Intro
As this story moves along, I think there are certain things I should write here so readers will know before they start reading. If you just want to read the story, just go down to the title.
Sailor Moon Harmony moves much faster than my other projects because I'm not the only one working on it, it started out that way (which is why the first five chapters are Sailor Aquila alone) but now there are four of us working on this. They are-
Whirlwynd (that's me) - ideyaguardians@sailormoon.com, creator of Sailor Aquila, Delphi Blade, Orion, and the Eclipzes
Tierra - JFK194@aol.com, creator of Sailor Monoceros, Gypsi Chapp, and the Eclipzes boss (who we don't have a name for yet ^^() )
Spinmaster - spinmaster2000@hotmail.com, creator of Sailor Phoenix
Jen - orionhime@hotmail.com, creator of Sailor Virgo - Jen is also running her own Sailor Moon fanfiction at http://www.sailorconstellations.com
The new characters here are based on the English-language version. One reason for that is some of our writers are not familiar with the original or manga versions and thus would have difficulty writing about it. The second reason is for geographic realism. The Harmony Scouts are from America and were born there (save for Sailor Virgo), they have English names. When the original senshi (Sailor Moon, etc) arrive in the story, they will be using their original names, phrases, and attacks. Some people say mixing the dub and sub editions are a big mistake, if you don't like it, don't read it. I think it could have potential (especially for you humor writers out there ^^ *wink nudge*)
So if this is a Sailor Moon story why aren't they fighting alongside Sailor Moon? It uses the elements of the Sailor Moon story. I didn't start with Sailor Aquila fighting alongside Sailor Moon because I like to be descriptive and I like to know the atmosphere of the settings, and I have never even set foot in Japan before, let alone do I know what the atmosphere is like. Until then, I'd either have to research or guess, and I don't want to do a whole lot of that for a fanfic. Maybe an original story of my own, but not a fic. A Shade of Twilight, my other Sailor Moon fic, is pretty much an experimental with the original show.
I'm done rambling now. Thank you for listening and enjoy the story ^_^
Check out the enhanced version, soundtrack, video clips, pics, and Wynd's Request Line @
http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/smharmony
SAILOR MOON HARMONY
EPISODE 1- STORM WARNING
An unusually bright day, this one was. The walls
of corn along the highway radiated its emerald
green around tiny golden pieces peeking out from
their husks. The concrete sizzled quietly, a soft
breeze carrying trace amounts of steam away from
it. A pond nearby, still as glass, reflected the
brilliant blue sky perfectly. Nearby, a red-winged
blackbird trilled out a harsh oh-ka-leeee! as it
fluttered out of a tree, afraid that the girl
passing by on her rollerblades would come after
it.
But the girl's silver eyes were focused on the
road. She had let her long, chocolate-colored hair
loose into her own turbulent wind. These cheerful
scenes were a fleeting picture in her memory as she
whooshed by, with little effect on her current
thoughts and feelings. Despite the carefree
appearance, her eyes as bright as the reflection
on the water, her skates gliding peacefully across
the ground, her mind was stormy with the events that
had taken place earlier.
For one moment her hand slipped into the pocket of
her dusty jeans and slid the folded paper deeper
inside. She wished she could completely push it away,
it would float off into the breeze and a storm would
come and shred it with lightning.
"Biology-" she muttered. "So what? One test. My
parents won't care, what am I going to do with Biology
later anyway?"
But that wasn't the only thing that dragged this day
down. She had left the school only to find her little
brother surrounded by teachers. His hair, normally a
shiny gold, was rusty brown, caked with dirt, like the
rest of his clothes. His golden-brown eyes turned to
her. "Skyler" he whimpered.
"Oriole?!" Skyler had rushed over to him. "Are you OK?"
"Mom's coming to get me-"
It had been those bullies again. The only thing that
made Skyler angery. Her brother did nothing to them,
let they insisted on tormenting him every day after
school. Usually, Skyler would be right there for him,
but she had to stay a bit to talk to the teacher about
her test.
"I'm sure your brother can take care of himself" Ms.
Mather had told her.
Maybe if he was two feet taller. He was the shortest kid
in school.
