Curiosity

Flee on sight... did sire mean when I see them, or when they see me? They cannot see me!

Sky-Rock-Gazer warmly hummed to herself at her own clever-thinking on that old advice. It was good advice that had much lift, yes, but she found a way around this cloud. She sent forth a shot of hiding-fire and spun into it. There was something nearby that was too liver-twisting and different to ignore.

She also was a curious light wing.

That had started so long ago when her great sire had taken her up from the hidden ranges and showed her the unbounded skies filled with the great and small sky-lights. The brightest sky-rock, pure white like her, had held her attention so much that she had accepted the name that her sire and dam had given her long ago as her always-name.

Now she was fully grown to her adult size with all control of her fire, hiding, and hunting. It had also been over a pawful of season-cycles since leaving the hidden ranges. All because she had the deep wanting for a mate, no, for a life-mate of her own. One to wrap her tail and wings around, join life-flights with in every way, and make a nest with. A nest filled with eggs and little ones through the cycles. More than she could count on her paws...

Sigh...

She would not have flown from all she knew and felt safe in for any other reason. But for now there was something else that she wanted to learn more about.

She dove down through the cloud, completely hidden from all eyes.

So long alone. She started out all alone in the above, but that was the natural way. The young fly the nest and the range to go search for mates and new ranges of their own. That was what her own sire and dam had done.

Her sire, Hope-In-His-Liver, had left a small pack of light wings in the above because there were no females he could take as his own. He told her once that they were too close kin to him and some of the pack's ceremonies were not what he thought were good. Her dam, Paws-At-Bright-Flowers, had left her pack in the hidden ranges and flown on her own to find an empty hidden range that she might claim for when a good mate found her.

But in all the cycles she herself had flown the above, hidden in the sky itself and searching unseen through nests of kin, she had never seen another light wing. Nor even one of those might-be-stories-only dark wings. Her sire and dam had explained that the light wings in the below had many twisted-ceremonies and did not live much as they or she would want. Twisted though it was to think, the above might be the best place to search for what she wanted.

It was also much bigger in the above. There were many ranges that can-be-mate kin could be in hiding. But if they lived in hiding much, hidden from eyes as she could...

She was so alone...

Then she found this strange life-twisting place a season-cycle ago.

It was a lone island far away from all others. It had a central mountainpeak and many rock-spires that flew up from the waters. None of that was what was so twisting about it though.

It was a nest of many different kin and two-legs!

The kin were of some types she had never seen before in all her flights in the above, the first ones being with her great sire only and the others being on her alone-flight to some nests and in the wild.

But the two-legs were living among the kin in peace and together-living? Some of the kin had two-legs on their backs or were working to do things with the two-legs?

I do not think I like that... It looks like traps...

There were many of the kin inside what looked like places that they could be kept inside. Traps? Dens? Mixed-dens? She did not know which.

She had passed this twisting mixed-nest island by the first time she flew over it. There were no kin like her in the nest, and therefore it did not have what she wanted. There was nothing for her here except for a faint answer to a hatching question inside.

What are these two-legs?

Were they good, as these kin seemed to think, or were they Monsters which she should flee on sight from?

'Two-legs are filled with danger. Flee on sight.'

It was better to be safe and stay away from them.

She meant to learn more about them this time several sun-cycles later. The other dead nest filled with fire had no kin at all. Her curiosity was also quite great and seemed to guide her thoughts back to the mixed-nest. Even so, it was a careful-thinking plan to remain hidden from all eyes while flying above the mixed-nest.

Down through the clouds and over the mixed-nest when she saw...

It was different.

The big dens were gone now, burned to the ground, and there were no kin down in what had been the mixed-nest. There were many two-legs on the island though. These two-legs looked different also, as they had more of the shiny-silver-almost-rock scales on their no-scale bodies.

A nest fight?

That was something different. She did not know that two-leg nests could fight, but it made some good-thinking in a way. A nest that outgrew its old range would need to leave in a group-flight and go take another range, even if that meant pushing out the old nest that had been there. It was the natural way.

There were still many kin in these skies also. Big kin, roaring kin, kin with something like the same shiny-silver-almost-rock scales on them also. But why would they need any false-scales?

Did the two-legs give them those also?

That explanation had lift, even if the why behind the flight was as hidden as she was.

Down she dove under the mass of swarming kin and above the ground. Then understanding flew in her thinking.

The mixed-nest flew from this island.

Then she flew out over what was left of the mixed-nest place and saw the water.

She pulled up and stared in complete surprise at how many of the things there were. Things made of fallen trees and piled together into floating dens were on the water. Water-walkers? Water-swimmers? Moving dens?

Whatever they were, they were used to carry the two-leg flight to this island. She had never seen them from so up close before.

She found what had to be the flight-leader's water-walker. It was very big and was at the front of the pack. Even as she watched, something very strange happened.

All the kin that had been swarming over the island flew away from the island and began swarming over this water-walker.

Something big moved in the water.

A pair of great tusks ascended from the water next to the flight-leader's water-walker.

Her jaw hung open in awe at the sight of this very much big Alpha kin. No stories her sire and dam had ever told her had these things in them. There was nothing except a faint warning about some very big kin that could whisper to and twist life-fire and wants themselves.

She was hidden from all eyes. No kin could see her when the hiding-fire flowed over her. She was safe until she wanted to be seen.

