by Alex Rey
In response to the presence of these words in his ears, a short bellow of laughter crawled its way through Pesstian’s beak. Leyai laughed along with him.
The short moment of laughter coming to pass, Pesstian shook of clump of ruffled feathers sticking to his head before purring, “I don’t think I can even remember the last time I’d ever even stopped to look at the sunrise. I always thought it was pointless to do that.”
“I’ve always felt the same way until now,” Leyai admitted through a murmur. “I’ve never understood why my—why my family always looked at the sun whenever it came up over the horizon.” A smile showing on her face, she drew her gaze over to Pesstian’s tired stare when she continued, “Until now.”
Taking notice of a small change in Leyai’s tone, a sense of nervousness began to prick at Pesstian’s mind when he asked himself, What’s she trying to do? This thought in mind, a bead of sweat rolled against the side of his head. Luckily for him, such a little drop of liquid remain hidden by his feathers.
A strong sense of tiredness spreading over him, Pesstian allowed a yawn to escape from his beak. His eyes fluttering with the urge to stop tears from sprouting out of his eyes, Pesstian stretched his talons out toward the ocean when he explained, “I’d like to see the rest of this sunrise, but I’ll probably fall over into the ocean once I fall asleep.”
After letting out a small yawn, Leyai nodded in response when she chuckled, “I agree—maybe getting some sleep will put an end to this boring day.” She yawned once again. “Let’s go.”
Nodding in agreement, Pesstian picked himself off his seat; after which did he make his way toward the trapdoor, one hop after another. As Leyai dragged along behind him, a swarm of questions swarmed throughout Pesstian’s head. Even with these questions, however, Pesstian had no intention or ability to answer any of the wonders flowing within his mind.
Trying his best to ignore the mental pain throbbing in his head, Pesstian noticed as his eyes drew over to the small, dark room once again. At least I’ll be able to get some peace and quiet in here.
Keeping this thought in mind, he floated his way down into the small room after giving a small flap of his wings. A small sense of negligence pricking through his mind, Pesstian found himself with little enough energy to adhere the sound of Leyai’s footsteps. It was when his feet had kissed the ground when Pesstian sensed a shock spike its way through his veins.
Making a quick decision to take advantage of this sudden burst of energy, Pesstian flapped his way over to the same spot in which he had earlier experienced his short-lived sleep by Leyai’s side.
Only a heartbeat later, he came to a pause in his short journey, feeling as his talons came in contact with the floor once again. It was a relief to find this spot without anybody else blocking the way.
It was after only a heartbeat of taking sight of his personal spot when Pesstian made his way toward it on foot. All the while did the hopes to obtain a peaceful sleep for the day. The picture of his sleeping self drifting in his head caused his shock of energy to give a slight growth as he quickened his walking pace.
Taking only a small amount of steps to come up to it, he soon found himself in what he viewed as an individual, unique spot. Feeling as if he had just surpassed a difficult journey, another wave of sleep began to sweep over him—this one proving stronger than all the others.
Once he had found himself standing in the spot he’d yearned for, Pesstian noticed as the energy he had once held on to finally vanished without warning. It was at the sensation of this drainage when Pesstian released a large yawn.
Finally at his place of rest, a small spark of surprise lit up in his head when he sensed somebody’s feathers brush across his foot. It’s probably just Leyai. Ignoring the tickle on his talons, Pesstian stood in wait as a large blanket of sleep slowly covered him up from head to toe.
While his eyes came to a close, Pesstian felt himself grow somewhat lighter as the sounds emanating from the other owls seemed to grow fainter with every passing heartbeat.
Just when he had thought he was sure to drift into a deep sleep, Pesstian found himself being pushed by somebody else in the room. At the same time, an irritable female voice demanded through a small growl, “Move!”
This one word pressing up against his ears, Pesstian’s eyes flicked open as he felt the left side of his head making a slightly violent collision against the wooden floor.
