Helichoidal
2 // The Sunbleached Trail
Eventually a strong coming off a ridge announced our approach to Canyon City. We disembarked at the edge, seeing before us, yawning and beckoning, a dreamland of air and stone.
-- Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time, by James Gurney
++++++++++++
"It's hot," complained the boy who followed Kaak Atzalcatl down the sloping path of the canyon's western face. Kaak, curly brown hair matted with perspiration, said nothing. The boy was only a couple of years younger than he, but Kaak had flown a thousand necks above the coast and this boy's claim to adulthood was only height; blond hair two heads above Kaak, the two humans had already discussed the latter's Mayan ancestry.
Kaak was still smarting from the boy's words, and so he said nothing, merely led the way along the sun-drenched cliffs.
"Don't you get hot?" The boy asked from behind him, doubly annoying for all his innocuous questions. "What about when you're flying?"
Kaak came across the doorway that led into the cliff and walked right past it; he did not look back to see if the boy frowned, or was confused, or angry. Moments later he rounded a wedge in the cliff and two skybaxes sunned themselves on the terrace before him.
"Go inside," he turned to tell the boy, whose name he would not use. "Tell the woman on the couch you'll be going with Annie in the morning, up to Pteros proper to meet the Hatchery Mother."
"Sure." The boy smiled brightly at him and reached up to wipe his hand across his face. It came away drenched, soaking and slippery. Kaak looked at it and did not offer to shake. The boy knew something was amiss, but just smiled wider and nodded at the door. "I'll go on in then, shall I?"
"Yes."
The boy nodded, and went inside.
Kaak took two deep breaths, up from the very center of his gut, and breathed each out into the hot summer air.
"I have never met such a squishy egg in my life," he said out loud, perhaps to the two skybaxes and perhaps just to the canyons at large. "Squelchy, rather. Poke him and he folds over. Put some hot air on him and he folds in instead of hardening."
The door swung open behind him, wood knocking against the stone of the canyon. A young man, a head taller than Kaak but thin as a thistle, leaned against the doorway. "He dripped all over my paperwork."
Kaak smirked. "He's probably lost a couple rocks of weight today. If Mother clears him for a flight aloft tomorrow, it'll be because he's watered the cliffweed."
The other young man, wearing only the beige pants and a plain red shirt without badge, shook his head in disbelief. "He didn't bring a canteen?"
"He said he'd done a lot of hiking back home." Kaak shrugged. "Said he didn't need one."
"And you took him on the Sunbleached Trail?" The young man, called Sam, laughed. "You're a nasty one there, Rider."
"I know." Kaak turned with a grin and left the skybaxes to their sunning, allowing Sam to hold the door as he slipped inside and pulled his jacket off with a sigh of relief. It was a perfect blend of cool air and pale light in the cliffside office. Skylights filtered sun down by mirror from the cliff face; Kaak sprawled on a blue loveseat and Sam, following him inside, groaned.
"Honestly, Rider. Get a towel."
Kaak lay his head on the back of the sofa, watched Sam cross to the desk. "Do you have one?" he asked, feeling cheeky. "Because, you know, I wasn't expecting to have to take Sunbleached today."
"No, you were expecting a nice boy from Treetown who's learned a bit of sense." Sam reached behind his desk and pulled open a drawer. A large, fluffy white towel hit Kaak in the face. "There you go."
The apprentice rider's laugh was muffled through the towel; he made no attempt to remove it from his face. Sam sank gratefully into his own chair. "We need to get a fan in here."
"Yes," Kaak nodded, looked up at the ceiling. "I am not looking forward to the hike up to the rookery tonight."
"It's another couple hours before sunset."
"It'll take me a couple hours to make it up there." Kaak was not to be consoled.
Sam nodded in consolation. "Eating dinner with your parents?"
"Eating dinner with ..." Kaak sighed. "Probably."
"Time for a day off, huh?"
"Sam." Kaak's tone brooked no argument. "You're aware that it's raining in Sauropolis."
"So get on your skybax--"
"And get chewed out by Mom?" Kaak laughed. Sam grinned and pushed himself from his chair.
"Put the dratted towel on properly or I'll give your mother something to chew on you for, dinner absence or not."
