Chapter 5

Lolly looked up at the sky accusatorily. Raindrops still pittered on them, coming more frequently with every second. She hissed and peeped angrily but the droplets ignored her.

"Get in the hidey hole!" she squeaked, trembling from the cold water. "It's not going in there!"

Lolly darted into the hole and shook herself off. She pressed herself against the wall so that the others could get by her.

"Why is there water coming out of the sky?" she whimpered, not yet noticing that the scent of the red stuff was washing away as the rain poured down.

Larimar raced in after her, her little wings flapping around to get the droplets off. "Did we make it mad?!" She poked her head out to look at the sky. "It's getting dark and...fluffy." The soft strips of gray cloud that had been in the sky had been replaced with dark, bloated puffs of raincloud. It wasn't that bad of a storm, but the rain frightened Larimar. What if the sky got really mad and tried to drown them?

She was surprised by how easily she fit next to Lolly in the crevice It had looked so small on the outside. An occasional drop seeped through the ceiling and plopped down onto her, but their cover kept out most of the rain, keeping the floor nice and dry.

Lolly huddled closer to Larimar for warmth, shivering. "Hurry up, Flocke! The sky-water isn't as bad in here!" The eggshell helmet she wore scraped against the ceiling of their little den so she had to hunker down. When that didn't work she tipped it off her head, where it landed under a leak and caught water like a golden bowl. "Hey, that's useful!" she said to herself, and dug a small indentation for it to rest in without spilling. "Now it won't puddle up in here anymore." she explained to Larimar. "Don't spill the eggshell when you get in, Flocke!" she warned.

Flocke turned his head to Lolly when she called his name. Unlike the two girls, he had been very amused by the rain. He didn't understand it, but it wasn't hurting him either. He had been jumping around in it and trying to catch it with his tongue when Lolly called him. He didn't want to stop play, but he suddenly realized just how tired he was.

With a yawn, Flocke climbed into the hidey hole (being sure to not spill the egg bowl) and laid down under Lolly's wing. He was a bit damp, but his small size meant it would be less uncomfortable for the other two.

He liked their hidey hole. It was comfortable, and to him, spacious. He watched the world through the branches covering the entrance. The rain was beginning to poor down harder, and he was grateful that Lolly had called him in before he got caught in it. He yawned once more before laying his head down and falling asleep. Instinctively, he nuzzled against Lolly's side, as if she were a sibling.

He dreamt of wonderful things that night. A beautiful meadow full of griffins, him, Lolly, Larimar and Rourke playing together with their siblings, and a mother he'd never know. All the while her beautiful voice echoed through his mind, and helped him forget that she was no longer there.

Lolly fought sleep as long as possible but as soon as she had both Flocke and Larimar as safe as she could get them her head dropped and she was asleep within seconds. Occassionally she would flinch or chirp in her sleep, though whatever she was dreaming of would vanish the second she opened her eyes again. However, for the moment she slept deeply. She cozeyed up to both Flocke and Larimar, stretching and twisting her body until she had her wing and tail around Flocke and her head tucked next to Larimar's. She sighed with contentment since she could, even in her sleep, guard her friends.

Larimar shifted, trying to find a comfortable position on the ground. She flopped over, bumped into Lolly, and returned to her old spot. The soft pitter-patter of the rain became louder and louder, receding at times before it rose again. It became less and less of a distraction over time, turning into a fast and constant beat.

It was hard for her to fall asleep even when she became content. Her wings were outstretched, one draped over Lolly, the other folded slightly against the wall. She closed her eyes and thought about the day. My first day outside the egg. Is mommy out in the rain? Is she with Rourke? Maybe we'll never find her...But at least I have two friends. She smiled a little, maybe it wasn't that bad.

Soon she drifted off into a deep, soothing sleep. Her dream was a simple but confusing one. A beautiful hen led her along, telling her where to go in a soft, gentle voice. Larimar decided that she liked the hen. She loved her. She loved her more than anything in the world and was never going to ever loose her again.

Then the shadowy griffin turned to smile at her chick. Larimar peeped happily, mimicking the same action outside of her dream as she scrabbled her around in the dirt. Her mother started to fade away, still calling to her as if nothing were wrong. Follow me, Larimar. Come on, we have to go. Follow me, my dear.

I can't! the green chick's dream-self replied. The hen couldn't seem to hear her. She disappeared, still chirping happily to Larimar. Larimar searched desperately, but nothing was left. She was all alone, the only thing in existence, looking for a mother she'd never even seen...

