Chapter 5
Kira flew on for at least a day, calmer now than before and with a purpose in mind. David's words had given her spirit a much needed boost, and had also cleared her head; he was right, she needed to get away for a while, and Silverveil might not be such a bad place to do so. Before long, day began to break over the horizon, and Kira spotted a tall grove of pine trees nearby. Feeling relieved that she wouldn't have to sleep on the cold, plantless ground of the Barrens, Kira peeked into the hollow of a particularly tall pine and, after she was satisfied that there were no current residents, settled in. As Kira fell asleep, her last thoughts were of Garth and Silverveil – and of her mother.
"From the looks of these feathers, I'd say she'd flown through here rather recently." Blaze looked intently at Delphine, a battle – scarred Short – Eared Owl, as she studied a feather, which undoubtedly belonged to Kira, laying near the Ambala – Barrens border. Shortly after her and Kludd had gathered Banshee and Nyra and prepared to leave, Stryker arrived back at the fortress with Delphine in tow, stating that she was one of the best trackers in the owl kingdoms. Judging by the fact that Stryker's feathers had been askew, Blaze had figured that he had had to fly all the way to the Beyond to find her. One can only wonder how he had the strength to make that trip. Blaze thought to herself, but held her tongue.
"From the Barrens, this owl could have gone three possible routes." Delphine continued. "She could have flown to Silverveil, the Shadow Forest, or even Ga'Hoole, and from those points, she may have either stayed or continued her travels; for all we know, she may have died from exhaustion in the Barrens. We will have to follow her feathers in order to make sure."
The lack of feeling in this owls voice made Blaze burn with indignation, and she gave Delphine a hearty glare. "I think you're forgetting, ma'am," she growled in an icy tone, "that this owl you're speaking of is my daughter. I may not understand her ways, but she is my daughter, and if anyowl with ill intent dares to even tap her with a single talon, I shall rip them wing from wing." Kludd then approached Delphine, deliberately keeping her and Blaze apart in doing so. "How quickly do you think we will be able to track her down, Delphine."
"Ideally, it should take maybe a day or two; the portion of the Barrens between Ambala and Silverveil is rather thin, so if she went there, we'll be able to find her quite quickly." Delphine replied before lifting off into the air, still stunned by Blaze's response. Blaze had not explained her daughter's origins to them, but Delphine knew the mark of an owl force – mated, and Blaze certainly bore it; for this reason, why Blaze had not simply stayed away from her daughter or better yet, smashed the egg right then and there, confounded Delphine. She had spent the majority of her life in the Beyond, and that was where she learned an important lesson: life had no room for weakness. But rogues from the Beyond had little scruples, and these owls had offered Delphine handsome payment – a finely crafted pair of battle claws from a rogue smith in Tyto! Delphine considered herself something of a collector; each Rogue smith had their own style, and Delphine loved to compare battle claws.
As Delphine lifted off, with Kludd, Nyra, Banshee, and Blaze following close behind, Bashee looked towards Blaze, whose eyes still seemed determined to burn a hole into the back of Delphine's head. "What will happen to Kira when we find her?" Banshee asked, his voice wavering.
Blaze sighed, her heart and gizzard heavy. "She did a very foolish thing," she explained, "but she is young and probably has her reasons. In the moment that we find her, I will have a private discussion on the matter before I make any decisions on disciplinary action. She is my daughter and a living creature, prone to make mistakes, and she deserves to have her side of this story heard. And I intend to hear it before I make any decisions."
Banshee looked at her with admiration. He sometimes wondered if maybe it would have been better if Blaze had kept Kira rather than give her up; her attachment to her daughter was fierce and unwavering, and Banshee had no doubt that Blaze cared for her. Dearest Glaux, Banshee prayed silently, don't let Kira die. Do what you want, but don't break her mother's gizzard.
Kira woke up the next evening to the sound of drums pounding and owls singing. Curious, she went to go investigate the matter… and was unprepared for the sight that greeted her.
In a small clearing below her, owls of many different species were dancing in a unique rhythm, the likes of which Kira had never seen before, while singing a song that Kira never heard, but immediately grew fond of. The owls – ranging from Northern Saw – whet to Great Horned to Boreal – had painted some of their feathers various shades of gold, yellow, orange, and red, and had woven fallen leaves between their wing feathers, creating quite a spectacle. However, what really caught Kira's attention was a Barn Owl who, at the moment, was dancing with a young Barred Owl. His feathers, which were the color of copper and painted with streaks of vermillion, saffron, and goldenrod, did little to conceal his lithe, muscular form, and his ebony eyes sparkled with energy and enthusiasm. Kira watched, enthralled, as the owl glided effortlessly through the clearing.
