Alright, so, not much action happens in this chapter, but one of my favoritecharacters is introduced! Anyway, please enjoy and review even if you don't like it. I'll take harsh constructive criticism. Just tell me what you don't like about the chapter and I'll change it.
Sky flew as fast and hard as she could. For the first time in her simple life, Sky was truly terrified. She knew exactly what the Pure Ones were up to and this made her gizzard shake with fear. Sky glanced over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being followed then made a sharp turn to the right, taking the long way back to her hollow. By the time Sky finally made it home, she was exhausted and it was far past sunrise.
"Sky! Where have you been? Are you alright? Did you find anything out? What happened?" Sky practically hurled herself into the hollow and, as she expected, was bombarded with questions by Griselda even before she could catch her breath. What she didn't except was to crash right into Smoke, Griselda's mate, as she barreled into the hollow.
"Smoke became worried about me when I didn't come back to the hollow. Don't worry, I explained everything to him." Griselda explained before Sky could even ask the question. Sky shut her mouth. Griselda knew her too well.
Smoke, back flat on the ground from being run over by Sky, hurled himself back onto his feet and helped sky up then swiped off some dust on her feathers. "Good morning, Sky." Smoke greeted heartily. "And how was your night? Adventurous I predict." Smoke hooted smugly. Sky made a face and rolled her eyes, turning back to Griselda whose face was quite serious and most likely anxious to hear the news.
Sky ruffled her feathers. "Have you heard the stories of Feather, the murdering eagle?"
Total dread crossed over Griselda's face as she already knew, by that simple question, what the situation was. And it was big. Smoke, as well, grew very thin with fear.
"They want to find him, bargain with him and get him on their side. But I'm guessing that they're probably trying to also recruit some more owls for Nyra's army. That's the most logical thing to do anyway." That's a sentence I thought I'd never hear myself say. Sky shook her head and watched Griselda closely as her eyes grew misty and her facial disks moved from such deep thinking.
Smoke, not wanting to get in Griselda's way, came to Sky's side and, together, they watched as Griselda, the old Great Gray, paced back and forth, stopped at the hollow entrance and looked out at the lighting sky, then began pacing again. Finally, she stopped and stared both Smoke and Sky straight in the eye.
"We have to tell the Guardians of Ga'Hoole." Griselda said with such force that Sky blinked in surprise.
"But, Griselda, do you have any idea how far away that is? I mean, not only is the journey long, but there would be no land for us to rest on, and there could be storms or we could be mobbed by crows or other owls, or-"
"Sky, we flew here from the Southern Kingdoms once, so we can most certainly fly back." Griselda declared.
"But you were much younger and we had a tail wind the whole way. So, if we fly back, we'd also be facing the wind which would make it that much harder."
"Make what much harder?" A small voice seem to come out of nowhere and, as all three owls turned their heads, the saw a much smaller one poking inside the hollow. It was Pebble, a small Pygmy Owl that was, for Sky's case, all too curious. She sighed. "Nothing that matters to you Pebble, now just go and bug someone else."
Pebble ignored the last part and hopped in. She knew that whenever a bigger owl-which was most owls around-said it didn't matter her, she knew it was something good. "Oh, come on Sky, you know I'm good at keeping secrets. Just tell me and then my beak will be sealed."
If only. Sky glanced at Griselda who seemed to be considering Pebble doubtfully. Everyone knew that Pebble was the best gossiper around. She was like a grog she in herself. "Well, what are you doing up so late anyway?"
Pebble shrugged. "I got hungry. Nothing really filling was out running last night. Well, not that I could find anyway. Now, I'm not going to leave until one you tell me." The small owl hooted stubbornly.
"Oh yes you will, even if I have to throw you out myself." Sky, puffing out in annoyance, progressed toward Pebble and the Pygmy's eyes grew wide as she to stumble back, knowing Sky was not the kind of owl to talk things out.
"Sky, no." Griselda's voice was stern and, just as Sky was about wrap her talon around the Pygmy's body, she stopped, mid grab, and set her talon down again. Letting out a huff, she took her place at Smoke's side again, grumbling.
Pebble let out a short sigh of relief and turned back to Griselda, shaking her feathers as if nothing happened. "Alright, so what's the verdict here?"
Griselda hesitated for a moment, sighed and explained the whole process of what happened just last night to Pebble in great detail.
If Pebble was flying, Sky knew that she would have gone yeep. The small creature wilfed to nothing more than a brown line and her eyes were unblinking with fear. Sky thought she saw her start to shake.
"Well, now that you've heard the story, you have to help us." Griselda concluded forcefully.
Sky could've sworn Pebble was going to faint. "M-Me? B-But what can I do? I'm just a Pygmy Owl. I'm so small compared to even a Barn Owl!"
"Pebble, look at Gylfie from the Band. She's even smaller than you and she fights as if she's just as big as me. An all of those other Pygmy Owls at the tree, let's not forget them. They may be small, but their courage and strength is great." Griselda couldn't have said that any better. Even Sky felt more courage.
Pebble puffed out to normal size once again and her eyes grew distant as she began to think over what Griselda had just said. She's probably thinking about how amazing she'd sound once she got back from the trip and bragged to everyone about it. Sky thought miserably and shifted that was the complete opposite of what Pebble was really thinking. In fact, in her mind, Pebble was contemplating what it would be like to actually see the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, to behold the massive tree that had housed so many heroes and to listen to the awe-striking stories from the past of how these great owls survived though so many brutal battles. Pebble felt excitement wash over her and she swelled up. Finally, the small Pygmy looked back up at the other three owls again and, slowly, she nodded. "Okay, I'm in." She turned to Griselda in the most competent way she could. "What's your first order, Griselda?"
"Good." Griselda nodded, obviously pleased by the response. Then, she faced everyone else again; her voice incisive and sharp.
"So tonight, I want you, Smoke, to head south and warn all of the owls you can find. Sky, you head north, Pebble, you west, and I'll head east. Tell all of the owls that they should be very cautious about what they do and when they hunt and also to keep a close eye on their young'uns. Everyone got it?"
The three other owls nodded.
"Alright, we'll meet back here at tween time and then we'll set off for the Southern Kingdoms."
There was a short pause as everyone took in their new orders. There was no point in complaining with Griselda's logic. Everyone knew she was right. Sky glanced, first, at Griselda, then Smoke, and finally Pebble. It was almost hard to believe what was happening. The old, female Great Gray had come to her, just last night, telling her about the Pure Ones and now they were preparing to warn the rest of the forest, and fly off to the Southern Kingdoms, all in just a couple of hours. Sky shivered. The terror that Sky felt as she was flying back to her hollow just a little while ago crept back into her gizzard and one question repetitively raced through her mind.
What's going to happen to us?