She was jolted out of her thoughts as one of her wheels
let out a tired squeak and stopped altogether, leaving the
rest of her to tumble through the air and slam into the
ground in a face-down sprawl. She growled as she got up,
kicking the gravel off the road with her front wheel, and
brushed some more off. She noticed streaks of upturned
grass nearby. Some crazy driver must have taken a turn too
fast.
A robin in the grass nearby eyed her curiously. It hopped
closer, pausing only to take a sideways glance at her. She
watched it come ever closer.
A larger shadow suddenly passed over them, startling the
robin. It flapped away with a sharp chattering. Skyler looked
up, but only caught a glimpse of the silhouette as it soared
away. She watched for a few seconds more, then started on her
way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her skates clacked as she stepped in the door."Mom! I'm home."
"Skyler, take those skates off before you come in the house!"
her mother scolded.
She set them down back on the porch and took a look around. One
of the cars was missing from the driveway."Where's Dad?"
"He's down at the airport."
Skyler's eyes widened slightly. He didn't even wait for her?
"Can I go?"
"Chores first. I have to go pick up Oriole. Make sure you know
how to lock the gate this time. We don't want the cows getting
in the corn again."
Chores meant feeding the animals. She went to the large shed
out back, where all the animal food was. First were the cats.
Tuna, the gray one, was Oriole's favorite. He ran from just
about everything except fish. Skyler watched him scamper towards
the kitchen when she ran the can opener. Then there was
Frostbite, the mean white one that hated going outside and
wouldn't eat anything that was more than two days out of the
store. The other cats seemed to like teasing Frostbite, but it
was all in good fun. None of them had any claws. And the last
one, her favorite, Galaxy. He was black with large white streaks,
and bright green eyes. And he would always be there to cheer her
up.
Next was the golden retriever, Turbo. They called him that because
he absolutely had to run wherever he went. He never stopped, not
even in his sleep. And the food would be gone within three seconds
of the dish being on the floor.
Then there were her three budgerigars in her room- the blue one
called Sora, the green one called Jayde, and the yellow one called
Sunny. They didn't need a refill yet, so she left them alone.
Finally, there was the chickens. She couldn't keep track of all
their names. The cows were her father's job, along with many other
things.
She raced out, took no more than 20 seconds to strap on her
rollerblades, then zoomed off towards the town.
Minutes later, she passed the town's welcome sign. Galesburg. She
didn't think she'd ever get tired of seeing it. It was small,
simple, just like the town. She often wondered why it was called
Galesburg.
Everyone was out today. People crowded the narrow sidewalks, in the
park, by the high school football field. There was a game today, and
the stands were full. Skyler smiled contentedly. She knew everyone
here, and they knew her. At least by name.
Finally, she saw the hangars and turned off at the next driveway. Her
father's blue truck was there, all right- and there he was, checking
out his airplane. She tore off her skates and jumped into her sandals.
"Dad! Are you going up today?"
"Yep" he replied. "Hand me that towel, will ya?"
"Can I come?"
"No, better not today."
"Aww-" Skyler's face fell. "Why not?"
"Why don't you see Uncle Lance in the control tower?
"Uncle Lance is here?!"
"Yeah, go on. He's expecting you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lance saw Skyler wandering towards him, the people around her
smiling at her. "Hey, what's going on? How's my favorite niece?"
Skyler ran to him and gave him a hug. "Dad won't let me go in
the plane" she whined.
"He's going out--" Lance replied. "Taking a risk, isn't he?"
"What? Why?"
"There's a storm headed this way" he led her to one of the
monitors. "See this red stuff? Big storm, big trouble for flying.
It came up really fast and its supposed to hit us. You'd better
go home before it does."
Skyler looked out to where the electronic map had shown the
disturbance. The sky seemed clear to her.
Down below, she saw the town. Something was off, something she hadn't
seen before. Dirt dug up, steel bars moved in. "What's that?"
"They're putting up apartment buildings. I'm not sure why, but I'll
check it out for you. Now go on home."
A small scowl clouded her face, but she didn't want to get in Uncle
Lance's way. "OK-"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sky dulled as she neared home. Next came drizzles, then rain.
She grumbled all the way down the road through the town.
