minute and the boar would follow her. Could she get enough of a lead? She'd certainly try!

The ground was interrupted sporadically by roots waiting to snare her ankles. One succeeded; she tripped, losing precious time. The cave was just ahead, fifty yards and she would be safe! The semi-conscious yamakujira had begun a sonorous lumber after her receding form, ground trembling as his massive weight shifted from side to side.

Tonight the Natural was victor; Sanna leapt into the cave mouth, an opening far too small to allow for the bulk of the wild pig. Unable to stop, the Yamikujira slammed painfully into the near wall of the cavern. Small pebbles pelted Sanna and Sunshine as they were jolted from an aeon long rest. The pig squealed angrily, pawing at the dirt near the mouth of the cave. Sanna let out a sigh of relief. Although they were undoubtedly safe in the cave, the stench of the boar was painfully intrusive. Evening began to descend, ominous shadows emerging from the further recesses of their haven.

* * *

A day passed as they waited for the giant boar to leave. At one point, he gave the impression that he had departed, long enough to give them a small sense of security. Sunshine warily left the semi-cozy environs of the small enclosure, only to discover the Yamikujira had been lurking scarcely out of their site range, patiently awaiting the arrival of the fresh meat so nearly proffered to him.

By the next dusk, their hunger had become almost unbearable. As darkness once again fell upon the pair, Sanna explored the hitherto un-enticing depths of their rocky prison. Sanna's hands quested over the crumbling granite surface of the far wall, deftly locating crevices invisible to the naked eye. She ceased her unfathomable search as her palms caressed the soft, warm bodies of a group of meihanja. She could imagine their full, black eyes peering vainly into the neo-gloom of twilight for their assailant.

There couldn't be more than five of them, Sanna reasoned. Taking more than two for food could seriously jeopardize the continuance of the group unit. Sanna gingerly grasped the nearest available pair. They struggled weakly in her grip as she drew them from their warm nest. Their fur was so soft! She drew out the remainder of the spinial sap and dabbed the edge of a sharp stone with the sticky liquid. She struck the first of the meihanja near the back of its neck with the impromptu device. Either it would die from the blow or the sap would swiftly numb its pain. Still, it shrieked in terror as her hand descended, writhed in palpable agony as her hand slipped. Sunshine took the small spasming form in her beak and consumed it without any outward appearance of moral dismay.

The blood was warm on her hands. She tried to wipe it off, but only succeeded in smearing it all over her clothing. Sanna began to sob uncontrollably, so much that she was forced to sit, head collapsed to her chest in absolute mortification of what she had done. When she had killed for food before, the death had always been swift and, she assumed, relatively painless. Having no desire to further her own or others agony, she released the remaining meihanja.

Sanna cried deep into the night. Never, she vowed, never again would she let another being suffer so gruesomely, or so needlessly...

***

The morning of the second day penned was met with the occasional drop of rain as, undoubtedly, the canopy protected against the worst of the rainfall. Sanna yawned and curled closer to Sunny's side. Another night without sleep had left her physically and emotionally drained.

"I think I'm getting a cold," Sanna complained, as the multitudinous scents of dawn failed to assail her senses. "Oh..." looking outside of the small enclosure, "he's still here." The Yamikujira lay on its side outside of the cave, huffing contentedly in sleep. "Stupid pig. Of course IT can sleep." Sanna was also, admittedly, slightly crabby.

The cave, though in reality it was a half-circle rocky enclosure created by ground-water erosion, was long and fairly shallow, extending back a mere twenty feet before the ceiling met the floor. A small sinkhole held slightly murky water, fettered only by small amounts of predictable debris.

"I'm going to find us some food," Sanna informed her friend. Sunny didn't respond; she was still asleep. Sanna shrugged; let her rest now, and save her energy for healing. That was much more important anyway. Almost as important as finding her parents...

A quick survey of the smaller crannies revealed a nest of cave-squirrels, curled together in tight little furry balls. The miniature mammalians fed off of lichen and usually clung to the walls when threatened. Sanna cooed to them gently. She grabbed the two nearest her, not the largest of the group, and tried to end their lives as mercifully as possible. After a few moments of fruitless retching in the corner, she offered the larger of the squirrels to Sunny.

"I know its not much sweety, but its the best I can do for now." Sunny looked at her impassively, gently taking the small form from Sanna's hand. The squirrel was a meager feast for such a large beast. Sanna forced herself to consume her own meal, closing her eyes as she delicately gnawed at the soft flesh. Although they had not suffered as the meihanje had, Sanna was less than sanguine about the reality of the pain the cave-squirrels endured before death.

Wary of the pigs' lurking ways, they waited until nightfall on the second day before they dared to venture forth once again. Nearly eight hours has passed since the last sighting of the massive creature, and sounds were returning as lesser forest creatures ventured into the relative safety of his absence.

The wait had been horrific. Refusing to consume any more of the gentle cave-squirrels, Sanna had been forced to trap and eat the Saifihk, palm sized hairy spiders that only came forth in the depths of night. While they were not dangerous, and in fact very timid, they were plentiful and eating them posed no danger to the continuation of the species. Unable to relieve herself in the woods, a small corner of the cave had been allotted for ‘release,' which would have been horrific to the nasal passages had the Yamikujira not rested so nearby.

Sanna assumed the air had a wonderful, clean quality but her nose had not regained its capacity for smell as of yet. Night critters chattered away happily. The scene was rather peaceful in the absence of their captor. Sanna led Sunshine carefully through the forest in the general direction they had been traveling before.