Creaking through the hapless gables of Shaw's tree, three chipmunks stumbled over one another as they made their way around the crowded hollow. With only the thin rays of light breaking through the cracked trunk to guide them, the group stood frosty, the imminent threat of a horned, feathery devil around every nook. Owls stayed to themselves most of the time. Living in their own kingdom while being constricted to their predatory diet. Theodore had never met an owl personally, but rumours around Rudbury lead to the consensus of strange customs among their kind. Not even Master Sykes, in his tenured life of leisure, met an owl in person.
Unable to rely on his sense of sight, Theo forced himself to breathe in the decaying meaty smell, a far cry from the homey bakery he so desperately craved or the longing strawberry fragrance the photo pleasured him with. Following its potency as a way of locating the owl, the chipmunk resisted the urge to gag. This was worse than Kindle!
Feeling around for something to steady him as he stooped throughout, he caught only the soft fur of Eleanor to contrast the roughly hewn innards of the hollow, clamming up at every instance and mumbling a quiet apology. If she had her voice, he was sure he'd receive an earful. Just once, though, he swore the mute chipette leaned into his stumble.
Pushing through the odd infested cobweb, Theo wondered, did someone actually live here? At one point, yes. This was the home of an owl, no doubt. Fossilized pellets lined the ground, and molted feathers penetrated some of the softer, mossy wood. Mucky drops of dew collected over who knows how long creeped down the brittle timber.
"Talk about a fixer upper." Alvin quipped, using the tip of his finger like a match for extra light. On high alert having an open flame in the claustrophobic flammable space, Theo stuck close to his female friend in the likely event Alvin burnt the hollow to the ground.
"I don't think anyone's ho-" Theo stammered, cut off by the sudden groan of scrap wood above. Clutching Eleanor's arm, the baker screamed, "Please don't eat us Mister Owl!" Moments passed and after losing himself in his friend's embrace, the chipmunk scavenged enough of his courage to open his eyes.
"Are you finished with your little outburst?" The Voice of Chaos rolled his eyes, "We've got nothing to worry about." Theodore tentatively shook his head. Alvin's casual flourish with his lit finger left Theo on edge. The additional stress was not helping!
"I guess we do want to find the owl…" He sniveled, letting the beat of his racing heart hammer through his chest in powerful little palpitations. Anymore surprises and the scaredy munk was sure to break his friend's hand, locked in a powerful constraint created only by his angst.
"Exactly!" Alvin faced the chubby fearmonger with wide open arms, his makeshift lantern brazenly licking at the walls of the hollow. "And hello? I'm all the protection we need from some stupid bird."
"I-I wouldn't say things like that." Theo shivered, "What if he's nearby? If he hears you, he won't want to help us." Eleanor nodded her head aggressively, flapping her arms as if she had wings before cupping her hands around her eyes like binoculars. A laugh would be justified if their lives weren't at stake… again.
"Oh please," scoffed the overconfident Voice, "Birds aren't exactly smart. I doubt he even remembers what happened last night!"
"We don't." Theo muttered under his breath as the wind picked up and the tree whistled, making him shake all over again. The hollow rocked like a ship torn by the tides, making staying fixed in position a challenge. The more they rattled, the more Theodore cried out, and the more Theodore cried out, the more creaking he heard from the inside. A vicious circle that left little in the way for being stealthy.
"Who dares wake me in my own home!" The shrill of heavy talons scraping across the floor of the hollow came out of nowhere. The pummeling chinook of the beastly bird whirling its wings tipped the small rodents over, making them vulnerable to his acute whos and haws. Where did this monster-bird come from, Theo thought, landing flat on his back? Until his appearance, he hadn't made a sound. How long was he listening in on them, waiting to pounce like the predator he was made out to be?
Clawing their way up, the chipmunks huddled closer together with Alvin at the helm. Their protector. Their last resort if things turned sour… Who was this ancient, heavy-set flying monstrosity that threatened them? With a mixture between grace and feral antiquity, the bird of prey peered down at what might as well be his next meal.
"Hey, bub!" shouted Alvin, oozing confidence in the face of danger, "We seek an audience with an owl named Shaw. You him?" The owl furrowed his bushy grey brow with a snort of disgust. A rodent who dares speak to him this way?
"I have every mind to eat you whole for barging into my hollow." He scowled, polishing his talons on the paper-thin walls, "But I'm not a big fan of squirrel. I'm also in no mood for negotiations. Leave now while I give you the chance." The owl clicked his beak before diving into the corner and snapping up a juicy beetle.
