Chapter Two
An hour and a half later, I still hadn't found my friend. It didn't help that I'd been pulled into the dancing not once, but three times. I didn't mind. I love dancing, and no one has moves like the Tribal People. And who in their right mind would give up a chance to dance with a talking bear? Or a tiny little sparrow?
When asked to dance for the third time, I was already pretty tired. But I just couldn't turn down Peeps. He is by far my favorite dance partner.
The ethereal music the flutists on stage composed was light and graceful as it rose and fell, flowing like the wind. A low steady drumbeat accompanied it, adding a light rhythm to the soaring melody of the flutes. Peeps stood on the palm of my hand as I moved to the music. He followed me, matching my motion for a while. Then he tucked his wings in and crouched down, becoming almost a ball in my hand. I laughed.
"Time for one of our routines already?" I asked quietly.
"Yes yes yes, lets dance for real," said the little bird as he bounced up and down in my hand with an abundance of excitement.
"Okay..." I said, and thought for a moment. "Lets do the one that starts out with the arm wave."
"Yay, that ones my favorite," he cheered, now practically quivering in anticipation.
I laughed, and launched him skyward. He chirped in delight. As he fell, I stood with my arms extended out to my side. He landed gently on the back of one hand, and I began to undulate my arms, swaying with the music. I continued for a while, Peeps bobbing on my hand like a rowboat floating over smooth steady waves. Then I whipped my arm, sending Peeps flying once more. Still dancing, I watched as Peeps began to fall, timing out my moves. He came down and catching him, I continued his momentum, my arm swinging behind my back and up. Tossing him forward over my head, I somersaulted after him. Coming up from my roll, down on one knee, I stretched out my arm just in time for him to land on the tips of my fingers. Standing up, I brought my hands together, cupping the little bird gently. I crouched down, then exploding upwards, launching him as high as I possibly could. Landing, I twirled in place, and soon Peeps was spinning around me. Then I began dancing with slow and exaggerated arm motions. Whenever I dance like this, I always feel like some kind of whimsical ballerina—without all the tip-toeing. Peeps, continuing to fly in circuits around me, flew as close along the contours of my arms as he could. He skimmed my arms, his soft feathers a pleasant sensation as they brushed my skin. It didn't matter how I moved, his swift agility enabled him to follow my fluid motions. I lost myself in the music, the motion of my body, and the joy of dancing with my friend.
Too soon, the music ended. I stilled myself, breathing heavily, and nearly had a heart attack when a cheer rose up around us. Peeps landed on my shoulder as I looked around, realizing we had attracted a crowd. People all around us were clapping, stomping their feet and shouting what I was pretty sure were words of praise—I could only understand a few. I held out my hand for Peeps to hop onto, then bowed to my audience, my spirits soaring from their admiration.
Peeps hopped off my hand, zipping around me a few times before hovering in front of my face. "That was so much fun Liz," he said ecstatically. "We haven't danced like that in way way way too long." I held out my hand for him once more, and he promptly plopped onto it.
"You were amazing Peeps," I gushed. "You've improved so much since our last dance." This dance had by far been our best. Zero collisions. This time. I winced, wishing I didn't know what it felt like to be poked in the eye by a tiny beak.
"Why thank you, my lady," he said with a bow. "You have improved quite markedly as well." I love when Peeps switches to formal mode, its super cute. Though, he usually only did it mockingly towards me... "Where once you were like sackcloth in a storm," he continued, "now you are silk blowing in a gentle breeze."
Laughing, I shook my fist at the little bird. "Why I aught-ta..." I said in mock outrage. Then I bent to kiss the little bird on the cheek. "Thanks Peeps." I said softly. I straightened up. "Now, I need to find something to drink, and a place to sit down. I'm exhausted." The little bird, evidently perfectly content to remain in the palm of my hand, settled down. Cupping him to my chest, I made my way through the crowd looking for refreshment.
It didn't take long to find. Soon I had a drink in hand. Wandering around looking for a quiet table to sit at, a thought struck me. Something so obvious I felt like a complete moron for not thinking of it sooner.
"Hey Peeps, have you seen Chase anywhere?" I asked, spotting a small unoccupied table at the edge of the firelight. I made my way over to it as Peeps perked up.
"Oh yeah. I forgot. I saw him earlier, and he said you were supposed to come find him, but that was nearly an hour ago. Have you been looking for him this whole time?" He hopped onto the table as I sat down, sighing as my sore legs finally got a break.
