FINALLY! New part! OMK, for a minute there I was scared that he would kill her!!!  Agh, Starseeker, post more!,!

Whoo hoo, on a writing spree today!!!

~~~

Chapter 21

Jasak takes my hand and pulls me to my feet, keeping ahold of my hand as we steady ourselves. “Hold on tight,” he warns, then twists his wrist.

The world blurs around us and it’s almost like we’re in the In-Between again, with the swirling colours and strong feeling of vertigo. I stagger on my feet, and if not for Jasak’s firm grip on my hand, I would probably have fallen over.

Then, all of a sudden, we’re back on solid ground. We’re in a different place, though. There are no trees any longer. Instead, we’re standing at the bottom of a tall, barren bluff. The wind howls amid the short grass and tugs at my hair. I close my eyes to brush my swirling hair out of my face, and when I open them again Jasak is looking at me funnily.

“What is it?” I ask, tugging at my robe a little bit.

Jasak shrugs, a bemused smile playing across his face. “Nothing, really. It’s just that most people have a more… adverse reaction to travelling by trons than you just did.”

Now it’s my turn to shrug. “I dunno. Maybe I’m just special!”

Jasak grins. “You’re definitely special, Sparrow.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Oh, we’re on to Sparrow now, are we?”

Jasak grimaces. “Not my best work. Eh, I’ll keep working.”

There’s a slight whooshing sound by my ear, and Jasak pulls me backward just as the blonde-braided girl pops out of the air. She’s followed by the red-headed girl, Blaiyre, and several others, six in all. Some of them stumble as they appear-- Blaiyre grimaces and rubs her head, a brown hair girl falls to her knees, and a blonde boy looks rather green. Only the blonde-braided girl looks unaffected, striding confidently up to us.

“How does the fledgling feel?” she asks Jasak, jerking her head towards me.

I bristle a bit at being called a fledgling, but Jasak interrupts me. “She was wonderful,” he says, shaking his head in wonder. “I haven’t seen anyone so well-adjusted since you, Ster. No nausea, no shaking. It was like she’d just taken a walk in the park!”

The blonde-braided girl studies me, then asks, “What’s your name, fledgling?”

“Zoey,” I say.

She squints her eyes at me, like she’s trying to reconcile something in her brain. “Zoey…” she mutters to herself. Then she shakes her head. “I’m Sterling,” she says. “That’s all you need to know, besides the fact that most of the band just calls me Chief.” Then she sweeps her arms out, gesturing to the forest. “Welcome to the Aerie.”

I crane my head up again, looking at the sky, then back at the bluff. It’s a beautiful bluff, sure, but nothing special about it. “Aerie..?” I ask.

Sterling barks a laugh, and Trevor bites back a grin.

“Sorry about that. We haven’t brought anyone in in so long, I forgot about the wards,” Sterling says. Then she takes my right hand, and Trevor takes my left, and together, we take a step forward. For a second, there’s resistance against me, as if there’s a secret wall. But then the hand holding Sterling’s encounters empty space and the rest of me follows. I stumble a bit, gaping in awe at the sight laid out before me.

Where before there was whistling wind and open space, there’s now a bustling community. People of all shapes and sizes dash between the buildings, chatting and laughing. There are a few running errands, their hands full of fabric or vegetables. As I watch, one brown-haired girl delivers a basketful of carrots to someone else, who’s stirring a large pot. They grunt their thanks, brush their hair out of their eyes impatiently, and add the carrots before continuing to stir. There are so many people, so many jobs, that my mind doesn’t process it right away.

These people are all… teens.

The girl who had the carrots is now leaning against a structure, chatting with another girl. Both of them look to be about 13.

The cook, stirring the pot, is maybe 15 or 16. That boy, right there, holding reams of fabric, looks 17.

I turn towards Jasak, face full of wonder at the sight before me. He laughs a little bit.

“They’re all teenagers!” I exclaim, and Jasak nods.

“That’s about the age that we tend to pick up,” he says. “We do get adults and younger kids occasionally, but they almost always choose to leave and start a new life. It’s the teens that can’t. They don’t want to forget the life they had, forget their deceased family and friends. So they stay, and are part of this band.”

I open my mouth to ask another question, but something knocks me off my feet and onto my back. I put my arms up, preparing for an attack, but the only attack I get is a large, slobbery tongue. I giggle, something I never do, as the tongue licks and licks and tickles my arms.

“Lance! Get off our guest!” Sterling shouts, and pulls the animal off of me. I sit up and see that ‘Lance’ is a large, thin dog, similar to a greyhound. He’s brown and white, with large chocolate-brown eyes and a lolling tongue. Now, he’s sitting on the ground next to Sterling, leaning against her legs contentedly and panting.

Sterling laughs a little bit, the first time I’ve seen her do anything but scowl. She looks so much more relaxed here, in the Aerie, than she did out in the open. This is her home, I realize. This is where she feels safe.

“It’s funny,” Jasak remarks, his smile smirking up. “Lance doesn’t really like anyone but Sterling.”

As if to demonstrate, Jasak holds out his hand to the dog, who lifts his lip in something akin to a snarl. Sterling smiles too, but it’s emptier. “Funny,” she echoes, looking at me weirdly again. Then she shakes her head. “What did you say your last name was again?”

I shrink a little bit. “I… didn’t say,” I say quietly. “I don’t have one.”

Sterling nods, taking this in. Her face has none of the pity that people normally have when I say that, and my already considerable respect for her grows.

“I hope you will choose to stay and find a new family with us,” she says simply, then walks away. Lance whines a little, looking at me, then follows Sterling.

I turn towards Jasak to find him looking at me. “What is it?” I ask.

“Are-- are you going to stay?” he asks, sounding nervous for the first time since I’ve met him.

I shrug, giving him a small smile. “I don’t know, but it’s looking likely, yeah. I don’t really have anywhere else to go.” My heart pangs at my words, but it’s true. I have no way to get back to Earth, no way to contact them. My old life is dead. Gone. And it’s about time I realized that.

