Looking up he became dizzy by the enormous sky that seemed so close he felt he could reach up and touch it like a still, clear lake inviting his finger to trace a rippling line across its smooth surface. The wind blew against his face slapping him with its cold fingers and bringing tears to his dark eyes. His small, tanned body shook against the frigid air sending his teeth into a chattering dance. He was not dressed for such weather or such altitude. All he wore was a small loincloth tied snuggly about his thin waste. He was a Waseeni after all. The Teague swampland, where he made his home, was a furnace of heat and humidity unlike the frigid mountain air. He thought back to his home wondering what his mother and little brother and sisters were doing. Were they thinking of him? Had they enough to eat? He worried about them constantly but could not be swayed from the purpose that brought him out into the strange and wonderful world. All his life he had craved adventure. His earliest memories were the thrill and exhilaration he felt from the stories old Twee had told him. Twee was the oldest living Waseeni and Teek’s best friend. Actually, it was because of Twee that he was where he was now, sailing through the air over the breathtaking mountains freezing to death. Teek was on an appeasing journey for his old friend. Twee had died only two weeks before and now Teek was searching for a gift to present to his dead ancestors so they would accept Twee’s soul into the afterlife. It was custom that a relative participate in the journey but Twee had no family, having outlived them all. So, a lottery was had. By law, Teek was too young to participate but as if chosen by Twee himself, his name was miraculously pulled from the rest of the tiles. His mother had objected at first but the decision was made final and Teek was sent off on his own. The appeasing journey was always done alone.
A gust of wind bit Teek’s cheeks and then swooped down his chest wrapping its icy grip around him as if trying to squeeze out his breath. He gasped and then snuggled in closer to the downy softness and warmth of the giant bird beneath him. Tchee, as Teek called her, had befriended the young Waseeni boy after Teek saved her life just days before. That small adventure had almost cost Teek his life. Teek freed Tchee from a partially sprung trap but was, himself, caught by the men that set it. She had saved him from those men just the day before.
He pressed his cheek hard against her neck. She smelled clean, like the Teague trees of his homeland after a refreshing summer rain. Tchee was enormous, standing at least three times his own height. Her beak was curved down like that of an eagle, as were the razor sharp talons now tucked in against her underbelly. Her feathers were pure white excepting for those on the neck and head which had streaks of dark red and brown that flared over the top of her head and came to a point between her enchanting eyes. They were a crystal blue with an amazing clarity that reflected an eerie light of extreme intelligence.
Tchee suddenly swooped low brushing the tip of a peak that seemed to jealously reach for them in an effort to pull them back to the ground. Teek couldn’t hold back the thrilled scream that escaped his lips but was quickly swallowed in the frigid wind. Tchee dropped lower skirting the side of a rugged cliff and then shot like an arrow towards the ground below. What looked to be a tiny creek quickly grew into a large, rushing river that raced up at them with frightening speed. Teek felt his shivers change from cold to terror as they shot down in a dive towards the water. Teek braced himself for the icy chill that would surely squeeze the life from his thin frame upon impact with the water. The roar of the rushing wind and crashing river joined in a shout of dark challenge beckoning them closer. Just before impact Tchee’s body shifted slightly pulling them up and leveling them off just above the rolling spring runoff. Teek looked over Tchee’s shoulder at the water whipping past just as she extended her terrible talons and dipped them into the freezing river. He felt the slightest drag and then suddenly they were climbing again as Tchee’s voice rang out in a triumphant scream that reverberated off the canyon walls in a deafening clash. EEEEERRRRRRROOOOOOCCCCCCCC!