"Yes," I said, exasperated. "But its not my fault. You were the third person tonight to ask me to dance. I couldn't get anywhere, and there are so many people here. I can't just zip around from fire to fire like you," I said, poking him in the chest.
"You make a good point," he said, rubbing his chest with a wing. "Okay, I'll be back." He went zipping off, hopefully to find Chase.
I leaned back in my chair, stretching my legs. I closed my eyes, listening to the sounds of people and animals all around me. Knowing I'm in the midst of so many people always fills me with such exhilaration. I sat, trying to relax as I waited for Peeps to return. I wondered if I would ever be able to move to a big city where a crowd like this would seem small. After all, once I graduated, there wasn't anything keeping me in the Sanctum. My eldest sibling, Lucas, will take over the role of Guardian when the time comes. Which seemed a little unfair to me. Lucas hasn't been back home to the Sanctum in nearly a year. His duty as a Warden keeps him busy, what with the Vampire War still ongoing. I know I can't blame him for that, and I'm thankful he's out there protecting us. He has a level of power I can only dream of. But how can you be the Guardian of a place you don't even know? Even when he was my age, he spent all his time honing his combat skill, never showing much interest in the lands we protect. I've made it a point to explore all of the Sanctum. Well, except the Enchanted Forest. I've only been in there once. Actually, I had even saved the Sanctum once—
The Memory hit me like a river of rotting sewage. I had Seen something that day; something hideous and terrible, something that did not belong in this world. I quickly shoved the memory deep into the back of my mind. Focusing on my breathing, I tried to clear my thoughts and empty my mind.
"Liz," said Peeps in a tiny voice. "Liz," he said a bit louder, poking my hand lightly with his beak. "Are you alright Liz?"
I looked up, realizing I was sitting with my hands on the table, my head resting atop them. I wasn't sure how long I'd been lost to the world. "I'm alright." I said, my voice surprisingly clear and strong.
"Oh. Were you sleeping?" he said teasingly.
"No I..." I stopped, quickly changing subject. "You found Chase?"
"Yup, not far from here. Follow me." He took off, slow enough for me to keep up.
Following him, I continuing my steady breathing. I focused on the crowd around me, keeping my mind busy. We approached one of the fires, and the sight of a medium size dog sitting beside it drove away all remnants of the horrible memory. He was laying there, gnawing away at a bone. Then I noticed Cid, Malia and Remi there as well. They were talking amicably with the pooch. Pausing in his attempt to chew the bone in half, about to respond to something Remi had said, the dog spotted me. He stopped talking as I approached, a big doggy grin spreading across his face.
"Hi everyone," I said as I joined the group, taking a seat on the ground beside the dog. They all greeted me and Peeps, who landed on Cid's shoulder, making himself comfortable. "Looks like I finally found you Chase." I said to the dog, ruffling his wide pointy ears. Looking at him, I raised my eyebrows and asked, "Tahltan Bear Dog?" He looked at me, mildly surprised, but my other friends just looked confused. I clarified for them. "Its a game we play. When we see each other, the first thing I do is try to guess what kind of dog he is." I looked back at Chase, raising a single eyebrow this time. "So, am I right?"
"Good guess. I'm impressed. Very close. But no. I'm no Tahltan Bear Dog. Better luck next time." he said, a bit smugly I thought. "So, took you a while. Losing your touch?"
"What? Your the one who's been hiding here the whole time."
"Yes. My master-plan. Sitting here, waiting for you. No way to find me. Worked perfect," he said, with a bit of a Native American accent. His voice is quite low with a bit of growl, pretty much what you'd expect from a talking dog. Even so, he's quite good with sarcasm.
"I bet it was," I said as I laughed indignantly. And I meant it. "Your master-plan that is. You knew if I found you too soon, I would complain the entire night that I never got to dance."
"That, or make me dance," he said gruffly. "Getting too old for that." He returned to his bone.
"Your not old, your only twenty-two. That wont work on me." I said, stroking his fur, down the thick ruff of his neck and along his back. His coat is beautiful. Medium length fur; black all along his back, fading to gray on the sides until it reached the white fur of his belly.
"Well, might be getting bored," he said with a sigh. "Tired. Same thing every day. Even these festivals seem less exciting. Don't know. Guess I've been craving a change," he mused, almost to himself.
