Jayhaven Chronicles

The clearing was pitch black. Only a sliver of light had showed itself yet in the days that had passed since the new moon, and clouds covered what little light it provided. Several times Sedge found herself trotting face first into an oak tree. She groped around for a while until she knew by the scent of pine that she had actually infiltrated the tree line.

“Kiirion!” She called, feeling her way around. I really should have brought something to light up this Jay forsaken place. Sedge cursed in her mind. And another thing, was it Kiiri-IN, or Kiiri-ON? Whatever, it was just a name, and owl name at that.

Not only was it dark, it was freezing. The Harvest Season had long come, and the sky had already decided to spit snow at the cats below. Sedge tried to force any regret at the mission out of her head, telling herself that Rapid wouldn’t have let a little cold stop him. So she shivered and called on.

“I’m a friend of Rapid! You can come out anytime now.” Sedge mumbled the last part, shivering and feeling her lips go numb. “Come on, I can’t go back empty pawed!”

After a while, she figured Kiirion might just not be around anymore. She moaned and turned to go home, imagining her warm bed waiting for her. But how would Rapid look at her if she returned with the news? There’s nothing I can do anymore.

But just as she was about to give up, the slightest murmur of branches and wind sounded from above her. Raising her head and trying to keep the snow out of her eyes, Sedge finally saw him.

Or maybe it was a sugar glider. She really couldn’t tell.

“Who are you?” The figure hooted distrustfully. “What are you doing here so late at night? Shouldn’t you be home, your mommy giving you a bedtime story?

Oh, a wisecracker huh? Sedge rolled her eyes. “I told you, I’m a friend of Rapid. He told me to come here and find you.”

The probably-not-sugar-glider shifted, causing the whole tree to shake. “How do I know you’re not here to attack me again?”

“You said it yourself; I look like I should be home with my “Mommy.” What could I do to you?” This was sort of true. Sedge doubted even her signature Areal Offence could do anything to an owl this size.

Eventually, the owl flittered down from his lookout and landed gracefully in front of her. “What do you need me for?” His huge amber eyes glinted in the tiny slice of moonlight.

Sedge shivered again, but happily now that she had found her owl. “I was told to find you. I need your help to rescue Peak. He’s another friend of Rapid’s.”

Kiirion cocked his head. “He the skinny one?”

“Yes, and a patrol of your kind took him back to… well, that’s where you come in.” Sedge broke off a twig from a nearby sapling and drew a picture rehearsing the plan she had created. “You fly me to the Feather Realms, and get me to wherever Peak’s being held. Then, if we somehow get caught, I negotiate.” She didn’t know if she needed to dumb it down more, but Kiirion seemed to understand.

“Well, I don’t know if I can get you to exactly where he’s being held. At least not right now.” He churred with a small bit of nervous laughter. “Owls are nocturnal, remember? The whole palace will be up and about.”

Why didn’t I think of that? Sedge tried to play it off. “Well, uh, that’s fine, negotiating was the backup plan anyhow.”

Kiirion still looked a bit unsure. “Well, I suppose I can help. That is, if you are Rapid’s friend.” He fixed her in another skeptical gaze. “What’s your name anyway?”

Sedge shuffled her paws. It was pretty apparent at this point that Rapid hadn’t ever said anything about her. But that didn’t mean anything, right? And why did she even care? “My name is, uh, Holly.” She lied.

Kiirion laughed again, seeing right through her. “Well, Holly, I guess I’m your chaperone for tonight. But don’t expect Wilkka to welcome you with open wings. She’s a mean one sometimes.”

Then, without warning, the massive snowy gripped her forearms with his talons, and they dug uncomfortably into Sedge’s pelt. She screeched with outrage but they were already taking off, the drafts from Kiirion’s wings blowing her fur back. He flipped her around mid-air and they took off.

Sedge flailed and thrashed. “You rock-head! You could have told me!” She shouted over the roar of the wind. She could sense her fear scent filling the atmosphere. Her hind legs were useless as they sliced at nothing but sky, and the air grew even colder as they flew higher and higher, and then-

She could see the Feather Realms appear over the horizon.

She didn’t know what she had been expecting. A archaic cave deep in the mountains? A savage looking fort? But reality looked nothing like what she had seen in her mind’s eye.

The land was something out of a fairy tale. Snowy mountains, light woodlands, and trickling rivers dotted the landscape, and all of it was illuminated by miraculous candle-less lamps, that looked as if an aurora had been stolen from the sun and placed in a lantern. Rows of pale golden grains billowed in the night breeze, sometimes intertwined with lavender or crisp green basil, despite it not being in season anymore.

And the palace itself? Sitting high on a mountain, it’s rainbow iridescent turrets captures the moon at just the right angle. It’s mushroom cap domes combined with conch-shell spiral turrets made it look like a painting. It’s brightly lit windows casted warm shadows on the trees below.

If Sedge hadn’t been so terrified, she might have whooped with wonder.

Kiirion flipped his head down at her in a feat of great flexibility. “Cats always land on their feet, right?”

Sedge scowled as well as she could while the wind was pinning back her whiskers and ears. “Let me guess, you’re gonna drop me in a tree?”

“Wow, you’re great at guessing!” Kiirion swooped lower to the earth, hovering right above a towering oak tree. Sedge felt panic rise like bile in her throat.

“You aren’t... really going to drop me, are you?” She looked up at him with a frenzied smile.

But in a moment she got her answer.