Thank you all for your feedback! For the longest time I thought, "Wow, no reviews, no one's reading it probably." And then...wow. Reviews. Thank you very much! (And, uh, here's another short cliffhanger...)
A few minutes before dawn, Marina was still careening headlong through the forest, blinded by tears and the ringing in her ears, spinning out of control. She could neither see nor hear where she was going, but it didn't matter, did it. There was no place she could go, no one to accept her.
Somehow, in some bizarre twist of fate, Marina didn't die. She flew low enough for any wild animals to leap and bite her, dazed enough to smash into a tree or rock, but she was alive.
Too exhausted to keep flying, Marina dropped into a large knothole, a used squirrel's den, and quickly fell asleep.
Marina woke up at dusk, confused by the wild nightmare from the night before.
"Mom, I..."
Her voice stuck to her throat. She was alone, no one around her.
The nightmare returned, and Marina felt hot tears course through her fur.
"Why...why why why..." she sobbed as last night flared in her memory like echo vision. The tiger moth, the Humans, the band, her parents, the elders...the expulsion... "No...it isn't true...what am I going to do..."
Slowly Marina got herself under control, and she looked out the opening. I can't stay here and cry...nothing to be done.
Marina shifted anxiously, claws digging into wood. What am I going to do?
Follow the colony.
The thought slithered into her head, uncontrolled. Marina tilted her head, snapping up a termite at the same time. She chewed on the bug and swallowed as she mulled over the idea.
She could follow the colony. Stay back as far as she could, but not lose sight of them. Eventually they'd reach the summer roost, and she'd just find her own niche to stay in.
It didn't seem like much of an idea when Marina thought it through, but what else could she do?
Cautiously Marina peered out the knothole. She had been so confused when she had fled from the elders. Could she actually trail them?
From her hiding place Marina watched two Brightwings dart through the trees, and in her ears she could hear the song the elders Delilah and Lucius used to lead the colony.
Marina darted out of her tree, determined not to lose them.
A few minutes before dawn, Marina was still careening headlong through the forest, blinded by tears and the ringing in her ears, spinning out of control. She could neither see nor hear where she was going, but it didn't matter, did it. There was no place she could go, no one to accept her.
Somehow, in some bizarre twist of fate, Marina didn't die. She flew low enough for any wild animals to leap and bite her, dazed enough to smash into a tree or rock, but she was alive.
Too exhausted to keep flying, Marina dropped into a large knothole, a used squirrel's den, and quickly fell asleep.
Marina woke up at dusk, confused by the wild nightmare from the night before.
"Mom, I..."
Her voice stuck to her throat. She was alone, no one around her.
The nightmare returned, and Marina felt hot tears course through her fur.
"Why...why why why..." she sobbed as last night flared in her memory like echo vision. The tiger moth, the Humans, the band, her parents, the elders...the expulsion... "No...it isn't true...what am I going to do..."
Slowly Marina got herself under control, and she looked out the opening. I can't stay here and cry...nothing to be done.
Marina shifted anxiously, claws digging into wood. What am I going to do?
Follow the colony.
The thought slithered into her head, uncontrolled. Marina tilted her head, snapping up a termite at the same time. She chewed on the bug and swallowed as she mulled over the idea.
She could follow the colony. Stay back as far as she could, but not lose sight of them. Eventually they'd reach the summer roost, and she'd just find her own niche to stay in.
It didn't seem like much of an idea when Marina thought it through, but what else could she do?
Cautiously Marina peered out the knothole. She had been so confused when she had fled from the elders. Could she actually trail them?
From her hiding place Marina watched two Brightwings dart through the trees, and in her ears she could hear the song the elders Delilah and Lucius used to lead the colony.
Marina darted out of her tree, determined not to lose them.