YTZ#10:

The High Flying Conclusion

Catch up on Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 or Part 5 if you missed them.

Now on to our story.

(What follows is a fictional account.)

The Birds of the Basin, Part 6: The Basin

“

The Basin was riotous that day.

The Talonguard hovered on an outcropping of the mountains overlooking the Rage Fest, which had erupted into a terrible battle.

The storks, Saddlebill and Shoebill, and Demoiselle the crane, tried to figure out what to do.

“Bird, wait until Great Blue hears about this,” Shoebill groaned.

“Shoe, it’s not over yet,” Saddle said. “Let’s see how this ends before we give up.”

Demoiselle added her thoughts, “If we can get their attention somehow, distract the fighting and try to talk…”

“We’ve already tried talking,” Shoebill intoned. “See how it worked?” he asked while gesturing with his wings towards the mayhem below.

“Yes, but she’s right on at least part of that,” Saddle tried. “We do need to find some way to stop them. Somehow get something big enough, loud enough, I don’t know, just something that will get their attention…”

“Over all this noise?” Shoe continued.

“Well, I don’t know, Shoe,” Saddlebill went off on him, “at least we’re trying to figure something out. All you’re doing is complaining. Like always. What do you ever do to help when we work with you?”

“Oh, so that’s what this is about?” Shoebill scoffed back. “You never did like me, did you? I could always tell. But you never say anything. You just act like we get along when you can’t stand me, which is worse. If you don’t want to be friends, that’s fine. But orders are orders. It’s not like I want to be stuck with you, either.”

“What’s wrong with me?” Saddle asked.

“That, exactly,” Shoe replied. “You’re so haughty, so full of yourself. ‘Oh, look at me, I’m Saddlebill, I can’t do anything wrong, everybody loves me, everybody wants to be me!’ Pfaw! You don’t know it, but we all laugh at you when you’re not around.”

“You do?” Saddle said, seeming truly offended. “Well, you should hear the things birds say about you, Shoebill. I hate to even have to call you Bill…”

“Why you!” Shoe started to ruffle his feathers and move towards Saddlebill.

“Boys!” shouted Demoiselle. “I’ve heard enough out of you. Acting like school yard children. Really. Maybe you should both jump down there and fight it out with the rest of them. Come to your senses!” She smacked her wings on both of their heads. “We’ve still got a job to do, and no one seems to be doing it.”

“Right,” Saddlebill calmed down. “Sorry.”

“Yea, sure, sorry,” Shoebill said begrudgingly. “But this isn’t over, Bill.”

Saddlebill rolled his eyes at Shoe.

“So while you two were having your fit I had an idea,” Dem explained. “I think if we can get enough momentum behind that big boulder up that way, we can knock it over and make quite a surprise for the voltar down there. Looks like it will just fall into that empty space behind the Rage Fest arenas, so no one should get hurt.”

“And what if they do?” Saddle asked. “What if we move that one boulder and more of the mountain comes down after it? You want to explain to Great Blue how we ourselves were responsible for most of the trouble today?”

“It won’t be that way,” the crane said assuredly. “It’s our best shot at the moment. Are you with me?”

The two storks looked at each other, than back at Dem. “Ok,” said Saddle. “I guess we’ve got to do something.”

The three Talonguard took flight and headed towards the boulder Demoiselle had spotted. It was significantly more stuck than they had counted on. Saddle and Shoe got themselves wedged between the cliff face and the rock and tried to push with their taloned feet. Demoiselle attempted to pry her beak into cracks along the sides of the boulder, to loosen it up or break up some rubble around it. It was slow work and for some time it didn’t seem to be doing much.

Then the huge rock started to budge, just a little bit at first. Some pebbles and dust began to fall, and Demoiselle cheered and urged them on. She, too, joined the storks behind the boulder and began to heave with all her might. Pushing with all six feet, again and again, the boulder moved and rocked.

With one last big effort, straining to extend their legs as long as could be, the huge rock let loose its grip on the mountainside. A cracking noise started the process, and then a thunderous tumbling sound followed as the boulder fell and rolled down the cliffside towards the basin below.

Even the initial sounds got the attention of the fighting forram and targen. Many of them looked up towards the cliff and dropped their arms. But when the final impact struck the earth in a calamitous roar, all of the voltar stopped dead in their tracks and looked dumbfounded towards the fall.

“Well, seems it was a good idea, after all,” Shoebill commented. The three birds dusted their wings and grinned triumphantly.

At that exact moment, in the silence that followed, came a loud squawking noise. Everyone, the bull men and tiger peoples and even the three talus looked to see where it was coming from.

Over the top of the cliff appeared an enormous shadow. It was followed by the creature that created it, the giant penguin baby, Peggy. After wincing into the sunlight, Bluefoot the booby could be seen riding on Peggy’s back, waving and grinning widely.

The giant penguin plunged downward in an amazing flight and landed soundly on the ground just feet away from the fallen boulder and debris from the mountain.

“Wait, did anyone know that giant penguins could fly?” Shoebill inquired.

“Shoe, until today, I didn’t even know about giant penguins,” Saddlebill cajoled.

“Good point,” Shoe allowed.

“Blue,” Demoiselle yelled, ”what are you doing?”

“Oh, hi, Dem,” Blue shouted back, looking up and waving. “I just thought we’d need a distraction to get everyone to calm down. So I brought Peggy, here. I think it would have worked, too. But it seems this fallen rock must have already done the trick. Lucky thing it fell, huh?”

“Yes, Blue,” Dem laughed. “Lucky thing it fell.”

And that was not all.

