Chapter 10: Gone

Soren had decided to go sleep. He still couldn't believe that Cale, the owl from Pelli's hollow, had lied to him in such a matter. Most of all, he had recently learned that she had left the tree in haste the night the girls had apprehended Soren at lunch. It worried him a lot, all the more when Cale told him of her intentions. She meant to go to the far woods, which was a very dangerous place since the Pure Ones had claimed it as their fortress.

He had tried to get Boron to lend him some Guardians to go look for her, but the old king had plainly refused, stating that he would never send a team in the far woods while the pure ones existed. Our barn owl was then left with no other choice than the one…

He would bring the Chaw of Chaws together once more.

There were no alternatives, it was either that or leave Pelli to die, if she had indeed been captured. He looked up towards the top of his hollow and stared at the strong wood. It wasn't a hard decision, he had to save her. Then why do I feel so bad about doing such a thing? He asked himself, but the answer to that question was obvious as well. He had never truly disobeyed King Boron, nor did he plan to ever do it.

He decided to go wake the Band in a few hours and inform them of what he was going to do. He would not force them to accompany him on such a dangerous mission, but he was confident that they would go of their own will. Having followed Soren in countless other adventures and always coming back safe. And yet this was not a simple adventure, it was an expedition, a rescue mission, in the heart of enemy territory. Soren feared that it would be a one-way trip for a few of them, despite their battle experience. The Pure Ones forces sent out to patrol had been restricted to very low-ranking rookies, whilst attacking their fortress meant fighting off their best warriors, and even though none of them could compare itself to any member of the Chaw of Chaws, but sheer numbers could easily overwhelm them in these circumstances. He decided to be extra careful and go requisition some new protection from the armoury and pray for the Band's safe return home.

She was flying towards the far woods, still arguing with herself about returning or not. She was sick and tired of Ayanna messing with her relationship; she just could not bear it anymore. On the other hand, there still was Soren to care for. What would he become if she simply left? Despite the way he acted, Pelli's instincts told her that he felt something in his gizzard whenever he saw her. This immediately warmed her heart and brought a smile to her beak. Still, she needed to find solace and a place to think in the far woods, as it was a very spiritual place for owls whom often came here seeking guidance in their endeavours or personal decisions.

Her not being a full-fledged Guardian yet, she had no idea that she was heading straight towards the Pure Ones' fortress. She was simply going to the far woods because it was her birthplace, and she needed time to think. Where else could she do such a thing if not home? My home is the Great Ga'Hoole Tree now… She thought and let out a sigh, observing the small trees below her. Every now and then she could also spot some animals called 'Squirrels' jumping from one tree to another in a quite athletic fashion.

The clear blue sky above seemed to try to talk to her. Behind her, there were dark clouds, whilst in front, nothing but blue. It was as if Glaux himself wanted her to keep going, like it was her destiny.

On the horizon, she started to spot the tall trees of the far woods; they were clearly taller than any other trees in the world, aside from the Great Ga'Hoole Tree of course. Strong trunks and favorable weather conditions made these trees last almost five times the lifespan of Owls, which is why there were so many. Flying in that forest was dangerous as there always was a tree in front of you, Pelli needed to move swiftly or she would collide with one.

Even after such a long time, the forest remained quite the beauty; the sun partially illuminated the ground due to the density of the leaves coming from the huge branches. She remembered first looking out of her family's trunk, she thought the whole world was as pretty. Oh how ignorant she was, not only is the world not as pretty, but the people lack that quality as well, but mostly mentally. She flew past a tree, spotted a white shape and looked behind her.

She then felt a shivering wave of pain go through her body as her right wing collided with a tree and sent her flying. She could only muster a small screech as she was unable to regain control of her flight path. As she started accepting her faith, she saw the white spot again, but this time, under her, as the other owl attempted to lift her up. Pelli helped herself by flapping her wings and was soon stable in the air again. She quickly landed on a branch to regain her composure.

The other owl descended and landed near her. It was a male barn owl, with a heart-shaped face as Soren's is. If she had not spent countless hours observing her mentor, she could have thought that the owl in front of her was him, but he did not bear the significantly big eye scar she had delivered to Soren. She did not remember this particular owl from when she was young, so she decided to engage in conversation.

"Thank you, for saving me" she said.

"No problem." He asked immediately, "What's your name?"

"Pellimore, yours?" She could have been dreaming, but she could have sworn to have seen a flash of happiness, surprise and yet quite mischievous in the eyes of the owl in front of her.

"My name is of no importance" He announced and smiled at her "Where are you off to?"

"I was trying to find my old hollow" was all she dared say to a complete stranger.

"What made you leave?"

One question too many. Upon hearing his words, Pelli got nervous, something wasn't right. This owl was too interested in her "Wanderlust" she lied.

The strange owl looked out to the other trees, and apparently spotted something. As he screeched, it was soon followed by another, and another, and another. She panicked Pure Ones the owl finally realised. She quickly departed from the branch, slashing at her savior as she went by. He let out an even louder screech then he had before. Her assumptions were proven true when Pelli saw four barn owls leaving branches and encircling her.

She had not received any instructions or learned of the way to fight multiple owls at a time. Sure she had observed Soren, but he moved so fast, I couldn't see anything he was doing… She finally came to realisation. Keep moving! She exclaimed mentally.

She dived down towards the ground, hoping that the enemy owls would separate and leave her some room. She was correct, as the lead owl seemed to yell out orders and dive down himself. His henchmen went in various directions, mostly meant to cut her off and neutralise her. Pelli was confident in her abilities. She had rarely hit any trees in these woods, one was recent, the others old. She aimed for where the forest was thickest, and found quite the nice spot as she heard her chasing owl collide into a tree with a devastating Crack!

She kept flying and dodging trees left and right. She could see an owl speeding besides her in the line of trees. This one seemed to handle himself better than the previous. It was trying to get to her but it was quite difficult to get to something when dodging this amount of trees, though he was getting close. Pelli knew that she lacked the endurance to do this for ever, so she decided to stop, suddenly. The owl that was next to her looked back, and collided head first into a tree, falling down to his doom. Seeing this Pellimore let out a victory screech, attracting unwanted attention as another barn owl converged towards her position.

She brought her wings back, making herself fall lower as the owl flew above her. Pelli was surprised when the other owl managed to stop before hitting the tree, and evenly shocked when he darted towards her at an amazing speed, propelling himself off the big trunk of the massive tree. She barely managed to dodge the clever retaliation by dropping once more. The other owl tried repeating his strategy on another trunk, but this time Pellimore was ready for him and drew out a claw, killing him instantly. She was soon being hit from two separate directions; she decided to wait until both the owls attacked her simultaneously. A couple seconds later, both owls were falling to the ground unconscious. She had flapped her wings quickly, bringing herself higher as the owls collided into each other head-first.

Her confidence taking over, she swiftly turned around and charged recklessly at an oncoming enemy. As she hit him, the Pure One put his claws under her belly, turned over and smashed her down on a branch. The other heart-faced owl was not standing above her, one claw on one of her wings, and the other in the air, about to strike the final blow. She hated that it had to end this way, before she could become a Guardian, before she could save innocents, even before she could be with Soren. Even then, she faced the claw with eyes that did not betray her fear, despite how horrified she was.

The enemy started raising his claw, staring her down with his blood –red eyes. Just as he brought his claw down, she heard an angry voice.

"I SAID ALIVE!"