Mana Tapu

Chapter 18

I laid there on the cold stone. The sky gently brightened as time went on. I wouldn't be able to actually see it until midday. Tane had stopped snoring a few minutes ago. Slowly opening his eyes he looked at me and boomed. The sound of it was swallowed quickly by the falling water. Bits of mist clung to the air, brightening my surrounding space as tiny globes of sunlight. As they fell gently onto Tane's wings they illuminated the lush green tones within each feather. Nature sure is creative with birds.

"Good morning sleepy head" I stroked his beak.

"Hooo!" Tane shook the mist out of his feathers and hopped up and down on my chest.

"Ugh!" I moved him to the side, rubbing the imprints out of my skin. "You aren't a finch. You're a big Kākāpō. You're going to break a rib!"

Tane kept hopping up and down beside me.

"You ready to find a way out of here?"

He ran in three circles and then raced off for the tunnel. So much for waiting for him to wake up. By the time I caught up to him his green plumage was stained purple. He had eaten his share of berries and had decided to make feathery jam out of mine. At least he didn't like the nuts and mushrooms. Scooping my share into the only pocket in my pants I gazed around the massive cavern. It was roughly the shape of an egg. More light was pouring through the skylight than the top of the waterfall let in. Any escape route through the ceiling would be useless—seeing as how there would be no way to reach it. Knowing my luck with fate, if I tried to leap onto a stalactite I would spear myself onto the lower stalagmite. Admiring the beautiful structure my heart sank just a little. There could be any number of small openings within the structured clumps. At least the lake removed some search area. Still, finding an exit would take weeks.

"We'd better start searching, Tane"

"Hoooo?"

"Yes, you are searching with me! I need your eyesight down here. You were built for this."

With a disgruntled hoot Tane rearranged his feathers and plopped down into a small mound of dirt. He turned from me, swishing his tail back and forth.

"If you help me search I will give you all of my berries. I know where the really good bushes are."

"Hooo!" Tane raced off into the forest of stone pillars.

Well that was way too easy. He better not be angry with me when he finds out the berry bushes are in Katomo. He'll probably have forgotten by then. We set off into the stalagmites, weaving carefully between each one. Piper had been adamant that we not touch any of them unless absolutely necessary. Caves were living, breathing things that could die when exposed to foreign contamination. It didn't make sense to me. The city would grow with the helping hands of builders and architects. If this cave was still alive, it should be thriving with Piper in it. At any rate I trusted her; I wouldn't touch the growing rock. Weaving through the pillars I found nothing of use. Only Tane was able to squeeze through particularly tight groves. He wasn't as bulgy as he appeared to be. Spending my time following him was pointless. We might as well split up. If I'd learned anything from my dad it would be that many hands make light work. Hands. Feathers. Same thing.

"Hey Tane! I'm going to search the wall!"

Leaving the maze of stone up to Tane I carefully sprinted towards the outer wall. I would hate to fall onto a spiked stalagmite. I shivered just at the thought of it. Coming closer to the edge I slowed down but didn't stop. I really hate being slow. Even though I was getting better at controlling my clumsiness I still tripped at slower speeds. My bare feet hit a patch of wet rock and I slid nose first into my goal. The solid stone didn't break, it merely threw my momentum backwards and I landed on the floor. Sitting there dazed, I could taste the faint smell of iron in the back of my throat. It only took a few seconds before I felt the warm drip on my hand. Then a sandpapery tongue slapped the side of my face.