Legends of the Saloli: Approaching Storm

by Adam Bolander

  “Why? So he can try and eat us again? That bird is evil, Blaze! We should leave it there for the vultures to finish off.”

  “It’s not evil,” Blaze said, firmly, “It’s just the way it’s made.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Jasper asked, but Blaze had already taken off in the direction of Icefire’s camp.

  “Talons not evil,” the bird squawked, “Treemouse just taste good.”

  “Shut up!” Jasper snapped at it before chasing after Blaze.

  <><><><><>

  “Faith, Faith!” Blaze shouted as he came bursting into Icefire’s camp, desperately scanning the scene for the old prophet. He found her up in her tree.

  “Yes, Blaze?” she called down.

  “I need your help. A creature’s been injured.” He reported.

  Faith came scurrying down her tree immediately. “Who?” she asked.

  “An eagle. It tried to attack us and its leg got broken.”

  Faith’s eyes widened in confusion. “You want me to heal an eagle?”

  “Please, Faith! He’s hurt really badly.”

  “Is this a joke?” she asked, her eyes narrowing skeptically.

  “No,” Blaze promised, “I’m not joking.”

  “Why would you want me to heal an eagle?”

  Blaze paused for a moment. Why did he want her to heal it? After all, it had just tried to eat him! “Because,” he said, finally, “it’s helpless the way it is now. It will die if you don’t help it. I don’t want that to happen.”

  Faith’s eyes softened a bit. “You do know that it will probably eat us if I do, right?” She asked.

  “I don’t think he will. Please, Faith!”

  Faith thought for a bit, then nodded, “All right, I’ll come. But no promises.”

  Just then, Jasper came bounding into the camp. “Don’t listen to him, Faith! That bird just tried to eat us. It would have if Blaze hadn’t stopped it, but I think he must have hit his head doing it!”

  “It’s okay, Jasper,” Faith assured him, “I’m only going to look.”

  Jasper looked as if he wanted to say something else, but backed down, albeit grudgingly. Blaze led the way, with Faith right behind him. In five minutes time they stood before the fallen eagle.

  “Red treemouse bring more treemouse?” the bird asked, obviously confused.

  “This is Faith,” Blaze informed him, “I think she can fix your leg.”

  “Why treemouse help Talons? Talons try eat treemouse!”

  “Well I couldn’t just leave you here, could I? Something would have eaten you.”

  “His leg is broken in three places,” Faith said, inspecting the bird’s injury, “I can heal it, but I’ll need his word that he won’t turn on us if I do.”

  “Eagle, do you promise not to. . .” Blaze started.

  “Let me,” Faith interjected, “What is your name, eagle?”

  “My name be Talons, treemouse.”

  “Talons, do you give us your word that you will not kill us if I were to fix your leg, on pain of losing your beak?”

  Talons looked at Faith, his eyes hard and determined, “I do.”

  “Faith, no!” Jasper insisted.

  “It’s okay Jasper.” Faith soothed him. “He has made the highest pact a bird can make. They believe that if they break a promise, their beak will fall off, not only rendering them weaponless, but also branding them as a liar.”

  Jasper closed his eyes in fury, barely able to contain his anger, “But it’s not real. He’s lying to us! He’ll eat us the minute he’s back on his feet!”

  “Have some faith, Jasper,” Faith scolded him, “Trust your prophet.” Once again, Jasper backed down.

  Faith knelt down in front of Talon’s foot and began to mutter under her breath. Before Blaze’s eyes the eagle’s leg began to glow! There was a muted “crack”, the bird screeched in pain, and then the glowing stopped. Talons moved his leg up and down, testing it out, then hopped upright, putting his weight on it, making sure it didn’t hurt. He squawked happily, then hopped in front of the three saloli, who, startled, made as if to bolt.

  “Talons thanks you!” he said, eyes shining with happiness, “Talons’ leg feel good as hundred feet!”