"Talk about your grumpy old man." Alvin jeered, turning his back to the predator and giving his friends an austere squint, "Just what we need, another guy who won't help us- GRK!" Before finishing his complaint, the chaotic chipmunk found himself flattened by the crooked foot of Shaw, his face full of moss and dirt.
"This one needs to learn how to keep his mouth shut." The owl glowered. Theodore and Eleanor, backs to the wall and arms around the other watched in fear as Shaw clasped the dazed chipmunk. Their ears pinned back, and their mouths hung open, trembling over the horrific scene unfolding in front of them. Throwing Alvin up in the air in his dazed state, the owl lunged forward, his sharp gaze on the tumbling wizard. Swallowing the munk in one big gulp, the exaggerated lump in the owl's throat shrunk down into his stomach. And just like that, the mortality of Alvin, the Voice of Chaos, shook the room. No more was the unabridged confidence of the chipmunk taunting their every breath. Gone like a whisper in the wind, the chaotic Voice was left to the inner mechanisms of an owl's digestive system.
"A-A-Alvin...?" Theodore shivered, feeling his friend's absence the way a seamstress feels a pin in her thumb. A numb prickling sensation. Alvin was a fighter. How could he go down like this? Only now did Theodore realize just how much he leaned on Alvin. It was with his omission that threatened Theo's body with a vulnerability so tenacious, it threatened his heart of failure. He stood there and watched his friend vanish, letting it happen without so much as an inclination to rescue him. He told himself it all happened so fast, but it was his job to keep the Voices together, wasn't it? Shouldn't HE do some of the protecting for a change? 'Stop being so afraid!' He told himself. But his cries landed on deaf ears.
…
Alvin? Eleanor mouthed the name of the munk she'd abandoned long ago. The one who deserved so much more than an empty death following an empty life. Just like that, he was just some other creature's breakfast. She failed him once before, perhaps when he needed her most, and now that he was helping her regain the gift she'd been given, she could again do nothing. The same powerless feeling she grew to know in the ruin crept its way into her heart. Tears flooded her eyes, flowing down her face. She screamed a silent tirade at the owl, begging him to give the overconfident chipmunk back.
She could feel the barricade of Theodore's arms holding her back from physically attacking the old brute, knowing that her fate would match Alvin's, but she didn't care. She would throw herself into a raging volcano if it meant she could get the fiery furball back. No matter how much of a pain he could be, no matter how emotional or destructive his powers grew or the trouble he caused, she wanted him back. All of it. All his quips over their adventure. His snarky overconfidence. Everything. She'd sing him to sleep the rest of his life if only she could not be the cause of his demise.
"What do we do?!" She screamed at her inner self, "How could you let this happen?! Stupid!" She felt her legs buckle beneath her and let the innards of the tree scrape her knees. She would perish here. There was no way she would leave without Alvin. They'd be two Voices lost to a brutish owl that couldn't give them the time of day. How cruel that she couldn't so much as tell the chipmunk how sorry she truly was…
"Give him back…" She heard the timid thrall of Theodore behind her.
"Hmm?" The owl leered, wicking off a bead of sweat from his messy facial feathers. "What say you, child?"
"I said give him back!" Theodore took small steps over to the titan of a bird. In his head, he heard a thunderous stomp and felt his own intimidation, but he was certain the reality of little chipmunk feet pitter-pattering along the oaky floor was laughable. "He just wants to help my friend here. He doesn't deserve to get eaten! Hey! Are you even listening to me?" Shaw turned to the exit of his hollow, seemingly distracted.
Theo lurched forward, ready to throw himself at the owl, the crippling weight of his failure holding him in place. Angering Shaw was unwise. Perhaps it was safer to go unnoticed.
Suddenly, the owl grabbed at his stomach, doubling over in pain. His face turned red and sweat dripped from him profusely, matting his slick feathers and shimmering off his rusted beak.
"Are you okay, Mister Shaw?" Theodore gently brushed the bird's wing. Shaw heaved, retching along the ground before snapping his beak wide open, regurgitating a furry fireball that splattered like a can of paint.
"Ugh," spat Alvin, dissipating his flame, and wiping off the digestive juices as best he could, "Yuck. Disgusting!" Facing Shaw, his eyes burned red. Before he could blast the predator with retaliation, he found himself wrapped in the delicate cradle of Eleanor. Mouthing the words 'thank you' in the crook of his neck, she thought of everything she couldn't yet say, but promised to indulge when she got her voice back.