But the Alpha turned in the water and stared in her direction.

Impossible!

It cannot be. Nothing could see her when she was hidden. No kin could see her life-fire.

Its blue eyes were so like her sire's eyes. Filled with wisdom and good-thinking words also.

A gust of wind on her thoughts as something stirred in her life-fire-wants.

.

That most deep wanting in her life-flight.

.

A good hope-vision.

.

Peace found now.

.

The eye was kind and understanding.

.

It could give her what she wanted.

.

Not being alone now.

.

Peace.

.

Not alone now?

.

Hope-vision.

.

Her wanting.

.

Peace.

.

The eye was kind.

.

She was not alone now.

Her eyes opened as she recovered from much sleep.

Then her warm croon filled the den a moment later as she shifted on the nest. The most-good-precious-sing-to-it-nuzzle-it-talk-much-to-it-warm-hum-licks-protect-keep-warm egg between her paws filled her liver with warmth unlike anything else.

It was slowly and gently turned in her maw and then sat down to be sheltered under her tailfins.

But where was he? Where was her mate?

Hunting prey for her. That is where he would be.

When was he last here with her?

Grumble.

Where are you?

More waiting and tail twitching followed as she waited. And waited. Then he arrived.

Her mate, pure white with no hurt-marks and with his always liver-warmth for her, strode into the den while carrying a prey-leg in his maw. He was a good hunter. His deep blue eyes were so easy to lose herself in.

Warm head nuzzling and deep purring followed at his return.

"You had a good hunt, my mate," she observed.

"Yes, Alpha gave us much to eat today," he answered.

Alpha?

What? I do not have an Alpha.

"Think about the egg my life-mate. How is it?"

Yes, that was something better to think about.

"The little one within is strong. We flew very well," she hummed.

Then she glanced out of the den with longing. It had been so long since she had stretched her wings. How long?

"I will fly some to warm my liver. Will you stay..." she began.

"No, do not," he interrupted.

"What?" she warbled in confusion.

"Do not go out there. You should stay here and be warm."

Then he turned around and flew off again.

Hmm, what was that about? Surely he will want to be with his egg also.

Sigh.

How long has it been since I flew?

Then she paused and shuffled in place. Something felt slightly... twisted.

Why could she not remember flying recently?

I should wait until he gets back. He can tell me what is happ...

Her ears went back as confusion nibbled at her tail. There was something very wrong and missing. Something was bad in her own thinking.

Her mate's name was gone from her memory.

What?

How did she get here? Where was here?

Who was he?

.

Who was she?

.

She got to her feet, barely able to bring herself to step away from the so-important egg, and crept toward the den's mouth.

A sound grew louder as she approached the den's mouth. A roaring, rushing, and crashing sound like water.

What?

Her puzzled growl escaped her jaws at the tingling feeling that something was not... what it should be.

Not true?

But another want only grew stronger as she walked. She could go back to the egg, curl up with it, and forget all the twistedness. Go back to what she knew and what felt good and safe. Do not listen to that little whispering voice inside that says what is might be wrong, bad, FALSE!

No, good. This is good. This is what you want...

"What?"

The voice stopped and retreated.

Silence followed with no inside-voice telling her what to think.

.

She was a curious light wing.

.

She wanted to learn, to know more, and to see what was beyond this den-cave.

.

Slowly, she crept forward.

.

She stuck her head out of the den and looked around.

.

The world shattered.

.

The waves rolled in the far ocean. The ground was made of fallen trees. Two-legs walked all around.

And where she was...

Thin but very strong trunks of the strong-silver-stuff rose around her like trees, trapping her in whatever this thing was.

She could not stretch her wings.

Her jaws were closed by a strong mouth-closing thing.

The den behind her was gone.

The den, egg, and mate never were.

Bad! Wrong! False! Lies!

Twisted thoughts!

One of the two-legs, a very big one with a dark hide and long head-fur, was looking down at her from outside the trap.

.

The trap...

.

TRAPPED!

No... no... no... no...

What was I thinking...

Stupid...

'Two-legs are filled with danger. Flee on sight.'

She shivered despite the warmth in the air. The two-legs... the trappers had given her some fish to eat at least. That was a small good thing.

I should have listened to you... great sire...

Sigh.

I deserve this... what was I thinking...

She whined softly in a moment of quiet despair and emptiness.

'You will do things no light wing has done before... my sky-light...'

She lifted her tailfins and looked out of the trap toward the two-legs around her trap.

They do not want me dead.

Her life-fire raged against these two-legs and against the thrall-kin that flew with the two-legs. If she were out of the trap she would tear them all apart for this. Rip their arms and legs from them. Claw apart their bellies. Eat their livers. Kill the Monsters. Flame the bad great-tusked Alpha that had thralled her.

But she made not a sound as she looked around at the two-legs... at the Monsters that had trapped her.

Her gaze eventually wandered up to the white sky-rock high above the highest clouds. Something about seeing it was very warming to her liver. Almost as if she knew it from somewhere. It was as white as her own wings and scales.

It could not be trapped or thralled by two-legs.

I will resist. I will fight.

Remembering the white sky-rock gave her hope.

You cannot break me. I am a light wing!

Author's Note – Quite tragic indeed, but it helps expand a bit on how she came to be trapped and eventually found after the great battle against Bludvist's forces.