Rabacoon exerpt: Jen and Adam

I was thinking of snow, but felt very warm and very soft when I began to
wake up. Then I realized I was surrounded by white fur and feathers. I sat up
very quickly and saw that I was tucked under a massive wing and sleeping on a
large, downy leg with my head mere inches from a pitch black hoof the size of
an anvil. Had I better sense, I wouldn't have moved so quickly, but fortunately
for me Jentax was already awake. Once I was standing, her massive neck
arched which moved her face in my direction. I couldn't tell if she was actually
smiling, but at the very least I could tell she was amused.
"Good morning, Adam," she cooed, bringing her nose closer to my face. I
had expected her to stop but instead she put her huge mouth over my head
and I could feel something gently pulling my hair. Once I realized she was
licking me I tried to pull away but found I was pretty much trapped in the crook
of her wing.
"Agh!" I yelled, putting up my arms, "Stop it!"
She pulled her face away and her sides rolled with soft laughter, "I believe
that's what people in your world call a cowlick?"
I started to run my fingers through my hair to inspect the damage then
stopped, opting for ignorance. "Ewe, that was so gross!"
"Well, young one, that's what the furry ones do to their kits when they need
a bath, and you do need a bath." Jentax began to uncoil her body from around
me and stood to her feet, leaving me teetering for balance. The Featherback
shook her mane and stretched her wings over me. "My goodness," she
exclaimed, "you're as restless as a Rabacoon kit when you sleep and when you
wake you're as wobbly as a hatchling colt."
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"Yeah, well you should see me when I'm in my own element," I replied with
jest, though I felt slightly more than grumpy."I have it on good authority that I
can snore; like a lumberjack."
For a moment Jentax was still and she just stared at me, "lie-kah-lumbajeck?"
"Someone who cuts down trees… forget it; where are we anyway?"
I pushed her wing out of my way and looked around at a dimly lit, yellow
sandstone cave. My breath caught in my throat; the last thing I had heard from
Quinten had been a warning not to take rides from Skyback….or was it at least
a warning not to trust them? All of them?
Morning light was coming in at the mouth of the cave which was where I
moved to first, seeing as no one else seemed to be there with us. When I
looked out I thought my heart would stop. We were along the canyons, and I
could see the whitewater where The Three Rivers met but we were up high, very
high and on the other side from where the bulk of the city where we were last
night. I turned back to Jentax, then looked around the cave one more time.
"Where are we?" I asked walking back in, toward her. "Why did you bring
me here?"
Jentax looked puzzled and – for the first time since I had met her – slightly
flustered. "I…was…I…just." She threw her head up and down a bit before
finally turning just enough that I could see a pack and the oar Mundaka had
given me.
I cautiously moved toward it.
The pack was new. In it were the clothes Slitchwistic had saved for me,
some dried, purple beans, bread, and something that resembled cheese…real
cheese. In a side pocket was the sleeve and parchment Hennepel had given me
and a long kitchen knife with a note wrapped around it.
It was written in English;
My Dear Briarling,
I am sorry we did not get to spend more time with each other, but from
what my husband tells me you are a special child even among humans, and I
believe you carry a great responsibility for our world. I will tell you as I have
told my own kits; keep a good head on your shoulders and no one will be able
to remove it off your shoulders. Mundaka thinks I shouldn't have written that,
but I don't care.
I chuckled slightly, finding it hard to imagine Mundaka ever being
conservative about anything.
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We also understand that your small band may be burdened by the loss of
Tamek, so we have convinced Jentax to accompany you. She does not mind
carrying both you and Quinten, despite the fact that it is beyond dispute that
Bandletwine could carry the entire group singlehandedly. I laugh to myself as I
think about it, but I trust you won't tell him. Being from the plains, I have
never had to ride an Equine and have no desire to.
My husband tells me the note is becoming too lengthy so I shall end with
two requests; the knives I have given each of you with the packs are very sharp
so please do not hurt yourselves, but feel free to hurt others who seek to harm
you.
The last request is this, "Please tell Slitchwistic that all is well on the plains,
and Duodena sends her love."
It was nice to have seen you Adam,
Gwinhawf
I wrapped the note back around the knife and picked up the bag. When I
turned around, Jentax had her back to me and her wings folded tight, her neck
was arched like a swan's and her ears were laid flat against the back of her
head. I had learned enough to know that this was a sign of severe agitation
and a warning. I started to approach her cautiously then stopped.
"Jentax, are you going to kick me?"
"I haven't decided yet," she replied.
"I'm sorry…"
She whirled around and let out a fierce noise almost like a roar and I was
suddenly face to face with her, literally. "You have no idea how angry I am at
you right now, you Son of a Briar! You thought I had kidnapped you!"
I raised my hands and backed up as close to a wall as I could; "I'm sorry!
I'm sorry!"
"And now you think I'm going to hurt you!" she yelled.
I nodded, unable to do much else. "Yeah, a little bit."
She stomped her hoof and it rumbled through the whole cave, I closed my
eyes as the wind from her nostrils blew full into my face.
"I AM NOT GOING TO HURT YOU!"