Jasak smiles, his grin lighting up my mood like sunshine. “I was hoping you’d say that! I can’t wait to show you all around camp. Come on!”

He grabs my hand and practically drags me with excitement towards one of the buildings, talking all the way. “Here’s the healer’s space. I help Maylene out when I can, cause it’s always so busy in there and she could use an extra hand-- haha, no pun intended.” He lets go of my hand to open the flap to the tent and calls, “Maylene? Are you in here?”

I hear rustling inside the building and then a curly haired girl pokes her head out. “Jasak, what are you doing here?” she asks in surprise. “I thought you were on a hunt with Sterling!”

Jasak nods, his hair flopping into his eyes. He runs his hand through it absentmindedly and bursts out with, “Well, we were, but now we’re back, and look who we found!” He pulls me forward and Maylene’s eyes widen. “Why, hello there, fledgling,” she says, coming fully out of the tent. I now understand Jasak’s earlier pun-- Maylene’s right hand is missing, a horrible scar stretching across her forearm. Instead of trying to hide it, her sleeves are actually cut off, putting her arm in full view. When she notices me looking, I blush and look away, but Maylene laughs a little.

“It’s okay,” she says, smiling. “I’m used to it. I’m Maylene, by the way. I’m sort of the unofficial healer here.”

“I’m Zoey,” I say, matching her smile with one of my own.

Maylene jerks her head towards the structure in the silence that follows, and she says, “I was actually working on something, so if you’ll excuse me…”

Jasak takes a hasty step back. “Oh yeah, of course! Go ahead.”

Maylene smiles at me again. “I hope to see you again, Zoey-- but not in my house!” Then she ducks back inside, and the flap closes with a small thwap behind her.

Jasak turns back to me, grinning a bit from her joke. “Maylene is fun, isn’t she?” he asks me.

I nod. “Yeah, yeah. She’s pretty chill.”

Jasak frowns. “She’s what?”

“Chill. You know, fun? Laid back?” I say, gesturing with my hands.

Jasak nods, still looking a little confused. “Sure, if you say so. Anyway, on with the tour!”

He shows me the rest of the camp, introducing me to everyone he sees in a whirlwind of faces and names. Most are friendly, but a few scowl and mutter about “yet another fledgling”. We end our tour just as the sun is beginning to set, bathing the bluff in a wash of soft orange. Jasak stares dreamily at the sunset, the light turning his angled face into a series of soft planes.

“This is my favourite colour, you know,” he says, jerking his chin towards the sunset. “A soft orange like that, especially when paired with a dark hunter green. The combination is just so magnificent, in an unexpected way.”

I nod and lean on a building’s wall next to him, turning my face into the soft glow. “I think my favourite colour is the deep velvet blue of the sky, when everyone else has gone to bed and it’s just you and the stars, alone in the moonlight.”

Jasak nods, his attention still on the sunlight. “Beautiful, isn’t it,” he says. “The sky, I mean. Whatever colour it is, wherever you are, it’s always there, always constant. Even when things are turned so sideways you can’t tell which way is up, and you think there’s no way out, the sky is always there, leading you on.”

I nod, and we stand there in companionable silence until the sun is low on the horizon and the sky is a soft shade of evening violet. Then Jasak turns to me, one half of his face in deep shadow, and says, “I suppose I’d better show you to your quarters for the night, shouldn’t I? I think Sterling probably put you in with Maylene-- that’s where she usually puts fledglings until they make their decision.”

He takes me by the hand and leads me back through the orderly maze of buildings. My mind is spinning from all the different twists and turns, but Jasak keeps going confidently until we reach the healer’s space again. Even though complete darkness has now almost fallen, I can see the shape of it, and realize that it’s one of the largest structures in the entire Aerie. I suppose that makes sense, since many people have to fit in it at once for treatment and care. This time, Jasak stps politely just outside the flap and taps on it. Maylene pokes her head out, her curly hair piled in a knot on the top of her head. She relaxes when she sees it’s just Jasak and I.

“Oh, hi,” she says. “I suppose Sterling sent you to room with me?”

I nod. “Uh, yeah, I think so.”

Jasak gestures me forward and I follow Maylene inside her home, but pause at the doorway. “Good night, Jasak,” I say.

He grins, his smile arching up more on the right. “G’night, Zoey. Sweet dreams.” Then he heads into the maze of buildings and disappears into the growing darkness.

I turn towards the interior of Maylene’s house but hesitate. Somehow, everything was much more comforting when Jasak was here. Now, the shadows loom out at me, looking like demons and lanbai.

Suddenly, the shadows shrink, and Maylene’s face appears in the light of the lantern she’s holding. She gestures towards the back of her home, where I can see a ladder. “Coming?” she asks me, and I obediently follow her up the ladder, into a room with several bunk beds. She gestures towards the one on the far wall. “You can take that one, if you want. The others have been used recently by other fledglings. I’ll be in the next room if you need anything, okay?”

“Okay,” I echo, drifting towards the bed she pointed at. I climb up to the top bunk, which has been freshly made with soft sheets and a think fur blanket. The light disappears as Maylene goes into the other room, and the room is bathed in darkness and shadows once more. But I have no time to be afraid, because the roof of Maylene’s home begins to glow. Someone’s painted constellations and stars on the ceiling, and with a quiet cry of delight, I spot familiar constellations. Over in the corner is the distinctive pattern of Canis Major and Canis Minor, also known as the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper. Across the room is the constellation of Gemini, the twin constellation. And painted above me in a swirling row are the three stars that mark Orion’s belt.

As I slip off into sleep, comforted by the familiar constellations, my last thought is I’m finally home.