The streets, unlike what couldn't have been more than a half-hour
earlier, were silent. A gray aura had crept through, bringing in a
gloomy, yet uneasy feeling. Not a bird chirped, not a single leaf
moved throughout the whole park. Even the rain seemed still and
quiet, even though that was impossible. Skyler shivered a bit, and
not from the cold.
She arrived at home, drenched. Her brother was back to his normal
self, chasing Tuna all over the place and laughing like a hyena.
The other cats, and Turbo, were racing around as well.
She reached her room. The parakeets were a little jumpy themselves.
They were screeching, chirping, jumping all over the cage walls as
if they were making some desperate attempt to escape. Skyler put
her hand in the cage to calm the frenzied birds. "Sora? Jayde, calm
down! What's with you?"
Outside, the sky grew darker by the minute, the restless clouds
twisting and sparking in an eerie pattern. The wind chimes by the
window tossed wildly, and Skyler shut it.
Tuna scampered into her room and screeched to a halt under her bed.
Her brother followed shortly after.
"Hey, Oriole--" Skyler started as he reached under her bed after
the frightened cat.
He stopped. "What?"
"What did those kids say to you today?"
"The usual. Calling me 'runt' and 'birdboy' and stuff like
that. Why?"
Skyler closed her eyes as she saw the bruises on his face again.
"Are you mad at me?"
He stared at her with inquisitive eyes. "No, why would I be?"
"I just thought-- since I wasn't there-"
His eyes softened a bit. Skyler had never seen this look from him
before. It made him look somewhat older, more mature, totally
pushing aside his under-average seven-year-old height. "You don't
have to protect me. You're not going to be around me everywhere.
I can take care of myself."
Tuna bolted for the door, and once again the playful chase
resumed. Skyler leaned back on the wall and stared up at the
ceiling.
"Sky! Dinner!" she heard her mother call.
Spaghetti and meat sauce awaited them at the table. The sky
outside was wilder than ever now, turning the trees around and
flattening the corn to the ground. Rain turned to waterfalls,
forming its own rivers as it poured relentlessly from the flashing
clouds. It soon turned to a heavier tapping. Skyler's mother went
to the window. "Hail-" she murmured. "Sky, are the chickens in the
henhouse?"
"Yes, mother."
Suddenly Skyler's father burst in the door. Behind him, Skyler heard
a faint noise. A distant wail, a simple sound, yet it carried with
it a sense of danger that affected everyone who heard it. Skyler's
mother switched on the TV.
"This storm has moved in at incredible speeds, and it is quite
unpredictable, so please take all the necessary precautions
immediately. If you're just tuning in now, there is a tornado
warning in effect for all of our viewing area until 9:45. I've just
been handed this-- another tornado has been sighted outside of
Franklin. People, this is a very dangerous situation-"
"I saw one" Skyler's father panted. "We have to get downstairs. C'mon,
Turbo!"
Galaxy jumped in Skyler's arms. Oriole ran to the corner. "Tuna,
let's go!"
Tuna refused to come any closer. Oriole ran after him.
The back door swung open a fierce wind struck the house. Tuna took
this chance to escape. And Oriole was right behind. "TUNA!"
Without a second thought for her own safety or any attention to her
parents' calls, Skyler dashed out after him.
The rain and hail tore at her face, keeping her eyes fluttering
enough that she couldn't see her brother or the grass around her,
despite the lightning. The wind was howling, now picking up
everything in the yard that wasn't tied down, Skyler heard her
brother's calls ahead of her, she could only focus on him now. She
had no idea where she was or where she was going. She just ran.
Something flew right past her head, and whatever it was, it was
obviously larger than their truck. Skyler thought she caught a
glimpse of that little plastic pool in their backyard go flying by.
And then, she felt her own feet leave the ground.
For a long time, she had wondered what it was like to fly on her
own, without the aid of wings or propellers. Well, she knew now-
Oriole's screams reached her ears from aways away. But her focus
was broken.
A splash of water caught her attention from below. Oriole had landed.
The creek. She knew where she was now. There was a stream that ran
though their yard way in the back. No one would ever call it a stream
now, not this overpowering force.
The water was surprisingly cold as it rushed up past her face. She
didn't waste any time surfacing. Her focus was back. "Oriole!" she
screamed, garbled by the large waves of water pushing her further down.
