The Realms of Animar (6 page)

“Well, you remember what happened last year?” Dugan argued. “If he had been with us that day, we might not—”

Trussil quickly raised her hand to his mouth and touched his lips. “Quiet down. It will be fine.”

Dugan paused and then grasped her hand with his and lowered it back to her side. An awkward silence followed and Trussil quickly changed the topic.

“At least enjoy the morning!” she demanded. “It is a marvelous day for a trip. You
must
admit that at least.”

“Very true,” Dugan replied. He then looked around nervously before leaning in and whispering, “I don’t suppose you have thought any more about my offer, have you?”

Trussil walked in silence for a moment as she collected her thoughts.

“Dugan you are sweet, but you know my heart is spoken for.”

“I know, I know but even you admit that you have no idea where he is. It’s been what…five…six years since you last saw him?” He thought a moment then continued, “You even once said that you two could never be together. For what reason…I just don’t know but I just hope that if you do decide to move on you would consider me.”

Trussil felt sorry for Dugan. He was a very nice man but he was extremely tall and awkward and was one of the few of his kind in the village. She was appreciative of his feelings but had done her best to explain to him that she would not love again. That part of her life was behind her.

“Oh Dugan, you know I think you are a wonderful man. I suppose I should move on but I just don’t think I can love another. I just wish things could have been different.”

“So why didn’t he come with us? What kind of fool would let you go?” He hesitated and then added, “You are so beautiful. How could he leave you?”

Trussil stopped and looked down at her feet and then at Dugan. “I left him,” she replied abruptly. She then pulled ahead and added over her shoulder, “Please, I have this conversation enough in my own head. I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

Dejected, he called after her. “I’m sorry. Just, well, you know where I stand.”

Semu suddenly raised his right arm, halting the procession behind him. He glanced from side to side with his head slightly tilted upward. Something was wrong.

Dugan sprinted to Semu’s side while Trussil worked to quiet the young voices that had begun to chatter.

Just up ahead was the impending darkness of the Bluemist Forrest and, not far beyond the tree line, the river waited.
Unlike Dugan, Semu was anything but timid. He was from the jungle and knew the natural sounds of trees and leaves better than anyone.

“What is it?” Dugan whispered to Semu. “Did you spot something?”

The massive dark-skinned guard grunted angrily.

Dugan bit his lip as a worried look covered his face.

“Do you smell that?” Semu asked.

Dugan inhaled deeply through his nose. “No. I don’t smell anything. Should I?”

“There was something here. Not long ago.”

Semu then turned and motioned for Trussil to come forward. When she approached she was ready to argue.

“I’m not canceling the trip without good cause,” she declared.

“Semu smelled something,” Dugan replied. “It might be for the best.”

“Well, I don’t smell anything,” Trussil argued. “This is ridiculous. You go tell those children we’re going back. I won’t do it.”

Semu scowled. “I never said we needed to head back. What I need you to do is scout the trees ahead and look for movement.”

Trussil was relieved. “Well why didn’t you just say so?” She then turned to her students. “I will be back in a moment. You behave while I am gone.”

Without another word Trussil then looked toward the tree line and in a quick fluid motion transformed into a brown and tan owl. Upon long majestic wings she climbed deftly into the air, feeling the wind flow over her body and her feathers ruffle as she pushed against the current and began surveying the land below.

***

Dugan watched nervously as Trussil soared high above, her silhouette growing fainter with every passing second. “I can’t believe you let her do that.”

“She’ll be fine,” Semu grunted in a deep voice amplified by annoyance. “Nothing can reach her in the air and whatever it was is probably close.”

Suddenly a yell erupted from behind them, sending the guards scrambling to find the source while the once calm students turned into a whirlwind of chaos.

They stumbled upon Javan whose obese frame hopped up and down while he pointed across the fields to the north. In the distance they could make out the backside of a white horse kicking up a mixture of grass and dirt as it galloped away.

Dugan cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed, “Thane!” He then looked at Semu, uncertain of what to do next.

“Foolish boy!” Semu roared. “Everyone stay put. We can’t separate the group. When Trussil returns we will send her to find him. Until then he is on his own.”

***

After nearly half an hour Trussil returned. In a precise and seamless transition, she landed in front of the guards and morphed into her human form.

“I thought I saw some movement in the forest but when I got closer it was gone,” Trussil said. She then realized that something else was wrong. “What happened? Is everyone alright?”

“Thane ran off,” Dugan said.

“Ran off? What do you mean
ran off
? How could this happen?” Her icy glare pierced Dugan’s heart.

“We don’t know,” Dugan replied sheepishly. “He just galloped off north through the fields without warning. Semu didn’t want to separate the group.”

Trussil pondered the situation and then sighed. “That is probably best,” she said. “None of you could catch him anyway. I will go look for him.”

When she began to turn away Semu grabbed her arm. “I will go with you. There might be trouble.”

“W-w-wait,” Dugan stammered. “I can go.”

“I think Semu should go Dugan,” Trussil said abruptly before softening her tone. “Besides, I need you to take the students back. They like you.”

She added a smile to warm him over and then, without complaint, Dugan turned toward the waiting children. A wave of moans spilled forth when they realized their trip had come to an end. The river would have to wait for another day.

***

After a brief search from the air Trussil finally spotted something in the thick grass below, near the forest edge. Riding a warm thermal, she circled a few times and surveyed the ground, checking for danger and allowing Semu time to catch up while she descended from the sky.

Her tiny heart began to flutter in panic as the figure grew closer. It was Thane, doubled over on his knees, with only his back visible from above. He was still and she feared the worst.