After a brief calm for all those present, a new sound started to enunciate itself, quietly at first, then growing in volume. It was not unlike the crack of the mountain when the boulder released its hold. Yet it was more like a dozen, or a hundred smaller versions of those sounds, more like a rainstorm than a thunderbolt.

And sure enough this was soon confirmed in the visual field as all who were there saw the avalanche rip free of the mountain and hurl itself in an awful plummet towards the giant penguin and the blue-footed booby.

The Talonguard were panic-stricken then, took flight and thrust themselves as fast as could be towards their friend. Some of the targen and forram also lurched forward in some desperate attempt to stop the calamity.

But it was too late. The rocks had fallen, the dust was settling, and Peggy and Bluefoot were nowhere to be seen in all the debris that piled up around where they had been standing.

“No!” screamed Demoiselle in anguish. She stopped in mid air, with Saddle and Shoe beside her.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Shoebill called out as he lunged toward the rock pile. Saddlebill the Demoiselle followed close behind and started prying rocks off the top and sides.

To their surprise, dozens of bull men and tiger men came over and pitched in with the rescue effort. Together, all of them were throwing a massive amount of rocks and pebbles and bits of stone about in their attempts to save the two victims.

In a matter of minutes they had broken through the outer layer and a gasp of air revealed first Bluefoot and then Peggy’s big face. They were clearly hurt and confused, but showed signs of determination as the voltar collectively joined in to help get them out. Everyone continued to heave the pile apart, until at last it was loosened up enough that even a big shudder by Peggy’s giant penguin body simply shook the last rocks off. All of the forram and targen found themselves ducking for cover and falling back on the ground to avoid getting hit by stones.

When it was all over and the two were free of the avalanche, the voltar of the basin stood up and cheered for their success. Then bits of laughter broke out and hands were shaken in mutual victory. There even seemed an air of apology mixed in with the triumph they all felt.

Peggy looked a bit roughed up from the experience, but like most young ones was overall unscathed.

Bluefoot was dusty, but within seconds was his usual, carefree self, beaming with a great big smile to see his friends.

Demoiselle the crane shook her head. “Well done, Blue, well done.”

“I think an ‘are you OK?’ is more in order at this point,” Shoebill commented.

“Nonsense,” the crane returned. “He’s fine, look at him.”

“What do you mean, Dem,” Bluefoot asked. “What did I do well done?”

“You fixed our problem,” Demoiselle said. “See, look how our almost-warring southern friends are getting along so well. Your catastrophe has brought them all together.”

“Well, I don’t think that was his plan, to be fair,” Saddlebill added as the voice of reason.

“You’re right,” Blue smiled again. “I did do it. They are friends again!”

One of the forram elders came forward then and offered some words of encouragement for the tired Talonguard ears. He said, “Thank you, proud birds of the Northlands. In your own way, you have helped us avoid what you rightly foresaw as possible bloodshed. The peace was odd in its early years, I remember them well. And it has been tentatively kept since. But one thing we of the West agree on with our eastern neighbors is that it is much better without war in the Basin. It is calmer, easier, and we can still have much fun in competition at our Rage Fests!”

“Yes,” offered one of the targen warriors. “We agree with the elder in that. My family is now much safer without us men getting things fired up. It has been a better time for us all since the peace accords.”

“So then,” Saddlebill urged them on, “everything is resolved then? You will continue with your games… we have no need to worry about any more trouble in the Basin?”

“I don’t know,” the targen man went on. “We still have the issue of the prizes.”

“Let it be,” the forram elder suggested. “Why don’t we forget this year’s prize and simply agree to give you back what’s your in return for what’s ours. We can continue with the festival anyways, and may the best voltar stand proud on the top of the heap.”

“That is very noble of you,” the targen replied. “You are very wise for a bull man. We will remember this. May it bring a new level of peace between our two nations.”

“Wow, guys, wow,” said Blue.

“I couldn’t put it better,” Demoiselle agreed. “This really couldn’t have been handled much better. Your two nations are proud and strong, but you have come to an agreement that works well for you both without betraying your values. You should be an inspiration to all the peoples of Paelstor. Well done, indeed. And who said the Yute Basin was a wild land… Ahem…”

“So,” the forram concluded, “shall we return to the games?”

“By all means,” the targen answered with a devilish grin. “To the best competitor, honor and glory!” And he threw his pawed hand into the air and heralded his tiger folk companions to do the same. Then all the voltar of the Basin walked off and rejoined their fellows in a fine display of Rage Fest fun.

The four Talonguard were left there recollecting themselves, with Peggy the giant penguin cleaning her feathers calmly.

“Well,” said Saddle, “that’s that then. Shall we return to Talpost and send word to the Great Blue Heron of our success in our mission?”

“By all means,” answered Demoiselle. “And I’d love to take a bath and get some sleep before the flight home to Oshinora.”

“Of course,” said Saddlebill.

“Right,” Shoebill agreed. Then he narrowed his eyes at Saddle and said, “I’ll give you the night to unwind, but I’m not done with our conversation, buddy.”

“Ooh, are you guys best friends now?” Bluefoot piped in excitedly.

“No!” cried both Bills at once. Then they both turned away from each and puffed their chest.

“Touchy subject, Blue, don’t worry about it,” calmed Dem.

Bluefoot shrugged. “Ok, shall we go?”

And the five of them took flight again, heading back around the cliff face of the mountain towards the mighty southern fortress town of Talpost.

“

Thus concludes our mini-story, The Birds of the Basin. Or does it?

Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it!

Please comment and share if you enjoyed the story.

Blessings to you,

Matthew