She gave a shrill cry for help. Mommy! Mommy! MOMMY!

Larimar sat up. Lolly. Flocke. Her friends were with her. She wasn't alone. She hoped that she hadn't really shrieked outside of her dream. After taking a few deep breaths, she put her head down and went back to sleep. This time it was blessedly dreamless.

Lolly yawned and sat up, stretching out her stiff muscles. She was feeling very well rested, but a bit groggy still. The sky outside was still gloomy, but the storm had mostly passed, leaving behind huge puddles and a light drizzle. She trotted up to the eggshell to find it overflowing with water. The water reminded her of wetness, the wetness reminded her that her throat was feeling very dry. After a few failed attempts to work up enough spit to moisten it once more, she plunged her beak into the eggshell. The water worked like a charm and felt very nice to swallow as well, so without too much thought she drained half the shell before remembering Flocke and Larimar.

They were still asleep, to Lolly's relief. Though her curiosity was now piqued and she wanted to explore the new things outside, she decided that she would wait for her friends to wake up, after all there was safety in numbers as they'd learned quite harshly with Rourke. She curled up by the entrance, watching the outside world. No mommies had returned, and there was a strange rumbling sound coming from the distance. It sounded like a large creature was growling in the sky, and once in a while Lolly thought she spotted it, a bright flash across the sky that lit up the clouds. She hoped whatever it was that it couldn't see them. Perhaps that thing got Rourke or chased the mothers away? Unlikely, Lolly decided. The Rumbly thing wasn't around yesterday and she hadn't heard it until now.

There was another new thing that Lolly saw, too. It crept in from the forest and loped from nest to nest on all fours, sticking its nose into places and coming up with things Lolly couldn't make out from there. It had red fur and keen yellow eyes, and it was obviously looking for something. It had no wings, so it was no griffin, and it had strange pointy growths in its mouth. Lolly watched it until it disappeared over the hill, still hunting among the nests. Lolly didn't know what it was, but she didn't trust it. She hoped someone would wake up soon so she could tell them about the thing.

Flocke felt the movement of Lolly as a ray of sunlight seeped through the branches in the entrance and hit his eyelids just right. He grumbled and tucked his head more into Lolly's side to avoid that blasted light only to find that she had moved away. The ray of light bore into his sleeping eyes, and finally he gave up.

He lifted his head, his fluff sticking out in funny ways. He smacked his beak in an attempt to rid his mouth of the disgusting morning taste, left from sleeping with his beak open. As he did, he noticed the world outside. There was a slight morning mist below the grey clouds, puddles were everywhere and bits of sunlight made it through the dark clouds here and there. It looked amazing, and he wanted to go play in it.

Then he noticed Lolly sitting in the entrance, and Larimar still sleeping. He walked over to Lolly and sat down next to her.

"Hi!" he said happily. His voice was ruff and tired, but he ignored it. "Can we go out and play?" he asked her. He felt the need to have her approval before he did anything, which sucked, because he also felt the need to play as soon as possible. He watched the world before him as he waited for her answer, and for Larimar to wake up.

Lolly smiled at Flocke. "We can't go anywhere without Larimar, so we'll have to stay just outside. No one gets left behind anymore." She craned her neck out of the den looking for that strange thing, but it wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Oh, if your mouth feels weird the water helps!" she said, pointing to the eggshell. "Mine felt dry and gross this morning, that's why I said that. It also tastes kind of good. Well, it tastes like nothing, but it's refreshing."

Lolly had never played before, and she'd been too preoccupied with protecting the group to even consider the notion. However, hearing Flocke say it made her suddenly excited, and suddenly she wanted to wrestle, chase and roll with her friends. She ran outside in anticipation, lowering into a play bow as her tail waggled, eyes trained on Flocke.

"Come and get me!" she squealed.

Excited, Flocke quickly took two gulps of the water, then raced outside. He chased after Lolly, and was surprisingly able to keep up. His legs might have been shorter, but he moved them quicker. Add the fact that Lolly was a bit more clumsy with her foot work than Flocke, and you had a small blue chick that was just barely behind the bigger chick. He soon found out that his energy lasted longer too, because Lolly started slowing down, letting him catch up.

Just as he got close enough, he tackled her. However, being smaller, he wasn't able to topple her. Instead, he clung to her back for a few moments, before falling off gracelessly. He landed in a puddle, and became muddy instantly. Looking at his feathers, he laughed. He looked ridiculous. He got up, and began jumping in the puddle.

"Lolly, come jump!" he called to his friend. Fun wasn't fun without someone to share it with.