Teek’s heart raced in his chest pounding against his ribs as if trying to force its way out. What had that been all about? Suddenly, a warning taste of acid shot into his mouth as his stomach finally caught up with the rest of his body and started to protest. No longer was there the thrill of flight and the beauty of the rugged, snowcapped mountains but instead a dizzying nausea that was making strong threats of ridding him of last night’s meal. Teek gripped Tchee’s feathers and pressed a sweating face hard against her neck in an effort to calm his innards. As if sensing his discomfort, Tchee suddenly dropped towards the ground soliciting another shot of acid into Teek’s mouth. He felt Tchee hover for the slightest moment before coming to a solid landing onto what he couldn’t say because his eyes were tightly clamped shut. The cacophonous blare of the shooting river was all he could hear giving him the sense that his bird friend had unceremoniously landed them smack in the middle of its rolling mass. He chanced a slit in his left eye knowing that if it caught the motion of the gushing water it would send his stomach’s contents over the edge and through his teeth. But he also knew that to not embrace the ground soon would have the same effect. Thankfully, what he saw was not water but the inviting color of spring grass dotted with wild flowers.
He didn’t wait to see more but just slid his trembling body off his giant friend and hastily plopped onto the damp ground. Rolling to his side he curled up and let out a few week coughs. Tchee chortled above him with a sound that sounded very much like laughter. Teek moaned and then rolled onto his back throwing one arm onto his forehead while digging his other hand into the grass. “What was that all about?” he moaned and then coughed again. “I almost lost everything in my stomach, thanks to you.”
Tchee chortled again in a symphony of cackles and whistles.
Teek opened an eye and stared at the beautiful bird standing quite content over him, her head cocked to one side staring back at him as if inspecting a rare species of bug. Suddenly, she twisted to the side, her head darting to the ground behind her and then shot back. Teek shielded his head with both hands as something large and dark suddenly dropped from Tchee’s beak and landed with a dull thud next to him. The distinct smell of fresh fish filled his nostrils, which at the moment didn’t help his stomach at all. He quickly rolled away from Tchee’s catch and coughed again, a small spasm gripping his stomach. Teek jolted with a start as the fish suddenly dropped in front him again. “All right, all right,” he croaked rolling away and then forcing himself to his knees. “Just give me a second to get used to the ground again, okay!”
Tchee bobbed her head playfully and chortled her reply. She seemed to be enjoying this.
Teek groaned slightly taking in deep breaths of moist, cool air. The grass was cold and damp beneath his bare legs soliciting a slight shiver that tried to warm his thin frame. He chanced a quick look around taking in his surroundings as calmly as he could so as not to disturb his angry stomach. They were in a fair sized meadow split almost through the middle by the angry river that carried its frigid water at a quick pace towards an opening in the solid rock ahead. Compared to the rapids, just visible upstream and behind him, and the loud noises of what could only be a falls downstream, the water running through the meadow was relatively calm but still forceful enough to sweep away the unwary. To his left, a clump of trees bordered the swollen river in a tight formation as if greedily trying to push each other out of the way. They swayed slightly moving at a hypnotic pace against the gentle wind that brushed against their very tips. The grass spread out like a carpet covering everything from the river’s edge right up to the sheer expanses of the mountainsides that rose up and formed a rugged U shape in front of him and to either side. Behind, the terrain was rough and jagged rising quickly and creating the abrasive face from which sprang the terrible rapids that fed the valley.
Teek shivered. It was beautiful but forbidding at the same time. He didn’t know why but had he been there alone he would have been afraid. His shivering became more intense. The sun had not yet broken over the mountaintops to fill the area with its warming rays and Teek was quickly becoming chilled. As if sensing his discomfort, Tchee hopped closer to him so he could press against her warm, downy feathers. Teek could feel a low rumbling coo in her chest that made him suddenly think of his mother. He took another cleansing breath of the moist air and finally felt his stomach begin to settle.
Tchee’s beak shot down and ripped into the fish tearing a large piece of flesh from its side. She gulped it down quickly and then turned her head and stared at Teek with her crystal eyes. She cooed softly and then jerked her head up and down. Teek laughed. He knew exactly what she wanted but wasn’t sure his stomach could handle anything just yet. “After that ride you gave me, I don’t know if my gut will allow anything in it for a week.”