Kaak pulled it from his face and shoved it behind his neck. "I'm beat."
"So go get Altanden and go fishing."
"I'd have to walk up to the rookery."
"You apprentices..." Sam shook his head and clucked his tongue in a passable imitation of an ovinutrix. "Getting away with everything."
"Like I said--"
"Your Dad would understand."
"Mom would chew on him."
They both reflected in silence on the truth of this. Kaak's mother ruled the Pteros Rookery by virtue of her cooking and her medical prowess. If she said a rider was not to fly, many a rider was consoled by a gourmet dinner in her quarters, but he would still not be flying when it was over.
"So you're up the muddy Amu, then."
"Something of a Sentinel, Mom is," Kaak agreed.
Sam nodded and both young men settled a little more comfortably into their respective seats. Sam did not allow himself a worry; if the apprentice could get away with doing nothing the rest of the day, so could he. There was no more paperwork, no more permissions to acquire, no more visitations to arrange.
This was turning out to be, in essence, a classic Canyon City autumn. As the heat rose, the skybax riders would vanish into the skies for greener, wetter pastures. That Kaak remained at home was only by virtue of his parentage, and also that he'd probably lost a valuable mail route through Sauropolis at the betting tables the night before.
Two pairs of eyes closed in the office, as the sun moved slowly through the sky, disappearing, finally, over the canyon rim.
++++++++++++
Kaak's father, Balam Atzalcatl, was broad-shouldered and stocky, like his son, and he carried with him a notepad that slipped into the wide thigh pocket on his royal blue uniform pants. He finished toweling off from the shower and threw on a clean pair of pants and a grey tunic. Tucking the shirt in, he retrieved the notebook from the floor and placed it on the small sink in the shower room as he wadded his sweaty clothes of the day into a ball and threw them into the hamper with a jump shot.
It had been one of those days, but it was almost over, and the apprentices on meteorological duty were swearing up and down in their reports that the weather would break before the end of the week.
Balam rolled his sleeves to his elbows and absentmindedly flipped through his notepad:
Meeting with Solara, in-depth review of the dust cloud warnings from the Desert, check the scaffolding project underneath the third Sentinel, track down rumors of Denison's watch, speak with Oolu concerning newest beginner classes, avoid wife's mad ramblings about heat stroke, speak with Daniel concerning heat stroke...
Those apprentices, he decided, flipping the notepad closed, would be flying mail route through the small towns on Crackshell if he was still breaking a sweat in a week by merely opening the front door of his apartment.
He left the bathroom and met his wife in the hallway. Itzel gave him a quick hug and he kissed her, lingering for a moment. It had been a long day. It was almost over.
"Have you seen Kaak?" she asked, as they stepped apart and she angled for the bathroom.
Balam shook his head. "The fool swapped a good route for tour guide duty, so he should be around."
"Cora in processing hasn't seen him at all today, but one boy came in dehydrated after walking Sunbleached Trail..."
A grin split Balam's face and he chuckled. "Was he polite?"
Itzel leaned around the doorframe, her broad grin mischevious. He came of it honestly, Kaak did. "He was obnoxious. Even the skybaxes were tired of him by the time he'd gone."
Balam nodded as the bathroom door shut in front of him, and he raised his voice to be heard. "After walking Sunbleached Trail, Kaak probably went fishing with Altanden. I'm not worried."
"Shall we set the table for two?"
"Make it three." Balam grinned as the water came on. "Enjoy your cold shower, dear."
He wandered down the hallway into the kitchen and stole a crisp green bean from a collander. Kaak would be in when the boy was in, and probably with a story to tell while he was at it. Balam sank happily into a chair and reached for his notepad and a pen, ready to draft tomorrow's work schedule while he had a moment of peace and quiet.
In the always hectic and moment's-notice world of his daily life, Balam would not have been surprised to see a messenger bird swooping in through the window, chattering. But this afternoon, none came. The sun shone through the cycads planted on the balcony, the shadows of the palm-like trees falling across Balam's shoes. Itzel emerged from her shower with a towel draped over her shoulders and wearing a simple, flowing dress. She kissed her husband on the cheek and went to finish setting the table.
Kaak did not step through the door in time for dinner.