~~~

This is completely raw, completely unedited work, so any critique y'all have is greatly appreciated!

~Starseeker 

A few times in there, I said Jasak's name was Trevor. That is because Jasak is based off of Vyolette's AE, Trevor, with her full knowledge and permission. So anytime I write Trevor, it's Jasak and I made a mistake. :)

~Starseeker 

Wow.

... Wow? That's all you have to say??

Um, yeah. That's a little weird reading about me, under a different name, and what I'm doing with Zoey! Like, when I'm standing right here!!!! 

True.  And Blaiyre, too. 

Yeah, and Blaiyre. That definitely seems like something Blaiyre would say. And me. Wow.

Apparently, that's his only reaction XD Wow.  

AMAZING!

cant wait for more!!!!!!  

This is so good!

When I wake up the next morning, it’s to loud thunks from the next room over.

I rub my bleary eyes, clearing the sleep out of them, and roll over. However, the top bunk of the bed is quite narrow, and with a thunk I roll right off the bed and onto the floor.

“Ow…” I moan. My legs are tangled in the long robe that Abbah gave me and my arms are throbbing painfully, having caught my fall.

The thunks from the next room pause, and I hear footsteps. Then Maylene pokes her curly-haired head around the doorframe. Her eyes widen when she sees me, and she rushes over, bending down to help me up.

“Oh, Zoey, what happened?” she asks, setting me upright and disentangling my legs.

I blush a little. “I… fell off the top bunk, actually. Nothing major.”

