Chapter 6

The next evening, Kludd woke up, waited for his parents to go hunting, then went back to the fortress. This time, however, Kludd stopped and looked at the parchment map in his talons before flying in to join his chambermates.

The previous morning, as the graduated owls flew back towards their chambers, Jade pulled Kludd aside and gave him the map. "Tomorrow evening," she explained, "we will have moved from our chambers into new quarters. I've already been told where we will be staying for the next term and have marked it on this map so that you can find it." By this point, Jade was well aware of Kludd's normal routine amongst them and had been very willing to make concessions. Nevertheless, she then whispered into Kludd's ear slit, "Let's hope your parents allow you to leave the nest soon. You can't fly with a wing in both worlds forever."

Kludd felt a little offended that Jade, of all owls, would question his loyalty to the Pure Ones, but he knew she had a point. Sooner or later, he would have to leave his family behind and stay with the Pure Ones for good. He hoped it was soon, too; he was getting tired of having to lie to Soren and Eglantine and Mrs. P. He wished he didn't have to, they had put such great faith in him, and he hated the idea of –

Suddenly, a light dawned within Kludd's gizzard. That's it! He thought to himself as he turned back around towards home. He wasn't quite ready to tell everyone just yet, but there was one young owl he wanted his chambermates to meet.

"Are we there yet?" Soren whispered to Kludd as they flew through the fortress. Kludd had decided to bring Soren with him today, on the condition that he not tell anyone about the visit. It had been hard to come up with a good bribe to keep Soren quiet, but eventually, Kludd decided that a few centipedes on the way home would do the trick.

"Almost." Kludd replied, then turned his head to face Soren. "Now, these owls do not take kindly to rude owls, so you have to be on your best behaviour, okay?" Not that that will be too much of a problem. Kludd thought to himself. When it came to good manners, Soren was the top of the tree.

"Okay." Soren nodded. "Atta boy." Kludd said to his brother. "And don't worry too much. These owls may look intimidating, but they're actually quite nice; you'll like them." With that, the two Barn Owls entered the new chamber to find Jade, Garth, Cedar, and Scourge staring surprised at them. "Sorry I'm late, everyone." Kludd said now in a normal speaking voice. "I hope you don't mind that I brought a visitor."

"Of course not, Kludd." Jade replied, her voice cheery. "Any friend of yours is welcome here." She then flew down to where Soren was standing and lowered her head to be on eye level with him. "And what's your name, little one?"

"I'm Soren Alba." Soren said, slightly relaxed in Jade's presence. "I'm Kludd's brother."

"Oh, melt my gizzard!" Jade cooed. "Well, you are a lucky owlet, Soren; you're brother is the top of the class here."

"With all due respect, Instructor Jade, that is the understatement of the century!" Cedar shreed in good nature, then turned to Soren and added, "Kludd and I are some of the best Tytos in this group! With any luck, we'll both be high – ranking officers by the time you've had your First Flight ceremony!"

Kludd, churring at Cedar's enthusiasm, turned to Soren. "That's my classmate Cedar." He said to his brother amused. "She's prone to overstatement." He then turned his head towards Cedar and said, "Cedar, this is my younger brother Soren. He's visiting today."

"Absolutely charmed." Cedar said, her voice now calmer. "This right here," she added, gesturing to Garth, "is our classmate Garth. And this," she went on, gesturing to Scourge, "is Pigwideon McGonagall, although he'll tell you his name is Scourge."

Soren churred quite vigorously. "That's silly." He said through his churring.

"Your quite right." Cedar replied, now churring herself. "It's very silly." She then turned towards Garth and Scourge and said, "Everyone, this is Soren, younger brother of our dear friend Kludd." Garth then stepped towards Soren and greeted him warmly, but Scourge stayed back. "Alright everyone, let's get ready for class. Soren, you can stay here with me for today." Jade said in her honey like voice. As Kludd, Cedar, and Garth got themselves ready, Soren went up to Scourge and said, "You look upset."

"I am." Answered Scourge, now facing Soren. "I hate my stupid name, I hate the owls that killed my parents –"

So that's how Scourge got here. Kludd thought to himself as he listened. Scourge went on. "I hate that I had to beg in order to stay alive before coming here, I hate this place and these owls. I hate it!" By this point, tears formed in Scourge's eyes, and both Kludd and Soren could not help but feel sorry for this owl. Soren then stepped closer towards Scourge.

"You wanna hear a story?" Soren asked Scourge quietly. "My da always tells me a story when I'm upset. It always makes me feel better."

With a shaky breath, Scourge used his port wing to wipe away some of his tears. "Sure." He replied, his voice broken. "I'd love to hear a story. Thank you, Soren."

"You're welcome." Soren said simply, and then began as soon as he was sure Scourge was listening. "Once upon a very long time ago, in the time of Glaux, there was an order of knightly owls, from a kingdom called Ga'Hoole, who would rise each night into the blackness and perform noble deeds…"

Soren had barely started the story before a loud shree interrupted him, and Kludd flew in front of his brother, shielding him. Above them, Jade had put her wings over her ear slits, and across from them, Garth was simply staring at them in disbelief while Cedar gave them a sharp glare. "Stop it, stop it!" Jade shreed, and Kludd turned his head toward his brother in dismay. "Soren, how could you?"

"I'm sorry." Soren said, beginning to sob. "I didn't know." "Guys, please, it wasn't his fault!" Scourge added, desperately trying to defend the young owl. But their defenses went unheard.

After the hysterics in Kludd's chamber finally died down (thanks to Garth), Kludd had decided to fly Soren back home as quickly as possible. He had planned to do so before so as not to worry their parents; however, after what had happened, this task soon became extra urgent, and as Kludd flew, he felt a shadow passing over his mind – one of rage and embarrassment at his brother. Of all the stories Soren could recite, why did it have to be a Ga'Hoolian legend – which Kludd had learned in his classes on Pure One culture was the one thing they avoided at all costs?

"Kludd?" Soren asked, interrupting Kludd's thoughts. "Are you mad at me?"

Kludd sighed in response. "Why?" he asked, his voice almost a growl. "Are you gonna tell?" "No." Soren said, shaking his head. "Then no, I can't say I'm all that mad." Kludd sighed in response. "But I'm not all that happy about it."

When they got home, Kludd showed Soren a special back way that he himself often used in coming back to the nest. After showing him how to use it and giving him the promised centipedes, Kludd flew off, the burning feeling of rage now setting both stomachs into a turmoil. Kludd now knew two things: that his loyalties were undoubtedly to the Pure Ones, and that he didn't want Soren to be a part of it.

A/N: Way to frinkin' go, Soren! So, I wasn't quite sure what to write for this chapter, so I thought I'd try and write a beginning for Kludd's animosity towards Soren. I can honestly see Soren doing what he did, but I was quite surprised by Scourge's response. Looks like he's a lot braver than I originally gave him credit for... As always, show some love and review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Guardians of Ga'Hoole; all credit goes to Kathryn Lasky.