Feeling as if his head had just been pelted with a small rock, Pesstian lifted his dizzy head from the floor and gave a small struggle to pick himself up from the ground. Although it had proved to be a difficult task at first, he lifted his gaze off the ground and realized who it was who had pushed him.
Blinking some of the tiredness from his eyes, an angry—yet fearful—look showed itself upon Pesstian’s face when he asked through a grunt, “What do you want, Katiy?”
Katiy—a little owl of only a slightly smaller stature than Pesstian—had proven herself as a despicable hindrance in Pesstian’s life. Knowing Pesstian for a longer time than almost any other owl on the human vessel, Katiy was the cause of almost half the scars on his body. Thanks to what seemed to be her violent nature, Katiy had been able to strike fear and anger into Pesstian’s heart again and again.
“Nothing,” Katiy responded, a strong sense of innocence sprouting from her voice.
Wondering what was happening to Pesstian, Leyai turned her head over to where she had earlier taken sight of Pesstian—only to notice as Katiy stood in his place. At this confusing sight, Leyai removed herself from her sleep position as she took a step toward her struggling friend. One single step, however, would leave Leyai to stop in her tracks as the sound of Pesstian’s shrieking voice pierced her ears.
“Don’t play your innocent act on me!” Pesstian demanded of Katiy as he picked himself up back on his feet. Just as Pesstian uttered these words, Leyai let out a gasp. All the while did she witness as Katiy’s talon slashed down Pesstian’s chest.
Fighting the urge to let out a yelp of pain, Pesstian slowly backed away from Katiy as he covered his open wound with a wing. At the same time, he let out a series of grunts and moans while he moved away from his antagonist. All the while did thoughts of dread and vengeance toward Katiy float throughout his head
As Leyai stood and watched in complete awe, she thought to herself, How could she have simply taken Pesstian’s spot and pretend to have done nothing? And then attack him for claiming that he was using it?
These thoughts drifting through her mind, Leyai fought the urge to retaliate toward Katiy when she beckoned over to Pesstian. “Hey—Pesstian! Over here!” Leyai hissed in his direction.
“Oh—hi Leyai!” responded Pesstian through a hoarse throat.
“Pesstian—that was just ridiculous! Here; I’ll let you sleep here for the day.”
In a slight shock of surprise, Pesstian thanked through a stammer, “Oh—th-thanks Leyai!”
As these words slipped through Pesstian’s beak, he weakly marched up to Leyai’s side. Just after doing so, a strange thought spread into his head. Oh, my gosh! he thought. Am I falling in love with Leyai?
Chapter IX
Illusions and Realities
Ready for the next night, Pesstian sensed a hint of delight spark up in his stomach as a creaking sound split his ears. Is it time for us to get out? he thought hopefully. Cause if I stay in here any longer, I’m going to lose my mind!
In addition to the creek of the door, the moon’s rays of light became ever-present within the little owls’ room. Noticing as all the other owls seemed to wake up in a frenzy, he gradually backed away from Leyai as she remain encased in a deep slumber.
Dragging one lightly-placed foot after another, the patient little owl made sure each step was light as a feather. He couldn’t do that; such a mishap would surely wake Leyai up; such a mishap would surely bring her lovely snoring to an end. How he loved the nasally sound of her snores. How it calmed him down during the day.
While pondering on how he felt about the sounds of his sleeping friend, Pesstian found himself walking under the arms of the moon’s heavenly light. It was then when he raised his wings into the air and gave a great flap—along with half the other awakened owls in the room. As Pesstian and the others flew their way through the hole in the ceiling, the light from a half-moon in the sky shined its white light into their eyes.
It was a sight which had nearly caused tears to stream from Pesstian’s tired eyes. Only a heartbeat passed after taking a glance at the bright moon when he turned his gaze over toward the spot in which he had sat in. Such was the area he had sat with Leyai the night before.
A small smile forming at the back of Pesstian’s beak, the cheerful owl thought to himself, I really wish Leyai were awake right now. As this thought silently repeated over and over again in his head, he let out a sigh, a sense of impatience settling into his bloodstream.
