***
Even with the help of Ossie, the going was not quite as speedy as they had hoped. By the end of the day, they still hadn't reached their goal. The sun began to set. Soon enough, the night sky swept over the desert like a dark blanket.
It was considerably cooler at night, and Lemmy decided it would be best if they all got some sleep. The sand wasn't so hot now, so they tried to make themselves comfortable on the ground.
Wendy and Lemmy had a little bit of trouble getting comfy. Ossie, however, just tucked his head under his wing and began to happily saw Zs. Sleep eventually found Lemmy and Wendy, too.
Before she drifted off, Wendy took one last look at the mountains. She smiled to herself, despite her growing hunger. They were getting closer.
***
Lemmy awoke late that night, plagued by bad memories present even in his dreams. He sighed to himself as he lay on the desert sands. There was no peace, even in sleep.
He shivered. Without the smoldering heat of the sun, the sandy terrain was actually quite chilly. With another sigh, he turned over and tried to get back to sleep.
The next morning, it was Lemmy who woke up first.
"C'mon, you two!" he urged. "Up and at 'em! We want to get an early start, so we can get there as quickly as possible."
Wendy yawned as she got to her feet. Ossie stood up and fluffed his feathers.
"Lemmy, how do we even know what's in those mountains?" Wendy asked. "How do we know that there'll be food?"
"If there isn't any, were going to starve. So there's better be,"
"Well, I'm reassured now," Wendy muttered sarcastically. "I feel so much better."
Somehow, Ossie never seemed to get tired of giving the two ride, or if he did, he never complained. The only speech they actually ever heard from Ossie was the occasional squawk. He ran flat-out all day, seemingly effortlessly.
"How does this bird do it?" Lemmy marveled.
"I dunno," Wendy responded blankly. "He's been at it all morning,"
By what would normally have been lunchtime, Lemmy was beginning to worry about his sister. It had been at least 48 hours since their last meal, and she was starving. Lemmy was also ravenously hungry, but Wendy looked extremely pale. She hung onto Ossie's neck for all she was worth. It was all she could do not to pass out.
Lemmy normally would have offered some words of encouragement, but not now. To speak was to expend energy, something they could not afford to lose any more of. Suddenly feeling faint himself, he did as Wendy was doing. He clung to her shell and closed his eyes tight.
The rest of the day continued in an empty silence. There wasn't even anything to do, except contemplate their hunger. It was a good thing they had ride, because neither of the Koopalings had the energy to do anything other than make sure they didn't fall off of Ossie.
Because they both had their eyes closed, neither of the two siblings noticed when night came once again. They never bothered to look at the far- off mountains. They were caught completely off-guard when Ossie came to a sudden stop, and abruptly fell off of the large Ostro.
Surprised, Lemmy looked around groggily, dimly wondering why he hadn't even felt the impact of the ground.
He was shocked to find around him, not a fierce desert but a gentle oasis. All around was lush grass, trees and. water! A whole pond of it! Snapping to his senses, he noticed Wendy, who seemed to have finally let go of her battle to stay conscious.
"Wendy." Lemmy's throat hurt even to speak now, it was so dry. He struggled to wake her, but nothing seemed to work. Mustering all of the little strength he had left, he dragged his sister to the pool of water and splashed a little on her. This seemed to revive her somewhat.
"Wha." she trailed off at the sight of water, right there in front of her! The two dehydrated Koopas drank greedily until they thought they would burst. Ossie calmly downed his fill.
At the sight of a fruit-bearing tree, Lemmy immediately ran over. Oranges. He rushed back to the pool with a few to Wendy, who was now wading in the water and trying to drink it at the same time.
Wendy hastily ripped the peel off and bit into the orange, as did Lemmy. Though they thought they would die of happiness, Ossie seemed to prefer the trees' leaves instead.
"Ahh..." Wendy sighed contentedly. "You sure you don't want to come for a swim? The water's great!"
Lemmy shook his head no. After so long with nothing but hot sand, he found it welcoming just to lie on the cool grass.
After a good hour or so of just enjoying the cool water and fresh oranges, Lemmy suddenly remembered something.
"Where are we?"
"Wherever it is, it's a lot better than that desert,"
"I guess we have Ossie to thank for that," Lemmy said gratefully. He gave Ossie a pat on the head. "Thanks, bud. We probably wouldn't still be here if it weren't for you." Ossie squawked proudly at the comment.
"Hey Ossie." Lemmy asked slowly. "Do you happen to know where we are?" He was surprised when the huge bird began tugging at his shell, urging him in another direction. He hadn't really expected an answer.
"And just where are you two going?"
"We'll be back in a minute!"
