Tessa peered through the bushy shrub that covered the ground. It was extremely nice compared to The Barrens. Soren had decided that they had to take the fastest route. Consequently, the Others had not gotten to see most of Shadow Forest. The Barrens were very self explanitory, according to Soren, it was almost the same thing as St. Aegolius Canyons, except there were less bushes. Much less bushes. It was almost like walking through a desert, however, there were none of the famous sand dunes that most people think of when they hear the word 'desert'.
So, the Others had somehow made it behind an over-excited Soren, who was extremely amazed by his discovery. Who would have thought that young others were so similar to hatchlings? Soren was really warming up to them, and he had his gizzard set on getting to the Great Tree as quick as possible. The more time they spent out in the open, the more likely it was that the news would get around, and if too many owls, or even just creatures, saw the Others, the Pure Ones would find out.
"So, where are we going?" Holly finally asked, trying to break the ice.
"Well, it depends on how you look at it." Soren said.
"What do you mean by that?" Anthony responded.
"We have one destination, but there will be plenty of stops in between. We'll try to set camp at Silverveil."
"Silverveil, I like that name. It sounds enchanting." Vanessa said optimistically.
"Believe me, it is a lovely place." Soren said, smiling.
Meanwhile, back at the Great Tree, Soren was certainly missed. Gylfie was perched on the branch above her nest, with Digger and Twilight beside her.
"Where is he?" Twilight said.
"I know he's out on the mainland somwhere. I just can't believe he would leave without us." Gylfie said, there was a slight tone in her voice that made her sound hurt. Digger, who was the most philosophical one, sensed this feeling.
"It must have been important then. Maybe he had to leave right away." Digger reasoned.
"And he could not spare one minute to ask if we wanted to come with him?" Gylfie continued.
"Okay, Gylfie, this is foolish. What are you trying to prove. Soren is your friend, and he would have told you if he could." Twilight started a little harshly. Gylfie wilfed. "Now, there is some perfectly good vole with your name on it in the Dining Hollow. Why don't you take it?" Twilight said gently.
Digger patted Gylfie on the back and gave her a reassuring look. Gylfie smiled softly. She was surprised that Twilight was actually able to talk to someone without his usual rough and boastful nature. The three owls flew off their perch and had begun to walk towards the dining hollow when a large snowy owl got in their way.
"Madame Plonk?" Twilight asked.
"I couldn't help but notice that Gylfie was wondering where Soren went. Come with me, I have something to show you."
So, the remaining members of the band followed Madame Plonk into her overly fancy hollow.
However, if someone was to look into Madame Plonk's dear sister's hollow, it would have looked quite different. First of all, it was not a hollow at all. It was a forge. Madame Plonk's sister was a rogue smith, and a good one at that. In its previous life, the rogue smith, otherwise known as Thora or The Rogue Smith of Silverveil, believed it to have been part of a castle. So, yes, that meant that the forge was on the ground, not in a tree. Secondly, the occupants of the hollow were much different than four owls and a nestmaid snake. Rather, there were six Others and two owls, one that was sooty in color, despite being a snowy owl, and the other strikingly resembling Metal Beak.
The rogue smith was still trying to understand what was going on. She had never really done well in crowds, but she could not avoid the crowd Soren had given her.
"So, let me get this straight. You were just flying around in Shadow Forest and happened to run into these... hatchlings."
"Yes, that is basically what happened." Soren answered.
"Do you know where the Others went?"
"I think they fell asleep outside."
The rogue smith could indeed hear faint snores coming from outside. Her gizzard felt warm, almost motherly as she gazed down at their peaceful faces. She could not help but smile when she saw Tessa sleeping in the central part of a tree. She is indeed part monkey. The rogue smith thought. What am I thinking? I am not a mother. These are not even of my kind. She snapped back into focus and glided back into her forge.
"Would you like a squirrel or a vole?" The rogue smith offered.
"Surprise me," Soren answered plainly. And so the rogue smith lighted off into the moonlight.