Maylene laughs, then puts an embarrassed hand over her mouth. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have laughed. But I’m guessing you’re not used to sleeping so high?”

I shake my head, laughing with her. “Nope. Not even close.”

Maylene shakes her head, still grinning. “Here, let me check you out anyway. I want to make sure you’re not seriously hurt, though I doubt you are. You’ll need to be in prime condition today.”

I follow her into the front room, where stacks of herbs are haphazardly set everywhere. In the center of it all sits a large bowl with mashed-up herbs inside. A pestle sits next to the bowl, and I assume that the thunking that woke me up was Maylene mixing the herbs.

She gestures for me to take a seat on the table, brushing some herbs into a basket and placing them onto a neatly labelled shelf. I do as she says, hopping onto the table, and Maylene pokes gently at me with her one good arm, testing my limbs for pain.

“I don’t see anything wrong,” Maylene says kindly. “I think you’re all good to go!”

“Thanks, Maylene,” I say, hopping back off the table-- or trying to, at least. My feet get caught in the robe and I almost trip, but Maylene catches me again. She frowns.

“I see a problem now,” she says, eyeing my robe. “There’s no way you can keep up with Sterling today in that. I didn’t have time to fix your old clothes yet, so you’ll have to borrow some of mine. Wait here.”

She disappears up the ladder, and I can hear rustling and the creak of a door. Then Maylene comes back down with fabric folded over her arms.

“Lucky for you, we’re about the same size,” she says, looking me up and down. “I’m slightly smaller, though, so hopefully this will work.” She hands me the clothes, which I can see contains a loose pair of pants and a top. Then Maylene gestures towards the ladder. “You can change up there, and come down when you’re ready,” she says.

“Thanks again, Maylene,” I say, and she smiles. “You’re welcome, truly. It’s not every day we get a fledgling that will stay.”

I smile back and then head up the ladder, making sure to keep my long robe away from my feet. Once upstairs, I strip out of the robe and fold it neatly. Then I pull on the pants and shirt. Maylene’s right-- she is a little smaller than I am, and the pants stop a few inches above my ankles. But the top is the real problem. It’s two layers: a tank top style under layer and a thicker outer layer made of some sort of linen. The outer layer has some sort of lacing up the back, that try as I might, I can’t figure out. I decide to ask Maylene for help.

“Hey, Maylene?” I ask, heading down the ladder. “There’s a tie at the back of this shirt and it won’t…”

I trail off as I reach the main room. Because it isn’t Maylene sitting at the table-- it’s Jasak, perched on the edge and holding an apple. “Hey, Zoey,” he says, heedless of the fact that I’m blushing like crazy.

“Uh, hey, Jasak,” I say. “Do you know where Maylene went?”

“Yeah,” he says, hopping off the table. “She had to go ask Sterling something. Maybe I can help? Something about your shirt?”

I shake my head. “Nah, I’m good. Just tell Maylene I’m upstairs, please.”

Jasak shrugs. “Suit yourself, but I do know how to tie a mean bow. I have sisters. Had them growing up, I mean. Not anymore. Not anyone besides Blaiyre.” He looks down at his feet.

I stop at the base of the ladder, feeling sorry for him. “Well, if you want to…” I say. “There’s laces up the back of this shirt that I can’t reach.”

Jasak nods and takes a step towards me. I turn, and he laces up the outer linen part quickly. Then he pats me on the shoulder and says, “There you go!”

I turn back around, shooting him a quick smile. “Thanks, Jasak. And, um, I’m sorry about your sisters.”

Jasak smiles sadly. “Thanks, Zoey. But it won’t bring them back.”

Maylene comes in then, a small smile on her face. “Sterling needs to see both of you,” she says, gesturing with her one good hand. “Something about the decision and hallucinating.”

Jasak and I exchange glances, and I almost smack myself in the forehead. Of course. These people don’t believe I’m from Earth-- Sterling thinks that I’m still hallucinating. I’ll just have to convince her otherwise-- even if it means lying about where I’m from.

“Thanks for the clothes, Maylene,” I say, but she waves me off. “Oh, no problem! As soon as I can get your old clothes fixed I’ll get those back to you.” Then she straightens up. “Oh! I almost forgot. You’ll need these.” She hands me a pair of worn leather boots, and I pull them on, hopping ungainly on one foot to manage it. Jasak tries, and fails, not to smile.

When I’m done, he says, “Ready?” and I nod.