She swam as hard and fast as she could towards where she had last seen
Oriole, but she had little strength left. She had run and "flown"
enough, and swimming wasn't her strength. Her head became heavy and
light at the same time, her mind swimming in a frosty haze.
Something snagged her shoulder, stopping her in place and snapping her
awake a little. She could barely see it, a thin, scraggly hand with
long golden nails clinging to her. It wasn't till another one
clamped onto her other shoulder that she realized it wasn't a hand,
but a claw. She would probably have freaked out if she had the
strength left, but whatever it was, it was taking her out of the
water. She saw the water fall away-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Golden stars, silver moon~
~The past I will never forget~
~Though I fly far, I remember soon~
~The world I must protect~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stars, a patch of infinite blue-
These were scattered around, blocked out by silhouettes. Skyler's
vision cleared as she sat up.
There was an eerie silence. Sparkling clouds swirled around,
occasionally revealing more stars, but not for long. She recognized
the place- her backyard again. Right by the creek. But it looked
as if nothing had been touched by a storm.
Something fluttered behind her, and she whirled around on her knees.
A golder claw clung to a large broken tree branch. That same one she
had seen in the creek, now shining brightly despite the dim light.
Her eyes moved upward, running over glossy golden feathers, past
a beak the same color as the claws, and into a pair of sharp
yellow eyes. These deep eyes, clouded with some mystical, enchanting
spirit.
It was an eagle. A golden eagle. Skyler saw pictures of golden
eagles before, and this didn't look like them. It was a bit too
small, and too light-colored. She approached it tentatively. It
only looked at her, with no sudden movements. It allowed her to
touch its head, and chattered a bit.
"Wow" Skyler said with a smile. "You're a friendly one, aren't
you?"
It squealed, as if it were responding.
She sighed and turned to a piece of the sky that had started
to clear. She could see stars forming an outline-- the
constellation Orion. That was the first one she learned about.
"I wonder what-"
She turned back to the eagle and received a shock. A light had
formed across the eagle's face, an outline of a star!
She glanced back at the stars. Then at the eagle again. "Your
name's Orion, I think. Yeah. That's what I'm going to call you."
The eagle seemed to smile.
"I wonder where we are--"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Skyler's eyelids were as heavy as stone when she opened them
again. She could make out faint streams of sunlight filtered
through her wind chimes.
Was it all a dream?
But she couldn't get up. She became aware of a sharp,
throbbing pain in her head, tenseness in all of her muscles
as if they had been left in a refridgerator overnight. She
was in different clothes than she last remembered. That
mist, that damp, freezing mist she had felt in her mind was
still there.
She heard a quiet gasp from beside her. Her mother was
sitting right beside her, with wide eyes. "Skyler's awake!"
Her father rushed into view, along with the town physician.
The guy looked pretty tired. "She should be all right now.
Just give me a call if there's any trouble."
A fluttering came from the corner. Everyone glanced in the
direction.
There, perched on a wind chime, was the golden eagle. The
star on its face was gone, but she knew it was the same one.
"That bird's back." Skyler's father walked to it. "Why won't
it leave us alone?"
"Wait!" Skyler protested.
On the dresser below it, she saw a silver bracelet. It glimmer
almost blindingly in the morning sun. But it didn't belong to
her-
Then she remembered. She totally lost track of time.
"Where's Oriole?!" she cried out suddenly.
Her parents glanced at each other. Her mother abruptly turned
and left the room. Her father gave a heavy sigh and closed his
eyes. "Sky, you're old enough to handle the truth, so I'll be
straight with you--"
~~~~~~~~~~~
Skyler's tearful eyes ran down the stream. It was hard to
believe that this was that rushing choas it had been the night
before. The one that had taken her brother from her.
They said they hadn't found him. But Skyler knew, way down on
the inside, that she would never see him again. She slid the
silver bracelet off and placed it on the bank of the creek.
"I couldn't be there for you-- but I know you're not angry.
You said this yourself." She glanced down at the bracelet. "And
as long as I have this ring from the storm, you will never be
alone again--"
She picked it up and walked back to the house. As she did, a pair
of golden eagle eyes watched her-
As this story moves along, I think there are certain things I should write here so readers will know before they start reading. If you just want to read the story, just go down to the title.