  “What did he say?” Blaze asked.

  “He said that his leg is just like new,” Faith explained, “To a bird, nothing feels as good as being a hundred feet in the air.”

  “Talons is thankful!” the bird squawked, “Talons is eternally loyal to red treemouse!”

  “You’re what?” Blaze asked, eyes wide, not wanting to believe he had heard what he had thought he’d heard.

  “Oh dear, I forgot about this!” Faith exclaimed, “Blaze, if someone helps an eagle, they are bound by their laws to remain with them until they can repay them!”

  “You mean he’s not going to leave?” Jasper moaned.

  “Talons stay with red treemouse!” Talons said happily, “Talons is his servant!”

  “Talons, you don’t have to do that,” Blaze told him, “You can go back to your own life.”

  “Do not insult Talons! Talons not leave till debt be repaid!”

  “What do we do?” Blaze whispered desperately, “Rust will flip if I bring an eagle into Icefire’s camp!”

  “I don’t know that we have a choice,” Faith said back, regretfully, “When a bird makes up its mind, nothing can change it.”

  “Talons stay! Talons stay! Talons stay!” the big bird shrieked.

  “This might not be as bad as it seems,” Faith said hopefully, whispering so that Jasper wouldn’t hear them, “We could use him as a weapon in the war!”

  “Yes,” Blaze agreed, “but the question is, how do we convince Rust to let him stay?”

  “I’m sure he will if I’m the one who asks him. Come, we should get it over with sooner rather than later, and it is getting dark. Talons? We are going to take you to our camp. You are not to touch a single saloli while you are there. Do you understand?”

  “Talons understand! Talons not touch no treemouse!”

  Satisfied, Faith turned and slowly began to make her way back to camp. Blaze followed her, and Jasper followed him, after giving Talons one more untrusting glare. Talons, not wanting to lose sight of them, hopped along after them.

  “Talons fly?” he asked, hopefully.

  “No,” Faith said, “We don’t want you to frighten anyone. Just try to stay out of sight until we tell you to come.” Talons obediently continued hopping behind the three saloli. Within minutes they arrived outside the Icefire camp.

  “Stay here,” Faith ordered, motioning behind a nearby tree. Talons obeyed. The rest of them walked slowly into the camp and sought out Rust. They found him sending off a patrol. “Rust,” Faith greeted him.

  “Hello, Faith. What’s wrong?” Rust could obviously see the worry in Faith’s eyes.

  “I’m afraid there has been a strange turn of events.”

  “For good or bad?”

  “That remains to be seen. It could easily work out either way. If it goes well, it could greatly help us in. . .” she glanced at Jasper, then looked back at Rust, obviously hoping he knew what she was talking about without her saying it. He did.

  “And if it doesn’t?” He encouraged her.

  “It would be bad for us. Very bad. But that might be a risk we have to take.”

  “Enough delay. What has happened?”

  “Well, it seems Blaze here was attacked by an eagle, but he managed to fight and injure it.”

  “Good, good.” Rust approved, “So, what’s the problem?”

  “Well, Blaze didn’t want to cause an unnecessary death, so he came to me. I got the eagle’s word that it would not attack us, so I healed it.”

  “Did it keep it’s word?” Rust asked, hastily.

  “Well, yes. Perhaps a bit too much. You know the bird’s law, that when someone saves your life, you must…”

  “Be their servant until you repay them,” Rust finished, his eye
s growing wide, “You don’t mean...”

  “I do,” Faith answered, “he is waiting outside the camp.”

  “An eagle? By our camp?” he turned to Blaze, “And you brought him here!”

  “No,” Faith came to Blaze’s defense, “It was my decision to bring him here. Like I said, it could give us a great advantage.”

  “Advantage over what?” Jasper asked. The fact that secrets were being kept was not lost on him.

  “But it could just as easily turn on us!” Rust accused Faith, completely ignoring Jasper.

