Immortal Darkness: Shadow Across the Land

by Alex Rey

  Chapter XI

  Was It All A Dream?

  Once Leyoht exited from the human home, he set a new goal for himself: to find a new shelter. Despite everything he’d gone through in the past day, he still felt as if there were at least one helpful stranger for him out in the large, open world. There just has to be!

  However, the path for finding a new home would prove much more treacherous than Leyoht first anticipated. As he had quickly come to realize, the outside world’s weather withheld the capability to topple him over in a heartbeat. With all of his fatigue Leyoht’s biggest issue was simply finding food and water.

  How his parents could have found food with so little ease was well beyond Leyoht’s thinking. In the time he had spent in the barren landscape, not a single rodent came into his sight. It was while feeling as if he would never become a successful hunter when Leyoht realized not a single trace of meat remained scurrying along the ground.

  Leyoht realized he had only one option left. In order to solve both his hunger and thirst at the same time, he would engulf whatever snow he could find whenever hunger struck his stomach.

  Snow was all around—so out of nowhere, Leyoht ate away at the white ground. He felt as both the inside and the outside of his body grew freezing cold. But he didn’t care; in this weather colder and drier than any other, all the little owlet could think about was hydration.

  Feeling as his stomach grew full with the frozen slush, Leyoht ceased eating. All at once had he completely solved his hunger and thirst. Such a feeling made him feel complete.

  Unfortunately for Leyoht, the plan to devour snow had proven unsuccessful in the end. Rather than solve his malnutrition, the snow only caused him to eventually purge a majority of the liquids he had received from eating snow. At least I was able to get some water, he reassured himself after vomiting.

  --

  It was while Leyoht suffered on his own when Pesstian and Leyai thrived with their human companions. Because they were now covered and fed by the large creatures’ organs, they were able to live a much more comfortable life within their new home.

  Upon first receiving the large creature’s meat from the humans, both little owls ravenously devoured it with pleasure. Ever since they’d first dipped their beaks into the meat, they felt as if they should have never been as hungry as they were the day before. If it weren’t for the amazing amount of food the creatures had offered, Pesstian and Leyai would have died from starvation.

  Soon would a cold, yet mild night catch up to the colonists. Feeling as the cool night took over them, the owls snuggled themselves into their animal pelt cloaks. The feeling of being wrapped up in another creature’s pelt made them feel comfortable—yet strangely uneasy at the very same time.

  Once they had both covered themselves up in the pelts of the creatures the humans had killed the day before, Pesstian decided to start up a conversation with his friend. “Leyai—do you have any brothers or sisters?” he wondered as they both walked over to the edge of the human town.

  “No,” Leyai responded, a hint of confusion beaming from her voice.

  “I was just wondering—cause it didn’t seem like you brought anybody you knew to this trip. The only reason I came was because my father made me come here.”

  “I came here on my own free will,” Leyai responded with a snort.

  “Your family allowed you to come here? They didn’t do anything?”

  It was only a heartbeat later when a pause of silence filled the air. Turning in Pesstian’s direction, Leyai stifled a hiss. Another heartbeat had come to pass when she closed her eyes and released a minute growl.

  Oh no, Pesstian muttered, a spark of fear lighting up in his mind. She’s going to hurt me! However, instead of receiving a blow to the shoulder, Pesstian heard as a sigh escaped from his friend’s beak.

  “I used to have my entire family by my side, but they turned on me,” Leyai muttered while looking down at her feet.

  “What?” Pesstian asked.

  “I said that I used to have my entire family by my side, you deaf mouse-tail!” Leyai screeched, a fire lighting up in both of her eyes. At the same time, a layer of tears seemed to shield her pupils.

  A dumbfounded expression crossed Pesstian’s face at the sound of Leyai’s screech.

  Taking sight of Pesstian’s expression, Leyai curtly covered her face with her two wings.

  Seeing her depression, Pesstian came up to Leyai’s side, staring right into her eyes all the while. “What do you mean you used to have your entire family by your side?” he asked Leyai through a murmur.