Sailor Moon Harmony moves much faster than my other projects because I'm not the only one working on it, it started out that way (which is why the first five chapters are Sailor Aquila alone) but now there are four of us working on this. They are-
Whirlwynd (that's me) - ideyaguardians@sailormoon.com, creator of Sailor Aquila, Delphi Blade, Orion, and the Eclipzes
Tierra - JFK194@aol.com, creator of Sailor Monoceros, Gypsi Chapp, and the Eclipzes boss (who we don't have a name for yet ^^() )
Spinmaster - spinmaster2000@hotmail.com, creator of Sailor Phoenix
Jen - orionhime@hotmail.com, creator of Sailor Virgo - Jen is also running her own Sailor Moon fanfiction at http://www.sailorconstellations.com
The new characters here are based on the English-language version. One reason for that is some of our writers are not familiar with the original or manga versions and thus would have difficulty writing about it. The second reason is for geographic realism. The Harmony Scouts are from America and were born there (save for Sailor Virgo), they have English names. When the original senshi (Sailor Moon, etc) arrive in the story, they will be using their original names, phrases, and attacks. Some people say mixing the dub and sub editions are a big mistake, if you don't like it, don't read it. I think it could have potential (especially for you humor writers out there ^^ *wink nudge*)
So if this is a Sailor Moon story why aren't they fighting alongside Sailor Moon? It uses the elements of the Sailor Moon story. I didn't start with Sailor Aquila fighting alongside Sailor Moon because I like to be descriptive and I like to know the atmosphere of the settings, and I have never even set foot in Japan before, let alone do I know what the atmosphere is like. Until then, I'd either have to research or guess, and I don't want to do a whole lot of that for a fanfic. Maybe an original story of my own, but not a fic. A Shade of Twilight, my other Sailor Moon fic, is pretty much an experimental with the original show.
I'm done rambling now. Thank you for listening and enjoy the story ^_^
Check out the enhanced version, soundtrack, video clips, pics, and Wynd's Request Line @
http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/smharmony
SAILOR MOON HARMONY
EPISODE 1- STORM WARNING
An unusually bright day, this one was. The walls
of corn along the highway radiated its emerald
green around tiny golden pieces peeking out from
their husks. The concrete sizzled quietly, a soft
breeze carrying trace amounts of steam away from
it. A pond nearby, still as glass, reflected the
brilliant blue sky perfectly. Nearby, a red-winged
blackbird trilled out a harsh oh-ka-leeee! as it
fluttered out of a tree, afraid that the girl
passing by on her rollerblades would come after
it.
But the girl's silver eyes were focused on the
road. She had let her long, chocolate-colored hair
loose into her own turbulent wind. These cheerful
scenes were a fleeting picture in her memory as she
whooshed by, with little effect on her current
thoughts and feelings. Despite the carefree
appearance, her eyes as bright as the reflection
on the water, her skates gliding peacefully across
the ground, her mind was stormy with the events that
had taken place earlier.
For one moment her hand slipped into the pocket of
her dusty jeans and slid the folded paper deeper
inside. She wished she could completely push it away,
it would float off into the breeze and a storm would
come and shred it with lightning.
"Biology-" she muttered. "So what? One test. My
parents won't care, what am I going to do with Biology
later anyway?"
But that wasn't the only thing that dragged this day
down. She had left the school only to find her little
brother surrounded by teachers. His hair, normally a
shiny gold, was rusty brown, caked with dirt, like the
rest of his clothes. His golden-brown eyes turned to
her. "Skyler" he whimpered.
"Oriole?!" Skyler had rushed over to him. "Are you OK?"
"Mom's coming to get me-"
It had been those bullies again. The only thing that
made Skyler angery. Her brother did nothing to them,
let they insisted on tormenting him every day after
school. Usually, Skyler would be right there for him,
but she had to stay a bit to talk to the teacher about
her test.
"I'm sure your brother can take care of himself" Ms.
Mather had told her.
Maybe if he was two feet taller. He was the shortest kid
in school.
