"In The Eye Of The Storm"
Oliver was sulking as the usual.
He wanted more out of life.
He did not care for anyone anymore.
He had no parents, if they were even alive.
He did not like the Guardians.
He remembered being interrogated for what he knew.
He Knew Nothing!
He had no important information to share.
None that was useful to their plans.
None at all.
His Lungs did not help.
He could not exert himself too much as it would hurt him.
Yet they hurt him to get it out of him.
They were just as twisted and their so called enemy!
They will bring peace?
To all but their enemies!
They would bring balance?
To all but their opponents!
They allowed them to lose balance and topple over!
They would bring joy?
All they brought him was misery.
And he could not do anything about it.
He hobbled off to his Hollow, rest waiting for him.
He then heard talking.
It came from the halls, perhaps from one of the hollows.
He thought nothing of it.
Then he heard Soren speak.
What was this?
Oliver then listened intently.
Kludd would love to hear this, perhaps he would be rewarded for it.
"The Ice Narrows I think" he heard.
He saw Soren fly out into the Air, a smaller Owl following him.
Oliver looked at them intently.
There was a storm rolling in, the dark clouds were menacing.
He launched off out of the window and into the air.
The rain soon followed, soaking his feathers.
It was frigid.
The rain iced him to his core.
Yet he pressed on.
Soren and his companion were now fading from his vision.
His lungs started to burn.
Yet he pressed on.
"No! Not Now!" he thought to himself.
His wings started to ache.
His chest burned with pain.
Yet he pressed on.
His vision started to waver.
He started to gasp for air.
His eyes were fading to black.
Then there was nothing.
Blackness overtook him.
His mind wandered endlessly, he felt cold everywhere.
Then he Opened his eyes.
Sand.
Sand everywhere.
Sand in his feathers.
Sand in his eyes.
Sand in his soul.
Ash in his soul.
Ash in his heart.
It reminded him of that day.
The day when he was snatched up by the pure ones.
It did not matter, he belonged to them.
And only them.
He then took a moment to view his area.
He was washed up on the beach.
He tried to move and then a pain shot through his body.
He yelled out in pain.
His Blood ran into the sand.
He grimaced at his wound.
His wing was broken.
The storm washed him ashore on an unknown land.
There were oak trees as far as the eye could see.
He hobbled up and onto his talons.
The sun shined in his eyes.
His head hurt.
The sky was a silky blue, it was a little comforting.
That feeling vanished.
Idiot!
Why did he have to insist on himself to follow a lost cause?
For all he knew Soren and the other one could be dead.
His wing was still in excruciating pain.
He winched again, shaking it off the best he could.
He could not stay here.
Not here.
A predator could leap out and devour him in this helpless state at any minute.
Or worse.
This was a unmapped land.
Where would he go?
He decided to trail in the direction of the sun.
Just down the beach he had to catch his breath.
He looked around, viewing his surroundings.
Then It happened.
Up on the side of a hill before him was a strange sight.
It was a creature that was anything he had ever seen or imagined.
It had long legs and featherless wings.
Strange appendages sticking out from the limbs.
It stood tall like a dead tree.
It walked on two legs like him yes.
But it was also much larger than him, ginormous to say.
It seemed to be looking for something.
It was searching through some bushes.
He did not know what to think about it.
All he could do is stare at it.
Then the being looked at him.
Oh Bugger...
He made a run for it.
He did not know if the creature wanted to help him or rip him limb from limb.
Well he didn't want to find out!
He ran into the trees as fast as his legs could carry him.
The things was not far behind.
There was more than one.
Wait there were two of them?!
That was not helpful!
Through the bushes and into the undergrowth he sped.
He quickly dove into the underside of a tree's roots.
The creature came to a stop.
"Where did the owl go?" it spoke.
"Don't know, let's find it."
"We don't want to leave it like that".
It searched alongside it's companion.
Wait.
It can speak?!
How?
If it could talk then could it understand him?
He was not going to take the risk.
It was what felt like hours before the things left.
They were gone.
He relaxed his tense muscles.
He yelped out in pain.
He was so busy running that he forgot about his wing.
It was still broken as before.
Ugh.
Well he could not stay here forever.
As soon as the coast was clear he started treking again.
Where was he going?
He couldn't fly, that was out of the question.
He could not walk on water either.
Great he was stuck.
His mind wandered again.
Did he see humans?
The scroll he read described something similar.
He heard a sound from the bushes nearby.
It was like a growl.
What was that?
He stepped to it to investigate.
Without warning a badger leapt out at him.
He bolted away from the danger.
Without his wings he could only go so fast.
The striped fend was close behind him.
Then he fell.
And then there was nothing.
Just the black.
