(Theme #3 - Technology)
"Creepy," was Kir's comment as they crested the hill. On the path they'd followed for the last few days, strange debris littered the brush on either side. Other than cursory glances, they hadn't slowed much, but now looking down at the valley below, they felt rooted to the spot.
Huge machines, still as corpses, covered the valley floor. Some were darkened by rust, others by soot, and all of them were in such disrepair that no one would even consider salvage.
"Jing?" The albatross prompted, when the grey-eyed young man didn't move. "What's wrong?"
"It's strange, isn't it Kir?" The Bandit King said distantly, booted feet kicking up a trail of dust as he slid down the steep slope of the hill.
"What is?"
"How people leave things behind once they think they're useless."
Kir's talons clamped a little tighter on his companion's shoulder. "Where are we?"
"Just outside of Mandalay."
The bird frowned, no easy task with a beak. "I've never heard of it," he admitted.
"I'm not surprised," Jing answered, sliding to a halt at the bottom of the incline. "Nobody's lived here in a hundred years, not since the end of the war." His hands slipped into the deep pockets of his coat. "I can kind of see why. Even the land has given up on this place." He crouched down to grasp a fistful of the pale yellow grass that covered everything. It crumbled to dust when he closed his hand around it.
Kir craned his neck back to look up at the machines as Jing wove through them. "That's a lot of metal," he whistled. "Who won the war?"
"Nobody," His human companion answered. "Both sides just gave up."
"Why?"
Jing shrugged, sidestepping a giant wheel fallen from a nearby metal behemoth. "Guess they found something better to do with their time."
The albatross shivered. "Yeah, well... pick up the pace, partner. I don't want to be here after dark."
"Sorry, Kir... we have to cut through the valley to reach the pass on the other side. We're going to spend at least one night here." He rubbed the black feathers consolingly. "It's not so bad, is it? We're not moving in, after all."
"Jiiing..." Kir whined, sagging on his perch. "Fine, but... I ain't sleeping!"
---
That claim was proving difficult, however, as the bird watched the small fire flickering. Jing fed dead twigs, scrounged from the long grass, into the circle he'd cleared of underbrush. The orange light danced over the iron sides of the tall machinery that loomed overhead.
"What's wrong, partner?" The Bandit King asked, seeing that the bird had huddled in on himself.
Kir glanced up, then back at the fire, embarrased. "I don't like this place."
"I figured that much out Kir --"
"No Jing, I... I really don't like this place. All I want to do right now is fly out of here fast as I can and never come back. All these machines... they're just not natural and... I don't like them."
Grey eyes showing kind concern, Jing extended an arm as an invitation, and after a moment, Kir jumped onto the familiar perch. They boy leaned back, stroking the sleek black feathers. "It's ok, Kir," he said quietly. "It bothers me too sometimes. All these things that people make, and then just discard? It makes me wonder... how long until it's not old machines they're throwing away, but other people?"
"Humans do that," Kir muttered. "What if you do that one day?"
"I won't," Jing answered. "I've got a best friend for a partner, and he wouldn't let me do something awful like that."
Kir gave a small grin. "Yeah... you're right."
The night passed quietly, and come dawn they made their way from the graveyard valley, both glad to leave it behind.
---
Notes:
Mandalay - Taken from the alcoholic beverage, A Night in Old Mandalay. Ingredients: Light rum, Añejo rum, Orange juice, Lemon juice, Ginger ale, Lemon peel; Directions: In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine the light rum, añejo rum, orange juice, and lemon juice. Shake well. Strain into a highball glass almost filled with ice cubes. Top with the ginger ale. Garnish with the lemon twist.