Tchee let out a loud cry that crashed against the canyon walls and then bobbed her head from side to side. Teek laughed weakly pressing himself harder against her warm body. Tchee regarded him for a moment longer and then shot her head forward and ripped more meat from the fishes exposed side. Teek watched her in fascination as she quickly reduced the fish to a mere head and a pile of bones. Her head darted forward one last time grabbing the last chunk of flesh from the silky white bones. The pink meat was then dropped at his feet. Teek looked at it for a moment while hearing the low rumble in Tchee’s chest and he suddenly got the feeling that this was not a request. Slowly, he reached his hand forward and picked up the tender meat. It filled both of his hands. He could feel the bird’s gaze boring into his head from above as if she were waiting for a child to make the correct choice. Teek pressed the flesh to his mouth and took a timid nibble. His stomach rumbled but made no move at rejecting the offering. He took another small bite and then another feeling his appetite and his stomach settle down. The more he ate the better he seemed to feel. Tchee seemed to lose interest after the first bite and carefully nestled herself down against Teek like a mother to her chick.
Teek lay back against her soft white feathers and gulped down the last two bites of fish. He was stuffed and actually feeling much better now than when they had first arrived. He comforted himself in the warmth of his new friend and looked about lazily feeling quite content. Suddenly the valley didn’t feel as forbidding as it had upon arrival. In fact, it felt rather peaceful. He watched as the first rays of the sun crawled down the side of the sheer mountain walls towards the grassy meadow below painting the canyon in vivid colors. Had it not been for the cold that seemed to hold on against the warmth of the golden light, the meadow would almost have been an ideal place for someone to live. Not him, of course, he was a Waseeni. The Waseeni belonged in the Teague Swamplands. But, someone else could make a wonderful home here.
The idea of home brought Teek’s thoughts full circle to his own home and his reasons for being away from it. He could have sat, he supposed, all day where he was lazily watching the sun move steadily through the meadow and up the opposite side of the canyon, but he had work to do. He had a mission to fulfill. Twee was waiting for him and counting on him. He reluctantly got to his feet and stretched his thin body. Almost immediately he felt the chill of the air embrace him sending his body into fits of shivers. Tchee look at him with her ice blue eyes. “I’ve got to get going, Tchee,” he chattered through clanging teeth. “I still have a long way to go before I can return home.”
Tchee just stared at him.
Teek sighed and thought to make hand motions to try and relay his need to his animal friend when Tchee suddenly popped to her feet. As if she had understood every word, she stretch out her wing and lowered it so he could climb onto her back. Teek shook his head amazed as he scrambled up between her shoulder blades. “You are truly amazing, Tchee,” he said burrowing into her feathers as far as he could. “It’s as if you understand my every wooooooo…” Before he could finish his sentence, Tchee sprung from the ground and into the air gaining altitude with incredible speed. Teek felt his stomach drop for a brief moment and then it all came up—everything. All the fish he had just devoured sailed into the wind and then rushed back behind him dropping in a semi-digested shower to the ground now far below. Tchee dipped to the side narrowly avoiding the mess but the sudden movement sent Teek hurling again.
It was a miserable ride for Teek from then on. The slightest movements were all that was needed to send his stomach into wrenching spasms. After the third wave of retching there was no longer anything to bring up but his stomach still tortured him with its twisting and wringing as if trying to force the last bit of substance from his body. He soon lost track of all direction, unaware of where they were flying or how long they were in the air. All he could think about now was getting back to the ground where he belonged without another fit of the dry heaves. When they finally did land all his energy was spent. The best he could manage was to merely flop over off of Tchee’s back and onto the ground not caring where he landed or what dangers might be lurking about. He was exhausted. What started as a tremendous thrill racing over the magnificent Dorian mountains had quickly become a stomach acid and fish bits bath that left him feeling like a rubbed out rag. His throat burned with the acrid taste of vomit and he longed for a small drink to clean out his mouth.
Forcing himself onto an elbow, he looked around briefly to ascertain the environment into which Tchee had set them. Tchee stood pruning herself seemingly without care as to his dreadful situation. They looked to be still somewhere in the mountains but judging from the temperature, they could not have been as high as before. Small, gnarled trees dotted the rocky landscape that revealed small pockets of grass, one of which he was lucky enough to have dropped on or his landing would have been a bit more painful. A small glimmer of water quickly caught his attention revealing a small lake at the end of a gentle slope just below him. Forcing himself upright, Teek half stumbled half crawled to the water’s edge and, without thought, dipped his head right in. The frigid water was a welcome shock that seemed to clear his mind some and revitalize his senses. He took in a small amount of water to wash out his mouth and then rolled back onto his side and looked back up the rise to where Tchee stood digging ferociously at an itch under her wing. Comforted that the large bird seemed content where she was and not thinking she would have brought them anywhere that might be dangerous, Teek closed his eyes and allowed his exhausted body to overcome him with sleep.
