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Veera dove into the air, arms parting the sky to let her by. The wind rushed to greet her as she maneuvered around the trees. The Great Tree was referred to in singularity but looking at it below revealed a forest of trees all intertwined together. Otis had once told Veera about it but she had never seen it for herself. Trunks of redwood curved and twisted, until differentiating between one and another was impossible. Her brother mentioned that they were a single entity all connected by their roots to create the Great Tree itself. If one were damaged the whole tree felt its pain. The Great Tree occupied a large part of the world, roughly one-third. Where its trunk didn't reside its roots reached further. The leaves reached into the sky, providing space for all the creatures to rest. The roots held soil in and reached the sea. There was no area that the tree could not reach in one form or another. Veera couldn't be sure that unseen parts of the tree didn't reside in the sea she had heard so much about.
Veera's descent was fast. From this height, she couldn't see the ground. Otis had estimated ten minutes, which counted in the slower descent they would take closer to the ground. Once the ground was visible they would cut their free fall with their wings bit by bit. As fast as they were falling the ground was still not visible. The trunks just extended until they blurred together. Branches whizzed past her as she concentrated on not colliding with any vegetation. She could barely make out what they looked like.
Around her Veera's party was faring similarly. Kathrine rolled and dodged the foliage better than Cade at least. Forced to carry Jun Cade's descent was less than graceful. Every limb seemed to hit the pair and with that came a fair bit of pain. Jun looked pale in the face while Cade appeared resigned to his fate. For all they struggled though it was Damon who took the brunt of the hurt. Never as agile in the air as his peers Damon not only got hit by the occasional branch but seemed to purposefully fly into everyone close to him. Veera knew they should have chosen a different path of descent but time was critical. Still, seeing her friend so battered and bruised set a twinge of guilt right through her.
"Ten..."
"Eleven.."
"Twelve..."
Veera counted the seconds to time their descent. It was not as accurate as she'd have liked but it was better than pure guesswork. Counting down she gave the signal for their first break in speed. Stretching her wings out she slowly allowed the wind to pool under them. Creating a pocket of air. As she felt the pressure build she went slack losing the air and starting the process over again. If they didn't release the pressure with their speed the wind would rip right through their wings. All of them had trained in freefalling decent. Some had even learned the hard way to relieve air pressure. Rips in wings never healed back the same as before.
What was once just a blur of trees came into focus. Deep green moss stitched limb and soil together in flowing seams. Small mushrooms fluoresced in the shade of the canopies. The dimming of light had gone unnoticed by Veera in their gradual descent to the bottom. Jagged stones lay on the ground a stark contrast to Veera's canopied home. An unfamiliar feeling swelled in Veera. It gripped her heart and poisoned her limbs. She found herself slightly shaking with unease at the new surroundings The flock made one last push into the air before landing. Veera's feet were scratched with various rocks as she bore her full weight on unclothes feet.
Wincing Veera turned to access her friends. Kathrine had taken a few scratches but was otherwise unfazed. Damon looked like a hot mess but wasn't seriously injured. He looked and sounded loud but usually, he could avoid serious damage. Veera had caught on to that during their sparing sessions. Jun was unscratched, surprisingly enough. Although, Veera saw why when she looked at Cade.
"Are you alright? Those are some pretty deep gashes. Did you break anything?" Kathrine said fretting over Cade's arms where blood was seeping. Looking at the rips where the limps had cut Veera couldn't help but wince. They were already starting to bruise around the wounds.
"I'm fine," Cade said gingerly pulling away from Kathrine and reaching into his sack for the first aid he brought. They might have packed swiftly and lightly but he knew what was essential.
"Sure, let me help you wrap it." Kathrine's face was tight with concern but after years of being partners, she knew how to pick her battles with her tight-lipped companion.
During their exchange, Jun had begun surveying the area. To Veera's surprise, he had gotten quite far from the flock before she noticed him.
"What are you doing?" Veera called out to Jun, a tad louder than she had intended.
Upon her shout, Jun's head whipped around. He quickly joined the group again. Gesturing them all to be quiet.