She was jolted out of her thoughts as one of her wheels
let out a tired squeak and stopped altogether, leaving the
rest of her to tumble through the air and slam into the
ground in a face-down sprawl. She growled as she got up,
kicking the gravel off the road with her front wheel, and
brushed some more off. She noticed streaks of upturned
grass nearby. Some crazy driver must have taken a turn too
fast.
A robin in the grass nearby eyed her curiously. It hopped
closer, pausing only to take a sideways glance at her. She
watched it come ever closer.
A larger shadow suddenly passed over them, startling the
robin. It flapped away with a sharp chattering. Skyler looked
up, but only caught a glimpse of the silhouette as it soared
away. She watched for a few seconds more, then started on her
way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Her skates clacked as she stepped in the door."Mom! I'm home."
"Skyler, take those skates off before you come in the house!"
her mother scolded.
She set them down back on the porch and took a look around. One
of the cars was missing from the driveway."Where's Dad?"
"He's down at the airport."
Skyler's eyes widened slightly. He didn't even wait for her?
"Can I go?"
"Chores first. I have to go pick up Oriole. Make sure you know
how to lock the gate this time. We don't want the cows getting
in the corn again."
Chores meant feeding the animals. She went to the large shed
out back, where all the animal food was. First were the cats.
Tuna, the gray one, was Oriole's favorite. He ran from just
about everything except fish. Skyler watched him scamper towards
the kitchen when she ran the can opener. Then there was
Frostbite, the mean white one that hated going outside and
wouldn't eat anything that was more than two days out of the
store. The other cats seemed to like teasing Frostbite, but it
was all in good fun. None of them had any claws. And the last
one, her favorite, Galaxy. He was black with large white streaks,
and bright green eyes. And he would always be there to cheer her
up.
Next was the golden retriever, Turbo. They called him that because
he absolutely had to run wherever he went. He never stopped, not
even in his sleep. And the food would be gone within three seconds
of the dish being on the floor.
Then there were her three budgerigars in her room- the blue one
called Sora, the green one called Jayde, and the yellow one called
Sunny. They didn't need a refill yet, so she left them alone.
Finally, there was the chickens. She couldn't keep track of all
their names. The cows were her father's job, along with many other
things.
She raced out, took no more than 20 seconds to strap on her
rollerblades, then zoomed off towards the town.
Minutes later, she passed the town's welcome sign. Galesburg. She
didn't think she'd ever get tired of seeing it. It was small,
simple, just like the town. She often wondered why it was called
Galesburg.
Everyone was out today. People crowded the narrow sidewalks, in the
park, by the high school football field. There was a game today, and
the stands were full. Skyler smiled contentedly. She knew everyone
here, and they knew her. At least by name.
Finally, she saw the hangars and turned off at the next driveway. Her
father's blue truck was there, all right- and there he was, checking
out his airplane. She tore off her skates and jumped into her sandals.
"Dad! Are you going up today?"
"Yep" he replied. "Hand me that towel, will ya?"
"Can I come?"
"No, better not today."
"Aww-" Skyler's face fell. "Why not?"
"Why don't you see Uncle Lance in the control tower?
"Uncle Lance is here?!"
"Yeah, go on. He's expecting you."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lance saw Skyler wandering towards him, the people around her
smiling at her. "Hey, what's going on? How's my favorite niece?"
Skyler ran to him and gave him a hug. "Dad won't let me go in
the plane" she whined.
"He's going out--" Lance replied. "Taking a risk, isn't he?"
"What? Why?"
"There's a storm headed this way" he led her to one of the
monitors. "See this red stuff? Big storm, big trouble for flying.
It came up really fast and its supposed to hit us. You'd better
go home before it does."
Skyler looked out to where the electronic map had shown the
disturbance. The sky seemed clear to her.
Down below, she saw the town. Something was off, something she hadn't
seen before. Dirt dug up, steel bars moved in. "What's that?"
"They're putting up apartment buildings. I'm not sure why, but I'll
check it out for you. Now go on home."
A small scowl clouded her face, but she didn't want to get in Uncle
Lance's way. "OK-"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sky dulled as she neared home. Next came drizzles, then rain.
She grumbled all the way down the road through the town.