Teek woke with a start as a large shadow slipped across his face. He moved quickly to the side and pulled the dagger at his waste believing he was under attack. The shadow quickly slipped away uncovering the sun in a blinding flash. Jerking his arm up to his eyes Teek held his dagger in front of him waving it frantically hoping to connect with something or at least block his attacker. “Wo there now, lad,” a gravely voice rasped at his right. “There be no cause fer such things as that.”
“Who are you?” Teek asked in desperation still trying to clear his eyes and position himself out of the sun’s direct light.
“No one that deserves such a welcome as that I can assure ye,” the voice responded.
A sudden screech echoed through the air comforting Teek in its fierceness and relieving some of his anxiety. EEEEEERRRRRROOOOOOCCCCCCC! Teek backed away from the voice that had now become the dark outline of a faceless body partially blocking the blinding sun. Tchee screamed again passing low overhead causing the form to drop to the ground blinding Teek again in the sudden sunlight.
“Are ye daft boy?” the voice called up from the ground. “Git on yer belly befer that creature comes back and rips ye from the ground.”
Teek kept backing up until he felt a safe enough distance away. A large gust of wind suddenly enveloped him, sucking up particles of dirt from the ground. Tchee’s large white body quickly dropped in front of him placing herself between Teek and his assailant. With the large shadow the bird cast upon him, he was finally able to get a fair look at the man who had snuck up on him. Teek was startled by the squat, square body that rose from the ground a large axe hefted in one beefy arm and a wavy bladed dagger in the other. He had a long red beard that dropped past a rotund belly and nearly touched a silver belt buckle. A helmet covered his large head but Teek could see the bright red hair cascading out the back. Bushy eyebrows pressed down on dull gray eyes that narrowed as they measured up Tchee.
Tchee squaked a challenge and then rumbled low in her chest. Teek looked at her in surprise and then suddenly held up his hands and shouted. “Wait!” Neither opponent seemed to have heard him, both still tense and ready for blood.
“Call off yer Roc,” the squat man finally called, his eyes still locked on Tchee.
“My what?” Teek asked, genuinely confused.
“The bird you dolt,” the man responded. “What else?”
“You’re a dwarf,” Teek said dumbly his heart pounding with excitement at the prospect. He would know a dwarf anywhere from his mother’s description of the two she met on her own appeasing journey. He had always hoped to see one himself some day but had never really thought the opportunity would ever reach him, stuck in the swamplands as he had been.
“Congratulations,” said the dwarf, his axe still held at the ready his eyes hard focused on Tchee.
Tchee suddenly spread out her wings and cried an awful sound that sent a chill through Teek’s body. He had to stop this. Sheathing his dagger, he rushed forward ducking under Tchee’s enormous wing and coming up short between the two combatants. Holding up his arms he shouted. “I said wait!” Facing the dwarf he said, “Put your weapons away. She won’t back down until you do. She thinks I’m in danger. Put them away!”
“And how do I know she won’t take me head the minute I do?”
“I don’t know, but she’ll take your head if you don’t. You can be sure of that.”
The dwarf hesitated for a moment as if playing it all out in his mind. Teek turned his back on him and faced a terrifying looking Tchee. His heart skipped at the ferocity burning in the giant bird’s eyes. Holding out his hands to either side he called to her in as calm a voice as he could, though the tremble in it was obvious. “Tchee, it’s okay. He won’t hurt us.” Tchee brought her wings in slightly as the sound of metal hitting the ground suddenly rang in Teek’s ears. Then, as if nothing had just happened, Tchee folded her wings back behind her and cooed softly at him before bouncing away to the water’s edge for a drink.
Copyright Thomas Rath 2003
