Chapter 3
Hello again. Is this interesting? It's just a story. This part focuses on the Indians. Do you wish me to continue? Well, just don't call 'em savages when they can hear you…
Sparrow Feather took a deep breath and let it out again. This was his chance. He had to, had to show them he was worthy enough to join the hunt. There was no turning back after last time, and since he made it this far, he wasn't just going to back out now.
He raised his bow and stretched it, ignoring the remarks made by his peers behind him. He set his sight on his target and let the bow go flying. It was meant to hit inside the smallest circle- the yellow one. If he made it, he was in. Any lower, he was out. He couldn't let that happen.
It was going, going, going…
Yes! He thought to himself as it reached inside the circle. He smiled and lowered his bow and nodded his head to the rest of the boys behind them who were waiting their turn.
"… just a bit of luck on his side today."
Sparrow Feather turned to the voice and saw an older boy with his arms crossed talking with other boys who had already tried out and passed. He had an angry look on his face, the kind that let you know for certain that it was a bully, and not a friendly person. The kind people would always trust until they saw his true colors.
His name was Sharp Knife, and his name suited him as he always backstabbed you whenever he needed something from you and you wouldn't give it.
Sharp Knife caught Sparrow Feather's gaze and smirked. "Didn't you hear me? You just think you're so lucky, but luck doesn't last forever." He gave him a knowing glance. He was referring to the pirate incident.
Sparrow Feather was a second away from growling. "Too bad you're never lucky. But I'll give you a bit of it. You'll be lucky I don't walk up to you and put your brain where your mouth is supposed to be."
"Ooh. I'm so scared." Sharp Knife threw his hands up in mock fearfulness. "Someone save me! I'm being attacked by a kid who can't keep his two feet on the ground without nearly getting killed." He let his hands drop and he and his buddies laughed.
"I bet you only feel safe because you have people twice your size as your friends." Sparrow Feather heard a voice behind him. He saw a girl. She had long black hair and a long brown tunic. But the most striking thing about her was her legs which were wearing bright blue leggings. They gave her a sense of boldness.
That stopped the gangs laughing. "Shut up, Stormy. Maybe you should just get out of business that doesn't concern you."
"But it does concern me." The girl, Stormy, had an air about her that made you want to back away from you, else you'd get hurt. "'Cause we're one big happy family, right?"
The gang scowled at her and left, not without muttering a few mean words in her direction.
"Bye!" Stormy raise her hand and waved with a grin on her face.
Sparrow Feather turned and looked at the leaving game, and looked back at the grinning girl with the blue leggings. "Um, thanks, but why?"
"No reason." She answered. "I just like to use energy. 'Sides, I gotta do something to stay unbored."
Sparrow Feather decided not to mention that "unbored" wasn't a word.
"So, who are you?" Sparrow Feather asked.
"Stormy Cloud," she shrugged. "But, I'd prefer just Stormy, if you don't mind."
"Okay." He also muttered his name. "Sparrow Feather." He started to grab his things. "I guess I'll see you around." He began to walk off.
"No you're not." Stormy replied.
Sparrow Feather sighed. Would he ever get rid of her? "No I'm not what?" he asked.
"No, you're not ever going to see me again." She put her hands on her hips and the expression on her face said, "I'm not stupid, you know."
"You're never going to see me again." She continued. "You're just going to stay in your little clique of hunting boys, going off for long periods of time, only coming back to eat some game. I mean, by the time you ever do come back here, you won't even remember my name.
No. He thought. I'm not going to remember a rambling girl in blue tights. Not going to remember that at all.
"So, what do you want me to do?"
"Follow me." She said, her eyes serious. She began to run off.
Sparrow Feather groaned and ran after her. Wherever she was going.
-the line break's name is Bob-
One-Who-Jumps-Always, or Jumpy, as he liked to be called, hung onto a tree branch with one hand. He was waiting for Stormy. You could never really trust her to be all that reliable since she would say she was leaving for a certain amount of time, but she would come back much, much later. It was already getting dark.
"Andy?" He looked down toward the older girl lying down on the grass way below him (he was hanging from a tree). Her long black hair was spread across the grass in untidy braids. "ANDY!"
Andy, or Andromedia as she liked to be called, opened one of her eyes. "Don't call me that. I don't like that name."
It was either he couldn't hear her, or he just wanted to provoke her (possibly the latter), he called her again. "Andy, Andy, ANDY!"
"WHAT!" Both of her eyes shot open revealing piercing yellow eyes. Her face, usually soft and kind looking, took on a more pinched appearance of a girl having been rudely awoken from her sleep. As she had.
"Oh, you're up." His eyes opened with surprise as he transitioned to hanging from his legs.
"Of course she's up." A third voice came from the ground. A short girl stood fingering two reeds. "How can anyone sleep when you're shouting?"
"I just wanted to know." Jumpy transitioned back to his hands and started swinging. "What do you think could be keeping Stormy, Tree Reed?"
Tree Reed shrugged.
"What do you think?" Jumpy looked at the irritated girl.
"Knowing her, who knows?" Andromedia stood up and brushed the dirt and grass from her dress and reached for her feathered head band. "Besides, who said we can't just go along without her?"
There was a thick cloud of dirt (Jumpy received a dirty look from Andromedia) as he fell from the tree. He reappeared rubbing his left arm. "What do mean, 'just go along without her'? She's our friend. And," he paused. "She's the one who found it."
"No, let her." Tree Reed crossed her arms. "I've always wanted to see the wrath of Stormy that you always talk about. " She smiled a bit.