  Raising her face from her wings’ grasp, Leyai shot a blurry glance toward her friend. “I had no brothers or sisters, and just when I expected to learn how to fly, my parents left me. I was not entirely sure why—and I still don’t understand why—but I could never forgive them for doing that to me.”

  “I had to learn how to fly from my friend after she was taught. After she taught me, I had to learn how to hunt all by myself. Since nobody was there to help me, I never became a very good hunter.”

  “Ever since then, I prayed to Hona for answers to my problems. So far, she’s only shown herself to me in my dreams.”

  This talk of religion caused Pesstian’s feathers to ruffle with unease. As he had also shared a slightly difficult life, he, had also tried falling into the claws of religion. However, it would have been only a matter of time before he would let go of it completely. Swallowing a bead of nervousness, Pesstian continued listening to Leyai’s words of sorrow.

  “I later heard that the humans were collecting owls to go onboard their new device. Thinking that I could have volunteered myself to go on, I was assisted by a few other owls on a trip to see the humans’ vessel. I didn’t even try to ask the humans to go onboard—I just jumped on.”

  As Leyai’s story came to an end, a moment of silence came between the two owls. Almost every one of Leyai’s words caused grief to light up within Pesstian’s mind.

  “And I’m sorry that I called you a deaf mouse-tail,” Leyai apologized.

  “Don’t worry about it,” came Pesstian’s response. “I would act the same way if—”

  “Would you just stop doing that?” Leyai interrupted, a sense of playfulness escaping from her voice. “There’s no excuse for me snapping at you like that!”

  It was while snuggling himself into the animal fur when Pesstian released a small chuckle. Only a heartbeat had passed when Leyai steadily joined in. “I guess you made the right decision to come here,” Pesstian muttered. “It already seems like we’re going to have an awesome time here.”

  --

  Had he known anything about the two little owls and their paradise-like state, Leyoht would have held an immense amount of envy for them.

  He had literally spent a whole day marching through a snowy wasteland, getting nothing to eat but stale carrion. While disgusting in taste, the body of the deceased creature had proven big enough to fill his two stomachs.

  Unfortunately, the animal carcass would eventually cause disease to overwhelm the young owl. As was the case with the snow, Leyoht released the carcass’s plague through his beak.

  It was after vomiting when hunger clung at Leyoht’s stomach with an even stronger pull than before. What’s happening? he wondered, feeling lightheaded.

  Despite his hunger, Leyoht felt himself acquiring a phobia for eating. Instead of popping food through his beak, the young owl told himself, Just ignore it. Just ignore it.

  Only a day had passed since he lost his parents. That day showed hell’s punishment on his feet, on his stomach, and on his morality. There was no doubt about it—Leyoht would never be the same.

  Even as his stomach still rumbled in sheer hunger, Leyoht knew he would have to find an area to sleep for the night. He wanted to make a nest, but he hadn’t any intention of how such a structure was built.

  Because of his lack of knowledge, he gave his eyes a stretch and scanned the outside area for any trees or caves
—or some kind of shelter. When he’d come to realize that there was not a single shelter in sight, Leyoht released an irritable sigh.

  Struggling to hold his head up, Leyoht continued on his march through the snow. I can’t stop until I find somewhere safe to sleep! he reminded himself. If I do what I did yesterday, someone will find me and take me with them. As far as Leyoht was concerned, he was lucky the humans were hospitable.

  Every single step the young owlet took would only cause him to envy the world’s flying owls more and more. I’ll never have to worry about this when I fly, he realized in both hope and impatience.

  A gust of wind blew through Leyoht’s feathers, causing him to shiver once more. At least I have feathers now, he thought while sighing. He could only imagine what kind of terrible trials he would have gone through if he wasn’t destined to hold feathers upon his skin.

  Pushing his way through layers of snow, Leyoht began to wonder if his eyes were deceiving him. He rubbed his eyes once—then twice. Right then and there, he caught sight of a small cave, noticing as it rested before his eyes.