The streets, unlike what couldn't have been more than a half-hour
earlier, were silent. A gray aura had crept through, bringing in a
gloomy, yet uneasy feeling. Not a bird chirped, not a single leaf
moved throughout the whole park. Even the rain seemed still and
quiet, even though that was impossible. Skyler shivered a bit, and
not from the cold.
She arrived at home, drenched. Her brother was back to his normal
self, chasing Tuna all over the place and laughing like a hyena.
The other cats, and Turbo, were racing around as well.
She reached her room. The parakeets were a little jumpy themselves.
They were screeching, chirping, jumping all over the cage walls as
if they were making some desperate attempt to escape. Skyler put
her hand in the cage to calm the frenzied birds. "Sora? Jayde, calm
down! What's with you?"
Outside, the sky grew darker by the minute, the restless clouds
twisting and sparking in an eerie pattern. The wind chimes by the
window tossed wildly, and Skyler shut it.
Tuna scampered into her room and screeched to a halt under her bed.
Her brother followed shortly after.
"Hey, Oriole--" Skyler started as he reached under her bed after
the frightened cat.
He stopped. "What?"
"What did those kids say to you today?"
"The usual. Calling me 'runt' and 'birdboy' and stuff like
that. Why?"
Skyler closed her eyes as she saw the bruises on his face again.
"Are you mad at me?"
He stared at her with inquisitive eyes. "No, why would I be?"
"I just thought-- since I wasn't there-"
His eyes softened a bit. Skyler had never seen this look from him
before. It made him look somewhat older, more mature, totally
pushing aside his under-average seven-year-old height. "You don't
have to protect me. You're not going to be around me everywhere.
I can take care of myself."
Tuna bolted for the door, and once again the playful chase
resumed. Skyler leaned back on the wall and stared up at the
ceiling.
"Sky! Dinner!" she heard her mother call.
Spaghetti and meat sauce awaited them at the table. The sky
outside was wilder than ever now, turning the trees around and
flattening the corn to the ground. Rain turned to waterfalls,
forming its own rivers as it poured relentlessly from the flashing
clouds. It soon turned to a heavier tapping. Skyler's mother went
to the window. "Hail-" she murmured. "Sky, are the chickens in the
henhouse?"
"Yes, mother."
Suddenly Skyler's father burst in the door. Behind him, Skyler heard
a faint noise. A distant wail, a simple sound, yet it carried with
it a sense of danger that affected everyone who heard it. Skyler's
mother switched on the TV.
"This storm has moved in at incredible speeds, and it is quite
unpredictable, so please take all the necessary precautions
immediately. If you're just tuning in now, there is a tornado
warning in effect for all of our viewing area until 9:45. I've just
been handed this-- another tornado has been sighted outside of
Franklin. People, this is a very dangerous situation-"
"I saw one" Skyler's father panted. "We have to get downstairs. C'mon,
Turbo!"
Galaxy jumped in Skyler's arms. Oriole ran to the corner. "Tuna,
let's go!"
Tuna refused to come any closer. Oriole ran after him.
The back door swung open a fierce wind struck the house. Tuna took
this chance to escape. And Oriole was right behind. "TUNA!"
Without a second thought for her own safety or any attention to her
parents' calls, Skyler dashed out after him.
The rain and hail tore at her face, keeping her eyes fluttering
enough that she couldn't see her brother or the grass around her,
despite the lightning. The wind was howling, now picking up
everything in the yard that wasn't tied down, Skyler heard her
brother's calls ahead of her, she could only focus on him now. She
had no idea where she was or where she was going. She just ran.
Something flew right past her head, and whatever it was, it was
obviously larger than their truck. Skyler thought she caught a
glimpse of that little plastic pool in their backyard go flying by.
And then, she felt her own feet leave the ground.
For a long time, she had wondered what it was like to fly on her
own, without the aid of wings or propellers. Well, she knew now-
Oriole's screams reached her ears from aways away. But her focus
was broken.
A splash of water caught her attention from below. Oriole had landed.
The creek. She knew where she was now. There was a stream that ran
though their yard way in the back. No one would ever call it a stream
now, not this overpowering force.
The water was surprisingly cold as it rushed up past her face. She
didn't waste any time surfacing. Her focus was back. "Oriole!" she
screamed, garbled by the large waves of water pushing her further down.
