This is set in The Journey somewhere cuz, c'mon it was one of the first origin story things c: Ehh no judging please, my first Ga'Hoole fic so reviews appreciated.
Soren bit back a shree that threatened to erupt in his throat. The barn owl clacked his beak shut before he could disturb his sleeping friends, which shifted sleepily around him. He exhaled shakily, ruffling his wings out slightly to rid them of cramps that came with the day. He blinked around wearily, the daymare replaying automatically replaying in his mind.
He was flying over the Beaks, searching for something. Strange thing was, he didn't know what he was searching for, but in his gizzard, he knew he was searching for something. Soren scanned the ground, combing his eyes through the rocky terrain, searching, searching, searching. The Barn Owl blinked, trying to feel a twinge, any twinge, in his gizzard that showed him or hinted what he was searching for, but there was nothing.
He sighed, eyes roving again, when suddenly a little flicker of green waved at his peripheral vision. That patch of green grew, like a green river, snaking until it led to a familiar place.
The Mirror Lakes.
Soren's gizzard screamed at him to fly away, but his mind desired the place of luxury. His mind won.
The Barn Owl lighted down into a tree, his head swivelling around to view the place that had once captured the Band. It seemed the same, the sounds of scurrying prey, the gentle breeze that barely disturbed the clear crystalline lakes. Yet there was something missing, something not right. Soren bobbed his head, as his gizzard seemed to fall right to the ground, giving him the urge to yarp.
Suddenly the breeze increased, wiping the lakes clear of the sunny sky. Grey clouds tumbled into the Mirror Lakes, as if attacking something.
Soren's third eyelid swept across his eyes as he tried to take shelter from the howling winds, following him as if to whisper something. In fact they were, sending Soren's heart trying to fall into his gizzard in terror.
"You should neeevverrrr haveee commmeee hereeee!" it shreed at him, splitting his ear slits. "If yooouuu had continued, your sister would have liveddddd!"
"What do you mean?! Eglantine?! She's alive, I feel it!" Soren cried back as the waves of wind shoved him out of the tree. The Barn Owl tried to fly, yet the winds buffeted him back and forth, as if it was trying to shake him out of the sky. Soren was in the Weather Chaw, he should know how to deal with these rough conditions! But his gizzard gave up on him, his wings locking. Soren went yeep right then and there, plummeting down into the Mirror Lakes he had glided over, admiring his reflection.
Except now, that reflection was horrified. Wait, it seemed angrier than horrified. It wasn't his reflection at all! This owl was female, seeming to be pure white. This owl was- was-
A shriek.
Blood.
A lake.
And then nothing.
Soren shivered, fluffing up his feathers, trying to shake off the sudden cold. He gulped down his fear, deciding to step around his friends and then outside the hollow to relieve his stress without disturbing the band.
The daylight coated his face feathers, gleaming them into a dull yellow as the sun started to set. At least it wasn't too early.
The Barn Owl shivered once more as he forced himself to recount the dream once more, thinking everything over. All my fears and guilt moulded into one dream. Nice job subconscious, he chastised his mind, nervously preening his breast feathers. He blinked up, gasping slightly as a crow zoomed past, emitting a rambunctious caw. Soren shivered, the shock of his dream mingling with the crow scaring him. He should know better, but after that dream…
"You should neeevverrrr haveee commmeee hereeee! If yooouuu had continued, your sister would have liveddddd!" the words ricocheted in his mind, clawing at his brain. Soren shut his eyes, the guilt of the Mirror Lakes making them forget their course to Ga'Hoole almost entirely. If it hadn't been for Mrs. Plithiver… he dared not string the rest of that sentence. The Barn Owl proceeded to shut his eyes, stilling as he tried to get the thought to die down, but his worry for his dear sister, the guilt of the Mirror Lakes and then… the 'you only wish'.
Soren flinched as he remembered the ending of his daymare, the ghostly figure of another owl. It couldn't have been his sister.
"She wouldn't," he said to himself, shifting his talons on the branch.
"Can't sleep?" a small voice peeped up behind him. Soren swivelled his head around, to see Gylfie perched at the edge of the hollow.
"No," he said weakly, as his friend hopped up next to him. "Sorry, did I wake you?"
"Not really, more so the crow," the Elf Owl said, blinking at him fondly. "I just felt that you weren't as close as usual,"
"You sense those things?" Soren churred softly, yet it died down.
"Yes. Don't you?"
"I guess," the Barn Owl answered, cocking his head in thought. "Right now, I sense that Eglantine is definitely alive. If she isn't, I would know she isn't,"
"Did you dream about her?" Gylfie asked softly, turning her head to look at him.
"Yes. Well, kind of," Soren replied uncertainly, remembering she was only mentioned in the chaos. He turned to his friend, a question that had suddenly started to itch him. "Gylfie, have you been wondering about the… 'you only wish'?" his polished black eyes blinked cautiously, curiously. The Elf Owl's breath hitched as she turned the question over.
"Sometimes. It's bugged me, and I truly want to know, but how could we find out? It's almost as if the rybs are hiding the information,"
"But that's the thing! They wouldn't hide it; the Guardians would never strip us of knowledge. Unless it's something really big,"
"Soren, I know you're worried, but if the rybs feel it's something that needs to be looked into deeper, before being announced to the public, we have to have faith in them! They aren't stripping us of knowledge, they're just protecting us! We should just wait until they figure it out, then we can do what we can to help," Gylfie said, slightly confused why Soren was getting so worked up about this. Sure, he was worried about his sister, but to doubt the Guardian's choices was a little extreme. She examined her friend, who's eyes were half shut as he thought over her proposition. "Soren, we left that place. The Ga'Hoole tree will never become like St. Aggies. Boron and Barran will die before that happens," she said softly, sweeping her little wing over the edge of his.
"I know. It's just, thoughts get very tangled, and if Eglantine was trapped in St. Aggie's when we were in the Mirror Lakes-! I would never forgive myself," Soren's chest heaved at the thought. Gylfie's face melted into pity, so the little Elf Owl stepped up and preened her friend gently, cooing lightly.
"It'll be fine, Soren," she soothed, the Barn Owl blinking gratefully down at his friend.
"T-thanks Gylf," Soren said, briefly preening her head feathers.
"No problem," the Elf Owl said happily, turning around to face the last rays of sun. "Do you want to go for an early flight? No point in trying to go back to sleep,"
"Why not," the Barn Owl replied, pushing off the thick branch they were perched on. Gylfie fluttered after him, and the two threaded through the breeze, gliding on the last rays of the sun.
Just like old times.
OKAY. SO I AM SHOCKED AT MYSELF. Just throwing it out there xD. I have loved this series since (insert time here) so AGES, and I have NEVER done a fanfic on it. So I was like DANG YOU MAN. YOU SHOULD THROW YOURSELF TO DA CROWS.
Instead I wrote this fluffy, angsty fic (idek if it's angsty) because who doesn't love a little Gylfie and Soren bonding moment? I love their friendship, relationship, whatever people like of them. So cute, so yeah this fic was born. Reviews are nice, so if you have any useful feedback. Really appreciated.
Until next time, Floof Out!