A sigh escaping from his beak, Pesstian tersely asked himself while still flapping his wings, I wonder what tonight will bring. It was the thought of such a topic which caused a spark of doubt and grief to light up in his stomach. Such a feeling caused a large yawn to escape from his beak. I just hope tonight won’t be nearly as dull as yesterday.
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Resting in his home at an almost unimaginably long distance away from the little owls, Leyoht slept in peace, the back of his head resting upon his mother’s breast. Feeling Sahemawia’s feathers brush up against his dream-filled head, Leyoht gave a slight shift in his sleep.
Although Sahemawia remained completely unaware, flooding her son’s mind were many confusing and questionable images. It hadn’t taken long for Leyoht’s confusion to find itself replaced with fear. Image upon image started to squeeze their way into his skull, causing him to shift even more in his sleep.
Opening his eyes, Leyoht was perplexed. He was not home; he was not outside. He asked himself, Where am I? Where did I go?—only to realize he had been set just outside of his home at the brink of dawn. All the while did he stand near a group of humans.
So that’s what they look like! Every one of the foreign creatures held somewhat similar and almost unexplainable characteristics—at least in Leyoht’s mind. These special characteristics made them unique from any creature he had ever seen.
Coincidentally enough, three out of the five humans carried long, slender wooden sticks in their hands. Such sticks game equipped with small rock-like blades—the likes of which protruded out from the sticks’ tops. While keeping a tight grip on the sticks did the humans show off unique, individual faces; each of which gave off a slight glisten against the light.
While thinking of how haunting the humans seemed in appearance, Leyoht was barely able to notice how they drew nearer and nearer to him with every passing heartbeat.
As he watched the mentally-optical humans draw ever-closer, one of their icy, choking sticks suddenly speared right through Leyoht’s heart. It was at the realization of this stick’s presence when he set himself on an attempt to move away from the strange humans. But he couldn’t move away; he just simply couldn’t—because at that moment, the humans with the jabbing stick lifted Leyoht off his feet.
Fear and nothing but fear flooded the inner sanctums of the endangered owl’s mind. But then he realized it was all a vision. The humans were still there, but they weren’t attacking him. Rather than attack, they seemed to pass through Leyoht as if he were nothing but a desert cloud. At the same time, a peculiar scent filled the air: a scent which only grew stronger with every step the humans took.
It was then when Leyoht saw the humans target: his home. What are they going to do with it? wondered he. What would they want to do with it? Slowly making his way around the edges of his own home, Leyoht witnessed the human activity as his heart leapt throughout his chest.
Upon finding himself on the opposite side of his parents’ tree from the humans, a small sense of safety began to sweep over the snowy owlet’s. Unfortunately for him, all sense of safety and security seemed to vanish from his mind as a strange hacking sound called from the other side of the tree. Curious to know what the humans might have been doing to cause this sound, Leyoht came out of hiding; the resulting image caused a shock of alert to speed up through his spine.
Moving as stealthily as he could, Leyoht stood in awe when he noticed how the sticks in the humans’ seemed to shrink down to a much punier size. Rather than pointy, jabbing tools, the humans’ devices now looked as if they could be used for hacking into wood.
Oh no! Leyoht realized, They’re going to use their tools to bring our house down! Upon taking realization of this fact, Leyoht forgot all about his fear as he made an attempt to rush over to the humans.
Unfortunately for Leyoht, he found himself unable to make his way over to the humans in time. It was at that moment when the sound of cracking bark filled his ears. At the same time, he noticed as the weakened started tipping over toward the side opposite of the humans. Good thing I moved!
Leyoht stood in complete awe as he watched the tree crash into the snowy ground with a loud thud. His entire body quivering in fear, Leyoht was surprised to see how his feet seemed to lock themselves into the snow. After a pause of silence had come to pass, his gaze gave an upwards flinch when he realized the humans were staring straight through him.