2 // The Sunbleached Trail
Eventually a strong coming off a ridge announced our approach to Canyon City. We disembarked at the edge, seeing before us, yawning and beckoning, a dreamland of air and stone.
-- Dinotopia: A Land Apart From Time, by James Gurney
++++++++++++
"It's hot," complained the boy who followed Kaak Atzalcatl down the sloping path of the canyon's western face. Kaak, curly brown hair matted with perspiration, said nothing. The boy was only a couple of years younger than he, but Kaak had flown a thousand necks above the coast and this boy's claim to adulthood was only height; blond hair two heads above Kaak, the two humans had already discussed the latter's Mayan ancestry.
Kaak was still smarting from the boy's words, and so he said nothing, merely led the way along the sun-drenched cliffs.
"Don't you get hot?" The boy asked from behind him, doubly annoying for all his innocuous questions. "What about when you're flying?"
Kaak came across the doorway that led into the cliff and walked right past it; he did not look back to see if the boy frowned, or was confused, or angry. Moments later he rounded a wedge in the cliff and two skybaxes sunned themselves on the terrace before him.
"Go inside," he turned to tell the boy, whose name he would not use. "Tell the woman on the couch you'll be going with Annie in the morning, up to Pteros proper to meet the Hatchery Mother."
"Sure." The boy smiled brightly at him and reached up to wipe his hand across his face. It came away drenched, soaking and slippery. Kaak looked at it and did not offer to shake. The boy knew something was amiss, but just smiled wider and nodded at the door. "I'll go on in then, shall I?"
"Yes."
The boy nodded, and went inside.
Kaak took two deep breaths, up from the very center of his gut, and breathed each out into the hot summer air.
"I have never met such a squishy egg in my life," he said out loud, perhaps to the two skybaxes and perhaps just to the canyons at large. "Squelchy, rather. Poke him and he folds over. Put some hot air on him and he folds in instead of hardening."
The door swung open behind him, wood knocking against the stone of the canyon. A young man, a head taller than Kaak but thin as a thistle, leaned against the doorway. "He dripped all over my paperwork."
Kaak smirked. "He's probably lost a couple rocks of weight today. If Mother clears him for a flight aloft tomorrow, it'll be because he's watered the cliffweed."
The other young man, wearing only the beige pants and a plain red shirt without badge, shook his head in disbelief. "He didn't bring a canteen?"
"He said he'd done a lot of hiking back home." Kaak shrugged. "Said he didn't need one."
"And you took him on the Sunbleached Trail?" The young man, called Sam, laughed. "You're a nasty one there, Rider."
"I know." Kaak turned with a grin and left the skybaxes to their sunning, allowing Sam to hold the door as he slipped inside and pulled his jacket off with a sigh of relief. It was a perfect blend of cool air and pale light in the cliffside office. Skylights filtered sun down by mirror from the cliff face; Kaak sprawled on a blue loveseat and Sam, following him inside, groaned.
"Honestly, Rider. Get a towel."
Kaak lay his head on the back of the sofa, watched Sam cross to the desk. "Do you have one?" he asked, feeling cheeky. "Because, you know, I wasn't expecting to have to take Sunbleached today."
"No, you were expecting a nice boy from Treetown who's learned a bit of sense." Sam reached behind his desk and pulled open a drawer. A large, fluffy white towel hit Kaak in the face. "There you go."
The apprentice rider's laugh was muffled through the towel; he made no attempt to remove it from his face. Sam sank gratefully into his own chair. "We need to get a fan in here."
"Yes," Kaak nodded, looked up at the ceiling. "I am not looking forward to the hike up to the rookery tonight."
"It's another couple hours before sunset."
"It'll take me a couple hours to make it up there." Kaak was not to be consoled.
Sam nodded in consolation. "Eating dinner with your parents?"
"Eating dinner with ..." Kaak sighed. "Probably."
"Time for a day off, huh?"
"Sam." Kaak's tone brooked no argument. "You're aware that it's raining in Sauropolis."
"So get on your skybax--"
"And get chewed out by Mom?" Kaak laughed. Sam grinned and pushed himself from his chair.
"Put the dratted towel on properly or I'll give your mother something to chew on you for, dinner absence or not."