"That would be Leo you're stalking over there, and yes, I agree, he's an absolute hunk." Kira heard a husky voice say, and turned around, startled, to find a female Masked Owl staring intently at her. The top of her head was painted a bright scarlet, while her dark brown wings and lighter brown underbelly were painted golden yellow. Her eyes, meanwhile, seemed to sparkle with amusement. "Then again, I think the majority of Silverveil would agree with you; females have been chasing after him since his First Flight ceremony."
"Are you guys taking about Leo?" a chirpy voice asked as its owner, a Northern Saw – Whet whose feathers were streaked with amarinth and jonquil, settled onto the branch beside the Masked Owl. "Oh, the things I would do to that owl. I mean, not if Valentina was interested, but sweet Glaux, I'd fly that owl all. Around. Silverveil."
The owl identified as Valentina gave a slight chuckle and rolled her head in a clockwise motion. "This is Athena; she's really nice when she's not being Silverveil's biggest flirt!" She shot Athena a look of mock annoyance and turned her head back towards Kira. "As you may have heard, I'm Valentina, although many owls call me Val."
"Kira." Kira replied, surprised and relieved at Val's friendliness. She then turned her eyes back to the festivities below. "So what's going on here? And why are you guys painting your feathers?"
"It's our Festival de Outono!" Athena replied cheerfully, earning a confused look from Kira. Val quickly stepped in to explain. "You know that us owls have two main languages – Hoolian and Krakish, right?" Kira nodded. "Well, a few of us in Silverveil had done some research on the Others, and with some help from Trader Mags – she's a magpie living here – they unearthed a few stone fragments that the Others left. As it turns out, they spoke many different languages; some looked like Hoolian and Krakish, while others were ones we had never even seen before, and now, we're trying to learn all of them. What you just heard is what the Others called Portuguese, and you may hear a fair bit of it the longer you stay here."
"With that having been explained," Val went on, "every year, around the time of the Copper – Rose Rain, before Punkie Night – you know what Punkie Night is, right?" Kira nodded. "Well, before then, we have a little festival called Festival de Outono to celebrate the colours of autumn. There's food, feather painting, and plenty of samba dancing, and even the oldest owls celebrate it." Kira was about to ask what samba was when she heard a strange, almost otherworldly sound fill the air, indicating the start of a new song. It was precisely at this moment that Leo flew up to the three females, causing Kira's heart to skip a beat.
"Val, Athena!" he called as he flew, although his eyes were on Kira. "Are you gonna tell your new friend about Festival de Outono, or are you gonna show her?" With that, Val beckoned for Kira to follow her while Athena let out a joyous whoop. As Kira flew, she could feel the rhythm of the music flowing through her veins, and as the entire forest sang, she danced as if she had known this song her entire life.
Let's come together, singing love and harmonia
We are so different, but the same inside our hearts
Beautiful colors, just as far as the eyes can see ya
Open your wings, fly when you hear the call
Let's celebrate, for we are beautiful creatures
Come spread your wings, dance and sing songs about freedom
Like lah lah lah hoo hoo
One for the forest família
Like bah bah bah boo boo
Calling the beautiful creatures
Come this way celebrate
Laugh and dance all the way
Follow me sing along
Lah lah bah bah boom boom
Já disse que Jade chegou
Já disse que já disse que Jade chegou
Já disse que Jade chegou
Já disse que já disse que Jade chegou
"This is amazing!" Kira shouted to Val, feeling an unfamiliar sense of exhilaration. "This is samba!" Val replied, dancing in a rhythm similar to Kira's. "I'd say more, but you really need to feel it to understand it." This was all Kira needed to hear; she could feel the song flowing through her as if it had always been there. Perhaps I do belong here. Kira thought to herself, and with that, Kira began to sing along, as if the words had taken on a new meaning for her.
Let's celebrate, for we are beautiful creatures
Come spread your wings, dance and sing songs about freedom
Like lah lah lah hoo hoo
One for the forest família
Like bah bah bah boom boom
Calling the beautiful creatures
A/N: Aaaaahhhhh! Kira has arrived in Silverveil at last! But her adventure is far from over... So, what did you guys think? I was a little low on exact ideas for this one, so I apologize if the writing's crappy or cliche. Oh, and the song I used is "Beautiful Creatures" from Rio 2, although, as you may have guessed, I changed some of the lyrics because context (on a side note, I apologize if I got any of them wrong, the lyric sites I found weren't very good). As always, show some love and review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Guardians of Ga'Hoole or "Beautiful Creatures"; full credit goes to their respective writers.