"Wait, your twenty-two? In dog years?" Remi asked, joining the conversation. "Isn't that like, two or three years old?" But Cid was shaking his head, as was I. Chase looked mildly insulted.
"No, not dog years," Cid said. "He's twenty-two. Twenty-two regular years old, that is."
"I see..." Remi said. Then quickly added. "Actually I don't. I had a dog when I was little, and he died of old age when he was fifteen. I know some dogs can live longer, but wouldn't twenty-two be old?" Now Chase truly looked insulted.
"Me? Some mundane mutt? Ignorant pup," Chase said, a little extra growl to his voice.
"Yes, he is ignorant." I interjected quickly. "And that's my fault," I continued, coming to Remi's defense. "This is the first time they've met your kind, except Peeps and his Crew, and I only educated them briefly." Remi gave me an appreciative smile. I blushed. Damn. I looked away, hoping it wasn't noticeable in the light of the fire. Looking back to Chase, who seemed mollified, I said to my friends, "I forgot to mention before that Anthropomorphs," I pumped my fist, and my friends laughed. I joined them. "Anthropomorphs," I continued, "have a much longer lifespan than, as Chase put it, mundane animals. Closer to the length of a human lifespan. Varies a bit depending on size I think, with larger animals living longer." I looked at Peeps apologetically. "Sorry Peeps." Sparrows are rather tiny after all.
"Life is what you make of it," Peeps piped, looking undismayed. "And I'm only 8, so I still have plenty of life ahead of me."
Malia and Remi's faces lit up in surprise. "That brings me to another point," I said. "They live longer than mundane animals, but tend to mature at the same rate. Most are fully grown, both physically and mentally, by the age of one to three years old. So in a way, Peeps is older than us," I said to my friends. Remembering something, I added, "And they don't have litters. Usually they only give birth to one, maybe two babies at a time. So they can't reproduce as fast as mundane animals."
"That makes sense. Otherwise they would be all over the world," Remi observed with his usual lack of tact.
Chase looked sad at this comment. "As I fear. We may be all that's left. Once there were many more. Now so few," he said quietly. I started to stroke his thick soft fur once more, wishing I could ease his pain.
Malia, who is a master at changing the mood of a conversation, asked a question of her own. "Forgive me for my ignorance Chase, but I'm really curious." She paused, giving Chase another moment. He looked to her, and she continued, "What is it that makes your kind so much more than mundane animals? It seems like very powerful magic, or maybe even something I've never heard about." She paused, considering. "My first thought was that maybe a powerful wizard enchanted your ancestors. Or maybe one of the Native Shaman here bless you at birth? The more I consider that though, It just doesn't… feel right," she said, putting great emphasis on feel. Then her face fell, "Oh gosh, I'm sorry Chase. That was extremely rude of me. My first thought was that a wizard did it." She lightly hit her forehead with the heel of her hand. "I shouldn't be so arrogant. Please forgive me."
Chase, far from looking offended, was gazing at Malia with an approving, almost impressed look. "No offense taken," he said, with a glance at me. "Always figured Liz would ask that." He laid his head on his forelegs, as if considering the question.
I started scratching his head, working my fingers through his fur, until I reached his favorite spot. Which was, inevitably, behind one ear. The truth was, I was extremely curious myself. I'd wanted an answer to this question for a very long time. I'd always either forgotten to ask, or been too afraid to. I hadn't been sure how he would take this question. Thus, the head scratches. Anything to improve his mood, and hopefully our chance for an answer.
He lay there for a while, his tongue lolling out as I scratched away. I began to worry that maybe he had decided to ignore the question. He did that to me sometimes, when he considered a question I'd asked to be stupid, or beneath his notice. The pause in the conversation continued, and I started to worry a little more. I used both hands to scratch the thick ruff around his neck, then started running one down the length of his back.
"I'll tell you, all I know." He said dramatically. Then paused again. I started to get impatient, and was about to say something when he continued, "Which is, nothing."
We all stared at him, a little slack jawed. "What?" I half shouted, feeling let down.
"Unfortunately," he said, before our annoyance could grow, "Our origins are gone. Lost beyond memory. Our songs don't tell it. Lots of knowledge in those. Stretch back thousands of years."
"Your songs?" I asked, perplexed. "I've never heard you sing, Chase. Are you holding out on me?" I'd stopped petting him, my hand resting lightly on his back. He leaned into it a little to remind me, and I resumed.