  Is it really there? In sight of this cave, he started himself on a hurried trot. Only a few steps forward caused Leyoht to trip over his feet.

  I can’t believe it! he thought while picking himself up. He cared not for his clumsiness; at this point, a trip would be nothing more than a bump in the road. Nobody will find me in there!

  A sense of relief and security swept over Leyoht’s mind when he felt the shadow of the cave sweep over his head. It was at that moment when a wave of heat splashed unto Leyoht’s face. While comfortable, this cave was not the kind of place for an owl to live in. At least I’ll be able to sleep here, he assured himself.

  This thought in mind, he used his tired eyes to find what at looked like a comfortable place for him to rest for the night. After walking up to a nice, cozy spot next to the wall, he seated himself and closed his eyes.

  For the first time in a day, Leyoht was now able to sleep without thoughts of agony swimming through his mind. The thoughts of his parents were not those of shame and regret, but those of what could have been had his parents survived.

  The thoughts quickly drained from Leyoht’s head as a large yawn burst from his beak. Feeling his own weariness crawl beneath his skin, he snuggled himself up against the wall and attempted to fall asleep.

  --

  As Leyoht found himself on the brink of falling asleep, Pesstian took off his fur cloak.

  Seeing as her friend removed the fur from his shoulders, Leyai exclaimed, “Whoa! Aren’t you cold?”

  “I won’t be cold once I start flying,” Pesstian immediately responded. These words silently echoing in his head, he lifted his wings into the air and pushed himself into the sky.

  “Hey!” Leyai playfully cried while taking of her own cloak. “Wait for me!” It was at that moment when she, too pointed her wings toward the sky and followed her friend.

  Realizing her feet were no longer touching the ground, Leyai attempted to move herself closer to Pesstian. While gaining altitude, Leyai asked while panting, “Wh-where exactly are we going?”

  “I don’t know,” Pesstian admitted while taking a look back at his friend. “But there has to be some place interesting out here. I’m pretty sick of the humans just having us sit around and do nothing all day.”

  “I guess,” Leyai agreed through a murmur. “But I haven’t seen anything interesting here—and we’ve been here for days!”

  “That’s what I thought about my old home,” her friend informed. “At least—that was the case until I heard about the humans’ device.”

  The sound of these words caused Leyai to place a humored grin upon her face. At the same time, she stifled a small gout of laughter.

  “Oh—look right there!” exclaimed Pesstian, pointing his beak out in front of him.

  “Look at what?”

  “There’s a pool over there,” Pesstian remarked, taking a look back at Leyai. “And it looks pretty nice!”

  “Oh—a pool!” exclaimed Leyai. “I’m thirsty anyway. Let’s get down there!”

  With these last four words echoing within their heads, the two owls dove down toward the ground. At the same time, they both gradually glided down to the water, coming closer and closer by the second.

  Only a heartbeat had come to pass when a glint of light sparked in Leyai’s eye. It had only taken a moment for her to realize the light’s shine was coming from the pool’s reflection of the moon. “Hey! There it is!” she exclaimed, excitement coursing over her veins.

  Not a single heartbeat had come to pass when she attempted to land. She could see herself standing there before the pool’s embrace—watching as its shine flashed into her eyes.

  With talons outstretched, she inched closer and closer toward the edge of the pool. In a split-second, her nails dug into the wet earth accompanying the water.

  Contrary to her fantasy, the attempt to land only ended in Leyai tipping over, falling face-first into the water. Her imbalance and irrational thoughts had brought her here—cold and wet—as she started crawling out of the water.

  “Are you okay?” wondered Pesstian, landing behind Leyai.

  “I’ll be all right,” Leyai responded through a series of coughs.

  Upon catching her breath, Leyai turned around and took a look upon at what lay in front of her. Dark blue mixed in with the vibrant light of the moon, creating a shining pool. Ripples of waves gave the moon an urge to dance within the water. “It’s beautiful!” Leyai gasped through a wide smile. I almost don’t want to drink from it!