Ossie led Lemmy to the top of a nearby hill. What met his eyes was probably the last thing he would have expected.
"Wendy?" he called down the hill. "I think you should come see this!" Wendy tore herself away from the pond and walked the short distance up the hill.
"What is it, Lemmy?" she asked. "What is so." she stopped.
They were on top one of the very mountains they had almost died trying to reach.
They could see the whole desert from up there, every sand dune and cactus. It reminded Lemmy of the view he has shared with his brother, only days ago. Had it only been two days? It seemed like years had passed since the Doomship had crashed. Suddenly, a voice from behind made them jump.
"Hello?" asked the voice. They recognized it as a female's voice. "Who are you?"
Slowly, they turned around to face.
"A birdo?" asked Lemmy in disbelief. How could anything live this far out into the desert? On the other hand, he thought as he looked around, this place didn't seem much like a desert.
"No duh." Replied the birdo. "What are you staring at? Haven't you ever seen one before?"
It wasn't only the fact that she was the only living thing (besides Ossie) that they'd seen for days that made them stare, or even that they'd never seen a birdo before. They had. What made them stare was that this birdo was blazing white.
"Hello? Can you hear me? What's wrong with you, can't you talk?"
"Yeah, we can talk," answered Wendy. "It's just that you're so. so."
"White?"
"Yeah,"
"I'm just albino, that's all," she laughed. "Who are you two? And what are you doing in my back yard?"
"What?" Lemmy blurted. "Your back yard!? We are out in the middle of some blazing desert, and then find ourselves somehow in this oasis. Which, may I also mention, was only because of that Ostro over there-"
"Ossie," interrupted Wendy.
"Whatever."
"I live a few minutes away, but I do own this property. You know, maybe you should come with me," suggested the birdo. "I live within walking distance of here, and you two could straighten out your tale when we get there."
"That sounds good," Wendy agreed. "Um, what did you say your name was?"
"Actually, I didn't. But since you asked, it's Rachelle. Now I ask again, what are your names?"
"Well, I'm Wendy. And this here is my space cadet brother, Lemmy."
"Hey!" protested Lemmy.
"Okay then, let's get a move on," said Rachelle. "My place is about a twenty minute walk from here."
"No need to worry about that," cooed Wendy. She pointed over in the direction of the orange trees. "We have Ossie."
To be continued.
Rachelle Davison 2001
Even with the help of Ossie, the going was not quite as speedy as they had hoped. By the end of the day, they still hadn't reached their goal. The sun began to set. Soon enough, the night sky swept over the desert like a dark blanket.
It was considerably cooler at night, and Lemmy decided it would be best if they all got some sleep. The sand wasn't so hot now, so they tried to make themselves comfortable on the ground.
Wendy and Lemmy had a little bit of trouble getting comfy. Ossie, however, just tucked his head under his wing and began to happily saw Zs. Sleep eventually found Lemmy and Wendy, too.
Before she drifted off, Wendy took one last look at the mountains. She smiled to herself, despite her growing hunger. They were getting closer.
***
Lemmy awoke late that night, plagued by bad memories present even in his dreams. He sighed to himself as he lay on the desert sands. There was no peace, even in sleep.
He shivered. Without the smoldering heat of the sun, the sandy terrain was actually quite chilly. With another sigh, he turned over and tried to get back to sleep.
The next morning, it was Lemmy who woke up first.
"C'mon, you two!" he urged. "Up and at 'em! We want to get an early start, so we can get there as quickly as possible."
Wendy yawned as she got to her feet. Ossie stood up and fluffed his feathers.
"Lemmy, how do we even know what's in those mountains?" Wendy asked. "How do we know that there'll be food?"
"If there isn't any, were going to starve. So there's better be,"
"Well, I'm reassured now," Wendy muttered sarcastically. "I feel so much better."
Somehow, Ossie never seemed to get tired of giving the two ride, or if he did, he never complained. The only speech they actually ever heard from Ossie was the occasional squawk. He ran flat-out all day, seemingly effortlessly.
"How does this bird do it?" Lemmy marveled.
"I dunno," Wendy responded blankly. "He's been at it all morning,"
By what would normally have been lunchtime, Lemmy was beginning to worry about his sister. It had been at least 48 hours since their last meal, and she was starving. Lemmy was also ravenously hungry, but Wendy looked extremely pale. She hung onto Ossie's neck for all she was worth. It was all she could do not to pass out.
Lemmy normally would have offered some words of encouragement, but not now. To speak was to expend energy, something they could not afford to lose any more of. Suddenly feeling faint himself, he did as Wendy was doing. He clung to her shell and closed his eyes tight.