Trussil dove to the ground and landed softly beside the boy then quickly morphed to her human form.

“Thane? Thane are you alright?”

To her surprise, he peeked up at her. “I found a rabbit!”

“A rabbit? What are you talking about?”

Thane leaned his body to one side while Trussil moved in for a closer look. There, trembling between his cupped hands, was a small white rabbit with tiny black eyes staring wildly back at her. The creature was obviously frightened and had ragged fur in places, likely from a recent scuffle.

“Well what are you doing out here?” Trussil asked the bunny as she reached down and gently patted it on the head. “Why don’t you morph and let us help you?”

The rabbit blinked a few times but only fought harder to try and escape Thane’s grasp.

“I tried to talk to her but it was no use,” Thane said. “Should we keep it?”

Trussil glanced around as she pondered the request. “Maybe she has family close by. I can’t believe this little thing made it here on her own. Perhaps we should let it go.”

A booming voice startled them. It was Semu who had finally caught up.

“No,” he declared. “We need to take it back with us now.”

“Are you sure?” Trussil asked.

“I stumbled upon the remains of a few more in the field on my way here,” Semu said. “I am guessing this one got away.” The guard then reached down and wrestled the tiny rabbit from Thane’s hands and added forcefully, “Come on boy, we are leaving. Now!”

“It’s ok Thane, she will be fine,” Trussil said. “We need to get back. You father can decide what to do.”

Chapter 4

T
he autumn leaves rustled amongst the trees as a cold wind blew in from the mountains, tickling Thane’s spine with a chill. Javan, who had accompanied him to the woods that day, was unaffected because his skin was inherently thicker even in his human form. Rain had fallen the night before and although it was early afternoon, the forest was filled with scents stirred by the morning dew and the foliage was bursting with life as if renewed by a quenched thirst.

In the weeks that had passed since the boys had met they had become good friends. Thane had befriended Javan soon after the newcomer’s first day of school and Thane had patiently helped his new friend learn to morph, with the reluctant agreement of the boy’s parents of course. The two had formed an instant bond although they had little in common. Javan was heavy, with a broad jaw and short, stumpy legs. Thane was tall and lean with pleasant features and a radiant smile. Differences aside, they were the best of friends and had become somewhat notorious for getting into, and usually out of, trouble.

The boys ducked behind a large moss-covered tree stump in an attempt to remain out of sight. Not usually allowed to stray from the village without escort, on this particular day, Thane and Javan had decided an adventure was in order and to their surprise they had managed to elude the guards relatively easily. They had simply hidden in a farmer’s cart and jumped out when they had cleared the gate. Since it was not a school day they would likely not be missed for several hours. Fun was guaranteed to be had.

Thane loved the woods. This was quite odd for a morph of the equine variety but he loved the thrill of galloping between the large oak and cedar trees, dodging branches and not knowing what obstacle awaited next. His passion was not without consequence, however, as he frequently strolled home with a new injury for his mother to care for.

Not far from the boys a small group of villagers, mostly primate and human in form, were chopping down wood and loading it into a wagon to take back to the village. They were preparing for the harsh winter that loomed just a few weeks ahead, one of the few drawbacks of the region in which they lived.

Trips to the Bluemist Forest were almost a daily routine much to the delight of the arboreal morphs and the chance to see them work was quite exciting. Thane watched with awe as a handful of agile primates used small axes and saws to chop branches with ease and, in a very systematic way, dropped the limbs down to a tall, muscular, dark-haired man who loaded the wood into a nearby wagon.

Thane recognized him instantly for he was the other reason they had come to the woods that day. His name was Azil and he, like Thane, was a horse. Azil had taught Thane many things over the years and although he had tried to deter the boy from wandering into the woods where he worked, Thane could not resist following him about from time to time.

Of the group, Azil was responsible for taking the wagon back to the village when it became full, a task assigned to him due to his innate abilities. Such organization was common among the people of Avryndale, as they had developed their culture in such a way that when born, the trade of an individual was determined by his or her animal form. This system worked quite well and generally was acceptable to newcomers, with the exception of an occasional complaint from a member of the milking variety.

The boys watched in awe as a pair of chimpanzees and orangutans far above them leapt from tree to tree, obviously enjoying their habitat while they searched for usable branches. The chimpanzees were smaller and more agile, their thick black fur and bare faces contrasting greatly to the long, reddish-brown haired orangutans.

Javan sighed and whispered to Thane, “I wish I could do that.”

“Me too,” replied Thane. “That looks like fun!” His eyes were mesmerized by the graceful way the monkeys maneuvered about the forest.

Suddenly Javan pointed to an opening in the trees where they could see out across the countryside to their village that stood in the distance. A large giraffe with a light torso covered with chestnut brown blotches of various shapes and sizes was galloping towards them, kicking up dirt as it ran.

“Uh oh, it’s Dugan,” Javan said quietly, careful not to give away their location.

Thane lifted his head up from behind the stump and looked past his large friend. “We’re going to be in so much trouble.”

The boys hunched down and tried to hide themselves more effectively as the giraffe approached the forest edge. After a few seconds Thane poked his head up and he spotted Dugan’s large, angular spotted head peering through the trees, not yet aware of their location.

Dugan lowered his head and stepped farther into the woods, careful to bypass a large branch that blocked his entrance. The giraffe glanced from side to side and then morphed into his human form almost instantly.

“Thane!” he yelled. “I know you are in here! Come on back with me, your mother is looking for you. She has something important to discuss with you.”

Javan peered at Thane, contemplating what they should do but Thane remained still. He was stubborn beyond his years and not known for his eagerness to follow orders.