He takes me by the elbow and leads me out the door, shouting a quick goodbye to Maylene. Then we go through the maze of buildings again, but I can see that there aren’t nearly as many as I thought there were last night. We end up near the center of it all, by one of the largest buildings. Sterling is standing in front of it, her long braid slung over her shoulder as she talks to another member of the Eagles. She gestures back towards Maylene’s house, almost forcefully, and the blonde guy she’s speaking with nods and jogs away, giving Jasak a polite nod as he passes. Then Sterling turns to face us, sighing.

“I had to tell Maeve to go to Maylene for his wrist,” she says, running her fingers through the short strands of hair that have fallen out of her braid. “He jammed it on the last raid and I don’t want to risk injuring it any further unless Maylene says it’s okay.” She shakes her head, brushing her hair out of her eyes, and says to me, “I take the safety of my Eagles very seriously. That’s why I asked Maylene to take you in, to make certain you weren’t permanently psychologically damaged, and that it was just the shock of yesterday that made you delirious.”

Then, turning to Jasak, Sterling adds, “What’d Maylene say about her? All good?”

I bristle slightly-- Maylene was watching me that whole time? And Jasak wasn’t in her kitchen by chance this morning-- he was getting a report on me for Sterling?

Jasak nods his head, a small smile on his face. “All clean, Ster. No nightmares, no lasting hallucinations.” Sterling nods, taking this in, and turns back to me.

“So, fledgling,” she says, “I hear you want to stay. Are you sure? It’ll be tough, these first few weeks. You’ll have to earn your spot, and you won’t be an active hunter at first. Probably on kitchen duty, basic hunting training, helping Maylene, things like that. I don’t want any dead weight on my team-- everyone does their share. You ready for that?”

I nod. “Yeah, I want to stay. I mean, I’m ready! Yes! I can do whatever! Whatever you need me to do, I mean. Yes.” I trail off.

Sterling examines me, walking in a circle around me once, looking at me from all angles. I nervously follow her with my eyes, hoping she likes what she sees.

Apparently she does, because she nods, once, and says, “I think Arlo could use some help today. Jasak, can you find Blaiyre or someone to take her, because I need to speak to you. About-- about that one thing.”

Jasak’s face takes on a worried look, and he steps forward a little, reaching out for her arm. “Of course, Ster.” Then he turns back to me. “Hey, Zoey, will you be okay if I send you with someone else? Arlo can be… a bit much. He’s safe though.”

I nod, not wanting to look weak in front of Sterling. “Yeah, of course!”

Jasak breaks out into a relieved grin, then calls an Eagle over. “Hey, Ty, come here, will you?”

A blonde-haired boy sprints over to Jasak, his tanned arms full of firewood. “Yeah, hey Jasak, what’s up?” he asks.

Jasak grins. “We have a new fledgling. Ty, meet Zoey. Zoey, this is Tyrian, better known as Ty.”

Ty bobs his head at me since his arms are full of wood. “Hey, nice to meet you, Zoey,” he says.

I smile and do a little half-wave. “Yeah, nice to meet you too,” I say.

Jasak adds, “Hey, Ty, she needs to work with Arlo today, but she doesn’t know where the Nest is. Can you take her there?”

Ty nods again. “Yeah, sure, Jasak. This way, Zoey! Bye, Chief.”

He leads me off in the opposite direction as Maylene’s house, and as I start to follow him, I see Jasak’s face lose its smile and slip back into worry as he turns towards Sterling, and they both lean in to speak quietly to each other.

I don’t know what it is that’s bothering Sterling, but it can’t be good.

YAY! Finally, a new part! Awesome sausome, Starseeker! Anxiously waiting for more!!!

Yay a new part!!! XD That part with Zoey needing help with her shirt and Jasak shamelessly offering his assistance made me laugh for some reason. XD So that's why he needed to know how to tie a bow! XD Can't wait for more!!!!   

*pokes head out of manuscript* This is...INCREDIBLE! You did an amazing job! 

Previously known as Young Writer 

Hey Admins, I don't know what's going on. I can't see the post that I posted middle of the day yesterday, nor the replies made by LicensedBookworm, Vyolette, or unsuspectingstrytllr. Do you have any way I could trouble shoot this? I can see new posts posted on other threads, just not this one. Thank you!

~Starseeker 

Try a google search. In the search box, type

site:cricketmagkids.com text you want to find

Be sure to leave a space after the com

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