"I hate spicy food!" Shaw choked, spitting every sliver of Alvin's fur out of his gullet.
"Thank you for reconsidering," Theodore said in his innocent demeanor, helping the owl up. Collecting himself, the owl backed off, seemingly ready to leave the munks to their business.
"You've gone and ruined my appetite," heaved Shaw, uncomfortably trying to shake off the flavour of spicy al dente Alvin, "What more do you want from me?"
"What we wanted all along," Theodore spoke, "To know what you saw last night." Shaw squinted, shaking his head between each chipmunk.
"You three look a little familiar." He croaked, piecing their mission together, "Say, you're the folks who performed in the Elmwood Tavern yesterday, ain'tcha?" Theodore nodded. "Woo! You sure know how to party! Alas, my party days are long behind me… But t'was nice t'see young'uns havin' fun again."
"That's the thing…" Theo scratched the back of his head feeling foolish explaining their actions, "We kind of had a little TOO much fun.. My friend seemed to… lose something very important to her and we need to find the person who took it."
"I ain't stole a thing!" The bird screeched, falsely accusing Theodore of accusing himself.
"No no!" Theodore quickly reiterated, "We only wish to know if you saw who she was playing cards with." The owl huffed.
"I've no reason to give information for free." He eyed Alvin and clicked his beak in a haughty manner, "However, you have something I want. Perhaps we could bargain." Eleanor pulled Alvin behind her in a protective stance.
"You can't have our friend!" Theo squalled.
Shaw laughed, "I've no use for a chipmunk born with hot sauce for blood. No, you were on fire when I spit you out, were you not?"
"So what if I was?" Alvin said suspiciously.
"You have no reason to know this, but in the Owl Clan we… They… have a tradition where when you reach a certain age, you must be exiled from the group. You can only return once you've harnessed the power of fire. We cannot produce it ourselves. It must come to us in our travels." Eleanor gasped. She remembered reading somewhere that Owls always had a fascination with the heated element.
"My exile was some time ago," Shaw chuckled, "Elders have passed, and many of my people from the clan have long since retired."
"You never found your fire..?" Theo said quietly. Shaw grinned a longing, sympathetic grin.
"I did not. To this day I will not be welcome back into the Owl Clan without a worthy flame. One that brightens the night. One that forges only the sharpest talons and clears the largest of forests." He pierced Alvin with a pleading gaze. "You're a fire wizard, right? With a flame like yours… I'd be hailed a hero."
"You… want some of my fire?" Alvin said. Shaw nodded weakly.
"A lit branch is my price for whatever you'd like to know."
Theo faced Alvin, who in turn faced Eleanor. This was his decision. While Theo knew Alvin had the fire to spare, there was more to it than just shouting at a branch and calling it a day. It was a matter of pride. Respect. Honour. Was Alvin okay with having his flame used for the purpose of another?
Eleanor smiled sweetly at the Voice of Chaos. A smile that told him whatever his decision, she'd be okay with it.
Alvin stepped up to the owl and puffed up his chest. He wanted to look tough for his friends, the ones he would give anything for. "How much you need?"
/
Perched on the ground outside his hollowed tree with a burning branch clutched in his talons, Shaw spurred to life.
"This is unbelievable!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, spreading his incredible wingspan and flying loop-de-loops around the chipmunks. "Thank you, for the hottest flame I've ever felt!" Alvin smiled.
"I'm happy to help," He said, "But don't forget your end of the bargain. Who took my friend's voice?" The owl perched once again, excited to share what he knew.
"I'm sorry to say I don't know his name." He said, "But He's been frequenting Elmwood and the surrounding communities lately. A rodent like yerselves, 'cept with more of an elongated body with brown and beige fur. Sorry, most of y'all look the same to us predators. But I can tell ya he likes hangin' around a cemetery that connects the near communities. The Pétulant Cemetery I think it's called."
"C-Cemetery..?" Theodore stuttered, "Like the kind with… graves? And skeletons?"
"Is there any other kind?" Shaw howled with laughter, "You'll be fine! You got the power of fire on your side!" The owl brandished his burning branch and took flight. "May the light of the ancient flame guide your path, my furry friends!" The chipmunks watched the owl vanish over the horizon with Alvin's flame burning underneath.
"Owls really are something else." Alvin admired, "Gotta honour their traditions."
Theodore gripped Eleanor in a too-tight hug. "Looks like we know where we're off to next, huh?" Eleanor reciprocated, knowing that a cemetery was the last place Theo wanted to be.