She swam as hard and fast as she could towards where she had last seen
Oriole, but she had little strength left. She had run and "flown"
enough, and swimming wasn't her strength. Her head became heavy and
light at the same time, her mind swimming in a frosty haze.
Something snagged her shoulder, stopping her in place and snapping her
awake a little. She could barely see it, a thin, scraggly hand with
long golden nails clinging to her. It wasn't till another one
clamped onto her other shoulder that she realized it wasn't a hand,
but a claw. She would probably have freaked out if she had the
strength left, but whatever it was, it was taking her out of the
water. She saw the water fall away-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~Golden stars, silver moon~
~The past I will never forget~
~Though I fly far, I remember soon~
~The world I must protect~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stars, a patch of infinite blue-
These were scattered around, blocked out by silhouettes. Skyler's
vision cleared as she sat up.
There was an eerie silence. Sparkling clouds swirled around,
occasionally revealing more stars, but not for long. She recognized
the place- her backyard again. Right by the creek. But it looked
as if nothing had been touched by a storm.
Something fluttered behind her, and she whirled around on her knees.
A golder claw clung to a large broken tree branch. That same one she
had seen in the creek, now shining brightly despite the dim light.
Her eyes moved upward, running over glossy golden feathers, past
a beak the same color as the claws, and into a pair of sharp
yellow eyes. These deep eyes, clouded with some mystical, enchanting
spirit.
It was an eagle. A golden eagle. Skyler saw pictures of golden
eagles before, and this didn't look like them. It was a bit too
small, and too light-colored. She approached it tentatively. It
only looked at her, with no sudden movements. It allowed her to
touch its head, and chattered a bit.
"Wow" Skyler said with a smile. "You're a friendly one, aren't
you?"
It squealed, as if it were responding.
She sighed and turned to a piece of the sky that had started
to clear. She could see stars forming an outline-- the
constellation Orion. That was the first one she learned about.
"I wonder what-"
She turned back to the eagle and received a shock. A light had
formed across the eagle's face, an outline of a star!
She glanced back at the stars. Then at the eagle again. "Your
name's Orion, I think. Yeah. That's what I'm going to call you."
The eagle seemed to smile.
"I wonder where we are--"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Skyler's eyelids were as heavy as stone when she opened them
again. She could make out faint streams of sunlight filtered
through her wind chimes.
Was it all a dream?
But she couldn't get up. She became aware of a sharp,
throbbing pain in her head, tenseness in all of her muscles
as if they had been left in a refridgerator overnight. She
was in different clothes than she last remembered. That
mist, that damp, freezing mist she had felt in her mind was
still there.
She heard a quiet gasp from beside her. Her mother was
sitting right beside her, with wide eyes. "Skyler's awake!"
Her father rushed into view, along with the town physician.
The guy looked pretty tired. "She should be all right now.
Just give me a call if there's any trouble."
A fluttering came from the corner. Everyone glanced in the
direction.
There, perched on a wind chime, was the golden eagle. The
star on its face was gone, but she knew it was the same one.
"That bird's back." Skyler's father walked to it. "Why won't
it leave us alone?"
"Wait!" Skyler protested.
On the dresser below it, she saw a silver bracelet. It glimmer
almost blindingly in the morning sun. But it didn't belong to
her-
Then she remembered. She totally lost track of time.
"Where's Oriole?!" she cried out suddenly.
Her parents glanced at each other. Her mother abruptly turned
and left the room. Her father gave a heavy sigh and closed his
eyes. "Sky, you're old enough to handle the truth, so I'll be
straight with you--"
~~~~~~~~~~~
Skyler's tearful eyes ran down the stream. It was hard to
believe that this was that rushing choas it had been the night
before. The one that had taken her brother from her.
They said they hadn't found him. But Skyler knew, way down on
the inside, that she would never see him again. She slid the
silver bracelet off and placed it on the bank of the creek.
"I couldn't be there for you-- but I know you're not angry.
You said this yourself." She glanced down at the bracelet. "And
as long as I have this ring from the storm, you will never be
alone again--"
She picked it up and walked back to the house. As she did, a pair
of golden eagle eyes watched her-