  “I have the highest vow a bird can give that he will not. Eagles are deathly afraid of the consequences of breaking them.”

  “Faith, I’ve never known you to do something this rash!”

  “Trust me, Rust. He will do us no harm.”

  Rust finally turned to Jasper. “And what do you think of this?” he asked.

  “I want that bird as far away from this camp as he can get. If it were up to me, he’d still be laying out there with his leg broken!”

  “At least it seems one saloli around here has some sense left in his head,” Rust muttered under his breath.

  “Rust, you used to trust me without hesitation.” Faith chastised him, “Where did that trust go?”

  A bit of guilt crept into Rust’s eyes. He took a moment to think, then answered, “All right. If you’re sure that he’s safe, bring him in.”

  Faith turned to Blaze. “He serves you now. You call him.”

  “Talons!” Blaze called in the direction he had left him, “Come out!”

  All of Icefire gasped as Talons came out from behind the tree. Many of them scattered and ran for cover. The rest of them were too shocked to move at all.

  “Rust,” Blaze said tentatively, “This is Talons.”

  Rust’s face slowly contorted with rage, but he managed to keep a calm voice and said “Get out of my camp now, Blaze. You and your bird! Go!” All the feeling drained out of Blaze’s body and his mouth hung open. Did Rust just banish him? “What are you waiting for?” Rust demanded, “Get out of my camp, and never come back!”

  “Rust, come to your senses!” Faith scolded her chief.

  “This saloli brings an eagle into our camp and you expect me to let him stay? I knew he was no good, and he has endangered this tribe for the last time!”

  “Need I remind you why he is here?” Faith asked coldly.

  Rust clamped his eyes shut, as if he were using all his might to keep from exploding at his prophet. Blaze looked around the camp. As horrified as everyone was by Talons, they were, surprisingly, more interested in their chief’s anger. He spotted Sunbeam standing among them, a worried look on her face. Finally, Rust let out a long, hard sigh.

  “Very well, Faith,” he said begrudgingly, “If you continue to want Blaze to threaten this tribe, then we’ll have it your way.” Rust gave Talons one last hateful glare and stalked away, back to his tree.

  Faith sighed as well. “I wish there was a way to do this without upsetting him so much.” She said.

  “I think he’s just being pig headed,” Blaze replied.

  “No, he isn’t being pig headed. He really does care about Icefire, more than anything. He just doesn’t understand the way we’re going about protecting it. He is firmly set in his beliefs, and those beliefs tell him that what we’re doing is wrong. That saloli and eagles should never cooperate. We just need to show him he’s wrong and he’ll come around. He may be stubborn, but he isn’t stupid. If he sees that what we’re doing is for the best, he will join us.”

  “But what about Talons?” Blaze asked, casting a glance to the big bird.

  “We do not have a choice in that matter. He will have to stay with us.”

  When Blaze heard this, his heart nearly stopped for a moment. He hadn’t been expecting Talons to actually stay with them, “In the camp?” He asked.

  “Yes, Talons can have the tree that we use for an extra nursery when needed.” Turning to the eagle, who all of Icefire was still ogling as he sat there calmly, she called, “Talons? You may sleep in that tree over there.” She motioned with her tail. “Nowhere else. Do you understand?”

  “Talons understand! Talons sleep in that tree! That tree belong to Talons!” With that he opened his wings and flew himself onto the tree’s upper branches. Blaze breathed a sigh of relief, not quite believing that things had gone as smoothly as they did. His rest was short lived, however, as Jasper joined him by his side, a very suspicious look on his face.

  “There’s something going on, isn’t there?” he asked, “Rust and Faith are both in on it, it’s easy to tell, and I think you’re in on it too. What is it?”

  “It’s nothing,” Blaze answered, hoping that his luck would allow him to dodge another bullet.

  “I’m your best friend, Blaze. You can tell me.”

  “There’s nothing going on.” Blaze insisted, “Really.”