Kaak pulled it from his face and shoved it behind his neck. "I'm beat."
"So go get Altanden and go fishing."
"I'd have to walk up to the rookery."
"You apprentices..." Sam shook his head and clucked his tongue in a passable imitation of an ovinutrix. "Getting away with everything."
"Like I said--"
"Your Dad would understand."
"Mom would chew on him."
They both reflected in silence on the truth of this. Kaak's mother ruled the Pteros Rookery by virtue of her cooking and her medical prowess. If she said a rider was not to fly, many a rider was consoled by a gourmet dinner in her quarters, but he would still not be flying when it was over.
"So you're up the muddy Amu, then."
"Something of a Sentinel, Mom is," Kaak agreed.
Sam nodded and both young men settled a little more comfortably into their respective seats. Sam did not allow himself a worry; if the apprentice could get away with doing nothing the rest of the day, so could he. There was no more paperwork, no more permissions to acquire, no more visitations to arrange.
This was turning out to be, in essence, a classic Canyon City autumn. As the heat rose, the skybax riders would vanish into the skies for greener, wetter pastures. That Kaak remained at home was only by virtue of his parentage, and also that he'd probably lost a valuable mail route through Sauropolis at the betting tables the night before.
Two pairs of eyes closed in the office, as the sun moved slowly through the sky, disappearing, finally, over the canyon rim.
++++++++++++
Kaak's father, Balam Atzalcatl, was broad-shouldered and stocky, like his son, and he carried with him a notepad that slipped into the wide thigh pocket on his royal blue uniform pants. He finished toweling off from the shower and threw on a clean pair of pants and a grey tunic. Tucking the shirt in, he retrieved the notebook from the floor and placed it on the small sink in the shower room as he wadded his sweaty clothes of the day into a ball and threw them into the hamper with a jump shot.
It had been one of those days, but it was almost over, and the apprentices on meteorological duty were swearing up and down in their reports that the weather would break before the end of the week.
Balam rolled his sleeves to his elbows and absentmindedly flipped through his notepad:
Meeting with Solara, in-depth review of the dust cloud warnings from the Desert, check the scaffolding project underneath the third Sentinel, track down rumors of Denison's watch, speak with Oolu concerning newest beginner classes, avoid wife's mad ramblings about heat stroke, speak with Daniel concerning heat stroke...
Those apprentices, he decided, flipping the notepad closed, would be flying mail route through the small towns on Crackshell if he was still breaking a sweat in a week by merely opening the front door of his apartment.
He left the bathroom and met his wife in the hallway. Itzel gave him a quick hug and he kissed her, lingering for a moment. It had been a long day. It was almost over.
"Have you seen Kaak?" she asked, as they stepped apart and she angled for the bathroom.
Balam shook his head. "The fool swapped a good route for tour guide duty, so he should be around."
"Cora in processing hasn't seen him at all today, but one boy came in dehydrated after walking Sunbleached Trail..."
A grin split Balam's face and he chuckled. "Was he polite?"
Itzel leaned around the doorframe, her broad grin mischevious. He came of it honestly, Kaak did. "He was obnoxious. Even the skybaxes were tired of him by the time he'd gone."
Balam nodded as the bathroom door shut in front of him, and he raised his voice to be heard. "After walking Sunbleached Trail, Kaak probably went fishing with Altanden. I'm not worried."
"Shall we set the table for two?"
"Make it three." Balam grinned as the water came on. "Enjoy your cold shower, dear."
He wandered down the hallway into the kitchen and stole a crisp green bean from a collander. Kaak would be in when the boy was in, and probably with a story to tell while he was at it. Balam sank happily into a chair and reached for his notepad and a pen, ready to draft tomorrow's work schedule while he had a moment of peace and quiet.
In the always hectic and moment's-notice world of his daily life, Balam would not have been surprised to see a messenger bird swooping in through the window, chattering. But this afternoon, none came. The sun shone through the cycads planted on the balcony, the shadows of the palm-like trees falling across Balam's shoes. Itzel emerged from her shower with a towel draped over her shoulders and wearing a simple, flowing dress. She kissed her husband on the cheek and went to finish setting the table.
Kaak did not step through the door in time for dinner.