What are they going to do to me? Leyoht helplessly asked himself as his body began to grow still as the snow and ice beneath his feet.
As this fateful question rang throughout his head, a sense of confusion began to ebb into Leyoht’s mind when he realized three humans who had killed his tree walking around him. Curious to know what was going on, he turned around to notice the barbarically-raised humans making their way toward Roseti’s fragile home.
This sight blocking his vision, Leyoht watched as the three unwelcome foreign visitors left a trail of large printings toward the home of Roseti’s family. Once this trail had reached off to a nearly uncountable number of tracks, the humans placed their weapon-like sticks inside of strange sacks resting on their backs—the likes of which Leyoht had just now taken notice of. After what seemed to be only a heartbeat of having their hands in the bags, each of the humans drew out some of the shiniest, sharpest blades Leyoht had ever seen.
Taking notice of these blades, Leyoht silently asked himself, What are those for? Only a heartbeat came to pass when a spurt of blood made a small, upwards explosion into the air. All the while did one of the humans stick their arm into Roseti’s home.
Blood started spreading across the snow as the red-stained human pushed an arm deeper and deeper into the little home. Just when he felt as if he could watch no more, Leyoht took notice of the human’s arm as it jerked its way out of the little hole in the ground. What resulted was the exposure of the human’s blood-covered blade—followed by the mangled body of Leyoht’s young, deceased friend.
Leyoht’s blood and body grew to the point of becoming even more motionless than ice. They—they didn’t! he silently screamed in denial. Restarting Leyoht’s blood’s flow, the very same human who had put an end to Roseti’s life set her body against the snowy ground.
As a pool of scarlet slowly seeped into the ground as the human cautiously used his blade to saw through the deceased owl’s esophagus. A great snap vibrated in Leyoht’s ears just before the human lifted Roseti’s head away from the rest of her corpse.
Leyoht felt as if he were going to faint had witnessed any more dread. The sights he had just taken notice of were already too much to bear; how could he even look at the humans’ faces after what he had seen them do to Roseti? I have to do something! It was while allowing all these thoughts to seep into his head when Leyoht realized the other four humans started splitting away and made their way toward the other owls’ homes.
Realizing he could chase after only one of the humans, Leyoht decided to follow the shorter of them all. Upon making this decision, he realized this human was heading in the direction of Plenot’s home. At this realization, Ley
oht’s running pace gave a slight increase as he flapped his wings, urging them to lift his tiny body into the air.
In his futile attempts to make a quicker approach toward the human, Leyoht shortly found himself too tired to continue chasing the human with his current pace. Struggling for breath, he almost immediately stopped in his tracks while ceasing to flap his wings. He then gave himself a weak push forward as he struggled to lift his talons out of the snow.
Panting with the effort of following the towering human, Leyoht soon came to a standstill in the freezing snow. Sucking in a modicum of chilling air into his lungs, the struggling owlet fought the urge to let his body fall in and bury itself in the sheet of ice below. But—in failure—he found himself on his knees.
As his knees lodged themselves into the snow, Leyoht desperately met his gaze with the snowy ground below him, fighting for breath all the while. It was after giving this pause for breath when his head swung up to a point to where a slight strain was placed on the back of his neck—but at least now he could see the human he was chasing. His sight now locked onto the human, Leyoht made another attempt to impede the owls’ threat from killing anybody else.
A small spark of determination flashing in his blood, Leyoht set himself out on a slow march through the snow. Adrenaline pushed through his veins as a sense of heroism sank into his head. At the same time, thoughts of selfishness mixed into his head when he wondered, Am I going to be rewarded in the end?
It hadn’t taken long for Leyoht to regain most of the physical and mental strength he had once held before even attempting to trail through the snow. Such power coursing through his blood, he valiantly pushed his way through the trail of ice further and further—until he finally found himself standing just behind the human’s feet.
Noticing as the sight of the short human’s body obscured his vision, Leyoht flinched back in surprise—as it hadn’t taken him nearly as long to make it this far than what he first thought it would