The rest of the day continued in an empty silence. There wasn't even anything to do, except contemplate their hunger. It was a good thing they had ride, because neither of the Koopalings had the energy to do anything other than make sure they didn't fall off of Ossie.
Because they both had their eyes closed, neither of the two siblings noticed when night came once again. They never bothered to look at the far- off mountains. They were caught completely off-guard when Ossie came to a sudden stop, and abruptly fell off of the large Ostro.
Surprised, Lemmy looked around groggily, dimly wondering why he hadn't even felt the impact of the ground.
He was shocked to find around him, not a fierce desert but a gentle oasis. All around was lush grass, trees and. water! A whole pond of it! Snapping to his senses, he noticed Wendy, who seemed to have finally let go of her battle to stay conscious.
"Wendy." Lemmy's throat hurt even to speak now, it was so dry. He struggled to wake her, but nothing seemed to work. Mustering all of the little strength he had left, he dragged his sister to the pool of water and splashed a little on her. This seemed to revive her somewhat.
"Wha." she trailed off at the sight of water, right there in front of her! The two dehydrated Koopas drank greedily until they thought they would burst. Ossie calmly downed his fill.
At the sight of a fruit-bearing tree, Lemmy immediately ran over. Oranges. He rushed back to the pool with a few to Wendy, who was now wading in the water and trying to drink it at the same time.
Wendy hastily ripped the peel off and bit into the orange, as did Lemmy. Though they thought they would die of happiness, Ossie seemed to prefer the trees' leaves instead.
"Ahh..." Wendy sighed contentedly. "You sure you don't want to come for a swim? The water's great!"
Lemmy shook his head no. After so long with nothing but hot sand, he found it welcoming just to lie on the cool grass.
After a good hour or so of just enjoying the cool water and fresh oranges, Lemmy suddenly remembered something.
"Where are we?"
"Wherever it is, it's a lot better than that desert,"
"I guess we have Ossie to thank for that," Lemmy said gratefully. He gave Ossie a pat on the head. "Thanks, bud. We probably wouldn't still be here if it weren't for you." Ossie squawked proudly at the comment.
"Hey Ossie." Lemmy asked slowly. "Do you happen to know where we are?" He was surprised when the huge bird began tugging at his shell, urging him in another direction. He hadn't really expected an answer.
"And just where are you two going?"
"We'll be back in a minute!"
Ossie led Lemmy to the top of a nearby hill. What met his eyes was probably the last thing he would have expected.
"Wendy?" he called down the hill. "I think you should come see this!" Wendy tore herself away from the pond and walked the short distance up the hill.
"What is it, Lemmy?" she asked. "What is so." she stopped.
They were on top one of the very mountains they had almost died trying to reach.
They could see the whole desert from up there, every sand dune and cactus. It reminded Lemmy of the view he has shared with his brother, only days ago. Had it only been two days? It seemed like years had passed since the Doomship had crashed. Suddenly, a voice from behind made them jump.
"Hello?" asked the voice. They recognized it as a female's voice. "Who are you?"
Slowly, they turned around to face.
"A birdo?" asked Lemmy in disbelief. How could anything live this far out into the desert? On the other hand, he thought as he looked around, this place didn't seem much like a desert.
"No duh." Replied the birdo. "What are you staring at? Haven't you ever seen one before?"
It wasn't only the fact that she was the only living thing (besides Ossie) that they'd seen for days that made them stare, or even that they'd never seen a birdo before. They had. What made them stare was that this birdo was blazing white.
"Hello? Can you hear me? What's wrong with you, can't you talk?"
"Yeah, we can talk," answered Wendy. "It's just that you're so. so."
"White?"
"Yeah,"
"I'm just albino, that's all," she laughed. "Who are you two? And what are you doing in my back yard?"
"What?" Lemmy blurted. "Your back yard!? We are out in the middle of some blazing desert, and then find ourselves somehow in this oasis. Which, may I also mention, was only because of that Ostro over there-"
"Ossie," interrupted Wendy.
"Whatever."
"I live a few minutes away, but I do own this property. You know, maybe you should come with me," suggested the birdo. "I live within walking distance of here, and you two could straighten out your tale when we get there."
"That sounds good," Wendy agreed. "Um, what did you say your name was?"
"Actually, I didn't. But since you asked, it's Rachelle. Now I ask again, what are your names?"
"Well, I'm Wendy. And this here is my space cadet brother, Lemmy."
"Hey!" protested Lemmy.
"Okay then, let's get a move on," said Rachelle. "My place is about a twenty minute walk from here."
"No need to worry about that," cooed Wendy. She pointed over in the direction of the orange trees. "We have Ossie."
To be continued.
Rachelle Davison 2001