"I need you all to be quiet and listen," Jun whispered in a rush. "This isn't you're peaceful village. The ground under is strife with infighting. I was hoping we'd land on neutral ground but we haven't. It's going to take a couple of days to reach my people safely and I need you all to do as I say."
"You didn't tell us your people were fighting." Veera cast an accusatory glance at Jun.
"My people are not fighting." Jun said "There is a rebel faction leading people astray. trust me we wouldn't need the help of you birds if we were all united." Jun started walking fast. His feet were uncovered but he didn't seem to mind as Veera did, having built up the callouses for it much longer than her.
"Where are you going?" Veera asked trampling everything in her path.
"To a path where your clumsiness won't get us killed. Follow me." Jun said.
"FWwwhh" Damon whistled. "No need to be so mean dude. Veera is far from clumsy, I know because I'm clumsy myself." Veera's cheeks lit up with Damon pointing out the insult Jun so casually threw her way.
"It's not mean it's objective. There's no way we can be safe here in the open with a heard of birds flapping about announcing their presence." Jun said as the aforementioned heard of birds trampling a path behind him.
"Alright but where can we be loud and not get caught?" Kathrine asked. "If we can't mask our presence like you Mr. Twinkle Toes then how do we go unheard?"
"Easy we follow something that would cover the sounds. There's a close stream that will be loud enough to cover your sounds." Jun stated lifting a branch to clear the way.
"Wouldn't that put us at risk being so in the open and at a source of water?" Cade stated.
"No. The streams here are twisted, following the roots of the tree and veering sharply. When it gets to open or near a residence I'll try to mask our sounds another way. For now, this will do." With that Jun stopped explaining himself. The group got quiet with concentration. Now that they were aware of their noise levels they did their best to mask the sounds of their feet. Little helped though. Only time would completely train them to be silent on their feet.
As they traveled Veera watched the wildlife. It was different than her home. Where bright vibrant colors dominated here muted and dulled colors blended in a harmony of earthly tones. Greens and browns faded in and out. The animals kept their distance due to the noise but what she could see was strange. Sharp, rough exteriors and camouflaged colors. Unlike above where animals wanted to be noticed and flaunted here they appeared to want safety. The few she saw were all unremarkable. Now and then though she would see a pop of color on a branch or stone. It made her want to look more. Like a hidden treasure.
The world was so different Veera couldn't help but gawk. She understood Jun's reaction now. Her home must have been just as marvelous to him as this new one was to her. Still, as she inspected and absorbed the world before her she couldn't help her mind from questioning. A seed of doubt grew in her towards Jun. She didn't appreciate him not fully preparing the group for what was down to her. The more she thought about it the more she wanted to pack her bags and get them all back to safety. It was only the memory of him saving Kathrine that swayed Veera from turning back. She couldn't believe that anyone wishing them harm would save a girl they didn't know was friend or foe. That, and the image of the Tainted's smile as he lunged at her played through her mind.
No one against that evil could be bad right? Veera thought.
"Not all who have good intentions bring peace child." The wind interjected.
What do you mean? Veera questioned. If Jun doesn't wish me harm how can he be bad?
"Many people hurt others with good intentions. Many more cause it with carelessness. There is always a risk. A proper leader knows how to weigh them. A great leader knows when to take them." The wind advised.
Ever the sage huh? Veera replied. When do you take them then?
"When the other option means compromising that which is vital."
Odd, What if the risk is great? Veera was thrown off.
"That's when a proper leader becomes a great leader." The wind faded out as Veera was left to her thoughts.
A rushing sound treated Veera's ears as they came upon the first stream. It was beautiful. Clear blue water trickled and flowed down and around the trunks of the Great Tree. Luscious green moss lined the bed of the stream around the branches and roots protecting it from erosion. Yellow orbs drifted by eliminating the stream enough to see strange schools of fish battling the current upstream and over the small drop in water. The scene was surreal to Veera.
"Welcome to my land," Jun said guiding them with a face full of pride as her flock looked at a new and beautiful world they had yet to scratch the surface of. Seeing it Veera felt excitement, but also a growing sense of unease. Would she be able to lead her friends safely somewhere so unfamiliar to her? She hoped so.
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