  “Don’t treat me like I’m stupid, Blaze. I have eyes, and a blind creature could see that something’s going on. I want to know what it is.”

  A spark of annoyance appeared in Blaze’s chest, “Why do you need to know?”

  “Because it’s obvious that it’s something big, big enough to involve the whole tribe.” Jasper answered, resentfully, “I’m part of this tribe, so I have a right to know what it is.”

  “Jasper,” Faith interjected soothingly, “if you will not trust your own best friend, then trust your prophet when she says that it is nothing that you need to know about yet.”

  “Yet?” Jasper asked, suspiciously.

  “You will know someday. Everyone will. But, for now, it is best kept secret.”

  Jasper nodded, seemingly accepting this as the best answer he would receive at the moment, and turned towards the common’s tree. Before he set off, though, he turned back and said, “Tribes don’t keep secrets from each other. If we can’t trust each other, we can’t trust anyone.” Faith didn’t respond, only turning her head to look away. Blaze imagined he saw a pang of guilt in her eyes.

  Chapter Ten

  Three weeks passed without further incident. Talons frightened the other saloli quite often, but that was to be expected. Rust kept to his chiefly duties, but always managed to steer clear of Blaze. Jasper wasn’t happy that secrets were being kept from him, especially ones that his best friend was in on, but managed to suppress the negative feelings for the sake of friendship. It turned out that Talons, though full grown, was still barely an adult. Because of this, he was very reckless and forever getting into trouble. Being used to living with other eagles, Talons went hunting three times a day, and would always drop whatever he caught into the center of the camp, next to the saloli’s acorn pile, much to the disgust of Blaze’s tribemates. Fearing the eagle so much, though, they never spoke up about it, except for Jasper. Jasper seemed to have no fear of the bird, and wouldn’t hesitate to shout at him. Blaze himself didn’t mind the dead animals as much as he feared that one day Talons would drop a saloli into the camp. His fears were proven groundless, however, as that day never came. Apparently, Talons’ encounter with Blaze had taught him that leaving saloli alone was the best option.

  It was around mid afternoon, and Blaze and Jasper were just returning from a patrol around the Icefire borders. It had gone well, other than the scent borders there was no sign of the other tribes. Jasper went off to report to Rust, and Blaze made his way to the food pile. He hadn’t eaten since early that morning and was very hungry. He picked up an acorn and bit into it, splitting the shell with his strong, sharp teeth. Wrenching it apart, Blaze pulled out the delicious nut inside and put the whole thing into his mouth. Chewing slowly, he savored the sweet, succulent taste that he knew he wouldn’t have been able to appreciate as a human.

  “Food any good today?” another saloli asked, picking an acorn out of the pile. Blaze looked up, about to answer him when a loud BANG broke the peaceful atmosphere. The saloli who had spoken to Blaze flew backwards more than a foot, a large gaping ho
le in his chest. He was dead. Blaze whirled around just in time to see another saloli be killed as another BANG filled the air. Frantically scanning the surrounding area, Blaze soon found the source of the commotion. A large human, dressed in green camouflaged clothes, was resting on one knee, about ten feet outside the Icefire camp. A hunter, and he was quickly reloading his gun!

  Blaze turned and quickly scurried up a tree, hoping it would be harder for the hunter to see him among the leaves and branches. He was lucky not to have been shot by the first bullet, and he wasn’t going to risk another. Settling on one of the middle branches, Blaze looked down and saw that most of the other saloli were following his lead. A small group, however, stayed on the ground, facing the hunter, ready to defend their camp. There couldn’t be more then ten of them. Blaze immediately felt like a coward. He had vowed to protect Icefire, no matter what the cost may be, and here he was hiding in a tree! Another glance at the group only furthered his feelings of embarrassment. Rust, Jasper, Sunbeam, Slicer and Chestnut were all down there without him! Without a second thought, Blaze dashed back to the ground, where he joined the small group of defenders.