A sigh came from Andromedia. "Fine. Just be a wimp." She walked to a tree. She knocked on it twice, and a secret compartment opened up, like a drawer, and inside was a carefully wrapped thing. It was pulsing a red glowing color. She brought up to her face and smiled at the two.
"You're gonna regret that, you know." Jumpy said looking around nervously. "Stormy doesn't like it when she's not in something."
"She doesn't care." Tree Reed smirked.
"Oh, give me a break, guys. I'm just going to study it for a few minutes. That's all." She brushed her hair back behind her ear.
-Bob is very friendly. Sometimes-
Stormy moved several branches out of her way as she ran silently through the woods. It was getting darker, and cooler. The trees above seemed to block out the light.
Sparrow Feather cleared his throat. "So, um, you know where you're going, right?"
"Yep," came the reply.
"And, you're not lost or anything," Sparrow Feather said between runs. He wasn't scared, but, how was he going to explain to the rest of the guys that he got lost because a young girl was leading him?
An irritated sigh came from Stormy as she slowed down. She turned to face him. "I've gone this route several times. I could walk this way backwards and blindfolded, and I wouldn't get lost." She turned back around and started walking slowly.
"Why did we slow down?"
"Because," she said. "I sense an untrustworthy Woodpecker."
Sparrow Feather didn't bother asking what a Woodpecker was.
"Stand back," she whispered to him. She walked back slowly and started running. Sparrow Feather watched this.
"BOOOO!" Stormy fell on a taller girl who was too busy reading a piece of glowing red parchment to realize she was under attack.
"Get off me! Get off!" Andromedia was struggling to sit up and breathe.
"How could you? How dare you?" Stormy's hair flew in tangles. "I thought you said you weren't going to open it without me!"
Tree Reed, watching this, put her hand through her hair, and fought a laugh. She started to walk off with Jumpy who's eyes were wide.
"STAY HERE!" Stormy jumped up and put her hands on her hips. Her hair was in tangles and her tan cheeks were red. Her look was wild. She pointed her finger at Jumpy and Tree Reed's direction. She took several deep breaths. Behind her, Andromedia was muttering about how many times her dress was going to get wrinkled, dirty, etc.
"Didn't we have an agreement?" The three nodded.
"And haven't I said before that you never break an agreement?"
More nods.
"Alright." Stormy turned back to Andromedia who was fixing her head band which had lost a feather. "You're lucky you're my best friend, and not Branch Boy there. Otherwise," she made a cut-throat motion with her finger.
"Anyways," She clapped her hands. "We have a visitor." She walked to the forest. "Woodpeckers don't bite, Sparrow Feather."
"Who is it?" Tree Reed whispered to Jumpy. Jumpy said he didn't know.
A taller boy walked towards the clearing. He had a leather bag filled with arrows, and he was holding a bow. His look was very confused, like he just woke up from a day dream. "Hi."
"Hey." Jumpy and Tree Reed said. He nudged Andromedia who mumbled a hello.
"Who are the Woodpeckers?" he asked as he got closer.
"The Woodpeckers is a group of kids who meet together, and we build into a special family." She spread her arms around motioning to the waterfall in the distance, the clear blue river, the several trees, and a wide field of tall grass and flowers.
"Home away from home." Tree Reed added.
"Seems nice." Sparrow Feather scratched the back of his head. "But, where are your parents? Don't they wonder where you go off to every day?"
An uncomfortable silence came.
"Sorry." Sparrow Feather realized he had reached a touchy subject.
"Nope, it's fine." Stormy waved her hand like it was no big deal. "You see, my parents have been dead a long time. I don't really know what happened. So, instead of getting adopted by a half-loving family, I come and go as I please." She smiled. "I answer to no one."
Tree Reed shrugged. "My parents don't notice if I leave or if I stay." She looked up at Sparrow Feather. "I find this place nice to be."
Sparrow Feather turned to Jumpy. Jumpy cocked his head to the side, thinking. "I dunno why I come here. I think it's just fun."
Andromedia was next. She wrung her hands up. "Well, you can't expect me to be inside a tent looming all day like a perfect Lady, now can you?"
Stormy walked away while Andromedia was talking and picked up the wrapped red-glowing parchment. She cleared her throat. "Well, now that we're all here," she turned and smiled at Sparrow Feather. "And new people, I will now open this up." She unwrapped it and threw the wrapping onto the ground. She held a red paper with strange markings and drawing on it.
Sparrow Feather's eyes went wide. "It's a map."
"It's a treasure map!" Jumpy said getting closer. "Do you reckon it's a pirate map?"
"Who knows?" Stormy breathed staring at it intently. "But look. There's the Mermaids Lagoon. And that's Skull Rock. And that's…"
"Our village." Andromedia breathed. "Do you think that's where we start?"
"I don't know," Tree Reed said. "How do you know it isn't dangerous?"
Stormy smiled. "I say, let's face danger. I mean, we get to go on an adventure. A real one." She looked around at the group. "I'm game whether you are or not."
"I'm game." Jumpy looked like he was about to go and snatch the map for himself.
"I guess so." Andromedia mumbled.
Tree Reed rolled her eyed. "I don't want to get left out."
"It's all up to you now, Newbie." Jumpy looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Are you up for it?"
Sparrow Feather nodded. "As long as it doesn't interfere with hunting."
"Alright!" Stormy grinned. "We start tomorrow."
… and there you have it. The side of the Indians. Brave people. Not all that careful, but brave.
But, Tree Reed was right. It could be dangerous. And it could happen soon.