  “Almost,” Leyai giggled with an eerie whisper. Upon uttering this one word, the wet little owl bent down over the pool and dipped her beak into its refreshing water.

  Witnessing as his friend sucked the water into her stomach, Pesstian sneered from behind, “See? There’s always gonna be something interesting somewhere.”

  Although Leyai was able to hear her friend loud and clear, she made no direct response to his statement. Rather did she simply continued to drink from the pool—feeling as it blissfully intoxicated her with its natural essence.

  With a small shrug of his shoulders, Pesstian walked over to a spot to the left his friend. Now in this position, he dipped his beak into the water along with Leyai.

  A strange connection suddenly linked the two owls together as they continued to drink the water. It was a link in which had caused them both to realize this may have been the way their lives were meant to be lived—until they both died.

  --

  Almost half a day had come to pass when Leyoht had awakened from a nearly motionless sleep. A crooked spine and stung eyes crippled the owlet as he woke up.

  Although he felt very accustomed to falling asleep, the feel of a rather irritating series breezes made constantly pushed up against the young owl’s feathers. This sensation caused him to shuffle in his spot multiple times.

  Failing to outstand this war of attrition, Leyoht finally flicked his eyes wide open. He would have to accept his terms: under his current conditions, he would never fall asleep.

  Leyoht released a large yawn and attempted to pick himself up on his weary legs. This effort had proven quite strenuous at first, but quickly grew easier to perform within a matter of heartbeats.

  Now on his feet, Leyoht shook up his ruffled feathers and cleared his blurred vision through a series of blinks. What now? he wondered while yawning.

  Not waiting for an answer to his question, the young owl walked out of the cave, allowing the outside air to envelop his entire body. Although the temperature of the morning proved uncomfortable and biting, the sight of the landscape in front of the young owl’s eyes held what a very lustrous view.

  The sight of this landscape caused a spark of freedom to light up in Leyoht’s stomach. This spark, however, would cease to exist when his stomach replaced it with a ravenous growl. Ow! he silently exclaimed while moaning. Be quiet!

  Holding onto his stomach with his wings
, Leyoht started to walk further away from the cave. Every single step he took brought forth a painful stretch of hunger to spread within his stomach. Added to this was the sensation of fierce, biting snowflakes pushing up against his face—obscuring his vision.

  Thanks to these two weaknesses, Leyoht was forced to clutch his growling stomach while rapidly blinking his eyes. However, by looking down at his two moving feet, Leyoht found a solution to both his problems.

  It was while watching his feet when Leyoht caught sight of a deceased rodent—the likes of which was a lemming—lying directly in his path. Just by staring at the carcass, he was able to tell this creature hadn’t been lying there for very long.

  Even with that being the case, the animal looked like it had been killed by a fiery tornado over a decade before. The poor creature’s jaw stuck open in a locked position; the same was the case with its limbs. In addition to stiff joints, the eyes on the rodent seemed hollow in appearance.

  It’s all I have, Leyoht reminded himself as he continued to look down at the corpse. He didn’t want to admit it, but it was true. If he didn’t eat now, he would surely starve to death.

  Feeling desperate and powerless, Leyoht repeated this statement within his head while drawing his beak closer to the lemming’s corpse. Only a few heartbeats had come to pass when he snapped his beak around the carrion.

  It didn’t take long for Leyoht to start gulping the lemming down into his stomach. Resisting the urge to vomit, Leyoht took sensation of the rodent’s slightly prickly fur as it scratched along the edges of his throat.

  Because many of the lemming’s parts were locked in place, it had proven incredibly difficult for Leyoht to swallow the whole thing into his stomach. This was an especially hard chore for him to accomplish—being that he had never gulped anything whole before.

  Stiff, scrawny hind legs finally hit Leyoht’s stomach—causing him to shudder as the rodent’s body slipped through his esophagus. Leyoht let go of his stomach while sticking a tainted tongue out. I hope I never have to do that again, a silent voice cried within him as he continued his great migration.