"How we pass on our knowledge. Can't write like you humans. Sing in our own tongue. Never to outsiders. Even you Liz," he said, sounding only mildly apologetic. "Not sure how we began. Know only what is now. My kind are born. Not made. It's in our blood. Passes on to our pups." He rolled onto his back, clearly wanting some tummy rubs. I obliged him.
"But how does that work?" Remi asked, scratching his head. "I mean, it makes sense for a bear, or squirrel," he glanced at Peeps, "Or a sparrow. What we would call wild animals. Except, your not. Your a dog. Did people breed y—" Cringing, he stopped speaking, realizing what he was saying. He looked a little tense, worried that he had offended Chase once again. I rubbed his belly a little faster, knowing tummy rubs are his favorite.
Chase didn't answer right away, and the tension grew. He could pull off human expressions quite well, and was now wearing an extremely serious look on his doggy face. The fact that it was almost upside down detracted from that a little.
"I'm no domesticated beast," Chase finally said in a profound tone, as I continued to rub his belly energetically.
Everyone just stared for a moment. Then we all burst into laughter, shattering the tension. I had to stop rubbing his tummy to clutch my sides.
Chase righted himself, sitting up beside me, a serious expression on his face. When our laughter finally subsided, he continued as if nothing had happened. "Silly human pup. Your facts are flipped," he said to Remi. "Like we mate as animals do. That we breed on instinct. Spreading our seed far and wide." He looked at all of us with his serious face, then his expression lightened, and he continued with a little less growl. "I realize now. Not something you'd know. Caught your mistake quick too. Can forgive your lapse. I shall teach you. Can't have you making the same mistake." He paused for a second, as if preparing himself. When he continued, his pattern of speech was strange to me. Not as clipped as his normal tone. Like it was something very important to him. "We are, for the most part, monogamous. Forming unions with a single partner for life. Like humans. We do not look for mates in order to pass on traits. We find someone we want to spend our lives with. Fall in love. This occasionally causes... how to say it..." he paused to think. "Compatibility issues." He looked at our slightly confused expressions. "Someday, I'll tell you the song of the Bear and the Pig. When your older. Not for young ears." He chuckled, the sound a low steady huffing that came from the back of his throat.
I gagged. Cid guffawed. Malia stared shocked. Remi looked flabbergasted.
"Tricked ya. Dirty minded humans," Chase continued, still chuckling. "Is honestly a sweet song. About love. Nothing physical to it." He gave us a dry look. "Sex isn't love, pups. Remember that." His face lightened. "Is a long story. No time today. Trick worked though. Humans are easy. Needed your minds to jump there. Mating plays a part in this." He composed himself once more. "Songs say that long before humans began breeding their tame wolves with other Canidae, my kind had been intermingling. We always stick close together regardless of species, for safety and company. Was certain that different species would form unions. More so when they are similar. When different canine joined together and a pup was born, they were not distressed that it looked like neither parent. They loved it as any parent would their pup. When it was known that pups could be born, a family started, the unions were more common. In the beginning, all was fine. The number of mixed-bloods grew. Then, others shunned them. Some believed pure-blood made them better. My ancestors had to gather together more closely. Many pure-bloods did not care. They joined our community. Our numbers continued to grow. If you know genetics, young pups, what comes next is obvious. Many thousands of years later, here I am." He finished proudly.
"Wow..." Malia said.
"No way..." Remi added.
"As I said, young pup. Flipped your facts. You humans were imitating us. Our ancestors foolishly shared their lineage with humans. Humans used that knowledge to breed dogs."
"Wait," I said, realizing something. "Our game. You jerk," I said angrily, punching him gently on the shoulder.
He laughed heartily, obviously quite pleased with himself. "I told you. You were close. Tahltan Bear Dog was a breed that came from our lineage. For that breed, my family. We had traits you humans found useful in your hunting beasts. Extinct now, so I've heard."
"Yeah..." I said sadly, "They are. I was so sure I was right this time too. The picture I saw looks almost exactly like—"
Everyone jumped to their feet, even Chase, as the sound of thundering drumbeats boomed in our ears. It was coming from the direction of the stage.
Malia and Remi looked terrified. Cid just a bit startled, he knew what was about to happen.
"What's going on? Is something happening?" Remi asked, looking around as if for a threat.
I slowly looked at each of my friends in turn. Then, smiling from ear to ear, I said, "Story time."