Two: Lost
"Uh... Mr. Moss, sir?"
Mr. Moss looked up from Bessie and placed his polishing rag down to regard the group of Talons in front of him. "What? Ain't you supposed to be playing with Hamish?"
"Uh... That's the thing sir... We uh... uh..." The Talons all looked around at each other nervously.
"Spit it out, boy! You what?"
"We ah... lost Hamish sir!"
"Now, I'm a gonna assume that I didn't hear you correctly. Because to me, it sounded like you said that you lost my son." He stood up slowly to look the group in the eye. "Now what did you really say?"
They all stared at each other speechless, then they pushed one of them forward. His knees shook as Moss stared at him with furious eyes. "W-we were a playin' with him just like you said, but he went a wanderin' off. We looked for him! Honest we did!"
"Idiots!" Moss shouted. "What're you doin' back here then? You know ho dangerous things are here on Zartacla! If anythin' happened to my boy, it'll be on your heads, you hear?"
They all just nodded wordlessly.
"Now you go back to lookin'!" Not waiting to see their salutes, he mounted Bessie and roared out of the hangar. He took off the energy whip from his belt, ready to cut the whole forest down if he had to. "Hamish! Hamish boy, you out there?" Swerving to avoid a snake that was lying in he path, he bit his lip, worried. There were so many dangerous creatures on Zartacla... Just about anything could harm a little boy of his age...
He pulled his skimmer to a halt just before Widow's Peak, sending up a spray of mud. There was Hamish, crouched next to the river, poking at a turtle with a stick.
"Look Pa!" He exclaimed, poking at it excitedly. "It's a turtle! It's a hidin' in its shell, but it's there!"
Moss let out a sigh of relief as he crouched down next to his son, putting a hand on his shoulder. "That's real nice, son. Now come on, it's supper time."
Hamish stood up grinning, dropping his stick to the ground, instantly forgetting the turtle, giving the little animal a chance to wander away. "Do I get to ride Bessie back?"
He hesitated, then nodded. "Alright..."
"Yay!" the little boy ran to his father's skimmer, getting his little muddy hand prints on it as he pulled himself up.
Mr. Moss winced, then got on, placing his son onto his lap. He took a quick look at all the mud caked on his precious skimmer. "Guess I know the punishment for the fools that lost my boy..."
"Can I drive, Pa? Can I?"
He shook his head. "Maybe when you're older, son..."
A/N Parents always get more worried than their children when they wander off alone... Little Hamish is now my favorite character to write about. :D