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"Okay," I stammered, lifting my fingers to her nostrils. "It's okay; I believe
you." Before I realized what I was doing my fingers had touched her soft
muzzle and I fought against the urge to pull them away.
"If you were going to hurt me you would have done it by now." I looked up
into her eyes and forced my hands to move up the sides of her face. "I'm sorry
I thought the w-w-worst, p-p-please," of all the damn times to get my stutter
back. I swallowed hard.
Jentax's ears were still plastered against her head but her eyes were looking
at me curiously, "What are you doing with your speech?"
I could feel beads of sweat forming on my forehead as I tried to speak
again, "I-i-it's called a st-t-tuter."
One ear swiveled forward and she shoved her massive nose into my
stomach and chest, "You are chattering as if you are cold yet you smell like salt
as if you're too warm and are sweating."
I put a hand to my forehead and wiped away the sweat. "Jentax," I began,
"you're not going to leave me, are you?"
She pulled her head back as if I was a bee. "What?" she said as she backed
away.
My heart leapt into my throat as I realized I must have offended her again
but before I could say anything else she lowered her head back down to my
level and unfurled her wings.
"You…you want me to stay with you?"
I couldn't help but feel slightly bewildered; I hadn't known anyone with
such a combustible personality. She had gone from a raging tyrant to
something that looked like a puppy begging to be scratched.
I nodded. "Of course I do."
"Oh," a shudder went down her entire body and she let out a huge sigh.
"You're not just saying that, are you? I wasn't sure if you would want me to
come with you or not. All the other Equine always believed I was too moody
and reckless for any rider, let alone a Briarling. Mundaka was the only creature
brave enough to train me…when he told me I should go with you and Quinten I
really…well, I was surprised. Then when you woke up and were afraid I…I
guess I just got a little…"
"It's all right, Jentax," I replied, closing the gap between us. At least now I
knew where all the extra affection had come from and what the root of her
moodiness was. However, the more she talked about her inexperience, the
more my confidence in her was challenged. She lowered her head into my hand
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and I scratched just above her eye. She let out a low moan of approval and
nodded her head slightly.
"You Briarlings are good at that."
"I'm sorry I was nervous at first," I whispered."It's just that the last thing I
heard Quinten say was to be careful around the other two Featherback; Russem
and Malik. He doesn't trust them."
"Yes he discussed it with me last night before he had me bring you here. I
think it's one of the reasons why he wanted me to come."
For a very brief moment I remembered the waterfall and his words of
rebuke at her, and then her recent admission of the fact that others had
expressed doubts in her ability to keep a rider. I wondered if trust on the
ground was worth sacrificing safety in flight. Then she buried her nose in my
chest again until I wrapped my arms around it.
"I am glad to be your partner, Adam."
"Okay," I said rubbing her mane. "Ditto, just don't give me anymore
cowlicks. Got it?"
"Interesting," she said kneeling and bending her wing low to the ground so I
could climb onto her back. "I would have thought you would have asked for
something different, like for me to not do any free falls or rolls or…."
"What?" I asked stepping away from her wing. "You're not serious, are you?"
Her eyelids closed halfway and she nudged me with her nose, "Do I get to
cowlick you?"
"This is extortion," I replied, "and no."
"Fine human, have it your own way," she turned away and I started to climb
on her back once again but stopped cold when she said, "You'll want to tuck
that paddle of yours in between your pack and your back; it's going to be a
bumpy ride."
I sighed and put a hand on her neck, "Please Jen, I'm tired, I'm dirty, and I
have horse's snot in my hair, can we just go to wherever the others are?"
She turned her head back to me and nudged me with her nose. "Of course!
Thank you for asking."
I clamored up and found my seat just above her wings and folded my legs
under the crook of them just in case she decided to try anything funny. Once
there, she stood to her feet and I closed my eyes. I figured being temporarily
blind would have its advantages at this particular time.
She began running forward again; she wasn't as tall as Tamek so her pace
was shorter and a bit more jarring. Her hooves echoed off the cave walls and
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then stopped about the same time that the wind began rushing past my ears. I
could feel the sun on my back and hear the many different waters churning
under me as Jentax opened her wings and sailed over the chasm.
"You should open your eyes, Briarling," she chortled. "If our world is about
to end then this will be the last time you'll look on this place."
I took in a deep breath first then forced my eyes open and looked around
me. We were directly in the center of the mists of frothing water. The bare
rock walls of the basin shone in patches of white, gold, and gray in the sun. It
looked like a quilt. I smiled.
"You know, just a few days ago I never could have imagined this, and now I
can't imagine it ever being gone."
"Adam, what did you call me back in the cave?"
"I…don't remember calling you anything."
"You said my name, but not my entire name."
It took me a moment but then I remembered; "Oh, I called you Jen. I'm
sorry about that it's just more of a common name where I'm from."
"Jen….I think I like that name. You may call me that from now on if you
wish."
I thought about it for a moment and ran my hand through her hair. I
wondered about the futility of making so many friends and learning so much, if
everyone was just going to die anyway, but I knew now was not the time to
mention it.